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Hi all. I'm careening toward an anorexia relapse, how are you?
Anyway, today is kind of an up day so you get this.
I'm on a big Ursula Le Guin kick lately, and her Earthsea series is a really interesting work of fantasy spanning six books that I think is especially worth looking at because of Le Guin's commentaries that are included at the end of the new editions. She has some really insightful things to say about social progress, the passage of time, and how writing can reflect the author's feelings, so if you check these out make sure to get the 2012 "Atheneum Books for Young Readers" edition. The first book in particular is really only interesting because of what she has to say about it in retrospect.
I want to talk about the books themselves, but mostly about Le Guin's thoughts, since she had some important stuff to say about fantasy as a genre and publishing as an industry.
Also, fun fact! This series is where the name 'Mebbeth' comes from.
The first book in the series, A Wizard of Earthsea, is really a novella, and it's a creative but rather rote story. However, according to Le Guin, this was necessary:
When A Wizard of Earthsea came out, there had not been a book like it. It was original—something new. Yet it was also conventional enough not to frighten re- viewers. It was well received. […] The part of the tradition that I knew best was mostly written (or rewritten for chil- dren) in England and northern Europe. The principal characters were men. If the story was heroic, the hero was a white man; most dark-skinned people were inferior or evil. If there was a woman in the story, she was a passive object of desire and rescue (a beautiful blond princess); active women (dark, witches) usually caused destruction or tragedy. Anyway, the stories weren't about the women. They were about men, what men did, and what was important to men.
It's in this sense that A Wizard was perfectly conventional. The hero does what a man is supposed to do: he uses his strength, wits, and courage to rise from hum- ble beginnings to great fame and power, in a world where women are secondary, a man's world. In other ways my story didn't follow the tradition. Its subversive elements at- tracted little attention, no doubt because I was deliberately sneaky about them. A great many white readers in 1967 were not ready to accept a brown-skinned hero. But they weren't expecting one. I didn't make an issue of it, and you have to be well into the book before you realize that Ged, like most of the characters, isn't white.
She also talks about how she couldn't get a nonwhite character on the book cover.
The other interesting point she had was about the central theme of the book, that power for power's sake will inherently destroy both you and those you care about. She didn't want a series about war and grand battle, because she doesn't believe that 'might makes right.' This is perhaps the book's most subversive element, that the hero's struggles are entirely against his own preconceptions that pure power is in and of itself a worthy goal, one that can quell opposition.
One really important thing to keep in mind about these books is their pub dates. Wizard came out in 1968, nearer the beginning of Le Guin's career, where making concessions but not big waves was still important for her continual publication. The final book in the series, though, came out in 2001, when she was URSULA K LE GUIN, and could say more freely what she actually felt.
The second book, The Tombs of Atuan, was published in 1969, and it's a very different kind of story. It follows a young woman named Tenar, who was taken from her family as a toddler, stripped of her name, and inducted into a religious order because she was believed to be a reincarnation. Late in the story, Ged from the first book is taken prisoner by the cult, and together, they escape.
This book was much more obviously issuefic, with Tenar's helpless enslavement at the hands of organized religion as the centerpiece. Le Guin very much wanted a fantasy heroine, one that made a statement about our world, and very much didn't want a Strong Female Character:
When I was writing the story in 1969, I knew of no women heroes of heroic fantasy since those in the works of Ariosto and Tasso in the Renaissance. These days there are plenty, though I wonder about some of them. The women warriors of cur- rent fantasy epics—ruthless swordswomen with no domestic or sexual respon- sibility who gallop about slaughtering baddies—to me they look less like women than like boys in women's bodies in men's armor.
[…] I could put a girl at the heart of my story, but I couldn't give her a man's freedom, or chances equal to a man's chances. She couldn't be a hero in the hero-tale sense. Not even in a fantasy? No. Because to me, fantasy isn't wishful thinking, but a way of reflecting, and reflecting on reality. After all, even in a democ- racy, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, after forty years of feminist striving, the reality is that we live in a top-down power structure that was shaped by, and is still dominated by, men. Back in 1969, that reality seemed almost unshakable. So I gave Tenar power over—dominion, even godhead—but it was a gift of which little good could come. The dark side of the world was what she had to learn, as Ged had to learn the darkness in his own heart.
The really interesting thing I think Le Guin hits on RE: this novel is that she wrote it as a reflection of her own feelings of powerlessness and entrapment in a patriarchal world, one that seems endless and unfightable, and the bleakness of Tenar's situation is meant to reflect that.
She also says something interesting about Ged's helping Tenar escape:
Some people have read the story as supporting the idea that a woman needs a man in order to do anything at all (some nodded approvingly, others growled and hissed). Certainly Arha/Tenar would better satisfy feminist idealists if she did everything all by herself. But the truth as I saw it, and as I established it in the novel, was that she couldn't. My imagination wouldn't provide a scenario where she could, because my heart told me incontrovertibly that neither gender could go far without the other. So, in my story, neither the woman nor the man can get free without the other.
Anyone who read it this way is being weirdly uncharitable, because I thought it was pretty obvious it was meant to be a story about how they each had things to offer and only together could they go somewhere better. But I also think it's interesting in the way it reflects life, and the fact that women cannot overturn patriarchy without the help of men. I talked a bit about this in the Buffalo 5 Girls post, where Anno's story is very much about how even the strongest people need other people, about how women and men who see each other as equals are stronger than either alone, and I think here, as I did then, that there is a certain bleakness to that, that the oppressed do need the oppressor to be free. But I also think Le Guin's attitude here, that we're better as a whole, has some more truth to it, and that in cordoning off ourselves we risk cleaving wounds deeper instead of healing them. In the end, that's what this book is about.
The third book, The Farthest Shore, is from 1972 and I'm finding now it's the one in the series I have the least recollection of. This is perhaps because it wasn't quite as genre-defying as the rest of them, and while it was a very well-written story, it didn't have anything that made me feel like I needed to mull over it afterward. As for Le Guin:
As I look back at the book now, I see how it reflects that time. Along with the active movement to free America from racist injustice and from militarism, there was a real vision of getting free from compulsive materialism, the confusion of goods with good. Yet already we were watching much of that vision blur off into wishful thinking or become drug-dependent. Being an irreligious puritan and a rational mystic, I think it's irresponsible to let a belief think for you or a chemical dream for you. So the book's dark themes of loss and betrayal took shape. So Ged and Arren had to come to Hort Town, and drug addiction and slavery are seen for the first time in the Archipelago. Evil, in this book, has an immediate, ugly, human shape, because I saw evil not as some horde of foreign demons with bad teeth and super- weapons but as an insidious and ever-present enemy in my own daily life in my own country: the ruinous irresponsibility of greed.
I don't have anything else to say about this one, really.
But Tehanu! The fourth book, Tehanu, is strikingly different from the others, and here is where dates really start mattering: it was published in 1990, after Le Guin was established and could write what she actually wanted, and it's basically a feminist deconstruction of the world from the first three books with Tenar as the focal character. Tenar is discontent with domestic life, Ged is a powerless whiny manchild like all those heroes really are, and the whole story revolves around Therru, a young girl who was raped and disfigured by her uncle then subsequently abandoned.
Tehanu is really a philosophy piece, and as you might imagine, it pissed dudes off (it also apparently pissed some women off, because as we know, saying that maybe not all women can be happy barefoot and pregnant their whole lives is exactly the same as rejecting anyone who wants children, and taking away Ged's power means Le Guin thinks we should hate all men).
I actually think that was Le Guin had to say here was important enough I'm just going to show you the whole thing:
BETWEEN THE LAST CHAPTER OF The Tombs of Atuan and the first chapter of Tehanu, twenty-five years or so pass, time enough for the girl Tenar to become a widow with grown children. Between the last chapter of The Farthest Shore and the fourth chapter of Tehanu, a day or two passes, time enough for the dragon Kalessin to carry Ged from Roke to Gont. Between finishing The Farthest Shore and beginning Tehanu, eighteen years of my life passed, time enough for me to learn how to write this book. I never thought of Earthsea as a trilogy, but for a long time I saw it as a three- legged chair. I knew Tenar's story needed to be told, and that she and Ged had to be brought together. So right after finishing the third book, I began the fourth one. But— though I knew Tenar had not stayed with Ogion but had gone off and married a farmer and lived an ordinary, unmagical life—I didn't know why. The story got stuck. I couldn't go on. It took years of living my own ordinary life, and a great deal of learning how to think about such things, mostly from other women, before I could understand why Tenar did what she did and who she was at the end of it. Then at last I could write Tehanu.
When it came out, some reviewers and readers were disappointed. It wasn't like the first three books. It wasn't what they expected. Nobody had made a fuss when I reversed the racist tradition of white heroes and black villains; but now I was messing around with gender. And sex. Heroic fantasies, even in 1990 and even if they included women heroes, were (and mostly still are) based on institutions, hierarchies, and values constructed by men. True to the tradition, the characters in the first and third books of Earthsea were almost exclusively male, and in Tombs Tenar shares the stage with Ged. But Tehanu is all about women and children to start with. Ogion appears only to die, and when Ged arrives he seems a broken man, so weak he takes refuge with a com- mon witch and then goes off to herd goats, leaving Tenar alone to deal with incom- prehension and malevolence. Where's the guy with the shining staff? Who's going to do the big magic? A little girl? Oh, come on. That's not a hero tale! I didn't want it to be. By the time I wrote this book I needed to look at heroics from outside and underneath, from the point of view of the people who are not included. The ones who can't do magic. The ones who don't have shining staffs or swords. Women, kids, the poor, the old, the powerless. Unheroes, ordinary people—my people. I didn't want to change Earthsea, but I needed to see what Earth- sea looked like to us.
Some readers who identified with Ged as a male power figure thought I'd betrayed and degraded him in some sort of feminist spasm of revenge. So far as I know, I had no spasms and didn't betray Ged. Quite the opposite, I think. In Tehanu he can become, finally, fully a man. He is no longer the servant of his power. But where did the power go? Is the magic, in fact, dying out of Earthsea, as it seemed was happening in the third book? I don't think that's the case, but certainly there's a great change taking place in the world, only just beginning to be visible, and not yet comprehensible. Ogion sees it as he dies. Tenar has intuitions of it, from the story of the Woman of Kemay, from the painted fan in the old weaver's house, from her dreams, from what she knows and doesn't know about her adopted daughter, Therru. Therru is the key to the book. It wasn't till I saw her that I could begin to write it. But what I saw took me aback. Therru isn't ordinary at all. Her life has been ruined at the start. She is not just powerless, but crippled, deformed, and terrorized. She cannot be healed. The cruel wrong done her came with the breakdown of the soci- ety of Earthsea, which the new king may be able to repair; but for Therru, what reparation? "What cannot be mended must be transcended." Maybe the change coming into Earthsea has something to do with no longer identifying freedom with power, with separating being free from being in control. There is a kind of refusal to serve power that isn't a revolt or a rebellion, but a revo- lution in the sense of reversing meanings, of changing how things are understood. Anyone who has been able to break from the grip of a controlling, crippling belief or bigotry or enforced ignorance knows the sense of coming out into the light and air, of release, being set free to fly, to transcend.
IN BOTH THE TOMBS OF ATUAN and Tehanu, books in which women are central to the story, there's a kind of anger which I don't think is in A Wizard or The Farthest Shore. It's the anger of the underdog, fury against social injustice, the vengeful rage women have too often been made to feel. I'd finally learned to acknowledge such anger in myself and to try to express it without injustice. So Ged the Archmage could be grandly serene as he paralyzed pirates with a wave of his staff, but Ged the goatherd in blind fury uses a pitchfork on his enemy. And so Aspen, the wizard of Re Albi, is detestable in a way even Cob is not, because Aspen flaunts all the behaviors that cause such anger—fear and loathing of women, the arrogance of the powerful, and the sick human lust to dominate that leads to endless cruelty. It's not surprising that Tehanu was labeled "feminist." But the word is used so variously that it's worse than useless. If you see feminism as vindictive prejudice against men, the label lets you dismiss the book unread; if you see feminism as a belief in superior properties unique to women and expect the book to confirm that belief, you'll find it equivocal. The conversation between Tenar and the witch Moss in the fifth chapter is a case in point. Is it "feminist"? Moss is pretty contemptuous of men in general, hav- ing been treated by them with contempt all her life. That's all right, and I find her discussion of men's power and women's power harsh, incomplete, but interesting. Then she goes off into an incantatory praise of mysterious female knowledge: "Who knows where a woman begins or ends? . . . I have roots, I have roots deep- er than this island. . . . I go back into the dark!" And she ends with a rhetorical question— "Who'll ask the dark its name?" "I will," Tenar says. "I lived long enough in the dark." I've often seen Moss's rhapsody quoted with approval. Tenar's fierce answer almost always goes unquoted, unnoticed. Yet it refuses Moss's self-admiring mysticism. And all Tenar's life is in it.
Tenar is three people. As young Arha she lived a cruel, rigid, mindless life of rit- ual obedience in a community of women worshiping the Dark Powers, the Name- less Ones. She broke free from this prison and came away with Ged, who could give her back her true name and show her the power of knowing the names of things. Then she took a second, more obscure step to freedom, by refusing to stay with the kind teacher, Ogion, whose wisdom was not quite what she needed. She'd had enough of the celibate, sexless life in Atuan. Thinking the best way to learn where a woman begins and ends was to live a woman's life as fully as she knew how, and take all the chances a woman takes, she went off to get married, to live as Goha, the farmer's wife, to bear children and bring them up. Now, older, and having made herself responsible for a damaged and vulnerable child, she knows she is ready, not for vague, innate mystical insights, but for the wisdom she needs and has earned. Beyond the obscure worship of dark earth- powers, and beyond the common sense of daily life, she wants understanding. Liv- ing the mystery of daily life, she longs for the clear light of thought. Tenar has a fine, strong mind. The two people best able to see and respect that in her were Ged and Ogion. Ogion is gone; Ged has come back to her.
But Ged, too, is in desperate need of a new wisdom. He has lost so much: his fame and high standing, the gift that shaped his life since he was a boy, the use of all he learned on Roke. How is he to live as an ordinary man? Now all his magic's gone, used up, given away, can he even respect himself? Was he (as Moss slyly asked) ever anything but his power—is there anything left of him when it's gone but an empty shell? Tenar may know the answer to that question, but for Ged to be able to answer it himself, as he must, he has to find out what he gave up to become a man of power. Which might be defined as everything but that power. Or which might be seen as a different kind of learning. The kind of learning ordinary people get from talking in the kitchen on winter evenings . . . Or is it beyond learning—is it the kind of magic that men lost, but the dragons kept?
The fifth book, Tales from Earthsea, was published in 2001, and is a short story collection of plot and character histories Le Guin wrote to help her mentally bridge the gap in both time and plot between the publishing of the fourth and sixth books. The final story bridges the gap between Tehanu and the sixth book. This was back in 2001, pre-smartphone, and Le Guin's notes are somewhat kids-these-days-y, but still do some interesting meditating on the role of fiction in the modern world.
The real point, though, is that the stories set the stage for The Other Wind, the sixth and currently final book, also published in 2001. Wind is again, a much more traditionally structured fantasy, but at the same time it's one that builds on the self-criticism brought up by Tehanu. The world, given to men, has been broken by greed and oppression, and it's only when women such as Tenar and Therru are allowed back in that it can right itself.
I have, believe me, learned never to call any book "the last." But I want to tell the kind people who write me asking for another Earthsea story that so far as I know, the story I had to tell ends here. With Tenar and Ged, on Gont.
On a meta level, these book are such a fascinating case study of how female writers are treated. The first book was necessarily pandering to the male demo — it wouldn't have gotten published otherwise, so there wasn't really any choice. The second and third books inch toward portraying the actual feelings of a woman, but in a largely inoffensive way; after all, Tenar is trapped in a religion of nuns and eunuchs. But later, when Le Guin can say how she wants to say without jeopardizing her career, she's criticized for having 'become' an eeeeeeevil feminist. And this was 1990 — I can't imagine the hate campaign if this book had come out today.
I think, first, that this goes back to my post about genre, and how women don't really get to choose where they end up. But Le Guin's commentaries also hit on the issue of books for teens and kids being expected to be somehow 'lesser', and how she wanted this series to demonstrate how silly that was. The review of Tehanu I linked above also has the vapors about how a 10-year-old's puny mind could never conceptualize something so horrible as a disfigured child zomg, and I think it's Le Guin's commentary that draws an important parallel between the lack of agency assigned to women and that given to children and teens. We've spoken briefly, before, about how children are expected to be seen and not heard bastions of pure pureness, but I'm not sure if we've ever really discussed the parallels between how women and children are treated. We even group them together in phrases. Both are seen as less intelligent, less interesting, less capable. Fiction "for women" is considered inferior, and children are expected to consume inferior fiction, because we can't worry their precious little heads about actual issues. It makes me wonder if part of the trend of increasingly low standards for what kids read is packed with the idea that we don't really think of kids as people, the same as we can't really imagine adult fantasy starring a woman. I think it's really interesting that that review conflates female/femininity, takes issues with the idea women should be able to forgo domesticity, explicitly says books for children should be different and lesser, and then mourns the loss of a man's power. You don't usually see those views together like that so plainly, but it really draws into focus that we, societally, view everyone but adult men as subhuman.
Anyway, this was an odd post, but I liked this series, it made me think a lot, and y'all should check it out.


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Shrimp Nachos
Warning! Highly addictive Shrimp Nacho recipe below. If you have any shrimp lovers coming over on game day this is nacho recipe is a must have. Best of all, you can make the salsa, bean and corn mixture and even the shrimp ahead of time and then just assemble and bake when the game comes on! Touchdown on the prep.
I secretly love football junk food. It's a fact. There is something so comforting about some chicken wings and nachos and a good old seven layer bean dip. Nostalgia? Maybe. So when it comes time for the Superbowl every year I find myself giddy with anticipation of the junk food I get to consume. This Shrimp Nacho recipe hits all the right notes for me but is a tiny bit lighter because I use shrimp, corn and beans and a fresh mango and cherry pepper salsa instead of sour cream and meat.
The game plan is easy. I started by making the bean and corn mixture. You can use frozen corn (defrosted) or fresh corn. Your pick. Just heat some garlic in a pan and toss in the corn, black beans, some oregano and cumin and salt and that's it. The idea is to get some flavor into each component that goes on the nachos and that way when you layer the ingredients on and take a bite you can taste all the flavors together.
Next I made the salsa and just combined all the chopped ingredients in a bowl and put it in the fridge. That can be done a day ahead even. The key to the salsa is a perfectly juicy, ripe mango. Also, I found cherry peppers at my grocery store. They are little red peppers that aren't as hot as a jalapeno or Serrano but have a bite and a building heat. I liked the color they added and they didn't overpower the dish. Plus we use some spicy cheese later so you don't need a lot of heat here. But, if you can't find cherry peppers don't fret. You can certainly use a jalapeno (red if you can find it).
Lastly, I peeled and de-veined my shrimp and cut them into about 1/4 inch pieces. I added them to a bowl and coated them with canola oil, cumin, oregano and salt. Then I heated up a skillet with a little more oil and quickly sauteed the shrimp. They are small so they go quickly and only take a minute or two max. Remember they will be reheated later so be careful not to overcook.
And that's it. Just find yourself an oven-proof platter and start layering your ingredients when you are ready to party. In my opinion you need to carefully space out the ingredient to chip ratio. Not too many chips. Remember they are there to scoop the good stuff into your mouth. So a single layer, then some corn and bean mixture, some shrimp, a layer of cheese, and repeat. I like to add a little extra of the bean and corn on the top layer after the last cheese goes on. Then bake in a 350 degree oven until melted. Place under the broiler for a few seconds if you want to get that browned top look to the cheese. Serve with lime wedges, cilantro and the yummy mango and cherry pepper salsa! #Winner!
Start with these delicious ingredients:
Step 1 in the game plan is to heat the corn and beans together with some garlic, cumin, oregano and salt to get some flavors going on in what otherwise would be bland ingredients. Heat a skillet, add about 1 Tablespoon of oil, then the garlic, corn, beans, and spices.
When heated through, about 3-5 minutes in the pan, set aside in a dish to add to the nachos later. Wipe the pan clean for the shrimp.
Now lets make some salsa! Start with diced red onion in a bowl.
Add to it the perfectly ripe, diced mango (yum!)
Next comes the cherry pepper. Remember if you can't find cherry peppers don't sweat it! Just substitute with one jalapeno pepper instead.
Then finely dice….
Then add in the fresh squeezed juice of one lime and the avocado.
Finish with some fresh chopped cilantro and salt and mix gently to combine.
Viola! Set aside or cover and refrigerate up to overnight if making ahead.
Now that we have that done let's get the shrimp ready. It's quick and easy. Make sure the shrimp are peeled and cleaned (de-veined). Then cut into pretty big sized chunks of equal size. About 1/4 inch or so.
Then add the dried oregano, cumin, salt and about 2 Tablespoons oil to coat the shrimp.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add about another Tablespoon or so of canola oil. Saute shrimp for 2-3 minutes tops.
Set aside or refrigerate if making ahead.
Now it's game time. Are you ready to assemble and eat? Preheat the oven to 350 and grab yourself an oven-proof dish. Start with a single layer of chips – just enough to cover the bottom.
Then start piling on the good stuff. Leaving about half or maybe a little more than half for the second layer.
Then of course some cheese…..and we are using a spicy pepper jack but you can use another type if you prefer. Just make sure it's a melty kind of cheese!
Then start on that second layer…
More good stuff….
And the final layer of cheese…..
Ready for the oven! Bake until the cheese is melted and then place under the broiler for a final few seconds to get the top browned. Be careful to watch them!
Serve hot with fresh cilantro, limes and the cherry pepper mango salsa.
- Bean & Corn Mixture
- 1 cup black beans, rinsed
- 1 cup fresh or frozen and defrosted corn
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Mango & Cherry Pepper Salsa
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1 ripe mango, diced
- 2 cherry peppers (or 1 Jalapeno pepper) seeded and diced
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Small drizzle olive oil
- Shrimp
- 3/4 lb peeled and de veined shrimp
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil plus extra for sauteeing
- Assembly & Service
- 6 oz or about 2 cups of freshly shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1 bag white corn tortilla chips
- fresh limes and cilantro for garnish
- Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy pan over medium heat and drizzle in a little olive oil. When hot add in the garlic, corn, beans, oregano, cumin and salt and stir for 3-5 minutes until the flavors are combined. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Clean out the pan.
- Make the salsa by combining the red onion, mango, cherry peppers or jalapeno peppers, lime juice, avocado, cilantro, salt and oil in a medium dish. Gently stir to combine and set aside.
- Combine the shrimp in a medium bowl with the oregano, cumin, salt and canola oil. Mix to combine. Heat the same skillet over medium high heat and add a little more canola oil to the pan. Then saute shrimp for 2-3 minutes until just barely cooked through. Don't overcook. Set shrimp aside.
- Preheat oven to 350. In an oven proof dish assemble the first layer of nachos with the chips, then the bean and corn mixture, then shrimp, and a first layer of cheese. Make sure to save at least half of all the ingredients for the second layer.
- Repeat the second layer and bake until the cheese is melted. Place under the broiler for the final few seconds (optional) if you want a browned crusty top.

subset: commoncrawl


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How an Anticancer Lifestyle Is Helping Me Live with Prostate Cancer
In 2010 , when I was 35 and still feeling the invincibility of youth , I received news that changed the course of my life.
I had cancer. Compared to other diagnoses, I was lucky. I had a treatable low-grade prostate cancer. With no symptoms, and no family history of the disease, I was still absolutely stunned this could happen to me. I thought prostate cancer was an old man's disease, a health problem that couldn't touch me.
I was wrong.
After my diagnosis, I met with a doctor that suggested I have my prostate removed immediately – there were some serious side effects to consider, including the very real possibility of erectile dysfunction and incontinence . Not great. I decided to seek another opinion.
The second doctor I visited with recommended active surveillance, and monitor with blood screenings (PSA's) and an annual biopsy, because my cancer was confined to the prostate. If the numbers went up, we would need to take action and have my prostate removed.
The third doctor I met asked an unexpected question, "What's your diet like ?"
That changed everything for me. Six years later I still live with prostate cancer. My dietary and lifestyle changes have radically changed since the time of my diagnosis. I'm not perfect, but risk reduction is key. I followed the counsel of my doctor, who asked that I remove red meat and dairy from my diet, drastically reduce my sugar intake, eat a primarily plant-based diet with lots of cruciferous vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and reduce or remove my consumption of alcohol, no tobacco, get plenty of sleep, practice yoga and other ways to reduce stress, and reduce my exposure to cancer-causing or questionable environmental toxins and bodycare products.
There are millions of men who have their prostates removed, but haven't changed their diets and lifestyle habits, who still run the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes – preventable chronic health conditions. To still others, cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyle choices.
Over the course of the past six years, I've founded a nonprofit called Blue Cure to educate men of all ages on how they can prevent and reduce their risk of prostate and other cancers –while also significantly reducing their risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
I've learned one in two men, and one of three women in America are diagnosed with cancer. One of four will die from the disease. For prostate cancer, the numbers are one man out of seven that will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
BUT – only one in ten cancers are due to an inherited genetic mutation. That means 90% of cancers are not genetic, and most cancers are preventable!
How can you lessen your chances of becoming a statistic? Get educated about the lifestyle habits and environmental factors that can reduce (and increase) your risk of cancer. My friend and supporter, Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D., says "Over fifty percent of all cancer is preventable by applying what we know right now."
Integrative approaches to treatment – lifestyle and environmental changes – can also improve cancer outcomes, and it's crucial that we educate men and families going through all stages of prostate cancer.
Dr. Cuomo is a cancer prevention advocate and author of A World Without Cancer, and she wrote and hosts a one-hour PBS special program which will air nationally this weekend, and through December and January. In addition to medical experts offering cutting edge information on cancer prevention, Ken Burns and Valerie Simpson share their personal experiences with cancer. If you don't have time to read the full book, carve out some time to watch. A World Without Cancer will be airing in Houston on December 3rd. Viewers can visit http://bit.ly/2fsiJll for local listings in your community. (I'm giving the book as a gift this holiday season!)
In the PBS special for A World Without Cancer, Dr. Cuomo shows viewers the ten actionable lifestyle steps that can lower the risk of cancer, and other life threatening diseases, while improving quality of life. She shows us how small and simple changes can have an immense impact in cancer prevention. The program includes:
1. Maintaining a Healthy Weight and Eating a Plant-based Diet
2. Being Physically Active every day
3. Quitting Smoking
4. Avoiding or Limiting Alcohol
5. Protecting your Skin from the Sun
6. Getting cancer-preventing vaccines (Hepatitis B and HPV)
7. Avoiding Harmful Chemicals in everyday products
8. Managing Stress
9. Getting Adequate Sleep
10. Maintaining Strong Social Connections
Take a bit of time, and give yourself the gift of a prevention-promoting lifestyle during this holiday. It's time to invest in ourselves. It's time to focus on prevention.


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|Grozdana Olujić in High Street Thornbury
Grozdana Olujić's novel Гласам за љубав (I Vote for Love) ends with Slobodan Galac's thrilling declaration to his pet turtle:
"Hold tight, Greta! . . . We're taking off!"
|Slobodan and Greta. Illustration by Simonida Filipova-Kitanovska
Slobodan, a sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield of the Balkans, shares his literary counterpart's desire for authenticity and personal freedom (his name Slobodan means 'free'). His decisive leap into adventure makes for a deeply satisfying ending to Olujić's novel, contrasting sharply with Holden's uncertainty and nostalgia at the end of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. It's not improbable to imagine Holden turning to pills. As for Slobodan, I'm not prepared to imagine anything less than success for him in his quest to reunite with his fourteen-year-old girlfriend Rashida (forcibly sent away to Sarajevo by her father), and also in satisfying his wanderlust:
"We'll reach the four corners of the earth – Rashida, Greta and me . . . even if it means sailing into the wind."It's normally during adolescence that we realise we don't get to do everything we dream but for Slobodan, the world is still an illusion that must be shattered. I'm a sucker for earnest, introspective loners like Slobodan. Throw in some Romantic/Sturm und Drang qualities and I surrender totally. Needless to say, I won't be projecting my cynicism onto his adolescent aspirations.
Olujić's novel, published in 1963, is an early (some say pioneering) example in Serbian literature of 'blue jeans prose'. The term was coined by literary theorist Aleksandar Flaker to describe a trend in youth fiction of the 60s and 70s modelled on Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. 'Blue jeans prose' is characterised by an antagonistic protagonist, typically a teenager, who expresses him/herself in contemporary urban slang, rejects established norms and conventions and is opposed to the world of adults. Since the wearing of jeans was seen as a symbolic protest against conformity, the term aptly reflected the attitude of the protagonist. (Today we might refer to this type of fiction as 'low-rise jeans prose'.)
Slobodan is a worthy icon for adolescent rebellion and angst. Like Holden, he rejects the hypocrisy of the adult world. Unlike Holden, Slobodan does not exhibit any of the qualities he disparages. Sublimating his sense of superfluity under a rebellious pose, Slobodan rejects a world in which qualities such as love and kindness are absent. His rejection is expressed symbolically in a school essay he writes opting for love:
. . . if it's possible to choose, and if a person must vote for something, I vote for love, even if in some way it's a lost cause.Early in the novel, Slobodan's mother accuses him of negativity:
"You always see people from the worst possible angle."What Slobodan sees are dissatisfied, disillusioned and unhappy adults who have succumbed to a provincial mentality. It's his negativity and his strong desire to evade a similar fate that propels him towards flight. From a Hegelian point of view, self-identity without negativity signifies the death of being. The transformative potential of negative freedom (freedom from constraint) is the possibility it provides for self-awareness. As well as voting for love, Slobodan votes for self-determination.
Although some of Olujić's work has been translated into over 28 languages, it appears that Гласам за љубав is only available in Serbian, Macedonian (Гласам за љубов) and German (Liebe ist wie ein frischer Apfel). In spite of the attraction of reading a text in its original and the aesthetic appeal of Cyrillic, it's times like this I want to reconsider my decision not to do literary translation because it's a book I believe should have wider exposure.
Fortunately, Olujić's first novel Излет у небо (An Excursion to the Sky, translated by Kenneth Johnstone) is available in English translation. And it's equally impressive. The bookflap summary should make it hard to resist:
Minya, the 22-year-old heroine . . . is cynical and disillusioned, convinced that life is nothing but a series of absurd incidents, relieved only by sporadic love affairs which she calls 'excursions to the sky'. She is tired and indifferent . . . She wants to glide through life, peeling off the days as painlessly as possible, but she knows she is merely marking time, that the moment when she must face the truth about herself is not far off.
|Therapy of a different kind, Grozdana Olujić in High Street Thornbury


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Fortna and Hytrol Celebrate 60 Years of Partnership
In 1958 Fortna and Hytrol began a partnership that has spanned six decades. Over the years the two companies have grown exponentially to become leading firms in the distribution design, implementation and materials handling space, and serving as trusted supply chain business partners with leading global firms.
At Hytrol's 2018 Convention Fortna received the 60-year partnership award, recognized with a standing ovation from the 250 companies in attendance. Other highlights of the Convention included tours of Hytrol's expanded production facility and research and development center as well as in-depth workshops on Hytrol products and new material handling technology.
Fortna, Sr. Director, Supplier Relations, Glen Guernsey, accepted the award from Chuck Waddle, Hytrol VP of Business Development and David Peacock, Hytrol President.


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Transitions' New Positions to Enhance Recovery Experience of Clients March 4 2016
For Immediate Release
Carol Serrone
Transitions, Inc.
859-491-4435, x 105
Transitions, Inc. Enhances the Recovery Experience for Their Clients — Bellevue, KY
Transitions Inc., a key organization in Northern Kentucky's fight against drug and alcohol addiction, has created two new positions – Clinical Treatment Director and Supportive Employment / Vocational Rehabilitation Supervisor. These two new specialty areas are focused on providing Transitions' clients with the highest level of therapeutic care and preparation for employment and self sufficiency.
The Clinical Treatment Director, Cassidy Lekan, LCSW, LICDC, will be leading the clinical staff in delivering evidence based treatment interventions at all of Transitions Programs.
"Cassidy is a key addition to an already top notch team at Transitions. She brings a significant amount of clinical expertise and supervision of Medicaid billing supervision," says Jim Beiting, Transitions' CEO.
Ms. Lekan joins Transitions after working at Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio as a Clinical Supervisor. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Minor in Social Work from the University of Dayton and her Masters in Social Work from the University of South Carolina. She is a Licensed Social Worker and Chemical Dependency Counselor, with a strong background serving those with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder challenges.
Terra Heitzman, BSW, joins Transitions as the Supportive Employment / Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist. This position was created with partial funding from a Commonwealth of Kentucky grant. She will be expanding and supervising Transitions' Vocational Rehabilitation Program. Jim Beiting stated,
"Terra is an exciting addition to the Transitions' team. She brings the energy, expertise and enthusiasm needed to make a Vocational Rehabilitation Program successful. Many of our clients have difficulty finding and maintaining employment."
Ms. Heitzman obtained her BSW from the University of Cincinnati and worked as a Treatment Advocate / Treatment Coordinator for the National Youth Advocate Program. In this role, she combined mental health treatment with community based advocacy. Prior to working in a social service setting, Terra spent over 10 years in hospitality management. As an employer, she was responsible for identifying, screening and hiring candidates. Her experience combines a passion for advocacy and recovery with an in depth knowledge of employment processes, which will be a great asset to Transitions' clients.
About Transitions, Inc.
Transitions, a nonprofit charity founded in 1969, offers a continuum of care comprised of detoxification, residential treatment, outpatient treatment, case managed sober housing and aftercare services. Every night Transitions has more than 400 individuals sleeping under our roof. In addition, at least 100 individuals participate in Transitions' intensive outpatient recovery services every week. For more information, visit www.transitionsky.org


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The Greater Des Moines Partnership's Directory includes contact information and maps for all Regional Chamber Members in Greater Des Moines (DSM) — more than 6,400 local businesses! To search by business category, select the links below the search bar. To search by business name, select "0–9" for business names that begin with a number or "A–Z" for businesses listed in alphabetical order.
Additionally, The Partnership relies on Investors to support its mission as the economic and community development organization serving Greater Des Moines (DSM).
For more information about The Partnership, its Investors, Affiliate Chambers of Commerce and Chamber Members, visit the following pages:
Professional-Design Services
Professional association management and marketing services for associations and nonprofits.
400 E. Court Ave., Suite 126
Des Moines, IA 50309
- Map
- (515) 471-1951
DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse.
1430 Locust Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
- Map
- (515) 276-8097
PC Print Center was created to be a full service print, copy, and design center that really stands apart from the rest of the herd. We provide fast, FREE, pick up and delivery!
4345 NW Urbandale Drive
Urbandale, IA 50322
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- (515) 440-2679
Creative Agency + Video Production
225 Dartmoor Dr.
Suite 300
Waukee, IA 50263
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- (641) 203-3314
10202 Douglas Ave.
Urbandale, IA 50322
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- (515) 727-0771
Urbandale's family-owned printing, apparel & promotional item supplier since 1973.
Let us help you take your concept to a finished branding campaign with our exceptional creative department!
Let us help you take your concept to a finished branding campaign with our exceptional creative department!
6762 Douglas Ave.
Urbandale, IA 50322-3316
- Map
- (515) 278-4695
Since its inception in 1946, Kirkham Michael continues to be a leading, knowledge-driven service provider of engineering, planning, design, and construction services.
4390 114th Street
Urbandale, IA 50322
- (515) 270-0848
Let us help you grow your online presence by utilizing our knowledge of branding and marketing, custom design and our strong commitment to client satisfaction.
5907 Meredith Drive
Urbandale, IA 50322
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- (515) 251-4600
architecture, structural engineering and interior design, Demolition and architectural salvage
604 E Grand Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50309
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- (515) 288-2000
McClure Engineering Company (MEC) provides a full spectrum of professional engineering services to public and private clients throughout Iowa, Missouri and the Midwest.
1360 NW 121st St.
Clive, IA 50325
architecture, including planning and design; consulting engineering services, including civil, electrical, environmental, mechanical, structural, process and transportation engineering; roof managemen
4125 Westown Parkway Ste 100
West Des Moines, IA 50266
5414 NW 88th Street
Suite 140
Johnston, IA 50131-1701
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- (515) 608-6000
Allegra's mission is to provide consulting and solutions to each of our customers through our expert knowledge in marketing, print, and mail. Our promise is to make our clients look good.
4149 120th St.
Urbandale, IA 50323
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- (515) 645-6060
Laser Resources is an Iowa-based company that delivers printing system technologies, mailing solutions, shipping software, and innovative managed services to all types of organizations throughout Iowa
1601 SE Gateway Dr. #130
Grimes, IA 50111
- (515) 278-4050
10430 New York Ave. Ste C
Urbandale, IA 50322-3773
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- (515) 252-7457
Whether we are providing civil engineering services, innovative management solutions to timely challenges, or overseeing the construction of a high profile improvement, the projects we undertake with
5525 Merle Hay Rd., Ste. 200
Johnston, IA 50131-1448
1809 Design is a one-woman graphic design powerhouse assisting small to medium-sized organizations and marketing/advertising firms with their design challenges.
- (515) 989-1809
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3175 99th Street
Urbandale, IA 50322
- (515) 244-5770
Our specialty is creative digital strategies for small businesses. We'll mine the data, analyze results, build creative campaigns, and manage your social media. You just focus on what you do best.
500 Locust St
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
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8191 Birchwood Court, Suite L
Johnston, IA 50131
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- (515) 254-1393
5550 Wild Rose Lane, 4th Floor
West Des Moines, IA 50266
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- (515) 446-0033
1001 Office Park Rd., Suite 120
West Des Moines, IA 50265
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- (515) 225-4377
4125 Westown Parkway, Suite 100
West Des Moines, IA 50266-6722
500 Locust St Suite 122
Des Moines, IA 50309
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The winter of 2013/2014 was not a cold winter in The Netherlands. It felt more like a six month lasting autumn. Endless drizzling, grey days… I had one client at that time in Amsterdam and and traveled mainly by car. The route I took was the same route every day, but I didn't mind. It started in the morning near the small lakes of the "Loosdrechtse plassen" in Hilversum (my home town), past some meadows, and ended in the business district of Amsterdam. And somehow, every day I saw that one tree. It was lonely, it was naked, and it was just standing there, every cold rainy day. I noticed how the grey days effected my mood, which gave me an idea for a picture. All I needed was the right foggy weather to make this shot. I had this picture in my mind for nearly six weeks, when finally I decided the weather conditions were perfect. And what happened? I was tired, wanted to lay down and eat, and did not want to ride my bike for 3KM (2 miles) to take a picture during bad weather.
At that point, as I sat down on the couch, I became a little angry with myself. What was I thinking? That picture has been in my mind for six weeks and now the perfect opportunity presented itself and I was to lazy? So I got up, took my bike, rode it for 10 minutes and took some pictures. And in the end it all worked out, I took the picture I had in mind.
Laziness almost prevented me from taking pictures, while photography is a real passion of mine. That is one of the reasons I started this blog, I needed a game plan to continue doing what I like to do. I have thought of a couple tips for those of us trying to overcame laziness:
- Just do it (like Nike). Schedule your calender, block some hours to do what you need (or want) to do. Make sure you schedule regularly, to make it part of your daily/weekly rhythm.
- Have a rhythm. I know, I said it before, but it is really important! Creating a rhythm is exercising your "overcoming laziness-skills".
- Have a game plan. Write down what you want to accomplish, when you want to accomplish it, and how you are going to do this (like a blog). And stick to your plan!
- Be hard on yourself, but love yourself. Don't get mad at yourself if you don't reach your goals, reward yourself when you reach your goals.
- Take small steps. You don't know how long you will live, but don't try to reach all your goals in one year. Make sure you don't get bored next year. 😉
- Think about the consequences: Whenever I am lazy, I have a hard time accepting myself and I feel unhappy. But when I am active/productive, I feel happy and satisfied. For me, knowing how being lazy or active influences my mood, is a good drive to do what I want and need to do.
- Share: You are not alone, find someone to help you and join you on your journey away from laziness.
Keep one thing in mind however: what you consider laziness, might be being really (chronically) tired. So listen to your body, but be completely honest towards yourself. If you feel you are tired for a long time, talk to your doctor.
I think working against laziness is an endless battle. But I am working on it, and it gives me a feeling of satisfaction. I hope it will do the same for you!
Kind regards,


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It's like this, see. I do and I don't:
I do want to be married. Marriage seems like a marvelous antidote to things like loneliness, and eating almost exclusively from bowls - often while standing in the kitchen. It also seems better than onanism, which I am neither admitting to, nor explaining. I think it'd be nice to have someone to teach me things I do not already know, like how to childishly play at something called "yoga," which I understand has to do with the release of either lactic acid from the muscles, or demons from the underworld (depending on which of my zealous childhood friends you ask). Marriage also seems vastly superior to dating, which is a stupid nether region between always feeling insecure and, wait -- did I just say "nether region" just there? I guess we all know what I've got on my mind. But marriage seems like it could be so much more than that. Like, marriage could give me someone to intend to jog with. Someone to help me be the sort of father I want to be. And someone to hold me when - God forbid - my parents stop living (seriously, God, forbid that). Or, when other tragedies happen. Or even just someone to tell everyone what a fabulous husband I was after I'm decapitated by a meteorite during an internationally-broadcast interview on my hundred-and-eleventieth birthday (and during, coincidentally, the tragically this-time-for-realsies final retrospective of my inestimable contributions to pretty much every art form known to man, woman, or leprechaun). And did I mention sex?
I also do not want to be married. Because that means narrowing down options for, like, as long as we both shall live (or at least until she decides the linguistics on that are malleable), and it means abandoning all sorts of fantasies I might or might not be currently treasuring, in exchange for an actual living, breathing, and (I've heard) farting human being. Someone who for long periods of time might think that I'm the bees' knees, but then might also decide for a while that I'm, like, the bees' stingers, dipped in arsenic. Someone who won't always look twenty-six and perky, and maybe won't always be willing to overlook my random, wisping back hairs, knobbly knees, oddly-proportioned torso, crooked lower teeth and oh, yeah, did I mention farting?
I do want to grow old, though. I want to live a very, very long time, because I've recently discovered that life is fantastic and that if I work very, very hard at being Myself - my creative, Makery self - then I get to roll around in the glorious unicorn-juice that is creativity. I want to see my son grow up and become a man because I'm curious about what that'll look like, and I also want to find out what it's like to be able to finally SLOW DOWN and really BE somewhere, if only because I've become incapable of moving any faster than the Speed of Rocking Chair.
But I do not want to grow old. I don't want to watch my parents and friends and maybe siblings and maybe even - God forbid - child die (seriously, God, forbid that). I don't want the occasional aches I currently feel to turn into the all-the-time aches that mean I can't even climb a tree, anymore. I'm not sure I want to live to a time when I can throw a rock at a hornet's nest, but then not be able to run away. Not that I would throw a rock at a hornet's nest, mind. Because hornets are people, too.
I want people to notice me. Please look at me. Please, please look at me. Why won't you look at me?
I also wish everyone would go away. Like, right now.
I do want to be a professional writer, because these past 1.85 years have been splendid. I've gotten to make things and collaborate with super-smart, creative people, and to spend all day doing what I love most in the world - the activity in which I'm most likely to lose myself and actually just BE. I want to continue to write things that inspire people and teach them and even maybe help and comfort them, and keep them from feeling quite so alone.
At the same time, I do not want to be a professional writer, because it's the hardest thing I've ever tried to do and every single freakin' day I have to butt up against my greatest fears and insecurities. I do not want to keep reading books by other authors who are smarter and better and probably happier than I am or ever will be, and having them remind me, always, of my own limitations. I do not want to be rejected over and over and over by people with red pens and very little time or compassion for me and my oh-so-pedestrian ambitions. I do not like writing. Not once. Not one single time that I have written anything have I ever been just DYING to sit down and write, and it's only when I'm really into it that maybe do I start to actually get lubed up for it and start to feel the rhythm and oh-sweet-dear-baby-jeebus, there I go again.
Rabbit trail:
I had this idea once for a film script about a guy who decides to forgo any kind of sexual expression at all, like, forever, and to redirect every bit of sexual energy he has into his creative work. And this is a guy with I'm talkin' a LOT of sexual energy, so he ends up becoming this super-accomplished creative guy who's on the razor's cutting edge of whatever creative field he happens to be in and not thinking about getting sweaty in super-close proximity with a woman like pretty much ever, and then of course he meets HER and has to decide whether it's worth it, and maybe he goes for her and finds out that it wasn't the de-sexification that was helping him succeed, it was his fear of failure driving him or something, and he realizes how miserable he was and then he and SHE live happily ever after, la-la-la. Then again, maybe it would be a more European film and they'd all die in a fire.
Rabbit trail over.
And but so anyways, I'm driving down to South Carolina the other day to attend this screening of a film I wrote, on like this ego-sized screen, and suddenly I'm hit with the thought that pretty much every single one of my desires comes with a mutually-exclusive buddy. Every single thing that I want is part of a diametrically-opposed pair, and this contrapuntal madness is pretty much kicking my metaphorical pigskin through the metaphorical uprights, a lot of the time.
This of course takes my mind in this sort of Buddhisty direction, where I start thinking about the elimination of desire, and I'm sorry all you Buddhisty-hipster-urbanites out there... that thought just rubs me the wrong way. I mean, I've tried it, and I'm actually pretty good at convincing myself that I'm being all Zenned out to some ethereal, non-wanting plane, but it's all so much bovine excrement when the rubber hits the metaphorical road - like, say, when I find myself going too long without getting what I want.
Which is to say that it seems to me that this desire-elimination stuff is like most spiritual practice, whereby people dip a hand in everyone once in a while but nobody really wants to swim, because there could be sharks.
I like the idea of abandon and surrender, though. I'm seriously going to go for that. Soon.
I like the idea of not freaking out every time I meet a woman I like, and then doing all sorts of things to get her to like me back until I notice she's liking me back - at which point I subconsciously mount this intensive sabotage campaign to test if she really, really likes me enough to like me when I'm being unlikable, like, right at the moment when she's first started liking me.
Pretty effed up, eh? Maybe I should stop wanting things... It works for wealthy, well-tanned women in those yoga pants that hmmm, yoga pants. Sorry, where was I?
My point, if there is one, is that I'm starting to believe that these lockstep battles being carried out by my dueling desires are something that I'm never going to escape. Not ever. And that conclusion invites me to another conclusion, which is that if you can't escape it, then you've got to have the serenity to accept and live with it.
So I do and I don't. Always. And since I can't seem to stop doing and don'ting, then I'm going to have to maybe find the courage to go after the desires that seem most likely to increase the Love in the world, and the serenity to throw myself on God's good graces for the times when my darker, more destructive desires take the day.
It's Easter, after all.
(And, perhaps oppositionally, 4/20. But I choose Easter.)
- - -
A FINAL NOTE: Writing isn't magic. It's hard work, and the greatest reward for that work is to share it with others. So if you enjoyed this little (ad-free) piece of my brain... please share the love on your social internets. And pick up a copy of my Short Story Collection, whilst you're at it. You can even get it as an ebook for less than a fancy cuppa hot bean-water, and it'll last waaay longer.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
when I put SEX in the title, more people read my posts. and I do want you to read this post, so I am going to put SEX in the title again. but I don't want you to read this post, so I'm going to make this title overly-long and overly self-referential. but I do, so... SEX
Posted by JOSH BARKEY at April 20, 2014
3 comments:
Step 11: "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out." There is where you get the desires of your (His) plan. Ya gotta know His will for you. I bet it includes creative writing and daddy parenting. It 's gotta. In no particular order.ReplyDeleteReplies
Sounds like work, thisbrit. Any way I can just purchase an app, or something? :-)Delete
- AnonymousMay 6, 2014 at 5:49 PM
I like your style!ReplyDelete
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Summer Program
Summer Program is a short inter-cultural program designed for both Petra students and international students to better equip them with global experience and international exposure. Perspective enrichment, unique and real on-site experience, and transformative adventure are the 3 things students will gain from joining Summer Program. Moreover, it is through a Summer Program that students get better and deepen understanding of the world via challenging academic experience with friends from all over the world. Petra Christian University is the host for Petra Summer Program (PSP), a 2 week multidisciplinary subject coverage on Indonesia, particularly on one of its oldest yet most vibrant cities: Surabaya. Petra is also one of the initiators of Asia Summer Program (ASP) alongside Dongseo University - Korea, Josai University - Japan, Bangkok University - Thailand, and Universiti Malaysia Perlis - Malaysia. The general requirements for joining Summer Program are:
- Minimum GPA: 2.75
- Minimum TOEFL iBT: 66, IELTS: 5.5, ITP: 500
- Minimum semester: 4
Petra offers some scholarship with limited seat. Brace yourself for the selection process to earn one!
Student must arrange plane ticket and visa by themselves.
Please contact travel agents that you can trust
PS: Several students asked BAKP "If Petra has Summer Program, why not Winter Program?". The answer is simple, because there is nothing much you can do on winter, Petra People. Winter costs more money with little things to do, so kiss your Winter Program goodbye XD


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In a nationwide crackdown, a group of Internet video player service providers have been investigated and punished for allegedly spreading pornography in China, the anti-porn authority has said. The campaign, which runs from February to April was launched by National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications, in collaboration with the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the Ministry of Public Security among other departments. Also Read - Internet turns 25 in India: Here's how the next 25 years may look like
Also Read - TikTok beats WhatsApp and Facebook in usage in rural India: Report
The anti-porn authority in Beijing has probed several Internet video player service providers for spreading lewd videos, including Ingkee, Doshow and Huajiao, sate-run Xinhua news agency reported. Also Read - Work from home: Essential gadgets and gear to maintain productivity and health
In other cases, two popular video sharing mobile applications Xiaokaxiu and Miaopai were placed under investigation for providing porn videos, it said. The anti-porn office aims at creating a clean cyberspace for young Internet users, it added.


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Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.
–Johan Wolfgang von Goethe
Families are the cornerstone for raising productive workers in a sound economy and responsible citizens in a strong democracy. Yet many families today are struggling. Public policy provides the conditions for families to deal with stressful conditions: the inability to find a job, afford health insurance, secure quality child care, or send their kids to good schools. Yet public policy is not working as well as it could for families. Most Americans would agree that policymaking is less effective and more polarized than it should be. But it doesn't have to be that way. Policymaking could be better if it were based on rigorous research and dispassionate analysis. Unfortunately, a substantial disconnect exists between the production of research and its utilization. My passion is using research to build better public policy for families. I study it, I teach it, and I do it. I direct the award-winning Family Impact Seminars that communicate high-quality, objective research to policymakers.


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jlongo wrote:They are not saying that this was a) intentional or b) some kind of escaped bio-weapon,
jlongo wrote:the suggestion is that the virus may have made its way to the market from someone who had initially been exposed to blood and tissue of the bats in one of those labs.
OriginalGriff wrote:Only in third world countries ...
Mark_Wallace wrote: I'll be sending a very stern letter if I develop serious back or joint problems.
Jörgen Andersson wrote:I'm also reaching that age.
Jörgen Andersson wrote:A change of car brand
Jörgen Andersson wrote:Passat
dandy72 wrote:And Peugeot, well...here in Canada, they've had them back in the 80s at the Chrysler dealer my dad worked for. Nobody wanted to work on them. The one guy they managed to hire to work exclusively on them turned out to be the reason there's a "crooked mechanic" stereotype.
General News Suggestion Question Bug Answer Joke Praise Rant Admin
Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.


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The Conservative Circuit-Court Conspiracy
Last Friday, a three-member panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals -- one of the country's most conservative circuits -- upheld a ruling that Virginia's late-term abortion ban is unconstitutional.
It was not the first time that such legislation -- a sop to social conservatives -- has run into trouble with the judiciary; courts in California, Nebraska and New York have made the same findings about the federal PBA ban passed by George W. Bush in 2003.
In each of those cases, the religious right has decried the decisions as evidence that an out-of-control judiciary is bent on remaking the nation in its own, presumably secular and liberal, image. When the federal ban was first blocked by a California court, the Southern Baptist Convention's Richard Land called the decision "yet one more tragic example of a federal judiciary whose moral compass has been grossly demagnetized," and Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition, added: "It is reprehensible that judicial tyranny, such as today's decision, continues unabated in this country." When the New York decision was handed down, Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue West, predicted: "the ones who will suffer from this arrogance are the tiny babies who will be mercilessly butchered by ghoulish abortionists who... take pride in late-term child killing."
But back in the reality-based community, it is just as clear that the courts have adhered to settled case law. According to the Associated Press, Richard Williams, the judge who handed down the original decision in the Virginia challenge called it a "no brain case" and "unconstitutional on its face." The appeals court, in upholding his ruling, agreed that it violated constitutional law "because the Virginia Act does not contain an exception" to protect a woman's health.
While the fine points of abortion law can be debated all day, one thing about the Republicans' (and some smarmy Democrats') "partial-birth abortion" bans is incontrovertibly clear: they fly in the face of the Supreme Court's unambiguous decision in Stenberg v. Carhart, the 2000 case that overturned a similar ban in Nebraska.
This begs the question why conservatives would craft bills that directly challenge case law established by a Supreme Court tilted in their favor? If they truly found the procedure in question so reprehensible -- they often claim that it blurs the line between abortion and infanticide -- why would they pass up the opportunity to ban it once and for all?
I believe they do it intentionally, writing bills with what amounts to judicial "poison pills." Call it legislative activism -- crafting laws that directly challenge legal precedent and, in so doing, create win-win scenarios for the right: in the unlikely event the bans are upheld, they would severely erode a woman's right to choose her own reproductive healthcare. If they're overturned, it would fire up the Republicans' socially-conservative base and support the view that 'secularists' -- in the words of David Limbaugh, author and legal scholar (and Rush's brother) -- "are waging a war against Christianity and the freedom of Christians to be involved in public life."
I come to this conclusion by answering an admittedly cynical question: Is it better for Republican leaders to ban less than one percent of the abortions performed in the United States, or would they prefer to stir up the passions of their base in time to walk precincts and man phone-banks for the 2006 mid-term elections? And while we're at it, how valuable will the letters, calls and protests of 20,000,000 pissed-off evangelicals be during an upcoming Supreme Court fight?
Legislating after Stenberg
When the Virginia law was introduced in 1998, legislators were working in a murkier legal environment than exists today. In Women's Med Prof v. Voinovich, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals had found the Ohio PBA ban unconstitutional according to the standard set in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which prevents states from placing an "undue burden" on a woman's access to abortion services. However, the Ohio law was substantially different from similar bans in other states, so the question was far from settled.
Not so of the federal ban signed into law by George W Bush in 2003. In 2000, after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld similar laws in Illinois and Wisconsin and the 4th and 6th Circuits had overturned bans in five states, the Supreme Court weighed in on the Nebraska ban in Stenberg v. Carhart.
Stenberg v. Carhart, while split five to four, is not a wishy-washy decision. The majority found that Nebraska's law violated the constitution as interpreted in both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
The Supremes made two important findings. First, the Nebraska ban didn't have an exception for cases when the health of the mother might be threatened (in Casey, the court had forbidden restrictions on abortion that didn't contain such an exception). Second, the court found that the ban on "partial-birth abortions" (a term coined by abortion foes that appears nowhere in the medical literature) was too vague and, as such, placed too great a burden on a woman's right to determine her own care.
What's remarkable about the bill signed into law by President Bush in 2003 is that just below 50 percent of the text is devoted to explaining why Congress is justified in ignoring the court's findings in Stenberg. The essence of the argument is that Congress has different standards of evidence and needn't consider the same data that the courts looked at. The drafters support the argument with case law from challenges to the Voting Rights Act and a telecommunications law, neither of which were questions of scientific fact.
And, of course, when the law is challenged, the courts hearing the case would have to use the judicial rather than the congressional standard of evidence.
The text of the law argues that "the great weight of evidence presented at the Stenberg trial and other trials challenging partial-birth abortion bans, as well as at extensive Congressional hearings, demonstrates that a partial-birth abortion is never necessary to preserve the health of a woman." It goes on to say, "A prominent medical association has concluded that partial-birth abortion is 'not an accepted medical practice.'" (Physicians who testified before Congress included members of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations.) The American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, while differing slightly in their positions, both opposed the ban as it was written.
To claim that there is anything approaching medical consensus on whether the banned procedure can have a positive effect on maternal outcomes is pure hokum. As the ban's supporters are quick to argue, there have been no controlled studies comparing different abortion procedures, an argument that cuts both ways.
Judge Richard Casey, who presided over the New York challenge to the federal law, agreed. Leading up to the trial, Casey was considered by anti-choice activists to be the best hope to support the ban. He opined that the procedure was "gruesome, brutal, barbaric and uncivilized," and subjected the fetus to "severe pain." According to The New York Times, Casey dismissed the testimony of A.C.L.U. witnesses as being less than credible. Nonetheless, he wrote that Congress had enacted the law "without seriously examining the medical" issues. "This court heard more evidence during its trial than Congress heard over the span of eight years," Casey wrote. He held that lawmakers had "ignored furious dissension among doctors over the safety and necessity" of the abortion method. The lawmakers had overlooked testimony in their own hearings, he said, according to the Times.
Furthermore, it is impossible to imagine that a scientific consensus could be achieved given Stenberg's other significant finding: that the definition of "partial-birth abortion" was unduly vague.
Testifying in the Nebraska challenge to the federal ban, Dr. Leroy Carhart (of the original Stenberg v. Carhart case) said that as the federal ban was written, "There are at least 21 different procedures that it covers." He added: "There are terms in this act that I do not understand... and that have many definitions." According to Omaha's NBC affiliate, Carhart said that the act could affect common abortions performed "as early as 12 weeks into the pregnancy."
Supporters of the ban claim that they oppose a health-of-the-mother exception because it would lead to numerous such claims, rendering the ban effectively meaningless. However, that's a hard argument to swallow given that they asserted in the original Stenberg trial that the ban would not place an undue burden on women's access to abortion given its rarity (an assertion the court found irrelevant).
Conspiracy much?
Supporters of the federal PBA ban have made a blizzard of arguments to support their case, many obscure and complex. But three points can't be disputed. The first is that courts hearing challenges to the law must rely on the findings of Stenberg v. Carhart rather than Congress's 1,600-word essay on why those findings are wrong. To do otherwise would be the height of right-wing judicial activism. The second is that, despite the claims of supporters, there are well-credentialed physicians who will testify that dilation and extraction procedures (or D and X -- the procedure that the laws are supposed to regulate) in some cases are a safer form of abortion than the available alternatives. Lastly, a ban specifically on late-term D and X with an exception for the health of the mother would not face significant opposition.
Let me stress the point: had the goal of those writing these laws been primarily to halt a practice they consider "baby-killing," it was a victory they could have easily achieved years ago. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) offered a commonsense amendment to the federal PBA bill crafted in 1995 that would have excepted those abortions performed "where, in the medical judgment of the attending physician, the abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the woman or avert serious adverse health consequences to the woman."
Bill Clinton, who vetoed PBA bans in 1996 and in 1997, promised to sign the bill if such a provision were included, but the amendment didn't make it into the final draft. If it had, the issue would have been off of the table for ten years now. It's possible that with laws like these, abortion -- the greatest wedge issue yet -- can be fought in perpetuity and never won or lost.
But it's not the only area where Republicans' "aggressive" legislative challenges to the judiciary will play out. Supporters of the Federal Marriage Amendment claim that its intent is to "protect" traditional marriages -- a position that polling shows has a (slim) margin of popular support. But the text of the proposed amendment (re-introduced in January by Wayne Allard (R-Colorado)) prohibits both same-sex marriage and "the legal incidents thereof," a phrase that opponents warn might impact civil unions and even private sector partner benefits and is guaranteed to invite 14th Amendment challenges.
Similar "poison pills" are in a number of the state "marriage protection" Amendments. Watch for some of those state laws to be overturned in the next few years. They, too, will be greeted with raves against "judicial activism" and taken by social conservatives as further proof of the perversion of the "liberal elites" they think are really running the show.


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Halloween and Horror
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Courtesy of the Inktober art challenge I decided I wanted to try to release illustrations for everyday for the month of October. It's been ambitious to release full color images everyday so far but one of these years I'll get it! In the meantime check out what I have released so far below!
Along with my Halloween portraits, intermingled are various spooky portraits and pictures that I draw in the months leading up to Halloween because, well, being spooky is life.
You can pick up all of my creepy imagery at my shop or through Redbubble.
A cute image based in the styles of Tim Burton and Don't Starve Together. I wanted something a little more on the "creepy-cute" side.
You've heard of a basic bitch now behold the basic witch! Get a copy for all the basic witches in your life!
A rather gruesome picture based on a villain that will be appearing in later issues of my comic series Puella Maledictum.
A sweet pumpkin witch that kicked off the collection for 2017. I was aiming for a very anime design with her.
Based on Edgar Allan Poe's infamous story of "The Telltale Heart." Being a classic father of horror I thought a sort of homage to his work was a solid inclusion. If you like this design click the link below to visit the store.
This was a spur of the moment idea and unfortunately the last design I released for 2017. I think this concept came out super cute though. If you would like to collect this piece click the link below to visit the shop.
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The first and one of the cutest designs released for the Month of Halloween is baby "Tubthulhu" If you are a follower of Cthulhu or a Lovecraft enthusiast you can pick up prints and other designs of this one at the link below.
An extra special print because I challenged myself to make this illustration without the use of any true black in the image. If you have been caught in this witch's spell visit the link below to collect a print of her!
My imagining of what it would look like if the masters of horror had gathered for a game of poker. Featuring H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, and Bram Stoker. You can collect a copy of this print at the link below!
Bunnicula is influenced by the famous vampire rabbit from the children's series by the same name. I loved the books growing up and wanted to add a simple yet cute addition to the collection. You can collect this print at the link below!
A cute and simple design for fans of the creepy cute like myself. You can collect this print at the link below.
Mikel was telling me about a dream that he had where he was at a party and there was a girl wearing a birdcage. I thought that it would be interesting in a pastel goth/high fashion look. If you love this you can collect this print at the link below.
A simple and yet foreboding design of a young girl being followed by...something. If you enjoy this illustration prints are available through the link below.
A stylistic practice with a zombie hand. I most painful part was using myself as a model for this pose to see if it is physically possible. Short answer yes, but it hurts. I enjoy how it turned out and you can collect the print at the link below.
I made this clown during the "Clownpocalypse" where all across the United States people were dressing as clowns to scare people for whatever reason. This particular one was inspired by Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown in It. If you would like a copy of this print please visit the contact us link below!
It just isn't Halloween without Jack-O-Lanterns. I wanted to make something simple and fun for this image for the Month of Halloween. If you like this you can collect it at the shop link below!
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ICU Syndrome
- 6 Months ago
- 391
- 4.0
A patient in the ICU tends to undergo not just physical or physiological, but even psychological stress. However, in the greater scheme of things, only physical and physiological requirements are attended to and mental health is not given enough attention. The patient may hence exhibit symptoms like fear, anxiety, depression, or hallucinations. This is referred to as the "ICU Syndrome." If you have a relative in the ICU, make sure their psychological parameters are assessed to ensure over all wellbeing. The evaluation may include a medical history before the patient is admitted (this must include the previous and current medications prescribed to the patient as well), the patient's past or usual ability to cope with stress, current health status, and the surrounding environment.
With the help of a thorough assessment, the ICU Syndrome can be prevented, hospital stay can be reduced and recovery can be eased. This can be done by favourably modifying, reducing, or eliminating the potential causative and environmental factors, and by providing the right dose and choice of antipsychotic medications if need be. It goes without saying that an interdisciplinary approach of the patient, his/her family, doctor, nurse, and counselor is extremely important to achieve good health in all domains, physical, physiological, and psychological.


text: "Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed." I rewatched Legally Blonde and I have some very strong feelings. This is not a hate post of one Elle Woods, Esquire, how could we ever? But there are some things that I notice now that NEED to be addressed. So, are you ready for a trip down memory row? Click below to view the full post. You know you want to.


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AR/VR/MR BusinessInnovative contents received attentions from the world
This is not the first time to challenge in Cellbig.
We realize various contents in advance, and seek interesting factor and originality in a view of reality.
Cellbig has cutting edged technologies and high-dimensional contents with combined augmented reality/virtual reality/merged reality. Therefore, more inventive and strong reality contents shall be realized through Cellbig.
Theme Park BusinessSpecial and fusion space
The Digital Theme Park is a mixed-content cultural space that can be enjoyed by both young and old. Cellbig will provide a merged reality digital theme park that goes beyond augmented reality and virtual reality by providing more vivid and realistic contents with cutting edged technology.
A to Z BusinessFill a space with Cellbig contents whatever you want
Cellbig retains technical skills in various fields, make possible to display contents to develop hardware, and provides a responsible customized business model from production to post management of creative platform based on knowhow and technical skills for 12 years.
Outsourcing BusinessCellbig technology, efficiently applicable in various fields
Achievements of Cellbig are very creative and diverse at the Multi-Position in the IT world.
Cellbig has performed in diverse fields such as Web development, Mobile S/W, Moblie Game, Mobile Augment Reality PC Game, Non-Game 3D, medical, sports, and public institution, etc.; therefore, we develop creative and innovative contents based on technology in any field.
Reality TechnologyRealize virtual with more actualities
Object Tracking, senses and cognizes through optical camera
3D Depth map, cognizes maps in real time through camera
Shape Recognition, cognizes and identifies object shapes through processed information by sensor
Real time 3D rendering, renders in real time through sensor and contents scenario and user's input
For the realization of more 'realistic virtual', various technicians conduct R&D.
H/W TechnologyHardware, displays contents efficiently
Apple Mac Book and Mac OS
MS Surface and Windows
The common characteristic is one company developed both for the natural compatibility of hardware and software.
Cellbig retains various technical skills such as H/W interlocked tangible style game technology, Custom Controller technology, case design, and I/O board production, etc.
Multi-Flatform TechnologyCellbig technical skills presented in various platform
Cellbig has taken an active role in many positions and retained various platform technical skills such as smart TV, web/mobile game, social network type game, and SNS interlock & network play game technology.


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Asafoetida, or the Latin Ferula assa-foetida, is a perennial plant with hollow stems and unbrel-shaped yellow flowers. The stems of these natural herbs can reach to six to ten feet tall. But be warned–the uncooked scent is not pleasant. Perhaps this is why asafoetida was given a common name of devil's dung. On the other hand, because it produces an onion/garlic flavor when cooked, other cultures have called it the food of the gods.
The stems and roots of Asafoetida excrete a sap that, when dried, produces a gum that is turned into a powder form of these quality bulk herbs. In addition to cooking, this herb may help to promote digestion.
In Indian and Persian cuisines this herbs is used to flavor pickles and it often finds its way into foods of these nations as a condiment. To cook with Asafoetida, one would heat oil or butter in a pan and then add a small amount of the asafoetida dried herbs to the fat to saute. Dishes featuring vegetables or lentils are the usual ones in which Ferula assa-foetida herbs are used to best effect. For those who cannot eat onion or garlic yet enjoy the taste, Asafoetida herbs can take their flavorful place. Because of its strong scent when uncooked, it is wise to store it in an airtight container so that it does not impart its aroma to other nearby food products.
Ingredients: 40% Asafoetida resin and 60% Fenugreek as a processing aid (conventional powder, 201029-51 and -54).
40% organic Asafoetida resin and 60% organic Fenugreek as a processing aid (organic powder, 209716-51 and -54).
Warning: Not to be used during pregnancy. Not for use in infants.


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Bike Up!
Master your bike riding skills to overcome obstacles and collect treasures through levels full of danger. Beware of sharp-cut spikes, breaking glass, exploding bombs and stormy wind zones.
The journey will take you through stunningly beautiful environments; you can select from hundreds of bike customization features and many upgrades, play with friends or join other players to forge the strongest bike team.
Bike Up - APK Download - Free Android Games
How To Uninstall Android Games and Apps - EULA License


text:
Art and the Christian Apocrypha
Prices & shipping based on shipping country
Book Description
The Christian canon of scripture, known as the New Testament, excluded many of the Church's traditional stories about its origins. Although not in the Bible, these popular stories have had a powerful influence on the Church's traditions and theology, and a particularly marked effect on visual representations of Christian belief. This book provides a lucid introduction to the relationship between the apocryphal texts and the paintings, mosaics, and sculpture in which they are frequently paralleled, and which have been so significant in transmitting these non-Biblical stories to generations of churchgoers.
Table of Contents
Preface Table of Illustrations Introduction 1. Text, Art and the Christian Apocrypha 2. Mary 3. Images of Christ 4. The Life and Mission of Jesus 5. Paul, Thecla and Peter 6. Apostles and Evangelists Bibliography General Index Index of Extracts from Apocryphal Texts Permissions and Acknowledgements
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David R. Cartlidge is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Maryville College, Tennessee, USA. Keith Elliot is Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism at the University of Leeds, UK.
'[This] tough and prodigiously learned, and amply illustrated, [book considers] ... subjects of immediate importance not only to art historians, but also to all concerned with the roots of Christianity.' - Pamela Tudor-Craig, Church Times
'The book forms a highly accessible guide to the main apocryphal sources for Christian iconography ... [it] is very well written, simply structured, and has informative illustrations.' - Andrew Spira, Reviews in Religion and Theology
' ... an important document for all lovers of Christian art.' - Nouvelle Revue Thélogique
' ... it is superbly illustrated with over a 100 plates and has evidently been a labour of love. It is a book which will stimulate and open up new avenues for the student in search of Christian origins.' - Koninklijke Brill NV
'The entire work, by text and illustration, demonstrates the influence of the New Testament apocrypha on art from the third or fourth century down to the sixteenth ...' - The Heythrop Journal


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Why choose an EB-5 Greencard
In addition to our transparency, our Regional Center is surgically focused on making sure every client who is approved, has access to the American dream. There are various ways to immigrate to the USA, but the EB-5 visa is by far the fastest and probably the best way should you meet the following criteria:
- Must have at least $500,000 USD available for investment in an approved project
- Ability to pay fees and legal services associated with you EB-5 Visa application (approximately $60,000 - $90,000 USD
- Must not currently have an immediate relative located in the United States (wife, husband, parents if you are under 21).
- Must have the ability to provide proof your investment was derived from legal means.
If you have the desire to earn a permanent U.S. Visa for yourself and immediate family members, EB-5 is the fastest and simplest way to complete your dream. Let the Rhode Island EB-5 Regional Center, Inc. process your EB-5 Visa application today!


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Ask: What does listening to the Holy Spirit entail?
"I hope this isn't a silly question but listening to the Holy Spirit entails what?
Are we listening to an audible voice, or a deep knowing of what is right, our intuition etc. How does it actually manifest when we've heard the Holy Spirit?..." – AS
This is most definitely not a silly question. It is an essential question.
We speak of "hearing" the Holy Spirit (the part of your mind that is aware of Truth) but It does not always come into your awareness as a Voice. (If you do hear a Voice It is, of course, within your mind. If It seems to come from outside of your mind and no one is actually speaking to you, you are hallucinating!). Often the Holy Spirit's answers and guidance come in unformed thoughts, or, as you said, a deep knowing or intuition.
The Holy Spirit is in every mind and people hear or feel It all the time without identifying It as the Holy Spirit. The ego (personal thought system) in your mind has many voices and causes many feelings so once you make the conscious decision to hear and feel the Holy Spirit it can take a while to discern It from the ego. Also, once you do hear the Holy Spirit the ego will try to mimic It with words and ideas that it thinks would come from the Holy Spirit. This is why it takes a while to be certain that you do hear the Holy Spirit.
The hallmark of hearing the Holy Spirit is a feeling of liberation from guilt or fear or a dropping of boundaries. You feel a lifting up and out. You feel "lighter", both in the sense of gaining clarity (less dark) and in feeling less weighed down. This is at the moment that you hear or feel the answer or guidance. Later, when you return your attention to the ego, you may feel guilt and fear that you heard the Holy Spirit or over what you heard. And this characteristic of hearing the ego. When it is the ego guilt and fear either do not change or they increase, even when the ego says something that you find emotionally satisfying.
When you do hear a Voice It may sometimes seem to come from the depths of your mind. Other times It will seem right here within you. It is "still and quiet"; It has no emotional charge. If you feel any emotional charge upon hearing It, it is uplifting joy.
If you ask for guidance and are uncertain if you have heard the Holy Spirit or the ego let it go. I find that if the guidance is from the ego the idea will just fall away from me. If it is from the Holy Spirit it will quietly persist in the back of my mind. Sometimes I will just later have a quiet knowing of the answer, often when I wake up in the morning.
Do you need help discerning the Holy Spirit? This is one of the things with which I help my clients. You can set up an appointment with me at firstname.lastname@example.com. Learn more at www.acimmentor.com.
If you have a question the answer to which you think will help others email it to me at email@example.com and indicate that you want it answered in the newsletter/blog.


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I don't know if I missed it, bu how do I save?
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
A space flight programming adventure game. Unlock the potential of your spacecraft by hacking on the code that makes it tick. Watch the trailer.
This game is still in development.
Linux versions require installing the LÖVE
game engine; (version 0.10.2).
Take a look at the in-game manual to get a feel for how it works.
Source is free software and available on GitLab under the GNU General Public License v3 or later. Contributions are welcome. If you liked this, try my other game EXO_encounter 667 which is actually complete.
|In development
|Windows, macOS, Linux
|Made with
|2D, Futuristic, LÖVE, oss, Physics, Sci-fi, sourcecode, Space Sim
|GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL)
|Asset license
|Creative Commons Attribution v4.0 International
|Average session
|About a half-hour
|Configurable controls
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I love this!! So much character and such a great idea. Wish you all the best with its development.
The OS X version is hanging on load sadly :(
I've wanted a game exactly like this for so long, great work keep it up!
Wow! what a great game! keep on it, I'm loving it!
Wow. I just want to say, I really like this game. When I first saw this page, I thought like I would drop it really fast but I actually really liked it and got the hang of the basics quite fast. I dont know if all passengers missions would have led to the same thing but I really like where this is going.
So yeah, great job ! :D
Interesting game, noticed you can "fall out" of the console, possibly if you forget to logout and leave a station? only way to get the ship colsole back seems to be to login/out of a station
email mentions a file, no ls/dir command?? ctr-o open file just opens a screen editor without option to navigate/specify a file ??
worth working on to meet the player half way, could be an interesting game...
edit: this has been fixed
Thanks for the feedback! The console login behavior should be clearer in the next beta, and I'll add an "ls" function; that would help a lot. I also agree that the interface when you press ctrl-o could be a lot nicer--I hope to address that in a future release too.
Thanks for being understanding that the game is still in beta.
highly intriging game. Keep up the good job !
This is a beautiful concept. I believe this could be a new direction in gaming.
Will definitely continue following your project and try to tell others about it. Nice work!
Really excited about this. Not familiar enough with LUA to have written anything useful in the repl but it was fun to play around in. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses <3
Any plans to upload an easily runnable versions for people unfamilair with git / command-line tools? I realize updating is a hassle but I'm sure you'd get more feedback this way (if you want to)!
Thanks for your interest! Just published an alpha release with downloads for Windows/Mac/Linux; please let me know if you get a chance to try it out.