text:
"Decent folks who believe in tolerance and equality are no longer powerless against Limbaugh's efforts to spread intolerance on the radio. StopRush is making a major impact by convincing advertisers on this show to withdraw their ads — and with your help we can do even more. Just a few e-mails, tweets or Facebook messages a week to Limbaugh's advertisers can go a long way toward making hatred less profitable. It is our collective voice that makes us strong." — DailyKos.com, promoting the "StopRush" campaign.
Absolutely right! If you believe in tolerance and equality, the thing you really need to do is . . . shut other people up.
It's only decent. If you believe in diversity, eliminate anyone who doesn't fit the mold, and if you think hate speech is bad, build a campaign of organized loathing.
Perfectly logical.
The Daily Kos website displays an American flag (sort of — it's orangey, like the red and yellow flag of some international workers' collective after it's been put through the washing machine too many times). It's a wonder that the flag doesn't get up and slink off the screen in embarrassment.
Because this country has a long, proud history of freedom to piss people off.
The StopRush movement, started by an employee of the liberal group Media Matters, brags that it has been successful in driving advertisers away from "The Rush Limbaugh Show," which for 25 years has delighted, infuriated, tickled and provoked its radio listeners by the millions.
But it's conservative, and liberals want to shut it down by convincing the sponsors that it's too hot to handle.
Limbaugh has conceded on the air that the movement has had some success. Because advertisers are giant wussies.
Advertisers want audiences but abhor "controversy." They don't want to see protesters lining up outside their offices, don't want to get petitions on anything but new flavor ideas for Pringles, don't want to be mentioned in the political blogs.
Colgate doesn't care if you're red state or blue, all they see is nice white teeth.
In the kind of world that advertisers like, there would be no discussion of politics at all. The whole media world would be like "Entertainment Tonight" or a football game.
What would be the fun of that? Hell, even I sometimes watch MSNBC, when I want to exercise my snorting muscles.
The boycott sword has two edges. Progressive voices could easily be pressured off the air too, not because advertisers are conservative but because they could just as easily send their money to "Big Bang Theory" reruns rather than Al Sharpton's show.
Scaring advertisers isn't hard. The question is why the Kossacks even bother. What are they afraid of?
They claim they're winning the argument. Maybe they're correct. Limbaugh hasn't stopped President Obama from being elected and re-elected. Democrats carried the popular vote three out of the four elections before Obama, too.
The Democrats claim they have demographic destiny on their side. They note that if a progressive president commands a huge proportion of the votes of blacks, Latinos and single women, they hardly need anybody else. Maybe they're right on that too. Obama got just 39% of the white vote in November.
So if Limbaugh is guilty of (as another Kossack post claimed) "constant attacks on minority groups" and if no single woman wants to be on the same side as the tormentor of Sandra Fluke, maybe DailyKos should start a petition to demand CNN give Limbaugh three hours in prime time every night.
Maybe Fluke herself, who has made a career out of being mentioned by Limbaugh, should be first to sign. (Ironically, in the DNC speech she would not have been invited to deliver before Limbaugh made her a celebrity, she accused him of trying to "silence" her when what he did was mock her. Silencing Limbaugh is what Fluke's friends at StopRush are trying to do.)
No one at StopRush is being chained to the wall and forced to listen to Limbaugh in a dungeon (though their thinking would probably be clarified if they were). So why do they want others to stop listening to him? Are they under the impression that Rush's listeners would suddenly turn liberal if not for his influence?
Perhaps for all their talk of tolerance and diversity, they can't stand that someone out there doesn't agree with everything they say.
Limbaugh spokesman Brian Glicklich says, "Every organization that has tried to debate liberalism vs. conservatism with Rush Limbaugh for 25 years has lost. They have come and gone, and he has not. He has broken their arguments down into their essential absurdities, hypocrisies, and flat out fictions."
Sick of losing, this "well funded political strong-arming propaganda ministry" resorts to trying to gag him, Glicklich says.
Kossacks, I know you're some pretty tough hombres. Are you going to win the argument? Or are you going to wuss out and get the ref to disqualify the other guy on account of he's so mean?


text:
A Pharisee and a Publican
Lecture given by Beinsa Douno
October 5, 1914, Sofia
"Two men went up into temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector". Luke 18:10
Maybe you will ask what is strange about two men, one a Pharisee and the other a publican, entering a temple. Indeed, there is nothing strange for those who understand what is going on, but for those who do not understand, everything is strange. For those who understand, everything has a meaning. For those who cannot understand, everything is senseless.
I will take the Pharisee and the publican as a topic of my lecture today. These two persons are prominent representatives of a very old culture. Let us compare their distinguishing features in parallel to shed light on their customs and spiritual character.
The word "Pharisee" comes from the Hebrew word "parash," which means to divide. There is a word in Arabic – "farsi", which has the same root and means something perfect in form; to know a language "farsi" means to know it very well. Jesus presented two distinctive characters in this chapter. A talented artist who possesses knowledge about humans would paint these two types with all their distinguishing features, and this perfect painting would deserve to be placed in every house as an example to us. What are the pronounced features of the Pharisee and the publican? It is not enough just to say: "He is a Pharisee" or "He is a publican." We should know their physical features, their faces, their hands, the structure of their bodies, and how their minds work as well. After that, we should find out specifically what their souls are like. This is the only way we can clarify the idea embedded in the text and use it. Jesus was a great artist, as He pointed out two distinguishing features of those two human types and by them I will describe the Pharisee and the publican.
However, you will say: "How can you describe a person by only a few words which were said about him?" This is knowledge. One can be described. There are scientists who deal with comparative anatomy and study animal structures. If you give them the smallest part of an ancient animal, they will describe its height, they will juxtapose all its bones, fix its muscles and tendons and by this means, they will rebuild an extinct kind. If you give an expert botanist just one leaf from a plant, he will be able to give you a description of the tree it comes from. Using the same method, I will try to describe the Pharisee and the publican and to show you what they are like.
You will say: "What is common between those two, who lived two thousand years ago?" There are two types of people living in the world – the publican and the Pharisee. Many others have come out of those two human types, but the publican and the Pharisee are the primary ones. You belong to one of the two types – no matter if you are a priest, a nobleman, a scientist, a philosopher, male or female. These two types weave into each other and show up in the lives of everyone. They will always be the distinguishing types in the human history. The art of Jesus lies precisely in the fact that He has successfully illustrated and presented the images of those two types using only a few words.
The outer image of the Pharisee is decent. He is seemly, stalwart and slender, with a height of 175-180 centimeters, which is above average. His hands and fingers are longish. His thumb is long and symmetrical, which is a sign of well-developed views, presence of will and intelligence. The forefinger is equal to the ring finger, indicating that when an idea comes to his mind he develops it as far as possible. His digestive system is in order, he is sober in eating and drinking, he does not have the weakness of gluttony and he has exquisite tastes. His waist is slender. Age: he has passed four decades and he is in the fifth decade, i.e. he has turned 45 years. His shoulders are rotund, his face – oblong and pear-shape, which indicates a developed nervous system. The lower jaw is correctly formed, with a beard – elongated and peaked, which is a sign of a person quick to understand and quick-witted. His mouth is average in size, the lips – not too thick or thin. Their ends stand a little higher, with a smile of disdain, as if saying: "The people are rabble." But he never shows his inner contempt. His eyes are ash-gray. The eyebrows are arched, bent down a little like the branches of an old tree – a person, who has lived a long time and has life experience. His forehead is nice, very high, bulged out at its base above the nose, which is a sign of a person with strong individuality, an observant and practical mind. The temporal bones are of average development. The ears are regular and closely stuck to his head, which is a sign of a material order. The hair of his beard seems a little bit sparse and reddish – a sign of impulse and persistence. The head is knobby, around 56-60 centimeters in circumference around the ears with highly developed and lofty parietal bones – a sign of a person with high self-control, self-esteem and haughtiness; exacting and conceited. He has a sense of religion, but it is one-sided; he shows charity, but only to himself and to those close to him. His face is pale, white, with a Greek-Roman type of nose. He is a man of aesthetic taste, but without poetry and love for Nature, for the lofty and the ideal. A person with strong faith, but faith in his mind only; with big hope, but hope based on his strength. He has a religion, but in this religion he respects and worships only himself. If we come into his temple, we will see that not the image of Jesus Christ is in the most prominent place, but his own portrait. In the place of the Holy Virgin, John the Baptist, and the other saints we will find arranged his ancestors and grandparents, to whom he burns incense and offers up a prayer: "Our family is glorious and great." He is an intelligent man, who has accumulated knowledge of life; he is well grounded in Jewish Cabbala and well acquainted with the principles of his civilization. If he lived in our age, he would have the reputation of a great writer, philosopher, painter, political or religious leader.
Why did Christ bring out this type of a person? What is wrong with his prayer? We observe in the Pharisee a philosophy, which is an anachronism – he is a man living only with his past, omitting the present and the future; like a girl or a boy, he is in love with his own portrait and wherever he goes, he sees only it. This is amazing when one is in love with one's own image!
Once I observed a Bulgarian poet. He was sitting in the most prominent position, and there was a mirror nearby. He began to smoke, turned around and looked himself in the mirror, as if he were saying to himself: "How beautiful I am, I am making an impression on others." He began to smoke again and pose in front of the mirror. If one day this mirror is destroyed, his happiness will be destroyed too.
The Pharisee looks like this type, being in love with himself. Moreover, you can see how interesting his words are whenever he turns to God: "Lord, thank you that I am not like others. I am something more." However, his philosophy at this point is exactly wrong, because God has created all human beings. "I am not like others." But who are you? Are you an angel? No, you are not. You are made from the same dust and in your veins flows the same blood. He lies both to himself and to God. This is the first lie he uses. And the Lord says to him: "You are not telling the Truth."
The statement of the Pharisee is negative: he is not comparing himself with the beings who are above him, such as angels, but with the low-life, with the criminals, and thus he concludes that he is not like them. Let us assume that I compare myself with the brutes and I say: "Thank you Lord that I am not like these oxen, donkeys, curs, lizards, snakes." What kind of a comparison can I make with them? This is a weak feature found in all people. Years ago, there was a tendency in high school and university students to investigate the lives of great writers, for example Shakespeare, and took on their shortcomings, since they did not possess their positive features. "Wait, do I have these shortcomings too?" and when they found them in themselves they would say, "I am a genius like Shakespeare." They investigated, for example, the character of Sheller, looked for one of his eccentric features and when they found it, they would say: "I am like Sheller." After looking at a whole line of people they would say: "We are great people." Yes, you are great, but in negative sense: great people who have something missing. I prefer someone who has nothing, because he has nothing to give and nothing to take.
The Pharisee makes a comparison too, and he says: "Thank you Lord that I am not like the other man, who is a robber." The Lord replies to him: "If I have placed you in his shoes, what would you be?" Once an angel looked from Heaven, saw how one man sinned and turned to the Lord: "How can You tolerate this low creature? If I were You, I would rid the Earth of him." God sent the angel to the Earth, incarnated and placed him in the same position, but the angel sinned twice as much as that man he had judged. That is why one should not judge others for what they do. If one were in their place, this one would sin too.
Many people came to me talking like this: "We are not so bad. We are taught well because we come from excellent families." I have no doubt in your words, I believe you deep in my soul. We are all from excellent families and I accept this. However, our ancestors were not as noble as we think they were. More than a few of them were great wasters, offenders, malefactors and villains. You and I are carrying now the testimony that God has written about them. Things may look somewhat specious from outside, but inside they have no relevant contents. Our ancestors were not as pure as I assume, and this is shown by those poor features which we have inherited from them and which we manifest every day at least twice. If your grandmother and grandfather, your father and mother were like angels, where did those features and bad deeds in your life come from? If you put a little bit of bitterness or poison in a liquid, it will be noticed. It will be seen that there is something bad in the good.
People with the Pharisee's philosophy will call themselves conservative; they are members of the conservative party, they are people who have a high opinion of themselves. It is not bad to have a high opinion of yourself, if it is correct and not mixed with bitterness. The real conservative and regulator in Nature is nitrogen, which stops things from burning and suffocates life. Nitrogen is the oldest and the most balanced element in Nature. However, if it were the only thing in Nature, everything would be dead. Nevertheless, the organic world should thank nitrogen a lot.
The Pharisee addresses the Lord, but not at all to ask for His help to smooth out some roughness in his character. He only gives thanks that he is not like others, like a blasphemer, robber, murderer and adulterer. Just as a scribes and philosopher, he should find out what causes the blasphemy, robbery, murder and adultery. When we meet some people who are beneath us, according to the Teaching of Jesus we should not condemn them in our souls, but learn a lesson. We should find the causes that bring them to this low condition, and if we have taken on their habits, we should change. Because God who placed the great laws in life says: "Judge not, that you be not judged." There is a deep sense in these words and those who have comprehended them may reach to the great law of human prosperity. Contemporary zoologists who examine animals have given to the world many valuable things, but no one has examined the deep causes that created them. Why, for example, do some of them have horns, but others do not? Why do some of them crawl, but others walk on all fours? Why do some of them eat meat, but others graze? Why are they deprived of human intelligence? There are deep and reasonable causes for this, which are not by chance, as someone may think. When people understand these deep causes, they will come to that intelligent philosophy on which people will build the future structure of the society – "the dawn of a new civilization."
The entire contemporary civilization shares the outlook of the Pharisee. It is a pharisaic civilization. This civilization, where people are distinguished in form, appearance, protocol, was born long ago in Egypt, India, Babylon, China, Persia, Judah, Greece and Rome. It is in Europe today too, dressed in a beautiful Christian mantle. I am not saying that it is something bad in principle, but I say that the form should always have content. Otherwise the form remains just as a simple shell, in which only parasites can live. People say: "He has marvelous eyes." So what? "They are marvelous." Why are they marvelous? "They are sparkling, they are pleasant to look at." Why exactly are they pleasant? Someone's nose is nice, presentable. In what exactly is it nice? His mouth is nice, presentable. How? People grasp for something that is not possible to express; namely that in the black eyes, or in the blue eyes, or in the gray, greenish, brown eyes there is a strain of hidden strengths. If a person with black eyes looks at you, you would have a certain thought; if a person with brown eyes looks at you – you would have a certain mood and so on. People with blue eyes are cool. They are like the sky: clean, but cool and cold. These people are not for the Earth. There is faith in them, but they were born before their time. Perhaps, they are those who will come after us. I am talking about the blue eyes, which are a mark of Heaven. The legend tells us that Jesus has such eyes.
People say about someone: "His mouth is beautiful like a rose." What is the human mouth? It expresses the human heart; it shows whether one is kind-hearted or hard-hearted. It shows how intense and frank a person is. Those who have a great appetite, you may notice that their lips are too thick. It is a physiological law. More blood is rushing there, that is why they are thicker and reddish. When these people taste a meal, they will say: "Oh, this is great!" And a delicate, almost imperceptible smile will flash on their faces. This announces that their soul is in that mood.
If we look at a person with a nice nose, it is a token of human intelligence and reason. Whether the nose is straight or curved, Roman or Greek type – there is a deep meaning in it. The outside appearance of the face is important; furthermore, it reveals the outer life of the person too. If we look at a human face in details and see that it lacks symmetry, that one eyebrow is not like the other and protrudes more than the other, this shows some instability of the character. If you draw a straight line, you will see whether the nose is in the right place. It is a barometer, a calorimeter, which shows the state of the mind. When an engineer drives a steam engine, there is a gauge that shows the atmospheric pressure in the boiler. According to what it shows, engineers put in more coal to increase the pressure or, if it is too much, they decrease it. Have you ever made an effort to try, like an engineer, to see what the condition of your steam is, that is your heart? God gave you a nose for this. Go to the mirror, ask your mind and it will tell you in what condition your heart is.
When you look at your eyes, you will see in what condition your soul is. The only ones that never lie and cannot fool us are our eyes. That is why when a person sometimes wants to lie, he closes his eyes or hides them by hand. A boy realizes that his mother will catch him in lie when she looks at it, so he covers his eyes.
While the Pharisee was praying, Jesus was looking at him and talking to him: "Your soul is polluted, your ancestors did not live such a pure life as you imagine. You think that you are not like others but you were the same in the past, and even now you are not far from their level." It does not matter how we interpret this fact; whether according to the Hindu teaching of reincarnation or the Egyptian teaching of transmigration of the soul, or according to the Cabbala occult doctrine of emanation and refinement of the soul, or according to the contemporary doctrine of heredity. These doctrines and theories serve as a handbook for us to clarify the appearance of human life and to make it more understandable. However, the main principle, based in everything is the same every time, no matter how we explain and interpret its acts. The great law of cause and effect, the record of our deeds and their consequences never lies; it always speaks Absolute Truth. If you are good, it is written in the book of life that you are good; if you are bad, it is written that you are bad. If you speak truth, it is written in the book of life that you speak truth; if you lie, it is written that you lie. If you help your neighbors, self-sacrifice for the nation, work for the welfare of humanity, serve God in Love – this is written in the book of life. If you ravish your neighbor, commit treason, impede development of humankind, or if you are disloyal to God – this is written in the same book, too. God writes ruthlessly his evidence for the human acts: on the forehead, on the top of the nose, on the mouth, face, head, hands, fingers and other parts of the human body – every bone is an evidence for or against us.
We read the history of human life every day. The lives of our ancestors are recorded in the previous pages. For some of them it was written that they were horrible offenders, thieves, robbers. When we open this book and trace the line from which Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon and many others came, we find out that their deeds were fully recorded. We find out that Abraham was a fair man, very clever, with a wide heart, with great faith, a man of spirit, who became acquainted with the deep wisdom of God's ordinance for the great future of humanity. We can find out that Jacob, at the beginning, was a double-dealer, sly, an egotist, who by deceit and fraud succeeded to deprive his brother of his birthright. A change came about after he had served his uncle Laban fourteen years for his two daughters. He was about thirty-three and only then did a change happen with him for the better. We know that David was a brave, resolute man with a naturally excellent and poetic mind, but he had a specific weakness toward beautiful women. He took Uriah's wife by fraud and from that day his trials began. The brave prophet Nathan did not hesitate to condemn him straight to his face and to show him the bad consequences that the karmic law will write about him in its book for future posterity. For Solomon it is said that he had an excellent philosophical mind, a good, but corrupted heart, with excessively strong feelings and lusts, vain and weak-willed. He was a first-class epicure in eating, drinking and pleasure with women.
Jesus knew this. He knew how his family lived and when people called him "Good Teacher", He objected: "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, and that is God." He wanted to say: "The people I come from are not as noble as you think, because God has another measure, which you miss. God demands absolute purity in every aspect. The majority of them did not live in a way pleasing to real God, Whose Will I am fulfilling." That is why He turns to the Pharisee and tells him: "You lie to yourself, people and God. Many of your ancestors did wrong, and that is why you cannot say: "I am not like them." Because there is no humility in your soul, your prayers cannot be received and you cannot be acquitted. You the Pharisee have distorted God's law by putting hypocrisy over it as a cover. Stop showing yourself as someone, that you are not, because God cannot be deceived by your appearance. He looks into your heart and He judges you according to it."
Let us now turn to the other type – the publican. We have a man of middle height, on the plump side, his legs are rather short, his hands are thick, fingers – thick too and tapered, face – knobby; stomach – well developed, since he enjoys his food and drink too much. "A long way lies ahead, and I should have food." He philosophizes in this way and that is why he becomes a publican. He will beg from here, take from there and pilfer. He fills up his bag. "You are doing like me; pardon me, you may consider it as a pilferage, but I need it. If you do not want to give it to me, I will take it by force, or I will steal it." As I said, the publican has a round face with thick eyebrows and a beard, which is wide from below. What he undertakes, he does it successfully. He is between forty, forty-five years of age. His beard and mustache are with black bushy hair, which is a sign of great ardor. His nose is well built, rather short, thick, wide at its ends: a sign of a good respiratory system. A man of feelings, impulsive like a child, he always can express his joy; when he gulps down a half-kilogram of wine, he jumps for joy; when he sobers up, he cries because his wife is ill. The temporal bones are strongly developed in him. The ears are large, almost like Tolstoy's ears: he is a person who steals, takes, but who also gives. "My father and mother stole, so let me give to people, to give my parents a break, and let us hope that God will forgive our sins". He has brown eyes – a sign of natural softness and good nature, which are waiting for their time of manifestation. A head – well built, like the head of Socrates. The publican possesses perfectly developed familial and communal feelings, strong religious feeling, helpful sense of charity and the right meaning of life, as well as a mind of great capacity, devoid of sophistry, well developed conscience to show him his mistakes and he does not feel shy to confess them to God, people and himself. He does not have a snobbish view of his lineage. He has a religion, but he has placed there the image of a Good God, not his own image. He always believes that this Good Lord will lead him towards Light. He has more faith in God than in himself. He has a right philosophy: he does not compare himself to those lower than him, like thieves and villains, but says: "God, when I look at You, at the angels and the saints, then what am I? I should rise up higher to be like You. I am a sinner; my ancestors and I did not become real persons. I eat and drink like a pig. Forgive me that I cannot make use of the good, which You have given to me."
And what does Christ say? A person who realizes his mistakes has a lofty ideal; one day the publican will surpass the Pharisee. How is that possible? The rich rely on their rents and income; they do not work, but only discuss politics and public life. Others, who get up early in the morning, work ten hours per day, have failure after failure in their lives, but persist and acquire knowledge, will become prominent people some years later.
Now, I am sorry to say, but both types are represented among you. After Christ has showed these two opposites, I say – take the good from both and create the noble character of the Pharisee and the publican simultaneously. Create a third human type – of the Christian, of the New person. This is my thought.
You say: "Am I so sinful? How can I be a Pharisee? You offend me." I will tell you the truth. When unhappiness comes to your life, you say: "Why, God, this unhappiness? There are others who are bigger sinners than I am." Then are you not in the place of the Pharisee – a person who disputes with God? The Lord will say: "You are very pious, but do you know how outrageous your forefathers were, and how at one time you partnered with them? Right here there is a bill, signed a long time ago. You should pay it." "But I do not remember". "That means nothing; it is recorded in My book. It does not lie."
When unhappiness comes to you, be thankful and say: "It is a little." Then you are in the place of the publican. And Christ will tell you: "You will go to the Father's house."
Sometimes you condemn the Pharisees: "They are insincere people." But do you know that you who condemn the Pharisees are the contemporary Pharisees? Learn your lesson from the Pharisee – do not admit his faults, or if you have them, root them out, so that you will not follow the path of negative life. You have no need for what your grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother had.
You know the tale about the geese that someone was driving toward a town. The geese told a traveler: "Our master is treating us so shamefully, he does not know that our ancestors set Rome free at one time." "But what were you doing at that time?", asked the traveler. "Nothing." "Then you deserve to be boiled in a pot."
Your grandfather and father were men of high rank, noble persons, but who are you? If you do not have a noble character, you should attain it. Your grandfather and father might have left you a certain capital, but you can ruin it or waste it.
If we examine the religious view of life, there are religious Pharisees: "I am from the Orthodox Church", "I am from the Evangelical Church", "I am from the Catholic Church", I am a free thinker." I am glad that you are Orthodox, Evangelical, Catholic or a free thinker, but do you have the noble characteristics of Jesus? "I do not have them." So, you are neither Orthodox nor Evangelical, you are no one. Attain them to become such a person. "But I am a free thinker." Do you have the noble characteristics of free thinkers? By a free thinker I understand a friend of Truth. If you are not such a person, you are a first class liar.
Often people say: "You are a great person." People in today's society gather by threes and fours somewhere and begin to boast of their lineage and distinctions: "We read your work and we thoroughly enjoyed it." But when the author leaves, they start saying: "He is a first class fool." When the second leaves, they tell the same about him. The third leaves and he is the same according to the rest. When the last remains, he, of course, will not say anything bad about himself. Do not deceive yourself with what people say about you, because they may tell many unpleasant things. No one speaks the truth. Your foes will tell you: "You are a villain, a liar, a rascal." They would rather tell the truth than someone who flatters you, saying: "You are noble." You may be good, but not that good; do not think that you are outstanding. Sometimes you walk and wave with hands and a walking stick as though you have just solved a certain great problem like Archimedes. You think that there is no one like you. If you are a publican, you will say to yourself: "I will rule the world." Christ says: "Listen, some years ago yours ancestors ruled and I remember, it is written in my notebook that they committed crimes. You might go in this way too, do not be so sure of yourself."
That is why, in whatever situation you are, you should have God, the Lord, as the only ideal. We will meet many bitter things in the world. We may see a friend of ours who loves us and will tell us something that is true. I do not say that we should suspect everyone to be a liar. But if a hundred people praise you, perhaps only three of them will tell you the truth properly. Others will tell you the truth either very rudely or by flattery – these are two extremes. Truth is not to be found there, but in the middle road, by taking the good features both of the Pharisee (his mind of great capacity, his understanding and habits) and of the publican (his charity, deep religiousness and inner awareness of his mistakes and striving to correct his life).
The publican and the Pharisee may be found in families too: the husband may represent the Pharisee, the wife – the publican. The husband – a person of elevated lineage, rich, shapely, handsome, a "noble man" as people call him; and the wife who is from a simple family, her father and grandfather are illiterate people, simpletons. The husband looks at her and asks: "Do you know of what status I brought you out?" And she cowers. She cannot do anything else, but she will cower and cook. Every time when the Pharisee's finger indicates that she did not cook well, this will make her cry and obey him. "I do not want such a simple-minded, unmannerly woman. I do not want such a publican in my house."
Elsewhere the wife is the Pharisee and the husband is the publican. She comes from a rich family; her father elevated her husband, who was his apprentice. "Do you not know with what goodwill I have taken you? You did not know how to dress yourself, how to tie your necktie, how to blow your nose." These Pharisees are awful formalists, when they begin to keep lists.
Now both of them should correct their lives. When Christ says that the publican is more justified than the Pharisee, He wants to point out that the publican is not completely right as well, but his thoughts about life and godly order are better than those of the Pharisee. Christ wants to imply that some day the publican will be given a higher position than the Pharisee. If you do not wish to be humble, God will humble you, because He humbles the proud and lifts up the meek. Haughtiness and meekness are synonyms of these two types of people, the Pharisee and the publican.
You do not know what can happen to you in the future. All your noble features and all your ancestors cannot save you. Some years ago in England, in London I think, one of the richest and most prominent Englishmen went into his vault to look at his treasure and by mischance locked the door behind him, leaving the key outside. After he had examined all his wealth and enjoyed it, he wanted to go out, but he realized that he was locked in. He stayed for two, three days. All around him was gold, great wealth, but he could neither get out nor call for help. At last, he had to yield up his soul after leaving the following message: "If there were someone to give me even a crust of bread, I would give him half of my wealth."
If one day it happens that you are locked like that rich man in your ancestors' vaults, a crust of bread may save you. That is why Christ says: "The bread can save you, but not these things for which you are fighting." Do you know that many people die in this way, closed in themselves? People who are desperate commit suicide. And who are those who commit suicide? Not the publicans, but the Pharisees. Poets, artists and political leaders say: "The world cannot value us, cannot appreciate our works, our writings, our paintings." And they kill themselves. Always the Pharisees, the noble thinkers with finely formed faces and red beards, commit suicide.
The Pharisees in Bulgaria do not have red beards. I am talking about Jewish Pharisees whom I describe. I would describe our Pharisees in another way. Although they look like the Jewish, they differ in some aspects. But because my speech is not about the Bulgarian, but about the Jewish Pharisees, you will look for this type of people in Bulgaria and make your own conclusions. How will you look for them? The point of my lecture is to apply this practically in your life.
Modern people preach that a person should be willful in order to succeed. The will can act in three different ways: first, it can be a self-will. Second, it can be a will, which takes into account only the interests of the nation. Third, it can be a will, which takes into account the common interests of the society, the nation and God. This last will that includes every obligation we have to this world and there is no force that can entice us from our duty, this will is good. Will to work for the glory of God and people, for the nation, for your family and for the advancement of your character – this is will! People say: "You should have a noble mind." A mind that understands its attitude to God, a mind that is busy to put into practice its elevated thoughts, this is a noble mind. You all have it in an embryo form. "But my nose is not as I want it to be." It will develop. Look at the little birds in a nest. They still do not have plumage, but how they wait for their mother, and when she appears, they open their mouths, saying: "Churrrk!" – and the mother puts a worm into their beaks. The more times the little birds say "churrrk", the more worms fall into their beaks. Soon their wings begin to grow and in the end, they fly away.
You should follow the same rule: open your mouth to pray. If you do not open it, you are Pharisees, and Christ will tell you: "The world is not for you, the Kingdom of God is not for you, the future is not for you." Christ means this, when He says it. There are people who do not like to open their mouths; they keep silent. I understand that you should keep silent, but when? When you are angry, when you wish to insult someone, when you envy. But, when you are joyful, when you should say a comforting word, open your mouth and say it. Do you open your mouth, when you bring up children? This is the question that is in front of you. You bring up your children like Pharisees: not allowing them to touch things to avoid getting dirty; they should not even get their hands wet by themselves. The mother will wash them. The father will buy them new shoes, watches, chains. The father is to become a slave of these Pharisees. When he comes back in the evening, they sulk: "We want this, we want that, quickly!" and he cowers. Why does Christ say: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees!" Both at home, with our children, and in the churches, everywhere, we show the character of the Pharisee and we wonder why the Kingdom of God is not coming. On top of all that we reproach: "Good-for-nothing world, good-for-nothing society, priests are such and such, teachers are bad, rulers are bad", but the reproaching person is a saint. And you are the same as that one who reproaches. Stop and leave these things, because your mother is with you. As soon as you say "churrrk", you will have food.
These things seem to be funny, but they are great truths. They are small things, but we should learn a lesson from this example. In comparison with the Divine life we are paupers and God constantly sends us the Mother with the worms. Greet your Mother, because she is bringing food to you. How many places has she visited until she could find one worm! How can we thank God, Who thinks of us every day and supplies us with food? We can say "churrrk" every morning, that is, pray to Him. Do you know what that means? It has a deep meaning. What does it contain? If you knew it, you would know the words that Heaven Itself speaks. It is a very short word "churrrk", but full of content.
And you are in the temple now. Christ turns to you with the question: "How do you pray, like the Pharisee or like the publican?" How will you go into the world and begin to work – like the Pharisee or like the publican? You are from the same dust. But Christ wants to tell us not to be Pharisees. My head is about ready to burst from these Pharisees. If there is anything disturbing in the world, it is these Pharisees. "But someone has such features." I know, but what should I do? Wait for me to clean myself first, and then others. Let me clean off my own lice and then the lice of others. Otherwise, if I am around someone who has fewer lice than I have, he will catch them from me. "But we should educate him." Wait for me to educate myself first. "But we should preach." If I begin to preach before the right time, I will mislead people. "Go out and say this and that." What should I say? Should I lie to people? When you go out you should say the Great Truth both with words and by your own way of living. Christ infers something here. When we begin to teach, we should do it both with words and with our life.
I like those modern teachers who, teaching a certain topic (physics, chemistry) begin right away with experiments: when oxygen is added in this way, it results in that. When you go into the carpenter's workshop, the teacher relates theory to practice. If you go to a tailor's shop, it is the same. Christ says to Christians: "Go and take your yardstick and scissors." Someone should start with a needle and later with the scissors. What are the scissors? They are your tongues. When you begin to cut and sew, there are no better scissors than your tongues. When you begin to cut left and right without thinking, your scissors are not at the right place. "Should we not speak?" You should, but at the right place. If you do not speak at the right place, you cut without thinking. You will waste the cloth. I do not tell all this to discourage you. I do not want to say that you were born Pharisees, but that you have the mind frame of a Pharisee. Everyone has it. It is good to have it to a certain degree. But when you begin to say, "God, thank you that I am not like others" – the Pharisee is alive in you and it is hard to free yourself from him. He lives in the scruff of the neck, on top of the head, in the ears, in the head, in the nose, in the inner part of the eyes. Where can you find the Pharisee? In all your features and deeds.
So, Christ is now asking us about the most correct way, in which we can offer our prayer to God. He understands "prayer" in a broad meaning – to be beneficial for social life. Some think that a true prayer can only be found in a church. Look at the prayer, which you can offer in the church. Does it relate to your family life, can it help you? You should find this church, where is it located? The teacher first teaches his students certain things, and after that he leaves them alone to solve the problem, to find the relations to certain laws. It is said in the Epistles: "You are the temple of God." If we were the temples of God, whenever we go into our hidden place before God, how should we enter? If we enter like the Pharisee, Christ will say to us: "You have not reached your goal." If we enter like the publican and confess our mistakes, if we promise that we will correct them, we will succeed and we will hear the answer of Christ: "You are justified, you have a future."
If a teacher finds some mistakes in the notebook of a student, the student should not say: "How petty he is – I had only three mistakes!" He might smudge it, or cross out four or five words, and the student would say: "He spoiled my notebook." Yes, but if you want to be perfect, you should thank him for paying attention to your mistakes, because these three mistakes could become more. Correct them; do not leave them, because a mistake is like a louse. If you leave it, it can reproduce into a thousand in a week. One mistake is enough to send a person to the whipping post. According to the same law one virtue only can raise you in Heaven and put you among the angels. If you create suitable conditions, one wrong act can take you down. If the act is good, it can raise you up. Therefore, pay attention to each virtue and each error of yours. If there is one virtue in a person who has lived a depraved life, it can serve as a thin string in the rough sea of life, which, if this person takes it, can lead him/her to the land. Therefore, the final mistake is very bad, as it can destroy a person. Similarly, the final virtue is very powerful as it can save a person. These are the things, which can change our lives. This is a law. That is why Christ says: "Do not be careless."
There were more noble features in the Pharisee than in the publican. He was in many aspects in a higher position, but he had one final mistake – pride, which could drag him down to hell. The publican was a big sinner, but he had one final virtue – humility, and he said: "I will work for my salvation." That is why God gave a blessing to him, because he had a hope that he would become better in the future.
I am asking you this morning, where are you – in your final mistake or in your final virtue? If you are in your final mistake – I am sorry for you. Be careful, you are at a very dangerous place in life. If you are in your final virtue, you are at a safe place and I congratulate you. You are on a solid rock. Keep this final virtue and Christ will walk with you.
Translated by: Stephan Koparanov, Dorothea Koparanova
Checked by: Malinka Koparanova, Maria Braikova
Edited in English by: Ed Cox, USA
All members of our translation team work for free and on a voluntary basis.
We will appreciate any assistance, especially in editing, publishing and distributing these translations.
For more information please contact us at:
Copyright (c) 1997 Publishing House "Byalo Bratstvo" All Rights Reserved
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Victorian Bouquet Sachet
Victorian Bouquet Sachet
Product Description
Beaded Lavender Sachet
A stunning, wonderfully scented beaded organza sachet bag 5 x7.5. The sensual, soothing smell of lavender.
Sachet Description:
Filled with lavender flower buds that are grown in France. Has a blue-grey color with a sharp, piny-lavender scent. Lavender flower buds are about the size of a grain of rice and are not on stems.
Place in drawers, closets, in your car, inside your shoes, in a guest bedroom, use in a sleep pillow to encourage sleep. Also, lavender repels moths, thus protecting natural fibers what makes it a great substitute for moth balls….. or anywhere you want a pleasant scent. Makes a great gift, wedding or shower favor too! When the scent starts to dull, simply press the sachet between your fingers to reactivate it
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text:
Two accused of Willimantic marijuana sales
John Barry
Two people face marijuana-selling charges after a drug raid Wednesday at a Union Street apartment.
Willimantic police said they seized more than 80 grams of marijuana packaged for sale, drug paraphernalia and $1,100 cash.
Police said they applied for a search-and-seizure warrant after a monthlong investigation.
Hector Ramos, 50, and Lydia Pedraza, 56, both of 144 Union St., Apt. 5, were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of marijuana with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school and operation of a drug factory.
Ramos and Pedraza were previously charged with selling marijuana from the same address, police said.


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What's Your Problem?
My father recently retired and gave me several high-quality suits that he no longer wears. We are the same size, so that's not a problem. The problem is the vests. Should I wear the vests, or ditch them? Can one still get away with wearing vests, and do suits that come with vests look odd without the vest?
P. D., Westchester, N.Y.
Dear P. D.,
We here at The Atlantic grapple with all sorts of problems: matters glandular and jugular, animals crepuscular, extractions tonsillar, Mormons tabernacular, the politics of Simón Bolívar, diseases vascular, the arthritis of Renoir, Freddie Mercury in Zanzibar, my lost Wanderjahr, and polishing the samovar. But we don't know anything about fashion. I suggest you send your question to this address: firstname.lastname@example.com.
I'm having a fight with my wife over a seemingly stupid issue. We're having friends over soon for a barbecue, and in planning the menu, I said we should have watermelon for dessert. She objected because some of our guests are African American, and she thought they might take offense. I said it's not racist to serve watermelon to black people, and she agreed. But she thought that, to avoid making our guests uncomfortable, we should be sensitive to stereotypes. Is she being hyper–politically correct, or is she right that people might think we're projecting racial stereotypes onto our guests?
H. R., Philadelphia, Pa.
Dear H. R.,
Well, it sounds like we're in for a very relaxed barbecue. Are you serving existential angst for an appetizer? To borrow from Freud, sometimes a watermelon is just a watermelon. My suggestion, though, is for you to serve cantaloupe, or honeydew, or another member of the melon family, or perhaps a selection of berries, not because watermelon would necessarily offend your guests, but because its presence would destabilize your excessively thoughtful wife. And we'd like her to enjoy the barbecue too.
Yesterday I met a North African man who claims that in 1983 he saw a vision of Christ in his bedroom that lasted three hours. The experience caused him to convert to Christianity from Islam. He is a sane, well-spoken adult who has three children and is successful in his career. What can I do to have my own three-hour vision of Christ?
J. C., New York, N.Y.
Dear J. C.,
The famous mystic and Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin believed that such visions could be reflective of an increasingly unified human consciousness. He thought that intense prayer can bring about altered states that enable us to apprehend deeper spiritual mysteries. You might try that. Alternatively, have you considered ingesting a combination of MDMA and psilocybin (known in the vernacular as Ecstasy and mushrooms)? This practice, which the kids today call "flower flipping" or "hippie flipping," might work too.
In reference to a previous request for help, from a man having trouble meeting women (May Atlantic), What's Your Problem received the following letter, via the U.S. Postal Service:
Forgive me if I sound callous, but I can't work up a lot of sympathy for that guy who complained about the difficulty of meeting women in the Philippines. The solution to his problem is simple. Rather than approach women directly, he needs to work on meeting men, in the hopes that one of them might end up introducing him to his sister. Where I'm at, a more direct approach is customary.
Allen Montgomery, #111632
Indiana Department of Corrections Pendleton, Ind.


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It looks like Library Journal's Editor-in-Chief Michael Kelley spun The Wheel of Perpetual Library Topics ™ and it came up on that pesky graduate school requirement, the Masters in Library Science and its related brethren. "Can We Talk About the MLS?" is an editorial that takes on the notion that all roads to librarianship run through an MLS program, arguing that while it is good venue for learning the underlying theories of librarianship it is a terrible platform for practical and extraordinarily varied skills that span the spectrum of library types and jobs. Furthermore, the degree itself is required hurdle for getting a job in the field. Michael concludes by wondering if this "expensive and unnecessarily exclusionary credential" is stopping the kind of talent we need right now from getting into the field and if other routes (such as apprenticeship) are equally viable options.
My gut reaction is that the MLS is here to stay not because of anything to do with the profession but the way that current higher education is structured. Graduate programs are student loan cash cows allowing these institutions to charge hefty tuitions for a degree that is essential to employment. Our license to practice is their license to print money. Factor in the emerging online programs with their larger class sizes (read: more money), larger class sizes (read: more money), and an overall shift towards adjunct faculty (read: less overhead), it would be a hit to the bottom line to eliminate or weaken these programs. Academic inflation becomes the cherry on top of this expensive educational sundae, one that all of us with MLS degrees have been compelled to eat so that we can practice within the field.
If I asked for comments about less-than-vigorous classes that can be found in MLS programs, I could fill this entry with stories as far as the scroll bar would take me. Personally, I've heard about an MLS program teaching an entire semester graduate credit class on (wait for it) Microsoft Office. That's the punchline to a joke I can't even conceive since my mind can't wrap itself the process that would make that possible. I've heard similar stories about classes of a dubious nature, but that's the one I always come back to.
I'll admit that I look at the MLS program through a very skewed lens. I went from a year in law school to a library science graduate program and they simply don't compare when it comes to rigor. Law school was running a marathon while the MLS program was a nice scenic 5k run. They have radically different undercurrents; where law school is trying to cull the weak, library science programs are a bit more, uh, inclusive. Perhaps if I hadn't had that experience I would feel differently about it, but it is what it is.
Now, if you were to hold a gun to my head and ask me to recall the names of the classes I took or you'd shoot, I'd have to say, "Tell my family I love them". There isn't much I can connect from the classroom to my work, mainly smatterings of community outreach and reference practices. I wouldn't categorize them as useless but as not being useful for how I ended up in the library field. Perhaps I am more to blame for my class choices, but I can't say that all the classes I took were exactly memorable either. However, I know my experience is limited to the program that I attended. I'm sure there are many who would come out to defend their programs.
Back to the editorial, I wonder if there is another viable path to librarianship. Rather than apprenticeship, my thoughts went over to the alternate route certification for teachers. While I don't pretend to know the nuances on how a program like that would work for librarians, I do feel that if one can be developed it would be a way of attracting the needed talent from other fields into the greater librarian fold. A Master's requirement can effectively slam the door on someone whereas an alternate route method could keep them moving in our direction. If we want evolution in the field, we can start by not inbreeding when it comes to qualifications.
It seems silly and a bit boorish to demand an MLS out of everyone who deigns to work in the field, especially if they are accomplished outside of it. I know there are prominent people working in libraries right now who do not have an MLS. It even feels a bit ironic to promote inclusiveness of a wide variety of viewpoints as well as services but professionally hold ourselves to a cattle-chute credential requirement. I understand that there are common standards, practices, and principles that all librarians should be drawing from, but I cannot think that there is only one way to achieve that. In a time of varied learning models and platforms, shouldn't our professional accreditations expand beyond the MLS?


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Photo of the day: THE 'BITTER' COLD
Photo of the day: THE 'BITTER' COLD – This is a re-post of a story I wrote on February 11, 2011 and again on November 30, 2012. Today when it was 3°F (-16°C) this morning with windchills at -15°F (-26°C!), let's hope this story does not repeat itself yet again. Previous mayor Bloomberg said we have no homeless problem in NYC, meanwhile emperor Bloomberg failed to acknowledge homelessness increased by 65% under his heartless watch! Let's hope with our new mayor Bill DeBlasio, there will be a more humane approach to the fragile lives of this city, he is already proving to be more humane during this frigid 'artic vortex' and creating easier access/entry to all who seek shelter, god bless.
Nov. 30, 2012: "On today's front page of many papers is a picture of police officer, Larry DePrimo in the bitter cold, buying a homeless man a pair of shoes. The photo was taken on cell phone by a passing Arizona tourist and has gone viral world wide. While it is a beautiful and touching story – I have a contrasting one I posted over a year ago here on Facebook.
On Tuesday February 11, 2011 that night it was 22 degrees freezing with wind chills below zero, this man seemed frozen over his cart. He did not have gloves and his hands had turned brown from frostbite. He did not move. No one helped him. Notice his left hand, his fingers are straight together, it is an unnatural way for your hand to be if you are 'sleeping'. His hand was frozen. I stepped near the grate, the so called 'warm air' was at best minimal. I have been told to freeze to death is somewhat merciful, you numb and fall asleep. Whether he survived the night I don't know. I am conflicted to hope he survived or if the merciful wish was for him to 'fall asleep.' It took me a long time to flag a police car, they said he is on top of a grate and therefor "warm and fine". I called 911 & 311 repeatedly, because supposedly the NYC law is that if it goes below freezing it is manadatory for the homeless to be brought to a shelter – but no one came. The traffic cop on the corner said there is nothing he could do. I went home with tears in my eyes and could not sleep that night.
It truly is a 'bitter' cold."


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It's Thanksgiving, and I'm counting my blessings.
It's hard to do. But also easy. Life is full of contradictions now, and always will be, I guess.
When one is missing, the absence is as sharp and noticeable as the presence of others is visible, and sweet.
But it's not only Alex who's gone. We're missing so many from our family. A good number are on the other side now. It's tempting to get lost in that reality, to focus on the years gone by.
But if memories of other Thanksgivings are part of this day, we're also mindful of the good things of life. There are so many to count.
We talked about the list before eating. One of the mentions was "thankful not to be homeless." This, from the five-year-old in our group. What does it say about our society, that this is so common? And that five-year-olds are aware this happens?
So we talk a bit about that, and other things. The usual, and the normal: family, friends, love, relationships. The physical. Food. Pets. The good stuff.
It's a day to savor, and to mark. I try to practice gratitude every day, and most of the time I'm successful. There is always, always, something to be thankful for.
But it's meaningful to do it as a group, oldest to youngest, to acknowledge all the things. Maybe one day, we won't need to reference the issues of the homeless. Or watch news stories of soldiers celebrating far from home.
Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you find yourself. May you have many good things to count, and more to come in the future.
And God bless us, every one!


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President Barack Obama called Donald Trump "unfit" to be president and challenged leading Republicans to repudiate their party's nominee.
"The question they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable: Why do you continue to endorse him. What does is say about your party?" Obama said.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday after meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House, Obama said Trump's criticism of a fallen Muslim-American soldier's family is the latest evidence that the billionaire businessman isn't ready to lead the country.
"There has to be a point where you have to say, I can't support this for president of the United States," Obama said, adding that otherwise, the denunciations are "hollow."
Trump responded with a statement that summarized talking points he makes in his stump speech: "Obama-Clinton have single-handedly destabilized the Middle East ... released criminal aliens into our country who killed one innocent American after another ... produced the worst recovery since the Great Depression (and) shipped millions of our best jobs overseas."
Obama also reaffirmed his commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, saying that if U.S. were to "pull up the drawbridge" on trade it would hurt American workers.
He said people have legitimate fears about the impact of globalization and being "left behind," but the answer cannot be to back away from trade and the global economy.
"I'm a stanch supporter of TPP because it will reduce tariff's on American goods and make it easier for Americans to export to emerging economies across the the world," Obama said.
Politics from around the world.
Singapore, a close U.S. partner, is one of the 12 nations in the TPP, an agreement key to Obama's effort to boost U.S. exports and build strategic ties in Asia. But Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Washington visit starting Tuesday comes as opposition to the TPP intensifies in the United States. Both Republican contender Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who are competing to succeed Obama as president, are against it.
Asked how the president plans on passing TPP under strong opposition by the presidential candidates, Obama said, "Well right now I'm president and I'm for it. And I think I've got the better argument."
Lee is urging Congress to ratify the deal as soon as possible, calling TPP "vital for a strategic point of view" and an integral commitment of America's rebalance to Asia.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcomed the leader of Singapore to the White House for a state visit marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between their countries.
Prime Minister Loong was greeted by an elaborate welcome ceremony as his limousine pulled in to the South Lawn of the White House. Hundreds of U.S. military members in blue and white uniforms formed an honor guard, some carrying bayoneted rifles.
Speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce late Monday, Lee urged its ratification, saying the pact would give the U.S. better access to the markets that account for 40 percent of global economic output. He said it would also add heft add heft to Washington's so-called "rebalance" to the Asia-Pacific.
"For America's friends and partners, ratifying the TPP is a litmus test of your credibility and seriousness of purpose," he said.
His sentiments are shared by Obama, who told Singapore's The Straits Times in an interview published Monday that the U.S. can't "turn inward" and embrace protectionism because of economic anxieties that have been drawn out by the presidential election.
The Obama administration says it remains determined to try and win congressional approval for TPP, but the chances of achieving that in the "lame duck" session after the Nov. 8 election and before the new president takes office Jan. 20 appear slim because of the depth of political opposition, not least from Obama's fellow Democrats.
The deal would eliminate trade barriers and tariffs, streamline standards and encourage investment between the 12 countries that include Mexico, Japan, Vietnam and Australia. But critics say the pact undercuts American workers by introducing lower-wage competition and gives huge corporations too much leeway.
Singapore, a city state of 5.7 million people, is heavily dependent on international trade for its prosperity. In 2004, it became the first Asian nation to strike a bilateral free trade agreement with the U.S. Last year, the bilateral trade in goods totaled $47 billion, with the U.S. enjoying a $10 billion surplus.
Singapore is also a strong advocate of the U.S. security role in Asia although it retains cordial ties with China too. Under Obama, the U.S. has deployed littoral combat ships in Singapore, and last December, deployed a P-8 Poseidon spy plane there for the first time, amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea.
Lee's meeting with Obama on Tuesday will be watched for reaction to an international tribunal ruling July 12 that invalidated China's historical claims to most of the disputed South China Sea. The U.S. says the ruling is binding but China has rejected it. Southeast Asian nations have been reluctant to speak out against Beijing.
Lee will be honored with a state dinner Tuesday evening — the first held for a Singaporean leader since October 1985, when Ronald Reagan hosted Lee's late father, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The U.S. and Singapore opened diplomatic relations in 1966, a year after the U.S. recognized Singapore's independence from Malaysia.


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Have you ever had a recurring dream? And each time that dream revisits your slumber, some small detail has changed? It's the same dream, but it somehow feels unfamiliar again.
That's sort of what it feels like to play The Cave, Double Fine's latest cartoon-like adventure. You'll walk through the same hallways, climb the same ladders maybe ten, twenty times over. Eventually your fingers begin to carry themselves while your eyes dart across the screen for the minor details you missed. Looking for those small things that change with every path, both new and revisited.
The Cave is made up of seven different stories, featuring seven different characters (including one set of twins). Depending on who you bring with you, you'll get to explore their respective, dedicated parts of the cave. In there you'll search for their one desired object. These areas are completely owned by the character. It's their domain, and their special abilities will come in most handy.
But in each playthrough (which consists of a journey between three characters), there's a fixed beginning, a middle and an end. Those three components never change. They're the same story. And yet, who you bring on the journey still affects these sections, because how you go about completing them is what's different.
Sure, without the scientist you'll never experience the nuclear lab, and without the hillbilly you'll never encounter the wacky carnival, but each character doesn't just have their unique level of the cave—they also all have different abilities. So, without the hillbilly you'll never be able to swim long lengths under water. Without the knight you'll never be able to survive a long drop down somewhere. These are the small details that make each pass feel new again, even if you're venturing through a level (from the beginning, middle or end) you just beat in a previous playthrough. Just like a dream, while most of that journey feels familiar, there's a hazy difference each time you play.
WHY: Because it's a charismatic, challenging puzzle game that makes you want to prove to it that no, I'm not as dumb as you make me initially feel.
The Cave
Developer: Double Fine
Platforms: Xbox 360 (played), PS3, Wii U, PC, Mac, Linux
Released: January 22nd
Type of game: Puzzle/adventure game
What I played: Played through three times, with each character, which took roughly 11 hours.
Two Things I Loved
- The voice acting, and in particular The Cave himself, who is as charming as he is diabolical.
- The symbiotic nature of it all, particularly noteworthy when playing as the time traveler. (She's the hardest, but she also tackles the most interesting puzzles.)
My Two Things I Hated
- Getting stuck in some glitchy corners. Not a huge deal, though, because you can insta-kill yourself.
- Sporadic moments of slow pacing due to either the really obscure details that are easy to miss, or tedious back and forth treks required to set some solutions in motion.
- "I swear I'm actually pretty smart. No, really. No wait, come back! LET ME TELL YOU HOW SMART I AM." —Tina Amini, Kotaku.com
- "Aww that little selfish bastard knight is so adorable!" —Tina Amini, Kotaku.com
It's because of this structure that I wanted to play The Cave over and over again. I don't usually concern myself over the replayability of a game. Maybe it's because I'm expected to, as a reviewer and writer, play so damn many games that I just don't have the time for it. More often than not it's because I feel I've gotten a sufficient experience out of a game or even just its story. But The Cave has so many possibilities, so many small details. Sometimes I go to bed at night trying to recall memories of my favorite recurring dreams just so I'll experience them again once I lull myself to sleep. I want to see what's new this time around. The Cave inspires a similar desire in me. I want to replay to see how that character would deal with that one puzzle. What that character's level looks like.
Figuring out how to achieve your specific goal in the cave—which, at its most basic form is getting from point A to point B—isn't as simple as it sounds. This is an adventure game, full of puzzles and even a few riddles. There's no such thing as just opening a door and stepping through to the next level. You'll have to use your three chosen characters' special abilities—abilities like underwater breathing, invincibility, telekinesis, grapple hook, hacking, ghosting, and wall-phasing—to interact with the world. You'll look for items and consider their uses. You'll think about how to combine items. You'll use a character's ability to access an item.
The Cave is never complicated exactly. But it can be hard to miss the solution on first glance. You'll backtrack. You'll try to look at a problem from a new angle. You'll run through the inventory of items at your disposal. There was that bucket upstairs and a can of corn around the corner from here, what could they possibly do? What's the function of this barrel? For some, this might even be tedious. It could mean the difference between staying with the game or not, depending on your threshold for somewhat slower pacing. Occasional moments of unnecessary backtracking suggest that the puzzles could benefit from being tighter, as clever as they were regardless.
I got stumped a few times on some really odd moments. And when I finally figured out the solution I felt like an idiot for not having spotted it beforehand. It's so simple! How could I have not seen it? It's easy to get caught up in elaborate scheming when a simple change in perspective is all that's needed. I got so stumped at one point—because there were two things I needed to notice in this one particular moment rather than the singular one I spotted—that I emailed creator Ron Gilbert himself for advice. Many "Ohhhhhh DUH" moments were had. The Cave isn't a puzzle game like Portal is. Portal makes you feel smart. Like you can accomplish anything. Like you should've been an astronaut cause your understanding of physics is just—look at that—so amazing. The Cave makes you feel kinda dumb, until you can actually master it.
When a director of a film zooms in on a single shot, it's for a very specific purpose. It's their way of clueing you into some detail you should be noticing and paying attention to, because it'll be brought up again later. Similarly, every item and highlighted point of interest in The Cave has some use to you. A seemingly meaningless bag of dog food can mean the solution to your exit in this world. You're meant to look at these objects and consider what use they can be to each character's one desire.
Every detail, every object, every line of dialogue and even every musical cue is there for a reason, and it's your job as the player to piece them together. It's one big puzzle piece, and as you unravel the secrets and string the pieces together, you'll discover mysterious, somewhat psychotic and often tongue-in-cheekish stories.
But there's one unifying characteristic to every personality you can play as. Every one of these bastards is a selfish, opportunistic prick, concerned only with their objects of desire. Whether it's the twins who so desperately want to kill their parents with a box of rat poison, or the scientist whose greed for money makes her do unspeakable things, every last one of these guys and girls is awful. Their instinct is towards greed and apathy for anything but themselves. After a while, and after a few playthroughs I began to realize that these seven characters may even represent the seven deadly sins. Fitting, no? Greed, envy, pride, sloth, lust, wrath... the only one I couldn't appropriately place was gluttony, but I'm sure we can squeeze it in somewhere.
Bottom line is that The Cave is very clearly making a social comment. I won't speak for the developers themselves—I asked Ron Gilbert about it and he sort of just gave a wink of an answer to my seven sins theory—but the game certainly feels like it's telling me something I already knew: that lots of people can be selfish. Lots of people are so driven for their goals that they lose sight of others. Or maybe it's a more insidery-related comment, about how video game heroes often cause so much destruction on their way to the finish line. Everyone is looking for something in this game. There's no altruism. No heroes. Not even really any villains. Just greed and, at best, misguided attempts at the pursuit of happiness.
But that story—that lesson to learn—is a small part of what makes up this adventure game. It's a playful thought for you to chew on while otherwise occupied with the intricacies of shovels and dynamite. The Cave requires that you stop thinking like a gamer and start thinking in context of the characters you play as, and even the developers that made them. Puzzles aren't about character placement necessarily, timing, or precision. And while the puzzles are often simple in nature, they may not be as easy to spot. You'll have to get a hang of the patterns and the mentality behind certain items and how they fit within the context of each level. The Cave is all about items, their behaviors, and their potential combinations.
I'd argue that the second playthrough is the best. Not just to see the other characters you have yet to play in their environments and to solve more puzzles, but also because you have a better grasp of the game. It's more enjoyable the second time around when it's a lot easier to overcome getting stumped on a particular clue. I got into a rhythm by my second pass, and I felt less like I was being played and more like I was doing the playing. I wasn't dumb anymore, I knew what sort of tricks this game had up its sleeve this time around.
The Cave is a fairly simple adventure/puzzle game. It's cute, too. The narrator is sort of a goon who gets pleasure out of watching the cave spelunkers do their evil deeds. He's a little sadistic, as comforting and as jolly as his voice might deceive you to believe otherwise. In fact, The Cave himself might be the most villainous, greedy character of the entire game. Sure, I just tampered with a nuclear bomb and killed an adventurer just to cross a path, but The Cave watches and laughs. He creates the commentary. He's keeping the score.
The feeling I'm left with after having played the game several times over is that I'm reminded by how much I love adventure games with clever puzzles. Because it reminds me that gamers can be smart problem-solvers. We can be resourceful and thoughtful. We can make the best of a situation. We can look at our set of tools and piece seemingly uncooperative items together to create something to our advantage. Even if all the while we're being taught a lesson about the narrow-viewed goal seeking we often take up when we pick up a controller.


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X-rays are so interwoven into dental care that we often don't think twice about them. Even so, we shouldn't take this invisible form of radiation lightly—regular exposure at high levels can affect the human body, especially in children.
The ability of x-rays to pass through tissue greatly improves our ability to diagnose tooth decay and other dental diseases. But x-rays can also potentially harm those same tissues. Because children are more sensitive to x-ray energy, they run a greater risk for cellular damage that could lead to cancer later in life.
In reality, though, these potential risks from x-rays are extremely low—so low, in fact, dental professionals regard their use as altogether safe for children. Here's why.
The ALARA principle. Dentists and other healthcare providers perform x-ray diagnostics based on a principle known as ALARA ("As low as reasonably achievable"). This means dentists only utilize x-rays to gain the most diagnostic benefit at the lowest amounts of radiation exposure. As such, ALARA guides both the development of x-ray equipment and the protocols involved in using them.
Equipment advances. Today's x-ray devices are safer and more efficient, restricting x-ray emissions to a single beam without scattering radiation into the environment. A child's radiation exposure is further lowered with the use of digital x-rays, which produce images in less time than conventional film. Because of these and other advances, children are exposed to less radiation during x-rays than what they typically receive in a day from the outside environment.
Safe practices. Following the ALARA principle, dentists are quite conservative in their use of x-rays in children. The most common means of x-ray is the bitewing, which captures images primarily of the back teeth that are more prone to decay. Bitewings, which require a lower x-ray dosage than a full mouth x-ray, are usually spaced at least six months apart or longer depending on a child's risk for dental disease.
The efficiency of modern radiographic equipment coupled with their judicious use has drastically reduced the amount of x-ray radiation to which a child may be exposed, thus lowering their risk of future health issues. The benefit for saving a child's teeth from disease is well worth their use.
If you would like more information on x-ray safety, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article "X-Ray Safety for Children."


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(2017) True Life Drama (Fox Searchlight) Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Natalie Morales, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Eric Christian Olsen, Fred Armisen, Austin Stowell, Wallace Langham, Martha MacIsaac, Lauren Kline, Mickey Sumner, Fidan Manashirova, Jessica McNamee, Ashley Weinhold. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
The 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King, then the best female player in the world, and Bobby Riggs, a middle aged former Wimbledon champion was in many ways the epitome of excessive hype and sensationalism, two things America does particularly well. Some have looked at it as a metaphor for the struggle of women to gain equality but in many ways it really was just an over-bloated carnival sideshow that caught the attention of the world when it happened.
King (Stone) was busy trying to get the Woman's Tennis Association off the ground; wearied by years of being dismissed by the male elite of the USLTA, then the ruling body for American tennis, and worse yet receiving only about one eighth the prize money that men received, she and her fast-tallking chain-smoking publicist Gladys Heldman (Silverman) are not looking necessarily to make a statement other than create an organization that will promote women's tennis properly. King wasn't particularly political but she did have a sense of fairness that was more developed than most.
Riggs (Carell) was a hustler and a man with a gambling problem whose career greatness was well behind him. Hitting upon an idea that he thought would generate him the kind of money that would keep him and his family comfortable, he wanted to play the best female player in the world and beat her to show that even an over-the-hill male player could beat the best woman. King at first refused but when Margaret Court (MacIsaac) who had the number one ranking at the time accepted the challenge – and lost – King felt obliged to take the match, particularly since the defeat could sink the WTA before it was even afloat.
To complicate matters, King had begun a romance with hairdresser Marilyn Barrett (Riseborough) that gave King the first realization that she was a lesbian. Of course it was a much different time back then; the revelation of her sexuality could wipe out the credibility of the WTA and of course destroy her marriage to her husband Larry (Stowell) who was genuinely supportive and someone she didn't want to hurt. There was a ton of pressure on Billie Jean King coming to a head in the Astrodome on September 20, 1973.
Stone does an outstanding job as King, despite not having a particular physical resemblance to the tennis great. She does pull off King's high wattage squinty smile very nicely and many of her vocal mannerisms. She doesn't play King as a confident leader which was perhaps the public perception of her, but as someone who was thrust into a role she didn't particularly want to play but accepted the role she'd been given. Stone has an outside chance of an Oscar nomination for her work but because the movie was released in September, kind of a no man's land for award season, the chances are a little bit more slender than they might have been had the movie gotten a November or December release.
Carell also does a really good job as Riggs, capturing the huckster public persona and the personal charm Riggs displayed on the camera. We also get the sense – which those who knew Riggs well, including Billie Jean King have often stated – that the chauvinism was an act for him, a means of hyping up the match and of making a buck. There are moments of genuine warmth and Carell delivers them note-perfectly.
Dayton and Faris really give us a sense of the era nicely including a killer soundtrack – it's nice that movies are really nailing era soundtracks these days – and the fashions and design of the time. They do make a tactical error in spending so much time on the romance between Billie Jean and Marilyn; while I do think that King's discovery of her sexuality was an important component to her life at the time it was by no means the only one. The romance is over-emphasized and slows down the movie's momentum and pads the running time a bit much. There really aren't a lot of sparks between Stone and Riseborough and it makes the movie overall feel a bit flatter than it needed to be.
Still, this is a fairly enjoyable movie that if you're patient can be quite entertaining. I wouldn't call it a gem (some critics have) but neither would I call it a failure either. Misogynists will probably detest the movie and radical feminists may think it's a bit soft. However those of us in between will find a good comfortable place to enjoy the spectacle.
REASONS TO GO: The performances of Stone and Carell are stellar. The directors evoke the era of the 70s nicely.
REASONS TO STAY: The movie has a bit of a soap opera-esque feel. The film is a bit flat.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some sexual content and brief nudity.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Carell previously worked with Dayton and Faris in Little Miss Sunshine.
BEYOND THE THEATER: Amazon, Fandango Now, Frontier, Google Play, iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 1/6/18: Rotten Tomatoes: 86% positive reviews. Metacritic: 73/100
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Wimbledon
NEXT: Victoria and Abdul


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"What's that?"
He looked at the box of random items he'd yard saled that morning. Sticking out at the top was a rounded white end.
"It's a bowling pin."
"What's it for?"
He put it on the coffee table in front of her.
"It's a conversation piece."
She gave him that look. You know, that look.
"What, you don't like it?"
He flopped onto the couch next to her and pushed up against her side.
"I just don't see how it could start conversations. It better have cost a quarter."
"What can I say, you bowl me over."
She smiled. "You can pin me any day."
"We could have a ball."
"You never know, you could strike out."
"Wrong sport."
"Shut up…how about…strike…strike…"
"You're a real strike?"
"Don't be such a turkey."
"Hun…a turkey is a good thing in bowling."
"How about you move on over to my lane?"
"Nice bowling shoes, wanna fuck?"
"Come on, don't SPARE my feelings!"
"Oh my God…"
"Let's never split!"
"You bowl me over."
"You stole that one! It was mine! I opened with it."
She kicked the table and the pin wobbled a bit, but righted itself.
"Darn," she said.
"See…like I said…conversation starter."
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Peanut Butter Black Sesame Cupcakes with Almond Whipped Cream
Saturday, February 3, 2007
The cupcake had a sweet slight peanut buttery taste that was backed by that black sesame. Very different and shibby tasty! The light almond whipped cream was just the right flavor to assist the cupcake. I piped on the character "Fu" which means luck. I colored them with black sesame seeds however due to their getting in your teeth and not adding positive texture wise, I might just heavily pipe "Fu" on them next time and do a very light sprikling of the seeds. I'm inspired to try a few more Chinese flavors, especially since Chinese New Year is coming up, and it's year of the Boar baby! MY YEAR! *woot woot*
With the overall flavors of peanut, sesame, and almond these were quite a hit at work. Not too sweet, a little bitter, and a slight umami flavor. Yum! A very tasty, easy to make cupcake! Thanks Joann!
Peanut Butter Black Sesame Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes / 350 F degree oven
What You'll Need...
1/4 cup of unsalted butter, softened to room temp
1/4 cup of smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup of flour
1-50 gram individual package of instant black sesame soup powder -OR-
3 1/2 tablespoons of black sesame and soybean powder
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup milk
What You'll Do...
1) Prepare muffin tins with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Put butter and peanut butter in a bowl of a mixer and mix on medium until creamed together.
3) Add the sugar and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy.
4) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Scrape down the bowl to ensure the incorporation of the eggs.
5) In another small bowl, sift the flour, black sesame powder, baking powder, and salt together.
6) With the mixer on low, alternate the additions of the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes.
7) Scoop batter into the muffin liners and bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes. Test if they're done with a toothpick. When it comes out clean, they're done.
8) Cool for a few minutes in the muffin tins, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Almond Whipped Cream
What You'll Need...
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
What You'll Do...
Place all ingredients in a mixer and mix until stiff peaks form. Duh, it's whipped cream.
9 comments:
That is a very different and engaging cupcake! I love black sesame seeds.ReplyDelete
Now I know why we get along so well (I'm a hare and boars and hares are super buddies).ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 3, 2007 at 11:26 AM
And now we know how old you'll be this year. :-)ReplyDelete
I wonder if you could make a black sesame tahini-type deal in the food processor and use it instead of the powder and the whole ones that annoyed you on top?ReplyDelete
These sound yum.
These look just as good the second time around - Joann's stood out for me too. =)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 4, 2007 at 6:47 PM
Those are so creative and interesting.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 5, 2007 at 1:47 AM
they look great - the black sesame seeds look great on the cupcakes and I am sure add to the flavour.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 5, 2007 at 12:32 PM
Hummm, sesame seeds and cupcakes...have never tried it but looks amazing.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 5, 2007 at 1:41 PM
The boar is my year too! Cheers!ReplyDelete
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Thanks to Andy for inviting me to My Movie Year blog-a-thon. This is the second time I've participated in Fandango Groovers' blog event since the massively popular Desert Island DVDs. Below is the simple rule for the post:
All you have to do is pick your favourite year for movies and back I up with five classics from that year, no more no less. You can do as much or as little as you want with your selections; a simple list, images and posters, reviews, trailers. Or anything else you can think of.
It's quite a daunting task as most of the movies I love come from different decades. I actually didn't see all that many movies back in college, but I pick the year 2000 as this is the year where I moved in to my first ever house after living in one apartment after another in college and shortly after graduation. I didn't watch a lot of movies on the big screen then either, but it turns out a lot of movies released in 2000 have become one of my all time favorites. So here they are:
I can't possibly NOT include this movie. I mean, I've always LOVED swords and sandals movie ever since Ben-Hur, and this one has such a fantastic story and wonderful performances all around. I even picked this as the subject for the blog-a-thon 'Movies that makes going to the movies suck' because it's been copied so many times and studios are launching similar type of movies to capitalize on its popularity.
But this often-quoted Ridley Scott masterpiece remains on top in this genre and to this day I'm still enamored with it as the first time I saw it. It's one of those movies that has the whole package, everything from the story, dialog, set pieces, performances, and even the soundtrack makes up for an epic entertainment.
Russell Crowe gave an iconic performance, even his name Maximus Decimus Meridius is a classic. Equally memorable are Joaquin Phoenix as the despicable incestuous Commodus, and the more I watch this movie the more I appreciate all the character actors that make this movie great, most especially Derek Jacobi with his theatrical line delivery. It's not as popular as the others, but I pick this line as one of my favorite movie quotes of all time.
I LOVE this imaginative take of a superhero movie. People tend to mock M. Night Shyamalan's these days but I'm still willing to give him a pass because he's made some creative work in the past, especially this one.
An intriguing concept that's brilliantly executed, Unbreakable is a quiet but suspenseful thriller that's rich in character development. The astute cinematography adds so much to the eerie and mysterious tone of the film, in many occasion, it even help tells the story in such a breathtaking way. That scene where Elijah falls on the stairs of the train station is such a heart-wrenching scene… it's as if I could feel his pain as he breaks nearly every bones in his body. It's also one of those movies where it's not a simple good vs. evil kind of story, and we can't help but feel sympathy for the bad guy.
Do you know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world, to not know why you're here. – Elijah Price
It shows that Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson certainly can act if they choose to. Both seem to gravitate more for the action-packed stuff and sure they're good at it, but I'd love to see them do something more understated like this again.
Oh, and I actually do like the ending, it's unexpected and definitely made you go 'whoa' the first time around. But unlike Sixth Sense, it doesn't lose its impact even after repeated viewings.
Chicken Run
When I first saw this, I had never seen Wallace & Gromit before but I absolutely adore this Peter Lord and Nick Park's creation. It's odd since I'm usually not into claymation, but I think this movie is just so fun and joyful to watch. Inspired by The Great Escape, the chickens led by Ginger rebels against against the evil Mrs. Tweedy's farm with the help of Rocky the rooster.
Right from the start, I was so enthralled and empathized with the poor 'imprisoned' chickens, as they're depicted as having humanly activities like knitting, dance, bicker with one another, and seemingly having more lively existence than the humans at the farm. The dialog is sharp and funny, with hilarious yet poignant lines like "I don't want to be a pie." or "We'll either die free chickens or we die trying." The voice cast are a hoot, especially Julia Sawalha and Mel Gibson as Ginger and Rocky.
It's definitely one of my favorite animated features of all time. I even feel a bit guilty eating chickens for a while after watching this, especially chicken pot pie! 😀
Return to Me
I think I've talked about this movie quite often. It's always on my list of favorite rom-coms, and I even dedicated a whole post for it. This movie doesn't follow the typical formula of a rom-com, in fact it starts out with a tragedy. But yet it's a joyful movie despite its poignant subject matter, filled with a wonderful depiction of family live, sincere friendship and a love story between two people who've gone through a lot by the time they find each other.
Both David Duchovny and Minnie Driver are wonderful here, they're not your go-to actors for this genre which is a shame as they're so natural here. Same with director Bonnie Hunt as she is quite adept with creating wonderful characters and engagingly funny dialog. It's too bad that this is her only feature film in her resume. Oh, and the soundtrack is wonderful, too!
Check out the trailer below:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
I readily admit that I have a penchant for superhero movies, and the mythology and the allegory with the reality of our world of the X-Men universe is particularly fascinating to me. I absolutely loved it when it first came out and both my hubby and I were hugely anticipating it. Fortunately, it didn't disappoint and it's still good after repeated viewing. Bryan Singer made superhero movies not only cool but has something meaningful to say. It's intelligent AND fun.
The casting is key here, from hiring two British thespians as the two leaders of polar opposites — Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart — to taking a chance with a then-unknown Aussie actor Hugh Jackman as the tormented Wolverine. He may be indestructible but he's still vulnerable and Jackman's gruff but soulful portrayal won him many fans and launched his career. He's got an undeniable chemistry with Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey, which makes their unrequited romance quite irresistible.
It'd be nice if Singer stays on throughout the trilogy, then we'd have three solid movies in this franchise. But the consolation is that he came back, albeit as a producer, in the excellent X-Men: First Class, which has a lot of the great things I love about the original and then some!
Other great movies I like from 2000:
- Billy Elliot
- Chocolat
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- Memento
My runner-up year: 1995
I almost picked this year because I absolutely adore Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility, plus it's also got two other dramas I love: Circle of Friends and A Walk in the Clouds. I also like Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Usual Suspects and Se7en a lot, but in the end I feel like I have more affinity for the five movies I picked for 2000.
Thoughts about the movies listed here? Now, what year would YOU pick?