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If you've been out car shopping lately you might find it difficult to find anything you love for under $35,000. But just recently I was handed an ultimatum: stick with my current car and pay half its value for the next major fix, or get out now and find something new and reliable. I chose the latter. So the day after Christmas, 2013, I set out on a quest to find the best sports car for the money.
My three choices are very different from each other but are all highly regarded in their respective communities. The 2014 Mustang V6 Premium Coupe with the Performance pack (six-speed manual) was the most expensive of the three but was also filled to the gills with technology and horsepower. The second was the 2014 Subaru BRZ with the Limited package (six-speed manual) that was the most common and the least expensive option of the three. Last but not least was the 2014 Mazda Miata Club (six-speed manual) offering the second lowest price tag and smallest package.
2014 Ford Mustang V6 Premium Coupe with Performance Package
Our first stop was the Ford dealer to test-drive the Mustang. I had called around to several dealers in and around the Los Angeles, CA area trying to find a V6 Premium Coupe with the Performance Package and a six-speed manual. Believe it or not, most Mustang's with the Performance pack, sitting on the lot, are equipped with an automatic transmission. I finally found one and took it for a spin.
The first thing I noticed was the awesome exhaust note. It was rumbling and loud, just how it should be. The interior was nice and spacious although the car I was driving did not feature a navigation system or Recaro seats that I wanted. While the horsepower was rewarding, there was a fairly large disconnect between myself and the car. I was separated from the road by a 3,500 lb mass that was just too much like the car I was selling. The gear-box was also a let-down with rough shifts that weren't as rewarding as I had hoped. While I felt safe and liked the idea of all the technology and horsepower I would be getting with the Mustang, I wasn't a fan of the weight or the transmission.
Another issue I was dealing with was the fact that I would have to order the car, taking another 4-6 weeks. I wanted the right color, the right packages and the right transmission for my car and finding one on the lot seemed nearly impossible. I did sit in a car that had the Recaro seats, and looking back, they happen to be my favorite part of the car. The salesgirl I rode with was a real car nut and understood my desire in shifting my own gears and having a car with more custom touches so as not to blend in with the rest of Los Angeles.
While the exhaust note, Recaro seats and horsepower was nice, I had to remind myself that I had two other cars to test in making my decision.
The total MSRP for the Mustang I wanted totaled $33,904. This included: base price of $26,610, Performance Package ($1,995), Electronics Package ($2,340), Rear Video Camera ($240), Recaro Leather Sport Seats ($1,595), Vehicle Security System ($208), car cover ($321), right and left Quarter Window Louvers ($113 x2), and Destination charges ($825).
2014 Subaru BRZ Limited
I had spoken with the dealer earlier that morning and had confirmed they had a Satin White Pearl six-speed manual on the lot to drive. By the time I had made my way over there there had been a dealer trade of the car I wanted so I settled to drive whatever six-speed they had on the lot.
Outward appearances on the BRZ were the most appealing of the three, with a low, aggressive stance that looked track ready. First impressions of the interior was "cheap." The controls and navigation seemed very bland and to a price point. Quite different from the Mustang. The salesman crammed himself into the back seat and did not look the least bit pleased or comfortable.
The gear-box was a step up from the Mustang and the engine sound was satisfying. This car sits much lower to the ground and gives you a European sports car feel. The car gripped the road and felt more agile than the Mustang. Going on the freeway on ramp I hadn't revved the car up enough to fully feel the power going from first to second gear (200hp @ 7,000rpm). This resulted in a delay while the car reached the appropriate RPM for its 200hp to take effect. This could have been a result of many factors; me not winding it up enough or the car just being new. Either way I was frustrated not getting an immediate acceleration response.
Besides this, the car looked nice on the exterior but was a little rough in how it drove, like Subaru still has some fine-tuning to do. The interior looked cheap while the exterior was the best looking of the three cars. The transmission was an improvement over the Mustang but the drive was rough. I don't mind being beaten up a little in my Elise, but not in what would be my everyday car. I did feel, over the Mustang, that the BRZ was much more responsive and gave me more confidence in my driving abilities. I did feel more connected to the road in the BRZ compared to the Mustang, but still felt there was some finesse missing. Now don't get me wrong; I'm not one of those girls that likes plush leather seats and 7-way adjustable seat heaters, but I do want to be impressed, not beat up.
Why did I choose the BRZ over the FR-S? Well, I preferred the color options, packages and accessories of the FR-S over the BRZ, but I liked the option of a navigation system and a slightly lower price point better. They are essentially the same car sharing the same motor and similar looks, but the less Subaru offers in terms of extras will bring the price down.
The total MSRP for the BRZ I wanted totaled $28,671. This included: base price of $27,995, Car Cover ($139), Rear Bumper Applique ($69.95), Wheel Locks ($29.95), Severe Weather Companion kit ($44.50) and Destination charges ($795).
Check out this comparison between the BRZ's twin the FR-S and the Miata Club. Any guesses on who comes out on top?
2014 Mazda Miata Club
I had never before considered a Miata, but my dad has mentioned how well-loved the cars are and how, for the price point, it's a very good buy. For our last stop I left the Subaru dealer and walked across to Mazda. Similar to my feelings at the Subaru dealer, this Mazda dealer gave me the feeling that I was bait on the end of a fishing pole. The salesman didn't seem to be a real car nut or want anything more than for me to purchase the car.
I took the car out with the salesman as passenger and began my test-drive. A large truck was backing out ahead so I used some techniques I had learned at my countless racing schools and swerved to avoid it. The salesman gasped and grabbed onto the doorhandle with all his might. I found this to be more sad than amusing. But the test-drive continued.
As we headed towards the freeway I wanted to pull over to experience the top down, since I had never owned a car with a convertible hardtop. The Miata Club's hardtop goes up or down in just 12 seconds at a stop and folds behind the seats on the car's exterior, not in the trunk so no valuable space is taken. So down it went and off we went towards the freeway on-ramp. Entering onto the freeway, the power wasn't overwhelming but a factor came into play that hadn't before with the first two cars; and that was fun.
The exhaust note wasn't to die for but the car just oozed fun. I loved having the top down, especially living in Southern California. The gear-box was flawless and the clutch, effortless. Out of the three, the easiest to drive. The suspension and ride quality wasn't as stiff as the BRZ but with the Bilstein shocks I felt I was in good hands.
There wasn't enough going on in the interior to look or feel cheap, while the seats were the least exciting or gripping out of the three. The Club did offer exclusivity that the others didn't. Special suspension, mechanical limited-slip differential, shock tower brace and some sticky rubber plus a few 'Club' badges separate this MX-5 from the rest. The Club is also a limited edition model, so you won't see one on every street corner, and with this being the last generation before the Alfa/Miata comes around, value will be sure to rise on these too.
The total MSRP for the Miata Club I wanted totaled $29,460. This included: base price of $28,665 and Destination charges ($795).
Now that all three test-drives were over, my head was spinning with what to do. We went over all the pluses and minuses of each car in an effort to make the decision easier.
Ford Mustang:
Pros- Lots of technology, Recaro seats available, lots of horsepower, and lots of room
Cons- Clunky gear-box, very heavy, very common, would have to order, and the most expensive
Subaru BRZ:
Pros- European sports car feel, low to the ground, nice engine sound, nice seats and exterior, and lighter weight
Cons- Rough around the edges, cheap looking interior, very common, not many factory options to customize
Mazda Miata Club:
Pros- Folding hardtop, wonderful gear-box, fun to drive, limited edition
Cons- no navigation or Bluetooth offered in the Club, OK engine sound, mediocre seats and not much room for storage.
I was trying with all my might to make a logical and practical decision, but my dad stopped me mid thought and asked a very important question, "What car, after you park it, would you turn back to look at?" I was worried about my first thought. I was going from a 3-door hatch back with a large trunk and back seats, so going to something smaller with the Elise as my other car seemed silly. So when I finally came out and said "the Miata" I explained my reservations to my dad. He asked me very plainly, "do you have kids, or a dog, or a husband? Do you haul furniture?" And when I answered "no" to all of the above he said "then you should get the car you want." His explanation was "you are young, and you have nothing requiring you to have a big car. Why not enjoy something fun now and get the big family car later down the line?"
So that night we headed down to a different Mazda dealer who had offered me a better deal and signed the paper work. I ended up with a 2013 model instead of a 2014. There is virtually no difference in the car except the deep discounts the dealer was offering. I chose to go with a grey color because I felt the black roof and mirrors (exclusive to the Club retractable hard top) blended better with the grey paint.
Some other notable pluses on the cars performance are: RWD, 2.0-liter, I4 DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder engine and variable valve timing. Power is estimated at 167hp (@ 7,000RPM) with 140 lb-ft (@ 5,000RPM) of torque. Redline is 7,200RPM and has short gearing for better acceleration. It's 2,482 lb curb weight and standard six-speed manual transmission adds a large dose of fun. Acceleration from 0-60mph is 6.1 seconds, and you'll be sure to smile the whole way.
Soon I'll post on what modifications I have done to my Miata, but lets just say the exhaust sounds great now.


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Once you have won a Stanley Cup, certain things should become irrelevant. Moments in team history well short of winning a Cup, the opinions of other team's fans who have not won a Cup, and former players who did not… Read More ›
LA Kings hockey
High Five…In a Row. Kings Beat Wings 2-1
Couldn't get to the game tonight. Surly needed my help. Apparently our section was infested with Red Wings fans. I let him down. Picking up the game at the start of the second period, I asked fellow fans how the… Read More ›
An Open Letter to the New Insider, Jon Rosen
Dear Jon I have never written a dear John letter, or, in this case, a dear Jon letter. I was recently critical of Insider's direction for what I believed was you picking up Insider where Rich Hammond left it off… Read More ›
Sliding Down the Hallway – Kings Ice Oilers 3-1
Bullet point time… The Kings' defense did a much better job of gap control (the distance between our defense and their attacking forwards) and moved the puck quicker on transitions (the first pass and the speed of the forwards without… Read More ›
The Profanity Driven Rage Filled Post Game Article…
The Kings deserve it. You may need it. Perhaps you have even come to appreciate the moments Surly or I have brought it.
Sometimes, You Gotta Bang a Fat Chick…Kings Beat Columbus 4-2
Confidence. You don't appreciate how important it is until you lose it. Once you do, doing the little things right, gaining and sustaining momentum and winning gets it back. Tonight was a game of little things that turned into a… Read More ›
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses…Kings Lose 3-1
Matt Greene is out. Willie Mitchell is out. It's Anze Kopitar's first game back… Did I miss any? We're 0-2 in a 1/2 season, which means we are 0-4 if this was a regular season (see what I did there?)… Read More ›
Thoughts and Tidbits From the January 10 L.A. Kings Press Conference
Bob Miller – He was Bob Miller. Classy, a consummate professional, missed his voice. Tim Leiweke – The guy is passionate. He wasn't selling up there…well, not completely. You can tell he is a "fan". Fault him if you must… Read More ›
"He looked like he was moving just like he was in June," Stoll said.
Goaltender Jonathan Quick never complained while he carried the Kings on his back and became the most valuable player of their Stanley Cup championship run, but he paid a steep price for toting that heavy burden. A herniated disc that doctors didn't immediately diagnose began pinching his sciatic… Read More ›
Welcome Back my Friends to the Show That Never Ends…
I sat down a few nights ago and watched game 6 from beginning to end…for the 24th time. It was the first time I didn't cry at the end (what a pussy, right?) although my eyes welled up a little… Read More ›
Drunk or Sober? From June to October.
We've all been drunk, no? Not from alcohol, not exclusively, but years for some, decades for others of unconsummated love for a hockey team – our hockey team – our Los Angeles Kings, suddenly to climax. Tonight, for no particular… Read More ›
Should the L.A. Kings Beat Writer Be an L.A. Kings Fan?
Surly and I have talked about this topic a few times though we haven't discussed it for a while – been busy with the whole we are the Stanley Cup Champions thing. Today, I read a comment on Hammond's site… Read More ›
My Motorcycle Helmet Got Three L.A. Kings Tattoos
There were two things I promised myself once the L.A. Kings won the Cup – A Kings tattoo on my body (first Kings tattoo, second actual one) and a Kings customization of my motorcycle helmet. For those who do not… Read More ›
Video: Time To Make History
From our reader and good friend from Rising Sun Graphics.
Be True To Your Title During These Playoffs – Fanatic
Why do your emotions rise and fall with each win and loss? Why do you feel a personal connection with the L.A. Kings and its players? Why do you think about the team during your days and evenings? Why do… Read More ›

subset: commoncrawl


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By Pamela Castle
With the advent of the Internet, your options for business marketing are virtually limitless. One major tool in this amazing arsenal is Facebook marketing and it can do a lot for your business in a very short time. In fact, with very little time and money, Facebook marketing can put your company on a fast-track to success!
Update your Facebook page regularly. Do not hesitate to post a new update every morning if you find that your subscribers check Facebook at least once a day. If your subscribers are not likely to check Facebook very often, share a weekly update to avoid flooding them with too many updates.
Set some goals for your Facebook marketing campaign. You can launch your campaign on a trial basis if you are not sure how your audience will react to it. Once you get a better idea of how interested your customers are, you should set some reasonable goals for your campaign.
Do not ignore any questions or comments that are asked of you on Facebook. Thank them for contacting you, and give them a great answer. Always be willing to provide a link to a relevant section of your website if there is information there that will answer the question.
Do not post so much on your Facebook page that people will begin to feel too saturated by you. You want to give them something to think about, so let a little space flow in between each posting. Facebook recommends new page owners post no more than once or twice a week.
All content on your site should be easy to Like and Share on Facebook. It should also appear in shortened form with a link on your Facebook wall. If people are able to share your content with their followers, you'll find that your reach begins to expand exponentially, and so will your profits.
Of course, you want your Facebook marketing efforts to pay off. Therefore, you should set monthly sales goals. You need to actually get some earnings from all those Facebook likes or they don't really mean much. When you're not getting results, change your strategy.
Once you create a Facebook account, it is very important for you to be quite active. If you never post any content, how can you expect people to remain interested. Videos, pictures and regular postings are just a part of what you will need if you want to do well on Facebook.
Create a contest on your Facebook page that only fans of your page can participate in. This will make them excited to come to your page. They may even tell family, friends, or co-workers, meaning you will have more visitors coming to your page. Of course, more visitors means more business!
Respond to your fans. Remember Facebook is social! Your fans have begun following you because they are interested in what you have to offer. They want to communicate with you. If they are writing questions or having a conversation, get involved back. Answer those questions and get in the conversation. It'll build a lot of loyalty among your followers.
You should be feeling a lot more confident now about your ability to use Facebook for marketing purposes. After reading this article, you now know that Facebook isn't a big, scary monster — in fact, it's easy to use! Choose at least one thing to do every day so you can jump-start your marketing campaign.
For information about Easy Paycheck Formula 2, check out our Easy Paycheck Formula 2 Review. I'm sure you'll like it!
Related articles
- Best Practices for Facebook Marketing and Lead Generation (business2community.com)
- 5 Ways Marketers Can Keep Updated on Facebook Changes (socialmediaexaminer.com)
- Some Effective Tips To Improve The Facebook Marketing Performance (asocialmediaservices.wordpress.com)
- Excellent Information About Using Facebook Marketing To Your Advantage (gdisuccessfromhome.com)
- How To End Social Media Traffic Blues for Facebook (bloggersmakemoney.com)


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Natural and Realistic ENB for SA [...]
This evening the guys over at Game TV (in German) will talk about and play the game, we are all going crazy for right now: Grand Theft Auto IV. At 21:30 MET the hosts Oliver Heldt and Björn Jahn and their GTA expert Rafal Kucab will show you what they think about GTA IV. They will discuss the story, the innovations, graphics and sound, the controls and they will talk about violence and sex in Grand Theft Auto. You can watch the show through a stream at Game TV.
Have fun!
- Game TV
- zum Livestream
Please fill out the whole formular and don't forget to enter a valid email address to be able to verify your account.


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Bring the entire family and enjoy the fresh air and the delicious aroma of simmering maple syrup, as you set off into the woods in search of sweet adventure at the annual Maple Sugar Festival & Pancake Breakfast March 15-16 & 22-23.
Start your visit at the Nature Center and walk on the Maple History Trail. As you hike through the recently expanded sugarbush you'll see more trees tapped with modern tubing and stop at stations to see how collecting sap has changed over time.
Maple syrup is one of the oldest natural sweeteners in North America, and "boiling down" was arguably the only sugar refining process available to Native Americans and early settlers in the north. After you visit the maple sugar camp, head out to the Historic Village and:
Before or after enjoying the day at our Maple Sugaring event, come join us for a delicious pancake breakfast with real maple syrup! The breakfast is served from 9 a.m.. to 1 p.m.. on each day of the event. Breakfast includes unlimited pancakes & sausage served with real maple syrup, milk, juice, coffee, tea & hot cocoa.
Maple syrup isn't just for pancakes! Enter your best recipe using 100% pure New York maple syrup and you could win the grand prize: a $200 Wegmans gift card & one-of-a-kind handcrafted platter made right here at the Museum! Here's how to enter.
Each day at the Flint Hill Store from Noon to 4 p.m. meet author Nina Raqueno as she signs copies of her book Pancakes for Piggies.
"All GG Piggy wants for breakfast is some pancakes, but the big bad wolf has other plans for the Piggy family. See what happens when piggies, syrup, pancakes, knitting and a wolf collide. Bonus knitting pattern included."
Adult $9.50*; Youth (4-16) $7.50*; Children (3 & under) & Museum Members FREE
*see below for Wegmans Shoppers Club Discount
Adult $8.50; Youth (4-16) $6.50; Children (3 & under) FREE
There is no Museum Member or Wegmans Shoppers Club discount for the Pancake Breakfast
Thanks to the generous support of Wegmans, all Shoppers Club members can get $2 off of your admission to the Maple Sugar Festival! Just purchase your ticket(s) at a participating Wegmans location, or present your Shoppers Club card at our Admissions counter when you purchase your tickets at the museum. Cannot be applied to the Pancake Breakfast. Please be sure to have your card with you at the time of purchase.
Thank you for your support of the 2014 Maple Sugar Festival
Photography Credit: Sharon Dentice & Brian Nagel
Except for special events, the museum is now CLOSED for the season. Beginning in January, Nature center trails are open 10 am-4 pm weekends.


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Civic Engagement
The 40 Below Civic Engagement Task Force (CETF) aims to keep young professionals and community members in Central New York educated on timely issues and engaged in their communities. CETF has built relationships with a wide range of non-profit and government organizations in Central New York to connect members with educational programming, volunteer opportunities and opportunities for leadership.
At monthly meetings, CETF regularly hosts speakers from local area non-profits. Past speakers include representatives from WCNY, Empire State Development Corporation and Say Yes to Education. Through their board initiative, the Task Force has placed over 250 young professionals in leadership positions with area non-profits. Through close relationships with government, non-profits organizations and educational programs, the Civic Engagement Task Force offers 40 Below members a way to stay connected, informed and influential in their communities.
Steve Terzolo
Anthony Stevens
For more information on Civic Engagement, or to get involved, contact us or email Steve Terzolo at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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In response to garyhow's comment:
Yanks w/ one of the oldest rosters in baseball have stayed relatively healthy the past few years, until last yr started to break down a bit, Mo/Pettite/Arod [No surprises here w/ amount of PED's he's taken]. Meanwhile RS have been the team snakebitten w/ injury bug, these things have a way of evening out, coud be Yanks turn to deal no excuses part of the game.
Yanks hit 240+ HR's last yr and on opening day they'll be missing 75% of those. Yankee lineup not looking too good for opening day. If some of those older pitchers breakdown as well CC/Pettite/Kuroda/Mo [Hughes already missing time w/ bulging disc in neck this spring] Yanks could be in a lot of trouble this year.
No kidding


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5. On the Road
I got up, washed, packed my things and was all the time wondering how those computer freaks and neurologists tricked my brain into believing that I had just spent a night sleeping in a comfortable bed at the Prancing Pony.
The issue with the toilet had taken its inevitable course. I tried very hard not to think about what this could mean in real life. I only hoped they had worked this out, too. If not I would give them hell.
I took a moment to study the map. It did not look difficult to find the way to Rivendell on this map. I figured I would be able to walk twenty miles a day. After all, I was pretty fit in real life and I was supposed to be a ranger in this game. Ten days to the Last Bridge, perhaps less if I walked faster. I would just have to see how it – how I would go. From the Last Bridge to Rivendell an additional six to seven days.
I remembered a course I had taken at college about the medieval kings travelling trough their kingdoms. "Someone, who is used to walking, can cover a distance between 13 and 25 miles a day, depending on the conditions of the road and the weather, walking at a speed of 2.5 to 3.75 miles per hour."
The researchers had actually tried this in real life, walking with backpacks, riding, travelling with coaches, through different kinds of landscape.
Now I would see for myself, if their findings were accurate.
I felt a huge silly smile spreading on my face. Only yesterday I had sat in my tiny kitchen, moping because I did not have the money to spend a long holiday in a foreign country, enjoying sun and fun away from the city. And now I was here!
If the game continued to work so well, I could see decreasing income for travel agencies in the future.
I put the map back into the backpack and went down to the guest room to see about getting some breakfast. Some breakfast turned out to be a lavish affair, everything anyone could ever hope to get for a rural English breakfast. I stopped myself from stuffing myself only just in time, thinking about the miles I planned to walk today.
The thought of miles made me consider the state of my provisions. Tonight I could get a room at the Forsaken Inn, but then I would be in the wilderness for almost two weeks. A bit of bread and cheese and a few apples would not last that long. And up until now my bodily functions had not deviated in any way from real life. I did not think this gaming holiday would remain the fun it was up until now with my stomach churning hungrily.
I caught Bob at the arm and asked him about getting supplies for two weeks. "Two weeks? Where are you heading?" The hobbit looked at me with his eyes filled with curiosity.
"I am taking the Great East Road; I want to have a look at this secret valley of the Elves, Rivendell, at the foot of the Misty Mountains." I answered. With no black riders there was no reason to keep my intentions secret, after all.
"But that's uncanny!" The hobbit looked frightened.
"I don't really think so", I frowned at him. "You don't believe that crap that elves are demons, do you?"
"No, no, of course not", Bob quickly shook his head. "But they was strange folk alright. But now they are gone." Gone. He looked somehow sad, when said that. I had never considered how it would be for a world such as Middle-earth to be forsaken by the beings closest to magic and light imaginable.
"Well, can I buy supplies for two weeks of walking here?" I asked, returning to my original question.
"But of course", the hobbit stood a few inches taller. "The Prancing Pony takes pride in offering everything a traveller could want, be he on foot or riding, or travelling by coach. I will see to it at once. Everything should be ready within an hour."
And off he went.
A matter of pride? I hoped I had enough money in my pocket for this enterprise.
I had enough money, and left the Prancing Pony at 9 o'clock in the morning with my backpack a good deal heavier than it had been before. Probably about twenty kilogram. I suddenly remembered why I had always refused to accompany my brother on his various trekking tours. Oh, well. The comforting thought was that the backpack would grow a little bit lighter each day.
I had got myself a nice walking stick with its tip carved into the head of a pony as a souvenir, and as I left Bree through the South Gate some twenty minutes after I had said good-bye to Mrs. Butterbur, I felt like a real ranger.
The road did not really look like a road to my twenty-first century eyes. It was more like a country lane, an even stretch of dry mud, which looked as if it turned into a stream of sludge when it rained. However, it was much more comfortable for the feet to walk on this in comparison to modern tarred roads soft surface.
On leaving Bree, the road led towards a deciduous forest with many old chestnut trees, the Chetwood. After walking barely an hour along the Bree-hill with its many houses and holes, I reached the trees of the Chetwood.
By then their cool shadow was very welcome, because the day was just as bright and beautiful as the day before, and a good deal warmer. Sun and fun. A slight breeze kept moving the leaves and cooling my sweaty face, so I enjoyed walking under the big branches of the old trees, listening to their whispering leaves even though my backpack was quite heavy.
At noon I rested in a little clearing just off the road, eating ham and egg sandwiches from the package labelled "today" and stowed at the top of my pack. In the bottle attached to my pack I discovered cider, which had miraculously stayed quite cool. I stretched out in the grass, looking at the swaying branches and chestnut leaves above me and felt absolutely blissful. The knowledge that this was only a game lasting a few hours seemed to become more and more unreal. This was the holiday I had longed for, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The sun glinting through the canopy of leaves, the changing patterns of light and shadow on the grass… I dozed off.
After half an hour I came awake, feeling refreshed and eager to move on. I shouldered my backpack, took up my staff and went back on the road. The road continued through the forest for the better part of the afternoon. After about three hours, probably around five o'clock, I started to get tired again. The road turned slightly to the South-east, and suddenly the wood opened onto a landscape of grassy plains and soft sloping hills to the South and marshy plains with the sudden glittering of water in the sun to the North-east, with forbidding looking barren ridges rising in the distance.
The soft, round hills to the South had to be the southern slopes of the Barrow-downs. The flat country with the glimpses of water had to be the Midgewater Marshes, which would make the peaks to the North-east the Weather Hills.
I decided to take a break and sat down with my back to a tall tree, surveying the countryside. Everything looked so real, this could almost be somewhere in Europe, apart from the fact that you hardly can find an area of this size without at least two villages visible, and several roads.
Tolkien's Middle-earth had been sparsely populated at the end of the third age. Apparently the programmers had not changed this for the game I was trying out. My, but this wide and silent country was soothing to my eyes. I fished for the package with today's supplies and took out an apple and an oatmeal cookie. Just the thing.
Even without any action, this was a great game, I thought. But I would not mind at all to get to meet Elrond's sons. How would they look like? Would they have chosen actors looking a bit like the Elrond of the movies to visualize the twins? As elves they simply had to be extremely handsome. Hmm… hmm… I shook my head at my silliness. I told myself not even to think of something like that and decided to get going again. I guessed that I would have to walk for another three hours to get to the Forsaken Inn.
The walking acquired a soothing, regular rhythm. It was easier to walk here in this artificial world than it had been in the real world. Succumbing to the rhythm and the easy motion, I felt my thoughts empty of the worries and fretting of the last few weeks. I just kept on walking, and here and now that was enough.
The Forsaken Inn was a good deal smaller than the Prancing Pony. It was a thatched house, a stable and a barn cowering south of the road, sheltered by a row of tall grey poplar trees.
Nevertheless, the small room I was led to was clean, and the stew I had for dinner was rich and tasty. There were only a few other guests, three dwarves and five travellers, who had crossed the Misty Mountains on a trading mission. I enjoyed a quiet evening with a mug of very good dark beer and turned in early. I wanted to make an early start and try to get past the Midgewater Marshes in one day. I doubted I was up to the necessary speed, but those marshes had left a bad impression both from the book and from the movies. Perhaps the computer freaks had left out biting midges, I wondered. Somehow I did not think so. Up until now every little detail – down to my sore feet – had been extremely life like.
I slept like a log and did not dream. I woke with the first light and was delighted that I would really be able to get away early. The breakfast was not quite as sumptuous as it had been in the Prancing Pony, but there were still ham and eggs and warm, freshly baked brown bread and a fragrant, golden tea. I paid my bill and was on the road at seven o'clock. As I was walking away towards the East, I realized that from now on I would have to measure time with the sun and the moon and the stars, as I had no watch. I grinned. The first time I got reacquainted with the natural passage of time since the age of four when I had learned to read the time and had been presented with my first watch. Even if nothing of this was real, it was still great! No deadlines, no meetings, no looking for another job, no holiday with dinner dates and movie times and trains I should not miss and schedules for dancing lessons not to be missed.
What a treat!
From the position of the sun I guessed the time at ten, when I took my first break, some seven or eight miles from the Forsaken Inn. The day was just as beautiful as the day before, only some fluffy white clouds drifting leisurely across a lovely blue summer's sky and a light breeze keeping the day from getting too hot for walking. I had a tomato and a cheese sandwich left from the first day on the road. With that some mouthfuls of cider from my refilled bottle, I felt very comfortable indeed.
I felt like walking again after only half an hour.
The ground stayed level and I made good speed, or at least I felt I did. With no sign indicating the distance I had walked and no watch to tell the exact time, it was difficult to tell. Nevertheless I felt quite accomplished, when I stopped at noon.
I had reached the Midgewater Marshes. And, different from the book and the movies, they were not at all gloomy and disgusting, but a wide, melancholy spread of marshland and pools with reed and rushes. Above the water midges and flies were dancing in the sunshine like silvery clouds. It reminded me of some areas in Scotland I had visited with friends.
But I stayed on the road for my lunch, as I did not wish to risk sinking into any wet and muddy hole.
In the heat of the early afternoon going was much slower than it had been during the morning, my backpack felt heavy, its straps cutting into my shoulder and my feet were hot and itchy.
I plodded on, my mind returning to the mess my life had turned in real life.
No job, no lover, and no idea at all what to do next…
And a flat with a steep rent and insurance and stuff to be paid each month. I could go back to university, I thought. Perhaps one of the larger state colleges would hire me as an assistant professor. Then I would at least be entitled to have an opinion on every topic under the sun. But I did not really have the patience necessary for teaching, and the bureaucracy one had to endure working for the government, even in its version of the Local Education Authorities, was not really my thing. Better than not being able to pay the rent, however…
Perhaps I could call my old university on Monday and see if they had a vacancy.
Monday… I thought, rubbing my sleeve across my sweaty forehead. It was hard to believe that only a few hours had passed in the real world with me trudging across Middle-earth for three days now. It was almost hard to believe that there was a real world beside this one. I swatted a midge aside. Ouch! That had stung! Why in hell did they have to have realistically biting midges in a computer game? This was ridiculous. I would suggest skipping at least this detail, when I had had enough of this game.
When the sun was sinking towards the West, I made another break. Too tired to eat anything, I only drank the last bit of cider in my bottle. Tomorrow I would have to do with water from one of those pools. I cast a suspicious look at the murky surface of a pool next to the road. I would make sure to boil the water tonight. With real live midgets biting me I did not want to test if those computer freaks had programmed getting sick with diarrhoea. No, I would make some peppermint tea tonight and fill my bottle with that.
I walked for another two or three hours and realized I would have to camp next to the marshes for the night. I gathered wood from the bushes growing along the road and was happy to see that my skills with flint and tinder had made it into the game. Soon I had a lovely, fragrant fire burning, which improved the already magical atmosphere beyond belief and kept those midges away. I prepared my dinner, cheese omlette made from egg powder with brown bred, an apple and peppermint tea. It worked quite well; the resultant mess was tasty and filling, anyway. I remained sitting at the fire and meditating the beauty of the flames in the dark of the summer night for an hour or two, then I stripped down to my underwear, washed myself with the cool water of a pool nearby and crawled into my sleeping bag.
I lay watching the dying flames and listening to an immense orchestra of cicadas until I fell asleep.
In the morning I woke early, roused by a noisy choir of birds singing to the morning sun.
I was stiff and sore, and sometime during the night the midges had found me, and those stings itched horribly. I made myself some porridge and drank a cup of the cool peppermint tea, then started walking again. I did not mind the cicadas, actually I thought their chirp-chirrup quite romantic, but I did mind those horrible midges. I would not spend another night being eaten alive by midges, which were not even real.
At noon I sat at the edge of a big pool next to the road talking to the midges, which were trying not only to eat me, but to get eaten along with my lunch of salami and brown bread.
"You ugly, horrible gits", I told them. "You don't taste half as nice as I do, get away from me and my lunch!" But the stupid beasts did not listen and I ended up coughing for half an hour.
Today there were more clouds in the sky, and the wind was cooler. I did not mind, because this improved my speed. I left the Midgewater Marshes behind me and camped in a hollow surrounded by gorse bushes, perhaps eight miles from the edge of the bogs and marshes and their myriad midges. The cicadas were still there, and I had the most romantic evening listening to their music and watching the stars.
The next day I was getting closer and closer to the Weather Hills, but did not quite reach the Weathertop yet. I spent the night in a bed of soft grass perhaps ten miles west of Amon Sûl. But the dark shape of the Weathertop was clearly visible even in the night, rising to a thousand feet above the plains of the surrounding lowlands. I could not, however discern the remnants of the tower, which had been recognizable in the movies. I thought about climbing Amon Sûl, but the thought of the horrible things, which had happened there, made me feel uneasy.
In the end I did not climb Amon Sûl, but spent another uneasy night at its eastern foot. The next day took me to the Lone-lands east of the Weathertop, and the weather turned as if on clue. The sky was grey and the wind was cool, the sun invisible. But the Lone-lands, empty and lonely plains stretching from Amon Sûl to the river Hoarwell or Mitheithel for seventy miles to the south, were – if not plains – almost level country, with only the slightest slopes built up by wind driven soil throughout the centuries. Walking, therefore, remained easy.
Centuries! I slapped my forehead with my open palm. This was a landscape programmed in hours of painstaking work, not accumulated by forces of nature within millennia. I was losing my feeling for reality. Perhaps this game was, even without an action packed adventure much more dangerous than I had thought?
At noon the sixth day after my camp at the foot of Amon Sûl, I reached the Last Bridge.
Although I had more than once contemplated ending the game, the soothing feeling of walking all day and sleeping under the stars had made me go on. Even though I kept telling myself that the days were only minutes in the real world, my sense of the life I had left to test this game, was fading.
The bridge was at the bottom of a short precipitous incline. It was a large, stoutly built stone bridge with three great arches. The Mitheithel was indeed a river of grey water rushing to the South with great force. I stood at the balustrade of the bridge for a long moment and gazed into the cold grey flood swirling against the arches of the bridge.
But for me there was no Elvish jewel lying in the mud of the bridge and so I continued on the narrowing road, which led into the wooded hill country of the Rhudaur.
The road was leading fairly straight toward the river Bruinen, but the going was becoming more difficult and much slower, climbing up and down steadily rising hills. But the weather stayed cool and the sky was overcast with grey clouds obscuring the peaks of the Misty Mountains. Yet it did not rain and I made good speed in spite of the demanding terrain.
The fifth day the road started to wind and roll as it was getting close to the river Bruinen, whose rushing, watery voice could be heard through the trees even though it was four or five miles in the distance. Loudwater, I thought, now I understand where this name comes from.
The slopes on either side of the road were obscured by thickets of hazel and bilberry brushes, violet blooming heather at the edges of the road smelling of summer. The sun was shining again and I felt exhilarated. Soon I would reach Rivendell, Imladris!
On the sixth morning after I had crossed the Last Bridge I came to the Ford of the Bruinen.
It was the way the book had described it. The road went down a long easy slope with grassy clearings at the edges, and then it suddenly entered a tunnel made of dark pine trees, only to lead into a narrow ravine of brilliantly red rock. When I finally stepped out of the gorge into the sun light, I saw the Ford of Rivendell glittering in the sunshine about a mile in the distance.
On the other side of the silver river an earthy brown bank rose steeply and behind it the Misty Mountains were looming with their gleaming white peaks today clearly visible and defying their name. I walked towards the river and looked at the ford apprehensively. Ford means a place where the water of a river is sufficiently shallow to be crossed without danger.
The water was shallow. I could see broad stepping stones set at comfortable intervals leading to the other side only lightly lapped over by the stream. But the river was still flowing fast and strong, the water icy with the cold from the glaciers where it had its spring, and the stones looked quite slippery.
I inhaled deeply and rubbed my hands together. No time like this time. Let's get it over with. No crossing the ford, no Rivendell. And I did not have enough food left to turn back.
"I only hope those sons of Elrond are really here, or I will have to return to the real world… or starve." I muttered to myself. Starve… Well, that could not be possible anyway, as it was only a game… but I did want to see Rivendell as a reward for trudging through the country for two weeks. Although I did have to give my brother that he had been right that this trekking-business was a really good holiday. I felt relaxed as if I had really been away from it all for weeks and not only minutes.
Okay, now: first step. God, that's cold! I screamed at the shock of the icy water swirling around my bare ankles. I had tied my shoes and socks to the backpack, not wanting them to get wet. Next step. I slipped, but could steady myself with my walking stick before falling into the water. My heart pounding I remained frozen in place for a moment, before carefully stepping onto the next stone. And the next. On the fifth stone I stubbed my right toes painfully and swore evilly. Then I was across the river, slumping down on the brown banks, gasping for air. My feet were bright red from the cold water. I rubbed them dry with the smaller of my two towels, which had acquired a grubby grey colour on the way.
At least I was wide awake again, all fatigue of the morning hike dispelled.
Now all I had to do was following the steep path down into the valley of Rivendell.
Please feel free to leave a comment!
Anything at all: If you noticed a typo, if you don't like a characterization or description, if you thought a line especially funny, if there was anything you particularly enjoyed …
I am really interested in what my readers think about my writing.
You can either leave a public comment, send me a private message or mail me privately: juno_magic at magic dot ms
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.


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|I don't recommend resting in the ring, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Hello again, Dear Readers.
I wasn't planning on posting anything today, because a day of rest isn't too exciting. But then I thought, maybe other people don't know how important it is to rest. Even when you're trying to get into shape, or training for an event, or desperately hoping to lose those last ten pounds.
Taking rest days can be difficult when any of those things are looming on the horizon. You may think that it won't hurt to go for a light jog or do some sit-ups, but the truth is--it might. Our bodies need rest. During an intense training program, it's even more important to be properly rested. Resting is when our muscles actually grow bigger and stronger from the workout they endured the previous day (there's tons of fancy expert-type studies out there that prove this, but I'm too lazy to link to them. It's my rest day!). In my case, taking a day off will (hopefully) allow my body to heal from all the sparring and contact drills I've been doing. One of my thighs is a lovely shade of blue and purple, and both quads are sore as (add the expletive of your choice here). You know things are bad when your cat jumps onto your leg in the middle of the night and your own cry of pain wakes you up (and that was my light cat).
Another benefit of rest days is that they help you avoid over-training. Over-training, as any personal trainer or fitness buff could tell you, is a very bad thing. Muscles don't get the break they need to heal those tiny tears that happen when you stress them during a workout, which makes you more prone to injury. Injuries can also happen due to overstressed joints and from being so darned tired that you get clumsy. Your body can decide "enough already!" and force you to rest by making you sick. I've personally experienced that, and it's not fun. Even if you think you're suffering no ill effects, you have no idea how much better your performance could be if you took the occasional day off.
Due to the secrecy of our fight camp, I can't tell you how many days we train, but...it's a lot. I already don't get a lot of rest, so when that time comes, I really need it. I tend to spend it in a coma, unable to move, and all my plans of being highly productive and catching up on the rest of my life go out the window.
Fight camp is getting scary. Already, one of us is down with an injury and can't train with us for two weeks. Almost everyone has been sick with a bad cold. Thankfully, except for that nasty heat rash/allergic reaction or whatever it is, I've stayed healthy so far. Hopefully my luck continues.
Well, what do you know? It turns out I had a fair amount to say after all. How do you spend your day(s) of rest? Do you believe in resting between workouts? Or do you think it's all a sham?


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Jul 28, 2013 8:33 PM by Lindsay MacLeod, KSBY News
The Annual Obon Festival kicked off Sunday morning in Santa Maria.
The festival focuses on Bon Odori dancing. It's a traditional Japanese folk dance that honors ancestors.
"It's a joyful celebration because now they're at peace," said Dawn Kurokawa-Kamiya, an Obon Festival Member.
The family-friendly event is always free to attend. Sunday's event was held at the Veteran's Memorial Community Center in Santa Maria.
The group practices every Wednesday at the community center.
Offensive or inappropriate comments are subject to removal. To report a comment, please e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com, and include the name of the story and information on the comment.
Thank you! KSBY.com
13 hours ago


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By working with one of our expert kitchen designers you'll benefit from a huge amount of knowledge about how to maximise the space you have available. Over the last thirty years Jewson have developed a range of products that turn dead space into usable space.
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Sisters Act
Glitter in the Garbage #9February 3, 2011
The message of the week on Glitter in the Garbage is sisterhood, whether it's between Oprah and Gail, Oprah and her half-sister, or Oprah and June Raphael. June, Casey Wilson and Matt McConkey join Drew to teach us all about womyn's safety, and the fellowship of out-of-work actors. Remember folks, be careful when you're straight cruising at gay bars, and don't drink and drag!
Hear the Episode
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From Sanford, Saginaw, Midland, Bay City, Freeland, Oscoda, and Traverse City, Michigan.
Art Classes: Beginners Art, Intermediate Art, Advanced Art, Drawing, and AP Studio Art, Digital Media Publishing, Sound Production, Video Production.
Portfolio: 2D, Design, Drawing, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Illustration
Medias of Choice: Pen, Pencil, PhotoShop
Canvas of Choice: Sketchbook, Bamboo Pad


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Octopus Juicer and Squid Scrub Brush: Love Them or Hate Them?
by Food 23 Reactions 3 Shares Print
Among the many unique products Urban Outfitters has right now, I was glad to see that happy mundane pointed out both this Octopus Juicer ($14) and this Squid Scrub Brush ($8). I know that a lot of you like whimsical kitchen accessories, and so I wondered what you thought of these little guys? Would you want them in your kitchen?
Love It or Hate It
Urban Outfitters
ESTONE 6 years
These are too cute, I would love them in my kitchen.
SugarFreak 6 years
These have a serious cute quality to them.
Advah 6 years
These are so useful.
Hautie 6 years
Since I am the proud owner of a egg-timer that is a white egg with a cute face standing on feet.... both of these would go perfect with it. I love the odd small kitchen items as long as they are not pricey.
lisabarn 6 years
Hate seems like such a strong word, but they look too cute to be very functional and also total space wasters!
snarkypants 6 years
love them both! too cute
indreams8318 6 years
omgi love and i need! lol
sauterhead 6 years
Well, that's super expensive for either for their function... and the octopus doesn't really look like an octopus. But very cute.
partysugar 6 years
Too cutesy, they look like they belong in a five year olds kitchen.
puddlesworth 6 years
not my style at all
x_juicyfruit 6 years
I like both.
bluecanary 6 years
Cute! But the Bostonwarehouse stuff at target is similar and cuter! http://tinyurl.com/26uqtq
celebrity_soup 6 years
c-u-t-e! that octopus juicer is killin' me!
calamari 6 years
Of course I love them.
calamari 6 years
Of course I love them.
DreaAST 6 years
not my style
DreaAST 6 years
not my style
Gabriela14815884 6 years
How cute!!
Gabriela14815884 6 years
How cute!!
ilanac13 6 years
i think that they are BOTH adorable. really! i want the juicer for sure - that would brighten up my kitchen!
wickedcupofjoe 6 years
I don't know. They are cute - but not my style tastes. :)
foxie 6 years
Ugh. Urban Outfitters has a way of taking something you can get for a LOT cheaper somewhere else and jacking up the price. They did the same thing with their "Office" merch... I got it all at Target for $1 as opposed to their $8.
vapidintuition 6 years
I seriously need to own these.
Link Love
- Emoji gingerbread cookies basically guarantee ear-to-ear smiles — BuzzFeed Food
- Why you should give homely produce a chance — HuffPost Taste
- Soothe your soul with a microwave mug brownie — Food.com
- Everything you need to know about cooking beef tenderloin — Tasting Table
- A recipe for leftover eggnog so good that you'll want to buy more — PureWow


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Tag Archives: politics
My Summer in Mississippi: A New Yorker Reflects
This blog is written by Sam Gardner, who just finished his summer internship in the ISJL's history department.
The Neshoba County Fair is not your typical county fair. Yes, it does have the rides, game booths, and fried delicacies, but this is where the ordinary ends and extraordinary begins at Neshoba.
Starting in 1889, the Neshoba County Fair is a long-standing Mississippi tradition, with two unique features: the cabins and the political speeches. Some of the cabins have been owned by the same families for generations. Although most owners reside in their cabin for the one week of the fair and the cabin is vacant the rest of the year, cabins can sell for as much as the most expensive house in the county. It's prime real estate, hard to acquire.
Then, there are the speeches, traditionally made by state government officials, but also university presidents and even presidential nominee Ronald Reagan during his 1980 campaign. The two main speakers on the day I joined some other ISJL staff for a fair field trip were Mississippi's Speaker of the House Phillip Gunn, and Governor Phil Bryant. The Phils are known for their strong conservative views, and in the weeks leading up to the fair, my fellow interns and I, all liberal-minded northerners, were excited to experience what some have described as "Woodstock for Mississippi Republicans."
When we arrived at the fair, we saw colorful cabins with family names posted on the front, eccentric decorations, an unsettling number of confederate flags, and lots of white people. We walked over to Founder's Square, the center of the fairgrounds, and made our way to the Pavilion, a large, open-air wooden structure with rows of benches and a podium at the front for the speakers.
Phillip Gunn spoke about new education requirements and charter school laws, intended to help children in failing school districts. His most memorable quote was on the topic of guns: "When it's three in the morning and someone's coming through my door, and I don't know how many there are, I need to have more bullets and bigger guns than they have." Like Gunn on guns, Governor Phil Bryant (pictured at left) was obviously in his element at Neshoba and delivered a free-wheeling and impassioned speech. When discussing a controversial new open carry gun law, he promised to veto any effort to overturn it "faster than a shot out of a Winchester." His defense of gun rights and school prayer elicited loud cheers from the audience; I definitely felt out of place. Clearly, I was not in New York City anymore.
If conservative politics makes up one pillar of the fair, the other is southern hospitality. We were invited to eat lunch at the cabin of Dick Molpus, former Secretary of State and a longtime leader of the Democratic Party in Mississippi. Recently, Dick received attention on the Daily Show, including an on-air apology from Jon Stewart, who had made incorrect assumptions about him as a white office holder in Mississippi. In fact, Molpus, a native of Neshoba County, has been an outspoken advocate of racial justice and public education in Mississippi. He welcomed our group and served us a delicious southern (and kosher-style) lunch.
Before we left, Gabe and Lex, two co-workers, visited the Williams cabin on the advice of ESPN writer Wright Thompson. Gabe had tweeted Wright, a Mississippi native, the day before to ask his recommendations for the fair, and he told Gabe to go to the yellow cabin and ask for Snooky and Mary Lou. They were welcomed at the house and offered food and whiskey, and invited to join the hosts for a football tailgate at "The Grove" at Ole Miss in the fall. Southern hospitality at its finest.
After leaving the fair, we drove into Philadelphia, MS, site of the infamous murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman. We visited Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church where there is a gravestone memorial for the three civil rights workers. After laying three stones on the marker, we headed back to Jackson.
My experience at the Neshoba County Fair was a microcosm of my time in Mississippi. I enjoyed my visit to the fair as people sat on their front porches schmoozing (though they might not use that word) and welcoming others into their cabins. The fun atmosphere of the fair is definitely palpable, and it is no wonder that people return year after year. However, being a New York Jew myself, having grown up literally three blocks away from where Andrew Goodman grew up, and having heard his brother talk at my high school a few years ago, I could not help but think about Philadelphia's ugly history, which includes the murder of someone from such a similar background as myself.
I have definitely enjoyed my summer living in the South. I can now testify that in many ways, Mississippi is no less progressive than New York. However, I also cannot reconcile the fact that the Confederate flag, a symbol of oppression for so many Mississippians, continues to occupy a section of the state flag. This past weekend, I watched Wright Thompson's documentary "Ghosts of Ole Miss," which focuses on the Ole Miss 1962 football season and its relationship to the violent resistance to the school's integration that same year. It accurately captures the questions and dilemmas that still puzzle me after spending the summer in Mississippi.
What is the appropriate way to deal with Mississippi's history? How much can today's problems be blamed on the past and how can we remember while also moving forward? Ghosts from Mississippi's past still linger today, yet there has been so much positive change. I feel like I came to understand Mississippi's ghosts – and its generosity- a little better at Neshoba. After my summer in Jackson meeting people from an assortment of backgrounds dedicated to making this state a better place, as I head home to New York, I am hopeful for Mississippi.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
THIS Is Mississippi
This post is written by Education Fellow Allison Poirier.
I live in Mississippi now, but I remain a very proud native of Massachusetts. I know Bill Belichick is the most brilliant NFL coach of our generation, I think the rest of the country has us to thank for Thanksgiving and the Revolutionary War (you're welcome), and until the age of six I thought the word was pronounced "idear."
But last week I was embarrassed on behalf of my great state.
A few weeks ago, I went home to visit my family for the weekend. My visit coincided with the special election to fill the senate seat John Kerry vacated to become Secretary of State, and my parents had received an ad related to this election in the mail. The advertisement, sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters, said in big bold letters "THIS IS MASSACHUSETTS, NOT MISSISSIPPI."
The point was to show how Gabriel Gomez, the republican candidate, held values not in line with the priorities of Massachusetts residents. Gabriel Gomez was born in California, and grew up in Washington (state), and now lives in Massachusetts – and has no apparent connection to Mississippi. So what does the ad mean by saying "this is NOT Mississippi?"
I get that the big idea here is that Mississippi is "backwards." And yes, there are a number of issues on which Massachusetts and Mississippi find themselves at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Mississippi numbers among the most conservative states, Massachusetts among the most liberal. This flier obviously hopes to evoke some sort of fear that "Massachusetts could become Mississippi," but the portrayal of Massachusetts a Good State, and Mississippi as its polar opposite Bad State, is a drastic and unfair oversimplification.
In the process of moving to Jackson I discovered a lot about my new state. Yes, there are problems here, but I have found that people in Mississippi talk a lot more honestly and openly about these issues than people in other places, where they may think they don't have that problem. There are many organizations devoted to community building and "racial reconciliation." The recent controversy over Mississippi's open carry law has prompted a great deal of discussion about gun control and how it should work. People are talking about the challenges, and working hard to address them.
There are also many aspects of Mississippi that are simply wonderful. On my first Friday night in Jackson I attended a synagogue potluck dinner and ate the most amazing home cooked southern food. All my neighbors have introduced themselves and assured me that I am living in a friendly place where everyone watches out for each other. I have thoroughly enjoyed the art, music, and culture I have encountered. I am also looking forward to my first snow-free winter.
The people who sponsored this campaign ad, people who have obviously never lived here, ignored the good qualities to make a point about the bad.
Portraying Massachusetts and Mississippi as opposites ignores and negates the complications of life in both states. Instead of throwing Mississippi under the bus (or, in this case, onto the bumper stickers), stick to the issues – because using the bully-tactic of building yourself up by putting someone else down is what's really "backwards."
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
The Workmen's Circle in Birmingham
The Workmen's Circle—Arbeter Ring in Yiddish—is a Jewish fraternal organization devoted to progressive politics, the labor movement, and Yiddish language and culture. In its heyday, there were Workmen's Circle chapters all across the United States, including here in the South. While most people would associate the group's secular Yiddishkayt and left-wing politics with the more urbanized North, there were chapters in 15 Southern cities, and also chapters to be found in Florida's urban hubs of Miami and Miami Beach.
The picture above comes from In Southern States, a Yiddish-language journal published in 1949 for the thirtieth conference of the Workmen's Circle Southern District. In it, the leaders of Birmingham's Branch 303 stand on the front steps of their "lyceum" building, where the group ran a Yiddish lending library, hosted lectures and discussions, and, from 1924 to 1927, operated a Yiddish school in the afternoons.
In Birmingham, like in other cities, the founders and leaders of the Workmen's Circle Chapter were primarily immigrants who arrived in America in the early years of the twentieth century. Most of them had belonged to the Bund in Europe, and brought their socialist beliefs with them to America. Based on this picture, it seems that Birmingham's Branch 303 was dominated by the Sokol family, who make up more than a third of the members pictured.
If you are familiar with the Sokol family, or if you know of anyone who might have information on the Workmen's Circle (Arbeter Ring) in Birmingham or other Southern cities, please be in touch! This is a fascinating aspect of Jewish life in the South, but it has been largely forgotten.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy


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Coupons.com made some changes to their site about a month ago making it a little bit harder to change the zip code when you are looking for some of the great hidden coupons. I've been planning this post for some time, but just now getting around to it.
First off, once you sign in to your account click on the Local Coupons tab in the side bar.
Second, Enter the desired zip code in zip code field and click on the orange arrow button.
Click on the Coupons tab and you'll be back at the coupons page.
One of the easiest ways to find hidden coupons is to search by categories


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Green Pill Gg125Updated
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round light green an the top half reads gg an the bottom half reads 125Reply to this thread
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1Verwon Says:
this tablet contains 5mgs of Haloperidol, a generic for Haldol, this is an antipsychotic medication.
Common side effects may include: nausea, drowsiness, dry mouth and weight gain.
You can read more on it here:
Is there anything else I can help you with?
Common side effects may include: nausea, drowsiness, dry mouth and weight gain.
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Like TomP, friends and I are looking at White Mesa on Sunday, albeit with less of a drive than Tom. Yeah, it'll be cold, but when you're stir crazy and want to ride, whacha gonna do? Did they get much snow down in SY, and are things muddy or mostly dry? And if WM is wet, might the northern end of RM be better? TIA,
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From Episcopal church to Islamic center
Since 1879 the Church of the Good Shepherd stood at #79 Conklin Avenue in Binghamton, NY. In February of this year, the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York sold the building to Imam Muhammad Affify. The cross has been removed from the top of the bell tower, the red doors have been repainted green, a windowpane cross has been painted over, and all Christian symbols have been eradicated. That is symbolic in itself considering that the building now houses the Islamic Awareness Center.
But this isn't a story about a congregation that had dwindled down to nothing, leaving the Diocese no choice but to sell church property to the highest bidder. Quite the contrary.
In 2006 Fr. Kennedy and other representatives from Good Shepherd met with their Bishop and explained why they felt they could no longer, in good conscience, remain in the Episcopal Church. Despite their theological differences, Fr. Kennedy describes their relationship with the Bishop as very positive. Good Shepherd offered to purchase the property for $150,000 in cash plus a large bequest. A verbal agreement was reached. Several more meetings were held throughout 2007 which were cordial and positive.
Then, as Fr. Kennedy told me, things suddenly changed. The verbal agreement to purchase the property was rejected, and they were slapped with a lawsuit by the Diocese. Even throughout that process, Fr. Kennedy explained, Church of the Good Shepherd made efforts to resolve the issue out of court. But to no avail.
For the record, the Diocese of Central New York sold—or perhaps sold out—to the Imam for a mere $50,000. It is astonishing to note the lengths the Episcopal Church, under the leadership of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, went to in order to keep a "traditional" congregation from remaining in its buildings.
Thanks to them, #79 Conklin Avenue is no longer a house of Christian worship.
Thanks to some good Christian neighbors, Fr. Kennedy, his family and his congregation all have a home again, just down the road.
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Been there, done that. But it is refreshing to be free of it all, to be able to focus on our Lord. Blessings to you Matt+ and all from Good Shepherd on your journey.
Although this story is hardly news to regular SF readers, it's good for it to be recurrently highlighted since this outrageous case is so egregious and scandalous.
But now that God has redeemed the situation by giving Matthew+ and Anne+ a much bigger and nicer church building and rectory, I'm reminded of the parallel with the patriarch Joseph and what he said to his brothers who sold him into slavery:
"You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:20). The Lord really does have an amazing way of making all things work together for good…
David Handy+
Anyone who is on facebook should really post this story. It is easy just click on Facebook.. I did. That should keep this in the news awhile longer. A really, really awful situation which had some wonderful results in Good Shepherd Anglican. God Bless Matt+ and Ann+.
This is such a sad sentence. Like a woman stripped naked and thrown into the street. It must be painful for those who once worshiped in that building to watch such a display. You would think the previous owners would have removed all such items, and not let them be trampled underfoot by unbelievers. But, then, we must not forget that God suffered the Ark of the Covenant to be defiled by pagan hands. It was carried off to Babylon and never seen again. These things are after all only stone and wood and metal. In the absence of the Spirit, they have no intrinsic spiritual value. God discards an Ark or a building without a care, but He does not overlook His own. Not even one.
The fate of the building reveals the nature of those who sold it. As sad as its fate may be, it still serves the glorify the Living God - even if only as a sepulcher. The Living are gone from its halls, and the Dead have sold it to the Dead for the price of a slave.
Let this be its epitaph. "God was once worshiped here, but men were not willing." Rest in Peace. 1879-2010.
Although I have known about this outcome for some time, I still think of the parishioners who would have given various items and memorials—which the diocese insisted must remain with the property. It's most disturbing to think those are have been sold to another religion. I hope Matt and his congregation have been able to find peace in dealing with this situation.
To a liberal, "Inclusion of all people" only works when you toe the line. If you don't, you get hammered. It happens so often, I am surprised by people who are surprised by liberal behavior. In the end, the liberal's only goal is the outcome. THEY REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT HOW THEY GOT THERE. They don't care who got thrown under the bus in the process, the illegality of their actions, or the huge amounts of money and credibility they lost in the process. All they care about is denying the use of the property to those lunatic rign-wing extremists that DARED to defy the grand poombah and leave. KJS does it, the anointed one does it, the liberal congress does it…
Stop being surprised by it…
Live free or die…
A "news source" has recently published a "correction" that is somewhat misleading. I will quote but not link:
" SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT. a final note about the property of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Binghamton, NY that was once the home of the congregation of Fr. Matt Kennedy and his flock. It was sold off to a Muslim Awareness group for $50,000.
VOL was told, and others also ran the story, that it was sold for a mere fraction of the church's assessed $386,400 value. Apparently, that was not true."
Well, no it is not. The author of the report has mangled several facts:
1. While we were still in the process of friendly negotiations, Good Shepherd went halves with the Diocese of CNY on an appraisal for the Rectory and the Church building together. Respectively they were appraised at:
rectory: 137,000 dollars
2. Throughout our negotiations and the lawsuit the diocese insisted that this was the only price they would be willing to accept for both buildings even though we told them clearly that they would never be able to sell it for that much.
"VOL has subsequently learned that when assessors went it to look at the property, they found it in such horrible condition that it was only worth $50,000."
Not quite what happened. After the diocese had the church building on the market for about a year at 207,000K with no takers, a prospective buyer noticed some real problems with the building and a SECOND appraisal was done (not sure whether it was paid for by the diocese or the prospective buyer or both) which uncovered the fact that the plaster was pealing from the exterior of the building and that would require a significant amount of money to repair—over 100K. This buyer—also a group from another religious tradition—suggested a buy price of, I think, 60K but ended up not being able to make the purchase. That's when the Muslims stepped in and was able to seal the deal for 50K in cash.
"Apparently, the diocese was lucky even to get that amount."
Well, no. They could have had 150K from us had they not sued.
The author of the "correction" should know better than to accept the word of a official from a diocese that has already been caught in numerous lies and half-truths.
My brother pointed this out to me. There will be a mosque built on the site of the WTC. Here is the link from NY Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/mosque_madness_at_ground_zero_OQ34EB0MWS0lXuAnQau5uL
Anyone else know about this? Pretty tragic in my eyes. How awful. I bet if a Christian group wanted to put up a Christian Memorial it would not be allowed.
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On-Site Tours
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Definitions for inceptionɪnˈsɛp ʃən
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word inception
Random House Webster's College Dictionary
in•cep•tionɪnˈsɛp ʃən(n.)
beginning; commencement.
Origin of inception:
1375–1425; late ME incepcion < L inceptiō <incep-, var. s. of incipere to take in hand, begin (in-in-2+-cipere, comb. form of capere to take)
Princeton's WordNet
origin, origination, inception(noun)
an event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events
The creation or beginning of something; the establishment.
From its inception the agency has been helping people obtain and properly install car seats for children.
Origin: From inception-, stem of inceptio, from inceptus, past participle of incipere.
Webster Dictionary
beginning; commencement; initiation
reception; a taking in
Inception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.
Translations for inception
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Vulnerability Assessments
Network Vulnerability Assessments are critical in securing an organization's network. Most organizations perform these assessments annually or quarterly at the most. The difficulty with this level of frequency is that new network vulnerabilities are discovered daily. Since networks often change due to patching, new machine installations, and many other reasons, your vulnerability posture can change just as often. Also, many regulatory bodies recognize the value of vulnerability assessments, including the PCI Council which published the PCI-DSS regulation. With so many reasons to scan, it makes sense to consolidate all these scans inside one easily accessible location that includes scan scheduling, report review, and remediation recommendations.
The Problem Overview
– Multiple Threats – Threats to an organization's network can come from many different sources
– Internal Vulnerability – Many organizations only test from an external perspective, leaving them vulnerable to internal threats
– Infrequent Testing – Many organizations test for vulnerabilities once a quarter or year – not nearly enough for adequate protection
– New Threats – Organizations need to test for exposure early and often to keep up with the growing number of threats
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We offer many scanning services to best fit your needs. Scanning services are divided into the following types:
- External – this vulnerability scan uses hardware outside of your network to scan the outside of your network for vulnerabilities. The same web-based portal is included for easy service management and reporting with this service as is included in the Internal service.
- Internal – this option allows you to turn any supporting hardware into an internal scanner that searches for vulnerabilities within your network. The same web-based portal is included for easy service management and reporting with this service as is included in the External service.
- PCI – this external scan is customized to include the required Statement of Attestation and Self-Assessment Questionnaire. In addition to the management and reporting portal, this option provides additional reporting options including an overview of your PCI compliance status and more insight into any areas that may fall out of compliance.
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Live your Unitarian Universalist values out loud. Make your year-end gift today!
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"The prophetic liberal church is the church in which all members share the common responsibility to foresee the consequences of human behavior (both individual and institutional), with the intention of making history in place of being merely pushed around by it."
—James Luther Adams, "Taking Time Seriously," in The Prophethood of All Believers.
The new Congregational Study Action Issue on Escalating Inequality chosen at General Assembly provides a broad frame for the many injustices that Unitarian Universalists (UUs) and others continue to address. The emergence of fusion coalitions in faith-based and progressive organizing (such as the Moral Mondays Forward Together movement) is an inspiring development. Fusion coalitions bring together different groups working on many different justice issues, acknowledging that all our causes are connected and that addressing economic inequality and defending democracy are key for success.
What would a UU fusion coalition look like? How are partnership, intersectional approaches, and a focus on escalating inequality infused into your congregation's justice ministry? By framing our justice ministries in this context we can build a UU coalition in partnership with other faith and justice groups. Here are seven resources and suggestions related to our interconnected UU justice ministries for your new church year.
At the 2014 General Assembly in Providence, RI, delegates selected Escalating Inequality to be the 2014-2018 Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI). Learn more, find out key dates, and download the study guide.
The 2014 recipient of the Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action is the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Akron, OH. Building on a long and distinguished history of social activism and service, the UU Church of Akron has a growing and thriving social justice ministry.Thanks in large part to dynamic partnerships with local organizations, to their focus on three key program areas, and to a hands-on, experiential approach to social action that engages church members across the generations, the UU Church of Akron comes together to live out a mission to be "a prominent force for social justice" in their local community and in the world at large. Read the full story to learn more.
More resources for advocacy, organizing, and witness.
We work in partnerships and coalitions on key social justice issues. Our top priorities are:
Search the Social Justice Statements that Unitarian Universalist congregations have approved over the years, and participate in our ongoing Social Witness Process. The two current issues Reproductive Justice and Escalating Inequality.
For more information contact socialjustice @ uua.org.
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Please consider making a donation today.
Last updated on Monday, December 8, 2014.
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Hunger Banquet at UU Church of Akron, March 2012. UU Church of Akron, OH is the 2014 winner of the Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action.
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To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Andy Warhol's famed work, "32 Campbell's Soup Cans," Campbell's is releasing a series of limited-edition tomato soup cans. Printed with art and sayings by the late artist, the cans will be released at Target stores starting Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012. The limited edition Andy Warhol Foundation-approved containers come in four colorways and are set to cost 75 cents each. Limited to 1.2 million cans.
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Students from the local karate dojo in Roberts Creek returned home with several medals from the 2014 Karate Provincials held in Richmond May 31 and June 1.
Caio Machado, Taysha Grindon and Lazar Williams of karate sensei Dallas Grieve qualified for provincials this year through the zone five qualifiers' tournament.
The two divisions for sport karate are kata and kumite. Kata is a set of regulated moves to the air demonstrating power, agility, speed and control. Kumite is essentially sparring with a point system.
Caio, age 14, qualified in a kata and kumite division, bringing home a bronze medal in his 14/15-orange/green-kumite divisions.
Grindon qualified for the women's black belt kumite She came just short of earning a medal.
Williams competed in a U21 middleweight division and the men's lightweight division, bringing home a bronze medal in each division and earning a spot on team B.C. for the third season in a row.
Overall, the experience and results were beneficial for the entire dojo.
© Coast Reporter


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Home of the Sparrow gratefully welcomes your support in making our 2014 events a success! On May 17th 2014, we will be hosting our Gala Event at the magnificent Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington Hills, IL. This "After Five" Attire event will have you completely swept off your feet. Your evening will include an exquisite rendition of the Phantom of the Opera Organ concert inside the estate which seats over 300 guests, a self-guided tour of the estate to view one of the world's largest collections of beautifully restored antique music machines., Phonographs, arcade and gambling machines, chandeliers, lamps, art glass. We anticipate a sellout of this event, with over 350 guest attending. Our 9th Annual Charity Golf Outing will be held August 25, 2014 at Bull Valley Golf Club in Woodstock. A golf scramble, contest, dinner, exciting raffles and auctions will round out the day. We are excited to announce that Home of the Sparrow has partnered with Family Alliance in hosting our Zombie 5k Run, 1 mile walk ! This year's event will be held on October 25, 2014 at Emricson Park in Woodstock, IL.
The success of our events is credited largely to our generous sponsors, who lend their names and financial support to the event. The money we raise at each event directly supports our shelters that provide transitional housing and comprehensive supportive services. We anticipate in 2014 serving 220 people in Northern, IL.
We hope you will support Home of the Sparrow by joining hands with us as a partner and sponsor for these events. By participating as a sponsor, your organization will benefit from extended exposure through media campaigns and promotional efforts directed towards the supporters of Home of the Sparrow and the general community.
We have a variety of sponsorship levels, as detailed in our sponsorship opportunity packet. You have an option to combine sponsorships for all three events, which many companies find appealing for budgetary purposes. We can also mix and match to create a custom fit for your business! You can select the level of participation that best meets your needs, and be secure in the knowledge that your sponsorship will be used to help the homeless women and children at Home of the Sparrow.
Your business will receive optimum exposure to thousands in the community, showing your commitment in making McHenry County and Northern Illinois a better place to live. Please note that we have also increased our media coverage! We now insert our newsletter into the Northwest Herald that gives us about 33,000 contacts, as well as our Eblasts are over 6,500. In addition, we have ads that will be in the Herald and many other Media Outlets like: Barrington Quinssential, McHenry County Living, McHenry County Magazine and all the local Chambers including Palatine!
We are counting on you becoming a partner with us in ending homelessness for women and children. Feel free to contact Debbie DeGraw at email@example.com or at 815.271.5444 X. 27. Sponsorship forms can be mailed to 5342 W. Elm St, McHenry, Il 60050, or faxed to 815.271.5406.