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SELECT * FROM uv_BookReviewRollup WHERE recordnum = 549 About Grace, by Anthony Doerr Book Review | SFReader.com About Grace, by Anthony Doerr Genre: Dark Fantasy Publisher: Scribner Published: 2004 Review Posted: 3/13/2005 Reviewer Rating: Reader Rating: 10 out of 10 About Grace, by Anthony Doerr Book Review by Jeff Edwards Have you read this book? David Winkler watches - sometimes in horror - while his dreams come true. As an eight-year-old, Winkler is badly shaken when his vision of a man cut in half by a bus becomes reality. Years later, after dreaming that he will cause his infant daughter to drown, Winkler flees his home and family - and twenty-five years will pass before he returns. In About Grace, Anthony Doerr takes readers on a journey from Alaska to Ohio to the Caribbean, and then back again. As Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote, "[B]y stepping aside for a moment, a man exposes himself to a fearful risk of losing his place forever." Gone not for a moment but a quarter-century, David Winkler's effort to make his way back to Alaska to find his daughter becomes his own personal odyssey. Doerr presents Winkler as a sympathetic character, but the man is clearly an eccentric protagonist. He falls in love with a married woman, and his love is more like obsession, his admiration from afar more like stalking: "He couldn't work, couldn't sleep, couldn't leave her alone." Winkler excavates his lover's boot print from the snow and preserves it in his freezer; he goes by her house every night, "patrolling [the street], up and back, up and back." Winkler is his own worst enemy: When he receives some bad news, he almost kills himself trying to cross a reef in a small rowboat. And after intruding on a woman in her home and being chased away, Winkler overreacts, ending up injured and lost in the woods for more than a week, barely surviving on a meager supply of food. Although the literary elite might shudder at the thought, Doerr's About Grace and Stephen King's "The Dead Zone" are cut from the same cloth. In each novel, a man suffers from precognitive visions and struggles to decide how far he should go in order to prevent the tragedy that he foresees. In "The Dead Zone," John Smith holds in his hands the fate of the nation - even the world - when he "sees" that a rising politician will cause Armageddon. About Grace is a more intimate story, with David Winkler wanting only to prevent the death of his child. Both Smith's and Winkler's outward appearances eventually reflect their inner turmoil: Smith's constant suffering gnaws at him until he is a haunted, haggard young man; Winkler cringes at his own image in motel mirrors: "a gaunt, white-haired stranger..., twin ladders of ribs up his sides, a face pinched by glare, permanent hollows beneath his eyes." Similar to the way that Russell Banks likened shifting land masses to human movement in his novel "Continental Drift," Doerr meditates on a natural world suffused with meaning, representing our own lives ("Water was a wild, capricious substance: nothing solid, nothing permanent, nothing as it appeared"). Readers will linger over passages in Doerr's book, marveling at the way he weaves thoughts and imagery into a tapestry of mesmerizing power: When the author describes "frost...making tiny connections," then defines dreams as "narratives concocted by a cerebral cortex...to organize its memories," readers may find themselves picturing memories linked together like frost on a window pane. A character in About Grace thinks, "Growing up meant burying possibilities, one after another." But through his work, Anthony Doerr negates this pessimistic view: His growing prowess as a writer promises unlimited possibilities for engaging stories full of rich prose. Click here to buy About Grace, by Anthony Doerr on Amazon

I know, I’m thinking of David Bowie too. But funnily enough this is not about him. It’s about the everyday people who made me start writing this blog in the first place and some who, in the last twenty-four hours, came back into my life and reminded me of the people that made me want to write.. I want to tell you about SBM. (She’ll know who she is) I met her in hospital. My daughter was very sick and I was spending a lot of time just sitting at her bedside, feeling as much use as a chocolate teapot and thinking, ” Why my girl, why her”. The nurse asked me to leave as visiting was long over. Reluctantly I stood up just as a voice called over, “Don’t worry about her. I’ll watch over her for you. She’ll be okay.” I looked across to a bed and a woman who was far from well, very far.She had more tubes and monitors around her than you could shake a stick at. She could see the doubt in my face. ” I can call a nurse if she needs one, don’t worry, and I will watch her for you.” I believed she would and I left with more comfort than I had dared hope for. Over the following week I got to know SBM and some of her wonderful family; all very ordinary folk, but all coping with a high level of ongoing, grinding stress that left me breathless. And how they coped? With laughter, generosity of spirit and an open, embracing love for others. This woman is no shrinking violet and has a sense of humour that could raise a laugh in an empty room. Many times I would have been begging her to stop, my sides aching and the tears running down my face, I was laughing so much. The thing is, if you heard her story, if you understood her circumstances and the awful loss she has suffered and ill-health she endures, you could forgive her for wanting to lock herself away and wallow in self-pity. But not a bit of it! She raises money for charities ( having her head shaved for one when sitting upright even hurt), comforts others in times of stress and for me, well, when I couldn’t be at my daughters bedside she was, and I knew it. I will never be able to repay that peace of mind. And there are others like SBM out there, quietly giving out such positive energy to those around them and, in my eyes, earning the title of “Hero”. And here she goes again, popping up in my “Inbox” last night, reminding me what life, love and happinesss should be about.

Sin’s Haven (A Sin Pointe Novella, Book 3) Blurb: When Sin Pointe webmaster, Benjamin Wright, is publicly humiliated on his birthday, he knows he’s never gonna be able to show his face around the guys again. But an angelic hostess who lets him sleep it off at the club seems surprisingly eager to help him out. Is his luck changing or does she just feel sorry for him? Hazel Temple, bagel mistress by day and club hostess by night, feels horrible for inadvertently playing a part in Ben’s embarrassment and vows to make it up to him—by telling him they had a sizzling hot one night stand. Still recovering from losing her fiancé to suicide, she worries about Ben when he discovers her lie. Is she bound to hurt the men she cares about? A Sin Pointe camping trip provides Hazel her chance to get Ben’s groove back. Will her webmaster be the one to rock her world? Sin’s Haven Excerpt: Finally, after finding out he seemed to be the only person there, he tossed the last paper towel he’d used to clean up his mess and plopped down on the toilet seat where he sat now. What he wasn’t prepared for was the note he found tucked into his shirt pocket. He patted it and pulled it out carefully. “Holy crap. No way.” He read it again. Apparently he’d had relations with her, pretty good ones at that, but had no recollection of it. What was her name? He couldn’t remember but it started with an H according to the note. Crap. He’d had hot, amazing sex last night with her? With Haven? He closed his eyes, and tried to remember more, considering dropping his pants and inspecting his stuff. He didn’t go that far but adjusted himself in his briefs, now conscious that he’d been inside a beautiful woman who he’d somehow brought some pretty decent pleasure to. More amazing than that, she hadn’t been turned off when she’d seen him. God, this was the weirdest feeling in the world. But straining to remember more was no use. It only gave him a worse headache, not a name of the woman he’d slept with so carelessly. Or any remembrance of touching her. No way would he have not touched her. Ah, he did remember feeling something. He was an idiot. She’d sung him happy birthday, which would have been cool if he hadn’t just been crowned king of the losers by Erby. Wait, before that. The chorus of his favorite song as he’d sat there in silent chaos had touched him, even if he hadn’t let it show. Somehow, after all that, he’d gotten close enough to kiss this other woman. Back on that well-meant futon. But how in the world did a guy like him end up hooking up with a woman like Haven? She probably felt bad for him. Story of my life, he thought. Where was she now? Was she okay? They’d been in the office together. Which meant she could have seen him tossing his nachos. Surely she’d written the note and left in time to spare them both that lovely experience. And apparently, she was well. Better than well. He shook his head, trying to understand last night. The problem was, his pride might be swelling on one hand but on the other, he felt like a huge ass wipe. He’d slept with a woman whose name he couldn’t remember and oh yeah, he didn’t do that kind of thing. It wasn’t anywhere in his nature. Jaxon and Stefan made women melt at the mere thought of the things those guys could do to them. Unless a chick was super into a personalized website or slick Facebook banner, Ben didn’t have much woo factor to offer. And a one-night-stand-to-blow-your-mind was definitely not on his menu. He wouldn’t have slept with Erby on their first date and he’d known her for six years! Okay, maybe he would have last night... “I suck and ow,” he said, holding his head in one hand while his elbow dug into his knee. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember Haven’s hands on his legs, maybe playing with his knees. It was a hot fantasy, but he got nothing. “Great, just great,” he muttered and then stood up and flushed, even though he hadn’t even dropped his trousers. It was time to make his way out. But what if she was out there, waiting? An apology. That’s what he owed her. A big ole I’m sorry. This woman might have been pleased with her experience but she should know he wasn’t that kind of guy. As he dragged his reluctant feet from the stall, her kiss popped onto his lips. He remembered. She’d tasted like sweet cherries. He was so screwed. He knew he’d messed up and had no idea how to deal with this which meant avoidance until he figured it out. What would Jaxon do? “You’re not Jaxon, dip wad. You’re Saint Benjamin,” he told himself as he swallowed, and followed the narrow hallway from the back office up to the café. He needed some and if she was up there, he could invite her to have a cup with him. And maybe talk. Nerves brewed heavy in his stomach as he pushed open the curtains that divided the club from the café. Why in the world he chose that very moment to start worrying about condoms was beyond him. But he fumbled for his wallet and found the one he kept still tucked into his bill fold. Check out Carlene’s books here: Come say hi here (I’d love to hear from you):

30 Depression Quotes - Quote Pond “You hate when people see you cry because you want to be that strong girl. At the same time, though, you hate how nobody notices how torn apart and broken you are.” Anonymous “You smile, but you wanna cry. You talk, but you wanna be quiet. You pretend like you’re happy, but you aren’t.” Anonymous…Read more → Image about text in 𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈✯ by ⚭-𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓀𝓁𝓎𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈 on We Heart It Shared by ⚭-𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓀𝓁𝓎𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈. Find images and videos about text and weeklyhearts on We Heart It - the app to get lost in what you love. The Man Or Woman You Choose To Be Your Partner Affects Everything In Your Life Relationship Rules is a modern-age lifestyle/love blog that discusses everything from breakups to being amazing parents. New rules of a relationship. 10 Hurtful Love Quotes That Will Touch Your Soul These quotes on heartbreak, breakups and love will truly make you think about your feelings. 44 Inspirational Life Quotes That Will Change Your Life 44 Inspirational Life Quotes That Will Change Your Life “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones

Your hero David is a former journalist. What special skills would a reporter be able to contribute to a high-end hotel? While working as a journalist, David had to rely on words to convey the essence of what he wanted to say and, when he joined the family business, his job became marketing. He’s involved in everything from overseeing brochures, making sure the content of the website is updated regularly to dealing with clients. As a trained journalist, he had to gather facts and come to rational conclusions but when he meets the lovely school teacher Dana, he can’t seem to find the right words to express himself or come to any logical conclusions because there is nothing logical about the way he wants her. Dana teaches high school biology — how does she keep her students engaged? Dana has a soft heart and, because she’s been dealing with a difficult mother since birth, she connects with students with similar problems. But when se meets David, she understands, for the first time, that mere biology can’t explain the way a heart sometimes reacts. There is no scientific explanation for the way her heat creeps up her neck, her blood boils and the shortness of breath she experiences around him. Since David is known to flirt — does he have a favorite line or does he send over a drink? David, like his brothers, are drop-dead gorgeous and were born flirting with women. With dark hair, brown eyes and a sexy body to boot, he never even has to try very hard – women fall all over themselves to get to know him. Dana is the first woman who doesn’t seem to be impressed by his moves so he kissed her. Big mistake. What should have been a simple, easy-to-forget kiss, turned him inside out. How does David differ from Dale (from The Cavallo Brother Book #1 An Impossible Attraction)? David likes to cross his T’s and dots his I’s. The reason he did finally quit journalism and joined his bothers in the hotel business was because of the story about Dana’s dad. The facts weren’t checked, but his boss printed the article nevertheless. When he realized who Dana’s dad was, he does everything in his power to help her. When you picture Dana’s mother, is there a particular actress who comes to mind? A cold and calculating Meryl Streep as she was in the Manchiruan Candidate. About the Author I have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’ the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë sisters, etc. during my Honours studies, I was hooked for life. I married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 43 years, 3 interesting and wonderful children and 3 beautiful grandchildren, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty’s Bay, South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind us. And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always been an exciting and interesting one! I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong. And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also gorgeous! My stories typically incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story.

take(redirected from Take It from Me) Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia. v. took, tak•en, tak•ing, bring take fetch If you bring someone or something with you when you come to a place, you have them with you. The past tense and -ed participle of bring is brought. If you ask someone to bring you something, you are asking them to carry or move it to the place where you are. If you take someone or something to a place, you carry or drive them there. The past tense form of take is took. The -ed participle is taken. If you take someone or something with you when you go to a place, you have them with you. If you fetch something, you go to the place where it is and return with it. Carry and take are usually used to say that someone moves a person or thing from one place to another. When you use carry, you are showing that the person or thing is quite heavy. You can also say that a ship, train, or lorry is carrying goods of a particular kind. Similarly you can say that a plane, ship, train, or bus is carrying passengers. Take can be used in a similar way, but only if you say where someone or something is being taken to. You can say, for example, 'The ship was taking crude oil to Rotterdam', but you can't just say 'The ship was taking crude oil'. You can say that a smaller vehicle such as a car takes you somewhere. Don't say that a small vehicle 'carries' you somewhere. Have and take are both commonly used with nouns as their objects to indicate that someone performs an action or takes part in an activity. With some nouns, you can use either have or take with the same meaning. For example, you can say 'Have a look at this' or 'Take a look at this'. Similarly, you can say 'We have our holidays in August' or 'We take our holidays in August'. There is often a difference between British and American usage. For example, British speakers usually say 'He had a bath', while American speakers say 'He took a bath'. When talking about some activities, American speakers often use take. For example, they say 'He took a walk' or 'She took a nap'. British speakers would say 'He went for a walk' or 'She had a nap'. Take is one of the commonest verbs in English. It is used in many different ways. Its other forms are takes, taking, took, taken. Most commonly, take is used with a noun that refers to an action. If you take something from one place to another, you carry it there. Don't confuse take with bring or fetch. When someone completes an exam or test, you say that they take the exam or test. If something takes a certain amount of time, you need that amount of time in order to do it. Past participle: taken |Noun||1.||take - the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property; "the average return was about 5%"| income - the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time economic rent, rent - the return derived from cultivated land in excess of that derived from the poorest land cultivated under similar conditions payback - financial return or reward (especially returns equal to the initial investment) |2.||take - the act of photographing a scene or part of a scene without interruption| retake - a shot or scene that is photographed again |Verb||1.||take - carry out; "take action"; "take steps"; "take vengeance"| |2.||take - require (time or space); "It took three hours to get to work this morning"; "This event occupied a very short time"| deplete, use up, wipe out, eat up, exhaust, run through, eat, consume - use up (resources or materials); "this car consumes a lot of gas"; "We exhausted our savings"; "They run through 20 bottles of wine a week" be - spend or use time; "I may be an hour" |3.||take - take somebody somewhere; "We lead him to our chief"; "can you take me to the main entrance?"; "He conducted us to the palace"| beacon - guide with a beacon hand - guide or conduct or usher somewhere; "hand the elderly lady into the taxi" misguide, mislead, lead astray, misdirect - lead someone in the wrong direction or give someone wrong directions; "The pedestrian misdirected the out-of-town driver" |4.||take - get into one's hands, take physically; "Take a cookie!"; "Can you take this bag, please"| clutch, prehend, seize - take hold of; grab; "The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter"; "She clutched her purse"; "The mother seized her child by the arm"; "Birds of prey often seize small mammals" seize - take or capture by force; "The terrorists seized the politicians"; "The rebels threaten to seize civilian hostages" lift out, scoop, scoop up, scoop out, take up - take out or up with or as if with a scoop; "scoop the sugar out of the container" bear away, bear off, carry away, take away, carry off - remove from a certain place, environment, or mental or emotional state; transport into a new location or state; "Their dreams carried the Romantics away into distant lands"; "The car carried us off to the meeting"; "I'll take you away on a holiday"; "I got carried away when I saw the dead man and I started to cry" discerp, dismember, take apart - divide into pieces; "our department was dismembered when our funding dried up"; "The Empire was discerped after the war" take in - visit for entertainment; "take in the sights" |5.||take - take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect; "His voice took on a sad tone"; "The story took a new turn"; "he adopted an air of superiority"; "She assumed strange manners"; "The gods assume human or animal form in these fables"| change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" re-assume - take on again, as after a time lapse; "He re-assumed his old behavior" |6.||take - interpret something in a certain way; convey a particular meaning or impression; "I read this address as a satire"; "How should I take this message?"; "You can't take credit for this!"| read - to hear and understand; "I read you loud and clear!" construe, interpret, see - make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?" read - interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves, intestines, the sky; also of human behavior; "She read the sky and predicted rain"; "I can't read his strange behavior"; "The fortune teller read his fate in the crystal ball" |7.||take - take something or somebody with oneself somewhere; "Bring me the box from the other room"; "Take these letters to the boss"; "This brings me to the main point"| fetch, bring, get, convey - go or come after and bring or take back; "Get me those books over there, please"; "Could you bring the wine?"; "The dog fetched the hat" fetch - take away or remove; "The devil will fetch you!" bring - be accompanied by; "Can I bring my cousin to the dinner?" carry, transport - move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body; "You must carry your camping gear"; "carry the suitcases to the car"; "This train is carrying nuclear waste"; "These pipes carry waste water into the river" transit - cause or enable to pass through; "The canal will transit hundreds of ships every day" ferry - transport from one place to another tube - convey in a tube; "inside Paris, they used to tube mail" whisk - move somewhere quickly; "The President was whisked away in his limo" channel, transmit, carry, impart, conduct, convey - transmit or serve as the medium for transmission; "Sound carries well over water"; "The airwaves carry the sound"; "Many metals conduct heat" land - bring ashore; "The drug smugglers landed the heroin on the beach of the island" |8.||take - take into one's possession; "We are taking an orphan from Romania"; "I'll take three salmon steaks"| take away - take from a person or place; "We took the abused child away from its parents" collect, take in - call for and obtain payment of; "we collected over a million dollars in outstanding debts"; "he collected the rent" confiscate, impound, sequester, seize, attach - take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; "The FBI seized the drugs"; "The customs agents impounded the illegal shipment"; "The police confiscated the stolen artwork" sequester - requisition forcibly, as of enemy property; "the estate was sequestered" pocket - put in one's pocket; "He pocketed the change" assume, take over, accept, bear - take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person; "I'll accept the charges"; "She agreed to bear the responsibility" snaffle, snap up, grab - get hold of or seize quickly and easily; "I snapped up all the good buys during the garage sale" call back, withdraw, call in, recall - cause to be returned; "recall the defective auto tires"; "The manufacturer tried to call back the spoilt yoghurt" deprive, divest, strip - take away possessions from someone; "The Nazis stripped the Jews of all their assets" unburden - free or relieve (someone) of a burden draw off, take out, withdraw, draw - remove (a commodity) from (a supply source); "She drew $2,000 from the account"; "The doctors drew medical supplies from the hospital's emergency bank" take in - visit for entertainment; "take in the sights" give - transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody; "I gave her my money"; "can you give me lessons?"; "She gave the children lots of love and tender loving care" |9.||take - travel or go by means of a certain kind of transportation, or a certain route; "He takes the bus to work"; "She takes Route 1 to Newark"| apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize - put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer" |10.||take - pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"| anoint - choose by or as if by divine intervention; "She was anointed the head of the Christian fundamentalist group" field - select (a team or individual player) for a game; "The Buckeyes fielded a young new quarterback for the Rose Bowl" draw - select or take in from a given group or region; "The participants in the experiment were drawn from a representative population" dial - choose by means of a dial; "dial a telephone number" plump, go - give support (to) or make a choice (of) one out of a group or number; "I plumped for the losing candidates" pick - select carefully from a group; "She finally picked her successor"; "He picked his way carefully" elect - choose; "I elected to have my funds deposited automatically" cull out, winnow - select desirable parts from a group or list; "cull out the interesting letters from the poet's correspondence"; "winnow the finalists from the long list of applicants" set apart, assign, specify - select something or someone for a specific purpose; "The teacher assigned him to lead his classmates in the exercise" single out - select from a group; "She was singled out for her outstanding performance" decide, make up one's mind, determine - reach, make, or come to a decision about something; "We finally decided after lengthy deliberations" think of - choose in one's mind; "Think of any integer between 1 and 25" specify, fix, limit, set, determine, define - decide upon or fix definitely; "fix the variables"; "specify the parameters" adopt, espouse, follow - choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans; "She followed the feminist movement"; "The candidate espouses Republican ideals" screen out, sieve, sort, screen - examine in order to test suitability; "screen these samples"; "screen the job applicants" vote in - elect in a voting process; "They voted in Clinton" elect - select by a vote for an office or membership; "We elected him chairman of the board" nominate, propose - put forward; nominate for appointment to an office or for an honor or position; "The President nominated her as head of the Civil Rights Commission" vote - express one's preference for a candidate or for a measure or resolution; cast a vote; "He voted for the motion"; "None of the Democrats voted last night" |11.||take - receive willingly something given or offered; "The only girl who would have him was the miller's daughter"; "I won't have this dog in my house!"; "Please accept my present"| receive, have - get something; come into possession of; "receive payment"; "receive a gift"; "receive letters from the front" acquire, get - come into the possession of something concrete or abstract; "She got a lot of paintings from her uncle"; "They acquired a new pet"; "Get your results the next day"; "Get permission to take a few days off from work" admit, take on, accept, take - admit into a group or community; "accept students for graduate study"; "We'll have to vote on whether or not to admit a new member" welcome - accept gladly; "I welcome your proposals" assume, take over, accept, bear - take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person; "I'll accept the charges"; "She agreed to bear the responsibility" take in - provide with shelter |12.||take - assume, as of positions or roles; "She took the job as director of development"; "he occupies the position of manager"; "the young prince will soon occupy the throne"| assume, take up, strike, take - occupy or take on; "He assumes the lotus position"; "She took her seat on the stage"; "We took our seats in the orchestra"; "She took up her position behind the tree"; "strike a pose" |13.||take - take into consideration for exemplifying purposes; "Take the case of China"; "Consider the following case"| contemplate - consider as a possibility; "I contemplated leaving school and taking a full-time job" trifle, dally, play - consider not very seriously; "He is trifling with her"; "She plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania" think about - have on one's mind, think about actively; "I'm thinking about my friends abroad"; "She always thinks about her children first" abstract - consider apart from a particular case or instance; "Let's abstract away from this particular example" warm to - become excited about; "He warmed to the idea of a trip to Antarctica" |14.||take - require as useful, just, or proper; "It takes nerve to do what she did"; "success usually requires hard work"; "This job asks a lot of patience and skill"; "This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice"; "This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert"; "This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent"| exact, claim, take - take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs; "the accident claimed three lives"; "The hard work took its toll on her" govern - require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood; "most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German" draw - require a specified depth for floating; "This boat draws 70 inches" cost - require to lose, suffer, or sacrifice; "This mistake cost him his job" compel - necessitate or exact; "the water shortage compels conservation" |15.||take - experience or feel or submit to; "Take a test"; "Take the plunge"| |16.||take - make a film or photograph of something; "take a scene"; "shoot a movie"| motion picture, motion-picture show, movie, moving picture, moving-picture show, pic, film, picture show, flick, picture - a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement; "they went to a movie every Saturday night"; "the film was shot on location" photograph, shoot, snap - record on photographic film; "I photographed the scene of the accident"; "She snapped a picture of the President" reshoot - shoot again; "We had to reshoot that scene 24 times" |17.||take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment"| harvest - remove from a culture or a living or dead body, as for the purposes of transplantation; "The Chinese are said to harvest organs from executed criminals" tip - remove the tip from; "tip artichokes" stem - remove the stem from; "for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed" extirpate - surgically remove (an organ) enucleate - remove (a tumor or eye) from an enveloping sac or cover exenterate - remove the contents of (an organ) enucleate - remove the nucleus from (a cell) decorticate - remove the cortex of (an organ) bail - remove (water) from a vessel with a container undress, disinvest, divest, strip - remove (someone's or one's own) clothes; "The nurse quickly undressed the accident victim"; "She divested herself of her outdoor clothes"; "He disinvested himself of his garments" ablate - remove an organ or bodily structure clean - remove shells or husks from; "clean grain before milling it" winnow - blow away or off with a current of air; "winnow chaff" pick - remove in small bits; "pick meat from a bone" muck - remove muck, clear away muck, as in a mine lift - remove from a surface; "the detective carefully lifted some fingerprints from the table" lift - take off or away by decreasing; "lift the pressure" lift - remove from a seedbed or from a nursery; "lift the tulip bulbs" take off - take away or remove; "Take that weight off me!" seed - remove the seeds from; "seed grapes" unhinge - remove the hinges from; "unhinge the door" shuck - remove the shucks from; "shuck corn" hull - remove the hulls from; "hull the berries" crumb - remove crumbs from; "crumb the table" chip away, chip away at - remove or withdraw gradually: "These new customs are chipping away at the quality of life" burl - remove the burls from cloth knock out - destroy or break forcefully; "The windows were knocked out" degas - remove gas from flick - remove with a flick (of the hand) strip - remove a constituent from a liquid clear - remove; "clear the leaves from the lawn"; "Clear snow from the road" defang - remove the fangs from; "defang the poisonous snake" shell - remove from its shell or outer covering; "shell the legumes"; "shell mussels" shuck - remove from the shell; "shuck oysters" dehorn - prevent the growth of horns of certain animals scalp - remove the scalp of; "The enemies were scalped" weed - clear of weeds; "weed the garden" condense - remove water from; "condense the milk" decalcify - remove calcium or lime from; "decalcify the rock" de-ionate - remove ions from; "ionate thyroxine" de-iodinate - remove iodine from; "de-iodinate the thyroxine" |18.||take - serve oneself to, or consume regularly; "Have another bowl of chicken soup!"; "I don't take sugar in my coffee"| hit - consume to excess; "hit the bottle" eat - eat a meal; take a meal; "We did not eat until 10 P.M. because there were so many phone calls"; "I didn't eat yet, so I gladly accept your invitation" eat - take in solid food; "She was eating a banana"; "What did you eat for dinner last night?" drink, imbibe - take in liquids; "The patient must drink several liters each day"; "The children like to drink soda" eat, feed - take in food; used of animals only; "This dog doesn't eat certain kinds of meat"; "What do whales eat?" sample, taste, try, try out - take a sample of; "Try these new crackers"; "Sample the regional dishes" smoke - inhale and exhale smoke from cigarettes, cigars, pipes; "We never smoked marijuana"; "Do you smoke?" swallow, get down - pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking; "Swallow the raw fish--it won't kill you!" sup - take solid or liquid food into the mouth a little at a time either by drinking or by eating with a spoon |19.||take - accept or undergo, often unwillingly; "We took a pay cut"| test - undergo a test; "She doesn't test well" undergo - pass through; "The chemical undergoes a sudden change"; "The fluid undergoes shear"; "undergo a strange sensation" take - experience or feel or submit to; "Take a test"; "Take the plunge" |20.||take - make use of or accept for some purpose; "take a risk"; "take an opportunity"| co-opt - take or assume for one's own use; "He co-opted the criticism and embraced it" |21.||take - take by force; "Hitler took the Baltic Republics"; "The army took the fort on the hill"| rescue - take forcibly from legal custody; "rescue prisoners" scale - take by attacking with scaling ladders; "The troops scaled the walls of the fort" extort - obtain through intimidation take over, usurp, arrogate, seize, assume - seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died" retake, recapture - take back by force, as after a battle; "The military forces managed to recapture the fort" relieve - take by stealing; "The thief relieved me of $100" steal - take without the owner's consent; "Someone stole my wallet on the train"; "This author stole entire paragraphs from my dissertation" despoil, foray, pillage, ransack, reave, rifle, loot, plunder, strip - steal goods; take as spoils; "During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners" |22.||take - occupy or take on; "He assumes the lotus position"; "She took her seat on the stage"; "We took our seats in the orchestra"; "She took up her position behind the tree"; "strike a pose"| move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" |23.||take - admit into a group or community; "accept students for graduate study"; "We'll have to vote on whether or not to admit a new member"| profess - receive into a religious order or congregation accept, take, have - receive willingly something given or offered; "The only girl who would have him was the miller's daughter"; "I won't have this dog in my house!"; "Please accept my present" |24.||take - ascertain or determine by measuring, computing or take a reading from a dial; "take a pulse"; "A reading was taken of the earth's tremors"| |25.||take - be a student of a certain subject; "She is reading for the bar exam"| audit - attend academic courses without getting credit train, prepare - undergo training or instruction in preparation for a particular role, function, or profession; "She is training to be a teacher"; "He trained as a legal aid" |26.||take - take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs; "the accident claimed three lives"; "The hard work took its toll on her"| necessitate, need, require, call for, demand, postulate, involve, ask, take - require as useful, just, or proper; "It takes nerve to do what she did"; "success usually requires hard work"; "This job asks a lot of patience and skill"; "This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice"; "This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert"; "This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent" |27.||take - head into a specified direction; "The escaped convict took to the hills"; "We made for the mountains"| head - to go or travel towards; "where is she heading"; "We were headed for the mountains" |28.||take - point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards; "Please don't aim at your little brother!"; "He trained his gun on the burglar"; "Don't train your camera on the women"; "Take a swipe at one's opponent"| target, direct, aim, place, point - intend (something) to move towards a certain goal; "He aimed his fists towards his opponent's face"; "criticism directed at her superior"; "direct your anger towards others, not towards yourself" draw a bead on - aim with a gun; "The hunter drew a bead on the rabbit" hold - aim, point, or direct; "Hold the fire extinguisher directly on the flames" turn - direct at someone; "She turned a smile on me"; "They turned their flashlights on the car" swing - hit or aim at with a sweeping arm movement; "The soccer player began to swing at the referee" level - aim at; "level criticism or charges at somebody" position - cause to be in an appropriate place, state, or relation sight - take aim by looking through the sights of a gun (or other device) |29.||take - be seized or affected in a specified way; "take sick"; "be taken drunk"| |30.||take - have with oneself; have on one's person; "She always takes an umbrella"; "I always carry money"; "She packs a gun when she goes into the mountains"| carry - have or possess something abstract; "I carry her image in my mind's eye"; "I will carry the secret to my grave"; "I carry these thoughts in the back of my head"; "I carry a lot of life insurance" |31.||take - engage for service under a term of contract; "We took an apartment on a quiet street"; "Let's rent a car"; "Shall we take a guide in Rome?"| |32.||take - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day"| |33.||take - buy, select; "I'll take a pound of that sausage"| commerce, commercialism, mercantilism - transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services) buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; "She buys for the big department store" |34.||take - to get into a position of having, e.g., safety, comfort; "take shelter from the storm"| |35.||take - have sex with; archaic use; "He had taken this woman when she was most vulnerable"| do it, get it on, get laid, have a go at it, have intercourse, have it away, have it off, be intimate, lie with, roll in the hay, screw, sleep together, sleep with, hump, jazz, love, bed, bang, make out, know - have sexual intercourse with; "This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm"; "Adam knew Eve"; "Were you ever intimate with this man?" |36.||take - lay claim to; as of an idea; "She took credit for the whole idea"| avow, swan, swear, affirm, assert, aver, verify - to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true; "Before God I swear I am innocent" |37.||take - be designed to hold or take; "This surface will not take the dye"| be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" |38.||take - be capable of holding or containing; "This box won't take all the items"; "The flask holds one gallon"| be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" contain, bear, carry, hold - contain or hold; have within; "The jar carries wine"; "The canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water" |39.||take - develop a habit; "He took to visiting bars"| |40.||take - proceed along in a vehicle; "We drive the turnpike to work"| driving - the act of controlling and steering the movement of a vehicle or animal cross, cut across, cut through, get over, traverse, pass over, get across, track, cover - travel across or pass over; "The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day" motor, drive - travel or be transported in a vehicle; "We drove to the university every morning"; "They motored to London for the theater" drive - operate or control a vehicle; "drive a car or bus"; "Can you drive this four-wheel truck?" drive - cause someone or something to move by driving; "She drove me to school every day"; "We drove the car to the garage" |41.||take - obtain by winning; "Winner takes all"; "He took first prize"| win - be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious; "He won the Gold Medal in skating"; "Our home team won"; "Win the game" |42.||take - be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness; "He got AIDS"; "She came down with pneumonia"; "She took a chill"| catch - contract; "did you catch a cold?" steal give, return, restore, yield, hand over, surrender, give back capture free, release, let go tolerate avoid, dodge accept refuse, decline, reject, ignore, dismiss, scorn, spurn, eschew work fail, flop (informal) take[teɪk] (took (vb: pt) (taken (pp))) who took my beer? → ¿quién se ha llevado mi cerveza? someone's taken my handbag → alguien se ha llevado mi bolso, alguien me ha robado el bolso I picked up the letter but he took it from me → cogí la carta pero él me la quitó to take a book from a shelf → sacar un libro de un estante to take a passage from an author → tomar un pasaje de un autor take 37 from 121 → resta 37 de 121 she took the spade and started digging → cogió la pala y empezó a excavar I took him by the scruff of the neck → le cogí por el pescuezo let me take your case/coat → permíteme tu maleta/abrigo I'll take the blue one, please → me llevaré el azul to take sb's arm → tomar del brazo a algn to take sb in one's arms → abrazar a algn the devil take it! → ¡maldición! (o.f.) take five! → ¡hagan una pausa!, ¡descansen un rato! take your partners for a waltz → saquen a su pareja a bailar un vals to take sb into partnership → tomar a algn como socio please take a seat → tome asiento, por favor is this seat taken? → ¿está ocupado este asiento? it took me by surprise → me cogió desprevenido, me pilló or agarró desprevenido (LAm) take ten! (US) → ¡hagan una pausa!, ¡descansen un rato! to take a wife (o.f.) → casarse, contraer matrimonio to take sth to sb → llevar algo a algn I took her some flowers → le llevé unas flores her work took her to Bonn → su trabajó la destinó or llevó a Bonn we took her to the doctor → la llevamos al médico he took me home in his car → me llevó a casa en su coche they took me over the factory → me mostraron la fábrica, me acompañaron en una visita a la fábrica he took his suitcase upstairs → subió su maleta to take sb for a walk → llevar a algn de paseo it took us out of our way → nos hizo desviarnos I took a taxi because I was late → fui en taxi porque llegaba tarde we decided to take the train → decidimos ir en tren we took the five o'clock train → cogimos or tomamos el tren de las cinco take the first on the right → vaya por or tome la primera calle a la derecha we took the wrong road → nos equivocamos de camino to take sb hostage → tomar or (LAm) agarrar a algn como rehén to take sb prisoner → tomar preso a algn we took £500 today (Brit) (Comm) → hoy hemos ganado 500 libras take my advice, tell her the truth → sigue mi consejo or hazme caso y dile la verdad he took the ball full in the chest → el balón le dio de lleno en el pecho what will you take for it? → ¿cuál es tu mejor precio? he took it badly → le afectó mucho London took a battering in 1941 → Londres recibió una paliza en 1941, Londres sufrió terriblemente en 1941 will you take a cheque? → ¿aceptaría un cheque? he can certainly take his drink → tiene buen aguante para la bebida you must take us as you find us → nos vas a tener que aceptar tal cual take it from me! → ¡escucha lo que te digo! you can take it from me that → puedes tener la seguridad de que ... losing is hard to take → es difícil aceptar la derrota it's £50, take it or leave it! → son 50 libras, lo toma o lo deja whisky? I can take it or leave it → ¿el whisky? ni me va ni me viene I won't take no for an answer → no hay pero que valga I take your point → entiendo lo que dices he took a lot of punishment (fig) → le dieron muy duro take that! → ¡toma! we shall take a house for the summer → alquilaremos una casa para el verano a car that takes five passengers → un coche con cabida para or donde caben cinco personas can you take two more? → ¿puedes llevar dos más?, ¿caben otros dos? it won't take any more → no cabe(n) más it takes weights up to eight tons → soporta pesos hasta de ocho toneladas what size do you take? (clothes) → ¿qué talla usas?; (shoes) → ¿qué número calzas? it took three policemen to hold him down → se necesitaron tres policías para sujetarlo it takes a lot of courage → exige or requiere gran valor it takes a brave man to do that → hace falta que un hombre tenga mucho valor para hacer eso that will take some explaining → a ver cómo explicas eso it takes two to make a quarrel → uno solo no puede reñir she's got what it takes → tiene lo que hace falta a letter takes four days to get there → una carta tarda cuatro días en llegar allá it will only take me five minutes → sólo tardo cinco minutos the job will take a week → el trabajo llevará una semana I'll just iron this, it won't take long → voy a planchar esto, no tardaré or no me llevará mucho tiempo however long it takes → el tiempo que sea it takes time → lleva tiempo take your time! → ¡despacio! what are you taking next year? → ¿qué vas a hacer or estudiar el año que viene? the teacher who took us for economics → el profesor que nos daba clase de económicas he is not taking any more pupils at the moment → en este momento no está cogiendo a más estudiantes to take a degree in → licenciarse en to take (holy) orders → ordenarse de sacerdote to take notes → tomar apuntes am I to take it that you refused? → ¿he de suponer que te negaste? I take her to be about 30 → supongo que tiene unos 30 años how old do you take him to be? → ¿cuántos años le das? I took him for a doctor → lo tenía por médico, creí que era médico what do you take me for? → ¿por quién me has tomado? I don't quite know how to take that → no sé muy bien cómo tomarme eso now take Ireland, for example → tomemos, por ejemplo, el caso de Irlanda, pongamos como ejemplo Irlanda let us take the example of a family with three children → tomemos el ejemplo de una familia con tres hijos take John, he never complains → por ejemplo John, él nunca se queja taking one thing with another → considerándolo todo junto ..., considerándolo en conjunto ... we can take it → lo aguantamos or soportamos todo I can't take any more! → ¡no aguanto más!, ¡no soporto más! I won't take any nonsense! → ¡no quiero oír más tonterías! will you take sth before you go? → ¿quieres tomar algo antes de irte? "to be taken three times a day" → a tomar tres veces al día "not to be taken (internally)" → para uso externo to take drugs (narcotics) → tomar drogas he took no food for four days → estuvo cuatro días sin comer don't forget to take your medicine → no te olvides de tomar la medicina he takes sugar in his tea → toma or pone azúcar en el té to take a tablet → tomar una pastilla to take tea (with sb) (o.f.) → tomar té (con algn) to take against sb, take a dislike to sb → tomar antipatía a algn to take fright → asustarse (at de) to be taken ill → ponerse enfermo, enfermar he took great pleasure in teasing her → se regodeaba tomándole el pelo I do not take any satisfaction in knowing that → no experimento satisfacción alguna sabiendo que ... to be taken with sth/sb (= attracted) he's very taken with her → le gusta mucho I'm not at all taken with the idea → la idea no me gusta nada or no me hace gracia I'll take him apart! → ¡le rompo la cara! she took her children away from the school → sacó a los niños del colegio "not to be taken away" (on book) → para consulta en sala the argument took away from the joy of the occasion → la discusión aguó la ocasión putting butter on it takes away from the taste of the bread itself → añadiendo mantequilla se estropea lo que es el sabor del pan can you take him back home? → ¿le puedes acompañar a su casa? the company took him back → la compañía volvió a emplearlo or lo restituyó a su puesto she took back everything she had said about him → retiró todo lo que había dicho de él I take it all back! → ¡retiro lo dicho! to take back one's promise → retirar su promesa it takes you back, doesn't it? → ¡cuántos recuerdos (de los buenos tiempos)! see also peg A1 to take in lodgers → alquilar habitaciones we took in Florence on the way → pasamos por Florencia en el camino to take in a movie → ir al cine that child takes everything in → a esa criatura no se le escapa nada it's so incredible you can't quite take it in → es tan increíble que es difícil de asimilar he took the situation in at a glance → comprendió la situación con una sola mirada the five o'clock train has been taken off → han cancelado el tren de las cinco she took 50p off → descontó or hizo un descuento de 50 peniques they took him off to lunch → se lo llevaron a comer she was taken off to hospital → la llevaron al hospital to take o.s. off → irse, largarse I'm going to take two weeks off at Christmas → me voy a tomar dos semanas de vacaciones en Navidad he has to work weekends but takes time off in lieu → tiene que trabajar los fines de semana pero le dan días libres a cambio they took two names off the list → quitaron or tacharon dos nombres de la lista she's been taken off the case → le han hecho dejar el caso to take sth off sb → quitar algo a algn take your hands off me! → ¡no me toques! her new hairstyle takes ten years off her → ese peinado nuevo le quita diez años de encima when she invited Hayley to come and stay for a week she took on more than she bargained for → cuando invitó a Hayley a quedarse una semana, no sabía lo que le esperaba I felt I could take on the whole world → sentía que me podía comer el mundo he took the dog out for a walk → sacó el perro a pasear can I take you out to lunch/the cinema? → ¿le puedo invitar a almorzar/al cine? to take out insurance → hacerse un seguro don't take it out on me! → ¡no te desquites conmigo! it takes it out of you → te deja hecho pedazos he took over the business from his father → se hizo cargo del negocio cuando lo dejó su padre to take over sb's job → sustituir a algn when the new government takes over → cuando el nuevo gobierno entre en poder to take over from sb (in job, temporarily) → hacer de suplente para algn; (permanently) → reemplazar a algn they want me to take over as editor when Evans leaves → quieren que reemplace a Evans como editor cuando éste marche can you take over for a few minutes, while I go to the Post Office? → ¿puedes cubrirme unos minutos mientras voy a Correos? she didn't take kindly to the idea → no le gustó or no le hizo gracia la idea they took to one another on the spot → se congeniaron al instante I didn't much take to him → no me resultó simpático she took to telling everyone that → le dio por contar a todos que ... to take to drink → darse a la bebida see also heel 1 see also hill, wood see also arm 2 see also slack it takes up a lot of his time → le dedica mucho tiempo he's very taken up with his work → está absorto en el trabajo he's very taken up with her → está ocupado con ella see also post 3 see also residence I shall take the matter up with the manager → hablaré del asunto con el gerente I'll take you up on your offer → te acepto la oferta I'll take you up on that some day → algún día recordaré lo que has dicho he took up with a woman half his wife's age → se juntó con una mujer que tenía la mitad de la edad de su mujer to take it upon o.s. to do sth → atreverse a hacer algo She held out the apple and he took it → Elle lui tendit la pomme et il la prit. Let me take your coat → Laissez-moi prendre votre manteau. She took her in her arms → Elle la prit dans ses bras. to take sb's hand → prendre la main de qn He took her hand and kissed it → Il prit sa main et y déposa un baiser. to take sb by the hand → prendre qn par la main to take sth from [+ drawer, box, cupboard, pocket] → prendre qch dans He took a plate from the cupboard → Il a pris une assiette dans le placard. to take sth from sb → prendre qch à qn to take a lot out of sb (= exhaust) → vider qn Having loads of children takes it out of you → Avoir beaucoup d'enfants vous vide. Someone's taken my pen → Quelqu'un a pris mon stylo. The burglars took everything they could carry → Les cambrioleurs ont pris tout ce qu'ils pouvaient emporter. Are you taking your new camera? → Tu prends ton nouvel appareil photo? to take sth with one → emporter qch Don't take anything valuable with you → N'emportez pas d'objets de valeur. to take sth somewhere → emporter qch quelque part Do you take your exercise books home? → Vous emportez vos cahiers chez vous? to take clothes to the cleaner's → donner des vêtements à nettoyer I'm going to take my coat to the cleaner's → Je vais donner mon manteau à nettoyer. He goes to London every week, but he never takes me → Il va à Londres toutes les semaines, mais il ne m'emmène jamais. to take sb somewhere → emmener qn quelque part She took me to a Mexican restaurant → Elle m'a emmené dans un restaurant mexicain. She was taken to hospital → On l'a emmenée à l'hôpital. A bus takes them to school → Un bus les emmène à l'école. to take sb home → ramener qn He offered to take her home in a taxi → Il a proposé de la ramener en taxi. to take the dog for a walk → sortir le chien It's your turn to take the dog for a walk → C'est ton tour de sortir le chien. My work takes me abroad a lot → Mon travail m'amène souvent à l'étranger. A combination of talent and hard work have taken her to the top → Le talent et le travail combinés l'ont amenée au sommet. She took the train to New York → Elle prit le train pour New York. Take the first street on the left → Prenez la première à gauche. You need to take a holiday → Tu as besoin de prendre des vacances. She was too tired to take a shower → Elle était trop fatiguée pour prendre une douche. "I'll take the grilled tuna," Mary Ann told the waiter → "Je vais prendre le thon grillé" dit Mary Ann au serveur. I used to take the Guardian → J'avais l'habitude de prendre le Guardian. to take a rest → prendre du repos to take a look → jeter un coup d'œil to take five (mainly US) (= have a break) → prendre cinq minutes That takes a lot of courage → Cela demande beaucoup de courage. It takes a lot of money to do that → Il faut beaucoup d'argent pour faire ça., Cela demande beaucoup d'argent de faire ça. It takes about an hour → Ça prend environ une heure. The sauce takes about ten minutes to make → La sauce prend à peu près dix minutes à faire. It won't take long → Ça ne prendra pas longtemps. It took him twenty hours to reach the house → Cela lui a pris vingt heures pour arriver à la maison. take it or leave it → c'est à prendre ou à laisser to take sth lying down [+ insult, criticism, attack] → accepter qch sans broncher She's reluctant to take all the credit → Elle rechigne à s'attribuer tout le mérite. Dr Albright isn't taking any more patients → Dr Albright ne prend plus de patient. Some universities would have to take more students than they wanted → Certaines universités devraient alors prendre plus d'étudiants qu'elles ne le veulent. Christie took the gold medal in the 100 metres to take pride in sth → s'enorgueillir de qch to take great pride in sth → tirer grande fierté de qch, s'enorgueillir de qch They take great pride in their heritage → Ils tirent grande fierté de leur héritage culturel., Ils s'enorgueillissent de leur héritage culturel. to take great comfort in sth → tirer un grand réconfort de qch Have you taken your driving test yet? → Est-ce que tu as déjà passé ton permis de conduire? I decided to take French instead of German → J'ai décidé de faire du français au lieu de l'allemand. Do you take sugar in your tea? → Vous prenez du sucre dans votre thé? He can't take being criticized → Il ne supporte pas d'être critiqué. I can't take any more → Je n'en supporterai pas davantage. What size do you take? (in clothes) → Quelle taille faites-vous?; (in shoes) → Quelle pointure faites-vous? I take it that ... → Je suppose que ... to take sb for sth (= mistake) → prendre qn pour qch I took him for a doctor → Je l'ai pris pour un docteur. How did he take the news? → Comment a-t-il pris la nouvelle? to take sth seriously → prendre qch au sérieux to take sth badly → mal prendre qch Her husband took the news badly → Son mari a mal pris la nouvelle. Take this office, for example → Prenons ce bureau, par exemple ... Taken in isolation these statements can be dangerous fallacies → Prises séparément, ces affirmations peuvent être de dangereuses contre-vérités. Let's take one thing at a time BUT Une chose à la fois. I take your point → Je comprends votre point de vue. if you take my meaning → si vous voyez ce que je veux dire The firm took £100,000 in bookings → La firme a fait 100 000 livres en réservations. to take sb for sth → enseigner qch à qn The teacher that took us for economics was Miss Humphrey → Le professeur qui nous enseignait l'économie était Miss Humprey. to take sth away from sb → prendre qch à qn He took the book away with him → Il a emporté le livre. hot meals to take away (British) → des plats chauds à emporter I'll take you away for a few days in the countryside → Je t'emmènerai quelques jours à la campagne. What's 35 take away 10? → Ça fait combien 35 moins dix? The rain didn't take away from the excitement of the day → La pluie n'a rien retiré à l'enthousiasme entourant cette journée. It took me back to being five years old → Cela m'a ramené à mes cinq ans. It took me back ten years → Cela m'a ramené dix ans en arrière. He took down the details in his notebook → Il a pris tous les détails dans son carnet., Il a noté tous les détails dans son carnet. to be taken in by sth → se laisser prendre à qch I wasn't going to be taken in by his charm → Je n'allais pas me laisser prendre à son charme. The plane took off twenty minutes late → L'avion a décollé avec vingt minutes de retard. Take your coat off → Enlevez votre manteau. She took off her spectacles → Elle retira ses lunettes. Martinez was taken off to jail → Martinez fut emmené en prison. I knew I couldn't take him on → Je savais que je ne pouvais pas me mesurer à lui. His writing took on a greater intensity BUT Son écriture a gagné en intensité. Jessica's parents took her out for the day → Les parents de Jessica l'ont emmenée pour la journée. He took her out for a meal → Il l'a emmenée au restaurant. He took her out to the theatre → Il l'a emmenée au théâtre. I'll take over now → Je vais prendre la suite maintenant. to take over from sb → prendre la suite de qn, remplacer qn I won't take up any more of your time → Je ne prendrai pas plus de votre temps., Je n'abuserai pas plus de votre temps. I thought I'd take up fishing → Je pensais me mettre à la pêche. David was taking up where he had left off → David reprenait depuis l'endroit où il s'était arrêté. Sam took up with a widow 21 years younger → Sam se mit à fréquenter une veuve de 21 ans sa cadette. takevb: pret <took>, ptp <taken> ? to take sb somewhere I’ll take you to the station → ich bringe Sie zum Bahnhof; I’ll take you (with me) to the party → ich nehme dich zur Party mit; he took me a new way to the coast → er ist mit mir eine neue Strecke zur Küste gefahren; to take somebody to the cinema → jdn ins Kino mitnehmen; I’ll take you for a meal (Brit) → ich lade Sie zum Essen ein; to take somebody on a trip → mit jdm eine Reise machen; this bus will take you to the town hall → der Bus fährt zum Rathaus; this road will take you to Paris → diese Straße führt or geht nach Paris; if it won’t take you out of your way → wenn es kein Umweg für Sie ist; what takes you to London this time? → was führt Sie diesmal nach London?; his ability took him to the top of his profession → seine Begabung brachte ihn in seinem Beruf bis an die Spitze ? to be taken … to be taken sick or ill → krank werden; she has been taken ill with pneumonia → sie hat eine Lungenentzündung bekommen ? take it or leave it (you can) take it or leave it → ja oder nein(, ganz wie Sie wollen); I can take it or leave it → ich mache mir nicht besonders viel daraus ? it takes it takes five hours/men … → man braucht or benötigt fünf Stunden/Leute …; it takes me five hours … → ich brauche fünf Stunden …; it took ten men to complete the job → zehn Leute waren nötig or es wurden zehn Leute benötigt, um diese Arbeit zu erledigen; it took him two hours to write a page, it took two hours for him to write a page → er brauchte zwei Stunden, um eine Seite zu schreiben; it took a lot of courage/intelligence → dazu gehörte viel Mut/Intelligenz; it takes more than that to make me angry → deswegen werde ich noch lange nicht wütend; it takes time → es braucht (seine) Zeit, es dauert (eine Weile); it took a long time → es hat lange gedauert; it took me a long time → ich habe lange gebraucht; it won’t take long → das dauert nicht lange; it won’t take long to convince him → er ist schnell or leicht überzeugt; that’ll take some explaining → das wird schwer zu erklären sein; it takes some believing → das kann man kaum glauben ? what it takes she’s got what it takes (inf) → sie ist nicht ohne (inf), → die bringts (sl); (= is capable also) → sie kann was (inf); it’s a difficult job but he’s got what it takes (inf) → es ist eine schwierige Arbeit, aber er hat das Zeug dazu ? take aback vt sep → überraschen; I was completely taken aback → mir hatte es völlig den Atem verschlagen, ich war völlig perplex ? take after vi +prep obj → nachschlagen (+dat); (in looks) → ähneln (+dat), → ähnlich sein (+dat) ? take along vt sep → mitnehmen ? take apart vt sep → auseinandernehmen; (= dismantle also) → zerlegen; (fig inf) person, team etc → auseinandernehmen ? take (a)round vt sep → mitnehmen; (= show around) → herumführen ? take aside vt sep → beiseitenehmen ? take away vi to take away from something → etw schmälern; from merit, reputation also → einer Sache (dat) → Abbruch tun; from worth → etw mindern or verringern; from pleasure, fun etc → etw beeinträchtigen vt sep ? take back vt sep ? take down vt sep ? take home vt sep £400 per week → netto verdienen or bekommen ? take in vt sep ? take off vi ? take on vi ? take out vt sep ? take over vi (= assume government) → an die Macht kommen; (military junta etc) → die Macht ergreifen; (party) → an die Regierung kommen; (new boss etc) → die Leitung übernehmen; (in a place: tourists, guests etc) → sich breitmachen (inf); to take over (from somebody) → jdn ablösen; can you take over? → können Sie mich/ihn etc ablösen?; he’s ill so I have to take over → da er krank ist, muss ich (für ihn) einspringen; his wife has taken over completely → seine Frau führt das Regiment; the next shift takes over at 6 o’clock → die nächste Schicht übernimmt um 6 Uhr; the Martians have taken over → die Marsmenschen haben die Erde/Stadt etc besetzt vt sep ? take round vt sep (esp Brit) ? take to vi +prep obj ? take up vi (= continue) (person) → weitermachen; chapter 3 takes up where chapter 1 left off → das dritte Kapitel schließt thematisch ans erste an vt sep ? take upon vt +prep obj he took that job upon himself → er hat das völlig ungebeten getan; he took it upon himself to answer for me → er meinte, er müsse für mich antworten ? take up with vi +prep obj person → sich anfreunden mit; to take up with bad company → in schlechte Gesellschaft geraten take[teɪk] (took (vb: pt) (taken (pp))) let me take your coat → posso prenderti il cappotto? to take sb's hand → prendere qn per mano to take sb's arm → appoggiarsi al braccio di qn to take sb by the throat → afferrare qn alla gola he must be taken alive → dev'essere preso vivo to take the train → prendere il treno take the first on the left → prenda la prima a sinistra he hasn't taken any food for four days → non mangia nulla da quattro giorni to take notes → prendere appunti take 6 from 9 (Math) → 9 meno 6 he took £5 off the price → ha fatto uno sconto di 5 sterline to take a trick (Cards) → fare una presa "to be taken three times a day" (Med) → "da prendersi tre volte al dì" to take cold/fright → prendere freddo/paura to be taken ill → avere un malore I took the children with me → ho portato i bambini con me to take for a walk (child, dog) → portare a fare una passeggiata it took me two hours to do it, I took two hours to do it → mi ci sono volute due ore per farlo it won't take long → non ci vorrà molto tempo she's got what it takes to do the job → ha i requisiti necessari per quel lavoro it takes a brave man to do that → ci vuole del coraggio per farlo it takes a lot of time/courage → occorre or ci vuole molto tempo/coraggio that will take some explaining → non sarà facile da spiegare it takes some believing → bisogna fare uno sforzo per crederci he didn't take my advice → non mi ha ascoltato how did he take the news? → come ha preso la notizia? please take a seat → prego, si sieda is this seat taken? → è occupato (questo posto)? it's worth taking a chance → vale la pena di correre il rischio it's £50, take it or leave it → sono 50 sterline, prendere o lasciare can you take it from here? (handing over task) → puoi andare avanti tu? you must take us as you find us → devi prenderci per quel che siamo the hall will take 200 people → nel salone c'è posto per 200 persone the bus takes 60 passengers → l'autobus porta 60 persone it will take at least five litres → contiene almeno cinque litri the professor is taking the French course himself → sarà il professore stesso a fare or tenere il corso di francese I only took Russian for one year → ho fatto russo solo per un anno I took the driving test → ho fatto or sostenuto l'esame di guida how old do you take him to be? → quanti anni pensi che abbia? I took him for a doctor → l'ho preso per un dottore I took him to be foreign → l'ho preso per uno straniero I take it that ... → suppongo che... may I take it that ...? → allora posso star certo che...? take it from me! → credimi! take D.H. Lawrence, for example → prendete D.H. Lawrence, per esempio she can't take the heat → non sopporta il caldo I can't take any more! → non ce la faccio più! I won't take no for an answer → non accetterò una risposta negativa or un rifiuto I'm quite taken with the idea → l'idea non mi dispiace per niente his bad temper took away from the pleasure of our party → ci ha guastato un po' la festa con il suo cattivo umore can you take him back home? → puoi riaccompagnarlo a casa? it takes me back to my childhood (fig) → mi ha fatto tornare alla mia infanzia we took in Florence on the way → abbiamo visitato anche Firenze durante il viaggio he took the situation in at a glance → ha afferrato subito la situazione to be taken in by appearances → farsi ingannare dalle apparenze she was taken off to the hospital → è stata portata all'ospedale to take o.s. off → andarsene to take sb off sth (remove from duty, job) → allontanare qn da qc they took him off the Financial Page (journalist) → gli hanno tolto la pagina economica he took the dog out for a walk → ha portato il cane a passeggio can I take you out to lunch? → posso invitarti a pranzo fuori? redecorating a house takes it out of you → è spossante ridipingere una casa don't take it out on me! → non prendertela con me! to take over from sb → prendere le consegne da qn, subentrare a qn to take over sb's job → subentrare a qn nel lavoro the tourists have taken over Florence (fig) → i turisti hanno preso d'assalto Firenze I just can't take to my friend's husband → il marito della mia amica non riesce proprio a piacermi she didn't take kindly to the idea → l'idea non le è piaciuta per niente to take to doing sth → prendere or cominciare a fare qc to take up with sb → fare amicizia con qn she took up with bad company → si è messa a frequentare cattive compagnie it will take up the whole of our Sunday → ci porterà via tutta la domenica he's very taken up with his work → è molto preso dal suo lavoro he's very taken up with her → non fa che pensare a lei to take up a career as → intraprendere la carriera di take(teik) verb – past tense took (tuk) : past participle taken – take→ يَأْخُدُ, يَأْخُذُ svézt se, vzít, vzít si tage nehmen, stehlen αρπάζω, παίρνω ir, llevar, robar, tomar ottaa, viedä prendre odnijeti, putovati, ukrasti portare, prendere ･･･を持っていく, ･･･を盗む, 手に取る ...을 가져가다, 가져가다, 가지고 가다 dragen, nemen ta wziąć, zabrać apanhar, levar, pegar, roubar брать, нести, украсть ta, ta med ขโมย, นั่งรถ, นำไป almak, götürmek lái, lấy, lấy cắp 偷, 拿, 拿取 - Take the first turn on your right (US) Take the first turning on your right (UK) - How long will it take to get to ...? - Which line should I take for ...? - Please take me to the downtown area (US) Please take me to the city centre (UK) - Which road do I take for ...? - Please take my luggage to a taxi - May I take it over to the light? - I'll take it - How long does the tour take? - Is it OK to take pictures here? - Would you take a picture of us, please? - Can we take lessons? - Do you take credit cards? - How much should I take? - I can't take aspirin - How should I take it? - Take care - We'll take the set menu

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Got no clue why this keeps happening. But I have once again picked up a stalker. A few years back, when we lived in a quiet neighborhood with lots of trees and a children’s park, I would run every evening on the sidewalk because it was a perfect 1.25 miles once around and along the way, it took me past my parents’ house. Then some rando started following me. One evening, when my son and I were walking home from my parents’ place, this guy pulled over to talk to us. It was already dark, and we both got a creepy vibe, so we ran and he proceeded to chase us. We had to hide in the back yard of a neighbor’s house so that he wouldn’t follow us all the way home. I continued to run because I love running, but I adjusted my time to an earlier part of the evening and my roommate, a wonderful guy, starting walking with me. He would hang out in the park so that, in addition to my parents’ house, he would be a safety checkpoint. I always keep my phone on me, in case I fall or encounter rabid dogs… or creepy rando stalkers. Then one day, the guy showed up again. My roommate texted from the park, warning me that he saw the truck. I continued to run, now on alert when, sure enough, I rounded the corner into the darkest park of my route, to find the truck parked but empty. Seconds later, the guy stepped out of some shrubs and addressed me. I leapt back, tripped on a tree root, went sprawling, but thankfully, got the fuck away. I ran to the closest house and banged on the door. The young couple who lived there came out and we all watched together as the man proceeded to hide behind the same shrubs he’d recently leapt out of. I called the police. I took a picture of the guy’s license plate. Then, the couple and I witnessed as the creepy stalker jumped into his truck and drove away. The couple waited with me until the police arrived. My roommate came to join us and we all gave statements. Slowly, I realized that in the fall, I had injured my shoulder and my knee. I was actively bleeding and hadn’t even keyed to that reality. The next day, I went to take photographs of the spot where I fell and the stand of trees where the guy had hidden, in order to share it with our neighborhood watch. And there, stapled to the utility pole, was a printed note that read, “Sorry I scared you and made you fall.” Oh so he’s polite fucking stalker. The police ran the plates, only to discover that the man had borrowed a friend’s truck and drove it from a neighboring town. The friend refused to give up the stalker’s identity. We ran the story in our neighborhood watch newsletter, but after a time, life returning to what passes for normal, and the stalker dude never returned. Flash forward five years. I now live in an apartment across town with my fiancé. We don’t have a neighborhood watch, but our complex is peaceful and quiet, with a fitness center and access to nice running and biking paths. Back when I was running on an elliptical in our fitness center, before COVID restrictions shut it down, this guy began to show up at 6:30 a.m. when I was beginning my morning workout. I didn’t think anything of it. I usually went to the fitness center at that hour because I didn’t have to compete with anyone for the elliptical and I could watch Cupcake Wars on mute while listening to kpop. So when this guy started showing up to use the treadmill, I continued on my merry way, the only change to my routine being the addition of headphones so I could listen to BTS and the guy could listen to the sound of his own breathing, or whatever. But then he started trying to talk to me. By now, I was running 7-minute miles on this elliptical and would routinely top the machine out. I was practically flying. I was not there to make friends. I would tell him, “Hey, I’ve got twelve minutes to go here. I can’t really talk.” Yet he persisted. So I adjusted my schedule, coming in at 5:45 a.m. so that I would be well clear of the gym by the time he (or anyone else) arrived. But oh no… then he switched, too. And no. Before you ask, I did not report him. For many reasons, but for one, I didn’t believe anything would happen if I did. It’s a fitness center accessible by all residents. He could simply call it coincidence that he was showing up at the same time as me, and besides, maybe past experiences have made me paranoid. Therefore I stopped visiting the fitness center and started street running instead. Then one morning, after a run, I was sitting on my third floor patio having coffee with my cat. At 7 a.m. on a weekend, this asshole comes to the sidewalk like he’s fucking Romeo and asks if I would like to go for a walk. Mind you, people in the apartments below us are sleeping, and he’s yelling up to me like some idiot in an 80s movie. I told him flat-out, No, I did not want to go for a walk with him, ever. Also of note: we were in the first weeks of COVID lockdown. I wasn’t even seeing my parents or my child at the time, and this imbecile wants to take a walk? All along, I had been telling my fiancé about this guy and how he’d been just not-so-randomly showing up. With growing concern, my fiancé told me to point him out the next time I saw him. Which is funny, because the next time I saw him, the guy showed up at our fucking door. I’m an agoraphobic. I don’t answer doors for people I don’t know. Both my fiancé and I work from home, so on this particular morning, my fiancé answered the door. My fiancé is tall. His shoulders are as broad as Kim Seokjin’s. As a former-Air Force sharpshooter, he carries himself with the easy confidence of a person who can and will get stuff done. Yet this creepy stalker guy stood in our door, taken aback for certain, but quickly asked for me BY NAME (I’d never told him my name) and fed my fiancé this story about wanting to submit a letter to the editor at the newspaper where I work (I’d never told him where I work), and he thought maybe I might be able to help him do that. My fiancé told him to look that up on line and shut the door in his face. You would think that would be the end of it, right? That this weaselly man, having seen my very tall, very intimidating fiancé, would back the hell off. Alas, no. The other day when I was running, this guy approached me in the parking lot. At first, I didn’t see him because I was running and had my earbuds in. But he stepped from behind a car and addressed me by name. I believe I actually yelled, “Oh hell no,” and ran away. I run fast, by the way, and I didn’t look back. I rushed upstairs, told my fiancé, but of course, by the time we investigated, the guy had vanished. Here’s the thing. I’m’ fucking sick of having to rearrange my routine to accommodate for this wacko. I should be able to workout, run, and have coffee on my patio in peace. I have made it super clear that I do not want to be friends. And I keep thinking about the time he showed up at our apartment. What would have happened if my fiancé hadn’t been home? I wouldn’t have answered the door, but that is hardly the point. This guy SHOWED UP AT MY DOOR. He knows my name and where I live and where I work. Like… at this point, I’m not being paranoid. And it’s a fucking problem. One that I feel powerless to fix. Here’s why: The police can’t do anything unless he physically harms me. The burden of proof for harassment falls to me, and though I’ve documented all of the times he’s invaded my space, this man could simply say I’m being paranoid, and he’s being friendly. The best the police can do is issue a warning. My fiancé can and absolutely will deal with the guy. But the thing is, it fucking sucks that he would have to. I am a grown-ass woman trying to run in peace in our neighborhood. I should be able to do so without some weirdo trying to make contact with me during quarantine. Many helpful people have suggested that I carry mace or a weapon with me while I run. I should not fucking have to. I’m not running in the Rockies here; I’m unlikely to encounter wild dogs or bears. And even if I were to come face to face with a panther, be real. No amount of knives or pepper spray would even that score. The reality is that the most dangerous thing I’m likely to encounter in this year of 2021, in my serene tree-lined little suburb, is a man. A stupid, entitled, oddly-fixated man. Another thing that infuriates me is that running helps me cope with depression and anxiety, but because I have to think of this man crossing my path every time I run, it actually causes stress rather than alleviating it. I guess it’s good I can run really fast. That’s probably the only defense I realistically have.

If you’re staying Downtown on a San Diego vacation, you’re well-placed to enjoy many of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. The fun things to do in Downtown San Diego on this list are also within walking distance of each other. (Balboa Park and the world-famous San Diego Zoo are just a couple of miles away by car, trolley, or taxi.) You can save on tickets, tours, and hotels through my affiliations. If you make purchases through the links in this post, I may be compensated. 1. Walk the Embarcadero The Embarcadero refers to an entertainment area along the San Diego Bay that pays tribute to the city’s maritime culture. The central focus is the cruise ship terminals, but the mostly pedestrianized area encompasses a number of the individual tourist sites I’m about to recommend here. The Embarcadero runs from the shops and restaurants of Seaport Village on the south end to Little Italy and Waterfront Park on the north end. However, you can start your scenic walk at the airport by crossing to the bay side of North Harbor Drive. This is the main street you see after exiting the airport. Walk toward the tall buildings and cruise ship terminals, and you’ll pass some San Diego attractions mentioned below along the way. It’s a lovely way to stretch your legs during a layover in likely some Southern California sunshine. Plus, sometimes the people watching is fun, with the occasional street performer entertaining tourists and guests. 2. Visit the USS Midway Museum Located in the heart of the Embarcadero, the focus of the USS Midway Museum is the Midway itself. It’s a vintage Navy aircraft carrier that was the largest ship globally until 1955 and was decommissioned in 1992. It’s permanently docked now at Navy Pier. Today, visitors may walk throughout the aircraft carrier, either as part of a guided tour, on a self-guided audio tour, or even unguided by anything other than eyesight and wonder. It is one of the most unique museums in the world and especially meaningful to families with members who have served in our nation’s military. Plus, kids love climbing into the helicopters and jets on the top deck of this San Diego museum. SAVE ON ADMISSIONVisit with my discounted price. The USS Midway Museum is also included on the Go San Diego sightseeing pass. 3. Board the Maritime Museum of San Diego Ships One of the first attractions you’ll encounter if walking south on the Embarcadero from the airport is the Maritime Museum of San Diego. It’s located on the San Diego Bay in front of the Waterfront Park, near the corner of W. Ash Street and N. Harbor Drive. This famous museum features a world-class collection of original and replica sailing ships, steam-powered boats, and submarines that you can board to explore. My favorite activity there is climbing into the B-39 Soviet-era submarine because it’s crazy to see how sailors existed in such tiny quarters. The museum is also well-known for its ability to restore old ships, themed sailing tours on the bay, and for being an excellent showcase of maritime history. The most famous ship is the 150-year-old Star of India, docked right next to the sidewalk. You can’t miss it. SAVE ON ADMISSIONYou can buy museum-only tickets on Trusted Tours for a slight discount. This fun outdor attraction is also included on the Go San Diego sightseeing pass. 4. Snap a Photo with Unconditional Surrender Next to the USS Midway Museum, you’ll find the enormous and slightly controversial Unconditional Surrender statue, and it’s part of a series of sculptures by Seward Johnson. The statue resembles a photograph of a sailor and woman kissing in 1945 after the WWII defeat of the Japanese. The photo was also on the cover of LIFE Magazine. (It later emerged that the woman being kissed didn’t know the sailor who kissed her.) 5. Browse Seaport Village and The Headquarters Seaport Village is an outdoor, bayside shopping and dining complex where Downtown San Diego hits the bay’s waterfront near the San Diego Convention Center. It has over 50 shops and 13 restaurants. They also periodically host live music and other entertainment events — you’ll see quite a few excellent buskers here. Highlights include the historic carousel featuring animals hand-carved in 1895, Kite Flite (you can fly kites in the adjacent park), and the San Pasqual wine tasting room. Behind Seaport Village is The Headquarters, a revitalized entertainment area inside a former jail home to lovely boutiques and great restaurants. We like the street tacos at Puesto. Entrance to Seaport Village and The Headquarters is free. 6. Sightsee from San Diego Bay Tours There are many ways that visitors may tour San Diego Bay. Perhaps the most well-known are harbor cruises, some even including sunset dinners and champagne brunches. Below are the most popular San Diego Bay tours to consider. - SEAL Tours: The amphibious bus-boats with a driver that narrates the tour start off on land and plunge into the water. They are a hit with kids, especially. - Patriot Jet Boat: It’s a high-speed, 30-minute thrill ride with spins, tricks, and turns at speeds of up to 50mph (owned by Flagship Cruises). - Hornblower Cruises: Book for lovely narrated harbor cruises, dinner cruises, champagne brunch cruises, and whale watching. - Flagship Cruises: A San Diego-based company, Flagship Cruises is the local’s choice for narrated harbor cruises, dinner cruises, champagne brunch cruises, and whale watching tours in San Diego, - Speed Boat Adventures: Drive a mini speedboat as part of a narrated group bay tour (fun), though note that you would catch this over at Harbor Island closer to the airport. LIMITED TIME OFFERSave $5 per person on a 1-hour harbor cruise AND $7 per person on a 2-hour harbor cruise with Flagship Cruises & Events. Get your tickets. 7. Take the Ferry to Coronado Island It is possible to visit Coronado and its beautiful beaches from Downtown San Diego without a car. Take the 15-minute ride on the Coronado Ferry. Service each way runs seven days a week, every hour from morning until evening — check the schedule for exact times. You may bring a bicycle (free), but only service animals are allowed. The current 1-way ticket price is $5, with kids three and under free. The Coronado Ferry departs from the Broadway Pier or the San Diego Convention Center. On the Coronado side, the Ferry Landing departure and arrivals area is also a fun complex of shops and restaurants. In the summer, a shuttle takes guests from the Ferry Landing to the other end of Orange Avenue near Hotel del Coronado, which is the perfect place to spend a day on a Coronado beach. See also: 20 Best Things to Do in Coronado 8. Play at Waterfront Park Waterfront Park makes for an excellent stop between touring Little Italy (you could grab a slice of pizza or sandwich to-go there) and the Embarcadero. It’s a large public park, with our historic courthouse in the center, that features water fountain jets that kids (and adults) can cool down in, reflecting pools, grassy areas, and state-of-the-art play equipment for kids. Summer movie nights are held here on the lawn, too. It’s one of the best free things to do in Downtown San Diego especially if you have kids with you. 9. Shop and Dine in Little Italy A several-block area of Downtown San Diego, just blocks from the waterfront Embarcadero, was originally the home of Italian-American fishermen and their families. Today, Little Italy is an upscale, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood that has been dramatically gentrified in recent years to feature some of San Diego’s best restaurants, trendy cocktail bars, and boutique shopping. A variety of events happen throughout the year, including the Saturday morning Little Italy Mercato Farmer’s Market. I highly recommend a meal here at any of this list of Little Italy San Diego restaurants. You can pop into the new Little Italy Food Hall or can take away subs and slices of pizza from places like Mona Lisa Italian Foods. Take your meal back to your hotel, picnic at Waterfront Park, or enjoy it in one of the piazzas. 10. Go Hands-on at the New Children’s Museum The goal of the New Children’s Museum is to inspire creativity and critical thinking in kids as they interact with art. Kids love the hands-on exhibits and drop-in art studios where they can create something with clay, paint, blocks, bubbles, and other crafting materials. This fabulous San Diego museum is one of the best things to do in Downtown San Diego with kids (especially if they are young). The Bean Sprouts cafe inside is a national brand of cafes designed for families to eat playfully, with some good-for-you items shaped like flowers, funny faces, and more. 11. Explore the Museum of Contemporary Art The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, otherwise known as MCASD, focuses on works of art in all media from 1950 to the present day. Exhibits emphasize the largely binational nature of San Diego with its location adjacent to the Mexican border. Be sure to check the schedule for current exhibitions and public programs. It’s also located in a historic building, the old Santa Fe Depot baggage terminal. 12. Attend a San Diego Padres Baseball Game or Tour PETCO Park The San Diego Padres have been playing Major League Baseball in San Diego since 1969. When their brand new downtown baseball stadium, PETCO Park, opened in 2004, going to a Padres home game became even more of an attraction for those who aren’t necessarily Padres fans or even fans of baseball generally. The stadium itself, its restaurants, and other activities have become an attraction. It’s a family-friendly environment, and tickets can be bought directly from the Padres’ ticket office either in person or online. Regular season Major League Baseball games are typically played from April through September. Be sure to check the Padres’ schedule to see when they are playing. Outside of Padres games, a guided tour of PETCO Park also enables visitors to go behind the scenes to see the Padres’ dugout, the press box, and more. 13. Drive a Crazy GoCar GoCar Tours offers visitors the opportunity to rent a sporty go-cart style vehicle to see the city, complete with GPS audio directions to guide you where you want to go. I enjoyed the one-hour Downtown and Gaslamp Tour with a friend recently, and it’s a ton of fun, albeit a little bit of a bumpy drive. San Diego is just one of several cities in the United States and Europe where this service is available. GoCar Tours offers an all-day rental or a three-hour Point Loma and Beaches tour. Book your tour. 14. Shop, Dine, and Drink in the Historic Gaslamp Quarter Redeveloped in the 1980s, the Gaslamp Quarter is a 16-block area of Downtown known as one of San Diego’s premier sports for restaurants, bars, clubs, nightlife, music. The odds are that if visiting Downtown San Diego, you’ll pass through it anyway. It is the best area in town for dancing and nightlife, but there are also over 100 boutiques and 200 restaurants. 15. Go from Land to Sea on a SEAL Tour How about the thrill of a combined land and sea tour? Narrated SEAL Tours allows you to see the sights along the streets of San Diego. Then, the amphibious bus-boat vehicle plunges into the waters of the San Diego Bay. The signature cartoon seal painted on the side is appropriate because you’re likely to see seals and sea lions. SEAL Tours depart from both Seaport Village and further up the Embarcadero. They’re a must-do when visiting Downtown San Diego with kids. See also: 55 Things to Do in San Diego with Kids 16. Hop on and off the Old Town Trolley The Old Town Trolley is among the most longstanding, well-known ways to tour San Diego. Their signature orange and green vehicles that look like vintage San Francisco-style streetcars have been familiar sites around town for years. Don’t let the name fool you. The sightseeing tour routes cover much more of San Diego than Old Town San Diego. It’s possible to join the tour at several stops in Downtown, including at Seaport Village, the Embarcadero, and in the Gaslamp Quarter. Some tours even go as far north as La Jolla Cove. Tickets come with unlimited hop-on, hop-off privileges, too. 17. Go Further Afield with the MTS Trolley The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System operates a great public trolley system that expands your exploration of San Diego well beyond Downtown without a car and in a cost-effective, convenient way. Trolley stops dot several locations in Downtown San Diego. On the trolley, you can hop on the lines to head north to Old Town or Little Italy; northeast to Mission Valley for shopping, concerts, and other events at SDCCU Stadium; and even south to the U.S.–Mexico border if you want to take a day trip to Tijuana. If you do the latter, be sure to have Global Entry or Sentri for expedited customs lines. 18. Attend a Fabulous San Diego Symphony Concert The San Diego Symphony has been a beloved local institution for over 100 years. They play in Copley Symphony Hall, an easy walk for anyone staying in a Downtown San Diego hotel. But, this isn’t your average symphony as they’ve done a fantastic job of evolving with the times. The Symphony hosts the Summer Pops in summer, a really fun outdoor family-friendly activity on the bay. Programming for the Summer Pops varies from concerts set to Disney movies to performances with famous musicians. It’s cool, and I highly suggest it if you’re visiting with the kids (or without) during its season. Details about upcoming concerts and events are available on the San Diego Symphony’s website. 19. Browse the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market happens every Saturday from 8 a.m.–3 p.m. on a harborside dock on the northern edge of Seaport Village. It’s an open-air seafood market offering fresh-caught seafood and aqua-farmed seaweed direct from local fishers and vendors. This market enables local chefs and the public to get closer to their food sources and understand the value of locally-sourced and sustainable seafood. 20. Book Food and Brewery Tours San Diego has become increasingly renowned in recent years for its locally-crafted beers and its budding food and restaurant culture. There are several companies that offer tours of the city’s culinary highlights, enabling visitors to taste San Diego with the aid of expert guidance. 21. Pedal a Boozy Social Cycle Social Cycle is a “16-seat party on wheels” offering public and private tours, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and pub crawls, among other things. Essentially, it is a vehicle that looks like a moving 16-seat bar on wheels and is pedal-powered by the continuous bicycling of its passengers. There are routes in Downtown, North Park, Hillcrest, Little Italy, and Pacific Beach. It looks like a fantastic way to see some of San Diego’s urban breweries. They often have discounted tickets on Groupon. 22. Eat and Enjoy the Views at Portside Pier Next to the Maritime Museum of San Diego, you’ll find the brand new Portside Pier dining complex on the water. Choose from four different concepts from the Brigantine family of restaurants: - Brigantine Seafood and Oyster Bar: With outlets all over San Diego, it’s a familiar name. I like the oysters and fried fish tacos. - Miguel’s Cocina: Go here for Mexican food favorites, but don’t skip the queso dip. - Ketch Grill and Taps: Enjoy local craft beer and cocktails paired with a mix of pub fare and California cuisine in a casual dine-in setting or for takeaway. - Portside Coffee & Gelato: Coffee drinks by Cafe Moto, a popular local brand, and gelato. But even if you’re not there to eat, you can still walk onto the second-floor viewing deck for some stunning photos. Here, you’ll also find public seating in case you’d like to take a break from sightseeing. 23. Chinese Historical District Visit the eight-block section adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter that comprises the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District (APTHD). In the 1860s, Chinese fishers (who turned to the trade after their labor was no longer needed for building railroads) settled in this part of town. The area is known as San Diego’s Chinatown, though Japanese and Filipino fishers lived there. Today, the historic district is anchored by the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. It’s not a large museum but housed in a mission-style building that served as the Chinese Community Church and English language class learning center for new immigrants. The building was preserved and relocated here, but you can also quickly walk past the rest of the 22 contributing structures that date from 1883-1930. 24. Sip a Cocktail from a Rooftop Bar Rooftop bars and pools (I cover pools below in #29) are among the fun things to do in Downtown San Diego. Thanks to our weather, you can enjoy them year-round. A few, like Altitude at the top of the San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter, have views of PETCO Park to catch a free baseball game if you’re lucky. Most of the popular rooftop bars in Downtown are also inside hotels. Try: - The Poolhouse (Pendry San Diego) - Upper East (Hotel Solamar) - The Rooftop by STK (Andaz San Diego) - Top of the Hyatt (Manchester Grand Hyatt) - Born and Raised - Layover (InterContinental San Diego) 25. Rent a Kayak, SUP, Boat, or Even Go Flyboarding Several companies provide water sports rentals for you to enjoy on the San Diego Bay. Many people choose standup paddleboarding and kayaking for exercise, but you can rent a variety of boats. Jet ski rentals are also popular. If you’ve ever wanted to try flyboarding, turn to Fly Guys Watersports. The jet propulsion technology will have you soaring safely above the water, and they usually offer a Groupon. Water Sports Included on Go San DiegoSome water sports experiences in Downtown are included with the Go San Diego sightseeing pass. Browse the options. 26. The Davis-Horton House Formerly known as the William Heath Davis House, The Davis-Horton House is the oldest standing structure in Downtown San Diego. It’s a saltbox-style house, named because it looks like the lidded wooden boxes people used to keep salt in, shipped from Portland, Maine. It had to be shipped to San Diego because the West Coast lacked wood for building houses in the mid-1800s. It’s home to the Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House. Each restored room reflects an era of the home’s history. Since it was built in 1850, the house has served as a pre-Civil War military barracks; a county hospital; home to “The Father of San Diego,” Alonzo Erastus Horton; and more that you can learn about through a guided tour. 27. Scooter Through Town Take a tour of San Diego on these big wheel scooters with iRide. You’ll drive with a guide past local icons like PETCO Park, the Gaslamp Quarter, Seaport Village, Little Italy, and more over an hour. Two-hour tours include Balboa Park or Old Town San Diego. Book your iRide tour. 28. Tour the Central Library This isn’t your average library. You can take self-guided or docent-led tours of Central Library to see its stunning architecture, multiple art installations (150 individual works of art from the Civic Art Collection), rare books room, teen room, children’s library, 3-D printing lab, and more. Baseball fans should pop into the Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center, the largest baseball research collection outside the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Residents especially need to remember to use the variety of services on offer, including checking out books. 29. Spend the Day at a Hotel Pool You do not need to be an overnight guest to enjoy hotel pools, thanks to ResortPass. It’s possible to book day passes and pool cabanas to enjoy Downtown San Diego’s most popular hotel pools through their program. Participating hotels include: - Manchester Grand Hyatt - Solamar San Diego - Andaz San Diego - InterContinental San Diego - The Westgate Hotel See also: Best Hotel Pools in San Diego 30. Spend the Night in a Downtown San Diego Hotel There are several genuinely fabulous Downtown San Diego hotels to accommodate any budget and travel style. If you were to ask me which are my favorites are, I would say: - Pendry San Diego - THE US GRANT, A Luxury Collection Hotel - InterContinental San Diego - The Guild Hotel, San Diego Which one you choose depends on whether you have kids traveling with you, time of year, view desired, loyalty program, and much more! If you are looking at Pendry, THE US GRANT, or need help picking a San Diego hotel, let me know. Things to Do Near Downtown San Diego One of the reasons people visit San Diego and focus on the downtown area is that other popular attractions are short drives away. How long it takes you to get from place to place hinges on where in Downtown San Diego you are and how many stoplights you hit getting out. Below, I’ve mentioned approximate drive times without traffic and the distance to each tourist attraction from the Gaslamp Quarter (the marker falls on Market Street and Fifth Avenue), which is relatively central in the Downtown San Diego area. Balboa Park / San Diego Zoo Distance from Downtown: 1.6 miles (7 minutes by car) The world-famous San Diego Zoo is located in Balboa Park, which is also home to 16 fantastic museums, multiple trails, great places to eat, gardens, and more fun. You can spend a day in each spot easily. ACCESS MY EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS Check for unpublished deeper savings on tickets through my partnership with aRes Travel, an authorized San Diego Zoo ticket seller. It’s a short Uber ride from any Downtown attraction to Balboa Park and San Diego Zoo. In theory, you can walk, but I don’t recommend it. It’s not scenic, and you may pass through a couple of less than ideal blocks. Note: San Diego Zoo Safari Park is in Escondido, about 40 minutes north of Downtown San Diego. Old Town San Diego Distance: 4.2 miles (13 minutes by car) The birthplace of California, shopping and Mexican food await at Old Town San Diego. It’s a lovely place to learn a little about California history by stopping into the small, free museums. Distance: 13.6 miles (26 minutes by car) My hometown appears on many sightseeing itineraries. La Jolla Cove is one of the most photographed places in all of San Diego. Plus, we have the La Jolla seals and sea lions, some of the city’s best dining and shopping, museums, water sports, the La Jolla Underwater Park, and SO MUCH MORE. SeaWorld San Diego / Mission Bay Distance: 7.1 miles (15-20 minutes by car depending on where on the bay you are headed) Many people staying in Downtown head over to the Mission Bay area to go to SeaWorld San Diego (get my discount tickets here). Or, they’re interested in water sports or perhaps biking along the bay. You can rent bikes and gear at various spots like Action Sports Rentals. LEGOLAND California and Carlsbad Distance: 34 miles (40 minutes by car) It’s also common for visitors to day trip from Downtown to LEGOLAND California or from Carlsbad to Downtown San Diego. I do believe it’s worthwhile. You have to plan around rush hour traffic. Then, it’s a straight shot up the I-5 freeway that is an easy drive. Cabrillo National Monument Distance: 9.5 miles (27 minutes by car) Geographically, Cabrillo National Monument is not too far from Downtown San Diego. But, since you take surface streets the whole way, it takes longer than you might think. Is it worth it? If you want to snap some photos (the views are spectacular in good weather), take a mild waterfront hike, learn about California history (it commemorates the Distance: 7 miles (15 minutes by car) If you want to find the best beach near Downtown San Diego, your two choices. The first is to take the ferry over to Coronado and then Uber (there’s a seasonal free shuttle) or walk to the beach in front of Hotel del Coronado. The second is to drive to Ocean Beach. It’s a beautiful big white sand beach amid a 1960s-like eclectic surf town with casual dining, shopping, and bars. On peak days, I would take an Uber to avoid circling for parking. What are your favorite things to do in Downtown San Diego?

- Created By mayjayann this just in buggy the clown is now one of the 7 warlords A rich, spoiled thief throws a St. Patrick's Day party and plans to show off the $3000 green dress she shoplifted. The dress contained Paris Green Dye, made with copper aceto-arsenite, and the champagne bath soaked the chemical into skin after a night of partying, dying her green and causing organ failure. Harley Quinn, real name Dr. Harleen Quinzel. about early 20's or mid 20's, was once a young intern at Arkham Asylum, there she meets the joker , there she become his psychoanalyst then he told her a bit of his past. he came from a broken home his mom ran away when he was 5, his dad was mean to him & never saw his dad be happy or laugh , once his dad took him to a circus when it got to the clowns they made his dad laugh, later next day joker did the same thing like the one clown did, but his dad gave him a black eye , after alot of talks little by little she started to fall for him later joker escape Arkham & killed a lot of people, Harleen worryed like mother hen was about to look for him when batman came in draging the clown in the Arkham halls, a bruised & bleeding joker,Harleen snapped. How dare that pointy-eared creep treat her poor puddin that way ? Doctor-patient relationship be damned; her puddin was more important than any job, anywho. Harleen rushed home to find weapons and equipment and stole a harlequin outfit from a local costume shop. After all, to save her puddin, one must look the part. She busted into Arkham,took the Joker out with her, & now called herself Harley Quinn. since then she has been joker's moll, She has been in and out of the Asylum, both as an escapee and as a rehabilitated patient, over and over again. Her infatuated love for The Joker dominates her life; he is her motivation to the life of crime which she leads in order to remain close to him. Almost all of her actions are done with his happiness in mind. She is terrified of him and insanely in love with him and can barely imagine a life without him. Her sick infatuation leads her to carry out his every beck and call and she is cowed by him and utterly adoring of him. Their relationship is a complex one, following a similar pattern to the typical abusive relationship. Joker physically and psychologically assaults her, then draws her back in with comfort and affection. She makes the vow to walk away, only to find he is a drug she cannot be rid of. Her attempts to stand up for herself are eventually dismantled by either his threats, or her fear of losing him. With someone as insane as The Joker, his reason for keeping Harley around instead of killing her are uncertain. Almost definitely, he views her as a 'toy' - something he created, and most likely he values this; his ability to reduce an independent, attractive and successful young woman to a willing slave who has given up all hope of a normal life for him. Doubtless her undying adoration holds amusement for him; and is a reflection to him of his own ego. But it is also very possible that Harley truly has touched Joker in some way. The Joker is renowned amongst all as being one of the most dangerous and unpredictable maniacs the world has ever seen, generally accepted as loving no one but himself - as not even seeing other people as 'real', but merely as objects to play with. Yet it seems that somehow, Harley has penetrated through the twisted paths of insanity to touch some long-forgotten core deep within him. For her part, Harley will never truly be free of her love for Joker. She is utterly infatuated and will remain so, even during her periods of 'sanity'. He has completely bent her mind to his and changed her life for ever. Most of the time she's pretty happy about it. Harley has a vivacious, effusive and highly expressive personality, quick to show affection for her loved ones, just as quick to anger and snap. She is a woman of extremes in all things. Her mood swings, whilst nowhere near as violent as Joker's, are still mercurial to the extreme. She experiences all emotions intensely and passionately. She is undyingly loyal to her two best loved ones - Joker and Poison Ivy - and often ends up as a bit of a 'door mat' to both of them, being cowed by their more dominant personalities. Whilst Harley seems merely zanily playful, she is absolutely insane, unpredictable and therefore highly dangerous. Her love for The Joker makes her fiercely defensive and protective of him and she will go nuts in order to do so, or to defend their love to anyone who questions it. She will do whatever it takes to help his dreams come to fruition - as mentioned above, she's a highly determined and fixated woman - as well as pursue her own goals with the same fervour. Harley believes that The Batman is the source of Joker's pain and hates him as a consequence. This makes her a deadly enemy to the Dark Knight, none more so than when she is fighting by the side of her man. when she & joker have a sour patch she can all ways come to Poison Ivy (or red as for her hair) the two become pals. when Joker, frustrated with Quinn, kicks her out of the gang, so she steals the Harlequin Diamond(they were planing to steal it but batman stop them) in a museum to prove her worth. At the same time,Poison Ivy robs the museum of plant toxins. The two become quick friends and Ivy takes her back to her lair in a toxic waste dump where she takes care of her and injects her with a serum which has given Harley an immunity to all toxins and poisons. Harley and Ivy team up for a number of successful capers, becoming Gotham City's "Queens of Crime". anyway back at joker's place he wonders where are his socks & place a mess & bud & lou snap at him & ask his two muscle men Rocco & Henshaw were Harley is? they told him that he kicked her out , joker told them that she all ways comes back , rocco told him not this time boss did you not see the papers, & joker said what papers & looked at that days paper that said "Queens of Crime" when he saw it he scaremed so loud that it knocked the sighed outside, anywho as batman he knew were two "Queens of Crime" were at , but had to ware a gas mask, so in end batman got the three & ivy was little mad at Harley but made up in the end same as joker. But Harley & ivy can still be pain in cape for batman when they team up. harley once helped batman & robin (dick grayson) to look for joker becase he stole a black market atomic bomb so batman & harley team up to look for him in some new hideouts, asks if she can get changed & he ok it when she is changing he looked a round found that the Mayor's & D.A.'s & Gordon's office are bugged with hidden camera's, he was about to ask harley when bud & lou attack him it was a good thing harley showed up becase they were going to eat him, she had two big steaks for them just in time to save batman, after looked the at hideout 1 they looked at hideout number 2 a big old bilding harley was going to use her grappling hook that looked joker but it hit her head so batman used his & talled harley to hang on & up they go to a open window ! harley had to cacth her breath batman looked a round found find this hdeout is a mob gambling party, run by "Boxy" Bennett, where batman is captured. As robin sneaks in to help Batman, while Harley sings a dark but funny song called say that were sweetherats again to distract the gun-toting party goers. After they escape, Batman gets impatient and demands to know where Joker is. Harley laughs and mocks him for not having figured it out already: Joker is holding Mayor Hill prisoner at his mansion, using Hill to distract the cops. when they got there now that Harley's end deal is done batman handcuffing Harley in the batmobile, over her protests, Batman and Robin sneak onto the mansion's grounds, finding the bomb on the lawn and Joker frolicking in Hill's swimming pool. Hill asks that Joker just make his ransom demand, the city will gladly pay it. Joker says he's not planning to ransom the city — instead, he's just going to explode the bomb and take care of the cops and Batman in one fell swoop. He and his goons already have an old-fashioned biplane set up on the grounds to escape the explosion. Batman and Robin appear, and fighting ensues. Harley, escaping her cuffs, appears and pins the two up. "Deal's off, B-Man. Nobody said anything about hurting my puddin & said & here you thought I was just another blonde-headed bimbo! Well, the joke's on you: I'm not even a real blonde." Joker is somewhat surprised to see Harley there, but cheerfully invites her to board the plane with him. He starts the bomb's timer: 10 minutes. Robin points out that Joker didn't leave enough time to swing by Arkham and save Harley. Joker laughs this off, but Harley also realizes that there isn't enough time to save their fellow inmates like ivy or her other pals. Since the clock is ticking, Joker tries to override her objections, but she panics when Batman mentions their pets. "I'll buy you a goldfish!" Joker yells, exasperated, "let's go!" Harley resists, and he flies off without her. Harley frees Batman and Robin free just as Joker circles around, strafing the ground with the plane's machine gun and dropping bombs. Batman manages to evade them, and Robin successfully defuses the bomb. Now totally crazy, Joker sends his plane on a suicide dive toward the bomb, firing the machine gun at it, saying it's going off, one way or another. But Harley fires a pinpoint shot with a spring-loaded Joker head, hitting Joker and knocking him into a daze. He loses control of the gun and shoots his own fuselage, and the plane crashes into the Mayor's mansion. As Joker stumbles out of the wreckage, Harley levels the machine gun at him. Batman yells for her to stop, but they are too far away to prevent her. Joker scoffs, saying she doesn't have the guts to shoot him. She pulls the trigger, Joker flinches — and a flag that reads "RAT TAT TAT" pops out of the barrel. Batman and Robin sigh in relief. For a moment, Harley looks afraid of Joker's reaction, then he laughs and says, "Baby, you're the greatest!" They embrace each other, their nonsensical romance rekindled. harley can still be pain for batman without joker or ivy , when harley once got a parole & this how the story goes, At Arkham Asylum, Harley Quinn is jubilant to receive a clean bill of mental health from her doctor, and be granted parole. Batman and Robin, in the process of returning Scarecrow to Arkham yet again, offer their congratulations, but warn her to stay out of trouble. She declares that, starting the next day, she'll show the world just how sane she is. The next day, she is ambling down the street on roller skates, looking for all the world like a car-hop on her day off – except she's taking her two rabid pet hyenas for a walk, and passerbys are scrambling to get out of her way. Thinking the problem is her outfit, Harley ducks into a department store. Inside, Bruce Wayne is reluctantly trying on clothes, with the help of Veronica Vreeland. Harley catches sight of them and cheerfully remembers when they last met – during a hold-up by the Joker. Picking out a new dress for herself, Harley buys it at the register, but rushes out before the clerk can remove the security tag. The clerk calls to the guard at the door, and he asks her to stop. Harley panics, thinking she's being arrested again, and knocks over the security guard. She rushes into the dressing room, and comes out again in her clown costume. Running outside with her hyenas, she jumps behind the wheel of Bruce's car, with Veronica in the backseat, and roars away. As she does so, Harvey Bullock swerves his car to avoid her and crashes into a hydrant. ("Oh, you're gonna pay for that!") Bruce is left standing outside the store. Hearing his daughter has been kidnapped, General Vreeland angrily confronts Commissioner Gordon, who reassures him that Harley is confused and scared, and doesn't intend to hurt Veronica. General Vreeland refuses to accept this, and calls for military backup. Batman and Robin team up and Batman deduces that Harley will go to someone who can hide her and then sneak her out of town. Sure enough, she has gone running back to Boxy Bennett, who hasn't forgotten their last meeting. However, he's still a sucker for a pretty face, and eager to exchange Veronica for a fat ransom. Harley objects to this, saying Veronica is just a bystander, and will go free as soon as Harley is away. Boxy begins to argue, and just then Batman and Robin arrive and tackle Boxy's thugs. Harley grabs Veronica again, and jumps back into the car. Boxy narrowly escapes a mauling by Harley's hyenas, and takes off after her in a truck. As they speed along the highway, Veronica asks if Harley was sincere about letting her go. Harley says yes, she's finished with crime, only she has to get out of town since no one will believe that she didn't mean to kidnap her. Veronica offers to not press charges, and also to speak up for her with the police, if Harley stops. Harley is overjoyed, thinking her day is finally turning around – then a cannon blast narrowly misses the car, and the two women look to see General Vreeland riding a U.S. Army tank down the road at them. Harley speeds away again, then halts in the middle of an intersection in the theatre district, with Bullock, Boxy, and Vreeland bearing down on her from three directions. There is a humongous crash, and the Batmobile arrives a second later. As the drivers get out to look at the wreckage, Harley calls from a rope above, drops Veronica into Robin's arms, then takes off. As Batman takes off after her, General Vreeland hugs his daughter, while Bullock contents himself with arresting Boxy. Up on the roof, Batman urges Harley not to throw away her hard work and her freedom. Harley attacks, ranting about the string of troubles she's had. As Batman avoids her kicks, her wild moves take her to the edge of the building, and she ends up hanging for dear life on a collapsing billboard. As it gives way, she falls, but Batman saves her. He sets her down, all the fight (and, it seems, the contents of her stomach) gone out of her. Batman and Robin return her to Arkham, but Dr. Leland assures her it won't be for long: Veronica, true to her word, dropped the kidnapping charges and it should only take a little more work before Harley's ready to interact with "normal" people again. Harley asks Batman why he has been looking after her when she's been nothing but trouble to him. He says he can only sympathize with her honest desire to lead a normal life: "I had a bad day too, once." As a parting gift, he gives her the dress she bought. Ecstatic, she plants a big kiss on his face, before returning to her cell. Harley is still in love with joker & still pals with ivy & a pain to batman & his pals, & superman ! but that is a other bio. Harley loves joker likes some of schemes all but one, The Laughing Fish scheme she hated fish they make her sick , when Bullock found the hideout he was captive joker was planing to feed him to a shark when he realizes that Batman will arrive soon and he's the one Joker really wants. he said If this lunch meat figured out where we are, Batman won't be far behind. And why spoil my sharky's digestion, when I can feed him bigger fish? Harley said Eee-yuck! Again with the fish! I HATE fish! (notices Joker's glare) Uh, no offense, Mr. J. Joker: Poor Harley. This whole caper's been really touch on you, hasn't it? Harley: Uh-huh, Cheer up! You can be my own little mermaid! (Harley gives a little squeal of delight... then Joker jams a giant rubber fish head over her, and laughs.) Harley: You're really sick, you know that, boss? Joker: Mm-hmm. later he talls batman, You're right, Harley. Fish are disgusting. I think I'll start using my toxin on cattle. Joker Burgers! Ha! Talk about a happy meal! in the end joker was to beleave to be eaten by the shark & Harley to Arkham. news flash we just got word that the one who calls him self madara is someone else because our hero just met a UNDEAD madara ! Catwoman races through the hedge maze of an estate and looks at a golden statuette of a cat that she has stolen. She is pursued by several individuals wearing cat costumes wielding swords and claws. She runs into a large black cat but she is able to sweet-talk it into liking her and runs off. The pursuers go after her but the jungle cat turns on them and chases them off. However, the leader of the cult orders his men to get Catwoman, no matter what it takes. The pursuit of Catwoman goes off the grounds of the estate and into the streets of Gotham. Feeling that she's been caught Catwoman offers to simply give back the statue but is told that the statue has been tainted and only her blood will sanctify it. At this she takes the offensive and manages to evade the cultists. Meanwhile, Batman finishes up business with a couple of jewelry store robbers and heads back to the batmobile. He finds Catwoman inside the vehicle. Batman prepares to take her to jail but the cultists attack. Batman agrees to help only if Catwoman agrees to return everything she's ever stolen to the rightful owners. She reluctantly agrees. Batman and Catwoman go to her hideout and Batman explains that she has gotten involved with a cult that started in ancient Egypt. Their holiest right was theft. He also explains that their leader Thomas Blake lives for revenge and that Catwoman is over her head. Just as Batman finishes explaining this the cult attacks again and nearly shoots Catwoman in the head. Batman manages to save her and the duo head out towards the furnace to escape. Unfortunately, the cultists note their escape route and turn up the gas in the furnace and light it. Batman and Catwoman barely manage to escape with their lives. Unfortunately, Catwoman is captured. Catwoman wakes up chained to an altar while Blake asks her how she managed to elude them for so long. Stalling for time, Catwoman asks about the faith of the cultists. Blake's right hand woman is suspicious and proposes they kill her right off, but Blake believes that Catwoman can be converted and releases her. Back in the batcave Batman interrogates a cultist that he has captured about the whereabouts of Catwoman. Meanwhile, Catwoman is told that she can become a member of the cult if she manages to pass the initiation, which will take place in an hour. She is taken to a bedroom and left to wait. While there she starts picking out some trinkets and stuffs them into a pillowcase. Batman arrives and tries to take Catwoman away but she doesn't want to leave without the spoils. Batman tries to talk some sense into her and she feigns repentance. However, when Batman's back is to her she clubs him on the head and tries to drag him off. The cultists hear the noise and enter the room. They decide that they'll use Batman's blood to sanctify the statue and allow Catwoman into the cult. Batman wakes up in an arena without his utility belt. The cult then releases a huge genetically engineered cat into the arena with him. Batman tires his best to deal with the monster but doesn't have much luck. Catwoman jumps in after Batman and helps him deal with the cat. After a short while she stands in front of the cat and confronts it. The cat decides that it likes her and becomes docile. Catwoman then sets it against the cultists and chaos ensues. Batman and Catwoman then escape from the arena but Blake attacks Batman and the female cultist attacks Catwoman. Catwoman easily manages to defeat the cultist and Batman gains the upper hand over Blake. Unfortunately, the genetically engineered cat arrives and appears hostile towards Batman. However, it simply pounces on Blake causing both of them to fall into the arena and get knocked out. Later, the police arrive and take the cultists into custody and the cat is taken to Gotham Zoo. Batman is bandaged up and tells Commissioner Gordon that there is more than enough evidence to lock up the cultists. Gordon tells him that while there is enough to convict there really isn't that much. In Paris, Selina lies on a bed surrounded by jewels. She happily states that being on the right side of the law is quite rewarding.

After being roundly chastised for having—I mean, I guess, kind of—an opinion of sorts on the Israel-Palestine conflict and Tweeting about it, Kim Kardashian is going to make it up to the people of the Middle East by visiting Kuwait and Bahrain, and she's "determined" to learn about the conflict. She is also planning to "make appearances at some Millions of Milkshakes shops opening in the two countries." Yeah, we were serious about that milkshake thing. But, actually who doesn't love a milkshake? Word to the wise, Kim: get an international power converter. The first night of my Birthright trip, all of the girls broke their Chi and/or Sedu hair straighteners by trying to shove the plug in the foreign electrical socket and I still hear the screaming. [Bossip] After lying to cops about a car accident in L.A. last summer, Lindsay Lohan's probation in a jewelry theft case will be revoked as soon as a criminal lawyer files against her. So, like, she could get arrested at any point from here on out, leaving us all wondering what the FUCK she was thinking when she took that jewelry besides "OMG, where is that Bacardi Razz I put down, you guys I totally feel like Danny Oceannnnn." [Ace Showbiz] So this is kind of a "boy who cried wolf" situation, but a close friend of Kate Middleton's says that she's pregnant and that she and Prince William are going to announce they're expecting in December. The friend's name is Jessica Hay and she's known Kate since she was fourteen. Hopefully you didn't just take a giant, fame-whoring dump on your friendship by spreading this rumor, Jessica Hay. [Examiner] Prince William wins a poll for Most Popular Royal that I'm sure he totally gives shits about. [Daily Mail] Nicki Minaj employs dubious religious imagery in the video for the song "Freedom." Aldous Snow said it best: When I had this costume designed, I said 'Imagine an African... white... Christ, from Space. And this is what they came back with. An African, white space Christ. That's how it… Well see that's just the concept, you know? Obviously I'm not saying that I'm an African white space Christ, that'd be ridicu—that's just not for me. That's for other people… That's for other people to decide. If I'm like Christ. And that slo-mo hawk is killing me, smalls. Although Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are back together, Gomez remains "far from happy with how he has treated her" and has reconciled with him with "much heartache... things are still volatile between them." You guys are too motherfucking young for this. No mortgage, no dependents, no crappy shared neon-green Cadillac Seville you both need to drive to work, just get the fuck OUT. [Page Six] "Last night was awesome/ Super fucking awesome/ It was me, myself, and I, and her/ We had ourselves a foursome." —Lil Wayne, poet laureate of the United States, on "I Wanna Bang You," a new single with Paris Hilton. [TMZ] - Britney Spears' first husband Jason Alexander (LOLz) is dating a woman who has kids by Kevin Federline so there's that. [Radar Online] - Rihanna had a secret celebrity concert and people like Chloe Moretz were there. [Daily Mail] - And dissension on the Rihanna Plane continues. [Entertainmentwise] - Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn has Tweeted a creepy poster for his new movie Only God Forgives, starring Ryan Gosling. [Twitter] - Anne Hathaway wants a baby. [Monsters and Critics] - Chelsea Clinton wants a baby. [Page Six] - Ariel Winter's father opposes her guardianship. [AP] - Salma Hayek says Kevin James is a good kisser. [Contact Music] - Russell Crowe hasn't seen his kids that much since his split from Danielle Spencer. [Express] - Rob Schneider and his wife had a girl baby named Miranda Scarlett. [People] - "Parma ham crudo and mozzarella, eggplant parmigiana, mini beef sliders, pasta with chickpeas, a salad with marinated anchovies... a thousand layer pastry with cream and fresh berries... [and] red wine." —What Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis ate in Rome. I'm hungry now. [People] - I'm sorry, this picture of Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy just gives me the weirds. [E!] - D'aww, my/your/America's unicorn Taylor Swift had pink hair for a music video! [Us Weekly] - Kate Upton is gonna be in a Superbowl commercial for Mercedes-Benz. [Page Six] - I take it all back! Frankel also had Coco as a guest and used her butt as a shelf – all is forgiven. [Radar] - If you happened to be at Bleecker Street Pizza last night, yes, you were served by Steven Tyler. [Page Six] BielTimberlake used the phrase "balls on wood" to describe an awkward sauna experience. Good show. [Radar Online]

Hugs and Kisses #35: North Sea Radio Orchestra Tuesday morning means another episode of Hugs and Kisses, a weekly column from UK-based music writer Mr. Everett True, publisher of Plan B Magazine, a title dedicated to writing about music (and media) with barely a nod towards demographics. Last week, Mr. True analyzed record blurbs on the new Pete and the Pirates. This week, the Converse-footed crit tells you about a concert in Brighton, UK. He does not care about SXSW. — The SOC waitstaff Hugs and Kisses The Continued Outbursts of Everett True THIS WEEK: Neo-classical nightmares and the wonder of contexts It isn’t rock’n’roll. Although the illustrations that William Blake was working on at the time of his death (for Dante’s Inferno) kicked a certain amount of 18th Century ass (if you prefer your self-righteous dreams plagued by nightmares), I totally grew out of his evangelical poetry around the same time I eschewed chamber music for the more, um, earthly pleasures of Blondie’s second album; and as for his (part) namesake William D Drake (formerly of horrendous prog-folk japesters The Cardiacs)…well, clearly he’s an erudite, witty and charming fellow, especially when faced with a piano and endless hours in which to hone his lyrical and musical witticisms, but. Can we just take that ‘but’ as an, “I find really myself irritated by music that aspires to be way too highbrow and semi-classical” and leave it at that? So it’s rather odd that last night I took in a band—North Sea Radio Orchestra—that covered works by both the first and second, dipped firmly into the waters of both chamber music and po-faced snobbery, and still enjoyed the experience. It was the context, entirely. Everything about the show was so wrong, and hence so right. It took place between the entirely un-New York hours of 7 and 9.30pm, in the austere, high-ceilinged surroundings of a Quakers Meeting House, tea and homemade cookies served in the interval, and I spent the majority of the North Sea set engaged in pleasant conversation with a close friend listening to the baroque warbling and increasingly rapturous applause through two closed doors. (This still provided way better sound quality than the “submerged in toilet bowl” hum that my computer’s RealTek settings seem determined to play iTunes upon.) Indeed, I have long enjoyed experiencing rock concerts from the comfort of a toilet cubicle: many an otherwise dismal grunge night has been salvaged by a swift retirement from the volume. I guess earplugs serve the same purpose, but you can’t piss at the same time. Well, unless you’re being escorted by the Rolling Stones’ personal security through a stadium crowd, but that’s another story. . . Back to Brighton, and the wonder of context. There wasn’t much about North Sea Radio Orchestra I enjoyed—certainly not the fiddly and needless, “aren’t I clever,” mock medieval guitar time signature changes, certainly not the chorus of beards and hippies backing up the smug woman engaged in rendering William Blake as lifeless as he undoubtedly is, certainly not the bassoon or tenor saxophone or stand-up chimes or string section or. . . look, don’t get me wrong. Taken individually, I’m sure all these folk are great value. It was just: I spent an entire evening in Melbourne with my future wife, hidden in a soundproof room, coughing harshly to string quartets, and I vowed never to be caught at anything similar again. And yet, here I was, Sunday night in Brighton—raining outside (that helped)—and I was really enjoying the experience. Especially if I closed my eyes and let the music move my mood whither the music would (mostly to Melbourne). I couldn’t understand it. Music that is anathema to the bottom of my Converse-wearing feet and yet I was basking in its…well, not glow. The mood was reverential, sombre. If you wanted to be nice, you’d say “elegiac,” but. Look, just leave that but where it stands. (The setting totally helped. I doubt if I’m going to be turning Christian any time soon, but if I ever did…trust me, these good Quaker fellows would be top of my list. Why, you don’t even have to believe in God to attend their meetings.) Doubtless, much of my good feelings were also caused by seeing the first band up, the ever-vulnerable Crayola Lectern. On Casio, a crazed ex-Cardiac ploughing his way dutifully through a series of minor key changes. On trumpet, a Hamilton Yarn sending unassuming yet shimmering beauty soaring to the balcony, and sometimes speaking in tongues (lips) down his mouthpiece: plaintive, pleasing, poignant. And on piano, Mr Lectern himself, near self-deprecating in his Robert Wyatt fascination and stunningly beautiful with his chord changes, singing painfully funny and sometimes funnily painful strained lines about love and toddlers and mortality. Crayola Lectern tick the same high musicality boxes as the band that followed, sure: but possess one crucial factor that the North Sea Radio Malarkey just don’t, just don’t get. They have heart. Hugs And Kisses Top 5 Five songs Everett True has recently transferred to iTunes and is regretting, the sound quality is so malodorous 1. Leonard Nimoy, “Love Of The Common People” (from Highly Illogical Not a patch of William Shatner’s inspired cover of Pulp’s ‘Common People’…not even one inch. 2. The Nightingales, “The Crunch” (from What A Scream 1980-1986) The Nightingales are the very definition of a sardonic, literate, blisteringly great live mid-Eighties (and into 2008) British band. 3. Aaron Neville, “Tell It Like It Is” (from Tell It Like It Is) Oh yeah, baby. 4. My Robot Friend, “Walt Whitman” (from Hot Action!) Kraftwerk this isn’t. Silicon Teens maybe… 5. Mudhoney, “Here Comes Sickness” (from Here Comes Sickness). Not a bad record, this one, I guess. Not a bad fucking guitar sound either…

The Night's King is an unseen character in Game of Thrones, appearing only in the "The Histories & Lore: The History of the Night's Watch" featurette included in the Season 2 Blu-ray. He is a legendary figure known both in the Seven Kingdoms and among the Free Folk dwelling Beyond the Wall. According to legend, the Night's King was originally a Lord Commander of the Night's Watch who found in the Haunted Forest a cold woman with bright blue eyes, seemingly a female White Walker. He took her to the other side of the Wall and declared himself "Night's King". For thirteen years the two ruled over the brothers of the Night's Watch, performing human sacrifices. The Free Folk rallied under the banner of a King-Beyond-the-Wall and marched against the Nightfort, which the Night's King had taken as his seat, defeating him with the aid of House Stark. In the books In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Night's King was a Lord Commander of the Night's Watch during its earliest years, not long after the Long Night ended and the Wall was completed. He is considered a legendary, half-mythical figure, not far removed from Bran the Builder. If he really did exist, it was almost eight thousand years ago - consider that while the Night's King was the thirteenth Lord Commander, at the time of the War of the Five Kings, Jeor Mormont is the 997th Lord Commander. However, the Night's King fell in love with a woman "with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars"; he loved her though "her skin was cold as ice", and when he gave his seed to her he gave her his soul as well. He brought her to the Nightfort and bound the brothers of the Night's Watch to his will through sorcery. He declared himself "Night's King" and ruled over the Wall and the Gift as his own. The King in the North and Joramun, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, joined forces to defeat him. After he was killed, it was discovered that he had been making human sacrifices to the Others - the White Walkers - and all records of him were destroyed, and uttering his name was forbidden, so it became lost to history. Nevertheless, it is believed he may have been a Bolton, a Magnar of Skagos, an Umber, a Flint, a Norrey, or a Woodfoot, though it is possible he may have actually been a Stark, brother to the King-in-the-North, named Bran. After the defeat of the Night's King, the rule was enforced that the castles of the Night's Watch along the Wall should never be fortified against approach from the south, so that they cannot oppose the lands south of the Wall which they are meant to defend. The downfall of the Night's King also resulted in the strict enforcement of the rule that the Night's Watch is meant to be politically neutral, as guardians who do not "rule" the Wall but who serve the realms of men. - The Night's King at A Wiki of Ice and Fire (spoilers from the books) Garth Greenhand · First King · Florian & Jonquil · The Grey King · The Griffin King · Joramun · Lann the Clever The Night's King & the Night's Queen · The Rat Cook · The Prince That Was Promised |Former Lords Commander:| |Castles of the Watch:|

Legendary Hollywood sex symbol Gina Lollobrigida claims to have discovered by chance that she is married to a Spanish toy boy who fixed a fraudulent wedding ceremony to get his hands on her fortune. Lollobrigida, 85, told police she found out on the internet that she had been unwittingly married to Javier Rigau y Rafols, 51, since 2010 and demanded the marriage be annulled. “I am determined to shed light on this squalid affair,” said the actress whose voluptuous curves made her Italy’s answer to Marilyn Monroe in the 50s and 60s. Dubbed “The most beautiful woman in the world”, she co-starred with Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster and Sean Connery. Lollobrigida dated Mr Rigau, an entrepreneur more than 30 years her junior, before coming close to marrying him in 2006. Mr Rigau pulled out at the last minute, claiming that the media pressure was too much for him. In statement reported at the time, Mr Rigau said he would always “love and respect” Lollobrigida. Now, the actress claims that her former beau got her to sign a document in Spanish she did not understand and that he then used the signature to push through the marriage in Barcelona in November 2010. “A few days ago, I discovered by chance on the internet that Javier had used a legal document that I had signed for a civil case to hold the marriage in my absence and without my knowledge,” Lollobrigida, who lives in Rome, told Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper. “Along with a lawyer who is assisting him, he is waiting for me to die to take possession of my estate. Javier had the courage to phone me and I told him ‘You have done something ignoble’ and put the phone down.” Mr Rigau’s former lawyer, Javier Saavedra, said he had been told that Mr Rigau also paid a woman to attend the ceremony pretending to be Lollobrigida. “This is a man who always on the look out for money and tries to mix with older members of high society he can take advantage of,” said the Spanish lawyer, who claimed Mr Rigau still owed legal fees. “Rigau is also an expert at faking documents,” he added. The daughter of a furniture manufacturer from a small Italian mountain town, Lollobrigida was a Miss Italy contestant before breaking into acting and taking Hollywood by storm, winning a Golden Globe in 1961. In 1968, she starred in Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell with Shelley Winters and Telly Savalas, which inspired the musical Mamma Mia! In the 1980s, she took a role in US soap opera Falcon Crest. Lollobrigida, who was nicknamed Lollo by fans, also became a successful photo- journalist and secured an exclusive interview with Fidel Castro. “I’ve had many lovers and still have romances,” she said in 2000. “I am very spoiled. All my life, I’ve had too many admirers.” Lollobrigida married once, divorcing her husband, a Slovenian doctor in 1971. Describing her romance with Mr Rigau, she said, “I was going through a deep depression, which started in 2004. I didn’t have clear ideas, a wedding seemed like a way to turn the page – to heal after a serious illness.” But her relationship with a man three decades younger than her was not passionate, she said. “He took me to dinner, he kept me company. There was nothing else between us.” After changing her mind at the last minute about their planned New York nuptials, Lollobrigida said she and Mr Rigau had stayed in touch. “He was kind and educated, even if I discovered that he lied. He had told me he was studying law, but I found out he was working as a labourer,” she said, adding she suspects him of plotting a series of other frauds.

Release The List in High QualityNow you can play full The List in best quality with duration 120 Min and has been launched in 2015-12-31 with MPAA rating is 0. - Original Title : The List - Movie title in your country : The List - Year of movie : 2015 - Genres of movie : Romance, Comedy, - Status of movie : Released - Release date of movie : 2015-12-31 - Companies of movie : - Countries of movie : - Language of movie : - Durationof movie : 120 Min - Average vote of movie : 0 - Youtube ID of movie : - Translation of movie : EN, - Actors of movie :Jennifer Morrison (Katherine Stern), Patrick Fugit (Alex), Karen Gillan (Lily), Julie Gonzalo (Lara), Eddie Kaye Thomas (Dave), Michael Nouri (Rabbi Baskin), JoBeth Williams (Mrs. Stern), Bob Gunton (Mr. Stern), Aaron Staton (Michael), Lesley-Anne Down (Victoria), Dana Powell (Holly) Movie synopsis of The List : Free The List in Best Video Format with movie plot "Alex, a lovable, unassuming dog trainer is in love with a great woman - Katherine - smart, talented, from a good family. Katherine adores Alex's quirky sense of humor, honesty and capacity to listen. Having decided to pop the question, Alex is blindsided when Katherine produces a detailed list of well-thought-out "improvements" she feels will tweak Alex on their way to becoming the ideal couple. Alex instinctively rejects the suggestion that he needs to change anything. But with the threat of a new competitor, Alex decides to "do the list." Guided by a coterie of friends that include: Dave, Alex's loyal childhood buddy, best female friend Lily, her husband Michael, and their 8 year old son, Nicky, Alex's journey has him reconsider and question his beliefs, values and world." in HD quality. Play full The List in High Definition Format by push of the download link. Now you can enjoy The List in best quality. See The List movie with single complete the form by clicking on the image on the sign in place button. Enjoy the many albums new movie together with all most liked movie surging! only watch this movie The List right now for easy access this online movie. This really is truly spectacular and can one of those rare wonderful. The quality was great around. Management, graphics and graphic effects were being all very innovative in addition to brilliant. The pleasure from the script, often humorous and it has plenty of heart for everyone his characters are common very well toned. ... Release The List in Top Video Format 720p ... Director : Harris Goldberg, Writer : Harris Goldberg, Writer : Kristen D'Alessio Yes, now you can watch movie connected with The List entirely length and get the link to this film The List in best quality.

Like many parts of Scotland, the Cateran Trail has a rich heritage of folktales, myths and legends. Glenshee takes its name from the Gaelic word sìth, signifying ‘fairies’. Until the old tongue died out in the late 1800’s the inhabitants were known as Sithichean a’ Ghlinnshith – ‘The Elves of Glenshee’. Photo courtesy of Clare Cooper The Green Lady is a traditional ghost in many Scottish homes and castles and Blairgowrie has its very own Green Lady o’ Newton. Stories about white snakes can be found in many cultures and The White Serpent of Bamff near Alyth, tells the tale of how the Ramsays of Bamff acquired their land. But two legends rooted in Glenshee and Alyth stand out in particular for they are part of the canon of the worlds great hero-tales, those of Finn mac Cumhaill and King Arthur. Photo, courtesy of Perth & Kinross Heritage Trust The historian Stuart McHardy has perhaps described the tale of Vanora, the Scottish name for Arthur’s Queen Guinevere and her links to Alyth, most evocatively. “About 18 miles north east of Perth lies the wee Strathmore village of Meigle. All too easily ignored by the traffic going to and from the North-East this little place contains real treasure for those interested in the ancient culture of Scotland. The old school next to the kirk on the Dundee road has been made into a museum unlike any other. It contains a unique and beautiful collection of Pictish symbol stones most of which at one time stood in or near the kirkyard. The others are from the surrounding area. One of these stones has a legend about it that links it with one of the great European literary and mystical themes of all time — the story of Arthur and Guinevere. The stone known as Vanora’s stone was at one time part of a group of symbol stones that stood in the adjoining kirkyard on what is known as Vanora’s Mound. The name Vanora is a variant of Guinevere and these stones are said to have formed a memorial on the grave of that faithless queen. On the side of the stone bearing her name is a fine example of a Celtic cross and in the middle of the other side is a gowned figure being attacked by animals. The official guide book tells us that this is a representation of Daniel in the Lions’ Den but local legend, unconcerned with the need to explain everything in our past as being of Christian origin, tells us otherwise. Before the French and English romanticists took the Arthurian tales and turned them into florid fancies of chivalry and honour these stories were an integral part of the Celtic culture that existed throughout the British Isles. Like the cycle of hero-tales about Finn Mac Coul the original Arthurian legends were given local settings by the small communities that made up the population. Examples of this can be found in stories and place names from Scotland to the Scilly Isles. The ancient Celts often incorporated actual historical events into the great tales alongside older gods and goddesses given human form. This is how the historical Arthur of the 6th century became involved in the great mythological cycle of tales about his namesake. The historical Arthur was probably not a king but the leader of a band of warriors who was made a leader of the common defence against the various invaders of his time. It was the accepted norm in all Celtic societies that the most able war chief would be given overall control of the army during a crisis, returning to his former position once the danger was past. The role of the actual king was more legalistic, ritualised and even spiritual. The story of Vanora’s Stone has her as the queen of Arthur, a 6th century king of Strathclyde. This kingdom stretched from Dumbarton south as far as Carlisle. Although the whole of the British Isles was at this time under almost permanent threat of invasion Arthur decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. This was to show his loyalty to the Roman church in its struggle against the independent Celtic church of that time. Before leaving he appointed his nephew Modred to act as his regent and rule in his place. Disaster was bound to follow. Though the Celtic peoples would unite in the face of a common enemy their first loyalty was to their tribe and Modred was a Pict. He was bound to make the most of the opportunity presented to him by his uncle. No sooner had Arthur left the country than Modred seized the throne and seduced his aunt, Vanora. Whether she was a willing victim or had plotted the whole thing with Modred is unclear but soon they were ruling as man and wife with Pictish troops to enforce their rule. It was only a matter of time before Arthur found out what had happened and he immediately headed home to raise his followers and have his revenge upon the faithless pair, The battle where Arthur and Modred met is said to have been at Camlaan, near Carlisle, and it is the site of an actual 6th century battle. True to the old myths Arthur was victorious but in killing Modred he sustained a mortal wound himself. Soon he died and with him went any faint hope Vanora might have treasured for merciful treatment. While Modred’s actions were understandable given the nature of the times Vanora had committed unforgivable sins. The Celtic peoples laid great stress on the ritual and spiritual importance of their rulers and Vanora had betrayed the most sacred trust. She was guilty of treason and adultery and her fate was a foregone conclusion — death. The manner of her execution had to be decided and while the deliberations continued she was imprisoned at Barry Hill, near Alyth, just a few miles north of Meigle. Originally an Iron Age fort the site on Barry Hill was probably still in use in the 6th century and was as far from the Hollywood idea of an Arthurian castle as it is possible to be. At last Vanora was brought forth to hear her sentence and it must have surpassed even her wildest fears. Her treachery to her husband, king and people was so bad that her death had to be as dishonourable as possible. She was to be torn to death by a pack of wild dogs. It is this grisly scene that is said to be portrayed on the stone. Photo courtesy of Clare Cooper After her gruesome death she was buried at Meigle with the strongest possible curses and anathema being heaped upon her grave in a manner reminiscent of Druidic ritual. More than twelve hundred years after her supposed burial these curses survive in the local belief that any young woman foolish enough to walk over Vanora’s Mound will become sterile. The curse is still remembered.” Meanwhile, the Place Name researcher, Peter McNiven has found place-name evidence of the Finn mac Cumhaill legend in Glenshee that he believes is unprecedented in its density in Scotland. “The legends of Finn mac Cumhaill and his band of Finian warriors loom large in Glenshee…there are a number of place-names and two ballads in particular that seem to locate Glenshee into the Finian legends. One ballad, Laoidh Dhiarmaid (The Lay of Diarmaid), tells how Diarmaid, a colleague of Finn, dies on Ben Gulabin at the head of Glenshee, killed by a boar. At the bottom of Ben Gulabin, near Spittal of Glenshee, is a stone circle which has the name of Grave of Dhiarmaid. The ballad opens with the following lines: This glen beside me is Glenshee, where blackbirds and other birds sing sweetly; often would the Fian run along this glen behind their hounds. This glen below green Beann Ghulbainn, whose knolls are the fairest under the sun, not frequently were its streams red after hunts had been held by Fionn of the Fiana.” Photo courtesy of Clare Cooper Dhiarmaid or Diarmuid as his name is sometimes spelled, was a brave and handsome warrior who fell in love with Finn’s wife, Grainne. The King, hoping to get rid of Diarmiud, ordered him to kill a huge ferocious boar living in a ravine on Ben Gulabin (which means boar’s snout). Diarmuid, seeing this as an opportunity to appease Finn, agreed, sought out the boar, fought and killed it. Finn then insisted that Diarmuid measure the length of the boar and he did this by using his feet along the boars back. During the measurement however, some of the spines of the boar’s back entered his foot and the wounds became infected. Diarmuid died within 24 hours. There had been an antidote to the infection, but Finn had had the forethought to have poured it into the Shee water. Queen Graine on hearing of his death, killed herself by falling on an arrow (1) “Another ballad while not explicitly set in Glenshee, seems to have been sufficiently popular with Gaels of the area for them to transfer the ballad from its original setting in Ireland to Perthshire. The ballad, Naonbhar do-chuadhmar fá choill (‘Nine strong we set out into a wood’), is about a group of Fianna who set off on a quest to make ‘some kind of object pertaining to dogs’. The band of warriors meet three groups of enemies – the Catheads, the Dogheads and a mysterious un-named band, whom they overcome and then succeed in their quest. While the place-names in the ballad itself have been located in Ireland, the ballad must also have been acted out in Glenshee as there are a number of place names relating to it. In the middle of the ballad the Fianna raise their banners, ‘symbols of their strength and authority’, and they immediately defeat the Cathead, Dogheads and their comrades. In Glenshee is a hill called Creag nam Brataichean or ‘crag of the banners’; one of the banners raised in the ballad is Lámh Dhearg, bratach mheic Rónáin ‘[Red Hand], the banner of Rónán’s son’ (Ronan is another character in the Finn stories). Lamh Dhearg is the name of a hill about 2.5 km north-east of Creag nam Brataichean. In many Irish legends and stories, the heads of the enemies are then severed as a sign of victory; Finegand, the farming hamlet in Glenshee is Fèith nan Ceann, meaning ‘bog of the heads’.” (1) This version of the story taken from ‘Explore the Cateran trail’ by Chic Leven and Ken Roberts.

After scoring the prestigious title in Las Vegas, Pia Wurtzbach immediately relocated to New York City and settled in to a luxury midtown apartment outside of Central Park that she will call home during her reign as Miss Universe (one of the many perks that come with the new crown). Pia Wurtzbach's duties As Miss Universe, Wurtzbach will work with organizations that are champions in the fight against HIV/AIDS and will travel the globe as a spokesperson raising awareness and funds in an effort to end the disease. She will also work closely with God’s Love We Deliver and Best Buddies. Pia's first words as Miss Universe 2015 "Wow. Words can't describe how grateful I am for this. It was quite a journey getting here with 3 attempts at winning Miss Philippines. Now, I finally got the best Christmas gift ever – and not just for me, for my country. I'd like to say thank you to everyone who believed in my potential and those who supported me from the beginning. To everyone who voted for me, especially to my fellow countrymen, thank you. Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. To Ariadna (Miss Colombia), you are an amazing woman and we are now bonded together forever by a unique experience. In the last 3 weeks we were together, I saw how strong and beautiful you are inside and out. You represented your country with honor and I know how proud everyone must be of you. Fate has a plan for you, and I’m excited to see what’s ahead. And to all the fans who are still fighting about this…Please let's all stop now. The Miss Universe Organization is about uniting empowered women from all over the world. Arguing and sending hateful messages to each other defeats the whole purpose. You believe in the message of Miss Universe and so do I. Again, thank you for the love. I'm excited to begin my duties as Miss Universe and I wish everyone, all the contestants and all the supporters a great holiday with their loved ones. Happy Holidays and let's look forward to a great start to the new year!"

THEWAY TOAMAN’S HEART IS THROUGHHIS STOMACH In plain English You might think the average chap likes a woman with a sparkling personality, an infectious sense of humour and a few things besides. You’d be wrong. He likes a woman who knows how to poach an egg. Origins Thought to have been first coined by American newspaper columnist Fanny Fern in the mid 1800s. It might be true Scientific research into this is thin on the ground but Stephanie Smith certainly thinks it holds weight. The New-York-based journalist hit the headlines last year after making a deal with her boyfriend Eric Schulte: he’d propose to her if she made him a sandwich every day for 300 days. In the end, he popped the question after 257. But Jared Alden, psychotherapist and couples counsellor at the German Neuroscience Center in Dubai Healthcare City, reckons this saying has a wider meaning. “I think it’s a metaphor that men – and women – fall in love with partners who are willing to do something for them,” he says. It might not be “In some cultures, where there is a big emphasis on the importance of food and its role in society – such as the Middle East – I think there’s an element of reality in this,” says Fadwa. “But I’m not sure you could say a man’s heart can be won by making him a meal. There needs to be other elements there.” The verdict There are many ways to a man’s heart. Having said that, cooking him a lamb dinner occasionally can’t do any harm.

601: Girls Town by Wyn Hilty Tonight on Viper. Viper was a short-lived 1994 TV series about a high-tech crime-fighting vehicle known as the Viper, and the two men who use it to wage a war against crime. It was set in the year 2000. Jaguar dealers just reek of class. Jaguars are a brand of luxury cars. Looks like John Deere has really retooled the combine. John Deere is a heavy-equipment manufacturing company that makes farm machinery, among other things. It was founded in the 19th century by John Deere himself, who achieved fame by inventing the first steel plow, which was far superior to the iron plows then in wide use. Ahhh, he’s dating a kabuki dancer. Kabuki is a traditional form of Japanese theater that combines singing, dancing, and mime into a highly stylized art form. Actors (all kabuki performers are male) wear spectacular costumes and elaborate makeup. On the shores of Gitche Gumee. A paraphrase of the famous line from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem The Song of Hiawatha. Actual lines: “By the shores of Gitche Gumee/By the shining Big-Sea-Water/Stood the wigwam of Nokomis/Daughter of the Moon …” Heidi in The Most Dangerous Game. Heidi is a children’s book by Johanna Spyri, first published in 1880, that tells the story of a young girl sent to live with her crotchety grandfather in his home in the Swiss Alps. She learns to love her new home, and he learns to love her, before they are cruelly torn apart and Heidi is sent back to languish in the big city. Fortunately everything turns out happily in the end. The Most Dangerous Game is a 1932 film starring Joel McCrea and Fay Wray as shipwrecked passengers on a mysterious island whose owner hunts humans for sport. Wilma Flintstone is the attractive wife of the lumpish Fred Flintstone on the animated TV series The Flintstones, which first aired in 1960 and has been around in various forms ever since. Boy, that Kennedy compound. In 1991, William Kennedy Smith, Senator Ted Kennedy’s nephew, was accused of raping a woman he met at a nightclub; he was ultimately acquitted. The alleged assault took place at the Kennedy estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Gee, it was easier in From Here to Eternity. From Here to Eternity is a 1953 film starring Burt Lancaster as an army sergeant who falls in love with his captain’s wife (Deborah Kerr). The scene in which the couple makes out in the surf on a beach has become iconic, endlessly imitated and parodied. A weasel ripped my dress! Rizz! Weasels Ripped My Flesh is a 1970 album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. The cover art for the album shows an illustration of a man's face being shredded by a weasel while two word balloons issue from him: one says the title of the album, and the other says "RZZZZZ!" Aaaaaaah! Hey, look, a morel. Aaaaaah! A morel is a type of mushroom. Breakdancing is a dance style that developed in the mid-1970s, primarily among African-American and Puerto Rican urban youth. There are many variations, but it generally involves a fair amount of athleticism, acrobatics, balance, and strength. On city sidewalks or basketball courts, impromptu breakdancing competitions were celebrated as an alternative to gang violence, but that may have been less a reality than wishful thinking on the part of white America. I’ve got to catch up with the Von Trapps. The Von Trapps were the singing family portrayed in the musical The Sound of Music. At the end of the musical (spoiler alert), the family travels across the mountains into Switzerland to escape the Nazis. Scooby-dooby-dooby … what’s going on? ... dooby-doo … Scatting, or scat singing, is when a vocalist strings together nonsense syllables or wordless phrases, essentially “taking a solo” with their voice, improvising melodies and rhythms on the fly, without being restricted by actual words or rhymes. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and, yes, Mel Torme are considered masters of the form. Frank Sinatra … not so much, as evidenced by his often-parodied “doo-be-doo-be-doo” run of scat singing at the end of his massively popular 1966 recording of “Strangers in the Night,” which this riff is likely skewering as well. “Hey, Freddy, where are you going?” Scarborough Fair. “Scarborough Fair” is a traditional English ballad, with origins that may go as far back as 1650, about a young man’s longing for a girl in the town of Scarborough, in Yorkshire County, in Northern England. An adaptation by American folk duo Simon & Garfunkel appeared on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, then became a hit single in 1968 after it was used in the film The Graduate. Sample lyrics: “Are you going to Scarborough Fair?/Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme/Remember me to one who lives there/She once was a true love of mine.” Girls Town Boys Club welcomes you to Girls Town. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America is an organization that provides a safe place for kids to have fun after school instead of going out on the streets and getting in trouble. It was founded in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut. Bet they’re all on the same cycle in Girls Town. Women living in close quarters, as in a dormitory, will gradually synchronize their menstrual cycles until they are all ovulating and menstruating at the same time. The phenomenon was first studied in 1971 and has been confirmed by numerous studies since then. And Billy Chapin! A Father Knows Best reference. On that show, the three children were played by Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin; the Brains most likely either got the names of the other actors confused or simply misspoke. (Thanks to Mike in Portland for this reference.) You know, there hasn’t been a cast like this since Judgment at Nuremberg. Judgment at Nuremberg is a 1961 film about the trials of Nazi war criminals after World War II. The cast included Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, and Marlene Dietrich, among others. Oh, with Jim Mitchum you can even skip a day. A variation on the classic ad slogan for Mitchum brand deodorant: “So effective you can skip a day.” Hey, Dick Contino! Oh, boy. Dick Contino (1930-2017), who plays Stan in Girls Town, is familiar to MSTies as the star of Show 307, Daddy-O. With Fatty Arbuckle Jr., Larry Fine Jr., and Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle (1887-1933) was one of the great comedians of the silent film era. In 1921, at the height of his career, he was charged with murdering a young starlet named Virginia Rappe. Although he was ultimately acquitted, the scandal destroyed his career. Larry Fine (1902-1975) was one of the Three Stooges. He joined the team in 1925, when original member Shemp left the comedy trio. Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990) was a Vegas staple and a member of Hollywood’s Rat Pack. Why does it hurt when I P and Q? A reference to the Frank Zappa song "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?" (Thanks to Matt Czupryna for this reference.) Dan Rostenkowski goes for a drive. Dan Rostenkowski (1928-2010) served in Congress from 1959-1995 and was the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in the 1980s, where he helped shape tax legislation. In 1986 he was arrested for driving under the influence near his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Congressman, be careful … Congressman, stay on the road … Congressman … A variation on the classic standup routine by comedian Bob Newhart, in which he plays a stressed-out driving instructor. [Sung.] Rollercoaster … A line from the 1975 song “Love Rollercoaster” by the Ohio Players. Sample lyrics: “Rollercoaster of love/Oh yeah it's rollercoaster time/Lovin' you is really wild/Oh it’s just a love rollercoaster/Step right up and get your tickets.” Bob Marley (1945-1981) was a Jamaican singer-songwriter whose brand of rock-influenced reggae became famous around the world. He also played a prominent political role in his native country, working for peace among the warring factions there. Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was a Spanish painter and one of the leaders of the surrealist movement. His flamboyant personal eccentricity sometimes pushed his extremely well-painted works out of the spotlight. How would you like it if somebody picked your apples? A reference to the talking apple tree’s line in The Wizard of Oz (1939): “How would you like it if someone came along and picked something off of you?” “Honk-honk.” [Sung.] State Farm Insurance … State Farm is an insurance company offering homeowners, auto, life, and other types of insurance. In the 1960s, the company used a jingle in its ads in which a car horn honked three times to signify the three kinds of insurance it offered: auto, life, and fire. He’s like a youthful Jabba the Hutt. Jabba the Hutt is a character from the Star Wars trilogy of films by George Lucas. A large, sluglike creature, Jabba was a kingpin of crime with a hefty grudge against one Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford). Although he is mentioned in the first two films of the trilogy, he appears only in the third, Return of the Jedi. (He also makes a brief appearance in The Phantom Menace and appears in a restored, deleted scene in the expanded version of A New Hope.) Shut up, Iris. I tell you, shut up. A reference to Show 415, The Beatniks. And it’s the Terry-Thomas gang. Terry-Thomas (1911-1990) was a British comedian who appeared in a string of movies during the 1950s, usually playing a high-class cad. William Jefferson Clinton was the forty-second president of the United States. While his terms in office were marked by unprecedented prosperity, they were also dogged by scandal, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives over the Monica Lewinsky affair. Velvet Fog, actually. “The Velvet Fog” was a longtime nickname for Mel Torme, referring to the rich quality of his singing voice. "Ha ha ha!" Ho ho ho! —And a couple of tra-la-las! The opening lines to the song "The Merry Old Land of Oz," from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Sample lyrics: "Ha ha ha/Ho ho ho/And a couple of tra-la-las/That's how we laugh the day away/In the merry old land of Oz." (Thanks to Erik Topp for this reference.) It’s Orange Crush and I’m a diabetic! Orange Crush is a brand of orange-flavored soda pop introduced in the early 20th century and enjoying continued popularity ever since. Don’t worry, honey, the state troopers won’t tell anybody. According to a woman named Paula Jones, in 1991, when Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas, she was summoned to his hotel room by a state trooper, where Clinton made sexual advances toward her. Jones filed a lawsuit against Clinton but it was thrown out in 1998. Yes, it’s teenage angst, with Les Brown and his Band of Renown. Les Brown and His Band of Renown are a swing band that have been performing for more than 70 years. They started out under Les Brown Sr. (1912-2001); after his death, the band continued under the direction of his son, Les Brown Jr. They are a regular sight in the resort town of Branson, Missouri. Fight choreography by Jimmy Finlayson. James Finlayson (1887-1953) was a bald, mustachioed comedian known for his double take followed by a slow burn, seen most famously in a series of Laurel & Hardy shorts. He appeared in nearly 200 films during his career. Hey, her Dockers shrunk. Dockers is a line of casual khaki slacks—largely for men, although there is a women’s line as well—manufactured by Levi’s. Bridge on the River Wow. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 film about British prisoners of war during World War II who are forced to build a bridge for their Japanese captors. And down goes Blaze! A reference to one of the regulars on the TV show American Gladiators, which aired from 1989-1997. "Blaze" was actually named Sha-Ri Pendleton and appeared on the program from 1989-1992. (Thanks to Ray Frost for this reference.) C’mon, ever do it with a Rhodes scholar? Come on, baby. Bill Clinton was a Rhodes scholar, an international scholarship fund that chooses just 32 students a year for a two-year course of study at Oxford University in England. It’s the battle of the Laura Petries! Laura Petrie was the wife of Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, a sitcom that ran from 1961-1966. The part was played by Mary Tyler Moore (1936-2017). She was known for her flashy capri pants, which caused quite a storm of controversy when they first made an appearance. There can be only one. An impression of Mary Tyler Moore (see previous note). The line “There can be only one” is from the 1986 film Highlander. [Sung.] Life Savers, a part of living … This is an advertising jingle for Life Savers hard candy, which aired in the 1970s. This is why there’s no alcohol at Euro Disney. When Euro Disney opened outside Paris, it banned alcohol from the park, in accordance with the rules at other Disney resorts. However, it caused a stink in Europe, where attitudes toward alcohol are less puritanical than they are in the United States. Since then, Euro Disney has added “zones” where alcohol is permitted. Hey, Hillary who, baby? Bill Clinton’s wife, a politician in her own right, is named Hillary Rodham Clinton. Whoa, now she’s Stacey Koon. Stacey Koon was one of the four LA police officers who assaulted motorist Rodney King in 1991, a beating that was tape-recorded by a bystander and that shocked the nation. His acquittal by a jury of Simi Valley residents touched off the Los Angeles riots of 1992. The officers were then brought up on federal charges of violating King’s civil rights and were convicted. Koon was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Nick Mancuso is Edsel. Nick Mancuso is an actor who has appeared in dozens of films and television series. He starred in the short-lived TV series Stingray in 1985, playing Ray, a mysterious man who dresses in black, drives a Stingray, and helps people with their personal problems. The Edsel was a line of cars introduced in the late 1950s by Ford. They are generally considered to be a marketing disaster, selling far fewer cars than was anticipated and being taken off the market within a few years. Girls Town. –Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters is a 1984 film starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis as ghost-fighting entrepreneurs. The movie’s theme song featured the repeated musical question “Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!” You grab the Eucharist. I’ll wait here. In most Christian churches, the Eucharist is a sacrament, meant to represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Eucharist can mean the rite itself, which involves consuming bread and wine, or it can mean the bread (or crackers) or wine (or grape juice) used in the rite. From the 1963 hit song "Dominique" by Belgian nun Jeanine Deckers, a.k.a. the Singing Nun. Sample lyrics: "Dominique-nique-nique/I will tell of Dominique/His goodness to acclaim ..." (Thanks to Erik Topp for this reference.) I did it my way. A line from the song “My Way,” written by Paul Anka and performed most famously by Frank Sinatra. Sample lyrics: “I’ve lived a life that’s full/I’ve traveled each and ev’ry highway/And more, much more than this/I did it my way.” (Thanks to Brian Dermody for pointing out the Paul Anka reference.) Over there, it’s Major Barbara. Major Barbara is a play by George Bernard Shaw about a young, idealistic woman who belongs to the Salvation Army, partly in protest against her wealthy industrialist father. It was made into a film in 1941. It’s Clifford Irving’s. Clifford Irving is a writer who, in 1971, claimed he had permission to write an authorized biography of reclusive tycoon Howard Hughes and brandished tapes and documents to prove it. In 1972, when it came to light that Hughes had not given his permission and the documents were forgeries, Irving was sent to prison for fraud. Let’s get you back to Letterman’s house. Over the years, David Letterman was dogged by a persistent stalker named Margaret Ray who repeatedly broke into his house, claiming that she was his wife and the mother of his (nonexistent) child. In 1998 she committed suicide by kneeling in front of an oncoming train. Okay, it was Snoop Doggy Dogg. Snoop Doggy Dogg was an early stage name for rapper Cardozar Calvin Broadus, Jr.—he later changed it to Snoop Dogg, then to Snoop Lion during a brief flirtation with Jamaican reggae and Rastafarianism, then back to Snoop Dogg. He has had numerous problems with women over the years, ranging from using nude photos without permission to allegations of sexual assault. Make him promise not to sing “She’s Having My Baby.” “(You’re) Having My Baby” is one of Paul Anka’s signature songs; a duet with female singer Odia Coates, it was a number-one hit in 1974. Sample lyrics: “Havin' my baby/What a lovely way of sayin'/How much you love me/Havin' my baby/What a lovely way of sayin'/What you're thinkin' of me.” It appears to be roundly hated, judging from the comments I found online. Do you know “White Light, White Heat”? “White Light, White Heat” is a song by the Velvet Underground. Sample lyrics: “White light, White light goin' messin' up my mind/White light, and don't you know its gonna make me go blind/White heat, aww white heat it tickle me down to my toes/White light, ooo have mercy white light have it goodness knows.” I’m gonna kill Eisenhower to prove my love for him! Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower (1890-1969) was the thirty-fourth president of the United States and the supreme commander of Allied forces in World War II. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by a young man named John Hinckley Jr., who claimed he did it in order to impress actress Jodie Foster, whom he was obsessed with. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a mental institution. An imitation of David White as Larry Tate, Darrin Stephens’ neurotic boss on the TV series Bewitched, which aired from 1964-1972. Active in Kiwanis. Kiwanis International is a service organization dedicated to meeting the needs of children. “I’m gonna keep this girl in jail if I have to go to the governor.” And J.J. The Governor and J.J. was a TV sitcom about the governor of a Midwestern state and his vivacious daughter. It aired from 1969-1972. Meanwhile, at Monticello … Monticello is the estate of founding father Thomas Jefferson. The main house is a fine example of the neoclassical style. He somewhat obsessively built and rebuilt his home over the course of forty or so years. Stately Girls Town … On the campy TV series Batman, Bruce Wayne’s mansion was always referred to as “stately Wayne Manor.” [Sung.] Gigantor … A line from the Dickies song of the same name, released as a single in 1978. (Thanks to Michael Grutchfield for this reference.) Hayley Mills, Hayley Mills, Hayley Mills, and Hayley Mills with Hayley Mills in … Hayley Mills appeared in a long string of films for Disney in the 1960s. Of these, the best known is The Parent Trap (1961), in which Mills played a dual role as twins scheming to reunite their divorced parents. [Sung.] Gigantor … See note on "Gigantor," above. Yes, it’s a tribute to British bombshell Diana Dors. Diana Dors (1931-1984) was a blond actress in England in the 1950s. She had a number of roles in dreadful films and in her later years became quite stout. Her death in 1984 brought an outpouring of affection that had been notably lacking in her lifetime. Bless me, Peter O’Toole. Peter O’Toole (1932-2013) was a highly talented actor and a leading man in films for many years. In the 1972 film The Ruling Class, he played a paranoid schizophrenic British earl who thinks he is Jesus Christ. (Thanks to Michael Grutchfield for the Ruling Class reference.) Some guy. He’s supposed to be good for you. A riff on the classic “Hey, Mikey!” TV commercial for Life cereal, which first aired in 1972 and ran for 12 years thereafter, becoming one of the longest-running commercials ever. The ad begins with two boys—who eventually convince younger kid Mikey to try Life cereal—staring down a bowl of the stuff and saying: “Some cereal. It’s supposed to be good for you ...” “The patron saint of hopeless causes.” He was with the Mariners. The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team in the American League, based in Seattle, Washington. During the 1970s and 1980s the team racked up a dismal record, although in the 1990s and 2000s they started to recover. “I stopped believing in Santa Claus a long time ago.” No, Lupita. A reference to Show 521, Santa Claus. “Think of him as a microphone.” Or radar! A reference to Show 520, Radar Secret Service. She’s dressed like Minnie Mouse, only many times hotter. Minnie Mouse was Mickey Mouse’s love interest in the series of animated shorts produced by Disney. She first appeared in 1928. And Father Fabio. Fabio Lanzoni, usually known just as Fabio, is a male model known for his flowing blond locks and muscular physique. He became famous posing for a series of romance novel covers in the 1980s and '90s and went on to appear in movies and TV shows, usually playing himself. Oh, and Benny Hill comes over and chases us around now and then. A reference to skit comedy show The Benny Hill Show, which ran on British television for 20 years, beginning in 1969. The series was characterized by risqué humor of the burlesque-show variety, high-speed chases set to bouncy music, and lots of curvaceous women in skimpy bikinis being pursued by horny men. Romulans were one of the villainous races on the original Star Trek TV series, which aired from 1966-1969. They closely resembled Vulcans, with their pointed ears and slanted eyebrows. Hath not a chick eyes? A reference to Shylock’s famous speech in the Williams Shakespeare play The Merchant of Venice: “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is?” “The door, Flo.” Loved you in Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck set in the Dust Bowl era, about a poor family’s pilgrimage to California to try to find a better life. It was made into a movie in 1940. Walker, Texas Ranger! Walker, Texas Ranger was a television series that aired from 1993-2001. It starred martial artist Chuck Norris as Cordell Walker, a Texas lawman who fought crime with his partner, Jimmy Trivette. (Thanks to Erik Topp for pointing out this reference.) Fraus, Colonel Klink wants to see you all out front! Colonel Wilhelm Klink was the inept commander of the German prison camp in the television series Hogan’s Heroes, which aired from 1965-1971. The part was played by Werner Klemperer. “Just come to me.” [Sung.] I’ll be there … A riff on the song “I’ll Be There,” by the Jackson 5. Sample lyrics: “I'll be there to protect you (yeah baby)/With unselfish love that respects you/Just call my name, I'll be there (I'll be there).” (Thanks to Matt Czupryna for this reference.) But first I want Joe Frazier. “I want Joe Frazier!” is what Muhammad Ali famously screamed after one of his fights. The two fought in 1975 in Manila (the “Thrilla in Manila,” as the fight was dubbed). Ali won on a technical knockout after fourteen rounds. I’m pregnant with Paul Anka’s child, you know … See note on "Having My Baby," above. Mark Eden’s greatest triumph. The Mark Eden bust developer was a gizmo sold by the Mark Eden Company, widely advertised in women's magazines and tabloids durings the 1960s and 1970s, that promised to give women a dramatically fuller bustline. The U.S. Postal Service disagreed, and starting in 1965 it repeatedly went after the company for mail fraud. The company won several rounds, but its founder was finally indicted on eleven counts of mail fraud in 1981, and the bust developer was no more. (Thanks to R. Harrison for this reference.) Well, Paul Anka and I pulled off the Brinks job together. Probably refers to the great Brinks robbery of January 17, 1950, in which a group of armed men robbed the Brinks building in Boston, getting away with $1.2 million in cash and another $1.5 million in checks, money orders, etc. All nine robbers were caught and sentenced to prison, but most of the loot was never recovered. Careful—Greg Morris is in there. Greg Morris (1933-1996) was an actor best known for his portrayal of technical expert Barney Collier on Mission: Impossible, which aired from 1966-1973. "Not wonderful. Crazy, cool, fantabulous." [Sung.] Night for a moondance … A line from the Van Morrison song “Moondance.” Sample lyrics: “Well it's a marvelous night for a moondance/With the stars up above in your eyes/A fantabulous night to make romance/'neath the color of October skies.” Stupid recessed filter. No taste! Parliament cigarettes, a Philip Morris brand, were introduced in 1931. One of the first brands of filtered cigarettes, Parliaments were distinctive for their recessed filter, which they boasted would prevent tar from making contact with the smoker’s lips. Van Doren meets Van Damme in Death Warrant. Death Warrant is a 1990 film starring Belgian martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme as a policeman investigating murders in a jail. She kind of looks like Robespierre, what with the robe and all. Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) was one of the leaders of the French Revolution. He helped lead France during the period known as the Terror, when thousands of people were executed for allegedly plotting against the revolution. Eventually he fell from power and was himself executed by guillotine. Mamie sabotages the sisters’ seder by planting multiple afikomen. A seder is the communal meal enjoyed by Jews and some Christians during the holiday of Passover. The afikomen is a piece of unleavened bread hidden somewhere in the house for the children to find. Oh, hello dah-ling … An imitation of Hungarian socialite, actress, and serial monogamist (grand total: nine husbands) Zsa Zsa Gabor (1917-2016). Not as well known for her acting as her sister Eva (1919-1995) (Green Acres), Zsa Zsa was more likely to turn up on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson or in a guest role on The Love Boat. Randy Breuer! That’s who she looks like! Randy Breuer played professional basketball for the Minnesota Timberwolves for a few years in the early 1990s. Ah, rock ‘em sock ‘em nun. Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots by Marx has been a popular kids' game since 1964. Two plastic robots, the Red Rocker and the Blue Bomber, duke it out in a boxing ring; a blow to the chin causes their head to pop up, winning the round. The game was invented by Chicago-based toy design firm Marvin Glass and Associates. Meanwhile, at Father O’Rourke’s house … Father Joseph F. O’Rourke (1938-2008) was an American Catholic priest who was defrocked as a result of his pro-choice and anti-war activism. He was defrocked by the Church in 1974 for baptizing a baby against orders. The baby's mother had told a newspaper that while she herself was not in favor of abortion, she was in favor of allowing others to make their own choice. For this crime, local church authorities denied her child the rite of baptism; O'Rourke did it anyway and was dismissed from the Church. He later married and had a child. Didn’t the Ritz Brothers stay at this house? –Chased by a big ape or something? In the 1939 film The Gorilla, the Ritz Brothers played detectives trying to solve murders apparently committed by a giant ape. And how many martinis will sir be downing this evening? Martinis are a genre of alcoholic cocktail made with gin (or sometimes vodka) and vermouth and usually garnished with olives or lemon rind. They were first served in the late 1800s. Hey, Tom Skerritt! Tom Skerritt is an actor who has appeared in such movies as Alien and M*A*S*H and starred in the TV series Picket Fences, which aired from 1992-1996. George Winston, unbearded. George Winston is a bearded pianist and composer whose instrumental albums of the 1980s and 1990s were at the forefront of “New Age” music’s popularity. His compositions are marked by extremely slow tempos, repetitive structures, and lots of space between notes—one concert review said simply: “Hey, wake up. It’s intermission.” He looks like a young Cher. Cher (b. Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre) is a singer and actress who has appeared on various television shows and in films. She first rose to fame as the co-host of a series of TV variety shows with her then-husband, Sonny Bono. This song is longer than “Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida.” “Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida” is a song by American rock group Iron Butterfly. Written by founding member and lead vocalist Doug Ingle and released in 1968, the full version of the song is slightly more than 17 minutes long. The title is a drunken interpretation of the phrase “In the Garden of Eden.” A teen song for Bangladesh. The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is a South Asian country that borders India and Myanmar. The country became widely known to young Americans in 1971 following a pair of benefit concerts organized by former Beatle George Harrison, which featured an A-list roster of rock stars and were the first big benefit rock concerts of their kind. And so yet another season comes to an end for the Texaco Metropolitan Opera. The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company based in New York City. It has been broadcasting its performances over the radio for more than 70 years, almost all of those shows sponsored by Texaco. Hey, this is from Arte Johnson’s point of view! Comedian Arte Johnson was a regular on the TV sketch comedy show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (1968-1973). Periodically he would peer out from behind a potted plant, dressed as a German soldier, and inform the audience that the preceding sketch was “Very interesting, but stupid!” [Sung.] He’s just a lonely boy … “Lonely Boy” was Paul Anka’s first number-one hit song, released in 1959, the same year as Girls Town. Sample lyrics: “I’m just a lonely boy/Lonely and blue/I’m all alone/With nothin’ to do/I’ve got everything/You could think of/But all I want/Is someone to love.” Say, Leontyne Price. Leontyne Price is a black opera singer who rose to fame at a time when casting blacks in an opera was still deemed controversial. She is best known for her performances in the title role of Aida, an opera by Verdi. This is kind of good! It’s the Platters. The Platters were a doo-wop group during the 1950s, known for such hits as “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and “Only You.” Your warm tumbler of Jagermeister, ma’am. Jagermeister (“hunting-master” in German) is a German brand of liqueur that is 70 proof, vaguely licorice-flavored, very sweet, and meant to be served very cold. Shots of Jagermeister are a popular pickup bar and party beverage, leading to its notorious reputation as a source of crippling hangovers. As standup comic Matt Braunger put it: “Most hangovers, you’re worried about your health. Jager hangovers—you’re worried about your life.” Jagermeister is made with 56 herbs and spices, but there is no truth to the urban legend that it contains elk or deer blood. And your martini, sir. See note on martinis, above. Boys to men. –To woman. Boyz II Men are a Motown group founded in 1988 and enjoying a string of hits during the 1990s, including “One Sweet Day” and “End of the Road.” I’m invoking Landers’ law. Ann Landers, the advice columnist, had a rule she called “Landers’ law”: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. You know, when they appeared on Sullivan, they had to be shot above the eyebrows. With a camera. When Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, his energy and sexually suggestive moves shocked the audience; for his third and final appearance on the show, he was shot only from the waist up to spare Ed’s viewers the sight of his swiveling hips. They’re almost as good as the Statler Brothers. The Statler Brothers were a country band popular in the 1960s and 1970s. They toured with Johnny Cash for nearly a decade. Hit songs include “Flowers on the Wall” and “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine.” Whatchoo talkin’ about, Willis? This was the catchphrase of Gary Coleman in his role as Arnold Jackson on the TV sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, about a rich white family that adopts a couple of black kids. “Willis” was his brother, played by Todd Bridges. The show ran from 1978-1986. So, you ever read any Balzac? Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) was a 19th-century French novelist, credited with injecting realism into a genre known for its Gothic excess and romanticism. Among his many, many works are Old Father Goriot and Lost Illusions. This is Hell Week for nuns. The term “Hell Week” is used to describe a period of hazing in college fraternities and sororities, a particularly challenging component of training for Navy SEALs and police academies, and a week of technical rehearsals for theater performances. Yeah, well, you’re a cookie full of arsenic and I’d like to take a bite out of you. “I’d hate to take a bite out of you—you’re a cookie full of arsenic” is a line from the 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success. “Sit there.” And sing “Shock the Monkey.” “Shock the Monkey” is a song by Peter Gabriel. Sample lyrics: “Something knocked me out the trees/Now I'm on my knees/Cover me, darling please/Monkey, monkey, monkey/Don't you know when you're going to shock the monkey …” So this is Schindler’s List now? Schindler’s List is a 1993 film about Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist famed for having saved the lives of 1,300 Jews during World War II (1939-1945). [Chanted.] We got guts, yes we do, we got guts, how ‘bout you? A variation on that old cheerleading standby: “We’ve got spirit, yes we do, we’ve got spirit, how about you?” Mr. B, the floor is scrubbed. A reference to the TV sitcom Hazel, which aired from 1961-1966. It starred Shirley Booth (1898-1992) as Hazel Burke, a maid for a successful corporate lawyer and control freak who was continually upstaged by his housekeeper. "The two of us against the world." I love you, Mommy. "I love you, Mommy" is a line from the Helen Reddy song "You and Me Against the World." (Thanks to Matt Czupryna for this reference.) A reference to the TV sitcom Laverne and Shirley, which ran from 1976-1983. [Sung.] What’s new, gradypuss, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh … A variation on the classic Tom Jones song “What’s New Pussycat.” Sample lyrics: “What's new pussycat? Woah, woah/Pussycat, pussycat/I've got flowers/And lots of hours/To spend with you.” We’re all bozos on this bus. I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus is a 1971 album from surrealist comedy troupe Firesign Theatre. Their fourth release, the album features a complete narrative that covers both sides of the album, just over 39 minutes. Aikman slips out of the pocket and he’s a cupcake. Troy Aikman was the longtime quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. [Sung.] Where the boys are … Where the Boys Are is a 1960 comedy/drama about four coeds who travel to Fort Lauderdale on spring break, in search of fun and men. You know, if they were Baptist, they could have got the Platters. See note on the Platters, above. He’d never touch you, Terry. You’re dirt. A reference to Show 522, Teen-Age Crime Wave. You can sign with a card or a Visa or something. Visa Inc. is a financial services company mostly known for its credit cards. It began in 1958 as a Bank of America pilot program and took the name Visa in 1976 as a familiar term in many languages. In later years, the name became a “backronym” for “Visa International Service Association.” Heard of a Sadie Hawkins dance? This is kind of a k.d. lang dance. Traditionally, a Sadie Hawkins dance is a dance where the women invite the men instead of the other way around. It originated with the “L’il Abner” comic strip, where a character named Sadie Hawkins was introduced in 1937. Sadie Hawkins dances were popular during the 1940s and 1950s, and have endured to the present day. k.d. lang is a country/rock musician who has released such hit songs as “Constant Craving.” She has publicly declared her lesbianism and is an outspoken advocate of animal rights, both traits that have occasionally brought her into conflict with her country-music audience. It’s John Waters! John Waters is an off-the-wall Baltimore filmmaker who has directed such off-the-wall masterpieces as Pink Flamingos (1972) and Hairspray (1988). The Velvet Hog. See note on the Velvet Fog, above. [Sung.] Gigantor … See note on Gigantor, above. Tony Randall meets Harry O. Tony Randall (1920-2004) was an actor who is best known for playing neat freak Felix Unger on the TV series The Odd Couple, which ran from 1970-1975. Harry O was a television series that ran from 1974-1976. It starred David Janssen as world-weary private eye Harry Orwell. Oh man, I should have had the Clown Burger. There is apparently a restaurant in the Dallas-Fort Worth area called Clown Burger, but I have serious doubts that this is what the writers were referring to. Anyone? "It's all right, Mother." I'm only bleeding. A reference to the Bob Dylan song "It's All Right, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," off his album Bring It All Back Home. Sample lyrics: "Darkness at the break of noon/Shadows even the silver spoon/The handmade blade, the child's balloon/Eclipses both the sun and moon ..." (Thanks to Erik Topp for this reference.) Again, I don’t recall. An imitation of President Ronald Reagan, who served from 1981-1989. Reagan suffered from a notoriously bad memory all his life, and the problem only got worse during the Iran-contra scandal of 1986-1987, when members of his administration were accused of selling arms to Iran to fund a covert illegal war in Nicaragua. Stop giving me that Princess look. Elinor Donahue, who plays Mary Lee in Girls Town, was best known for her role as eldest daughter Betty Anderson on Father Knows Best; Betty's nickname on the show was "Princess." (Thanks to Casey Scott for this reference.) When did she turn into Polly Holliday? Polly Holliday is an actress best known for playing the acerbic waitress Flo on the TV series Alice (1976-1985) and then later on its short-lived spinoff, Flo (1980). What, Larry Hagman? What are you … Larry Hagman (1931-2012) was an actor known for his roles on I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas. And get Cher in here. See note on Cher, above. [Sung.] Doobly-doo … chestnuts roasting … That’s what I’m hungry for, chestnuts. Yeah. A reference to “The Christmas Song,” composed in 1946 by Mel Torme and Bob Wells and made famous by Nat King Cole. Sample lyrics: “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire/Jack Frost nipping on your nose/Yuletide carols being sung by a choir/And folks dressed up like Eskimos.” (Thanks to Andrew Cole for pointing out the Mel Torme connection.) Judy, Judy, Judy. An impersonation of Goober Pyle (George Lindsey) impersonating Cary Grant on The Andy Griffith Show (CBS, 1960-1968). Goober was known for his poor imitations of celebrities. Famously, Cary Grant never actually said “Judy, Judy, Judy,” but that line became the core of many bad imitations of him. Just reach out and touch someone, baby. “Reach out and touch someone” was an advertising slogan for AT&T in the early 1980s. [Sung.] Our father, who art in heaven … Tom is singing the rock version of “The Lord’s Prayer” that was a surprise hit in 1974 for Australian Roman Catholic nun Janet Mead. You gotta cut me, Mick. Cut me. The line “Cut me, Mick. Cut me” is from the 1976 film Rocky, when Rocky is pleading with his trainer to cut open his swollen eye so he can continue the fight. [Sung.] Theme to Sanford and Son. Tom is humming the theme to the TV sitcom Sanford and Son, which aired from 1972-1977. (Thanks to Matt Czupryna for this reference.) I know who you are, I saw what you did, and I know what you’re wearing. The 1965 horror movie I Know What You Did, starring Joan Crawford and John Ireland, is the heartwarming tale of two teenage girls whose prank phone call to a newly minted murderer doesn’t end well. It was followed by a 1988 made-for-TV remake. The similarly titled but totally different slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer came out in 1997 and was followed by two sequels, the second of which went straight to DVD. Oh, you have to use the St. Jude statue to talk to God, child. Judas Thaddaeus, also known as Jude, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. (Not the bad Judas; that was Judas Iscariot.) In the Catholic faith, St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes and desperate cases. Well, it's better than scatting. See note on scatting, above. Operator, information, get me Jesus on the line. A line from the gospel song “Operator,” written by William Spivery and first released by his quartet The Friendly Brothers in 1959. The Manhattan Transfer’s 1975 recording of it was their first successful single. Sample lyrics: “Operator/Information/Give me Jesus on the line/Operator/Information/I'd like to speak to a friend of mine.” Well, then, is Geddy Lee there? Geddy Lee is the singer and the bass player for the progressive rock band Rush. It’s the Jay Leno gang. Jay Leno is a standup comedian and the host of The Tonight Show from 1992-2014. He is well known as a collector of cars and motorcycles. The Malcolm Forbes. Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) was a publishing tycoon and an ardent motorcycling enthusiast. He even owned a motorcycle dealership in New Jersey. [Sung.] Go, greased lightning, you’re burning up the quarter mile … A line from the chorus to the song “Greased Lightning,” from the musical Grease. Sample lyrics: “Go greased lightning you're burning up the quarter mile/(Greased lightning go greased lightning)/Go greased lightning you're coasting through the heat lap trial/You are supreme the chicks'll cream for greased lightning …” Dick Contino looks like Dick Francis. Dick Francis (1920-2010) was an author and former jockey known for his mysteries set in the world of horse racing. Mel Torme and his Jazz Nazis swing into action. The National Socialist German Workers’ Party, popularly known as the Nazi Party, was the fascist political party started by Anton Drexler in 1920 and led by failed painter Adolf Hitler from 1921 until 1945. [Scatting.] Achtung, baby! Because they’re Nazis … Achtung Baby is the title of Irish rock group U2’s seventh studio album. Recorded in Berlin, Germany, and Dublin, Ireland, and released in late 1991, the album won a Grammy Award, sold millions of copies, and is considered by many rock critics to be one of the best albums of all time. “Achtung” is German for “danger.” It’s not a Pucci. Emilio Pucci (1914-1992) was a fashion designer popular during the 1950s and 1960s, known for his rich colors and dramatic patterns. Probably a reference to the pop musician who has also made forays into reggae, jazz, and classical music. He is best known for his song “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” But it could also be a reference to Shoeless Joe Jackson (1887-1951), the disgraced baseball player associated with the 1919 Black Sox World Series cheating scandal. Ben-Hur was a 1959 Hollywood epic starring Charlton Heston. One of the most famous scenes in the film is of a vicious chariot race. Kind of a Dirty Larry and Crazy Murray here. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is a 1974 movie about a couple who kidnap the daughter of a grocery store owner and spend the rest of the film getting chased by the cops. Now who’s going to make Daddy-O? A reference to Show 307, Daddy-O. It’s either Jerry Van Dyke or a trained chimp. Jerry Van Dyke is the brother of comedian Dick Van Dyke, and himself a comedian and actor. He has appeared in numerous television series, including The Dick Van Dyke Show, My Mother the Car, and Coach. It’s the Banana Splits show! The Banana Splits were animal rock musicians on a Saturday morning kiddie show in the late 1960s. They lived in Hocus Pocus Park, where their cuckoo clock always read 6:55. Must do Christina’s World … Christina’s World is a famous painting by Andrew Wyeth, showing a girl lying in a field, gazing at a distant farmhouse. It was painted in 1948. But I'm Princess! See above note. Hey, Sister C, this is Father Dowling. Father Dowling Mysteries is a TV mystery series about a Catholic priest in Chicago (played by Happy Days’ Dad Tom Bosley) who fights crime and solves mysteries, with the help of a plucky streetwise nun. You know, that old story. It debuted as a TV movie in 1987, ran on NBC for one season in 1989, then was cancelled and picked up by ABC for two more seasons. Say, is David Doyle … David Doyle (1929-1997) was an actor best known for his role as John Bosley on the TV series Charlie’s Angels, which aired from 1976-1981. You know, I know a lovely way to say how much you love me. See note on “Having My Baby,” above. Maybe Alan Dershowitz. Alan Dershowitz is a Harvard professor and lawyer famous for his role in several high-profile cases, including the O.J. Simpson trial, for which he was part of the defense. His role in defending Claus von Bulow was dramatized in the 1990 movie Reversal of Fortune. [Sung.] Tonight Show theme. This is the theme played on the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson would come onstage; it was composed by Paul Anka. (Thanks to Brian Dermody for the Anka reference.) Get out! Get out! Although Serafina lying in her bed most likely recalls the possessed Linda Blair in the 1973 film The Exorcist, Blair never says this line. The voice booming "Get out!" belongs to another cheesy '70s horror classic, the 1979 flick The Amityville Horror. (Thanks to Casey Scott for this reference.) [Sung.] I’m just a lonely boy … See note on “Lonely Boy,” above. Fabian Forte, known professionally as Fabian, was a teen idol during the late 1950s and 1960s. He has recorded dozens of albums and acted in more than 30 films, including Ten Little Indians, The Longest Day, and Thunder Alley. I’d snicker-snag on you. The Urban Dictionary website actually credits MST3K with bringing the phrase “snicker-snag,” meaning to hold someone down and dangle spit above their face, into the popular vernacular. We are knee-deep in a Freudian quagmire here. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian medical doctor who is generally considered the father of psychoanalysis. A firm believer in analyzing dreams to gain insight into one’s unconscious, Freud emphasized the influence of sexual desire on human psychology; formulated the concept of the id, the ego, and the superego; and laid the foundation for modern psychotherapy and the “talking cure.” Because in Cuckooville, there’s no Hit Parade. Your Hit Parade was a TV show that ran from 1950-1959, in which the show’s regular vocalists would sing the seven most popular songs of the week. “First step.” Bottle rockets. Bottle rockets are a type of firework, a very small skyrocket attached to a long, thin stick. The stick can be poked into the ground, or, as the name implies, an empty bottle can be used as a launching pad. Illegal in many U.S. states and in all of Canada, bottle rockets are nonetheless cheap and easy to get. This is the “Charge” fanfare written by USC student Tommy Walker in 1946. The fanfare is popular at baseball games and is commonly followed by the word “Charge!” being shouted by the crowd. [Sung.] You cuckoo Maria, baby … An imitation of crooner Frank Sinatra (1915-1998), who was known for inserting random phrases when he performed his songs, such as “With the cuckoo wind in your hair” or “Stick around, Jack.” Special lyrics by Sammy Cahn. Sammy Cahn (1913-1993) was a composer who worked with any number of performers over his lengthy career. He contributed many songs to movies, including “High Hopes” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie”; the latter was nominated for an Oscar, the former won one. In 1974 he got his own Broadway show, called Words and Music, which was hugely successful, touring for nearly two decades. Oh, I'm a bad girl. An imitation of comedian Lou Costello's trademark line "I'm a baaaad boy." (Thanks to Jerry Jones for this reference.) He uses pomade from Lourdes. Pomade is a hairstyling product for men: a greasy, waxy goo that gives hair a wet, shiny look. Pomade does not dry out by itself; it takes several washings to get it out of your hair. How did gangsters in the 1920s and “greasers” in the 1950s get that special slicked-back look? Pomade. Lourdes is a small town in southwestern France. In 1858 a young girl claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary in a grotto there; since then the town and its shrine to Mary have developed into a major destination for Roman Catholic pilgrims; water from the springs in the grotto has been officially credited with more than fifty miraculous healings by the Church. (Thanks to Bill Scalia for this reference.) Second verse, same as the first. This phrase is from the 1965 Herman’s Hermits song “I’m Henery the Eighth, I Am”; legend has it that the band simply forgot the words to the song and instead repeated the chorus over and over. All right, that was “Ave Maria,” going out to Our Lady of Perpetual Groovin’. “Ave Maria” is a composition by Franz Schubert written about 1825, part of his Opus 52, which adapts the epic Walter Scott poem Lady of the Lake. It uses the words from the traditional Latin prayer, which read (in translation, and in part): “Ave Maria! Ave Maria! Maiden mild!/Listen to a maiden's prayer!/Thou canst hear though from the wild/Thou canst save amid despair.” “Our Lady of Perpetual Groovin’” is a riff on Our Lady of Perpetual Help (also sometimes called Our Lady of Perpetual Succour), a famous Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary. Popular reproductions have been available for centuries, and she even has her own feast day: June 27. Meanwhile, at the Hotel New Hampshire … The Hotel New Hampshire is a novel by John Irving about a family that endures all sorts of disasters. It was made into a movie starring Rob Lowe in 1984. Paul Anka, P.I. A take on the TV series Magnum, P.I., which aired from 1980-1988. Ave Maria, huh? Come on, Ave Maria. See previous note on "Ave Maria." Tom Stewart killed me. A reference to Show 414, Tormented. Papillon is a 1973 film starring Steve McQueen as a prisoner bent on escape. Eww, there’s Clown Burger wrappers everywhere … french fries on the floor … See note on Clown Burger, above. Here’s the file on Thelma Jordon. The File on Thelma Jordon is a 1950 film noir starring Barbara Stanwyck in the title role. Chip Douglas was the youngest of the sons on the TV sitcom My Three Sons, which aired from 1960-1972. The part was played by Stanley Livingston. I tried to tell you the first time I came here! An imitation of Pee-wee Herman, a character created and performed by American comedian Paul Reubens. A hyperactive man-child in a too-tight grey suit with a red bowtie, Pee-wee began as a somewhat adult-oriented stage act involving many of Reubens’ fellow performers in The Groundlings improv comedy troupe in Los Angeles; the show was filmed for a very popular 1981 HBO special. Reubens then toned down the adult humor and brought Pee-wee to the big screen with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure in 1985, with Tim Burton directing. The movie was a hit and led to an Emmy Award-winning children’s television series, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which ran on CBS from 1986-1991. Another feature film, Big Top Pee-wee, was released in 1988. Following a scandal in 1991 (Reubens was arrested for masturbating in an adult movie theater), he put the Pee-wee character on ice until 2007. Something in “Dilbert.” Never mind. “Dilbert” is a comic strip about the foibles of working in an office; it has been published since 1989 and is one of the most successful comic strips of its time. “Tijuana!” Maybe I could push Herb Alpert over a cliff. Herb Alpert was the longtime leader of the Tijuana Brass, a brass band that became astoundingly successful in the 1960s. Possibly their most famous tune is “The Spanish Flea.” Agent Double-O Heaven. Agent 007 is the famous code designation for the suave superspy James Bond. My mother! My sister! My mother! My sister! A reference to the climactic scene of the 1974 film Chinatown, in which Jack Nicholson learns that thanks to an incestuous liaison, Faye Dunaway is both sister and mother to Katherine Cross. (Thanks to Erik Topp for pointing out this reference.) I see a guy with a dewlap and a Triumph, that’s all. Triumph was a British auto manufacturer, known for making small sports cars, that was founded in 1885 and ceased operations in 1984. The name is now owned by BMW. Never once did you ask me to your house for coffee, and now … A reference to the opening scene in the 1972 film The Godfather, in which Bonasera asks Don Corleone for a favor, and the Don replies, “We've known each other many years, but this is the first time you came to me for counsel, for help. I can't remember the last time that you invited me to your house for a cup of coffee, even though my wife is godmother to your only child. But let's be frank here: you never wanted my friendship. And you were afraid to be in my debt.” Mortimer Snerd was a ventriloquist's dummy, the slow-witted friend of wisecracking Charlie McCarthy. Both dummies were given voice by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (1903-1978), who first introduced Charlie McCarthy on the vaudeville stage in the late 1920s, and then Mortimer Snerd on various radio programs in the late 1930s. Two decades of appearances in numerous films and television programs followed. “I believe her.” I’ll tell my fellow Mounties. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, familiarly known as the Mounties, is the Canadian federal police force, in charge of enforcing parliamentary laws throughout the country. Their red uniforms and broad-brimmed hats are famous around the globe. Santa Claus is a fairly recent synthesis of various Christmas traditions of a being who delivers gifts the night before Christmas. Claus is based primarily on the Dutch gift-bringer Sinterklaas, who was in turn derived from the 4th-century historical figure Saint Nicholas of Myra. (Sinterklaas, rather than elves, has “Black Pete” to assist him, which leads to the [unfortunate, to American eyes] tradition of dressing up in blackface, a tradition that is becoming somewhat controversial in the Netherlands as well.) In the 1770s, the name “Santa Claus” was first published as an Americanized version of Sinterklaas. The commonly known attributes of Santa Claus’s legend (his North Pole residence, elven helpers, reindeer-powered sleigh, etc.) became widespread after the 1821 publication of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem “Old Santeclaus” and the 1823 publication of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (a.k.a. “The Night Before Christmas,” also probably written by Moore). The famous image of Santa Claus as a jolly, chubby man with a full white beard and red clothing with white trim comes from the mid-1800s art of famed cartoonist Thomas Nast. Nast’s illustrations later influenced depictions of Sinterklaas and England’s Father Christmas. Angels, I need you to go undercover as high school girls. An imitation of “Charlie” on the TV series Charlie’s Angels, which aired from 1976-1981. The voice of Charlie was supplied by John Forsythe. St. Jude is coming, and he’s packing heat. See note on St. Jude, above. This house is on the National Register of Historic Hideouts. The National Register of Historic Places is a national list of “cultural resources” deemed worthy of preservations. Said resources include historic districts, buildings, houses, and so forth. The National Register is part of the National Park Service. A Nancy Drew mystery. Nancy Drew is a fictional teenage detective in the classic series of children’s books. She debuted in 1930 and has remained consistently popular ever since. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. A line from a beloved and recurring sketch from the second season of the BBC comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus: in a seemingly unrelated skit, someone irritated at being asked numerous questions says, “Well, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition,” whereupon a group of Spanish Inquisitors, in historically accurate garb, bursts into the room and announces, “NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!” Not without my daughter! Not Without My Daughter is a 1991 film starring Sally Field as an American woman trying to get custody of her daughter from her Iranian husband. We’ll get you to the Copa in time for your gig. The Copacabana was a restaurant/nightclub in New York that drew crowds of celebrities both to its stage and to its audiences. Martin and Lewis performed there, as did Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Lucille Ball, Connie Francis, Nat King Cole—the list goes on and on. Sam Peckinpah’s Six Degrees of Separation. Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984) was a notoriously violent film director known for such movies as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Straw Dogs (1971). Six Degrees of Separation is a 1993 film starring Will Smith as a young man who moves in on a couple of rich New York art dealers by claiming to be a friend of their son’s. “Well, if that’s the way you want it.” Uh-huh, uh-huh. A callback to the song “That’s the Way (I Like It)” by K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Sample lyrics: “Oh, that's the way, uh-huh uh-huh/I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh/That's the way, uh-huh uh-huh/I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh.” Ah, the rock in Betty Lou’s pantyhose. The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag is a 1992 film starring Penelope Ann Miller as a mousy librarian who confesses to a crime she didn’t commit. Oh, that move is pure Emma Peel. Emma Peel was the smooth, karate-wielding spy on the British TV series The Avengers, which ran from 1961-1969. Peel was only on the show for a brief time, from 1965-1967, but she has become strongly identified with the series. The role was played by Diana Rigg. An evening at Jake LaMotta’s house. Jake LaMotta is a retired boxer, the world middleweight champion from 1949-1951, who had a turbulent personal life. His story was told in the 1980 film Raging Bull, with Robert De Niro playing the part of the boxer. And he can solve the Rubik’s Cube. The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik. It was a fad toy during the 1980s, consisting of a cube with different colored sides that rotated; the object was to get all the colors to match once you had scrambled the cube up. Even today you can find solutions to the Cube posted on the Net. Please, that’s where my Velvet Fog emanates from. See note on Velvet Fog, above. Well, he’s not really Clint Eastwood, but he gets the job done. Clint Eastwood is a tough-guy actor famous for such roles as the Man with No Name in a series of spaghetti westerns and brutal cop Harry Callahan in the series of Dirty Harry movies. [Sung.] Love lift us up where we belong … A line from the song “Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker. Sample lyrics: “Love lifts us up where we belong/Where the eagles cry/On a mountain high/Love lifts us up where we belong/Far from the world below/Up where the clear winds blow.” Cantinflas, a.k.a. Mario Moreno Reyes (1911-1993), was a wildly popular Mexican comedian from the 1930s through the 1970s. (Thanks to Casey Scott for this reference.) Change of habit! Change of Habit is a 1969 movie starring Elvis Presley as a young doctor and Mary Tyler Moore as the nun who falls in love with him. Whole lotta ends. A riff on the 1969 Led Zeppelin song “Whole Lotta Love,” which became their first hit single in the U.S.

When one thinks of Singapore the image of a clean city where there are no cigarette butts on the ground and chewing gum is illegal. Parks, gardens, and super trees also come to mind, as well as a fairly conservative life style. No wonder my cousin, who had the option of either going to Hong Kong or Singapore chose Hong Kong – in his mind Hong Kong was the place to party, where are Singapore was a place to raise a family. I guess that comment had sort of given me the wrong impression of the place, that is until I visited the city-state in 2015 to discover that it was not what I expected – particularly since Singapore also has its fair share of decent night life. Well, when I was wandering through one of the hawker food courts, I discovered one of the many craft beer stalls that unless you know somebody in the know, or spend your time exploring as much as possible, you will completely miss. Well, while I was ordering my beer I struck up a conversation with a couple of the people nearby, who assured me that Singapore was actually quite boring and the only things to do here was to drink, and to eat. Well, I’m not surprised about the eating part of Singapore because it is certainly a foodies paradise, and as for drinking, well there is much more on ofter here than just Tiger and Heiniken. Yet, you may be asking what about this comment about Singapore being sleazy? Surely this place can’t be sleazy? Well, not quite, because there are sleazy sides to pretty much every city – some of them are pretty out in the open (such as Bangkok), while others are tucked away, known only to those who are in the know. Mind you, if you know what you are looking for, you pretty much know where to go, and what to look for, and in the end you don’t need me to tell you anything. If you don’t know, well, you won’t be learning too much here, except from what I’ve discovered. For those of us in the west, the idea of Karaoke doesn’t come across as sleazy, that is unless you have been to parts of China, and Hong Kong. Sure, there are the innocent bars about where groups of friends go to sing (and sing badly at that), however there is another aspect to it. I discovered this in Hong Kong, when wandered into a nightclub only to discover that it wasn’t the same thing as a night club in Australia. In fact as you wander around parts of Kowloon, you’ll discover these bars where men go and rent women to sing to. I believe these types of bars are also referred to as KTV. What is interesting is that whoever wrote the wikipedia article was quite condemning of the places. Yet, when I read the post, I do somewhat agree with what was said, namely that they tend to promote the exploitation of women. Personally, I’ve never actually walked into one of these places, namely because I simply can’t sing, and am a little too self-conscious to make a fool out of myself (though I do sing in Church, but then again that is a different story because nobody can actually hear me, except for maybe the person standing next to me). Yet I discovered quite a few of them as I wandered down one of the streets in Singapore – in fact there was one almost every few metres on both sides of the road. Some seemed to be hostess bars (more on them in a second), while most of them were advertising themselves as being these KTV bars. A part of me was tempted to go and check one out, but since getting to that particular road was a little tricky, I decided that I would simply not bother, since I have better things to do with my time than singing out of tune. Before I continue Before I get go on I probably better tell you about the little story that happened to me when I was in Singapore last. Basically I was doing what I normally do when I am about and about, and that is look for some bars that I haven’t visited previously, and go in and have a drink. Well, I made my way down to Chinatown, or at least a part of Chinatown that I hadn’t visited, and checked out a couple of bars. I wandered into a rather innocuous place, and suddenly discovered that it was full of women. Well, I suspect that there are bars that the ladies like to frequent, so I went and ordered myself a drink and sat down. Before I knew it a young lady approached me and started talking with me. Well, that normally doesn’t happen so I pretty quickly clued on to where I was and basically waited for the inevitable ‘will you buy me a drink’. Okay, if I was in Australia, then that probably would just be part and parcel of going out for a night on the town (though once again that rarely happens to me), however this was Singapore. Actually, I didn’t expect that Singapore would be any different to Australia, that is until I discovered that there were two different menus, one for the guy (I was wondering why the beer was so cheap here, particularly since this does happen to be Singapore) and one for the girl. Well, needless to say the girl-beer was pretty expensive, like $50.00. Which being Singapore is an awful lot of money. Anyway, I finished my beer and made my way out of there. Then there was my adventure the next night when I was wandering around another part of town, looking for some more bars, and Google Maps led me to this shopping complex. Well, not quite, because as it turned out, the only shops in this shopping complex were massage parlours. Okay, there were bars, but the names of these bars indicated that these weren’t the type of bars that you would visit for a quiet drink. In fact, even the bars that had rather normal names were far from being normal bars. Paying for Company I read an interesting article once (though sure enough I can’t find it again) where somebody claimed that they were surprised to discover that there were prostitutes in Singpore. Mind you, it was one of those articles written by a journalist that basically skirts the subject and makes himself (or herself), sound like a puritanical member of society. Surely this journalist didn’t have to make a song and dance about not going into a brothel. It sounded to me like another article where the writer was talking about ladyboys in Thailand and how he was fooled by one (but then again everybody gets fooled by ladyboys in Thailand). His definition of being fooled was simply thinking that the ladyboy was a girl when he was not. Anyway, I I’m not so much writing about prostitution, or ladyboys in this part, but rather the hostess bars. This is something that we don’t seem to have in the west, but are common throughout South-East Asia. Basically you wander into a bar that happens to be full of women, and depending on the bar they will either swarm you, or one will simply come a chat to you. Well, chatting is not quite the way I’d put it because if you want to talk to them you have to buy them a drink, and while your drink is cheap, theirs isn’t. Once you have bought them a drink you have until they have finished the drink, and when they have done so you can be assured that the mamasang will be there in a flash telling you that can no longer talk with her until you buy her another drink. So, the question is whether you can touch them. In the traditional Japanese bars the answer is a definite no. In Singapore it is a little different, and generally does depend on the girl. Personally, I prefer not to touch, but depending on where you end up you will have some pretty aggressive women that will put their paws all over you in an attempt to get you to buy them a drink, and not just one, but multiple. I remember standing in one place and watching a group of white males (and they seem to always be white males) coming up an escalator to be swarmed by a heap of girls, all of them trying to get them to come into their bars. The girls are predominately from the Phillipines, though you do get a few from other places (such as Thailand). Another interesting thing I noticed was that one bar I visited advertised itself as having Euro-girls. Now guess where these girls were actually from – Russia (and the Urkaine). In fact there was one woman there that was from Siberia, which because it is part of Russia makes her technically a Euro-girl. Mind you, I couldn’t speak to them too much, because pretty quickly a mamasang appeared demanding that I buy them a drink. These places did bring back some memories of my younger days, particularly of a friend who would frequently visit gentlemen’s clubs (or strip joints would be a more appropriate term). He was making quite a lot of money, but he ended up spending all of it down at these places, places that make me wonder whether it is actually worth spending your money at, namely because in the end you come out with nothing. Yet, in one aspect my friend didn’t have all that much success with women, so found that simply paying them money to talk to him was actually much easier. In a way it was the same with these bars, because in the end, all you are doing, is paying money to talk to girls, and some of these girls go to extreme lengths to get that money from you. The thing with my friend was that his boss’s business failed, and ended up bringing my friend down with him. Those Four Floors So, the question comes down to what about prostitution in Singapore – is it legal? Well, no it isn’t, but then again it is illegal in Thailand as well, but you wouldn’t know it if you went for a walk down Bangala Road in Patong Beach at night. Yet the authorities sort of turn a blind eye – though I say sort of. You could say that they allow some clubs to operate, and also have women health checked as well. However, they are still pretty strict, particularly when it comes to pimping, but then again pimping tends to go hand in hand with sex slavery in all of its forms. So, we have this building where the first four floors are a shopping centre – sort of. Well, not quite because the only businesses that you will find here are massage parlours and bars. The bars are basically the afore mentioned hostess bars, and the decent ones are actually the ones where the women aren’t storming you to try and drag you in (quite possibly because there isn’t as much pressure on them). The other thing, as I mentioned, are massage parlours – well sort of. It is similar to what I have seen elsewhere, such as the Netherlands and Germany, where the sex worker rents out a room, and will stand outside waiting for a customer to come along. Well, not quite since some of them are a lot more proactive than others. The reason that I made reference to massage is because that is what they will offer you when you pass, probably because they aren’t actually allowed to sell such services out in the open. As such, this is probably more like Thailand, where they offer you their extras once you are inside. Mind you, most people who want these particular services know what to look for in the end, and know where to go. There is a reason why there are so many Thai Massage places in Australia, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the popularity of Thai massages. Just ask the guy who gets paid to have sex for a living.

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Dating service eharmony cautions that while it does monitor for unusual account activity, eharmony does not conduct criminal background checks at the time an account is registered of course, running a background check on your partner can throw a wrench into your relationship should your partner find. But what if they're an axe murderer i'd rather pay a small fee for a background check than be chopped into little pieces i think caution like that is fine, but i don't think a background check is the only solution instead, i would recommend what i' ve recommended many times on this site: ensure the first date. Even if you're not a reporter, background-check companies like instant checkmate let you easily (and anonymously) search through criminal records, birth records, public social media profiles, financial history, and driving records for around $27 a month for unlimited access, you can play your own gumshoe the site takes. 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Affordable service 100% confidential dating scam investigation advanced technologies believe that you may be on a website or dating someone that is a scam our team of professional private investigators will help you get down to the bottom of the case by conducting a detailed background check on your request. Online dating, the importance of the background check is on the rise with over 85 million people on the top three match-making websites,. So you met someone online a background check can save your life no matter where you meet someone - an online dating service or a local pub - no one is going to do a background check for you and affirm that the person you're about to date is who they say they are but, at least when you meet someone in person,. Background check dating site Online dating has become so popular in the us that one out of four couples meet online for example, 20 million people use eharmonycom and 15 million have a profile on matchcom an increasing number of single americans meet their significant other online: 20 million people visit a dating site at least. Cbs 2 checked five dating sites, and all of them warn they do not she doesn't believe in running background checks on potential dates. Anyone with a sex offender record is banned on this dating app, which runs a background check other dating sites follow a similar process - eharmony also scans for sex offenders, and match has agreed to clamp down on users with a criminal record it is hoped that others will follow their lead - because. - Here is a side-by-side comparison of background check websites offering criminal record, sex offender, bankruptcy and tax lien checks. - In this guide, we'll explore the potential dangers of dating before offering but try to refrain from overselling yourself on your dating app or site. Background checks in the world of online dating and meeting new people, you want to be sure that people are who they say they are fortunately, many online dating sites have processes in place to weed out the fake and inaccurate profiles sometimes, though, you want to be as safe as possible and find out a bit more. You are registered on an online dating website and find somebody you like be also careful of schemes such as the real love scam, background check, free. Unlike other dating sites,validate does not store personal or sensitive background information that can be stolen or hacked we also do not offer automatic membership renewals, which means that your credit card and paypal information is never retained this is yet another layer of protection for our valued members. The age of online dating, however, has opened up many new possibilities for deception and duplicity a simple seekverify background check is the easiest and most convenient way of putting your mind at ease while this may seem like a very unromantic way of approaching new relationships, it has become a necessity of.

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You've meticulously planned out what to play for your processional, recessional, first dance, parent dances, and your final exit song, plus handed over a list of your favorite tunes to the DJ. But there's one more music-related task to take care of: the wedding do-not-play list. Unless you want some unpleasant surprises during your reception, it's best to curate a list of wedding songs to skip. Believe it or not, many songs that are played at weddings actually have negative messages about love. They're about breakups, stalking, desperation, and obsession. Or, they're overtly sexual or otherwise inappropriate. Here, 30 songs that should probably be on your "do not play" list. This is literally the anthem of a stalker: "I'll be watching you. Every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take." Yes, you'll always love your new husband. But this isn't a love song. It's a breakup song: "Bittersweet memories, that is all I'm taking with me. So goodbye, please don't cry. We both know I'm not what you, you need." Not only is this also about a breakup, it's about the utter desperation in the breakup aftermath: "I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue, and I'd go crawling down the avenue. No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do to make you feel my love." Unless you want to get all emo at your reception, this is a song to skip. And if you listen closely, this is another breakup ballad: "Nobody said it was easy. It's such a shame for us to part. Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard. Oh, take me back to the start." As beautiful as a song as it is, no one can listen to this without thinking of Leonardo DiCaprio sinking to the bottom of the sea. Plus, it's about a lost love: "Every night in my dreams I see you, I feel you. That is how I know you, go on." These lyrics aren't really that sweet: "Baby's got blue skies up ahead, but in this I'm a rain cloud. You know she likes a dry kind of love. Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing. I'm losing you." Also, did you know Bono wrote this as an apology to his wife for forgetting her birthday? Not exactly how you want to kick off your marriage. Here's another song that makes it into wedding playlists…but it's all about a relationship gone south: "I should have changed that stupid lock. I should have made you leave your key if I'd known for just one second you'd be back to bother me. Go on now, go, walk out the door. Just turn around now 'cause you're not welcome anymore." The "little sister" of the song refers to an ex-girlfriend who's marrying someone else. The lyrics, accordingly, are quite angsty: "There is nothin' fair in this world, there is nothin' safe in this world, and there's nothin' sure in this world, and there's nothin' pure in this world." The chart topper is indisputably popular, having sold more than 1.35 million copies since its release in 1981. Nonetheless, the lyrics aren't appropriate for a wedding reception: "Don't touch me please, I cannot stand the way you tease. I love you though you hurt me so, now I'm going to pack my things and go." Take a close read of those lyrics — they're telling men to marry ugly women because their marriage will be better: "If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife. So from my personal point of view get an ugly girl to marry you. A pretty woman makes her husband look small and very often causes his downfall. As soon as he marries her then she starts to do the things that will break his heart." No, thanks. As much as you and your fiancé may love classic rock, the big day is all about giving love a good name. Steer clear of the songs that make love seem anything less than sunshine and roses, at least for this one day. Even if you're the biggest Kanye fan in the world, steer clear of this Late Registration hit (even the acoustic cover by the Vitamin String Quartet). Though you and the bridal party knows all the words, save it for your next karaoke night. Grandma and grandpa might not appreciate this tune. In that same vein, this might be your jam. But as a general rule of thumb, steer clear of any and all odes to the derrière (but make sure to include it on your getting-ready playlist with your bridesmaids!). Though the beat lends itself to dancing, the lyrics of this song (which arguably promotes rape culture) are plain creepy: "I hate these blurred lines! I know you want it…But you're a good girl! The way you grab me, must wanna get nasty. Go ahead, get at me." Finally, while the following aren't inappropriate," it can be argued they're a bit cheesy. Play at your own risk! Did one of your favorite songs make it onto our "Wedding Do Not Play List 2018?" No worries. Having said all of this, every couple should still play anything they want at their wedding (even these songs on the "Wedding Do Not Play List 2018")! We just want to give a little PSA so that you know what you're getting yourselves into. WATCH: The Best Movie Wedding Hair of All Time

SHE did not recognize the woman who was standing over her sleeping mother. At the side of her mother’s bed this woman stood still, intently gazing down while the sleeping woman’s torso slowly rose and receded with long breaths. There was no way to tell time but it seemed to only last half a minute before the entire room faded into darkness. Hours later when it was morning the daughter woke up and recalled the image of her mother sleeping and realized it was a dream. Over coffee she told her mother about the dream. SEVERAL days later the mother happened to be going through a box of old photographs. When she came across a picture of her mother she called her daughter over to take a look at the grandmother she had never known. When the daughter looked at the photograph of her deceased grandmother she became a bit flustered. She turned to her mother and told her that was the woman from last night’s dream who was standing next to the bed. I have always believed there are no accidents, that there is a reason for everything. Most of the time I never focused on the possibility an outside source was influencing the event; I just took things at face value. Earlier I mentioned in a review about getting a new furnace but what I did not tell you were the events that led up to it. The thermostat that controlled the furnace broke; I initially thought it just needed new batteries. After trying the different batteries I had in the house, besides keeping up with my hectic schedule, three days had passed before I could get a repair person to come in and check out the equipment. During this time we had unusually warm weather so I did not have to be concerned with my sensitivity to cold. When the service tech came and started to work on the thermostat a device he was wearing started to flash a bright red. It turned out I had a dangerous level of carbon monoxide in the house. If the thermostat had not broken I would not have known. Was it possible someone was looking out for me? MOST of the townsfolk thought Thomas, played by Anton Yelchin (Star Trek franchise, Green Room), was odd. It was just because they did not know he could see dead people. This comedic horror fantasy was based on the novel by Dean Koontz (Watchers, Whispers). I enjoyed the cast which also included Willem Dafoe (The Fault in our Stars, Platoon) as Chief Wyatt Porter and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Free State of Jones, Jupiter Ascending) as Viola. If it was not for the actors this DVD would have been even lighter fare. There was nothing new about the story and the special effects were not all that special. To me it appeared as if this movie was made on the cheap, not that I want to say anything negative towards the actors. They could only do what the script told them to do. What it comes down to is this: there is nothing awful or great about this film. It was just an amusement to pass the time, with a touch of sadness seeing Anton. 1 ¾ stars — DVD It still can have disastrous effects and doesn’t make things better, but at least there were no ill intentions associated with it. As part of my banter during my classes I do public service announcements, a portion of it is listing any product recalls. There have been some that were not due to human error; for example, a bad circuit board installed into a motor vehicle or a food item that did not receive all of its ingredients due to a glitch during the automated manufacturing process. I understand things can happen. The issue I have is when individuals willingly keep the status quo though they know it could be dangerous for the consumer. Listen to these product recalls I have previously announced in class: a paper lantern that could catch on fire because the votive candle holders were too close to the lamp’s sides or how about the children’s swing set where the seats hung too low, causing kids to scrape their legs on the ground when swinging. You are telling me no one bothered to inspect the product before selling it? It has been drummed into all of our heads that time is money; no one wants to spend a lot of time on something if it affects the bottom line. I find it sad and miss the old days (listen to me) when people cared about their products and even other people. This is why I was so taken aback by this drama. FORENSIC neuropathologist Dr. Bennett Omalu, played by Will Smith (I Am Legend, Hancock), worked at the coroner’s office in Pittsburgh. When the corpse of one of the Pittsburgh Steeler’s star football players arrived, Dr. Omalu could not understand why such a relatively young person had suffered such ailments and was now dead. It was a mystery he was determined to solve. This film festival winning sports film played partially like a thriller. Based on a true story I have to give credit to Will Smith. The character Will portrayed was such a gentle, down to earth man that one just wanted to root for him. Maybe the accent was weak but Will made this role one of his best performances I have ever seen. With Alec Baldwin (The Departed, 30 Rock-TV) as Dr. Julian Bailes and Albert Brooks (Drive, Defending Your Life) as Dr. Cyril Wecht, the supporting cast did a fine job with their characters even though they were not written with much depth to them. There were a couple of scenes that felt forced, where the writers wanted to inject an element of suspense; they were only a distraction for me. On the other hand I will say as the pieces of this mystery were being discovered there was one particular scene that was powerful and put everything into place for me. After seeing this picture I honestly cannot imagine a parent, who has children playing in some type of sports activity, not questioning their decision to allow their children’s participation. There are people among us pretending they are somebody else due to embarrassment or envy. They want nothing to do with individuals who know their history. Within this group you find folk who were guided into taking on a different persona by a parent or mentor. I knew a few people who transformed themselves into someone different. There was one man who grew up in my neighborhood who went to the same schools I did, bought food from the same local grocery and drug stores and even participated in the same summer camp program. However, it apparently was not enough for him. Out of nowhere he started talking with an accent as if he had spent sufficient time in a foreign country and took on their language. He stopped shopping in the neighborhood and began buying only designer clothing. I never understood the change in him but he never wavered from his new veneer. Within my circle of friends I had a friend who had a mother that acted in a couple of television commercials. She was quite the dramatic character and always pushed her daughter towards acting, even though her daughter had no desire to do it. My friend was constantly being dragged either to auditions or fittings for some, what I thought at least, unusual looking clothing. Thinking about them now, I can only imagine how much energy must have been devoted towards maintaining their transformations. UNCOMFORTABLE and despondent emerging pop star Noni, played by Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle, Larry Crowne); found herself sitting on the edge of the balcony outside her penthouse suite. Driven by her mother Macy Jean, played by Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting, Barney’s Version), Noni felt she had no other way out until police officer Kaz Nicol, played by Nate Parker (The Great Debaters, Red Tails), tried talking her off the ledge. This film festival nominated drama was written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees, Love & Basketball). Having first becoming aware of Gugu in the film Belle, I thought she did an admirable job of acting for this role. There was an easy chemistry between her and Nate. Including Danny Glover (The Color Purple, 2012) as Captain Nicol, I thought everyone’s acting was quite good overall. The script had its moments of real raw emotion that the actors were able to accentuate. Unfortunately the story did not offer any surprises; it was predictable for the most part. There was a familiarity to this film which I realized had to do with it having a similar story to the movie The Bodyguard. Starting out strong, I wished this picture would have stayed more unique and not try to be something else. 2 3/4 stars Searching through several sources I did not find where the word “different” was defined as being a bad thing. Some of the items I read said different was not being identical or alike in character or quality, to be separate or distinct; I did not find anything that conveyed a negative connotation. What I found troubling was when being different evoked hatred. Unaware of what started this phenomenon or even when it began; I just found it to be vulgar and ignorant. One of the scary aspects of this different/hatred connection is when an individual is filled with hatred. I hate sauerkraut but that hatred does not fill my veins up, fueling me to go off on someone who likes that shredded jellyfish looking stuff. It is disturbing to witness someone treating a person with disrespect simply because they are different. In my previous review I talked about being a disposable society; I was referring to manufactured products. What struck me in this movie, based on a true story, was how people could be considered disposable. The script for this film festival winner began when the writer saw a painting she found odd. Her exploration into the creation of that artwork spurred her to develop this amazing story. Matthew Goode (Stoker, Watchmen) as Captain Sir John Lindsay was the father of an illegitimate, mixed race daughter named Dido Belle Lindsay, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Larry Crowne, Odd Thomas). Soon to command a ship in the royal navy, Sir John Lindsay had to leave his daughter with his aunt and uncle, Lady and Lord Mansfield, played by Emily Watson (The Book Thief, War Horse) and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton, The Lone Ranger). The presence of Belle would be a concern for Lord Mansfield who happened to be the chief justice for the British courts. Why this beautifully told drama was special was due to the story being set in England during the 1700s. Slaves were a commodity that could be bought, traded or discarded. The richly detailed scenes and the way the story unfolded swept me in, filling me with emotions. I believed in the characters due to the strong acting from the cast, which also included Miranda Richardson (Empire of the Sun, The Crying Game) as Lady Ashford and Sam Reid (The Railway Man, Anonymous) as John Davinier. With strong elements I found it surprising how the story was still able to convey a certain delicateness. Still fresh in my mind after the movie ended, my thoughts lingered on how we have advanced as a society. However, I am very much aware there is still a deep hatred prevalent towards those who are different. 3 1/3 stars

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Criticism is the first behavior that is damaging. As Barrie states in her book Write It Out, Don't Fight It Out, " When you criticize your partner, you're basically suggesting that their personality or personality is your issue. The problem isn't the issue- - your partner is the issue. " Criticism differs in making a complaint regarding your spouse's behaviour. A complaint is a problem with the behaviour, not the individual. She had been taken aback when he stopped the kiss that was quick and then proceeded to ram his tongue into her mouth. Embarrassed by his behaviour in a public place, Elizabeth was puzzled why he'd do this. You would like to refrain from providing advice. Simply throw love and interest opinions to get her to keep on speaking, since you can find out some things. You definitely don't want it to be a meeting, but you really do want to give her chances to open up about what she is interested in because it creates connection and rapport contributes to a feeling of trust and talk to you. I'm certain that, in case you do not think like I do, you aren't going to enjoy and that is all right, I admire that. I ask that you think about if you are prepared or not to accept what I am about to explain to you as a way to leave everything behind.

Awakening the divine feminine in everyone The heart is the new baseline Naples, Florida, USA The heart is the new baseline Naples, Florida, USA This page was updated on 2/7/22. On 5/3/22 this domain was switched over to GoddessSphere by accident, which is a subdomain of Anakosha. That is why the url shows a different name than the website itself. Anakosha's original website was posted in 1994 as an active couples swing site by Diana and her husband. It focused on positive, friendly sexual sharing between couples. Many parties were hosted, couples entertained, events and mini-conventions shared. Diana's husband maintained the site until 2012. In 2012 the website was taken over by Diana who learned the technicalities of website editing. She expanded Anakosha to include her perspective on spiritual love, as a student of the esoteric and the ascended masters. Gradually her writings changed the feeling of the website. Swing events continued to take place but gradually declined, and all events stopped in 2017. Diana's writings continued as a blend of sex, spirituality and love. Three sister websites were added as Diana's interests expanded. (1) the galacticfederation-naplesfl.org in 2012. (2) The worldmeditiations.org website in 2013 and (3) the GoddessSphere.org in 2019. All of these were linked to Anakosha, but have all been removed as of 2021 as Diana found them too much to handle as separate entities. Anakosha is now Diana's only website. It is her personal platform for blogs, newsletters and re-postings of galactic and spiritual channelings. Anakosha is Diana's name in higher realms, given to her in a most unusual way (story HERE). Her journey into the light began many years prior (story HERE). Her spiritual interests have continued to expand and she has recorded much of her journey in these pages. You may contact her (me) via the contact page. Thank you, bless you. My personal comments on love Love on a personal level inspired my journey and eventually led me, via my spiritual practices, inward and away from engaging sexually with other people, which is a way for men and women to bring balance to themselves. The more masculine-prone person needs some feminine energy and vice versa. The inner disciplines began bringing me a more peaceful and calm balance, which caused me to not want to engage any more with others in that way. The inner studies and practices I was doing brought me peace, balance and harmony between my inner male and inner female. Love is the primary determiner. Though I am still married and living peacefully with my third husband going on 28 years, I engage physically with him through ascension and tantra techniques. I have been a student of the Ascended Masters since age 15, and have been connected to the Galactic Federation of Light since age 26. I had a breakdown at age 30, which caused me to leave my family, and at age 38 the Kundalini awakened full-blown in me suddenly and unexpectedly. Kundalini is a Sanskrit word which refers to the holy spirit of Christianity. This force is one of love. It has led me to investigate further what the Ascended Masters have been saying all along. The Ascended Master Djwal Khul is my chief number one mentor. He continues to guide me today and I have posted a number of articles by him. Love is the key note of kundalini. Love is the embodied aspect of Light. Light is information. When Light (information) is received by the mind, it becomes love when it is applied to the person's life in some way. It must be expressed outwardly, physically, for the light to become part of the life. The body transforms abstract information into Love. I learned that Love is much bigger than personal love, or sex. The concept of universal love expanded in me dramatically and sex became a shallow shell of a thing after a while. Love always starts as personal love but it expands from there. Or should. Learning how to expand Love is the great work of the ages. It will expand if it is genuine and real. Feeling love within oneself leads to expanding love to everyone you meet, which does not mean having sex with everyone you meet! Love becomes wider, deeper, more enriching, more pure, more noble, more healthy. Love takes on a more sacred feeling as one allows oneself to express what one feels. It is a loving connection with oneself and complicated issues tend to fall away as the heart connection expands. Personal love as dictated by cultural laws of possessiveness, jealousy and sin becomes selfish love, which shows up as neediness and not very nice to live with. Insecurity, low self esteem and other complicated issues take over the person who does not share and expand from the heart. It is a natural evolution for all human beings to share love freely with others through noble, higher-minded honesty, integrity and intentions. Love doesn't mean sexual connection. As I discovered this I began writing about it in the Anakosha website. Human consciousness expands with age and experience if one is willing to use the forgiveness process of letting go of whatever bothers you. We lift ourselves up and over the challenges or bad spots, or we suffer by going over the same ground, repeating over and over what hurt us. When we try to find answers in the past and the future is still unknown, the only place to go for relief is to the heart. The heart contains the purity of the original divine plan of the person, the original nature of the person. Go back to the beginning. I am Diana and I use this site to record my personal experiences which began with personal love, and then grew larger by engaging in the swinging lifestyle with other couples, and then grew larger by going inward to reconnect with my transcendent higher self. Sex was a remarkable stepping stone on my journey and I advocate it for anyone who consents, but never ever engage under pressure or duress. While I expand into areas beyond which most people want to go, I am still human and am learning to express my truth and wisdom more and more every day. This is what is meant by "grounding". Bringing it into action. Intimacy via the erotic lifestyle is a grounding process. It is challenging. It forces realization and discernment. But it is only good if it is not forced on anyone. Thus I am able to speak of controversial subjects by way of sharing my story. I have not abandoned sex, I have expanded it to its original nature, which is a sacred force. Sex is the physical act of rubbing it until it awakens and blossoms and rises to the crown of the head in full bloom. Sex is the corner stone of physicality. It cannot be abandoned but it must be anchored into one's reality with love, otherwise it is abusive. Love cannot to be set aside during the act of sex, or karmic backlashes will occur. It is in the application of love that physical sex becomes wondrous and evolves the spiritual nature of the two lovers. There are challenges in every human relationship. There is loneliness, depression, frustration and suffocation that borders on madness because of lack of love, kindness, acceptance, fairness, patience and understanding. These are among the feelings I have observed in people and seen the miraculous turn-arounds in swinging. Within every life and in every moment, no matter how bad it is, there is a way to break out of deep depression into refreshing clear air. I welcome contact if a reader is so moved to write to me. The ego is a strong, steel-like belt around the whole body and mind that has a strong hold on a person. But there is an easy-going, natural, warm and loving presence inside that is the person's original nature. It is fluid and caring once the heart connection is allowed to expand. Heaven really does exist behind the steel-like belt that holds us to limited beliefs imposed by tradition, culture and laws. This loving presence manages to break out from time to time in freedom, sort of like when the sun comes out from behind a cloud. Sometimes fear holds us back, in which case take a deep breath and determine to plunge into action mode. Tell the truth. The REAL truth. The truth that you have been wanting to say or do but have been holding back because you didn't want to hurt someone. Tell the truth and this will bring you back in good graces with universal law. It is universal law that holds us together in peace and harmony. Truth hurts only the small ego. It mends the divine Ego and pulls things back together in peace. Try it and see. This takes courage. Be a warrior of courage. This is forgiveness. Stop holding a truth back. Stop holding a feeling back. Your heart builds a shell around itself. When you stop holding it back you will feel amazing release and relief. Open your arms and let it fly free. Clear the air. Break the chain that binds you to an untruth Untruth and lies are the prison. Wisdom and guidance are then at your beck and call. Forgive, release and let go and huge barriers become tiny things that crumble into dust and blow away. Things get better. Relaxation occurs. Peace enters. A deep and abiding peace. In this website, sex and swinging has been a main theme. Many wrote in out of frustration. "How can I get my wife or husband into swinging?" Or something related. Polyamory, cheating, having illicit affairs, single people searching for the right person, so many issues that are fundamental and basic to the mental health of a human being have come before me. Experimenting in swinging or open dating or taking a lover on the side - all of this is good for a little while. It helps loosen the shackles and shake things up. Many people are enjoying this phase. But in the end these are bandaids to cover a broken heart. A heart that is in prison. It's a dead-end search. There is no savior except one's own nobler self. The solution is to bring balance between the INNER male and female tendencies. Every human being has both male and female abilities. We have become lopsided by choosing to be either passive or active, meaning female or male. Very few of us have combined both sides of us and therefore, balanced. We have not learned to balance ourselves. We haven't been educated. It was not in our cultural training, but we are in the midst of change. The next lesson is coming into play. Introducing the Divine Androgyny When it is time, we find ourselves moving on. Giving up. We pick up our own marbles and go home. The next stage is self-awareness. We look into the esoteric by whatever name that means. It is spiritual. We are led to explore deeper. Deep in the depths is love. We may not call it that, but love lies waiting. We still enjoy sensual intimacies. That doesn't change, but we grow up a little. We take charge of ourselves more. We assert ourselves a little more. There is no savior. We realize that. We have to adjust to our own inadequacies and accept them. It brings us peace. We learn to love ourselves as we are. And then doors open. We learn. We evolve. We stop running. We leave the herd mentality and start thinking for ourselves. The relationship of 30 or 40 years which has grown stale, boring and frustrating because "I can't get what I want from my partner" is not the partner's fault. Running away to another partner is not the answer. There is a kinder, gentler, more homogenous way. The ancient Tantra masters knew and taught the rare student who knocked on their door. They knew the student had to be ready first. They taught that the home life provides comfort and safety, and to stop dreaming for that which is not there. The home is a warm nest for physical well-being, protection, companionship and security while adventuring with the inner mind and making new inroads in consciousness, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. We are each on a solitary journey along with our brothers and sisters who are also on a solitary journey. We are learning from each other - not to fulfill each other but to exchange ideas and to reflect with each other, objectively. We have a place in the universe. We are here to secure our place in the sun. Like the plant which takes root and blossoms into its fullest nature for all to appreciate. Our home is our anchor. Be kind to your companions you live with. Your knowledge will be respected to the degree you respect others. We find the greater love comes from within, not from other people. We are wanderers and explorers across the face of the land. We have lived in many bodies, different races, different genders and different cultures. We are alone in our journey to find inner peace, inner love, inner light, and we have companions all along the way to share with. This is a journey of discovery about love. How to enhance the feelings of love. It is important for me to face my challenges today and suck it up, whatever is bothering me. Find a reasonable solution to give me a better feeling. It will change tomorrow. Yesterday needs to be reeled in, wrapped up and put away while I keep my heart open to receive more insight. I must do this even while I fill my role as a wife, mother, friend, neighbor to those around me because I am traveling my OWN journey. My path is different from theirs. I cannot expect them to walk in my shoes, because I cannot walk in theirs. We must remain connected to the feeling of love, connection, purity and truth in our OWN heart, for that is the primary reason we are here - to expand our love moment by moment even while we live, work and play with the others around us. I am learning. I find liberation in my ability to do this. We each have a secret inner life. We don't have to explain it to others. We find acceptable ways of expressing it. I feel free writing. Writing is my chosen path. I find a sense of fulfillment to share my secret inner life by posting my writings. I find tenderness, fulfillment, joy and clarity when I stop and go alone and soar into heights beyond everyone else because no one else is here with me. I am the first one to see this - me and my God self. I am alone and visions come. The smog clears and I am no longer needy. No longer lonely. I am blessed with a sense of belonging. My home provides me security. I make sure that my husband also feels content. I privately ray light and love to him, from my heart to his heart. Every one is gifted with self consciousness and it is up to them whether to expand it or not expand it. Their own God self is guiding them to follow the light and love within. Feelings of intimacy is the light in one body connecting with the light in another body. When light connects with light in two or three bodies, it is felt as love. I am where I am supposed to be and doing what I am supposed to be doing as long as I follow the feeling of rightness in my heart. There is no more need to search. Anakosha is my journey. Until recently I thought of myself as a feminine being, but in January 2022 a change in perspective took place. I used to seek for something "more" after being in the lifestyle of swinging for 40 years. Seeking for something more than what sex had to offer. This website has been my platform where I could write out my thoughts without someone dissing me or finding fault or arguing with me. Anakosha has become my notebook. It's the real me writing but I am changing all the while. As I explore all aspects of love, from lust to romance to human to divine, love has become the path. Love is found everywhere that I place it. I is found in the negative situations because I put it there myself. I have been following the path of love for a long time. I used to think it was in another person, but I found it is in my own consciousoness. I myself create the love around me. I plant it into relationships with friends, the boss, the child, the parent, the God in me. I place it in the sacred and the mundane, in the emotional, the mental, the spiritual, the silence, the animals and mosquitoes and ugly things of this world that scratch and bite and torment. There are many petals unfolding from the center within me. My heart center has become a shining sun. The ascended master Saint Germain has been teaching me. And the ascended master Djwal Khul. I'm just a normal average woman of senior age getting older by the month and year, and I don't know where this will lead. I am the sum of my journey up to today. Tonight it folds up and I go to sleep and the next day I unfold again and the journey brings me new things to be aware of. Life is constantly changing as I keep my mind still. A new process ALWAYS pops up. Always. And I make it normal and ordinary. It's not "pie in the sky" as in a fantasy. I love my way through the day. I don't have to leave the world to find heaven, happiness or fulfillment. I am living it every day because I am the one who casts either a shadow on it or a light. I own it to myself. I make it part of myself. If it is a negative I shine my consciousness into it until the negative disappears inside of me and becomes part of me, to live within me forever. Shifting to a higher dimension This website is not for everyone. Those who remember it as a couples swing site will stop visiting it. There's not much sex in it any more. I find many websites disappearing. They change when the owner changes or dies. Or they change names so you don't know what happened to the original. So often we lose connection with people who change and move on. I do not want to lose my connection to the past. I want people to find me. My beginning was important. The sexual journey launched me into higher planes of thought. It was the start of something beautiful, so I won't drop the thread. Instead I'm integrating new understandings into my old way of thinking. The human personality is constantly changing but the soul is the same all the way through the journey. My new understanding has changed from a linear approach to a circular approach. It is a broadening, widening, tolerating acceptance that includes other dimensions. It is natural to expand and evolve. We see things differently from one dimension to another but we don't forget where we came from. In the circular approach there are no dots to connect. Awareness expands like a light radiating from a light bulb being turned up. It expands in all directions at once, not just in one direction. It is similar to seeing from an airplane looking down and around in all directions, as compared to being on the ground. On the ground you can only see in one direction - where your eyes are looking. From the higher plane you can see the whole terrain. Clarity comes forth in a circular fashion, 360 degrees. In a flash sight expands as far as one is willing to go. In the fifth dimension we aren't forced to conform to physical senses. We are connected to the circular vision which is heart centered. The heart is the central control. We can see above us and we can see below us, and we can see further away and we can stop wherever we want to. We can stop and give ourself a rest from the expansion but we need to be in our hearts to do that. This is the new era we are entering today in 2022. It is an era of love and the heart is the hub of all that we do. The heart rests between the known and the unknown. That is the reason for becoming self-conscious in the heart by focusing often on the physical heart. Resting in the heart is a pause - a time out. It is enjoyable to pause and reflect. The heart is home, it is like a nest. Love is there, and the comfort of friends, family, close ones. Perhaps a cuddle awaits, which I love to do at night with my husband. The human journey is meant to be filled with loving companions and the fifth dimension provides this. There are no negatives in 5D. We are both spiritual AND physical. It is the realm of joining. It is our new reality and we are in charge when we are there, when we live by considering our hearts. Journaling is important, which is why I blog on Anakosha. It is putting the unknown feelings outside of oneself on paper or digital. It is a recording. I encourage everyone to do it because you can go back and remind yourself what your thinking was a year ago, five years ago, twenty years ago. My journals go back over 40 years. It has helped me to retain connection to myself, where I come from and where I am going. I am posting some of my old journals on this website. They begin when kundalini first awakened and I was mystified. Kundalini is a mystery. By recording my feelings I can recall what I was aware of back then. It is helping me now. I am able to connect the dots. I am carrying the love forward. I urge everyone to journal in some way that can be revisited later. We tend to forget our highs and achievements, and focus too much on our lows and our failures. It is important to remember the high points reached along the way and hold them up as a light to follow. They are new highs of spiritual growth and we have marked them. We tend to lose them in the mundane. The journey is one of Love unfolding The journey through life is a journey of love unfolding from within our own self conscious awareness. From that place we identify as "me". Heart and mind must be connected. We must spend time in the heart or we recycle the same old, same old thoughts in the mind. The journey is to connect the heart and the mind. They are really ONE. They're divided in a human being but the heart is more important because love comes through joining. Through flowing together. The mind is not designed to feel love. It is designed to be abstract intelligence. It perceives, thinks, analyzes and forms conclusions. It can form hateful conclusions or it can form loving conclusions but it doesn't FEEL them. Therefore, the mind cannot not feel its own conclusions. Often those conclusions are wrong. That's the problem. One does not know whether One has made a right conclusion or a wrong conclusion if they cannot feel the results through sensual feedback. Does it feel right? Or wrong? To know whether it is a right or wrong conclusion, one must own it by softening and opening the gate to the heart, which is the center of the chest. There is an etheric light in the heart that radiates but is often shut down. From the heart, which beats a steady rhythm, it takes those thoughts and sends them out into the body through the circulation system and feeds the nerves, muscles and tissues. Our body then FEELS the thoughts we entertained. Hateful thoughts cause us to feel angry. Loving thoughts cause us to feel warm and cuddly. It is our body, the intelligent cells in the body, that gives forth feeling, emotion and passion to our thoughts and perceptions. We use the heart to weaving thought downward into our body so we can feel what we are thinking. Those who do not use the heart to feel, are thinking the same thoughts over and over, producing a dangerous rut in the analyzing brain. The vehicle is spinning its wheels and going nowhere. It is important to take those thoughts and release them, empty them, down into the body to be measured and decided upon. It is this feedback upon which we make our choice whether to continue along this path or release it and turn in another direction. This is the process of free will decision-making. We are self-consciousness expanding or contracting. If you have a frustration going on in your life, then use your feelings to guide you. Back track and see where you are repeating a pattern of thought that you don't like. It takes effort and courage to change a long-established pattern of behavior, but that is what we must do to move ourselves out of a rut of spinning our wheels and going nowhere. Spinning wheels is building frustration and anger into the body, which continues to build to breaking point. We are owning a thing that is wrong for us. A wrong has nowhere to go. Talk about it to yourself. Journal. What are you repeating that is wrong? Tell someone or release it to the wild in nature by speaking it into the wind and sky with the words, "I release this (whatever), I forgive myself for holding on to it." To make it firm, burn the paper upon which you wrote the words. Love is clarity consciousness This website explores the process of love and how it unifies and clears the air of that which is not good for the self. There are energies and ways of life that are good for us, and there are energies that are NOT good for us. We need clarity to make the right decisions. The process of love is moving away the clouds of doubt that have gotten in the way, lodged inside us. How can we feel love when divisive issues are in the way? We begin with ourselves. The division that needs more clarity is the confusion between male and female (for me). This has been a great obstacle for me. My journey into love has brought me to where I am today. I see that I am one whole being with abilities to be sweetlly feminine and boldly masculine. I didn't know that in my early life. Now I do. I have been seeing through female eyes all my life, not male eyes. I felt unable to make decisions. This put me in the opposite corner from men most of the time. Today that has changed. I have grown in understanding this truth in myself. I am no longer split down the middle. My understanding has been healed. It has taken me a long time! A whole lifetime! This is the spiritual path of love which clears the air of negatives and doubts. Love is a spiritual energy. It is not physical energy. It is something one considers through thought and then tries it out on relatives and friends. The application of love is what changes perspectives. It is evolutionary. It is a spiritual journey that we are on, each of us. I play out my process in real life with real people, and you are doing the same. We learn by applying love to situations. I learned the most through the lifestyle of swinging and sexual intimacy because it was so up close and in my face. I learned not to judge other people but to look to myself for relief and ways out of situations. I have learned more about love through the sexual field than anywhere else. It is the closest. It is the holy aspect of the body but it is not to be misused or it turns negative. It was the greatest single-most important lesson of this entire life. The people in our lives consistently reflect back to us what we do not like. Usually these are "hot button" issues. They trigger intense responses. Whether we bite our tongue and remain silent or respond by lashing out, either way we do further damage to ourselves. The lesson is to lighten the world we live in by applying love. It neutralizes problems. Love is awareness. It's not a "thing". Applying love helps us and it helps those around us. Love is intelligent and knows exactly what to do at any given moment. Love can be radiated. Learning to radiate love is a secret skill. We need to practice radiating love. Applying love is a conscious act of choosing. Like choosing to pick up a tube of healing ointment instead of continuing to argue. Love is stopping the argument and radiating silent awareness. This is applying love to animosity. Love is what we are children of. You are a child of love but you need to activate it in yourself. No one else can do it for you. We are a child of God/Goddess, father/mother God. We MUST use it in our life if we want to become more stable, more real, more clear, and more loving and at peace with our lives. This website is all about love. Love is both human and divine. It is an awareness. It is the glue that keeps the human and divine connected. There is a web of life which weaves through all of us. It is very real. This web of life is consciousness and that is who we are: consciousness. The web of life is unseen because we are it! We are blind to our own powers. But it is what we are. We are consciousness. We can be asleep and not realize that, or we can be awake and realize the great potential of change that we carry around with us everywhere we go. can apply to our life. When we are asleep, we feel love only when we are happy or in love with someone. It feels good and it feels natural, as though we belong in that state. The web of life is always there. The natural state of happiness and love is always there in and around us. Falling in love doesn't last because we remain ignorant to who we are - that we are the cause of love. We start losing the "falling in love" feeling because we take it for granted that it will always be there. But it does not last. We diminish the consciousness of love by shifting our focus to external objects and letting our awareness drop, descending into negative problems. In India the word for web is "tantra". There is a rich legacy in India on Tantra that was left by ancient masters. Teachers of the tantric tradition have moved out across the globe in recent years, attempting to teach us, but analytic Westerners have objectified it and created a whole different meaning around Tantra. We have colored it sexual. The original teaching is about the applying love by maintaining a focus on love. We have the powers within us. Love and light (they are the same thing) permeates all things, creates all things, all creatures, all humans. It ties us together through the web of consciousness. Sex is physical, love is not Sex is what we call the act of human penetration through focus on the lower two chakras of the body. It is a physical act. In contrast, love is not an act but a state of awareness. It is a plane of existence - a web of life that connects us to all that is around us. The only way to reach that oneness state as a human being wanting sex with another human being, is to slow down the body, slow the mind to a standstill, cease all focus, drop all expectations. Then, in that open state of mind, whatever is outside of you enters in and merges with you and you and she or he become one. The shift in consciousness is not desire to ravish her or him sexually, but a loving reverence for life. It is a surrendering of the small self which is needy, to the greater self which is whole and connected to everything - the air, the leaf on the tree, the birds singing, the bed on which you sit and most of all, your lover. The word "sex" doesn't have any meaning then, because you are in a state in oneness. What happens then is beautiful. The evolution of Anakosha Anakosha used to be a swing site promoting couples swinging. When I was co-hosting swing parties for couples, I was also studying spiritual law (metaphysics) and practiced trance meditation, yoga and massage. Swinging was my nemesis. It was my teacher and my master. I can see this now from hindsight. As I worked and played in the lifestyle of swinging (along with my husband) I experienced many ups and downs. Many out-of-body raptures and many plummets into dark places. It was rigorous training. Socially, fun and liberating, it was also emotionally painful at times but I persevered. What was being pulled apart in me to cause discomfort was my old programming. The way I was raised. My old beliefs. Swinging is a powerful spiritual path because it IS sexual. Most people hide their sexual issues. In swinging you have to face them. It is not all fun, orgasms and laughter where you can do whatever you want. In order to get along with others in the same boat you have to exert self-discipline. It is inner work. You can't have it your way all of the time because there are others involved. It's a close family and you're all trying to fit in and work it out So you modify your behavior. You must adapt if you're going to be liked and accepted. Many people have difficulty doing that and drop out, but those who remain become more proficient in social graces. You are then part of the inner group. This was the arena where I practiced and grew up. I grew up more in the lifestyle of swinging than I did in the years prior. There is resistance in every walk of life. I had resistances. They kept popping up. My resistances needed to be broken down, but I learned to apply love to these difficult situations which was my background training in meditation. Sex vs. love I recognized early in my swinging career that swingers do not like the word "love". They do not want to use it, nor do they apply it. In swinging people use the first two chakras only, the sex chakras and the root chakra which contains the power of the body, the kundalini that is trying to rise but runs into blocks. Swingers don't face those blocks. Instead they play within the parameters of the first two chakras, hardly ever rising to the five other chakras higher up, including the heart. A few people are more cognizant of their higher realms and have been able to integrate their higher nature with their lower nature, but by and large, swingers remain focused in the lower two chakras. Although women have needs that are not met at the average swing party. Much of my writing comes from that sense of lack, which is a feminine need for more emotional connection than most men care to give. Swinging is more male orientated. There is a basic decency that runs through people in swinging, however, and it is this that inspires me. The reason for swing gatherings is to provide a safe and welcome environment for open sexuality to be explored. It was a good place for me to practice applying love to difficult sexual challenges. In secret, of course, and never talking about it, and being careful not to mention the L word, which swingers don't like to hear or deal with. Now that I have been integrating sex and spirituality for years and applying love to all sorts of encounters successfully, I feel it is time to open the door and introduce the L word and the teachings about love to the world of swinging. That means introducing the concept of chakras and meridians and the spiritual aura. What are chakras? Many people today have at least heard the word before. They might not know much about them and those who have enrolled in personal growth classes, like yoga, are perhaps more aware than others. But many do not understand the meaning of chakras. What they do, why are they here? The chakras are portals that, when opened or accessed, release pure loving, spiritual qualities of the soul. Each individual is in the process of working with their higher self, and the chakras are the portals through which the higher self is accessed. There are seven levels or dimensions that can be accessed while in a human body. They open when a person is ready to bring forth more refined, more pure and noble energies into their life. It is one's own higher self that is accessed by opening chakras. More of one's spiritual nature comes through. Chakras are pure spirit and when it's time, one may open spontaneously - for they open and close like eyes, emitting light or shutting light out. When open pure spirit then intermingles with normal human life and a certain softness or smoothness appears, adding more gentleness, beauty and happiness to life. Diminishing problems and other issues. There are seven major chakras, and many smaller ones. They are portals through which the life force enters the body and world. They heighten the quality of life. The energy is clean, pure and refreshing. The energy maintains the body in good healthy condition when the chakras are open and flowing. When one or more of them is closed, it is wise to do some inner work. Massage and meditation helps. There are certain exercises that can be practiced to open the chakras. They need to be acknowledged for it is consciousness work. With focused attention given to certain exercises, one can freshen or fluff up the energy around the chakra, and thus cleanse, soften and polish the tissues of the body so the energy is better prepared to activate. One does not usually notice when a chakra opens, it is too subtle. But living a more refined, loving and considerate life, would produce a loving response from one's own body. The body longs for more considerate attention and responds well to such attention. A more wonderful cosmic love arises and the quality of life improves in subtle ways. It is the next step in human evolution to integrate spirit and matter. Physical life is experienced in a more loving and beautiful way. Committing time to doing exercises as a daily practice opens the chakras and expands the auric field. We are going through a paradigm shift today. As people are becoming more aware on every level, Earth itself is rising to new levels of awareness. The atomic structure of trees, animals and humans is vibrating faster, spinning out new light and refinement. The effects are seen as earth changes, but our own bodies are feeling it too, as being too small, restrictive and confining. We seek more freedom. We are stretching ourselves into new parameters, opening chakras and spirit is entering our world, liberating the spiritual life that has been locked away for thousands upon thousands of years. This is an amazing new paradigm for humanity. We are on the brink of new discoveries, moving ourselves to a higher, more evolved intelligence. About this website This website is first of all a platform for my writings. This is my way of expressing myself. Everyone must find their own way to express who they are and what they know. This website has promoted quite a few events over the years, starting out with swing parties, then mini-conventions, beach parties, dinners, discussions, dances, massage parties and more. None of that is happening any more as I move from promoting events to channeling greater love and understanding. It is difficult to channel larger love and tolerance into a world that has become fixed into solid structures. Everything in our world is stretching itself and tearing itself apart, from economics, to educational systems, to social traditions, to health care and more. There are no walls or barriers in the greater consciousness that we are moving into, but there is resistance in the person who defends himself against change. In my experience hands-on loving, caring touch is the best way to soothe a body enough that it can FEEL the love being administered and allow it to spread throughout the body. But sex is an issue. Every human being carries stress within it and men especially feel the pressure to have sex whenever loving, caring touch is applied. This belief can be changed but it will take some education. Most everyone believes that sex is important to relieve stress and pressure, but this is a false belief. It is simply ingrained into the average person. But there are ancient Taoist and Tantra practices that can transform this belief into a more healthy and elevated way of loving and caring. Without this education and explanation, loving, caring massage brings sexual response automatically, habitually, up! This presents a problem to the one applying such loving, caring massage. I have just posted on this website an offering to give ascension massage, which is exactly this type of loving, caring massage I've been talking about. Click HERE to read about it. But as I step delicately out onto the public platform with this proposal and offering, I see that it is a work not finished. There is a growing need to present further education about sex. Activating the chakras and the light body clears confusions (blocks) in the spinal column. There is confusion around the area of the reproductive organs. Ascension massage will help melt the blocks if the person is consciously aware of what the process is and is prepared for it. Otherwise it won't do any good. The man or woman expecting someone to facilitate an orgasm for him or her will end up frustrated. It is not as prevalent in a woman for her body is designed differently but it can happen in women who are needy and expecting someone to relieve her needs. Her body is built as a receiver, not a pusher, and is more inward focused than a man. For men, ascension massage may be a challenge since it is a healing, cleansing and melting of blocks process. It is amazing how clean and refreshed one can feel when the etheric channels are open sufficiently to allow the raising of the energy up the spine to the heart, without sexual pressure pressing for release. Another issue that pops up with the ascension massage is on the women's side. A few women have closed off to massage because of their fear of sexual advances. Maybe they have closed off to lovemaking entirely, which contributes to even MORE stress in their life. Women also have a block at the sexual chakra, of a reverse nature. A woman's block is one of fear. A man's block is one of frustration at not getting what he wants. It is obvious that more instruction and understanding is needed in the sexual area. When everyone agrees before the massage not to expect sex or press for it, when they learn more about how to relax and allow the massage to do what it is supposed to do - RAISE the energies of the lower body up through the spinal canal clearing blocks as it goes - the effect is profound. Welcome to my website. Feel free to roam around. Copyright © Nancy Adler Wilson 2001-2022

Most graduation or commencement speeches put the B in Boring and fall into three categories: (1) standard “go change the world!” blah-blah you’ve heard 20 times before, (2) people trying to be very Deep, and Meaningful, but are mostly Confusing as they push their personal pet thing and (3) speakers trying to be funny when they have no experience or business being funny, ever, if their life depended upon it. This man avoids all of those pitfalls. It doesn’t hurt that he’s actually funny, and that he used to write speeches for some woman named Hillary and some dude named Barack. Also: We need a similar magazine on the West Coast full of such smart things about literature and politics and life. I say we call it The Pacific. Also-also: Hat tip to my speechwriter buddy Jen Waldref (on the Twitter: @olywordsmith) for sending this my way. Jen, you rock. Also-cubed: If you know of an epically bad graduation speech, I’d love to see the text or YouTube clip.

Have you ever missed an exit while driving and had to adjust your course, or perhaps GPS changed it for you? How about those of you on a weight loss journey. What happens when you hit a plateau? What do you do? Do you, like me, practice being conscious of directing and re-directing those thoughts? The agency of Adapting is all about the choices we make to change and the actions we take. First, let’s look at some of the definitions and terminology: In social science, the word agency is defined as the capacity of individuals to act independently and make their own free choices. Thus, one’s agency is one’s independent capacity or ability to work on one’s will. Agency, by definition, is action or intervention, especially such as to produce a particular effect. Is to make suitable to requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly. For example, suppose you adapt to a new situation or adapt yourself to it. In that case, you change your ideas or behavior to deal with it successfully. If you adapt something, you change it to make it suitable for a new purpose or situation. From a therapeutic perspective, occupation adaptation was applied and defined as adapting the self and the environment to provide holistic care or intervention. So, as Wholistic Women, The Agency of Adapting is the choice to act, and make a change to grow. However, there is something that often gets in our way. It’s called the comfort zone. Here’s a poem I think you may be able to relate to: How big is your comfort zone? Our comfort zones are filled with ease, safety, and security. They feel so comfortable like a favorite pair of cozy pajamas. To step outside of the comfort zone feels risky, and scary. Who remembers Turkish taffy candy and the satisfaction of beginning to pull your taffy apart? It felt so good to feel that stretch, but the taffy would suddenly snap in two and break if you were to stretch it too far. We feel good too when we stretch ourselves in new yet small ways outside of our comfort zone; however, if we try for too much, too fast, we can become frustrated and fail in our attempts. Change is complex. Here are a few benefits to being adaptable. • Being able to bounce back quicker • Better equipped to face challenges • More current and relevant • Open to new ideas and able to offer more value to yourself and those around you • Responds and sees growth opportunities. People who demonstrate the skill of adaptability have the mindset to be continually growing personally and professionally. This proactive attitude helps them be successful in all endeavors of life. Being flexible, resilient, and responsive to change in these COVID times, holiday times, and changing times is a fundamental skill set. Learning how to manage the stress of life is a true benefit to our overall health and wellness. In this Thanksgiving season, may you embrace this skill and feel the success it has to offer you. Change is constant and inevitable. So, learn to be a change agent and ADAPT! Have you ever listened to yourself say “I’m not good enough to do _________________fill in the blank? Here are a few more - Not pretty enough - Not smart enough - Too old - Too young - Too fake - I don’t have what it takes You get where I’m going with this. “Going through life with self-limiting beliefs is like keeping your foot on the brakes when you’re trying to accelerate.” – lotuspathway.com Messages like these can creep up on us for those out there who have an inner critic (and we all do). How do you think this affects our sense of self-worth? What is self-worth? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines self-worth as “a sense of one’s own value as a human being” and “a feeling that you are a good person who deserves to be treated with respect.” Having a sense of self-worth means that you value yourself primarily through your self-evaluated abilities and performance in your everyday activities-occupations. This is where we can be in our heads and start to hear the inner critic dish out some self-limiting beliefs. It can be anything from our appearance, class status, career status, bank account, social media following, technical abilities, etc. Guilt and shame have a sneaky way of showing up here. It would help you to challenge the inner critic whispering, sometimes even shouting these things into your ear. Are the statements factual, kind, something you need to know? If not, no matter what is being said by the inner critic, stand in your sacred worthiness, claim what is rightfully yours to own and protect. Remind yourself in that very instant YOU ARE ENOUGH, SAFE, and a WORTHY PERSON. Once you understand, accept, and love yourself for all you indeed are, a true miracle, you will no longer depend on external factors to validate your self-worth. You will begin to appreciate yourself and bask in self-love and self-acceptance. You have the power; you have always had the power. Understand your self-value comes from the internal measure you set for yourself. Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all. Thank you, Whitney! “When you mark where your self-doubt is, then you can begin to conquer it.” – Stephen Richards. “There is one grand lie-that we are limited. The only limits we have are the limits we believe.” -Wayne Dyer. According to Brené Brown in the book, Dare to Lead, “A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.” That includes us. So, what is the single most crucial factor that distinguishes great leaders from the rest? Which personal quality is most likely to inspire confidence and respect among our fellow humankind? Which aspect of YOU should you focus on to put your life on the fast track to success? The answer to all these questions is a single word: ENERGY! This is where the transformational energetic levels come in and can be a tool to help us measure and track what energy level we reside in and what our default energetic levels are. Let me explain. Bruce Schneider of the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) provides us a model with seven energetic levels in his book Energy Leadership. This helps us to become more aware of our personal and professional power. We will explore how to become an influential leader who motivates ourselves and others to reach our full potential. You will learn to recognize that the seven distinct levels are the key to understanding why everyone thinks and acts the way they do. Here are the seven levels: The leadership of self and others starts and ends with these seven energetic levels. So, let’s see how you are showing up? Please join me for the next WWR+A event, either virtually via Zoom, or at Brewers Alley in person, on September 29, 2021, to learn more about energy, my signature WORTHY model, the energy leadership index assessment, and much, much more. Book — Energy Leadership Lyrics for The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston What is Self-Worth, and How Do We Increase it? Dare to Lead | PDF Book Summary | By Brené Brown. What comes to your mind, or what do you think of when I say the word WATER? When I was just a young girl of about 9-years old, my family moved overseas. Every weekend, all six of us would pile into the red and white VW Camper and travel to some new and exciting location in Italy. My dad usually took the scenic route along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. I can still recall the thrill and utter amazement of coming around a corner only to see the magnificent majesty of the deep blue sea, Breathtaking! Water relaxes the mind, heals the body, soothes the heart, and calms the spirit! Water has always been an incredible source of healing for me; how about you? Have you ever heard of Blue Mind Science? Is it the study of the aquatic environment’s health benefits? It offers up a cure for whatever ails you, whether it’s stress, anxiety, or just a case of the blues. Humans are naturally drawn to water. That’s why most communities are built near bodies of water. Scientists are now quantifying the positive physical and cognitive effects of water. It turns out it leads to an improved overall sense of wellbeing and can produce a meditative state that makes us happier, healthier, calmer, creative, and more capable of AWE! And all for free! Whether it’s going down to the ocean, visiting the local swimming pool, sitting in a jacuzzi, the smell of rain, a good thunderstorm, or spa service, water heals. Did you know the word SPA is an abbreviation for Solus Par Aqua, which means health or healing through water? Have you ever experienced a Vichy shower? Now I would be remiss as an OT Practitioner and a Wholistic Empowerment Coach if I didn’t mention HYDRATION and its importance. Did you know that humans are approximately 70% water? Have you experienced any of the following? • Dry skin • Dry mouth • Brain fog • Muscle cramps • Rapid heart rate These are all symptoms of dehydration: Whether you choose to drink tap, spring, mineral, seltzer, purified, alkaline, vitamin, or well-water, so long as it is safe, the main goal is to stay hydrated and drink enough water each day to stay healthy and happy. Also, what is it they say about the fountain of youth? Why not stop for a spot of tea or pause this season for some delicious watermelon. Some benefits of water are: • Better heart health and overall health • Increased energy and brain function • Lubricated joints and more robust muscles • Ease with digestion • Maximized physical performance And the list goes on. Water is therapeutic! To you, it might just be water, but to me, it’s how I regain my sanity. I want to end today’s blog with a quote by Sir George Sitwell. “I have left almost to the last the magic of water, an element which owing to its changefulness of form and mood and color and to the vast range of its effects is ever the principal source of landscape beauty, and has like music a mysterious influence over the mind.” — Sir George Sitwell, On the Making of Gardens May you experience a wholehearted, wholistic sense of wellbeing, along with the Blue Mind happier, healthier, calmer, more creative, and capable of Awe, MAGIC OF WATER OFTEN! It’s was my turn to write a blog. The pressure was on, but the words just wouldn’t come. Then a thousand words came but just didn’t fit together. Then it occurred to me to use the universal language we all understand, Music to help you better understand Radical Love. Here goes! Waymaker, Miracle worker, Promise Keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are! For me, it starts and stops with Faith, something greater than myself. A place always welcomed, loved, seen as a miracle, wanted, appreciated, guided, and challenged. A place I can go to all the time or anytime I run out of my own strength. Here, I have someone to turn to. A power source I can plug into, pray to, believe in and feel energized from. It is the faith of my heart. A Miracle morning quiet time is my path to peace, focus, and power. A little tapping too, but that’s in another blog. What higher power is LOVE to you? Learning to Love Yourself Is the Greatest Love of All. Houston teaches us about self-love and the epic journey to self-realization. Whitney said, ” I feel that the road to self-love is a deep, intricate and challenging journey, but one that will teach us about the meaning of a true, genuine, happy, and honest existence”. Whitney struggled to embrace these words… However, she left us a powerful message of Love. “We must all learn how to love ourselves. It’s the only way we can save the world. We must equip our youth with the tools to create a better future for themselves and the next generation. We must teach our youth, and ourselves, the true meaning of self-love, The Greatest Love of All”. Casey Musgraves’s song Rainbow is a message she wrote to herself and anyone else who is feeling any weight on their shoulders. She sings to us that there has always been a rainbow hanging over your head. Casey Musgrave tells us we are all exceptional indeed! The Love of Others Once we value ourselves, we can then value others, too. Life, History, and COVID-19 has shown us how important this is. The Times They Are A-Changing said, Bob Dylan. I couldn’t come up with just one song, so here is a medley of songs. We genuinely do all need one another. We are truly interconnected. Bruno Mars says You Can Count on Me He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother With a Little Help from My Friends You’ve Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story We Are family People Who Need People In closing, Love, Self-Love and Loving others all combine together and form Radical Love! The final two songs today hopefully sum it up well. What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love! Michael Jackson, and a variety of very talented artist sing We Are The WORLD! What if you woke up with the snap of my fingers and believed, truly believed, without question, YOU were Worthy of Love? Pause for a moment and imagine that. In Karen Casey’s book Worthy of Love, she writes, “There is probably no expression in my life more difficult to feel, develop, offer, accept or maintain, than Love. And I have so desperately wanted to revel in it, certain that if only I “knew” Love, I’d forever be happy, content and serene every moment, never tragedy’s victim. Karen also says, “Of course, the irony is the harder we look for Love, the more blurred our vision. Only when we become quiet and trust that Love is our birthright do we discover its friendship has enfolded us”. Karen Casey’s book, Worthy of Love, Meditations on Loving Ourselves and Others was a gift to me I will always treasure. I offer this blog as a gift to you, on Love, and in Love. What would it feel like to Love yourself unconditionally and be comfortable in your skin with no need to do any number of the things we can come up with to NOT feel our feelings? - Check our email - Grab a snack - Find a project - Phone a friend One thing that can be an obstacle to self-love and very self-damaging is Self-Criticism. The inner critic is often experienced as negative thoughts about our behaviors or ourselves. We think being extra hard on ourselves will somehow motivate us to change. - Don’t ask for any help - Struggle with body image - Play the blame game - Don’t forgive, keep punishing - Get down on yourself - Difficult decision making - Comparing ourselves to others - Thinking I’m Never enough We work so hard to be more, better, fixed, but perhaps that is the problem, and the simple solution is accepting we don’t need to be fixed. It is only when we accept ourselves for who and what we are, and no longer require the acceptance and approval of others, we start to achieve our inner sense of peace and security. Self-Compassion and kindness offer us encouragement, support, and the Love we long for. It aligns us with what we truly want and desire. - No judging, blaming or criticizing - Peace of I’m enough - Faith Hope and Love Both self-criticism and self-compassion are ways we protect ourselves. They can be healthy ways to achieve personal growth; however, self-criticism can also be a barrier to our peace of mind. Here are 3 Powerful Ways to Promote Self-Love and Awareness - MINDFULNESS-maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts turn inward into what we are sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future. - JOURNALING-a way to explore our emotions, channel our feelings, and explore outcomes. Writing is a vehicle that allows us to slow down and pay attention to everything that is going on in our lives. One beneficial exercise is journaling your self-critical thought paired with a self-compassionate response. Give it a try. - HAVING A MANTRA/S-a mantra is a sacred utterance, a word, sound, or phrase repeated to aid in your concentration. It is believed to have spiritual and psychological power. It is said to be a tool of thought, a way to focus the mind. Just for fun, why not try Mirror Mantra’s with Crayola ® washable makers. SELF-Acceptance ask much of us, but I promise the journey and reward are worth it SELF-Compassion and kindness are powerful skills we can lean into more deeply each and every day to support ourselves. SELF-Love is a process, a practice for all our lives. The goal is to grow in it. No matter where you are on the journey, the most important thing we can do is to be ourselves, love ourselves, and celebrate our unique and miraculous authenticity. Then, we can contribute to the ripple effect of LOVE throughout this world. Remember Always, or remind yourself with a quick snap of the fingers, YOU ARE WORTHY! YOU ARE A MIRACLE! YOU ARE AMAZING! Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince others, Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others approval Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts her. About today’s author: Kat Middleton is an Empowerment Coach who is passionate about her work and advocates for authentic wholehearted living both personally and professionally. She is a Certified Professional Coach and Occupational Therapy Practitioner who loves working with people holistically; helping others to help themselves see things through new filters. Kat joined the Wholistic Woman community in September of 2017. She is very excited to learn, grow, and have much fun with this AMAZING group of women. Kat is available for private one-on-one coaching as well as group workshops, seminars, and speaking events.

For all these positive developments, this era was far from perfect. Theater snobs like to imagine these decades (particularly the Fifties) as some kind of theoretically perfect alternative to the supposed tawdriness of modern Broadway, to the point where calling this era “The Golden Age of Broadway” has become common parlance even among people who aren’t theater snobs. It does look like more was being accomplished in terms of producing classic shows, but that’s mostly due to the tempo of production being much faster in those days…they were producing far more shows each season back then, so of course they had five or six major titles in a year as opposed to one or two. The difference was economic, not artistic…and what the theater snobs don’t want to remember is that the tempo for producing absolute garbage was just as quick in comparison to today. Six shows in particular prove this beyond a shadow of a doubt, and are fun to bring up when you encounter a theater snob gushing about the Fifties “Golden Age”…Buttrio Square, Hit the Trail, Portofino, Happy Town, Ankles Aweigh, and Whoop-Up. The first four are known to today’s theatergoers only by reputation, but they are widely agreed by the experts in the subject to be the four worst musicals of all time…yes, worse than any of the modern disasters that theater snobs routinely point to as signs of Broadway’s artistic apocalypse. According to the unlucky few who saw them, the first two were perhaps the stodgiest, most blatantly inept Operettas of all time, while the latter two were basically just an insane string of random nonsense. As for Ankles Aweigh and Whoop-Up, they actually lasted long enough for cast albums to be made, and between them they represent the Gold standard of hilariously awful Broadway fun-trash, sending generations of listeners into hysterics with their garishly horrible numbers. Ankles Aweigh, with a score by Sammy Fain (who had a fine career in Hollywood but never had much luck with stage musicals), features an indescribably cheesy opening, “Italy” (‘where the air is filled with pizza pie perfume’). This is followed by “Headin’ For the Bottom Blues” (which sounds for all the world like a drag-queen showcase), what may be the stupidest drinking song of all time, “Here’s to Dear Old Us”, and an Eleven-O’Clock song (literally called “An Eleven-O’Clock Song”) that cuts itself off before it climaxes. True, the tunes themselves are catchy, which helps explain the show’s value as an immortally terrible gem, but even the more tolerable items like the bouncy “Walk Like a Sailor” and the double-entendre comedy song “Nothing Can Replace a Man” can’t really be considered ‘good songs’ in the classic sense of the word. Whoop-Up, based on the same novel as the equally terrible Elvis vehicle Stay Away Joe from the Sixties, had a somewhat classier team of songwriters. Composer Moose Charlap wrote several of the classic tunes in the Mary Martin Peter Pan musical, including “I Won’t Grow Up”, “I Gotta Crow”, and “I’m Flying”. His lyricist, Normal Gimbel, would go on to pen the lyrics to several enduring Pop standards, including “The Girl from Ipanema”, “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, and “I Will Wait for You”. And the score they contributed to Whoop-Up has its moments, with songs like “When the Tall Man Talks” and “Quarrel-Tet” actually being halfway decent. The show even produced a minor semi-standard with the overlapping charm duet “Flattery”. But there’s enough material in the score that makes you wonder what kind of drugs the writers were taking to doom the entire enterprise. “Nobody Throw Those Bull” and “Til the Big Fat Moon Falls Down” in particular defy description, and numbers like “Chief Rocky Boy” and “The Best of What This Country’s Got (was taken from the Indians)” are politically incorrect enough to shock even the most devoted historical relativist. One of the numbers, the crass redneck come-on “Love Eyes”, even seems to have pioneered the “Bro-Country” genre a good fifty years before it became the scourge of Country radio. And lest you think all the terrible shows of this “Golden Age” were just bottom-dwelling flops written by nobodies and also-rans, there was plenty of embarrassing trash back then that involved major and even legendary names. Take, for example, the only Ethel Merman flop to actually come to Broadway with her in it, Happy Hunting (Merman normally had a near-infallible nose for sniffing out doomed shows and had quit more than one of them during rehearsals or tryouts, but her instincts seem to have failed her this time). The book, basically a happy-ending version of the plot of Stella Dallas set at a then-topical royal wedding, was one of the worst of the decade, and the score, by a pair of amateur songwriters who never did anything else of consequence, was so weak that even Merman couldn’t do much with it. Merman got three good numbers…the opening showstopper “Gee, But It’s Good to be Here”, the clever “Mr. Livingstone (I Presume)”, and the minor Pop hit “Mutual Admiration Society”…and one passable number (the generic but inoffensive “This is What I Call Love”). But the rest of her numbers constitute the worst material of her career…the maudlin ballads “The Game of Love” and “I’m a Funny Dame”, the flat-out bizarre “A New-Fangled Tango”, and the corny title-song. The numbers for the other characters were even worse, such as “If’n”, which sounds like a filler song from a bad Elvis movie, or “Everyone Who’s Who’s Who”, which plays like an Abbott and Costello routine without the punchline. On top of that, Merman and her leading man, Fernando Lamas, hated each other so much that they proved utterly incapable of hiding it in their performances. By the Beautiful Sea, a star vehicle for legendary comic actress Shirley Booth, wasn’t much better. In addition to its empty, unfunny and inconsistently-written book, it features a score even more barren than that of Happy Hunting. This is particularly disappointing given that, unlike that show, it was scored by a top-level composer and lyricist. Arthur Schwartz and Dorothy Fields were both seasoned and distinguished veterans of the Musical-Theater canon, and they had written a perfectly lovely score for an earlier Shirley Booth vehicle, the musical adaptation of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but their work here is vapid and inane. The score featured four completely irrelevant production numbers, three of them utterly generic and the fourth (“Hooray for George the Third”) downright bizarre. It also included a groan-inducing comic set piece for Booth, “I’d Rather Wake Up by Myself”, two overripe romantic ballads for the leading man, and a pair of tacky novelty numbers for a Black housekeeper whose racial sensitivity could be questioned even by Fifties standards. The only decent song in the show was “Old Enough to Love”, and that’s only because its tune was taken from a cut song from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn called “Tuscaloosa”. Oh, Captain also deserves a mention here, though in this case the show is more notorious for its backstage antics and what they inspired than anything about the actual show. The musical in itself is actually quite a bit more respectable than the others I’ve named so far. Yes, it was a silly, vulgar Musical sitcom that was a reductive adaptation of a much classier and more intelligent movie (The Captain’s Paradise), but the score was highly enjoyable, the cast was full of talent, and the show was surprisingly non-sexist by the standards of Fifties Musical sex comedies, even retaining a hint of the forward-looking gender politics of the original movie. What makes the show truly infamous is that it was the inspiration for the plot of Mel Brooks’ The Producers. Obviously the show was hardly a Springtime for Hitler-level comic disaster, but one of the show’s producers was caught selling phony shares of the show’s potential profits, and ultimately wound up in jail for it, something that has been tacitly acknowledged by Broadway insiders as a likely source of inspiration for Brooks’ film and subsequent musical. Frankly, even some of the hits of this era weren’t significantly more substantial than those of the Twenties and Thirties. Take the Judy Holliday vehicle Bells Are Ringing: it had a luminous star performance and, like its predecessor in the Comden and Green canon, Wonderful Town, it featured some truly ingenious comedy numbers. However, the plot reached levels of absurdity that are almost impossible to take seriously today, and the songs were tailored less to an actual character and more to Holliday herself. As proof of this, note that Wonderful Town can be revived without Rosalind Russell (indeed, Donna Murphy in the 2003 revival arguably gave a better performance than Russell herself), but Bells Are Ringing has never been successfully revived because it just doesn’t work without Holliday. In spite of its iconic star and fine score, it’s essentially an empty star vehicle, a relic of the Twenties and Thirties that was out of place in the deeper and more rational Fifties. Call Me Madam was even weaker, with a plot that, while topical at the time, was ultimately little more than an excuse for an Ethel Merman star turn, and a melodious but oddly generic score from Irving Berlin in his declining years (although it did produce three still-recognizable songs: “The Hostess With the Mostes’”, “You’re Just In Love”, and the campaign song for President Eisenhower, “They Like Ike”). Slightly more respectable, but still an example of this phenomenon, is the second hit for the team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, Damn Yankees. Both of Adler and Ross’ hits were masterminded by director George Abbott, who had been the dean of old-style Musical Comedy but was becoming increasingly irrelevant in this new era. Granted, as we’ve previously discussed, The Pajama Game managed to transcend its potboiler beginnings and emerge as a genuine classic. Damn Yankees, however, did not achieve this feat…its score left behind a few still-recognizable semi-standards, but there’s a reason no-one really performs it anymore. On paper, it had a much more interesting story than The Pajama Game…a middle-aged man makes a deal with the Devil (here going by the name of Mr. Applegate) in order to enable his favorite baseball team to win the Pennant, and is transformed into a young, unstoppably gifted baseball player. Despite the aid of Lola, a Satanic temptress who is sent to seduce him but instead falls in love with him, he very nearly loses his soul, but is ultimately saved by his genuine love for the wife he left behind. Unfortunately, this colorful story was told by way of a cluttered, sloppily-written book that made it seem far more conventional and mundane than it actually was. And the score was much more uneven than that of The Pajama Game. There were gems, to be sure…the irresistible cheer-up ditty “You’ve Gotta Have Heart” was a massive hit for a reason. And Lola’s signature numbers “A Little Brains, a Little Talent” and “Whatever Lola Wants” represent some of the best Musical Comedy writing of their time, as does Applegate’s deadpan villain song “Those Were the Good Old Days”. But the ballads were on the dull side, with “A Man Doesn’t Know” in particular being stiffer and more stilted than any Operetta ballad. This impression was only enhanced by the casting of Stephen Douglas as Joe’s younger self…Douglas, a popular leading man of the era, had a fine voice but was so stodgy that he made Nelson Eddy look like Carol Channing. Even worse, Bob Fosse’s two big dance numbers, while splendid as choreography, were attached to some of the weakest songs he would ever be offered, with “Who’s Got the Pain?” in particular ranking as one of the worst songs to be found in any enduring hit musical. Damn Yankees serves as a good reminder that even many of the canonized classics of the so-called “Golden Age” are not really as perfect as some people like to remember. Fosse was unquestionably a genius, but he spent most of the Fifties looking for material that was worthy of his talents, and he didn’t really find it until the Sixties. His follow-up to Damn Yankees, New Girl in Town, was an awkward attempt to turn a typically tragic Eugene O’Neill play into a George Abbott-style Musical Comedy, and was one of the first really clear signs that Abbott’s approach was no longer working in the new Musical-Theatre environment. The parts of Bob Merrill’s score (his first for Broadway) that actually had something to do with the story had their moments, particularly the lovely duet “Did You Close Your Eyes?” and the strikingly bitter “On the Farm”, but since half the score consists of empty, generic Musical-Comedy filler numbers designed to “lighten” the show, there was only so much Merrill could do. Fosse’s muse and future wife Gwen Verdon was marvelous in the lead, and Fosse did contribute an impressively racy and disturbing dream ballet (even if Abbott had done his damnedest to get the ballet cut from the show), but the whole thing was far less interesting than a musical based on an O’Neill drama should have been. Fosse followed that up with Redhead, his first outing as a director, which he and Verdon basically forced into a hit with superb staging and dancing even though its ridiculous book and mediocre score showed even less compositional merit than New Girl in Town. There were also two more stereotypical Black-centric Musical Comedies in the Shuffle Along vein in the Fifties, albeit with significantly less interesting scores than Shuffle Along and its ilk. They were Mr. Wonderful and Jamaica, two flashy but insubstantial vehicles for Sammy Davis, Jr. and Lena Horne, respectively. Both were minor hits, but they were little more than star-spotting exercises. Meanwhile, the more ambitious and authentic Black shows did generally poorly, with even lovely pieces like Harold Arlen’s St. Louis Woman and House of Flowers and Langston Hughes’ Simply Heavenly amounting to little more than cult flops. Hell, St. Louis Woman produced two of the most inescapable standards in the Great American Songbook canon in “Come Rain or Come Shine” and “Anywhere I Hang My Hat Is Home”, and it still managed to bomb…but I digress. To close out our look at the lesser lights of the Fifties, let’s talk about what might be the two most disappointing “hits” to come from one of the “classic” names…Cole Porter’s last two stage musicals, Can-Can and Silk Stockings. Porter’s previous two scores, for Kiss Me, Kate and Out of This World, may have shown an unusual level of consistency in quality, but here he went back to his old formulas from the Twenties and Thirties—implausible, borderline nonsensical plots musicalized with a handful of hit Pop tunes surrounded by a bunch of undistinguished filler. The book of Can-Can started off as first-rate Abe Burrows, a very funny and nicely pointed satire of censorship. Unfortunately, by the second act, the plot had completely disintegrated into random insanity, so that no-one in the audience had the slightest idea what was going on. That technique can be harnessed for deliberate artistic purposes, as it was in Yip Harburg’s Flahooley!, but here it just seemed the result of sloppy craftsmanship. The score also caught Porter at less than his best. There were about a half-dozen songs in the show that were hits to some degree, but only two of them (“I Love Paris” and “It’s All Right with Me”) really qualify as top-rank Porter classics, although the title-song, more obscure today, does feature some of his wittiest rhyming stunts. Still, the filler numbers were extremely weak even by Porter filler standards, particularly “Every Man is a Stupid Man” and “Never, Never Be an Artist”. Even a few of the hits seem slightly questionable, with the uninspired “Ce’st Magnifique” in particular not having aged well. Silk Stockings, Porter’s last show for Broadway, was even weaker: it featured superficially topical subject matter, a good cast, a few fine ballads, and virtually nothing else. The attempts at satirical humor regarding Stalinist Russia were so inappropriately light-hearted as to be offensive to both then-contemporary and modern sensibilities, and the score was perhaps the most uneven of Porter’s entire career, with “Satin and Silk” and the tasteless “Siberia” being among the worst songs he ever wrote. Like all the shows in this section, it persists as an inescapable reminder that, if I may quote Billy Joel, “the good old days weren’t always good, and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems”.

The story of Pauline and Juliet was made into a film starring Kate Winslet. Letter ew Zealand nevertheless remembers June 22, 1954, when two girls, Pauline Parker along with her pal, Juliet Hulme, tried to pull off the murder of Pauline’s mama, Honorah. Their particular obsession with each other and also the dream industry they shared got directed them to think they might quickly be separated by their particular parents and Honorah was actually an obstacle in the way of a great Hollywood upcoming together. It’s been half a century since this sensational criminal activity got committed, although situation remains well-known these days when you look at the town of Christchurch. Pauline Parker got 16 yrs . old whenever she murdered the lady mummy with the help of this lady closest friend, 15-year-old Juliet Hulme. Juliet’s family members got making the nation and Pauline got worried that her mommy wouldn’t normally allow her to get, so that they took issues into their own possession. The teens met whenever Juliet 1st transferred to New Zealand. She had endured over time with illness since she got developed tuberculosis when she had been a child. This lady group relocated to brand-new Zealand underneath the advice of this lady health practitioners, believing the warmer environment would let the girl state. Pauline was indeed clinically determined to have a bone disease titled osteomyelitis. It had beenn’t long before the girls formed a bond over her diseases. Both women held stunning imaginations and started creating reports and discussing a fantasy life between the two, conversing in figure plus building their religion. They had plans to take her projects to Hollywood and become well-known together. Pauline and Juliet have be so near almost to the level of fixation, they would surely even become sick once they were not around each other. At the time, homosexuality ended up being a crime in brand new Zealand and Pauline’s mothers comprise stressed that the babes might-be removed to an institution are “treated” since ended up being a common societal exercise. Juliet’s moms and dads finished up obtaining a separation, so the choice was developed to send Juliet to reside with family in southern area Africa. Girls comprise devastated. Pauline requested their mother if she could move with her pal, but ended up being refuted. Hysterically worried they will be split permanently, they made intentions to choose southern area Africa with each other and finally towards the U . S . to begin with their composing career along. But Pauline’s mommy, Honorah, have forbidden it. She turned an obstacle in their ideas for the future. Instead, the duo hatched a murderous plan. In Christchurch’s Port mountains, the 2 teenagers directed Honorah into Victoria Park for a day go. If they thought they can not seen by any person, they began bludgeoning the girl with element of a brick that they had covered inside a stocking. Honorah succumbed after being hit over 20 times. The girls right away ran outside of the park towards a local tea kiosk, shouting for help. The kiosk holders realized that these were both secure in bloodstream and Pauline told all of them this lady mommy have struck this lady head after an awful trip. The distraught kids were used within the kiosk by Agnes Ritchie, while the girl husband, Kenneth Ritchie, then followed the strolling route when you look at the way from in which the ladies had come from. Once he discovered Honorah’s lifeless system he understood immediately that she haven’t passed away accidentally and he called the authorities. As law enforcement officials prepared the scene at Victoria Park, the murderous duo was actually washing on their own up back once again at Hulme abode. The partial stone in a blood-soaked stocking had been discovered thrown in to the woods nearby the body. Upon deeper examination, the fall facts was discredited as human body of Honorah ended up being defeated therefore significantly she would never have acquired the lady accidents by straightforward trip. The woman hands are covered in defensive injuries, indicating she experimented with safeguarding herself through the fight. That nights, police made her way to the Hulme residency to get the girls. They were ready to listen to the facts. Unsurprising, the killers’ stories started initially to change. Juliet stated Pauline and Honorah experienced a combat and Mrs. Parker had dropped, but that she was not present at the time. Pauline consented that Juliet wasn’t truth be told there to witness the altercation, so she ended up being solely used into guardianship for interrogation. It was the very last energy the friends had been actually ever alone collectively. The way it is straight away turned visible and news covered the details extensively. Authorities found diaries Pauline kept in the woman room. The entries suggested that Juliet had been undoubtedly active in the murder and she ended up being taken into custody besides. Diaries owned by each of the teens given proof of kill methods. On top of web page designated Summer 22, that they had called they “The day’s the happier Event”. The judge determined they were sane and able to remain test. It actually wasn’t long before these people were described “dirty-minded young girls.” The way it is got saturated with mention of lesbianism, wherein if demonstrated they could face the potential for getting incarcerated in a psychiatric healthcare facility where lobotomy associated with pre-frontal lobe was used as remedy for homosexuality. This is not the end result, however, as Pauline and Juliet are both discover guilty of kill throughout the 29th of August, 1954. Pauline offered their amount of time in Christchurch. Juliet got imprisoned in Auckland. They each supported best 5 years before their particular launch. In November of 1959, these were both launched from prison. Each of all of them have undoubtedly denied ever-being in a romantic commitment and, under brand-new brands, are continuing on the help of its everyday lives independently. While they both stayed in Scotland at some point, they seem to have no contact with both. Juliet is actually a novelist, utilizing the pencil title Anne Perry. She produces historical crime fiction and uses amount of time in la pitching this lady courses for movie edition. Pauline altered her identity to Hilary Nathan and took up abode in Auckland. After finishing this lady Bachelor of Arts degree, she gone away from community attention and going a horse operating college for the children. Their sibling, Wendy, states she is a deeply devout Catholic and causes a mostly secluded lifetime. The film, Heavenly Creatures, guided by Peter Jackson and circulated in 1994, concentrates on the deep commitment between Pauline and Juliet. It stars Kate Winslet as Juliet and Melanie Lynskey as Pauline Over 50 dating for free. The story centers around the dream globe the girls lived in with each other and a brutal portrayal of Honorah’s defeating, delivering the crime to a harsh reality on screen. To this day, Juliet still clfocuss she only participated in the murder because she was afraid her best friend would commit suicide otherwise.

It’s hard to drive through Goodyear Heights and not feel a little haunted by the bustle that existed long ago. Overlooking the Goodyear campus and downtown, the entire neighborhood was developed as a place to house, feed and entertain rubber workers and their families in the early 20th century. One member of the Heights community, Craig Sipe, is determined to bring new life into his block of the neighborhood. He bought The Brooklands Bar seven years ago and has since been buying and restoring the surrounding properties as well. Sipe was attracted to The Brooklands for its history. Named after the street it’s on, which is named after a racetrack in England, the industrial-looking brick building was built in 1927, in the middle of Prohibition. With such a high concentration of blue-collar workers in the area, it’s no wonder the building was soon a fully-functioning speakeasy, complete with a false entrance. I stopped by The Brooklands Bar on a cold, cloudless afternoon in March. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness inside. Although this building has changed hands many times over the last century, it remains surprisingly unchanged — almost like a time capsule. The Brooklands Bar looks like a speakeasy from the ’20s — not the fancy cocktail bars we think of today when we hear “speakeasy.” Just like the neighborhood outside, you can imagine this room filled up with old-timey whiskey drinkers and cigarette smoke. The walls are dark grey and dotted with historic Akron memorabilia, all pieces from Sipe’s extensive personal collection. Once my vision adjusted, I found myself standing at the bar already — it’s directly in front of the entrance. At the far end, I can make out a handful of white-haired drinkers. One woman was behind the bar, smiling at me with a look that said, “Funny seeing you here.” I tell the bartender who I am and I’m directed to the office upstairs where Sipe is waiting for me. He has two huge TVs on the walls of his office feeding him footage from the many security cameras on the property, along with a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. I make a note to myself not to tread on him during this interview. Sipe gave me a walking tour of The Brooklands and his surrounding properties. Despite the drab, historical vibes inside the bar, Sipe has a much more modern vision for the rest of the block. Right now, his main project is a large building a few doors down that he’s converting into a banquet hall. The inside is quite beautiful — the walls are covered in reclaimed barn wood, and there’s a long bar that once lived in the basement of St. Bernard’s church. Sipe shows me the dog-friendly patio area outside of The Brooklands, pointing out where the new pavilion will go for live music, and we both decide it’s too cold to stay out any longer. He’s excited to go back inside and show me what seems to be his favorite addition to the bar: the Thackerburger. Thacker’s was a burger joint that operated from 1921-1980. They moved once — from East Exchange and Bowery to East Market and Kelly Avenue, but were always hugely popular among rubber workers and students. My grandfather, who went to East High School in the 1950s, remembers going to Thacker’s to hang out after school and eat 15-cent burgers. The slider-style Thackerburger was served with onions, pickles, mustard and a “secret sauce.” No ketchup allowed. Sipe now owns the Thacker’s trademark and believes he has successfully replicated the secret Thacker sauce. He even uses the same buns from Massoli’s that Thacker’s used. I can’t tell you how closely they match up to the original, but I can tell you they’re delicious — and the perfect greasy food to be washed down by a light beer. Sipe still has a lot of work ahead of him, but his optimism and energy are strong. After spending most of his life in the tire industry, like his parents and grandparents before him, he’s on a mission to leave his mark on the neighborhood. “My goal is to let people know about this place,” he tells me. “Not to make it only a neighborhood bar, but a destination.” Emily Anderson is really into bars and beers. Check out all her adventures on Instagram @ladybeerdrinker You just read this article for free. The good news is that we’re committed to never putting our content behind a paywall. We want our readers to be able to continue reading for free because we believe everyone should have access to quality journalism. But here’s the catch: Our work is not free to produce. If you can afford to contribute by joining our co-op and becoming a member, we need your support for the news we offer to remain free and equitable. Plus, we think you’ll love being able to say, “I’m part-owner of a magazine.” We want all Akronites, our neighboring suburbanites, and our beloved expats to have the opportunity to learn what’s happening here, and to read articles written by contributors whose love for Akron shines through their work. So here’s what we’re asking: Please join us for as little as $1/month in becoming a member. When you click the red button below, you help keep our content free for thousands of readers who might not otherwise be able to access our stories.

I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article. Help your friends and relatives stay informed by passing the digest on. If you log on to the Old Jarhead blog and get this notice, please check back. From time to time, Google’s Spam Filter pulls my blog. They restore it when I appeal, but they don’t seem to have the technical ability to fix the problem. I hate to move to another platform with page views running to 10k a week and over 1,150 followers here. Free PDF Copy of The Coming Collapse of the . American Republic Must Read: Lethally Leisured by Mark Steyn Excerpt: In 1853 or thereabouts, Czar Nicholas I described Turkey as the sick man of Europe. A century and a half later, Turkey is increasingly the strong man of the Middle East, and the sick man of Europe is Europe — or, rather, " Europe." The transformation of a geographical patchwork of nation-states into a single political entity has been the dominant Big Idea of the post-war era, the Big Idea the Continent's elites turned to after all the other Big Ideas — Fascism, Nazism, and eventually Communism — failed, spectacularly. The West's last Big Idea is now dying in the eurozone debt crisis. Although less obviously malign than the big totalitarian -isms, this particular idea has proved so insinuating and debilitating that the only question is whether most of the West dies with it. " Europe" has a basic identity crisis: As the Germans have begun to figure out, just because the Greeks live in the same general neighborhood is no reason to open a joint checking account. And yet a decade ago, when it counted, everyone who mattered on the Continent assumed a common currency for nations with nothing in common was so obviously brilliant an idea it was barely worth explaining to the masses. In the absence of ethnic or cultural compatibility, the European Union offered Big Government as a substitute: The project was propped up by two pillars — social welfare and defense welfare. The former regulated Europe into economic sloth even as India, China, and began figuring out how this capitalism thing worked. The latter meant that the Brazil defense umbrella ensured once-lavish budgets for hussars and lancers could be reallocated to government health care and other lollipops — and it still wasn't enough. Whatever the individual merits of ever-more-leisurely education, 30-hour work weeks, six weeks' vacation, retirement at 50, the cumulative impact is that not enough people do not enough work for not enough of their lives. And once large numbers of people acquire the habits of a leisured class, there are not many easy ways back to reality. Defense welfare does the same at a geopolitical level. In absolving the Continent of responsibility for its own defense, the U.S. United States not only enabled Europe to beat its swords into Ponzi shares but, in a subtle and profound way, helped enervate the survival instincts of some of the oldest nation-states on the planet Notorious Iranian militant has a connection to alleged assassination plot against Saudi envoy Excerpt: When nearly $100,000 landed in an undercover FBI bank account from a source linked to an Iranian paramilitary force, officials began taking seriously an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador that at first had seemed outlandish. And as the investigation unfolded over recent months, a name emerged that chilled some in the government. The Iranian cousin of the man accused of plotting the assassination was Abdul Reza Shahlai, a senior commander in U.S. Iran’s Quds Force, who had been linked to the killing of American troops in . (Apparently he wasn’t impressed with Obama’s outreach and use of “soft power.” ~Bob.) Iraq Rick Perry takes military-style tack to protect border from Mexican cartels Texas Excerpt: A little before dawn on a sticky summer night in June, one of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s Ranger Reconnaissance Teams was running a clandestine operation along the Rio Grande when its surveillance squad came across a Dodge Durango pickup truck loaded with bales of Mexican marijuana. The lawmen chased the truck along the river, with a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter swooping overhead and Texas game wardens roaring down the in boats, state authorities said. In minutes, the traffickers had ditched the truck in the muddy water and were rafting the dope back to Mexico. Then the shooting started. Alone among his Republican rivals running for president, the Rio Grande governor has a small army at his disposal. Over the past three years, he has deployed it along his southern flank in a secretive, military-style campaign that his supporters deem absolutely necessary and successful and that his critics call an overzealous, expensive and mostly ineffective political stunt. Texas Fiscal Illusion and Fiscal Obfuscation: Tax Perception in Excerpt: Fiscal illusion is a term that is applied when the public largely misunderstands key tax and spending parameters, which distort their financial and governmental beliefs. Looking specifically to Sweden, Bjorn Wallace and Tino Sanandaji, Ph.D. students at the Stockholm School of Economics and the , respectively, examine fiscal illusion in that country. University of Chicago is an ideal country in which to conduct such a study because its government collects a greater share of national income in taxes than in any other country. Therefore, it seems logical that the Swedish government would be highly incentivized to encourage illusion, as this would help to muddle the actual amount of personal income that is paid to the government. When questioned about the portion of the average Swede's personal income that is paid in taxes, the average response was 40 percent and the median 35 percent -- far off from the correct rate of 63 percent. Though most respondents correctly identified the amount of the employer portion of the payroll tax, most misunderstood the burden of the tax, with only 24 percent stating correctly that it was on employees while 56 percent stated it was on employers. In 2003, taxes comprised 55 percent of Sweden 's national income. The strong concentration (roughly half the respondents) of responses pointing to a tax burden of around 30 to 39 percent suggests that many respondents were thinking only of the direct income taxes. This suggests that respondents failed to understand the true level of taxes because of the number of revenue sources and the fact that some are partially hidden. One of the hidden sources of revenue is the employer portion of the payroll tax. While most respondents knew the level of the tax, they failed to realize that empirically, the tax is paid by employees; though the company technically pays the bill, the employee receives less compensation and fewer people are able to work. Sweden Families Don't Depend on the Minimum Wage Excerpt: The minimum wage is likely to be a hot-button issue in the 2012 presidential campaign. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, but it is as high as $8.67 in state, says the Wall Street Journal. Everyone favors the rising real wages and living standards that come with productivity advances and economic growth, but advocates of a higher minimum wage put the cart before the horse. A growing economy generates good jobs; higher wages don't grow the economy. And the overwhelming evidence is that higher minimum wages reduce the availability of jobs at the lowest end of the job market. A study from the Employment Policies Institute concluded that very few families depend on the earnings from a single minimum wage job for their economic support. The study also found that one out of four adults held a minimum wage job at least once during the years from 1998-2006. In addition, most adults who worked at the minimum wage did so for a relatively short time: Over 70 percent of them had no further minimum wage job after two years. The survey data reveal that in two-parent families, nine out of 10 married-with-children minimum-wage workers have a working spouse. Even more revealing is how much income that spouse earns: 40 percent of those spouses earn more than $40,000 a year. Another 27 percent report spousal earnings of $20,000 to $40,000. None of these households is in poverty. Nor is their economic wellbeing dependent on the minimum wage. In only 15 percent of these households are the earnings of both the minimum-wage worker and the spouse less than $10,000 apiece. The long-term survey data are clear: Family dependence on minimum wages is the exception rather than the rule. In most cases, minimum wage earnings of adult workers are a small fraction of family income. Hiking the minimum wage as a way to achieve "poverty-level" incomes is both misguided and inefficient. Washington D.C. Drove Up Your Student Debt Excerpt: One of the major complaints of the Occupy Wall Street crowd, many of whom have taken on significant student debt, is that the cost of college is too darn high. And they're right, but not because of greedy corporate fat cats. No, the real guilty party here is federal politicians, who for decades have been fueling high profits — and prices — at both for-profit and nonprofit schools. Wait. Big profits at nonprofit colleges? Yes, money has been piling up even at schools you thought had no interest in profit. And , is the biggest hand feeding the beast. Thanks to recent congressional hearings and battling over new regulations for for-profit schools, most people — including many college-aged, profit-disdaining Wall Street squatters — are probably at least vaguely aware that for-profit colleges are making good money. [T]he feds have been blasting helium into the college-cost bubble, enabling profits to balloon at the expense of students and taxpayers. But not just openly profit-seeking schools are making big bucks. If we define profit simply as revenue derived from providing a service exceeding costs, putatively nonprofit colleges actually have much higher margins than for-profit schools. How do we know that? It's tough, because nonprofit schools typically report all their profits as expenses. Basically, they take excess revenues coming from undergraduate education and distribute them throughout the college in subsidies for research, graduate education, low-demand majors, low faculty teaching loads, excess compensation or featherbedding. In other words, rather than rewarding investors, colleges pay themselves. Washington, D.C. ’s Worst Wind-Energy Project: Wind-energy proponents admit they need lots of spin to overwhelm the truly informed. America Excerpt: The more people know about the wind-energy business, the less they like it. And when it comes to lousy wind deals, General Electric’s Shepherds Flat project in northern is a real stinker. I’ll come back to the GE project momentarily. Before getting to that, please ponder that first sentence. It sounds like a claim made by an anti-renewable-energy campaigner. It’s not. Instead, that rather astounding admission was made by a communications strategist during a March 23 webinar sponsored by the American Council on Renewable Energy called “Speaking Out on Renewable Energy: Communications Strategies for the Renewable Energy Industry.” During the webinar, Justin Rolfe-Redding, a doctoral student from the Center for Climate Change Communication at Oregon , discussed ways for wind-energy proponents to get their message out to the public. Rolfe-Redding said that polling data showed that “after reading arguments for and against wind, wind lost support.” He went on to say that concerns about wind energy’s cost and its effect on property values “crowded out climate change” among those surveyed. The most astounding thing to come out of Rolfe-Redding’s mouth — and yes, I heard him say it myself — was this: “The things people are educated about are a real deficit for us.” After the briefings on the pros and cons of wind, said Rolfe-Redding, “enthusiasm decreased for wind. That’s a troubling finding.” The solution to these problems, said Rolfe-Redding, was to “weaken counterarguments” against wind as much as possible. He suggested using “inoculation theory” by telling people that “wind is a clean source, it provides jobs” and adding that “it’s an investment in the future.” He also said that proponents should weaken objections by “saying prices are coming down every day.” It’s remarkable to see how similar the arguments being put forward by wind-energy proponents are to those that the Obama administration is using to justify its support of Solyndra, the now-bankrupt solar company that got a $529 million loan guarantee from the federal government. But in some ways, the government support for the Shepherds Flat deal is worse than what happened with Solyndra. The majority of the funding for the $1.9 billion, 845-megawatt Shepherds Flat wind project in George Mason University is coming courtesy of federal taxpayers. And that largesse will provide a windfall for General Electric and its partners on the deal who include Google, Sumitomo, and Caithness Energy. Not only is the Energy Department giving GE and its partners a $1.06 billion loan guarantee, but as soon as GE’s 338 turbines start turning at Shepherds Flat, the Treasury Department will send the project developers a cash grant of $490 million. The deal was so lucrative for the project developers that last October, some of Obama’s top advisers, including energy-policy czar Carol Browner and economic adviser Larry Summers, wrote a memo saying that the project’s backers had “little skin in the game” while the government would be providing “a significant subsidy (65+ percent).” Oregon Excerpt: There is an old British saying — I’ve never been able to find the source of it — “Cometh the hour, cometh the man.” The idea, of course, is that when a crisis arises, a leader will also arise to show the way out of it. By this faith too the ancient Hebrews lived in the period of the Judges when they followed God — and no one man — as their king. But those of us who feel the upcoming presidential election represents a crossroads of sorts are starting to find this faith in providential leadership somewhat shaken. We’re starting to think that if the man is cometh-ing he better hurry-eth up and geth here already. Because Mitt Romney ain’t the guy. While he may win the Republican presidential nomination by default — and while he may indeed win the presidency due to desperation — it is clear from every word he says that he understands neither the peril nor the needs of the present moment. Even his supporters seem to realize that he’s not really what is called for. Even his own political strategy — don’t mess up, cling to around 23 percent of the primary voters while other candidates rise above briefly and fall below permanently, force the earliest decision possible before someone better comes along and takes the prize away — indicates that Romney himself comprehends he is no one’s idea of the nation’s savior. The professionals and money guys in the Republican establishment don’t seem to mind that. As always, they feel that they are the old pros who take care of the all-important business of electability while we children in the base worry about such nonsense as principle and the preservation of the republic. It’s these establishment types who have traditionally delivered the truly electable choices like Bob Dole and John McCain while staunchly protecting us from extremists like Ronald Reagan. On Fox News’ Journal Editorial Report this weekend, the Wall Street Journal‘s Dorothy Rabinowitz — a cultural commentator I esteem for both her fearlessness and her insight — seemed to give voice to that establishment opinion when she said that “reason is going to have to prevail” among conservatives and that they’ll ultimately have to abandon the likes of Herman Cain and “all of the alternatives that are warming their little hearts, that they’re playing with,” and learn to live with Romney as their guy. Who Knew Conservatives Loved the IRS? by C. Edmund Wright Excerpt: If there's one thing that the ongoing national debate over Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan has exposed, it's how much some conservatives love our current tax code and its enforcement arm. Who knew? Okay, that may be an exaggeration -- but it is not an overstatement to say that much of the criticism of Cain's plan coming from the right is based in a stunning comfort with and knee-jerk reliance on our current system. It's as if there is an undercurrent of belief that our IRS system is very, very good and can be replaced only by perfection. At the very least, much of the negative analysis is based on picking one aspect of the Cain plan and applying it to our current reality as if the 9-9-9 plan was ever designed to be applied piecemeal. This notion can come from only an intellectual vacuum where tax realities do not change human behavior. Whether the 9-9-9 plan is all that Cain (and Art Laffer, Paul Ryan, Steve Forbes, and The Club for Growth) say it is not the point here. The point is that it is hypocritical and shallow and misguided for any conservative to trash it. By our nature, conservatives want less government intrusion into our lives, and we want more liberty, and we believe in economic growth and opportunity and self-determination. We want, as Rick Perry says, for to be "inconsequential in our lives." Washington DC The 9-9-9 Plan: Is The Herman Cain Tax Plan A Good Idea? Excerpt: As he continues to heavily tout his "9-9-9 plan", Herman Cain has seen his popularity soar. But is the Herman Cain tax plan a good idea for ? Without a doubt, the "9-9-9 plan" is simple and it is easy to remember. To most Americans, it sounds like a low tax plan. But is that the truth? As you will see below, Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan will actually raise federal taxes on some middle income Americans to as high as 37 percent. If the other Republican candidates understood this, they would be jumping all over Cain. But instead the best that most of them seem to be able to do is to make jokes about it. For example, Jon Huntsman said that he thought that the 9-9-9 plan "was the price of a pizza when I first heard about it." That is a funny line, but the reality is that the future of our tax system is very serious business. Our economy is dying and our nation is drowning in debt. We need some very real solutions to our very real problems. So let's take a closer look at the 9-9-9 plan that Herman Cain is proposing.... The one great thing about the 9-9-9 plan is that it would completely eliminate the current tax code. That should be the starting point for any proposal for reforming our current system of taxation. Under Herman Cain's plan, all current federal taxes would be eliminated. Social Security taxes would be eliminated, estate taxes would be eliminated and capital gains taxes would be eliminated. All current tax deductions and loopholes would be eliminated as well. … First they would pay the 9 percent personal income tax. Secondly, they would pay 9 percent on all business income. There would not even be a deduction for wages paid out. This would hit some small businesses incredibly hard. In fact, small businesses that have a very tight profit margin could be totally wiped out by this. A lot of people have assumed that the 9 percent tax on businesses is only on corporations. But that simply is not the case. (There is a lot of criticism of Cain out there, and much is substantial, and substantiated. But it all pales next to the below-linked report. If this is true, then Cain is quite likely the WORST candidate of all and will harm small business in a way that Obama only could have dreamed of. --Don Hank) America 1,000 Days Under President Obama Excerpt: Today marks the 1,000th day of Barack Obama's presidency, and unfortunately for America, those days have been marked by deeper deficits, lost jobs, prolonged unemployment, and bigger government. Meanwhile, many of those charged with leading the federal government have all but abdicated their responsibilities. The national debt stands at $14.9 trillion--$4.2 trillion of which has been added since Obama took his oath of office. Fourteen million Americans are unemployed--that's 9.1 percent of the workforce. The unemployment rate has been above nine percent for 840 of the 1000 days, and the average unemployed worker has been without a job for more than 9 months. All told, 2.2 million jobs have been lost under Obama's watch, despite the White House's claims that the President's $787 billion stimulus would create 3.3 million net jobs by 2010. Unfortunately, instead of leading America toward fiscal sanity and a stronger economy, the President is taking the country in the opposite direction. Who’s a “Flip Flopper”? From Morning Jolt by Jim Geraghty Subscribe Here: http://www.nationalreview.com/newsletters/ Excerpt: Really? Governor Romney has to worry about being attacked for inconsistency by a president who attacked Hillary Clinton for supporting the individual mandate, who promised all of the health-care negotiations would be on C-SPAN, who said that anyone making less than $250,000 wouldn't see his taxes raised a dime, who now is a fan of recess appointments, who pledged to close Guantanamo Bay within one year, who pledged to renegotiate NAFTA, who pledged a net spending cut, who said he would press the Chinese on human rights, who said he wouldn't allow lobbyists to work in his White House, who pledged to avoid bringing "the same Washington players" into his administration, who promised to post every law on the White House website for five days before signing it, who pledged to end the income tax for seniors making less than $50,000, who pledged to end no-bid contracts above $25,000, who pledged to double federal funding for cancer research, and who pledged to double the size of the Peace Corps, to double funding for after-school programs, to increase the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour, to support a human mission to the moon by 2020, to establish a term limit for the director of national intelligence, to enact a windfall-profits tax, to create a cap-and-trade system, to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and to introduce a comprehensive immigration-reform plan in his first year. (One long list of expiration dates here, PolitiFact's list of Obama's broken promises can be found here.) To be fair, we know what the core principles of Barack Obama are: blaming corporate-jet owners and ATMS for job losses, shrugging his shoulders at scandals such as Solyndra and Fast and Furious, fundraisers, telling the American people they've gone soft, and golf. Occupy Wall Street's Crony Capitalism: Political extortion created Zuccotti Park, and it allows protesters to remain despite the noise, filth and stink. Excerpt: The Occupy Wall Street movement, now in its fourth week, has plenty to brag about. Its occasionally published newspaper, the Occupied Wall Street Journal, proclaims: "In the great cathedral of capitalism, the dispossessed have liberated territory from the financial overlords and their police army." How did protesters manage to take over Zuccotti Park, a half-acre plot a few blocks from Wall Street? It turns out that this land grab is not due to the power of social media. Instead, the main force letting protesters stay in the park is old-fashioned crony capitalism. The Occupy Wall Street organizers were clever in selecting their protest site. Zuccotti is not a city park, where sleeping overnight is prohibited. Instead, it is one of some 500 "privately owned public spaces" that New York City officials created as part of zoning deals with real estate developers. In the case of Zuccotti Park, the crony capitalism goes back to the 1970s, when U.S. Steel built the One Liberty Plaza office tower. In exchange for adding nine stories, city officials extracted an agreement that U.S. Steel would fund a 24-hour-a-day park across the street. These quasipublic spaces are notorious for leaving unclear who's responsible for what 17% See War with Iran As Very Likely Within Five Years excerpt: Most voters are aware that the United States has accused Iran of attempting to assassinate the ambassador from Saudi Arabia in this county and think there’s a good chance America will be at war with Iran in the near future. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe it is at least somewhat likely that the United States will end up in a war with Iran in the next five years or so. However, only 17% think it’s Very Likely. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 32% feel a war with Iran is unlikely in the next five or so years, but that includes only five percent (5%) who think it is Not At All Likely. 58% Think Repeal of Health Care Law Likely Excerpt: Most voters still want to see the national health care law repealed, and confidence that its days are numbered is at an all-time high. We’re paying the bill Excerpt: Regardless of whether the public buys into “the other 99 percent” argument or not, every single New Yorker is on the hook for the Zuccotti Park protests. At the end of the day, Occupy Wall Street may or may not revolutionize the country’s attitude about wealth. Two facts are certain, however: The mayor is not giving the protests a timeline; and the city’s taxpayers will be left holding the bill. Many of my fellow City Council members have taken steps to show solidarity with the demonstrators. They are all entitled to express their opinion, but the council is not the arbiter of US economic policy, nor should it try to be. The problem we do have to deal with is determining where the money to pay for this protest will come from. Last week, as cops on overtime pay filled the streets around the park, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly testified that the prospects are grim for starting a new police academy class in January. Though the city has separate budget lines for overtime and regular pay, it all comes out of the NYPD’s overall allocation, which per the mayor now faces a new 2 percent cut. So, if the protests are to continue, policy-makers and legislators need to begin a serious dialogue over its cost. George Bush warned Congress New York’s Marxist epicenter Excerpt: The standard portrayal of the Wall Street protesters goes something like this: Ragtag group of unemployed young adults, venting often incoherent but overall legitimate populist outrage about economic inequality. But go down to the movement’s headquarters, as I did this past weekend, and you see something far different. It’s not just that knowledge of their “oppressors” -- the evil bankers -- is pretty thin, or that many of them are clearly college kids with nothing better to do than embrace the radical chic of “a cause.” I found a unifying and increasingly coherent ideology emerging among the protesters, which at its core has less to do with the evils of the banking business and more about the evils of capitalism -- and the need for a socialist revolution. It’s not an overstatement to describe Zuccotti Park as New York’s Marxist epicenter. Flags with the iconic face of the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara are everywhere; the only American flag I saw was hanging upside down. The “occupiers” openly refer to each other as “comrade,” and just about every piece of literature on offer (free or for sale) advocated socialism in the Marxist tradition as a cure-all for the inequalities of the American economic system. Don’t try to explain to any of these protesters how those who sought to create a Marxist utopian dream of revolution also gave us the Stalinist purges, Mao’s bloody Cultural Revolution and many other efforts to collectivize thought in the name of economic “justice.” One woman was holding a “Nationalize the Federal Reserve” sign; I tried to explain that the Fed is already nationalized, because it’s part of government, and she told me to “go check my f--king facts -- it’s privately owned.” That’s when I was handed a piece paper offering the following wisdom: “The Game of Capitalism Breeds Dishonest Men.” The author of such deep thinking was a dude named De La Vega, an artist convicted a few years back for painting graffiti on a warehouse in The Bronx. That was pretty mild compared to the sentiments offered in the official “Statement of the League for the Revolutionary Party” on the protests. These guys view as the enemy not just Wall Street tycoons, but also liberal labor leaders like Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO. Thousands of fraud cases just 'tip of iceberg' Excerpt: A group that monitors elections in Minnesota and roots out fraudulent votes is warning ballot fraud is on the rise across the nation, and if unchecked, the ultimate consequences would be an electorate that simply doesn't believe the system works and refuses to participate – "a total breakdown in the cohesion of American society." That's from spokesman Dan McGrath of the Minnesota Majority, which advocates for traditional values in state and federal public policy through grassroots activism. The group also contributes to the work of ElectionIntegrityWatch.com to focus specifically on elections and voter fraud. The Obama bus trip: A political guide Excerpt: President Barack Obama’s summer Midwestern bus trek was about reconnecting with disaffected independents, but the North Carolina and Virginia road trip that starts Monday is a more narrowly targeted exercise in 2012 politics. The three-day bus tour, with stops in rural towns, suburbs and several cities, literally traces an escape route for Obama’s reelection campaign through two states he carried in 2008 that are must-wins next year even if Obama succeeds in recapturing lost ground in more traditional battlegrounds like Ohio and Florida. (Will Obama actually ride the bus this time, or will it be flown place to place as a prop as in the last “bus trip.”? It’s the taxpayers who are being taken for a ride. ~Bob.) Kenya sends troops into Somalia to hit al-Shabab Excerpt: Witnesses described dozens of military vehicles pouring over the border, backed by planes and helicopters. Reports say al-Shabab, which denies carrying out the abductions, has begun preparing militias to fight back. Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told the BBC Somali service: "We will defend ourselves. Kenya doesn't know war. We know war. The tall buildings in Nairobi will be destroyed. "We have fought against governments older and stronger than Kenya and we have defeated them." Several Westerners have been seized in Kenya by suspected Somali militants and reportedly taken into Somalia. (Go, Kenya! Maybe we can help with drone strikes and/or military aid. Let’s see, does having family in Kenya outweigh ignoring the “youthful excesses” of struggling young Muslims? Obama may have a tough choice to make. Ron P) Detroit struggles to keep lights on: Copper thieves, aging equipment darken blocks in cash-starved city Excerpt: Like many swaths of the city, Keith Wicks' historic Indian Village neighborhood has remained largely dark at night after vandals destroyed transformers in nearly every streetlight pole that powers them. On a recent rainy day, Wicks, 64, a retired GM engineer who has lived in Detroit for decades, watched as city Public Lighting workers put new transformers at the top of the aging wooden poles. Just days later, those streetlights were out — again. "We've still got a ways to go," Wicks said with a laugh. The growing lack of public lighting has become a troubling problem for cash-starved Detroit, where entire stretches of neighborhoods and thoroughfares — such as portions of the Southfield Freeway — are feeling the effects. "This city…it's dark without streetlights," said Wicks, who lives on Iroquois. "You look down Iroquois at night now, it's black. It's very dangerous." The war to keep the lights on in Detroit is a serious one. Thieves, antiquated equipment and a lack of funding have made it impossible for city officials to catch up to the problem. (This story fits very well the picture who wrote of in your recent book; the failure of city government to provide the normal services plus the bad guys taking over. Naturally, for the bad guys to steal what they have and in such quantity and then sell it some "legal" businesses are a major part of the problem. Figured you'd find this of interest. –T.) A pact signed in Jewish blood by Caroline B. Glick Excerpt: No one denies the long suffering of the Schalit family. Noam and Aviva Schalit and their relatives have endured five years and four months of uninterrupted anguish since their son St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit was abducted from his army post by Palestinian terrorists and spirited to Gaza in June 2006. Since then, aside from one letter and one videotaped message, they have received no signs of life from their soldier son. There is not a Jewish household in Israel that doesn't empathize with their suffering. It isn't simply that most Israelis serve in the IDF and expect their children to serve in the IDF. It isn't just that it could happen to any of our families. As Jews, the concept of mutual responsibility, that we are all a big family and share a common fate, is ingrained in our collective consciousness. And so, at a deep level, the Schalit family's suffering is our collective suffering. And yet, and yet, freedom exacts its price. The cause of freedom for the Jewish people as a whole exacts a greater sacrifice from some families than from others. Sometimes, that sacrifice is made willingly, as in the case of the Netanyahu family. Prof. Benzion and Tzilla Netanyahu raised their three sons to be warriors in the fight for Jewish liberty. And all three of their sons served in an elite commando unit. Their eldest son Yonatan had the privilege of commanding the unit and of leading Israeli commandos in the heroic raid to free Jewish hostages held by the PLO in Entebbe. Obama's worst nightmare By John Hughes http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1011/obama_worst_nightmare.php3 Excerpt: Excerpt: What would be the mother of all nightmares for Barack Obama before next year's presidential election? A nuclear-armed Iran. President Obama has declared he will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear-weapons capability. But his options are limited. A strike against Iran's nuclear installations? That would mean starting another war in the midst of the US election campaign. Unlikely. Dissuade Israel from striking Iran — an attack that would necessarily involve US moral and practical support during campaign season? For Israel, a nuclear-armed Tehran is a death sentence. So reining in Israel is also unlikely. Accepting the reality of an Iran with nuclear weapons, but publicly warning Tehran against using them? Possible, but dangerously weak-looking for a president up for reelection who promised not to let this happen. I hope someone in the White House is working on this. I hope Iran is not able to do it. Report: U.S. Abandoning Plans to Keep Troops in Iraq Next Year Excerpt: The Obama administration will withdraw all but 160 American troops from Iraq this year, abandoning a plan to keep troops there past a deadline set for the end of the year, the Associated Press reported on Saturday. The Pentagon was considering keeping up to 5,000 troops in Iraq next year, in order to train Iraqi forces. The 160 American troops that will remain are attached to the U.S. embassy, the AP reported. "We remain committed to keeping our agreement with the Iraqi government to remove all of our troops by the end of this year," Pentagon Spokesman George Little said in a statement. "At the same time we're building a comprehensive partnership with Iraq under the Strategic Framework Agreement including a robust security relationship, and discussions with the Iraqis about the nature of that relationship are ongoing." (That will be a very busy company of Marines guarding the Embassy. Ron P. Unless Obama orders them to surrender without defending themselves, as Carter did with the Marines guarding the embassy in Iran. If that happens, they will be dead. Or they will try to trade them one by one for KSM and other captured terrorists, as Hamas just did with Israel. ~Bob.) Occupy Wall Street Goes Global Excerpt: The Occupy movement went global on Saturday. Rallies were held in more than 900 cities around the world, with violence breaking out most notably in Rome, where 100 people were injured and police were forced to use tear gas and water cannons to break up a mob that burned cars and smashed the windows of shops and banks. 175 protesters were arrested in Chicago, when they attempted to set up camp in Congress Plaza, and 92 were arrested in New York. Another 8 were arrested in London. In Hong Kong, Derrick Benig, a 22-year-old art student, expressed what is rapidly becoming the over-arching theme of these demonstrations. “I want to tear down capitalism,” he said. Mr. Benig is hardly alone, but the number of really dubious actors expressing support for such an idea is growing. On Sunday, the American Nazi Party released a statement decrying the “judeo-capitalist banksters who swindled the American taxpayers out of A TRILLION dollars in the ‘bailout’ scam AND continue to oppress the White Working Class” even as they urged their members to “utilize and support every movement of dissent against this evil American empire.” Not to be outdone, the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) also expressed solidarity with the demonstrations, which they characterized as the “the newest wrinkle in the all-people’s upsurge against the banks and corporations” and which they hoped would lead to “more advanced programmatic ideas like nationalizing the banks and socialism.” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is convinced the protests will destroy capitalism and bring about the downfall of Western civilization. (I suppose it is comforting to know it’s not just the US that has raised a generation of idiots. ~Bob.) Green Tesla Motors: Another Day, Another Solyndra Excerpt: The resignation of Jonathan Silver, the U.S Energy Department’s top loan officer, over the Solyndra scandal may be the tip of the iceberg. He supervised a much larger DOE loan program that suffers from the same problems as Solyndra: over the last 18 months, the Department has awarded more than $9 billion in below-market loans to auto companies under its Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program. The most troubling transaction: a $465 million loan to California’s Tesla Motors. Tesla received a loan rate of 1.6% from DOE to manufacture an all-electric car that will sell for nearly $50,000. It will not exactly be the people’s car. Tesla also builds luxury sports cars that retail for $103,000 to $128,000. Tesla also is no simple new age car company. It is owned and financed by big donors to the Democratic Party and to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Tesla’s principal owner is Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal. He has an estimated personal wealth of $672 million. His firm received venture capital from The Westly Group, Daimler Chrysler, and from Abu Dhabi investors. The firm has partnerships with luxury sports car manufacturer Lotus and with Mercedes-Benz. The secret to access to the DOE money is The Westly Group, run by California Democratic Party stalwart and big Obama campaign bundler Steve Westly. The former eBay executive wasn’t merely a prodigious fundraiser for Obama, raising $500,000 for his presidential campaign. He also served as the president’s California campaign co-chairman. (At what point does it stop being “incompetence” and become “corruption?” Ron P. It’s “incompetent corruption.” They can’t even buy votes right. ~Bob.) The taxpayers should never be forced to pay for entertainment: sports, NPR, public TV or the arts. ~Bob. Excerpt: If you want to know how ingrained the dumb is within our government and the “right wing” (including the so-called “Tea Party” that utterly refuses to face the mathematics of what they’ve done), look at this: HOUSTON – Hailed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” when it opened in 1965, the Astrodome now sits vacant and in disrepair out on Interstate 610. The world’s first domed sports stadium lost its last major tenant eight years ago. It hosted occasional functions afterward – a family rented the floor for a bar mitzvah party for $15,000 – but has been virtually shut down for two years. Its exterior metal work is rusting. Water stains surround the base. It’s no longer up to code. “It’s just sad,” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. “It’s beginning to look like an old ship that just kind of washed up out there.” Harris County pays about $4 million annually just to maintain and insure it. The debt totals about $40 million on a project that cost $31.6 million to build. If you think this is somehow unique, you’re wrong. We have an example of it right here in Niceville. The Mid-Bay Bridge, built in 1994 at a cost of $67 million, will have more than $350 million in debt laid upon it. The traffic levels have been declining (Ok, let me give you another quick example of the stupid projects described below: Harrisburg Airport at Middletown, PA. Every time I have ever been there, it is almost empty. The staff on the grounds tell us that very few ever use the facility. After all, there are Philadelphia airport, Reagan Airport and Washington-Baltimore Airport at Baltimore within driving distance and the flights out of Harrisburg are more expensive. But someone in government owed someone else a favor and your money was used to build and maintain the boondoggle. This sort of thing now goes under the heading of "stimulus." That is, it stimulates the tax payer to go find a second job or moonlight to pay the bills and the increasingly high taxes needed to pay for it and other swindles like it. I am sure every one of you knows of something similar. This also goes under the subheading "corporatism" or "crony capitalism," because the corporations that designed and built the project were pals with the politicians that approved it and gave them sweet kickbacks. This is not an example of the free market in action, although both political parties insist that it is. And if you complain, they remind you how the Soviet Union was so much worse. Worse, yes, but not that much worse any more. At this rate, in a few years, we will catch up with the former Soviet Union in terms of graft, corruption and loss of individual freedom--in the name of stimulus. --Don Hank) The 'Occupiers' do not represent Americans or their beliefs Excerpt: Sneer though many of them did, liberals envied the success of the Tea Party in 2009 and 2010. Desperate to embrace an authentic populist movement of their own, they have been buoyed by the results of a Time magazine poll this week, purporting to demonstrate that the nascent Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, at 54 percent approval, are more popular than the Tea Party. As The Examiner's Phil Klein pointed out earlier this week, however, the numbers produced by the Time survey are quite misleading because of the magazine's unusually vague but artful wording of questions. For example, Time's survey described these anti-capitalist protests to respondents as being against the "government's bank bailout and the influence of money in our political system." The same description could be said of the Tea Party. In fact, other polls from reputable firms that used more objective questions have pegged OWS support in the low thirties -- and with slightly negative net approval ratings. Obama gets back on the bus for trip to 2 states Excerpt: President Barack Obama is targeting vital North Carolina and Virginia this week, as he kicks off a three-day bus tour that is as much about campaigning for his jobs bill as it is shoring up support in two southern states he wrested from Republican control when he won the White House. Obama's 2008 victories in North Carolina and Virginia were due in large part to the states' changing demographics and his campaign's ability to boost voter turnout among young people and African-Americans. But nearly three years after his historic election, the president's approval ratings in both states are sagging, in line with the national trend. A Quinnipiac University poll out earlier this month put Obama's approval rating in Virginia at 45 percent, with 52 percent disapproving. The same poll showed 83 percent of Virginians were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. In North Carolina, Obama has a 42 percent approval rating, according to an Elon University poll conducted this month. Most national polls put Obama's approval rating in the mid- to low-forties. … The president faces significant obstacles in Virginia as well. While Democrats had hoped Obama's victory signaled Virginia's shift to a Democratic-leaning state, momentum has since strongly turned back in favor of Republicans, most notably with Gov. Bob McDonald's win in 2009. That shift has some Virginia Democrats, especially state legislators running in next month's General Assembly elections, less than thrilled about Obama heading to their state this week. In coal-mining southwestern Virginia, Democratic state Sen. Phil Puckett has flatly renounced the president. With Republicans running television ads and erecting billboards showing Puckett campaigning for Obama in 2008, Puckett said in a television interview he would not support Obama in 2012. TX High School Students Made to Recite Mexican National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance Excerpt: Students in a Texas public high school were made to stand up and recite the Mexican national anthem and Mexican pledge of allegiance as part of a Spanish class assignment, but the school district maintains there was nothing wrong with the lesson. It happened last month in an intermediate Spanish class at Achieve Early College High School in McAllen, Texas — a city located about 10 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Did 2008 Come True? Excerpt: Then came the election, and a perfect storm of events. The general unhappiness with Bush over deficits and Iraq, the recession that had started in December 2007, the absence of any incumbent vice president or president in the race for the first time since 1952, an unusually unenergetic McCain campaign, and a nakedly partisan media — all that by early September still had not given Obama the lead. But the mid-September 2008 financial crash did. And so what in the last fifty years was usually considered improbable — the election of a northern Democratic liberal — soon seemed foreordained. We are now nearing the third year of the Obama administration. Were those worries of 2008 at all justified? Let us briefly review them in the same order (…) The skeptics of 2008 proved prescient; those who demonized them should be embarrassed. And we should remember that candidates, of both parties, will govern mostly as they campaign. Slips are not indiscretions, but often will prove in hindsight windows of the soul. Three Policies That Gave Us the Jobs Economy Excerpt: Sometimes two separate news events turn out to be related. That's the case with the Wall Street protesters and the extraordinary mourning at the death of Steve Jobs. Some protesters have praised Jobs as the billionaire who was different—unlike the callous Wall Streeters, he was "beneficial to society." There's a second connection. More than anything else, the Wall Street protesters feel powerless, mere individuals against great banks. Maybe the mourning over the Apple founder is so intense precisely because Jobs gave individuals power. It's hard to think of a gift more empowering than your own personal computer. Also fueling the grief is a more general suspicion that another Jobs won't come along soon. He was a creature of his times, the late 1970s, the 1980s and 1990s. There wasn't merely Jobs; there was also that economy in which he and other venture-capital recipients operated. Americans fear that the opportunities Jobs enjoyed won't come again. It's worthwhile therefore to go back and look at what happened in those years, and then to look at how policy changes may have affected innovating firms that received venture capital. Don't prejudge police officers' actions Excerpt: I am continually surprised by the way the news media and the public seem to take joy in criticizing the actions of police officers before it is known exactly what happened in a controversial incident. It seems they think it is possible that law enforcement can be accomplished with no injuries, or no hurt feelings, if officers could just understand the people they come into contact with each day. If only this was possible. I'm sure the vast majority of officers wished it were so as well. But the fact is that officers come into contact every day with individuals who are feared and loathed by society and who couldn't care less if the officers - or, in some cases, they themselves - live or die.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Hunter S. Thompson 31 July 2007 Here's my entry, taken on July 29th, aboard JetBlue Flight 1100 from RDU to JFK, around 6:30 AM and near the NC/VA border as indicated by Google Maps. Got the shot with my iPhone. Microsoft has released the new version of Microsoft Works as a free, ad supported office package that will compete directly with Open Office and Google Docs & Spreadsheets. The Works package offers word processing, spreadsheet and slide (powerpoint) functionality partially based on code from older versions of Microsoft Office. 30 July 2007 New Life on the Web for a Killed Newspaper Column (New York Times, 30 July 2007) “The bug at the bottom of the Calendar front in today’s Los Angeles Times says columnist Patrick Goldstein is on assignment,” began a July 24 item on the Web site L.A. Observed. “Not true. His The Big Picture column for Tuesday was killed.” The site ran the 1,450-word column, which “fell into our hands,” in its entirety. In it, Mr. Goldstein proposed that his newspaper promote itself by following the lead of The Mail on Sunday in Britain, which inserted Prince’s latest CD into 2.9 million copies, and also give away music. “While the Times still is a profitable business, our revenue was down 10 percent in the second quarter while our cash flow was down, as our publisher put it the other day, a ‘whopping 27 percent, making it one of the worst quarters ever experienced,’ ” Mr. Goldstein wrote. “Times are so hard at the Times that the publisher has proposed putting ads on the front page to generate new revenue.” Related: The actual, original column can be read here: LA Observed: Goldstein's Killed Column A private e-mail address, linked to a pseudonym that I use for occasional print and Web articles, has been helpfully subscribed to an "online dating" site. The word "dating," in this case, seems to have the same euphemistic meaning that the transsexual hookers in New York City's Meatpacking District always understood: "...honey, want a date?" (a line not infrequently delivered in a disconcerting basso profundo.) Even better: Having logged in with the credentials provided by the semi-literate prankster who set this up (since he or she used my e-mail address, I got all the notifications of account creation, as well as the many "special offers" that begin pouring into my inbox this morning)... there is no way to delete the account from the site via the web interface. Okay. Scratch one e-mail account, set up another, add some random characters into the name. Good thing they're disposable these days. 29 July 2007 (Crossposted to Flickr groups What's In Your Bag and The Items We Carry.) Anyone can play along at home - if you add your photos to the Flickr pool, please give a shout in the comments. 28 July 2007 The first doctor gave her six months to live. The second and third said chemotherapy would buy more time, but surgery would not. A fourth offered to operate.Cancer Patients, Lost in a Maze of Uneven Care (New York Times, July 28, 2007) Karen Pasqualetto had just given birth to her first child last July when doctors discovered she had colon cancer. She was only 35, and the disease had already spread to her liver. The months she had hoped to spend getting to know her new daughter were hijacked by illness, fear and a desperate quest to survive. For the past year, she and her relatives have felt lost, fending for themselves in a daunting medical landscape in which they struggle to make sense of conflicting advice as they race against time in hopes of saving her life. “It’s patchwork, and frustrating that there’s not one person taking care of me who I can look to as my champion,” Ms. Pasqualetto said recently in a telephone interview from her home near Seattle. “I don’t feel I have a doctor who is looking out for my care. My oncologist is terrific, but he’s an oncologist. The surgeon seems terrific, but I found him through my own diligence. I have no confidence in the system.” Sadly, "I have no confidence in the system" is a very well-informed, thoroughly educated position to take, especially when it comes to any condition where the treatment options are complex. And the "one person taking care of you who you can look to as your champion" pretty much has to be you (with support from your loved ones, hopefully)... and that at a time when, to put it mildly, you aren't feeling very well. 27 July 2007 The National Maritime Historical Society (http://www.seahistory.org/) has invited me to talk about "No Higher Honor: Saving the Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf" tomorrow near their New York headquarters. When: noon, Sat. July 28 Where: The Hendrick Hudson Free Library, 185 Kings Ferry Road, Montrose, N.Y. 10548 -- Phone: 914-739-5654 -- Google map: http://tinyurl.com/2smrqt The event is open to the public; please come! Brad (The reason that you hang the clothes you've cooked in, and don't sleep in them, is that if a bear wanders into your camp at night, you, smelling of food, in your sleeping bag, will appear to be something that was packaged by Kraft.) Anyway... meet Ursack. At a veterans’ hospital [in Pittsburgh], nurses swab the nasal passages of every arriving patient to test them for drug-resistant bacteria. Those found positive are housed in isolation rooms behind red painted lines that warn workers not to approach without wearing gowns and gloves.Swabs in Hand, Hospital Cuts Deadly Infections (New York Times, 27 July 2007) Every room and corridor is equipped with dispensers of foamy hand sanitizer. Blood pressure cuffs are discarded after use, and each room is assigned its own stethoscope to prevent the transfer of microorganisms. Using these and other relatively inexpensive measures, the hospital has significantly reduced the number of patients who develop deadly drug-resistant infections, long an unaddressed problem in American hospitals. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projected this year that one of every 22 patients would get an infection while hospitalized — 1.7 million cases a year — and that 99,000 would die, often from what began as a routine procedure. The cost of treating the infections amounts to tens of billions of dollars, experts say. “People don’t believe it’s in their institution, and, if it is, that it’s too big to do anything about, that you just have to accept it,” said Terri Gerigk Wolf, director of VA Pittsburgh Healthcare Systems. “But we have shown you can do something about it.” I have more than a passing interest in this topic. Both of my parents have contracted HAI's (hospital/healthcare-acquired infections) while patients in hospitals or nursing homes, and an multiple-antibiotic-resistant strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae, acquired during a hospital stay, killed my father. - Centers for Disease Control: The Impact of Hospital-Acquired Bloodstream Infection "Nosocomial bloodstream infections are a leading cause of death in the United States. If we assume a nosocomial infection rate of 5%, of which 10% are bloodstream infections, and an attributable mortality rate of 15%, bloodstream infections would represent the eighth leading cause of death in the United States." 26 July 2007 Qualifying RFP-based leads (Knowledge Work) Legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, who knew a thing or two about strategy, once explained why he typically ran an offense that relied heavily on the running game, shunning the forward pass: “Three things can happen when you throw a football, and two of them are bad.” When Oscar the Cat visits residents of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, the staff jumps into action -- Oscar can sense within hours when someone is about to die.Nursing home cat can sense death, ease passing (Reuters via Yahoo News) In his two years living in Steere's end-stage dementia unit, Oscar has been at the bedside of more than 25 residents shortly before they died, according to Dr. David Dosa of Brown University in Providence. He wrote about Oscar in the New England Journal of Medicine. "It's not that the cat is consistently there first," Dr. Joan Teno, a professor of community health at Brown University, who sees patients in the unit. "But the cat always does manage to make an appearance, and it always seems to be in the last two hours." The staff don't believe that anything supernatural is going on; rather, they posit that Oscar is sensitive to some kind of biochemical change that is taking place in the unit's patients as death approaches. However, definitely check out Oscar's picture in the Yahoo News article cited above. He appears to be a very wise cat, with a great deal of Buddha-nature. You can just tell that the little guy has quite a bedside manner. Related: Dosa, David M. A Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat N Engl J Med 2007 357: 328-329 25 July 2007 24 July 2007 Dad's math book makes the grade (The Detroit News, 20 July 2007) Some parents pitch in with homework when kids get bad grades in math. Nicholas Aggor literally wrote the book. The Riverview engineer was so distressed when sons Samuel, 14, and Joshua, 13, brought home bad marks, he took it upon himself to rewrite their textbooks chapter by chapter. Four years later, they are in advanced classes and the Ghana native's pet project has become a passion that's produced a math curriculum for grades kindergarten to nine -- 14 books in all. And soon, it may not be just his kids whose grades are improving. Hat tip: deVille 23 July 2007 In September 1999, at the height of the dot com boom, a small group of colleagues and I started a new company, Loudcloud, based on the idea that the huge Internet infrastructure buildout then underway -- by startups and big companies alike -- required a new approach to running modern datacenters and computer systems at high scale: automation.HP buys my company Opsware for more than $1.6 billion in cash (blog.pmarca.com) The eight years that have followed have been an unbelievable journey... Today we have announced that Opsware is being acquired by Hewlett-Packard for more than $1.6 billion in cash, or $14.25 per share. Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. In late June, despite a life of antitax agitation and churchgoing, he was excluded from a Republican forum sponsored by Iowa antitax and Christian groups. His school of Republicanism, which had its last serious national airing in the Goldwater campaign of 1964, stands for a certain idea of the Constitution — the idea that much of the power asserted by modern presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the states. Though Paul acknowledges flaws in both the Constitution (it included slavery) and the Bill of Rights (it doesn’t go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn from them: Against gun control. For the sovereignty of states. And against foreign-policy adventures. Paul was the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate in 1988. But his is a less exuberant libertarianism than you find, say, in the pages of Reason magazine.The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul (New York Times, 22 July 2007) 21 July 2007 Sometimes you can travel north to go south. As removed as it might seem from the easy pace and wide open spaces of the Southern states, New York City still knows about life below the Mason-Dixon Line. Tucked away on side streets and in basement clubs, an authentic culture thrives, and it welcomes visitors who want to slip away from the bustling city for a few hours of downhome hospitality. Based on analysis of the site logs: - Country share: the US leads with not quite 80%, with the remaining 22% (in declining order) split among the UK, Canada, India, Sweden, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Spain, Singapore (Hi, Fiona!), Germany, Belgium, Japan, Israel and Norway. - OS share: 65% of you are running Windows XP; a whopping 25% of you are using Mac OS X (results likely skewed by the links we've been picking up from MacSurfer lately; see below.) The rest of you (10% in aggregate) are using older or newer Windows variants (Vista penetration: less than 3%) or Linux; at least one brave soul is browsing the site using OS/2! OS/2 guy: Rock on with your retro-bad self. - Visit duration: most enrevanche visitors linger for between two and three minutes per visit, an absolute eternity in blog-time. (It takes me less time than that to *write* many of the posts.) - Top referring sites in the last month, in order: - Bill in Exile (warning, NSFW and try not to be drinking any beverages while reading) - Real Clear Politics - Top search engine: Google. - Top Google search strings bringing unwary visitors to the site this week: Westell 327W, Sunrocket 20 July 2007 I am the very model of a modern Libertarian:There's much, much more. I teem with glowing notions for proposals millenarian, I've nothing but contempt for ideologies collectivist (My own ideas of social good tend more toward the Objectivist). You see, I've just discovered, by my intellectual bravery, That civic obligations are all tantamount to slavery; And thus that ancient pastime, viz., complaining of taxation, Assumes the glorious aspect of a war for liberation! 19 July 2007 I can't hope to add anything to the voluminous coverage of this incident, except to relate another incident that took place in my office last night. The explosion occurred just before 6PM, at the height of the evening rush hour, and shortly thereafter a number of us gathered in the Network Operations Center, where a local news channel was tuned in and patched through to the overhead projector. The initial images were really startling - the steam-geyser was achieving some incredible heights, and it was evident that the steam pipes had taken out quite a bit of additional infrastructure with them when they blew, as there was an enormous amount of debris in the mix. "Damn," one of our senior engineers observed. "Looks like it took out a sewer line, too." One of the new guys objected. "The news says that's mud." The senior guy said, "Dude, I've worked in IT for over 20 years now. Don't you think I can recognize a fountain of shit when I see one?" (P.S. While Doc is on travel, I'm going to be posting occasionally at They Rode On, a blog I encourage you all to check out. Doc's kin to me, but please don't hold that against him. This is crossposted there.) 18 July 2007 State Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner George Tatum resigned today, a spokesman said. The resignation comes a little more than a week after The News & Observer reported an allegation that Tatum had helped a friend get a replica of a 1937 Ford truck titled as the real thing. DMV Commissioner Resigns (Raleigh, NC News and Observer, 18 July 2007) This is *so* Southern, I can't even begin to cope with it. Dude resigns in shame and disgrace because he got caught helping a friend counterfeit a pickup truck. The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that nearly a quarter of Republicans are unwilling to back top-tier hopefuls Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain or Mitt Romney, and no one candidate has emerged as the clear front-runner among Christian evangelicals. Such dissatisfaction underscores the volatility of the 2008 GOP nomination fight.AP Poll: GOP pick is "none of the above" (AP via Yahoo News) GOP rally cheer, early in the third quarter of 2007: Who do you want? When do you want them? Photos of what appeared to be every page of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the breathlessly awaited seventh and final installment in the wildly popular series by J.K. Rowling, were circulating around the Web today, potentially upsetting the most elaborate marketing machine ever mobilized for a book.New Potter Book May Have Made Its Way to Web - New York Times "May" have made its way to the Web... “BUT I DON‘T—” “And then we’re going to the Apple Store.” Leta suddenly remembers all those times Daddy has taken her to the Apple Store to pass the time, those outings where he would inspect new hardware while she got to play Dora games on an iMac at the back of the store. “Daddy!” Her tone changes instantly from CURRENTLY DYING to polite conversation over tea at the tennis club. “I’m going to the Apple Store with you! I love the Apple Store.” Jon staggers backwards two steps, holds his hand over his heart and says, “If I were a normal man? This—” and he points back and forth between himself and Leta signaling what they have between them, “—this would be me teaching my son how to throw a baseball.” 17 July 2007 16 July 2007 Yeah, Sunrocket's history: SunRocket, one of the largest start-up companies offering Internet phone service, has ceased operation and is moving its customers to one or more other companies, a person briefed on its status said yesterday. A message on SunRocket’s customer service line said the company was “no longer taking customer service or sales calls.” Executives of SunRocket, which is based in Vienna, Va., and had 200,000 subscribers as of April, could not be reached for comment. Mattel’s virtual world Barbie Girls hit the 3 million user mark in its first 60 days and is growing at the rate of 50,000 new users a day, according to a report from the Scientific American.TechCrunch: Could Barbie Girls Become The Largest Virtual World? To put that in perspective, Second Life took 3 years to get to 1 million registered users. At its current growth rate, Barbie Girls should pass the number of Second Life registered users between November and January based on Second Life’s existing growth rate. Barbie Girls would also pass World of Warcraft around the same time as well. A funny thing has happened on the way to the 2008 US Presidential Elections, and it’s all got to do with Web 2.0.Techcrunch: Ron Paul: A Distributed Web 2.0 Campaign (16 July 2007) Ron Paul is a name many will immediately recognize, but for those who don’t, Ron Paul wants to be the next President of the United States of America. Paul’s platform is very, very different to most (if not all) of the other candidates, both from his own Republican Party and the Democrats. Paul is a classic conservative, a believer in small Government and a believer that the individual is more important than the State. He’s also anti-Iraq war, and in a historical sense broadly anti-interventionist as well; Paul is a candidate who believes the Monroe Doctrine is simply wrong.Paul is also the underdog in the Presidential race, dismissed by the mainstream media and political pundits as nothing more than a kook with no hope at all. And yet if you believe online polls and surveys, Paul will be the next President of the United States. 15 July 2007 Arkansas was scary, but not as scary as Mississippi. In Mississippi, you could end up in a coffin just trying to scribble in your notebook. In 1962, a European reporter by the name of Paul Guihard had been crossing the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, there to cover the protests against troops guarding James Meredith as he integrated the school. Someone blew a hole in Guihard's head with a gun. Simeon Booker was at Ole Miss that autumn. He knew the dark, kaleidoscopic danger of the place. He had been in Mississippi -- at that courthouse in Sumner to cover the Emmett Till murder trial. Till -- a 14-year-old black youth murdered by two white men in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a woman who was married to one of the men -- was Booker's damn story, and he knew it, his fingerprints on the reporting of it from the very beginning. They all knew it, every one of the reporters, the ones from the white press and certainly the ones from the Negro press...The Man from Jet - Washington Post, 15 July 2007 ...[H]e was the man from Ebony and Jet magazines, which meant, in a symbolic manner, beginning in the 1950s, he was the man from Negro and black America with a press pass. He was all over the South -- before it became a beat and a newspaper cause -- writing up his stories, getting them printed. When it was happening, when history was rolling like some kind of grainy as-yet-unseen newsreel, he didn't think about it much at all. "You just did the job," he says. The wheels of the car rolled on then, and the notebooks stacked up in the glove compartment. He covered protests in Birmingham, Ala., civil rights deaths in Mississippi, voting marches in the Carolinas. He went out on campaign trails with the Kennedys. (The Kennedys liked him, learned much about black America from him. He was invited to JFK's funeral.) He covered the young John Conyers in Detroit. He walked down the streets of Harlem with a smile on his face, looking for musicians, looking for Adam Clayton Powell Jr., trying to find a slice of sweet potato pie. He was so revered that when young black reporters came out of college in the 1950s, they looked him up. Like English department grads trekking off to Havana to find Hemingway. Yuppie customer: Can we have the tasting menu?Overheard by: The Professor via Overheard in New York, Jul 15, 2007 Waitress: You eat everything? Yuppie customer: Yeah, sure. Yuppie customer: I'll eat the asshole if you put a tasty sauce on it. Waitress: We don't serve assholes here. Yuppie customer: This is New York. How do you stay in business? 14 July 2007 Yes, Google's $625 million deal for spam-fighter Postini adds another business application to its portfolio. But when I heard about it, I thought only one thing: Our bosses will gain an ever more powerful tool to search and analyze our e-mails and messages.Google with Postini: Searching Our E-mail (BusinessWeek Blogs, Stephen Baker, 10 July 2007) As Google storms into the market, more managers will be able to search employees e-mail the way they now search the Web. Imagine being able to call up every e-mail in the enterprise over the last month, for example, that mentions a key competitor and an upcoming product or service. Want to see it as it's happening? Sign up for an alert for certain keywords. It doesn't have to stop there. Once these data are searchable, it will become ever easier for managers to apply advanced analytics to corporate messaging. They'll be able mine these data for the latest trends of words and subjects that employees are writing about. Mapping the social networks inside and outside the company will be a cinch. And as automatic reading programs improve, companies will also be able to track the rising and falling sentiments of their work force. Watch the exact position and additional data (heart rate, cadence, speed, power) of the racing cyclists on an interactive map. 13 July 2007 I've cut out and taped the key question from #10 to my monitor: Britannica Blog, "10 Ways to Test Facts" (Gregory McNamee - June 26th, 2007) 10. The Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that we all tape this little note to our telephones: “Are you sure?” The message is meant to serve as a reminder to help stem wrongheaded talk, idle gossip, and pointless argument. For myself, I keep that question affixed above every computer I own, within sight of my phones. It doesn’t prevent me from being wrong, would that it did, but it has spared me a bit of embarrassment from time to time. And think of how the world might be if we all had that question before us at all times. Are you sure about those WMDs? Are you sure about that yellow cake uranium from Niger? Are you sure there’s no such thing as global warming? The list goes on, and on... PALAZZOLO SULL’OGLIO, Italy — They have names like the Brilliance BS6, the Landwind Fashion or the improbable Hover Wingle, and though these sedans, vans and sport utility vehicles are hardly as familiar to Europeans as, say, a Volkswagen Golf, they are beginning to show up on European roads. “I’ve got air-conditioning, ABS brakes and air bags,” said Carlo Scalvini, describing his Hover, a big and boxy sport utility vehicle built by the Great Wall Motor Company, with headquarters in Baoding in eastern China. “And the price is competitive: you pay 10,000 euros less in the end,” more than $13,000. The enthusiasm of people like Mr. Scalvini could influence the global auto industry and China’s place in it. China’s quiet inroads into Europe are the first test of rich markets by Chinese automakers as they build dealer networks and deliver small shipments of cars to test the reaction of drivers and auto industry experts. Low-Cost Chinese Cars Making Restrained Entry to European Market (New York Times, 13 July 2007) Great Wall Motor Company Limited (Baoding, China)... where, in addition to the Wingle, you can learn about other models called (I am not making this up) the Safe, the Sing, the Pegasus, the Deer, the Sailor and the Socool. China is making huge strides in economic development, but it's clear that sixty years of Communist rule have stunted their vital, strategic branding skills: The first high-pressure common rail & high-end diesel pickup in China. Creation embodies charm, technology fulfills leadership. As China's first high-end diesel pickup, Great Wall-Wingle creates a new realm of high-grade Pick-up, and goes forward towards the world as the Chinese Pickup leader. Fashion in every detail demonstrates innovative design concepts, creative design and avant-garde daring style, without any meaningless decoration. Brilliant achievements in their careers enjoy life passion.Yeah! Here's my entry. I call this piece “Outmoded.” Pictured, left to right: Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry Curve, generously provided by my employer, adjacent to Apple’s new iPhone, generously provided by me, both displaying a favorite blog. 12 July 2007 Rumors on stock discussion boards being seeded and spread by sock-puppets are nothing new. Usually the sock-puppets only claim to have inside information and are looking to manipulate a stock's price.Sometimes, the sock-puppets actually HAVE inside information, and their goals are... hmm. In January 2005, someone using the name "Rahodeb" went online to a Yahoo stock-market forum and posted this opinion: No company would want to buy Wild Oats Markets Inc., a natural-foods grocer, at its price then of about $8 a share. "Would Whole Foods buy OATS?" Rahodeb asked, using Wild Oats' stock symbol. "Almost surely not at current prices. What would they gain? OATS locations are too small." Rahodeb speculated that Wild Oats eventually would be sold after sliding into bankruptcy or when its stock fell below $5. A month later, Rahodeb wrote that Wild Oats management "clearly doesn't know what it is doing .... OATS has no value and no future." The comments were typical of banter on Internet message boards for stocks, but the writer's identity was anything but. Rahodeb was an online pseudonym of John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive of Whole Foods Market Inc. Earlier this year, his company agreed to buy Wild Oats for $565 million, or $18.50 a share. 10 July 2007 "EFF Receives First Set of FOIA Documents on the FBI's Misuse of National Security Letter Authority" (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 9 July 2007) EFF has obtained FBI documents showing years of chronic problems with its use of National Security Letters (NSLs). The issue first drew widespread attention four months ago, when the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General released a report [31M PDF] revealing extensive misuse of NSLs in a sampling of four FBI field offices.These findings were, unfortunately, not surprising to critics of the Bureau's NSL power. Before the USA PATRIOT Act was passed in 2001, the FBI could unilaterally issue these demands only to obtain the records of suspected terrorists or spies. Under the changes made by the controversial anti-terrorism law, however, the FBI can now use NSLs to get telephone, Internet, financial, credit, and other personal records about anybody -- without any court approval -- as long as it believes the information could be “relevant” to an authorized terrorism or espionage investigation. Current, apparent definition of a terrorist: Anyone the FBI would like to get a free pass to wiretap. Time is running out. New royalty rates will go into effect on July 15th which are 6 times more than SomaFM's total revenues. If not changed, SomaFM will be forced out of business by the RIAA. I need you to call SomaFM's congressional representative in San Francisco, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at (415) 556-4862 and ask her to use her office's influence to demand that the RIAA come to a settlement with small webcasters. Identify yourself as a listener to SomaFM which is based in her district. It doesn't look like the IREA will get passed before the July 15th deadline with the RIAA's aggressive and false-pretense lobbying against it. Our only hope now is for a settlement, which ideally will be codified into law later. The RIAA is blocking the IREA from passing with propaganda and downright false statements. And the worst thing is they're being sneaky about it... trying to pretend that this propaganda is coming from SoundExchange. Because everyone knows you can't trust anything the RIAA says. But the RIAA is the puppeteer pulling the strings on SoundExchange, and makes up the majority of the seats on SoundExchange. The independent artist representatives on SoundExchange's board support independent internet radio and aren't trying to kill it, but the RIAA cronies have the majority vote. At this point, it doesn't look like the IREA will pass, the RIAA has been very good in their lobbying. (Well, I should say, they're very good at hiring expensive lobbyists - after all, they're using SoundExchange's money to do it, and all that money comes out of the royalties paid to SoundExchange before the artists see it. Oh, the irony! Internet radio stations are paying SoundExchange royalties which are being used to lobby against net radio, and not actually paid to the artists. Yet they have the balls to tell the artists that it's internet radio that's stealing from the artists. And even though we play very few RIAA-related labels, the RIAA has successfully made it so that even if we play independent artists, we still have to pay them royalties. More at http://somafm.com/blogs/rusty and http://somafm.com/crb 09 July 2007 By the end of this year, police officials say, more than 100 cameras will have begun monitoring cars moving through Lower Manhattan, the beginning phase of a London-style surveillance system that would be the first in the United States. The Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, as the plan is called, will resemble London’s so-called Ring of Steel, an extensive web of cameras and roadblocks designed to detect, track and deter terrorists. British officials said images captured by the cameras helped track suspects after the London subway bombings in 2005 and the car bomb plots last month. If the program is fully financed, it will include not only license plate readers but also 3,000 public and private security cameras below Canal Street, as well as a center staffed by the police and private security officers, and movable roadblocks. New York Plans Surveillance Veil for Downtown (New York Times, 9 July 2007) Science-fiction author David Brin has some very interesting ideas on topics like this. Despite a vibrant local economy, Atlanta homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and losing their homes at one of the highest rates in the nation, offering a troubling glimpse of what experts fear may be in store for other parts of the country.Increasing Rate of Foreclosures Upsets Atlanta (New York Times, 9 July 2007) The real estate slump here and elsewhere is likely to worsen, given that most of the adjustable rate mortgages written in the last three years will be reset with higher interest rates, said Christopher F. Thornberg, an economist with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. As a result, borrowers of an estimated $800 billion in loans will be forced in the next 12 months to 18 months to make bigger monthly payments, refinance or sell their homes. Review: 6 Skype Alternatives Offer New Services (David DeJean, InformationWeek, 3 July 2007) 08 July 2007 "If you want to save the planet, I want you to start jumping up and down!" Thus Madonna revealed her plan to combat global warming. Clad in a black satin leotard, she gyrated with dancers and simulated sex with an amplifier and a guitar. Along with the Foo Fighters, the 48-year-old Queen of Pop transformed a Live Earth concert that at times had seemed earnest and slow...Live Earth London's Glacial Pacing (Washington Post, July 8, 2007) The interspersing of musical numbers with lectures on climate change gave much of the show a staccato feel... It's an inconvenient truth, but mixing rock with recycling is awkward. In a TV interview earlier this week, Matt Bellamy of the band Muse mocked the event as "private jets for climate change." John Buckley of Carbon Footprint, an organization that helps companies reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, said Saturday that Live Earth will produce about 74,500 tons of the gas."We would have to plant 100,000 trees to offset the effect of Live Earth," he said, speaking by telephone. A guy with a “Nuke The Moon” T-shirt in line to give blood. How a writer lost one of Heinlein’s cats, and who’s got the last cat now. Who wrote about the size of Heinlein’s package and what happened when Heinlein found out. Who fought with whom in reasearching the man’s life, and who screwed whom over, and who’s got the only copy of the political papers and can’t give them up yet. The amazing kindness and gifts the Heinleins gave to fans and writers of time, expertise and sometimes rent money, including a preternatural ability to somehow know when a writer was in trouble and needed help but wasn’t telling anybody... It's with a great deal of regret that I am announcing the closure of Etherbeat Radio.Subscribers were tipped off via e-mail on Friday that this was going to happen--and I got confirmation this morning that the site was closed for business (see above). Proposed legislative changes are signalling a new climate for internet radio in which enthusiast stations like Etherbeat can't survive. Besides this, I've just found it to be too much about business and paperwork lately and not enough about music AND I'm all out of cash! So it really is time to move on to something different... The promise of the Internet, for creative types, has always been that with enough connectivity, there is an audience for every taste. There might not be twenty-five people in your hometown who would have cared to listen to Etherbeat (I'm betting there were a lot more than that) but worldwide, the potential audience might have easily numbered in the millions. Whatever else it was, Etherbeat was a labor of love, and largely a one-man show; JC poured his heart and soul into the operation, and while there were shortages of cash at the end and exasperation with the legislative machinations currently underway, there was never any shortage of love. You could hear it in the music every day. As I wrote to my Congressional reps a few months back: Internet-based broadcasters are filling a culturally important role by providing high-quality alternatives to the homogenized dreck that flows over the public airwaves. They are offering music lovers a choice and presenting an incredibly diverse palette of musical styles and options to their listeners.With Etherbeat gone, the dreck quotient just went up a little. The mourners are checking in. For me -- well, my days will be a little longer without Etherbeat streaming through the speakers of my work PC. JC, you're the reason I bought a subwoofer for my work rig. ;-) And let me tell you, brother, you sold a lot of records... I can't tell you how many CDs I bought after first hearing an artist on Etherbeat. Be well, and good luck with whatever's next for you. 07 July 2007 Cheerleaders for renewable energy are fond of pointing out that patches of desert receive enough energy each year from sunlight to power the entire world. But few deign to explain how the construction of the millions of solar cells required to convert that energy into electricity would be financed. Utility bosses and policymakers tend to dismiss wind and solar power as noble but expensive distractions, sustainable only through lavish subsidies. But new studies suggest that renewables might not be as dear as sceptics suspect.The Economist: Cheap Alternatives (July 5, 2007) Tata, who writes the delicious and funny Poor Impulse Control, has tagged me with a blogmeme: "Thinking Bloggers." About Enrevanche, Tata was kind enough to say: Barry thinks about things I don't or they wouldn't cross my path. His cat is a humble rock star. I read Enrevanche about once a week. If I skip it, I feel like I misplaced my car keys.And once you read it, you feel like you misplaced your antipsychotic medication, no doubt (if I'm doing my job right.) Anyway, here's how this meme works: 1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,To avoid the appearance of (b)logrolling, Poor Impulse Control (Tata's blog) is not on my list, but I will say that I check in at her place at least a few times a week. She can make you laugh, make you cry, spur you to rage or provoke contemplation--the raw, confessional stuff she wrote during her father's last days was absolutely heartbreaking. Day to day, though, she's just one of the funniest, smartest people in the blogosphere. And although our politics appear to be very different, I think we would have a huge time over a big plate of food and several glasses of wine. 2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme, 3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote. OK. Here's the list, in alphabetical order, of Blogs That Make Barry Think: - Chapomatic. One of my oldest friends in the world also writes one of the best blogs out there; reading his stuff convinced me to start blogging. Take Chap's advice about music as if you were Moses on the mountaintop taking dictation straight from God. - Cobb. A self-described conservative and Black nationalist with a serious love for funk and a deep structural knowledge of information technology. - Don Surber. Don writes editorials and columns for the Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, and for years he blogged at Blogspot. He recently began blogging for his employer, and Don's take on the news is always worth reading. - Music and Cats. Musings on architecture, recipes, and loads of beautiful photography, much but not all of which involves kittycats. - Sisu. Sissy Willis comes from a different part of the conservative tradition than I do, but her political posts are always closely reasoned and well argued, and her sublime naturalist instincts and visual aesthetic sense are always refreshing to encounter online. Plus, the woman loves to cook. #1 on the list of bloggers I've never met in person that I'd like to throw a dinner party with. They're throwing a big party for Bob in Kansas City this weekend. I know somebody who's going. You know, when you're a kid, you read a lot of books and you listen to a lot of music that later, as an adult, you simply can't stand. Most of the science fiction I read in my youth falls into that category. Heinlein, on the other hand, just gets better and better. 06 July 2007 Case in point: Count Gottfried von Bismarck, who was found dead on Monday aged 44, was a louche German aristocrat with a multi-faceted history as a pleasure-seeking heroin addict, hell-raising alcoholic, flamboyant waster and a reckless and extravagant host of homosexual orgies.Now that, by God, is a lede. It gets better. Count Gottfried von Bismarck (Obituary, The Daily Telegraph [UK], 4 July 2007) 04 July 2007 So why is the viral-spread aspect so cool? Well, from a starting point of a few dozen folks a few weeks ago, my Geni tree has grown to almost 400 people. Southerners, in addition to the more conservative forms of Protestant Christianity, tend to practice ancestor worship, so this is not unusual, but the Midwestern Jewish side of the family is more than holding its own. The Geni system sends you updates when people are added to "your" tree, no matter how tenuous the links might be. Some folks have gotten so enthusiastic about entering family members that there are now people I've not only never met, but never even knew existed, in our tree. This system notification from Geni is the winner so far: XXX just addded YYY, your first cousin's daughter-in-law's ex-husband's ex-wife.That right there is damn nearly a country and western song. Whew! Greenwich Village Idiot, July 4, 2005 Happy Fourth of July, everybody! - "4th Of July" by Aimee Mann - "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" by Bruce Springsteen - "All the Way from America" by Joan Armatrading - "America the Beautiful" by Ray Charles - "American Tune" by Willie Nelson - "O Superman (For Massenet)" by Laurie Anderson - "Rednecks, White Socks And Blue Ribbon Beer" by Johnny Russell - "Revolution 1" by The Beatles - "Star Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix - ...and spoken word performances by Richard Pryor and the late Bill Hicks Also: Barry discovers a way to podcast and catblog simultaneously (special subvocalizations and sound engineering courtesy of Mister Gato.) Direct download: July_4_2005_Greenwich_Village_Idiot.mp3 While GrandCentral transitions to Google, they have switched from an "open signup" to "invitation only" model. As a current GrandCentral subscriber, I have a few (a very few) invitations to give away; if you'd like to try this service and you're a regular enrevanche reader, drop me a line. As predicted, Google has actually acquired GrandCentral: We're pleased to announce that we have acquired GrandCentral Communications, a company that provides services for managing your voice communications. GrandCentral is an innovative service that lets users integrate all of their existing phone numbers and voice mailboxes into one account, which can be accessed from the web. We think GrandCentral's technology fits well into Google's efforts to provide services that enhance the collaborative exchange of information between our users.Official Google Blog: All Aboard Related: GrandCentral's FAQ on the Google acquisition 03 July 2007 Originally uploaded by rdr07. Over the weekend, 7-Eleven Inc. turned a dozen stores into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience stores of "The Simpsons" fame, in the latest example of marketers making life imitate art."Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart?" - AP story on 7-11/Kwik-E-Mart stunt Those stores and most of the 6,000-plus other 7-Elevens in North America will sell items that until now existed only on television: Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal and Squishees, the slushy drink knockoff of Slurpees. Other recent examples of reverse product placement include Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which spun out of the Harry Potter books and movies, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurants, which opened after the movie " ." Anyone who likes iced coffee should check out this excellent, brief piece of service journalism in the Times, which describes how to make cold-brewed iced coffee that tastes better than hot coffee cooled down. (Related: Recipe link.) 02 July 2007 01 July 2007 No iPhone for me, not yet, no sir. And I was pretty damned smug on Friday about all the folks standing in line for their Jesus Phones. (I don't stand on line for *anything*. If the restaurant doesn't take reservations and it's full, I go somewhere else.) My sainted grandmother gave me some good advice once: "Make your words sweet, son, because someday you might have to eat 'em." And then a guy in our building reported a completely painless experience picking up an iPhone today... I must admit that the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue was handling a daunting logistical challenge with grace and style. Nobody enables better. The place was *packed* with people... but the longest and most difficult part of the transaction was getting up and down the stairs as the crush of acolytes descended and ascended. From the time I walked into the store until the time I walked out with the iPhone... eight and a half minutes. Total time, once home, to download iTunes 7.3, sign up for an AT&T account and switch our service from Sprint, and start receiving calls on my existing cell phone number on the iPhone: 45 minutes. So far I am completely and utterly delighted. We're all living in a science-fiction novel; you realize this, of course. :-)

CARLY RAE JEPSEN TO GUEST STAR ON 90210 Carly Rae Jepsen is gearing up to hit the small screen with a guest role on 90210 this fall. The “Call Me Maybe” singer will join the cast in a cameo for the season five premiere on October 5th. Jepsen will reportedly perform a song in the episode, but the jury is still out on whether or not it will be her smash summer single. ADELE ALLEGEDLY HID PREGNANCY FOR SEVEN MONTHS Adele might be having her first child earlier than we thought. Though the “Someone Like You” singer just announced her pregnancy last month, anonymous reports are surfacing that she is actually due in September. A mysterious insider tipped off London’s Heat that the songstress had actually kept her pregnancy a secret for seven months before the big announcement. VERSION OF NEW ONEREPUBLIC SONG LEAKS A version of OneRepublic’s new song, “Feel Again,” has leaked, but the band warned fans that it isn’t the final/right version of their tune. They said they’re excited fans are loving the leaked clip, but that a better version of the song will be released in an official capacity soon. SESAME STREET COVERS CARLY RAE JEPSEN Sesame Street has covered Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song “Call Me Maybe” with the help of “Cookie Monster.” In their version, “Share It Maybe,” “Cookie Monster” begs his listeners to share their cookies. The chorus includes the lyrics, “Hey me just met you, and this is crazy, but you got cookie, share it maybe. It’s hard to look at your snack baby, but you got cookie so share it maybe.” Check out the full version on Sesame Street’s Twitter. THE SCRIPT HIT ONE-MILLION FOLLOWERS The Script have released two hit albums and are working on their third, called #3. And while they’re hard at work, they’ve reached another goal – they’ve hit one-million followers on Twitter. The band took to Twitter to thank their fans for their support on the social networking site. Not following the “Breakeven” band? Sign up for their tweets @TheScript. SHOULD VENUES BAN THE USE OF CELL PHONES AND CAMERAS? Audiences bring their online social lives with them everywhere they go – even into clubs and venues during shows. Concertgoers have the ability to tweet the night away, Instagram their snapshots and “check in” with friends on Facebook. A Washington D-C club recently put the kibosh on electronics at one of their shows, but should venues be allowed to tell ticket-holders whether or not they may whip out their phones and cameras mid-set? Does this diffuse distractions for performers, or to force fans to focus on the show – not their iPhones? SHOW HOW MUCH FUN. YOU’VE BEEN HAVING Fun. have some new hot merchandise over on their website, including a beach tote, t-shirts and posters. Check out the new stuff at OurNameIsFun.com/Store. BACKSTREET BOYS WORKING ON NEW ALBUM! Six years ago, Kevin Richarson stepped away from the Backstreet Boys. In the time since, the group has toured relentlessly, even launching the successful NKOTBSB Tour with New Kids on the Block. MTV News is reporting that Richardson has rejoined the group and that they have just begun working on a new album. It will mark the first new music from the group as a five-piece since 2005’s Never Gone. Backstreet Boys entered a London studio on Monday and took to Twitter to share the news with their fans, writing, "First day in London working on our next album has already been amazing. So much great new music out here. This is gonna be fun!" - TIDBITS: 2013 will mark Backstreet Boys 20th anniversary. The band will get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. ADAM LAMBERT WOULD LOVE TO JUDGE IDOL It was rumored that Adam Lambert might be a judge next season on American Idol and now, Adam is saying that he would love that. The singer talked about the reports recently, describing them as a “beautiful rumor.” He went on to say that if he was asked to be a judge on the show, he’d jump at the chance. MTVNews.com has more. BLAKE SHELTON JOINS FORCES WITH MICHAEL BUBLE ON THE VOICE Blake Shelton is bringing in the star power on season three of NBC’s The Voice. According to the Associated Press, Michael Buble will serve as a mentor to “Team Blake.” Michael describes himself as a “big Blake fan.” The two started taping together on Monday in Los Angeles. NBC has yet to announce the other mentors for coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine. Season three of The Voice debuts September 10th at 8 PM Eastern on NBC. KEITH URBAN REFLECTS ON THE NASHVILLE LIFESTYLE Keith Urban is shining light on the changes of Nashville in his recent interview with American Way magazine. The singer, who moved there 20 years ago, believes that the city is “certainly way more cosmopolitan” than it used to be. Keith believes that a “much greater diversity” has been brought to Music City, due to “the influx of people.” Luckily for Keith “the original part of Nashville” that he loved is still there. Keith graces the cover of American Way, which is the in-flight magazine found on American Airlines flights. SPIKE LEE WORKS ON MICHAEL JACKSON DOCUMENTARY A documentary about the “King of Pop” is no easy task, but that is why one of the greatest directors alive today has been assigned the task. Spike Lee is currently working on a doc that will focus on the late Michael Jackson’s legendary 1987 album, Bad. Even though Lee worked with MJ before and even considered him a friend, delving through footage of the icon, he has learned things he never knew before, calling it a “treasure chest of findings.” Lee’s documentary will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the album, and includes interviews from Kanye West, Sheryl Crow and others. TAYLOR SWIFT, USHER, RIHANNA SET FOR IHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Usher, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Lil Wayne, Green Day, Swedish House Mafia, No Doubt, Brad Paisley, Pitbull, deadmau5, Miranda Lambert, Enrique Iglesias, Linkin Park, Jason Aldean, Pink, Mary J. Blige, Calvin Harris and Shakira will all take the stage at the second annual iHeartMusic Festival, which rocks the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on September 21st and 22nd. More artists are expected to be announced as the two-day festival gets closer. Tickets go on sale on Saturday. FLO-RIDA HELPS RAISE $1-MILLION FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH It’s undeniable that Florida rapper Flo Rida has a talent for making radio hits. With songs like “Wild Ones” and “Good Feeling,” the Carol City native has kept a constant stream of success going. With success though, Flo Rida is not unaware to the problems of the world, and because of such, he is doing something to help. Last week, Flo not only made an undisclosed donation to breast cancer research, but also performed at the Think Pink Concert and helped raise around one- million dollars that goes towards the cause. The rapper had this to say on his involvement: “I’m so proud to be a part of the annual Think Pink Rocks concert and their mission to raise awareness about early detection and genetic testing for breast cancer.” AEROSMITH RELEASE VIDEO OF THEIR “LEGENDARY CHILD” Aerosmith released the video to their new single, “Legendary Child,” which comes from their upcoming album, Music from Another Dimension. The visual is nearly six-minutes long with the first minute set up like a movie preview, describing the obstacles the band has overcome in their career. The rest of the clip is shots of the band performing in an abandoned warehouse interspersed with shots of a woman on roller skates being pursued by other ladies on skates. Check it out online now. GREEN DAY TO RELEASE TWO DOCUMENTARIES Green Day will be releasing two documentaries which chronicle their early years as a band and the making of their three upcoming albums. According to Billboard.com, the documentaries will be under the direction of filmmakers Tim Lynch, who produced the band’s documentary in 2005, Green Day: Bullet in a Bible, and Tim Wheeler. New material in the form of three albums aptly titled, “¡Uno!,” ¡Dos!, and ¡Tre! is sure to keep fans satisfied for a while. The first single from ¡Uno!, "Oh Love," will be released on Monday and the album is expected to hit stores on September 25th. $50-MILLION LAWSUIT AGAINST NEAL SCHON DROPPED Back in September, alleged White House crasher Tareq Salahi reported his wife, Michaele, missing. Well it turned out she had left him for Journey guitarist Neal Schon and she has been with the rocker ever since. Tareq went on to sue Michaele and Neal for 50-million dollars, claiming he and his estranged wife had been set to make millions of dollars for appearing on TV shows but Neal ruined that. The complaint was dismissed in April but Tareq got another lawyer and re-filed and this week, the case was dismissed again. In the meantime, Neal plans to shoot the video for the title track of his new solo album, The Calling, which is due out later this month. Stay up to date at SchonMusic.com. LOVERBOY LOVE THE STAGE Later this month, Loverboy will hit the road for a joint tour with Journey and Pat Benatar. Singer Mike Reno isn’t too concerned about the workload that comes with performing almost every night during a five-month long trek, as he told us. “Actually, we’re gonna be up there doing a 45 minute show and it’s totally fun. Got the rest of the night off, all day the next day, there’s nothing to it. I can do it in my sleep standing on my head.” The Journey-Benatar-Loverboy tour begins on July 21st in San Bernardino, California. Get all the dates at LoverboyBand.com. - TIDBIT: On season five of 30 Rock, the character “Pete Hornberger” reveals that he was in Loverboy for three months before leaving the band to pursue a college degree. A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN RICHIE SAMBORA’S LIFE Today (7/11) is Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora’s 53rd birthday. He’s spent over four decades playing music and the rocker explained what gave him the idea to choose music as a career. “My personal favorite music moment for me is something that changed my life. When I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I think that that was something that, I mean, it’s the reason that I do what I do for a living right now. I said to myself, ‘I can do that!’ and I was five years old at the time so that was 1964.” Head to Facebook.com/BonJovi to send Richie a happy birthday message. - TIDBIT: Richie was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of a factory foreman and a secretary. BEACH BOYS’ PROGENY FORM GROUP The Beach Boys are currently on their reunion tour, and it seems like it’s inspired some of their family members to get together musically. According to Billboard, Brian Wilson’s daughters, Carnie and Wendy; Mike Love’s kids Christian and Ambha; Carl Wilson’s son Justyn; Dennis Wilson’s son Carl B. Wilson; and Al Jardine’s sons Matt and Adam have all formed the group California Saga, along with Carl Wilson’s brother-in-law, Billy Hinsche, who toured with the Beach Boys for decades. Last night (7/10), California Saga played at L-A’s Grammy Museum alongside the Beach Boys. · TIDBIT: Al Jardine previously toured with his sons, Hinsche and the Wilson sisters. They called themselves The Beach Boys Family and Friends.

A great story Prosecutor and novelist combines truth and fiction Tall, handsome man who has a way with words and a love affair with music leaves the rainy Northwest for sunny Southern California and finds success as a writer. He works on scripts for Hollywood studios, interviews - and dates - celebrities and wins raves for his novels. But after a few years, the shine wears off the bright lights of Los Angeles, and he decides to make a change. He goes back to home state to pursue an earlier goal of law school, and discovers better stories and greater satisfaction in the courtroom, putting away child molesters, meth dealers and cold-blooded killers. Another novel follows, along with interviews in national magazines and the distinction of being dubbed one of the country's most eligible bachelors. He works his way up to the top spot at one of the busiest prosecutor's offices in the state and takes over a corner office with a view of the industrial Tacoma tide flats, a worn-out desk and hand-me-down chairs. Personal touches in the Spartan office include a photo from his wedding in Hawaii. Having found the right woman and the right job, he lives in a historic home near downtown Tacoma and relishes the opportunities ahead. Kind of reads like a best-seller. In fact, it's a brief bio of Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist '95. He took over as prosecutor this fall, after Prosecutor Gerry Horne retired. The Pierce County Council voted unanimously to promote Lindquist, 50, to the top spot. He will stand for election next year. "It's a perfect job," he says simply. "I get to do public service, feel the rush of adrenaline, and enjoy the camaraderie of good people. And you cannot find a job with better stories." Lindquist looks the part of both crime-fighter and celebrity. He stands 6 foot 6, and is self-assured and serious, yet approachable, and has a dry sense of humor. Being a prosecutor is the only legal job he's ever had. He started as an extern while in law school, and he was hooked. Like most young deputies, he started out prosecuting misdemeanors, and worked his way up, serving in the special assault unit, as trial team chief of the drug unit and eventually chief criminal deputy. Hundreds of cases over the years have left an impression on him, and many moments stand out - from the stoic bravery of an 8-year-old rape victim on the stand to the frenzy that erupted when a madman opened fire at the Tacoma Mall. He calls the prosecution of Tacoma Mall Shooter Dominick Maldonado one of his most significant cases. Maldonado wounded seven people, held four others hostage and terrorized thousands more on a busy Sunday before Thanksgiving 2005. He was convicted of 15 crimes and sentenced to 163 years in prison. Lindquist and Deputy Prosecutor Phil Sorensen '86 had a strong case thanks to the work of the Tacoma Police Department. Ensuring a life sentence was important, Lindquist said, because Maldonado was so dangerous - walking into a crowded mall and shooting at strangers. "The crime had an exceptional impact on the entire community, and I felt that justice in the case would give the community some closure on a crime that had caused so much upset and anger," Lindquist said. "It spooked people about the mall for months." He admits the job can be wearying, "emotionally overwrought and drama-filled," but he has learned to manage the stress. "You learn from this job that some people become jaded and some become Zen," he said. "You have to be even-keeled or it makes you crazy. I go home and I talk about it. My wife, Chelsea, loves the stories. And I write about it. That helps keep it in perspective." He has his hands full. Pierce County still has a disproportionately high crime rate, a shortage of resources and the dubious distinction as one of the meth capitals of the country. He has a staff of 240 and a budget of $27 million. In addition to the Criminal Division, Lindquist oversees the Family Support Division, the Juvenile Division and the Civil Division. The county has faced a backlog in the courts with fewer judges than it needs, and civil attorneys are clamoring to get on the court calendar One of his goals is to reduce the number of felons released to halfway houses and work-release programs in Pierce County. He says Department of Corrections should place people where they lived when they were incarcerated. He's proud that while he was in the drug unit, the number of toxic meth labs in the county dropped 90 percent from 2004, when it was in the top five nationwide for meth manufacturing. There has been a concerted effort by police, prosecutors and the community he said. While the meth problem remains, the danger of small-time dealers cooking up the hazardous drug in the woods and trailers of rural Pierce County has been greatly diminished. "It’s definitely not for everyone, but I love this job. I always wanted to be in a courtroom. It is high-volume, it is high stress, it is high-drama. It’s also a lot of fun.” One of the few things hanging in his office is a plaque given to him by his colleagues in the drug unit, bearing the message, "The druggies will miss you." He is quick to give credit to his colleagues. "All the attorneys, including the top staff, are excellent trial attorneys," he said. Among them are several graduates of the law school including Assistant Chief Criminal Deputy Phil Sorensen '86, Chief of Staff Dawn Farina '88, Chief Criminal Deputy Mary Robnett '91 and Chief of the Family Support Division Sarah Richardson '95. Life before law school Though Lindquist said he always wanted to be in the courtroom, he didn't take a direct route. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in literature and cinema, he made a living as a writer, working on scripts for Hollywood studios, freelancing articles and publishing novels. He interviewed celebrities such as Drew Barrymore ("charming and not-at-all spoiled" and Goldie Hawn ("hilarious and upbeat") and moved in celebrity circles. A star in his own right after the success of his books, he was grouped with other contemporary writers including Bret Easton Ellis ("American Psycho") and Jay McInerney ("Bright Lights, Big City") as part of the "Literary Brat Pack." But he was "burned out on screenwriting," and gave up what sounds like a glamorous life. "It seems glamorous when you're in your 20s," he says. He moved to Tacoma and swapped his screenplays for law books. He continued writing, and he was featured in Details, Vanity Fair and numerous other publications. And yes - he really was one of People Magazine's "100 most eligible bachelors" in 2000. Though he says his books aren't autobiographical, he definitely writes what he knows, and he draws on real-life experiences for themes and characters. "Sad Movies," was a fictional account of his experiences as a studio writer, and "Carnival Desires" is about a young man trying to jump out of the Hollywood Fast Lane. "Never Mind Nirvana" centers around a former grunge musician-turned-prosecutor and is set against Seattle's electrifying music scene. And the most recent, "The King of Methlehem," is about a cop and prosecutor working to catch the biggest meth dealer in Pierce County. Parts of the story and some traits of the characters resemble Lindquist and the cases he's tried. Anyone who has spent any time in the Northwest will recognize names and places throughout his latest novels. He doesn't do a lot of research for his novels, but he compulsively takes notes, on yellow pads, napkins or scraps of papers, so he can remember details that fit into a story. Work at the prosecutor's office and writing have taken over his life, he said. "A lot of my hobbies have fallen to the wayside," he said. "I used to snow ski, play tennis, sail...I don't have time for it anymore." He continues to be an avid reader and says music is the "greatest of the arts." He listens to old favorites like R.E.M., U2, the Replacements and Nirvana. "My wife Chelsea is pretty hip and keeps me up to speed on new music," said Lindquist, who for years lived in a downtown Tacoma loft previously owned by Nirvana's Krist Novoselic. But he's not complaining. He's grateful to have two jobs he loves and to live in a town that feels like home. He's never had to campaign before, but he's already started working to keep his job. He says it comes naturally to him - "listening to people talking to people" which is what he's always done as an interviewer and investigator. Lindquist has worked with the law school on recruiting students and graduates. He encourages anyone interested in trial work to apply for externships with his office. "We view our externships as nine-month job interviews. We look at them as potential deputy prosecutors," he said. "The best way to get a job here is to be a good intern." And externs soon learn if it's the path they want to pursue. "It's definitely not for everyone, but I love this job," said Lindquist, who intends to try at least one case a year even as the elected prosecutor. "I always wanted to be in a courtroom. It is high-volume, it is high stress, it is high-drama. It's also a lot of fun." By Katherine Hedland Hansen

As headlines remind us daily, nations throughout the world are still struggling to emerge from underneath the control of totalitarian regimes. But Jan Hrebejk explores a deep conundrum: what happens after the revolution, when the light shines on all the things that happened in the dark times? A famous Czech psychologist is about to receive a national honor for his brave dissidence during the bad old days, but his resentful son-in-law, who works for the TV show that will profile the honoree, uncovers something that casts the hero in a very different light. A tale of love, loss, politics, family tensions, pain, fear and forgiveness, “Kawasaki’s Rose” is made with dreamy craft and a sharp, unblinking eye. Dense, profound and impressive. A-minus; Czech Republic; 100 minutes (6 p.m. Friday, Whitsell; 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Broadway; 6:45 p.m. Monday, Broadway) -- Shawn Levy Aleksei Fedorchenko’s elegiac, visually rich picture mourns not only the loss of life and love, but also the fading embers of the Merja, a Finnish ethnic group that has been dispersed and assimilated to near non-existence during centuries of Russian rule, yet whose elemental rites and traditions survive. Dreamy and meditative almost to a fault — its signature scene is a single five-minute shot of two Merja men lovingly washing a female corpse — most of the film concerns an unusual road trip these stoic men, a paper-factory director and his best friend, take after the former’s young wife dies. Details about the characters, including the dead wife, are gleaned through “smoking,” in which a Merja widower speaks frankly of the intimacies he shared with his beloved. B; Russia; 75 minutes (6:15 p.m. Friday, Broadway; 4:45 p.m. Sunday, Whitsell) -- Stan Hall “Son of Babylon” Iraqi director Mohamed Al-Daradji’s film eschews the political for the personal as it looks back at Saddam Hussein’s regime with an anguished cry. Just after the dictator’s fall, an elderly Kurdish woman and her grandson make a long, dangerous journey across Iraq trying to locate the boy’s father, a long-lost soldier who, logic would dictate, is almost certainly dead, probably murdered. They are helped by an ex-Republican Guardsman seeking forgiveness for what he did to Kurds at Saddam’s behest. Al-Daradji ably captures the smoking, rubble-strewn chaos of post-invasion Iraq, where trouble is everywhere and hope is in short supply. Sometimes the story has a pro forma feel, but intricate plotting is hardly the point. “Son of Babylon” works best as a collective symbol of trauma and loss. B; Iraq; 91 minutes (6:45 p.m. Friday, Broadway; 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Broadway; 8:15 p.m. Sunday, Broadway) -- SH Much of this Canadian film, which is nominated for a best foreign-language film Oscar, is set in the late ‘70s in Lebanon, the homeland of Nawal, a young woman caught up in the sectarian hatreds that led to the Lebanese civil war. Upon her death in Montreal some 30 years later, her son and daughter learn that they have a long-lost brother AND a father who is still alive, and they set off to the old country to find them. What follows is a melodramatic tale of social upheaval, racial hatred, vicious violence, torture, and worse (trust me: worse). There’s a lurid, even twisted air to the proceedings, which derive from a play by Wajdi Mouawad, and director Denis Villeneuve isn’t shy about milking it. You wish he had more formidable central characters -- Nawal’s children are, really, ciphers. But you won’t wish that the film were any stronger or more stark. B-minus; Canada; 130 minutes (8:30 p.m. Friday, Whitsell; 4:15 p.m. Sunday, Broadway) -- SL Paolo Virzí’s bittersweet comedy-drama teeters toward sudsy melodrama yet manages to remain genuine and emotionally compelling. It covers nearly 40 years of family disarray and scandal, starting when a gorgeous, blithely sexual young mother wins a beauty pageant, delighting her little girl but horrifying her son and sending her husband into a jealous rage. Virzí avoids soap-opera mush by telling the story from the perspective of the adult son, who’s sarcastic, chemically dependent and still conflicted by love and embarrassment for his now terminally ill mother. The final act quite improbably combines unexpected reunions, tearful rapprochements, a wedding and a death. But by then, these finely shaped characters have become so dear that you might as well laugh and cry, too. B-plus; Italy; 122 minutes (8:45 p.m. Friday, Broadway; 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Broadway; 6 p.m. Wednesday, Broadway) -- SH Robb Topolski, who has sometimes called Hillsboro, Oregon home, seems a decent fellow: smart, hardworking, family-oriented, a veteran and former law enforcement officer, a barbershop quartet singer. He’s also an experienced software/network engineer/tester who noticed something funny about his home connection to the internet: whenever he tried -- (ital) legally (ital) -- to share music files, his internet provider, Comcast, apparently crippled his broadband access on purpose. Being a tester, Topolski tested, and he came up with a smoking gun that lead to a nationwide inquiry into Comcast’s activities and opened a window on the struggle to keep the internet unmonitored and free. “Barbershop Punk” is a scattershot and heavy-handed documentary about the issues of net neutrality as seen through the lens of Topolski’s case. The film has an adamant point of view, but it never makes its points particularly clearly or with any of the wit or verve that might help make a dry subject more engaging. You can be on Topolski’s side and still not enjoy this clumsy film. C-plus; US; 93 minutes (1 p.m. Saturday, Broadway; 6 p.m. Thursday, Broadway) -- SL In the first feature he’s made outside his native Iran, director Abbas Kiarostami explores some of the same intellectual terrain he’s mined repeatedly since “Close-Up,” the 1990 film which first brought him to international attention. Lines between fact and fiction, representation and reality, are blurred as a French journalist (Juliette Binoche) accompanies British author-philosopher James Miller (William Shimell) on a day trip through Tuscany. His new book argues that reproductions of works of art can be just as valid as originals, and the pair wanders, playfully but combatively discussing this provocative theme. At one point, a passerby mistakes them for a married couple, and Binoche’s character maintains this façade, drawing Miller into role-playing the scenario as the day progresses. No solid resolution ensues, but it’s a fun mental workout nonetheless. B-plus; France; 106 min. (2 p.m. Saturday, Whitsell; 8:45 p.m. Monday, Whitsell) – Marc Mohan A close-knit family comes undone when its strong-willed patriarch, a baker who is a purveyor to the Danish Royal Court, finds out he has inoperable cancer and has no one poised to take over the business. When he pushes his daughter to take the reins, she struggles her ambitions as a fast-rising art dealer, and her personal relationship with her artist boyfriend suffers over sacrifices she’s already made to achieve success. Director Pernille Fischer Christensendraws strong performances out of the lead characters, particularly Jesper Christensen, who plays the ailing baker. He has several harrowing scenes where you see the cancer taking its toll in every crease of his face. But the script is punishingly dark, with an ending that, like real life, leaves many threads dangling in the wind. B; Denmark; 102 min. (3:15 and 8:45 p.m. Saturday, Broadway; 9 p.m. Monday, Broadway) -- Grant Butler Here’s a documentary that manages, in a precious 80 minutes, to tell the entire story of human life -- or, rather, half of it. Director Ken Wardrop starts with an infant girl then focuses on gradually older female subjects -- toddlers, school-agers, teens, and young, mature and, finally, aged women -- who share their feelings about the men in their lives. One by one, 70 of them, covering 90 years of life, they talk (those who can, anyhow) in lovely Irish brogues about dads and brothers and boys at school and sweethearts and husbands, living and dead, and sons. It’s the full and varied panoply of life as boiled down to the details of ordinary male-female relationships. There’s humor and heart and wisdom and cunningly simple craft, and it’s utterly delightful. But there is something missing: Mr. Wardrop, the world now awaits -- nay, (ital) demands (ital) -- “Hers & His,” in which you ask a similar range of men about their womenfolk. A-minus; Ireland; 80 minutes (5:45 p.m. Saturday, Broadway; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Whitsell; 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Broadway) -- SL “Of Gods and Men” A spare but relentless mood of inevitable tragedy suffuses this slowly paced drama based on the true story of a small group of French monks in Algeria in 1996. When violent, fundamentalist Muslim revolutionaries threaten their placid existence, the eight brothers must decide whether to close their doors and leave the country, or remain despite the danger. Led by the stoic, resolute Christian (Lambert Wilson), they debate whether to abandon the villagers they provide with medical care and neighborly advice, or to hold fast despite their pacifistic vulnerability. Veteran French star Michel Lonsdale gives a memorable performance as the most avuncular of the bunch, which isn’t saying much, and writer-director Xavier Beauvois provides an illuminating look at life inside the monastery. B; France; 122 min. (8:15 p.m. Saturday, Whitsell) – MM Writer/director/costar Taika Waititi's charming second feature is a massive improvement on his first, 2007's try-too-hard quirkfest "Eagle vs Shark." Waititi is still telling stories of offbeat, semi-delusional New Zealanders, and he's still sprinkling his work with cartoonish flights of fancy -- but this time he grounds the comedy in a warm, bittersweet story of a boy craving a father. James Rolleston is terrific as the title character, a Michael Jackson-obsessed 11-year-old who holds down the fort on a houseful of children while his nana's away -- only to get horrible parental guidance when his idiot ex-con father (Waititi) shows up looking for buried money. Waititi does a nice tonal juggling act, balancing eccentric characters, child-drawn animation and even Maori-inflected re-stagings of Michael Jackson videos with the painful consequences of parental neglect. "Boy" was a huge crowd-pleasing hit in New Zealand. It's not hard to see why. B; New Zealand; 87 min. (1:45 p.m. Sunday, Broadway; 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Broadway; 6 p.m. Friday [Feb. 18], Broadway; 8:15 p.m. Saturday [Feb. 19], Broadway) -- Mike Russell The aftershocks in this epic Chinese melodrama are entirely of the emotional variety, although they arrive with the inevitability of the tectonic sort. The film opens with a harrowing recreation of the 1976 earthquake in Tangshan, </CQ>which killed some 240,000 people. It’s a far cry from the sensationalistic treatment you’d expect in a Hollywood blockbuster, as a young mother, after seeing her husband crushed to death, must choose which of her children to save from beneath a mammoth concrete slab. She chooses her son, but his twin sister, unknown to them, miraculously survives. The rest of the two-plus-hour running time follows their lives in tandem over the next three decades. If it had been told with surer pacing and a sense of genuine tension, this could have been a genuine crowd-pleaser, but it wasn’t. C; China; 135 min. (7 p.m. Sunday, Whitsell; 7 p.m. Monday, Broadway; 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Whitsell) -- MM "Circo" is a beautifully shot, profoundly sad documentary about a family-run traveling circus that seems to be crumbling before your eyes. Documentarian Aaron Schock introduces us to "Circo Mexico" ringmaster Tino Ponce -- who works himself and his family to the bone as he hauls his heartbreaking little circus around the Mexican countryside. The tension is quiet but unyielding: Tino's wife wants to leave the road and educate her overworked, near-illiterate, eerily graceful children; older family members supervising Tino distrust anyone who stays in one place or isn't completely loyal to the family business; and eternal financial pressure keeps Circo Mexico on a desperate, endless tour. Schock respectfully captures these lives, and gets you thinking hard about the costs of loyalty, youthful choices and early indoctrination. B; Mexico; 85 min. ( 8:45 p.m. Monday, Broadway; 5:45 p.m. Saturday [Feb. 19], Broadway; 3:30 p.m. Thursday [Feb. 24], Broadway) -- MR This terse adaptation of a novel (based on the exploits of real-life Austrian criminal Johann Kastenberger) is fascinating for how little it chooses to reveal about its antihero. Johann (Andreas Lust) is an Austrian ex-con who strips his life down to exactly two activities: training for marathons and robbing banks. An affair with a social worker (Franziska Weisz) puts a hitch in his rhythm. By design, director Benjamin Heisenberger tells us almost nothing about the near-mute Johann's motivations. "What I do has nothing to do with what you call life," Johann mutters; a scene where he downloads his heart-rate training data and finds it only spiked during a robbery is the closest we get to a hint. He's an existential shark, and the filmmakers rivet you with his long silences and relentless momentum. B-plus; Austria; 96 min. (7 p.m. Tuesday, Broadway; 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Broadway; 7 p.m. Friday [Feb. 18], Broadway; 9:30 p.m. Friday [Feb. 18], Broadway) -- MR There’s something deeply strange going on around Uncle Boonmee’s farm in remote Thailand. A number of monkey spirits and ghosts and beasts inhabited by humans — or maybe gods — have been awakened and aroused by the sense that Boonmee is dying. The chance to interact with the living is irresistible to those in other worlds, so they emerge: Boonmee’s wife, gone 19 years; their son, missing almost as long; and echoes from the dying man’s past lives, which unfold like narratives indistinguishable from real life (whatever that is ...). In this Cannes Palme d’Or-winning film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (who goes, conveniently, by 'Joe'), a cool and still aesthetic is applied to a storytelling bent that might cause even surrealists to scratch their heads. There’s an unsteadiness throughout, and a meandering air, but these are purposeful, and they’re achieved through simple means: natural sound, long takes, a pervasive sense of calm amid metaphysical turmoil. You wouldn’t recommend this film to everyone, but it blossoms inside you the longer you allow it to. B; Thailand; 114 min. (8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Whitsell; 9 p.m. Friday, February 18, Cinemagic) -- SL

It all started when Crystal posted about making cinnamon rolls for the 4th of July. And since my dad had bought me this, I knew I could do it with some degree of success. And now it’s been about four weeks and we are sucked in. Completely. From FishPapa to FishChick. Cinnamon Rolls are right up there with Saturday Morning Pancakes as a FishFam Tradition. And even though I not the fantastic food stylist and photographer that Pioneer Woman is, I hope you’ll believe me when I say, this is a tradition worth keeping! Of course, I’m using a recipe from the best bread machine cookbook of all time. If I posted all my favorite recipes from that book, I’d be in big trouble. So, you will have to go hunt it down for yourself. (But, because I love ya, I googled the author and found a different cinnamon roll recipe that she created. You can try that one and let us know what you think.) So, my Saturday night ritual is to make up 1 1/2 batches of Morning Sticky Buns. The 1/2 batch gets made “sticky” and the full batch is straight up cinnamon roll. After all are formed and panned, I cover them with plastic wrap and let them rest in the frig overnight. I bake them all in the morning and whip up some powdered sugar glaze that the kids spoon “on the side” for dipping. And, oh, do we have a good time at Sunday morning breakfast! Have you got any weekend breakfast traditions? Share them with us!

Eric Rohmer's A Tale of Springtime opens with a dialogue-free five minute stretch that is, from a director known for his endlessly talky, conversational films, notable for its quietude and simplicity. Jeanne (Anne Teyssèdre) drives to an empty, messy apartment, putters around briefly, and then leaves in apparent frustration after half-heartedly attempting to clean up. She next drives to another apartment, to which she also apparently has a key, and walks into a room as orderly and symmetrical as the previous room was disordered and chaotic. The first lines of dialogue after this leisurely, uninformative opening come from a young man who walks in wearing only boxer shorts, obviously flustered to see her. These first few minutes are puzzling, minimalist and austere even for a director whose films were once famously likened to watching paint dry. But the symmetry between the two scenes establishes immediately one of the film's key themes, the importance of space and place to the individual's identity. Jeanne, though, remains an enigma throughout these near-silent scenes and the subsequent ones in which she chats briefly with the young man, who turns out to be her cousin's boyfriend. The importance of these opening scenes only becomes apparent slightly later, in a startling moment when an offhand analogy unexpectedly crystallizes another of the film's underlying themes. When asked why she came to a party for an old acquaintance, where she knows no one and is obviously ill at ease, Jeanne cites Plato's story of the ring of Gyges. Even if someone had worn this ring, which grants the bearer invisibility, and watched silently everything she said and did during the course of the day leading up to this point, she says that they would still not understand why she had done what she did. What she's describing, of course, is the opening of the film itself, and the ring of Gyges is an ingenious metaphor for the cinema: the audience, granted an invisible vantage point by Rohmer's camera, voyeuristically spies on this woman as she goes through her prosaic day, coming no closer to understanding her thoughts or the rationale behind her actions. The cinema, with its emphasis on surfaces, actions, and words, is necessarily as limited as the senses of sight and hearing themselves; we all rely on appearances and the truthfulness of words to understand our fellow beings. It is certainly appropriate that Rohmer, always very concerned with the ways in which place affects character, has made a film in which place is the central dramatic device of the story. As Jeanne soon explains to Natacha (Florence Darel), a younger girl she meets at the aforementioned party, she is currently shuffling between apartments because of a set of complicated circumstances. She has lent out her own apartment to her cousin, because Jeanne normally does not stay there in the first place. She lives with her boyfriend, who is currently away on a trip, and in his absence, the compulsively neat Jeanne finds that she can no longer tolerate the messiness that she usually puts up with out of love. The result is that she finds herself feeling at home nowhere, not comfortable alone in her boyfriend's place, and unable to stay at her own place either. This is why she goes to a party that she doesn't really want to be at, and her situation is resolved when Natacha offers her a place to stay instead. Even then, the idea of one's own place remains important to the film. Rohmer has always been aware of the ways in which people jealously stake out and guard their own bit of personal space; he pays tremendous attention to the decoration of his characters' apartments and homes, hanging paintings on the walls and using color to convey moods and personality traits. In this film, especially, the small, quiet dramas that Rohmer traces arise from the characters' possessiveness and defensiveness of those spaces that they consider their own. The apartment that Natacha decides to share with Jeanne actually belongs to her father, Igor (Hugues Quester), who is rarely there since he, in a bit of symmetry that recalls Jeanne's situation, mostly lives with his girlfriend Eve (Eloïse Bennett). The apartment bears evidence of Natacha's parents' divorce, in the form of a curiously designed kitchen that was installed by an architect who her mother was having an affair with. And Natacha's room also holds the evidence of her not-so-long-ago childhood, toys and mementos that keep her surrounded by the past. Jeanne, for her part, is uncomfortable occupying Igor's room, despite the assurances that he will not return and she is even more embarrassed when he shows up anyway. Natacha is also especially concerned with the protection of a country house that her family rarely uses now, but which is nevertheless associated with her happiest childhood memories. For this reason, she dreads the idea of Eve (who she dislikes intensely) setting foot in this place. The film's plot, sketchy and breezy even by Rohmer's standards, revolves around such trivialities. The film is at its best when these petty dramas provide an excuse for subtle, charming conversations that touch on philosophical and emotional issues with the same light hand, and at its worst when the characters take it all too seriously, exploding with melodramatic anger and tears. Fortunately, the former predominates, and as usual Rohmer manages to make quite a bit out of relatively little material. The relationships among Jeanne, Natacha, Igor, and Eve are allowed to develop naturally and slowly, with Rohmer's observational camera maintaining a polite distance. The film is continually pointing out the opaqueness of its characters, and of people in general, as they chat and occasionally argue and react to one another in unpredictable ways. In two separate scenes, positioned as rough mirrors of one another towards the beginning and end of the film, Jeanne sits listening quietly to a Schumann piece, her eyes gazing blankly at a point somewhere off to the side of the camera, Rohmer photographing her from an oblique angle rather than staring directly. In both cases, her expression is blank, not at all as animated and expressive as she often is in conversation. She is obviously lost in thought, a condition that Rohmer respects by allowing her the silence and unknowability of private space. In the first of these scenes, in fact, his camera even gracefully pulls back, creating further distance between the audience and the woman's thoughts. These scenes, like the silent opening of the film, reveal nothing but their own surfaces and appearances, with none of the emotional or psychological insight that one would normally expect from such a moment. Rohmer is subtly, but explicitly, rejecting the facile movie convention that people in deep thought reveal themselves through their faces. The thought in this film is resolutely internal and unseen, and Rohmer reveals only as much of these characters' thoughts as they themselves can (or want to) express in their fumbling, uncertain phrasing. If A Tale of Springtime is generally interesting and enjoyable in its very Rohmer-like treatment of character and incident, it is less consistent on a cinematic level. Rohmer's films are often accused of having nothing going on visually, which is certainly not true, neither here nor even more so in his 70s and 80s work. His economical camera moves and crisp, often elliptical editing establish a very precise, well-defined aesthetic that only seems like an absence of style on first glance. The opening minutes of the film, with the subtle symmetry of the editing and the visual contrast between the apartment of Jeanne's boyfriend and her own place, cleverly use purely visual storytelling to set up both the central character and the everyday dramas that will occupy her throughout the film. In the penultimate scene, Rohmer plays with a visual rhyme between a pale green vase and Natacha's torso in a green blouse the kind of subtle details that frequently enrich his mise en scène. Elsewhere, though, he employs a flat, even ugly aesthetic, making some scenes particularly in the first third or so of the film seem disinterested and slipshod. The scenes at the party where Jeanne and Natacha meet, as well as the subsequent conversation at Natacha's apartment, have a workmanlike, television gloss that would make it difficult to defend Rohmer as a visual craftsman to someone who had never seen, say, My Night at Maud's. Rohmer fares better when the scene shifts to the countryside, and the springtime colors of flowers and greenery give the film a warm, pastel glow that he exploits to its fullest, both outdoors and in the colorful wallpaper of Natacha and Igor's country home. The film also suffers, in part, from the performance of Quester as Igor, who is variously described as "youthful" and something of a ladies' man, but who instead comes across as simply awkward and inscrutable. Rohmer's characters are often purposefully unlikable, or even annoying, but Igor doesn't even have that much depth. He's simply a cipher, self-consciously closing his eyes when he talks, scrunched up like a clumsy little boy when he finally gets the seemingly inevitable love scene with the calm, self-assured Jeanne. One suspects that when the characters call him "youthful," they didn't quite mean childish, though that's how he comes across. It's difficult to tell, in the context of the film, if this is a fault of the script, Rohmer's direction, or Quester's performance, but the character simply fails to fill the role that the dramatic arc clearly requires of him. The women fare much better, as is often the case even in Rohmer's best films. The friendship between Jeanne and Natacha develops quickly but believably, and they have a rapport and chemistry that's almost instant. Even Eve, in a relatively minor role, becomes a concrete presence in the film. She is introduced, before she is seen, by Natacha's mean-spirited, wholly negative description of her as "vampiric." It's to Rohmer's credit that once she actually appears on screen, he is able to draw out a nuanced and even sympathetic portrait of this woman without completely obscuring what Natacha sees in her. A Tale of Springtime may not be Rohmer's best or most consistent work, or even anywhere near the top, but this sensitivity to character and relationships keeps the film from being totally forgettable.

Two years after Arkham Asylum swung in to save the day from not-so-super superhero games, can lightning strike twice? We spoke with Rocksteady marketing game manager Dax Ginn to find out. Batman: Arkham City The sequel to the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum. Features a freely explorable city, revamped flight mechanics, and double the combat animations. Launching on October 18 in NA territories and October 21 EU. An insane clown (no posse, thankfully), a mutant plant woman, a roided up freak, and Batman walked into a prison, right? And – in a world full of mediocre licensed games – here’s the punchline: it was actually good. One of the best games of 2009, in fact. Even early on, Arkham Asylum showed plenty of promise, but it was understandably difficult for gamers to muster anything more than cautious optimism when they existed in the same reality as Superman 64. And so, Arkham Asylum – fittingly, considering the subject matter – took everyone by surprise, presenting a blend of hard-hitting action, gadgetry, and stealth that catapulted it not only to the top of the superhero heap, but into the upper echelon of games in general. Finally, in the world of licensed games, justice prevailed. The exploitative cash-in mentality of old had been thoroughly thwarted. After such groundbreaking success, many would be content to rest on their laurels – to throw down an anchor and keep things, well, steady. Contrary to its name, however, that’s not Rocksteady’s way. The developer has a few more tricks up its utility belt, and it’s certainly not afraid to shake things up. So say goodbye to the asylum’s safe, closed-off confines, because Arkham City’s a beast of an entirely different nature. Bat in the big city The demo we saw began with Catwoman in serious danger of losing all nine lives at the hands of Two-Face, who was hoping to cement his reputation as top dog of his new turf. As soon as the camera shifted over to Batman perched atop a skyscraping rooftop, however, we saw the real star of the show: the city. All at once gothically gorgeous, sprawling, and – most importantly – completely open, it was an absolute sight. And, according to marketing game manager Dax Ginn, it’s not just a pretty face either. Arkham City has personality to match. “There’s two things that we’re really focusing on. Firstly, the game world itself in Arkham City is a huge undertaking for us. A lot of character and a lot of personality comes through that. And we want to treat the city like a character in itself. You know, it changes. It evolves throughout the game experience,” he told us. “Each of the villains that have been thrown into Arkham City have carved out territory for themselves, but that territory is never static or guaranteed. There’s a simmering turf war that’s going on between Two-Face and his thugs and Joker and his thugs – as well as Hugo Strange, who runs the entire thing.” “We want to treat the city like a character in itself.” “If you move into Joker’s territory, you get a very Joker-ized experience, and all the artwork on the buildings – whether that’s graffiti, signage, or whatever it might be – gives you a dense kind of Joker experience,” he explained. “So our art team has really put a lot of effort in making that sort of transition between one turf zone to another – really helping the player feel like they’re making a physical transition into another emotional space.” He wasn’t just spewing hot air, either. As soon as Batman took to the skies via a revamped flight mechanic, we were able to glimpse multiple city segments, each of which glistened in the pitch black night with their own characteristic flavors. Time, however, wasn’t exactly on Catwoman’s side, so our demonstrator was quickly forced to take stop the sightseeing and get down to business. Detective Mode 2.0 Our demonstrator then flipped on the new, allegedly improved detective mode in order to flush out a potential informant. A familiar darkly colored hue then enveloped the whole screen as Batman soared over a crowd of thugs – not exactly putting to rest our fears that detective mode will shove the game’s gorgeous art out of the spotlight again. On the other hand, however, Rocksteady’s attempting to tone down detective mode’s all-purpose nature so as to keep Batman from essentially wearing his sunglasses inside. “There was a lot of opportunity to exploit detective mode,” Ginn admitted. “It kind of felt like it wasn’t really right for Batman – like we were kind of overdoing it. For us [in Arkham City], it was just a balance between the advantages that you get from detective mode and the advantages that you get from being normal view. So we’ve addressed those concerns and adjusted that balance of what detective mode gives you, so that if there’s a situation requiring it, you use it for that. You don’t just leave it on. We’ve been focus-testing that a lot, and we’ve found that people are using it as a tool rather than just the default way to view things.” Even so, Batman was able to pinpoint hapless baddies’ locations from a hundred or so feet in the air – a new technique that doesn’t exactly strike us as toned down. What happened next, however, pretty much forced us to put a lid on the skepticism and emit only a single word: “wow.” Our demonstrator locked on to an enemy and then dove straight at him – out of the air, mind you – in a tackle that was less linebacker and more entire 27-car freight train. Poor bastard never knew what him – though we have to imagine he was aware of the inherent risks when he took the job. What happened next forced us to put a lid on the skepticism and emit only a single word: “wow.” Using detective mode, Batman then had to avoid beating the informant into a bloody pulp while also pulverizing his buddies until they were down for the count. Fortunately, Batman now has twice the number of combat animations at his disposal, including a number of acrobatic avoidance techniques – perfect for flipping right over the informant and sticking the landing on some other guy’s face. Speaking of, many of the new animations we saw were positively brutal. For instance, we witnessed Batman snap a guy’s leg like it was made out of rotting twigs and hope (though not enough, evidently), and also catch a chair thrown at his head and toss it right back. Unsurprisingly, the informant nearly wet himself telling Batman everything he wanted to know, and then we were on our way. CSI: Arkham City After a similarly quick scuffle that sent Two-Face and his thugs fleeing in barely concealed terror, Batman rescued Catwoman from her oddly Adam-West-appropriate predicament: dangling over a vat of corrosive green goop. And then the Joker tried to snipe her. Yeah, really not her day. That, however, gave our demonstrator the opportunity to show off Batman’s new investigative tools, which allowed him to detach the camera from Batman entirely in order to scan the area for clues. Before long, he determined the trajectory of Joker’s bullet and was hot on his sickly nemesis’ trail. Inside the Joker’s alleged lair, we found Harley Quinn and – perhaps more importantly – a gang of thugs armed with automatic rifles. With Batman seemingly at their mercy, our demonstrator took the opportunity to show off the sheer volume of dialog that’s been recorded for enemies this time around. That, of course, is key, since freaked out baddies tended to start sounding like broken records in Arkham Asylum. Here, however, they went on without missing a beat for a solid couple minutes – something of which Rocksteady is quite proud. “First and foremost, we’re listening to the fans of Arkham Asylum.” “We’ve recorded a poop-ton of dialog,” Ginn told us. “You know, trying to really express emotion from thugs who are going from that initial bravado and confidence to really starting to brick it and lose it. Getting that across and maintaining a robust system where the player can do whatever they want in any order and have that all hang together just requires a load of dialog.” “You can never have enough of that sort of stuff. You can never have too much – whether it’s emotes or throw-away lines or comments from thugs within the game. But there is a finite limit to that, so invariably you need to set up systems where it’s better than saying nothing. If it means saying a line that they’ve said before, then that’s the way that it goes. But we try to avoid that as much as possible, because we feel the same thing. It does break the sense of believability when you’ve heard a line delivered in exactly the same way. That is the reality of a situation like that,” he confessed. Going out with a bang After witnessing a psychological freefall from the thugs that could only be described as delicious, Batman tossed down a smokebomb and sailed up onto – what else – a series of overhanging gargoyle statues. The thugs, however, quickly took hostages, which made the situation a bit more dicey. Interestingly, Batman himself immediately began plotting out a course of action, saying things like “I should approach that one behind.” And then, with that crisis easily averted, our demonstrator moved on to confront the Joker. Surprise! The Joker wasn’t actually up in the sniper tower at all. Instead: bombs. “That,” said our demonstrator, “is why we’ve given Batman a brand new move called jumping out the window.” End of demo. In a way, however, the whole situation exemplified Rocksteady’s new approach to boss fights – some of which don’t even have physical components at all. “First and foremost, we’re listening to the fans of Arkham Asylum. Any criticisms that came out of that game we take really, really seriously because we want to really deliver a complete experience. And boss fights in Arkham Asylum came on pretty late in development, so they didn’t receive the sort of attention that they really deserved,” Ginn said. “But we’re also looking at the different ways that various characters will challenge Batman. So it’s not just about being big and brutish and having this physical confrontation. A character like Riddler is much more about the intellectual battleground between himself and Batman – which is different from the way Batman would take on a villain like Two-Face or Joker. You know, we’re asking ourselves what’s really the best way to maximize the impact of these incredible characters that we have and designing encounters that play to their strengths.” Speaking of the Riddler… Yep. He’s back. After the demo concluded, we were treated to a short trailer of the cerebral baddie’s triumphant return. This time, though, he’s done playing around. According to our demonstrator, he’ll be “physically threatening Batman and innocents,” which became quite evident when the trailer showed him preparing to execute a woman he’d taken captive. It was unsettling, to say the least. “You will know that the Riddler is better than you,” he growled as the trailer came to a close. Despite working with some pretty dark subject matter, however, Ginn closed out our session with a sunny display of optimism. “I think there’s definitely a focus on quality like there never really has been before,” he said. “And that goes across the board – not just in terms of software, but in hardware itself. I think consumers are becoming very aware of what’s good and what’s not, and they’re voting with their wallets. So it’s great to see that – when you take a lot of risks and create a game you really love and believe in – a lot of gamers respond positively to that. So I don’t have any complaints about the industry at the moment, because it really plays to our strengths.”

"Well here's to you.. Mrs. Robin..son. Jesus love you more than you will know.. " Where does the instinct to mother come from? A mother robin builds a fine nest in a bird feeder, quite smartly with windows on three sides and a safe opening. She will sit there most of the time waiting for her little blue eggs to hatch, unless she needs to fly away to feed herself occasionally or perhaps sip water from the stream. I'm curious about natural inclination. As I watch my 6 year old granddaughter grow, I am struck by her female core of emotion. When her 4 year old younger brother is sad or crying, she sings sweet songs to him. She has just enough of a melancholic strain that she seems genuinely feels the suffering of the world. Just the other day her mother and father both had the flu. I told her we needed to make them some chicken soup. She ran and got her apron. Makena is not a big eater and certainly not adventurous, but she is curious and likes to do things. I was surprised that she took to chopping vegetables with a cumbersome knife so quickly and willingly. I showed her how to hold the knife steadily, how to bend her non chopping hand a certain way to keep her fingertips back and hold her vegetable firm, so it wouldn't slip around when she was chopping. She first started with a small knife, which made sense, but was not really getting the job done. So, we graduated to a larger more serious one that at least sliced. A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one of you don't know what you are doing. She impressed me with her attention and skill. I was not overprotective and enjoyed watching her. She chopped and talked as if she had done it all her sweet life. As she chopped she said, "Grandma, I like to focus when I'm making medicine. " These videos are short and adorable. and then she went on to use a bigger knife because she the small one wasn't getting the job done. Makena confessed that she wouldn't be eating the chicken soup. When I asked her why not, she said, "because I'm not sick!". I told her you don't have to be sick to eat chicken soup and she said, "I just make it, I don't eat it. I only eat what I like to eat. |Makena brushing Judah's teeth| |Hugging Peter Rabbit| This is really two blogs in one. Kind of long.. but so related I put them together. Here is an essay from my own experience written a few years ago..... Becoming a mother was my first cognizant desire. I could imagine my belly round and full. Playing house, I was always the mama, only occasionally interested in being the child. I cooked and kept my playhouse in order as if I knew exactly what to do. Mud pies from the sandbox were the specialty of the house. As I got older and became interested in boys, in hindsight, the heightened feelings of ‘love’ never came close to the romantic ideas I had about having babies. I had crushes, fell in and out of love with broken hearts on both sides, yet nothing quite gave me the glow like the thought of children. My friend, Mark, older than I with two small children, invited me to ride up to visit some mutual friends in the hills of Tennessee one day. It was an hour or so from my home town in Alabama. I slipped into the role of mother, like pearls on a lady. The children were adorable and I liked the feeling of being a family. That day I realized that I was made for the job. My life carried me to Europe that year. Studies were postponed. Something more artistic was calling me. Our lives call us, take us on journeys of exploration and give us the unpredictable. Every possible love story that followed was determined by what kind of father they would be. If he did not pass, it would not go far. When I look back, I see that my intentions at that time were more for the relationship of family than the relationship of husband or companion. It happens quite quickly, when you know. How one can be sure at such a young age is speculative. In fact, I remember asking my mother, “how do you know?” “How do you know what? If it’s true love? If he’s the right man? Sometimes you have to jump in with both feet”. She said. So at 22, I jumped. He was older than me by 9 years, cultured (worldly), educated (brilliant) and kind. And most importantly, responsible. Finding a good mate in the late ‘70’s was no easy feat. Being a flower child, I’m sure my parents thought they would lose me to a street musician or worse yet, a cult. I surprised them. I cared for him, and loved him as he loved me. Yet, I could hardly trust that I knew anything about relationships being so young. What I did know, is that he would be a good father, and I was right. We bought our first house together, then married in it one year later. I had already become pregnant a few months before the wedding, much to my delight, but also to my worry. I had to tell my father, a Southern gentleman, on the day before the wedding that ‘I was with child’. I was the first daughter of his to get married, even though I wasn’t the oldest. Perhaps away from the south, he could handle the news and the joy easier. He was after all, a gentleman, a GREAT father himself, who’s only intention was for my happiness (and to be cared for). He liked my betrothed and approved. Surprisingly, they had the same birthday. Grace flooded my being. The imagined glow was true. I felt like the Madonna herself. Watching one’s belly grow is miraculous. Feeding oneself becomes a priority every step of the way. As someone interested in good food and cooking, I was in heaven. Macro- biotic at the time, I didn’t eat meat or dairy, so I had to be extra diligent about getting protein, calcium and daily good nutrition. Nevermind, that it wasn’t easy to eat much in 100 degree weather that summer. I indulged in sweet fruits, leafy lettuces, occasional cottage cheese, (my childhood favorite) sunshine and swimming. It was a happy time, even though the heat at 9 months pregnant was intense. Being a southern girl, I was used to it. Not to mention, Colorado offers a less humid heat. A box of Pepperidge Farm Mint Milano’s disappeared one evening and I went straight into labor. The time had come. Jeff and I had studied the ‘Bradley Method’ of natural childbirth, based on deep breathing. I wanted to birth at home, but acquiesced to the birthing room at the local hospital. My in-laws were less tolerant than my own family and both my sister- in-law and brother-in-law were Pediatricians. I didn’t want to fail anyone, neither myself, nor the baby. I was still young and wanted to start out on the right foot with my new and extending family. We were lucky to have such an alternative in Boulder. It was a fine compromise. I’m sure Jeff was relieved. His family was less sure of me than mine was of him. The labor was long. Nothing can really prepare you for it. That’s why they have drugs. Yet, I wanted nothing of the sort. To this day, it was the hardest thing I have ever done. Birth hurts. It engages every part of your being inside and out. Your bones expand, thankfully, due to hormones that are released to soften everything, (so that even when you lay down at night, you feel your lower back vertebrae float into position.) When birthing, you become an animal, a very human animal. You lose touch with reality. The veil between this world and that also becomes soft. You moan with every contraction to ride the waves of pain. It scares you as it gets more intense. Your legs are spread eagle and you don’t care, you want to rip off your gown, or anything constricting. Every muscle in your body is calling for your attention. You do not want to be distracted by voices or sounds that might bother you, being acutely aware of the task at hand. This is not the time to be nice. The moment is poignant. What has been growing in that precious belly, so much a part of you, that you have so loved and nurtured, bathed and anointed from the outside, fed and rested, is coming out. Soon to be separate of you, yet still dependant. Everything will change. Your mind is trying to grasp all of the emotions at once. Girl to woman. Woman to mother. Instant growing up. Immediate loss of innocence. No more playing house- this is the real deal and it hurts. It’s beyond excruciating and beyond your control. You are possessed with an energy that you don’t recognize, a power that you didn’t know you had, coming from the depths of your being. You breathe and breathe, as long and slow as you can, so grateful that your breath is your friend, and scream once in a while, low tones, forcing that energy down into your pelvis. You wait, barely able to catch your breath before it comes again and… again… in my case, three hours of pushing when the head is in the mouth of the cervix, the tightest spot, with seemingly no progress. The infamous stage of transition. Not in, not out. No resting easily in this painful place. The pure surrender it takes to relax is like trying to find the eye of a hurricane. Then with one big breath and a concentrated push!.. The baby slides out. Reality slips back in. A small being is placed on your chest, all slippery and wet, eyes wide and awake. No drugs dulled either of us, we cried together, both shaking, a new mother and child. Emily Sarah Markel. M (Em) for Jeff’s father, and Sarah (after my favorite aunt). 5. 1/2 oz. 21 inches. 23 hours of labor. It was the hardest thing I have ever endured in my life and the most blissful. To this day, I see it as the single most important experience teaching me about my own inner strength. A strength I didn’t know I had. After that, I felt anything was possible. A 5 pound baby is small, but her little fists were under her chin making her shoulders hard to fit through the birth canal. It took longer than it should have. Just long enough for me to pop through to a different dimension to access a deeper and more confident part of myself. Emily was a lovely child. Sensitive, sweet, delicate and a daddy’s girl. She basically fit into his big hand when she was born, legs dangling off his arm. Motherhood was everything I thought it would be; completely enjoyable. My mothering instincts were intact. It was an idealistic time of staying at home, cooking three meals a day. Walks in the pram. Playing. Totally joyful. I was introduced to the Waldorf School which became a natural segue into the imagination of childhood. We were immersed into a world of wonder. My mother came to visit for a few weeks, so happy to spend time with her first grandchild. A week into her visit, she died of a heart attack in her sleep at 61. Emily found her first. “Mama..grandma won’t wake up.” She was 3. There are certain things that run in the woman’s line. This is one of them. Her mother, my grandmother, had died in childbirth when she was only 3. It was a first degree shock. Running to the room of my mother, I found her in the bed, sitting up, light on, with a book in her hand and glasses on her face. Her eyes were open. I shook her. She was stiff. I screamed in shock. In less than a second I understood that she was my mother, the body from which I came and now she was no longer at home. Yet, I felt her presence in the room. A protective mom, she would never let me watch gory movies..and yet, she dies in my house. Some months later I realized, that she gave me a huge gift~ a conscious shock~we are not our bodies. I was 26. A few months later, I conceived. This time, it would be a winter baby. Even though I was grieving, I was happy to be pregnant again. Emily was a darling and my family was growing. I accompanied Jeff on a trip to the British Isles, visiting England, Scotland and Ireland. I kissed the blarney stone, ate soda bread and drank Guiness, the liquid bread. It was stormy, giving sheets of rain, moody and reflective. This time I wanted a home birth. I developed an upper respitory flu towards the end of my pregnancy. False labor was common. Knowing what I had been through the last time, I was worried that I might be in for it, if I had no strength. It went on for a few weeks. I started to feel some better, but I was tiring of the false labor pains I was having. That night, I felt them again and I said to the baby, ‘if you are going to come, you better come now’. And the head moved down in that moment and real labor started. It was midnight. Graham Calder Markel. 7.4 oz. 23 in. was born at 8:30 am. the next morning, looking like a wise old man and a long lost friend. My labor was not as dramatic. It was shorter and less intense, but intense, nevertheless. Blissful again, in spite of the pain. A natural birth. I would not choose to do it any other way. Becoming a mother twice has been the two most incredible experience of my life. Even though I have gone on to create and offer experiences of various sorts for others all over the world and have seen and done some extraordinary things myself, I sit here on Mother’s Day, 2010, thinking of my children, now grown. Emily is 29, with her own two children, making me now a grandmother. Graham is 26, a writer and world traveler. Both are kind, witty, talented, loving souls. I love who they are and are becoming. We are close. They are close. They are my heart. Even though I am no longer with their father, he was the perfect choice. Bringing children into the world is a big responsibility. Yet, not a burden. I consider myself an unconventional mother. I have broken a few norms to save them from the narrow and predictable, preferring to offer a different view. These words by poet David Whyte inspire me as a person, their mother on the path. “ Take all the elements that you find in your life and make something of it. No existential disappointment here. No gospel of despair. Be yourself! You are a sacred frontier of experience that has never appeared before in the whole of time and will never appear again. There is no one else who can occupy your corner of creation and taste and see the flavor of things the way you do. The act of participating and appreciating the world in the way that you do, is an act of incarnation. All the strategic works you do will come out of that frontier. But without it, everything becomes a second willful act merely of self necessity. Get back to the core that is occurring underneath it all, the invisible foundation that you will build your life on. A radical simplification on what brings flavor to your life, a fearless harvest of what makes you, you. “ ps. don’t forget to brush your teeth. |Emily and Graham in New Zealand 4 and 7. 1988| |Emily and her husband Uriel, Makena 2, Judah just born. 2009| |Graham and Emily 2012. They grow up!| |Graham, Lauren and their chicken Junior.| In honor of my mother, Clara Mable Malloy Burroughs 1921-1983. Becoming Mothers is also a maternity shop in Boulder, Co. www.becomingmothers.com

"One evening David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, when from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very lovely to behold." II Samuel 11: 2, Amplified Bible "Where We Direct Our Eyes" "All I speak, be blessed to me, O God; All I hear, be blessed to me, O God; All I see, be blessed to me, O God; All I sense, be blessed to me, O God; All I taste, be blessed to me, O God; Each step I take, be blessed to me, O God. And may I serve You all my life, For the love of the Father who created me, The Son who redeemed me, And the Holy Spirit who strengthens and guides me." W. Mary Calvert Where do I direct my eyes each day? How does "where" I direct my eyes affect "where" I walk each day? "Lord…direct, control, suggest this day, All I design or do or say; That all my powers, with all their might, In Thy sole glory may unite." "In the morning, You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning, I prepare a prayer, a sacrifice for You and watch and wait for You to speak to my heart." Psalm 5: 3 Last night, we came home from an evening out with friends and as Jim and I walked up the brick pathway that leads to our front door, out from under a bush, I saw something slither quickly across in front of me. Fortunately, what I realized was a snake, wasn't poisonous and the poor thing was more frightened of me than I was of it. But it was a good reminder that during these warm, humid summer months, especially after a rain such as we had yesterday, it's very wise to "watch" where you place your steps. Our daily lives need a warning, too, and this is exactly what the Bible gives us in II Samuel 11: 2, our text for today, which says that David "saw" or as the Hebrew translation informs us, David looked upon and viewed a woman. I want to be clear - nowhere in the Hebrew was this particular word "saw" translated in a way that denotes salacious or leering behavior. Instead, David, with time off to relax and while walking on his rooftop, had some free time to direct his steps and his eyes to anything and everything that came within his "field of vision." On this particular day, his visual field contained a woman, and this beautiful girl, became the place where David decided to direct his attention. For the next couple of days, I want to take a close look at the texts and the experience recorded in II Samuel 11, because it is of such premier importance to each of us. David was God's chosen. He was God's child. He contained within him a heart that yearned for his heavenly Father. I believe nearly every person, including myself, has found themselves like David, longing to be the person God wants us to be. David repeatedly showed himself to be merciful, even compassionate. He could be a man of strength. He could be an encourager and motivator. But in II Samuel 11, we find David could also be a huge failure, as well. All I can say is, "Can't we all?" In a moment of relaxation, away from the pressures of war and mountain living, David directed his view around Jerusalem, the city he loved, and from the rooftop of his luxurious palace, his attention was diverted. I began this section of our devotional with the words from David, himself, at a different time in his life. I appreciate how the King James Version of the Bible translates Psalm 5: 3, and as you read these words, just think how they would sound if David were repeating them to you: "My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up." We learn something by looking at what the Hebrew meaning of the word "direct" is in this passage for it means, "to put in order or to esteem." When we "esteem" someone, we respect them and place them in highest regard. This means that if we direct our attention first to God our Father, He is our esteemed priority. Now let's just say David had arisen from his couch, walked out and directed his eyes toward his Father in heaven. What a difference it could have made. And it would have been because of the direction of his eyes and his walk. As I shared with you some time ago, when I was a child, we always had breakfast together as a family - Daddy, Mother, my sister and me. It was at this time we had "family worship." One day my dad came up with one of his crazy ideas, at least that's what I thought. He suggested we end worship singing a short hymn, "Lord In The Morning." Here are the words to the first verse, "Lord in the morning Thou shalt hear, my voice ascending high, to Thee will I direct my prayer, to Thee lift up mine eye." How little I knew at the time, that the repeated message of this hymn was planting within my sister's and my heart a longing for our lives to be directed by our heavenly Father and for the focus of our eyes to be on our Father's will and way. I can only imagine that many a time, David must have regretted that in a moment with a wandering eye, the direction of his vision and walk pointed him downward rather than upward. "May the Lord direct your hearts into realizing and showing the love of God and into the steadfastness and patience of Christ and in waiting for His return." II Thessalonians 3: 5, Amplified Bible "Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but Thou art mighty, hold me with Thy powerful hand… Let the fire and cloudy pillar, lead me all my journey through. Strong deliverer, strong deliverer, Be Thou still my strength and shield." Dorothy Valcàrcel, Author When A Woman Meets Jesus P.S. My book, When A Woman Meets Jesus, is now available wherever books are sold and on the internet at www.amazon.com, Christianbook.com, or by calling toll-free, 1-800-Christian. You can also go to www.whenawomanmeetsjesus.com and purchase the book through Paypal for $8.00. Or by calling Transformation Garden at 1-888-397-4348. For more from Dorothy, please visit transformationgarden.com.

Today’s post is not on makeup, but rather on a topic I think needs some more attention. Today I am reviewing a brand called Veeda, a feminine care brand in the U.S. that offers natural products. Their focus is on ensuring every woman is informed about and has access to affordable and safe feminine care. This topic may be awkward for some to discuss, but I think as women we really should be careful with all products we use, including feminine care. When I think about the makeup products I choose, or the foods I eat, often I do this with a health-conscious frame of mind. You all know I like/prefer to use natural products, with organic ingredients and no chemicals. When it comes to food, the same mentality applies. We often try to make smart decisions when it comes to our body, mind and overall health. But I think it’s important to discuss feminine care, as this type of mentality should not only be limited to food and beauty products, it shouldn’t stop there. I would like to thank Veeda for sending me some samples of their products and for reaching out. Those of you who are like me and are on the lookout for natural/hypoallergenic products in general will love what Veeda has to offer. Hypoallergenic, toxin-free, 100%natural cotton tampons, pads and liners. They are also available at a very fair price. Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is something we have all heard about, and it’s quite scary. The fact that this is even something that can happen from using feminine care products should be enough to shake us and challenge us to find products that are most natural. But a lot of us use the standard brands found in stores and we don’t think twice about reading the ingredients used. According to some information provided to me by Veeda “Unfortunately even though the FDA requires certain warnings and manufacturers reformulated their tampons in the 80’s, TSS is still a problem. Viscose rayon found in conventional tampons promotes the production of the toxin that can lead to TSS. Rayon fibers can also break off and cause TSS even after removal of the actual tampon. The risk of TSS is real, with up to 1 in 700 girls and women contracting tampon-related TSS in their lifetime.” Here are some photos of the products Veeda sent me: After doing some research I strongly urge you to think about the choices you make when it comes to feminine care. Veeda says it best “Tampons and pads come in contact with some of the most absorptive areas of the body, but feminine care products are not required by the FDA to list their ingredients.” Think of how often you pick up a makeup or beauty product, food product and even clothing, and you read the label to see the ingredients or what it’s made of. Do you do this when you are choosing your feminine care products? I spoke to some friends and asked them this and they said no, they don’t check labels when it comes to feminine care, they assume it’s safe and purchase it. I am most definitely an advocate for the importance of feeling beautiful inside and out, overall loving yourself, and having a positive and healthy frame of mind, body and soul. When it comes to the body in it’s physical form part, I trust in brands like Veeda who’s mission is focused on spreading awareness on something we often overlook. Brand’s who believe in their customers health and well-being are always welcome in my books. It’s not about making money, it’s about as I just said spreading awareness and helping women to make informed decisions when it comes to their bodies. We only have this body and we have it for our lifetime, so we should make the most informed decisions with whatever comes in contact with it. You can read more about Veeda here: AboutVeeda.pdf Visit their website: https://www.veedausa.com/ You can shop their products by clicking here. Follow them on their social media channels:

HYMN FESTIVAL READINGS (Click here for PDF of Hymn Festival bulletin) A READING: “Goodbye to the Listeners’ Row” from The Metropolitan Diary section of The New York Times (April 21, 2017) 1937, second grade. The class is practicing a song to sing to our first-grade teacher, who is on maternity leave and coming to visit. I am really excited and singing my heart out. The teacher taps me on the shoulder and says, “Go sit in the listeners’ row.” 1941, the local settlement house. Private music lessons are 25 cents. My father would love to hear me play the violin. We go to Mr. Gerber’s music store, and for $10 I get a violin, a bow, resin and a cardboard carrying case. I have my first lesson and practice religiously for a week. The next week I return with quarter in hand and joyously play for my teacher. “Why don’t you try another instrument?” he says. 1951, Brooklyn College. I am working toward my degree in elementary education. One of the required courses is how to teach music. At the end of the semester, the professor says, “Be sure you always have a record player to teach vocal music.” 2017, the Riverdale Y senior center. Andy is returning to start a chorus. Everyone had so much fun with him last year. I work up my courage and go into the room. “Sure,” he says, “come on and join us.” After 80 years, I can sing. A READING: from the writings of Alice Parker (b. 1925) A song does not exist until it is sung, or re-created, by a human voice. Every incarnation is different, and no one sound is the only right one. This is a paradox. A page of music seems to present a finished product, yet it contains no sound. (Hold it up to your ear: Can you hear it?) The song doesn’t live until it comes off the page and resumes its natural state as sound. The page cannot more substitute for living sound than a recipe can for edible food. Singing is the most human, most companionable of the arts. It joins us together in the whole realm of sound, forging a group identity where there were only individuals and making a communicative statement that far transcends what any one of us could do alone. It is a paradigm of union with the Creator. A READING, Annunciation, from La Corona, John Donne (1607) Salvation to all that will is nigh; That All, which always is All everywhere, Which cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear, Which cannot die, yet cannot choose but die, Lo, faithful Virgin, yields himself to lie In prison, in thy womb; and though He there Can take no sin, nor thou give, yet He’ll wear, Taken from thence, flesh, which death’s force may try. Ere by the spheres time was created, thou Wast in His mind, who is thy Son, and Brother, Whom thou conceiv’st, conceived; yea thou art now Thy Maker’s maker, and thy Father’s mother; Thou hast light in dark, and shutst in little room, Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb. A READING: Journey of the Magi, T.S. Eliot ‘A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.' And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory, Lying down in the melting snow. There were times we regretted The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces, And the silken girls bringing sherbet. Then the camel men cursing and grumbling And running away, and wanting their liquor and women, And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters, And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly And the villages dirty and charging high prices: A hard time we had of it. At the end we preferred to travel all night, Sleeping in snatches, With the voices singing in our ears, saying That this was all folly. Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley, Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation; With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness, And three trees on the low sky, And an old white horse galloped in away in the meadow. Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel, Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver, And feet kicking the empty wine-skins. But there was no information, and so we continued And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory. All this was a long time ago, I remember, And I would do it again, but set down This set down This: were we led all that way for Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly, We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death. We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death. A READING: from the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) Why do Christians sing when they are together? The reason is, quite simply, because in singing together it is possible for them to speak and pray the same Word at the same time; in other words, because they can unite in the Word. There should be singing, not only at devotions, but at regular times of the say or week. The more we sing, the more joy will we derive from it. But above all, the more devotion and discipline and joy we put into our singing, the richer will be the blessing that will come to the whole life of the fellowship from singing together. It is not you that sings; it is the Church that is singing, and you, as a member of the Church, may share in its song. Thus all singing together that is right must serve to widen our spiritual horizon and make us see our little company as a member of the great Christian Church on earth, and help us willingly and gladly to join our singing, be it feeble or good, to the song of the Church. A READING: from a sermon of Peter Chrysologus, Bishop of Ravenna (ca. 450) Offer your soul to God, make him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God. Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give him yourself you are never without the means of giving. To make these acceptable, mercy must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth. However much you cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature—root out vices, sow virtues—if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit. When you fast, your mercy is thin, your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give others. A READING: from The Road to Emmaus, Fredreick Beuchner (1966) The sacred moments, the moments of miracle, are often the everyday moments, the moments which, if we do not look with more than our eyes or listen with more than our ears, reveal only…the gardener, a stranger coming down the road behind us, a meal like any other meal. But if we look with our hearts, if we listen with all of our being and our imagination—if we live our lives not from vacation to vacation, from escape to escape, but from the miracle of one instant of our precious lives to the miracle of the next—what we may see is Jesus himself, what we may hear is the first faint sound of a voice somewhere deep within us saying that there is a purpose in this life, in our lives, whether we can understand it completely or not; and that this purpose follows behind us through all our doubting and being afraid, through all our indifference and boredom, to a moment when suddenly we know for sure that everything does make sense because everything is in the hands of God, one of whose names is forgiveness, another is love. This is what the stories about Jesus’ coming back to life mean, because Jesus was the love of God, alive among us, and not all the cruelty and blindness of men could kill him. THE HOLY TRINITY A READING: An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts, drawn from Eastern Liturgies Invoking the thrice-threefold company of the heavenly hosts, sing we: Fire unquenchable encircling the resplendent and life-giving Trinity, Ye six-winged Seraphim, and ye, the many-eyed Cherubim who soar aloft and are borne on pinions, Hymning in answering ranks the Thrice Holy, And ye, the Thrones that unite with them in the first hierarchy of heaven, Praise, O praise the King of Glory, and transform our praises into the likeness of your heavenly song. Amen. Ye who perform the one eternal will, Ye orders of Dominions, Princedoms, Powers, Conform our will to his, the Strong, the Holy, the Unchanging Lord. Amen. Ye ministering angels, messengers of grace, Virtues, who govern men, And myriad hosts of Archangels and Angels, succour and defend us. Hail, ye countless hosts, Praise with us the One Holy, the One Holy Strong, the One Holy Immortal. Amen. THE VOICE OF CREATION A READING: from the writings of Abraham Herschel (1907-1972) The Hebrew word or “cantor” is ba’al tefillah, ‘master of prayer.’ The cantor does not stand before the Ark as an artist in isolation, trying to demonstrate skill or displaying vocal feats. The cantor stands before the Ark not as an individual but with a congregation. “The heavens declare the glory of God.” How do they declare it? “There is no speech nor language; neither is there a voice to hear.” The heavens have no voice; their glory is inaudible. It is the task of people to reveal what is concealed; to be the voice of the glory, to sing its silence, to utter what is in the heart of all things. The glory is there—invisible and silent. Man is the voice; woman is the voice; their task is to be the song. The cosmos is a congregation in need of a cantor. Humanity is the cantor of the universe. To sing means to sense and to affirm that the Spirit is real and that glory is present. In singing we perceive what is otherwise beyond perceiving. Song, and particularly liturgical song, is not only an act of expression, but also a way of bringing down the Spirit from heaven to earth. As cantors of the universe, let us pray for this land which God has entrusted to us. Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In what is an average action movie, Disney takes the Star Wars franchise on a bit of an interstellar ride. It feels like the deep lore of Star Wars is somewhat thrown out the window for the thrills and booms of action scenes in the Solo: a Star Wars Story movie, and they succeed to a point. When you compare the action scenes in Solo to something like Avengers: Infinity War it fails to come close to comparing. So we’re left with a sub par action film that takes a look into Han Solo’s past. The usual cast of characters like Chewbacca come along for the ride in albeit reprised roles, which the cast shines in. But the story and characterization is pretty weak overall. No popcorns up for this movie! The best part of this movie was the attempt at reprising the roles of the original characters. Childish Gambino surprised me with his acting skills getting the smooth voice on Lando on point, and the actor for Han Solo wasn’t bad as well. We also get our beloved classic characters who are delved into, but aren’t all that fascinating like Chewbacca. It’s just the typical Chewbacca. The new characters aren’t all that fascinating either like Han’s love interest Qi’ra who is another kickass woman who’s had to do some crazy things in her life. The best thing for me was seeing the original characters reprised. But if the best part is the attempt of emulating roles guess what? The movie can NEVER compare to the original, and as a result it fails to capture the imagination like the original Star Wars movies. Character really isn’t delved into too much. We are given a stock love story, and you don’t get very attached to Han’s love story too much. It’s downplayed so much that what happens to Hans love interest isn’t even answered. It’s also not really questioned by the viewer as I was just like, “I wonder what happens to her. Oh well, who cares.” This movie was too long at over 2 hours long! I was checking my Instagram and Facebook more than a few times and went to refill my pop up with slurpy a few times. I was really just waiting for the movie to end so I could leave. A great movie is something we give two popcorns up to. We are want to watch the movie again and again, and we’d go to the theater more than once for. So that’d equal two popcorns bought for this geek, but you will not want to waste your time or money with the Han Solo movie. This movie gets 0 popcorns up out of a possible 2. You’ll watch it and maybe tell yourself it was great, but if it was great then you’d be willing to pop it in again and again and use your most valuable resource, which is time. If you aren’t willing to waste your time on a second watch, then the movie simply isn’t great because it’s not worth your most valuable resource. See this when it comes out on Dvd or blu ray and save your money because this is probably the worst Star Wars movie ever.

GI SPECIAL 3D35: Americans Welcome Iraqi Troops An American man speaks to his son while Iraqi Marines watch in the courtyard of his house in El Paso, Texas, eight miles from New Mexico, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. Americans thank the Iraqi soldiers every day for liberating them from the Bush regime. Although they have occupied the United States for nearly three years, most Americans do not wish them to leave, fearing that Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and other Americo-fascist terrorist gangs fighting the occupation will seize the country if they withdraw too soon, leading to a bloodbath of sectarian violence and civil war. Elsewhere in America, nine Iraqi soldiers were killed and four wounded by an IED near Amarillo, Texas. Although a video tape from the Patrick Henry Brigade claimed responsibility, General Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, Commander of the Multi-National Liberation Forces, said that the Charles Manson terrorist organization, made up of foreign fighters, had organized the attack. The Manson Network has been blamed for most of the terrorist attacks launched against Iraqi soldiers. His primitive fanatical fundamentalist followers believe that if they die fighting Coalition forces, they were be taken to heaven on the wings of an American bird called a "dove" and welcomed there by Jesus. There is a reward of 25,000,000 dinars offered for Mansons' capture. General al-Hakim noted that "This is really about a clash of civilizations. The Anglo-Saxon culture, which dominates in America, is directly descended from the Vikings, who looted, raped, burned, slaughtered the innocent, and spread terror throughout the civilized world. Nothing has changed since. We are here on a civilizing mission. Someday they will thank us. And their children are so cute. They just love the candy, pencils, and soccer balls we give them." Commenting on recent news stories, the General denied that American prisoners were being tortured in Coalition detention centers. "Of the 6,495,000 American now detained, only a few have complained about their treatment. What would you expect terrorists to say? Ha ha." The General admitted that nearly 18,000 Americans have been killed at Coalition checkpoints, but said that "they have all been warned, and only crackheads and drunks" have been shot. When asked about children killed at checkpoints, he noted that "in America, even children become crackheads and drunks." "It is regrettable, but this is war, and the American terrorists are responsible for every death," he said. "If they would only accept reality, and stop their attacks on Coalition forces, there would be no casualties." IRAQ WAR REPORTS Florida Marine Killed Marine Sgt. Daniel J. Clay, 27, of Pensacola, Fla., was killed, Dec. 1, 2005, in the explosion of a roadside bomb during a foot patrol near Fallujah, Iraq. (AP Photo/Department of Defense, Helene C. Stikkel) Texas Marine Killed Marine Lance Cpl. Robert A. Martinez, 20, of Splendora, Texas, was killed by a roadside bomb while on foot patrol Dec. 1, 2005, near Fallujah, Iraq. (AP Photo) California Marine Killed Sgt. Andy A. Stevens 29, of Tomah, was killed in Fallujah. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. Stevens, who joined the Marines in June 1995 and was serving as a scout sniper, deployed to Iraq with his unit in July, the Marine Corps said. (AP Photo/U.S.M.C.) Two U.S. Soldiers Killed In Baghdad Suburb Dec 4 (Reuters) BAGHDAD - Two U.S. soldiers were killed and several others wounded when their convoy was attacked in a roadside bombing in a south eastern suburb of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. A military spokeswoman said that two Humvees were destroyed in the ambush. West View Soldier Killed December 4, 2005 By Luis Fabregas, TRIBUNE-REVIEW A West View soldier killed in Iraq last week had been traveling in a six-vehicle convoy when it was ambushed by insurgents, military officials said Saturday. Sgt. 1st Class Brent A. Adams was the driver of a 5-ton reinforced truck that was hit by a rocket at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, said Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, a Pennsylvania National Guard spokesman. Adams served as a motor sergeant, supervising maintenance men who work on military vehicles. Adams was six months into a one-year deployment. Before arriving in Iraq in June, he had spent six months training at Camp Shelby, A 1995 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Adams had spent 18 years in the military after enlisting in Ford City in 1987. Adams is survived by his wife, Marilyn, a 4-year-old son, Daniel, his parents and a sister. U.S. Soldier Wounded Near Balad Dec. 4 (UPI) The U.S. military said one of its soldiers was injured and two insurgents killed in clashes near the town of Balad, in which U.S. F-16 jet fighters launched laser-guided missiles on the area. Three U.S. Soldiers Wounded By Southern Baghdad IED Dec. 4 (UPI) Three U.S. soldiers were also injured by an explosive device targeting a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol in southern Baghdad. Two U.S. Soldiers Wounded By Western Baghdad IED US forces reported a roadside bomb attack on one of its convoys in Khadra, a neighbourhood in western Baghdad. Master Sergeant David Abrams, a military spokesman, said: "It looks like there were two wounded who were taken to a nearby medical NO HONORABLE MISSION: BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW Two U.S. soldiers walk among the rubble of collapsed building in central Baghdad after two early morning explosions November 18, 2005. REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz "Measuring Dead Or Captured Iraqis Has No Relevance" Looking at the strength of the insurgency, however, makes it clear that measuring dead or captured Iraqis has no relevance. While U.S. and coalition forces have killed or arrested 40,000-50,000 Iraqis since the war began, the resistance continues to thrive. Over the last year their estimated strength remained unchanged with 20,000 fighters and 200,000 sympathizers. November 21, 2005 By Adil Shamoo, Foreign Policy In Focus In the wake of the 2,000th U.S. soldier dying because of the Iraq War, the Bush administration has begun to count the number of Iraqi dead and captured. These metrics, reminiscent of those used in the Vietnam War, will be touted by the administration as an indicator of success for military operations and to give the impression that the insurgency can be neutralized. Looking at the strength of the insurgency, however, makes it clear that measuring dead or captured Iraqis has no relevance. While U.S. and coalition forces have killed or arrested 40,000-50,000 Iraqis since the war began, the resistance continues to thrive. Over the last year their estimated strength remained unchanged with 20,000 fighters and 200,000 sympathizers. The Bush administration continued focus on killing and detaining of Iraqi insurgents clearly is not working. The numbers suggest that every insurgent killed or captured results in new recruits. Even if the 160,000 U.S. and British soldiers in Iraq could figure out a way to kill every insurgent, it is the occupation of the country that is breeding new recruits. Iraqis have no tradition of suicide bombing but the recent Iraqi suicide bombers in Amman, Jordan is a good example of the new challenges that are arising from the war. Compounding the problem, the U.S. has ignored the voices from Iraqi people calling for ending the occupation. Over the last eighteen months, Iraqi voices for U.S. withdrawal have become louder. They are now reaching a crescendo that if unheeded, may breed a new nationalistic and expanded insurgency born solely as a result of our continued occupation of Iraq. If this happens, the new insurgency will be wider and stronger than the present one. Its focus, in most parts, will not be directed against Iraqis; rather it will be directed against the U.S. All of the ingredients for such an insurgency to occur First, the overwhelming majority of Iraqis opposes occupation. Second, most Iraqi households possess arms. AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS Resistance Attacks "Near Daily" December 1, 2005 By Griff Witte, Washington Post In the past two weeks, Afghanistan has experienced The recent attacks -- including at least nine suicide bombings -- have shown unusual levels of coordination, technological knowledge, and blood lust, according to officials. Although military forces and facilities have been the most common targets, religious leaders, judges, police officers, and foreign reconstruction workers have also fallen prey to the violence. Attackers have also shown a growing appetite for strikes in cities, particularly Kabul, setting residents' nerves on edge and leading them to take new security precautions at work, home, and social events. "Patience Is Running Out" [Thanks to JM, who sent this in.] 01 Dec 2005 By Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters [Excerpts] KABUL: Nearly four years after the Taliban were forced from power, the country remains mired in poverty and corruption, and frustration with the government is growing. While some main provincial road links have been rebuilt and new buildings, including shopping centres and a luxury hotel, have gone up in the capital, prices have also been rising fast and many people feel their lives have not improved. A problem for President Hamid Karzai, a year after he formed a new government following a sweeping election victory, is that people's expectations have been raised, but not met. "Only make promises you can fulfil," said an old man who approached Karzai while he was on a recent visit to Herat, Afghanistan's most prosperous city, near the border with Iran. Just before that encounter, Karzai had made a speech to Herat citizens in which he spoke of his government's determination to improve the economy, the livelihoods of the people, and to rebuild roads, schools and hospitals. "People have become fed up with promises and not seeing much improvement practically," said Wadir Safi, a law professor of While foreign aid workers and top government officials drive around Kabul in luxury cars and live in smart houses, some costing $5,000 or more a month, rebuilding has been slow and even non-existent in many places while corruption is rampant, critics say. Kabul has endured intermittent blackouts for weeks -- not a problem for those with generators and money to fuel them but infuriating for The government recently announced the fulfilment of one of Karzai's long-awaited promises; increasing salaries of civil servants and The pay rise of nearly 40 percent sounds impressive but for most it worked out to a pittance -- just $7 a month -- taking an average salary for a civil servant to just over $20 a month, according to officials. Many of those who got the pay rise ridiculed it and the next day, dozens of women teachers from Zarghona High School, a famous Kabul school, protested over the paltry raise in a rare display of assertiveness by women in the conservative Muslim country. "Karzai promised to raise government employees' salaries more than three years ago," said a woman teacher Nadira Ahmadi from another school. "But with this rise you can hardly pay for one meal a day for our small family." Accommodation costs in the capital have skyrocketed in the past four years. Rent for a three room mud-built house is at least $200. Commodity and transport prices have also soared. Many people make ends meet by taking up second jobs, such as running market stalls, at least part time. Patience is running out, another government worker said. "The rise is like giving chocolate to a crying baby to calm him down, but without thinking whether he is sick or wants milk," said an information ministry official. "We are being treated like kids and the situation is getting intolerable for people. It is more than enough". In this year's $678 million budget, police and law enforcement agencies got $157 million, defence spending totalled $126 million and education was allocated $117 million. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place: Insider Says Troops Want Out of Iraq Now Nov 27, 2005 by egrass, Stevegilliard.blogspot.com [Excerpt] I'm back from Thanksgiving with my wife's family and I've got some first-hand feedback from the troops on Iraq, leaving Iraq, and Murtha. You see, my wife is a former military officer and her brother is an active-duty Major, decorated Army Ranger, and West Point graduate with more than 15 years in and about to ship out to Afghanistan. My wife is a good liberal on military issues, while my brother-in-law has always been a thoughtful and nice guy, but very conservative, especially on military issues. We've always gotten along well and been very respectful of each other, but totally disagreed on Republicans and military issues. My brother-in-law thinks that Murtha is 100% right and that we should pull back in Iraq to forward operating bases in Kuwait, if not leave entirely. Even more interesting, my brother-in-law says that ALL of his officer friends in the 10th Mountain (a real front-line outfit) and around the military agree as well. My brother-in-law is a gregarious, well-connected guy and literally has hundreds of well placed friends at the rank of Major and above. He says that ALL of his military friends feel Iraq is a "mistake" and a "meatgrinder" that serves no purpose anymore if it ever did. They would all be perfectly willing to serve and even die there if some good might come of it, but they all see that it makes no sense at this point. (My brother-in-law is no pacifist. He fought in Somalia and Haiti and killed several people there. He thought both missions were important and the right thing to do). Apparently, one key thing that has really pissed off my brother-in-law and his friends is that young guys like them are being thrown into the position of making foreign policy on the ground. He said that his buddies around his level are being given entire towns to run in Iraq and essentially told to make up what to do. From what he hears, there basically is no overall strategy, just a bunch of LTs, CPTs, and Majors making it up as they go. My brother-in-law laughed off as ludicrous the claim that troops are somehow undercut by people debating the usefulness of their mission and questioning whether to pull out of Iraq. I told him the liberal comment (I think by Atrios) that if liberals really didn't support the troops they would lie the country into a war, send troops to war without proper equipment, and then keep them there to die for no apparent reason. He got a kick out of that and said he would tell some of his buddies. I told my brother-in-law that I regularly read message boards like Kos and others populated by liberals and that the vast majority of people here (and elsewhere) wish him all the best in his mission in Afghanistan and a safe and speedy trip home. He has a wife and two young daughters. Your prayers will be appreciated. Dissention In The Ranks: "I Find It Easier To Make Contact With Soldiers And Marines In Uniform And Harder To Get Permission To Quote Them By Name" 24/11/2005 Reporter: Tony Jones, Australian Broadcasting Tony Jones interviews JAMES FALLOWS, AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST. James Fallows, author of a detailed investigation published in this month's Atlantic Monthly JAMES FALLOWS: There's been, for me as a reporter, there's been a fascinating evolution in the last three years that I've been working on stories like this, which is that the members of the sort of the - not at the general level or even the colonel level but every rank below that - there's a real sense of concern about the direction of the policy about the welfare of the American forces and about the mission they're on. And, so, with each passing month I find it easier to make contact with soldiers and marines in uniform and harder to get permission to quote them by name, because there's more and more of these disaffected reports. But there's a large network of people I talk to on the phone, I have email exchanges with, I meet in off-the-record conversations, and there is a sense the military itself is in trouble. TONY JONES: And, in general terms, then, who are these people who are speaking out? Are they people involved - I know you can't name them, obviously - but are they people involved in the training program itself or who historically have been? JAMES FALLOWS: Yes. There are several cadres. One is a group of sort of senior advisers who have either personal or memory experiences of Vietnam. They can say, "Yes, we've seen this pattern before," and it's surprising how often they make flattering comparisons to the army of South Vietnam, saying, well, that at least with that army we had this or that advantage. And then there are those on combat missions in Iraq trying to maintain the peace and they're talking about how, basically, the fabric of the US military is essentially being chaffed and worn out in a way that may not be sustainable for the long run. TONY JONES: Now, one of the other strange things was that the general who in charge of the invasion, Tommy Franks - you report sources saying that after the invasion, in the critical early stages of the occupation, he was more interested in writing his memoirs than doing anything else. JAMES FALLOWS: Well, there was a larger pattern here in that there was much more glamour for the military in general in the so-called 'kinetic phase' of action, that is combat, than in the past... TONY JONES: That's what they call it now? The "kinetic phase" is it? JAMES FALLOWS: Yes. (Laughs) What you and I might call combat action is now called 'kinetic action' or the 'kinetic phase', and what comes after that is phrase four, which we would call the occupation. So, there was this general pattern. But General Franks, in particular, I heard from countless people, just lost interest once the battle for Baghdad was over, and was ready to get home and write his memoirs. I tried many times to contact him, but to TONY JONES: How did this glamour thing, this kinetic versus reconstruction, how did that play out when it came to training troops? When it came to the critical reconstruction phase? JAMES FALLOWS: People often described this to me as the 'Team B' phenomenon, that if you were a real 'comer' in the US Military, if you were somebody with real ambitions, what you wanted was a combat command - you wanted to be leading those tank units leading the paratroop units. What you didn't want was to command a training unit - that had no glamour, that was like a supply depot job. Do you have a friend or relative in the service? Forward this E-MAIL along, or send us the address if you wish and we'll send it regularly. Whether in Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the war, at home and inside the armed services. Send requests to address up The Revolt Of The Generals December 3, 2005 ALEXANDER COCKBURN, CounterPunch [Excerpt] The immense significance of Rep John Murtha's November 17 speech calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq is that it signals mutiny in the US senior officer corps, seeing the institution they lead as "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth", to use the biting words of their spokesman, John Murtha, as he reiterated on December his denunciation of Bush's destruction of the Army. A CounterPuncher with nearly 40 years experience working in and around the Pentagon told me this week that "The Four Star Generals picked Murtha to make this speech because he has maximum credibility." It's true. Even in the US Senate there's no one with quite Murtha's standing to deliver the message, except maybe for Byrd, but the venerable senator from West Virginia was a vehement opponent of the war from the outset, whereas Murtha voted for it and only recently has turned around. So the Four-Star Generals briefed Murtha and gave him the state-of-the-art data which made his speech so deadly, stinging the White House into panic-stricken and foolish denunciations of Murtha as a clone of Michael It cannot have taken vice president Cheney, a former US Defense Secretary, more than a moment to scan Murtha's speech and realize the import of Murtha's speech as an announcement that the generals have had enough. And Now, A Word From The Army War College 2005-11-29 By Stephen Collinson WASHINGTON, Middle East How many, and when? -- the raging political argument on US policy in Iraq is throwing up two key questions over the much awaited return home of US troops. "We can't stay, we can't leave, and we can't fail," was how a recent report by the US Army War College summed up the "No Words Came" [This is from a very long story in the Los Angeles Times, 12.4.05, by P.J. Huffstutter, Times Staff Writer, about a family with two Marines; father, Kendall Phelps, 58, and his son, Chris, 35, both veterans of the Iraq War, and both for the war. [Chris Phelps visits an elementary school to tell the children all the good things the U.S. occupation is doing in Iraq. On a recent evening inside an elementary school cafeteria near his home in Shawnee, Chris talked to several dozen Cub Scouts and their parents about his experiences. He told them how the Iraqis were excited about the idea of holding elections. How Iraqi children attend schools with no blackboards, no books and no playgrounds. How children played in the streets, despite the danger of sniper fire. "We promised these people that we would help them change their country," Chris said. "When you make a promise, it's important that you keep it. We need to be there and finish what we've started." "Chris' style was relaxed and warm. As a father, he understood how to captivate the imaginations of boys: On a nearby table, he put out military helmets and an Iraqi police flak jacket they could try on. A somber-faced boy in the back raised his hand, and looked Chris straight in the eye. In a quiet voice, the child asked, "What started the war? Why are we there?" Silence fell over the cafeteria. Chris opened his mouth to answer, but no words came. He quickly changed the As Suicides Spread, VA Appointments Cancelled For Returning Iraq Vets December 4, 2005 By DAVID McLEMORE, The Dallas Morning News Since combat operations began in Iraq in March 2003, 45 soldiers have killed themselves in Iraq, and an additional two dozen committed suicide after returning home, the Army has confirmed. And while no one knows precisely what pushes someone over the edge, the unresolved stresses of combat on the soldier's heart and mind are Veterans in several states have found that Veterans Affairs had to stop scheduling appointments because of a lack of staff or a shortage of funds, said Mr. Robinson of the National Gulf War Resource Center. "For the Guard and reserve, it's particularly bad," he said. "Their soldiers are separated from the Defense Department support system almost immediately after deployment and sent home to VA hospitals and clinics that are already overwhelmed and backlogged. "We have to recognize the need and provide help, not wait for the veterans to ask." Harassment Of Military Bloggers Stepped Up: [And How To Evade It] registration could be tough because bloggers are often anonymous and can post to their sites from Internet cafes set up in Iraq or from laptop computers in November 28, 2005 By Kelly Kennedy, Army Times staff writer One year ago, 1st Lt. Neil Prakash decided to brag about his tank crew on his blog, "Armor Geddon." "I wanted to get out the picture that most combat isn't that scary," said Prakash, who served as a tank platoon leader in Iraq with 2nd Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. "It's fun. And these soldiers love their job." One month ago, the Silver Star recipient found out the Army was using his blog as an example of bad operations-security practices. The OpSec lessons are part of the Army's new campaign to tighten online security. The Army now requires that all soldiers in Iraq register their Web logs with their commanders. Mobile training teams are being sent out to train soldiers down to the brigade level to make sure everyone knows the rules about the Internet. "None of it's new," [Capt. William Roberts, Army spokesman in Iraq] said. "It's just being strictly enforced." Soldiers also must clear all photos through their unit public affairs representative, Roberts said. Enforcing blogging registration could be tough because bloggers are often anonymous and can post to their sites from Internet cafes set up in Iraq or from laptop computers in their rooms. IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP Assorted Resistance Action The body of a slain Iraqi guard is loaded in the back of a police vehicle in Baghdad, Dec. 4, 2005. Insurgents opened fire on 5 people working for Al-Nissor private security Company in Al-Amiryaa neighborhood, killing one and wounding four others. (AP Photo/Asaad Muhsin) December 4, 2005 AP & Reuters & Aljazeera & By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer & Agence France-Presse Insurgents killed an Iraqi police commander. In two cars, they opened fire on police commander Lt. Col. Abdul-Razaak Abdul-Jabbar as he was heading to work in western Baghdad, police Capt. Talib Thamir said. AHMAR - Two Iraqi policemen were killed when armed fighters attacked their patrol in Ahmar village, about 40 km (25 miles) east of Baquba, police said. ISKANDARIYA - Five members of the Iraqi security forces were wounded when a roadside bomb went off near their patrol in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said. Reports conflicted about whether they were members of the army or police and one source said one wounded man ZARKUUSH - Two people were killed, including a policeman, when a bomb planted on the side of the road exploded in Zarkuush, a village 70 km (43 miles) east of Baquba, police said. Iraqi police sources said a roadside bomb exploded in Alexandria in southern Baghdad targeting a police patrol, killing one of its members and injuring three others. A soldier was shot dead as he left his home in Hay al-Amin, in the southeast of the capital, while another was killed in Al-Bayyaa, in southern Baghdad. IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE RESISTANCE END THE OCCUPATION Angry Iraqis Stone CIA Collaborator Dec 4, 2005 By Khaled Farhan, Reuters & By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer A crowd hurling shoes, rocks and tomatoes forced former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to cut short a visit on Sunday to Iraq's holiest Shi'ite shrine during a campaign trip to the city of Najaf, police officers A police captain, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a large crowd of worshippers at the Imam Ali mosque hurled sandals and shoes at Allawi -- a grave insult in Iraqi culture. A second police officer said some of Allawi's bodyguards fired in the air to disperse the crowd and that also threw rocks, sticks, tomatoes and other projectiles. Police also intervened to break up the disturbance, he said. "His American and Iraqi guards fired in the air when everyone started throwing shoes and sandals at him." Allawi, who spent three decades in exile working partly with British and U.S. intelligence after breaking with Saddam Hussein and his Baath party, was named prime minister in mid-2004 by U.S. occupation In August 2004, when Allawi was prime minister, Iraqi and U.S. troops took over Najaf from firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's followers after heavy fighting. Many Shiites have not forgiven Allawi for his role in the "Betrayal" Should Be A Psychiatric Diagnosis December 4, 2005 Mike Hastie in Vietnam American soldiers and civilians are dying every day in Iraq, most Americans do not want to know or see the details, because it would upset them. When I came back from Vietnam, most of the people I encountered wanted to talk about nice things. When I tried to tell them the truth, they often turned and walked away. Thirty years later, their grandchildren are dying or getting wounded in Iraq. I was a pearl they threw away. Photo and caption from the I-R-A-Q (I Remember Another Quagmire) portfolio of Mike Hastie, US Army Medic, Vietnam 1970-71. (For more of his outstanding work, contact at: ([email protected]) T) The Harder They Fall To: GI Special Sent: December 04, 2005 Subject: the harder they fall ogoreru hito mo hisashikarazu tada haru no yo no yume no gotoshi takeki mono mo tsui ni wa horobinu hitoeni kaze no mae no chiri ni onaji The arrogant ones as well will not continue long, only like a night in spring, when dreams are short. The high and mighty too are brought down in the end and are blown away like dust before the wind. from The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari) 14th century Japanese war chronicle December 1, 2005 From New York Times Editorial Mr. Bush's vision of the next big step is equally troubling: training Iraqi forces well enough to free American forces for more of the bloody and ineffective search-and-destroy sweeps that accomplish little beyond alienating the populace. Want To Boost Troop Morale? "Remember, This Country Was Born In Revolution" November 21, 2005 Tibor R. Machan, Orange County Register Does President Bush believe that by his announcing that critics of the Iraq war dampen our troops' morale he will prevent such criticism? Does he believe his words will silence critics and raise troop This is America, and if Americans share a common trait, it's rebellion at those who wield power. Well, they used to, anyway - most of Remember, this country was born in revolution. No, Mr. President, it is not a wise thing to tell us all to shut up to suit your likely embarrassment over an impossible situation from which you will not likely emerge with a swell presidential legacy. The troops, by the way, will do just fine. They may even be proud knowing that citizens back home haven't gone to sleep on their citizenship job of taking government to task when it's justified. What do you think? Comments from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Send to [email protected]. Name, I.D., withheld on request. Replies confidential. They Never Learn To: GI Special Sent:, November 30, 2005 Subject: They Never Learn "But there have been signs of disenchantment within the (Zarqawi) organization. An intercepted letter from a top Zarqawi lieutenant in Mosul complained about a lack of money and experienced terrorists. U.S. military commanders have said that some of those captured say they were misled by recruiters about what America is trying to accomplish in Sound familiar? This one could be applied to the US troops--complaining about a lack of training and about being "misled by recruiters" about "what America is doing" in Iraq "A U.S. intelligence official said, "A lot of these people should not be called foreign fighters. They should be called 'foreign ordnances' because they blow themselves up. They don't fight." Imperial arrogance... I guess they'll never learn. [Quotes from THE WASHINGTON TIMES, November 29, 2005] The Great Iraq War "Phased Withdrawal" Fraud Phased withdrawal is an empty slogan that can only result in prolonging the war. It is knowingly advocated by those who wish to prolong the war, and naively advocated by some who earnestly oppose the war. Nov 29, 2005 By Mark Rothschild, Asia Times Online Ltd. [Excerpts] The various phased withdrawal plans proposed by Congress and the Pentagon would permit a steady withdrawal of US troops over time as Iraqi government forces increase their fighting abilities. According to this approach, a strengthened Iraqi government force would suppress and contain the Sunni insurgency as American troops come It is hard not to conclude that withdrawal would leave Iraq with a ground-only military completely dependent on US air power for its Indeed, there are signs that the Pentagon is prepared for New military communication systems are now being deployed that point to a permanent US presence in Iraq - after an ostensible phased The semi-permanent communications systems deployed prior to the battle for Fallujah are now being augmented with a permanent enduring communications infrastructure. This new permanent communication infrastructure will provide commanders with secure video, voice and data communications via satellite, microwave and fiber throughout the Iraq-Kuwait theater of The system, which will crisscross Iraq and connect more than 100 bases, is projected to cost $4 billion - although the Pentagon has been leaking the story that just four stay-behind US bases will remain in Iraq after From the foregoing, it is hard not to conclude that phased withdrawal is being utilized as a slogan under which military operations will continue - and that thousands of American combat troops may still be in Iraq for many years to come. Those Democratic members of Congress who think well of themselves for now advocating phased withdrawal are either deluding themselves, or they are continuing to play the same double game many of them began playing when they originally voted to authorize the use of force - and then sniped at the Bush administration over the subsequent conduct of the war. Phased withdrawal is an empty slogan that can only result in prolonging the war. It is knowingly advocated by those who wish to prolong the war, and naively advocated by some who earnestly oppose the war. To the limited extent that a phased withdrawal does result in a draw-down of the number of American combat troops, the pernicious policy will place those troops remaining in ever-greater danger and thereby increase the number of dead and maimed American soldiers. This is because under a phased withdrawal, Iraq would become progressively more dangerous for American troops, more lawless, and then eventually fall under the sway of the most ruthless and violent of the insurgent and paramilitary forces. From a military-political point of view, the Iraq war is unsustainable. It will not change the facts to point out that the US could defeat the insurgency over time. There is no more time. The American people will not abide Iraq for 10 more years. In fact, the longer American forces are in Iraq, the more impatient Americans have become. As the months go by without visible progress, it becomes more and more clear that time is not the problem - nor the solution. There is no military problem on Earth that the US armed forces cannot resolve, but Iraq is not a military problem - it is a political problem, and the root political problem of Iraq is the widespread perception among Iraqis that its government is politically illegitimate. The perception that the Iraqi government is illegitimate does not stem from the government's inability to establish basic civilized living conditions for it citizens; rather, its illegitimacy stems from the government's origins in invasion and occupation - and from its continued dependency on the US. Blinded by hatred of an anti-American regime and their ignorance of an exotic culture, US decision-makers have plunged the American people into a quagmire. Cowardice In The Face Of The Enemy: Leading Organizations And Figures In The Antiwar Struggle Are Retreating Into Talk Of 'Exit Strategies' And 'Responsible December 2, 2005 LANCE SELFA and ELIZABETH SCHULTE, Socialist Worker [Excerpts] REP. JOHN Murtha's (D-Pa.) November 17 press conference was, if nothing else, a wake-up call to the Washington establishment from one of its own. The U.S. "cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily," Murtha said. "It is time to bring them home." Judging by the abuse he received from outraged Republicans and the cheers heard in antiwar circles, you might have thought that a pro-war politician had decided to become an antiwar activist. Newly elected Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) almost provoked a brawl on the floor of the House of Representatives when she accused Murtha, a decorated combat veteran, of being a coward. At the same time, Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the antiwar group Code Pink, in an article on the "10 Reasons to Give Thanks" this year, put at the top of the list: "We're thankful that Congressman John Murtha has joined us in calling for an end to the occupation of Iraq." RHETORIC ASIDE, the text of Murtha's proposed congressional resolution never uses the word "withdrawal"--but rather "redeployment"--when referring to plans for U.S. troops in Iraq. But in a maneuver aimed at embarrassing the Democrats, the Republicans rushed through an alternative resolution to Murtha's proposal, calling for the immediate withdrawal of all forces from Iraq. The Republican resolution went down to defeat by a vote of Virtually all of the liberal Democratic members of Congress who claim to be allies of the antiwar movement voted against a resolution that--whatever the Republicans' intentions--proposed the movement's common point of agreement, at least on paper: get U.S. troops out of Iraq now. Sadly, many liberal voices outside Congress defended the For example, the Progressive Democrats of America, which styles itself as a grassroots lobby to pressure Democrats to oppose the Iraq occupation, issued a statement supporting Democrats who voted against the replacement resolution--which it called "an attempt to trick Democrats into supporting a 'cut-and-run' position on withdrawing U.S. troops." Middle East expert Stephen Zunes, one of the leading intellectuals in antiwar circles, went even further, urging the antiwar movement to embrace Murtha's call for a rapid reaction force to prevent the victory of the Iraqi resistance to occupation. "The peace movement should be open to such a strategy," Zunes wrote, "since it ends the occupation, it shifts our policy to diplomacy, and it creates the common ground necessary to unite politically around the language of Rep. John Murtha, a retired Marine and staunch supporter of the military, who calls for America to get out of Iraq 'as soon as practicable.'" ALL OF this might be mystifying to antiwar activists. The Democrats seem unable to capitalize on an opportunity, dropped in their laps by an Iraq war hawk, to rally around a genuine antiwar position. And while more Americans than ever are willing to hear a straightforward antiwar message, leading organizations and figures in the antiwar struggle are retreating into talk of "exit strategies" and "responsible The debate that has erupted in Washington between Republicans and Democrats isn't between those who support the war and those who oppose it. It is between two ruling-class parties that start from the same assumption that U.S. global and regional interests must be preserved, but bicker over the best strategies to accomplish that. The Democrats may have small differences about how to "get the job done"--troop redeployment, greater collaboration with international bodies like the United Nations, using the cover of "humanitarianism"--but their "job" is the same as the Republicans. IF THE Iraq War hadn't become such a disaster and Iraqi resistance to occupation hadn't been so fierce, the current congressional "debate," such as it is, probably wouldn't be happening. Instead, politicians from both parties would be trying to associate themselves with Bush and his But with more and more sections of the ruling class becoming concerned that the Iraq debacle is undermining the U.S.'s ability to pursue its global agenda, the Democrats are offering themselves as new managers who can put the U.S. imperial train back on the tracks. Relying on the Democratic Party to set the terms of the debate is a losing proposition for antiwar activists. It only makes the antiwar movement weaker to applaud the compromised half-measures put forward by the Democrats. If the antiwar movement is going to stop the occupation, we have to organize an opposition independent of the Democrats and their cynical maneuvers. We have to continue to press for nothing less than an immediate and complete withdrawal of all U.S. personnel from Iraq and the How Bad Is It? 01 December 2005 By Rupert Cornwell, The Independent UK Iraqi government officials say that without US support they could not hold much of Baghdad. Many Iraqi units are "ghost battalions", the number of soldiers inflated by commanders who pocket the pay of non-existent men. OCCUPATION ISN'T LIBERATION BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW! Bush Asks Iran Government For Help In Iraq! [Thanks to PB who sent this in. He writes: A SIGN OF DESPERATION: DR. AXIS OF EVIL COUNTRY, PLEASE HELP US IN IRAQ.] Nov 30 AFP & 29 November 2005 Aljazeera. Iran has no plans to cooperate with the United States, its foreign ministry spokesman said, after reports that Washington would reach out to Tehran for assistance in quelling unrest in Iraq. "Entente with the United States is not on the agenda of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Hamid Reza Asefi said after meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara. Newsweek magazine reported Sunday that President George W. Bush has asked US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad to seek assistance from Iran, in what would be the first high-level US contact with Tehran in "It's a very narrow mandate that he has, and it deals specifically with issues related to Iraq," spokesman Sean McCormack said The United States has also sought Tehran's help to seal off its border to Iraqi insurgents and to avoid meddling with the country's Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted the English-language daily Iran News as saying: "Some observers believe the US has finally come to the realisation that stability in the region is not achievable without Iran." A Billion Dollar Cry For Help 03 December 2005 By Maureen Dowd, The New York Times The US Agency for International Development is offering more than $1 billion for anyone - anyone at all - who can come up with a plan to pacify and rebuild 10 Iraqi cities seen as vital in the war. Maybe the White House should apply - Usaid's proffer says the "invitation is open to any type of entity." THE FUTURE CONFRONTS THE PAST Palestinian girls confront a Zionist soldier at a checkpoint that Palestinian children cross daily on their way to school in the occupied Palestinian city of Hebron Dec. 3, 2005. Palestinians protest unnecessarily intrusive searches by soldiers of children on their way to school. (AP [To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation by a foreign power, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The foreign army is Israeli; the occupied nation is Palestine.] DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK Take Your Pick 12.1.05 Rupert Cornwell, The Independent UK Iraqi government officials say that without US support they could not hold much of Baghdad. Many Iraqi units are "ghost battalions", the number of soldiers inflated by commanders who pocket the pay of non-existent men. 'Iraqi security forces are on the offensive against the enemy, cleaning out areas controlled by the terrorists and Saddam loyalists, leaving Iraqi forces to hold territory taken from the enemy, and following up with targeted reconstruction to help Iraqis rebuild their lives.' Bush Speech at Annapolis, 11.30.05 [Thanks to Z, who sent this in.] "My Son Is Against This War But Still Serving" Sent: December 02, 2005 Subject: Military Families My name is J My son is against this war but still serving. He has already served two deployments to [X] where he was injured and received the [X] star and the purple heart. If he speaks out he will lose his security clearance. He knows he can't reign me in however and I'm a vehement advocate to end this illegal war now! My son encourages me to speak out. I am also on the board of [X] Military Families Speak Out. I was in Crawford and I marched on Washington on Sept. 24th, 25th and If I can be of any assistance just let me know. REPLY: From your letter, looks like you're being of magnificent assistance already to the movement to bring the troops home now! Respect to you! T To: Col. Of The 704th MP Brigade; "You All Are Nothing But 'Perfumed Princes' As Col. Hackworth Called You" [This open letter is in response to GI Special articles about the mistreatment of anti-war soldier Sgt. Kevin Benderman, and reports of torture of prisoners at Ft. Lewis.. T] To: GI Special Sent: December 01, 2005 Subject: Col. of the 704th MP Brigade To whom it may concern; You people stink. You all are nothing but "Perfumed Princes" as Col Hackworth called you. I am appalled at the way Kevin was treated. I cannot wait until he gets out and perhaps write a book about you all. You will never get my grandson, I promise you that, nor any child that I have come in contact with. Just a very disgusted Grandmother and once a Patriot. Beware The Democrat In Republican Clothing From: Alycia A. Barr To: GI Special Sent: December 04, 2005 Subject: Beware the Democrat in Republican clothing I'm with Mr. Goff...we got their number and we won't go We'll use the bodies of our loved ones, piled up in front of you to go right over you. In Peace and Humanity, Alycia A. Barr "The News You Send Out Is Terrible To Read" To: GI Special Sent: November 30, 2005 Thanks for all you are doing. The news you send out is terrible to read, but we need to see the truth... Reply: The thanks go to you and other activists organizing and fighting to stop the war. It's what happens on the ground that counts. T GI Special distributes and posts to our website copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law since it is being distributed without charge or profit for educational purposes to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes, in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. GI Special has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor is GI Special endorsed or sponsored by the originators. This attributed work is provided a non-profit basis to facilitate understanding, research, education, and the advancement of human rights and social justice Go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml for more information. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If printed out, this newsletter is your personal property and cannot legally be confiscated from you. "Possession of unauthorized material may not be prohibited." DoD Directive 1325.6 Section 18.104.22.168.

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On August 18th, 1986, Bon Jovi released their third album, Slippery When Wet. The record would go on to become their best-selling to date and to celebrate its 31st anniversary, here are 20 things you might not know about it: 2. The band’s record company brought in renowned songwriter Desmond Child to help the band out. Along with Jon and Richie, Desmond penned hits like “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer” in the basement of Richie’s mom’s house in New Jersey. 3. When they had 30 songs written, the band auditioned them for teens in New York and New Jersey, deciding which tracks to include on the effort based on the kids’ reactions. 4. Jon selected producer Bruce Fairbairn for Slippery When Wet because the singer loved the sound quality of heavy metal band Black ‘N Blue’s 1985 album Without Love, which Bruce produced. 5. Before it was called Slippery When Wet, the band considered the title Wanted Dead or Alive, and even had a cover made up with the group dressed as cowboys. It was later used for the single release for that song. 6. The group chose the name Slippery When Wet following a visit to a strip club in Vancouver. 7. The cover art is a wet black garbage bag with the title traced in the water. It was a last minute decision. The original cover was a busty woman in a yellow shirt featuring the album title. While the official reason for the switch is unknown, some think it was because the label feared stores would refuse to carry it, deeming the cover sexist, and others have said Jon scrapped the cover when he saw the record company put a bright pink border around it. 8. Slippery When Wet spawned three top ten singles, “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer,” with the latter two topping the chart. The record is the first rock album with three hits in the top ten. 9. “You Give Love a Bad Name” became the band’s first song to go to number one. 10. “You Give Love a Bad Name” was originally written for “Total Eclipse of the Heart” singer Bonnie Tyler as the song “If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man),” which had different lyrics. Desmond was unhappy with how it performed so he re-wrote it with Jon and Richie. 11. Jon was hesitant to include “Livin’ on a Prayer” on the effort because he didn’t think it was a good enough song. Richie was sure it would be a hit. They compromised and re-recorded the track, which, of course, went on to be huge. 12. The popular version of “Livin’ on a Prayer” ends with a fade, but the studio version is 43 seconds longer. It has the guys revisiting the intro riff and ends with a talk box solo. 13. Jon said he was inspired to write the lyrics for “Livin’ on a Prayer” by the trickle-down economics of the Reagan era. 14. Jon was inspired to right “Wanted Dead or Alive” after listening to Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page.” 15. “Wanted Dead or Alive” was written when Jon couldn’t sleep on his tour bus. During that time, he realized that the rock star lifestyle is a lot like an outlaw’s with riding into towns and having girls and booze before the sun comes up. 16. “Edge of a Broken Heart,” which wound up on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Disorderlies, was written during the sessions for Slippery When Wet, but not included on the album. Jon later said of the tune, “It was absolutely appropriate for the Slippery record – coulda, shoulda, woulda been on Slippery had cooler minds prevailed.” 17. “Never Say Goodbye” wasn’t eligible for the Billboard Hot 100 chart because it was never released as a commercially available single. It definitely would’ve charted though and still made it to number 28 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. 18. The album became Bon Jovi’s first record to top the charts. It spent eight weeks at number one and 38 weeks in the top five on the Billboard 200. 19. Slippery When Wet was the best-selling album of 1987. 20. The album has gone platinum 12-times over, meaning it’s sold more than 12-million copies. It’s one of the best-selling albums of all time in America. Photo Credit: Getty

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But unfortunately, nothing goes You can even create your own avatar and dress up according to your results. Decorate the surroundings to create a beautiful mood, add candles, flowers and then it’s dinner time. As readers might be able to tell from my articles, I find online dating to be interesting both for its methodology and how it has transformed our culture. The author laments his inability to find a relationship via online dating, which he asserts cheapens the entire romantic interaction. But only one date—and I went on close to 50 via online services—made it past the first encounter. With hundreds of adorable games and more coming every month, AddictingGames is the ultimate destination for girl games. So Much More than Games for Girls When you have had your fill of girl games, Addicting Games delivers epic servings of other /5(K). These guys are all smart and really funny! But as far as dating profiles go…. A mix of seriousness added in would make these profiles perfect! Very youthful profiles because, well, these men are young. These guys have revealed very little about who they are, in a sense. I bet they would be worth meeting! Radio Wright August 30, , 3: You say these profiles reveal very little about themselves. I see a bit of mystery as a good thing, no a great thing. What more do you think they should reveal? Thanks for your comment. Reply laurie April 5, , 3: Reply Mike October 24, , 5: Radio Wright October 24, , 7:

April 26, 2012 by Zaharibu Dorrough, J. Heshima Denham, Kambui Robinson and Jabari Scott of the NCTT Corcoran Security Housing Unit (SHU) “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. |Michael Zaharibu Dorrough and his family are not the sort of patriarchal, authoritarian family that prepares children to confuse the interests of the ruling 1 percent with their own interests and to submit to oppression without protest.| Steadfast greetings, brothers and sisters. Our love and solidarity to you all. We felt it appropriate to open this statement with Dr. King’s call, which has been applicable to any given period where injustice is rife. We felt compelled to provide some necessary clarity and context to the struggle taking place. The National Occupy Movement has been magnificent in how it has changed the framework in which the discourse on unequal distribution of wealth must be made. But in order for the movement to develop into the popular movement that it must become to effect permanent and meaningful change, the slogan, “We are the 99 percent,” must become a reality. It is imperative that both Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and Occupy the Hood (OTH) struggle together to form a popular movement. It is crucial to any lasting progress that we reignite the cultural revolution that was started early in this nation’s history but never fulfilled: John Brown’s revolt, Thomas Dorr’s rebellion, the civil and human rights struggles of the 1950s-‘60s, the armed revolts throughout this nation’s history, including the rebellions in Watts, Oakland (Kambui and Jabari’s hometown), Harlem, Detroit, Cleveland (Zaharibu’s hometown), Chicago (Heshima’s hometown), and Kent State, to name a few. These struggles laid the foundation for the cultural revolution that the U.S. was in the process of undergoing up until the later 1970s. No society can make the necessary transformation from a capitalist, patriarchal, authoritarian, racist, sexist, homophobic, unjust one to one in which democratic ideals can prevail and fulfilling one’s potential is actually possible and encouraged without undergoing a cultural revolutionary transformation. We are not talking about what kind of government we want; that can and will occur in time, and you will know when that time comes just as you knew that the time had come to fight this battle. A cultural revolution occurs during the transitional stage in the struggle and consists of people from different cultural – i.e., racial, ethnic, religious – backgrounds and schools of thought varying politically, economically, socially, spiritually, intellectually, educationally and sexually all coming together to realize a vision for the kind of society they want to share and live in. It is quite possibly the crucial step in a society transforming itself. That’s exactly what was underway toward the mid- to late 1970s. We believe that because of the overall political immaturity of all but a few of the liberation groups at that time, the movement was not able to develop into a cohesive popular movement. As a result, groups were crushed, individuals either went into exile, were assassinated or imprisoned, while a lot of others in the movement were co-opted by the system. Billions of dollars were spent on social programs during the Johnson administration. Yet most, perhaps all, of these programs no longer exist. The cultural revolution of that time – traditionally called the “social revolution” – was re-characterized as the “sexual revolution” by the ruling class, reduced to a period of time in which citizens engaged in promiscuous sex – nothing more. It was part of the ruling class’s effort to de-legitimize the efforts made by those brave citizens who dared to struggle! Simultaneously, they were re-enforcing the puritanical component of the authoritarian mass psychology. It was also the intention of the ruling class to re-write the historical record of the period, thus depriving future generations of a historical record to build on. There is already an understanding of the underlying conditions that are responsible for so much misery, and those conditions have always existed, but what is not as clear is why have so many accepted these conditions for so long? We will try to address that here. But what must be clear at the outset is change, developing a popular movement, must consist of OWS and OTH forging meaningful coalitions with one another. Coalitions that recognize that this struggle is not a “white” struggle; it is a people’s struggle. The Occupy Movement is not a “white” struggle; it is a people’s struggle. The middle class must be prepared to take the necessary steps to reach these goals and that includes reaching out to the underclass. It must be recognized that in order for OWS to mature into a popular movement, the participation of OTH is required. Those citizens within OTH, the leadership, must mobilize with OWS. This is a protracted struggle. The middle class must be prepared to take the necessary steps to reach these goals and that includes reaching out to the underclass and OTH. OTH must see that it is in their interests to reach back and unite in this struggle. What is a cultural revolution? But what is it that we are struggling against? Exactly what is a cultural revolution? Why is it necessary, and what does it entail? How can it be waged successfully? The answer lies in the nature of the struggle of the National Occupy Movement itself, the struggle between the interests of the ruling 1 percent and those of the 99 percent. It is a struggle between ideas that have been imposed on the people as a direct result of the changes in economic modes of production and the people’s unconscious acceptance, support and identification with those ideas and new ideas that reflect these warped artificial psychological structures in favor of those that free them from an exploitive political and economic relationship that serves a wealth elite. It must be understood that our movement will NOT succeed in effecting a fundamental change in the mass psychological structure which supports this exploitive relationship. This is the core purpose of a cultural revolution, to eradicate unprogressive values, tendencies, sentiments and modes of thought. But before we can expound upon the characteristics of the cultural revolution, we first need to clearly analyze the core impediment to the successful conclusion of attempted cultural revolutions in the past. The chief obstacle to the realization of progressive social change here has always been the patriarchal authoritarian psychological structure of reactionary men and women in the U.S. These concepts may be complex for those new to them, so we’ll attempt to be as clear and brief as possible. For most of U.S. capitalist society’s existence, it has brutally exploited the labor, ideas and political will of the vast majority of its population to maintain and expand the wealth, power and privilege of a greedy elite ruling class the movement has identified as the 1 percent. It has been this way for hundreds of years and each time progressive social forces have attempted to cast off this yoke of oppression or move the nation closer to the idealistic sentiments expressed in the Declaration of Independence, those forces have been repressed, not simply by the ruling 1 percent and its tools, but by vast segments of the oppressed masses themselves. What causes this illogical contradiction? What prevents the socio-economic situation they’re suffering through from reflecting the psychic structure of the masses? Again and again, throughout the history of progressive social movements, we see the economic and ideological situations of the masses in the U.S. not coinciding and in fact being at considerable variance. The socio-economic reality of the people is not directly and immediately translated into political consciousness; if it were, the social revolution would have been realized years ago. The answer lies in the unique historical processes that forged the character structure of the average Amerikan worker. That process began with the introduction of patriarchy as the dominant force in social ideology in Europe and its impetus toward authoritarian control of every aspect of social life of the remaining members of the family unit, especially as it relates to the negation of natural social and biological processes. In the figure of the “father” the authoritarian ruling class has its representative in every family, so the family unit becomes its most vital instruments of power. This patriarchal authoritarian process’ chief component is puritanical repression, and this is also the manner in which the ruling 1 percent chains the ideological structure of the lower middle and middle classes to its own interests. Unlike patriarchal authoritarianism, puritanical repression as a tool of mass social control is fairly recent – in the last 300 years. If we analyze the history of puritanicalism and the etiology of the repression of natural human biological expression, you’ll find its origins aren’t at the beginning of cultural development. No, it was not until the organized establishment of patriarchal authoritarianism and the class system that puritanicalism starts to assert itself and begin to serve the interests of the ruling 1 percent in amassing material profit. There is a logical reason for all of this when seen from the perspective of the thriving exploitation of human labor and the apparent enthusiasm of the people to accept that exploitation. You see, the ruling 1 percent very rarely need to resort to brute force to maintain control of society, as the owners of the means of production prefer to employ their ideological power over the oppressed as their primary weapon, for it is the ideology of puritanical patriarchal authoritarianism that is the mainstay of the ruling elite. The ruling 1 percent very rarely need to resort to brute force to maintain control of society, as the owners of the means of production prefer to employ their ideological power over the oppressed as their primary weapon. It is within the authoritarian family that the merging of the economic arrangement and the puritanical structure of society takes place; religious and other puritanical interests continue this function later. Thus, the authoritarian state has an enormous stake in the authoritarian family; it becomes the factory in which the state’s structure and ideology is molded. Man’s authoritarian psychology is thus produced by embedding these puritanical inhibitions, guilt feelings and fear of freedom to experience natural forms of human expression. The suppression of one’s economic needs compasses a different psychological reaction than one’s natural human drives. The suppression of one’s economic needs usually incites resistance, while the repression of natural biological needs removes those desires from the consciousness, embeds them in the subconscious and erects a “moral defense” against them, and in so doing prevents rebellion against both forms of suppression. The result is the inhibition of rebellion itself. How the 1 percent suppresses the cultural revolution In the average Amerikan, there is no trace of revolutionary thinking. It is this process that has strengthened political reaction in the U.S. and made far too many victims of economic inequality here passive, indifferent and apolitical. It has succeeded in creating a secondary force in man’s mind, an artificial interest that supports the authoritarian order of the ruling 1 percent. In the average Amerikan, there is no trace of revolutionary thinking. Yes, most are truly “trapped in the matrix.” This is observable at every level of this capitalist society. It is the conservative who first suggests reactionary repressive measures or curtailing civil liberties in the face of civil disobedience or broad political dissent. The Occupy Movement continues to experience this firsthand at the hands of national police forces. The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition here in the Corcoran State Prison SHU and in Pelican Bay continues to experience waves of retaliation from state prison industrialists. This “fear of freedom” is inherent to the authoritarian character structure of conservative man. The conflict that originally takes place between natural desires and authoritarian suppression of these desires later becomes the conflict between instinct and morality within the person. This, of course, produces a contradiction within the person. Since man is not only the object of the historical processes that created the economic and ideological influences of his social life, but also reproduces them in his activities, his thinking and acting must be just as contradictory as the society from which they arose. The U.S., for instance, is a society founded on the premises of “equality, freedom and the unalienable rights of man,” yet its formation, history and modern structure contradict this. When we speak of the realization of U.S. “manifest destiny” or the development and maintenance of its global hegemony, we are speaking of the systematic genocide of Native Americans, the organized theft of Native land, the slavery and brutalization of Africans and New Afrikans, the maintenance of institutional racism and sexism, imperialist war mongering, state-sponsored kidnapping, torture and targeted assassinations, suppression of sexual democracy, state imposition of religious moral imperatives that deprive others of their equal rights, the naked exploitation of human labor and suppression of organized labor, and the mass incarceration of the poor and people of color – all while espousing the ideas of “opportunity, fairness and equal protection under the law.” This is the historical legacy of contradiction in the development and maintenance of U.S. society. These same contradictions are reproduced in the psychic-structures of its people. Should the middle strata of White Amerika lose these warped concepts of “morality” to the same degree it continues to lose its intermediate position between the average worker and the upper class, this would seriously threaten the interests of the ruling 1 percent. You see, lurking also among this strata of the people, ever ready to break free of its reactionary tendencies, is the inherent revolutionary imperative of their socio-economic situation. This is why since the start of the 2008 recession the FCC and virtually every segment of public and private enterprise has increased its push for “morality” and “strengthening traditional marriage,” because the authoritarian ideology and family unit forms the link from the wretched social reality of the lower middle class to reactionary ideology and social conservatism: The ideology of the 1 percent. Where this ideology is uprooted from the compulsive family unit, the authoritarian system is threatened. They sense it on the horizon, and historically this is when the greatest ideological resistance asserts itself. The socio-economic exploitation of the 99 percent, in its myriad manifestations, would not be possible without the psychological structure of the masses that accepts that status quo. It is when the economically disenfranchised and dissatisfied classes begin to organize themselves, begin to fight for socio-political improvements and begin raising the cultural level of the broader masses that these authoritarian “moralistic” inhibitions set in. The bottom line here is every social order produces in the masses of its members that structure which it needs to achieve its main aims. The U.S. is no different. The socio-economic exploitation of the 99 percent, in its myriad manifestations, would not be possible without the psychological structure of the masses that accepts that status quo. There is a direct correlation between the economic structure of capitalist society and the mass psychological structures of its members, not only in the sense that “the ruling ideology is the ideology of the ruling class,” but more essential to the question of a resurgence of the cultural revolution in the U.S. is that the contradictions of the economic structure of society are also embodied in the psychological structure of the subjugated masses. The role of the cultural revolution Which brings us to the cultural revolution itself. The role of the cultural revolution is to uproot these old unprogressive ideas and values which have served to keep us shackled to the legacy of oppressive relationships that define the majority of U.S. history and usher in new values which reflect the universal mores of freedom, justice, equality and human rights. A cultural revolution is a reconstruction of a people’s way of life in order to move them to a given objective; it forms a new historical continuity in which re-evaluation of self, the people and the society compels us to cast aside historical revisionism. It will place the political power back in the hands of the people, rescue democracy from the stranglehold of corrupt political influences and corporate super-PACs. The role of the cultural revolution is to uproot these old unprogressive ideas and values which have served to keep us shackled to the legacy of oppressive relationships that define the majority of U.S. history and usher in new values which reflect the universal mores of freedom, justice, equality and human rights. A true cultural revolution entails more than simply chanting slogans, protest actions, hunger strikes or occupations. It’s more than changing our looks or altering our polling strategy to more closely reflect support for those issues dear to the movement. No, it entails changing our core psychology, how you think, changing your conduct and activities, your interactions and methods in order to transform society as a whole. Cultural values are produced by economic and political systems. As we struggle against the institutional inequalities inherent in the U.S. capitalist arrangement, we will lose the cultural values of that system and will forge more humane values as the basis of new political and economic relationships. Such a revolution must encompass the common man and woman, illuminating for them the inherent interests in this national transformation of values and how it will positively impact their lives and the lives of their friends and loved ones. This is the reason the National Occupy Movement must organize and grow together. Cultural values are produced by economic and political systems. As we struggle against the institutional inequalities inherent in the U.S. capitalist arrangement, we will lose the cultural values of that system and will forge more humane values as the basis of new political and economic relationships. This calls for unity, the conscious development of united fronts and strategic alliances that grow deeper and richer as they experience trials and adversity, pass through ease and danger. Essentially this process IS the cultural revolution. What must be understood is these different groups represent different class interests, political interests and economic interests and have different ideologies. It is the reality of this dynamic that has been the basis for the divide and rule politic that has governed life in this society and most others since the rise of monopoly capitalism. It is the basis of the primary contradiction now. We have demonstrated how for the vast majority of this nation’s history, the ruling 1 percent has been successful in convincing desperate segments of society to identify their interests with the ruling 1 percent’s. Playing on “this” economic class interest of the middle strata or “that” religious moral lean of the lower middle strata, all along ensuring that whatever the ultimate outcome, their interests, the interests of the 1 percent elite, will be preserved as the ruling interests. For the vast majority of this nation’s history, the ruling 1 percent has been successful in convincing desperate segments of society to identify their interests with the ruling 1 percent’s. They’ve been consistently able to do so despite centuries of material evidence of their duplicity because they’ve been capable of maintaining control of not simply the context of these national discussions, but of the apparatus in which they’ve been held – corporate mass media – and the very cultural values upon which those discussions are based. There is a relevant maxim which states, “The ruling ideas are the ideas of the ruling class.” The current struggle we are waging now in the National Occupy Movement, prisoner hunger strike solidarity movement, anti-imperialist movement etc. is a manifestation of the people’s consciousness that their interests and the interests of the ruling elite are not the same interests and in fact are and have always been diametrically opposed. Winning the cultural revolution It is for this reason that corporate entities, government officials, their police forces and corporate-owned mass media have made a collective and coordinated effort to downplay, discredit, underreport, dismiss, brutally attack, pass laws against and ultimately crush the movement before it can lead to a true cultural revolution which could force upon them a progressive transformation in the nature and structure of U.S. society. This has been the historical trend in the U.S.: Cultural revolutions of these types in the U.S. historically all have a central purpose: to destroy the oppressors’ conditioned mores, attitudes, ways, customs, philosophies and habits that the dominant power base has instilled in us which allow these exploitive and repressive relationships to exist. A cultural revolution is a revolution of one’s values, and the ruling 1 percent recognizes your values dictate your actions. They also realize where such a transformation in your worldview would lead; it was even noted in the Declaration of Independence: “(A)ll experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security.” A cultural revolution is a revolution of one’s values, and the ruling 1 percent recognizes your values dictate your actions. As long as the ruling 1 percent can keep you convinced that its values and interests are your own, you will continue to suffer oppression without protest. As long as they can keep you convinced that the interests of the ruling 1 percent are your own, you will continue to be content to suffer the “evils” that you have without protestation. Thus, at all costs they must ensure you don’t realize that the values that have been instilled in you for generations – those of greed, racism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, elitism, naked self-interest, religious intolerance, classism and thinly-veiled hypocrisy – were instilled to ensure you never realize you’ve long since been “reduced under absolute despotism,” and the political and economic choices available to you, no matter what your decisions, favor their interests first, and whatever interests support theirs most effectively secondly. The entire purpose of socio-economic stratification and institutional racism is to ensure the ruling 1 percent can maintain control with “a minimum of force, a maximum of law, all made palatable by the fanfare of unity and patriotism,” as Howard Zinn wrote in “A People’s History of the United States.” Brothers and sisters, this will not be easy because the most vital battles will have to be waged within you. But the reassertion of the cultural revolution is necessary if the movement is to realize actual success and not become just another footnote in the crushed movements of American history. We will stand with you, wage struggle with you, but in the final analysis only you, the people, the 99 percent, can hoist this banner and carry the cultural revolution to its victorious conclusion – and on the other side a new and brighter world for us all. Until we win or don’t lose. For more information on the NCTT (NARN (New African Revolutionary Nationalism) Collective Think Tank) Corcoran SHU and its work product, contact: Editor’s note: This comes from the brilliant minds – locked away in one of the most restrictive prisons in the U.S. – who brought you “California prison hunger strikers propose ‘10 core demands’ for the national Occupy Wall Street Movement,” the Bay View’s most read story, with 9,980 pageviews, from Dec. 6, 2011, to Feb. 19, 2012. by J. Heshima Denham, Zaharibu Dorrough and Kambui Robinson of the NCTT Corcoran Security Housing Unit (SHU) “But beneath this conventional enthusiasm and amid this ingratiating ritual toward the dominant power, you can easily perceive in the wealthy a deep distaste for the democratic institutions of their country. The people are a power they both fear and despise.” – Alexis De Tocqueville, “Democracy in America” Greetings, brothers and sisters. A firm, warm and solid embrace of revolutionary love is extended to you all. As we proceed in this period of evolution in our struggles for substantive social change in the U.S. via the national Occupy Movement, the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Movement, the Anti-Imperialist Movement etc., it is imperative that we not only understand that we are all representative of a single socio-political and historic motive force, but those in opposition to our democratic aspirations are the very same political, social and economic powers that this nation has relied on to ensure the integrity of democracy, social justice and economic equality. This is a contradiction. This historic contradiction will NOT be resolved via our disparate efforts. Substantive change will only be realized through a comprehensive strategic approach, coordinated and conducted by us all. Simply put, we are a single movement, and for us to have the social impact necessary to compel progress we must proceed with this realization as out guiding ethos. We of the NCTT (New Afrikan Collective Think Tank) in the Corcoran SHU (Security Housing Unit) have a proposal on effective strategic organizing we’d like to share with you here, but before we do so we think it is imperative that you all understand the historic significance of what we are all a part of. It is our assessment that what is occurring today as it relates to the national protest movement (i.e., Occupy Wall Street, Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity etc.) is the unfinished legacy of the struggle for social justice necessary for the U.S. to fulfill its democratic potential. This struggle is part of the rich and courageous legacy of abolitionists, women’s rights activists, organized labor, populists, human and civil rights activists and other democratic struggles of the nation’s past. |Cincinnati – Photo: J. Cherise McIntosh| Social revolution has always been imperative to this type of substantive change. This calls for the recognition and coming together of people – citizens from different cultural, economic and ideological backgrounds – realizing the common interest inherent in this truth: that we all inhabit the same planet, breathe the same air, are part of the human family. The social revolution of the 1960s, once it was contained by the conservative, corporate counter-culture, was reduced to being characterized as a “sexual revolution” in the same disparaging terms that the social revolution we are waging in this nation today is being characterized as a kind of mindless, leaderless rabble who simply dislike the wealthy, or “gang members,” whose only interest is imposing themselves on the larger population. These intentionally dishonest characterizations are not being made by the average reasoning man or woman – but instead by those we’ve vested with the responsibility of governing our political, social or economic institutions. CDCR spokeswoman Terry Thornton, when asked about the alleged “suicide” death of a “jailhouse lawyer” in Pelican Bay’s ASU (Administrative Segregation Unit), responded, “Why are you concerned about that? … Was the inmate someone important? You know, someone well known like Charles Manson?” This is typical of the wealthy and their tools. Was it any surprise that former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain described Occupy Movement activists as “stupid” because they opposed the inherent institutional inequality of the capitalist arrangement? Neither were we shocked that CDCR spokeswoman Terry Thornton, when asked about the alleged “suicide” death of a “jailhouse lawyer” in Pelican Bay’s ASU (Administrative Segregation Unit), responded, “Why are you concerned about that? … Was the inmate someone important? You know, someone well known like Charles Manson?” This is typical of the wealthy and their tools. We began this discussion with a quote from Alexis De Tocqueville to illustrate not only the disdain in which the power structure in this society holds the people’s democratic expression but the fear and resentment they hold towards those who dare challenge this status quo in capitalist Amerika. We represent nothing more to these overseers and shareholders – and that’s just what the politicians, policy makers, prison industrialists and corporate executives are – than billions of dollars in potential profit to be extracted from our human misery. CDCR and its lobbying body, the CCPOA, has succeeded in extorting budgets in excess of some nations’ gross national product by using us as the centerpiece of their distortion and false propaganda campaign of fear and dehumanization. For example, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and its lobbying body, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), has succeeded in extorting budgets in excess of some nations’ gross national product by using us as the centerpiece of their distortion and false propaganda campaign of fear and dehumanization. They’ve duped taxpayers so successfully for so long at the expense of our very humanity that we had no choice but to take up a strategy in which the ultimate sacrifice may yet be necessary. Following the ending of the last hunger strike in October, most of us, particularly those of us in these short corridors here and in Pelican Bay, were refused any medical treatment though we lost over 20 pounds in the 13-day period the second hunger strike lasted – and we hadn’t yet recovered from the first. The kind of sacrifices being exemplified by courageous nationalists and activists like you in the Occupy Movement – we love it, we love you and we stand with you. Our hunger strikes were the only way to effectively resist the nonstop assault on our humanity which is the inevitable consequence of burying us indefinitely in these sensory deprivation torture units. Equally, when working wages or employment itself are so shamelessly inconsistent with the cost of living, resulting in conditions of poverty, there is a corresponding poverty of spirit. The success of the Occupy Movement, like the hunger strikes, requires sacrifice and strategic insight. The kind of sacrifices being exemplified by courageous nationalists and activists like you – we love it, we love you and we stand with you. Seizing the reins of history What we all must come to understand is our struggle – like the vision of a new social structure inherent in this movement – must adopt new methods of ensuring its survival and expansion. The shear absurdity of some of the political pandering and positions in this election season, from Newt “Gingrinch’s” espousal of the merits of exploiting child labor in the underclass to discussions of cutting unemployment benefits by Tea Party Republicans in the face of record unemployment and cash-fat corporations refusing to hire, highlights how out of touch these puppets of the 1 percent ruling elite are with the daily challenges of the common man or woman. Simultaneously, we are being asked to trust these same people who are responsible for creating conditions for, and exploitation of, human misery. We have been doing so for centuries and it has only moved us from one socio-economic crisis to the next. Only when the people, the 99 percent, seized the reigns of history has the democratic destiny of humanity and its most noble ideas – unity, equality, self-determination, cooperation, freedom, justice and human rights – been advanced to any appreciable degree. Each progressive step forward – from the Suffrage Movement, which seized a woman’s right to vote from an entrenched chauvinistic privilege, to the nonviolent protests of the Civil Rights Movement that repealed segregation, to the empowerment and self-defense tactics of the national liberation movements that followed – was punctuated by a coherent strategic approach whose relative success or failure has been equal to the resonance it found in the nation’s mass psychology. We cannot expect paths to social change to be laid by the forces of oppression, which means we must pursue self-determination and self-sufficiency, demonstrating the validity of our vision of society through social practice. No one with a modicum of intelligence would disagree with the validity of our message, the righteousness of the Occupy Movement’s 10 core demands or the correctness of our aspirations. Yet this is not enough to sustain a movement so vocally opposed to the entrenched power structure of the 1 percent and all the tools of repression at their disposal. |UC Berkeley – Photo: Brian Nguyen| No, what will be needed is nothing short of the unified might of the 99 percent, most if not all of us speaking with one voice, with one will, animated by this same spirit throughout. We cannot expect paths to social change to be laid by the forces of oppression, which means we must pursue self-determination and self-sufficiency, demonstrating the validity of our vision of society through social practice. We possess all the tools necessary to transform our occupations into practice programs which address some of the core inequities in the capitalist arrangement we currently stand in opposition to by imbedding them in the most underdeveloped and disenfranchised communities of the 99 percent, where the effects of corporate greed and institutional inequality are most visible. There is another common thread running through the Occupy Movement, Hunger Strike Solidarity Movement and Anti-Imperialist Movement: Most of us engaged in these movements either champion, hail from or have been forced into the underclass of the U.S. socio-economic strata. I want you all to ask yourselves, after a cursory examination of U.S. society, who has done most of the work, most of the dying, most of the time in prison or on the unemployment line? Who has little or no interest in the maintenance of the current status quo, who has been disproportionately affected by the sub-prime loan fiasco and the socio-economic impact of corporate greed and political corruption? Invariably we must answer it is the underclass communities of this nation, Amerika’s ghettos, hoods, barrios, trailer parks and projects. Their unfortunate position in the capitalist arrangement and desperate historical relationship to the productive system forces this segment of society to the forefront of any revolutionary scheme. Who has done most of the work, most of the dying, most of the time in prison or on the unemployment line? Who has little or no interest in the maintenance of the current status quo? It is the underclass communities of this nation, Amerika’s ghettos, hoods, barrios, trailer parks and projects. When the honorable Comrade George Lester Jackson expressed this same analysis some 40 years ago, people did not fully grasp what he meant. Yet here we are still pursuing the victorious conclusion of the same democratic process. Three pilot programs What we propose is harnessing the full spectrum potential of the Occupy Movement at every level and lining it with the untapped power and potential of the millions and millions in underclass communities across Amerika via three pilot programs which are complimentary, self-sustaining and socio-economically empowering for all of the 99 percent, while proving definitively that the spirit of cooperation is more socially fulfilling and impactful than the greed and avarice promoted through capitalist competition. We propose organizing major segments of the movement and those they serve to not only safeguard the survival and forward progress of the cause itself, but open an entirely new front for the struggle. The Occupy Wall Street Movement, Occupy the Hood and the underclass communities, each working in coordination, could prove an unstoppable force if organized and mobilized with unity of purpose. Each segment of this broader organizing force possesses mutually beneficial qualities whose socio-economic and political impact far exceeds the sum of its individual parts. We of the NCTT Corcoran SHU urge you to distribute this strategic proposal to all the various Occupy Movement groups nationally, all the various chapters of Occupy the Hood – especially its founder, Malik Rhasaan – and that together they bring this proposal to the underclass communities across Amerika. We want to urge all our brothers and sisters in lumpen organizations within these communities, no matter what set you claim, nation you ride – Sureño or Norteño – hood you represent or crew you roll with, to support and defend these brothers and sisters from all aspects of the Occupy Movement as they enter your/our communities, many living in and being from those same or similar communities, to build with us a new dynamic that will enrich us all. Equally we want to urge all our brothers and sisters in the Occupy Movement to learn from the people as you enter and work with the underclass community so we all may better serve the interests of the 99 percent. For some of you, it will be a new and sobering reality, completely outside of your experience, and should provide an uncensored view of the human misery and socio-economic inequality in Amerika. It is imperative that you all look upon the interests of the movement and those communities as your very own; the survival of the movement and hope for substantive change in the daily dynamic of economic desperation and despair in the underclass communities of the U.S. may well depend on it. We want to urge all our brothers and sisters in the Occupy Movement to learn from the people as you enter and work with the underclass community so we all may better serve the interests of the 99 percent. Look upon the interests of the movement and those communities as your very own. The three pilot programs we are proposing are NCTT word-product, either drawn from our archives or uniquely developed to ensure the success of this enterprise. This venture will require some structural organization amongst you. We suggest you adopt a democratic centralist organizational structure which will allow everyone to air their views, opinions and suggestions – be they popular or unpopular, correct or incorrect – in group discussions on policy decisions. Yet those with the greatest knowledge and insight on the specific subject matter being disclosed should have the greatest influence on the policy ultimately adopted. |Philadelphia – Photo: Larissa Mogano| Such an approach will encourage the broadest possible participation in the decision making process, while securing the most viable and sagacious ideas and preventing the cropping up of ultra-democratic ideas, where someone has something to say on every little thing and nothing ever gets accomplished, just bourgeois aversion to the collective will. These programs are intentionally designed to be universally adaptive, modifiable and amendable to work in any community. The success of some aspects of these programs will be benefited by specialized knowledge, insight or skill sets. We are aware that the Occupy Movement in its various permutations, as well as the underclass communities in which these programs will be imbedded, possess intellectuals, professionals and technicians whose knowledge and participation will prove essential, and we urge you all to begin taking stock of these skill sets and maintaining – or creating – a local database of each activist or participant’s skill sets, such as computer engineering, drywall, agricultural expertise, technical engineering, plumbing, visual art etc. To facilitate the success of these collective work initiatives and as we see success, we expand these efforts into new areas of development. Our brothers and sisters already doing vital work in the Occupy the Hood chapters, such as the “Feed the Hood” program, we ask you now to expand your relationship with the Occupy Wall Street Movement beyond the confines of the people of color working group and enter a new and broader phase of community development and social organization which will see a true union of all of our social forces in the practical work of building an entirely new basis for relating to the productive system. |Oakland – Photo: Ben Margot| Occupy the Hood is the natural bridge between all aspects of the 99 percent, and it is only through a functional union such as this that our movement can be transformed into a true social revolution and perhaps more. Occupy the Hood is the natural bridge between all aspects of the 99 percent. To all you brothers and sisters on college campuses or in unemployment lines across this nation, if you don’t have an Occupy Movement chapter established in your city, contact the nearest Occupy Movement chapter to you and establish one of your own. It is in your interest to alter the fundamental dynamic of human relationships and the basis for prosperity in this nation, and what we propose here may well give us the greatest possible chance to do just that. The three pilot programs we propose are: 1) the closed circuit economic initiative; 2) the sustainable community agricultural commons; 3) the block vote democratic initiative. We will explain each here in basic terms and should you need detailed program formats or other help, you need only contact us directly. We have done our best to give you all the necessary information needed to start here. Please bear with us. I assure you it’s worth your time. The Closed Circuit Economic Initiative The Closed Circuit Economic Initiative (CCE Initiative) is a cooperative economic venture designed to amplify local wealth by re-circulating it in the community in which it originated, while providing collective ownership of the venture to the community and movement, while simultaneously addressing local unemployment in the community in which the venture is based. The CCE Initiative was originally designed to address the flight of wealth from New African communities to more affluent ones that actually owned the businesses in New African (Black) neighborhoods. We discovered that a single dollar will circulate in the Jewish community for some 35 days, in the Korean community for 28 days, yet a dollar circulates in the New African (Black) community for an average of 70 seconds. Yes, seconds. However, what we also learned through further analysis was this was in fact, to a greater or lesser degree, a universal disparity throughout underclass communities regardless of their racial or national makeup. The wealth of underclass communities rarely, if ever, went to enriching those same communities. But there is within our power a way to change that. Similar to the electrical charge fulfillment action of a closed circuit capacitor – where circulating a charge through a catalyst in a closed circuit will ultimately fulfill a storing device’s capacitance with no need to increase the voltage yield of the charges – it is possible to increase the economic capacity of a community by circulating its wealth in that community for a longer period. This capacitance is increased if the community itself controls the economic circuit in which current exchanges flow. Similar to the electrical charge fulfillment action of a closed circuit capacitor, it is possible to increase the economic capacity of a community by circulating its wealth in that community for a longer period. This capacitance is increased if the community itself controls the economic circuit in which current exchanges flow. Here is how we will accomplish this: The Occupy Movement will prepare fliers and pamphlets outlining this initiative in clear, easy-to-understand terms, specifically referencing the unique conditions on the ground in the local underclass communities you hope to begin in. The larger the community, the more impactful it will prove. |Oakland – Photo: David Bacon| Occupy the Hood activists, organizers and leaders from the community slated for the initiative, along with Occupy Wall Street activists, will canvas the hood together distributing these educational fliers door to door, to churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, pool halls, the street corners, the hood spots and homie hangouts, salons, barbershops and wherever our people congregate, answering questions and promoting the value of the initiative. Next a survey flier will have to be produced which asks each individual in that community the three top goods and services they most frequently spend their money on – and/or the largest portion of their money on – and/or the largest portion of their money every month. This may vary depending on the community, from groceries to gasoline, from laundrymat services to parking. Once these surveys are collected and their results compiled and we have the top three goods and services that particular community spends their money on, we’ll have the basis for our first economic venture and a business plan to produce based on the No. 1 pick. For example, let’s say food and home supplies is the area where the most money is spent in Southeast San Diego’s Skyline community. The first venture in this community’s CCE Initiative would be a grocery store, which brings us to our next step: a true community organizing meeting – or several – will have to be held with the entire community and movement activists participating to elect economic trustees for the CCE Fund: one from Occupy the Hood, one from Occupy Wall Street, and two from the community in which the venture is based. These four will collectively oversee the CCE Fund for that community, allowing those funds raised to be accepted only by those four persons together – no single individual will have access to the fund – and only for the CCE Initiative venture agreed to via the democratic will of all involved. This will ensure checks and balances are maintained and trust is assured. To fund the grocery store, we will ask each individual in that community to contribute $1 or $2 bi-monthly, along with their names, addresses and phone numbers to the CCE Initiative for a six-month period. Let’s say there are 10,000-15,000 residents in this community, along with those local Occupy Movement activists who wish to contribute. Each individual will receive a CCE certification card for their contribution, no matter how small. All these funds will be deposited in the CCE Fund’s interest earning account, which would raise an estimated $100,000 in that six-month period. We use the lion’s share of those funds to purchase or build our own grocery store in that community, owned by that community collective who are on the CCE registry; if you contributed, you’re on the registry. We will then hire only people from that community or from the local Occupy Movement who are unemployed. Those Occupy Wall Street activists with accounting, business, tax, zoning, law, real estate, grocery or other related expertise should provide that expertise to ensure the success of these ventures and receive a CCE certificate for their contributions to the effort’s creation and continued success. Once established, we need not worry about patronage or marketing because those who own the venture – the community itself – will, of course, shop in their own grocery store and encourage others to also before going elsewhere. All the profits, minus overhead, will go back to the CCE Fund with 60 percent being paid out monthly to all CCE Initiative registrants – those with a CCE certificate of contribution – in the form of a dividend check, the other 40 percent gaining interest in the CCE fund. We need not worry about patronage or marketing because those who own the venture – the community itself – will, of course, shop in their own grocery store and encourage others to also before going elsewhere. We will keep contributing and collecting the $1-$2 every two weeks, depositing it in the CCE Fund. Also, in the next six months, we purchase a “sympathetic-support venture,” one that depends on or contributes directly to the initial venture; let’s say a bakery. The grocery store will purchase its baked goods inventory exclusively from the CCE Initiative bakery. Again, the bakery will hire only people from that community or local movement without a job. Again, we repeat the process. In the next six-month period we purchase a second sympathetic-support venture; let’s say an organic grain and produce farm, again hiring only those from the community and local movement who are unemployed. Grain, flour and product inventories for the bakery and grocery store will be purchased from our farm – all of these ventures buying and selling to one another while servicing the broader community which owns them. |Miami – Photo: Miami Workers Center| Again we repeat the process in six months, this time acquiring a small cannery and packaging factory to begin offering our own canned foods and packed goods from both our farm and bakery to our grocer – and on to the broader market. Again, we hire only from that community and local movement’s unemployed. As this proceeds with each expansion of the CCE Initiative venture, the local unemployment rate drops, the amount of dividend checks paid out to CCE Initiative registrants rises, until eventually that community reaches 100 percent employment, with a second revenue stream directly linked to their own consumer choices. As the prosperity of our collectively-owned businesses grows, we will inevitably reach complete community economic interconnection and social empowerment for the people and the movement. As the prosperity of our collectively-owned businesses grows, we will inevitably reach complete community economic interconnection and social empowerment for the people and the movement. The CCE Initiative dividend checks may begin as small as $.30 or $.40, yet in 18 months could be $30-$40. The CCE Fund can then turn its attention to establishing a local credit commons, where the community can invest in its own people’s interests, not to generate profit from usurious interest rates, but to promote community prosperity and meet human needs. Here, people from the community and local movement can get micro-loans, home and auto financing, and standard banking services. |Cincinnati – Photo: J. Cherise McIntosh| In this way, the underclass community becomes entirely independent of the standard competitive capitalist economy through simple unity, cooperative economics and collective work, distribution of wealth and ownership. All dividend adjustments will be distributed equally amongst everyone in the CCE Initiative, regardless if you contributed $1 or $2 or your specialized knowledge and insight. So long as you contribute to the CCE Initiative, you’ll receive an equal share of dividends. By means of the CCE Initiative, we can clearly demonstrate cooperation serves the interests of the 99 percent where competition has clearly been unequal to the task. Once a full community economic circuit is closed, it can be joined to others in the region or nationally, providing a socio-economic alternative to the yoke of wage slavery offered us all by the 1 percent ruling elite. We need only touch the corporate capitalist economy where our own innovation and enterprises fail to meet the capacity or are simply unable to. But we here of the NCTT are always thinking and, in truth, the only limitation to the CCE Initiative meeting the material needs of the 99 percent is your own imagination; we assure you there are further options. By means of the CCE Initiative, we can clearly demonstrate cooperation serves the interests of the 99 percent where competition has clearly been unequal to the task. By those means we establish a true transfer culture from which substantive change in the nature and structure of U.S. society can be realized. This CCE Initiative corresponds to Nos. 1, 2, 9 and 10 of the 10 core demands of the national Occupy Movement. The Sustainable Community Agricultural Commune Chronic poverty and underemployment – the legacy of corporate greed and political corruption in Amerika – can be directly linked to chronic disease, high obesity rates and the plethora of health problems that accompany them. These types of physical debilities impact underclass communities disproportionately due primarily to anemic access to quality produce, meats, grains and vegetables in our communities. Of equal concern is the ecological impact of multinational corporate agri-concerns, from the exploitation of Third World brothers and sisters – some 90 percent of the produce consumed in the U.S. is grown in the Third World, while the majority of the rest comes from large corporate farms – to the adverse environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping food thousands of miles to reach our tables. Yet it is within our power to change this dynamic by embracing sustainable urban farming as a viable alternative. Throughout the underclass communities of Amerika, especially in the wake of record foreclosures and the intentional gentrification of our communities, there are vacant lots, open plots and tracts of aimless dirt that we can reclaim and transform into urban gardens that will not only feed the communities healthy and nutritious food, but also provide a valuable and significant source of revenue for them. Consider that less than 2 percent of the food consumed in metropolitan areas in the U.S. is grown there. Yet urban areas consume billions of dollars worth of food each year, including junk food, sodas, fast food, condiments and processed snacks that, unfortunately, are staples of many poor folks’ diets because the stuff is cheap and filling. But if our food was locally produced, it would not only be healthier and 50 percent cheaper than if you bought it at your supermarket, but also serve as a source of revenue for the community by selling the surplus to local chefs, restaurants and our own farmers markets, while relying on organic and other agricultural advances to increase both quality and yields. Less than 2 percent of the food consumed in metropolitan areas in the U.S. is grown there. If our food was locally produced, it would not only be healthier and 50 percent cheaper than if you bought it at your supermarket, but also serve as a source of revenue for the community. I’d like to illustrate what we propose more clearly using Cleveland, Ohio, as an example. According to Entrepreneur Magazine (October 2011), by increasing local urban farming by 5 percent in greater Cleveland it would translate into $750 million more in revenue for local purveyors. When was the last time a $750 million business was relocated to your community, let alone the hood, barrio or trailer park? Cleveland based business development analyst Michael Shuman did a study on what would happen if northeast Ohio managed to provide 25 percent more of the food it consumed. This report revealed that such a move would create over 27,000 new jobs, increase annual regional output by $4.2 billion and grow tax revenue by more than $125 million. If northeast Ohio managed to provide 25 percent more of the food it consumed, it would create over 27,000 new jobs, increase annual regional output by $4.2 billion and grow tax revenue by more than $125 million. In 2007, Cleveland became the first city in the U.S. to zone for community gardens. It now subsidizes farms in the city’s core and the 6-acre farm plot that opened recently in the heart of the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, only a few blocks from the Riverview Towers projects, not only services surrounding restaurants, but our brothers and sisters from the Riverview projects can buy fresh produce just outside their building, closer than the Safeway, Kroger or fast food joint, and 50 percent cheaper than its regular price. Now imagine if that 6-acre farm was collectively owned and operated by the residents of the Riverview Towers projects. That’s exactly what we are proposing here. |Orlando – Photo: Beverly Campbell| We call on our Occupy Movement brothers and sisters – both Occupy Wall Street and Occupy the Hood – to link with local underclass community organizers and pool their assets, expertise and labor to educate, organize and mobilize the community’s residents for the sustainable community agricultural commune (SCA commune). We call on our Occupy Movement brothers and sisters – both Occupy Wall Street and Occupy the Hood – to link with local underclass community organizers and pool their assets, expertise and labor to educate, organize and mobilize the community’s residents for the sustainable community agricultural commune (SCA commune). Simultaneously, another survey of that community and the local businesses which use produce and poultry must be conducted to determine which fruits, vegetables, herbs and grains are most widely consumed, popular and commercially valued in that community and area. Once done this must be compared to which crops among those will grow most effectively and profusely in that unique climate and environment. In so doing we must also consider new agricultural innovations such as vertical urban gardening, poultry cultivation through modern chicken coops such as those offered by “chicken cribs” (go to Backyardchickens.com) and free range techniques. The diversity of industry and innovative insight based in the Occupy Movement will prove particularly valuable as we seek contacts and assistance from conscious industry proponents, such as Jac Smit of the Urban Agriculture Network, Michael Shuman, author of “Community Food Enterprise,” who is currently a consultant at Cutting Edge Capital in Oakland, California, or Dickson Despommier of the Vertical Farm Project and those amongst movement activists with the same expertise, insight or skill set. Equally essential at this stage will be our brothers and sisters of Occupy the Hood in organizing movement activists, community organizers and residents into the divisions of labor necessary to initiate the commune. Following the collective ownership format, we go to the people soliciting contributions of $.50-$1 from community residents and movement activists over a 90-day to six-month period, while securing volunteers from across the community and local movement to work the farms on a rotating basis. If one cannot contribute money, they can contribute their labor or both if they like. Everyone who contributes something to that cycle will be given a commune membership card entitling them to 50 percent in produce and 50 percent in dividends. Therefore 50 percent of the seasonal yield will be set aside to feed the commune and 50 percent will be put on the market for sale. All produce sold to residents of that community will be discounted at our farmers’ markets, while chefs, restaurants and other businesses interested in our locally grown produce will receive it at the going rate. Sixty percent of all profits (minus overhead) from the SCA commune fund will be divided amongst commune members equally as dividends, while 40 percent will continue to incur interest in the fund as the $.50-$1 that community residents and local activists continue to contribute to the fund to expand our farms and branch out into poultry production and other husbandry. This will provide quality, organic and free range meats for our commune and potential customers in the same percentages and allotments previously discussed. We encourage the movement to reach out to conscious businesses like Greenaid, a L.A.-based guerilla gardening company that makes clay, compost and seed balls that can be tossed in derelict urban areas to make them green spaces, and Urbio, a San Francisco-based company that makes planters for vertical urban gardening, for donations to this effort of equipment and material. As the commune grows, the SCA fund can turn its attention to funding other sympathetic ventures, such as a mobile slaughterhouse and produce distribution trucks, all employing only people from the communes or that community’s local movement who are unemployed, broadening the scope of our farms and their positive impact on the underclass communities in which they are based. Our urban farms will provide a safe place of peace and prosperity for our people, our children and our youth to fellowship as they build a brighter future for themselves, their communities and this world, all from the power of their hands, heads and hearts. The SCA commune will serve to literally root the movement in the community while effecting positive change in the daily lives of the people. By providing these communities with healthy and nutritious food, creating a vital source of collective wealth, reclaiming and breathing life into what would be eyesores or an impetus for fascist tools of the ruling 1 percent – police, sheriffs etc. – to harass poor people in their own communities, we improve the quality of life for those of us most adversely affected by the current social order. Our urban farms will provide a safe place of peace and prosperity for our people, out children and our youth to fellowship as they build a brighter future for themselves, their communities and this world, all from the power of their hands, heads and hearts. In addition we open an entirely new industry with limitless economic potential in the center of the underclass communities of Amerika, and it’s owned, operated and patronized by those who are its residents, the 99 percent. This program corresponds to No. 2 of the 10 core demands of the national Occupy Movement. The Block-Vote Democratic Initiative In our last communique we definitively established that the ruling 1 percent had successfully hijacked the political process in Amerika. If any of you have been watching the partisan insanity playing out in Congress, the tripe being spouted by mental midgets like Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump, the ultra-right wing pandering of Mitt Romney or the fence straddling timidity and status-quo maintenance of the Obama administration, you should have no doubt we speak the unvarnished truth. We have also articulated the fact that the reason so few people vote in underclass communities is the socio-economic and race-based disparities that are responsible for the human misery in these communities are institutional and systemic to U.S. capitalist economics. No matter who they vote into office, their plight does not change. The problem is not the democratic process, which is as yet unfinished in Amerika. No, the flaw lies in the legalized corruption of politicians at the local, state and national level. The reason so few people vote in underclass communities is that no matter who they vote into office, their plight does not change. Similar to the conflict between federalists and republicans during the inception of the U.S. two-party system in the 1700s, once the people elect these pawns of the 1 percent, they feel the people should just sit down and shut up, while their ears turn only to the voices of lobbyists, special interests, and those who can improve their political careers and coffers. But it need not be this way if the incalculable power of the democratic will of the underclass can be awakened. Before the sleeping giant of underclass democratic power – the poor man and woman’s vote – can be strategically harnessed, there must be some assurance that their interests will be realized. This effort will provide that interest for all the 99 percent. What we propose in the Block-Vote Democratic Initiative (BVD Initiative) is to do just that by bypassing these corrupt politicians altogether by putting the policies we, the 99 percent, support on the ballots of local, state and national elections via petition with a simultaneous voter registration “block” comprised of Occupy Movement activists and entire underclass communities, so the shear number of affirmative votes passes the policy measures outright. What we propose is to have Occupy Movement activists – both Occupy the Hood and Occupy Wall Street – prepare informative pamphlets specifically targeted to their local underclass communities and districts containing our 10 core demands and issues of particular interest to that community which the vast majority of the people support. Once we’ve assessed the will of the people, ballot measures and signature petitions should be prepared based directly on those policies most widely supported, with voter registrations drives to register everyone in the community and movement who supports the policy. Each local policy initiative or position on a bill should be organized as a block capable of passing – or defeating – the initiative outright. On the state level, greater coordination between underclass communities will have to be organized through Occupy Movement activists, and again if possible our “block” should be so overwhelming as to pass the initiative outright. On the national level that will prove even more difficult as the concurrence on the specific policy will lose resonance in direct proportion to the site of the population we seek to serve. Nevertheless, we should still seek to pass these measures outright. To facilitate this, each measure’s vote should be preceded by at least two weeks of demonstrations corresponding in size to the measure’s social impact – i.e., local measures warrant local demonstrations, state measures should warrant a statewide wave of demonstrations, and national measures should see demonstrations from coast to coast. This will raise awareness and galvanize support in other segments of the social strata ensuring the measures pass. There are three possible measures reflective of our 10 core demands we are fairly certain would find overwhelming support in underclass communities across Amerika: 1) A total ban on all corporate and financial influences, including lobbyists and “strategic analysts,” from any aspect of the electoral process. Only individuals should be able to influence the polls with their votes and campaign contributions – see No. 7 of the 10 core demands of the national Occupy Movement. Only individuals should be able to influence the polls with their votes and campaign contributions. 2) Establishment of community based parole boards, with a panel from the community where the offender actually lived and would return, determining when an indeterminate term – such as 25 to life, three strikes etc. – has been sufficiently satisfied and he or she is ready to return home. This contrasts with the current panel of DAs, police and other law enforcement officials that make up parole boards today. Most prisoners hail from underclass communities and it is these communities who should decide when they are sufficiently rehabilitated to return. This corresponds to No. 6 of the 10 core demands of the national Occupy Movement. Most prisoners hail from underclass communities and it is these communities who should decide when they are sufficiently rehabilitated to return. 3) Establish universal health care for the poor. All individuals making under $25,000 a year and families making under $50,000 a year should be provided access to a comprehensive universal health care system. This corresponds to No. 2 of the 10 core demands of the national Occupy Movement. Establish universal health care for the poor. Such measures would pass overwhelmingly in the underclass communities of Amerika, serve to empower those most disenfranchised segments of society, and improve the quality of life for over 100 million people in the U.S., all because we, the 99 percent, via the BVD Initiative, removed corrupt politicians from the policy creation and implementation process. Any force opposing this undiluted expression of the will of the people would be by definition undemocratic. It is our sincerest hope that you all see the merits of what we propose here and act in accordance with it. In any conflict resolution scenario, the first step that should be made is a strategic analysis of yourself and those forces aligned against you to ascertain your relative strengths and weaknesses. The wise know such assessments, especially in socio-political conflicts, must be constantly studied and reassessed because they are in a state of constant change. If this is done correctly, we can calculate the prospects of victory or defeat. Conflict resolution and warfare are based on identical principles. Sun-Tzu, in his sage masterwork, “The Art of War,” stated, “If you know your enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the outcome of 100 battles.” If we analyze the actions and reactions of the tools of the ruling 1 percent, it’s clear they are pursuing a course of encirclement, isolation and marginalization against the national movement, hoping that their control of the mass media and a lack of broad-based organization in the movement will allow them the opportunity to erode support for it over time, isolate it from positive public opinion and ultimately destroy it. It is a posture and strategic approach that has worked for them in the past. This is possible only if we allow it. The ruling 1 percent are pursuing a course of encirclement, isolation and marginalization against the national movement, hoping that their control of the mass media and a lack of broad-based organization in the movement will allow them the opportunity to erode support for it over time, isolate it from positive public opinion and ultimately destroy it. The most prudent way to counter such an attempt is to place the movement in a position of invincibility, while simultaneously redefining the nature of the conflict itself. The movement is strong – we’ve shown that on every front, be it on the streets or behind these walls – yet it’s largely unanchored to the material interests of those we represent. A seed in the ground is easily uprooted, a tree with deep roots, however, is a monumental task to remove. Zhuge Liang, a famous general from ancient China’s “warring states era” (180-234 A.D.), in the chapter, “Discerning Bases,” in his essay, “The Way of the General,” said: “If you attack evils based on social trends, no one can rival you in dignity. If you settle victory based on the power of the people, no one can rival you in achievement. If you can accurately discern those bases of action and add dignity and faith to them, you can take on the most formidable opponent and prevail over the most valiant adversary.” Truly basing the movement in the people ensures no force on earth can prevail against it. It truly becomes invincible. Conclusion: You can transform the world For all of you reading these words, we want you to really understand what you are involved in and what’s at stake. You are on the cusp of making history, of quite literally changing the world. Right now you have it within your hands to transform the nature and structure of the most powerful nation on earth, and thus transform the world. You represent the ongoing struggle for democratic change in the U.S. A historical legacy reaching back hundreds of years is now in your hands. The means for victory are at our collective fingertips; you need only reach out and seize this opportunity. Will it be easy? Of course not. Nothing of value comes without cost or sacrifice. Power concedes nothing without demand. But what must be understood is that we, the people, the 99 percent, are the most powerful force in this world and our cause is just. Proceeding from this truth with strategic intent we cannot lose. We are on the right side of history. Our ideas are moral; our cause is just. We, the people, the 99 percent, are the most powerful force in this world and our cause is just. But understand we cannot assume this is self-evident, nor that it will be enough to win. We must promote and demonstrate the correctness of our view through social practice. Understand we will not win this conflict without public and political support, but people who may agree with us will still not join the movement unless it’s clear our cause is righteous and just. Yes, the corporate-political power structure is authoritarian, hypocritical and avaricious. Greed and corruption define the very fabric of U.S. institutions and power considerations. You are expressing the frustration and hostility the people already feel. But still this is not enough. There must be a qualitative transformation in that moral outrage. If we view morality from a historical perspective, it has evolved over time into a system of ethics societies use to create values that serve the public good. If these values cease to fit the vast majority of the people’s interests, the morality of society slowly shifts, evolving new values. The morality of corporate capitalism, where “Gordon Gekko” clones live, the ethos “Greed is good” does not fit the vast majority of the people’s interests; it never has. Yet now, that moral self-realization is inescapable. The highest form of strategy is to win without fighting. When time is not an option, we must rely on an approach just as good: to win first and fight second. This is what we are proposing here. If you succeed in waking the sleeping giant of socio-political and economic potential lying dormant in the underclass communities of Amerika in pursuit of this equalitarian democratic imperative, we will have already won. Should the 1 percent, or their tools, be fool enough to oppose the inevitable conclusion of such a social revolution, they will reap a fool’s reward. If you succeed in waking the sleeping giant of socio-political and economic potential lying dormant in the underclass communities of Amerika in pursuit of this equalitarian democratic imperative, we will have already won. U.S. Army Col. John Boyd, in his analysis of how to suppress guerrilla insurgencies or popular revolutions, stated the only effective countermeasure to our strategic approach: “Undermine the … cause and destroy their cohesion by demonstrating integrity and competence of government to represent and serve the needs of the people rather than exploit and impoverish them for the benefit of a greedy elite. (If you cannot realize such a political program, Boyd noted, you might consider changing sides now to avoid the rush later.) Take political initiative to root out and visibly punish corruption. Select new leaders with recognized competence as well as popular appeal. Ensure that they deliver justice, eliminate major grievances and connect the government with its grass roots.” In essence, to defeat us they would have to capitulate to our 10 core demands without struggle. Well, brothers and sisters, with the unholy alliance of corporate interests and political patronage that defines the modern political and economic power structure in the U.S., we need not fear such countermeasures anytime soon. It is our sincerest hope that you all find some value in our counsel and take up these ideas as your own. Our love, loyalty and solidarity to all those who love freedom, justice and equality and fear only failure. Until we win or don’t lose. |J. Heshima Denham| For more information on the NCTT Corcoran SHU or details on these programs, contact: Read these brothers’ previous stories: “Feeling death at our heels: An update from the frontlines of the struggle,” “California prison hunger strikers propose ‘10 core demands’ for the national Occupy Wall Street Movement,” “A brief hunger strike update from the front lines of the struggle: Corcoran-SHU 4B 1L C-section Isolation Unit” (second story in that post), “From the front lines of the struggle,” and “We dare to win: The reality and impact of SHU torture units.” This story was typed by Adrian McKinney. December 6, 2011 by Heshima Denham, Zaharibu Dorrough and Kambui Robinson “The Constitution, then, illustrates the complexity of this American system: that it serves the interests of a wealthy elite, but also does enough for small property owners, for middle-income mechanics and farmers to build a broad base of support. The slightly prosperous people who make up this base of support are buffers against the Blacks, the Natives, the very poor Whites. They enable the elite to keep control with a minimum of coercion, a maximum of law – all made palatable by this fanfare of patriotism and unity.” – Howard Zinn Greetings, Brothers and Sisters. A firm, warm and solid embrace of revolutionary love is extended to you all. These words by Brother Howard Zinn are particularly relevant to the survival of the evolving Occupy Wall Street Movement, as these truths have been integral to the success of populist organizing in the U.S. historically and are central to the proposal we’re putting forward here. Like the Arab Spring, which is still rocking the Middle East, and our own struggle to abolish indefinite confinement in sensory deprivation SHU torture units (see the five core demands from Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity), the Occupy Wall Street Movement expresses a fundamental rule of materialist dialectics as they apply to social development – i.e., the transformation of quantity into quality – expressed eloquently by the Honorable Comrade George Lester Jackson some 40 years ago: “(C)onsciousness is directly proportional to oppression.” “(C)onsciousness is directly proportional to oppression.” – Honorable Comrade George Lester Jackson The purpose of the NCTT primarily is to act as a clearinghouse for progressive and meaningful solutions to the ills of society from our unique and scientific perspective. As we have followed and supported the Occupy Wall Street Movement, discussing its great potential, analyzing its character, composition and socio-economic motive force, predicting the inevitable violent reactionary response of the fascist state in defense of its capitalist masters, the ruling 1 percent have never, nor will they ever, concede anything, surely not substantive changes, without struggle which requires unity of purpose, broad-based organization, fluid strategy and effective tactics. Populist and progressive movements in this nation have succeeded or failed, lived or died, based on how effectively they understood and adapted to this reality. We learned this in the epoch following the Civil War as reconstruction gains were effectively repealed and Jim Crow law was introduced. The Civil Rights Movement taught us the necessity of broad-based organization and accurate agreement of the opposition’s center of gravity: their point of weakness. Only a few years later we learned not to underestimate the power of the ruling 1 percent and insidiousness of its state tools when the Counter-Intelligence Program (Cointelpro) dismantled the Black Liberation Movement, imprisoned many of us, and ushered in the world of individualistic pursuits, greed, corruption, gross inequality and mass incarceration you all have now inherited. As we watched the National (International) Day of Action unfold and the days that have followed, witnessing the predictable brutal response of the tools of the 1 percent as they beat young men and women bloody, pepper sprayed and pummeled peaceful youth at UC Davis, destroyed the people’s property across the nation, and even peppersprayed and dragged away 68-year-old women and pregnant ladies alike, with great effort we detached from our rage and analyzed the comments, ideas, and responses of various political pundits, common people on the streets, agents of the state and our protestors themselves. Three things immediately became obvious from that analysis: 1) The mass media and far too many of the various pundits were in essence counting on the national Occupy movements to just peter out and fizzle away. It was this message that those who own these mass media outlets – the 1 percent – want to be disseminated as broadly as possible to undermine mass support for the movement. The mass media were counting on the national Occupy movements to just peter out and fizzle away. It was this message that those who own these mass media outlets – the 1 percent – want to be disseminated as broadly as possible to undermine mass support for the movement. 2) We, the 99 percent, have no intention of going anywhere until substantive change is realized, and though most in this nation not involved directly in the occupations themselves agree with our ideas in opposition to corporate greed and institutional inequality, there were no clearly articulated demands or objectives around which the movement could organize the broader masses. 3) This lack of clearly articulated demands/objectives and coherent strategic and tactical organization by the national Occupy Movement was undermining its intent, diluting its potential, and degrading its motive force. This state of affairs left unaddressed, as in most every similar movement in the U.S. historically, will lead to its isolation. This cannot be allowed. The first step in defeating an enemy as powerful, all-encompassing and organized as the ruling 1 percent is understanding the nature of struggle and the basis of their power. When you analyze opponents, you must see beyond the superficial for the origins of that power, the point of vulnerability upon which it is based. Striking this point of vulnerability will inflict disproportionate damage. It must be understood that substantive, radical, progressive social change is no different than warfare and warfare is a form of power. Power systems, no matter their myriad manifestations, share the same basic structures. The most visible thing about them is their appearance, what is seen and felt. Great power systems first try to ignore challenges to them, to dismiss them. When this fails, they opt to crush them. This is exactly what the Occupy Movement has experienced thus far. But all too often this outward display is a deceptive fabrication, a manifestation of insecurity, since power dares not expose its weaknesses. The key lies in determining what their point of vulnerability is, and to do so you must understand the structure of the power system and the culture in which it operates. I began this discussion with a concise analysis of just this point by Howard Zinn. The real point of vulnerability in American democracy is the social and political support of its citizens. Unfortunately, the key apparatus in influencing public opinion is the American mass media – yet, ironically, they are equally vulnerable to the power of the mass support of the people. The key factor thus far in failing to harness this mass support is the lack of broad-based, articulable demands/objectives around which the uncommitted people who may support our message but not our movement can be educated, organized and mobilized to join the movement and transform not only the nature and structure of U.S. society, but the WORLD. The key factor thus far in failing to harness the mass support of the people is the lack of broad-based, articulable demands/objectives around which the uncommitted people who may support our message but not our movement can be educated, organized and mobilized to join the movement and transform not only the nature and structure of U.S. society, but the WORLD. To that end the NCTT Corcoran SHU has made a comprehensive analysis of statements from participants of all the national Occupy movements and some of those abroad and compiled these ideas into 10 core Objectives of the Occupy Wall Street Movement national coalition. We call on you brothers and sisters to disseminate these 10 core objectives to all the Occupy movements across the nation and the world, and we call on all the Occupy movements to convene a national forum – which can take place online or at a national convention – to discuss the adoption of these 10 core Objectives as the definitive goals and organizing points around which the movement is based and the next level of our struggle is to be waged. These 10 core Objectives can be modified, augmented or amended to take into account the broadest cross-section of the 99 percent possible and the collective will of the movement: The 10 Core Objectives of the Occupy Wall Street Movement National Coalition 1. We want full employment with a living wage for all people who will work, and for employment to be enforced as the right which it is. The U.S. Declaration of Independence states in part “that all men … are endowed … with certain inalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” “Life” is thus a right guaranteed by this nation and the means to live – work, making a living wage for all of those who will and can work – must be equally guaranteed as the right which it is – as must a guaranteed income for those who can’t work. This is the responsibility of the federal government. If the corporate U.S. businessmen will not provide full employment even as they sit on trillions of dollars in cash reserves fleeced from the surplus value of labor, then the means of production should be taken from them and placed in the community so the 99 percent of the people can organize and employ all the people, ensuring a quality standard of life for all. 2. We want an end to institutional racism and race- and class-based disparities in access to, and quality of, labor, education, health care, criminal defense, political empowerment, technology and healthy food. We recognize institutional racism – the U.S. race caste system – and systemic class disparities in the U.S. capitalist structure as not simply an obstacle to equitable educational opportunities, labor access, wage equality, proportionate rates of chronic disease management, access to quality and preventable health care services, non-predatory community policing, equitable treatment of criminal offenders, access to the political process for all, access to communications technology, the internet and fresh, unprocessed foods but as structural features of U.S. market capitalism primarily designed to prevent broad class cooperation between the 99 percent from various racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We will no longer allow this divide and rule arrangement to govern the socio-economic relationships upon which the nature and structure of U.S. society is based. 3. We want decent and affordable housing for all people and for it to be enforced as the right which it is. We recognize that housing, like living wage employment, is a fundamental necessity of life and as such a right that we have invested this government with securing on our behalf. Instead, government has consistently sided with those on Wall Street, who are responsible for the single greatest loss of housing in the nation’s history, while federal, state and local officials have in essence criminalized homelessness and chronic poverty and made a practice of attacking, destroying the property of and displacing the homeless wherever they’ve tried to erect shelters in this locked, anti-poor society. Since it was corporate greed, government deregulation and financial speculators that led to the creation of exotic financial instruments like credit default swaps and sub-prime loan bundles which fleeced the 99 percent of much of their wealth and home equity, the government should mandate a “cost of living” readjustment to home equity debt on all U.S. homes so what the people owe actually reflects what these properties are now worth. This would eliminate “underwater” homeowners and bail out the 99 percent of the people for a change. Simultaneously, vacated and empty federal housing authority properties (FHA) should be made into cooperatives so that our communities, with government aid, can create and build decent housing for all. 4. We want affordable and equal access to higher education for all and access to education that teaches the true history of colonialism, chattel slavery, repression of organized labor, the use of police repression and imprisonment as tools of capitalist exploitation, and the perpetuation of imperialism in the development and maintenance of modern U.S. power systems and corporate financial markets. As current trends in the national unemployment rate indicate – for the 99 percent nationally, the rate is 14 percent for Latinos, 17 percent for New Afrikans (Blacks), yet only 4 percent for those with a college degree – higher education has a direct correlation to socio-economic opportunity and prosperity. Since equal opportunity is a fundamental right of U.S. citizenship, the 99 percent should have equal access to higher education without speculative corporate profiteering in industries related to higher education driving up tuition costs and student loan interest rates to usurious levels, leaving most in perpetual debt and simply pricing the very prospect of higher education out of reach for those in communities of color and the poor. 5. We want an immediate end to police brutality and the murder of oppressed people in the U.S., particularly in the New Afrikan (Black), Latino, immigrant and underclass communities and among those protesting in this nation. We recognize the police and other state paramilitary agencies – sheriffs, FBI, correctional guards etc. – are, and have always been, the enforcement army of the ruling 1 percent. This was again proven when these fascist forces moved nationally, en masse, to attack, pepper spray, beat, destroy the property of, arrest and attempt to crush the national Occupy Movement and its supporters at the two-month anniversary of the worldwide action and every day since. We recognize such brutal and unwarranted treatment is the daily existence of New Afrikan (Black), Latino, immigrant and underclass communities and people in this nation now, and historically, all to ensure the 1 percent “keeps us in our place,” the unfortunate victims of the race/class arrangement. We recognize the police and other state paramilitary agencies – sheriffs, FBI, correctional guards etc. – are, and have always been, the enforcement army of the ruling 1 percent. Self-defense is a human right and both the action and means are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and state laws (see the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and California Penal Code Section 50). We believe community organized oversight and self-defense forces should be organized to monitor and record all police interactions with the people and defend them against ruling class directed and racist attacks when necessity dictates. The hypocrisy of the government and media is exposed as they criticize Syria, China and Iran for attacking peaceful protestors while they do the same across the U.S. daily. We will suffer no more attacks like those at UC Davis, no more Scott Olsens, Fly Benzos or Oscar Grants to be injured or killed at the hands of the tools of the 1 percent. The hypocrisy of the government and media is exposed as they criticize Syria, China and Iran for attacking peaceful protestors while they do the same across the U.S. daily. We will suffer no more attacks like those at UC Davis, no more Scott Olsens, Fly Benzos or Oscar Grants to be injured or killed at the hands of the tools of the 1 percent. 6. We want an end to the expansion of the prison industrial complex, as a profit base – from our tax dollars – for the disposal of surplus labor and the poor. We want an end to the use of indefinite solitary confinement torture units in the U.S. as they are inhumane and illegal. The mass incarceration of people of color and the poor will no longer be tolerated as an acceptable alternative to enforcing socio-economic equality in America. The disproportionate distribution of wealth, privilege and opportunity in a society is the origin of all crime. The U.S. has one of the greatest disparities between haves and have nots on earth. As a result, the U.S. has the largest prison population on the planet with some 2.7 million of our citizens in prison, 67 percent of them New Afrikans (Black) or Latinos, though they constitute only 26 percent of the nation’s population. The prison population in the U.S. has exploded some 600 percent since 1981, with state and federal prison budgets in excess of hundreds of billions of our tax dollars a year lining the pockets of corporate interests that build, supply and maintain these prisons, jails, courts and staff, not to mention the labor aristocrats like the CCPOA (California Correctional Peace Officers Association) guards union, who’ve created a socio-economic and political power base that guarantees their job security and ever increasing salaries and benefits, while maintaining a lobbying stranglehold on state politicians. We recognize, in the face of such a corrupt cabal of government and business, the purpose of imprisonment in the U.S. now has little to do with public safety and rehabilitation and more to do with the development of a self-perpetuating, poverty-fueled, recession-proof industry and an accompanying socio-political accommodating labor aristocracy of prison guards, cops and staff as a support base for the interests of the ruling 1 percent. Prison is a socially hostile microcosm of society’s contradictions, possessing the same race/class and state/class contradictions that currently define the socio-economic inequality that is capitalist Amerika. Prisons serve as warehouses for surplus labor, the poor and those who have been forced to the bottom rung of society. It is the systemic race/class disparities, intentional criminalization and underdevelopment of poor communities and social apathy which have forced most offenders into the underground economy as the only viable option to survive. This is unacceptable and unsustainable, equally repugnant, fundamentally inhumane, and illegal as the continued gross violation of the U.N. Convention Against Torture – to which the U.S. is a signatory and we agree is the law of the land – which prohibits long-term solitary confinement for extracting information, political views or as punishment for any reason – which is the very purpose of SHU units – as torture, but it is being practiced in numerous U.S. prisons with government approval. The continued indefinite confinement of human beings in SHUs, SMUs and other supermax torture units must be abolished in the U.S., as they violate the basic tenets of human rights this nation has sworn to uphold. The basis of true rehabilitation, such as tech and computer-based vocational programs, access to higher education for prisoners and community-based parole boards must become the new order of the day. This is the only way to guarantee true justice in an unjust social arrangement and see our imprisoned citizens are capable of making a meaningful contribution to our society and prosperity. The disproportionate distribution of wealth, privilege and opportunity in a society is the origin of all crime. The U.S. has one of the greatest disparities between haves and have nots on earth. 7. We want an end to all corporate and financial influences in the political process in the U.S. We recognize, since its inception, the nature and structure of U.S. society has been one of the rich, for the rich and by the rich, in which the 99 percent have served as a source of exploited labor and a consumer market for the goods and services of those who own the means of production. This pattern of usurpations has evolved into a political process in which public policies and elected officials are more often than not determined by lobbying dollars, manipulation of public opinion by corporate-controlled mass media, and the overwhelming influence of financial markets and industries on policies and policymakers, effectively marginalizing the people, their interests and their will, reducing them to pawns in a game of corporate pandering. This will stop now. The U.S. will finally become a nation of the people, for the people and by the people, where only individual citizens may have any influence in the nature and structure of the democratic process in the U.S. This means banning all lobbyists, donors, financial market proxies, strategic advisers and special interest groups from local, state and federal electoral and legislative processes in the U.S. We are sick of this “legalized” corruption. 8. We want an end to imperialist wars of aggression and sending our youth off to kill and die to enforce the economic interests of big oil and other corporate concerns seeking new resources to exploit, new markets to open for sale of their goods and services and as an impetus to keep from addressing domestic ills. We recognize, as Bolton Hall said, “If there is a war, you will furnish the corpses and the taxes and others will get this glory. Speculators will make money out of it, that is, out of you (us).” Thousands of our young men and women died in Iraq and across the Middle East and caused the deaths, either intentionally or unintentionally, of many thousands more Third World people, all based on the lies of greedy and bloodthirsty politicians with multiple ties to big oil and corporate interests. The current administration has only slightly modified this same imperialist tendency by shifting it to a more palatable target at the cost of billions of our tax dollars and thousands of our youth that could have been contributing to the prosperity of the nation and its people. We support our young men and women, but we do not support imperialism. 9. We want a bottoms-up approach to economic development and labor-capital relations in the U.S. This nation is empowered by “we the people,” the 99 percent, to secure our rights to life, liberty, and prosperity; yet we recognize the state has aligned itself so intimately for so long with the exclusive interest of the ruling 1 percent that it has become enamored exclusively to a top-down approach to socio-economic and political solutions which always favors the rich first and everyone else when or if possible. This has resulted in a 281 percent increase in the growth of wealth in the top 1 percent of this nation, while the bottom 90 percent have seen their incomes flat over the past 20 years. We recognize that this fascist alliance between corporate capital and government has become obstructive to the ends of securing the rights of life and prosperity to the 99 percent of this nation’s people and will now come to an end. Socio-economic and political policy must now uplift the quality of life from the bottom rung up – empowering the disenfranchised, providing opportunities for those with no options and directing bailouts and subsidies to the people, not banks and billionaires. We recognize the state has thus far been a tool to guarantee the dominance of one class over others, of the 1 percent over the 99 percent, and that arrangement will now come to an end. Socio-economic and political policy must now uplift the quality of life from the bottom rung up – empowering the disenfranchised, providing opportunities for those with no options and directing bailouts and subsidies to the people, not banks and billionaires. 10. We want a more equitable distribution of wealth, justice and opportunity at every level of society, reflecting the objective reality that it’s the socio-economic, political, intellectual and cultural contributions of the 99 percent upon which this society stands. We recognize that there is enough food in this nation that no one need be hungry, enough unoccupied structures in this nation that no one need be homeless, enough educators, institutions, knowledge and technology in this nation that no one need be without a degree or skilled trade, enough work to be done that no one needs to be without a job; and it is only due to the insistence of an entrenched, super-rich 1 percent and their stranglehold on every institution and apparatus of this nation’s infrastructure from the government to the mass media that their opulence and privilege be maintained at the expense of the 99 percent. We recognize that this is not our national reality, the ruling class has mismanaged our society – woefully and criminally mismanaged – and those in power at every level are either unable or unwilling to change the nature and structure of capitalist society. So it falls to us, the 99 percent, to forge a new basis upon which socio-economic relationships will be based, ushering in a new social order in Amerika and around the world, that serves the interests of all the people and not simply the privileged few. It is our request that all of you please send a copy of this proposal to each individual Occupy Movement coalition, which includes but is not limited to Occupy Wall Street (New York City), Occupy Oakland, Occupy NOLA (New Orleans), Occupy San Francisco, Occupy Boston, Occupy L.A. (Los Angeles), Occupy Seattle, Occupy UC Davis, Occupy Phoenix, Occupy Fresno, Occupy Cleveland, Occupy Chicago et al. Post a copy of this proposal online at as many sites for the Occupy movement as possible. Post it on Facebook, blog sites and wherever social commentary is held. In addition, we call on each individual Occupy Movement to begin organizing in and with the underclass communities in your city or town and for all my brothers and sisters in the ghettos, projects, barrios and trailer parks across this nation to begin organizing with Occupy Movement coalition reps around collective programs that can serve to begin realizing these 10 core Objectives by our unity and contributions alone. The NCTT, both here in Corcoran SHU and Pelican Bay SHU are committed to making meaningful contributions to the development of such community action programs, which we will outline in our next communication. We call on each individual Occupy Movement to begin organizing in and with the underclass communities in your city or town and for all my brothers and sisters in the ghettos, projects, barrios and trailer parks across this nation to begin organizing with Occupy Movement coalition reps around collective programs that can serve to begin realizing these 10 core objectives by our unity and contributions alone. But what must be understood is social movements of this nature are supported only to the degree that their ideas find resonance in the psychological structures of the masses, but even this is not enough. To ensure the realization of any substantive change in the nature and structure of U.S. capitalist society and to prevent this movement from being isolated and neutralized by the forces of repression, it must be firmly embedded in as broad a cross-section of this population as possible. There are some 47 million people in Amerika living below the poverty line, another 150 million or so barely getting by – two thirds of this nation’s population, all of them part of the 99 percent. It is here that we will find our most lasting support, and thus it is here that you must begin forging meaningful ties. These are overwhelmingly New Afrikan (Black), Latino, immigrant and poor communities. You champion us all with your ideas and the courage of your convictions, just as we continue to support you with our sacrifices and insight. It is now time to take the movement to its next evolution and ultimately to its inevitable conclusion: victorious revolutionary change. Your greatest power lies in your unity and cooperation and ultimately your organizational ability. The power of the people far surpasses all the repressive violence of the Babylons attacking you/us or the wealth of the 1 percent, who will stop at nothing to silence us all. The power of the people far surpasses all the repressive violence of the Babylons attacking you/us or the wealth of the 1 percent, who will stop at nothing to silence us all. This is a protracted struggle; there will be no 90-day revolution here. Victory will require sacrifice, tenacity and competent strategic insight. The question you must ask is, Are you prepared to do what is necessary to win this struggle? If you answer in the affirmative, commit to victory and accept no other alternative. The people, as we are, are with you. Until we win or don’t lose, our love and solidarity to all those who love freedom and fear only failures. Send our brothers some love and light: Zaharibu Dorrough, D-83611, CSP-COR-SHU 4B1L-53, P.O. Box 3481, Corcoran, CA 93212; J. Heshima Denham, J-38283, CSP-COR-SHU 4B1L-46, P.O. Box 3481, Corcoran, CA 93212; and Kambui Robinson, C-83820, CSP-COR-SHU 4B1L-49, P.O. Box 3481, Corcoran, CA 93212. And read their previous stories: “A brief hunger strike update from the front lines of the struggle: Corcoran-SHU 4B 1L C-section Isolation Unit” (second story in that post), “From the front lines of the struggle,”and “We dare to win: The reality and impact of SHU torture units.” This story was typed by Adrian McKinney.

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Somewhat puzzled he looked at Zhou Yu, who also shrugged and didn t know what was going on.But how to do foreplay before sex this is also a good thing.Now that the negative emotions have receded, Liu Changye can also consider other ways.But when he turned his head, Zhang Feng suddenly stood in front of Liu Changye with a blank expression.And the most surprising thing is that Zhang Feng, who was originally only half length red, was all dyed red with blood at this time, and his body gnc male enhancement pill was also filled with some lines, but there were not as many as Zhou anything sex Yu. 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Because the distance was not too far, the two of them stopped under the unfinished building before long.It ways to enlarge your manhood naturally s more or less in the city center.But just like the abandoned colleges in the suburbs, there is no light coming in from around.If Qin Ming hadn t turned on the headlights of the car, he probably couldn t even find the door.Liu Changye also felt a little uncomfortable, and opened the ghost eye in his right eye.I felt better by looking at the surrounding scenes like the daytime scene in an instant. Liu Changye nodded and explained penis girth images after listening You can try it first, maybe the solution lies on you. Chapter 142 Controls the Singularity Zhou Yu Zhou Yu glanced at Liu Changye strangely, not knowing what he meant, but he closed his eyes to communicate enlarging penis exercises the singularity he controlled.Although Zhou Yu relied on the singularity to advance to the amazon best sellers sex toys red, to be order diflucan online cheap honest, she has little control over the singularity.The only use is virility pills side effects to There was yin and yang in his body.The skin he felt was similar to that of a living person, but it was very stiff.Although thinking about Su Wan and their origins, Liu Changye did not forget that the mirror outside would not last long, so Testosterone Pills For Erectile Dysfunction Liu Changye looked at the people in front of him shortly and said, Take me to your principal, faster. These people who were caught in front of Liu Changye were stunned when they heard big penis problems Liu Changye s words, and then they spoke overjoyed The principal is in that building. Looking at the two ghosts who were about to rush over again, Liu Changye cried out helplessly Li Qiu, Xiaotian, can you two recognize them As soon as the voice fell, Li Qiu s figure appeared in front of Liu Changye.After waved away the Top Male Enhancement Reviews Testosterone Pills For Erectile Dysfunction two red clothes and looked photos of big penises up and down Liu Changye, he was a little surprised and timing tablets said, Are you still alive Liu Changye sighed out of breath, and looked at Li Qiu with a sigh of relief.You re still not a brother.Yesterday you asked you to go over to help with way to enlarge penis thunder, but you ran halfway through Li Qiu was overjoyed by Liu Changye, and then pointed at Liu Changye penis medication s back and said, Then what should I do, that s your house, and your mistress has let me go. 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Testosterone Pills For Erectile Dysfunction having experienced so many people for three years, which adds up to Testosterone Pills For Erectile Dysfunction more or less.It must have been foreplay ideas for him dozens or hundreds of years, how can these things be incomprehensible.While Cai Han was still feeling the world is going down, the faceless man tied his middle finger to the latter and followed upstairs.What Cai Han said is wrong, what happened to Liu Changye Liu Changye is very good to him, otherwise it ways to turn her on sexually will take how long the faceless people want to be promoted to the red shirt. The first one in this wave is purple, and there must be the best in the back volume pills natural health source But the imagination is destined to be beautiful, and the all white color at the back made Liu Changye s hands tremble a little.It s okay, it s okay.There are two more, and two more.After a wave of comfort in his heart, Liu Changye clicked the button for ten consecutive draws again.When he saw that the white face was all green again, Liu Changye s face was almost green With some hesitation, Liu Changye gritted his teeth and went down.

Art photography by Kira workshop in Mackay, Queensland Lovely girls from Creative Shots Photo Club in Mackay created a lovely flyer for the upcoming workshop. If you are in that area of the time of the workshop it is really worth checking it out. There are going to be 2 days, fully devoted to photography, posing, directing and practice, practice, practice on real women with curves, attitude, complicated characters and having no idea how to pose. Don’t miss it! Would love to see you there. I find it is the best outcome for students when we invite “real people” for a workshop instead of models so the students can learn how to pose real people (who have no idea, who needs a bit or, sometimes, a lot of help) instead of just simply watching a beautiful model in front of them who perfectly knows how to move already, where the light is and what to do. This happens a lot at workshops – that is my observation only. What are students left to do? What they are really doing is – fighting with each other over the best spot to take the photo that was already orchestrated for them by the tutor, his idea and the perfect model that the tutor hired – so they can get a shot for their portfolio. They don’t try to analyse why and how the image works and “what if”– they don’t have time. They need to grab a shot while they can and I can perfectly understand it – who wouldn’t want to take a shot of a beautiful, elegant girl in a perfect gown that actually suits her, standing in a gorgeous light with a veil blowing? The tutor is not a fool. He/she would pick a right girl, in a right gown and take her to a perfect location at the right time of day. Who wouldn’t want to take that shot and even fight for it? I would. But then… students go home with “portfolio of gorgeous images” (probably sincerely thinking that that was 100% their “creations”), they post those images on their website and facebook to attract clients and get bookings…..and clients book, assuming that what they see is what they get….so our ex-students start dealing with real people and those poor real people can’t understand why their photographer doesn’t deliver the same quality of beautiful images they show online and so it goes… Of course it is not always that black and white…But I hope it explains a bit why I am so passionate about teaching students to shoot real people, how important I think our role as teachers It’s going to be fun! Hope to see you there. Kira Some “Before and Afters” Here are some of testimonials from people who attended my workshops: “I feel so lucky that I was able to spend two amazing days learning how you create “magic” photos. It was like no other course I have ever done, you have such attention to detail and the most wonderful ability to express so much emotion thro…ugh all of your photos. I have never come across another photographer who can capture moments quite like you can. I still cant believe that you are open and willing to share all your photography secrets to the rest of us. The lessons that you teach in your courses are exactly what every photographer needs to know. You so kindly shared priceless information and helped me with all the areas of photography that I needed guidance. I am forever grateful for giving me the opportunity to learn from you and for the kindest hospitality you offered me. Thanks again Kira I cant wait to do it all again one day hopefully soon. All my love…Laura xoxo” “I just wanted to say thank you so much Kira for sharing your amazing knowledge and passion with us at your workshop. I can’t tell you how much you inspire me make me want to strive to be a better photographer. I feel so empowered after your workshop. I feel I have I walked away from my days with you knowing how to work with ‘real people’. There was nothing contrived or ‘set up’ about your workshop, and I know that I now have the confidence I need to pose, light, communicate (and have fun with) with my own ‘real’ clients. This was such an amazing learning experience for someone new (or even someone not so new) to photography. You have an such a fabulous way of conveying the way you ‘see’ and create an image, and were able to have us leave your workshop with just a little bit of your magic. Again, Kira, thank you, thank you, so much.” “Thank you so much for devoting not only your time, but boundless energy and passion with us at … Workshop. You are unique, and you shared many tips about the ‘reality’ of guiding a bride to pose in a complimentary way. Of going beyond the obvious… What works, what does not work and why. Maybe its the woman in you, or just simply the Kira Factor! I love your character and your style, which is so reflective in your creations – you are inspirational and its encourages me too, to be me, who I am and continue on my path of developing my own style. Not just photographically but also how I like to engage myself within the whole experience. You are a gem Kira, and I feel so happy to have had the chance to meet you and your lovely husband David… He is a gem too! :)” “After attending a 2 day Intimate workshop with Kira I can honestly say that it was worth every dollar spent to attend. I went to the workshop with ideas of what I hoped to learn but my experience far exceeded my expectations. Kira is a brilliant teacher with a unique perspective and eye for detail matched by no other! The teaching is easy to understand and full of hands on experience which is great if you want more than just theory. Due to the intimate nature of the workshop the material covered will largely be directed by what you need to learn unlike larger workshops that are tailored to suit a variety of needs and skill levels. After the time I spent with Kira, I was armed with an invaluable amount of information and a new found sense of confidence to take my photography to new previously unimagined levels. The hospitality during my stay was sublime and I enjoyed every minute of my stay! I highly recommend this workshop to any photographer who may be considering attending. I guarantee, once you meet Kira you can’t help but love her and enjoy your time spent learning with her!” Wow! Amazing! And that is just the start of my experience with Kira. Having just spent 3 days with Kira, two days of workshops followed up with one day experiencing the other side of the camera I can honestly say that I left with a head full of new information. Kira certainly knows what her lens can do, how to work the light that is available and how to interact with her clients to get the very best out of them. Having done a number of workshops over the past few years, this experience really showed me what the difference a ‘master’of their trade can do and Kira is a master at her trade! This was again confirmed on the last day, when my companion at the workshop also had her photo taken, I will never forget the magic I saw when Kira instructed her to just move her head slightly and up a bit – she was transformed instantly – 20 years younger on the spot! My eyes have been opened and my passion for photography once again ignited. David and Kira where kind enough to invite us into their home and made us feel like part of the family instantly. Many many thanks, you guys are the best! Read more about workshops here: Workshops with Kira

Luke – Wide Open Doors! That’s our Jesus. When we put all our faith, hope and trust in Jesus, life changes. Life is restored. Life takes on new meaning. A relationship with Him transforms who we are to who He wants us to be. It doesn’t matter who you are, how rich or poor, or if you are a leader or an outcast of society. Jesus, Son of God has the power to give life. Luke 8, New Living Translation Jesus Heals in Response to Faith 40 On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. 42 His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. 43 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. 44 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” 49 While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” 50 But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.” 51 When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. 52 The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” 53 But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. 54 Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” 55 And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened. THINK ABOUT IT… When Jesus returned to Capernaum, the people welcomed Him, particularly a man and a woman who each had heavy burdens to share with Jesus. The contrast here is interesting, for it shows the variety of people who came to Jesus for help. The man’s name is given (Jairus), but the woman is anonymous. Jairus was a wealthy leading citizen, but the woman was a lowly person who had spent all her money trying to get well. Here was a man interceding for his child and a woman hoping to get help for herself, and both came to the feet of Jesus. The common denominator? Falling humbly at the feet of Jesus with faith knowing He can do what others cannot. How long has it been since we stopped worrying and just fell humbly at the feet of our Lord and Savior in pure faith, without question? On our knees by our bedside or couch can turn any place in our homes into a altar of submissive prayer with faith knowing Jesus will respond. Like the woman we, too, can come in faith, reach out to touch the hem of the King’s robe spiritually and expect a change in our relationship with Him. Jarius, who led a synagogue, but unlike other leaders who gave Jesus trouble, chooses to desperately seek out the Healer for help. His faith was tested but Jesus looked him in the eye and said, “Don’t be afraid, just have faith.” We, too, can seek out help for whatever is bothering us or holding us back from life. It doesn’t matter what position in life we hold, it matters what position we are in when we ask for help…on our knees. Are you afraid? Is your faith being tested? There is hope. There will always be hope if faith is the common denominator in our lives. Jesus gives life where there is only death. Our faith helps us to rely on His timing, His way, His purpose and plan. His touch changes hearts forever. Our faith in Jesus brings life eternal for our souls. When physical healing doesn’t come in this life, by faith we know that complete healing will be done in heaven forever with Jesus. Yes, Thy will be done, not ours. Faith in Jesus is the common denominator. Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for consistently building our faith with Your stories of truth from Your Word. You are God and we are not. There is no one like you. There is no one I can completely trust on earth, on this journey, but you. Yes, I believe. My faith is in you alone for all of life here and then forever with you. Thank you for allowing us to come to you with everything that is on our hearts each day. Thank you for desiring a relationship with your created. Thank you for loving me. I love you with all my heart, mind and soul. Help me to love others like you love me. In Jesus Name, Amen

Heritage: Rainham church door with a story to tell - Credit: Archant Prof Ged Martin looks at a Rainham door that dates from the time of the Peasants’ Revolt When Rainham's Norman parish church, St Helen and St Giles, was built around 1170, a small doorway was inserted in the south wall of the chancel. This gave the priest direct access to the altar. You'd hardly give the narrow timber door a second glance. Its four vertical oak planks are about seven feet tall, roughly hewn and weather beaten. But in 2009, scientists found that they had an interesting story to tell. Dendrochronology is the science of dating timber. The term is derived from the Greek words for tree, time and measurement. As a tree grows, each new layer of bark forms an annual tree ring. In warm wet seasons, trees grow faster than in cold, dry summers. By comparing the rings from felled trees, it's possible to compile growth patterns over hundreds of years. These are then used to date individual samples. - 1 Shop worker racially abused in Brentwood Tesco - 2 TfL confirms plan to 'strengthen' Gallows Corner flyover 'for many generations to come' - 3 Man charged with murder of 'loving father' from Romford - 4 Property spotlight: The origins of Havering’s planned garden city - 5 Man dies after Romford car park incident - 6 Family pays tribute to 'genuine soul' fatally stabbed on birthday weekend - 7 Stakeholders' silence over Romford's The Liberty sale reports - 8 Cranham woman ‘near to tears’ after 7.5-hour wait with painful tooth infection - 9 Estate agency opens first Havering branch in Hornchurch - 10 'No one ever consulted me': Rejected microbrewery owner raises questions after application knocked back Miniature cores were drilled through the planks. The gaps were blocked with stained oak pellets. Dendrochronology is impressive, but it can't be an exact science. It's easier to date whole logs than sawn timber, because nobody can know how much has been shaved off the planks to square them. Legend claimed that the famous timber church at Greensted near Ongar had been erected by the Saxons in 1013 AD. But tests showed that the logs were felled fifty years later, around 1063. Allow a few years for the timber to season, and it now seems that Greensted church was erected by the Normans, soon after 1066, using local carpenters who built in the only style they knew. The Rainham planks came from trees felled after 1379. But how long after? Skilled carpenters would have trimmed away the soft outside layers, called sapwood, from the tree trunk, leaving the hard innards to be cut into planking. Scientists reckoned that they should add somewhere between eight and 24 years to guess a felling date. This gave a range from 1387 to 1403, when Richard II and Henry IV were on the throne. There aren't many local clues from so long ago. The timber roof inside the chancel of Rainham's church has fifteenth century workmanship. Its sturdy vertical supports called king posts seem to float down from the ceiling. Were the two jobs done together? Unfortunately, we don't have a precise date for the roof. More important, it was obviously built by experts. The door looks like rough planking just knocked together. There's another intriguing possibility. In 1381, Essex people rebelled against an unfair Poll Tax. Sent to Brentwood to restore order, leading official Sir John Gildesborough narrowly escaped with his life. Gildesborough owned a mansion at nearby Wennington. His property was targeted during the Peasants' Revolt. A rebel rabble probably marched down from Brentwood. Perhaps they wrecked Rainham church on the way? All we know is that the chancel doorway was built around 1170, but the door itself had to be replaced 200 years later. But there was one more surprise. Obtaining oak planks would be easy, wouldn't it? A few miles to the north of Rainham, the higher ground was thickly wooded. In some places, it still is. Records show that medieval kings often allowed churchmen and other loyal supporters to cut oak trees from the royal park at Havering-atte-Bower palace. However, scientists found that the timber in the Rainham door came from the Baltic. Nobody expected that. Small ships sailed from Rainham as far as Calais in the later 15th century. There was a boat builder working on Rainham Creek in 1533. Evidently, Rainham's overseas trade was older (and wider) than anybody had guessed. We think of globalisation as a modern phenomenon. It's a shock to learn that, 600 years ago, it was easier - and maybe cheaper - to source quality oak timber by ship from Sweden or Finland than to drag it from Warley woods or Epping Forest a few miles away.

Eight Men Out |Eight Men Out| Theatrical release poster |Directed by||John Sayles| |Produced by||Sarah Pillsbury| |Written by||John Sayles| |Music by||Mason Daring| |Editing by||John Tintori| |Distributed by||Orion Pictures Corporation| |Release date(s)||September 2, 1988| |Running time||119 minutes| |Box office||$5,680,515 (US)| The film is a dramatization of Major League Baseball's Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series. Much of the movie was filmed at the old Bush Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 1919 Chicago White Sox are considered the greatest team in baseball and, in fact, one of the greatest ever assembled to that point. However, the team's owner, Charles Comiskey, is a skinflint with little inclination to reward his players for a spectacular season. When a gamblers gets wind of the players' discontent, it offers a select group of Sox — including star pitcher Eddie Cicotte — more money to play badly than they would have earned by winning the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. A number of players, including Chick Gandil, Swede Risberg, and Lefty Williams, go along with the scheme. The team's greatest star, Shoeless Joe Jackson, is depicted as being not very bright and not entirely sure what is going on. Buck Weaver, meanwhile, is included with the seven others but insists that he wants nothing to do with the fix. When the best-of-nine series begins, Cicotte deliberately pitches poorly to lose the first game. Williams does likewise in Game 2, while Gandil and Hap Felsch make glaring mistakes on the field. Several of the players become upset, however, when the various gamblers involved fail to pay their promised money up front. Chicago journalists Ring Lardner and Hugh Fullerton grow increasingly suspicious. Meanwhile, the team's manager, Kid Gleason, continues to hear rumors of a fix, but he remains confident that his boys will come through in the end. A third pitcher not in on the scam, Dickey Kerr, wins Game 3 for the Sox, making both gamblers and teammates uncomfortable. Other teammates such as Ray Schalk continue to play hard, while Weaver and Jackson show no visible signs of taking a dive. Cicotte, who won 29 games during the season, loses again in Game 4. With the championship now in jeopardy, Gleason intends to bench him from his next start, but Cicotte begs for another chance. The manager reluctantly agrees and is rewarded with a victory in Game 7. Unpaid by the gamblers, Williams also intends to do his best, but when his wife's life is threatened, he purposely pitches badly to lose the final game. Cincinnati wins the World Series (5 games to 3) to the shock of Sox fans. Even worse, sportswriter Fullerton exposes the strong possibility that this series was not on the level. His findings cause Comiskey and the other owners to appoint a new commissioner of baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and give him complete authority over the sport. Eight players are indicted and brought to trial. Cicotte, Williams, and Jackson even sign confessions. But in court, while Weaver maintains his innocence, the confessions are mysteriously found to be stolen, and the popular Chicago players are found not guilty. While they celebrate, however, Judge Landis bans all eight from professional baseball for life, citing their failure to reveal being approached by gambling interests in the first place. Weaver is among those exiled from the game. The final scene shows him in the bleachers of a New Jersey minor league ballpark, watching Jackson play under an assumed name. - Patrick Grant as Irish Tenor ||This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2013)| In a 2013 interview, Sayles told MLB Network's Bob Costas, "People said, 'Oh, you’ll never get this made. There’s a curse on it. People have been trying to make it for years.'" Talking about his thoughts for the cast when he first wrote the script, Sayles said "my original dream team had Martin Sheen at third base, and I ended up with Charlie in center field." Former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo served as the personal coach for John Cusack, who played Buck Weaver. Santo taught Cusack the basic footwork and moves of the position. In addition, former Chicago White Sox outfielder Ken Berry served as a baseball coach for the cast. In preparing for the role of Shoeless Joe Jackson, D. B. Sweeney, a former Tulane University outfielder, spent a season training with the Class-A Kenosha Twins of the Midwest League. A natural right-handed hitter, Sweeney learned to bat left in the six months prior to filming. Several people involved in this film would go on to be involved with Ken Burns' 1994 film miniseries Baseball. Cusack, Lloyd, and Sweeney did several voice-overs, reading recorded reminiscences of various personalities connected with the game. Sayles and Terkel were interviewed on the subject of the 1919 World Series. Sayles also contributed to the section on Roberto Clemente, and Terkel, a historian and a former labor leader, spoke about the movement toward labor freedom in baseball. Terkel also "reprised his role" by reading Hugh Fullerton's columns during the section on the Black Sox. During the late summer and early fall of 1987, news media in Indianapolis were buzzing with sightings of the film's actors including Sheen and Cusack. Sayles told the Chicago Tribune that he hired them not because they were rising stars, but because of their ball-playing talent. Sweeney remarked on the chilly Indiana temperatures in an interview with Elle magazine. "It got down to 30, 40 degrees, but John [Sayles] would stand there in running shorts, tank tops, sneakers -- sometimes without socks -- and never look cold." The young actor said Sayles appeared to be focused on an "agenda, and that's all he cared about. Looking at him we thought, 'Well, if he's not cold, then we certainly shouldn't be.'" Reports from the set location at Bush Stadium indicated that cast members were letting off steam between scenes. "Actors kidded around, rubbing dirt on each other", the Tribune reported. "... Actors trade jokes, smokes and candy" in the dugout. "'Some of them chewed tobacco at first, but,' noted Bill Irwin, 'Even the guys who were really into it started to chew apricots after a while.'" Sheen made his reasons for taking the role clear. "I'm not in this for cash or my career or my performance", Sheen told the Tribune. "I wanted to take part in this film because I love baseball." The actors' baseball coach Berry told the paper that Sheen's baseball skills were exceptional. Berry said Sheen made a diving back-handed catch in the movie that rivaled the famous catch by Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series. When cloud cover would suddenly change the light during the shooting of a particular baseball scene, Sayles showed "inspirational decisiveness", according to Elle, by changing the scripted game they would be shooting — switching from Game Two of the series to Game Four, for example. "The second assistant director knew nothing about baseball", Sayles told Elle, "and she had to keep track of who was on base. Suddenly we'd change from Game Two to Game Four, and she'd have to shuffle through her papers to learn who was on second, then track the right guys down all over the ballpark." Right-handed Sweeney told Elle that producers considered using an old Hollywood trick to create the illusion that he was hitting lefty. "We could have done it from the right side, then run to third and switched the negative, like they did in The Pride of the Yankees, but we didn't really have enough money for that", Sweeney said. There was a visit to the set by the son of one of the movie's characters. Ring Lardner, Jr., Oscar-winning screenwriter of such films as Woman of the Year and M*A*S*H, came to Bush Stadium to see what the buzz was all about. Lardner's article in American Film magazine reported that Sayles' script depicted much of the story accurately, based on what he knew from his father. But the audience, Lardner wrote, "won't have the satisfaction of knowing exactly why everything worked out the way it did." Lardner also seemed to get a kick out of the production crew's daily headache of trying to make "a few hundred extras look like a World Series crowd of thousands." Tactics to entice Indianapolis residents to come to the stadium to act as film extras were "a flop", Lardner wrote. "The producers offer free entertainment, Bingo with cash prizes, and as much of a stipend ($20 a day) as the budget permits..." Critical reception When the film was first released, the film industry staff at Variety magazine wrote "Perhaps the saddest chapter in the annals of professional American sports is recounted in absorbing fashion in Eight Men Out...The most compelling figures here are pitcher Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn), a man nearing the end of his career who feels the twin needs to ensure a financial future for his family and take revenge on his boss, and Buck Weaver (John Cusack), an innocent enthusiast who took no cash for the fix but, like the others, was forever banned from baseball." Film critic Roger Ebert was underwhelmed, writing, "Eight Men Out is an oddly unfocused movie made of earth tones, sidelong glances and el[l]iptic conversations. It tells the story of how the stars of the 1919 Chicago White Sox team took payoffs from gamblers to throw the World Series, but if you are not already familiar with that story you're unlikely to understand it after seeing this film." Ebert's television colleague Gene Siskel said, "Eight Men Out is fascinating if you are a baseball nut ... the portrayal of the recruiting of the ball players and the tight fisted rule of Comiskey is fascinating ... thumbs up." Critic Janet Maslin spoke well of the actors, writing, "Notable in the large and excellent cast of Eight Men Out are D. B. Sweeney, who gives Shoeless Joe Jackson the slow, voluptuous Southern naivete of the young Elvis; Michael Lerner, who plays the formidable gangster Arnold Rothstein with the quietest aplomb; Gordon Clapp as the team's firecracker of a catcher; John Mahoney as the worried manager who senses much more about his players' plans than he would like to, and Michael Rooker as the quintessential bad apple. Charlie Sheen is also good as the team's most suggestible player, the good-natured fellow who isn't sure whether it's worse to be corrupt or be a fool. The story's delightfully colorful villains are played by Christopher Lloyd and Richard Edson (as the halfway-comic duo who make the first assault on the players), Michael Mantell as the chief gangster's extremely undependable right-hand man, and Kevin Tighe as the Bostonian smoothie who coolly declares: 'You know what you feed a dray horse in the morning if you want a day's work out of him? Just enough so he knows he's hungry.' For Mr. Sayles, whose idealism has never been more affecting or apparent than it is in this story of boyish enthusiam gone bad in an all too grown-up world, Eight Men Out represents a home run." - Gerry Molyneaux, "John Sayles, Renaissance Books, 2000 p 179 - Costas, Bob (February 4, 2013). "Sayles, Cusack on 'Eight Men Out'". Costas at the Movies. MLB Network. Retrieved May 6, 2013. - Lida, David. Chicago Tribune, December 14, 1987. Last accessed May 13, 2009. - Salzberg, Charles. Elle magazine, feature article "Sayles Pitch" September 1988, page 80. Last accessed: May 15, 2009. - Lida, David.Chicago Tribune, December 14, 1987. Last accessed May 13, 2009. - Salzberg, Charles. Elle magazine, feature article "Sayles Pitch" September 1988, page 84. Last accessed: May 15, 2009. - Lardner, Ring, Jr. American Film magazine, feature article "Foul Ball", July/August 1988, page 47. Last accessed May 15, 2009. - Lardner, Ring, Jr. American Film magazine, feature article "Foul Ball", July/August 1988, page 45. Last accessed May 15, 2009. - Lardner, Ring, Jr. American Film magazine, feature article "Foul Ball", July/August 1988, pages 45, 49. Last accessed May 15, 2009. - Variety. Film review, 1988. Last accessed: February 28, 1988. - Ebert, Roger. Chicago Sun-Times, film review, September 2, 1988. Last accessed: February 28, 2008. - Siskel on At The Movies, broadcast September 3, 1988 - Maslin, Janet. The New York Times, film review, September 2, 1988. Last accessed: February 28, 2008. - Eight Men Out at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: October 21, 2010. |Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Eight Men Out| - Eight Men Out at the Internet Movie Database - Eight Men Out at Rotten Tomatoes - Eight Men Out at Box Office Mojo - Eight Men Out original trailer at Dailymotion

As one grows through the difficult experiences of puberty, enjoying the liberty of education, exploring the joys of womanhood, it is nauseating to know that someone will never feel the thrill of dancing in the first shower of rain, never breathe the air of freedom, will never be the person she could have been, without any fault of hers but only because she was a girl, a woman in the making. Once in our lives, most of us must have heard that a child is a ‘gift’ from God. Though whatever biology may suggest, it is not an uncommon sight in India to see couples praying to be blessed with a child. But almost half of India, no longer considers it a blessing if that child happens to be a girl. The blessing soon becomes a curse and the ‘precious gift’ is done away with as soon as possible before extending another demand to God, that of a ‘male’ child. The doing away often includes either being ‘given’ in marriage to another toddler (or in some cases, to men twice or even thrice their age) or worse, slaying her even before she can take one free breath. Of late, technology seems to have facilitated this diabolical slaughter even before the birth of the child in the form of female foeticide. The United Nations says an estimated 2,000 unborn girls are illegally aborted every day in India. Female foeticide is a practice that involves pre-natal sex determination and a subsequent abortion if the sex of the foetus is female. While the methods of detection may vary from amniocentesis and chronic villus sampling to ultrasonography, the reasons often cited are family pressure, the ‘expenditure’ required for having a girl child ( an obvious reference to dowry that would be necessary for the future marriage) and the perennial desire of the patriarchal society to have a son, an heir, a successor. The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice but conformity. So people who don’t dare to carry this ‘burden’ often end up conforming to the ludicrous norms. Strange as it may sound to many, especially ‘urban’ people but this unfortunately, is a reality that cannot be ignored with reports of some of the worst sex ratios being found in India. Punjab, Orissa, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra and even the capital Delhi that have shown the most pronounced effect and it was in these states that the private foetal sex determination clinics were first established. More shocking still is the fact that this trend is far stronger in urban than rural areas and among the literate than the illiterate, exploding the myth that education and affluence will help to eradicate gender bias. (Even some tribal areas are much better off than cities as far as sex ratios are concerned). Recent government figures show that in high income South Delhi, the sex ratio is 762 females per 1000 males, while in Mumbai’s Borivalli it’s 728 females per 1000 males. Though the government enacted the Pre- Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act in 1994, which came into force in 1996, situation far from improving, further worsened. A concomitant rise in the number of private clinics providing sex determination test was seen as a result of banning such practices in government hospitals, with even farmers with marginal incomes willing to take loans at 25 percent interest to have the test. Before the Act was amended in 2003, the technology had already reached even in areas which do not have potable water. As a result, the sex ratio recorded in India in 2001 in children was 927 females per 1000 males as compared to 1961 when it is 976 females per 1000 males. UN reports reveal that between 35 to 40 million girls missing from the Indian population. It is appalling to see in what is still considered one of the noblest professions, doctors participating in this illegal and inhuman money making venture, completely ignoring their ethical duties. Often the result such detections is subtly conveyed with a nod for a boy or a shake of the head or a grimace for a girl, as if she is an incoming catastrophe. It is ironic to see that maximum sex- selective abortions are performed by lady doctors. Even more disheartening is the fact that women agree (whatever may be their justification) to undergo a sex – selective abortion knowingly contributing to the depletion of their own sex. The hypocrisy of Indian society is pellucid here as on one hand it worships Durga, Kalli and Lakshmi, on the other it doesn’t hesitate to kill what is believed to be their manifestation. While an abortion is understandable for medical reasons or keeping a small family, it’s absolutely incomprehensible that a child is aborted only because it is a girl. Though female foeticide had entered the lexicon of feminist struggle long back yet the fight still continues. The whole concept of women empowerment is subject to a brutal shock with ghastly cases like polythene bags stuffed with female foetuses being found in Bhubhaneshwar, Orissa. Instances of villages in Rajasthan with not a single girl present, throws glaring light at the horrid fact which also painfully comes across in movies like Matrubhoomi-A Nation Without Women. It is a subject of grave concern especially when there is a vocal and influential school of thought that justifies selective abortion of female foetuses. Though the matter has been brought up now and then, this issue needs to be taken more seriously than ever and it needs be rewritten and revocalized until it the dogmatic mindset of people undergoes a change. Apart from the looking into factors responsible for female foeticide like low status of women in society and dowry, one also needs to be vigilant and brave enough to speak against this evil if one witnesses or comes to know about it. Also a more scientific approach towards things is required and the forestalling religious and cultural beliefs need to be replaced by rationality. No society can survive without women. The practice of female foeticide not only is a violation of human rights but also puts a question mark on our integrity as humans. It stagnates our growth as people. If the patriarchal society has made the rules then they can surely be reworked. Why do we need to have different attitudes towards men and women? Why can’t they just be treated as individuals and valued for their worth? Her every unformed limb is battling for her rights, her every stifled cry begs for freedom and her every unsung death mourns the dilatory demise of humanity.

A person don’ t feel as if you have several choices when it comes to getting a girlfriend. You think about the ladies that you know and also you realize that off of the top of your head, a person don’ t truly know anyone that you’ deb want to date or even who is offered to date. Whilst that might seem like a big issue for you now, it doesn’ t have to remain a huge problem. A person don’ t have to know who your next girlfriend will be right at this instant. What you need to do is find a way to expand your options. At this time you might feel as if a person don’ t possess any options, but 30 days from now you might feel as if you need to do. sixty days from now you might feel as if there are ladies that you can pick from. Therefore , how are you going to accomplish that? one Then decide to begin looking to fulfill ladies. It’ ersus something that you just have to do. A person can’ t expect that there is going to be some magical moment where the right woman will probably bump directly into you at the grocery store. A person can’ t wish that tomorrow your best friend will probably call both you and say that they have the perfect girl for you to fulfill. Now is the time you need to make a decision that you are going to do something to try to meet ladies. second . Try as difficult as you can to look as effective as you can. With regards to conference women, house do matter. The entire first impression isn’ to going to be based on how anyone looks, but part of it really is. You may as well get that section of the offer squared away. Appear as good as you possibly can so that you are environment yourself up for achievement when you meet a lady. 3. Engage women in conversation when you the chance to do this. Conference women is really regarding being able to create conversation with ladies. A guy who is really good at kunne talking with females can see a woman in the store and begin talking to the woman. He can view a woman on the park and begin talking to the woman. He’ ersus got options so long as women are about. If you possibly could begin to engage women in conversation any chance you need to do this, eventually you are likely to feel as if meeting women is really pretty simple your confidence regarding finding a girlfriend will probably enhance. You can find four kinds of love, each of which holds a distinctive kind of power that binds man and God in a way that only the heart can comprehend. Really like – a single word that holds a lot of meaning and power. And while it brings pleasure and gratitude to anyone who hears it, this can also cause confusion. Whenever you say “ I really like my mom, ” “ I really like my cat” or even “ I really like my function, ” it does not indicate that you will be feeling exactly the same or equal quantity of love for those three different things that you simply “ love”. Given that love much more of a option and action than the usual just a feeling, your actions associated with love can also be based on different degrees. So , what are the kinds of love and how do they vary from one another? 1st among the list of the types of love is agape. Agape is really what contemporary Ancient greek calls “ unconditional love”, or a love which is love, like in the expression s’ agapo, meaning, “ I really like you”. Throughout the ancient greek language, the term actually known “ correct love’ s” deepest sense, rather than the simple interest. This is even used for describing the actual contented feeling or placing someone in a very high regard. Agape is used for expressing the actual unconditional love provided by God for all His creations. The passionate love which is combined with longing and sensual wish, eros is something obtained from “ erotas” or even “ intimate adore. ” However it does not indicate that eros is the love which is sexual naturally. You can interpret this because the love you have på someone who is more than a buddy to you. From the kinds of love, this one is best suit for marriage and relationship interactions. Modern Greek defines philia as affectionate love or friendship. Among the different types of adore, this one is dispassionate and virtuous adore, the concept of that has been developed by the one and only Aristotle. This consists of the loyalty to family, pals, community and requires equality, understanding and advantage. Storge, the final within the list from the types of adore, pertains to passion in both modern and ancient Greek. This is a type of natural affection as what parents feel for children. Storge has rarely been used within the ancient works, almost solely to explain the relationships within a family. Historical texts used the term for denoting the sentiments parents feel for children or a husband and wife’ s knowledge about each other. This can be becoming utilized for expressing putting up or accepting circumstances, such as “ loving the tyrant. ” Various other Love on this planet You can find basically only four major types of adore but you can still find others feelings that needs to be known as well. And while these emotions are not love they are commonly confused with love too early. The first which is crush. First crushes are actually memorable, since this is whenever you experience a few somersaults inside your tummy. Surely everyone knows that somewhat stupid grin on your face every time your crush passes by. What an incredible hurry! You also have the famous obsessive, or that kind of love that borders on being as well clingy. This type of feeling is not considered as healthful because it can give you the inclination to manipulate your partner’ s life that may then lead to them getting out of the relationship altogether. Generally, this type of emotion has been experienced by beginner lovers or those that have “ dropped in love” initially. Scared and insecure, obsessive lovers tend to go so overboard that their own relationships usually end because of it. Final and definitely the best painful type of love is unreturned love, or caring even if you know that your partner cannot love you back. Full of discomfort and heartaches, this particular love is unfortunately 1 sided and although you could be within a relationship, then chances are you will never get the pleasure that you want because you know that the love you can give will not equal the adore that you will receive definitely. The four major kinds of love as well as the other feelings mentioned are all essential so that as the old saying goes, they make the world go round. Without these, there is absolutely no way for people to convey how they feel about others and inform these people how much they mean to them. They are going to never be able to show what they wish to show, and find out the things that they need to understand. Love teaches people a lot of things and without it, life might as well be considered as imperfect. The various types of adore might technically differ within meaning but all in all, the most important thing is that we know how to love, not just ourselves but additionally others, particularly God who love all of us more than we are worthy of. Relation, “ an element or high quality (as resemblance or even causality) that connects two or more things or even parts as being or even belonging or coming together, to be of the same type, or to be logically linked. ” Give-True-Love. apresentando celebrates love, charity and relation to each other. Congregate with us to talk about topics just like love, self love, relationships and charity. Right now, this can be a bit of a tricky one. Would you rather become ravingly pretty/handsome? Or would you prefer to be appealing? What’ ersus the difference between becoming pretty/handsome and being appealing? Quite a good example is a book. It might have the most beautiful protect you’ ve ever seen, however, if the story’ ersus a load of rubbish, this won’ t become long before the actual book’ s thrown on a shelf to gather dirt. Inde i didn’ t know this chap properly, but just taking a look at him, this individual wouldn’ t are already a contender to get the best looking folk in America. He was regarding 5’ 9″ tall, weighed regarding 145 lbs., his teeth didn’ t sightless you. One of the ways and an additional, he was lacking a lot in looks. But women fell over each other to be with him. Exactly why? The bottom line is, he had his own special style. You could put him within a room with any group, great confidence would bring him through, no matter who these folks were. This individual wasn’ to over-confident; just poised, self-assured. Whatever you do, keep away from the actual ‘ Mr . Cool’ look, particularly if you test the tortured, unsmiling, sullen-faced element. Grinning covers numerous sins. If you look someone directly in the eye as well as grin, you’ re conveying the message which; “ I’ m pleased to meet both you and anticipate chatting. I’ m confident and have no difficulty in holding whatever conversation you may like to get familiar with. ” In the event that you’ re with a party, after that obviously the first thing to do is to seek out the sponsor, (although she or he may well have admitted you), but that gives you a great opportunity of stating something, even though it is only; “ Good night. ” Believe it or not, individuals at parties wish to smile, which means you shouldn’ to have any problem in chatting to a woman and receiving a grinning reaction. You remember my informing you about that guy who was very attractive? Right now, I must confess, I only viewed him in action once, but there is nothing pushed, indeed half time, this individual didn’ t guide the conversation. Somebody came up with a topic and he basically followed along. Yes, he was highly intelligent, that will help, as well as there’ s usually the question; Will being attractive always help? Inde i don’ t believe it’ s a pre-requisite, however it certainly can’ t harm. Really, to all intents and reasons, we’ re talking about charisma. Preachers are often shown as examples of those who are charming, but Inde i don’ t believe this is necessarily the situation. Yes, they work the actual crowd, but they’ re talking to the choir. Not just that, but they’ re provided to bellowing like bulls — therefore the congregation works by itself up to match up. However we reverse problem. Is a charismatic person necessarily attractive? The solution should be ‘ yes, ’ if they’ re charismatic as well as you’ re not really, after that they’ re nearly bound to lure a person into their state of mind. Trying to meet someone if you are single can seem pretty difficult in case you don’ big t seem to be getting any luck at all and if you feel enjoy it is hard to satisfy a guy, then you might get discourage and give up on the possibility that you can meet the correct man. Inde i wouldn’ t wish you to do that, that serves to simply need to have a little help in brainstorming ideas of where to go to find a good man. Here are a few choices that are available for you: 1 . Visit a work related holiday party. The vacations, they may be upon us and another of the things that comes with the season is the work related party. You may not usually anticipate likely to them, but if you go with the attitude to be hopeful which you may meet someone new and fascinating, you will probably find which you actually do. I know of several couples that have started out in this way, therefore it is something that you might want to check out for now. second . Take a trip right down to that trendy new bar in town. A big change of scenery can transform things for you and if there are any new pubs in town, particularly of the trendy range, you might want to have a look. While you might not run into the man you always dreamt about in this way, it really is still a great way to move out and meet people. 3. Visit a community or church related function. There are several these types of going on this time around and of the entire year and much just like the work related party, it’s rather a good chance to socialize with people which you may not usually get a chance to mingle with. If these are usually functions that are associated with something that really interests you, you may have an opportunity of finding somebody who has a whole lot in common along with you. 4. Ask around in case you have friends that may want to set you up. I know, getting set up is usually not really thought of very fondly, but you understand what? Sometimes it does end up working out well. If you are in your wits end regarding wanting to meet a guy, this might be a choice that you like to explore just for the actual sake from it. You can always bail out early if elements aren’ t going too well. Have you been in a brand new relationship and curious to find out when you’ re truly compatible? Do you have your eyes on somebody new… and THINK you make a great match, however aren’ t 100% sure this individual (or she) is actually right for YOU? Do you even wonder what REAL compatibility really is… and if you can ever be 100% “ right” for anybody at all, or is that just a passionate myth and fairy tale that’ ersus incredible? During my years of encounter as writer, intuitive coach and counselor to both males and females who are looking to love the perfect person, most of my readers and clients ask the incorrect questions when trying to meet their coordinate. Exactly how so? The majority of us temporary compatibility questions. Do I like his friends? Are we geographically a coordinate? Do we have similar work schedules? And so forth. These types of questions will not provide you REAL insight or answers from a big picture, “ soul” degree connection that each people should be striving to generate. They may be NEVER the sort of things seek in a true lifetime connection or spiritual bond which transcends the “ now”. Rather, you should be requesting, at an complete minimum, the 3 critical questions below. Do we share exactly the same PASSION? And also no… I’ meters not talking strictly regarding intimate passions, even though we all know THEY count, too! I’ meters talking about the actual passions for life, exactly the same interests which make us come alive and feel motivated. Many people are hardwired differently, and simply will not share exactly the same underlying idea of what a existence well lived (and loved) is actually about. If you ignore this within the beginning… Inde i don’ t care HOW good he looks on paper, you will end up as being a relationship statistic in the future. Do we share exactly the same OBJECTIVE? Everyone of us features a unique life objective. I truly believe that, as well as my own encounter, it’ ersus been reinforced through viewing and witnessing some wonderful people discover their own. If you don’ big t share a feeling of purpose along with your partner, the rest of the suitability chart doesn’ big t really matter much at all. If you feel, for example… that life is about giving, and contributing and creating, you are someone who has a solid sense of private purpose. If you meet someone who believes that life is about taking and looks as others as a means to acquire in which he (or she) would like to be in existence, you are Not going to last jointly as a few. Individuals who share passion and purpose can move hills together and are destined for great stuff. And this leads us to our last compatibility test query. Are we karmically linked? Do you feel like your own lives were meant to intersect? Do you feel like jointly, in some way you perhaps can’ t actually properly describe, which you were fated, destined or maybe arranged to live, enjoy, learn, go, grow and flow together through this existence. Most (if not all) from the happiest and best couples believe precisely that… and they’ ll almost all describe a feeling of the “ Universe” getting them jointly. Once you feel this, you already know it… in your own heart, your mind and your spirit , and it’ s the truest test of suitability that there is and also the best feeling in the world as well. (and when you’ ve read this far… I really hope this for YOU as well! ) Many men avoid approaching women they are thinking about, as it makes them feel awkward. Or they want to avoid making that woman feel awkward… Although there are lots of courses and tips out there upon approaching women, most of them only supplment your feeling of awkwardness by providing you inauthentic programs to memorize or by making the process excessively difficult. I will share a technique with you in order to approach beautiful women, that will make you feel good about the procedure. First of all don’ big t use memorized pickup ranges. You really don’ big t need them… Because WHAT you say is really not that important when you’ re also approaching women. In addition focusing on lines only add weight for your shoulders and makes you feel inauthentic. Instead consider just stating “ Hi” or even start a conversation based on a simple statement from the surroundings you’ re also in… Keep it simple… A lot of people sleepwalk through their own daily life, if you are curious, enjoying yourself and observant about your surroundings, approaching women is often as simple because stating simple findings. For instance: “ How’ ersus that sandwich? Could it be great? ” is more than enough… End asking yourself if the certain line “ works” or even not… Instead be observant on how you can interact with people close to you… If you are excited about what you say and own your words, she will most likely react positively. Whenever you’ re getting close women think of them because “ mirrors” that exactly reflect you own amount of eagerness and positive energy. But remember some women may be in a very bad mood and only reveal negative energy, regardless of how charming and positive a person are… Remember somewhere much at the back of your mind… She may be cold or reject you for something that has absolutely nothing to do with you… And also that’ s EXCELLENT, because it teaches you an essential lesson: being outcome-independent when you’ re getting close women. Go out and promote yourself using the world. Absolutey nothing more, absolutely nothing less… Walk around having a grin trying to interact with other people while you’ re having fun. One more approaching women is weird for men, is that they head to places these people don’ t feel comfortable. Many men go to nightclubs in “ searching mode” on the Friday night simply because there they want to make their own move… They’ observa spent the whole 7 days sleepwalking through their daily life, not speaking with anyone and today they want to create “ the actual jump” and do it now. However they don’ big t really enjoy themselves and end up spending all evening within their heads without speaking with any lady. And afterwards they go home to beat themselves up about this. I’ observa been there, think me… The particular transformation comes from connecting with people wherever you go inside your day-to-day life… Talking to everybody. You can begin very simple, by having a conversation using the cashier from the supermarket you go to for example. Be curious about the people around you and commit to having fun wherever you go! You are able to step a little bit out of your safe place whenever you go out. And in no time you’ re also a social butterfly connecting with all people close to him, having fun and meeting attractive and interesting women along the way. An individual won’ t even think twice about getting close women if you stay by this method. Generally there a number of reasons why people tell is placed. These reasons constantly seem to be sensible by the person telling the lie. Sometimes the person will inform a lie to protect themselves through being falsely judged. They may inform a lie thinking they have got something to gain. Telling a lie to prevent being judged falsely may appear justifiable initially. However sensation shame about how somebody might judge you about some aspect of your daily life, could be an indicator you’re actually doing a problem. The program you are taking might actually be bothering your own conscience. This can be making you lie for how other folks might view your own actions so you can justify your own actions. Telling a lie to gain an advantage over somebody or gain some type of material gain is also typical. This kind of misdirection or deceit is used in the wonderful world of national politics and business. Unfortunately it is used in politics to gain favour from the voters to get office. It is sometimes difficult to detect initially because the promises that are made appear beneficial to the voters. Finally these promises never come to being. Telling a rest in the wonderful world of company is used to secure contracts and favours to grow financially. People tell is placed to gain positions and also employment. These is placed are told for private gain. Telling lies for personal gain or to avoid criticism often get back to haunt the one who created the deceit. It better to be honest and avoid telling these kinds of is placed. You will end up better off in the long. Misconceptions About Females #1: “ I am going to make a fool of myself if I get rejected by way of a woman” Many men (including me for the long time) choose unhappiness over uncertainty. They rather remain lonely and disappointed, than risking their ego or even ‘ reputation’ through approaching the woman… and “ rejected” … But the reality is… women get approach by A lot of idiots, that it’ s hard to make yourself stick out in that way… The girl probably won’ big t remember you approached your ex shortly after… How about other folks?? Well they are too hectic worrying about what people consider THEM… to think about you… Therefore let that go too… Misconceptions About Females #2: “ Females just want money” In media you see the actual rich and famous usually accompanied with beautiful females or even chased by way of a bunch of them… Therefore it’ s attractive to thing “ every woman are precious metal diggers… they’ lso are just after the actual money” … And some fact to it… A few women really seek out a person that’ s rich… and (naively) think THAT’ s what is going to make sure they are happy… (Because they will don’ t understand what they desire themselves)… However it’ s a BIG MISTAKE to believe that money may be the ONLY way to get a beautiful women… Develop your personality and understanding of what women REALLY crave in a man (plus learn how to give your ex an amazing amount of time in the actual bedroom)… And also you’ ll end up being WAY more attractive to an emotionally mature, intelligent, beautiful “ total 10″ than a wealthy guy… Misconceptions About Females #3: “ You need to impress the woman” Each person belief this in various ways… A few guys at a stomach level feel like they need to have a Ferrari and bumb about it… AFTER THAT women will enjoy him… A few think they need to put your ex on a pedestal and bend to all your ex wishes… Pickup Artists (PUAs) believe they need to Demonstrate Greater Value and hide regarding a bunch of routines before a woman can be attracted to them… And also they’ re just about all shooting themselves in the foot… as you DON’ T need to impress a women. Simply do less stupid important things, make less errors that the previous 100 guys that she fulfilled (which is not hard! )… and she’ ll be interested already! The actual less you make an effort to impress, the more an individual do… Develop the actual guts to show your authentic, REAL self more than time… Misconceptions About Females #4: “ Females want Disney” The belief that women are generally innocent, sweet small angels that don’ t wish to sleep around in support of want a connection, with a nice and sensitive guy is just stupid… Females get ‘ dirtier’ dreams than you can actually imagine, they desire to be taken by way of a real man, they really miss a man that will bring the outrageous ‘ inner animal’ out in them and show them a fantastic time… Misconceptions About Females #5: “ It’ s impossible for an typical guy to get extremely beautiful women” Such as I stated before… build your personality and understanding of what females want… Continuously develop an individual ‘ masculinity’ (David Deida’ s associated with masculinity)… And also you’ ll end up being WAY better off than a rich, well-known and good looking guy will actually be… As you are able to CONNECT with women… Not just at getting their attention Misconceptions About Females #6: “ Females have all the actual power” Men think women have the ability to the power because they can enter the bar and go back home with a guy after 10 minutes if she wants… For a man this really is a lot harder… What they DON’ T see is it is incredibly hard for a woman to locate an interesting man who can give your ex a “ good time” … (They keep this for themselves to save your ego… however it’ s period you see out) Misconceptions About Females #7: “ Showing interest in a lady is needy and weak” A good epidemic of our age is that men apologize to be men… Everyone is afraid to show up as a person and show they will authentic self… with complete honesty… Good we must be cool and standoffish… Or even we must ‘ neg’ your ex (for PUAs reading)… However it is nonsense… showing your authentic interest (WITHOUT getting attached to and result or even ‘ second-interest’ ) will probably brighten up your ex whole week… Additional: “ You’ lso are less of a man if you have issues with women” This is probably the most poisonous… Because it keeps men trapped where they will are… Speak about your issues with your pals, ask females for advice or talk to them about interest and so on, discover men who are excellent with females, … February 14th is the day time of love, but if you act like you aren’ big t all loved-up, or even seeing anyone whenever Valentine’ s Time rolls around, what exactly are you intended to? For several folks, this can be probably the most depressing days of the entire year. But listen up. In the event that you’ re one on Valentine’ ersus Day, this doesn’ t have to be the morning from hell. Instead of moping around like Victor Meldrew, together with your shoulders hanging therefore low, you can almost be confused with The Hunchback regarding Notre-Dame, go through the below tips. There are several great suggestions for Valentine’ ersus Day that can be done by yourself or perhaps a group. Dissolve Your Stress Aside Instead of sulking, perhaps you should pamper your self? Relax, refresh and relish the better things in everyday life. Take it easy and operate a nice, very hot bath complete with lots of bubbles and read that book you’ ve already been meaning to learn, or flick through your favourite mag. Both men and women as well enjoy soaking in the hot tub – it’ ersus one of the best – not to mention most affordable – Valentine Day ideas about. So turn off your phone, put on several music and embrace this particular quiet night with arms wide open. Possess a Hoot Sensation down in the dumps? Check out primary not series. We’ re not talking romantic not series here, we’ re talking flicks devoid of the soppy things, like ‘ Rush Hour’, ‘ Horrible Bosses’, ‘ The particular Hangover’, ‘ Men within Black’, ‘ Bruce Almighty’ … the list’ s never-ending. After a couple of minutes, you’ re guaranteed to howl like a hyena and luxuriate in your time at home much more than patients Mr and also Mrs Valentines, waiting around in line for his or her table. Therefore get the popcorn away and snuggle plan a cozy blankie. Fitness center this Visit the sports center. Get a operate. Hop on your bike. You may not such as the sound of it, when you’ re looking for feel-good Valentine Day ideas, a bit of a exercise will do the world of good. What’ ersus more, it’ ll be less crowded and also, you never know, you might meet the one guy or girl of your dreams, sweating it up on the cross trainer or treadmill. Smiley encounter. Concepts for Valentines Time don’ t get much better than a spot of buying. Couples splurge upon slap-up meals and films on February 14th, so just why can’ big t you? While I don’ big t encourage you to fork out on costly things, you may still have fun shopping by yourself or along with friends, even if it’ ersus treating yourselves to a beverage, snack or, if you’ re truly up for this, a yummy food at a swanky restaurant. In the event that you’ re away with your best bud, be sure to don several ludicrous-looking hats and outfits and explore your favourite stores. Acquire some Beauty Sleep You snooze, you succeed. If very little else floats your sail boat, get an early night. Getting some well-deserved kip makes perhaps one of the finest Valentine ideas actually. You’ ll wake up rejuvenated, and glad of the additional shut-eye. Despite the fact that creating a adoring, satisfying, lasting relationship isn’ to easy, it is simple to perform. Here are eleven actions you can take that will improve all of your relationships-be they intimate, parent-child, brother, friendships or work relationships. This even works in your partnership with yourself! Bottom line: being kind, loving, taking, pleasing That’ ersus the general attitude for creating loving interactions. Whatever you can do to express yourself with affection and benevolence. Whatever you can do to accept each other. Anything you can do to make others feel allowed around you. That’ ersus the secret. A few of these things will probably seem hokey or even weird or awkward. And they could be, at first. But if you practice all of them, they actually work. Here are the details: - Everyday, consider what is precious to you with regards to your partner, your youngster, your parent, your friend, or possibly your finger colleague-whoever you’ re focusing on these days. Really feel their own preciousness. What it means which you have that quality in your lifetime. Exactly how it helps you, how it makes your life much better. Tell each other everything you appreciate info. Within the relationship with yourself, notice the gift that you are to other people and to the world. Love that and feel the value that you are. (Some might think that’ ersus a little hokey, but isn’ t it truly true which not being aware of this really is one of the biggest stuff that muddies up existence and our interactions with other people? ) - Remember why you met up . When it’ s your romantic partner, exactly what attracted you to the girl, or him or her. Be specific in your thoughts relating to this. Notice how your partner remains to be being that way now, and appreciate it. Maybe she’ s ample to everyone. An individual liked that at the start. Now that you’ re together, maybe you like that she’ ersus generous to you, but you don’ to like it so much which she’ s ample to others. Then “ go back to the beginning” and appreciate what a gift it is to be around someone who is generous. When it’ s your youngster, parent, friend, work colleague, remember you somehow chose all of them, too, please remember why you made a decision to be in the connection with them as well as appreciate the advantage to you of having them in your lifetime. - Whenever your significant other, brother, child, or even colleague does something you appreciate , tell him as quickly as possible. Say thanks to him, and let him understand what you like as to what he did and how it affects you positively. With regards to yourself, notice something you accomplished these days, something you did for another individual, some way you improved your surroundings. Consciously notice how that helps you and how it helps someone else-today. - Whenever, in the middle of the afternoon you observe you’ re touched by your partner, your parent, your friend, inform them, “ I’ meters really loving you today. ” At work, allow your colleague, worker or supervisor have some understanding specific about the girl that you appreciate today. Notice when you’ re taking something about yourself, or something you love about yourself. - Along with your child, intimate partner, parent, friend, contact all of them in affectionate and adoring (and, naturally , appropriate) ways. Touch is absolutely powerful in developing warmth in interactions. - Consider, take notice and notice the particular other person might want or require , and perform that on their behalf. Make life easier for your partner, friend, or even colleague. When some thing might make your personal life easier at the moment, do this for yourself if you possibly could. It has positive ripple effects in a number of ways. Just one instance: if you’ re resting when you need sleep, taking a second to relax, departing the office for any relaxing walk instead of staying at your desk at lunch, you’ ll be less jealous of what others get to perform. - Support your partner, your youngster, your friend in what’ ersus best for all of them. Be the type of person around that they can express all of themselves. Help them to grow, to use new things that could really be great for them. Rather than being jealous of their successes or even freedoms, love they have all of them! If your partner gets a raise at the office, don’ to be jealous because you didn’ to get a raise. Celebrate. If you think about it, your partner getting a raise is like you obtaining a raise – there’ ersus more money in the household. In the event you really think about it, your child’ ersus, spouse’ ersus, friend’ ersus successes and happiness benefit you, too. Think about which, and feel to the truth from it. For your own life, accept you as much as possible. Support yourself to try stuff that would make you happier. - Honesty within relationships is essential. For example, don’ to just take anything you can get. Notice whether taking or accepting some thing from another person is actually benefiting from all of them. If your partner, parent, kid or friend is overly generous or even can’ t state “ no, ” thank them for wanting to give to you, but let them know that can be done it yourself, or which it’ s not necessary. Or be sure to reciprocate by doing something on their behalf or giving in some way that helps them if they give to you. For yourself, notice what exactly you need as well as what’ s unnecessary indulgence, and act on which. - Especially for people you live with or work together with everyday, compromise is essential. Find out what’ s vital to you as well as what’ s vital to another individual. At your home, for instance , in case your partner loves to sit within a specific chair to view TV also it doesn’ to really matter as much to you where you sit, keep that chair for the partner. In case your child features a hard time getting up each morning as well as it’ s simpler for you, period shower first and allow your child sleep the extra couple of minutes-so long because they can still prepare for school on time. In case your colleague at the office has a difficult time with meetings within the afternoon, as well as you’ re fine either way, test meeting in the mornings as much as possible. Stipulation: if one person thinks everything is essential and the some other is easygoing, that’ ersus not a go-ahead for that first someone to get everything his way. - Because we’ re many different from one another, occasional conflict is inevitable. Understand that, when there’ s a difference, both individuals are helping to produce the “ issue. ” As well as realize that, although it’ s a “ issue, ” it’ ersus also an opportunity for that relationship to flourish, to bring in some thing that’ s been kept out so far. Many issues are resolved with a combination of expressing oneself as clearly as possible, really hearing what the one else is saying, and creating a method to help both people get what they require. - Bottom-line, assume that each of you is an excellent individual . Each if you are doing the best you can to be her in the best way you can. The truth is to locate how your own and also the other’ ersus actions are a symptoms of this. You do this by interacting, clearly and honestly and, usually, with good-will in the direction of one another. Zoe Zimmermann, POSIADA, LPC is a Certified EFT Specialist and long-time registered psychotherapist. She uses EFT Tapping as the girl modality for fast innovations with core issues as well as specializes in clients who suffer with PTSD from accidents, surgical procedures, abuse, dysfunctional family dynamics, some other traumas and physical pain. EFT is definitely an exceptionally effective power psychology and alternative treatment, where EFT Tapping on acupuncture meridian pressure points is used to take emotional charge out of traumatic and painful memories and experiences, often alleviating pain.

[page 1 of unnumbered booklet] |W. F. ENNIS,|| |MISS NINA McGINNIS,|| |JOHN C. CROFTON,|| |W. H. MILLER.|| [page 2 of unnumbered booklet] [page 3 of unnumbered booklet] We take this method of informing the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church that there has been established at Bowling Green, Kentucky, a Cumberland Presbyterian Orphans' Home, and in order that the status of the Home may be fully understood, we deem it proper to submit a brief history of its origin and organization. A few years ago Miss Victoria Jackson, a native of Warren County, Kentucky, and a long resident of Bowling Green, and a devout Cumberland Presbyterian, conceived the idea of establishing a home for orphans of Cumberland Presbyterian parentage and with that cherished plan in mind, she had her beautiful home on College Street rebuilt and remodeled, and it was arranged so that it might be occupied and used for that purpose. The rooms and halls are large and well lighted and ventilated, and the house, as it now is, will accommodate thirty children. It stands on an acre lot that runs from street to street, surrounded by beautiful trees, flowers and shrubbery. Miss Jackson died on the 20th day of May, 1904, and by her will, which was duly probated in the Warren County Court on the 23d day of May, 1904, and admitted to record, she provided for the establishment of this home. That portion of her will which bears upon this matter is as follows: "It is my purpose and desire to establish a Cumberland Presbyterian Orphans' Home for white children only in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and it is my intention to provide for the establishment of such a home as far as my ability goes, and to this end I vest in my executors Walter H. Miller and W. F. Ennis, the title to the house and lot in Bowling Green, Kentucky, extending from College Street to Center Street, being the place where I now reside, and said executors to hold title to said house and lot in trust, as hereinafter provided." By the will, she requested eleven named persons, including her ex- [page 4 of unnumbered booklet] [page 5 of unnumbered booklet] ecutors, W. H. Miller and W. F. Ennis, to organize themselves into a board of managers and obtain a charter for a Cumberland Presbyterian Orphans' Home. She then provided that "after said Board of Managers have secured a charter in general accord with my wishes, as herein expressed, and the Orphans' Home is thus made perpetual, as far as management is concerned, and when such charter is obtained and an organization is perfected thereunder, it is my will that my executors convey to said Board of Managers the title to said house and lot, and turn over to said Board of Managers the trust funds in their hands, being careful, however, to see that the persons of said Board of Managers receiving same have given bond and security for the safe keeping of said property and funds." It was evidently her desire that the Home should be adopted, so to speak, by the church of her faith, for we find therein the following clause: "There have been steps taken by the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly to establish an Orphans' Home in Columbia, Tennessee. I will that Revs. J. S. Grider and J. V. Stephens make overtures to the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly to make the Home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and occupy my house as an Orphans' Home." After making a number of bequests to relatives and personal friends, it was provided that certain proceeds of her estate should go into the hands of her executors, and constitute a fund for the benefit of the Home. The persons named in the will as a Board of Managers, to wit: Miss Nina McGinnis, Miss Joe Ennis, Mrs. J. F.Ewing, Mrs. Tom Sears, Mrs. E. Burr, Mrs. W. E. Settle, Mrs. Tom Beard, Mrs. Robert Temple, W. F. Ennis, John Crofton and W. H. Miller, organized within a short time after her death, and on August 20, 1904, obtained a charter, prepared in accordance with the Statutes of Kentucky, made and provided for such purposes. The certificate of the Secretary of State is as follows: "COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, "OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE. "I, H. V. McChesney, Secretary of State of the State of Kentucky, hereby certify that Articles of Incorporation have this day been filed in my office by the Cumberland Presbyterian Home. Said articles of In- [page 6 of unnumbered booklet] corporation show that the Cumberland Presbyterian Orphans' Home has no capital stock; the the license fee of ($........) having been paid this day into the Treasury as required by law, the said Corporation is now authorized under the laws of Kentucky to do business. "Given under my hand as Secretary of State this 20th day of August, 1904. "H. V. McCHESNEY, Secretary of State. "By LILLIA FOWLES, Acting Chief Clerk The Board of Managers thereafter met and organized by the election of W. F. Ennis as President, Miss Nina McGinnis as Secretary , and W. H. Miller as Treasurer; and adopted by-laws for the government of the corporation. The executors of said will then executed and delivered to the corporation a deed conveying said house and lot for the uses and purposes set forth, so that the Cumberland Presbyterian Orphans' Home, thus established and organized, now has the title to this house and lot, and has in its treasury about $ with which to operate. We are able to take care of about twelve children for one year. With funds now in our hands. In leisurely walking out College Street on a bright April day, you fully realize what a fine and pleasant stroll-way it is--the long, wide and well-shaded avenue stretching from beautiful College Hill down to the bridge that spans the scenic Barren, is most charmingly adapted for private residences and great schools of learning, on account of its beauty and quietude, its freedom from business traffic and the clattering din of passing street cars. It is most delightful and appropriate avenue for the coming and going of many students up and down its well-paved sidewalks to the three important schools, whose classic buildings, with elegant surroundings, grace this street. Of all the many beautiful streets of Bowling Green, this one is especially attractive and pleasant, for here you meet many graceful forms [page 7 of unnumbered booklet] [page 8 of unnumbered booklet] [page 9 of unnumbered booklet] and lovely faces of fair young girl students on their way to elegant Potter College crowning the hilltop. You pass and repass the erect and manly forms of studious youths moving steadily forward to enter the castle-like walls of the magnificent Normal University to prepare for their future life-walk. You see young women also entering the same gates, to pursue a similar course of study to fit themselves for responsible positions. But far more engaging and fascinating to the stroller on this street are the flocks of merry and bright faced children encountered on their way to the handsome Public School building with its spacious grounds and wide spreading trees. The very name, College Street, is most truly significant, and the annals of the future years may render it as historic and classical as the gardens in which the ancient philosophers walked and talked. Under the bright sunshine of an April day a veil of loveliness seems to envelop everything on earth and in the sky, and it is really joyful to live, to breathe, to scan, to take in all beauty and inhale all fragrance. But the loveliest day and fairest environments cannot banish the holy, sad and sacred thoughts of reflective souls. Passing this street morning, noon and evening, I always feel like lingering tenderly at the gate of one of its beautiful homes, the one that formerly housed the lovely spirit of Miss Victoria Jackson. I look at the long stretch of greensward, carpeting, as if with velvet, the splendid front and side yard; instinctively I glance far back at that beautiful garden of rare plants and blossoming roses; I see those shady bowers, with graceful, clustering vines, those fine, old spring shrubs, white with snowballs and purple with fragrant lilacs; and on every hand the glories of the famous old gardens are blending their beauties with the latest splendors of the florists' new creations, and from all a mingled sweetness is wafted, as of yore. But alas! I miss the gentle form that I have so often watched flitting from flower to flower and coaxing all to bloom. The spirit that reveled in their perfect flowering and rare perfume has vanished to the celestial gardens beside the River of Life, where immortelles are flowers forever in bloom. Ah! the fragrance of Victoria Jackson's pure and devoted life will linger for years to come in that garden, yard and house; for did she not plant, plan and build under the inspiration of one holy and sacred thought forever in her mind: "When I am gone, this place is to be a home for little, homeless, orphan children." [page 10 of unnumbered booklet] [page 11 of unnumbered booklet] One of the greatest pleasures of this modest woman's life was to serve little children and render them happy, and in her last will she planned nobly and wisely for the future good and happiness of orphan children, and all from a heart full of love and pity. Her elegant and conveniently situated home will undoubtedly be a delightful place for the children, with surroundings so pleasant and helpful and beneficial, and yet ideally home-like in all its appointments. It is no blank, barn-like looking building, with several stories piled upon each other regardless of architectural taste and home-endearing attractiveness, but it has all the inviting features of a truly pleasant and charming home, with its long gallery, its beautiful windows, its large and elegant reception hall and splendid rooms. If the exterior view of the Home is so suggestive of the refined and cultured taste of the frail and delicate woman who cheerfully toiled to render her surroundings pleasing and attractive, how much more so is the interior of the house. The reception hall is one of the most commodious and attractive in this city of nice homes. The flooring is of hard wood, and beneath this upper flooring is another one closely packed with saw-dust in order to deaden the softest footfall. A large, beautiful window facing the East and looking out on the finely kept grounds of the Public School, given a most charming view. Folding doors open from this hall into a very large and elegant drawing room that is finely lighted by windows looking out on the street and also facing the West. A door leads from this room into a most pleasant an well situated library. Across the hall from the library is the dining room, equally as well appointed as those mentioned. In the reception hall is a fine stairway, easy of access to the upper hall; the lower hall is heated by a base burner and the upper one has a fireplace with a mantle of hard wood. In the second story there are six sleeping apartments and a good bath room with modern equipments. The house is appropriately furnished and the piano was especially given for the benefit of the music-loving children. All alone in this commodious house Miss Jackson lived serenely and quietly, dreaming of the future, when the joyous laughter of her orphan children would re-echo in the halls and ring out merrily from yard to garden, from street to street. This valuable piece of real estate fronts on College Street and extends back to Center Street, containing ample room for additional buildings should the demands of the future require them. [page 12 of unnumbered booklet] [page 13 of unnumbered booklet] The situation is in every respect most suitable and convenient for the orphanage of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which Miss Jackson was a devout and zealous member. This desirable property adjoins the handsome grounds of the city's Public School, where the children of the Home could secure fine preparation for higher educational advantages. It is also situated about a block from the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, affording fine opportunities for their punctual attendance at divine services. Miss Jackson was decidedly a practical business woman and no doubt had all these superb advantages of situation and locality under prayerful and thoughtful consideration for many years, forever regarding the best interests and happiness of the orphan children she so earnestly desired to help to noble womanhood and strong, upright manhood. She was an ardent and devout lover of the sacred principles and teachings of her church and wished to leave some lasting testimonial of her devotion and fidelity. She was also inspired with true patriotism and her loyalty to her own home city enthused her with the sincere hope that the church at large would accept her gift and establish its Orphanage in Bowling Green, Ky. May the wise and far-seeing officials of her church have consideration for her wishes and may the future years reveal unto them how wisely she planned in giving her home on lovely College Street, in beautiful, historic Bowling Green, for "The Orphanage of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church." We need the stimulus that comes to us from the lives of the good that have passed on before. Every life has its fruitage. The good mold other lives so as to make them better, and of the bad it is truly said, "The evil that men do lives after them." Miss Victoria Jackson was born in Warren County, Ky., eight miles southwest of Bowling Green, November 3d, 1841, and after a life of sixty-two years and six months died at her home in Bowling Green, Ky., [page 14 of unnumbered booklet] [page 15 of unnumbered booklet] May 20th, 1904. She was the daughter of Clinton Jackson and his wife, Jane Jackson. Her parents were highly respected and deeply pious. Their home, until the daughter was about grown, was upon a farm and she was reared where a running stream, green meadows and sugar maple trees were the environments. Miss Jackson early acquired an ardent love of nature and she never ceased to enjoy the grandeur and beauty of God's works. Her large cabinet of curios and shells testify to her ever-growing delight in communion with God through His works. When quite a child she received a hurt which resulted in a curvature of the spine, from which she never recovered. Her disposition was cheerful and bright, which was reflected in her cherry home where she lived and died. The father died some twenty years before the daughter, and the mother some fifteen years. Miss Vic united with the church in Bowling Green when about grown and ever proved a faithful and diligent worker. She was remarkably successful as a Sunday School teacher. Her success was very great in bringing her classes to the Savior. She rarely taught a class two years until they were all Christians. Upon one occasion, I remember, she gave up a class that were very much attached to her and went out and collected a class of prodigal young men, calling them her street "Arabs," and taught, labored and prayed with them until most of them, if not all, were converted. I have seen letters from more than one of these boys, after they had been widely scattered, telling her that she had been the instrument in their salvation. She often had her scholars at her home giving them little entertainments, that she might keep them out of places of temptation. Miss Vic loved young people and would often have the Christian Endeavor young folks and Y. M. C. A. at her home. Until her failing health forbade she was active in general church work. She had a deep hold on many in the social circle, as well as in the church. For a number of the last years of her life she spared no expense in arranging and fitting up her home for an Orphanage after her death. Her heart felt deeply for the poor and she did not fail to provide as best she could for their sustenance and education. She died at her home in perfect peace, leaning with implicit faith upon the crucified and risen Christ. It is a pleasant thought to surviving friends to feel assured that she did not live for naught. --The Bowling Green (Ky.) Times-Journal brings the information that the will of the late Miss Victoria Jackson, a member of the Bowling Green church and well known to Cumberland Presbyterians of Kentucky, provides that her beautiful home in Bowling Green shall be used to establish a Cumberland Presbyterian orphans' home. The will appoints a board of managers for the home, directing that in the admission of orphans preference is to be given to the children of Cumberland Presbyterians of Warren county and next to the orphan children of Cumberland Presbyterians elsewhere. It further provides that if the home is not opened within two years, the property shall be deeded to the city of Bowling Green for a public library. Miss Jackson bequeaths to Cumberland University a collection of curios and plants of which she was very fond. Three thousand dollars is given in trust for Maria Watson, a family servant, with the provision that at her death it shall go to the Woman's Board of Missions. [Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, June 9, 1904, pages 722-723] Report of the Judiciary Committee. Item 3. We have examined the memorial from Logan Presbytery, and other papers relating to the bequest of Victoria W. Jackson, for the establishing of an Orphans' Home at Bowling Green, Ky., and we recommend the Assembly's endorsement of same, and advise the appointing of a committee to take visitorial control of said orphanage, the committee to consist of Rev. J. S. Grider, D.D., Rev. J. V. Stephens, D.D., and Dr. T. O. Helm. [Source: Minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1905, page 69] From The Times-Journal, June 5, published at Bowling Green, Ky., the following sketch is taken. We had hoped to furnish in connection with this sketch a picture of the orphanage, but were unable to procure it before going to press: "The late Miss Victoria Jackson left a will providing for an orphans' home. She left her handsome and well-furnished residence on College street for the orphanage and enough money to start the institution off in good shape. In her will she directed who should have charge of the institution and who should conduct it. Warren county orphans of Cumberland Presbyterian parents were to be given the preference in the matter of admission to the home, then Cumberland Presbyterian orphans anywhere, and finally orphans without regard to denomination. The home was opened recently, and has several inmates that are being cared for. Miss Jackson directed that the home be established an set in operation, and that the matter then be presented to the General Assembly of the church with a view of having that body adopt it as its own. When the General Assembly met recently in Fresno, Jesse S. Grider, of this county, and Dr. J. V. Stephens, of Cumberland University, who were selected for the purpose, presented the matter for the consideration of the Assembly, and it was referred to a committee. The committee reported later, recommending the acceptance of the bequest of the home, and the report was unanimously adopted, and the home is now an institution of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at large, and will have its support and oversight. About $700, that had been raised by the General Assembly toward establishing a home, was turned over to the managers of the home. J. S. Grider, of Smith's Grove; Dr. J. V. Stephens, of Cumberland University; and Ruling Elder T. O. Helm, of Auburn, were appointed a board of visitors to the institution. The acceptance of the home by the General Assembly will broaden its work and influence and will given it a support that will perpetuate the institution. The home is already doing a good work and is being nicely conducted. Miss Josie Ennis is the matron and is proving herself thoroughly capable and competent, and the inmates of the institution will receive the kindest treatment and every care and attention at her hands. The officers of the home are: W. F. Ennis, president; Miss Nina McGinnis, recording secretary; John C. Crofton, corresponding secretary; W. H. Miller, treasurer. The board of managers consists of Miss Nina McGinnis, Miss Josephine Ennis, Mesdames Jas. F. Ewing, W. T. Sears, E. Burr, W. E. Settle, T. H. Beard, R. W. Temple, and Messrs. W. F. Ennis, John C. Crofton and W. H. Miller. [Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, June 15, 1905, page 755] In the statement of the Board of Managers we find these words as to the founding of the home: "A few years ago Miss Victoria Jackson, a native of Warren County, Kentucky, and long a resident of Bowling Green, and a devout Cumberland Presbyterian, conceived the idea of establishing a home for orphans of Cumberland Presbyterian parentage and with that cherished plan in mind, she had her beautiful home on College street rebuilt and remodeled, and it was arranged so that it might be occupied and used for that purpose." Miss Jackson's purpose was expressed as follows in her will which was probated in the Warren County Court, May 23, 1904: "It is my purpose and desire to establish a Cumberland Presbyterian Orphans' Home for white children only in Bowling Green, Ky., and it is my intention to provide for the establishment of such a home as far as my ability goes, and to this end I vest in my executors Walter H. Miller and W. F. Ennis, the title to the house and lot in Bowling Green, Ky., extending from College street to Center street, being the place where I now reside, and said executors to hold title to said house and lot in trust, as hereinafter provided." The building is a beautiful two-story brick, fronting College street. The rooms are large, well lighted and ventilated, and thoroughly adapted for their intended use. At present thirty children can be cared for. The home is under the control of the following Board of Managers: Miss Nina McGinnis, Miss Joe Ennis, Mrs. J. F. Ewing, Mrs. Tom Sears, Mrs. E. Burr, Mrs. W. E. Settle, Mrs. Tom Beard, Mrs. Robert Temple, W. F. Ennis, John Crofton and W. H. Miller. On the 20th day of August, 1904, the institution was duly chartered and authorized to do business "under the laws of Kentucky." W. P Ennis and W. H. Miller, two elders in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church were elected president and treasurer respectively, and Miss Nina McGinnis was chosen secretary. According to Miss Jackson's will, Logan Presbytery sent an overture to the General Assembly in Fresno, Cal., requesting that the home be accepted and that the denominational Orphans' Home be established in Bowling Green, Ky. The following ("Item 3" of the Report of the Judiciary Committee, General Assembly Minutes, page 69) shows the General Assembly's endorsement: "We have examined the memorial from Logan Presbytery, and other papers relating to the bequest of Victoria W. Jackson, for the establishing of an Orphans' Home at Bowling Green, Ky., and we recommend the Assembly's endorsement of same, and advise the appointing of a committee to take visitorial control of said orphanage, the committee to consist of Rev. J. S. Grider, D.D., Rev. J. V. Stephens, D.D., and Dr. T. O. Helm." The home is now open for the reception of worthy Cumberland Presbyterian orphans. If Cumberland Presbyterians unduly delay, others will be taken in. This institution deserves the helpful co-operation of the entire church. The children will receive the best of treatment from Miss Josephine Ennis, matron, and her assistants. Bowling Green, Ky. [Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, August 24, 1905, page 187] The Committee having charge of Orphans' Home at Bowling Green, Ky., submitted a report, which was adopted, and is as follows: As your Committee appointed to visit your Orphans' Home, at Bowling Green, Ky. (see Assembly Minutes of 1905, p. 69), would make report as follows: To the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church: As your committee appointed to visit your Orphans' Home, we beg to make the following report: We visited the home at Bowling Green, Ky., and found it in most excellent condition. Mrs. Campbell, the newly elected matron, was in charge. They have six orphans now in the home. They are well cared for in the splendid building given to our denomination by Miss Victoria Jackson, the same having been her home during her lifetime, and was remodeled and enlarged, prior to her death, so as to be suited for an orphanage. This splendid property, worth about $10,000, is situated next door to the large graded school of the city. These orphan children are daily attending this school. We suggest that each of you knowing of deserving Cumberland Presbyterian orphans, should correspond with Bro. W. F. Ennis, Secretary, about their interest, and that each of you given some heed to the responsibility of sustaining J. S. Grider, J. V. Stephens, T. O,. Helm. [Source: Minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1906, pages 106-107] On the 28th day of March, 1912, I [Rev. J. M. Wyckoff, Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer of the Board] visited this place and carefully examined the Court records relative to this piece of real estate. The property involved is worth at the present time $10,000.00. It was bequeathed for an orphans' home, first for the orphan children of the local Cumberland Presbyterian congregation at Bowling Green, Ky. Secondly, if there were no orphan children in the local congregation, then the management were to get orphan children that were Cumberland Presbyterians anywhere in the United States of America. Third, then if none could be found, than any orphan children of the city of Bowling Green, Ky. If none could be found in the city, then they of the county were admitted to this home. The Board of Managers of this home can be no other than regular bona-fide Cumberland Presbyterians of the local congregation at Bowling Green, Ky., while there at a call meeting of the pastor and congregation a committee was appointed to direct the electing persons to fill the vacancy in the board of managers and take possession of the property. The Board of managers are to elect a matron for the home. Mrs. [sic: Miss] Jackson left some $600.00 for the support of the home. When the exodus took place those going out from us took this valuable property with them. Inasmuch as it is chartered as Cumberland Presbyterian property in the state of Kentucky, no power can divest them of this property, and we hope ere this report is presented we will be in the possession of this property, as the Presbyterians U.S.A.'s were willing to surrender it to the rightful owners. [Source: General Assembly Minutes of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1912, page 66] We are glad to report that the aim set before the Church by your Future Work Committee, 1911, for an Orphans' Home has been reached in part and you now have this institution under your fostering care, and your help is necessary to make it self-supporting. We refer to the Home at Bowling Green, Ky., the bequest of Miss Victoria Jackson, worth $10,000.00 and it can be of much service to us by the assistance of the Church at large. Also there comes to us information as to the conditions of the will of Miss Victoria Jackson and the encumbrance in the Home, Brooks Scruggs, a son of a Cumberland Presbyterian Minister, who is the only inmate and is at present a member of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., because of environments, and while the provisions in the deed demand that children in the Home shall be Cumberland Presbyterians, we believe that conditions and surroundings demand that he remain; the cost will be nominal, the results, great. Then, there are some questions of a legal nature, confronting your Board, and we informed Judge H. H. Denhardt, an able Attorney and loyal Cumberland Presbyterian, is willing to serve as an attorney for your Board, and no charges except necessary expenses will be made and Rev. J. M. Wyckoff, Secretary and Treasurer urges, and your Committee with the evidence before them believe it wise, and we recommend therefore that he be appointed by this Assembly and the matter of Incorporation be referred to him. Also we recommend that for the present, Brooks Scruggs be retained in the Home in Bowling Green. Your Committee has been informed that at this time good farming land within 1 1/2 miles of said Home can be purchased for $100.00 per acre. We recommend that your Board look after this matter at once and if practicable purchase 30 acres or secure an option upon the best terms and report to the Assembly of 1913 either for ratification or instructions. We recommend that this Assembly appoint a committee of three to attend the Dedicatory Services of your Home in Bowling Green, June 23rd, 1912. [Source: General Assembly Minutes of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1912, pages 122-123]

I'm always in search of a good christian parenting books. I'm always asking myself, "How can I be a better wife and mother?" And too many times I feel like I fall short. Motherhood in it self is not thinking of yourself. Too many times I'm concerned of what's best for me, how to get what I want out of it. So selfish. Motherhood is thinking of others. Sacrificing your time and energy for the good of the family. It's being a servant. And what better example do I have other than Jesus Christ? He is the perfect example of a humble servant. Just over a year ago, right when we found out I was pregnant, I was reading through Titus 2. I was going through this chapter with a study book. (Created to be his Help Meet by Debi Pearl) Here are some things that I wrote in my journal during that time. It was a great reminder of my duty as a Christian woman. "A Titus 2 Woman first must be SOBER: To do one's duty, be moderate, self-controlled, thoughtful, and to learn to make wise decisions, and judgment. When a woman learns to be sober, she will not live for immediate gratification. She will appreciate those things that will last for eternity. " Immediate gratification... So many times I'm frustrated because things are not done. If I don't get my 'too do' list finished, then I'm not happy. "Choose to do those things which will give satisfaction as you view life as a whole, rather than measure satisfaction at the end of each day." (A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming) Am I having eternity in mind here? Will having the 'too do' list checked off at the end of the day really benefit my relationship with my family? What am I doing that has lasting value? "A Titus 2 Woman must love their husbands: Putting his needs before your own. BE READY to minister to him!" Again, here it is. Putting others before me. I ask the Lord to help me in this area. At the end of the day, I realize times where I could have, should have ministered to my husband. I fail all too much. Please forgive me Lord. I have such a wonderful husband who deserves so much more than this foolish girl. "A Titus 2 Woman must love their children: For a mother who loves her children, training is not a chore, it is a full-time, all-consuming passion. They are worth every minute of time and trouble to every 'dedicated' mother." "To be Discreet: Prudent; wise in avoiding error and in selecting the best means to accomplish a purpose. Polite and honest." "To be Chaste: Pure in though, word and act. To be modest and honorable in all things" "To be Keepers at Home: Keeping a godly home with excellence for your husband and children is the christian woman's nonnegotiable responsibility." "To be Good: A good woman is genuine, joyful, virtuous, valuable, kind, merciful, hard working, gracious and wise." "To be Obedient to their own husbands: TRUST! Depend on his wisdom and guidance. Proverbs 12:4 'A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband...'" So as I read through Titus 2 again this week, and looked back at my notes from last year, I am greatly convicted on how I've lacked in my motherhood life. I would wonder 'where am I in this ministry? How can I reach people? Send me Lord.' The home is where the Lord has sent me. My family is my ministry. This is my calling. And there's no where else I'd rather be. I pray that these things will show through in my life as I grow in my Christian walk.

Gratiot Street Prison “Camp and Prison Journal” by Griffin Frost The journal of Captain Griffin Frost was written throughout the war, much of it while Frost was a prisoner at Gratiot Street Prison and Alton Prison and is one of the very few published primary sources available on Gratiot. He published it in 1867 in response to the outcry against southern treatment of prisoners in places like Andersonville. Frost hoped to make it clear that northern treatment of prisoners was just as bad as southern. In this perspective the book was a failure for though deathrates were comparable in northern and southern prisons, the conditions in Gratiot were entirely unlike those in Andersonville, something that becomes immediately and abundantly clear when reading his narrative. Frost was a newspaper editor and may have rewritten or enhanced some portions of his journal before publication. The portions that leap out in this regard are the occasional pro-southern/anti-northern mini-rants he indulges in which stand out jarringly at times from the flow of the rest of the narrative. On the other hand, Frost was a writer and he was bored with the tedium of prison life so may have unleashed his writing exuberance at times in his journal. He clearly is a skilled writer and writes a lively, interesting tale even in short entries. His information about events taking place around him is not always correct–something that may surprise a reader taking a journal written at the time as being a wholly reliable source. But Frost was limited by his perspective and the information he got and so sometimes reports as fact things that were only rumor. Annotations throughout will try to clarify these moments. Points in Frost’s writing that grate most on the present-day reader (or so one hopes) are his occasional racial comments. They are harsh and wholly insulting yet will be included here without editing as they do reveal an important aspect of the times and the thought processes that needs to be faced squarely and not glossed over. Try to view these passages in their historical context yet also be aware they do not represent the views of all people at that time, yet by the some token were shared by a number of people from both sides of the conflict. Though Frost’s narrative covers his entire wartime experience, only those portions that take place in Gratiot or Alton will be presented on this website. |Buy a reprint of Frost’s full book from: reprint no longer available, but check Camp Pope’s inventory of other fine books and check their other Missouri-related publications MARCH 1, 1863.—Some four or five prisoners made an attempt to escape last night and all succeeded but one unlucky dog, who was recaptured. They brought him in and hung him up by the neck until he was nearly dead, when the Captain came in, and interfered, and had him taken down. The bloody villains would have murdered him outright. They tried to make him tell who were concerned in the plot; but he was true to the last, they could not torture him into turning traitor. That’s the stuff the martyrs are made of. MARCH 2, 1863.—Yesterday evening the Feds arrested three “Secesh” ladies for waving their handkerchiefs at the prisoners as they passed up the street. They were taken to Col. Kinkaid’s quarters and kept an hour or so and then released. It was arranged in going to the Col’s quarters that they would either have to pass under the Federal flag or walk out into the street, the tantalizing creatures preferred the latter course; left the guard and took the street, returning to his protection as soon as the obstacle was passed. As they were going home they had to pass us again, and woman like, they gave us another wave, and went off laughing. O woman, woman, light of life, But cause of so much fuss and strife, If I could half your foibles tell You’d laugh at me—I know it well. |Andrew W. Lydick was captured August 20, 1862. He is listed as being a guerrilla and/or private in Porter’s unit.| MARCH 3, 1863.—The small-pox has broken out among the prisoners, two cases to-day, taken to the small-pox hospital. One hundred and forty prisoners were notified to leave to-morrow; destination unknown. Several prisoners have been released within the last few days. Andrew W. Lydick, of Marion county, has also been released on oath and bond. He was arrested several months ago and brought to this place, where he has remained ever since. Have never learned the cause which led to his arrest, but suppose it was because he is a rebel. MARCH 6, 1863.—Rumors the last two days of Federal reverses at Vicksburg—large numbers reported drowned. We cannot know anything certainly, as we are not permitted to see the newspapers. MARCH 8, 1863.—This has been another long and tedious Sunday. Over one hundred more prisoners notified to leave to-morrow. Those who went off Wednesday have gone to Washington on exchange. MARCH 9, 1863.—Received a box from my wife to-day, containing a lot of butter, some peach, tomato, and blackberry preserves, two bottles of catsup, and a fine large ham. Had to have a fresh introduction; have not seen such delicacies for so long we had become strangers. As none of the mess were better acquainted, we introduced ourselves, and soon enjoyed a sweet familiarity. MARCH 10, 1863.—The prisoners notified on the 8th left to-day for Alton. Old Mrs. Meredith was arrested to-day for distributing clothing to them. A cowardly act, disgraceful to the pantaloons inhabited by the creatures who commited it. MARCH 11, 1863.—Over one hundred prisoners arrived to-day from Alton, and seventy-five or eighty from Tennessee, the latter, after remaining but a short time, were sent up to Alton. Capt. Masterson had the officer who arrested Mrs. Meredith, placed under arrest. Capt M. seems to know the good old lady. Says she has always been known as the friend of the needy and suffering, and since the prisons have been established in St. Louis, she has interested herself particularly in endeavors to alleviate in some degree the miseries within their walls. She is so well known and so thoroughly respected, that she obtained a permanent pass from the Provost to visit the prisoners whenever she saw proper. I hope her works of mercy will not again be disturbed in a similar manner. Capt. Masterson deserves honor for his prompt and manly course. MARCH 12, 1863.—Capt. J. W. Johnson has been sent to the small-pox hospital. The last few days have developed several new cases. The only wonder is, that every disease under heaven does not break out in the lower quarters; half starved and crowded together as they are, in their dirt and rags. |Major John F. Rucker, 1st Mo. Inf., captured Jan. 6, 1863, escaped March 12, 1863–recaptured June 4, 1864Lt. James H. [Harvey] Rucker, Clarks Co. E, captured Jan. 6, 1863, escaped March 12, 1863–recaptured March 15, 1863| MARCH 13, 1863.—Five Confederate officers made their escape this morning, and because Capt. Barr, Finney, myself and five or six others, could not (?) tell how it occurred, we were thrown into the strong room and locked up. It is enough to make the old d—l mad to be confined in such a place. It is dark and gloomy, the weather cold and damp, we have no fire, nothing to sit on, not allowed to have our bed clothes to wrap in, the smoke comes down the chimney, so as to nearly stifle us, and beside, they starved us till after night, when they let us out a little while to graze. We have never heard the full particulars as to the manner in which our friends effected their escape, but as near as we have learned is as follows: It seems that the leader got an over coat resembling the kind the Federal officers wear, and yesterday evening went to the guard who stands at the front door, and represented himself as a Federal surgeon, asking the guard at the same time if he had seen anything of the ambulance which was to convey three or four patients to the small-pox island. The guard informed him he had not. The would-be surgeon then remarked that “that was a great way to do business, and if it did not come this evening they would have to walk there in the morning.” So this morning, bright and early, the Dr. learning from the same guard that the ambulance had not arrived, made preparations to foot it. He then went up stairs and informed his patients he was ready. They all followed him down stairs, out the front door into the street, which was the last we saw of Major Rucker, Captain Stemmons, Harvey Rucker, and two others unknown to us. As they passed out one of the patients had a bandage around his head, and another his arm in a sling, all of which was well calculated to deceive the most vigilant. MARCH 14, 1863.—To-day I am twenty-nine years old. It’s my birth day, and so I must enjoy it. Why not? What’s to hinder? No noise and bustle and confusion. Under no obligations to kill myself eating the good things prepared by loving hands. No important business to occupy my time, and interfere with my pleasure. Oh no, on the contrary. I have a retired corner in a military dungeon, in place of shaking hands with congratulating friends, I shake quietly with the cold. I have time and opportunity to reflect, and food for reflection—if not for the stomach. I enjoy myself exquisitely, but—I am not selfish—I wouldn’t be on my birthday—if I could change places with my enemy I would resign in his favor. MARCH 16, 1863.—Time hangs heavily and drags slowly. They invade the sacred precincts of our solemn dungeon, by placing two mutinous Feds among us to-day which was more than even our pleasure could suffer—if we must take lodgings in the strong room let it at least, be with a select crowd. It ain’t so much the way you live as the company you keep. We managed, to convey such an intimation to Kyser and he very kindly relieved us of their presence. MARCH 17, 1863.—Was transferred back to old quarters to-day. Do not know how it happens that I alone am sent back, when we were all equally guilty of the same offence—not telling on our friends. MARCH 18, 1863.—Several citizens were brought in while I was in the lock-up. One of them—Dr. Merwin, received the gratifying intelligence that his property had been confiscated, and would be used for the benefit of the United States Government. I thought he would go crazy when he heard it, he was so filled with rage and indignation. They won’t allow his wife to come near the prison. I feel sorry for him; his offence, is corresponding with his friends in Dixie. Our institution has graduated a few! Suppose they are now practicing their profession in the State militia. I had a letter from a brother-in-law in Ohio, advising me to the same course. I don’t see it in that light. I replied thanking him for his kind feelings, and good advice; but was not prepared to act upon his suggestions. He seems honestly to love the Union. I wonder if he thinks the North are fighting to restore it? It’s my opinion he’ll see the negro rise above the Union, if his patriotic party have their way. |Capt. Samuel Barr, 3rd Mo. Regt., was transferred to Alton from which he escaped May 7, 1863| MARCH 19, 1863.—Under a confiscation order issued by Gen. Curtiss, my friend, Capt. Sam. Barr, lost over $500 in gold, his whole wealth inside the prison walls; under other circumstances, the sum would be trifling; but here, five hundred dollars means a good deal. Is the Federal Government bankrupt, that she has to rob her prisoners to raise money for carrying on the war? MARCH 20, 1863.—Last night our College received an addition of 20 new students; among the rest some four or five Yankee deserters. MARCH 21, 1863.—Had the pleasure to-day of looking on two or three familiar faces, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, and a young lady whose name I do not know, from Palmyra, Mo. They came to see a brother of Mrs. T’s—Moses Bates, who was captured at Iuka. MARCH 25, 1863.—Last night about 12 o’clock, two more inmates were added to our room. They are from Columbus, Ky., charged with smuggling goods through to the Confederates, which they deny, and say they are “good Union,” and were in the employ of the United States Government. Hope after this when they bring their “Unionites” here, they will quarter them somewhere else, we do not want them with us. We have heard from some of our friends at Camp Chase, Ohio; they like that prison better than this; they are allowed more privileges, and have plenty of room for exercise. MARCH 26, 1863.—Several prisoners from Alton, arrived here for trial. All the prisoners of war at that point, leave next week for exchange. Wish we could have the pleasure of bearing them company, but I suppose that is impossible, as they say exchanging officers has played out. MARCH 27, 1863.—Learned to-day that Gen. Bragg’s wife died on the 23rd inst., at Tullahoma, Miss.; also that Bragg had whipped Rosecrans, and that Gen. Frank Blair and his command had been captured; all of which, however, needs confirmation. MARCH 28, 1863.—Received another letter from my wife, enclosing one from my mother in Ohio, who is very sorry I am not in the Union army. I also am sorry to vex her righteous heart, but I take Davy Crockett’s motto, “Be sure you are right, then go ahead.” MARCH 30, 1863.—Several prisoners arrived yesterday from the South West. I suppose at last we are going to have an exchange, as rations are now being cooked up for a large number who leave tomorrow. They are in the best of spirits, rejoicing over the prospect of getting back to Dixie once more. MARCH 31, 1863.—Two more prisoners made their escape last night. One had a ball and chain attached to his leg, which he succeeded in getting off before he left; but how it was accomplished, is a fact of which I am not in possession. I only know that I rejoice with them, and send my sincerest congratulations after them; would be pleased to do myself the honor of conveying them in person, for “My limbs are bowed, though not with toil, But rusted with a vile repose, For they have been a dungeon’s spoil And mine has bean the fate of these. To whom the goodly earth and air Are bound, and barr’d—forbidden fare. Our bread is such as captives’ tears Have moistened many a thousand years, Since man first pent his fellow men Like brutes within an iron den.” APRIL 2, 1863.—Four hundred and eighty-four prisoners left to-day, on exchange, for City Point, Va. We understand there is a prospect of an exchange of officers soon. The news is not depressing. Had a letter from a married sister in Ohio, advising me to take the oath and be a good Union man. Will study on it awhile first. Won’t join until I am converted. APRIL 3, 1863.—Have not as yet been called on for exchange—hope our time will come soon, as we are all anxious to bid farewell to Gratiot. It is said, however, that we will leave some time next week. |See the Women and Children’s Prisoner list and the corresponding prisoner notes for more information on these women and their circumstances.| Mrs. Jeff. Thompson, Mrs. Calhoun and a Mr. Bently, were all arrested to-day. The ladies were sent to the female prison, so we are informed by Mr. Bently, who was sent here. APRIL 5, 1863.—Mrs. McLure, a very kind friend of the prisoners, is now under arrest in her own house, which has been converted into a military prison for ladies. Shouldn’t wonder if the Yanks succeeded, they are an inventive race. Who but them would ever have thought of making war on women? Wonder if they will hang or burn any of them for witches? Don’t blame them for making fun of the word “chivalry;” no doubt it does sound queer to them, they don’t understand it. APRIL 6, 1863.—News to-day is: The Feds have taken Charleston—Loss heavy on both sides. Wants confirmation. APRIL 7, 1863.—Witnessed a fight to-day between an officer and a private of the regiment now guarding us. Happy to say the officer came out second best. APRIL 8, 1863.—Twenty-eight prisoners left here to-day for Alton, to-remain during the war, but the boat having departed they returned—will go to-morrow. One of them, Lieut. Kennard, from Batesville, Ark., is sentenced to hard labor during the war. Twenty-four new ones have just arrived—captured at Yazoo Pass. They are now preparing a room in the round building in which to imprison the ladies. I made the acquaintance of the place on my first arrival here, it is admirably adapted, of course, to accommodate the tender natures of the fair sex or it would not have been selected, but I acknowledge my faculties are too obtuse to appreciate the advantages. Our quarters are bad enough for us, but we consider them far preferable to the round building. However, the God-and-humanitarians have too much benevolent intellect to commit a wrong. This is Progress, if we leather-heads could only see it. APRIL 10, 1863.—The capture of Charleston turns out to be a hoax, gotten up for election purposes. Our lady comrades have not, as yet, arrived; their quarters being about ready, we look for them to-morrow. The Yankee plan with regard to the woman part of the war is not fully developed. I don’t know how they rank them, or what will be done about an exchange. We have no women prisoners—we have not progressed that far. Do they propose to redeem their men with our ladies? O the wondrous, deep, mysterious depths of Yankee strategy. APRIL 14, 1863.—Been jogging along, for several days, the same old dull rate—nothing of interest transpiring. It seems our side had decidedly the best of the engagement at Charleston; it is also re ported that Gen. Foster has surrendered to our forces at Washington, N. C., however, we believe nothing here, either good or bad; any news that falls to us is only waste crumbs any way; if we are ever exchanged we may have an opportunity of ascertaining some facts. APRIL 15, 1863.—Thank God, we have been called for exchange; notified to be ready by to-morrow or next day. Will be sent to City Point, Va. APRIL 16, 1863.—At the writing of this, a large fire can be seen west of the prison; several have occurred within the last week. It is said one party is trying to burn out the other. The spirit of enlightenment is abroad, it blazes forth in many a burning homestead. APRIL 18, 1863.—Nothing of interest to-day; still making preparations for an exchange. APRIL 19, 1863.—One of the female prisoners arrived to-day, and is now in the lock-up. She is a Mrs. Campbell, from Memphis, Tenn. The male prisoners were locked in their rooms, to prevent them from seeing her as she passed; but it did no good, for we cut a hole through a plank they nailed over our window, and all got a good look at her. She does not appear in the least subjugated. APRIL 20, 1863.—We hear that Gen. Wheeler has been having quite a run of success down in Tennessee. Captured a large number of Federal officers and privates, and $30,000 in money, besides destroying several trains. APRIL 21, 1863.—Will leave to-morrow—at least we have been notified to that effect. We are to be paroled to travel East, which will be much more pleasant than having a guard over us. APRIL 22, 1863.—Paroled to limits of the city from half-past two until four, when I am to join the rest of the prisoners at the ferry, and all proceed on our way to City Point. Went to Barnum’s Hotel, where I met with a lady friend, from Marion Co., who is visiting the city to see her husband, now in Gratiot street prison. We went together to the Provost Marshal’s office, where I found my brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Bradley, who were visiting St. Louis on a bridal trip, and were then at the office to procure a permit to visit me in prison. It was a pleasant and delightful surprise. They brought me a letter from my wife, and a bundle, containing among other things, my share of the wedding feast. We returned to the hotel, and remained until four. I insisted on their accompanying me to the river and seeing us off. They kindly consented, and when we reached the ferry the prisoners had gone over; we crossed next trip; how I enjoyed every precious moment. We found the cars just ready to start, bade a hasty “farewell” and I jumped aboard—soon under headway for Indianapolis. We have passed through some beautiful towns, everything is cheering, enjoy ourselves splendidly, plenty to eat of the best quality. The officers in charge, Major White and Capt. Burns, are very kind, showing us every gentlemanly courtesy. APRIL 23, 1863.—Morning—Now traveling in Indiana, changed cars at Indianapolis. Afternoon—In Ohio, changed cars at Crestline for Pittsburgh, Pa. Eight o’clock, evening—Pittsburgh; have had a good supper; been allowed to walk around and see the towns whenever the cars stopped long enough. Could buy a dinner for fifty cents, sometimes for twenty-five. The Yankee officers are quite sociable, they call on us for a song, we give them “Old John Brown;” they reply with “We’ll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree,” &c. The citizens manifest a good deal of curiosity; ask us many questions, some we answer. APRIL 24, 1863.—Reached Philadelphia to-day. Seem to be regarded as rare and curious specimens; more or less interesting, according to circumstances. We hear such remarks as, “They look something like our men, only not dressed so well.” Others approach us and offer to purchase our gum rings, present us with copperhead breast-pins, and tell us that “Old Abe can never enforce the draft, the North will resist it to the last.” As we were marching from the depot to the river, we had an exhibition of the milk of human kindness, as given by, and sucked from the breast of some tender fair, of the Quaker City. Women and children called out to us, telling us we were “dirty mean devils,” and expressed the opinion, that the best thing to do with us, was to throw us into the Delaware. We listened, hoping to catch some enlightenment, as we passed through the God-favored section. Halting in the street to rest, we were assaulted by a mob, broomsticks were hurled at us, together with every epithet of abuse which adorns the rich language of the eloquent East. We bowed to the storm and acknowledged their superiority; we have seen nothing like it in the South. As we proceeded on our way the crowd followed. We went on board the steamer ‘Major Reybold,’ laid at the quay about an hour and left for Fort Delaware, situated on an island sixty miles below Philadelphia, which we reached a little after dark, when we were conducted to our quarters, where we met several old Gratiot acquaintances who left St. Louis before us. APRIL 25, 1863.—Discover this morning that Fort Delaware is the hardest prison hotel we have seen. The lower quarters at Gratiot were bad enough, God knows, with disease, starvation and dirt, but this elegant and select little “Island Home” has refined upon the abstemiousness of their habits, the rigorous denial practiced upon our appetites is wonderful, we indulge freely in nothing except the water from the bay, which affects all who use it with diarrhea; many are sick, but our craving stomach must be filled, it cries out continually, “give, give,” and the table has almost literally nothing to offer. Five hundred and fifty-three of us starve around the same board. APRIL 26, 1863.—St. Louis and Springfield are paradises compared with this, all are complaining of hunger. Do not know what we would have done if it had not been for a barrel of oysters we were allowed to purchase from an oyster boat. We relished them as only such poor hungry devils could. APRIL 27, 1863.—The boat has at last arrived which is to carry us to City Point. We are anxious for any change from this miserable hell. I am feeling quite miserable in health. Captain Frost was exchanged at City Point, Virginia. He then traveled to the parole camp at Demopolis, Alabama to await official exchange. He traveled north to Arkansas and was taken ill with small pox in the month of July. In August he learned his company has been reorganized and new officers in charge of it, leaving Frost without a unit. He traveled northward and on October 17, 1863 was captured in Ray County, Missouri, behind Federal lines, while on a recruiting mission. October 23, 1863 he arrived again at Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis.

Today Dreste is searching for the queen, the elusive mistress of the hive, because if he doesn't find her and clip her wings, she'll sabotage the politics of the colony and his 2-year-old hobby as well. The bees' natural tendency is to divide the hive, Dreste explains, but if he finds the queen and snips her wings, she won't be able to defect with a swarm. He gently slides a bee-stuccoed frame from its slot, and a complaint rises like heat from the depths of the hive. "You've got to move slow and not distract them too much," he says, slowly reaching down for a handheld smoker, which, for some reason, is supposed to calm them down. "They aren't in too bad of a mood today." All in all, he figures, he's been stung about 50 times in the last two years, only about a third as many times as he's been arrested. In these four hives alone, there are 200,000 bees, and if he had a $20 bill for every single one, Dreste still wouldn't have enough money to pay off the most recent judgment against him. It's been two months since the end of the latest and most notorious trial, officially Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Inc.; et al. vs. American Coalition of Life Activists; et al but more commonly known as the "Nuremberg Files case" or "that trial in Oregon," and Dreste thought a day away from the city, the publicity and the legal hassles might do him some good. He accepts the consequences of what he's done, for what he believes he's been chosen by God to do, but the costs, both physical and mental, are adding up these days. In addition to more than a decade of arrests, jail time, fines and more arrests, the 40-year-old St. Louis native has now been officially, federally and forevermore labeled a racketeer who co-conspired and threatened to kill, assault or do bodily harm to physicians who provide abortions. It was a federal trial watched around the country because its outcome would draw new boundaries around what was considered protected political speech. It was also followed closely by abortion opponents, who for years fought the legality of Roe vs. Wade, and by abortion providers, who for years lived in fear for their lives. The defendants, two anti-abortion groups and 12 individuals, including Dreste, were not charged with any of the 40 clinic bombings or seven murders that took place in the U.S. between 1983 and 1999, but they were accused by two abortion-rights groups and four abortion providers of setting off some of that violence through the use of Web sites, literature and posters. Dreste, in the middle of it all, was implicated in highly coordinated campaigns and conspiracies that the court found to be "true threats" not sheltered by the First Amendment. Before the federal trial, Dreste rode tall on the reputation he had garnered: domestic terrorist, religious fanatic, paramilitary right-wing nut -- in short, a royal pain in the posterior of the pro-choice movement. But this latest charge against him, the federal order and injunction, well, he just needed a day away. He comes to these woods often, for the bees or to hunt wild turkey and deer. He learned to shoot when he was 13, aimed at floating balloons on a pond, but for reasons as complex as the political system in the hives around him, he doesn't own a gun anymore. He has four hives of Carniolan, Italian and Buckfast bees that will produce up to 180 pounds of honey by August, and as he slides the first frame back into the top honey super and pulls another one out, the commotion in the hive grows louder, meaner, like caucusing before a riot. He pokes at something on the frame. "It's a swarm cell," he says from underneath the black net, "a new queen cell made specifically so they can swarm with the old queen. When you find one of these, you have to cut it open." He jabs at it, and the horde unites in a menacing condemnation heard 50 feet away. Unless he finds the queen soon, the toiling masses will mob. He works his way methodically from one frame to the other. But today it's a fruitless endeavor. Dreste knows everyone in the Apostolic Christian Church in Hazelwood, not because the tiny seven-pew sanctuary seats a maximum of 30 people but because of those 30 people, half -- maybe more -- are his relatives. "That man is my uncle," he says one Sunday morning from the back pew, where he operates the small sound board, "and that's his wife, and over there, that's my sister; there's another sister, and that man is a cousin, and those are his kids ... " And there are kids everywhere: in grandparents' laps; scrunched down beneath the pews. A young girl of about 9, the daughter of a cousin of an in-law, hangs adoringly on Dreste's arm. His family, the church, stresses doing God's work from a more practical point of view than many fundamentalist Protestant denominations, always reminding members that gaining entrance to heaven isn't like buying a lottery ticket. There is no magic to it, no speaking in tongues, no handling snakes, no eternal security. You work hard here on Earth, quietly, diligently, to retire in eternity. Your works are an outward manifestation of your faith, and your faith is what saves you. A young woman wedged in behind an organ calls out, "Somebody pick a hymn," and somebody else calls back, "How about 392?" There are no candles, no potted lilies, no ushers passing trays. There are no heavily robed ministers -- it's the congregation's job to learn and teach -- so Dreste's uncle, after the hymn, approaches the small podium to teach a lesson about the shootings in Colorado. While the congregation listens attentively, there are no amens, hallelujahs or praise-the-Lords; all eyes, at one point of the sermon or another, sneak a look at the back pew, where I'm seated. Afterward, several people ask politely, "So, how do you know Tim?" He later confesses that the church is trying to get him married. Most of the family and friends who've known Dreste over the years describe him as a "normal kid," "nice guy," "smart as a whip" -- but always add, "I never saw this coming." Whether they mean the militant anti-abortion activism he has engaged in since 1985 or his federal conviction this March is swallowed up in the person they knew "before." Dreste was born between five sisters and two brothers in a working-class neighborhood in Normandy that he still calls home. Like every other kid on the block, he flourished on baseball, movies and weekly family trips to church. As one childhood friend, Dave Gansman, now says, "He was a pretty normal kid. I mean, he's pretty outspoken now, but he has really strong beliefs and opinions, and he sticks by them. But he was a normal kid, a normal teenager. I mean, I never saw any of this coming." His parents, Mildred and Richard Dreste, were strict disciplinarians who instilled in their eight children the love of God and respect for worldly authority the Bible commanded. At a recent family gathering at his sister's house in Affton, Mildred explains that her grandfather founded an Apostolic Christian Church congregation in Ohio, "so it goes way back, it's been ingrained in us for years and years"; her children weren't even allowed to date until they found someone spiritually sound in the church. "A practice," she says smiling, "they still hold over my head." Predictably, Mildred describes her oldest son as an "intelligent" and "funny" child who never gave her any trouble. But Dreste's siblings, unable to keep straight faces, scramble over each other to tell all: the ornery sense of humor (he admits); the techniques for sneaking in after curfew (he admits); the homework he let them copy (he admits). Mildred's head snaps toward her son as if she's seen a vampire. "It's amazing," she says after a moment, "what you learn about your own children over the years." But like many church-raised children, Dreste didn't fully latch onto the church's teachings until he became a teenager, when, during a church youth rally near Peoria, Ill., he was asked whether he knew the Lord. "I realized that I really didn't," Dreste says sedately, "and I realized that that's what I wanted." So he was baptized, read the Bible with clearer eyes and thought about what it was God wanted him to do. Meanwhile, he learned to fix cars, fell in love with Star Wars, graduated from Normandy High School, skipped college and joined the Marine Reserves, where he was trained as a telephone and telegraph wireman. Then, in the early '80s, Dreste became a missionary for the church in Brazil, where he floated the Amazon and learned to speak Portuguese within two years. When he returned to St. Louis in 1983, Dreste found himself spiritually mired, stuck wondering what God wanted him to do next, and he wandered -- from working in an auto-parts store to repairing air-conditioners to fixing cars in a garage. At the time, he says, he couldn't have defined abortion if you asked him. Things changed when, in 1985, members of Missouri Right to Life showed the movie "Silent Scream," a video that showed an actual abortion at 11 weeks of pregnancy, at Dreste's church, and the implications of what he saw hit him like a 6-foot wall of rushing water. "I said to myself, 'I have to stop this now, the injustice of this,' and I started picketing every Wednesday night at the clinic in University City." It was there, on the picket line, that Dreste met a man named John Ryan, the Catholic director of the Pro-Life Action League, who changed both Dreste's life and the anti-abortion movement in ways no one had dreamed of several years before. Because abortion was the murder of a child, Ryan told his followers, there was an obligation on the part of Christians to save that child, that day, in any way within legal boundaries. The peaceful sit-ins of previous years no longer sufficed, and Ryan, who would later have whole chapters in books written about him, was getting arrested on a regular basis for his clinic blockades. As Ryan said later at a National Right to Life convention in Kansas City, "If it's radical for us to enter an abortion clinic and place ourselves between a murderer and his victim, then I want to be a radical." For Dreste, Ryan was a mentor. And from Ryan, Dreste began to learn that doing God's work, and doing it well, meant strategizing to overcome the rules of a secular society. Ryan taught that anything they as protesters could do within the law to keep a woman from walking into that clinic was acceptable, including the infamous clinic blockades. "And it was working," Dreste recalls, "because it allowed our counselors a longer time on the sidewalk to talk with the girls. I mean, you get 30 seconds to one minute to talk to these girls, but if you've got a lot of people blocking the door, you have more time. If you can just talk to them for a few minutes, there's good chance you can get through to them." Soon the pacifist, civil-disobedience movement transformed itself into an active "rescue mission," using Proverbs 24:11 as its key verse: "Deliver those who are being taken away to death/And those who are staggering to slaughter/O hold them back." For Dreste, and for his church, the next verse in Proverbs is equally significant: "And will He not render to man according to his work?" The abortion-clinic rescue was Dreste's work, and he toiled diligently. "The whole idea of a rescue," he explains, "is that you have some people doing the sit-in part of it; you've got sidewalk counselors who are talking to the girls as they're coming in; you've got picketers and people praying. It's essential to have all of those elements together. It's highly coordinated. It's not just people going out there sitting in. It was very effective." It is unclear just how many "rescues" were accomplished. What was clear was how the actions galvanized the anti-abortion movement. "With more and more people getting arrested, we got more media exposure and made it an issue. It was similar to the civil-rights movement. For people in the civil-rights movement, it was always an issue, but it wasn't an issue with the public until someone started making noise about it, getting arrested and stuff, which would cause the media to ask, 'Why are they getting arrested?' and you'd get the opportunity to explain." Dreste's first arrest came soon after he joined the Pro-Life Action League, and when they dragged him off to the precinct office and asked him for his name, he decided to answer everything in Portuguese -- anything to further clog up the system. When they asked whether he spoke any English at all, Dreste answered, "A leetle bit," justifying his answer by the fact that he probably only knew about 10 percent of the words in Webster's dictionary anyway. The movement was transforming rapidly, and St. Louis was in the thick of it all. Ryan was organizing dozens of major protests and leading a national movement to do whatever it took to stop abortions, but by 1986, his escalating activism cooled all support from mainstream anti-abortion groups such as Missouri Citizens for Life and the St. Louis Roman Catholic archdiocese, which wanted to keep their distance from the more militant segment. Back at Dreste's own church, feelings were mixed. Though the congregation supported in spirit what Dreste's movement was trying to do, they weren't completely comfortable with the way it was being done. "He was a man that had such definite convictions and was accepting the consequences of his convictions," says Dave Cordes, a longtime family friend and fellow church member. "He was very active in trying to protect the unborn, and while I want to do that, too, we're not all out of the same die, so there's disagreement to what extent we should go." The church prayed for Dreste anyway, because this was his mission. But it was a mission that was also part of a national political movement spiraling toward what some would later call domestic terrorism, with 133 acts of violence reported in 1986 -- including vandalism, death threats and arson -- acted out against abortion providers, according to statistics provided by the National Abortion Federation. It's 7 a.m., and the first of the anti-abortion protesters gather in front of the Hope Clinic for Women in the heart of Granite City, Ill. The two-story, concrete-block building is boxed in on all sides by factories, a VFW hall and bright-yellow strips of police security tape that, depending on where you stand, mark off where goodness ends and evil begins. In the clinic's front parking lot, a half-dozen orange-vested volunteer escorts stand in pairs chatting, drinking coffee and trying not to look at the people slowly gathering behind the yellow tape around them. The escorts, like the security tape, the armed guards and the bulletproof glass in the building, are there for a reason. Tim Dreste is a big part of that reason, though if you ask him whether the clinic employees have reason to be afraid, he answers that if they weren't doing what they were doing, you wouldn't have to ask. "Tim Dreste is one of the regulars," says Tracy McCreery, a volunteer escort for the Missouri NARAL Foundation. "He's pretty easy to pick out. He wears a camouflage jacket and says some pretty outrageous things. He's almost like a local hero for the other side." Dreste never wanted to be a hero, though, preferring the front-line work of the doers as opposed to the sideline strategizing of the leaders. But in 1988, after a philosophical split in the Pro-Life Action League, Dreste formed a new, more Protestant group called Whole Life Ministries, which in turn soon affiliated with the more radical national organization Operation Rescue. Headed by charismatic leader Randall Terry, Operation Rescue took the country by storm. Huge rescues were staged at clinics across the country and began garnering the praise of religious leaders like Jerry Falwell and James Dobson. Dreste, like the movement itself, was changing, becoming more savvy, confronting the system on the streets, and Whole Life Ministries started making headlines. In June 1988, 50 members were arrested outside the Womenscare Clinic in St. Louis County. In July, 60 more were charged with mob action for their protest at the Hope Clinic. One month later, 22 more. A day after that, 23. Getting arrested was not just an unpleasant consequence, a price to pay for the protest, but became part of the strategy. And Dreste understood this well. "We had a whole group of attorneys that would take all these cases pro bono," Dreste says. "If the prosecutors wouldn't give us a break, the attorneys would say, 'Fine, we all want individual jury trials, which will cost thousands of dollars and tie up the system for months.' They'd usually say, 'Well, all right, it's only civil trespassing charges.' We did whatever we could to tie up the system." By 1991, Operation Rescue was holding larger and larger protests, and Dreste attended as many as he could. That August, 2,500 people, including Dreste, were arrested for disorderly conduct in Wichita, Kan. The next year, in Washington, D.C., Dreste and 277 others were hauled in for crossing police lines to block clinic entrances. Back in St. Louis, Dreste continued organizing protests at places like Granite City, where the director of Hope Clinic, Sally Burgess, could only watch in horror. "They used tactics like, when a patient was walking toward the clinic out on the sidewalk, they would get right in her face, and your tendency when somebody does that is to reach out and try to push them back," Burgess says. "At that point, the protesters would call the police and file assault charges (against the woman), so that the patient would be sitting there in this very busy clinic and be dragged out by the police. Any little harassment thing like that, they would do." At the time, Dreste was still working as an auto mechanic, but the continual breaks he was taking for protests, jail time and trials were beginning to put a strain on his relationship with his boss. Some members of his family, too, were having a hard time accepting that they had a "criminal" in the family. Finally his church stepped in and asked him to become a full-time "missionary for the pre-born," and Dreste willingly accepted. Things moved forward at a dizzying pace, and the parallel lines of religion and politics began to merge. Dreste organized more protests, traveled more to others across the country and then decided to run for the state Senate seat held by Wayne Goode (D-Normandy) on a pro-life Republican platform. He knew his chances of winning in the heavily Democratic district weren't the best, but because he believed Goode's stand against abortion wasn't strong enough, and because the incumbent senator rarely ran opposed, Dreste decided to give him a little competition, a little political jog around the block. Meanwhile, violent incidents at clinics were reaching an all-time high, with 196 reported by the end of 1992, and disruptions, such as bomb threats and hate mail, rising to 3,379. But then the political bottom dropped out when the Reagan-Bush era was plowed under in the November '92 elections and the staunchly pro-choice Bill Clinton was elected to office, the pro-choice Mel Carnahan was elected Missouri's governor, and Dreste, not surprisingly, lost his own race. The following May, the newly empowered abortion-rights side fired its first volley in what would soon escalate into out-and-out war: Clinton signed the Freedom of Access to Entrances Act (FACE), making it a federal crime to engage in violent or disruptive behavior at abortion clinics. It was a hammer to the head of the rescue movement, and while in jail for an earlier clinic protest, Dreste let loose and wrote a letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch questioning why his people were being thrown in jail while "militant homosexuals invade church services and spread AIDS-infected blood in legislative chambers, all the while being cheered on by the left for standing up for their causes." Rendered impotent at the clinics by legislation, yet impassioned by the fiery rhetoric of the movement's leaders, extremists at the fringe began crawling out of the shadows, guns in hand. In March 1993, Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider in Pensacola, Fla., was shot to death by Michael Griffin. It was the first murder of an abortion provider in the U.S., and it set the stage on which an increasingly militant pro-life movement would, from then on, act. The murder also created a backdrop for abortion providers of fear and resentment. Bulletproof vests were donned, high-tech security systems were installed and police escorts to and from work became the norm. As described in Wrath of Angels, written by James Risen and Judy L. Thomas, "what was left of the movement was dominated by extremists who refused to place any limits on direct action to stop abortion." Gunn's murder also set the stage for Dreste. Days after the shooting, Dreste went home, made up a new picketing sign and marched over to the Hope Clinic wearing shotgun shells on his hat. On the sign, directed at a doctor inside the building, were big, bold words that shadow Dreste to this day: "DO YOU FEEL UNDER THE GUNN?" Again Dreste made headlines, but this time they questioned whether the missionary-turned-activist hadn't linked arms with the emerging violent fringe elements of the anti-abortion movement. Dreste dodges that bullet. "I guess it was using dark humor to get my message across, maybe, but in light of the fact that this was such an explosive issue, I just wanted to ask (the doctor) if he was sure this was something he wanted to do," Dreste says. "I mean, every time a skydiver gets killed, all the other skydivers who know him ask themselves whether they want to continue skydiving or not. I was just using Gunn's death as an opportunity to ask the doctor, 'Is this something you really want to be engaged in?'" After FACE became law in 1993, rescue, for all political intents and purposes, was dead. Dreste knew it, and others knew it, too. But it didn't stop the protests and only seemed to spur on the violence, directed at the doctors inside the clinics. The new strategy called for instilling fear among the abortion providers rather than persuading the pregnant women to turn around. That August, an anti-abortion activist named Rachelle Shannon shot and wounded Dr. George Tiller at his Wichita clinic; 437 other acts of violence, including 78 death threats and 188 stalkings, were reported nationwide. Dreste's own resolve grew stronger every day. No matter what the laws now said, no matter how the media responded to the killings, no matter how many complaints he received from his family, his friends or the members of his church, he knew he was doing the right thing. As Ryan said years before, somebody had to inhabit the trenches. But the old trenches were filled in by the new FACE Act, and Dreste had to figure out where to dig new ones. "Since rescue was dead, more or less, we had to find another way to be effective," Dreste says. "So we started making the abortionists the pariahs of their neighborhoods instead. If you go out and picket their neighborhoods, they scream and holler, and we just say, 'Well, isn't that what you do?' "You create that social sense within the community so he feels out of place," Dreste continues. "He doesn't want to go to the country club anymore; his neighbors don't see him as just a doctor anymore, they see him as an abortionist. When he feels he's losing face in the community and his reputation is not what it was, a lot of times they'll quit. Our goal was to go after the doctors, to make them decide that if they were going to do this, they were 100 percent committed to it and no matter what, even if they had to live like a monk on a hilltop to do abortions, let them decide if they're that dedicated." As Dreste's push to end legalized abortion intensified, so did his political activism. For the next three election cycles he ran unsuccessfully as a pro-life Republican trying to unseat Democratic pro-choice state Rep. Rita Days. But resentment against an unresponsive government, now a larger enemy than before, began constructing in Dreste's heart a firm structure of resolve. He began seeing the government's indifference to abortion and other conservative issues as a sequel to the British government's behavior toward the colonists before the Revolutionary War. In January 1995, Dreste joined the newly formed First Missouri Volunteers, a private militia formed by members plagued with similar worries that kept them up at night, members of the growing patriot movement. Because of his frustration over the years with mainstream attempts to change the system, joining the militia as its chaplain finally allowed him fellowship with the like-minded. They were a group on standby, prepared for anything from rescue-relief work to revolution, though they swore as members never to take up arms against the U.S. government -- unless the U.S. government took up arms against the people. In Dreste's mind, that day is perilously close: "There's a resentment against an unresponsive government. Historically, when that happens, people protest, and the government clamps down on them. They protest more, and the government comes down even harder. In any country where there's a revolt, it's because the government is clamping down harder and harder on the people." On the abortion front, Operation Rescue was falling apart. After Gunn's murder the year before, the national organization tried to patch up its reputation as an organization infested with violent factions by issuing an ultimatum to its members: Commit to nonviolence or get out. Heated arguments followed in the organization about whether killing abortion doctors was justifiable homicide. Some said it was, some said it wasn't, and still others, like Dreste, refused to condemn or justify the violence. What mattered to him, says Dreste, was that the edict was issued without the membership's being consulted. In his mind, Operation Rescue was operating now like the U.S. government, with little respect for the constituency and its views. Dreste suggested that some of the groups gather in St. Louis to talk about forming a new organization, which materialized in August 1994 as the American Coalition of Life Advocates (ACLA). Headed by David Crane, who publicly supported murdering abortion providers in the name of life, the fledgling group held its 1995 annual convention in St. Louis. For abortion providers in the area, word of the convention came like a dreaded late-night telegram. Dr. Robert Crist, who lived in Kansas City but flew once a week to St. Louis to practice, recalled in later testimony that he was contacted by St. Louis police officials, who warned him that extra security measures would have to be taken. He had, after all, been the earlier target of numerous death threats, and in 1993, in the middle of the night, a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun shattered two windows in his son's playroom. In order to get to the St. Louis clinic the week of the ACLA convention, Crist was picked up at his home by two Kansas City policemen and taken to the airport's security area; then he boarded the plane from the tarmac, before any other passengers got on. Two armed security officers stood at the front of the plane until it took off, and before the plane landed in St. Louis, all the passengers were told to stay seated until Crist was escorted off the plane by four undercover St. Louis police officers. Crist was then whisked to the clinic in one car with two officers while the other two followed in an unmarked car. Outside the clinic, as Crist worked, three uniformed policemen and six plainclothes officers stood by. Meanwhile, at the convention, Dreste unveiled what would later be dubbed the "Wanted" poster, which showed a photograph of Crist below the words "GUILTY of Crimes Against Humanity." Below, Dreste listed Crist's home and work addresses, enumerated his "crimes" and then, in a bold black font, issued a $500 reward. Underneath, in very small print, Dreste added that the reward would be issued to any ACLA organization that "successfully persuades Crist to turn from his child killing through activities within ACLA guidelines." But the group's guidelines didn't take a position on justifiable homicide, only that members could not engage in any form of protest that required "more force than allowed by First Amendment protected activities." After Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution of November '94 and its "Contract with America," the ACLA issued its "Contract with the Abortion Industry" in 1995, stating that abortion was murder and that the Bible required capital punishment by civil magistrates for murder. To complicate matters, similar posters had been circulated before the murders of several other abortion providers, and a petition was being circulated at the convention justifying the violence. Many of the ACLA's leaders signed the petition, though Dreste declined to do so. The ACLA also presented its "Deadly Dozen" list at the St. Louis conference, which, like Dreste's poster, cryptically accused 12 abortion providers of "crimes against humanity" and offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to their arrest, conviction and revocation of license to practice medicine. "Abortion was provided as a choice for East European Jewish women by the (Nazi) National Socialist regime," the list stated, "and was prosecuted during the Nuremberg trials (1945-46) under allied control order No. 10 as a 'war crime.'" Back at the clinic, Crist was informed that the poster and the list were being passed out in the clinic's parking lot and tacked to telephone poles and trees by overflow protesters from the convention. "The police informed me that this was a serious threat," Crist later testified, "and that I should be seriously concerned about my safety." One policeman, Crist testified, told him: "Doctor, in my estimation, this is a contract on your life." Dreste says the posters and the list, like the neighborhood protests, were ways of embarrassing, not scaring, the doctors out of business. "I didn't do it to intimidate them," Dreste says. "I don't see how it can be intimidation to tell the world what a person does." The world, however, saw the poster and the "Deadly Dozen" flyer as nothing less than the hit lists of thugs. Because similar posters and lists had been issued earlier on doctors who were later murdered, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service contacted everyone on the posters and lists issued by the ACLA and urged them to take precautions. Four months later, in early 1996, the ACLA took another bold step by announcing in Washington, D.C., the creation of the "Nuremberg Files." At that point, the files were boxes holding photographs and information about abortion providers across the country that would be held by the group in the event abortion ever became illegal. The information, the activists believed, could then be used to prosecute, and presumably execute, the people whose names were contained in the boxes. Dreste himself took one more step toward realizing that goal of making abortion illegal by becoming the Republican committeeman for Normandy Township, where he lived, and by joining the Republican State Central Committee, the policy-making body of the party. Democrats on the sidelines didn't know whether to snicker or run for the cellar. "Here's this guy, a member of a paramilitary right-wing organization, i.e., the First Missouri Volunteers, that's related to white supremacist and violent activity, sitting on the state committee," says John Hickey, director of Missouri Progressive Vote, a group that actively campaigned against Dreste when he ran for state representative. "He's a member of the most extreme arm of the anti-choice movement who uses threats of violence and murder to make up for what he loses at the ballot box. Unbelievable." But Dreste never flinched. That year, he didn't think twice about telling the state GOP that it should add to its platform a murder penalty for all "abortionists, perpetrators of euthanasia and those who assist others in suicide." One year later, the Nuremberg Files were placed on the Internet by anti-abortion activist Neal Horsley, a computer programmer from Carrollton, Ga. At first the ACLA's name was published on the site, but later, at the group's request, it was removed. The bell had already been rung, though. Around the globe, people identified the ACLA with a Web site that called abortion clinics "baby butcher shops," and printed pictures of aborted fetuses that looked like mangled aliens. The site asked readers to collect "evidence" against abortion providers, including photos, videotapes, car makes and models, addresses, names of friends, phone numbers, Social Security numbers and the names and birthdates of spouses and children. It then printed the information alongside photos of the physicians in question. The most frightening aspect of the site was the list of abortion supporters, including doctors, clinic employees, relatives, judges and politicians whose names were printed in black if they were still alive, gray if they had been wounded and crossed through with a line if they had been killed. Left unsaid was the implication that more names needed to be crossed out. The rhetoric on the Web site was less subtle: "We can end the Abortion War if we ran the images of the babies being slaughtered into the minds of every citizen in this nation. Ram those images into their minds until the vast majority is ready to vomit out legalized abortion like Caesar vomited out the ancient church when he was moved to repentance by images of countless, unremitting, endless carcasses of God's children." For the rest of the world, enough had become enough. From 1994-96, four more clinic employees were murdered and 10 more attempts made. By this time, the number of clinic bombings had climbed to 32 and the stalking of providers to 323. At a Taco Bell in Granite City, Dreste hunkers down over a blank piece of paper, mapping the layout of the room in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., where, at the beginning of this year, he spent two solid months of his life. "Everything was pretty high-tech," he explains, circling the pen over the paper. "Each of the jurors and the lawyers had monitors in front of them. There was a gag order on all of us, so we couldn't talk to the press, and the media was banned from the courtroom. "Our attorneys were over here" -- he draws two squares marked with "D" for "defendant" -- "and theirs were over here" -- two more squares, each bearing a "P" for "plaintiff." The suit -- initiated back in 1995 by Planned Parenthood of Columbia/ Willamette, the Portland Feminist Women's Health Center and four physicians, including Crist -- charged that the defendants knew that the posters, lists and Web sites posed a threat to the abortion providers but continued to publish them anyway. Therefore, they argued, the defendants were violating FACE and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. As with the FACE laws passed back in 1993, the pro-choice side was firing back with the lawsuit, and this time they had Dreste specifically in their sights. The case was heard by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones, a 23-year trial veteran who told eight unnamed jurors that they were to decide whether three "statements" made by the defendants -- the "Nuremberg Files" Web site, the "Deadly Dozen" list and Dreste's "Crimes Against Humanity" poster -- were "true threats" against the plaintiffs. If they were true threats, he warned, they were not protected under the First Amendment. Time and again, the court transcripts show, Judge Jones repeated the definition of a "true threat" for the jury. "I am going to run it by you one more time," he'd say. "It's a statement that would be interpreted by the person to whom it is communicated as a serious expression of intent to inflict harm or assault." And time and again, Jones reiterated that "this is not a case about abortion or about whether abortion should be legalized or whether it shouldn't be or when it should happen. Do you understand that? This is strictly a case as to whether or not these words that were used are protected free speech or not." Sitting behind his lawyer in the courtroom, Dreste soon realized that this, like so many other battles in the ongoing war, would probably be lost. He knew the world was watching, and he knew the outcome could change the tactics of his fight against legalized abortion, but as far as he was concerned, everyone in the courtroom, with the exception of the jurors, already knew the story by heart. As his attorney, Michael R. Hirsh of Canton, Ga., now says, it was nothing but a "politically motivated, Planned Parenthood-financed show trial" from the beginning. Each side was given 36 hours to present its case when the trial opened on Jan. 7. Maria Vullo of New York, the plaintiffs' attorney, outlined why her clients felt threatened by the Web site, the Deadly Dozen list and Dreste's poster and how the defendants unlawfully tried to stop them from providing a legal medical procedure through "utilizing illegal methods of fear, intimidation and terror." She walked the jurors through the murders of three physicians who performed abortions -- David Gunn, George Patterson and John Bayard Britton -- and said that though none of the defendants had been charged with their murders, they all supported and endorsed the killings. In Gunn's case, Vullo noted, "wanted" posters with Gunn's name, address, photograph and personal information were circulated in Florida and Alabama, where he worked. "It threatened his life, and later he was murdered," Vullo said. She then pointed to Dreste and told the jurors about the sign he held up outside the Granite City clinic. "Just days after Dr. Gunn was murdered, defendant Dreste held up a sign of another doctor he was targeting, asking, 'Are you feeling under the Gunn?'" Vullo then described how similar "wanted" posters were created about Patterson and Britton and how, later, they also were shot and killed. Said Vullo: "The defendants did not make their threats in a vacuum. They are doing this knowing that doctors have been killed following the issuance of similar posters, and they are doing this knowing that the plaintiffs fear for their lives, because persons, like the defendants, have committed these violent acts in the purported name of God." Dreste's role in the story was clear. Except for the Nuremberg Files, which he says he didn't know about until long after they were created, Dreste was implicated as part of a nationwide conspiracy to threaten the lives of the plaintiffs. In its deposition summary, the plaintiffs' attorneys also noted that Dreste was a gun enthusiast and member of a private militia, which probably didn't help his case very much. Hirsh, Dreste's attorney, pointed out that the guns were used for recreational purposes only and that Dreste didn't own any at the present time. It didn't work. On Feb. 2, the jury found Dreste and the other defendants guilty of illegally threatening the plaintiffs and ordered them to pay $109 million in damages. Of that amount, $6 million was charged to Dreste. He just shrugs as early afternoon light filters down through a window display advertising Taco Bell's latest special for 99 cents. For Dreste, the verdict was conviction by the guilty: mock judgment, mere words on a page. It was an attempt by the world to trump an omnipotent hand, and was, like every attempt before it, the artless bluffing of amateurs. Six million dollars. They could have asked him to pay off the Third World's debts and gotten as much. He didn't have it and never would, but if they ever tried to get what little he did have, he'd simply hand it over and go back to where God first called him -- the mission field. "This was a show trial," Dreste says. "It was meant to scare other people in the pro-life movement. No matter what we do, they'll try to stop it. They tried to criminalize pro-life rhetoric by saying we have to stop using words like 'murder,' because it promotes violence. Well, something like 38 million babies have been killed, and how many abortionists have been murdered, maybe three?" Though the statement seems to imply a belief in the concept of justifiable homicide, Dreste isn't elaborating. "I don't talk about justifiable homicide," he says when pressed. "I talk about the things that I do, not the things that I don't. It's always been a policy of mine. These are the things that we do: We offer alternatives to women; we offer them whatever help they need; we go out and publicly expose the abortionists. Those are the things that we do. The things that we don't do are nonissues. "We say in our ACLA constitution that the organization doesn't have a position on justifiable homicide, so no one can say that this is the organization's position, but we all agree that we're not going to do it; we're not out here to promote it, we're out there to promote the positive things that we do." The day after the jury returned its verdict, Vullo asked the judge to ban any of the defendants, including Dreste, from publishing the Web site or handing out the lists and the posters. Though the judge wouldn't issue his injunction for several more weeks, Dreste responded to the lawyer's request immediately: Back in St. Louis, he stood in front of the clinic handing out as many "wanted" posters of the doctors as there were hands to take them. It would be the last time. On Feb. 26, Judge Jones upheld the jury's verdict. "I conclude," he stated, "that plaintiffs have proven by clear and convincing evidence that each defendant, acting independently and as a co-conspirator, prepared, published and disseminated the 'Deadly Dozen" Poster, the Poster of Dr. Robert Crist and the 'Nuremberg Files' with specific intent and malice and in blatant and illegal communication of true threats to kill, assault or do bodily harm to each of the plaintiffs." Jones' final decree drew fierce criticism from free-speech advocates who were not necessarily embroiled in the abortion fight. In Amsterdam, writer Karin Spaink, who describes herself as a "left-wing, atheist, cursing, slightly perverted, sex-loving, smoking, drugs-promoting, pro-abortion, bisexual, free-speech advocate," mirrored the Nuremberg Files Web site on her own home page, because "everybody has the right to advocate the opinion that abortion is murder." Soon, others followed, including Chris Ellison, founder of Internet Freedom, who wrote articles such as "Why We Must Defend This Repugnant Site," and pro-choice advocate Sallie Tisdale, who wrote for the on-line magazine Salon that "I'm not sure this case has been good for anyone." Hirsh, Dreste's attorney, now says, "I saw this case as a horrendous abuse of the process and the First Amendment rights of these individuals were being infringed upon" by the plaintiffs. "This had nothing to do with money, and it had nothing to do with threats. It had everything to do with silencing people to express a viewpoint that is in opposition to abortion. It was purely to silence a politically unfavored viewpoint." Meanwhile, the ACLU of Oregon issued statements of applause, saying that the court order "drew an appropriate line between political speech protected by the First Amendment and threats of physical harm, which fall outside the bounds of free speech." Likewise, pro-choice groups across the country congratulated the court's judicious move. As for Dreste, he barely shrugs. So he can't hand out the wanted posters anymore -- that won't hurt his reputation any in places like heaven, where it counts. His lawyer is filing an appeal anyway, and nothing bars him from going to Granite City on those Saturday mornings when he can make it. "It gets hard to come here every week," he admits at one point. "It's like going to work, only you're working around death, and that can wear you down. It gets to you sometimes." At one end of the parking lot of the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Catholic seminary students kneel on the pavement, finger rosary beads and pray. At the other end, Protestants hold large signs, stare at the building and wait to board a converted white school bus, called God's Bus, that will circle the clinic's perimeter until the last patient leaves, around 10 a.m. But it's still early now -- the girls won't start coming in for another half-hour or so -- and in the background, like the pulse of Zeus, beat the inner workings of the nearby National Steel yards. Ken Hamm, a member of Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Cahokia, pulls up to the curb and unloads dozens of signs -- "Stop Black Genocide," "An 8-Week-Old Pre-Born BABY Feels Pain Responds to Touch" -- for people on either end of the parking lot to use. He's here every Saturday morning and heaps two folding tables with pamphlets at the parking lot's edge. Today's choices include "Higher Laws," by Randall Terry, and "Celebrate Life!" from the Belleville Diocesan Pro-Life Office. Everything he offers is free. "All of us who are Christians are brothers and sisters," explains Hamm, wearing a red Cardinals ball cap and a T-shirt that reads "Life Begins at Conception! "We're united with Christ as our head, and that allows us to communicate with each other in many beautiful ways," says Hamm. Everyone here, whether a kneeling Catholic or bus-riding Protestant, knows about the 2-month-old federal-court injunction issued against Dreste in Oregon. "We were praying for him the whole time," Hamm says, adding that they've been praying for Dreste for years. He's probably coming this morning, Hamm says as he lines up his pamphlets on the table and eyes the reporter with polite curiosity. After hearing the explanation, though, he nods his head and smiles: "Oh, Tim's got a story to tell, all right. Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.

The free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wings in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. Xena is for X – the warrior princess http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xena While Xena, the warrior princess was a fiction character in the TV shows and movies, the entire theme of evil turning to good where Xena goes through her path of redemption is impressive. Ofcourse, the LGBT undertones brought in spice to the Xena character. The reason i added Xena to the list is two fold – - While there were too many heroes for the little boys to idolize, there were hardly women characters for the little girls – Xena fills in the gap as a female action hero. - And i do not have any women impressive enough with their name starting with alphabet Z :) Teresa, Mother Teresa is for T of atozchallenge When I was at middle school, the non-detailed studies were mandated as part of English language courses – looking back, i realize how it helped me a lot to get a glimpse of wide world than I could imagine – Mother Teresa’s stories was one of the non-detailed study as part of my curriculum in middle school – while there is no real grades attached to non-detailed studies, my dad was encouraging us to read them during the summer vacation even before the school started. In the era of no internet, books were the best bet to entertain us during vacations. That is how i read about Mother Teresa and then started dreaming that I may also get enlightened one day like her if i continue to do the good deeds she recommends – ok, that is a cliche!! but that is what i thought when I was in middle school – I was obsessing on being a good soul and fancying secretly the greatness of being a christian missionary nun – I anyways already had a great impression about the christian nuns in their pure white habits – this is a result of going to a Christian convent for my junior school. Ofcourse, later when i read more about multiple religions, this fancy fad faded when I realized every religion is a framework with its own styles helping the humanity to attain the final goal of self realization! So, here goes my memory on one of the greatest soul who was of an Albanian descendant but made a sea change to the people of India and then the world. More about Mother in the below links Subbulakshmi is for S of #atozchallenge If you have visited Hindu temples, you have listened to MS Subbulakshmi’s songs without fail – the captivating voice is something which is unique even after so many years of her passing. Again, if you think it is good enough to be wowed by her voice and beauty, you are in for a surprise. Subbulakshmi persevered her life through various ups and downs and consistently kept her focus on music – she dedicated her life for music and in turn music let her conquer it. I have to share this short note about one of her habits. MS Subbulakshi used to get lot of silk sarees (Indian traditional women’s dress) as gifts whenever she is on music concerts. She had a great method to maintain her simplicity. She always had only 10 sarees – if she gets a new saree presented to her, she immediately will gift one of the existing sarees to one of her mailds. This way, she ensured that she only had 10 sarees at any time !! it was not only she was the queen of music, she seem to be a queen in her life with her passion and empathy towards others. MS amma – Queen of music!!!! R is for Rosa Parks for atozchallenge African American women have done extremely well for themselves – while i am of Asian lineage, and it is very natural to look at Asian women as role models, I am equally surprised by the wide diversity of area in which the African American excel well. Probably Rosa Parks is one of those first few women who stood up for themselves and in turn for the society. When she was subjected to a situation which she felt was wrong, she stood for the right – the right to be free and speak about it and do something about it – She had the courage to do what she thought was right and that in turn laid the foundation of a big change in the American history. If you want to pick up one person who taught that women can be fearless anytime, then you have to read more about Rosa Parks – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks It is the irresistible Queen of Sheba who is for Q of #atozchallenge. I first knew “Queen of Sheba” as a game which is played when you are in a group. A game which requires some intelligence to do what the queen is asking the participants to do. And then came the mythical character of Queen of Sheba in Bible, in jewish scriptures and also in Islam. One more instance of a strong powerful women who is known for her beauty, and more so for her intelligence. The story is that Sheba traveled to meet King Solomon of Israel to check his knowledge through her riddles. It is a very interesting story where Sheba is finally tricked by King Solomon and they have a son together – who becomes an important mythical character in ensuring the Ark (container of the sacred ten commandments ) is brought into Ethiopia. Lot of interesting stuff to read about mythology and Queen of Sheeba is one of those interesting characters. This is for those history buffs for a weekend read on Sheeba – http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/cultures/sheba_01.shtml O is for Oprah Winfrey in #atozchallenge Here is another women who created a brand for herself – media proprietor, talk show host, actor, etc, etc. She has come a long way from her childhood – she was born in a poor family of a single mother, underwent hardship including child abuse with hardly much support from any of her close family. She could have ended up as another woman with lot of bitterness in life – instead, she conquered her weaknesses , struggled and survived to be what she is today. She is one typical role model for little girls when it comes to courage in facing life and making the best of what is available. More details on Oprah here – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey M is for Maya Angelou in #atoz challenge. My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry To get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return – Maya Angelou There are millions of reasons why Maya is regarded as one of the best authors who will continue to influence more and more individuals in all the generations yet to come. You can read through them in these web pages My one single reason is the wonderful poem by her…. J is for Joanne Rowling or JK Rowling in atozchallenge. We all grew up listening to lot of fairy tales – magic world is always intriguing with the witches and wizards when we were kids. And i was convinced that I grew up over years and matured and transitioned from the fairy tales to fiction and finally to non fiction and philosophy. I was reading Paulo Cohelo and extracts of Bhagvat Geetha and bingo…. i was again pulled into the magic world of wizards by the great HARRY POTTER series of JK !! The intelligence which is built by her into the Harry Potter series is astounding!!! The characters, the little details, the locations, the incidents, the good over evil – she wowed me!! She just made sure an entire generation of kids returned back to their reading habits and probably the so-called grown ups (like me!) went back to their world of fairy tales where the good triumphs over evil and got the hope back in life!!! Goes without saying that her personal life is also an inspiration – where she faced multiple disappointments before she became the current famous version of herself – JK Rowling!! JK – my vote for her in bringing back the hope of good over evil in millions of children and the grown-ups!! And then it made me realize that she has subtly included lot of philosophy into her wrriting – some samples below. Read more about her and her works in these two links I is for Indira Gandhi in AtoZ challenge. Anyone who lived in India during the period of Indira Gandhi will agree to the fact that she is one of the most charismatic political leader ever in the subcontinent! If I have to pick up one quality of her, then it is her courage which impresses me – the courage with which she went ahead and made those major decisions in Indian politics, Indian Government and in turn in the lives of Indians. While I am neutral politically, it goes without saying that she comes on top of my list if i look at all the prime minsters who held post in India in the past. There are multiple views on how the Nehru family and especially Indira patronized the monarchy model in the so-called democratic India – her dad Jawaharlal Nehru, she and her son Rajiv Gandhi all held the post of prime ministers of India. Still, when it comes to looking at that one women political leader across the world in all these years, Indira still is as impressive as she can get. If you need to read the life of an individual, who conquered her own demons and reached the pinnacle of power in politics in a developing country like India, INDIRA it is!!! For starters, to know more about Indira Gandhi Wiki is a good place http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi !! Check out the few sample pictures if you want to find out what it means to be a Charismatic leader….i was tough to stop adding more pictures to this post!! Indira = Charisma !!!! H on #AtoZ challenge is Hillary, and obviously i never knew this is going to be a topical post when I decided it was Hillary for H. While there are many famous women who happen to be the wives of very famous individuals, Hillary was someone I noticed closely for one single reason.The reason was her strong clarity when the famous Bill clinton – Lewinsky episode happen. East or West, it is always a challenge to handle personal matters in the eye of media and that too, if it is a spicy extra marital affair of high profile. Hillary handled that phase of her life well. In the whole episode, all i was wondering was how will Hillary will really feel about it and how much she can acknowledge about it. And, definitely, she wowed me with her confidence through this episode. And now, here is she – “Hillary for America” and it will be of great interest to watch her emerge as the first American women president – while we at the east had multiple women political leaders, it is time the world’s super power gets ready for women power ! And her first video on her presidential campaign is likeable!! H for Hillary and Hillary for America

Plus-Size Designer: Bigger People Need Good Style (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: There is a new reality show in town. It's on the TLC Network. That's the network known for popular style and fashion hits like, "What Not to Wear" and "Say Yes to the Dress." Now a new show focuses on how fashion is trying to catch up to our changing population, clothing designed for plus-sized women. "Big Brooklyn Style" follows Lisa Dolan, owner of Lee Lee's Valise, as she designs her own looks and helps her customers find looks that work for them. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BIG BROOKLYN STYLE" ) (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) LISA DOLAN: I love fashion, but growing up plus-sized really made it tough. I had to settle a lot. Not a single designer was out there making great plus-sized clothes. You can't just take a size two and bring it up to a size 22 and expect it fit correctly. So I started making clothes myself. It took a girl from Brooklyn to say hey, you don't want to do it. I'll do it. MARTIN: And Lisa Dolan joins us now. Welcome. Thanks for joining us. DOLAN: Thank you for having me. MARTIN: Did you have a eureka moment when you said look, I just, this is something I just have to do? DOLAN: There was a moment and the recession kind of helped so... DOLAN: Well, it's a good thing... MARTIN: Tell me more. DOLAN: ...and a bad thing. You know, recession is a bad thing but it did force me to make my own clothes because designers stopped making clothes in the sizes that I carry in my store. MARTIN: Wow. I didn't know that. So tell me a little bit more about that, what you said in the clip that we just played, that you can't just take a size two and bring it up to size 22 and expect it to fit correctly. DOLAN: Right. What they do is they have a pattern made, let's say it goes up to a size 12. They take the same pattern and they just extend it as if we grow and get bigger like that big plastic man you see by the used car lot. DOLAN: That's not how we get bigger. You need to start a new pattern that accounts for curves. Not just a big boxy item that's thrown over you, it's something that actually flatters you figure. MARTIN: And what about the concept itself, of kind of helping people find their way into a look that works for them? DOLAN: You mean like when I have a new customer in the store for the first time? MARTIN: Mm-hmm. Right. Mm-hmm. DOLAN: That's the best. The best part of the day is the brand-new customer that runs around the store like a kid in a candy store, wants everything, wants to try everything on. It just warms my heart seeing how happy they are because we do it together. MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from one young woman who came into your store. Her name is Shelley King. And here is. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BIG BROOKLYN STYLE") (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) SHELLEY KING: My foster mother never really gave me that encouragement that I could do anything. It was a lot of body-conscious things. She would always say, no man is going to want you if you're plus-sized and you need to lose weight. And it kind of stuck with me. Even as an adult you still need that encouragement, you know, so. DOLAN: I could be mom of clothing. MARTIN: Well, you know, you two are having a nice laugh there, but you can see where this can be very emotional, you know, and just like the other programs that we mentioned on TLC, you know, "What Not to Wear" and "Say Yes to the Dress," there's a lot of emotion around clothing. And I just wanted to know whether that's something that, you know, we're going to see a lot of on this. DOLAN: Well, when you buy a new dress and if you could fit into a contemporary size and you buy a new dress aren't you emotional? Aren't you happy? You know, we have this woman that doesn't have that all the time so when it does happen and they do put something on, they look in the mirror and they're like that's me? That's an emotional moment that they have to connect with they're seeing with their eyes now and how they feel. MARTIN: And you're show doesn't involve a lot of judgment. Sometimes, you know, we've interviewed the host of "What Not to Wear" on this program, sort of previously, and one of the things we talked about is there is a fine line between helping people in judging them and making them feel as though they're being judged. You're not in the business of judging people. You're not in the business of telling people this is... MARTIN: Or I don't know. How do you see that question? Because clearly there are times when I think that there are things which will not work as well on every customer, right? How do you handle that? DOLAN: I'm a store. I have clothes. I have dresses. I have prints. I have fun. I have colors. I don't judge anyone that walks in that door. Everyone's allowed in. And I know people start to go to unhealthy, healthy, that whole issue. It doesn't matter to me where you're coming from, you need to go to work tomorrow, you have a party on Saturday, I'm going to dress you. MARTIN: If you're just joining us, you're listening to TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm speaking with Lisa Dolan. She's the owner of the plus-sized boutique Lee Lee's Valise. She and her husband Jim star in the new TLC reality program "Big Brooklyn Styles." Speaking of your husband Jim, he says in the first episode that all he wanted to do was open his own bar. How is he handling the women's clothing business? How is that going? DOLAN: Yes. He has his joke now he's in women's clothes, which we love. DOLAN: Jim's great. He knows how to sell. Let me tell you something. We went shopping together many years where he stood outside that dressing room guarding a whole rack of dresses I wanted to try on but I could only take in so many to the dressing room. He knew to protect those clothes. He knew how hard it was for me to find things when I did find. MARTIN: How do women like having him there, though? Do they feel like, oh no or yes... DOLAN: Are you kidding me? They love him. MARTIN: They love him? Really? DOLAN: They ask him all the time, so Jim, would you buy me drink wearing this dress? MARTIN: Does he ever say no? DOLAN: Only when he offered to buy them a car. MARTIN: OK. Are you going to explain that a little bit more? DOLAN: Well when they said Jim, would you buy me a drink in this dress? And he said no. And they were like, really? He's like, I'd buy you a car. MARTIN: You know, but Lisa, you know, on a serious note there, there's a lot in the news about Americans and weight. A new study projects that more than 40 percent Americans will be obese by the year 2030. MARTIN: And a lot of the conversation is how can people be healthier and so forth? And I just, you know, gee, I'm trying to figure out a way to ask this. But do you ever... DOLAN: We all want to be healthy. DOLAN: We all want to live lives where we're doing the right thing so that we could live longer. My husband and I, I'm plus-size. We do yoga. We eat healthy. It doesn't just come off. Sometimes it's a lifestyle. I've been the same weight for five years, fluctuating here and there five, 10 pounds but not a drastic change. I am not going to yo-yo anymore. I am trying to be healthy. I take vitamins every day. We go for walks. We have yoga. We do acupuncture. We try so many different things. But again, our show is all about the clothes. The end. MARTIN: Yeah. I hear what you're saying. It's just there's an argument that the fact that there are more services and businesses out there catering to the plus-sized customer is not necessarily a good thing. And I know that's a hard thing to... DOLAN: Listen, I've had people walk in off the street say that I was advocating obesity because I had clothes to fit them. That's wrong. That is just wrong. Clothing is a necessity. Fashion is a necessity for a woman. So put them together and you have Lee Lee's Valise. MARTIN: Lisa Dolan is the star of the new TLC reality program "Big Brooklyn Style." She and her husband are owners of Lee Lee's Valise. That's a plus-sized clothing boutique in Brooklyn. She was kind enough to join us from our bureau in New York. Lisa Dolan, thank you so much for joining us. DOLAN: Thank you so much for having me. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) MARTIN: And that's our program for today. And remember, to tell us more, please go to NPR.org and find us under the Programs tab. You can also find our podcast there. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter @TELL ME MORE/NPR. I'm Michel Martin and you've been listening to TELL ME MORE from NPR News and African-American Public Radio Consortium. Let's talk more tomorrow. Let's talk more tomorrow. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Leukemia, Twitter, and "catfish" lures: The saga of Manti Te'o's imaginary girlfriend is getting more confusing by the minute. The Notre Dame linebacker initially told reporters that the "love of his life," a woman named Lennay Kekua, died of leukemia. But after some digging by a Deadspin reporter, it was discovered that Kekua never existed, and hence the reference to "catfish," which refers to this type of Internet dating hoax and is the name of a reality TV show. Te'o now says he was duped into an elaborate online ruse conducted through social media by an impostor. But whether or not Te'o's story is credible, people do fall in love with people they've only ever met online, and the feelings are very real, according to experts who study online communication. "It probably doesn't happen to a large percentage of people, but it happens occasionally, and it's very intense," said Joseph Walther, a communications scientist at Michigan State University, who has studied online relationships. The online environment is a hothouse for cultivating idealized love. For one, people don't have much information about their partners online, Walther said. [ How Do I Love Thee? Experts Count 8 Ways ] That leads people to "fill in the blanks" with either very positive or negative details, idealizing a love interest, he told LiveScience. In addition, the Internet provides the perfect way to nurture that seed of romantic love into something more intense, said Catalina Toma, a communications professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who has studied deception in online relationships. Especially in chat rooms or text messaging, the pressure of responding in real-time is removed, she said. "You have a lot of control over what you say and to be very selective about how you present yourself," Toma told LiveScience. The anonymity of the Internet also fuels the need to overshare. Because there is little to no information about body language or emotion online, people feel comfortable with disclosing more about themselves, which both encourages personal disclosures from the other person and fosters an intense sense of intimacy, she said. Making the online world real However, most of the time, people have a strong desire to take online relationships offline, Toma said. Most people start with email or chat, then progress to photographs, phone calls, or Skype, and eventually arrange face-to-face dates. When they meet, love may bloom or wither, depending on how much fantasy lines up with reality. Still, it's not typical to spend a year in an intense, emotionally intimate relationship online without actually meeting, as the football player says he did with his "girlfriend" Kekua, Toma said. In fact, research by psychologist Monica Whitty of the University of Leicester has shown that people who date online soon realize the dangers of keeping romance in cyberspace, Walther said. "The longer they go on online without meeting face-to-face, the more idealized they become," he said. To avoid turning the real-life frog into a cyberprince, most people prefer to take things offline fairly quickly, he said. - 50 Sultry Facts About Sex - Understanding the 10 Most Destructive Human Behaviors - The World's Greatest Hoaxes © 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

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Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 10 I can certainly say that I enjoyed this book much more than books 4-9 (with the exception of John Matthew's book, his was really decent). I enjoyed it to the point of nearly wanting to call it a page turner. Dare I say? It wasn't THAT good but I expected worse so I'm pretty pleased. !!!!SPOILERS ALL IN THIS POST!!!! This book focuses on Tohrment. His wife (shellan) Wellesandra was killed and Tohr had yet to let go. Because he hadn't let go, it was keeping his wife in In Between (purgatory). In order for her to go into The Fade (Heaven/Afterlife), he basically needed to almost purge her from his life and move on. His saving grace comes in the form of an angel I adore, Lassiter, and No'One, who happens to be Xhex's mother and the same woman that Tohr and Darius had to bury many years ago. Despite the fact that I wanted to break No'One 's (who is renamed Autumn) neck multiple times, things ended up quite well. Now you know, that dealing with JR Ward, a woman has to be snatched away from a Brother so their can be a miraculous recovery ... Next! John Matthew (btw, why hasn't anyone figured out he's actually Darius? And why wasn't Darius actually called Tehrror? Everyone else is called by a cool name) and his shellan, Xhex, are having marital problems. Mostly, John wants her to be safe and happy but Xhex likes to be a stupid dick and go fighting. I mean sure, that's her thing and that's why I loved her when I first met her but I just felt like the bitch was being unreasonable. Sure, I was a man in my past life so I see where John is coming from BUT I think Xhex could have handled this differently instead of acting like they're an estranged couple. Layla and Quinn's relationship gets ever more complicated when Layla goes into her Needing (like cats and dogs go into heat) and she asks Quinn to 'service her.' I, personally, am a fan of Quinn/Blaylock so I want Saxton out of the way and I want Quinn to be able to have Layla because they're so tight (and hopefully Expecting) AND Blay because Blay is the only person he will ever love in that way. What am I missing? Oh, the conspiracy going on. To get Wrath off the throne. That mutherf**ker Xcore needs to die ASAP. Throe's head needs to be cut from his body and OMG if Xcore gets hold of Layla again, Quinn, Blay and John are gonna tear that a$$ up. Not to mention Tohr is already promised to be his executioner ... What am I hoping for in book 11? I want Blay and Quinn ... Solely. I don't give two effs about the rest of them. I've been waiting on Blay and Quinn's story for a long time and I wont be reading another one of these BDB books until 1.)They get some diversity. Their are no black, latino, native american, COLORED Brothers at all. Not even a colored Chosen. 2.)I am reading solely about Blay and Quinn (I'll take John if I have to, but never again want to deal with his b!tch, Xhex). JR Ward gave a pitiful excuse as to why their is no diversity. She can kiss my ass with that shit ... See, I forgot to censor myself. WTF Ever. I want some diversity. As a Black book/kindle edition purchasing female who has followed this junk since book 1, I am afforded a little diversity. Ward, get with it! IR: None at all. Everybody looks the f*cking same.

The Wind of the Holy Ghost Blowing upon the Dry Bones in the Valley of Vision by Ebenezer Erskine Preached in the Tolbooth-Church, Edinburgh, upon a fast-day before the sacrament of our Lord's supper, March 15, 1715. From "The Whole Works of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine: Consisting of Sermons and Discourses. To which is Added, an enlarged memoir of the Author, by the Rev. D. Fraser," Volume 1 (of 3). Philadelphia: Wm. S. & A. Young, 1836. Pages 81 to 105.] Come from the four winds, O breath; and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. Ezekiel 37:9. In the beginning of this chapter, the Lord, in a vision, brings the prophet Ezekiel into a valley full of dead men's bones, quite dried and withered, and asks him the question, if he thought it possible for these dry bones to live? Thereby intimating, that although it was a thing impossible with men, yet it was easily effected by the almighty power of God. And, to convince him of it, he commands the prophet to speak to the dry bones, and to tell them, in his name, that he would make the breath of life to enter into them; which accordingly is done; for the prophet having in the name of the Lord, called upon the four winds to breathe upon the dry bones, immediately life enters into them, and they come together bone to his bone, and they lived, and "stood up upon their feet, and became an exceeding great army." by which vision we have a lively representation of a threefold resurrection, as a late commentator (Mr. Henry) very well observes. 1. Of the resurrection of the body at the last day, and general resurrection, when God will command the earth to give up its dead, and the sea to give up its dead; and when, by the ministry of angels, the dust and bones of the saints shall be gathered from the four winds of heaven, to which they have been scattered. Or, 2. We have in this vision a lively representation of the resurrection of the soul from the grave of sin; which is effected by preaching or prophesying, as the instrumental, and by the powerful influence of the Spirit of the Lord, as the principal efficient cause of it; and the wind here spoken of is plainly said to be understood of the Spirit, (ver. 14:) "I will put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live." Or, 3. We have, by this vision, a representation of the resurrection of the church of God, from the grave of her bondage and captivity in Babylon, under which they were at present detained. And this indeed is the primary and immediate scope of the vision, as is plain from the explication that follows it, ver. 11-14. However, seeing the deliverance of the children of Israel out of their Babylonish captivity, was typical of our spiritual redemption purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, and in a day of power applied by the mighty and powerful operation of the Holy Spirit of God; and seeing it is this redemption with which we under the gospel are principally concerned, therefore I shall handle the words that I have read under this spiritual sense and meaning. And in them briefly we have, 1. A dismal case supposed, and that is, spiritual deadness. The people of God were not only in bondage under their enemies, but likewise their souls were at this time in a languishing condition. But of this more afterwards. 2. We have a blessed remedy here expressed, and that is the breathings of the Spirit of the Lord, the influences of the Holy Ghost: Come from the four winds, O breath, &c. Now, these influences of the Holy Ghost are here described, 1st, From their nature, held out under the notion and metaphor of wind; Come from the four winds, O breath. There are three elements by which the operations of the Spirit are held out to us in scripture. Sometimes they are compared to fire: Matt. 3:11: "He shall baptize you (speaking of Christ) with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." Sometimes they are compared to water: Isa. 44:3: "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed," &c. Sometimes the influences of the Spirit are held forth under the metaphor of wind, as in Cant. 4:16: "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden." So here, by the wind, or breath here spoken of, we are principally to understand the Spirit: it is plainly declared to be the Spirit of God in the 14th verse of this chapter. I cannot stand to show you the grounds of this metaphor. Wind, you know, is of a cleansing, cooling, fructifying nature and virtue; it acts freely and irresistibly. It is not in the power of man to resist or oppose the blowings of the wind. So the influences of the Spirit cleanse and purify the heart; they allay the storms of conscience, "make the bones which were broken to rejoice?" They make the soul to grow as the lily, and to cast forth its roots like Lebanon;" they render the soul fruitful "like the garden of God?" and the Spirit acts with a sovereign freedom, and irresistible efficacy, as you may hear afterwards. But, 2dly, These influences of the Holy Ghost, are described, from their variety, four winds: Come from the four winds, O breath; importing the manifold influences and operations of this one and eternal Spirit. Hence we read of the "north and south wind," Cant. 4:16; and of "the seven spirits that are before the throne of God," Rev. 4:5. 3dly, These influences are described from their acting or operation, which is here called a breathing: Breathe upon these slain. By the acting of this almighty wind, our natural life was produced and formed, Gen. 2:7. We are there told, that after God had "formed man of the dust of the ground, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and he became a living soul." Hence is that of Elihu, Job 33:4: "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." And it is by the influences of the same almighty breath, that our souls are "quickened, when dead in trespasses and sins," and our spiritual life is formed within us. But then, 4thly, These influences are described from the end and effect of their operation: Breathe upon these slain, that they may live; that is, that the dry bones may become living souls, that out of these stones children may be raised up to Abraham. Now, from these words, thus briefly explained, I only offer you this one observation; namely, DOCT. "That as the generality of a church and people in covenant with God, may be in a very dead and languishing condition as to their souls; so the breathings and influences of the Holy Spirit of God are absolutely necessary for their revival. This is the sum of what I intend from these words, Come from the four winds, O breath; and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." In discoursing upon this doctrine, I shall, I. Speak a little upon this deadness which is incident to a people externally in covenant with God. II. Upon the influences or breathings of the wind of the Holy Ghost, which are so absolutely necessary in order to their revival. III. Touch at that life which is effected by these breathings. IV. I shall apply. I. I say, I would speak a little on this deadness which is incident to a people externally in covenant with God. And here I shall only, 1. Give you some of its kinds. 2. Some of the causes of it. 3. Some of the symptoms of it. 1. The first thing is to give you some kinds of deadness. Know, then, in general, that there is a two-fold death; one is proper and natural, the other is improper and metaphorical. (1.) Death, properly so called, is a thing so well known, that it is needless for me to tell you what it is. There is none of us all but we shall know it experimentally within a little; for "it is appointed for every man once to die." The grave is a house appointed for all living; and therefore, with Job, we may "say to corruption, Thou art our father; and to the worm, Thou art our mother and sister." But this is not the death I now speak of; and therefore, (2.) There is a death which is improper or metaphorical; which is nothing else but a disease or distemper of the soul, by which it is rendered unmeet and incapable for holy and spiritual exercises. And this, again, is two-fold; either total or partial. 1st, There is a total death incident to the wicked and ungodly, who are stark dead, and have nothing of spiritual life in them at all. Hence, (Eph. 2:1,) men in a state of nature are said to be "dead in trespasses and sins;" that is, under the total reigning power of sin, "in the gall of bitterness, and under the bond of iniquity;" without God, without Christ, and therefore without hope. 2d1y, There is a partial death incident to believers, whom God has raised out of the grave of an unrenewed state, and in whose souls he has implanted a principle of spiritual life. And this partial death, incident to believers, consists in a manifest decay of spiritual principles and habits, in the abating of their wonted life and vigour, and activity in the way and work of the Lord: their faith, their love, their hope, and other graces, are all in a fainting and languishing condition; they lie dormant in the soul, like the life of the tree that lies hid in its root, without fruit or blossoms, during the winter season. Such deadness as this we find the Lord's people in scripture frequently complaining of particularly Isa. 56:3: "The son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, and taken hold of his covenant," he is made to speak, saying, "The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people:" and the eunuch cries out, I am a dry tree, wherein there is no life or sap. It is this kind of spiritual deadness, incident to believers, that I now principally speak of. The leaves of his profession may in a great measure be withered; the candle of his conversation may burn dimly, or with a very imperfect light; the flame of his affections, his zeal, love, desire, may, like that of a great fire, be reduced to a few coals and cinders. There may be a great intermission or formality in the discharge of commanded duty. The mind, which once with delight and admiration, could meditate upon God and Christ, and the covenant, and things that are above, may come to lose its relish for these things, and to dote upon the transitory fading vanities of a present world. The common gifts of the Spirit, through carnal ease, and defect of employment, may be in a great measure blasted: and, which is worst of all, the saving graces, and fruits of the Spirit, may come to be woefully impaired as to their former degrees and actings. But now, this partial death of believers, again, is twofold: there is a deadness which is felt by God's people, and a deadness which is not felt; "gray hairs are here and there upon them, sometimes, and they do not behold them." The Lord was departed from Samson, and he wist not, Judg. 16:20. But then there is a deadness which is felt, when God's people have a sense of their deadness, and are lamenting it. And it is an evidence of spiritual life, or of some revival, when the Lord's people are beginning to cry out with the church, (Psal. 85:6:) "Wilt thou not revive us again; that thy people may rejoice in thee? Why hast thou hardened our heart from thy fear?" Isa. 63:17. But, 2. The second thing is, to take notice of some of the causes of this spiritual deadness. I shall only name them, because your time would not allow me to enlarge. (1.) Then, abstinence or neglect of food, you know, will soon bring the body into a pining, languishing condition: so, if the means of grace be not diligently improved, if we neglect, by faith, to apprehend and to improve Christ, and to feed upon him, whose "flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed," the spiritual life of the soul will soon languish and wither. Hence is that [declaration] of Christ, John 6:53: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." (2.) Surfeiting the soul with sensual pleasure is another great cause of spiritual death: Hos. 4:11: "Whoredom and wine, and new wine take away the heart:" they suck out the very life of the soul. What is the reason why many professors of religion have lost their wonted vigour in the way of the Lord, and are in such a languishing condition as to their soul-matters? The plain reason of it is this, they are glutting themselves with the pleasures of sense. If Samson do but sleep on Delilah's lap, she will betray him into the hands of the Philistines, and cut the locks wherein his strength lies; and when he goes out to shake himself, as at other times, he will find his strength gone away from him. (3.) Inactivity and sloth in salvation and regeneration-work is another cause of spiritual deadness. Physicians observe, that as too violent exercise, so too much rest, or a sedentary way of living, is prejudicial to the health of the body. This holds also in spiritual things: if we do not exercise ourselves unto godliness, and endeavour to abound in the work of the Lord, the spiritual life will soon languish and dwindle away. Therefore, "Let us not be slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; and whatever our hand findeth to do, let us do it with all our might." And beware of resting upon empty wishes and desires in spiritual matters; for "the desire of the slothful kills him, because his hands refuse to labour." (4.) The contagion of ill example, of a carnal world, and irreligious relatives, has a fatal influence this way. You know it is exceedingly dangerous for those who have the seed of all diseases in them to frequent the company of those who are infected with the plague or pestilence. A Joseph, if he stay long in the Egyptian court, will learn to swear "by the life of Pharaoh." It is true, indeed, as fire sometimes burns with the greater vehemence, and casts the greater heat, the colder the air be; so the zeal and life of God's people is sometimes rather quickened, by beholding the wickedness of those among whom their lot is cast, as Paul among the Athenians. But if we shall adventure to cast ourselves into the society of the wicked, without a special call and warrant from Providence. It will be next to an impossibility to keep ourselves free of the contagion: for "Can a man carry fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burnt? Can a man walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt? Evil communications corrupt good manners." (5.) Some deadly wound in the soul, not carefully noticed, may be the cause of spiritual death. You know a man may die not only by a draught of poison, or the like, but also by the cut of a sword. While we are in the wilderness, we live in the very midst of our spiritual enemies: the fiery darts of Satan are flying thick about us; he is always seeking to bruise the believer's heel, "going about seeking to devour:" and not only so, but our own lusts also do war against the soul, so that we cannot miss to be wounded thereby. And if the filth and guilt of these wounds be not carefully washed away by the blood and Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, they cannot miss exceedingly to impair the spiritual life and health: therefore, David, after he had been wounded by murder and adultery, is so earnest that God would wash and cleanse his wounds, and purge him with hyssop, that so the joy of his salvation might be restored. But then, (6.) A holy God has sometimes a righteous and holy hand in this spiritual death, to which the Lord's people are liable, by withdrawing and suspending the influences of his Spirit from them. For as the plant and the herb of the field wither, and languish when the rain of heaven is withheld; so when the influences of the Holy Ghost are suspended, the very sap of the soul, and its spiritual life go away. And the Lord upholds the influences of his Spirit for many reasons, As, 1st, He does it sometimes in a way of awful and adorable sovereignty, to show that he is not a debtor to any of his creatures. However, because the Spirit's influences are seldom withdrawn in a way of sovereignty, it is our part to search and try if conscience do not condemn us, as having a sinful and culpable hand in it ourselves. 2dly, Sometimes he does it to humble his people, and to prevent their pride, which makes him to "behold them afar off." If we were always under the lively gales and influences of the Spirit, we would be ready to forget ourselves, and in danger with Paul, of being lifted up above measure, when he was wrapt up into the third heaven. Upon this account, some of the saints have said, that they have got more good sometimes by their desertion, than by their enlargement. 3dly, He does it to make them prize Christ, and see their continual need of fresh supplies "out of his fulness." He lets our cisterns run dry, that we may come anew, and lay our empty vessels under the flowings of the blessed "fountain of life," that "out of his fulness we may receive, and grace for grace." 4thly, He does it sometimes for the trial of his people, to see if they will follow him "in a wilderness, in a land that is not sown," as well as when he is feeding them with the sensible communications of his grace and Spirit; to see if they will live on him by faith, when they cannot live by sight or sense. 5thly, Sometimes he does it for their chastisement, to correct them for their iniquities. And this, indeed, is the most ordinary cause why the Spirit of the Lord is suspended and withdrawn. I have not time to enumerate many of these sins which provoke the Lord to withdraw his Spirit; I shall only mention two or three. (1.) Not hearkening to the motions of his Spirit, is one great reason why the Lord withdraws his Spirit; as you see in the spouse, Cant. 5: There Christ comes, and moves, and calls for entrance: the spouse does not hearken to the motion: "I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?" Upon which he immediately withdraws and leaves her, as you may read at your own leisure. (2.) Lukewarmness and formality in the discharge of duty is another cause of it, as we see in the church Laodicea; it made him to spew that church out of his mouth. And then (3.) Prostituting the gifts and graces of the Spirit to carnal, selfish, and base ends, to procure a name, or make a show in the world. This is another reason of it. (4.) Sinning against light. Trampling upon the belly of conscience, as David no doubt did in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba; whereby he provoked the Lord so far to leave him, that he cries out, (Psal. 51:11) "Cast me not out of thy sight; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." (5.) Barrenness and unfruitfulness under the means of grace: Isa. 5:the clouds are commanded to give no rain upon the barren vineyard. And then, (6.) And lastly, Their not listening carefully to the voice of God in ordinances and providences: this is another cause of it; Psal. 81:11, 12: "My people would not hearken to my voice; therefore, I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels." And thus you have some of the causes of this spiritual deadness. I come to 3. The third thing, which was to give you some of the symptoms of it: and would to God they were not too visible, rife, and common in the day, and upon the generation in which we live. I shall name a few of them to you. (1.) Want of appetite after the bread and water of life is a symptom of spiritual death. You know that man cannot be in a healthful condition that loathes his food, or has lost his appetite after it. Alas! Is not the manna of heaven, that God is raining about our tent-doors, generally loathed? The great truths of God, which some of the saints have found to be "sweeter than honey, from the honey-comb," have not that savour and relish with us that they ought to have. Are not sabbaths, sacraments, sermons, fast-days, and feast-days, burdens to many among us; so that if they would but speak out the language of their hearts, they would he ready to join issue with these, Mal. 1:13: "What a weariness is this?" Whereas, the soul that is in a lively condition is ready to say of the word, "It is better to me than thousands of gold and silver; I esteem it more than my necessary food:" and of ordinances, "I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy honour dwelleth;" and Psal. 84:10: "One day in thy courts is better than a thousand." (2.) Though a man have something of an appetite, yet if he do not grow, or look like his food, it looks something dangerous and death-like. The thriving Christian is a growing Christian: "They that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger." But, alas! is it not quite otherwise with the most part? Many are going backward, instead of forward; as it is said of Jerusalem; (Lam. 1:8:) "She sigheth, and turneth backward." May we not cry out of our leanness, our leanness, notwithstanding of all the fattening means and ordinances that we enjoy? (3.) You know, when death takes a dealing with a person, it makes his beauty to fade: "When with rebukes thou dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth." Pale death soon alters the ruddy countenance. Perhaps the day has been, O believer, when the beauty of holiness adorned every step of thy conversation; thy "light did so shine before men, that they, seeing thy good works," could not but "glorify thy heavenly Father;" but now, alas! the beauty of thy conversation is sullied and stained, by "lying among the pots" of sin. This says, that spiritual death is dealing with thy soul. (4.) Death not only wastes the beauty, but the strength also: Eccl. 12:3: "The keepers of the house do tremble, and the strong men do bow," upon the approaches of the king of terrors. Now, see if your wonted strength and ability to perform duty, or to resist temptations, be not abated. Perhaps the day has been, when thou couldst have said with Paul, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? for, through Christ strengthening me, I can do all things;" but now thou art ready to faint and sit up at the very thoughts of duty. The day perhaps has been, when, though Satan, that cunning archer, did shoot sore at thee; yet "thy bow did abide in its strength, and the arms of thy hands were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob;" thou wast in care to beat back the fiery darts of Satan, and to stand thy ground against the corruptions and defections of the day and generation: but now, like a dead fish, thou art carried down the stream. Does not this proclaim thy soul to be under a sad decay? (5.) Death wastes the natural heat and warmness of the body. There is a kind of chilliness and coldness that seizes a man when death takes a dealing with him. So it is a sign of a spiritual decay and deadness, when wonted zeal for God and his glory, and the concerns of his church and his kingdom, is abated. Perhaps the day has been, when, with David, the zeal of God's house did in a manner eat you up, and you "preferred Jerusalem to your chief joy:" but now you are almost come the length of Gallio's temper, to "care for none of these things;" indifferent whether the work of God in the land sink or swim. Laodicea's distemper is too prevalent among us at this day: we are "neither cold nor hot" in the things of God; and therefore have reason to fear, lest we be spewed out of God's mouth. The day bas been, when your spirits were lifted up, in prayer, in hearing, in communicating; you were "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; "you could rejoice to work righteousness, and say, in some measure, with David, "I will go unto the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy;" but now all this holy warmth is gone in a great measure; you are become formal and careless in the concerns of God's glory. (6.) A dead man, you know, cannot move, but only as he is moved from without, in regard he wants a principle of motion within. So it is a sign of spiritual death, even in believers, when external motives and considerations have a greater influence in the duties of religion upon them, than an internal principle of faith and love When the believer is himself, "the love of Christ constrains" him in every duty; this is the "one thing" be desires, "that he may behold the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in his temple:" but when any selfish or external motive sets him at work, it is a sign of spiritual death. Other things might be added; but I hasten to speak to, II. The second thing proposed in the method, and that was, to speak a little of these breathings and influences of the Spirit of God, which are absolutely necessary for the revival of the Lord's people under deadness: Come from the four winds, O breath! and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. And here I would, 1. Clear the nature of these influences, in a word or two. 2. Speak to the variety of these influences, four winds. 3. To the manner of their operation upon the elect; they are said to breathe upon, the slain. 4. Speak a little to the necessity of these breathings. 5. To the several seasons of the Spirit's reviving influences. I fear your time will cut me short before I have done; but I shall run through these particulars as quickly as possible. 1. The first thing is, to clear the nature of these breathings or influences. And what I have to offer upon this head, you may take in these few propositions: (1.) You would know, that the influences and gifts of the Spirit of God are of two sorts, either common or saving. As for the common influences of the Spirit, which are sometimes bestowed upon the wicked and reprobate world, I am not to speak of these at this time. All I shall say about them is, to tell you, that they are given in common to the children of men, "for edification of the mystical body of Christ," until it arrive at "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," as you read, Eph. iv.: and therefore they are commonly called by divines dona ministrantia, or ministering gifts. Although they have no saving efficacy upon the person in whom they dwell; yet God, in his holy wisdom, makes use of them for the good of his church in general, as we read, Eph. 4: And another thing that I would tell you, likewise, concerning these common influences, is, that they of an exceeding dangerous nature when they are not accompanied with saving grace. The man that has them, is like a ship having very large sails, and but little or no ballast at all, in the midst of the ocean; and is therefore in danger of being split in pieces against every rock. In Matt. 7:22, we read of some who had extraordinary common gifts; they prophesied in Christ's name, wrought miracles, and cast out devils in his name, and did many wonderful works, and yet Christ utterly disowns them. I do not speak of these common influences now, but of such as are saving. And therefore, (2.) A second proposition is, that the Holy Spirit of God, considered in his particular economy in the work of redemption, as the applier of the Redeemer's purchase, is the author and efficient cause of all saving influences. It is he, I say, that prepares and disposes the soul of man for the entertainment of the things of God, which are not received nor discerned by the natural mind. It is he that ploughs up the fallow ground of the heart, and brings in the wilderness, and turns it into a fruitful field. It is he that garnishes the face of the soul with the saving graces of the Spirit; these are flowers of the upper paradise, therefore called "the fruits of the Spirit," Gal. 5:22. It is he that preserves, cherishes, and maintains, them by renewed influences: he cherishes the smoking flax, and at last turns it into a lamp of glory in heaven; for "he brings forth judgment unto victory." (3.) Again; you would know that the elect of God are the subjects recipient of all saving influences of the Spirit of God: I say, they are peculiar only to the elect of God, and to them only upon their conversion, when they come to be united to Christ, as members of his mystical body. We must be ingrafted into this true olive tree, otherwise we can never partake of his sap, and "receive out of his fulness, grace for grace." That these influences are peculiar to the elect of God, is plain from Tit. 1:1; where we read of "the faith of God's elect." (4.) These influences of the Spirit, are given for various ends to the elect of God. The judicious Dr. Owen, in his Discourses on the Spirit, observes, that these saving influences are given to the elect of God for regeneration, to the regenerate for sanctification, to the sanctified for consolation, and to the comforted Christian for further up-building. and edification; and establishment, until they arrive at perfection in glory. But the nature of these influences will farther appear from, 2. The second thing proposed, which was, to speak a little to the variety of these influences of the Spirit. You see they are diversified here, while they are called four winds: Come from the four winds, O breath. The apostle tells us, that "there are diversities of gifts and operations, but the same Spirit," 1 Cor. 11:4. And we read, as I was telling you, of "seven Spirits that are before the throne," Rev. 1. Here, if time would allow me to enlarge, I might tell you, that the saving influences and breathings of the Spirit are either primary, fundamental, and absolutely necessary to salvation; or they are accumulative, additional, necessary only for the believer's comfort and well-being. Some of these influences are antecedent, or preparative unto conversion; some of them are regenerating, and others are subsequent and posterior unto regeneration. But I shall not stand upon such subtle distinctions. You may take a few of them in the order following: (1.) There are the convincing influences of the Spirit: John 16:8: "When he is come, he will convince the world of sin." This is what I conceive we are to understand by the "north wind," (Cant. 4:16;) which is commonly boisterous, cold, chill and nipping. The elect of God by nature lie fast asleep within the tidal mark of God's wrath, upon the very brink of everlasting ruin, crying, "Peace, peace," to themselves; the Spirit of the Lord comes like a stormy north wind, blows hard upon the sinner's face, and awakens him; breaks his carnal peace and security, brings him to himself and lets him see his danger; fills him with remorse and terror. Hence, (Isa. 28:17,) the hail is said to "sweep down the refuge of lies," before the sinner come to settle upon the "foundation that God hath laid in Zion." In Acts 2:37, it is said, "they were pricked in their heart;" and then they cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (2.) There are the enlightening influences and breathings of the Spirit. Hence, he is compared to eye-salve, Rev. 3:18: "Ye have received an unction from the Holy One, whereby ye know all things," 1 John 2:20. We read, Isa. 25:7, of a "veil and face of a covering that is spread over all nations." The wind of the Holy Ghost must blow off this veil of ignorance and unbelief; and then the poor sinner comes to see a new world of wonders that he never saw before; a wonderful great God, a wonderful Redeemer, a wonderful covenant, and a wonderful holy law. Hence, we are said to he "translated out of darkness into a marvellous light. The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, even the deep things of God." And, I Cor. 2:12: "By the Spirit we know the things that are freely given to us of God." (3.) There are the renewing influences of the Spirit. We are said to be "saved by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," Tit. 3:5. Hence, he is called "a new Spirit." He renews the will, and "makes old things to pass away, and all things to become new." (4.) There are the comforting influences of the Spirit. This is the south-wind, as it were, gentle and easy, and refreshing; and therefore he is called the Comforter. And, indeed, his consolations are strong consolations; they put more gladness into the heart than corn, wine, and oil in abundance; fill the soul with a joy that is "unspeakable, and full of glory." And then, (5.) There are the corroborating and strengthening influences of the Spirit. By the breathings of the Spirit the feeble are made "like David, and as the angel of God before him." It is he that "gives power to the faint, and increases strength to them that have no might." It is by him that worm Jacob is made to "thresh the mountains, and to beat them small, and to make the hills as chaff" And then, (6.) There are the drawing and enlarging influences of the Spirit: "Draw me," (says the spouse,) "we will run after thee." The poor believer lies many times, as it were, wind-bound, that he is not able to move one step in the way of the Lord: but, O! when the Spirit of the Lord comes, then come liberty and enlargement: "I will run the way of thy coinmandments," (says David,) "when thou hast enlarged my heart;" to wit, by the influences of thy Spirit. He is like oil to their chariot-wheels; and when he comes, they are as the chariots of Amminadib, or a willing people. (7.) There are the sin-mortifying and sin-killing influences of the Spirit: "We, through the Spirit," are said to "mortify the deeds of the body, that so we may live." When this wind of the Holy Ghost blows upon the soul, he not only makes the spices to revive, but he kills the weeds of sin and corruption, making them to wither and decay; so that the poor believer, who was crying, "Wretched man, what shall I do to be delivered from this body of death!" is made some-times to tread upon the necks of these enemies, as a pledge of his complete victory at last; And then, (8.) There are the interceding influences of the Spirit: Rom. 8:26: "The Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." He intercedes in a physical and efficient way. He makes us to wrestle and pray; therefore he is called "the Spirit of grace and supplications," Zech. 12:10. He fills the believer's heart and mouth with such a heavenly rhetoric, that God is not able to withstand it. Hence Jacob "had power with the angel, and prevailed;" for "he wept, and made supplication unto him." And then (9.) There are the sealing and witnessing influences of the Spirit: He "witnesseth with our spirits, that we are the sons of God." He bears witness of the glorious fulness and suitableness of Christ to the soul: "The Spirit shall testify of me," John 15:26. And he is said to "seal believers to the day of redemption;" and his seal is the earnest of glory: Eph. 1:13, 14: "Ye are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of the inheritance." But these things I have not time to insist upon. So much for the second thing. 3. The third thing that I proposed here, was, to speak a little to the manner of the acting or operation of these influences, or flow it is that this wind blows upon the soul? I answer, (1.) The wind of the Holy Ghost blows very freely; the Spirit acts as an independent sovereign, John 3:8. It does not stay for the command, nor stop for the prohibition of any creature. So the breathings of the Spirit are sovereignly free as to the time of their donation, free as to their duration and continuance, free as to the measure, and free as to the manner of their working. And then, (2.) He breathes on the soul sometimes very surprisingly: "Or ever I was aware (says the spouse,) my soul made me like the chariots of Animinadib." Canst thou not seal this in thy experience, believer, that sometimes, when thou hast gone to duty in a very heartless and lifeless condition, perhaps beginning to raze foundations, and to say with Zion, "The Lord hath forsaken, and my God hath forrgotten," a gale from heaven has in a manner surprised thee, and set thee upon the high places of Jacob, and made thee to cry with the spouse, "It is the voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills? His anger endureth but for a moment: in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (3.) These breathings and influences of the Spirit are some-times very piercing and penetrating. The cold nipping north wind, you know, goes to the very quick. The sword of the Spirit "pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Wind, you know, is of a very seeking, penetrating nature; it seeks through the closest chambers. So the Spirit, which is the candle of the Lord, "searcheth the lower parts of the belly:" he makes a discovery of these lusts and idols that sulk in the secret chambers of the heart. (4.) The breathings of this wind are very powerful, strong, and efficacious. Who can oppose the blowings of the winds? Some winds have such a mighty force with them, that they bear down, overturn, and overthrow every thing that stands in their way. So the Spirit of the Lord sometimes, especially at first conversion, breaks in upon the soul like the rushing of a mighty wind, as he did upon the apostles, breaking down the strongholds of iniquity, casting to the ground every high thought and towering imagination of the soul, that exalts itself against Christ, with a powerful and triumphant efficacy. He masters the darkness of the mind, the contumacy and rebellion of the will, and the carnality of the affections: the enmity of the heart against God, and all the spiritual wickednesses that are in the high places of the soul, are made to fall down at his feet, as Dagon did before the ark of the Lord. (5.) Although he act thus powerfully and irresistibly, yet it is with an overcoming sweetness, so as there is not the least violence offered to any of the natural faculties of the soul: for whenever the Spirit comes with his saving influences, he sweetly overcomes the darkness of the mind; the sinner becomes a volunteer, and content to enlist himself a soldier under Christ's banner: Psal. 110:3: "thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." No sooner does Christ by his Spirit say to the soul, "Follow me," but immediately they arise and follow him. "Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God." Then, (6.) There is something in the breathing of this wind that is incomprehensible by reason: John 3:8: "Thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goes," says Christ: "so is every one that is born of the Spirit." There is something in the operation of the eternal Spirit and his influences beyond the reach, not only of natural but of sanctified reason. Who can tell "how the bones are formed in the womb of her that is with child?" So, far less can we tell how the Spirit forms the babe of grace in the heart; how he preserves, maintains, and cherishes "the smoking flax," that is not quite extinguished. We may, in this case, apply the words of the psalmist in another case, and say, "Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known;" and that of the apostle, "How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (7.) These influences of the Spirit, are sometimes felt before they are seen; as you know a man will feel the wind, and hear it, when he cannot see it. So it is with the Lord's people many times, on whom the Spirit breathes: they feel his actings, they are sensible that he has been dealing with them; and all that they can say about it is, with the man that was born blind, "One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." "The kingdom of heaven comes not with observation." 4. The fourth thing proposed was, to speak a little to the necessity of these breathings. And here I shall show, 1. That they are necessary. 2. To what things they are necessary. (1.) That they are necessary, will appear, 1st, From the express declaration of Christ, John 15:5: "Without me, ye can do nothing;" that is, without the aid and influences of my Spirit. He does not say, Without me, ye cannot do many things, or great things; but, "Without me, ye can do nothing." 2dly, It is evident from the express acknowledgment of the saints of God upon this head: 2 Cor. 3:5: "We are not," says the apostle, "sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is of God." It is he that must "work all our works in us and for us." 3dly, It is plain from the earnest prayers of the saints for the breathings of this wind: Cant. 4:16: "Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south; and blow upon my garden." Psal. 85:6: "Wilt thou not revive us again; that thy people may rejoice in thee?" They are promised in the covenant, and therefore necessary: Isa. 44:3: "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed," &c. Ezek. 36:27: "I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes." Now, there is not a mercy promised in the covenant that can be lacking. But, (2.) To what are these breathings necessary? I answer, they are necessary, 1st, To the quickening of the elect of God, when they are stark dead in trespasses and sins. Can ever the dry bones live, unless this omnipotent wind blow upon them? It is strange, to hear some men that profess Christianity, talking of the power of their own wills to quicken and convert themselves. They may as well say, that a dead man may take his grave in his two arms, and lay death by him, and walk. "No man," says Christ, "can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him." Oh! What a dead weight is the sinner, that a whole Trinity must draw! For both Father and Son draws the sinner by the breathings of the Holy Ghost. 2dly, These influences are necessary for the suitable discharge of every duty of religion. You cannot read, you cannot hear, you can not pray or praise, you cannot communicate to any advantage, unless the wind of the Holy Ghost blow upon you. It is the Lord that must enlarge our steps under us, and make your feet like hinds' feet in the ways of the Lord. 3dly, They are necessary for accomplishing our spiritual warfare against sin, Satan, and the world. We will never be able to combat with our spiritual enemies, if he do not help us: it is he only that must "teach our hands to war, and our fingers to fight, so as bows of steel may be broken in pieces by us." Without the Spirit, we will fall before every temptation; like Peter, curse and swear, that we never knew him. 4thly, They are necessary to the exercise of grace already implanted in the soul. As we cannot work grace in our hearts, so neither can we exercise it without the renewed influences of the Holy Ghost, Cant. 4:16: When this wind blows, then, and never till then, do the spices flow out. But I shall not stand on this: the Spirit's influences are necessary to all the uses mentioned upon the second head: for conviction, illumination, renovation, consolation, enlargement, mortification of sin, for assurance of our adoption. 5. The fifth thing that I proposed upon this head, was, to give you some of the seasons of these influences of the Spirit: for the wind, you know, has its seasons and times of blowing and breathing. I shall only name a few of them to you. (1.) The Spirit's reviving influences blow, very ordinarily, in a day of conversion. This, as you were hearing, is a season when this wind breathes on the soul, Ezek. 36:26: when God "takes away the stony heart, and gives the heart of flesh." He puts his Spirit within them, when the soul is first espoused unto Christ. So Jer. 2:2: "I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." (2.) When the soul has been deeply humbled under a sense of sin and unworthiness. When Ephraim is brought low, and is smiting on his thigh, acknowledging his sin and folly, then the Spirit of the Lord comes with a reviving gale upon his spirit. "Is Ephraim," says the Lord "my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." (3.) After a dark night of desertion, when the Lord returns again, it is a time of sweet influences. After Zion had been crying, "The Lord hath forsaken me, my God hath forgotten me;" upon the back of it comes a sweet gale of the Spirit, "Can a woman forget her child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee." (4.) Times of earnest prayer and wrestling; for he gives his Spirit to them that ask it. This is agreeable to the promise, Ezek. 36:37. (5.) Times of serious meditation are times of sweet influences of the Spirit Psal. 63:5, 6, 8: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches, my soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my soul followeth hard after thee." (6.) Communion-days are sometimes days of sweet influences. Some of the Lord's people can attest it from their experience, with the spouse; that "while the King sat at his table, the spikenard sent forth the smell thereof;" and when they "sat down under his shadow, they found his fruit sweet to their taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." (7.) The day of death has sometimes been found to be a day of such pleasant gales of the Spirit that they have been made to enter into the haven of glory with the triumphant song in their mouth, saying, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus David, "Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure; for this is all my salvation, and all my desire." Thus, Simeon, thus Paul, &c. III. The third thing in the text and doctrine to be spoken to, is the life that is effected and wrought in the souls of God's elect by these influences and breathings of the Holy Spirit. Your time will not allow me to enlarge upon this. I shall only tell you, in a few particulars, what sort of a life it is. (1.) It is a life of faith. The apostle calls it so, Gal. 2:20, "The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me; and gave himself for me." And the just is said to live by faith. The man is ever embracing a Redeemer, and the fulness of the Godhead in him; always deriving fresh supplies out of that full treasury and store-house. (2.) It is a life of justification. The law pronounces a curse against every one that "doth not continue in all things written in the book of the law to do them." The believer gets this sentence of death cancelled: Rom. 8:1. "There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." And not only so, but he has the everlasting righteousness of Immanuel God-man imputed to him: so that with a holy boldness he may challenge justice, and challenge the law, what they have to say against him, as the apostle does, Rom. 8:33: "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?" &c. (3.) It is a life of reconciliation with God; God and they are at friendship; which follows naturally on their justification: Rom. 5:1: "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God." God does not retain the least grudge in his heart against them; and he and they walk together, because they are agreed: that is, they have fellowship one with another, according to that, 1 John 1:3: "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (4.) It is a life of holiness and sanctification: for the Spirit of the Lord is a cleansing, purifying, and renewing Spirit: he renews the soul after the image of God; makes the heart, that was a "cage of unclean birds," a fit temple for the Holy Ghost to dwell in; he garnishes the soul, and makes it like the King's daughter, all glorious within. They that had lain among the pots, become "like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold." (5.) It is a very lightsome and comfortable life: and no wonder; for his name is The Comforter. His consolations are so strong, that they furnish the soul with ground of joy in the blackest and cloudiest day: Hab. 3:17, 18: "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." And the joy that he gives is deep: "Your heart shall rejoice." And it is abiding: "Your joy shall no man take from you." And it is such as cannot be made language of: "We rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." (6.) It is a life of liberty; for "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." He brings us into "the glorious liberty of the sons of God." Before the Spirit comes with his saving influences, the man is in bondage; in bondage to sin, to Satan, to the law, and to the curse and condemnation of God: but the Spirit of the Lord frees from all these. Christ, by his Spirit, sets the captives of the mighty at liberty, and "delivers the prey from the terrible." (7.) It is a hidden life: Col. 3:3: "Your life is hid with Christ in God." And believers are called "God's hidden ones," Psal. 83:3: The spring and fountain of this life is hid, namely, an unseen Christ; for with him is the fountain of life. The subject of this life is hid, even the hidden man of the heart. The actings of this life are hid, and the means of its support; he feeds upon "the hidden manna, and the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God." And then the beauty and glory of this life is hid; for "the King's daughter is all glorious within." The beauty of the hypocrite's life lies all in the outside, painted sepulchres. (8.) It is a heavenly life; they are made to live above the world: "Our conversation is in heaven," says the apostle. They look on themselves as pilgrims and strangers on the earth, and, therefore, look not so much to the things that are seen, as to the things that are not seen. With Moses, they "have respect unto the recompense of the reward;" their eyes are set upon the land that is very far off, and the King in his beauty. (9.) It is a royal life: for they are "made kings and priests unto God," Rev. 1:6: They have a royal kingdom, of which they are heirs: "I appoint unto you a kingdom," says Christ; a royal crown, "a crown of glory which fadeth not away." They shall have a royal throne at last, Rev. 3:21. Royal robes, princely attire, "the garments of salvation;" a royal table provided for them, Isa. 25:6: "a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined;" royal guard continually attending them, the angels of God, and the attributes of the divine nature, &c. (10.) It is an eternal life: John 17:3: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." The saving knowledge of a God in Christ, what is it but the first dawnings of eternal glory in the soul? And where he once dawns, he is ever in the ascendant until the mid-day of glory come; for "his goings forth are prepared as the morning." IV. The fourth thing is the use of the doctrine. And waiving other uses that might be made of this doctrine, I shill only improve it by way of examination and of exhortation. The first use shall be of trial and examination. Oh try, sirs, whether or not these saving influences of the Spirit did ever breathe upon your souls, yea, or not. For your trial I shall only suggest these few things: 1. If these breathings have blown upon thy soul, man, woman, then he has blown away "the veil and face of the covering" that was naturally upon your mind and understanding. He has given you other views of spiritual and divine things, than you can have by any natural or acquired knowledge. The Spirit of the Lord is called "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation," Eph. 1:17: because he reveals these things to the soul which flesh and blood is not able to receive or understand. So then, has the Spirit testified of Christ unto you? Has he "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shined into your heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ?" And as a fruit and consequence of this, 2. If the wind of the Holy Ghost has blown upon thy soul, he has blown away some of the filth of hell that did cleave to thy soul, and has transformed thee into his own image: 2 Cor. 3:18: "Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, thou art changed into the same image. from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." If you have the Spirit, the "same mind will be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" for "he that is joined unto the Lord, is one spirit." You will imitate and resemble him in his imitable perfections, in his holiness, meekness, self-denial, patience. He is a holy God; and wherever he comes, he works holiness, and makes the soul holy. 3. If this Wind has blown upon your souls, then it has driven you from your lying refuges, and made you take sanctuary in Christ. He has driven you from the law, and made you consent to the method of salvation through the righteousness of the Son of God: "I through the law," (says the apostle,) "am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." This is the design of all the Spirit's influences, to lead sinners off from sin, off from self, off from the law, that they may rest in Christ only. 4. If ever you felt any of the reviving gales of this wind of the Spirit, you will long for new gales and breathings of it: and when these breathings are suspended and withheld, your souls will be like to faint, as it were, like a man that wants breath. You will pant for the air of the Spirit's influences, like David, Psal. 63:1: "My soul longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;" and Psal. 84:2: "My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." Oh for another gale of his Spirit in public ordinances! 5. If you have felt the breathings of this wind you will not snuff up the east wind of sin and vanity: John 4:14: "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst." You will not thirst immoderately after things of time; no, no; you will see them to be but mere trash and vanity. You will "choose that good part which shall not be taken away from you." You will "seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." 6. If this wind has blown upon thy soul, then you will follow the motion of this wind: you will not run cross to this wind, but will go along with it. I mean, you will yield yourselves to the conduct of the Spirit speaking in his word; for "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." But, say you, How shall I know if I be led by the Spirit of God? I answer, 1st, If you follow the Spirit, then "you will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh," but, on the contrary, you will study to "crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts." You will be ready to cut off your right hand, and to pluck out the right eye sins at the Lord's command. 2dly, Then the way wherein you walk will be a way of holiness, for he is a Spirit of sanctification; and a way of truth; for the Spirit of the Lord is a Spirit of truth, and he leads into all truth: a way of uprightness: Psal. 143:10: "Thy Spirit is good, lead me into the land of uprightness." 3dly, You know leading imports spontaneousness and willingness. There is a great difference between leading and drawing; between being driven by the wind, and following the motion of the wind. Sometimes, indeed, the wicked, a hypocrite, a natural man, by a strong north wind of conviction, may be driven on to duty through the force of terror. But the believer is a volunteer; he freely yields himself to the Spirit's conduct; he rejoices to work righteousness, and to remember God in his ways. Whenever he hears the Spirit whispering in his ears, and saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it," presently, he complies. When the Spirit of Lord says, "Come," he immediately echoes back again, and says, "Behold, I come unto thee; for thou art the Lord my God." Now, try yourselves by these things. The second use shall be exhortation. Is it so, that the influences of the Spirit are so necessary in order to our revival? Then be exhorted to look up to Heaven, and cry for the breathings of the Spirit. O sirs, will you turn the words of my text into a prayer? And say, "Come from the four winds, O breath; and breathe upon these slain, that they may live?" I might enforce this exhortation by many motives: I only name them. Motive 1. Consider, that spiritual deadness is very prevalent in the day in which we live. There is a great multitude of "dry bones" scattered up and down our "valley of vision." There are many that carry the marks of a deadly leprosy on their foreheads: their atheism, their profanity, irreligion, and other gross abominations, plainly declare to the world, that they are "dead in trespasses and sins." And, alas! May it not be for matter of lamentation, that even many of those, who, in the judgment of charity, have "the root of the matter," the principles of spiritual life, are yet under sad decays of the life of grace? Alas! It is not with Scotland's ministers and professors as once it has been. I might produce many melancholy evidences of this, if time would allow. Remember those already mentioned, the general loathing of the word, &c. Mot. 2. Consider the evil and danger of spiritual deadness. The evil of it will appear, lst, If you consider that it is a frame of spirit directly contrary to the command of God. God commands us to "present ourselves a living sacrifice unto him:" and, indeed, this "is our reasonable service," Rom. 12:1. Yea, it is contrary to the very nature of God; for God is a Spirit; and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth," 1 John 4:24. 2dly, The evil and danger of it appears farther from this; that it unfits the soul for every duty, and mars our communion and fellowship with God. God meets the lively Christian in the way of duty: "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth, and worketh righteousness; those that remember thee in thy ways." But, for the man that comes to him with a Laodicean, dead, lifeless, and lukewarm frame of soul, he will not hold communion with that man; no he "will spew him out of his mouth." 3dly, It opens a door for all other sins, and renders a man an easy prey to every temptation. A dead man can make no manner of resistance; he is carried down the stream without opposition. Then, 4thly, It lays a foundation for sad and terrible challenges from conscience. David's spiritual deadness brought him to that pass, in the end, that he is made to cry out of broken bones, &c. Mot. 3. Consider, that as the breathings of the Spirit are necessary for every duty, so particularly for that solemn work which hou have before your hands of commemorating the death of the exalted Redeemer. I might here let you see, how the influences of the Spirit are necessary for every part of your work, if time would allow. Without the Spirit's influences of light, you can never examine yourselves to purpose: it is "the Spirit of the Almighty that giveth understanding" how to search out "the mystery of iniquity" in the heart, which is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." And then, without the Spirit you cannot mourn for sin; for it is the kindly influences of the Spirit that thaws the heart into evangelical tears, Zech. 12:10. Without the Spirit you cannot discern the broken body of a Redeemer; for it is the Spirit that testifies of Christ. "I will pour the Spirit of grace upon the house of David, and inhabitants of Jerusalem;" and then follows, "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him." In a word, you cannot exercise any grace, you cannot wrestle in prayer, you cannot have any right view of the contrivance of redemption, you cannot "take hold of God's covenant," or improve any promise of the covenant, without the Spirit. Mot. 4. Consider the excellency of these influences of the Spirit. 1st, They blow from an excellent quarter and original: the Holy Ghost is the author of them; and you know he "proceeds from the Father and the Son." So that a whole Trinity, as it were, convey themselves with these breathings. 2dly, They are the purchase of a Redeemer's blood, and therefore excellent. There is not the least grace, or the least gale of the Spirit, that is given to believers, but it cost Christ the blood of his heart. He purchased grace as well as glory. 3dly, These influences of the Spirit, as it were, supply Christ's room while he is in glory. And truly, sirs, I may safely say it upon scripture-warrant, that the presence of the Spirit with believers upon earth, is a greater blessing than the mere bodily presence of Christ: and, therefore, Christ tells his disciples by way of comfort, (John 16:7:) "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." As if he had said, "When I am gone, the Spirit will be poured out from on high, which is far better for you than my bodily presence." 4thly, These breathings of the Spirit are pledges of glory, the earnest-penny of the inheritance: Eph. 1:13, 14: "After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance." 5thly, Their excellency appears from the excellent effects that they produce upon the soul. They beautify the soul on whom they fall, and make it like "a field which the Lord hath blessed." They render the soul "fruitful in every good word and work:" Hos. 14:5: "I will be as the dew unto Israel:" And what follows? "he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." Isa. 44:3: "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring;" and then follows, (ver. 4,) "They shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses." Quest. What advice or counsel do you give, in order to our obtaining or recovering the enlightening and reviving gales of the Spirit? Ans. 1. Be aware of your deadness, and mourn over it; for the Lord "comforts them that mourn in Zion." He will "give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness:" and then follows, "They shall be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified," Isa. 61:2, 3. 2. Be much upon the mount of divine meditation; for here it is that the Spirit of the Lord breathes: "While I was musing the fire burned," says David, Psal. 39:3; Psal. 63:5, 6: "When I meditate on thee in the night-watches, my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness." 3. Cry mightily to God for these influences, that he would pour down his Spirit from on high: for "if ye, being evil," says Christ, "know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Luke 11:13. Plead the promises of the new covenant; and, particularly, be much in pleading this absolute promise of the Spirit, Isa. 44:3: "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed," &c. Ezek. 36:27: "I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes." But still remember, that these promises are to be managed by the prayer of faith. We are to turn God's promises into prayers; for it is added, (ver. 37,) "For these things I will he inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." 4. Make conscience of waiting on him in all the duties and ordinances of his appointment, particularly the preaching of the word. And beware of a legal frame of spirit in your attending upon these ordinances, as if thereby you could merit anything at God's hand, or as if God were obliged to you for what you do this way; for "we receive the Spirit," (says the apostle,) "not by the works of the law, but by the hearing of faith." Gospel ordinances are the usual chariots in which the Spirit rides, when he makes his entrance at first, or when he returns into the soul after absence. 5. Lastly, Study to have union with Christ; for it is upon them that are in Christ, that "the Spirit of God and of glory" rests: "He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit" with him. "The oil of gladness," that was poured upon the head of our exalted Aaron, runs down upon the skirts of his garments, upon every member of his mystical body. Sign Guestbook View Guestbook This page hosted by Yahoo Geocities

Who do you call when things are coming out of your dreams and trying to kill you? Or when your daughter is cursing in Latin and walking like a spider? Or when your dog keeps screaming at you to strangle your neighbors? Doctor Strange, of course. He's the only person standing between us and the forces of darkness, but has he been paying his tab? Every act of magic has a cost and Jason Aaron (THOR, ORIGINAL SIN) and Chris Bachalo (UNCANNY X-MEN) are going to put Stephen Strange through hell to even the scales. SAGA writer BRIAN K. VAUGHAN launches a brand-new ONGOING SERIES with superstar Wonder Woman artist CLIFF CHIANG! In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Stand By Me meets War of the Worlds in this mysterious young adult adventure, starting with a spectacular DOUBLE-SIZED FIRST ISSUE for the regular price of just $2.99! Publisher: VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC - (W) Joshua Dysart (A) Kano (CA) Raul Allen A showdown. An apocalypse. An ending. Many years from today, Peter Stanchek, the Renegades, the Harbinger Foundation, the Bleeding Monk, and Toyo Harada's Imperium all reach their terminus, as the entire planet becomes the battlefield for the most devastating psionic combat humanity has ever seen. The Great Destroyer, long prophesied and foreseen, comes to Earth at last. Who will survive...and what will be left of them? New York Times best-selling writer Joshua Dysart (IMPERIUM, HARBINGER) and blockbuster artist Kano (THE DELINQUENTS) journey to the far end of the Geomancer's BOOK OF DEATH to reveal the final, unavoidable end for two of the Valiant Universe's most powerful foes. On this week's show, we'll take a look at TET #1, from IDW. Story pitch below: "Eugene Smith is desperate to leave Vietnam behind, and begin a new life with the woman he loves. But when a fellow Marine is brutally murdered, Eugene’s plans are thrown away, forever. All’s fair in love and war, right? "Writer Paul Allor and artist Paul Tucker present an extraordinary, heartfelt story of hard-boiled crime and star-crossed romance, set at the height of the Vietnam War and the decades that followed." This week's debut review will be another comic from show-favorite, Jeff Lemire. This time, he teams with Emi Lenox at Image Comics. "A brand new heartfelt super-hero series by JEFF LEMIRE (DESCENDER, Hawkeye) and amazing newcomer EMI LENOX! PLUTONA follows the story of five suburban kids who make a shocking discovery while exploring the woods one day after school...the body of Plutona, the world's greatest superhero. A dark and heartbreaking journey about friendship and coming of age all through the lens of the superhero genre." In this week's show, we'll review the debut of Americatown. Check below for full description and preview images. What’s to Love: Part social commentary, part family drama, Americatown asks: What if the American Dream gave way to the American Nightmare? In their inaugural comic series, screenwriters Bradford Winters (Oz, Boss, The Americans) and Larry Cohen (Netflix’s Borgia), give us a story great for fans of Transmetropolitan, Children of Men, and the TV show Black Mirror. What It Is: After an economic collapse and other disasters in the near future, Americans are now the legal and illegal immigrants living abroad. They find work in cities like Buenos Aires, where their very own enclave known as “Americatown” has taken root. Owen, a recent arrival, begins a journey to support and save his splintered family divided between the enclave and home back in the U.S. His struggle is just a small part of the hardships and conflicting agendas in an immigrant community trying to build itself in the shadow of a once great nation.

I’m straight, single and STD-free. I have a college degree and no kids. That should make me a great catch. Yet I’m still walking the streets of New York alone. I know what Ralph Ellison meant when he wrote about brothers being invisible in our society. But I don’t think he imagined it would be Black women looking right through us. For me, one particular failed relationship serves as a shining example of how sisters are not seeing the light. My ex and I had been dating for a few months when her son went off to camp. It would be just the two of us for a week. She was supposed to call at ten one night, but it was after midnight when the phone finally rang. She was in tears following an unsettling argument with a relative. I jetted up the highway to my lady, and I held her close until morning. But when the sun came up, she pried herself away from me, showered and began to dress as if I weren’t there. When I asked what was wrong, she insisted everything was fine but said I needed to leave because she was late for work. After an emotionless kiss on the sidewalk, she went one way, I the other. Following two days of silence she called to say she couldn’t see me anymore. When I asked why, she said it had to do with “her own issues” and begged me not to make things any more difficult. It was over, just like that. Confused, I thought back to all the stories she’d told me about her past relationships: her problematic baby’s daddy; the ex who’d physically abused her; the young professional who had played her. Yet she’d stayed with them far longer. And how did I compare with these men? I had formed a bond with her son. I’d listened to her frustrations about work and offered suggestions about her future. I was there for her. In my mind, I was everything those phantoms of her past were not, and I’d been rewarded with a dismissal just when I was about to tell her I loved her. A year later, my ex called me out of the blue ranting about the guy she’d just finished seeing. She wasn’t happy and she was tired of dating. She said she wanted to get married, but had no prospects. (Hello? Are good guys invisible?) I was simply polite and jovial the whole time we were on the phone. And then we hung up. Maybe the timing was never right for us. Or perhaps she just likes bad boys. Or maybe I pick the wrong women. One ex cheated on me with a womanizing pretty boy. Another girlfriend came home with an STD and tried to convince me that I’d given it to her. And I’m not the only brother out here with stories like this. One of my best friends spent hours on the phone getting to know a dating prospect and ended up counseling her because her sister was dying of cancer. Thinking they had made a real connection, he was thoroughly surprised when she ditched him for a celebrity on their first date. No relationship came from it, and soon she was grumbling to several of their mutual friends about “no-good Black men.” Another friend was told by the girl of his dreams that he was “too good for her” before she dumped him unceremoniously. I do believe the woman for me is out there. It’s up to God to decide when our paths will cross. But I know that when I finally meet her, she won’t look right through me. She’ll see me for who I am: a man who wants to love her, always, no matter what. I also know you have to accept the bad with the good in any potential mate. And I realize you have to fully understand who you’re dealing with before any drama starts. I guess in my past relationships I could have picked up on a red flag before getting involved. Perhaps I was looking right through these women in turn, letting some things about them become invisible as well. You may like Get The Essence Newsletter and Special Offers delivered to your inbox!

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By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The Louisiana legislature today gave its final approval to the heartbeat bill to make it the next state to ban abortions this year – following states like Ohio, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Missouri. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards says he will sign a bill that bans abortions when a baby’s heartbeat begins… The Louisiana House voted 79-23 to pass the pro-life bill — sending it to the governor for his signature. The House rejected an amendment that would have provided an exception to allow killing unborn babies in cases of rape or incest… The Heartbeat Bill, when it goes into effect, will prohibit abortion when a human heartbeat can be detected. An abdominal ultrasound can detect a heartbeat between eight and twelve weeks. By Willie Richardson, The Patriot Post – Margaret Sanger is upheld as an important figure to the Democrat Party and the slaughtering of infants in the womb through abortion. Her goal was to assure that “human weeds” would not procreate… Sanger was also an ally to the Klu Klux Klan. She said in her autobiography, “Always to me [any aroused group] was a [good group], and therefore I accepted an invitation to talk to the women’s branch of the Klu Klux Klan.” What was good about the KKK? What was their arousal centered on? Sanger’s legacy was to destroy the Negro race using a “reformed” lynching philosophy called eugenics. Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois issued strong words against the Illinois House passing Senate Bill 25 on May 28, calling it a “gravely immoral action.”… The legislation, titled “The Reproductive Health Act,” would overhaul the state’s abortion statute. The measure passed 64-50 in the House today. Several Democrats voted against it… The act is being called the most liberal reproductive health care measure in the country… The Thomas More Society called the act “the most radical piece of abortion legislation that has ever been introduced in Illinois.” Reflections on the Feast of the Ascension, by Jonathan B. Coe By Jonathan B. Coe, Crisis Magazine – During this interim between the Resurrection and the Ascension, (Jesus’) followers ask him if he is going to restore the kingdom of Israel at this time and he replies that they are not privileged to know the Father’s plans on such matters. He then tells them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit is given them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Women's Charcoal Lime Turquoise Asics Gel Athletic Running shoes US Size 9 1 2 Read more shoes women. Mezzo Stivaletto. CARA GIOYA - LR9011X-14. Con Cerniera. Ecopelle. 1. STATE Women's Wrine Platform Sneaker New Interview, New Revelations Damage Pope’s Credibility, by Phil Lawler By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Yet even that outlandish suggestion is not enough to bring the Pope’s two claims into a workable alignment. Because if Archbishop Vigano had informed him, then even if the Pope somehow forgot, he could not truthfully say that he knew “nothing” about the McCarrick scandal… Archbishop Vigano, not mincing words, made his own position perfectly clear in responding to the new papal interview: “What the Pope said about not knowing anything is a lie.” New Balance High Roller 501 Size 5 bluee Sneakers NEW AUTHENTIC ASICS GEL CONTEND 3 Womens Trail Running Walking shoes Sneaker Euro 42 US 10 GUC Vans Old Skool Sneakers , Rumba Red Suede White , Women Size 7.5 Ambulances Know Route to St. Louis Abortuary, by Charlie Butts By Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow – The future of a St. Louis-based Planned Parenthood clinic is in the hands of a judge but pro-life activists have already reached a verdict about its reputation… After states such as Alabama and Georgia have made national headlines recently for their restrictive abortion laws, Missouri is getting national attention because the state’s only abortion clinic could be closing its doors any day now… That’s because The Show-Me State follows health and safety standards that must be followed and the clinic’s permit is set to expire Friday… Kathy Forck, a Missouri-based pro-life activist, says the St. Louis clinic has kept EMT teams busy for years, mostly due to women hemorrhaging including some life-threatening 911 calls. SCOTUS Cases for Next Term: Religious Liberty, Guns and Possibly Abortion, by Rachel Alexander By Rachel Alexander, The Stream – The Supreme Court is going on its regular summer break, but has already lined up a few cases to hear when it returns in the fall. And as usual, since the Supreme Court became America’s main legislator, the cases mean a lot for the future of our country… America’s founding fathers designed the Court as an umpire. Now it rules… The court will decide whether federal anti-discrimination law that bans discrimination based on sex also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identification. The lower courts are split on this…. Easy Street Womens Dawna Almond Toe Ankle Fashion Boots JUSTIN BOOTS L4562 Round-Toe Brown Sz 7.5 B Women Western Cowboy Boots Pope Francis: Chinese Bishops Know They ‘Must be Good Patriots’ to Communist Regime, by Claire Chretien ACME Vintage Two TONED CAMEL BEIGE Leather Cowboy Western 7A Woman By Claire Chretien, LifeSiteNews – In his recent marathon interview with a Mexican journalist, Pope Francis said “relations with China are good, very good” and that two Chinese bishops – one Vatican-appointed from the “underground” Church and one appointed by the Communist government – with whom he recently met “know that they must be good patriots.”… Pope Francis’ controversial deal with China allows the government to nominate clerics from its state-run “church,” the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, for the Vatican to make bishops… Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong has repeatedly spoken out about the Vatican-China deal, decrying it as a betrayal of the Catholic faithful in that country. Womens 9 M Clarks Indigo Brown Ankle Boots Pumps Heels shoes Steampump Victorian By Msgr. Charles Pope – A reminder of the resilience of truth comes to us in the Office of Readings during this 6th Week of Easter. Evil and error have their day, or even their era, but the Word of the Lord remains forever. In Tuesday’s Office we read this passage: I have seen the wicked triumphant, towering like a cedar of Lebanon. I passed by again; he was gone. I searched; he was nowhere to be found. See the just man, mark the upright, for the peaceful man a future lies in store, but sinners shall all be destroyed. No future lies in store for the wicked….. SAUCONY ISO SERIES FIT LADIES blueE AND PINK RUNNING FITNESS SNEAKER SIZE 7 Two Cheers for The Washington Post Fact Check on Maternal Mortality Rates, by Michael New By Michael New, CNS News – On Tuesday, The Washington Post published an informative fact check regarding maternal mortality trends in Texas. At a House Ways and Means Committee hearing May 16th Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) claimed that the reported rate of maternal deaths in Texas doubled after funding cuts to Planned Parenthood. Unfortunately, as The Washington Post pointed out, Congressman Beyer was relying on incorrect data. Fr. Raymond J. de Souza: Figueiredo Report the First of Many to Come? By Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Catholic Register – Whatever the Holy Father may or may not have known, excerpts of correspondence published Tuesday by Mgsr. Anthony Figueiredo seem to indicate that the broad outline of what Archbishop Viganò claimed about McCarrick is true… Msgr. Figueiredo served as McCarrick’s secretary soon after his ordination — by McCarrick himself — in 1994-95. Msgr. Figueiredo then spent most of the next 25 years in Rome and acted as McCarrick’s assistant in Rome, especially after the former cardinal’s retirement in 2006. Pre-owned: An item that has been used or worn previously. 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Around this time every winter I begin to heavily fantasize about summer. While browsing through my photo roll searching for anything summer related I came across this gem! My Nanna is one of the most amazing people I have ever known. Her ability to always be so positive, poised and full of wisdom surpasses my understanding. I love this picture because I feel all of these qualities of hers coming through the photo, but what I also notice is how fabulous and timeless her style is. All of these items I would wear today. If only she still has those shoes! I love you Nanna, today you are the inspiration for my blog, but you are inspiration in my life everyday and have shaped me in to the woman I am today. Blogged while watching HGTV, drinking Christmas Wine and eating Brookside blueberry acai dark chocolates.

Joe Biden snuggles puppies, and Drudge might be using this picture to announce Ana Marie Cox's old boss's new job, but there is also news of bombs, shoes, dodges and Caroline Kennedy to discuss. ANA MARIE: Gonna try a little experiment and NOT WATCH Morning Joe during our chat. MEGAN: Well, you're not missing anything. Joe just made fun of Mika for correctly pronouncing Printemps when talking about the French department story bomb and now they are accusing Franken of trying to steal the election and arguing about the supposed LBJ fraud in Texas, but that last bit is mostly Pat Buchanan. Oh, and Erin Burnett has teased the fuck out of her hair this morning. ANA MARIE: Buchanan nurses old wounds with great care. MEGAN: But she did just illustrate the rule of supply and demand for Joe Scarborough by crossing her arms in front of her face, which was sort of awesome. Okay, I'll stop now, too. ANA MARIE: I sort of wish I was watching because — wait for it — I think I'm coming around on Erin. She seems to not take herself seriously which is a rarity for a hot newsreader, who take themselves seriously so that others don't have to. MEGAN: I mean, she just explained Econ 101 to Joe Scarborough on television with what Joe correctly identified as a cheerleading move. ANA MARIE: Joe would know. MEGAN: I think that says a lot about their respective collegiate experiences. ANA MARIE: Oh, you said "experience"! I say: "Caroline Kennedy" Wait. Something's wrong there... MEGAN: Apparently, though, according to the New York Post, she's going to bring fashion sense back to the seat by always wearing ball gowns. Just like Daniel Moynihan. ANA MARIE: Interesting phrasing in the NYT story on her decision: Yet Caroline Kennedy’s decision to ask Gov. David A. Paterson to appoint her to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Senate seat suggests that she believes she is as well prepared as anyone to serve as the next senator from New York. See, I don't actually believe you need a lot of government or elective experience to be a good senator (or president!) but I also think that VOTERS should be the ones to make that decision/take that risk. MEGAN: That's the thing. Is there any real sense that she wouldn't get elected in a real race? New York does love its carpetbaggers, as long as they have name recognition and aren't Alan Keyes. ANA MARIE: Then let her run! Let her make her case to the People, not to the Dumb Guv. MEGAN: Well, but it 's the governor who's deciding. ANA MARIE: That's my point. MEGAN: I mean, I stand firm on one point in this: do not appoint Andrew Cuomo. ANA MARIE: Put in a placeholder, like they did in Delaware, where Beau Biden will, yes, probably win if he runs. But it'll be the voters' fault/decision. In any case, this is going to REALLY piss off Hillary people. REALLY. MEGAN: I hate the placeholder idea. I particularly hate it when it's done for a political dynasty. ANA MARIE: Almost as if Paterson (or someone) planned it that way. MEGAN: But Paterson was a huge Clinton supporter in the primary. ANA MARIE: I know! That's what's weird! I talked to a Hillary person yesterday and this person was steaming about it. Smoke out of ears. MEGAN: Wait, so, he's not supposed to appoint a woman? It's so hard to tell with Clinton supporters like that, as they broke down into two camps: there is no woman in the United States remotely as qualified as Hillary Clinton; or it's more important than anything to have women in higher office. ANA MARIE: He's supposed to appoint a woman that's worked for it, I think was this person's point. Rattled off a few names that to be honest I did not recognize. Which is the problem, I guess. MEGAN: Well, I'm sorry, there are really not that many women high up in New York politics, and Nita Lowey took herself out of the running more than a week ago. ANA MARIE: I just hate appointments in general, I think. MEGAN: I understand the thinking behind Carolyn Maloney, and she's great, but she's not exactly a dynamic person. Which I'm sure Chuckie-boy loves. I'll bet Chuck's pushing for Maloney. ANA MARIE: He would like to fill the seat himself. His ego certainly could use the extra room. MEGAN: I mean, in a state where some incumbents won with more than 90% of the vote — and the average is about 70, if I'm eyeballing it — how is it not basically a state of appointments? It's just the appointments are made by local or state party officials. ANA MARIE: I guess that's why we just keep having national elections, too, even though you can predict those results pretty well sometimes: It's what democracies do. You could cut out the pesky voter-middleman but that sets a bad example. MEGAN: I guess I'm just agnostic on appointing Senators, since I'm not really sure what the difference is between that and the regular system, at least in New York. ANA MARIE: Oh, and speaking of bad examples: Shoe thrower folk hero? MEGAN: Poor guy is probably getting the shit beaten out of him as we type, which totally won't make him any more of one. ANA MARIE: And it sort of undermines Bush's weird logic that shoe-throwing is just what happens in "free societies." If true, I have missed all the major shoe throwing events in Washington. MEGAN: I would never throw my shoes unless it was a pair I didn't like anymore, but I usually donate those to Goodwill anyway. ANA MARIE: Seems to me that shoe-throwing really more of a mark of a DESPERATE society: China's Foreign Ministry spokesman said he would be watching out for journalists taking off their shoes in news conferences after an Iraqi reporter threw a pair at outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad. MEGAN: However, if I knew there was to be an official shoe throwing event — perhaps in concert with a dunk tank? — I would totally get a pair. ANA MARIE: Flip flops! Those size 10s, they seem a little deadly. MEGAN: I wear a 6 and 1/2 shoe, I think I would fall on my face if I attempted to walk in size 10 flip flops. ANA MARIE: Wow, TINY feet. You must clean up at sales. They are always out of 71/2s. AND SPEAKING OF CLEANING UP (don't you love how I do that?): Jay Carney, the last employed journalist in Washington. Finally he will earn some money out of flacking for Obama-Biden team ! (Just kidding, Jay!) MEGAN: Man, he went and got a grown-up job. Some days, I feel like I need one of those. ANA MARIE: Oh, I don't know how grown up it is. I mean, a large part of any comm director job is schmoozing, which Jay already has ninja-level skillz in. And what with Joe Biden shrinking down the job of VP to "puppy snuggling" and funerals, I'm not sure what's left for Jay to do. But I'm sure he'll do it well. MEGAN: I am an excellent puppy snuggler, if Jay needs a deputy. ANA MARIE: He also was totally rocking the suit jacket/buttondown/no-tie look LONG before BHO. MEGAN: But did you know he was a Democrat, unlike your other colleague Joe Klein? ANA MARIE: Uhm, yes. MEGAN: Yeah, I didn't figure details like that would escape you. ANA MARIE: Maybe I had more drinks with him than Joe did, though that seems unlikely. Ask the McCain people if THEY knew he was a Dem! MEGAN: The McCain people thought the entire press corps were Dems by the end. If Bill Kristol had been on the plane, they probably would've called him in the tank for Obama. ANA MARIE: And, obv, the funny part is that the people on the Obama plane were the least tanky. They were, on the whole, the most critical. And, seriously, I think Jay will be great in this job and I've always thought his writing was more elegant than most newsmag stuff (and he's actually quite funny tho that rarely made it into print) but... Don't Rs have every right to be pissed? That might be the wrong way to put it. It just confirms their worst suspicions. MEGAN: Well, they might except how many of their writers went to work for McCain? I'm looking at Michael Goldfarb here. ANA MARIE: If you want to equate Time and the Weekly Standard, I'm fine with that but I doubt either of the magazines would be. And, in the end, it comes down to what the written record is. MEGAN: Well, I'm not talking about the magazine but the writer. Is Goldfarb going to admit that everything he ever wrote was intellectually disingenuous and hacky and aimed at getting someone specific elected? Probably not, right? Then he should shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down. ANA MARIE: Or if people want to spend a few years going through everything Jay's ever written looking for bias, well, it'll be more enjoyable than reading the ourve of others, and that's pretty much the only way to actually make a serious case out of the argument. Everything else is just generic whining. MEGAN: And no one likes a whiner. ANA MARIE: It does tend to go hand in hand with losing.

The moment I was angry. Was I mad? I believed I wasn't man and someone else did it. At this moment, my Chinese roommate, Fang, as well as the guy had gone to their schools because we attend various schools. Somebody who is currently bursting at the seams with what is intent on local tgurl sluts Tower Hill NB what's bothering them, and is overwhelming them, may sometimes approach somebody to feel heard. I asked one of the men who had approached me about his views on Okcupid on Indian girls were on the site. The most typical cause behind those women would be to seek out comfort about the relationships' conclusion. Individuals who approach someone about almost any forum that is virtual having an intent may not feel profoundly thankful to the person who is listening to them, but might develop strong feelings. They do not ever paste that in their face for everyone to see. They never shout it. " So Sam says, " Hey lips these days, you cannot count on, Marv. Like those TV anchor- women do, ' em fill with some kind of stuff. They go to plastic surgeons. However, I had to actually work at this relationship to get me out of thinking about her powerhouse thighs. " I will happily report it's repaid. Now we both like each other for the proper reasons. Physically she's exactly what I'd have in the past called a true lump. " " Guess what today, Marv? " Sam goes, " Who am I to be worried about that? You know what she has got? All the time in the world to be with lumps, me and all. I mean, I'm the one with the lumps should you wanna speak about bumps. But what she's is all the time on the planet if you wanna understand what she has really got. " Sam continues, " Before we met she said she was in Cancun for winter; but continue, she stated she moves not only last winter but she goes every year. She comes back in March and goes in November. She stated she will be totally proud to introduce me, her new date, to her familia" . There are a lot traits there is a high excellent woman looking for, but these are a few of the key ones. So in reality guys get it TOTALLY incorrect; believing that women are after a certain type of person, when they aren't! And if you believe that you do have a chance with your dream woman- - the truth is that YOU DO! ! Once you LEARN how to come around as the guy she's searching for, this unique Mr. Right, then you have a true CHANCE of getting past her natural defences. All in all is a hint in the relationship iceberg. It is a fantastic place to start when glancing in those prized Tower Hill New Brunswick prostitutes at work. For the married, it is one good and effective way to keep the fire of your connection that is long- term. Beyond the initial hurdle of going on dates, you will also need to do some homework. This includes holding conversation between customs, taking notes after dates, and scheduling future dates. This job multiplies ifyou're scheduling dates simultaneously. Women are low self- esteem for the reason being they are young and inexperienced. Normally girls have not figured out who they are yet. They don't have life figured out which induces her to worry all of the time. They're inexperienced and everything is so new to them which makes them insecure. When organizing your essay, it needs to be fair, forthcoming, direct and informative. Keep it light and optimistic. A touch of comedy is a nice touch. It should leave the readers. Always end with a" call to action" . It's a good idea to maintain this feeling to yourself dating apps stupid Brown MB you have been dating a while or until he states the" L" word. Before he's ready, if you state it, you might find yourself right back in the dating pool. I devote a good deal of time considering. . . Same thing goes for this particular question. This is sometimes replied a bit but do give a dull or dumb answer here. This is kind of a test to determine how smart, intriguing funyou're. You seem dumb, dull or lame if you give a boring or lame answer. Give the reader a snapshot of the kind of personyou're. Remember, for each one of these queries, the goal isn't just to reply them logically and literally. . . It's HOW you answer them that tells the reader what kind of person you are, and if you would be fun, cool, and interesting to hang out with or not. **ALPHA ALERT OPPORTUNITY **EXAMPLE: Planning my next trip from state, the significance of life, geeking out on plans for my organization, my fantasy woman, will I BBQ chicken or steak tonight, or both, and when oh when are they likely to make an emoji which in fact resembles my face. But deciding on what username to use for an online service can be very hard. A great username is the best way to set up your self and get noticed on the internet. Like when you select your relationship photos coming up with a username ought to be given pirate hookers of consideration. Your primary profile taken( that is the one everybody sees first) should only be a clear shot of your head. Never think of putting on a pair of shades or wearing a hat. This just makes you seem as ifyou're bald or concealing something. I had a date with a girl who seemed to have a fondness for Ray ban sunglasses in of her photos. I convinced myself that she wanted to pull some Hollywood glamour. It turned out she hid a glass eye when I met her. I didn't know where to look. What does the initial impression have to do with anything? How can it injure your possibilities of dating? If you have to ask these inquiries, after that you remain in major problem, and you have no chance of conference any person. Exchanging websites is a situation for your Tower Hill wilkes barre hookers. Our websites is not as confidential as our exposing local sluts Chenier QC number. There is a chance you will be given her Instagram by a woman compared to her number. No one would say no to a follower. Do NOT do the following: - Don't post pictures other than yourself. People do not care about your friends, relatives, dog etc. . They Tower Hill NB casual sex dating website to see you and you. This also may provide difficulty deciding which are you to them. ( We banter about crap for a few lines and again the messaging goes cold) Me: So, again you say hello and run off? Tsk tsk. . Therefore, I go for the date here, and dragged my toes until now. Local sluts looking for sex Tower Hill NB how she's been engaging with me, wants the date, but never pushes it herself. It is going to fall on you to procure a match up. On some occasions, you engage in such extended conversations with a girl, because you never do it then it goes cold. My conversations can operate long, but I shall find a date set up, then just further build the fascination. You may choose to note which other sites gave great results, in case you decide to change to another site. You will then know, without performing the study that is exact same which other websites gave the best results. Obviously if they were incredibly interested as well as the discussion was something that they expected, then they would possibly seen to it to inspect and also would certainly have responded. So it's not an excellent sign, but it's definitely not as much of a bad sign as the majority of individuals make it out to be. Icouldn't help but think throughout the dinner which I would have preferred to be there together with Scott. It was. I wanted to share the food with him, I wanted to detect this place with him. I tried my hardest to focus on what Matt was saying and fought to push him out of my head. Coming across as too jaded or bitter in your profile may result in a lot of missed chances. There are several Tower Hill New Brunswick turn- offs for guys than sounding too hung up on past doomed relationships. Understand your Tower Hill and possibly besides your picture, is a significant first impression. Your profile will be sent by guys by means of a sort of filter and some other negativity will likely local sluts in an automatic lose of things. The secret is to tweak 1element at a time. This is the way you go elemental. You go local sluts. The place to begin, of course, is the own picture. This is an element. Is online dating pathetic Tower Hill NB your picture, run your profile and see if your results are changed by it for the better. How to Become Confident how can you become more confident if you have some level of assurance, or convinced if you are not? As I stated local sluts, confidence is tied to self- esteem. You have to do everything you can to build up your self- esteem, particularly in a way that's not subject to change over time. This means that you will need to find who you really are on the inside, what your life purpose is, and stay true to these. If you are trying hard to find what your purpose is and who you are, I suggest that you look to your passions and interests in life, and what you are good in- - they could frequently be pointers. What's the difference between these two? Passive- aggressive: this is the most frequent attitude, and is manifested while the woman has feelings of anger but wishes to keep them concealed( e. g. she doesn't talk to anybody or she makes offensive jokes) . Some programs local sluts women more control than, as you might have already discovered. As I had mentioned previously, while I would have enjoyed it if women had been messaging me daily, it wasn't the standard. This has much related to age group, so younger folks may not find exactly the identical issue. This is also true of limiting beliefs, you might be letting a belief which you formed at a age that is uniformed today, hold you back, like' I am notworthy'. This is a belief, it isn't true and can be changed at a subconscious level lifetime.

Put in a divorce or separation and youngsters into the stir and you simply should become accustomed to the cobwebs down there should you give in to society’s stigmas. For some reason, immigrants contributed together with them a culture so connected with institution, the two can’t distinguish from the two. This intertwining is responsible for some really serious friendly problems that do only consider on first-generation United states Muslims. There’s no better exemplory case of this than in the fact of just one American Muslim mother. Whenever I refer to the only mama right here, now I am referring to the moms whom put his or her relationships for all the best. To try to persuade a mom in which to stay a toxic commitment happens to be, seriously, probably the most disrespectful thing i’ve come across. The most challenging an element of getting a divorce are experiencing the stigma round the “ separated woman .” You’re told by aunties to, “Stay with your. It’s greater than no person,” as if you obtain a divorce, “No you are going to would like you.” Reading those words whenever you’re previously in a fragile state of mind might end up being damaging your psychological. In my opinion, I had been suggested to speak with an imam (spiritual clergy) or stay with my favorite ex and “work it out.” There’s never ever any motivation to get expert cures and also it was so taboo that my own ex kept persuading me we all can’t require it — until it absolutely was too far gone. Add a separation and kids into the blend and you may as well become accustomed to the spiderwebs down indeed there so long as you give in to society’s stigmas. My own mom are often supporting with the choices we made, but other people in the neighborhood felt it has been the company’s responsibility to mark their particular ideals and requirements to my living. It has been almost like all of a sudden, I had been a broken chicken that anybody planned to contact, pickup, and put back off on the ground. No body did actually know how to raise myself backup into simple nest which couldn’t seems they cared a great deal of to take action. One female I’ve recognized for the majority of my entire life had been near splits mentioning, “My emotions cracks for yourself. Don’t stay by yourself. Go back in your mother.” This perplexed myself mainly because it was actually simple choice to eliminate my self from a toxic romance we experienced had not been profit myself. Why was actually she unfortunate for me personally? Right then, we acknowledged there are gonna be lots of people I needed to pay no attention to. I’m monetarily separate and place chicas escort Corona my personal steps in relation to raising my personal loved one. Eight season after the separation, I imagined I would personally try to go back to my moms and dads’ residence to save money. Your next 8 times in their house comprise quite emptying. I felt like I shed command over the girl (and my favorite pounds) and had not been capable to keep north america regarding healthier regime that I got proved helpful so very hard on. After I moved aside, we quickly heard every ideas of people who considered it was incorrect, dangerous, and a complete waste of income to stay at on my own. These people painted a photo of strive in the event it came to encouraging personally and wouldn’t thought a girl could control the tension to be your head of a household by herself. At the beginning, I happened to be cautious, permitting his or her ideas float through simple feelings, but I’m happy I didn’t cave in. Another image that was finished in my opinion is when we lived by yourself, i’d being a promiscuous female and would not have the ability to manage my personal “urges.” This became absurd, but regardless if I became a righteous female and abstained from any non-marital relationships, it can’t make a difference. They can cover the image that i used to be indiscriminate, anyhow, because we was living alone as one particular female. These predeteremined impression of exactly what one mom is and may staying affected the dating scene for my situation for the Muslim North american community. Having been maybe not looking into being started by an individual who reckoned my personal criteria comprise reduce as this will be simple secondly aim at wedding . We currently received significantly higher criteria and I had not been wanting to hurry or jeopardize the thing I desired in a life companion. An individual known I happened to be a divorced woman of a single, these people automatically skimmed their unique ram of solitary boys which fit 3 types: - separated men - single guy double the get older - boys looking for another girlfriend Although (in my opinion) there’s nothing completely wrong with such 3 categories of boys, I didn’t think that i will getting limited inside my opportunity. Therefore, as early as I was emotionally all set to “date,” I allow the universe bring myself their selection, one by one. Despite usual opinion and stigmas, a solitary mama is simply as attractive for marriage as almost every girl. The suitors emerged often, all parts of society: more youthful, old, never ever attached, separated, with young ones, without young children, etc. However, those feedback and preconceived impression that were coated in my opinion at the conclusion of simple union, by individuals who didn’t come with business leaving comments, often lingered within my subconscious mind. I recently found it even tougher for ladies We realized that has several child or became available of an abusive relationship. It was like these were forced to actually carry all the suitcase their unique times had provided these people. The best way to battle these stigmas in order to find on your own on the top would be to consistently develop by yourself and develop your character, independent from the recognition society wishes you to have got . Refuse to match their communicative or surrender on their journey. Create your very own – boldly and unapologetically. Nearly every unmarried mommy I’m sure is actually braver, better, and far more durable than these people on their own might imagine. I long for our personal Muslim North american area to avoid looking into us single moms as damsels in problems or ruined items, and to look at you as a few of the strongest feamales in community. We owned the bravery to go out of toxic relationships or we owned the depressing experience of being left behind. No matter what, we got it together in regards to our children . You placed our kids before us all as well as the heart of the things we all carry out. Most people cover the responsibility of increasing youngsters on our very own, occasionally with little help from the group around us all. The smoothness and confidence most of us have happen to be, for sure, the wealthiest personality any human can give people searching for a life partner. In case you are just one mummy and fighting your own personality from what a person is letting you know, remember that many of the finest feamales in Islamic history happened to be solitary mom. A solitary mother doesn’t fundamentally wanted a man, but the woman is people every person needs.

by Jessica Legacy Last week, the Internet turned the colours of the rainbow as the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favour of same-sex marriage. The vote came down to five justices for and four against—a marginal ruling over a complicated custom. The opposing justices formed their dissents around two central arguments: first, on the grounds that marriage should be determined by democratic majority rather than the Supreme Court, and second on the grounds of religious belief. As is so often the case with contested issues that “threaten” “traditions,” (ed.: both of those deserve really big scare quotes) the past was, ironically, both dragged through the mud and then held up as a murky example to refute change. For example, Justice Samuel Alito waved the medieval flag when he argued that “for millennia, marriage was inextricably linked to the one thing that only an opposite-sex couple can do: procreate.” In light of the fact that Alito seems to be calling the past to testify as an expert witness in the trial of same sex marriage, let’s look at what we know about medieval marriage. Nice Day for a Medieval Wedding First, there is some truth to the common perceptions of marriage in the Middle Ages. Much of our western understanding of marriage stems from institutional formalities established in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Marriage occurred almost exclusively between two members of the opposite sex in order to unite them in preparation for building a family unit and a household. It held religious and economic significance, and culminated in a contract witnessed by others and before God. Yet, although these perceptions are generally accurate, that does not mean that marriage was an unalterable ritual. Instead, marriage was scrutinized, evaluated, and changed numerous times throughout the Middle Ages. Like so much history pertaining to subjects that include any marginalized group—women, lay people, or anyone not in power or producing cultural artefacts—there is relatively little documentation of their experiences from their own words. What remains are court records, medieval theological commentaries, and marriage sermons. From these records, we know that the church did not have sole governance over marital law. The church oversaw adherence to sacred vows, while secular courts litigated issues pertaining to property and finances. As the church gained power over the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it exercised greater governance in secular courts; however, we all know to what extent a monarch will go to maintain power over the church. Yet, the conditions of marriage were frequently reviewed and changed long before Henry VIII broke with the church. In fact, sexual morality was not considered central to Christianity until the works of St. Jerome and St. Augustine in the fourth and fifth centuries. The general view after this period was that sex, even in marriage, was a problem. Virginity and celibacy were preferred for salvation, even within a marriage. Marital coitus was an unfortunate necessity for procreation. This view prompted Augustine to write on the subject of marriage, concluding that, if it must be done, the united couple should at least strive to be happy with one another. The Christianization of marriage in the middle ages was, in some ways, progressive by contrast with what was considered “traditional” marriage at the time. Christians permitted slaves to marry, while Roman law forbade it. In addition, under Christianity, divorce was permitted, albeit conditionally, until the twelfth century. In fact, the holy sacraments were not defined until the twelfth century, and debate continued as to whether marriage ought to be included as one of the seven. The inclusion of marriage as a sacrament was far from the only contested issue with medieval marriage. Until the twelfth century, consummation was required in order to finalize a marriage bond. However, medieval Christianity looked toward Mary and Joseph as the model of the perfect marriage. Intrinsic to Catholic dogma, Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. This created a discrepancy— if celibacy was valued above marital sex, and Mary and Joseph maintained a celibate marriage, then consummation was not required at all. At the same time there were conflicting priorities surrounding salvation and pleasure. Medical theories and practices developed in the classical (read: Greek and Roman) world were rediscovered around the tenth century, and informed health and well-being until the sixteenth. According to Hippocratic theory, female sperm (ed.: yes, you read that right, female sperm) were not released unless a woman experienced pleasure during sex. As sex—even among married couples—without intent to reproduce was considered to be akin to adultery, some argued that marriage without sexual compatibility was sinful. On the other hand, remnants of pre-Augustinian ideas dictated that sex without pleasure was the only sort of sex free from sin. The debate was never resolved. However, contemplating the issue placed the purpose of sex at the forefront of church debates and brought about a new sexual awareness—that is to say, medieval society was made aware that sexual practices had religious and secular implications. In order to remove marriage from the sexual debate, Pope Alexander III changed the marital law: consummation was no longer the deciding factor for marital union. Instead, the individuals who wished to marry only needed to provide consent—parental or guardian consent was no longer needed. It was also no longer necessary for the union to take place in public. While this standard of sex and marriage still appears conservative according to modern notions of sexual liberation, these changes to marital law introduced an aspect of choice and consent, and therefore brought forth a new age of sexual freedom—at least by previous standards. At the fourth Lateran Council in 1215, marital laws were reconsidered again. Most relevant to our conversation here, article 51 forbade clandestine marriages: all marriages had to be announced in church from then on. Despite increased church oversight, most marriage practices were left to local customs. In fact, being married in a church was not required by church law until the sixteenth century. The Fantasy of “Tradition” The crux of the issue here is that religion, sanctity, and indeed “tradition” have been far more fluid than twenty-first-century debates—even among Supreme Court Justices—wish for them to appear. The medieval Church regularly debated what marriage was and was not, and changed its mind and its mandates. Changes to the sacrament of marriage continued apace during the Tudor period and the Reformation, and through to the present day. In short, the history of marriage has sustained one constant: institutions have used—and continue to use—laws about sex and marital practices to exercise power over the multitude. Sexuality and belief influence society. And as beliefs and values were reinterpreted by those societies, institutions adapted. This is the tradition of marriage.

Love is not one thing you reveal on important occasions. It’s one way you are https://datingranking.net/seniorpeoplemeet-review/ able to show your own treatment and love for every additional. Are you able to think of the finally time period that you probably did anything particularly enchanting for the husband or wife? Really? Has actually it already been that long? Here’s the fact about love: once you have “that feeling”—like after you had been going out with or involved, or during a especially romantic evening or weekend break as being a committed couple—you find yourself believing, we certain need to get that feeling again. Once it does not take place, you start thinking, What’s wrong? Love is not something you enhance on important occasions. Rather, it is a good way we show your own care and attention and love for any different. And yes it ought to be a component of the fabric that is very of wedded life. On occasion when I’m speaking with lovers about love in their nuptials, a spouse will say to me personally, we’ve just lost it“ I think. The experience I used to feel? It’s gone. “And besides, my spouse doesn’t do just about anything romantic for me…” Actually, you may need to be the one to take the first step if you really want that feeling again. Pause the stalemate. Listed below a very few suggestions for the method that you might get started. We produced this record after requesting some pals to share with you their unique advice on love for all the romantically questioned. This list just isn’t extensive, and I also recognize many of us are in a variety of locations when it comes to relationship. But trying a few of these tips that are practical merely then add sparks your nuptials along with your living: 1. Remember everything you managed to do when you initially dropped in love? Accomplish this again. A pastor explained them to Revelation 2, where Jesus addresses the church in Ephesus that he often counsels couples by taking. Verses 2-5 say, “I’m sure your works, the toil along with your individual stamina … I know we are … bearing up for our name’s sake, and you’ve got perhaps not raised fatigued. But I have this against one, that you may have discontinued the thank you experienced in the beginning. … repent, and carry out the operates you probably did at very first.” This ceremony would be reading through the actions. Nonetheless it was no longer strongly in deep love with Jesus Christ. This pastor mentioned, “ I think that’s pretty marriage advice that is good. During those right occasions when we just don’t possess the feelings, repent and do the stuff you did at very first.” 2. Make certain you acknowledge your spouse’s special birthday in the real special birthday. One individual seemingly discovered this the hard way. He or she claimed, “If your very own wife’s special birthday is definitely throughout the few days, but you choose celebrate it the weekend before—and you take her to a great restaurant that is nice along with a costly gift, along with a deep and important conversation—but you don’t provide her a card at the time, you’ve nonetheless hit a brick wall at everything!” 3. Don’t decrease gender to a great method. This tip is specially for husbands. One woman expressed precisely what she experienced encountered: One saturday night, she and her spouse went out for lunch in a restaurant that is nice. After-dinner, a walk was taken by them collectively. They laughed and talked. The mood had been beautifully. The evening ended because of the 2 of them love that is making. With regards to a week later on the husband expected, “Hi, the reasons why don’t you revisit that eatery for dinner?” She explained, it had nothing in connection with the food.“ I knew what exactly had been on their mind—and” That spouse assumed he’d found the system: eatery + walk = sexual intercourse. But their girlfriend informed me, “Women don’t strive to be identified. They don’t want romance or intercourse lowered to a great system.” 4. Never ever get your wife something special for a occasion that is special is plugged into the wall. In the event it possesses plug over it, give consideration to getting it right back, currently! Somebody composed me personally about a product that happened back when he was online dating his girlfriend. Her roomie, exactly who enjoyed to prepare meals, got “the most Cuisinart that is expensive food I’ve ever observed in my entire life.” The chap which composed said that he was quite pleased, yet the two ladies are not. They couldn’t believe that any man would give his gf this kind of “insensitive souvenir.” Girls, let me just use here: Numerous men like stuff with plugs. Or power packs. We all may avoid using them, but we love attain them for gifts. 5. Exactly What looks enchanting for your requirements might not often be enchanting for your partner. Dr. Gary Chapman says inside the guide, The 5 Love Languages, that there are five ways that are primary we all show want to each other: - Real touch—holding fingers, having fun with mane, giving a straight back rub. - Acts of service—washing the bathroom, assisting throughout the residence, or just folding the washing. - Phrase of affirmation—saying delicate, nice, or things that are encouraging. - Top quality time collectively. Every one of all of us, Dr. Chapman claims, offers what he dubs a “love lingo”—a preferred from this record. Let’s declare your own love words is definitely terms of affirmation; you like it whenever a person claims to you, “You’re really special” or “You check handsome” … those types points. Then when you need to express your very own love for your spouse, one say all kinds naturally of sweet items. If your wife’s love that is actually primary is serves of solution, you could declare all the affirming terms need. Unless you’re picking up a broom it won’t do much good while you talk. You ought to determine your own love that is spouse’s language then reveal your absolutely love by talking it. I enjoy the quotation from just one co-worker that claimed, “I’ve found that the little alternative light on the dish washer is indeed a turn on for my own wife—if I’m the one that set it up!”

What would Van Gogh be like on Instagram? He’d post some emo selfies, perhaps; long, overwrought captions designed to elicit a sympathetic reaction from his brother Theo, who was always bailing him out from near-destitution. And Picasso, what about his social media presence? There’d be a lot of filters, especially blue-tinted ones. Some of his photos might violate Instagram’s terms of service. Michelangelo would love gym pics, of pecs and abs and finely chiselled biceps; Monet never saw a sunset he wouldn’t want to share, I’m sure; and as for Frida Kahlo, with those brows? She’d be a regular at California’s Coachella Festival, a full-fledged influencer in a flower crown. One great artist about whom we don’t need to speculate is Takashi Murakami. The 57-year-old Japanese luminary is “easily one of the five most successful artists in the world”, says Justin Paton, the head curator of international art at the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW). (The gallery has commissioned a Murakami installation for its Japan Supernatural exhibition, beginning in November.) He also boasts 1.4 million followers on Instagram, and cites the social media network as his primary source of artistic inspiration. The life of an internationally renowned artist as depicted through his own posts is more glamorous than you might assume (Naomi Campbell, Bono and the Beckhams all make appearances) and also more pedestrian (colonoscopies and CT scans abound). Before Instagram existed, though, Murakami was already on his way to amassing one of the art world’s bigger fortunes. His vividly coloured, psychedelic creations – monumental sculptures and silkscreen prints, mostly – evoke a distinctly Japanese aesthetic, one which blends the child-like and the hyper-sexualised. In 2002, he set a record for contemporary Japanese art when a sculpture of a busty anime character whose breastmilk forms a streaming skipping rope garnered almost half a million US dollars at auction. In 2008, another anime-inspired figure, this time of a masturbating boy brandishing a lasso made of semen, sold for $US15.2 million. Murakami is even more legendary than these sales figures suggest, thanks to a 13-year partnership with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton; the latter served as the fashion house’s artistic director until recently. It began in 2002, when Murakami reimagined the Vuitton monogram in his trademark rainbow brights. Sales of the brand’s leather goods in those first two years were reported to be in the vicinity of $US300 million. Murakami then sprinkled his star dust on Kanye West, first by designing the trippy cover of the rapper’s 2007 album Graduation, and later lending West’s haute streetwear brand, Yeezy, a patina of the cerebral, as when he shredded its cult sneakers into equally cult sandals. Last year – completing a trifecta of triumphant collaborations with Millennial icons – Murakami worked with Virgil Abloh, the creator of the impossibly hip clothing line Off-White, on a series of exhibitions for New York’s Gagosian gallery. Many of the artworks created by the pair incorporate Murakami’s signature cartoonish flowers with smiley faces. (They look a little bit like emojis on LSD.) The Abloh venture was well-received; Architectural Digest wrote of it, “The early 20th century had Man Ray and Duchamp; the ’80s had Warhol and Basquiat; 2018 has Virgil Abloh and Takashi Murakami.” Wherever Murakami is talked about, Andy Warhol’s ghost hovers. What they have in common, along with a penchant for fame and celebrity, is that neither is a starving artist in a garret. Murakami does not wear a beret, nor does he do much standing in front of a blank canvas with a brush in hand. As a big name in contemporary art, his work involves fabricators, spreadsheets, and a solid knowledge of international tax law. Through his company, Kaikai Kiki, he employs a staggering 350 people. Some work at an animation subdivision in Tokyo; Murakami has always had a passion for cartoons. A few more are based in New York, where large-scale works are assembled on site to avoid customs duties. The majority work in a giant warehouse in Tokyo’s drab outer suburbs. This is Murakami’s studio, but unlike Warhol’s factory, which was almost as famous for its disco parties and recreational drugs as for its silkscreen prints of actor Liz Taylor, it’s all business. Murakami is famed for his work ethic; Justin Paton, who has visited twice ahead of the AGNSW show, says the studio operates “24/7”. I resist the urge to ask the question I most want answered: what does a contemporary artist actually do all day? Takashi Murakami is sleeping. Erica, a young American minder from the artist’s Tokyo gallery, says he had a late night. At 9am on a Friday in June, his studio is humming. Twenty-something workers dressed in taupe or navy boilersuits are lifting canvases, typing on computers and hovering around half-finished sculptures. Murakami, meanwhile, is in a cardboard box which he keeps in the corner of his office. His best ideas come after dreaming. This might suggest a long wait, but only a few minutes after our designated start time, he arrives at a conference room to be interviewed. I don’t know what I was expecting from a famous artist, let alone one who has worked with top fashion houses, but Murakami exudes a slouchy, studied nonchalance. His is exactly the look his friend Kanye West has trademarked: baggy basketball shorts; a T-shirt, olive green, which probably costs a bomb; leather slides that somehow look ugly and elegant at the same time. “This is for you,” he says to me, gesturing at his outfit. “Western articles always begin, ‘When he appeared in front of me, he was wearing this T-shirt, these shorts,’ so I had to wear something good.” (Although he’d arranged for a translator, Murakami spoke to me in English throughout.) The look comes courtesy of Murakami’s stylist, who dresses him for media appearances. The stylist used to run a boutique in Japan’s southern prefecture of Kyushu before he was plucked by Murakami from the obscurity of the Instagram Discover tab, which shows accounts selected by algorithm. Murakami’s T-shirt is from West’s Yeezy line, and it turns out to be literally priceless, because it has been customised by the artist. On the bottom he has sewn a strip of fabric featuring his bug-eyed cartoon creation Mr Dob, a signature character. Were a pesky journalist not here today, Murakami would be wearing a salmon-pink T-shirt, one of 100 or so he bought in bulk from American Apparel before it went bankrupt. The T-shirts are always worn with a pair of silky basketball shorts. This is one of the many conscious steps he has taken to free his mind of minutiae. Like Barack Obama, who famously cut down the number of decisions he had to make every day as president by wearing only grey or blue suits, Murakami has adopted a uniform. He describes it as a “kind of armour”. Sometimes, for a photo shoot, he will don an elaborate headpiece – a bright blue octopus, or a pink jellyfish. “I wear the octopus to show I am not a negative person,” he says. “I am very positive.” The octopus is probably not necessary. Murakami’s studio is all white walls and hushed reverence; the lighting, so bright as to resemble a laboratory. Yet the man himself – not tall, but with a topknot that seems to take up a lot of space – cracks jokes frequently, and freely unspools his many neuroses to a stranger. “Two days ago I was with my TV animation team in post-production having a recording meeting and I was very upset,” he volunteers while settling into a squeaky black leather swivel chair. “I said, ‘Hey, producer, I told you that before the meeting I wanted an agenda. And then I never received it.’ Then some people said, ‘Hey, Takashi. You already sent us an agenda. So we were wondering why you were so upset.’ ” He laughs. “This is a very ordinary situation for me. My memory is nothing.” He goes on: “When I get an idea, I want to tell someone because I’ll forget in four or five seconds. So I wake up and shout, ‘Hey, somebody!’ ” The studio has a night shift so he can wake up and share his insights at any time. Sleeping, he suggests, turbocharges his already propulsive creativity. Perhaps this is just the explanation that geniuses give for their process because it is mysterious even to themselves. I am reminded of Paul McCartney’s origin story for Yesterday, which is that on waking from a dream, he found the melody already written, and the lyrics: “Scrambled eggs, oh my dear you have such lovely legs …” Before he falls into the cardboard box, Murakami attempts to relax the only way he knows how, by watching Japanese animation. “Just something stupid,” he says, whatever’s new on Amazon Prime Video or Netflix. He’s loved animation since he was a child, and finds the way moving images are generated from static ones to be nothing short of magic. It used to be that he escaped reality the old-fashioned way, by drinking. Mostly whiskey. But that habit came to an abrupt end many years ago, when his leg “blew up like an elephant’s”. The doctors diagnosed him with gout, so from then on, he has restricted his alcohol intake to a perfectly made gin and tonic, once a week. I learn a lot more about Murakami’s health over the time we spend together. The lower half of his face is covered in Band-Aids; when asked why, Murakami waves the question away with the catch-all explanation of “stress!” After the interview, I recount this hypochondria to a friend who is an art historian. She is supremely unsurprised. “All artists are obsessed with their body,” she says. “Ultimately, art is about preservation of something – but if you make silly ephemera, then you’re denying that preservation.” (The semen-wielding lasso artist and the breastfeeding superhero start to make more sense.) Murakami also dwells on the topic of mortality; his father, a former taxi driver, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 65. “I have 10 years to go,” he says. “Until then I have to do something.” One thing he’s not doing much of at all is eating. This is part of Murakami’s drive for productivity: “I need two or three brains. I have to be careful of my body.” He has adopted a regimen of intermittent fasting because, he says, “I was getting obsessive about food.” Murakami’s Instagram feed, in between documenting medical procedures, was once full of food he consumed around the globe: heart-shaped pizzas in Hong Kong, brioche burgers in Moscow. “Eighty per cent of my brain was food. ‘What is lunch? What is dinner? What is dessert? Oh my god, greasy Chinese food and truffles and olive oil and sea salt …’ ” An epiphany came this March on a trip he took with his feng shui master, a Taiwanese man who has guided him through life for almost a decade. (On the feng shui master’s advice, there are no clocks anywhere in the studio, except a tiny alarm clock on the artist’s desk.) “He took me to this waterfall and it was by a mountain and snowing,” Murakami recalls. “It was super-cold and in my head I’m thinking, F… you, feng shui master!Then I see this monk, sitting by the water, and he was so still. It was like slow motion. Like animation.” Which is to say, magic. “And I researched on Wikipedia how monks train to get that way and one easy way is to fast.” Plus, Murakami adds, “I was too heavy, so that was an added bonus.” Since that day, he’s consumed a lot of apple cider vinegar, thought to be detoxifying, and lost 10 kilograms. His domestic life has grown more complicated over recent years. Back in 2005, Murakami told The New York Times that he had no time for personal attachments. “I think he is a very lonely person,” said the cultural critic Midori Matsui. Since then, he has married and twice become a father: he has an eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter. His challenge is to tame his son, who is, in Murakami’s telling, “super-bad”. Recently, Murakami moved his family from Tokyo to an estate outside Kyoto. He was worried about the continued radiation risk in the capital from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, and believes the Japanese government concealed the true extent of the fallout to ensure Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics bid was successful. Ideally, he would move his studio to the countryside, too, but it’s been difficult to find a space big enough to house all the employees. In the meantime, he talks to his family on Facetime daily, and when he’s not haranguing his son about his homework, shares with him a passion for the American cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. That’s the amazing thing about Murakami, or at least one of many: he’s not a snob. Lately on Spotify he’s been listening to the 17-year-old pop prodigy Billie Eilish. They’ve even collaborated, including for Eilish’s music video you should see me in my crown, which features a malevolent alter ego of the singer drawn by Murakami. How does he manage to stay on the cutting edge? “When Kanye West approached me [in the mid-2000s], I’d never heard of him,” he says. “I’m ashamed about that, but whenever anyone comes to me I just ask my young assistants, and if they say, as they did with Kanye, ‘You must do that,’ I do.” When I ask why it is important to him to work with people outside of the art world, he demurs. “I don’t think of it in terms of ‘important’,” he says. “It’s a very natural situation for a Japanese artist.” This is Murakami’s most closely held tenet: that the distinction between high and low culture is a Western construct, meaningless in Japan. To us, an artist designing handbags is surprising, an affront, even, to our notion of fine art. But to Murakami, it is continuing a Japanese tradition of art as a profession like any other. Later, the translator Alfred Birnbaum tells me, “It was only with [British designer] William Morris that the idea of ‘art’ was introduced to Japan as a separate word from craft.” Now would be a good time to introduce Murakami’s overarching philosophy of “superflat”. He first coined the term in the year 2000 as a way to link the flat picture planes of nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting style in which he trained, to the eliding of high and low in Japanese culture. For Murakami, the gold-lacquered scenes of butterflies and tea ceremonies from the Edo period (the last gasp of old Japan which ended in 1868) lead directly to 20th-century anime. Both are fundamentally flat, in aesthetic and in world view. After Japan was defeated in World War II, the horrors of that event were released to the realm of cartoons, albeit of a kind much darker than Disney. Along the way, they were stripped of their historical context. Murakami might not say so explicitly, because politics isn’t his thing, but his cartoon creatures – rainbows, smiley faces, flowers and all – are critiques of that culture of cute rather than imitations of it. As a consequence, Murakami does not think Japanese people like him much. “My name is bad in Japan,” he says. “Too erotic, or something like that.” (This was not my experience when I told Japanese people I was interviewing Murakami-san, nor does it hold up to estimates that in the 2000s, 40 per cent of Japanese people owned a Louis Vuitton product designed by Murakami.) In any case, he likes the idea that he is able to make money from a certain Western fantasy of his country. “The offers to collaborate have always come from the other side,” he has said. “What the West is looking for in Japan is something more than the very artificial, Hollywood, over-the-top Japan. I offer the middle ground, something that is just the right temperature for Western audiences.” That this Goldilocks version of Japan makes money, and lots of it, is even better, because Murakami is unabashedly interested in the stuff. He didn’t get the grades for university, so went instead to art school. There, he decided to specialise in nihonga because he noticed its professors wore the nicest suits. (At the time, the Japanese economy was booming, and traditional painting was in vogue.) At one point in our conversation, he rambles along a tangent about how domestic tax law inhibits Japanese collectors from buying his work. “Everything comes from business,” he says, when I ask if he enjoys talking about money. “When da Vinci was working, oil paint used to be very expensive. Now I’m working in 3D computer graphics, which is super-expensive. So it’s necessary to think about money all the time.” Unsurprisingly, Murakami’s love of money has rubbed some in the art world the wrong way. In 2007, a major retrospective of his work was mounted at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) in Los Angeles. A pop-up store inside the museum sold his $US960 Louis Vuitton bags. MoCA’s chief curator, Paul Schimmel, said “one of the most radical aspects of Murakami’s work is his willingness both to embrace and exploit the idea of his brand, to mingle his identity with a corporate identity and play with that”. My name is bad in Japan. Too erotic, or something like that. Jerry Saltz, the influential art critic at New York magazine, baulked. “Murakami has been so set on merging fine art with commercial product that by now all he’s doing is moving merch,” wrote Saltz. He thought Murakami’s “infantile flower paintings”, 50 of which sold for $US90,000 a piece the same year, had the “visual oomph of screensavers and are only placeholders for gullible collectors, who buy them hoping today’s feeding frenzy lasts long enough to fob them off on subsequent happy patsies”. Murakami, Saltz wrote, enacted Warhol’s dictum that “good business is the best art”, but did not heed another of Warhol’s bon mots, which was that “commercial things really do stink”. Saltz twisted the knife: at Murakami’s studio, “assistants make his paintings”. It’s true that the morning I spent there, I didn’t see Murakami do anything especially creative. A schedule, which is printed by his assistant, indicated that the rest of the day was to be spent making some calls – to his gallery in New York, and to a fabricator ahead of an upcoming exhibition in Singapore – as well as picking a selection of panels, already made, for a piece. To me the studio resembled one of those trendy co-working spaces, the kind now found all over the world, where good-looking young people hunch over hot-desks with MacBooks. Only a few of those young people, the ones I was told were transposing Murakami’s rough sketches into digital colour, could be said to be “making art”. But I come away thinking that what Murakami puts out in the world – his artistry – isn’t so easily quantified. He is both more interesting than the rest of us, and more interested. That’s what he does all day. After the interview, his minder Erica shows me to a greenhouse adjacent to the studio where Murakami breeds stag beetles. He hopes that one of them will eventually break the Guinness World Records for longest. A shy, attentive young woman named Shiori, who works in the greenhouse, introduces some of her dozens of charges, which are held in tiny drawers filled with sawdust. She says that “for a boy of [Murakami’s] generation, a beetle was a prize”, though this explanation didn’t seem to fully account for the enormous collection. Murakami can go weeks without visiting the greenhouse, but sometimes, Shiori says, he “gets obsessed and comes by every day”. Like everyone who works with him, Shiori talks about Murakami with a very particular smile on her face, an expression of delight with a dash of confusion. It seems to say, I don’t know why he does what he does, but it’s wonderful that he does it. Which about sums up how I feel about him, too, and is presumably why people with millions of dollars continue to spend them on silk-screen prints of pastel-coloured daisies and strange sculptures of perpetually lactating ladies.

Picture copyright: Woman and Home magazineAnne Marie Scanlon is a writer and journalist who[...] Read The Full Article: THE WIZARD OF OZ CREATED BY:L. Frank Baum VOICED BY:Carl Banas('The Tales Of The Wizard Of Oz') Daws Butler('Off To See The Wizard') From Wikipedia:The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. The Wizard of Oz is the title character of the first book. In that book, the characters journey to him for assistance with their problems. It is later revealed that he is a humbug circus performer named Oscar Dibbs from Omaha, Nebraska; and that he had usurped Ozma's throne with the assistance of Mombi. The Wizard later returns to Oz in the fourth book and later learns real magic from Princess Ozma. Two for Tuesday! Read The Full Article: There's been plenty of buzz about who Universal will cast in the upcoming movie adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey, especially with Alexander Skarsgard and Ian Somerhalder expressing interest in playing Christian Grey. But let's shift gears a bit and put the spotlight on the female lead, Anastasia Steele. In the books, Christian's love interest is a 21-year-old who's never had sex before, let alone been involved in a S&M relationship. She's the classic insecure beautiful girl who doesn't know she's beautiful (and therefore spends a lot of time talking about how she's not as good-looking as the guy she's seeing). Amanda Seyfried's name has been tossed out before, but I'd like to see someone who's a little less mainstream. A friend mentioned Pretty Little Liars' Lucy Hale, who seems to strike the right balance of doe-eyed innocence and strong will. What's your take - who have you been envisioning in the role? The actor calls reports he turned down Simon Cowell's offer to host the show a "delightfully misunderstood misunderstanding." "30 Rock" could be back for a seventh and final shortened season, according to Deadline.com. The website reports that NBC is eying the Tina Fey comedy to return for one more year for 13 or so episodes after locking in several key behind-the-scenes players. This plan aligns with what series star Alec Baldwin has told the press and what "30 Rock" star/creator Fey has hinted at. In early April 2012, Fey appeared on "The View" and told the co-hosts "that the end of the show is visible on the horizon." Both Fey and Baldwin are contracted through Season 7. According to Deadline.com, "Parks and Recreation" is also looking likely for another season, albeit a shortened one. This would be its fifth season. "Community" is also in the running for a shortened Season 4. However, if "30 Rock" and "Community" do return, some players will be absent. "30 Rock's" Kay Cannon has moved to Fox's "New Girl" and "Community" co-showrunners Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan have signed a two-year deal with 20th Century Fox TV. The returning comedies would join recently picked-up new comedies including Matthew Perry's "Go On," Anne Heche's "Save Me," Ryan Murphy's "The New Normal," Josh Gad's "1600 Penn" and the Justin Kirk-fronted "Animal Practice." On the drama side of things, "Hannibal" and J.J. Abrams/Eric Kripke's post-apocalyptic drama have also gotten series orders. They're joined by the sophomore seasons of "Grimm" and "Smash," which are on NBC's 2012-2013 slate. Request for comment from NBC was not immediately returned. Find out the fate of your other favorite shows by click through the slideshow below. It wouldn't be "Dancing With the Stars" if there wasn't at least a little Chmerkovskiy drama. We all know that Maks has a temper and the producers don't always give him the most endearing edit -- remember last season's ballroom blowout with judge Len Goodman? -- but I never thought that I would hear him say the words, "You're making me look like a terrorist." Last season, Maks' partner Hope Solo never quite lived up to the potential the judges saw in her, and the duo consistently ranked at the bottom of the leaderboard, which eventually led to Maks' outburst. This week, it looked like the hot-tempered Chmerkovskiy was on a similar path of public destruction. Well, maybe the judges learned their lessons because this week, Len, Carrie Ann and Bruno all praised Maks' partner, Melissa Gilbert, for her best performances of the competition. However, I wasn't so convinced. The "Little House on the Prairie" star has obviously improved since her wobbly Week 1, but I don't think she deserved a 27 for her "Trio Dance" with the Chmerkovskiy brothers. (For the first time in show's history, "Dancing With the Stars" introduced "Trio Dances," where each couple got to chose a third person -- from the troupe or a previously eliminated pro -- to dance with.) Maybe Carrie Ann was too busy staring at Maks and Val to actually look at Melissa's footwork? I, for one, found myself getting pulled toward the magnetic field that is the Chmerkovskiy brothers' abs. Meanwhile, Melissa stumbled a bit during her foxtrot. Her footwork was off, and the judges could clearly see that. However, they gave her a 26, the same score that Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas received for their adventurous Viennese Waltz. I wish the judges would set a standard scoring system because judging some celebrities based on their improvements and some based on their performance just doesn't seem fair to me. Now, let's break down the individual dances: William Levy & Cheryl Burke "You know what the best birthday present would be? Nailing ... the next two dances." Did anyone else think that sentence was going to end differently? I'm only slightly kidding. I didn't love William's foxtrot as much as I enjoyed his Viennese Waltz last week, but it amazes me that William can be thrown into any situation and still manage to look suave. "It was like a super hot sexy pink panther ... Your movements were exquisite," said Carrie Ann. And Len added, "A mix of care and flair. There was care in the technique, there was flair in the movement." The judges awarded William his first perfect score of the season with three 10s. I can't say that I was expecting that performance to get a perfect score, especially when Roshon and Chelsie's foxtrot was one point away from perfection, but the score was well-deserved for William and pro Cheryl, who consistently produces some of the best choreography in the series. Dance: Paso Doble Trio Partner: Tony Dovolani "If I do it bad, you do it bad." That's what William told his Trio partner Tony in rehearsals. For their "Trio Dance," Cheryl chose Tony (a.k.a The Lovable Loser) because she wanted William to go toe-to-toe with a decorated male pro -- and it paid off. After a solid paso doble, inspired by Zorro, the judges awarded the trio a 27. Carrie Ann told William that he only went out of sync with Tony once and Bruno agrees. However, Len called their spicy paso doble fabulous. Judges' score: 30 + 27 = 57 Maria Menounous & Derek Hough Dance: Viennese Waltz Are Maria and Derek dating? It would just explain so much. They're constantly fighting and making up during rehearsals. One minute Maria is crying and then the next, she's laughing like a dolphin on happy pills. But at least the end product was beautiful, and their Viennese waltz was gorgeous. Bruno called it heavenly, while Carrie Ann heard angels singing during Maria and Derek's performance. Both judges give the pair a perfect 10. However, Len, always the Debbie Downer, scolded Derek for not having more holds, before giving the pair an 8. I'm not quite sure Maria and Derek deserved Len's 8, and to be honest, I couldn't quite understand his criticism. How can he give Maria and Derek an 8 for their waltz and then give Melissa a 9 for her "Trio Dance"? Trio Partner: Henry Byalikov Let me preface this by saying that I love Bollywood, and I couldn't be happier to finally see it get mainstream attention (not to mention that anything could be better than that hot mess of a number on NBC's "Smash"). However, Derek's Bollywood number felt a little out of place. I have to agree with Len on this one. "If I was judging a Bollywood number, then it was a 10, but this was a samba," he said. Bollywood is about extravagance and thinking outside of the box. I think Derek put too much of an emphasis on Bollywood and not enough on the samba. I mean, what was Derek thinking? An Indian samba? Yeah, no. That had a 7 from Len written all over it. However, Bruno loved the creativity, and Carrie Ann called it "a feast for her Asian eyes." Judges' score: 28 + 25 Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd Donald is his worse critic. I understand that he really wants that 10 from Len, but I think he has a tendency to be too hard on himself. Then again, he's the one with the Super Bowl ring! Like any good athlete, he studied his competition (via iPad product placement), and Peta came up with a routine that was snappy and dynamic. As per usual, Donald's frame was solid. However, they brought so much intensity to the dance that the drama and the storytelling element was a little lost. Len called it a knockout, while Bruno said, "I thought that I was going to have to call a marriage counselor." However Carrie Ann wanted more drama, and less intensity. Sadly, Donald has yet to receive a ten from Len, which meant that he was not happy. Hopefully, he has another week to land his precious 10. Trio Partner: Karina Smirnoff Donald decided that he "ain't ready to see Jimmy," so Peta enlisted defending "DWTS" champ Karina Smirnoff to join their "Trio Dance." Peta said she picked Karina because of her choreography. It looked like Karina choreographed the entire routine because it reminded me of her and J.R. Martinez's energetic jive from last season. It was a total crowd-pleaser. Not to mention that Donald managed to keep up with Karina and Peta's kicks and flicks. Did I mention that Peta's legs looked a million miles long? The big finale came when Donald leapt over both Karina and Peta. Despite the overwhelming praise -- Carrie Ann shrieked, "I loved your threeway!" -- Donald only received a 28 from the judges. I completely disagreed. This was by far the best performance of the night. Bad call, judges. Bad call. Judges' score: 27 + 28 = 55 Roshon Fegan & Chelsie Hightower Roshon and Chelsie went from Disney prince and princess to "two little dancing munchkins." Well, according to Len. But seriously, Roshon and Chelsie wowed the audience, the judges and Roshon's adorable grandmas with their fun and flirty foxtrot. The duo were in sync, and their kicks and flicks were perfectly timed. Their performance pretty much looked like a dance interpretation of that scene in "The Notebook" where Noah and Allie were at the fair. The Disney kid got his second "Good job, dog" of the season from Len. Dance: Paso Doble Trio Dancer: Sasha Chelsie picked Sasha because of his masculinity. I thought that was something Roshon got over last week, but it looked like he still need some masculinity training. Their paso doble was a strong effort from the trio. Also, who knew Roshon had a six-pack underneath his Mickey Mouse t-shirt? While I think Roshon and Chelsie definitely deserve to make it to next week, I'm not quite sure that they'll pull in the votes. If people were voting based on dance, then they would, but as we all know, at this point of the competition, it's just a popularity contest. Despite falling out of sync a few times, Roshon held his own against Sasha. Of course, Bruno criticized their mistake, but overall, called it a good performance. Meanwhile, Carrie Ann loved the concept of the dance, but also pointed out their syncing issues. "You were like two skinny fries chasing the ketchup," Len said. "Somebody just ordered a Happy Meal," Tom sarcastically responded. Judges' score: 29 + 27 = 56 Melissa Gilbert & Maksim Chmerkovskiy Move over, Len! Once again, the "Dancing With the Stars" editors made Maks into the show's No. 1 villain -- or is that "terrorist"? Where's the "New Girl" Douchebag Jar when you need one? Oh wait, it's on another network. However, the judges called Melissa's foxtrot her "best dance" of the competition. Yeah, sure, maybe? It definitely was her riskiest effort, but I didn't think it was her best. Her footwork was sloppy, and even Maks knew it. He shrugged after finishing their routine, and Melissa looked visibly upset. They were genuinely shocked to see their scores, and I'm sure the viewers were, too. Trio Partner: Val Chmerkovskiy (obviously) If Maks and Val ever joined the circus, they'd be called "The Amazing Shirtless Chmerkovskiy Brothers." That's really all that performance was about. Carrie Ann loved the Maks and Val sandwich and told Melissa that this is now her best dance, to which Len agreed. And then Bruno called her Rita Hayworth, and all three judges give her 9s for the first time. Wait, what? I'm not quite sure what the judges were watching, but I saw a routine that was well-below the technical level of the other contestants. Judges' score: 26 + 27 = 53 Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas Dance: Viennese Waltz Unfortunately for Katherine and Mark, Len didn't really care for that fancy spinning trick they practiced so hard to get right. Len's eyeroll at Carrie Ann was epic. Can I please have that in GIF form? For the sake of my roommate, I hope Mark and Katherine don't get sent home tomorrow. Mind you, this is exactly what she said the moment Mark entered the ballroom: "Mark is just so magical. He's, like, so full of wonderment." Dance: Cha cha cha Trio Partner: TRISTAN MACMANUS I mean, why wouldn't they pair the Welsh beauty with the Irishman? "I chose Tristan because Katherine loves him." And EVERYONE LOVES HIM. The gorgeous trio preformed a sexy, sly cha cha cha, and of course, any routine that calls for Tristan in a suit and shades is ultimately my favorite routine. Unfortunately, Katherine wore a tearaway dress that didn't quite tearaway. My heart literally dropped when her pant got stuck around her ankle. But being the good Brit that she is, Katherine kept calm and carried on -- and did an impromptu high kick to fling it off. I really, really hope Mark and Katherine don't get eliminated. I know that I wasn't always a fan of the Welsh opera singer, but somehow, Katherine's charms have finally won me over. Judges' score: 26 + 29 = 55 "Dancing With the Stars" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. Nude images of controversial Teen Mom Jenelle Evans boastfully showing off her recent boob job are being shopped around to media outlets. The Fugitives: Bart's secrets are nothing compared to GG's revenge now that she's back in power. Read The Full Article: Post Mortem: Wilson takes House on a last desperate escape from cancer. And a guy from the morgue is sick. Then Chase quits. Read The Full Article: It's prom night in Chance Harbor, but instead of taking a night off from Circle duties, Cassie and the gang are on the hunt for the last remaining crystal. Here are the top five events you need to ... Read The Full Article:

It's hard enough that the love of my life loves me also, but that he has a constitution which prevents his feelings from including eros as well as agape. It doesn't help that I cannot and am sure never will be able to understand the aspect of the majority of people that makes them require a particular sort of genitalia on a person in order to love them. I realize that it could be worse, in that most such people rule out agape as well when the equipment doesn't match their needs, but Edward is not that far gone. So of course it's painful to me when he takes up with a new girlfriend; when his wordless statement is that this is the person I'm now going to share parts of my life with that I won't share with you, just because you're a man. I've had more than one or two opportunities to deal with that pain, but practice has so far failed to make perfect. Now, while I'm still not a great swimmer, to use a metaphor, I've been thrown into the deep end: the new woman in his life is a coworker of both of us. And while he isn't the type to abandon his friends when he's got a new girlfriend (a fact which I once remarked to him and said that I was cognizant and appreciative of it), and they aren't feeling the need to be all over each other in the office, nevertheless it feels like a yet deeper circle of Hell than the previous ones. And, to nobody's surprise, least of all mine, the cookie and pastry diet I've adopted lately hasn't helped.

SPOILER WARNING: The following page may contain story spoilers. Read at your own risk. Cover Description: Maxi-Man tears through the cover of Mister Miracle, Volume 2, #1. (No Booster Gold.) Brief Synopsis: Mister Miracle unintentionally provokes the wrath of Maxi-Man by combating a building fire. Costume Worn: MARK I power-suit Page 3, panel 4 Booster Gold is shown in flashback rescuing a woman as Maxi-Man ineffectively looks on. Flashback are only included in the Boosterrific Chronology if they add to the story of Booster Gold's adventures. In this case, the scene has not been previously shown, and it illustrates the first meeting between Booster and Maxi-Man even though Booster was unaware of it at the time. Its exact place in Booster's chronology is impossible to pinpoint, so it is included here as the primary events of the issue precede Mister Miracle, Vol. 2, #10. This is Booster Gold's only appearance in this book. Boosterrific Review: This book pokes fun at the concept of the super hero and his traditionally melodramatic origin. Good-natures and earnest in its approach, the book manages not to ridicule its subject. This shouldn't be too surprising to those familiar with the comedy of errors usually found in the monthly pages of Mister Miracle, but it does lack for teeth: there's really very little to get excited about. Boosterrific Rating: Gold Standard. Average Fan Rating: (1 vote) The Chronological Adventures of Booster Gold Booster Gold, Superman, Justice League of America, all related titles, characters, images, slogans, logos, and related indicia are trademark ™ and copyright © DC Comics unless otherwise noted and are used without permission. This site is a reference to published information and is intended as a tribute to the artists and storytellers employed by DC Comics, both past and present. (We love you, DC.) The contents of this page and all text herein that is not the intellectual property of DC Comics is Copyright © 2007-2013 BOOSTERRIFIC.com. This page, analysis, commentary, and accompanying statistical data is designed for the private use of individuals and may not be duplicated or republished in any medium without the expressed written consent of BOOSTERRIFIC.com.

I listen to my friend's complaints. When I hang up the phone, I take a deep breath and I let out a HUGE sigh! My life is simple. My parents are dead, and I do not face the end of Life issues that so many of my friends are facing with their parents or parent. Another friend calls frequently and tells me the same things she told me in the last conversation. She has a very serious threat of Alzheimer's in her family. She and I both are thankful that we have pared our lives down to simplicity. She lives alone, but has a system of friends (including me) who check on her regularly. I have another friend with multiple medical problems and she is faced with HUGE medical debt. Her life is not pleasant and a husband who does not understand why she is depressed. I have a routine, but frequently I do not stick to the routine. I do enjoy my spinning and I do that daily. I knit daily. I enjoy the complexities of patterns. I love to see the progress made daily on projects. I do cook, but not as frequently as before. I make things that I divide up into meals and freeze these portions. Then I can microwave them or heat them up in the freezer. I do keep the dishes clean and I do sweep the kitchen floor every other day. I dust or sweep the main floors when I can't stand it any more or if something is on the floor. I clean the floors regularly. I do laundry once a week. I keep the bathrooms clean. So I don't think I am a sorry old woman that is so often shown on t.v. I did cancel my cable service. I like to watch Netflix instead. The cost of that is a fraction of what the worthless cable shows were costing me. I have a budget, but I can't resist if I find things that are real bargains. I like to go to Goodwill and buy any clothing I need. So really my Life is Simple. I am grateful and thankful every day that I have that is simple and blessed.

I remember, as a student, being very struck by a poster arguing against an attempt by Edward Heath's government to bring in museum charges. It said: "We the undersigned oppose the introduction of admission charges" and carried the signatures of Van Gogh, Titian, Turner and some 50 other great artists. It made me realise a simple truth: that free admission is all about giving everyone, no matter what their means, the chance to see the greatest works of art, science and history that our nation has. Over the following three decades, charges were indeed brought in. Some national collections valiantly held out against the tide; but most succumbed to charging, and in some cases the charges were high. To bring a family to the Science Museum or Natural History Museum became a substantial financial undertaking. When I became Secretary of State in 1997, I was determined to change this. I believed passionately that these great treasure houses belonged to us all, and should be available for free, for ever. It took me four years to achieve that: convincing reluctant colleagues; securing additional funding; persuading some museum directors; achieving the removal of VAT. It was worth it, though; and the surge in visitor numbers – up by 150% over the last decade – has proved it. On the day free admission began, 10 years ago, I was invited to cut the ribbon and throw open the doors at the Science Museum. About half an hour later, I was standing in the foyer, and a man approached me, carrying his daughter on his shoulders. He looked up at her and said, "I want you to say thank you to this man. It's because of him we're able to be here today." That, too, made it worth it. Chris Smith Nicholas Serota, director, Tate One of the great atrocities of the Spanish civil war was the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by the German air force, lending their support to the Nationalist forces of General Franco. Picasso responded to the massacre by painting the vast mural Guernica, and for months afterwards made subsidiary paintings based on one of the figures in the mural: a weeping woman holding her dead child. Weeping Woman in Tate's collection is the last and most elaborate of the series. A portrait of Picasso's mistress, Dora Maar, the painting is an extraordinary depiction of female grief and a metaphor for a Spanish tragedy. The Sir John Soane's Museum is one of my favourite small museums. The eight paintings in William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress series can rightly be described as one of the great masterpieces of British art. Created by Hogarth, the great 18th-century painter, engraver and satirist, they give us an acute glimpse into London life of the period, and the antics of its faded aristocracy and nouveau riche. The paintings were originally hung at Soane's country villa, but were moved back to Lincoln's Inn Fields (now the Soane museum) in 1810. They were hung in a new picture room at the rear of the house, where they remain today. Joan Bakewell, broadcaster If they start charging for museums I will go spare with rage; it's been a great leap forward. The Cholmondeley Ladies (1600-10) at Tate Britain is one of my favourites to drop in and see. I take the grandchildren to visit them all the time. Everyone can relate to it: they're like reassuring family friends – "Let's go and visit the Cholmondeley sisters." It's so lovely how very different from each other they are, but how much the same. You get pleasure from them: they're women; they're siblings; they look beautiful; they're a reflection of an earlier time; they're all the very simple things you enjoy in a painting. And they must have their own stories: the painting is full of possibilities. Nicholas Penny, director, National Gallery The painting most appropriate for this particular anniversary is Rubens's Peace and War, the proper title of which is Minerva Protects Pax from Mars – though I hate that title. It was a diplomatic gift from Rubens to Charles I, when the painter was acting as an envoy for Philip IV, but nevertheless seems to me a painting for everyone. It is allegory, it's portraiture, it's animal painting, it's fruit-and-vegetable painting, it's got quite a lot of landscape, it's got the female nude, it's got men in armour. It was a gift from the Duke of Sutherland to the newly founded National Gallery about 200 years after it was painted, an amazing gesture of support: the Duke was donating one of the most valuable paintings in London. The work of art I always visit when I go to the Victoria and Albert museum is a white jade cup that is known to have been used by Shah Jahan, one of the great Moghul rulers of India. Curiously, it's not that different in date from the Rubens: the middle of the 17th century. It reminds me of the game animal, vegetable or mineral. It shows the transparency as well as the hardness of jade, but at the same time incorporates animal and vegetable: the lotus flower at the foot, and the head of an ibex, which forms the handle. It epitomises the art of so many different cultures although it's a quintessential, high quality product of Islamic civilisation. This and the Rubens are two pieces of court culture completely accessible to the man in the street. Lauren Laverne, broadcaster At the V&A Museum of Childhood in east London there is a Dutch doll's house from the 1600s. It's very beautiful and the craftsmanship that went into it is mindblowing. It's also interesting because it shows how a house ran at that time, in that place. The idea behind it was to teach little girls how to become wives; it illustrates how much of our culture is indoctrinated into us through play and leisure. Whenever I go into the British Museum, that ceiling in the atrium makes you look up, and as soon as you look up like that you're like a kid again. It puts you into an inquisitive, exploratory frame of mind. That's what I like about the Museum of Childhood, too: it's a lovely blend of history, mystery and fun. Neil MacGregor, director, British Museum The Great God of War, a colossal statue of a lion, from Nimrud (northern Iraq), 883 – 859BC, would be my pick from the British museum. This figure acted as a guardian to the entrance of the temple of Ishtar. It is an example of the extraordinary achievement of creating in stone the noise of war as well as its savagery. At the other end of the scale of human experience to the Assyrian tiger, Diego Velasquez's An Old Woman Cooking Eggs (1618) from the National Gallery of Scotland embodies the still mystery of domestic life. It's one of Velázquez's "bodegónes", a kitchen scene, and was painted when he was still a very young man, only 18 or 19. John Leighton, director, National Galleries of Scotland The portrait of Robert Burns by Alexander Nasmyth, made in 1787, is probably the best-known portrait in our collection, which opens free to the public today. Like many people, I saw it first on a shortbread tin, but when you come face to face with the original it's astonishingly vivid, and you can feel that spirit of democracy and generosity Burns is famed for. The artist left it unfinished because he was afraid to lose what he said was a superb likeness. In among all the grand, eloquent portraits of powerful people in this gallery, this small, modest picture speaks very loudly indeed. My favourite work in another gallery is from the National in London. It's another portrait, this time by Jacques-Louis David of Jacobus Blauw, a young Dutch ambassador trying to negotiate a peace treaty with France. It's a very direct rendering of the clarity and youthful idealism people associated with the French revolution. If you imagine that this is 1795, with guillotines crashing all over the place, you'd have to be a particularly skilled diplomat to negotiate with the revolutionary government. The portrait gives no indication of that hardship – instead, you're drawn in by the rendering of the materials, the steely blue jacket with a hint of his hair powder on the collar, and this pink face that engages you so directly you feel you've come eye-to-eye with this young Dutchman. AL Kennedy, author Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow has a wonderful full-length statue of Robert Louis Stevenson. He's a writer I hugely admire, and the piece seems to catch something of his spirit in a way photographs of him don't. When I first moved to Glasgow and was very much a tyro writer, I would occasionally wander off to Kelvingrove and potter. The building was – and is – beautifully uplifting in itself, and much warmer than I could afford to keep my flat. I would always end up spending a while with the RLS statue. It's not idealised like his memorial in Saint Giles, or the standard depictions of the great and good; he looks like someone who thought and travelled and had a lean kind of energy and efficiency about him. I find it inspirational. Christopher Brown, director, Ashmolean Museum I'm going to be a little opportunistic and choose an object from our new Egyptian galleries. I'm hugely moved by a remarkable mace head we have that dates from 3,000 BC and comes from Hierakonpolis. It's called the scorpion mace head and depicts an emperor. He's wearing the crown of Upper Egypt and he's hunting. I'm just enormously impressed by its sophistication as a piece of early sculpture: eat your heart out, Donatello. I worked for many years at the National in London. I particularly love a late painting there by Giovanni Bellini, the Madonna of the Meadow. It shows the virgin with Christ in her lap, but it's a premonition of the Pietà. It has a beautiful, desolate landscape on the left, and on the right a prosperous landscape with a beautiful view of the area north of Venice where Bellini was working. When I worked at the National, one of the great joys was that people would drop in to the gallery between trains at Charing Cross, to come in and see something. You don't feel: "Well, I've spent £5 – I've got to make it worth my while." You can just go and look at a single picture. That to me is the key to free admission. Michael Dixon, director, Natural History Museum The Archaeopteryx lithographica is the most valuable single fossil in our collection. It is a famous snapshot of evolution in action that demonstrates conclusively that modern birds are descended from dinosaurs. It has huge scientific, historical and financial value. Elsewhere, the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum is fundamentally important to our understanding of archaeology and ancient cultures. Julia Peyton-Jones, co-director, Serpentine Gallery We don't have a permanent collection, but the Serpentine Pavilion series, now in its 11th year, allows the public to enjoy the work of international architects who haven't yet completed a building in the UK, for three months over the summer. My favourite pavilion? I couldn't possibly say! The Turbine Hall commissions at Tate Modern are an extraordinary rollcall of some of the greatest practitioners of today. Louise Bourgeois's spider, Maman, and I Do, I Undo, I Redo, launched the whole programme in the most remarkable way. It's wonderful to see how artists address that space. Sandy Nairne, director, National Portrait Gallery One of our most enigmatic portraits is the famous Chandos portrait of Shakespeare by John Taylor of 1610. It's wonderfully mysterious. Taylor is not an artist we know a great deal about, and there's been plenty of speculation as to whether this was taken from life. For me, the idea of why we look at portraits of figures in history is embodied in this picture. I look at it at least two or three times a week. We refer to it as our No 1 because it is the first portrait that entered the collection in 1856, given by Lord Earlsmere. I often go and look at Rembrandt's Self-Portrait at the Age of 34 next door in the National Gallery. It's not very different in date from the Shakespeare – it's 1640 – but is the absolute complement: whereas the Taylor is all about Shakespeare, this is about Rembrandt himself. Like all great self-portraits, it makes you question who you are and absolutely crosses time – that sense of self-examination. It's just the most brilliant painting, and to be able to just walk in and look at it is a fabulous thing. Iwona Blazwick, director, Whitechapel Gallery One of my favourite exhibits currently on display here is the Bloomberg Commission: Josiah McElheny: The Past Was a Mirage I'd Left Far Behind. Large-scale, mirrored sculptures are arranged as multiple reflective screens for the artist's interpretation of experimental abstract films. What is interesting is the way McElheny has responded to the site, which was previously the reading room of the former Whitechapel Library, a haven for early modernist thinkers such as Isaac Rosenberg. The library was built as a "lantern for learning"; McElheny has used the moving images and illumination as central motifs. Elsewhere, the Sir John Soane's Museum is a delight, with important works from Hogarth to Canaletto set among drawings, historical architectural models and other fascinating antiquities. Martin Roth, director, Victoria and Albert museum Our medieval and Renaissance galleries opened two years ago to house one of the world's most remarkable collections of treasures from the period, marking the end of the first phase of our plan to modernise the museum. They host the greatest collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture outside Italy, with an exceptional group of sculptures by Donatello who was the greatest sculptor of his time. I particularly admire this pieceThe Ascension with Christ Giving the Keys to St Peter (1428-30) which combines two different scenes from the Gospels – one of the finest surviving examples of his astonishing low-relief carving technique. Gauguin was one of the most important artists of the 19th century, and his experimentations with new styles and radical expression continue to inspire people today. Vision after the Sermon is one of the masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery collection and this dramatic work changed the course of the history of art. Gauguin travelled the world and it's fascinating to see the influence of many forms of art in his work, from Japanese prints to ceramics.

Clark peers down at a village in the hills and tears come into his eyes. Clark Griswold: There it is, kids, the motherland. Rusty Griswold: Grandma’s from Chicago. Clark: Shut up, Russ. (From the movie European Vacation) When my grandparents emigrated from the German region of Romania in 1923, my grandfather told my grandmother that the move was “only temporary.” Well, it was not. Chicago became their home, and as soon as they could they became American citizens. But in 1937, my grandmother had the chance to return to her homeland to see the family she left behind. That summer, my grandmother, my mother Mary, age 12, and my uncle Jack, age 7, took the trip of a lifetime. My grandfather stayed home to run his store, and my aunt Liz, a recent high school grad, was also left behind. After all, someone had to cook and clean and do my grandfather’s laundry. In June, the adventure began. First, they took a train from Chicago to New York. Then they boarded the German ocean liner, the Europa, the beautiful, modern sister ship of the Bremen, complete with a nice dining room and some shuffleboard courts to keep Mary and Jack entertained. Their cabin slept four, so the fourth bunk was occupied by a woman they’d never met who was traveling alone. Aboard ship… Jack is standing in front wearing a crown. My mother and grandmother are behind him. In the adults only party photo on the right, my grandmother is seated in the first chair on the left. After a five or six day voyage, the ship docked in Bremen, and the family’s journey continued by train to Budapest. There, they stayed overnight in a sparsely furnished room overlooking a courtyard. The next day, another train took them to Arad, Romania, where a family member met them with a horse and wagon for the journey to Neu Banat, the little village that my grandmother called home. For Mary and Jack, Neu Banat was a step back in time. Back home in Chicago, a city of skyscrapers and streetcars, electricity and running hot water were not considered luxuries. Not so at Grandma and Grandpa Heinrich’s home. Like everyone in the village, they lived in a thatched roof, stuccoed home that featured a large great room, furnished with tall feather beds and a table and chairs, and a kitchen with an immense hearth and a wood-burning stove. The formal living room was off limits, too fancy for every day. Water? That came from a pump outside. Bathroom facilities? An outhouse. Laundry? A horse trough right outside the kitchen door. Kerosene lamps kept the darkness away. Attached to the house was a stable for the horses and cows. Pigs and rabbits resided in pens, and chickens had the run of the yard. Flower pots decorated the half-wall that surrounded the house. The villagers farmed the land surrounding the town. Each family owned their own acreage, but their plots of land weren’t contiguous. As farms were divvied up among descendants, one might own a chunk of land over here, another over there, like random patches on a quilt. When a farmer went out in the fields for the day, he would travel from plot to plot to tend to his crops – corn, wheat, soybeans. Once a week, Grandma Heinrich baked. First she heated up the clay hearth by burning corn stalks in it. Then she prepared seven enormous loaves of bread and pushed them in the oven with a flat wooden shovel, then closed the hinged door. When Mary and Jack were visiting, she made them each a small loaf of their own – hard crust on the outside, soft and steaming hot on the inside. The three Wolfs from the States were quite the celebrities that summer. Every relative insisted that they come for dinner, and since my grandfather was one of twelve children and my grandmother one of six, that meant a circuit of celebratory chicken dinners. They travelled to the city of Timisoara, where the big shot of the family, Uncle Joe Wolf, lived with his wife whom they called “Titzy Tante” and his two kids, Hansel and Gretel – yes, those really were their names. Somehow Joe became educated and was a banker, quite a step up from his siblings who worked the farmland. Lena, Mary, and Jack spent a week with Joe and Titzy Tante. These rich relations not only had electricity and running water in their fancy house, they also had a maid named Kathy to take care of it all. Mary and Jack both understood German, but didn’t speak it, but by the end of the summer, they were fluent. They hung around with the local kids, who congregated every night on the felled tree trunks next to the gate. There was typical horsing around, but Mary was taken aback to see young couples, some only twelve or thirteen, necking, away from the watchful eyes of their parents. My mother in traditional dress; my mother with the some Neu Banat family; my uncle Jack in Uncle Frank’s uniform; Grandma, my mother, and Jack with some relatives. While the necking seemed “fast” to Mary, the long, full black skirts, dark stockings, and aprons that the women wore seemed to be from another century. Both the women and girls typically pulled their hair back in buns, and married women wore starched white caps. Mary, in her breezy cotton skirts, white anklets, and strappy shoes, must have caused quite a stir. My uncle Jack created a bit of mischief of his own. My grandmother, prepared for any emergency, had packed X-Lax for the journey. Jack convinced the local kids it was American chocolate and doled it out. Still, Jack was pretty cute, and no doubt was doted over by his aunts and uncles. Frank, my grandmother’s brother, dressed him in his army uniform and let him pose for a photo on horseback. The visit lasted all through the summer, and Lena, Mary, and Jack immersed themselves into village life. They attended Mass in the little village church, and joined in the fun at local dances, where neighbors polkaed to traditional tunes played on accordions and concertinas. The children played with the family’s rabbits, and refused to eat them when one was served for dinner. During the visit, the family made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Maria Radna, a basilica high above the shores of the Maros River outside of Timisoara, dating back to 1325. Mary and Jack were awestruck by its magnificence as well as by the crowds of worshippers, especially the ill and the disabled who crawled up the church’s steps to seek healing. My grandmother bought Mary a souvenir of their visit, a porcelain coffee mug, white with red polka dots. The mug rests in my mother’s kitchen cabinet today. When September came, it was time to head back across the ocean to Chicago. But, their return ship was quarantined in New York harbor, and alternate plans were made. They returned on a smaller ship, one not equipped for the crowd of passengers it transported. The ship took a stormy North Atlantic route, and my grandmother spent several days in their cabin, suffering from seasickness. Mary and Jack ventured into the dining room for breakfast, but by the time they were served, the food was cold and their stomachs were churning from the roiling of the ship. School had already started when they got home, so Mary and Jack quickly shrugged off their European adventures to resume life in Chicago, hopping on the street car to head for St. Matthias School, flipping on the radio to listen to Jack Armstrong: All-American Boy. Mary was soon yakking on the phone to her pal Peggy, maybe planning to see the new Marx Brothers movie, “A Day at the Races.” I wonder about my grandmother Lena, though. I know she must have missed her husband Jacob and her oldest child Elizabeth during the several months she was away. But how she must have savored her time with her mother, her stepfather, her sisters and brothers, her cousins and all her friends back home. Did she regret coming to Chicago in the first place? Or was she grateful to have left the hard-scrabble world behind, and to live in a beautiful city home, to have hot water at the turn of a knob, lights at the flick of a switch? When I asked my mother about this, she shook her head. “I never heard her express any regret at leaving her home. She was proud to be an American.” That’s the Grandma I remember, too.

SANDRA NOTE YOUR BRACELET PLEASE! YOU GUYS ARE FANTASTIC! I have SO MUCH INFORMATION NOW…….and believe me I have been FOLLOWING UP with ALL OF IT! Although, we seem to think it is my TICKER; my EEG SCAN came back ABNORMAL!!!!! (STEPHEN ANDREW JONES………..knew before I DID!SEE HIS COMMENT in the POST BEFORE!) Seems the left side of my BRAIN is not FUNCTIONING the correct way! I do not THINK it ever did! THAT’S OKAY as it is the MATH & SCIENCE part and we know I donot USE that side if I can HELP IT! ( I asked SIRI! WHAT THAT SIDE OF THE BRAIN DID!) As I was concerned it was the CREATIVE SIDE! DO you know the LEFT SIDE controls the RIGHT SIDE of your body? AND VISA VERSA. From this NEWS I had ANOTHER MRI with contrast THAT MAKES TWO MRI’S……..IT SHOWED NOTHING WRONG! The CAROTID ARTERIES ARE fine that test was done on FEBRUARY 19, 2017.I got THAT CONFIRMED today, because SO MANY have ASKED. SO,because I still have terrible headaches and I had another EPISODE; NEUROLOGY has put me on DIVALPROEX 250 MG twice a day……..dosage to go up in a weeks time. I STILL HAVE NO REAL ANSWERS and or A DIAGNOSIS as to what I have. WE NOW WAIT AND SEE. I called a HOMEOPATH. HE LISTEN and wrote down notes in his note book…………. He has me taking PROPFUS and SEPIA in the future. Wants me to write down how I am feeling daily…………. I LIKE HIM! Next I went to see my CHIROPRACTOR about the VAGUS NERVE. He checked mine and it seems OKAY! He did work on some of the tension around my neck area. I go back TODAY for another check. He too thinks it is A~FIB. I have an appointment with a CARDIOLOGIST on MARCH 28th that was referred by one of MY DEAR DEAR READERS. He is associated with STANFORD.HE likes CARROT CAKE I have been told!I am going in to chat with him just to get his thoughts.I will be toting a piece of home made carrot cake! I will have a REIKI READING this THURSDAY with MY SON’s GORGEOUS GIRLFRIEND! I had MY CHARKA read from AUSTRALIA yesterday lying in my own BED! “THE BRAIN IS FIRING ENERGY OUT OF THE TOP OF MY HEAD”.She saw no blockage just A LOT of activity from my ears up…………….what AMAZES me is I had my usual HEADACHE and it was located EXACTLY THERE.(Felt like little SPARKS going off.) I have called THE MAYO CLINIC.I have AN APPOINTMENT!!!!!!!!!!! I can NOT THANK YOU enough for ALL YOUR SUPPORT!!! YOU PUT A FIRE UNDER ME THAT had LOST it’s SPARK!!!!!!!!! I have been FEELING POORLY for a long long time. YOU ALL MADE ME TAKE ACTION! HAPPY HAPPY SPRING to all of YOU!! To those of YOU who FOLLOWED HAVE SOME DECORUM BLOG; ELLIE would have been 47 on MARCH 22,let’s REMEMBER Her on this DAY and ALL LOOK UP! She is up there having a BALL and RE-arranging the ANGELS QUARTERS……….. NO doubt shaking HER HEAD at a FEW of US who have lost the motivation to DECOR PROPERLY! SHE HAD A WONDERFUL SPIRIT! I MISS HER BLOG and our occasional chats………………. Her LIFE was cut short by ALS. A PART OF ELLIE’S BLOG TELLING US WHO SHE IS: NOTE THE DANGER SIGN!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE WAS A PISTOL!!!!!!!! Who am I? I am a lot of things. The only one that I want to be defined by is that of a mother. Anything past that is just fluff. I used to be a lot of things too. I used to be an interior designer. I used to have an antique store in Santa Barbara. I used to live in New York. I used to work at the fabulous chic Assouline Publishing in New York but I got fired because I wasn’t very friendly. I used to work at 1stdibs in New York. It was my favorite job that I’ve ever had but I only had it for two weeks because I got sick. I used to be a perfectly healthy functioning woman with not a care in the world. Then, life changed. I don’t like to just throw it out there that I have ALS, a terminal disease. ALS does not define me but it has changed the way I look at things. Nothing and everything matters to me now. I know what is important and I know what is not important. My daughter, my husband, my friends, my cat and my dog matter. Me keeping my sanity through all of this matters and in doing so I like to do this blog. I don’t have anything to prove, I don’t have anyone to impress and I have nothing to lose. Therefore this blog focuses on everything that I like… Art, architecture, culture, fashion, flowers, food, Paris, travel, interior design, houses, gardens, faith etc. Just for the fun of it I like to focus on everything that I don’t like as well. I feel like I can be totally honest with my opinions because I have no agenda. I imagine readers will appreciate that. So, I invite you to come along on this little journey with me. It will be fun. XO XO HER DAUGHTER GRACE wrote an article for SANTA BARBARA magazine this past month.I would think you could go on line to read.I HAVE THE LINK FOR YOU BELOW………… SPECIAL ISSUE 2017. SO, lets KEEP ROLLING HERE………… I will do my BEST to keep going and HUMOR you all in MY WAY! I have in the WORKS a FASHION POST about AGELESS STYLE with the LOVELY DECORATOR CINDY HATTERSLEY. Her BRAIN CHILD NOT MINE!HONORED TO BE ASKED TO JOIN UP WITH HER.It will be a POST WE do together every TWO months or so……….just so YOU can MEET TWO NEW PEOPLE EACH TIME!!!!!SOUND FUN………HOPE SO! I want to SELL A FEW OF MY WORLDLY POSSESSIONS sort of like a SPRING CLEAN OUT and Of course I will do a POST on MY GARDEN in THE SPRING. SO, there you have it……….. WHAT IS AHEAD in MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST ONE MORE TIME I THANK YOU ALL WHO COMMENTED OR EMAILED. I WILL MAKE MY TRIP TO THE LAND OF THE QUEEN!! I WILL MAKE THE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW! I WILL MAKE SISSINGHURST……….which is my last stop on my tour and I may just FAINT out of the PURE PLEASURE it will bring to ME to be THERE! VITA and I had something in common.The love of the land and the OLD RUN DOWN TOWERS where she made her STUDIO.I adore the fact she had to walk outside into HER GARDEN to get to her bedroom and kitchen.If you do not know WHO VITA SACKVILLE WEST was……use that keyboard NOW! SEE BELOW MY STUNNING PHOTO SMELLING THE CLEMATIS! I DRAPED MYSELF in it to get this SELFIE! I THINK VITA WOULD APPROVE! THE HEADACHE LEFT MY HEAD LAST NIGHT AT ABOUT 8:15PM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Show MoreFamily is a fundamental social institution in society, the family, is considered the primary and most important agent of socialization. Family typically consists of a man and woman and their children or two or more people who usually reside in the same home and share same goals and values. Traditionally, in all societies, the family has always been seen as a social institution; that has the biggest impact on society. Everyone is born into some form of family, with the family taking the responsibility of nurturing, teaching the norms or accepted behaviors within the family structure and within society. There are many types of families, which can be described as a set of relationships including parents and children and can include anyone…show more content… Other social beliefs are norms became less important and impacted the structure of the nuclear family. More couples are getting divorced, than they were decades ago, when the belief of society was to frown upon divorce. Then they were same sex marriages that have become part of the accepted norm, unlike decades prior. There are many other factors that contribute to the change in views and beliefs, replacing what was the responsibility of the family. This is especially true in this 21st century technological era; we are no longer limited to learning about the norms of society through the family but through other agents like mass media. The functions of the family can be found within the theory of Functionalism. Families satisfy a number of important functions, such as, support, status, and culture. As stated above the family is seen as the most important agent of socialization and is responsible to teach the values and norms of the society. Functionalism promotes marriage as important it ignores conflict and diversity. Functionalists believe that families are the foundation of social order, even though marriages over the decades have been on the decline. Functionalists view societies as having structures that include families, religions, schools, economies, and states; each institution is dependent on each other. “Think of a society as a living organism in which each part of the organism contributes to its survival. This view is the functionalist Essay about Agents of Socialization 1748 Words7 Pages Agents of socialization in short are the people, groups, and social institutions, as well as the interactions within these groups that influence a person’s social and self-development. Agents of socialization are believed to provide the critical information needed for children to function successfully as a member of society. Some examples of such agents are family, neighborhood, schools, peers, religion, sports, the workplace, and especially the mass media. Each agent of socialization is linked to another. For example, in the media, symbolic images affect both the individual and the society, making the mass media the most controversial socialization agent. One of the most obvious places agents of socialization lay is in the malls of…show more content… The men in these posters on the other hand are depicted as muscular, tan, strong, wealthy, and powerful, they too try to fit their “role” of manhood; hence the reasons there are so many violent teenage boys. They all think that being tough and strong is how they are supposed to be, and girls are depicted to be weak, dainty, and depended on males. Going into different stores, one can easily pick up on the major gender roles each store supports. Even the morals of an innocent toy store, such as KB Toys, is tainted by the gender-differentiating dolls for girls, and trucks for boys. Upon entering the store you can tell right away which aisles attract which kids. To the left there is pink fluffy bears, pink Barbie and friends toys, white teddy bears etc. To the right there is a less vibrant color setting, coordinating army green, black, and gray color schemes. I think it is apparent to anyone who enters these stores that the pink pretty isles are meant to attract little girls, and the dark green and gray isles are meant to attract boys. Upon the packages of toy trucks and guns, there are pictures of young boys playing with them and/or cartoon male figures controlling them. On the packaging of Barbie and her friends there are also other girls on the packaging. I was unable to pick up on a single female on the package of any toy truck or gun throughout the entire store. The

Shatta Wale has hit back at Shatta Michy in a recent post in their series of back-forth tug of war which now exist between the former love birds. Several Ghanaians dismissed their quarrels as nothing but the traditional publicity stunt which is associated with the couple but signs on the wall point to the fact that Shatta Wale and his baby mama are truly having issues. One of the allegations Michy leveled against the ‘Gringo’ hitmaker is that he physically assaults her with or without any provocation. But in a recent post by Shatta Wale, the artiste revealed he has never laid a finger on any woman before and he’s therefore shocked that Michy could tell that lie to the world. Shatta Wale also expressed his disappointment in the situation, indicating that he thought he was raising a family together with her but has realized she is an ungrateful human being.

Illustration by Erik Carter Senior correspondent, The Daily Show Dave Chappelle’s recent Saturday Night Live opening monologue is proof that he's the greatest living comedian of our generation. He’s one of the only comics I watch where I don’t see the punchline coming; I can never see the strings in the magic trick. If you watch his monologue it’s hilarious, touching, poignant, and he delivers it like you’re at one of his shows. By sticking up for his beliefs Dave Chappelle Tupac’d himself without having to die: he walked away from a $50 million deal to come back a decade later and get a $60 million deal. Fucking legendary. Social Media Manager, The MET It was a big year for art, and these were some of the most important exhibitions. Kerry James Marshall: Mastry at MCA Chicago and The Met Breuer — Without a doubt, Mastry is the single most important exhibition mounted this year. It spans nearly 40 years of the artist’s career and eloquently maps the interior of Marshall’s practice. It’s nuanced and luscious. Totally a must-see. Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter (BWA for BLM) at New Museum and Tate London — Orchestrated by Simone Leigh, BWA for BLM, is a project that supports the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement through performance, meditation, and digital communication. It was created to hold space for healing and innovation. Jennie C. Jones: Compilation at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston — Jones’s work blends sound, sculpture, politics, and experimentation. A quintessential jazz woman, Jones’s abstractions explore our perceptions of sound as a material. Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight at The Whitney Museum — Carmen Herrera is 101 and still making work. She has made remarkable contributions to art history. “Lines of Sight,” on view through January 9, focuses on the formative years of the artist’s career and presents a number of works that have never been displayed in a museum. You can also watch a documentary about the artist on Netflix. Cameron Rowland: 91020000 at Artists Space — Rowland’s “91020000” was one of the most visceral and thought-provoking exhibitions of 2016. Using sculpture, Rowland was able to articulate our proximity to the prison system and how it permeates our lives. By far the best video and single of 2016, for me, is "Goth Easter" by a Portland-based post-punk band called Golden Hour. The Pacific Northwest has been known for being the place to start a band if you’re an angry woman or LGBT person stressed out by the ways of the world. The members of Golden Hour happen to inhabit both of those identities, yet what set them apart for me is how tame but still in-your-face they are in the delivery for “Goth Easter.” The call-and-response melodies bring me back to knick knack school yard days. The accompanying video is very literal, but also very amusing. Goth Easter egg hunts sound like such a Portland-specific thing, but hey! I might start a new Easter tradition where me and the crew slurp PBRs and have an adult Easter egg hunt. Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book is a masterpiece, and “How Great” is my favorite track. The opening breaths of the song take me to church no matter where I am: in a car, at the gym, last in line at a post office — it doesn’t matter. “How great is our God. Sing with me, how great is our God.” The vocals wrap around my body and give me the chills every time, as if I’m sitting in the front pew of a mega Baptist church. After Chance, comes Jay Electronica with: “They poisoned the scriptures and gave us the pictures of false messiahs/ It was all a lie/ Mystery babylon, tumbling down/ Satan’s establishment crumbling down.” The metaphors in his lyrics are piercing. Especially at a time like this, in a country like ours. I have faith that truth will alway comes to light. This year I saw Nan Goldin's “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” slideshow at MoMA for the first time, which felt like a rite of passage I had somehow missed. I listened to this related playlist on the plane ride to Paris (my first time leaving the States!) to attend the Offprint Book Fair, as well as on the train while traveling between Paris and Amsterdam. It was super romantic for me to listen to this playlist that so specifically and historically relates to photography, while on a trip I was taking as a result of my pursuit of the same thing. Earlier this summer I was with my friend Harold at a Young M.A. concert in Brooklyn. He noted that the concert felt like a gathering of young people who had found a safe space to be themselves, free from judgment. In that moment, the same differences that fuel a sense of otherness — often used to bring us down — became a source of celebration. Exalted otherness, bringing to light what I continue to feel in creative spaces since. There is a (re)claiming happening in film (Moonlight), music (Solange), television (Atlanta; Insecure), literature (Homegoing), visual art (Kerry James Marshall) and beyond. This year in particular, artists everywhere generously empowered people to be who they are. Human. Director of Content, Genius Rihanna's ANTI is my favorite album of 2016, and “Higher” is the brilliant kicker that solidified this for me. It’s a maudlin little song that clocks in at only two minutes, starting with a pretty amazing disclaimer: “This whiskey got me feeling pretty/ So pardon if I’m impolite.” From there Rihanna belts her way through an endearingly reckless drunk dial to an ex before passing out. The song’s glassy-eyed mood is set by No ID, who samples a 1971 viola melody from The Soulful Strings, a group known for instrumental covers of ’60s R&B hits. They were covering an obscure Gamble & Huff B-side, but taken out of context here it evokes something older and smokier — perhaps a slow motion version of Django Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz from the 1930s. And “Higher” was written by Bibi Bourelly, who strikes the perfect balance between sloppy and sage, peeking over the fourth wall in the process: “And I know I could be more creative/ And come up with poetic lines/ But I'm turnt up upstairs and I love you/ Is the only thing that's in my mind.” This is the rare ballad that dips into vulnerability and sadness without drowning in mawkish clichés. It’s funny, sincere, brassy; basically the character we all imagine Rihanna is IRL. Illustrator and ceramicist, Tactile Matter I’ve had Solange's A Seat At The Table on repeat since it was released in late September. In the months since, I’ve blasted “Don't Touch My Hair” and “Mad” while driving in my car, window down. The entire album resonated with me on every single level. And if the music wasn’t enough, the striking and tender visuals also had me in my feelings — especially at a time when it felt so needed to self-cleanse through music. I’ve had this pet theory all year that the punkest thing going on in the Brooklyn music scene right now isn’t music, but modern dance. “Authority Figure” — the 150-person, group-choreographed, self-described “social psychology experiment” that Sarah Kinlaw and FlucT’s Monica Mirabelle put on at the Knockdown Center in May — whet my appetite, but then I found out about Otion Front Studio, and realized many of the people involved were putting on similar, smaller-scale happenings there pretty much weekly. Otion Front — pronounced “Ocean” — is a performance space and dance studio run out of a small shed in the back garden of what used to be the Bushwick DIY venue, Fitness. A group of five friends run it, but people can rent out the shed as a practice space on the cheap — and many do because the scene around Otion Front seems to inspire people to get involved. Many of the performances I’ve seen at Otion Front use abstract musical scores and the movement of bodies in space to examine issues of sexuality, race, and human relationships in the internet era (iPhones are a frequently used prop). A lot of the shows follow the same rough, processional script, dictated in large part by the venue’s physical layout: in part one, spectators gather in the hallway by the door, and are then escorted down the stairs and through a claustrophobic basement corridor. Then, they walk out the back door and up the stairs into the garden to remove their shoes, enter the shed, and sit cross-legged on the ground for part two. This is sometimes followed by third and final act in the garden. Each time, the performers interact with and decorate the space a little differently. For a recent performance by Eartheater’s Alexandra Drewchen, the walls of the basement were covered in silver paper, and a fog machine made it hard to see and breathe; another time, Monica Mirabelle used a pair of scissors to slowly cut through a piece of paper that was obstructing our passage through the hallway. None of this seems to cost very much to produce, so it all comes down to imagination. At the end of one notable performance by Kathleen Dycaico, a dancer lay beside me on the ground, looked deep into my eyes, and recited The Myth of Orpheus to me in sweet, motherly tones. Then she led me by the hand into the garden, spat a quail egg into my hand, and forced me to dig a hole in the ground and bury it. Can you get any more rock & roll than that? The 6 Track In 2016 I tightened my circle, and stopped spending money and going out. I found myself motivated for the first time in my life: the launch of my lil’ Toronto rap blog, The6Track, lit a fire under my ass. Funnily enough, I live — and will continue to live for the next year and a half — just outside the city, in the soul-crushing suburb of Oshawa, where I go to college. After cuffing up with my bb gyal I pretty much stopped coming to Toronto and, as a sort of remedy, I starting watching rap videos nightly, often for far too long, just to get a glimpse of the city. All 800+ posts that I’ve written on The 6 Track have been Toronto-related so, of course, nothing could better define my year than a T-Dot-made tune. I have to give it to Pressa’s “John Connor.” The track didn’t hit me immediately but, before long, I was watching the music video on loop before bed, and waking to it in the morning. Pressa’s infectious, high-pitched, gloriously city-themed hook hasn’t lost its effect on me and never fails to pick me up out of a slump. Seeing Pressa hit an ice-cold dab over a clear Toronto skyline is probably the next best thing to being there in person. Writer and radio host, RBMA Dark, heavy, and immersive performances have anchored my 2016. DJ Spider played ominous techno at Welsh rave festival Freerotation, beneath red and black images of police brutality and public protest. GAIKA stalked the tiny stage of The Waiting Room for Tropical Waste, the air thick with warped dancehall riddims and languid South London bars. There was Dean Blunt as Babyfather, who wove in and out of chalky smoke and chatted lines from BBF Hosted By DJ Escrow, after DJ Escrow blasted Mavado and DMX into the dark. All the while someone in the crowd sold nos balloons with Union Jacks printed on them; brains fuzzed up as “This makes me proud to be British,” rang out over and over with a grim smirk. But the most touching performance was very different. In June, I sat on the floor of a marble church in London’s Zone 1, listening to minimalist classical music for cellist Oliver Coates’s Deep ∞ Minimalism — Éliane Radigue's OCCAM I on a bowed harp, ’70s Moog pieces by Laurie Spiegel, and vocal constructivists performing Meredith Monk. Expecting to be bored or restless, my threshold for concentrated listening increased as I relaxed: 10 hours in, spatial rhythms and resonances produced emotional results. It was a covenant, away from the constant din of recent traumas: A right-wing white nationalist had murdered [British parliamentarian] Jo Cox and, shortly after, the UK voted to leave the European Union. Pauline Oliveros was present and said that those few weeks had strengthened her idea that it’s critical not just to listen but “to be listening,” as a constant act. “Listening is hearing plus attention.” Afterward she led a tuning mediation during which she said that one day she’d like to lead a worldwide tuning mediation via online radio, because that “would unify people rather than set them apart.” Pauline Oliveros passed away this November, a few weeks after her Red Bull Music Academy lecture in Montréal. I am grateful that I was present for both. Podcast host, Sampler and For Colored Nerds For me, 2016 was all about acclimating to adulthood. Overall, it was cool. Acquiring a second set of sheets and incorporating acupuncture into my stress relief practice were definitely net positives. Still, I kind of missed me circa 2010, when I wore thigh high suede boots and a lot of imitation leather to my neighborhood bar in DC (in August! on weeknights!). But when I heard Tinashe croon, “I’m nothing like a girlfriend/ I’m not like someone I’m supposed to be,” over the plink-plink instrumental on “Company,” I was reborn. She sounded slinky and dangerous and a little like parts of myself I’d long neglected. I ordered a new pleather skirt that week. Author of The Turner House Outside of frequent forays for solace and inspiration into the catalog of the late, brilliant, Prince Rogers Nelson, the artist I listened to most this year was Robyn Rihanna Fenty. With a January release date, ANTI was the first in a year of very good music. I’ve enjoyed many of Rihanna's albums, but I can’t say I’ve often felt them, to the point of playing them on a loop, no songs skipped. It impacted me more than I expected. I was a bit evangelical about ANTI, even converting my mother to fandom over the month we spent traveling together in the summer. Here Rihanna was stretching herself vocally, yes, but she was also embracing a brand of hip-hop influenced R&B that reminded me of the best of Mary J. Blige, with minimal pandering to pop expectations. It is simply an album full of jams, and we needed jams in 2016. Her performances at August’s MTV's Video Music Awards reignited my ANTI infatuation as the year began to head to a close. It was a retrospective on a decade-long career, and it was like witnessing someone come of age: from hesitant and coquettish to self-assured and badass. I watched Rihanna wind and grind in a cape-length durag and felt pure delight. I rarely get excited for singles and album releases anymore, and maybe that’s because of my age — 32. But when you have Drake, Jay Z, and Kanye on a track like "Pop Style," it feels like an event. Between Drake’s “Chaining Tatum” line and Kanye contributing references to sake, tinted windows on a Tahoe, as well as a Street Fighter II sample, both did their part to make this a memorable song. But I’ll remember “Pop Style” mostly for Hov’s six-second “verse” where he raps: “They still out to get me, they don’t get it. I cannot be got and that’s a given.” SO MANY QUESTIONS. On the day this was recorded, had he just found out that Beyonce was about to air her grievances on LEMONADE so he stumbled in the studio trying to find a verse? Did he think it would be fun to play a practical joke on Drake by sending him the verse as an email attachment that was 0.01 MB? Did Kanye drag him into a situation he didn’t want to be involved in? There’s probably an actual answer to this but, what’s more important is that those six seconds sent me on a path of rediscovering Jay’s entire catalogue. For the record, his “Go Crazy Remix” verse is iconic and I’ve even come to accept Magna Carta...Holy Grail because I’m apparently addicted to mediocrity. In 2016, I came to appreciate Jay once again and, in the process, realized that his “Pop Style” cameo was a reminder that everyone you grow up with eventually goes. And then I concluded that adulthood is just a series of goodbyes and bought an $80 OVO golf shirt to distract myself. 2016 was wild for the night. From losing Prince to the devastating loss of architect Zaha Hadid, one of my greatest inspirations, it felt like I was cry face emoji all year. But the passing of one icon also brought us more life: Muhammad Ali. Huddled over a laptop, my lady and I watched one of the most important collective cultural experiences of our generation — a superhero being laid to rest. The memorial service for the one and only Ali was sweet poetry. Through his passing, Ali summed up the state of the world: Black, First Nations, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, all celebrating life and humanity. During a time of resurgent Islamophobia, the champ had the Qu’ran being recited all over American news networks, the internet, the world. That’s power. Thank You Muhammad Ali. You are still my hero. Staff writer, New York Times Magazine The first thing I laid eyes on at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture was a tall silver pot. It had been burnt on the bottom by flames lapping up the spillage of water, vinegar, and salty fatback that bubbled over each time it was used to cook a batch of collard greens. And that pot was used a lot: It came from a D.C. institution, the Florida Avenue Grill, one of the oldest black-owned restaurants in the country. Objects are selected for museums because of the stories they can tell about a time in the world and the surrounding lives of people. A collards pot is a staple of Black American life, so ubiquitous that it is wholly unremarkable, and yet, once memorialized behind a pane of glass it morphs into something breathtaking and extraordinary. Collard greens were one of the few foods enslaved peoples were allowed to grow and, over time, became a symbol of the many ways black people in America cultivated cherished traditions out of total and utter depravation. The pot is parked on the third floor of the museum, almost hidden on a low shelf surrounded by dense displays of text and photos, and other artifacts celebrating black life. Which is to say: no one would blame you if you missed it. But my eyes were drawn to it immediately. Seeing something so familiar, so integral to the way I grew up placed so regally filled me with an indescribable amount of joy and self-worth and value.That pot says to me: black life is special, and I’m so glad you grew up exactly the way you did, and I hope you remember this tradition and introduce it to your own family one day. I know I’m anthropomorphizing the shit out of that silvery pot, like it’s a Pixar character or an extra from The Brave Little Toaster, but it’s important. It’s important because 2016 ended the exact same way it started, by trying to convince the world that Black Lives Matter. Not just black lives, but a black way of life, that the way we look, talk, sound, and live is sacred, worthy, and worth treasuring. A single light softly illuminates that greens pot, making it look like the most royal piece of cookware in history. It is retired, but still ready for action. It is a stubborn reminder that we’ll live how we have always lived: Capable of withstanding untold amounts of work, and undeterred by a little fire.

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by Elize Villalobos Throughout history, there has always been a strange human impulse to reduce people solely to the tangible impact that they have left on the world. A life filled with untold hopes and dreams becomes a mere collection of facts and figures, associated only with the legacy that fortuity has seen fit to ingrain in our collective consciousness. One of the most striking cases of this in modern history is the story of Henrietta Lacks, a woman who neither consented to a procedure from which the fields of cellular biology and technology would be changed, nor lived long enough to know of her profound impact on the world. Perhaps the most insightful encapsulation of the moral essence behind Lacks’ tale is found on a single page before the prologue of the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. There, a quote by Elie Wiesel, a famous survivor of the Holocaust, reads: “We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” Often known solely by her cell line’s name, HeLa, Lacks was a normal woman who died from an abnormally aggressive cervical cancer. The first human immortal cell line would be cultivated from the cells of her initial tumor, a development that directly and indirectly facilitated enormous strides in medicine and science. However, for far too long, Lacks herself was reduced to nothing more than a clinical subject, either treated as incidental to her cells or else entirely eclipsed by them. Yet, steps towards rectifying that injustice have been made by many devoted journalists and authors, chief among them Skloot, whose book recounts Lacks’ biography and posthumous legacy in great detail, and upon which the recent movie of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey was based. The gains made from her cells have long been acknowledged and celebrated, but it is necessary and right to remember her as the individual she was while alive, not merely as an abstract figure whose untimely demise is but an afterthought to the large-scale, long-term benefits it ultimately provided. Due to her short life span and the length of time during which the public did not know or care about her existence, it can be difficult to accurately ascribe traits to Henrietta Lacks. However, Skloot’s detailed research provides plenty of material from which an impression of Lacks may be gleaned. From her birth on August 1, 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia as Loretta Pleasant, Lacks led a simple, yet laborious, life. After her mother died in childbirth in 1924, her father sent her to live with her maternal grandfather, Tommy Lacks, in Clover, Virginia, thus separating her from her eight older siblings. However, her cousin David, also known as Day, was raised alongside her, sharing a room and many responsibilities with her. There on her grandfather’s farm, Lacks spent much of her childhood toiling under the sun, taking care of the farm animals, picking crops, and plowing fields. Apart from to the chores of daily life, Henrietta’s romantic and sexual activity began at quite a young age with Day. Those who had picked up on the particular nature of their closeness were unsurprised when Day and Henrietta had a child, Lawrence, despite her being a mere fourteen years old and Day being five years her senior. Four years later they had another child, Elsie, who was born with epilepsy, neuro-syphilis, deafness, and muteness. Facing little outside pressure to rush into marriage, Lacks and Day eventually wed in April of 1941. Afterwards, motivated by a desire for a better life, the family would move to Turner Station in Maryland, an industrial town mostly consisting of migrant black workers. However, Lacks preferred the fresh air of Clover, and she would always take her children back there on the weekends. She and Day would go on to have three more kids, Sonny, Deborah, and Joe, and together with her family, Lack lived a mostly uneventful, if very occupied, life for some time. However, four months after giving birth to Joe, Lacks went to Johns Hopkins Hospital, informing the receptionist “that she had a knot on her womb.” As a matter of fact, she had felt a strange sensation that something was wrong with her for around a year, but, loath to enter a hospital setting if at all avoidable, it was only when she started bleeding outside of her menstrual cycle that she decided to consult a doctor. Thus, Lacks went to the “colored ward” of Johns Hopkins, where Dr. Howard Jones diagnosed her with cervical cancer. Not wanting anyone to worry about her, she kept her diagnosis secret from everyone except Day for a month and a half. Her convincing façade was aided by the fact that she did not yet have any symptoms and by the infrequency of the radium treatments that were the standard back then. The initial procedure consisted of inserting tubes filled with radium into the cervix and sewing them into place; during the operation, the doctor, Dr. Lawrence Wharton Jr., removed a piece of the tumor to send to George Gey, the man who would first cultivate and distribute HeLa to others. Lacks’ secrecy was disrupted when a change to X-Ray treatments necessitated more frequent trips to Johns Hopkins. She decided to entrust news of her diagnosis to her cousins and friends Sadie and Margaret, and the two would let Lacks stay at Margaret’s house after her treatments while she waited for Day to take her home. Life went on in this manner for a while, and at one point, it seemed as if the cancer had almost completely regressed; the doctors were nearly certain that she would make a full recovery. However, a major marring of this temporarily positive outlook was that, in another grave violation of her bodily autonomy, the doctors had failed to inform Henrietta that the treatments would leave her infertile. She insisted that she would not have agreed to them had she known of the consequences. That concern was soon supplanted by the aggressive recurrence of her cancer. Despite reporting an increase in her discomfort, the doctors found “No evidence of recurrence,” until some weeks later when they found a large mass attached to her pelvic wall. By then, Lacks’ condition had worsened to the point that she had difficulty walking and urinating, and it would only deteriorate further from there. Lacks’ cancer was terrible to an almost unprecedented degree. It spread to essentially every surface inside her body and severely inhibited most of her vital, basic bodily functions. It must not be forgotten that, for all the good that would eventually come of those cancer cells, they caused profound suffering in a fellow human being, a reality that should never be dismissed with casual indifference no matter when, where, or it how it occurs. As her cousin Emmett would later recount, “Henrietta rose up out that bed like she been possessed by the devil of pain itself … That there’s a memory I’ll take to my grave … She was sick like I’ve never seen.” While in this poor state, Lacks suddenly sensed the imminence of her death and told her sister, Gladys: “Make sure Day takes care of them children … Especially my baby girl Deborah.” Less than a month afterwards, Lacks died on October 4, 1951. Apart from the chronological timeline and facts of her tragically short life, it is the testimony of her friends regarding her personality and people’s perceptions of her that help complete an impression of the person that Lacks actually was. According to Sadie, Lacks, or “Hennie,” as Sadie called her, “made life come alive – bein with her was like bein with fun … Hennie just love peoples. She was a person that could really make the good things come out of you.” In terms of her appearance and self-expression, Lacks was a beautiful young woman, and she carefully maintained a vibrant, feminine look. She mostly wore skirts and pumps that showed her toes, the nails of which she loved to carefully paint a dark red. It is little surprise that Lacks inspired devotion among men. During her days on her grandfather’s farm, her cousin Crazy Joe Grinnan was so taken with her that he stabbed himself upon learning of her and Day’s engagement. In Turner Station, another of her cousins, Galen, was, according to Sadie, more attracted to Lacks than he was to his wife, Ethel. In turn, Ethel absolutely despised Henrietta; Sadie reasonably assumed that her jealousy was the root of her animus. Lacks and Sadie paid her no mind, though; they would laugh and enjoy each other’s company, playing bingo for pennies as Lacks’ children stayed close to their mother and toyed with the chips. On nights that Day stayed home, he and Lacks would play cards and listen to the blues. However, ever rambunctious seekers of a good time, Lacks and Sadie would creep out of the house to go dancing when Day worked the night shift, lightheartedly making their escape from the dance club if Ethel happened to appear. Lacks simply enjoyed life with the vivacity of the young, free-spirited woman she was. Coexisting alongside her sense of mischief and playfulness, Lacks was endowed with a maternal affinity for children; they would always behave for her whenever she was present. However, her un-abiding love for her own children did not always manifest itself through leniency. When Lawrence would play around a dangerous pier against her wishes, she wouldn’t hesitate to use fierce corporal punishment. As Sadie recalls, “Hennie went down there with a switch. She pitched a boogie like I never seen.” However, apart from Lawrence’s disobedience, Lacks almost never got angry. If motherly concern was the primary cause of emotional turmoil in her life, it is unsurprising that Lacks’ greatest heartbreak was having to send Elsie away to Crownsville State Hospital, then called Hospital for the Negro Insane, when she became pregnant with Joe. Henrietta simply did not have the time or means to take care of Elsie and her special needs as other unavoidable responsibilities began to pile up. However, by all accounts, “a bit of Henrietta died the day they sent Elsie away … losing her was worse than anything else that happened to her.” Still, Lacks made an effort to remain in her daughter’s life, and she would make the trip to Crownsville to visit and comfort Elsie once a week. Despite being a real person imbued with great depth of character, Henrietta Lacks’ legacy would long be obscured and overshadowed by HeLa. Although exceedingly well-covered by scientific journals, the cell line’s significance still deserves to be mentioned. Because HeLa’s cells could survive indefinitely in a cell culture, they were able to be widely disseminated to scientists around the globe which facilitated and promoted an incredible range of experimentation that had previously not been possible. As Skloot succinctly explains, “The reason Henrietta’s cells were so precious was because they allowed scientists to perform experiments that would have been impossible with a living human.” Scientific knowledge and medical applications thereof benefited immensely from this cellular proliferation. Among the most important contributions and advancements that were made with HeLa cells were the discovery of how to clone and freeze cells, the discovery of chromosomes, and the overall standardization of the field of cellular biology. In medicine, HeLa cells were instrumental in developing a polio vaccine, and, in a poetic turn, an HPV vaccine in the 1980s. Unsurprisingly, an immense business revolving around the sale of HeLa boomed; there was intense demand, and with a supply that could be indefinitely replenished, there was a great deal of money to be gained. Yet, in terms of its ethical underpinnings, Lacks’ legacy is much more complex and ambiguous than HeLa’s almost entirely beneficial impact on science and medicine. Any total condemnation or absolution of the outside parties who stitched together the HeLa legacy can be met with a counterpoint that muddles the boundary between right and wrong. As Deborah said herself at one point, “There’s two sides to the story and that’s what we want to bring out. Nothing about my mother is truth if it’s about wantin to fry the researchers.” As difficult may be to accept, Deborah was right. After all, the strange conundrum at the heart of HeLa’s story is that nothing illegal was done. Lacks was not technically deprived of her rights since doctors were not legally bound to request her permission to obtain a tissue sample, and at the time it was common practice to obtain cells without asking for consent. Furthermore, because Lack’s biological tissue was not illegally obtained, and because there are still no actual laws requiring doctors to inform patients of any potential commercial benefit that their tissues may hold, any profits made from HeLa are essentially unobtainable to the Lacks family on a legal basis. Regardless of the legal technicalities, there is an undeniable sense of wrongness that pervades the narrative of HeLa, and it is impossible to not acknowledge the intersectional racial and gendered implications of the story; many perceive the events as yet another instance of “a black woman whose body … was exploited by white scientists.”While an entirely fair interpretation, it must also be acknowledged that the outcome would not necessarily have been altered had Lacks been white, as this particular controversy arguably revolves mostly around lack of informed consent and around the scientific ethics through which researchers and doctors approached most, if not all, patients and subjects. Conversely, one cannot divorce the specifics of a case from the world and cultural mores in which it takes place and which inherently inform it. Most doctors, scientists, and academics of that time were white men, and their professional principles allowed them to utilize and benefit from marginalized and disenfranchised communities, thus making people of color and/or women especially vulnerable to their malpractices. The historical record has ample evidence of this, and the racially tinged and motivated wrongs done to black people in the name of science simply cannot be blotted out. The dehumanization and reduction of black people to experimental specimens has happened often enough that it would be naïve, or willfully ignorant, to not recognize as yet another manifestation of institutionalized racism. To support this argument, one need only look at figures such as J. Marion Sims, dubbedthe “Father of Modern Gynecology,” who used slave women and children to test out different types of surgery, such as a corrective procedure for fistula. In his process of medical experimentation, he subjected the individual slaves to horrific, invasive brutality. Fast forwarding to the 1900s, black people continued to be systematically abused in science. Around the same time that HeLa cells were being used to help develop a polio vaccine, the notorious Tuskegee syphilis studies were taking place; during the studies, researchers “watched African-American men with syphilis … die slow, painful, preventable deaths, even after they realized penicillin could cure them.” Additionally, there were many instances in which doctors performed involuntary, medically unnecessary hysterectomies on black women in order to “stop them from reproducing, and to give young doctors a chance to practice the procedure.” More relevant to the Lacks family was Johns Hopkins’ history of extremely questionable activities. Despite offering free medical treatment for people of all colors, the hospital had also performed studies on black people without informing them, such as taking blood from children to search for “genetic predispositions to criminal behavior.” Perhaps the overall attitude at that time of the scientific community towards black patients and people is best exemplified through a quote by the doctor who diagnosed Lacks: “Hopkins, with its large indigent black population, had no dearth of clinical material.” With all of this in mind, it is exceedingly evident that the larger racial context is inextricable from HeLa’s story and vice versa. However, whatever one may take away from the HeLa controversy in terms of ethics and race, the personal pain of the Lacks family is indisputable. Indeed, one of the more obvious narrative threads in Skloot’s account is the deep emotional distress that Lacks’ family underwent. In her absence, her children suffered severe abuse at the hands of Ethel. Additionally, when they eventually learned of the HeLa cell line twenty-four years after their mother’s death, they struggled greatly with its financial and philosophical implications, only getting something approaching closure with the writing and release of Skoot’s book. Many people will draw different conclusions from Henrietta Lacks’ story. However, regardless of one’s particular opinions, it would be impossible for anyone with an open heart and mind to not come away from Skloot’s book thinking of the HeLa story in an entirely new light. One should recognize Henrietta Lacks as immeasurably more than just a biological subject from which immortal cells, seemingly entities unto themselves, were drawn. Although some cynics may say that finding the human reality behind historical and scientific figures and events is meaningless, the personal feelings, encounters, and connections that are made are all that life really is as we ourselves live through it. Understanding the people behind any given story is necessary for our self-improvement as individuals and as a society. If we all contain universes within ourselves as Wiesel said, the knowledge and lessons contained therein are surely enough make the world outside just a little bit better. That may certainly be said of Henrietta Lacks and her remarkable story. Elize Villalobos is a freshman at the University of North Georgia. Although her major is still technically undeclared, it is increasingly likely that she will major in English. She has always loved reading and writing, and she sees both as powerful means to understanding the world and further developing empathy with other people. After she graduates, she would like to pursue a career that allows her to make as positive an impact on the world and people’s lives as she, a somewhat negative person, is able. Her hobbies include listening to music, reading, watching movies, sitting motionless while lost in thought, debating philosophy and morality with herself, and generally trying to get her life in order. Unaccustomed to taking selfies and unable to tame her hair, write succinctly, or go without a moment of self-deprecation, Elize would like to apologize for the mediocre quality of her profile picture as well as this mini biography’s length. Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Gale Group, 2010. Ibid., 4. Ibid., 18. Ibid., 19, 23. Ibid., 19. Ibid., 23. Ibid., 24. Ibid., 26. Ibid., 42. Ibid., 331. Ibid., 13. Ibid., 14. Ibid., 31. Ibid., 32, 45. Ibid., 41. Ibid., 46. Ibid., 47. Ibid., 47, 48. Ibid., 64. Ibid., 65, 83. Ibid., 85. Ibid., 85, 86. Ibid., 86. Ibid., 43. Ibid., 24. Ibid., 43. Ibid., 44. Ibid., 42. Ibid., 44. Ibid., 45. Ibid., 47. Ibid., 45. Ibid., 57, 58. Ibid., 58. Ibid., 98, 99, 100. Ibid., 212, 213. Ibid., 101. Ibid., 250. Ibid., 29, 328. Ibid., 326, 327. Ibid., 168. Holland, Brynn. “The ‘Father of Modern Gynecology’ Performed Shocking Experiments on Slaves.” History. 29 Aug. 2017. Web. 31 August 2017. Skloot, 50, 97. Ibid., 50. Ibid., 167. Ibid., 30. Ibid., 191.