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No war is good, but some wars are necessary.Unfortunately, Americans don't seem to know this yet. I'm afraid even the Burns film left some viewers associating war with glory.
Conservative columnist Cal Thomas criticized "outrageous statements about America's inability to succeed" in Iraq, and proceeded to his own outrageous statement:
The ability to successfully wage war against America's enemies trumps everything else.It scares me. Few Europeans share America's naïvete about war because their soil was stained with war's blood. Will it take the same for our country? Peace activists see Americans giving more urgency to shopping than to countering our government's war-mongering.
Now we're demonizing Iran's Ahmadinejad in a campaign eerily similar to the one against Saddam Hussein. In Newsweek, Fareed Zakaria quoted President Bush "invoking the specter of World War III if Iran gained even the knowledge needed to make a nuclear weapon." And he quoted Norman Podhoretz, neoconservative ideologue who claimed
[Ahmadinejad is] like Hitler . . . a revolutionary whose objective is to overturn the going international system and to replace it in the fullness of time with a new order dominated by Iran and ruled by the religio-political culture of Islamofascism.Zakaria commented,
For this staggering proposition Podhoretz provides not a scintilla of evidence.In fact, the CIA tells us that Iran won't have nuclear capability for years, when Ahmadinejad may no longer be president.
James Dobbins, a U.S. diplomat to Iran for the first Bush, found Iranians to be "professional, straightforward, reliable and helpful." Even after W. Bush's Axis of Evil speech, they offered to cooperate in Afghanistan. But when Dobbins took their proposal to Washington, he said Donald Rumsfeld "looked down and rustled his papers." No reply was ever sent back to the Iranians, reported Zakaria.
I wouldn't be so alarmed if I hadn't watched in horror while our country swallowed the war propaganda duping us into the Iraq war. Before I watched it happening, I dismissed the ridiculous idea of invading Iraq, thinking Americans could not be so stupid. Here we are now.
One more item from Zakaria. He reported on a Wall Street Journal article written by a close adviser to Bush and Cheney who predicted that Ahmadinejad would end the world on August 22, 2006, the night when Muslims commemorate the
flight of the Prophet Muhammad . . . to 'the farthest mosque,' usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back. This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world.Notice the link between Ahmadinejad and Israel. Apocalyptic belief drives U.S. policy in the Middle East more than we'd like. It derives from the Christian right's weird linkage of Israel with the Second Coming. After Israel finishes the appropriation of Palestinian land, goes the belief, we can look for "the Lord himself" coming down from heaven "at the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet" (First Thessalonians 4:16).
Foolish? Yes. But not in the eyes of enough Americans to dispel the danger. What will it take for us to grow in wisdom?
Fear of Sharia
I'm glad there are courageous Muslim women who escape Sharia or Islamic law and, after they're safe in the West, denounce its inhumane treatment of women, such as stoning victims of rape and enslaving women and girls in marriage. Ayaan Hirsi Ali and other Muslim women who speak out do an important service by educating fellow Muslims in the West and in Arabic countries.
But fear of Sharia's spread in the West is misplaced. Here's a sample I received in an email:
radical Islamists are working to impose sharia on the world. If that happens, Western civilization will be destroyed. In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. to elect the President!This kind of fear-mongering foments hatred and mistrust against all Muslims and the same against President Barack Hussein Obama and the ACLU.
I think everyone in the U.S. should be required to read this, but with the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on! This is your chance to make a difference...!
The origins of Sharia excess are tribal culture, not the religion of Islam, but ancient habits often take on religious sanction and that happened in Arabic Islam. Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, does not practice these excesses, and the most outrageous incidents take place in rare parts of the world.
Islamic law can never take over America because of the counter-influence. Some American Muslims, for instance, are starting to realize that gays exist and are normal human beings. Unfortunately, less healthy influence also happens, such as adopting the American obsession with sex and money. Some Muslim teenage girls have worn a hijab while dressing provocatively on the rest of their bodies.
I do not fear the influence of Sharia on the West, but I fear right wing Christians, who also support male power over females and who support Israel's elimination of Palestinians from the land of Zion in the nonsensical hope that this will set off the apocalypse, sending good believers to heaven and the rest of us to commence weeping and gnashing of teeth in hell.


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Great news, at least for filmmakers who like the candy-colored, eye-searing effects of HDR photography. The AMP II is a triple-sensor camera which will shoot high dynamic range video in real time.
In principle, the AMP II works like a high-tech Technicolor rig. The light coming through the lens is split into three beams and each is sent to a different image sensor. These sensors record highlights, mid-tones and shadows, and the three outputs are combined to make an HDR image. This is then "tone-mapped" to shrink the HDR data into a range that can be displayed on screen. It is this tone-mapping stage where the horribly bright colors can be introduced.
The prototype AMP records up to 17 stops of dynamic range, and the new AMP II 20 stops. This compares to 9 stops for a typical digital SLR sensor. The images are also recorded in full-resolution RAW format and processed in real-time, so you could shoot live TV in HDR if you wanted to (the signal is output through HDMI). These RAW streams can also be accessed separately for post-production tweaking.
The camera is due to be ready for commercial use in at the end of summer 2011, but you won't be able to buy one. These boxy cameras are more like advanced experiments than finished products, but it's possible that AMP's patented tech could be licensed to other manufacturers. Imagine a super-high-res RED camera with AMP tech inside. Also, the name RED AMP is plain awesome.
AMP FAQ [AMP via Photography Bay and PetaPixel]
See Also:

subset: commoncrawl


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Brevbasens indhold Baggrund og udvikling Veje ind til brevene Kilder og samlinger Vejledning Web service
Dato: 13. marts 1866
Fra: Henry W. Longfellow Til: H.C. Andersen
Sprog: engelsk.
Fra: Henry W. Longfellow Til: H.C. Andersen
Sprog: engelsk.
My Dear Sir.
Cambridge near Boston March. 13. 1866.
May I so far trust to the magnetism of literary sympathie as to present the bearer, Mr Charles G. Falls, a student in our university, who is obliged to leave his studies for a while, on account of his health. I should not like to have him pass through Copenhagen without calling to pay his respects to you. He brings you my last volume of poems, which I beg you accept as a mark of sincere regard and admiration I remain, my Dear Sir, your[s] truly L.


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These past few weeks have been some of the best I have had in a long time! Christmas was a wonderful time, filled with joy and a feeling of hope was in the air. A good vibe was sent around the whole house. This was becausewe had so much family, it felt just like home again. Don't get me wrong, I am home, it just doesn't feel "homey" yet. Hopefully, once we get to the new house all of that will change. My Daddy just got back from his hockey game in Michigan, and I missed him terribly. He brought me back a surprise, and you are not going to believe what it was! It was a LIFE magazine dedicated to Audrey Hepburn, every page filled with pictures of her. I will cherish that magazine forever, and the twelve dollars spent on it was a good investment. The pictures were taken by a photographer well cherished by Audrey, which made this magazine EXTRA special. There were never before seen photos, I was brought to tears when he pulled it out of his suitcase.
Dance classes have been going great these last couple of weeks. I am finally getting a feel for the studio, and the people surrounding me are truly starting to feel like family. The good thing about this place is that you run into someone everywhere you go. Of course, this isn't ALWAYS a good thing, but it sure makes you feel loved. I want to join a Church Youth Group sometime soon, it will help me find friends, but will also help me build a stronger relationship with God. HE has been EXTRA good to me lately, and I owe him something. I feel like praying isn't enough, I want to learn more about Him, I want to talk to Him. I want to repay Him in any way possible. I have been trying to work on my attitude, but I need Him by my side, for he is everywhere, and He will help anyone who comes to Him. Thank you, Lord, for all You do for me and my family. Thank You for blessing everyone on earth, for helping everyone who asks for Your help, and thank You for giving us each day to live. I am truly grateful, and I hope that one day I can learn more about You, one day soon. "Live each day as if there were no tomorrow". What a beautiful saying, and how amazingly true. Thank You, Lord, for giving us our everything. I have my faith, and that is all that matters.
Love for always,
Life is Marvelous
Friday, January 11, 2008
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200 Years of Frankenstein - 10/22 & 10/29
This year the world celebrates the birth--and reanimation--of the Frankenstein monster, created by English novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) in her novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus.
First published in 1818, the book had been Shelley's contribution to a contest, which also included Percy Shelley (her future husband), Lord Byron and his physician Dr. Polidori (whose attendance led to the writing of Dracula), to see who could create the best horror story. Her tale focused on a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who conducts a bizarre experiment in which he is able to bring a corpse back to life.
Shelley's monster has since become one of most recognizable creatures of English lore - and of theater, movies and television. The first stage adaptation was performed in 1823, and the first Frankenstein film was produced in 1910 by Edison Studios. Boris Karloff put a lasting imprint on the character of the monster in films of the 1930s, released through Universal Pictures.
Among numerous well-known actors who have played one version or another of the Frankenstein monster on film are Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Christopher Lee, Peter Boyle, Randy Quaid and Robert De Niro.
In October, TCM will honor the terror that the monster has unleashed upon several generations, with the TCM premiere of a new documentary, The Strange Life of Dr. Frankenstein (2018), along with four classic movies inspired by Shelley's story. A second group of films will focus on a half-dozen other "mad scientist" stories from four decades. Here are the Frankenstein films in our tribute:
Son of Frankenstein (1939) was the third entry in Universal's Frankenstein series and the final one to star Boris Karloff as the monster. In this film, Basil Rathbone plays Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, the son of the original mad doctor. Rowland V. Lee directs a cast that also includes Bela Lugosi as Ygor and Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh. Fans of Mel Brooks' 1974 Young Frankenstein will recognize many influences from the older film, which was a tremendous hit in its day.
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) was the first of the Frankenstein movies from Hammer Film Productions and the first of their horror films to be shot in color. Peter Cushing plays Victor Frankenstein to Christopher Lee's monster, under the direction of Terence Fisher. The success of this film established Hammer as a leading producer of horror movies and led to a number of sequels as well as to films from that studio featuring such other classic monsters like Dracula and the Mummy.
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), the fourth entry in Hammer's Frankenstein series, has Cushing and Fisher returning as star and director, although this time the creature is female and played by Susan Denberg. She is a suicide victim resuscitated by Baron Frankenstein (Cushing) and invested with the soul of her lover (Robert Morris), an innocent and vengeful victim of the guillotine.
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) was the fifth of seven Hammer Films productions featuring the scientist and his creations. Once again Fisher directs Cushing as Baron, who now wants to transplant the brain of a medical associate who has gone insane (George Pravda) into a healthy body. Freddie Jones costars as the unlucky recipient, and Simon Ward and Veronica Carlson play a young couple embroiled in Frankenstein's scheme.
Our "mad scientist" films include two versions of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: the 1931 film brought Fredric March a Best Actor Oscar for his dual role; and the 1941 treatment stars Spencer Tracy. Also screening: Island of Lost Souls (1932), starring Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi; Mad Love (1935), starring Peter Lorre and Colin Clive; The Fly (1958), starring Al Hedison and Vincent Price; and The Frozen Dead (1966), starring Dana Andrews.


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Adventures in writing with Lisa Jensen, Author, Columnist and Film Critic
Saturday, August 30, 2014
OPEN the POD BAY DOOR
Back in the day, you'd tune in a program you wanted to hear, and then it would be lost in the aether, disappearing back into the mist like Brigadoon.
But not any more. Now we have podcasts!
So it was a big thrill for me to do a live interview last week at the SciFi4Me Radio website. The subject was Alias Hook, on the program Live From the Bunker.
Big thanks to interviewer Kammie Settle and tech whiz Jason Hunt for making it all so enjoyable. Here's the link if you'd like to catch up with the podcast!
My first podcast—I feel like such a professional!
Sunday, August 24, 2014
So if a priest happens to hear something dire after Mass one Sunday—like a death threat, to be carried out in one week—he has no recourse but to spend the next seven days combing through the community, hoping to identify the malcontent and diffuse the situation, or possibly even arm himself in self-defense.
At least, those would be the choices in an ordinary action thriller. But neither the Irish drama, Calvary, nor its writer and director, John Michael McDonagh, can be classified as ordinary.
Although much of the action follows the outline above, the film transcends its action, branching out into a poignant, often scathing, and even occasionally blackly humorous meditation on the human condition.
|GoT fans will recognize Littlefinger in Gleeson's wayward flock
And it mostly succeeds in its grand aims, thanks to a marvelously skilled and subtle performance by the great Brendan Gleeson in one of his best roles. He stars as a caring village priest whose parishioners practice most of the popular Deadly Sins.
The film's seven Stations of the Cross symbology plays into McDonagh's larger themes of sin, virtue, sacrifice and redemption. But nothing in the film feels like a sermon. A barely recovered alcoholic widower who came late to the priesthood, Gleeson's Father James strives to be of some practical use to his parishioners.
And not by offering up a bunch of empty platitudes about God's will or Heaven and Hell
It's because he doesn't presume to tell anybody what God wants that Gleeson's flawed Father James is so appealing. (Read more)
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
|A great beginning is everything.
Author sucks at the end of a pen, or flexes his fingers over the the keyboard for about 3.2 seconds, then commences to churn out the first two or five or ten pages of his magnum opus—as perfect and divine as Athena springing full-born from the head of Zeus.
Ah, such a charming fantasy. But don't be fooled, kids. In real life, the beginning of a book is the hardest part.
Everyone knows the first couple of pages or paragraphs, or sentences are the most important of the book—especially in this ADD-afflicted era, when there is so much competition for our shrinking attention spans. But that doesn't mean those first deathless lines are going to be the very first thing you write.
In my case, those opening pages are the very last thing I write! Or at least the last thing I write well.
|Nicole Kidman's Virginia Woolf, The Hours: real writers write over.
Once I've plunged in, I keep adding scenes as they occur to me (and usually not in chronological order) until I have some sense of a story arc heading for a conclusion. For me, knowing how the story ends is essential before I can go back and re-tackle that all-important opening.
There are times, however, when first instincts are serendipitous. For Alias Hook, the very first paragraph I committed to a Word doc remained the first paragraph of the book in print—at least in the UK edition:
Every child knows how the story ends. The wicked pirate captain is flung overboard, caught in the jaws of the monster crocodile, which drags him down to a watery grave. Who could guess that below the water, the great beast would spew me out with a belch and a wink of its horned, livid eye? It was not yet my time to die, not then nor any other time. It's my fate to be trapped here forever in a nightmare of childhood fancy with that infernal, eternal boy.
|The Disney version ends where my story begins.
And that's just the way it is. Only after plowing through the entire narrative, with all its drama, humor, and heartbreak, can you possibly understand where your story really begins.
(Above: Russell Brand as Captain Hook, photographed by Annie Liebovitz.)
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
FRENCH and INDIAN WARS
|Epic veggie fail, but Mirren is as tasty as ever
If you've seen the preview trailer for The Hundred-Foot Journey, you've seen the movie. If you've seen any foodie film in recent history in which cross-cultural food becomes a metaphor for spicing up life and/or romance—Chef, Chocolat, Babette's Feast, Like Water For Chocolate—you've seen this movie.
Basically, nothing happens here that's not telegraphed in the first fifteen minutes, or so, besides which every major plot twist and punchline has already been revealed in that trailer.
And yet, having said all that, The Hundred-Foot Journey has its easygoing charms. Thoroughly engaging performances are provided by a mixed cast of veterans and newcomers, led by the always sublime Helen Mirren and Indian national treasure Om Puri.
The location is irresistible, a sun-drenched corner of the South of France where an upstart family-run Indian eatery sets up shop across the street from a venerable French restaurant.
And there's plenty of good-looking food (of course), from haute cuisine to vivid massala-spiced Indian dishes to simple French country cooking, presented with enough relish to make it all go down smoothly.
Scripted by Steven Knight from the novel by Richard C. Morais, the film is directed by Lasse Hallstrom.
Fleeing political prising in India, the large and boisterous Kadam family is searching for a new place to put down roots when their decrepit vehicle breaks down in a charming French village. Widower Papa (Puri) buys a large stone farmhouse for the family's next culinary enterprise, with grown son, Hassan (Manish Dayal) in the kitchen.
|Charlotte le Bon and Manish Dayal
The only catch? It's right across the road from the elegant one-star Michelin restaurant of Madame Mallory (Mirren). Papa insists the town is big enough for both classical French and traditional Indian food, but a cold war quickly escalates between the two establishments.
Meanwhile, Hassan sparks with Mme. Mallory's young sous chef, Marguerite (the lovely and spirited Charlotte Le Bon), who recognizes in him the soul of a fellow food artist. (Read more in this week's Good Times.)
|Are we hungry yet?
Sunday, August 10, 2014
|Hugh Jackman, rehearsing for Pan
People are finally starting to realize that Captain Hook is everybody's favorite character in the Peter Pan universe. Seriously, who else besides J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, could ever think of that bratty, heartless eternal boy as the hero? These days, we know better.
(Over on Disney's Once Upon A Time, Hook is practically the star of the whole show thanks in no small part to sexy Colin O' Donoghue in the role. But then, Disney is notorious for graverobbing its own past successes in the fairy tale realm to accommodate changing tastes. Just look at Maleficent.)
|Colin O'Donoghue, Once Upon At Time
But in the upcoming Pan, it looks like the only way they can think to make a good guy out of Hook is to team him up with Pan against an even more dastardly villain—Blackbeard.
This is not an entirely unprecedented idea. Barrie tells us that James Hook was once "Blackbeard's bosun." So it's not too much of a stretch to imagine the two of them running amok in the Neverland together.
In the Pan version, the boy Peter (to be played by newcomer Levi Miller) is an orphan whisked off to Neverland. He meets James Hook as a young man in Blackbeard's crew, and they become shipmates and allies.
Garrett Hedlund is cast as Hook, most recently seen as Dean Moriarty (the Neal Cassady figure) in On The Road, and John Goodman's mysterious driver in Inside Llewyn Davies. It'll be interesting to see if he can ditch that modern hipster vibe to play Hook.
Apparently, Peter and Hook will be friends at the start of the story. But the badder Blackbeard gets (one assumes), the closer they come to an epic rift as each one has to choose what side he's on.
|Garrett Hedlund: hipster Hook?
I'm not sure if making James Hook the buddy—or even mentor—of little Peter is the best use of such a witty, sardonic, and complex character. And as to the whole idea of Hook as one of Blackbeard's crew? Well, the James Hook in my novel laughs at the crack-brained notion that, rumors aside, he would ever actually sail with Blackbeard —who was a well-known lunatic! Just sayin'...
So, not the way I would (or did) tell the story, but it's good to know Captain Hook and Peter Pan are still going strong in pop culture!
(Notice I'm not even going to mention the upcoming Peter Pan Live TV project, due in December. That's another post...)
Hey, maybe Hugh is playing Blackbeard (instead of Hook) because he's saving himself for the lead in Alias Hook! Well, a girl can dream, can't she...
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Alias Hook is now officially "buzzy," according to the current edition of Us Weekly!
For any two-fisted readers out there who are interested in a twofer, Amazon is now bundling Alias Hook and The Queen of the Tearling at one discounted price. Experience the buzz!
For any two-fisted readers out there who are interested in a twofer, Amazon is now bundling Alias Hook and The Queen of the Tearling at one discounted price. Experience the buzz!
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Arrival Experience: Just steps from Montpellier's famous Place de la Comedie square, this hotel is as good as it gets for tourists to this beautiful southern of France. It is a university town and buzzes with the energy of tens of thousands of students, and this hotel's city center location means that the best of the city's shopping, dining, and sightseeing is within a few blocks of the hotel. In fact, the Café du Theatre, Montpellier's celebrated spot to see and be seen especially in the evening hours is just steps away. As the square fills up with passersby, musicians, and business people emptying from their offices, it is worth sipping a local wine and watching the action. Back inside the hotel, the historic façade hides a clever, contemporary interior that begins with the front desk that is a colorful spot staffed with extremely friendly locals. They are happy to give directions throughout the area and are also proud of their hotel's legendary status in town.
Dining: Most rates include breakfast, which is served in a charming space off the lobby offering the typical French spread of baguettes, numerous types of cheese, fruit and yogurt, a selection of pastries, and hard-boiled eggs. Strong coffee, Evian bottled water, and fruit juices round out the offering. No other meals are served at the hotel, but there are many delicious restaurants within close proximity to the hotel including Chez Boris along the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle. A short taxi ride away will take guests to the Folia restaurant at the Chateau de Flaugergues, which is a beautiful and historically preserved chateau with a charming courtyard restaurant worth visiting.
Accommodations: The hotel is in the midst of renovations as it rebrands and lifts its status from a French three star to a French four star property. In the meantime, all guest rooms boast soft carpeting, firm beds underneath powerful air conditioning units (self-controlled), small desks with free wireless high speed Internet, and flat-screen cable TVs. Most rooms face the streets on either side of the building, but the bests units are those with glimpses of the Place de la Comedie. Bathrooms are large with scented toiletries and hair dryers, and separate water closets in many rooms provide a signature French touch. Phones, refrigerators, and windows that open are in all rooms. The décor is a blend of old and new with modern light fixtures in many rooms that mimic the minimalist design of the public areas. With the redesign of the hotel, all rooms will soon sport a fresh look.
Conclusion: There is no health club or gym here, but in the city center these are difficult to find. Many hotels (like the Suite Novotel) in the newer part of town have swimming pools, spas, and fitness areas. An Internet-equipped computer off the lobby area is available free of charge to guests. The main square outside the hotel houses the city's Opera Comedie, which is a smaller version of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris. Montpellier is one of France's hidden gems nestled in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, which is the largest producer of French wine (yes, most people think the Gironde region where Bordeaux is located is the biggest, but it is not). This charming area has a compact town center that is packed with café-lined squares and small shops that could occupy a tourist for days.


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Author: Michelle Hasker
Cover Art: Bryan Keller
Genres: Paranormal, Romance
Theme: Shapeshifters
Series: Coyote Tales (#2)
Book Length: Novella
Page Count: 56
Falling in love is never easy, but this time it's downright dangerous. Rory knows she can't have Dominick Rivers because he's pure coyote. He deserves a pure mate. Everyone knows this is how things are supposed to be, so why can't Dominick let her go? Even when the Purists come out of the woods to teach him a lesson he'll never forget -- the scars will remind him -- he still pursues her. If he can be so brave, why can't she?
Purity (Coyote Tales 2)
Michelle Hasker
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2014 Michelle Hasker
Rory made the mistake of making eye contact with Dominick.
As usual, the were took her breath away. His rugged features and wind-tousled hair evidenced his many hours outdoors. Brilliant green eyes kept her focus on his face when she wanted to check out his chest and abs in the tight blue T-shirt. Relying on memory alone she could sculpt his body using clay, but she'd moved on from that. At least, she'd tried. He wasn't helping matters.
"The usual." He placed a twenty on the shiny mahogany counter and sat down on an empty bar stool. Since it was a slow Tuesday night Rory knew it was going to be impossible to avoid him. It would be best to just serve him his drink, be pleasant, and hope he called it an early night.
Rory took the twenty and made his change. When she put his change on the counter his hand covered hers. Even though the touch wasn't intimate she could feel it throughout her entire body. Dom was more than skilled with those large hands. The way he'd used them on her had reduced her to a spineless mess on more occasions than she cared to admit to.
"You can't hide forever, love."
"I'm not hiding." Her voice came out harsh and low as she struggled to slide her hand free.
"You know what I mean, Rory." His thumb brushed against the back of her hand, sending a spark of desire racing from the point of contact.
"Bartending is about the furthest from hiding--" She stopped talking when trouble walked in the door. Bennett. The last thing she needed. Especially when she had no plans to succumb to Dom ever again.
"What?" Dominick's expression hardened as he turned to see what she was staring at.
Rory took advantage of his distraction and pulled free, walking to the other end of the bar to clean glasses.
"Slumming again, I see." Bennett sat down in the empty stool to the right of Dom and signaled to Rory. She poured him a draft and carried it over. She set the mug down on a napkin and walked off without waiting for him to pay. She'd pay for his drinks herself as long as she didn't have to pretend to carry on a friendly conversation with him.
Bennett was a purist. He didn't agree with interspecies marriages and he did his best to terminate any relationships that violated his rules. In fact, he'd started his own group called Purity -- Radicals who resorted to physical violence more often than not. The alpha and pack enforcer were trying to run Bennett and his followers out of town, but they hadn't been able to pin any of the missing weres on them. Without evidence there wasn't much they could do other than keep an eye on them.
When Bennett's voice dropped in volume, Rory looked up from drying a glass. She met Dom's furious gaze. Whatever Bennett was saying, it was really pissing Dom off. If there was trouble it would be up to her to enforce it, or summon her bouncer, Daniel.
She walked toward them, not realizing she was dragging her feet until she was halfway to them. Mentally chastising herself for showing weakness, Rory straightened her spine and stepped up to the men, determined to take control of the situation.
"I don't care about your purist ideals or your sanctimonious crap. What do you think our alpha would have to say if she heard you talking like this?" Dominick was definitely upset if the tone and volume of his voice was anything to go by.
"Our alpha did what she was supposed to. For the greater good of the pack and our future. She mated pure. She understands what needs to be done."
"Abigail did mate, but it was for love. Darius just happens to be pure." Dom had one hand tightly clenched around his mug. Rory wondered if Bennett understood that the only reason he still had teeth was because Dom chose to let him keep them. "Abigail mated for love, which is why their bond is strong and true. They both are pure, but they are true mates. We have plenty of pure mated pairs in this pack. How many of them are true mates?"
"The pack's future is more important than your happiness."
"Who I mate happens to be none of your business."
"You're wrong. It impacts the whole pack. You put the future of coyote at risk."
"I don't support your beliefs, but if I did I would point out that there are enough pure blood mated pairs to breed for you."
"There are never enough."
"You don't have the backing of the pack so take this somewhere else. We're going to have to agree to disagree, Bennett. I've had enough of your fanaticism for the evening."
"This isn't over, Dominick. Don't think the rest of the pack will just let you and Rory live happily ever after together. She's not pure like you."
She'd heard enough. This was her place. Her patrons, and it was up to her whether or not she told anyone what she was or wasn't. Rory slammed her palms down on the counter and growled. Both men stopped arguing at the sound and watched her, suspicion in Bennett's eyes, love in Dom's.
At least she had their attention.


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Raptors sign Glover; waive Baxter
Toronto, ON (Sports Network) – The Toronto Raptors Saturday signed guard Dion
Glover for the remainder of the season, waiving forward Lonny Baxter to make
room on the active roster.
The Raptors also announced that guard Alvin Williams, who has missed the
team's last three game with a knee injury, was placed on the injured list.
Williams is averaging 8.9 points and 4.1 assists in 54 games this season.
Glover, in his fifth NBA season, was waived by the Hawks on Wednesday. He
averaged 10.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 55 games with Atlanta during the
current campaign.
Baxter came to Toronto in a six-player deal from Chicago earlier this season.
He averaged 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 36 games with the Raptors.


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maui honey bud
15th June
Check out this new batch of honey buds we got in. This batch is better than most due to the amount of oil that is on the maui wowie nugs. This stuff is so strong that a few people have reported that it was TOO strong and they were scared while high on it…
8th April
This "Honey Bud" is a nug of marijuana dipped in Butane Hash Oil (BHO). It makes the hash oil more easy to handle. This sativa packs the strongest punch of any concentrate that i've tried…


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|Kook Short Stories:
Want to post a story on the Fellowship Freaks' website? Email your short story to Joy at email@example.com!
You're so poor that one day Carlos ran off with your skateboard, and your dad yelled, "Hey! Come back with the family car!!"
By Ox Felton-Grint and Shpazzy MacDonald
Polly Penhouse was a poor little rich girl. She got bad grades and so her parents gave her two options, to go to summer school (which only losers did and she was anything but a loser, or so she thought), or go to the ranch, which Uncle Papi and Aunti Francesca owned in Mexico. It was a ranch of armadillos and evil vultures. Her help in tending the animals was to help build her character, or so her parents thought. They soon decided to send Polly off on a big green bus to the Taco Pil-ow.
When she arrived, she was dismayed to discover the "ranch" was nothing more than a desolate wasteland swarming with vultures, a small sand pit, and a rickety sign that read "Tako Gadden." Polly also observed a small shack that was seven feet long and six feet wide, but as she looked up, to her amazement the shack stood eleven stories high and tilted in a rather unsettling way. There was cactus and sand for as far as the eye could see. "This is going to be like the most uncool vacation ever." Polly thought as she smacked her gum in frustration. She was even more amazed to when she saw twenty or more people stampeding out of the shack. "How can more than two people fit inside that little shack?" She thought to herself.
As she looked across their beaming faces she observed that they were all unusually ugly even for ranchers, "Which means no cute guys, like Sterling, my dreamy boyfriend." Polly was abruptly brought back to reality when a vulture stooped down and snatched her sunglasses.
"That's my best pair of juliets!" She screamed at the vulture.
Polly scowled at the motley crew. "What are you guys looking at?" She demanded of them, but before she could give them anymore more attitude, Uncle Papi brought out a crumbled piece of paper and read the contents, which read,
"G-good m-m-morning, it… is… n-n-nice to see your bright and s-s-smiling face; we are honored to have sister Roberta's chile stay in our humble a-a-abode. Now Simon says go work in the garden." Uncle Papi pointed to the sandpit.
"You call that a garden?!" Polly asked with all the attitude that she could muster (which was quite a lot). Aunti Fran replied with a grin,
"Dat's no ordinary garden, my chile. Dat is a taco garden! We work day and night, sun to moon planting tacos, watching them grow big like balloon! They have not yet, but now dat Roberta's chile is here we know dat these will grow to a most biggest ballon we have ever seen!"
Aunti Fran clapped her hands in glee, and pretty soon the whole crowd started slow clapping with her. Then an ugly boy (who she later discovers is her cousin Juan) started break dancing on the sand.
"G-g-glad Pol is here, but now time to work." Uncle Papi stammered from another piece of paper he had retrieved from his pocket. The crowd cheered and started to happily chant: "Work, work, it's time to work, time to grow some tacos!!" Polly just rolled her eyes and sullenly followed the ecstatic crowd to work in the "garden."
The sun was blazing hot, but the Mexicans seemed to revel in it. "Is this where you get all of your kicks, guys?" Polly grumbled.
Juan replied, "The best is yet to come, Senorita." And indeed it was for at that very moment Uncle Papi read aloud from another piece of paper "Friends and family, I have the good fortune to say to you, it is time for the watering ceremony, where senoritas from five years to fifteen years go to fetch the water to plant our crops so they grow big like balloons."
Aunti Fran led the people in another slow clap. Gammy Gonzolous whispered to Polly "This is your lucky day, honey bunch!" as she pushed her into the ring of girls who were proudly grabbing pails while singing in scratchy voices,
"I will go to fetch the water, to make the tacos big and strong. I will go to fetch the water, until I'm old like Gammy Gon."
"What's all of the commo?" Polly demanded. She finally caught on that she was to walk fifty miles to a town called "Ezzie" to retrieve water, and walk all the way back way back and pour the water on the "crops" so they grow big like balloons. After many pushes from Gammy Gon, Polly reluctantly trudged off to "fetch the water." By the second mile Polly was staggering and gasping for water. She found herself fainting onto scorching sand. How long she was there, she could not say, but after sometime she was rudely awaken by high squeaky voices saying "Oh my goodness is that Polly Penhouse?"
Polly exclaimed, "Oh no! Not the Quaker Friends!!"
The leader of the pack, who's name was Mary Margaret, squealed "What do you mean, Polly? We're your friends! We're here for you, dearie. What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere, Polly?"
"That's irrelevant! What are you guys doing here?" Polly demanded.
"We're here on a mission trip to minister to the unhappy armadillos and pagan vultures. We're here to serve. Can we help you, Polly?"
"Well, if you wanna make yourselves useful, take me to the nearest well, you see… I'm ministering to this less fortunate ranch family… they're going through a drought right now and they want uh… water… cause they're thirsty… yeah that's right, thirsty!" Polly fibbed.
"Oh my goodness," another Quaker squealed, "we must help them, for it is the Quaker way!"
Before Polly could say "w00t" the Quaker Friends broke into a song,
"We are Quakers, we are Quakers. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!! We help and sing, and are as sweet as can be, for we are the Quaker Friends! We are as plain peeled potatoes, but please don't throw at us tomatoes. Our friendship never ends 'cause we're your Quaker Friends! Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!! We live where you live, like a good neighbor the Quaker Friends are there!"
"No singing!! Just take me to the well, okay guys? I repeat, no singing!!"
So the party piled into the bus, and drove to the well. The Quaker friends filled their bonnets or caps with water, and Polly filled her sombrero, which she "borrowed" from Uncle Papi. The crew headed back to the ranch. When they finally arrived at their destination, the rest of the senoritas that had gone to fetch the water were dumping water on the "garden." The Quaker Friends marched out of the bus in single file. Polly quickly instructed them to pour the contents of their bonnets and caps onto the sandpit. When the ranchers finally grasped what the Quaker Friends were doing, they started to clap joyously.
"This calls for a feast!" Gammy Gon exclaimed.
The senoritas scrambled into the shack and came out carrying big bowls of beans on their heads, but before the feasting could begin, a huge host of vultures swarmed around the Quaker Friends.
"Ahhhh!! The Quaker-eating, pagan vultures are attacking!" The Quaker Friends screamed while running around frantically.
"In the bus!!" Mary Margaret shouted above all the commo.
The bus full of Quakers was off like a rocket.
"Whew." Polly sighed with relief, but before she could say anything else, Gammy Gon decided to open her big trap,
"Who were those Quaker Amigos who gave us all the H2O?"
"You don't even know what H2O is!" Juan accused.
"Sshh! It sounds cool!" Gammy Gon hissed.
"Oh those people?" Polly fibbed, "I've never seen them before in my life! I just, uh… met them on the street. They were giving away free water, so I decided to get some."
Polly decided to switch the conversation away from the Quaker Friends, so she asked Uncle Papi,
"It's really uh, hot today isn't it, Unk?"
Uncle Papi looked about blankly and then searched his pockets for the appropriate piece of paper, once he found one he stammered,
"I wa… will answer that que… question tomorrow."
Polly shrugged and went inside the shack. Once inside, Polly was surprised to see senoritas of all ages hastily preparing tacos.
"Oh good! Pol is here to help make tacos!" Juan's sister, Juana squealed in delight.
"Oh man!" Polly grumbled as she was pushed into the "taco factory" and was forced to make some elaborate tacos. "Oh, I'm so hungry! When do we get to eat these tacos?"
"Ha ha! Pol is being funny! Silly Pol, we no eat these tacos, we plant them!" Juana giggled and pretty soon all the senoritas were laughing like hyenas, till Polly started to lose it.
"I can't take it anymore! You guys are losers!!!" Polly shouted as she stole some tacos and ran outside to see what the "senors" were doing. "Oh no, I'm even being to think like them!" Polly thought in distaste.
Hours later it was time to retire. As Polly was walking to her "room" she saw Uncle Papi thoughtfully scribbling down words on scraps of paper.
"Dude!" Polly addressed Juan as he was swaggering towards the shack. "What's Uncle Papi doin'?"
"He's writing down things to say tomorrow."
"You mean he can't say anything without writing it down first?" Polly asked in disbelief.
Juan answered, "Well of course! He's a very thoughtful person, if he didn't write it down first he might say something stupid and that would never do!"
Polly just rolled her eyes and marched upstairs to see where she would be sleeping. When she had climbed up to the eleventh story she discovered that she was to sleep on the book shelf, to save room for the other senoritas.
"Oh great! What else could go wrong?" Polly demanded irritably.
Just then the room began to sway like a hammock in the breeze. Polly started to freak out.
"Juan, Papi, Gammy Gon!! Help! Somebody save me!!!"
A laugh was heard coming up the stairs, and soon Juana appeared.
"Silly Pol, it always rocks like this, but do not worry it hasn't fallen down in months!"
Polly screamed again and buried her head in her pillow. She woke up the next day to squeals of joy. She jumped off the book shelf and ran down the stairs, hoping to see Sterling, but instead found big balloon-sized tacos in the sandpit.
"Gammy Gon was right! The tacos grow big like balloon when Roberta's chile comes." Aunti Fran squealed in glee.
Right then, Polly had one of her "great" ideas. She jumped onto the taco balloon, cut the roots and sailed to America. She was about to shout some ugly words to Juana and the rest of the ranchers, but she stopped herself. Maybe she had built some character after all…
Meanwhile Aunti Fran was giving a speech (Uncle Papi would have, but he was not properly prepared),
"My people, now dat dee tacos are flying away with Roberta's chile, it is time to plant the fried ice cream!"
The End


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Has your pet been diagnosed with cancer or are you concerned your pet may have cancer?
Unfortunately we see just as many pets with cancer as our human counterparts. Although cancer has a very negative connotation we are blessed today with many options to not just extend the life of your pet but also greatly improve their quality of life after a cancer diagnosis. Our doctors enjoy the opportunity to stage cancer and offer treatment options so that we can help you maintain the bond with your pet. We offer various surgical options for cancer as well as chemotherapy here at KMAH. Many owners are very nervous to consider chemotherapy after either experiencing it for themselves or knowing a friend or family member who has had chemo. Fortunately, animals routinely do not have the negative side effects of chemotherapy that we seen in humans. Very rarely do we ever see the hair loss, nausea, loss of appetite, etc that people have with chemo. Our goal is for your pet to feel better even while receiving chemotherapy.
If you are concerned about cancer in your pet, please call us for a consult at Kennesaw Mountain Animal Hospital today.


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It feels SO GOOD not having to post that hideous 22b422 logo, oh man. That was one joke that got more than enough stage time. To help my eyes heal from the Wordart, I've been playing around with some versions of this week's SUMO poster. For Drive. The movie that I'm in love with. NBD (but actually..).
Category Archives: list
22B422 Pt. 22: TOO SOON
Things on my TOO SOON list (for which the pain is much too fresh for me to spend more than two seconds thinking about before locking myself in a room and playing Someone Like You on repeat)
-Titanic in 3-D
-"Fast Car", seriously
-My lack of an Ed Studies concentration
-The ruuuude Pepsi Max ads at Target Field today
– Pan-Pan going out of business
– Anything related to comps
– The last chapter of "The Women of Brewster Place"
– RIP Greg Sellnow
– The Quarry Hill murder
– Kony graffiti on Spoonbridge and Cherry
– Jason Varitek's retirement
– Manny Ramirez's comeback
– every single thing I've turned in so far for Creative Non-Fiction
22B422 Pt. 21: Things I Might Miss When I Move Out Of Minnesota
Things I Might Miss When I Move Out Of Minnesota
1. HyVee
3. Perkins Restaurant, Bakery and All-Day Breakfast Paradise
4. Kwik Trip
5. Basil's Pizza
6. The Carleton College Security Blotter
7. The Paperbook Palace
8. the guy on Minnesota Public Radio with the New Zealand accent
9. 507
10. Panakuken
11. "You bet."
22B422 Pt. 20: Notebook Excerpts
LIFE WRITING AT ITS BEST! Beat this, Anne Frank.
The first lines of each page in my school notebook:
– a model
– Do I know George well enough to write about this?
– turned into a commentary on effects of
– 4/10 is timeline invasion day on Facebook
– leaves with new understanding of people, generally normalizes them
– Autobiography/Personal/Psychology
– general journalism lecture: solve problem of SCENE first
– farm stand in high school (high school or old woman?)
– he wants to win the lottery/rob a bank/ change his name/ donate to charity
– … therefore becomes a hero to win BUT
– … therefore he successfully frames liked hero to take his spot, BUT
– Sotheby's, appraisal orgs
– antiques capital of Connecticut?
– rituals and benchmarks
– structure of schooling and the boundaries of adolescence
– (Rousseau) assumes people are innately good
– make every working man a scholar and every scholar a working man
– Milner: status determined by beauty/physique
– Erikson/Marcia's so-called universal theories don't consider the implications of race
– Louder Than A Bomb questions : poetry in curriculum?
– 2000 writers' collaborative
– Personal Narrative: what's the purpose of telling a story?
– Doug Foxgrover and posters
-The role of social networks on adolescent identity development
– retain the inalienability of status because status is located in other people's minds
– in high school could explore the two identities by creating
– Last weekend, Ernesto and I visited Ann Arbor, Michigan
– Oliver Sachs and how to approach life writing
– Salem's Lot 4:23:21 at 59:45
– scholars and leaders in professionalism
– low scoop/arms side/ knees low/ cries low
– legs take it out in stride
22B422 Pt. 19: Things Currently On My Coffee Table
– A thing of nail polish in "Spring Fling," which looks peach-colored in the bottle but gold and tacky on my fingernails.
– A milkglass vase with flowers from last summer's wedding
– A Swingline stapler
– One green mug with a sad little puddle of Coke Zero at the bottom
– One compostable plastic cup 1/3 filled with trail mix I took from the junior art show opening
– One unwrapped box of chocolate-covered macadamias
– Ernesto's unused Lagniappe
– One Glade candle that smells like "Clean Linen" or "Fresh Cotton" or something similar to give the illusion that any laundry ever gets done in this apartment
– Half of a chocolate chip cookie from Sayles
– One Energizer battery charger
– One new copy of "A Century of Revolution" by Grendin & Joseph
– One used copy of "Keep it Real" by Lee Gutkind
– One used and battered copy of "The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager" by Thomas Hine
– A teal-colored ceramic Sun/Moon that I haven't found a nail for
– A framed print of Paws/Pause
– One used copy of "The Motorcycle Diaries"
– The Spring/Summer Northfield community ed catalog
– A Victoria's Secret catalog
– One copy of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" that is property of John Marshall High School
– One sealed envelope addressed to the Mayo Scholarship Plan
– One printout of a reddit IAMA thread titled, "I transport exotic and unusual shipments for FedEx. AMA"
22B422 Pt. 18: Teen Anthems
Have you ever been in high school? Do you go to Carleton College? You should probably take EDUC 344 with Deborah Appleman, where you get to study high school and teen angst and all the other things that make life worth living. There's a slightly insane number of books that we read per week, but the class makes up for it by starting every day with a teen anthem. Our list so far has included:
– "Baba O'Riley", by The Who
– "No Such Thing," by John Mayer (not his best, but I freaked out enthusiastically regardless)
– "Jack and Diane," by John Mellencamp
– "Fast Car," by Tracy Chapman (I think I've described previously how hard it was not to cry)
– "At Seventeen," by Janis Ian
– "Maria, Maria," by Santana w/ Wyclef and a bunch of other people
– "Waterfalls," by TLC
– "Born This Way," by Lady Gaga
22B422 Pt. 17: Candles
Does it count if I wrote this list way back in November? Here's an excerpt from last year's NaNoWriMo experiment, which takes place in a street market.
Across this woman's stand was a booth filled with incense and candles that church-going people could burn for specific saints, or for the occasional miracle. There was
– the candle that could cure impotency
– the candle that could turn back time
– the candle that could heal the sick
– the candle that could turn smelly feet odorless
– the candle that could turn naughty children into angels
– the candle that could make the lover who broke your heart come back on his knees begging for your forgiveness
– the candle that kept bitter ancestors out of your house
– the candle that stretched money out so that people could make ends meet
– the candle that helped vocalists with no talent sing in tune
– the candle that helped people read faster
– the candle that made a specific person miss you so much their bones ached
– the candle that could burn away all the sins you'd ever committed
– the candle that could burn away all the sins you were considering committing in the next year
– the candle that guaranteed a lasting marriage
– the candle that soothed coughs, sore throats, stomachaches and fevers
– the candle that induced coughs, sore throats, stomachaches and fevers
– the candle that made you into a better poet
– the candle that ensured anything cooked in your kitchen would never burn again
– the candle that incrementally cured diabetes long enough for you to have just one bite of that delicious chocolate donut
– the candle that made arthritis go away
– the candle that erased memories
– the candle that helped you find lost items
– the candle that made you lose weight
– the candle that engorged your breasts
– the candle that scared away monsters under the bed and ghosts in the closet
– the candle that made it so you were always on time
– the candle that helped you stop the disgusting habit of biting your nails
– the candle to keep unwanted missionaries away from your doorstep
– the candle that cured alcoholism
– the candle that got you drunk
– the candle that protected houses from bandits and criminals
– the candle that ended world hunger
– the candle that kept away nosy neighbors
– the candle that made lonely people feel a little less alone
– the candle that made everyone in the room fuzzy to the point of near invisibility so that you could be alone if you wanted
– the candle that helped people find the silver lining on the darkest, coal-black thunder clouds
– the candle that restored faith when faith was needed
– the candle that soothed people in moments of resignation
– the candle that provided shots of extra energy
– the candle that helped lost dogs find their way back home
– the candle that helped people remember birthdays and anniversaries and supposedly important dates like those
– the candle that improved people's driving abilities
– the candle that reduced blood pressure
– the candle that inspired burnt-out lovers to squeeze out one last sonnet before deciding that they are bored with romance
– the candle that could help people forgive the unforgivable
– the candle that kept ants and cockroaches out of the pantry
– the candle that erased fingerprints and smudges from clear glass windows
– the candle that made people run faster
– the candle that helped people sleep sounder
– the candle that could cure snoring
– the candle that could induce nightmares in people who had grown accustomed to too many sweet dreams
– the candle for people who are afraid of the dark
– the candle for people who are afraid of heights
– the candle for people who are afraid of people
– the candle that could make limp celery crunchy again
– the candle that could make lightbulbs glow brighter
– the candle that helped people make difficult decisions
– the candle that increased gamblers' chances at winning
– the candle that allowed people to read other people's minds
– the candle that made everyone agree with you
– the candle that kept it from raining
– the candle that helped your rose bushes grow
– the candle that perpetually blessed the food on your table so that you wouldn't have to say grace at every meal
– the candle that eased pangs of hunger pain
– the candle that helped people speak a foreign language
– the candle that deciphered the Book of Isaiah
– the candle whose flames foretold the future with shadows on the wall
– the candle that took back all of the hurtful things you said to the few people you cared about the most
– the candle for aching backs
– the candle for Christmases when there might not be enough presents


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|"I worry about my child and the Internet all the time, even though she's too young to have logged on yet. Here's what I worry about. I worry that 10 or 15 years from now, she will come to me and say 'Daddy, where were you when they took freedom of the press away from the Internet?'"
[Mike Godwin, Electronic Frontier Foundation]
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
My brother has had his first born! A wonderful boy just named Morten. And I'm 600 kilometres away. I have to get a jet plane or something.
Posted by Andreas Heldal-Lund at 12:07 am
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|the view from where we sat
The cocktail I got was the cocktail of the season? It was called christmopolitan" which is a play on Christmas and cosmopolitan. It was mainly cranberry juice and vodka. At first sip, it tasted more like juice than alcohol. As you got to the bottom, the vodka taste became more prominent.
|chrismopolitan 15
The B.C. Salmon was ordered by my friend and I did have a small portion to taste. The salmon was nicely seared or torched. The inside was not the pinkish color you would expect from a salmon. The color of the fish was still translucent but cooked. The taste of the salmon was light and did not overpower the natural salmon taste at all. I really enjoyed this dish.
|Marple Torched B.C. Salmon 23
|Two Tone Romaine 18
|I really liked the soft broiled quail egg.
|Oyster Boy`s Finest 19
|Sustainable Blue Arctic Char 38
|49 Day Aged Ontario Rib Eye 49
|Green Alder Rubbed Venison 48
|Butter Tart 12
|Soft Chocolate Financier 12
|Sticky Toffee Date Pudding 12
|the damage
The service was excellent. All dishes were explained by the server upon presentation and they were very knowledgeable about their menu. We had personal space with attentive service without being too intrusive and annoying. Food wise, I didn't find anything that was over and beyond. It was good. I would not go back again because I found the menu items to be limited and didn't offer enough variety. I believe a meat eater would enjoy Canoe more than I did.
Happy Holidays to my dear readers~~~
Here's the season to be jolly, fa la la la la... la la la...


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To CNML moms:
I don't think you can find an informed Catholic moral theologian anywhere in the world who will say that ecological breastfeeding is a contraceptive behavior to be condemned as seriously sinful.
According to Catholic Church teaching, couples need to have a sufficiently serious reason to practice systematic natural family planning. Couples do not need to have a reason to practice eco-breastfeeding because the extended infertility of ecological breastfeeding is a normal, God-given side effect of following God's plan for baby care. It is not wrong to hope for normal breastfeeding infertility along with all the other normal good effects of breastfeeding.
Mother and baby are one biological unit during pregnancy and after childbirth. This concept of mother and baby being one biological unit is taught by some representing the medical profession and is also stated by the World Health Organization. The WHO said: "Mothers and babies form an inseparable biological and social unit; the health and nutrition of one group cannot be divorced from the health and nutrition of the other." ("Infant and young child nutrition," Fifty-Fifth World Health Assembly, April 16, 2002) The biological unit is the same except that during childbirth the baby switches positions from the uterus to mother's arms.
Just a couple of points to consider about ecological breastfeeding.
First, breastfeeding amenorrhea is a natural effect of Ecological Breastfeeding. Biologically, the primary effect of breastfeeding is the nourishment of the baby. Close secondary effects are the anti-infection health benefits for the baby, the nurturing benefits for the baby, and the health benefits for the mother. Breastfeeding amenorrhea is another secondary effect.
Second, there is nothing wrong to breastfeed with the hopes of experiencing breastfeeding amenorrhea. In fact, the choice to do ecological breastfeeding with the Seven Standards enhances the primary and other secondary effects.
Third, because Eco-breastfeeding is sometimes inconvenient, I think that almost all mothers who chose to do Eco-Bf as their primary reason initially will change later and will continue to do the Seven or Six Standards primarily because of the effects of breastfeeding for the baby.
The idea that Ecological Breastfeeding is contraceptive is common in a few Catholic circles. They believe that teaching ecological breastfeeding is wrong because it teaches mothers to have a lengthy breastfeeding amenorrhea. And that means no baby or pregnancy during that time. They believe that if moms nurse their babies, they should wean early in order to conceive again. The important breastfeeding benefits for both mother and baby are ignored. Saint Pope John Paul II told mothers to nurse for two years at least and mentioned that breastfeeding spaces babies.
Regarding those who say ecological breastfeeding does not space babies, all you have to do is ask them about each of the Seven Standards or send them my breastfeeding survey. I have sent surveys to some "it doesn't work" mothers but never had a survey returned. I think they realized they were not doing eco-breastfeeding. I did a study on those mothers in our NFP organization who said it did not work, but in no case were all the Seven Standards followed. On page 113 of our manual, Natural Family Planning: The Complete Approach, we list behaviors of breastfeeding mothers which interfere with natural infertility. This manual can be obtained at www.NFPandmore.org for a small donation. It is free for the truly poor.
And most importantly, there are variations. Some nursing mothers have a return of menstruation earlier than others with a rare few having a very early return. Secondly, many of us who go one or two years without menstruating are anxious for fertility to return because we are anxious to have another baby. That desire to conceive again is a natural side effect when the breastfeeding and the oneness with your baby are so enjoyable.
What we need is for the Church to promote the natural spacing of children with eco-breastfeeding, for all NFP groups to teach the Seven Standards, and get Gina on EWTN promoting CNML and her book!
Sheila Kippley
Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood
The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding
Natural Family Planning: The Complete Approach
Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood
The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding
Natural Family Planning: The Complete Approach


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Seattle Mariners
Mariners shift focus to first base; see Adam Lind and Mike Napoli as possible solutions
The focus shifted Tuesday for the Mariners at the Winter Meetings to filling their need for a first baseman and bolstering a bullpen now loaded with question marks.
And if general manager Jerry Dipoto's emerging track record is any indication, answers won't be long in coming.
Example: The Mariners appeared poised to close the day by acquiring reliever Evan Scribner from Oakland for a price still under negotiation. That deal might not be completed until Thursday's conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft.
As for their hole at first base, the Mariners have confirmed interest in Milwaukee's Adam Lind as a trade target and are increasingly linked to free-agent Mike Napoli.
"We have some deals we're working on," Dipoto said. "There are a lot of discussions that we've had, both with free agents and with different clubs on possible trades. (First base is) definitely an area where we want to improve."
Napoli, 34, slumped last year to .224 in 133 games at Boston and Texas but still had 18 homers and 50 RBIs. Industry projections say he is likely looking at a pay cut to $10 million after making $16 million last season.
But since Napoli was traded in August, he isn't subject to free-agent compensation — i.e., clubs can sign him without losing a draft pick. The Rangers and Red Sox each show interest in reacquiring him.
Competition for Lind, a left-handed hitter, figures to be stiff. He batted .277 last season in 149 games with 20 homers and 87 RBIs and projects as a one-year rental, at $8 million, before becoming a free agent.
Lind, 32, fits the Mariners' recent pattern of avoiding additional long-term commitments, but Milwaukee, which is in a rebuilding mode, is seeking prospects.
That might make it tough for the Mariners, who have few high-quality projectable players at the upper levels of their farm system.
One possible exception is D.J. Peterson, a former first-round pick who struggled last year after a strong 2014 season. The Brewers need a third baseman, which is Peterson's natural position.
Tellingly, perhaps, the Mariners interest in Lind and Napoli reflects an increased emphasis in on-base percentage in light of their recent decision to trade Mark Trumbo, 29, to Baltimore.
Trumbo is projected to make $9.1 million in arbitration after batting .262 with 22 homers and 62 RBIs in 142 games for Arizona and the Mariners. Even so, his on-base percentage was just .310. His career mark is .300.
Not good enough.
"From the first free agent we brought on board in Chris Iannetta," Dipoto said, "to the most recent in Nori Aoki, what we're trying to do is create traffic that feeds the middle of our lineup."
Napoli posted a .324 OBP last season in a disappointing year, including .396 in 35 games after joining the Rangers. He has a .355 mark over his 10-year career.
Lind boosted his on-base percentage in recent years. He achieved a .360 rate last season and has a .364 mark over the last three years.
That makes either one — or someone similar — a comfortable fit as what currently projects as the No. 7 spot in the batting order.
"The way our lineup sets up today," Dipoto said, "is Aoki and (Ketel) Marte who feed (Robinson) Cano and (Nelson) Cruz and (Kyle) Seager. Then you get into the (Franklin) Gutierrez/(Seth) Smith platoon.
"Then we need someone to make that lineup longer to get us back to Iannetta and (Leonys) Martin. With the exception of Leonys Martin, all of those guys have a career norm above the league average in getting on base."


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Thailand's International DotA Team (MiTH.Trust) is one of the 16 teams that has been invited to join in DotA 2 gamescom tournament. Not long ago, they unfolded the pictures of their boot camp in which they seem to be practicing for 'The International' event. We can see the spectacular images of DOTA 2 but unfortunately they are unclear due to the long distance. The game indeed looks bright as compared to other clones.
There is a full set of images published by the team on their website but they were soon blurred out as they signed some sort of non-disclosure agreement with Valve corporation. Few more days left until DotA 2 Live Stream in action, we'll be able to see the entire preview of the Valve's new masterpiece.


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Hello guys, it's Onix here again.
This time, I come to present you Ignus the Pyro Master.
Holder of powerful spells and able to handle fire elementals. He is one of the key pieces of the plot, both in game and HQ, and is also the grandfather of our protagonist Ruber.
You can see the speed painting in Full HD below:
Stay tuned to our page on twitter and facebook.
I'll be drawing live every thursday and saturday at 22:00.


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Tired of wandering apathetically through malls trying to find the perfect gift? Here are ten reasons why you should buy Dead Romans for anyone and everyone this Christmas.
10) Hot female celebrities love it.
I would totally do anyone who buys Dead Romans.
-Rihanna, hot female celebrity
9) Hot male celebrities love it.
I would totally do Rihanna. I mean, I would totally do anyone who buys Dead Romans.
-Justin Timberlake, hot male celebrity
8) It is endorsed by the best writers.
What the hell do you want me to say? 'Dead Romans is great?' Fine. Dead Romans is great. Now get off my lawn before I release the hounds.
-Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad
7) My publisher doesn't charge for shipping.
I've made a terrible mistake.
-Ken Coffman, Stairway Press
6) That kid you went to school with actually wrote a book.
You're shitting me. That kid that used to eat glue wrote a book? I always expected he would end up in one of those institutions that don't allow metal cutlery.
-My best friend in third grade.
5) There is a lot of sex in it.
Wow. This thing is R-rated.
-My first editor.
4) It is historically accurate in every conceivable way.
I decided to drink a bottle of vodka and retire after reading Dead Romans. After this perfect book there's nothing left to learn about the Roman Empire.
-Dr. Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge
3) It was almost nominated for the top literary awards.
I was going to nominate it, but then decided that wouldn't be fair to all the other writers because they wouldn't stand a chance.
-Paul C. Tash, Chairman of the Board of the Pultizer Prize
2) The Finnish Santa Claus thinks it is the perfect gift.
Perkele saatana vittu Dead Romans koskenkorva!
-Joulupukki, the Finnish Santa Claus
1) It is being studied in the best schools.
We ran out of colouring books.
-Judy Smith, kindergarten teacher
Buy it for your Kindle here!
Get a hard copy from Stairway Press!
Note: All quotes are fabricated, except for my first editor, who really did call it 'R-rated.' The Finnish Santa Claus quote might be fairly accurate, too.


text:
by Yoshida Toshi
|Yoshida Toshi — 吉田遠志
|Date 1st edition?:
|Publisher 1st edition?:
|Not Set
|Publisher (this edition)?:
|Not Set
|Medium (1st edition):
|Medium (this edition):
|Format (1st edition):
|Not Set
|Format (this edition):
|Not Set
|DB artwork code:
|Notes (1st edition)?:
|Notes (this edition)?:
|The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Often written by non-experts, there may be inaccuracies:
Offered for sale is a wonderful, pencil signed, limited edition woodblock by Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995). It is titled May, 51/200, 1973. In 1952, influenced by the work then being produced by his brother Hodaka, Toshi began producing abstract prints, while at the same time continuing the shin hanga school landscape tradition began by his father, Hiroshi Yoshida.
|Artist Bio:
|Toshi Yoshida was the eldest son of Hiroshi Yoshida.
Like his father he undertook extensive travels all over the world. His trips took him to the U.S.A., Canada, India,
Africa, Australia and even to Antarctica. Most of his print subjects are focused on landscapes or animals depicted in a realistic style.
After the death of his father Hiroshi Yoshida, he even experimented in abstract art for a while but returned to realistic landscape prints.
よしだ・とおし 明治44年東京生まれ 画家・吉田博の長男で父に師事 大平洋美術学校卒 日展入選など 「動物絵本シリーズ」で絵本にっぽん賞受賞 日本版画協会会員 平成7年歿


text: Rob Townley wrote: > > NIC ordering is a problem. Some say it is the multi cpu, some say bad > BIOS, some say MAC address ordering is better, some say PCI bus > enumeration is better. The netdev mailing list has had a long running > discussion on this issue. The CTO of Dell and members of HP along > with others are / were active participants. Part of the problem is > that an alias name may not be available to the kernel. > > Dell has their own software to bring determinism to NIC ordering. > http://linux.dell.com/papers.shtml > > One of Dell's programmers has proposed changing Anaconda to let you > choose at installation time the NIC naming convention: > > We have been having discussions in the netdev list about creating > multiple names for the network interfaces to bring determinism into > the way network interfaces are named in the OSes. In specific, "eth0 > in the OS does not always map to the integrated NIC Gb1 as labelled on > the chassis". > > http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=125510301513312&w=2 - (Re: PATCH: > Network Device Naming mechanism and policy) > http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=125619338904322&w=2 - ([PATCH] > udev: create empty regular files to represent net) > Do any of these approaches help with the scenario where you want to clone a system across many identical machines including future additions where you don't know the MAC addresses yet, and you'd like the remote operator to be able to insert a drive and have it come up with the right interfaces on the right network connections? This was possible in Centos 3.x, but not in 5.x. -- Les Mikesell lesmikesell at gmail.com


text:
Floor Stripping and Resealing in Tampa Bay, Florida
There are many details that many may not realize that is required in properly handling floor care. With the many types of flooring available, the proper treatments, supplies, and equipment must be used for the each type of flooring. Not to mention, the grout must also be properly treated. And the supplies and equipment used, must meet the safety and hazardous standards of the government. From floor stripping and resealing to the proper handling of water damage, floor care is not so easily done, except for the cleaning professionals.
For one, when it comes to vinyl or Linoleum flooring, they will lose their sheen after a while, especially when it comes to much traffic. When this happens, floor stripping and resealing are required. The floor must first be stripped of the old seals. It then must be polished with the use of a course scrubbing pad on the rotary scrubbing machine and a floor stripping, diluted solution. Once all the polish and the sudsy solution are removed, the floor is rinsed to a neutral finished. Afterwards, three coats or more of polish are applied upon the floor being dried, leaving a great level of gloss preferred by the client. With a sealed vinyl floor, regular maintenance is needed to enhance the floor's deep shine. Also, when the polish is worn and scratched away, it is time to strip to virgin vinyl, and recoat it with a few layers of emulsion polish. For stripping and resealing natural stone floors and marble, special chemical treatments must be utilized to strip down and rinse to PH balanced level, before applying the appropriate waxes and sealers. For tile, grout, and stone, special deep cleaning, extraction equipment, and specialized cleaning solutions are used to properly remove the build-up and dirt.


text:
AfterlifeBook - 2017
From the critics
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The characters just didn't capture me. I wasn't pulled into the story. Good concept but I just didn't " feel " it. Fell flat.
I've previously read some of Marcus Sakey's work, and while I enjoyed some of it, I wouldn't have willingly picked up Afterlife had the publicist not specifically asked me to. My expectations going into Afterlife were not high, but I figured I'd slog through it if necessary.
It wasn't.
Afterlife raises the bar on what I expect from Marcus Sakey a whole lot higher than it previously was. I had no idea the man was capable of pulling off something like this.
This is one of those books that immediately put me in my happy spot. The hint of romance, the parallel world (for lack of a better term), the new take on life after death. The battle of good versus evil. Afterlife is wonderfully imaginative, deliciously dark, and almost perfectly written.
Claire and Will are a great pair of characters. Too good to be true, of course, but sometimes we need perfect heroes in a story like this. I liked that the author had no problem making Claire the smarter one of the two of them. I loved reading the easy acceptance that Will had of her mental superiority. He loved her and never resented her abilities. And while she had no problem pointing out the flaws in his thinking, she never set out to make him feel like an idiot. (Like I said: too good to be true.) And even though they're both strong separately, together they're so much more. And that's how it should be.
The dialogue was believable. The action was perfectly paced. The way Sakey describes the other world is simple, yet effective. It feels like it really would translate very, very well to screen. Which means, naturally, that I can't watch it in a theater. Because I'll be yelling at the screen for them not getting it right.
Pretty much the only critiques I have of Afterlife are little things. Like every time the villain appeared on screen, he was introduced by his 'razor sharp cheekbones'. By halfway through, I was beginning to imagine if the man was made flesh, he could get a job being a real life Fruit Ninja with the power of his cheekbones alone.
Overall, Afterlife was a solid, entertaining read that I would definitely recommend!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.
The fast-paced cinematic action (there's already a movie planned!) kept my interest, but I also found it had some surprising things to say about reality, the soul, and mortality. I loved the Brilliance books more, but that's more down to personal preference than anything. This is also a great book.
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scifiandscary thinks this title is suitable for 18 years and over
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