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Let Us Alone and Let Us Serve
Reverend Matt Gaventa
September 24, 2017
Exodus 14:10-31
From the Book of Exodus:
As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still."
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers." The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt." Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
So here it is. This is the big moment. We have been preaching through Exodus for weeks and no self-respecting Exodus sermon series skips over the Parting of the Red Sea, so here we are. I haven't actually done this, but I'm pretty sure that if you walked around Austin asking folks what they knew about the book of Exodus, Family Feud-style, the most popular answer would far and away be the Parting of the Red Sea. This is one of those capstone pieces, it's all spectacle and special effects. Actually this sequence is the inspiration for some of the first landmark special effects usage in Hollywood history, when Cecil B. Demille created literally thousands of gallons worth of Jell-O in order to show the parted sea in his 1923 version of The Ten Commandments. Which is not the one with Charlton Heston standing on the rocky outcrop with the staff held high and the water pulling away from itself but it just goes to show that you don't make a movie of the 10 Commandments without this scene. This is the scene everybody wants to see.
And it's actually the first of three major special effects sequences that will unfold over the next three weeks. Today, we've got the parting of the Red Sea; next week, manna falling from heaven; and the week after that, to close out the trilogy, Moses striking the rock and water pouring forth. The lynchpin stories of the Exodus — of Israel escaping from slavery in Egypt and entering into the wilderness — these stories are chock-full of miracles, supernatural set-pieces that even the lectionary makes sure we don't forget. But special effects on their own don't make the movie. There are lots of movies out there with amazing special effects and no kinds of character work and it's not a satisfying combination and I should know because I saw the first Transformers movie in the theatre and I survived so that I could testify to you, now, today. Special effects will only get you so far. At some point, you have to have characters. You have to have characters and the choices they make. And Exodus has its fair share of characters making their fair share of choices. Let's talk about Israel. And let's talk about Moses.
First, Israel. The people of Israel are not well. Running away from slavery has not gone well so far. They are walking across the desert, but they didn't get much of a head-start, and Pharaoh's army is on horseback, and Pharaoh's catching up, and Israel is not happy. And when Israel gets unhappy in Exodus they get super-sarcastic, like the disaffected teenager from some bad family sitcom, and they direct it all to Moses. "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." Serving Pharaoh is all Israel can remember, and it wasn't great, but at least when they were serving Israel nobody made them go on death-marches through the desert without enough food or water and nobody ever threatened to pour the Red Sea down on top of them. It may come off like sarcasm but in many ways this is not an unreasonable position; one could make the argument that Israel has a thoroughly pragmatic understanding of how the world really works.
Moses, though. Moses just wants to be free; all Moses talks about is being free; free from slavery; free from Pharaoh; free from Egypt; just free. Moses talks like a guy who just wants to get out of Dodge and see the world. Moses talks like a guy who needs to shake the dust of that town off his feet and hit the road. But then when the action starts, all Moses does is take directions. That's the way it's always been. God said, "Go talk to Pharaoh," and Moses went to talk to Pharaoh." God said, "Stretch your hand out over the sea," so Moses stretched his hand out over the sea. And this will continue time and again; Moses is very much the hero of the Exodus story but he doesn't show a lot of independent initiative; it's like he's traded one boss for another; for a guy who talks so much about freedom, he sure likes taking directions. And then of course it works; the sea parts, the Israelites go through, the Egyptian army drowns. And it says that "the people feared the Lord and believed in his servant, Moses."
That's the irony of this text. That the one guy who talks all day about freedom is the one guy who stays a servant the whole time. But I get it. Freedom can be a kind of slippery thing. When I myself was a disaffected teenager, all I wanted was to be free. To go where I wanted to go and be who I wanted to be and escape from the unjust dominion of my parents' household (who are very decent and good parents and do not deserve to be treated this way in a sermon illustration). And of course like so many who yearn for teenage freedom, all that meant to me was that I wanted a car. A car meant that I could get out. A car meant that I could be on my own, accountable to nobody, subordinate to nobody. And finally when I was 17 I got my license — New Jersey makes you wait for it — and of course it is every bit as spectacular a feeling as it was built up to be, freedom itself, hot off the laminating press and pocket-sized. And I started sharing my mother's Toyota station wagon, which is not exactly the perfect ideal of teenage freedom but it was better than nothing. So I could go. And I was free.
The problem was, of course, that freedom requires gas. And gas was expensive. I mean, not 2017 expensive, but still. I didn't have any money, so everything was expensive. And so I did what you do when you're 17 and need gas money: I got a job. A bit of a financial upgrade from babysitting, but not the most glamorous employment — I got a job doing data entry for some company that asked college applicants to evaluate the college application process and then it packaged those results and sold them back to colleges, and it really meant that after school I drove to this office park and I sat at a desk and entered form results into a database for as many hours as I could take. There were always more forms. And there were always more hours. And I needed gas. And look, I had a pretty privileged childhood. As complaints go, mine is laughable. But that was not obvious to me when I was trapped in a cubicle after school every day with a window view of the car that I couldn't afford to drive unless I sat there in that cubicle which of course I had to pay for the gas for the privilege of driving to in the first place and I'm now having a long conversation with myself about whether this is really the freedom that I signed up for.
All of which is to say: I'm not sure Moses quite gets the freedom that he signs up for, either. At the end of the day, he still serves the Lord. And to be sure, this text is especially sacred for theologians of political revolution and social inversion; it's a crucial part of the story we tell and the story we believe about God who works to free people from bondage and God who works to liberate the captives and God who works to bring down the tyrants. Israel was in slavery and God sets them free and surely God is even as we speak working to free so many even today from the powers of greed and corruption and yet. This is not a story about people who go free. Pharaoh lets these people go but God will not let these people go, and a few chapters from now they're going to stand at the base of Mount Sinai and sign the dotted line of the covenant between God and them and whether nor they read all the terms and conditions that covenant says we agree to serve the Lord. This is a story about people who serve God. This is a story about people who belong to God. And you can't belong to God and ever be entirely free. As the great theologian Bob Dylan once said, you gotta serve somebody.
You gotta serve somebody. Israel's protest cry — "let us alone and let us serve!" — it sounds like such an obvious target, such an easy take-down, like God of course will not let you alone and God of course will set you free. But it's not quite that obvious. You gotta serve somebody. Moses stares into the moment, the Egyptian army closing in at his back, the waters closing in on his front, and he makes his choice. You gotta serve somebody. And it's the choice that Israel keeps having to make. A generation later, Joshua will gather all of the tribes of Israel and ask them the same: "Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living." Choose this day whom you will serve. The gods of Pharaoh. The gods of slavery. The gods that held your people in chains. The gods that put your children to the sword. The gods of violence and despair. The gods of corruption and greed. The gods of death. Or the God of covenant. The God of promise. The God of liberation. The God of redemption. The God who makes a way through the waters and brings manna in the wilderness. Choose this day whom you will serve. Choose this day to whom you will kneel. "As for me and my house," Joshua says. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
You gotta serve somebody. So serve the one who brought you through the water. Serve the one who redeemed you. Clifton Black describes this Biblical redemption by remembering the old-fashioned recycling centers that his parents would take him to as a kid, the kind where you would bring back your aluminum cans and your glass bottles so they could be exactly reused, the Redemption Centers. And now in some states you can still do this and get 5 cents back on your bottles, and so I guess if you bring enough, you get a real cash payout, but in Black's childhood the redemption center didn't pay out in cash, it paid out in prizes. So you'd show up with a backseat full of milk bottles and Dr Pepper bottles and you'd bring them all to the counter and behind the counter in these locked glass cabinets, it would look like the booth at some county fair, all these novelty toys and cheap plastic one-offs and oversized stuffed animals. And what he wanted, of course, more than anything, what he wanted was the large teddy bear hanging in the corner, behind its own private lock and key, you know, the one as big as he was, the piece de resistance, the best one on the lot. And you know as well as I do that that teddy bear cost a whole truckload of glass bottles. So he saved up.
Week in, week out, every Saturday, off to the redemption center with that week's load of cans and bottles, saving up the little tickets they gave as currency, steadily and slowly building towards that moment where you can use the redemption center for its purpose, which is of course liberating that poor teddy bear from its cage, redeeming it now and henceforth, and finally, in accordance with all God's promises, finally the day came when young Clifton Black had all the tickets he needed — one can only imagine how much Dr Pepper went into pulling off this act of theological intervention — finally he's got all the tickets he needs and the man behind the counter goes and unlocks that cage and pulls that bear out and hands it to our young hero, but of course here's the thing. It's not like the bear goes free. For one, of course, it's a teddy bear, so it's not like it could walk off on its own even if we wanted it to. But more to the point. Having worked for so long and so hard to win its freedom. Clifton was never going to let that bear go. He takes it in his arms and clutches it tight. He puts it in the car and clutches it tight. He puts it in the car and buckles the seatbelt around it just in case and rolls up the window just in case and locks the door just in case because "I have redeemed you; you are mine," says the Lord.
That's all this story is. Forget the special effects and the blockbuster moments. It's just us. It's just you and me. It's just characters, and the choices we make, the choices we make this day and every day. There are always gods of slavery and death. There are always gods of oppression and violence. There are always gods tempting us with comfort more familiar than the wilderness. The gods of pharaoh have never been in short supply and today is no exception. But as for me and my house. As for those of us in this house. May we have the courage to serve the Lord. May we have the courage to serve the one to whom we belong. To serve the God of peace. To serve the God of justice. To serve the God of mercy. To serve the God of the captives. To serve the God of the margins. To serve the God of the forgotten. To choose the path that God has made, even though it goes through the wilderness waters. To choose the path through the wilderness waters precisely because God has made it. And may the Lord bless us and keep us. And may the Lord wrap arms tightly around us and clutch us tight. And may the Lord never let us go, all the days of our lives. Amen.


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Security companies assert that using the proper installation of surveillance equipment the threat of loss can be decreased as much as 50%. Moreover, security cameras may be used to monitor the behavior of clients, employees, students etc. when installed. Security companies maintain that surveillance equipment is among the greatest tools in the fight against crime. Another safety strategy that security companies employ is safety alarm systems. Alarm systems are designed to alert people of potential threat such as break-ins or fires. Most security systems set sensors on windows and doors that are triggered when tampered with. Alarm systems are often monitored by the security companies that install them. When an alarm system goes off the security company's monitoring center will contact the necessary emergency services based on the information they receive from the alarm system. Many home and business owners choose to install alarm systems not only to prevent break-ins however to receive insurance deductibles.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Good old Zwei has been blogging on local transit issues for the past 10 years, I can say that both recently announced "rail" transit projects are both hugely expensive, will not ease congestion and will fail to achieve their objective, except giving the excuse for land development adjacent to the routes.
As advised by real transportation professionals, there are North America and Europe, there are many serious problems affecting our local transit.
First of all, what we call SkyTrain is really three different railways.
- The Expo Line is the original proprietary ICTS/ALRT system marketed by the former Ontario Crown corporation UTDC.
- The Millennium and Evergreen Lines are a completely re-engineered ICTS/ALRT proprietary railway, now called ART which patents are owned by Bombardier (technical) and SNC Lavalin (Engineering). Though ART and ICTS/ALRT can operate on each other's rights-of-way, the cars cannot be operated in a single train. The E&ME Lines maximum capacity is 15,000 as per Transport Canada's operating certificate.
- The Canada Line which is a conventional heavy rail metro, built as a light metro, but because of cost constraints, was built with very small stations with 40 metre long station platforms, allowing only 2 car trains, which constricts capacity to a maximum of 9,000 pphpd and internationally, is considered a "White Elephant".
The Canada Line needs a minimum of $1.5 billion spent to increase capacity beyond 9,000 pphpd.
The E&M/E or Innovia Lines need about $3 billion spent to both renovate the aging Expo Line. Over $1 billion is being spent from the $7.3 billion budget for infrastructure upgrades, but a further $2 billion must be spent to increase capacity beyond 15,000 pphpd.
This $3 billion must be spent on the Innovia lines before any extension to Langley (cost around $3 billion).
To date only seven LIM powered Innovia SkyTrain systems have been built in the past 40 years, with only 3 seriously used for regional transit and not one new system has been built in the past decade.
By comparison over 200 new build LRT systems have been built, and many of the 350 existing or heritage tram/streetcar lines have been upgraded to LRT standard.
The North American standard for a subway is a transit route having customer flows in excess of 15,000 pphpd and in Europe, because of the success of light rail over 20,000 pphpd.
Customer flows along Broadway are less than 4,000 pphpd, much less than would demand of a subway (the same is true of the Canada Line and its annual operating costs of around $110 million is more than twice the amount than comparable LRT systems).
Please note: TransLink schedule for peak hour service on the 99B Express bus is 20 trips per hour, giving a maximum capacity of 2,200 pphpd.
The problem is that we are grossly over building transit to suit political needs and not transit customer needs.
We are going to spend over $6 billion on about 20 km of rail transit and this is pure madness.
As a reminder light rail is not rapid transit and in fact rapid transit is used to describe heavy rail metro and want we call SkyTrain is a light-metro, which was made obsolete by LRT in the 1980′s!
What is not being calculated are the huge operating costs of the Broadway subway, which will be around $40 million annually and this on a route most used by those holding the $1 a day U-pass, which means more subsidies to a very heavily subsidized rail service.
Again, no one builds with Innovia SkyTrain anymore as it is deemed dated 1960′s tech, akin to the Edsel.
What needs to be done is put an end to the mayor's 10 year plan and get an outside agency of transportation professional, specifically from Europe, to plan and install the proper transit meeting transit customer needs.
In 10 years time we will be over $7 billion poorer with no real improvement to regional transit.
Congestion will be endemic, forcing the government to impose road pricing on the region, to pay for more "madness".
People living south of the Fraser 'punished' for decades, argues local blogger about transit
Posted May 2, 2018
LOWER MAINLANDA (NEWS 1130)Ai?? A local blogger and former journalist says its time for people in Surrey to be the focus of transit improvements.
UBC has offered to pay for a portion of the SkyTrain line extension from its intended terminus at Arbutus to the Point Grey campus.
TransLink says the Broadway SkyTrain and Surrey LRT projects will move ahead simultaneously. It notes the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT is slated to be completed in 2024, a year before the Millennium Line Broadway Extension.
The next phase of transit improvements across Metro Vancouver, totaling $7.3 billion, makes way for 108 new SkyTrain cars, and 95 replacement cars.
Still, Frank Bucholtz, a former local journalist, writes that people living south of the Fraser have been punished for decades.
There is lot of parts of the region that need better service but Surrey has grown dramatically in almost 30 years since the SkyTrain last stopped here and nothing has been added since that time despite a tremendous amount of talk, he tells NEWS 1130.
That talk mostly comes from politicians who, as Bucholtz argues, can do little more than slightly improve bus service.


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The Trail-Blazers are considered to be the elite, front-line infantry troops of the Amtrak Federation, comprising both ground troops and pilots (known informally as wingmen). They are generally accorded the highest respect and honour by other Trackers.
Trail-Blazers are the combat personnel assigned to the Federation's wagon-trains. They serve as crew, combat troops and pilots, and are the most highly-trained soldiers in the Federation. There is a long waiting list to join the Trail-Blazer division, even more to become a wingman, and to be chosen to serve in its ranks is seen as a great honour.
There are several prerequisites required to serve as a Trail-Blazer. The applicant must suffer minimal or no symptoms of agoraphobia. They have to have high scores in aptitude tests, and display coolness and level-headedness under fire or stressful situations.
On combat patrols, Trail-Blazers operate in eight-man patrols and are required to stay within visual contact of the rest of their squad or the wagon-train unless mission requirements dictate otherwise.
Armour and battle-dressEdit
On patrol, Trail-Blazers wear a red-coloured camouflage battle suit with helmet, gloves and boots all designed to minimise the wearer's exposure to radiation. Their field helmets are equipped with TARA (Target Acquisition and Ranging Display) modules located above the visor. A much-improved Mark 2 version is now entering service. Each helmet also contains a short-wave radio antenna and a photo-chromatic visor which assists in all visibility conditions.
Each Trail-Blazer goes into battle equipped with fragmentation and smoke grenades, a machete, a combat knife which doubles as a bayonet, and a three-barrelled air rifle with 40mm underslung grenade launcher. The rifle is linked via umbilical to the soldier's visor, which assists in target acquisition and selection. The rifles are equipped with back-up optical sights (should the laser sight, umbilical or the helmet be disabled) and is powered by a 3.000 psi pressurised air supply.
The Federation opted to use air-based weapons, despite their weak range, due to the inablity of either the Mutes or Iron Masters to refill the air bottle once exhausted, thus denying the use of captured weapons to the enemy. All knowledge of explosive-based propellants has been suppressed by the Federation and restricted to the most secure databanks of COLUMBUS. Unfortunately, the Iron Masters have maintained their use of gunpowder-based technology, knowledge which has now spread to the Mutes. With the genie out of the bottle, so to speak, the First Family is currently reviewing the moratorium on such weapons.
Command hierarchyEdit
The ground combat personnel on a wagon train are under the command of the Trail Boss, who reports directly to the wagon-master.


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For every ten thousand students that join a karate class, half will drop out the first month. Of that five thousand, half will remain through the second month. Of those remaining students, one thousand will complete six months of training and then quit. Five hundred will study for a year, but only one hundred will see their second anniversary. Three will make first dan black belt, but only one will go on to teach others what he/she has learned. For karate is now part of his/her life, and he/she shall go on to share this life with others. This person is a SENSEI! Think about it - you are one in ten thousand.
The meaning of the term "Sensei"When we practice budo, we do so under the guidance of a person who is almost always addressed as "Sensei." Various definitions of the meaning of "sensei" have been put forth. Among them is that '"Sensei" means "teacher in all aspects of life."' In conjunction with such strong definitions, the behavior of non-Japanese towards their "Sensei" often is often extremely self-effacing and servile, with students tip-toeing around "Sensei" and always behaving in a subservient manner, while these "Sensei" may sometimes be tyrants both inside and out of the dojo.In dojos in Japan, while the Sensei is accorded a great deal of service and respect, it is never given in a servile manner. Students do a lot of things for Sensei, like getting him a cup of tea or making sure that his shoes are placed where he can slip them on easily at the door. These are services performed out of a sense of gratitude, not servility, and whom they are performed for has a lot to do with what "Sensei" means in each case."Sensei," as most martial artists are already aware, is written with the characters for "born" or "live" and "before." Put together, you get born before, or lived before. There is nothing here which indicates a need for excessive humility when dealing with a person with that title. So the question is, who warrants being called "Sensei?"The answer is, anybody in a position of status significantly higher than you are. The key here is that it must be a person in a position of high status. What the actual person is like has little to do with the title. The title is related entirely to their relative social position. Thus, lots of people are called "Sensei." First, anyone who teaches is called "Sensei." That includes pre-school teachers, or the person teaching English at a local school, and the local 19 year old giving skating boarding lessons. That's why martial arts teachers are addressed as "Sensei." They are teaching something.Of course, there are lots of people besides teachers whose position calls for the use of "Sensei" as a form of address. Doctors are always addressed as "Sensei." So are lawyers and politicians.Japan is a rabidly hierarchical country. It is impossible to speak Japanese with any degree of politeness without constantly reinforcing people's position in the hierarchy. The way you conjugate verbs is based entirely on your status relative to the person you are talking with. Using titles like "Sensei" is just another aspect of this cultural obsession with status and rank. In Japanese society, people are only addressed by their names + san when they don't have any significant title. At schools there, all the teachers are "Sensei", the principal is always "Kocho Sensei" or "Principal Teacher" and the assistant principal is always "Kyoto Sensei" or "Assistant Principal Teacher". In the business world, if you are at the head of company, no matter how small, everyone who relates to you in the business world will address you as "Shacho" or "Company President." If you work for a large company, you may well be known as "Kacho" or "Bucho", "Department Head" and "Section Head".All of this is just to show that the term sensei has no special, mystical meaning attached to it in its home country. It is a term used to show appropriate respect to someone in a position of status higher than your own. The usage can cause some jolts. In Ashihara Karate, Sensei is a title reserved for those of the Sandan (3rd Dan Black Belt) ranking. I only refer to a Sandan who teaches as "Sensei" when I am talking about that person with a student whose status is significantly lower than the Sandan in the dojo. The term reflects their relative status. When I address them without such an audience, they are "San" or even "Kun," a term that refers to boys, or as a term of familiarity when used with someone you like who is significantly below you in relative status.All this is merely to make the point that "Sensei" is a term of respect. Not one of awe. If we appreciate our teachers more than usual, we should show it by going out of our way to do little services for them that make their lives a little easier. Scraping the floor and being subservient is not the way to show appreciation for your teacher. It just makes your teacher look like a petty tyrant, and you like a fool.
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Ashihara Karate Get Together
Kaicho will visit the Danish Dai Ki Haku Honbu Dojo (Shihan Kurt Orum 9th Dan) in Viborg, Denmark in November 2008
Kaicho returned from a teaching tour of Thailand & Singapore in August/September 2008
Sabaki Challenge took place on August 23 in Cape Town - read more ...
The European Summer Camp took place in Belgium on May 23- 25. read more ...


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WebVersion 14.0
Release date01/07/2015
Change details
Northern Ireland postcodes are now fully supported.
Added the ability to download extracts for completed batch payments.
New Dimensions interface.
New update to SAP interface.
A number of small improvements to mobile.
Bug / IssueFixed issue in advanced workflow admin where creating a new action uses the full name rather than username as the value.
Fixed issue where full claims overview was not allowing user to search by "claims assigned to" option.
Fixed issue where credit card claims were not inserting data into reporting country and organisation fields.
A number of small issues resolved.


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During the Christmas project season Canaan declared that he wanted to make a quilt for his friend Katie Grace.
He was very very involved in the process.
So was little brother.
I don't really think it can be called a true quilt, since it was merely four patches, then four again on the back... but it had batting in the middle, and edging, and was slightly "quilted" in the middle.
Somehow I didn't get a picture of the finished project, but here is Katie opening it.
Once we started quilting, it seemed like the thing to do. So, we made one for Maddy too.
Hers was flannel, had buttons instead of quilting, and was missing the edging, because Andy accidently picked up single fold instead of double, and I didn't have time to run out and exchange it.
All in all, it was a fun adventure, quilting with a six year old!
We also made some pretty awesome cookies... if I do say so myself.
The variety pack was mostly your basic stuff, my favorite being Flipz/peanut butter sandwhiches covered in chocolate.
The sugar cookies, and the multitude of interesting ways to decorate them - Now that is what makes life fun!
Mom and Dad (and of course, about 3 dozen others.... but that was all I could stand taking pictures of. My attention span for pictures is only so big)
Last, but not least, we made Gingerbread, or rather, Graham Cracker, houses at Noni and Papaws house on Christmas Eve.
Canaan's (See the bi-plane in the background? He had a little help with that)
Our Christmas season ended up being very creative.


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In a meeting with an IRA gun smuggler the historian Richard English noted how easily the Republican could explain Irish history: "the Brits – they're the problem, and will be. They have been since 1169, and will be until such time as they leave"
Reflecting Upon the Olympics: Korean Minjok Nationalism and its Struggle for Survival
Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter states, "no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas." Despite a clear attempt by the International Olympic Committee to create an a-political sporting event, the very exercise of holding the Olympics in South Korea is politically charged.
Why are Russian nationalists dying in Syria?
The recent death of over 200 Russian mercenaries in Syria has exposed the use of private military contractors in Russia's wars, an affair that lay dormant after the Ukrainian conflict. Crucially, it has highlighted the use of nationalism as a rallying point for recruits and the creation of a discourse of duty to fight for the country.
This is the year of the nationalist reckoning
Nationalism is back. In the last two years, nationalists have conquered the core of conventional politics in an electoral resurgence that has brought it back from the fringes. Its support, discourses and arguments draw on old logics but directly address grievances born out of global effects of the economic revolution that begun in the 1980s. While 2017 saw the consolidation of nationalist successes in the West, 2018 will see their ideas put to the test.
History, Nationalism and France's Role in the Second World War
History is one of the battlegrounds of nationalist movements. In their attempts to naturalize the nation and to control who belongs to it, nationalists mythologize some events while silencing others. In France, the return of nationalism in last year's elections is indicated by the place that the pretended need for a "roman national" occupied in the electoral debates.
Confucian Nationalism: A Chinese love affair
Ever since its exciting entrance in the global economy, China has undergone the scrutiny of many. Specifically, that of the Western world, trying to comprehend and justify its unpredictably successful communist authoritarian regime. In fact, since the economic boom initiated by Deng Xiaoping in the 1990s, China has been growing at stunningly fast rates that the West can, as of today, only dream of.


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- This event has passed.
Silverleaf HelpRoom: Online Support Group
February 6 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Silverleaf HelpRoom is an anonymous and secure space for survivors of sexual violence to connect with one another. The online support group chat is for all survivors and will take place on select dates from 7:00-8:00 p.m.. The following link will connect survivors to the live visitor site: https://affiliate.rainn.org/helproom/SILVERLEAF
This week's discussion will focus on self-forgiveness. We will also be sharing follow-up materials on our Facebook Event Page.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us at (270) 234-9236.


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Sad Girl (Original Poem)
An original poem. I wrote this in about 5 minutes. It's one of those poems where you write out exactly what you think. It's somewhat based on someone on here. You know who you are.
Chapter 1
Sad Girl
Sad Girl,
Talking about death.
Suicide, and how
today's your last breath.
Sad Girl,
Hating life,
Spending her days
Staring at a bloody knife.
Sad Girl,
Wanting nothing more
Than getting back
The life she'd had before.
Sad Girl,
Please please just try.
There IS a life worth living,
You don't need to cry.
Sad Girl,
Someday, there will
Come times where
Life goes downhill.
But Sad Girl,
Pick yourself up,
Get back up
And stand up tall.
Because a Sad Girl
CAN become a
Happy Girl.
If you try.


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- James Treble
Tiles Finish and Sizes (Knowing Tiles) - Episode 2 of 3
Designer James Treble gives a quick description of a few different type of tiles. Many thanks to Di Lorenzo Tiles for the use of their showroom.
Also watch Episode 1 and Episode 3.
James Treble is an ambassador for Planet Ark and firmly believes in sensible purchasing, recycling and creative re-purposing. James Treble has more than 25 years of experience in the Building Industry and Interior Design. His knowledge and experience in adding value to homes, through clever design & styling, is now published for all to learn and benefit from. Interior Design For Profit is now available online.


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Season 2
Episode 69
"Go on, unless you want to work overtime?" Qin Chu asked with an icy expression.
"No, I don't."
Assistant Yang suspected that he ran into lady luck today… So lucky that his boss was driving him to the movies.
But here's the problem – if he got onto the president's Maybach, then what's he supposed to do about his Volkswagen CC?
It's fine to leave his car in the company parking lot, but what about tomorrow morning? Was he supposed to take the bus to work?
That's not the problem here. The problem was that, for some reason, he had the honor of being driven by his boss, the president of GK.
Of course, what he didn't know was that Qin Chu was only driving him because his wife was at her mother's, and he was extremely bored.
Plus, driving his assistant meant that he'll be able to see a movie as well.
Once they arrived at the movie theatre, Yang's wife's face lit up with surprise when she saw another man with her husband.
She quietly asked her husband, "Who is this?"
"My boss."
"Pre… President Qin?" Yang's wife was shocked as well.
He nodded his head…
"President Qin, ha, we're here. You should go home, we're heading in now," Yang beat around the bushes when they arrived outside the theatre.
"I want to watch it too, get me a ticket." Then, Qin Chu grabbed a few hundred yuan from his wallet and handed it to Yang.
"Um… It doesn't cost this much." Yang was almost sure that his boss had never been to the movies before; why else would a person be unaware of movie ticket prices?
However, Yang soon came back with his head down.
The reason? Tickets for that movie had sold out; it was full.
"President Qin, ha, why don't you watch something else? Captain America is showing in the other auditorium later, and it's really good."
"What movie are you guys watching?"
"Finding Mr. Right 2. My wife likes romance, and I didn't have a choice. And I also enjoy breathing without the aid of a tube." Yang looked at him helplessly.
"Then I want to watch this too," Qin Chu said stubbornly.
This made Yang's life difficult; there were only two tickets for this movie, and President Qin was set on watching it, so one of the tickets had to go to him.
However, Yang couldn't let his wife go watch the movie with his own boss. He knew that President Qin wasn't going to hit on his wife, but the point was, his wife might be tempted to hit on President Qin.
Finally, Yang bit on his tongue and came to a compromise with his wife.
He and his boss would go and watch Finding Mr. Right 2, while his wife was to suck it up and watch Captain America with tears in her eyes.
She was a head-to-toe Chinese housewife who had no interest in American superhero films, but there was nothing more she could do.
Neither of them was brave enough to piss President Qin off.
After the movie, Qin Chu was so happy that he offered to drive the couple home.
In addition, he gave a greeting present to Yang's newborn.
It was a red packet containing ten thousand yuan.
Yang's wife was elated at the sight of the red packet and completely forgot about the movie ticket fiasco just now.
She kept exclaiming, "Your boss is really nice, he's so generous."
Yang rolled his eyes at his wife and said, "Weren't you the one who called him a third wheel behind his back just now and was pissed off at him for stealing your movie ticket? I can't believe you've changed your stance already. Women never say what they mean."
"Of course, a movie ticket isn't worth much," Yang's wife replied happily.
On his way home, Qin Chu was in a good mood too.
This was the first rom-com he watched, although to be honest, it was a little awkward that it was another man that accompanied him throughout the movie.
However, he liked the contents of the movie. Therefore, as soon as he drove home, he searched up Finding Mr. Right 1 on his computer and watched that.
He enjoyed that one as well. Suddenly, he wondered if he should take Huo Mian to watch Finding Mr. Right 2 again tomorrow once she was back.
As he was thinking, a local news alert popped onto his computer screen, grabbing his attention.
"Breaking news. The First Hospital has involved itself in a doctor-patient scandal. According to our sources, a pregnant patient was sent to the emergency room in the middle of the night, but the on-call doctor wasn't there. As an experiment, a nurse performed surgery on that patient, who afterward experienced postoperative complications. The pregnant patient and her newborn are now suffering from severe side effects, and the hospital ignored her family's complaints. The hospital protected the nurse and tried to shut the entire thing down, so the patient had no choice but to sue the hospital. The patient's family was extremely emotional and caused a scene at the First Hospital today. The hospital sent security to control the scene, but chaos erupted instead, and, as a result, many patients were unable to see doctors. The nurse-in-question did not show herself, and the director, Wu Zhongxing, has yet to comment on the situation. According to speculation, this is the first time in 15 years that the hospital was burdened with a scandal. Everyone's attention is on this incident; stay tuned, we will shortly provide a follow-up report."
Qin Chu frowned as he shut off his computer. Huo Mian was in trouble…
As soon as news outlets exposed something like this, more often than not, the situation would become uncontrollable and unpredictable.
He immediately picked up his phone and dialed a number, "Stop the media from reporting about the incident at the First Hospital in 30 minutes. Don't even let one station follow-up on it."
Huo Mian, on the other hand, was sound asleep, completely unaware that her world was about to flip upside down.


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Jessica Simpson's Peep Toe Shoes
I have to admit that these scare me a little! I can't help thinking the pea green colour makes these shoes look more like something you'd eat than put on your feet, but I do like the fact that they're fresh and bright – reminding me that spring's on its way. The white heels and rim do soften the overall look and I think this could be a colour that grew on me…maybe.
I love the style – peep toes are so flattering, and the bow makes them look cute and girly. They're also available in navy and scarlet if the pea green is really not your thing and are priced at $79.99 from Shoes.com.
Via Shoewawa


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On our trip upstate yesterday we left light snow on Long Island, and drove into sunshine and blue skies. For a while at least. Then up around Ithaca, we ran into snow squalls which came and went as we drove. The snow squalls were no big deal to drive through, and it was quite pretty as we looked into the distance and the landscape started to disappear as if in a fog. Kathy wanted to drive around her home town of Geneva, NY when we passed through, and I caught this pedestrian hunched over crossing the street in another snow shower.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
An Upstate Spring
Posted by Ken Spencer at 8:49 PM
1 comment:
- ken schwarz said...
For me, the red jacket against the "Upstate Spring" snow shower scene in the top photo makes the shot!
- March 23, 2016 at 12:20 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Protein Discovery Could Aide Parkinson's Therapy
Protein Discovery Could Aide Parkinson's Therapy
April 12, 2018
ISRAEL21c – A BGU-led international study featured on the cover of The Journal of Neuroscience in February holds the promise of advancing the field of cell-replacement therapy for people with Parkinson's disease (PD), a disease that effects dopaminergic neurons in the brain that cause devastating motor symptoms for patients.
In the new study, BGU researchers discovered that proteins called BMP5/7 are essential for the embryonic development of dopaminergic neurons.
"Our results provide critical information that will help us to efficiently program stem cells to dopaminergic neurons, as well as help us reduce side effects after transplantation in cell-replacement therapies developed for Parkinson's disease today," says lead author Dr. Claude Brodski of BGU's Department of Physiology and Cell Biology and the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience.
The researchers also identified that the intracellular signaling protein SMAD1 plays a critical role in the process of dopaminergic neurons. Interestingly, SMAD1 is required for the development of substantia nigra neurons in particular, which are the brain cells that predominantly degenerate in patients with PD.


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Details of the sale are repeated under the quick form below…
Simply fill out the quick and easy form below, give us a call at (703) 748-1267 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com and secure your spot on our schedule now…
* We'll be in touch with you shortly to confirm your consultation. To confirm immediately give us a call at: (703) 748-1267 after filling out the quick form.
Arlington Motorcar's "Get Ready for Winter" Sale:
- Free Heating/Coolant System Check – Don't be left in the cold with no heat! We'll inspect your coolant system, hoses and heater core to make sure you're kept nice and warm this winter.
- Oil Change Special – Winter is especially hard on your vehicle… so make sure its ready to perform at its peak with premium oil! Synthetic Oil Change is $89.95 – usually $120. Regular Oil Change is $49.95 – usually $90. Up to 8 quarts… subject to a $5 disposal fee.
- Free Tire Inspection and Inflation – Don't get stuck in the snow during the holidays this year… get your tires checked and make sure you're not spinning your wheels this winter!
- Free Battery & Charging System Test – Don't risk being unable to start your car in the freezing weather to come. We'll check your battery condition and test your charging system to give you peace of mind this winter.
- Brake Special – With the slick roads coming your brakes are about to be even more important. Maximize your safety by having your brakes inspected by professional technicians at our shop. If they need work, then bring us a quote from any dealer and we'll be 25% less!
- Free Check of Drive Belts – Belts are especially likely to break if they're worn when it's cold outside. Don't take any chances this winter. Let us inspect your belts to make sure they won't snap in the cold…
Simply fill out the quick and easy form above, give us a call at (703) 748-1267 or email us at email@example.com and secure your spot on our schedule now.


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The Olde Bell
Hurley - Berkshire
A traditional Berkshire village coaching inn reimagined - with designer styling and AA Rosette-winning dining
- Sleeps: 4
- Bedrooms: 48
- Bathrooms: 48
Tagged with...
Where we are:
The Highlights...
- Styling by designer Ilse Crawford inspired by the inn�s 12th-century character
- Summer Kitchen offers fantastic outdoor dining during warmer months
- Offers stunning venues for weddings and private parties � The Malt House and Tithe Barn
- Within easy reach of Windsor Castle, Legoland, Marlow and Henley-on-Thames
- Less than 25 minutes� drive from Heathrow Airport and 1 hour from London
You should know...
- The Olde Bell is best reached by car � the nearest train station in Maidenhead is around 15 minutes� taxi ride away and can be reached directly from London Paddington
The Detail...
With a history stretching back to the 12th century, The Olde Bell offers stylishly designed accommodation and a restaurant awarded 2 AA Rosettes. Maintaining its old English charm, this village inn is less than 20 minutes� drive from Windsor, Maidenhead, Marlow and Henley-on-Thames, making it the perfect base to explore the very best of Berkshire while being just 1 hour from central London.
To the south of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this coaching inn in the riverside village of Hurley has caught the attention of the international press countless times, and no wonder � its rooms impress with the sympathetic interior styling of renowned British designer Ilse Crawford. Hand-made beds, Noble Isle toiletries, woollen Jacob blankets and roll-top baths set the tone, with a range of offerings from classic to luxury. Lovingly tended, the pretty gardens of The Olde Bell add an extra incentive to enjoy the sunshine when it appears, and within a short walk you can explore the unspoilt village or Hurley Lock, where the Thames diverges down a number of different paths.
The award-winning dining on offer at The Olde Bell keeps things fresh and local, with menus depending on what�s in season. During the summer, the enticing aromas of the rotisserie and kamado oven add a sensory thrill to outdoor dining, with tempting mains served alongside a wide choice of drinks, sandwiches and sides. Fruit, vegetables and herbs from the inn�s own garden feature throughout the menus, as well as plenty of produce from local Berkshire farms.
Heritage sights and pretty riverside walks are among the hallmarks of this upmarket southern England county, with Hurley just over 30 miles west of London�s landmark attractions. Windsor Castle, Legoland and the annual Henley Regatta are among local big-hitters, while around 20 minutes� drive north you can experience the atmospheric Hell-Fire Caves. Marlow is just over 5 miles away, and a host of famous names have frequented the Bell over the years, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Much of the UK�s film and TV production takes place around 30-40 minutes� drive away at Pinewood, Elstree and Warner Bros Studios � home of the popular Harry Potter Tour.
Whatever you�re looking to do in Berkshire, The Olde Bell will always be a cosy and welcoming place to return to each night.
- No Smoking
- Open fire/Woodburner
- Iron/Ironing Board
- Bath
- Hairdryer
- Towels (bath)
- Satellite TV/Freeview
- Television
- Garden/Outdoor Space
- Cleaning service
- Cycling
- Historical sites
- Nightlife (low key)
- Wildlife
On the map...
You might like...
How to book...
The Olde Bell is listed in affiliation with Booking.com.
You can book online now at their website. Just click the button and we'll send you there to see more info and to book...


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French title
Chassis # C-A2S7L - 909610
Engine # 8G49 R N 1123
- Carefully and fully restored vehicle
- Interesting version of the Mini
- A real icon of the automobile
- No reserve
This beautiful 998cc Cooper MKI has just been thoroughly restored. Of French provenance according to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate, it was delivered new in Paris on June 29, 1966 and is back today to its original livery. In an extremely neat condition, it has been fully refurbished by its current owner after 20 years of storage. The attention the car received included all the mechanical and electrical elements, as well as the bodywork components. Among these we can mention the complete disassembly, the laying bare of the chassis including the subframes, and the replacement of damaged parts by new original parts. The Cooper engine was also overhauled, the cylinder head was shaved and changed to lead free. The gearbox, the water pump, all the braking elements, the Hydrolastic ducts and the electric harness have all been redone. The upholstery, the sunroof, and the door claddings are new. A complete photo folder details all the steps of the restoration that amounts to more than € 20,000 and hundreds of hours of work. Equipped with two fuel tanks like the Cooper S, as well as a Motolita steering wheel, this Mini is simply irresistible.


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Made in California, designed by swimmers
Unisex fit, fits swimmer shoulders
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
A top customer pick - one of our most popular tees!
Always explaining to others why you smell like chlorine? Let your tee do the talking!
If chlorine is your eau de parfum, then this is the perfect shirt for you.
Comes with rolled up sleeves for a cute look!
Love it or your money back: Add it to cart now to order with peace of mind. You're covered under our 60-day money-back guarantee.
Here's how this shirt fits, according to our customers:
- This shirt fits true to size. In other words, it fits "just right".
- Standard adult unisex.
- Just order your regular size.
- Witty print across chest.
- Ribbed crew neck.
- Mid weight fabric.
- 100% combed, soft, preshrunk cotton.
- Unisex.
- Preshrunk.
- Machine wash cold, tumble dry low.
All orders under $75 ship via USPS Standard (3-7 business days) for a flat rate of $4.95.
All orders over $75 ship FREE!
All orders ship via USPS and will take 2-4 weeks to arrive, depending on the package destination.
All orders under $200 ship for a flat rate of $11.95 except Canada, rate is $9.95.
All orders over $200 ship free.
We strive to keep our shipping costs as low as possible for our customers.
Returns and exchanges are easy with us!
We love taking great care of our customers and want to make sure you are 100% happy with your order.
We offer a 60-day return window for all orders.
Items can be returned for a refund within 60 days of shipping date.
Customers will be responsible for shipping returns back to our fulfillment center in California.
If you opt to receive store credit for your return, we will provide you with complimentary standard shipping (HI, AK, US Territories) on your next order with us!


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Vallerie A. Maurice, Merrill, Thomas A., Morgan, Johnny W.
News Release Distributed 2/20/04
BATON ROUGE – The LSU AgCenter presented three major awards Friday (Feb. 20) recognizing faculty members for their contributions to its diversity initiatives.
The awards were presented at the conclusion of the LSU AgCenter's annual Diversity Conference at the Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel, which operated under the theme of "Diversity Gumbo: Recipes for a Multicultural Workplace."
Although this conference marked the fourth year the LSU AgCenter has conducted such an educational session on diversity, it was the first time participation was opened to a broad audience of faculty members from other universities across the country and representatives of other government agencies and companies.
"We are proud of the LSU AgCenter's accomplishments in the area of diversity, and we know these award recipients played crucial roles in helping us get to where we are today," said LSU AgCenter Chancellor William B. "Bill" Richardson. "They are some of the people who are making big contributions to our vision of an increasingly diverse faculty and staff serving more diverse clientele."
The award winners included five individuals and two groups. All were nominated by their peers and selected for the awards by a panel of reviewers from inside and outside the LSU AgCenter.
The individuals who received this year's awards and $1,200 prizes were Dr. Fredrick M. Enright, head of the LSU AgCenter's Department of Veterinary Science, who won the LSU AgCenter Diversity Initiative Award for Excellence, and Dr. Richard P. Vlosky, professor and head of the AgCenter's Louisiana Forests Products Development Center, who was the winner of the Diversity in the Workplace Award.
The team winners of the Diversity in Programming Award were extension agents from metropolitan New Orleans – Marvin Young and Erica Simon from the LSU AgCenter's Extension Service Office in Orleans Parish.
In addition to those top awards, judges also decided to award honorable mentions to some of the nominees. Those went to Sharman Charles, an LSU AgCenter extension agent in East Baton Rouge Parish; Patricia Hives, administrative specialist in the AgCenter's Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology; Dr. Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, associate professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Food Science; and a group working on an educational outreach program for historically underserved forest landowners – comprised of LSU AgCenter agents Brian Chandler of East Feliciana Parish; Barry Crain, Rapides; Stefen Givens and John Holiday, St. Helena; Steven Hotard, North Central Region; Ricky Kilpatrick, Bossier; and Noah Washburn, Bienville Parish.
"It's always hard for the judges to decide on the winners, because the work that the nominees are involved in is so fascinating," said Vallerie Maurice, assistant to the chancellor and director of multicultural diversity for the LSU AgCenter. "But the great thing is that these awards give us a chance to celebrate our success at reaching a diverse population of clientele across the state of Louisiana with creative, useful services and research."
Enright, who won the award that honors an individual who has exceeded the average standards of personal growth, commitment and dedication toward the inclusion of all people, is known by his peers as a firm believer that positive change is facilitated by an administration that leads by example. Enright has served as a trainer in the LSU AgCenter's diversity initiative for the past three years, has served as an ally for all minorities and is described as believing "in the relevance of a diverse workforce 24-7, not just when it is convenient or politically beneficial to do so."
Vlosky received the award that recognizes an individual's efforts in outreach/recruitment, hiring and retention of a diverse workforce/student population. "Dr. Vlosky comes from roots deeply steeped in diversity humanitarianism," said LSU AgCenter faculty member Dr. Todd Shupe, who nominated Vlosky for the award. "From his youth in New York, he was influenced by an upbringing that cherished racial equality and inclusiveness at a time when the country was in turmoil over racial issues."
Simon and Young received the Diversity in Programming Award, which celebrates outstanding outreach and educational efforts targeted to underserved or new audiences. The nomination recognized their efforts at serving the New Orleans metro area's Vietnamese community through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and the 4-H/YES Youth Development Program.
The LSU AgCenter's formal diversity initiative began in April 1998 and was the first of its kind in the LSU System. Since that time, the initiative has included community outreach forums to determine how to better serve all Louisiana citizens, diversity training for faculty and staff and a variety of other programs to ensure the AgCenter is an inclusive organization that capitalizes on the diversity of its employees and its clientele.
Vallerie Maurice at (225) 578-4163 or email@example.com
Johnny Morgan at (504) 838-1170 or email@example.com
Tom Merrill at (225) 578-2263 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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You might make the gym every so often, or hit the links on nice weekends. Nice start, but it's the foods you eat, guys—and the ones you skip—that really impact your health.
Eat more: fatty fish
No matter how old you get, how long you can run, how much iron you pump, or how many expert tips you follow for your heart, the old ticker is always going to need a little extra TLC, according to registered dietitian Cara Walsh. You want to make sure that your circulation is strong so you can keep moving at whatever pace you set for yourself. Fatty fish—like salmon, tuna, trout, and sardines—are good additions to your meal plan, she says. "The healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are a good source of Vitamin D, which is especially low in men's diets should be eaten at least twice a week," she notes.
Eat less: junk food
You probably don't need us to remind you that your late-night or last-minute junk food cravings are not the best idea for your health, considering your girlfriend, sister, or mom already give you a hard time about it. But, especially as you age, french fries, cookies, and sugar-filled baked goods can raise your risk for life-altering conditions, according to Walsh. "French fries are cooked in unhealthy oils, a major cause of heart attacks. The potatoes themselves are not that healthy and eating too many of them can increase a man's insulin levels," she explains. "And cookies, muffins, and doughnuts are filled with insane amounts of sugar. All baked goods cause rapid weight gain and poor digestive function." Just be sure to avoid the worst foods you could ever hope to eat.


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Pen on one hand, smartphone on the other: this Saturday at Play Copy we tweeted and took notes at a double speed, trying to grab the best tips and tricks from some expert Italian copywriters and content marketers. While Gennaro, Andrea, and Beatrice were at our desk, showing WordLift to those who write for a living, I was in the classroom, learning some good advice from this big conference. In this post, you'll find some key takeaways about copywriting, plus one bonus tip.
We are really proud of having sponsored this inspiring, rich, funny event. Our biggest thanks goes to Pennamontata for planning Play Copy! I hope reading this post you'll feel like you were there at the Spazio Talent Garden just like us.
Carlotta Politano
Social media manager at LAV, the most important non-profit organization in Italy which defends the rights of all animals, Carlotta showed us her point of view on storytelling and then delighted all the copywriters in the room with the touching but still funny story of a big family of macaques, #imagnifici16.
Some lessons that we've learned with Carlotta:
- In storytelling, emotions are the key to the heart of your public: anger, joy, sadness, wonder.. there is a wide range of feelings that we can use to touch people. Choosing an emotional key is the first step to catching your target attention.
- Never – ever! – forget your target: try to create a connection between humans, because – in the end – whether if you're trying to connect for business or non-profit reasons, it's all about building relationships which bind people to your story.
- You can animate people to stand up by your side even with some humor: you don't need to use pain and sadness all the time. Sometimes a laugher is the strongest way to your target heart.
Valentina Falcinelli
Copywriter and mom of Pennamontata, the agency that organized Play Copy, Valentina helped us to understand the difference between a not-so-relevant banana peel and a real crisis. While banana peels make you fall but don't hurt so much your business, actual crisis are like shitstorms which affect your brand reputation and – even worse! – your revenues.
Which is the right way to face a crisis?
- Don't minimize: see your problem for what it really is, because playing it down will not help you to keep the score.
- Take your responsibility: be true, and admit your mistakes. If you're able to be honest with that, you can handle your motivations and proof your real intentions.
- Apologize: sorry may be the hardest word to say, but it will help you to raise your head up. Don't be an ostrich!
- Empathize: try to understand the heart of the matter. It may be some deep and hidden value that you've hit unwittingly.
- Keep your promises: respect your values and keep your promises to fix the issue.
Leonardo Luccone
When Leonardo Luccone, Director at Oblique Studio, steps in the classroom every typo starts to shake. Mordacious and immediate, Leonardo gave us the best advice to write a better business profile: simplicity is elegance.
Then, quoting Flaubert, he said that since words matter, there is no reason to describe ourselves with words that belong to someone else. His point was: in a world that seems crowded with people with a similar educational and professional background, the only way to stand out of the crowd is to highlight your individual characteristics and passions.
Annamaria Anelli
Sometimes, you just need ten minutes to nurture your relations – and your business – in the right way. Annamaria Anelli focused on those e-mails you need to write in uncomfortable situations, such as replying to an important message while you are out of office, apologizing for a late reply or saying no to a potential new client because you are too busy.
Here are some good tips that you can also apply to other uncomfortable communications:
- But sounds like a bad word: try to reverse its role in the phrase putting the bad news before it and the good one after. The phrase will end with a good message, that will stay up in your reader's mind.
- Use the kiss-kick-kiss technique: put a bad news between two nice ones to make its effect a little softer.
- Be simple, concrete, personal: talk to your reader referring to his/her real case and suggest something to do next.
Paolo Zanzottera
How can you talk about numbers, data, and metrics with those who write for a living? A hard challenge, but Paolo Zanzottera, board member of ShinyStats and co-founder of Appocrate, managed it with talking clearly and walking miles and miles on the carpet under its feet.
There were two important lessons in its talk:
- Content is not king. You need to exchange it with a triumvirate: design, content, and distribution.
- Buyers personas should resemble as much as possible to actual customers with all their imperfections, day-by-day struggles, hard times and so on.
Federica Fiorillo
Social media manager at BPER Banca, Valentina Fiorillo tells us how to create an editorial plan for LinkedIn; she shares the stage with Valentina Falcinelli, who worked on the strategy.
Lesson learned: you can always use simple words, even if you are a bank!
Nicola Bonora
The mind behind Mentine, Nicola Bonora, has a lot to say about irony: when he shows up, most of the public laughs. Though, he said, "irony is a serious thing". When you use an ironic statement you are building with your public an understanding based on smartness and on a common cultural background. And, in fact, he trained us with some examples and exercises to prove that irony is a combination of technique, culture, and creativity. To practice irony you can do these three things:
- Start with what you know best: yourself. Using self-irony also helps you see yourself from a different perspective.
- Build an apparent incongruity: use a contradiction that actually brings a deeper meaning.
- Practice on puzzle solving to improve your lateral thinking.
Walter Klinkon
Magician and motivational coach, Walter left all the classroom breathless with its inspired talk. His main advice? Believe in you giving yourself the chance to go for the things you really want.
Alfonso Biondi
Alfonso Biondi, one of the most sarcastic writers of Lercio, a well-known Italian journal of fictional news, helped us understand the difference between fictional news and fake ones and shared with us some good tips to write jokes that work.
According to Alfonso…
- Fictional news are built on a paradox and bring a message. While fake news are written to be confused with real ones, fictional news will surprise you opening a new level of meaning.
- In classic jokes the assumption is true, while in fictional news you sometimes don't have any assumptions or you have a false one.
- Rhythm matters: the surprise, which makes you laugh, should be at the end of a joke. It has to blow your mind away, literally!
Carlotta Silvestrini
The branding expert Carlotta Silvestrini talks about what words can do for brands. What is the relation between branding and copywriting? For Carlotta, finding the right words means leveraging on values that say something unique about the brand. It's not a case that her number one rule is:
"Read again your copy. If it works for one of your competitors, it's not good for you."
Daniela Montieri and Elena Pavoncello
The founders of Associazione Italiana Copywriter, the national copywriters association, showed us the good reasons why copywriters should stand together for their rights. Word Power!
Sarah McCartney
Once copywriter, then novelist, now scent maker, Sarah McCartney has a lot of inspiring experience to share. Her rules smell good like her scents, because she deeply understands writing as a consequence of deeply understanding humans.
- Be kind: make your text easy for your readers. There is no need for difficult words when you can use simpler ones. And keep your punctuation perfectly clean to make your phrases more understandable.
- Understand your reader: nobody likes to be treated like a demographic data. Be real, and think about the real life of the persons you are going to meet with your words.
- Give a soul to your words: if yours doesn't fit the case, borrow the one of someone you know.
Bonus tip
If you get to this point through this long article, you have to be really interested in copywriting… so, we think that you'll love this final tip from us. We are not focused on writing, but we think that you should… and we can stay by your side! We know your struggle when you write for blogs and websites and you are supposed to follow a lot of SEO rules, which distract you from your job. Also, we know how much time you spend on looking for images on the web and trying to connect your content with each other.
Here is why we guess you'll love these things we can do for you:
- Support your stories with images and contextual facts
- Grow your traffic without freaking you out with SEO rules
- Invite your readers to live a long experience on your website
Wanna learn more? See how it works here.


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Sloan Digital Sky Survey at the CFA Data Release 6
SDSSQUERY - make direct Sloan SQL queryThe sdssquery program, located in /data/oiropt/bin, is a small shell script that uses a Sloan-provided Python script to send an SQL query to the SDSS SkyServer via the Web, returning the output on STDOUT as a Starbase table.
The Skyserver has row and time limits on this kind of Web query. Currently a query will be aborted if it takes longer than 90 seconds or returns more than 100,000 rows.
Example:The command (split across lines for clarity - the command is a single line):
sdssquery ' select ra, dec, type, petroMag_r, petroMag_i from PhotoPrimary where type != 3 and objID between 587727177912614921 and 587727177912614940 ' | justifywhich produces:
ra dec type petroMag_r petroMag_i ----------- ---------- ---- ---------- ---------- 4.107212E-3 -11.209926 6 16.707 16.534 6.990937E-3 -11.096008 6 10.823 12.727 0.012425 -11.098176 6 22.245 20.815Note that when the SQL query has shell wildcard characters, it will have to be quoted or the characters individually escaped.


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Search the Archives
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The Steiny Road to Operadom Index of all ofKarren Alenier's columnsin Scene4.Click Here for Access
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The young head chef who restores cars on the side
Painting a car is a lot like icing a cake, says Alanna Sapwell, the head chef at Arc Dining and Wine Bar in Brisbane.
What came first? Cooking or car restoration?
Cooking. I was six when I tasted my first proper pizza and had an epiphany. I decided I wanted to learn to cook the traditional way. Both my parents worked and they made good dinners for us, but because we all live in a convenience-driven world, people take shortcut after shortcut until what you're left with is a poor replica of what it should have been.
What about cars?
My brother and I had an old Mini as a bush basher to learn to drive in. Then when I was 17 and an apprentice with David Rayner at The River House near Noosa, I kept crashing my car. I would ask Dad to panel-beat and spray it. After the third crash he said, no, you are going to learn to do this. So it was just a necessity.
It's a handy skill to have.
In a couple of ways. At that time I was doing pastry at The River House and I found that there was a remarkable resemblance between bogging and spray-painting a car and icing a cake. I picked up car work really quickly because of that.
My Kombi van broke down in Darwin when I was on a road trip. I'd be on the phone to Dad and he'd say "do you know where the alternator is?" and I'd say "yep" and he'd say "OK, there's a spark plug there". He talked me through it. It's such simple mechanics on a Kombi, it's not that hard. Nowadays, mechanics can't fix some cars because they need chips, whereas this almost feels like a dying trade.
How did fixing the Kombi in Darwin make you feel?
Actually, in the end, it was beyond fixing and I had to get it towed back to Gympie. Thank god for the RACQ. But I always like to feel that I can get through situations, and be in control. In my kitchen it's hands on, too. There's no sous vides in there. I want to teach people fundamental cooking. That's half the fun.
How many cars have you had?
I've had three Kombis – one was for parts – and now I've got a 1971 Volkswagon Type 3 Squareback and a postie bike.
And you drive the VW?
I love it and want to keep it forever. I tried to get a conventional car but it's just not me, there's too much disconnect. When you are going 95km/h, which is top speed in the Volkswagon, you get a real rush; you can feel how fast you're going.
Speaking of disconnect, you've introduced some interesting work practices at Arc.
I've set Arc up so chefs have to prep their own food, cook their own food and plate their own food. Then they've got a sense of ownership over it. When I worked at bigger places, the food is beautiful and looks great on Instagram but it goes through about 20 peoples' hands – and there's just something missing. I try to have that small-kitchen feel even though we're a bigger place.
We've planted a garden area at the restaurant as a back-up for produce supplies, but also so the customers who haven't heard of cranberry hibiscus, for example, can see it for themselves. It's more relaxed, rather than them feel like they're being educated by a pompous waiter.
How did you come to be a head chef with a kitchen staff of 15 plus floor staff at just 32 years of age?
After my Kombi van trip ended prematurely in Darwin I went to Japan and, at the age of 24, found myself in a head chef role. The owners were really happy with me, but I had imposter syndrome – I knew I had so much more to learn. So at different restaurants over the next few years I dedicated myself to every section of the kitchen to treat it as a trade in itself. At Saint Peter [Josh Niland's award-winning seafood restaurant in Paddington, Sydney] I refined my fish skills and learnt about running the business. One thing about hospitality is you learn something new every day. And it's not all about cooking.
What sort of feedback do you get when people find out your hobby?
Most people think I'm pretty blokey.
Arc is open seven days and you work long hours. How important is it to have an outside interest?
Very. So many people I know don't do anything else. An apprentice of mine only reads cookbooks in his spare time so I bought him a voucher to No Lights No Lycra dance classes. Personally, I just want to make my downtime productive. Working on cars, Dad and I are doing something together rather than just sitting around. I'm very family oriented, too, so it's nice.
The Culinary issue of AFR Magazine is out on Friday, June 28 inside The Australian Financial Review. Follow AFR Mag on Twitter and Instagram.


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Blog Archives
#31. Rims
Perhaps one of the most detrimental and insidious things ever created with the sole purpose of bringing down the Black Community and keeping it down is the creation of the "rim".
For some strange reason that has yet to be explained with any sense of logic or reason, having expensive rims on your vehicle has become a status symbol within the Black Community (especially if they are on a Cadillac Escalade).
However, rims are really nothing more than expensive tennis shoes for cars, "chrome" being the preferred variety. With the exception of a drug habit or trying to make bail, nothing can eat up a Black Person's money more efficiently than a set pf 23 inch chrome rims (which can sell for close to $3,000 and in some cases more!).
But for those in the Black Community that cannot afford them or are unwilling to pay such outrageous prices for them (which are few and far between), some Black People have turned to theft and, in some cases, homicide. This is why rims are so dangerous to Black People everywhere.
Most people commit crimes in which they can profit financially from, but rims are rarely stolen for profit (it would be like a Caucasian Person killing another Caucasian Person over a Toyota Prius).
There is no known way for a Black Person to resist the allure of expensive rims. Even educated Black People who have studied at the most prestigious schools and colleges in the world cannot seem to avoid the attraction of cruising down the street while sitting on chrome 23's.
Like AIDS and Cancer, scientists are working day and night to find a cure to this affliction, but as long as cars have wheels Black People will have no choice but to put rims on them.
#13. Making Fun of People Who Own a Prius
Black People hate the Toyota Prius. And they hate the people that drive them even more.
But why? Why must Black People discriminate and make fun of Prius owners? because the Toyota Prius is almost the exact opposite of the Cadillac Escalade; it's small, quiet, environmentally friendly, and gets great gas millage. But of course, the harsh reality is that the Toyota Prius is simply not "baller", and Black People can not and will not endorse anything that's obviously not "baller".
But if there's one key reason why Black People hate the Toyota Prius and make fun of the people that own them it's this: you can't put 23 inch rims on them! A Black Person can not be expected to like a car they can't put 23 inch rims on! it's scandals!
And if you do see a Black Person driving a Prius it's because the car salesman threatened to kill the Black Person's family if they didn't drive the car off the lot at that very moment. There is no other logical explanation. Even if a Black Person were being chased by a mad serial killer and had to choose between making their getaway on foot or in a Prius, the Black Person would choose to run away in their expensive white tennis shoes rather than be seen driving a Prius 100% of the time.
#12. Cadillac Escalades
There are many mysteries in the universe. Who really shot JFK? What really happened to Jimmy Hoffa? And why do Black People really love the Cadillac Escalade so much? The answer may surprise you.
"It's baller". It's that simple.
Black People have a high propensity to spend their hard-earned money on stupid and expense things they have no business buying and the Cadillac Escalade is right at the top of the list. Some Black People don't even know themselves why they would want such a large, overpriced vehicle with extremely poor gas mileage that is liable to bring every car thief within a 20 mile radius out of the woodwork. Common sense should convince Black People to stop buying these vehicles, but everyone knows that common sense and Black People don't always get along.
The only other explanation must be that Black People secretly enjoy getting pulled over by the police, because that's exactly what's in store for any Black Person that plans to drive one of these vehicles down the freeway with 23 inch rims and music blasting. The police don't even need probable cause anymore, because a Black Person driving a Cadillac Escalade must be up to something.


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Danish shipping major Maersk has raised its expectations for 2019 profit based on the financials for the third quarter and the updated outlook for freight rates, volumes and bunker fuel prices for the rest of the year.
The company said that its new expectation for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is in the range of USD 5.4 to 5.8 billion, up from the previous expectation for EBITDA of around USD 5 billion. The remaining part of the guidance is unchanged.
Despite slower global demand growth and lower freight rates in the third quarter of 2019, Maersk witnessed better than expected performance in Ocean driven by strong reliability and capacity management. This was combined with lower fuel prices and continued margin improvements in Terminal & Towage, which has resulted in stronger than expected financial performance in the quarter.
Revenue was USD 10,055 million during the third quarter, while EBITDA reached USD 1,656 million. For the first nine-months of the year, revenue stood at USD 29,222 million and EBITDA at USD 4,249 mill.
The company will detail its revised full year outlook at a later time.
Following the announcement, the company's shares jumped by more than 7% on October 21.
Imformation source: World Maritime News Staff , Image Courtesy: Gcaptain


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News in over the transom from Worth Avenue Yachts that Mark Osterhaven and Michael Mahan have listed the 36.58m motor yacht Banyan III for sale.
Built in GRP to ABS class by Italian superyacht yard Benetti, she was designed by Stefano Righini and is one of the yard's Classic 120 models, delivered in 2008. An interior by Francois Zuretti is warm, elegant and welcoming, sleeping 10 guests in five staterooms. A spacious master suite is on the main deck forward with a king-sized bed, ample storage, a walk-in wardrobe and complete television, DVD and entertainment system. On the lower deck aft are four guest suites with two VIP staterooms with queen berths and two twin guest cabins, all with en suite facilities.
A thorough 2012 refit included painting the entire exterior, changing her black hull to light grey, as well as a complete interior refit. She also completed her Lloyds 5 year classification as well as her Cayman Island Commercial certification. Twin 1,550hp Caterpillar engines give her a range of of 3,300 nautical miles and she is fitted with zero speed stabilisers.
Always privately used and never chartered, Banyan III is asking $8,950,000.


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Contests / challenges by state: AL · AK · AZ · AR · CA · CO · CT · DC · DE · FL · GA · HI · ID · IL · IN · IA · KS · KY · LA · ME · MD · MA · MI · MN · MS · MO · MT · NE · NV · NH · NJ · NM · NY · NC · ND · OH · OK · OR · PA · RI · SC · SD · TN · TX · UT · VT · VA · WA · WV · WI · WY · Canada | All challenges (1000+) on one page
Challenges by food type: BBQ · breakfast · burger · burrito · hot dog · ice cream · milkshake · omelet · pancake · pasta · pizza · sandwich · seafood · spicy · steak · sushi · taco · wing
Challenges by Cities: Albuquerque · Atlanta · Austin · Baltimore · Boston · Buffalo · Charleston · Charlotte · Chicago · Cincinnati · Cleveland · Columbus · Dallas · Denver · Detroit · Hartford · Houston · Indianapolis · Jacksonville · Kansas City · Las Vegas · Long Island · Los Angeles · Louisville · Memphis · Miami · Milwaukee · Minneapolis · Nashville · New Orleans · New York City · Newark · Norfolk · Northern Virginia · Oklahoma City · Omaha · Orlando · Philadelphia · Phoenix · Pittsburgh · Portland · Raleigh · Richmond · Sacramento · Salt Lake City · San Antonio · San Diego · San Francisco · San Jose · Seattle · St. Louis · Tampa · Toronto · Washington, DC | All cities
Three random milkshake eating challenges
|24 oz. malts
|Malt Challenge
|Crown Candy Kitchen
|St. Louis, MO
|Since 1913, free if 5 malts eaten in 30 minutes
|6 pound milk shake
|The Colossal Challenge
|Chick and Ruth's Delly
|Annapolis, MD
|includes Colossal burger or sandwich
|2.5 pint milkshake
|Milkshake Challenge
|Blend 'n' Shake
|Ashton in Makerfield, England, UK
Stephanie Wu finishes Big Texan challenge in 30:40
Stephanie Wu announced that she finished the 72 ounce steak challenge at The Big Texan in Amarillo, TX in 30:40. This would make the five fastest times for women in the official finishers list (a fire destroyed pre-1991 records)
- 4:59, Molly Schuyler, 2014
- 9:58, Molly Schuyler, 2014
- 30:40, Stephanie Wu, 2014
- 32m, Carlene LeFevre, March 20, 2002
- 32:24, Johanna Hickey, August 9, 2005
In a 2000 Ripley's Believe it or Not program, Carlene LeFevre finished the steak challenge in 32 minutes, which was billed as a new women's record. (Results from that episode do not appear in the finishers list).
update Nov 12 On her trip, Stephanie also set the women's record for the milkshake challenge at Crown Candy Kitchen in St. Louis and the overall Onion Burger record at Dust Bowl in Tulsa.
Punching Kitty: Ben Monson set Crown Candy Kitchen record
Punching Kitty has an update on the malt record recently set at the Crown Candy Kitchen by someone claiming to be Kevin Ross. The owner of the Crown Candy Kitchen, Andy Karandzieff, posted a picture of the record setter, and it is definitely not the Kevin Ross who qualified for the 2008 Nathan's finals.
The "Kevin Ross" claimed to have completed the Pointersaurus, but no information is available on Pointer's Pizza facebook.
update Barry Stagg reports that the #7 ranked eater (Ben Monson) ate the King Kong Burger challenge in 8 minutes at Ray's Franks in Houston.
update #2 KSDK and the Riverfront Times have articles.
Man vs. Food October 21 (Washington, DC) episode links
Travel Channel – episode guide | slideshow
- Chick & Ruth's Delly (Annapolis, MD) challenge – 6 pound shake and 1.5 lb. sandwich
Home Page | Yelp
Page about challenge on restaurant's website
Blog entry by Will Millender about being the first person to complete the challenge
Hometown Annapolis report on the filming
Grubgrade review
- Ben's Chili Bowl
Home Page | Citysearch | Yelp
Washington Post obituary from October 9, 2009 about the death of Ben's founder Ben Ali
- Horace & Dickie's Seafood Carryout meal – jumbo fish sandwich
Yelp | Metromix
List of Washington, DC area eating challenges in eatfeats database
List of Northern Virginia area eating challenges in eatfeats database
Man vs. Food Washington, DC sites
mgholwill's twitter reports that Man vs. Food is currently recording at Horace & Dickie's in Washington, DC. Ben's Chili Bowl was reportedly yesterday's taping site. HometownAnnapolis has a report on Sunday's challenge attempt (no spoiler) at Chick & Ruth's Delly.
Twitter: 5 IFOCE members on Jimmy Fallon tonight
The twitter of Jimmy Fallon announces that Tim "Eater X" Janus, Eric "Badlands" Booker, Crazy Legs Conti, Eric "Steakbellie" Livingston and Micah "Wing Kong" Collins will appear on his NBC talk show at 12:35 am (11:35 pm central) Badlands Booker's twitter confirms the appearance.
update Two clips are available on the show website. Paul Barlow has provided a video capture.
update #2 A video clip of the milkshake being finished during the commercial break is available on the show website.
Man vs. Food Feb 25 (St. Louis) episode links
- Crown Candy Kitchen – challenge: 5 malt milkshakes in 30 minutes
Home Page Reviews: Citysearch | Yelp
The restaurant's website says the milkshake challenge has been offered since its opening in 1913, which might make it the oldest eating contest or challenge
A book about the Crown Candy Kitchen, which includes the malt milkshake Wall of Fame is available on amazon
When the book was published, Rich LeFevre held the record of six milkshakes, Pat Bertoletti has since broken that mark by one.
- Pappy's Smokehouse
Home Page Review: Yelp
STLMags blog entry about the recording says that Adam Richman's meal was the Big Ben which consists of a full slab of ribs, 2 sandwiches, a 1/4 a chicken, and 4 side dishes
- Iron Barley
Home Page Reviews: Citysearch | Yelp
Iron Barley was in an episode of Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives last March


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Marshall Scott is the little boy from Slough in the UK who has captured the hearts of people worldwide.
The youngster was celebrating his birthday by dressing up in his pint-sized Coldstream Guards uniform, complete with red jacket and bearskin.
The birthday boy was waiting to watch the age-old tradition of the Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle when utter magic unfolded.
Showing his cheeky personality, young Marshall took a chance and saluted the guardsmen as they walked past him.
But the sweet lad didn't expect to get a response... But Lance Corporal Paul Edden had other plans.
Returning out the door, the Queen's guard helped "make Marshall's day."
Paul marched back out to see the youngster, where he saluted him and then posed for a quick snap.
The guard told the Standard UK, "It's not the usual thing to happen while on guard."
"Usually I would just take the guardsmen in the guardroom as normal - but my wife and I are expecting a baby boy, and I remembered standing at Edinburgh Castle when I was younger hoping to get a picture with a soldier."
"I noticed Marshall in a Coldstream guards uniform, and seeing him coming out made me proud of what I do."
Marshall's mother, Imogen, said Marshall was left "in absolute awe."
Watch the incredible video in the player at top! We warn you, side effects include unconditional smiling!


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The Friday feast of historical triviaRSS Feed
Its April 29th. If you're looking for gifts for loved ones have a browse around our shop.
For something traditionally Japanese and ceramic you may want to visit Arita today, the venue in Japan for one of their largest Ceramics festivals celebrating traditional Porcelain production. The fair runs from today until May 5th, a period known as " golden week" as it covers the Emperors birthday, children's day, constitution day and greenery day– a number of public holidays.
Arita is a town located on the South West side of Japan, close to Nagasaki.
The potteries of Akita started producing enamelled porcelain items called Kakiemon, from the mid 17th century onwards. The technique was invented by Sakaida Kakiemon, a potter born in 1615. Sakaida refined the methods used for producing translucent white glazes and started the practise of enamelling on to the surface of the glaze. His first pieces were shipped to Europe from the port of Imari, hence the "Imari" name for the pattern.
The Great Ming dynasty which had ruled for 276 years had collapsed in 1644, seriously disrupting the Japanese export market. Sakaida kakiemon is said to have learnt to apply enamel to porcelain from an artisan in Nagasaki the year previously. He capitalised on the Dutch exploitation of the market, which eventually dried up when they shifted their attentions to China ( the Chinese capitalising on it themselves by calling their wares "Chinese Imari").
Porcelain originated in china, it is a mixture of feldspars, glass, ash and petunse, a naturally occurring mineral. Production can be dated as far back as the 3rd century. It was in full swing by the 6th century and rapidly spreading across Asia. The silk road enabled Porcelain to spread across Europe attracting Portuguese, then Dutch and English merchants who eventually began sea trading.
The word porcelain is derived from the Italian "Porcellana" which is a shell, reflecting it's translucent quality.
King Augustus the strong of Germany and our own Queen Mary II were both early owners of import Porcelain, there are even pieces called "Hampton Court" , named after two vases recorded in an inventory of 1696.
The fourteenth generation of the Kakiemon family,- Sakaida Kakiemon XIV, was bestowed the title of National Living Treasure by the Japanese government, a recognition of an "Intangible cultural property".
The Kakiemon family's work has been the major influence for Dutch Delft and Meissen, copied by the factories of Worcester and Chelsea amongst countless others. You probably have at least one item in your home that bears their legacy.