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Archive for the 'peacemaking' tag
An Advent Sermon on Compassion for All of Humanity
(A powerful sermon of compassion for all of humanity)
Preached by the Rev. J. Edwin Bacon, Jr.
All Saints Church, Pasadena, California
First Sunday of Advent – December 2, 2012
In a great southern Episcopal cathedral, an elderly southern gentleman walked up the aisle and knelt at the communion rail to receive the bread and wine made holy. Over the course of his life, he had inherited without criticism his culture's religious and political script about the way the world works. Those people with white skin have privilege. Black people are appropriately in the back of the proverbial bus. That particular Sunday morning, African-Americans had come to his cathedral, the multi-generational "whites only" place of worship for this man's family. The Dean and Vestry had instructed the ushers that this morning, they were to admit any people who wanted to worship. As the southern gentleman walked down the aisle to receive communion, so did a young African American woman. As only the Holy Spirit can choreograph these moments in life, the two knelt together, side by side, to receive at the same rail from the same piece of bread and the same common cup. As the southern gentleman received the bread, he looked up into the eyes of the priest, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. He whispered to the priest, "I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."
Seeing, waking up is essential to life.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, marking the four weeks until Christmas. The Advent Wreath becomes our focal symbol, with four candles, one lighted each week. There are a variety of values and dynamics that those candles can represent: faith, hope, joy, peace.
But the overarching value and dynamic represented by the increasing number of candles burning more brightly each week? That dynamic is enlightenment.
Light. The ability to see what is really going on in our lives. The value of alertness, of watchfulness, of consciousness, of awareness.
The physician, Naomi Remen Stone, told Bill Moyers, when he interviewed her about healing and the mind in the early 90s, that all spiritual paths have four steps: show up, pay attention, tell the truth and don't be attached to the results. Show up. Pay attention. Tell the truth. And don't be attached to the results. (See: Moyers, Bill, Healing and the Mind, p. 351)
Jesus and all the other founders of the world's religions emphasized how important it is for you and me not to sleepwalk through our lives, to wake up and see what is going on around us.
Every time someone becomes aware that they are living out of a narrative that they inherited and that narrative is toxic, suffocating, unsustainable for the health of the individual or for the larger human family, that is a moment of enlightenment, of awareness, of consciousness, of waking up to real life, to a generative life, to being fully alive.
The word "Buddha" is often misunderstood as the name of a historical figure from India, but this is not the deepest understanding. "Buddha" is a principle, not a person. "Buddha" actually means "awake." When asked "Are you a god," Gautama, the person who became a Buddha replied, "No." "Then what are you?" the man asked again. Gautama's answer was, "I am awake."
And so the collect or the prayer that we just read that collects or focuses our reflections on this first Sunday of Advent deals with our personal and collective struggle to cast off the toxic narratives of darkness so that we may live in the light, what that prayer calls the "armor of light." Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
We definitely need to use light as armor at times in life, but more about that later.
The casting off of darkness, as did the white southern gentleman kneeling together at the altar rail with the black young student, always means the end of the world as you knew it. That is why Jesus mentions in this morning's gospel that the end of one old world and the beginning of the new world, which happens to you and me many times throughout our life if we commit to staying awake, will seem as if the whole universe is falling apart. Many will suffer from breakdowns and fears they cannot control, and in all this confusion, Jesus says the "Complete Person" will emerge, like someone appearing out of the mists. The sight will be powerful and dazzling.
"You'll get your confidence back," Jesus says, "and see the new life you've been longing for actually becoming a reality." "Then," Jesus says, "just think about the trees, a fig tree, for example. When their leaves start to sprout, you can see that summer is on the way. So, when you see the things I've described happening, like the universe falling apart as you've known it, you know that God's new world is on the way," says Jesus. "Believe me, the world as you know it won't disappear until all of these things have happened and one world will give way to another, but My words will last forever. So in times like this, you must keep your wits about you. Watch out for those things that sap your energy and drag you down, indulgences, drunkenness and worldly cares. Don't miss the wonder of the great things happening all over the world. Keep your eyes open," Jesus says. "Ask God to give you the strength to get through these difficult times so that you'll be ready for the appearance of the Complete Person." (See: Luke 21:25-36 John Henson's translation)
I've thought about this passage about the end of the world as we know it and others like it on election night. After the presidential election had been called, I turned over to Fox News, where I heard our brother Bill O'Reilly, who works on Fox News, say the following:
"Ours is a changing country. The demographics are changing. We don't live in a traditional America anymore. Twenty years ago, President Obama would have been roundly defeated by an establishment candidate like Mitt Romney, but the white establishment is now the minority."
In my imagination I heard R.E.M. singing in the background,
"It's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."
I love the fact that my brother Bill O'Reilly was waking up, at least to some small degree, to what I believe is God's new world, which is on the way.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., preached one of his most radical sermons entitled, "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution." He recalled that Washington Irving had written the famous story about Rip Van Winkle. Dr. King pointed out that the one thing that we usually remember about the story is that Rip Van Winkle slept for 20 years, but Dr. King said there's another point in that little story that is almost completely overlooked, and that detail is the sign that appeared on the village inn from which Rip went up in the mountain for his long sleep.
"When Rip Van Winkle went up into the mountain, the sign had a picture of King George III of England. [But] when [Rip] came down twenty years later the sign had a picture of George Washington, the first president of the United States. When Rip Van Winkle looked up at the picture of George Washington, [in] looking at the picture he was amazed . . . [Rip] was completely lost—he knew not who he was. And this reveals to us," Dr. King said, "that the most striking thing about the story of Rip Van Winkle is not merely that Rip slept twenty years, but . . . he slept through a revolution. While he was peacefully snoring up in the mountain a revolution was taking place that at points would change the course of history—and Rip knew nothing about it: he was asleep. Yes, he slept through a revolution. And one of the great liabilities of life is that all too many people find themselves living amid a great period of social change and yet they fail to develop the new attitudes, the new mental responses—that the new situation demands. They end up sleeping through a revolution. " (See: King, Martin Luther, A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., p. 268-269)
My friends, this morning I have no doubt about the fact that God's new world is on its way. God's revolution is continuing. It is the revolution of compassion overcoming sacrifice. It is the end of the toxic narrative that too many of our religions have promulgated. That toxic narrative is that in order to become a part of my religion, you have to hate someone else in another religion or you have to hate somebody else in another category. You see, every time we become more conscious or aware or awake, we discover that we have a soul which is our deepest self, and the discovery of our soul gives us access to a larger knowing beyond ourselves, and if we obey the voice of our soul, if we obey our consciousness, our awareness will become a very wise teacher of soul-wisdom and will teach us deep within ourselves. Some people call it the "inner witness" and this witness is what Christians have called the "Holy Spirit." (See: Rohr, Richard, Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, p. 86-87)
Consciousness. Awareness. Soul. The Holy Spirit. It's astounding to think about the following: that 14 billion years ago, the Holy Spirit hovered over the Big Bang and that is the first moment that God began to materialize. God had always been, but now God took on matter. And then 2,000 years ago, that very same Spirit, Holy Energy, that was present 14 billion years ago at the Big Bang came and spoke to a 14-year-old Jewish girl and told her that she was pregnant with God's new world. And now this Advent morning in 2012, that same Spirit that was present 14 billion years ago and two thousand years ago, is coming to you, and saying to you and to me,
"You're pregnant. You're pregnant with the new world. The new world is on its way and the old world is passing away."
It is saying to you and me,
"Jesus is not [the] exclusive Son of God." Jesus is "the inclusive Son of God, revealing what is always true everywhere and all the time"
– that God's compassion includes everyone. Christianity is not the exclusive religion. Christianity is the inclusive religion that embraces everyone with compassion. (See: cf. Rohr, Richard, Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, p. 87)
Every time you and I wake up to the fact that the world is a moral universe, where every human being is interconnected, and that we live in a universe that has a moral arc and that it is long but it always bends toward justice, whenever we awake to the fact that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and that the way that the universe actually works, its inner system of humming and buzzing and moving forward, is through compassion and grace and love. Whenever we awaken to that, we have awakened to the Holy Spirit that lives and dwells within each one of us, as well as being outside and beyond us. Don't sleepwalk through that reality.
Now friends, I'm not talking about some abstract theory. I'm talking about something that is real and that can change the way that you act, think, and feel. Let me give you an example.
This past Wednesday was the culmination of a long conversation that a couple of us here on the staff had been having with a rabbi and a couple who have been attending All Saints Church for quite awhile. The conversation was about the fact that the parents were of different religions, one Christian and one Jewish. The children have begun to put down spiritual roots here and it was time to take note of that, to mark that liturgically as a life transition. However, we didn't want — we, this community of prayerful discernment — didn't want to baptize the kids, to turn that into some kind of exclusive thing. We wanted something that was inclusive. We devised the following unprecedented liturgy. We took the baptismal font that we use here and put it out under the big oak tree. We blessed the water, made it holy water by recalling the important transformational moments in Jewish history and Christian history in which water had been redemptive. And then because the rabbi had suggested that we incorporate the blessing of the children from the Sabbath meal that Jews, observant Jews, use, the parents blessed their children both in Hebrew and English and then both children walked amongst all of us and each of us whispered a blessing while we touched each child.
Then, we took evergreen branches and, dipping them into the holy water we sprinkled the water on top of the children. Then to recognize that the children themselves are ministers, we gave them a little bowl of the holy water and gave them their own evergreen branch and they went around and dropped holy water on the heads of each one of us.
We concluded by having everybody express their appreciations for what had happened. One of the grandfathers who is crippled with ALS talked about how he had come to the service for his grandchildren, but that the service had helped him. Everybody said these wonderful appreciations of compassion.
I realized at the conclusion of the service that my heart had been stretched. My chest had expanded. My soul had gotten twice as large just so that it could have the capacity to have all of that God, compassion, and love in it. And it took me a full day for my lungs and my heart and my soul and my chest to kind of come back down, but it didn't come back down to the size it had been before. I was forever changed and made a little more able to hold God's love.
That's being awake, for you to make room in your life for the Holy Spirit to cross all the stupid, toxic, unsustainable destructive barriers that divide the human family. My soul was so expanded that I felt like maybe it was as big as Mary's, who said,
"My soul is big enough to proclaim the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior."
Now, I mentioned that this light, this awareness, this alertness sometimes needs to be used as an armor to protect our souls. Two weeks from yesterday, an historic moment is going to take place in America. For the first time that I know of, a major Muslim body is going to have its convention in a Christian church. All Saints Church is going to host the Muslim Public Affairs [Council] Convention and all of us are invited to participate in it. Come, please, but make sure you come ready for the Holy Spirit to stretch your soul so that you have more compassion and inter-connectivity with other human beings across boundaries than you've ever had before. And also know that that's going to be armor of light because we've begun to receive some of the most vile, vituperative, ugly, mean-spirited email correspondence I've ever read in all of my life, talking about All Saints participating in terrorism by being hospitable to Muslims. But this open-hearted, soul-expanded awareness and awake-ness is our calling.
If you and I practice this stuff, this soul-expanding waking up, I guarantee you all that by Christmas, our souls will be so expanded that they will be ready to receive the mystery of God made flesh because we will have understood God inside our flesh.
God made flesh not only in a baby, but in our very lives in our history and in our journey of casting off the narratives of darkness and exclusion and putting on the armor and narratives and new stories of God's light and love and new world.
The Reverend J. Edwin Bacon, Jr. is the rector of All Saints Church in Pasadena, California – a 4,000 member multi-ethnic urban Episcopal parish, with a reputation for energetic worship, a radically inclusive spirit, and a progressive peace and justice agenda.
Ed's energies focus on leadership in anxious times, peacemaking, interfaith relations, integrating family, faith and work systems; and articulating the Christian faith in non-bigoted ways. He is a passionate advocate for peace and justice in the community, the nation, and the world. He has received several honors for his peace and interfaith work. He is a founder of Beyond Inclusion and Claiming the Blessing (working for justice for the LGBT community) and a co-founder of the Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative. He serves on Human Rights Watch California Committee South and on other national and community boards.
Ed has been a guest on Oprah's Soul Series on XM's Oprah & Friends Radio, as well as The Oprah Winfrey Show, which led to a regular role as guest host on Oprah's Soul Series and contributor on Oprah.com. His first book, 8 Habits of Love: Open Your Heart, Open Your Mind, was published in September 2012.
Prior to coming to All Saints, Bacon served as Dean of the Cathedral of Saint Andrew in Jackson, Mississippi; Rector of St Mark's in Dalton, Georgia; and Dean of Students and Campus Ministry at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He graduated from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 1979, and in 1983 was ordained as an Episcopal priest. He holds honorary Doctorates by Church Divinity School of the Pacific and Mercer University.
He and his wife, Hope Hendricks-Bacon, have two adult children and two grandchildren.
"Our Sacred Journey": With Audrey E. Kitagawa
Listen to the following podcast from CPWR Board Emeritus Trustee Audrey E. Kitagawa, entitled "Our Sacred Journey," regarding Spiritual- and Values-Based Education for Global Peace, on the VoiceAmerica website.
Coffee Shop Religion: Interfaith of the Everyday
by Saumya Arya Haas
from Huffington Post
I never learned much about religion until I started hanging out at Muddy Waters Coffee Shop on the corner of Lyndale and 24th in Uptown, Minneapolis.
I was raised to be a priestess (of Hinduism), grew up surrounded by world scripture and philosophy, and was taught by learned scholars and mystics. But my religious education didn't really begin until I started talking — and listening — to other people from other ways of life. I had a great foundation but it had to evolve beyond what I could experience as an individual. Understanding is a journey, and it's nice to have company if you can get it.
When Muddy's opened in the late 80s, it was grungy, grubby and the bathroom was frightening. The only food on the "menu" was Pop-Tarts and SpaghettiOs. Punks, goth kids and all the other wonderful misfits of Minneapolis risked splinters from the rickety picnic tables to enjoy caffeine and conversation in precious Midwestern sunlight. I would come with my friends but talked to everyone. I got over my fear of homeless people and started seeing them as just people. Some reminded me of the wandering sages of my almost-native India, people who lived by choice or necessity on the fringes and accumulated hardship wisdom the rest of us shied away from.
All the scriptural education in the world is not worth one good hour-long conversation with a stranger about their beliefs.
Church Leaders Appeal for Unity in Mexico as National Elections Draw Near
from ENI News
Disciples of Christ leaders in Mexico are calling for Christians to put political rancor aside as citizens prepare to vote on 1 July in what has been a contentious presidential campaign season.
Political fanaticism and intolerance during the presidential election process have damaged relationships among families, communities and the people, and also those between brothers and sisters in the church, said Pastor Josué Martínez Cisneros, President of the Confraternity of Disciples of Christ Evangelical Christian Churches of Mexico.
"The Church today is called to practice solidarity, to be prudent and conscientious, It has to put aside the hatred, bitterness and intolerance that lead to fractured lives and undone families that face violence because of them," Cisneros said in a statement.
Why Interfaith Organizing Matters: Social Change Starts With Values
by Amy B. Dean
from the Huffington Post
Sometimes, as an activist, you look upon the world and think you will never be able to see the changes you seek in your own lifetime. It's easy to despair, to succumb to the isolation and self-doubt that come from being a thoughtful person trying to change the status quo.
In those moments, I've learned to find renewal and hope not in myself, but in other organizers, in our shared values and experiences. Saul Alinsky wrote, "We must believe that it is the darkest before the dawn of a beautiful new world. We will see it when we believe it." A shared belief in what is actually possible to achieve, despite what others may tell us: that is the organizer's gift.
In one respect, this principle sounds self-evident. And yet, while our social movements are often full of talk about policy, tactics or messaging, values are regularly left to linger in the background. They become things that are left to theologians to debate, or we allow values to be a walled-off part of the political conversation.
The Science of Compassion
by James R. Doty
from the Huffington Post
Why, in a country that consumes 25% of the world's resources (the U.S.), is there an epidemic of loneliness, depression, and anxiety? Why do so many in the West who have all of their basic needs met still feel impoverished? While some politicians might answer, "It's the economy, stupid," Based on scientific evidence, a better answer is, "It's the lack compassion, stupid."
I recently attended the Templeton Prize ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London and have been reflecting on the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in conversation with Arianna Huffington: "If we say, oh, the practice of compassion is something holy, nobody will listen. If we say, warm-heartedness really reduces your blood pressure, your anxiety, your stress and improves your health, then people pay attention." As director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University (one of the two organizations recognized in the Templeton Prize press release), I would agree with the Dalai Lama.
What exactly is compassion? Compassion is the recognition of another's suffering and a desire to alleviate that suffering. Often brushed off as a hippy dippy religious term irrelevant in modern society, rigorous empirical data supports the view of all major world religions: compassion is good.
The New Face of Interfaith Dialogue
by Jeff Brumley
from Associated Baptist Press
Interfaith dialogue is on the rise, not just in formal conversations led by judicatory leaders but in local communities where friendships forge as ministers of various faiths work together for common goals amid increasing religious diversity in the Bible belt.
Kyle Reese, pastor at Hendricks Avenue Baptist in Jacksonville, Fla., has been highly visible in community interfaith efforts, especially in his dialogue with Muslim and Jewish spiritual leaders. He refers to Imam Joe Bradford as "best friend" – as he does a rabbi and an Orthodox Christian priest.
Pastor Steve Jones, who made headlines working with Jews and Muslims to tackle social injustice in Birmingham, Ala., said the same about Rabbi Jonathan Miller. "I am closer to these guys than I am with many other Baptist ministers," said Jones, the senior pastor of Southside Baptist Church.
Korean Churches Plan "Peace Train" Ahead Of 2013 Gathering
by Kristine Greenaway
from the Eurasia Review
Korean churches are developing plans for a "peace train" that would travel from Berlin through Moscow and Beijing to Busan, South Korea in time for the World Council of Churches' (WCC) global assembly in October 2013.
The plan is to draw attention to the need for peace and reunification in the Korean peninsula, the churches said, and North Korea also would be on the route of the train, which would carry church and civil society representatives.
"Peace Together 2013, a committee of the National Council of Churches of Korea [NCCK], is working with the governments on the plan," said Chae Hye-won, Director of the Committee of Reconciliation and Reunification of the NCCK.
A team of ten South Korean Christian leaders will begin a short version of the proposed 16-day trip on 28 May when they travel from Geneva to Beijing.
NCCK is also in early phases of discussion about how to work with the governments of North and South Korea to prepare a peace treaty to be signed in 2013 that marks the 60th anniversary of the ceasefire treaty that ended the Korean War.
Storytelling to Restore the Sacred in Our Lives
by Najeeba Syeed-Miller
from MuslimVoices.org
I was recently offering a workshop to a group of Muslim educators from all types of ethnic, racial and community backgrounds. One of my points in the training on conflict resolution was the importance of story telling,the many ways that stories are formed, told and uttered in different cultural contexts.
Sometimes, the content of the story is less important than the way we tell the story.
We talked about how to listen to the form of the story being told, its inherent design logic, and what we learn about a person and her community from the way she chooses to tell her story especially in times of conflict. For it is in conflict times that we resort to what is most familiar and sacred to us all.
For years, I have had the honor of being a peacemaker, a mediator who listens to people's stories. I jokingly told a colleague that I could tell what they were thinking even as they were telling their story just by the way they sat, how their hands moved, whether they looked away at certain points or by what they also did not say.
It is important to hear a story being told as a fully embodied experience. The words, the way they are arranged, the flow of the narrative, its resonance with body language give you a more complete vision and experience of the story and insights into the storyteller.
So I thought about the ways stories play into my work, into my life and into my recovery of the sacred capacity of humans to build peace with each other. Some thoughts are below.
Arts and Culture Bring Peace and Reconciliation To Multi-Religious and Multi-Ethnic Communities in Sri Lanka
by Iromi Dharmawardhane
from Lankaweb.com
The arts and culture can be powerful catalysts in bringing about reconciliation within the hearts of individuals as well as between communities, changing who we are and how we relate to each other. Reconciliation through the arts and other cultural mediums can occur in two ways: firstly, a victim of war may find it easier to express one's pain – including one's remorse – through aesthetic mediums, and secondly, artistic and cultural projects and performances which are a fruit of collaboration between individuals belonging to different communities would lead to the regaining of each other's trust and respect, understanding each other's different but equally painful war-time experiences, learning about what is common and valuing what is unique in each other's cultural heritage, and at last recognizing each other's interdependence.
The arts, whether it is through music, painting, poetry, prose, song, dance, film, photography, theater, or puppetry, can be a vehicle for truth, dialogue, and inter-cultural understanding for communities who speak different languages in nations where communal relations have been battered by the circumstances of war. Sri Lanka has seen several outstanding examples of how the arts have a great part to play in the national reconciliation process. An extraordinary concert was organized and directed by Mrs. Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan on March 6, 2012 in Sri Lanka where an orchestra comprising 100 young musicians from all districts of Sri Lanka performed in unison, playing a variety of Oriental and Western instruments. This talented and large assembly of musicians from diverse backgrounds conveyed a convincing and memorable message of "unity in diversity".
The Aru Sri Art Theatre troupe founded by Mrs. Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan to promote inter-ethnic harmony rendered a captivating performance of the dance drama Sri Ram at the International Ramayana Festival in Bintaan, Indonesia on April 12 – 13, 2012 and in Singapore on April 14. They also presented scintillating performances of classical compositions on Hindu themes such as Bharathanatyam and the Cosmic Dance of Shiva which were performed by Sri Lankan dancers of different ethnicities and religions. The conciliatory power of the performing arts in drawing different ethnic groups together was never so vividly and vibrantly depicted. Aru Sri Art Theatre offers audiences across Sri Lanka and overseas contemporary interpretations and innovative productions of rich historical and cultural lore, while retaining the purity of the traditional performing arts. Sri Lankan theater and dance companies and associations, in this way, can organize dance symposiums to celebrate and bring together the different dance types in the Sinhalese tradition (such as Upcountry dances, Low Country dances, Sabaragamuwa dances, and folk dances) and the Tamil tradition (such as bharatanatyam, kathakali, and naddu koothu and other folk dances).
Sri Lanka held the Interfaith Music Festival (a first in Asia) in February 2012 which was organized and created by the Mother Sri Lanka Trust and The Art of Living Foundation. Children from across the island came together to perform Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and Islamic chants and songs on one stage. The highly-praised Jaffna Music Festival was held in March 2011 where hundreds of local folk artists from all over Sri Lanka as well as international folk artists performed in Jaffna in celebration of the unique and diverse traditional musical heritage of Sri Lanka and the world. This event was organized by the Sewalanka Foundation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Aru Sri Art Theatre, and Concerts Norway.


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Sugar Creek Township Trustee Bob Boyer told the New Palestine Town Council that he worries about the increased demand on public services, such as emergency medical services, once the complex opens. Also attending the meeting Wednesday were (seated, at left) Skip Kuker, director of the Hancock Economic Development Council; Justus President Walter Justus and other Justus officials. (Kristy Deer / Daily Reporter)
NEW PALESTINE — A public hearing to help the New Palestine Town Council determine whether to offer tax abatements for a proposed assisted-living facility for seniors went off with little objection Wednesday night.

subset: commoncrawl


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Chad Abshire
Staff Writer
WILLIAMSON – Get ready to get walking.
Beginning April 29, The Arthritis Foundation's Walk With Ease program will be offered at local churches and senior citizens centers across Mingo County.
Hosted by the Mingo County Diabetes Coalition (MCDC), Walk With Ease is a structured walking program that teaches participants how to safely make physical activity part of their everyday life. The program is designed to help people living with arthritis better manage their pain and is also ideal for people without arthritis who want to make walking a daily habit.
"Research shows that walking is not only good for joints, but also helps improve the health of the heart, lungs and bones," Kayla Whitt, with the Mingo County Diabetes Coalition, said. "Walking can also help manage weight which can reduce one's risk for arthritis in the knee, heart disease and diabetes. If you can be on your feet for 10 minutes without pain, you will most likely have success with Walk With Ease."
The Walk With Ease program will be hosted in six locations across Mingo County, and offers support, information and tools to help participants develop successful exercise routines. Individuals can join in a six-week group series led by a certified leader at the following locations:
• Victory Christian Church;
• Little Dove United Baptist Church;
• Harry L Joyce Senior Center;
• Harry White Senior Citizens Center;
• Delbarton Area Senior Citizens Center;
• Mary E. Brown Senior Citizens Center.
Participants will learn proper stretching and pain management techniques, as well as build their stamina and walking pace during the program. Walk With Ease can also be modified to meet the needs of individual participants so that each person can develop an exercise routine unique to their personal goals.
Pastor Jimmy Maynard, a past participant, showed enthusiam for this year's program.
"We've had sisters and brothers with sugar problems, knee problems, arthritis and heart problems, and we decided it was time for us to step up," he said. "We aren't doing this so we can be good-looking, we're doing it so we can feel better and see our grandkids grow up."
"The information and strategies taught in Walk With Ease are based on research and tested programs in exercise science, behavior change and arthritis management," a release from the MCDC stated. "Updated and evaluated by the Thurston Arthritis Research Center and the Institute on Aging of the University of North Carolina, Walk With Ease is shown to increase balance, strength and walking pace, as well as reduce the pain and discomfort of arthritis. The program is also shown to build participant confidence to be physically active and improve overall health."
Pre-registration is necessary for the Walk With Ease Program. For more information, contact Kayla Whitt at (304)-235-3400. And as with starting any exercise program, check with your physician beforehand.


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OK, so that's a horrible stretching of a song to cover a point, but it's kind of the way I feel right now – torn between a rock and a hard place.
Some time ago now, I let you readers know that I'd won an iPad at the Black Hat security conference, and that I'd be trying it out to let you know what I thought.
First, let's consider my usage case, and what I am comparing it against.
The iPad is, to my mind, a potential killer device for a few things I like to do:
In checking out these behaviours, I'm implicitly comparing them to not only my own Windows Phone 7, but also my wife's Kindle Fire.
In common with many people, I have a lengthy commute – at least 40 minutes each way of which is on a bus, so I can happily watch videos. My comparison device in this use case is my Windows Phone – an HTC HD7 (I'd link to it, but apparently it's not being sold any more).
The iPad is bulkier, for certain, and I can hold my phone in one hand comfortably for some time. However, making up for this is the fact that the iPad is a larger display and therefore easier to see at a comfortable distance. But watching on the phone isn't bad either.
Syncing to the iPad is accomplished through Apple's piss-poor iTunes software (of which, more later), which seems to require that my videos be already in a suitable format for the iPad. Syncing to the HD7 requires the Zune software, which is configured by default to convert video and audio in the background without any further assistance from me.
Note that – Zune converts the videos to the right format automatically when necessary, the iTunes software simply shrugs its shoulders like a Frenchman and refuses to cope.
Because of this, I can sync to the HD7 from more sources, and more easily and automatically than to the iPad.
However, the winning step that the iPad has for me comes from a combination of its viewing size, and the fact that it can play the audio from my videos to my Bluetooth headset, something that the HD7 currently does not. I have to use a Bluetooth dongle on the HD7 to hear my videos – and that's not right, when I already paid for a phone with Bluetooth support.
It's worth noting, however, that because the iPad seems to pretend to be a phone, I can't have the appropriate level of Bluetooth support, allowing incoming phone calls to pause my video and let me answer the phone.
So, a narrow win for the iPad there. But keep reading. [Add Bluetooth support for video watching, and the Windows Phone will easily surpass the iPad]
Killer app, no doubt – the size and colours make the iPad superior for reading comics. For other books, you can't really beat a Kindle, because it's the size and shape of a book. The iPad does seem to suffer in daylight as well, not that we get much of that around Seattle – but we clearly get enough for this to be a noticeable problem for me.
The Kindle Fire is a more subtle device than the iPad in this use as well, since it doesn't take up as much space. The battery life, as well as the use of standard charging cables (read: I already have dozens of the things, as opposed to having to look for the one wonky, too short cable that came with the iPad) makes the convenience factor that much greater.
However, I've even read my comics on the Windows Phone. It's not that bad a format, because the display is so high a resolution.
Winner: Kindle Fire. Of course, I would say that. But since the Fire has no Bluetooth audio, I can't use it on the bus as comfortably for my videos.
The iPad is certainly convenient for this, with free Twitter and Facebook apps, as well as a web browser to use the online versions. The iPad's desire to keep pushing text further and further to the right of the screen, in ever-decreasing strips of window, make it incredibly difficult to read some items.
In comparison, while the Windows Phone does have a free Twitter and Facebook app, and access to the web, it doesn't actually need any of these, because there are the "Me" and "People" tiles, through which you can read notices from all your social media sources (Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, MSN Messenger in my case). This gives a more natural, integrated feel to the communication, and it feels more like I'm sharing with my friends than I'm using this or that app.
Winner: Windows Phone, hands down. [But it would be nice to have Bluetooth keyboard support]
OK, the iPad wins hands-down on this one. There's a Skype app in beta for the Windows Phone, but my HD7 has only a rear-facing camera, and the Fire of course doesn't have one.
Winner: iPad (but only because I have a 1st-gen Windows Phone)
The iPad has no Flash support – but then nor does the Windows Phone.
The iPad uses a webkit-based browser, which comes with a fresh batch of security flaws once a month (as does iTunes). The Windows Phone comes with Internet Explorer – but without the same set of flaws that get patched in your regular Windows update. I strongly believe that the Windows Phone gives me the most secure browsing of any device that I have. But it is a little hard to read.
Winner: iPad
Yabbut no.
I got the iPad for free, so I have to bear in mind that for most people, they pay $500 to have it. It's not that much better than the Windows Phone. I got the Windows Phone for practically free – one cent on Amazon Wireless, with a two year commitment. But then I was going to get a phone anyway, and the two year commitment is common for phones.
As with every Apple product I have ever used, it seems like they skimped a little on the "fit and finish" of the software. This leads to small – but constant – irritations. There have been many times I've been tempted to throw it to the floor and stomp on it. So far, the iPad has survived largely because I know that if I want to get rid of it, there are numerous people who would happily take it from me. And then I settle down.
So, what are my irritations?
There are some areas where it's clear that the Apple design philosophy hasn't been communicated well – even to writers of the native apps.
A clear example – how do you delete an item? In iBooks, you swipe to the right, which causes a delete button to appear. You press this button, and the item goes away. In Videos, you hold your finger on an item until a little "x" appears. You press the "x", and are asked if you really want to delete the video. I guess videos are more important than books, that you have to be prompted.
I should say that this is how videos are supposed to be deleted. What actually happens is that you hold your finger on a video for a while. The "x" fails to appear, because you wiggled your finger a little (really common on a bus). So you let your finger up, and the video opens up. So you close it down again, and hold your finger on the video again. Now the "x" appears – albeit sometimes in a different place than you expect. So you press it. Damn, missed, because the bus must have hit a bump, so the "x" goes away. Bring it back! Bring it back! Okay, here it is again, so I can press it finally. And then I get asked if I'm sure. Am I sure? Am I sure? I've only spent the last ten minutes trying to get the damn "x" up on screen and hit it – of course I'm sure! And I remind myself not to throw the iPad to the floor and stomp on it.
Yes, I know about the "Edit" button, and that shortcuts one part of the process, but makes it more likely that you'll accidentally delete the wrong video, because it puts an "x" above each one.
[A short note – the "x" appears in one of two places – either immediately on the top left corner, or a good half-inch above that. I can see no logic in why it does this.]
In the Videos app, there are three kinds of video. "Movies", "TV Shows", and "iTunes U". The "TV Shows" and "iTunes U" items all come from iTunes, so all the videos I put on my system end up in "Movies", no matter what metadata I put on the file. Whereas I never metadata I didn't like, iTunes clearly never metadata. For the iTunes U and TV Shows tabs, each item is listed with details – length, a title, and a description. This is great, although it would also be nice to see which ones I'm part-way through watching.
For the Movies tabs, however, there's only two things showing – a thumbnail, which is the first frame of the movie (oh, and so often, that means it is plain black), and the curtailed title of the video. So, "Have I Got News for You: Series 42, Episode 5" is displayed as "Have I Got News for You:…" – as is every episode of every series of that show. Same thing for "The Sarah Jane Adventures…", or "Who Do You Think You Are…" Yeah, the BBC could choose shorter titles, but the iPad could pay attention to the Subtitle field in the metadata for the episode information. Oh, yeah, that's right, metadata is to be ignored.
And there's no details on the video – no duration, no description, no indication of whether or not I've been watching this video file at all. I'd like to say "hey, this component of my bus ride is going to take another twenty-five minutes, so I'd like to watch something that length or shorter".
When watching a video, you can 'scrub' through it by dragging a little slider at the top of the screen. Except when the slider is near the middle of the top of the screen, because then you're going to actually be pulling down the notifications window. If anyone writing this software actually used an iPad, they'd be experiencing this frustration, and it would have been fixed by now.
To go backward in the user interface of an app, you click the button in the top left. Except that sometimes, the button in the top left takes you somewhere else, like the iTunes store.
You can delete videos all you like, bus joggling allowing, and when you're done, your storage usage hasn't gone down at all. There is no room for more videos. This one confused me for some time, until I remembered that you never actually close apps when you switch between them. The storage is released, not when you delete the movie, but when you close the app.
That would make sense, if you could actually undelete the movie while the videos app runs, but no. That doesn't happen.
I could carry on, but I just get angrier and angrier. The difference between editing the list of apps you can run, versus editing the list of apps currently running, for instance. One is dismissed by a tap, the other requires that you hit the home button, and I can't remember which one.
So, the first complaint I have about iTunes is the one I have made from the beginning – it includes way too much, and it screws up my system way too badly. What do you get when you install iTunes?
Well, first you get a file called "iTunes64Setup.exe". This installs iTunes into "C:\Program Files (x86)" – uh, yeah, that means the "64 bit" version of iTunes is actually all 32-bit. Then it tells you:
The wha?
What does iTunes have to do with Outlook? That's crazy.
And then, what does it install? Only another four applications.
When syncing videos to the iPad with the Windows version of iTunes, they are synced with at least one default setting not correctly set.
That'd be fine if it was an unimportant setting, but no. The setting is "resume from where I left off". That means that every time I switch videos, or close the video application (see previous discussion of why I need to do this to recover storage), the video I want to watch starts again from scratch.
There is a simple fix to this – for every video I upload to the iPad, I have to go into iTunes, select the video, right-click it, select "Get Info", open the "Options" tab, uncheck the box that says "Remember Playback Position" (or if I selected multiple videos, set to "No" the drop-down arrow labeled "Remember Position"), hit "OK" (there is no "Apply"), wait for this action to sync to the iPad, then right-click the video(s) again, select "Get Info", open the "Options" tab, and then recheck the box (or set the drop-down box to "Yes"), hit "OK" and sync once again.
For weeks I've been complaining that every USB device on my system has been unreliable – I have to plug and unplug simple USB flash drives a half dozen times before they finally get recognised in Explorer.
Then it finally dawned on me.
One device has been steadfastly reliable, always becoming active and ready to use within seconds of plugging it in. Yes, it's the iPad.
Acting on this hunch, I removed iTunes, Apple Mobile Device Support, Apple Application Support, Apple Software Update, Bonjour, and even QuickTime (not sure how that got on there). Suddenly all my USB devices connect first time, every time. With the exception of the iPad, of course, which sulks if it doesn't have iTunes (though the same charge can be leveled against my Windows Phone requiring Zune – although that hasn't yet caused all my other USB devices to become unavailable).
Adding iTunes back in to the mix, strangely, has yet to reproduce the same unreliable behaviour. I strongly distrust software acting randomly.
If I could just drag my videos into a folder using Explorer without installing iTunes (since iTunes doesn't actually properly do any of the other things that an intermediate program should do, such as converting video formats, extracting and using metadata, or setting the "resume from where you left off" option), I'd be happy without iTunes on my PC at all.
There are other reasons not to like the iPad – it's too trendy, for one; and it's not really a $500 product. There are, as I point out above, too many areas where it's clear that the developers have not finished the job.
I use the iPad simply because it's free, and has a large display.
I'd far rather use a tablet that works in a more predictable and controlled manner, where the applications on the device and to sync the device have the flavour of being finished.
But I didn't get one of those for free.
I got an iPad.
And I'm grateful.
Even if, once in a while, I want to dash it to the floor and stomp it into pieces.
As a big fan of The IT Crowd, I'm a happy reader of the author, Graham Linehan,'s blog, "Why That's Delightful!". It certainly helps to explain to American viewers tonight's episode. And yes, I did try and persuade Microsoft to give Moss an MVP award. Maybe I should have suggested Roy instead, since he mostly does windows.
However, the other day, looking for the blog on a machine on which my bookmarks don't reside, I was rather shocked to see "Why, that's delightful!", when I typed in what I thought was Mr Linehan's blog address. Totally not the site I was looking for. I was completely unprepared. I hope Graham Linehan knows he has a competitor for the same search meme.
Graham Linehan is the author (along with Arthur Mathews) of that other staple of British (or Irish?) humour, "Father Ted" (memorable, also, for being produced by the late Geoffrey Perkins, of Radio Active and Hitch-Hiker's fame). If you've not seen them yet, go watch them – rent them on Netflix, watch The IT Crowd on IFC, and Father Ted on wherever you can find it in this country, whatever you have to do to make this a part of your comedy intake.
But beware of imitations, when it comes to your favourite blogs.
[And don't try and use Windows Media Center to sync The IT Crowd from IFC to your Zune, because IFC marks all their programming for DRM, with the aim that it can't be copied. Boo, hiss, IFC.]
OK, admittedly, the name isn't really that long, but even though I'm spending this week on Microsoft's home turf, I can't say that I've met two people who can trip off their tongue the proper name of the new version of Windows Mobile:
Seriously? Every single word there is a generic term, and will have large numbers of inappropriate matches when you go searching for them.
Right now, while the hype is high, a search for those terms brings back mostly matches for the Windows Phone, but in a few weeks, it's anyone's guess what you'll find.
Search for iPhone, or iPad, by comparison, and although you'll find a pile of parody sites, at least those parodies are parodies of the products in question. Every search result is relevant to the iPhone.
Why can't Microsoft come up with a simple, single, searchable brand name for their products? We see this all the time, with Bookshelf, Access, Excel, Word, Windows, Bob, etc.
What would be so difficult about picking up on the idea that this is, essentially, a Zune phone? Call it a "Zhone", give it an interesting pronunciation (think "Zh is to Sh as Z is to S" – like the french "J" sound), and you've made for immediate cool, cemented the link with the Zune (hmm… could depend on how people like the Zune – personally, I'm so impressed by the Zune HD that I wish I could justify one to the wife), and made the product immediately searchable and identifiable. (Or if that name's taken, Zuphone, Phozune, Phune, etc)
But no, seriously dorky names are en vogue at Microsoft, always have been and probably always will be. Of course, why should you listen to me, a security guy who dabbles in development and has no marketing ability, when instead you've got all those highly paid marketers who tell you that "Windows Phone Seven Series from Kyocera [or Dell, Samsung, etc]" will sell?
Notice, however, that the only thing I have to diss this phone on is its name. Having briefly played with a Zune HD, if it follows the promise of being the same kind of device with phone capabilities added on, this will be a trouser-changing experience. [I'm told the expression to use is "game-changing experience", but the Zune HD combined with phone would simply be that good.]
Every so often, someone on one of the security mailing lists to which I subscribe will post a frothing rant from someone who has discovered their own personal "magic bullet" which solves all their security woes. This time, it's a guy who was convinced that Microsoft's recent out-of-band Internet Explorer patch MS08-078 is actually a conspiracy by Microsoft (and the government, of course) to invade your computer.
Okay, now aside from the point that, technically, Microsoft "pwns" your computer if you run their OS, and they don't need to install patches to continue to do so; aside from the Ballmer defence ("If we were actually evil, don't you think we'd be doing a better job at it?"; aside from that and many other considerations, what evidence did this guy have that the patch is a conspiracy?
Gibson Research's ShieldsUp site reported that his system was "Fully Stealthed".
[For those of you non-geeks reading the blog, that means that his firewall was closed up so tight that his system was not responding to any attempt to connect.]
Many other people have made, or will make, the obvious note that the patch is for a browser client bug, whereas the firewall ignoring all incoming requests only protects against server-related bugs, so I'll leave it to those people to discuss that.
My concern is that Gibson is still pitching the idea that "Fully Stealthed" is a good idea.
TCP/IP, the network protocol on which much of the Internet is currently based, is designed around certain error reporting mechanisms that keep the system able to route around trouble.
One of these mechanisms is the TCP RST (reset) flag. The reset flag a great tool, as it says in a single bit "I received this packet, but I can completely guarantee that it's not meant for me". Another similar mechanism is the "ICMP Host Unreachable" response, which says "You appear to be trying to send a packet through me to another machine, but although I'm not a bad place to send that packet through, I can't seem to reach that machine just now".
When you're "Fully Stealthed" (or completely non-responsive, if you prefer), it's like you're a black hole, and neither the TCP RST flag nor the ICMP Host Unreachable errors are returned from your system.
That's great, right, because it means that your attackers can't tell you're there? It's like you're a black hole, no one can see you, right?
That sounds good in theory, except that even black holes can be seen, because they don't act like the empty space that might otherwise be there.
Similarly, a "Fully Stealthed" machine gives away its presence by occupying an IP address that will not respond at all when you try to contact it. Very much like a black hole, it's clear that it's there, because if there was nothing there, the upstream routers would be passing back ICMP Unreachable messages.
OK, so maybe they know that I've got a machine here, at this IP address, but it's safe, because it's Fully Stealthed – Stealth just sounds so cool, especially since it's a verbed noun! It's alright that I look like a hole to the rest of the Internet, because nobody can do anything to me!
Wrong again.
The attacker can pretend to be you, because there's nothing you're going to say about it.
Let me qualify that – of course, the attacker can't use your password if he doesn't know it, nor can he use your private keys. But he can use another thing that some sites use as part of the proof that you are who you claim to be.
He can use your IP address.
A few things prevent this normally:
So, number 1 and 3 aren't always a barrier – number 2 is definitely a barrier if the attacker needs to maintain the connection for more than a few fractions of a second, as the RST from the spoofed IP address will cause the server to drop the connection and ignore what the attacker is trying to do.
So, this is a valuable protection that a "fully-stealthed" firewall is going to throw away for you – the ability to spot when someone is spoofing your IP address, and to respond back to say "uh, that isn't me – stop talking to him".
A firewall should behave as if the machine is present but disinterested, and should actively refuse misguided connection attempts and responses, not merely ignore them. There's a big difference between the two behaviours. Don't use the sensationalist terminology of a poor substitute for an expert as a replacement for understanding of your risks and threats.
So, what's the scoop?
It's going to be called "Windows 7", according to Mike Nash posting at the Windows Vista Blog.
[Is it just me, or does Mike Nash look a little like the chef who got into trouble for inflating his resume in the opening credits to "Dinner: Impossible"? ]
How sneaky of Microsoft, to fool us into thinking that "Windows 7" was just the code name, when in fact it was also the release name!
Me, I think it's because there was just no good way to include hints of the code-name in the final release name, like Microsoft have done in the past.
Think about it – "Cairo" spawned "Windows XP" – the Greek letters chi and rho are written: "ΧΡ" (lower-case is "χρ") (if you don't have the Greek font, that looks almost indistinguishable from "XP"). I'll always think of it as "Windows No Parking".
Windows 6 became Windows Vista – get it, six is "vi" in roman numerals?
So, Windows 7 should have been Windows Viista. Or maybe the name could have made obscure art-house movie references, and been called "A Vee and two ones". Ah, but anything with VII in it might be perilously close to Intel's VIIV product (currently residing in our "where are they now" file).
Perhaps this should make us think back to the last time a Windows client operating system was referred to by the word "Windows" followed by its version number – yes, "Windows 7" is designed to hearken back to "Windows 3.11". Ah, yes, those were the days, indeed.
I can't wait to see what's coming in Windows 7, particularly things like Multi-touch support (though I have yet to purchase a system that has even single touch support).
Seven also marks Windows' transition from an acid into a base.
Man, if I were dumb enough to claim anything as "unbreakable", I'd probably want to claim that you have a little bit more than two months of unbreakability (and yes, that is an unretouched graphic from Oracle's site).
Cousin Jeff notes that Mary Ann Davidson, head honcho of Security at Oracle, previously remarked on the previous "Unbreakable" campaign "What idiot dreamed this up?"
I think it's the same "idiot" that came up with the original version of this campaign. Marketing geniuses, all of them.
Thank goodness Microsoft saw sense.
I can't imagine how many people would have asked me "where do I download the Plus pack for IE7?"
For once, this is a tale about a name I would have chosen.
My attention was drawn to a graphic this morning that seemed to read "BLURRY"
Turns out, it's just a slightly out-of-focus and small picture of a logo for "Blu-Ray", one of two competing standards for high definition DVDs.
Seems like a bad idea to make its logo so easily misreadable as something that is the antithesis of its design.
But it's fun to point and laugh at.
A while back, I said that my dream job at Microsoft would be to refuse dumb product names.
"WindowsCE?" I would say, "You do realise everyone will call that 'WinCE', which is something you do when you're in pain, yes?"
".NET Server? What does the OS have to do with .NET? Is it based on .NET? Do you have to run only .NET apps on it? Is its primary purpose to run .NET apps? Then it's not a '.NET Server' – go rename it." Okay, so someone else already fought that battle and won.
Today's example of "I wouldn't have called it that" is Vista's whole-drive encryption scheme, "Bitlocker". The most polite spoonerism of the word is "Bootlicker".
Don't ever name a product so that it can be accidentally mispronounced in a funny or rude way.
Which brings me to the name "Vista" itself…


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|This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009)
A getai (literally song stage) (Simplified Chinese: 歌台), is a usually boisterous live stage performance held during the Ghost Festival commonly held in Singapore and Malaysia, in contrast to the generally solemn mood of the festival. However the performance is also routinely played at other Chinese festivals. The stage setup is usually composed of temporary structures and situated in the suburbs of the city in any empty field or even in parking spaces or housing estate.
In the past, performances were usually of Chinese operas or puppet shows. The performances are meant to be for the spirits but also for people during the seventh month. With the decline of Chinese opera and traditional puppet shows, the performances evolved to become what is known today as Getai.
Younger people in Singapore may relate to Getai as kitsch, while older people enjoy dancing and singing along to familiar songs, often in Hokkien.[1] Traditional singers such as Liu Lingling tend to dress conservatively, while young performers drawn to getai may choose more revealing outfits.[2]
The backdrop of the stage is usually made of cardboard and clothes painted in bright colours, vibrantly illuminated by coloured spotlights. The performers normally don loud and glittery clothing.[1] Some compères[clarification needed] indulge in crude humour; others maintain a quick-witted dialogue, joking about local and current affairs, sometimes switching between Mandarin, local Chinese dialects, and even English and Indian languages.
A groundbreaking Getai was held in 2006. This was a twelve-hour marathon Getai that saw many famous performers gracing the stage and bringing the crowd to their feet. The organiser was Peter Loh, a veteran in the getai scene. The marathon was a one-of-a-kind and it really awed the whole of Singapore.[citation needed]
Getai has been increasingly accepted and celebrated by the mainstream media. Royston Tan's 2007 movie 881 is based on a pair of getai singers. The Straits Times's social networking and citizen journalism portal STOMP holds the Getai Awards annually to honour popular getai artists.[3] These artists are selected via voting by the general public.
In recent years, getai has also been organized for other Chinese festivals, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Resorts World Sentosa's casino included getai in its 2010 Chinese New Year celebrations.[4] Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple arranged getai for the 2010 Mid-Autumn celebrations.
2011 is another millstone when getai held at Orchard Road for the first time. And the stage design and sound system have major changes thought the years.
A Copyright Permit (for Ad-Hoc Events) is needed for public performances, like getai. This can be acquired from COMPASS - Composers and Authors Society of Singapore Ltd.[5]
Popular Getai singers/host[edit]
- Chen Jinlang
- Zhong Yaonan
- Liu Lingling (刘玲玲)
- Lee Pei Fen(李佩芬)
- Hao Hao (皓皓)
- Lin Li (林利)
- Wang Lei (王雷)[1]
- Zhuang Qing Yu(庄清玉)
- Lin Ru Ping (林茹萍)
- Zheng Xiao Hui (郑晓慧)
- Ming Zhu Sisters (明珠姐妹)
- Xu Qiong Fang (许琼芳)
- Chen Xiao Xin (陈晓欣)
- Wu Pei Zhi (吴佩芝)
- John Cheng Yeow Nam
- The Babes 宝贝姐妹
- Liz Low 刘丽芝
- Jessica Tan - 陈诗婷
- Alice Ong - 王文玲
- Huang Yi Wen - 黄怡雯
- Samurai
- ^ a b c Foreigners invade getai, The Straits Times, Aug 23, 2009
- ^ Getai: Sexy, not sleazy, The New Paper, July 7, 2009.
- ^ "STOMP honours getai artists". The Straits Times. July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Getai not pantang". The New Paper. AsiaOne. March 1, 2010. Archived from the original on May 5, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. "Collective Management Organisations". July 12, 2010.


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Hi guys,
I wondered if anyone of you had experience with either getdpd.com or e-junkie.com?
I'm working on a clients site at the moment, and she wish to be able to sell downloadable files. I'd prefer to do it with a external service like this, so I dont need to mess around with the PayPal API. And it will be considerable cheaper for her aswell ;-)
What are you experiences with either of those?
Are there any alternatives that are worth a mention?
for my websites power of attorney and Rental Lease Agreement i chose e-junkie. Although, if I would have known about getdpd.com I would have used them because they look much better than e-junkie format.
same, I use it for my website howtochangeyourname.com and it works swell.
Same for me.. I am an e-junkie.. but let me tell you that DPD is better for figuring your sales stats.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.


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Radioman Rides the World.......
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Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Elizabethtown, KY
Oddometer: 231
That's good to know. I've been wondering what I'm supposed to do once this thread comes to an end.
Originally Posted by
Hola iDave So glad you have asked. As a journey I have had many thoughts about what to do next and when. Lots of factors in trying to see clearly what my next adventures will be wether on the road or deciding to get back to a working life.
But the last few weeks have given me a bit of clarity about continuing the journey a bit longer. Looks like I will spend another 1-2 months in South America before heading to New Zealand early in the new year. After that ? too many thoughts and logistics to really have it all Planned out!
Someone asked a bit earlier the total cost of the trip so far..... It is a bit complicated to answer directly as i was back in the states before and after India and I had some unexpected expenses to do with my car, my houses and a few other things. So I have yet to break all this out and put actual numbers to them. But they all impact the length and scope of my ride.
Here is the swirling thoughts in a nut shell. I try to live my life in a reasonable and focused way. Faith, Hope and courage helping to guide me. Life is truly short, but I have to be able to finish my journey on the road, and also be able to transition to some type of meaningful paid work in the future, as I do not have enough money to "retire".
That said, I know that part of me is getting ready to want to get on with life off the road, and part of me knows that I have a unique opportunity and freedom to continue on this travel. So 2013 will see continued ride reports for somewhere on the globe, and at some point a new chapter will emerge from this ride!
Will be reaching a huge milestone in the days ahead........ Stay tuned!!
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"Hi Tim
I spend time training with grapplers who ask if they can just go at it (no strikes though-that's different training) all out to try and take me down. I never fight back and don't do a single definable waza, until they collapse in a sweaty heap. I don't think someone who just started re-training their bodies are going to get there. It takes time to strengthen and tune your connections so that speed and direction become axiomatic. I only know what we do, and I am not privy to others methods. From the beginning steps I have people moving against resistance and in short order resistance from all sides and angles. With that, there are ways to train to have your connections hold while being fluid and ever changing, then certain things to do, and ways to do them that make instant change of directed forces coming into you. The real key is learning to nuetralize and "change" fast moving power. Grapplers aren't going to use single point forces, or continue a push something that isn't working, we will change. Add in fients and dodges and their own changes and it becomes easy to see that trying to "do" things is not the answer. Usually when the body feels vulnerable its resorts to waza or "fight back." It will forever vex you and hold you back until you "train-through-it." Most people won't. They will forever continue to fight back and use waza to bolster vulnerable position changes and engage."
Please click here to read entire article.
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Skateboarder Magazine's Exclusive Who's Hot Video With Josh Murphy
Check out this exclusive Who's Hot video edit of Josh Murphy who is featured in our Feb/Mar issue of Skateboarder Magazine. Leo Romero is featured in the video letting you know why Josh is such a rad, ripping dude along with some gnarly skate footage. #Backinghimfordays
[ Josh's Who's Hot page is below the video]


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7th August 2013
Irish youth groups hand letter of concern to Russian Ambassador over anti-LGBT violence 6
4:56 PM — Youth groups in Ireland have handed a letter of concern to the Russian Ambassador today, in order to protest against the treatment of LGBT young people in the country.
29th July 2013
Russia: Deputies seek defamation charges against gay rights activist 11
1:09 PM — Two deputies in the Russian State Duma have requested that prosecutors file criminal charges of defamation against a gay rights activist, because they say he insulted public officials on Twitter.
29th June 2013
Russia: Dozens arrested under 'gay propaganda' law for attempting to hold gay pride rally 30
5:47 PM — Dozens of gay rights demonstrators have been arrested in the Russian city of St Petersburg, after attempting to hold a gay pride rally.
BBC News presenter Jane Hill: Equality in the UK has moved forward but 'there is still lots to fight for' 18
3:00 AM — BBC News presenter Jane Hill this week spoke at a fundraising dinner for London Community Pride, to commend the progress in the UK for gay rights, but to say that, around the world, as well as in the UK, there is still a lot to do for equality.
12th June 2013
Human rights groups condemn passage of Russian anti-gay 'propaganda' law 12
1:39 PM — Human rights groups have heavily condemned the passage of a law yesterday through the Russian State Duma, which would ban "homosexual propaganda" across the country, as "outrageous and incredibly dangerous".
11th June 2013
Russia: Duma approves bill to criminalise insulting religious beliefs, following Pussy Riot protest 10
5:42 PM — In the wake of a scandal caused last year by a protest by punk band Pussy Riot against Russian President Vladimir Putin, held in a Moscow cathedral, a law has been passed by the State Duma to criminalise insulting people's religious feelings.
Russian State Duma gives final approval to law banning 'homosexual propaganda' 41
3:57 PM — Lawmakers in the Russian State Duma have given final approval to a bill to ban "homosexual propaganda" to minors, and the media.
Russia: Protesters detained as lawmakers look set to pass law banning 'gay propaganda' 2
2:24 PM — The State Duma in Russia looks set to give final approval to a law which would ban "homosexual propaganda" to minors, and includes harsh punishments including jail time and fines.
5th June 2013
Russia: Parliament could move to ban foreign same-sex adoption in a month 3
1:56 AM — The Russian State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament, could move to approve an amendment which would ban the adoption of Russian children by foreign same-sex couples, by early July.
13th February 2013
Analysis: Why Russia is defying the global trend towards LGBT equality 21
1:07 PM — As several federal subjects of Russia start to approve legislation which prohibits so-called "homosexual propaganda", PinkNews.co.uk examines what exactly is going on in one of the world's most powerful countries.
25th January 2013
Russian anti-gay bill goes to vote as activists clash and international groups protest 2
12:22 PM — An anti-"homosexual propaganda" bill is going to an initial vote today in the State Duma. Protesters outside the building clashed with Orthodox Church members, leading to arrests.


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Students review statements about gene therapy and determine how strongly they agree or disagree with each one. Students also write out the personal belief that leads them to their position.
Germline gene therapy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Class Time: 20 minutes
Positions, Beliefs and Values Print-and-Go
Supported by a Science Education Partnership
Award (SEPA) [No. 1 R25 RR16291-01] from the National Center for Research Resources, a component of the
National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. The contents provided
here are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official
views of NCRR or NIH.


text:
Best dark music mayhem that you never heard. Listen deeply to the latest evil music from US, Europe and Mexico. Go toward within and embrace the dark music experience. Goth, Industrial, Synthpop, EBM, Aggrotech, Darkwave and Goth Metal
Gothic Paradise Ethereal Show
Highlights from the Death Guild music library, starting with all of the CDs from our Anniversary and New Year's nights.
A special focus on classic goth and darkwave sounds with a variety of ethereal/heavenly voices, deathrock, shoegaze, dark pop, dark folk, synthpop, and a little electronica, industrial/EBM, ambient, & world when the mood hits...
Best mix of Goth, Darkwave, and Industrial music by Seattle's Favorite DJ 2006
Gothic Paradise Club Mix - The best gothic/industrial mix on the planet!
BECAUSE OF A MARKED DETERIORATION IN CUSTOMER SERVICE PROVIDED BY LIVE365, THIS STATION WILL SOON BE SHIFTING TO ANOTHER HOST COMPANY. JOIN THE DARK NATION RADIO FACEBOOK GROUP FOR UPDATES: https://www.facebook.com/groups/56240805216/
Dark Dirges for The Twilight Lands: Neoclassical, Neofolk, Gothic, Apocalyptic, Mediæval and Martial Industrial with a twist of Classics and sprinkled with relics of ages past.
a dark soundscape that spins the colors of the grey and Night...goth darkwave electro industrial witchouse...radio twiNight /greyskycast twiNight
Goth Darkness Radio - {-TGD-}Radio - The Game Dominators Gaming Clan
An ethereal timeless travel between dreams and nightmares, where hope and grief, life and death, gather to rise feelings. Music picked from Ethereal, Gothic, Dark Ambient, Neofolk and sometimes Classical.
medieval, neo-classical, darkwave. 22 hours of no repeat enchantment
A totally indiscriminate mishmash of industrial, EBM, power noise, dark ambient, IDM, post-punk, neofolk, experimental, and noise. The new and the old. The popular and the obscure. The good, the loud, and the ugly. Ad free!!
If you love artist`s like Joy Division, The Chameleons and The Cure- you will LOVE this station.
The moody side of alternative: an intelligent mix of post-punk, new wave, darkwave, pensive indie and accessible goth updated weekly.
EBM / Industrial / Deathrock / 80's


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Biggest Question Mark: Duane Brown
The Texans reached for Brown in the 1st round of the 2008 draft, and it's a selection they may already be regretting. As their starting left tackle Brown struggled last season, allowing seven sacks and 11 hits. He must improve this season if Matt Schaub is going to lead the Texas to their first playoff berth.
Position Battle to Watch: Running Back
Steve Slaton was one of 2009′s biggest disappointments and the Texans seem resigned to the fact that he's nothing more than a change-of-pace back. While Slaton will still get his carries, the battle figures to be between Arian Foster and rookie Ben Tate – both bigger running backs that can carry the full load.
Impact Rookie: Kareem Jackson
Jackson will be inserted into the starting lineup immediately, taking the place of Dunta Robinson. Those are big shoes to fill, especially for someone than many feel was chosen too early. The Texans passed on Devin McCourty, Kyle Wilson and Patrick Robinson and Jackson's career will always be measured by how he compares to those three.


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Edition: 6thPublisher: Brooks/ColeBinding: PaperbackPages: 374Size: 8.50" wide x 11.00" long x 0.75" tall Weight: 1.496Language: English
New! The Student Workbook, which contains all of the Assessments, Activities, and Worksheets from the Instructor's Resource Binder, is used for classroom discussions, in-class activities, and group work.
Ron Larson received his PhD. in mathematics from the University of Colorado and has been a professor of mathematics at The Pennsylvania State University since 1970. He has pioneered the use of multimedia to enhance the learning of mathematics, having authored over 30 software titles since 1990. Dr. Larson has also conducted numerous seminars and in-service workshops for math teachers around the country about using computer technology as a teaching tool and motivational aid. His Interactive Calculus (a complete text on CD-ROM) received the 1996 Texty Award for the most innovative mathematics instructional material at the college level, and it was the first mainstream college textbook to be offered on the Internet.
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GoldPower is a global renewable energy product, measured in Megawatt-Hours that you can use to match your electricity consumption in any country in the world.
"At Jebsen, sustainability has always been a keen focus, as we take a long-term perspective on all our business activities. We believe getting our organisation carbon neutral is a means of acting responsibly toward the market that we operate in." Mr Helmuth Hennig, Group MD
"By working with Climate Friendly I am confident that UEFA is making a tangible difference." Patrick Gasser, Football and Social Responsibility
Friendly is an established and respected organisation in the sector and will
provide us with fully certified carbon offsets that meet the requirements of
the globally recognised VCS and the NCOS."
"Our purchase of Green and GoldPower from Climate Friendly helps grow renewable energy on a national and international scale."
"We have chosen GoldPower from Climate Friendly as it is a high quality renewable energy product, which is recognised by WWF's Climate Savers program."
"We believe a responsible, long-term vision can deliver true sustainability."
"Climate Friendly helped The Body Shop understand more about our own carbon footprint and to take action to offset all our Scope 1 and 2 emissions as well as business flights. "
"Thanks to Climate Friendly, we have been able to establish the major contributors to our carbon footprint."
"We realised that for a small incremental cost, offsetting flights for our Australian business would have a significant impact on our environmental footprint."
"VictorsFood has partnered with Climate Friendly to be the first Australian company to offer carbon offset, organic team building experiences."
Climate Friendly seeks new Business Development Manager, Energy Solutions
Indigenous communities weather the storm by winning 7-year contracts for carbon abatement
Taronga and Woolworths Announce Carbon Offset Project
First Forest Regeneration Project Issued with Carbon Credits
New Native Forest Protection Project Issued Carbon Credits
Taxi company puts the brakes on global warming
Savannah Burning Project Under the CFI


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More than five million people go to work every day in a Cintas uniform including employees from McDonald's, W Hotels, Royal Caribbean and many more.
Boost your profits, productivity and brand image with Cintas commercial cleaning services — and improve the comfort and well-being of your customers and employees.
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Every year 9,600 workers — just like yours — suffer electrical shock and burn injuries. Prevent your workers from becoming part of those statistics with flame resistant clothing and workwear from Cintas.
Believe it or not, one very effective way to promote your brand is to put it on someone else's product. A recent survey found that 76% of people could recall a company's name after seeing it on a promotional product.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout North America. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first aid, safety, fire protection products and services for approximately 900,000 businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS, and is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
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The KillersTue, December 18, 2012 - 7:30 PMPatriot Center in Fairfax, VA
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June 12, 2012
Mo. and PASADENA, Calif. — June 12, 2012—
Memorial Hospital, a 625-bed, not-for-profit
hospital in Pasadena, Calif., recently announced a strategic collaboration with
Cerner (Nasdaq:
CERN) to implement a comprehensive suite of clinical and revenue cycle solutions
that enable full interoperability across the organization by connecting with
Huntington Hospital's information exchange, Huntington
Health eConnect which is already exchanging
information with affiliated physician offices throughout the San Gabriel
Huntington Hospital will use Cerner®
solutions to advance the use of its electronic health record (EHR) to
coordinate care across multiple venues and contribute to increased levels of
patient safety.
The hospital aims to create a predictive model for adverse patient
outcomes, identifying potentially harmful occurrences before they occur. To
help accomplish this, they will implement St. John's Sepsis Agent and Lighthouse: VTE Prevention. Both solutions use knowledge-based medicine to
improve performance through data analysis, improving regulatory compliance.
"Working with Cerner enables us to focus on reducing
preventable events, like readmissions and hospital-acquired conditions," said
Dr. Paula Verrette, Huntington Hospital's vice president of quality and
performance improvement and chief medical officer. "Additionally we will have the
analytic tools necessary for the management of potentially life-threatening
events, like sepsis and VTEs, to improve the care we provide to our patients."
Huntington Hospital will also be implementing
numerous other inpatient solutions which will enable the hospital to securely store
all patient information within a single database allowing for clinical and
financial-related real - time analyses. This will enable the organization to:
the new Cerner solutions will
position Huntington Hospital to take advantage of new reimbursement models that
will reward more organized, coordinated and efficient care.
About Cerner
Cerner is contributing to the systemic change
of health and care delivery. For more than 30 years Cerner has been executing
its vision to make health care safer and more efficient. We started with the
foundation of digitizing paper processes and now offer the most comprehensive
array of information software, professional services, medical device
integration, remote hosting and employer health and wellness services. Cerner
systems are used by everyone from individual consumers, to single-doctor practices,
hospitals, employers and entire countries. Taking what we've learned over more
than three decades, Cerner is building on the knowledge that is in the system
to support evidence-based clinical decisions, prevent medical errors and
empower patients in their care.
solutions are licensed by approximately 9,300 facilities around the world,
including more than 2,650 hospitals; 3,750 physician practices; 40,000
physicians; 500 ambulatory facilities, such as laboratories, ambulatory
centers, cardiac facilities, radiology clinics and surgery centers; 800 home
health facilities; 40 employer sites and 1,600 retail pharmacies.
trademarks, service marks and logos (collectively, the "Marks") set forth
herein are owned by Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the United
States and certain other countries throughout the world. All other non-Cerner
Marks are the property of their respective owners. Nasdaq: CERN. For more
information about Cerner, please visit www.cerner.com, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Cerner Media Contact: Dan Edgington, (816) 446-1016,email@example.com
Cerner Investors Contact: Allan Kells, (816) 201-2445, firstname.lastname@example.com
About Huntington Memorial Hospital
Since 1892 -
Huntington Memorial Hospital has provided quality, uninterrupted healthcare to
the residents of the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.
Today, our
625-bed, not-for-profit hospital is home to the only trauma center in the
region. Renowned for programs in cancer care, neurosciences and cardiovascular
services, Huntington Hospital is also an active teaching hospital with a
Graduate Medical Education program with tracks in internal medicine and general
surgery. In addition, the hospital has the only high acuity neonatal intensive
care unit.
Consistent with the
hospitals mission of excelling in the delivery of quality care, Huntington Hospital
provides millions of dollars in charity care, benefits for vulnerable
populations, health research, education and training. We offer many programs –
free to the community – that might otherwise be nonexistent – including
geriatric psychiatric services, children's asthma management and diabetes
workshops in English and Spanish.
Hospital is ranked among the top hospitals in greater Los Angeles in U.S. News & World Report's Best
Hospitals metro area rankings.
Huntington Memorial Hospital Media Contact: Andrea Stradling, (626)
397-5464, email@example.com, @HuntingtonNews
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expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited
possibility of product-related liabilities; potential claims for system errors
and warranties; the possibility of interruption at our data centers or client
support facilities; our proprietary technology may be subject to claims for
infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property rights of others, or
may be infringed or misappropriated by others; risks related to our
dependence on third party suppliers;
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of these and other risks, uncertainties and factors affecting the Company's
business is contained in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and
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events or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business
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text:
Rotary is an organization of business and professional people united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help to build good will in the world.
The Rotary motto is
Service Above Self
The Object of Rotary
The object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
- Development and friendship as an opportunity for service.
- High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignity of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
- The application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian in personal, business, and community life.
- The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and fellowship of business and professional people united in the ideal of service.


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SOS to Saturday Night Live and John Stewart writers regarding Ferguson!
What's the slogan/chant at the Ferguson Demonstrations?
"Don't Shoot!" right?
What was Che Guevara's final plea upon his capture?
What are the odds that the Ferguson demonstrators know this????????????????????????
Well look who's making the obligatory cameo at the Ferguson demonstrations (top picture.)
Sometimes when a wiseacre comedian fails to provoke a laugh with one of his sharper witticsm, he'll complain to the "dumb" audience that: "The irony is lost on you people!"......Well?
"Le ZZZUMBA!"


text:
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Contractors for the City of Arcata were working on Valley East Boulevard Thursday to fix non ADA compliant sidewalk.
Construction will take place over the next six to eight weeks, during business hours on Valley East and West Boulevard.
The project will cost the city 1.2 million dollars. During sidewalk construction roads may be closed or open to one way traffic.
The city said they will work hard to make sure businesses are accessible to customers.


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Fruit & Nut Cluster Snacks Variety Packuser rating
Can't decide which paleo granola to try? Order one of our paleo snack variety packs. Available in 4-pack, 8-pack, and 12-pack sizes, you're sure to find a size that fits your needs and satisfies your taste buds. Each pack is 5 oz.
About the Producer
Paleo People
La Quinta, CA
Website: http://www.paleopeople.com
Fruit & Nut Cluster Snacks for the Paleo Loving Generation. Snacks designed with our ancestors in mind who gathered nuts, seeds, berries, fruits, spices and natural sweeteners. Four flavors: Apple Crisp, Cacao Nut, Banana Nut, and Cappuccino Crunch in 5-oz. stand-up pouch, resealable bags. Sold online and in stores in the U.S. and Canada. Also sold online in Australia.


text: Enjoy this spacious and tastefully furnished family beach home set in the woods only 2-3 blocks from a Private Beach. Beachwood at 15 Errett Road in the Bethany Beach, Delaware area is a charming 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom property available for weekly summer rental just a short walk from the Private Middlesex Beach. The chairs on the screened porch beckon you to sit for a moment and enjoy the woodside view while the Private Beach allows guests ample room to stretch out as well as open sand for beach activities.


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Magnus: Robot Fighter #3 Review
Fred Van Lente (w), Cory Smith (a), Mauricio Wallace (c), Marshall Dillon (l)
I tend to hate issue-long fights. I have a good reason for this – most of them are awful. Padded well beyond the breaking point, issue-long fight scenes tend to say nothing beyond, "What you are doing right now technically counts as reading. Technically." All of which is to say, had I known what Magnus: Robot Fighter #3 was about, I probably never would have given it a shot at all, despite having mostly enjoyed the first two issues of Dynamite's recent relaunch. But, under Fred Van Lente and Cory Smith, Magnus: Robot Fighter has turned into an uncommonly intelligent book, and – to my pleasant surprise – that carried over even to the way they handled the lengthy chase and fight of this third issue. I know that calling a book titled Magnus: Robot Fighter 'uncommonly intelligent' might make me come off as a mildly insane person, but, hey, this is the world we live in, and under Van Lente and Smith, Magnus: Robot Fighter is surprisingly ambitious.
At some point in the future, robots have taken over. Humans are a minority, strictly controlled and forced out of most positions of power. Magnus knows nothing about this. Magnus was raised in a virtual simulation by an AI that believed that humans and robots can peacefully coexist, shown a society where everyone works together… only to have it ripped away when the AI is discovered and Magnus is forced on the run. Now, Magnus has come into contact with 'Leeja Clane', a human policewoman foremost among the 'human hunters' the robots employ to track and capture outlaws. That's right, it's 'Robot Fighter' vs 'Human Hunter', with Magnus' short-lived freedom on the line.
I had some concerns about Cory Smith's action in the book's opening issues, but he really impressed me here. Magnus: Robot Fighter #3 features two absolutely gorgeous two-page spreads, both of which are fascinating in very different ways. In the first, Leeja gives chase to Magnus and H8R, both parties in flying cars. Rather than opting for close-ups that inflate tension while obscuring location, Smith pans way out, rendering the two vehicles as tiny little avatars puttering around the futuristic city. It's a clever choice; while it lacks some of the immediacy of close-ups, it gives us a new perspective on the city and a step back from the artificially induced stakes of Leeja's show. It also wonderfully sets up the next spread, which finds Leeja and Magnus clashing in mid-air. Smith captures the initial power and grace of the moment quite well, showing us in a single moment how precisely the pair of them are matched.
Ultimately, Magnus: Robot Fighter seems to be an attempt from writer Fred Van Lente to contextualize the way cultures tend to assimilate, dominate, and rebrand other cultures in an effort to make them safe and appease the population. This issue featured my favorite example of that to date, as Leeja – the star of a reality show about hunting humans – takes a brief moment to interact with a minor character who will never appear again to mention her allergy about cats, because the robots have required that all human entertainment pass the Bechdel Test. Nevermind that it misses the point of the test, as the story, and the bulk of their conversation, is about Magnus. The robots have taken a bit of human culture meant to illustrate the lack of equality in popular culture, and turned it into a tool meant to give us the illusion of equality without considering the actual meat of the issue – not unlike the way many people use the test today.
Van Lente casts his net for such moments of appropriation far and wide, from Magnus' choice of reading material to H8R's speech patterns, and some of them are a little more cringe-inducing in the way they're used. Nevertheless, I'm definitely interested to see where Van Lente is taking this idea, which tackles issues we rarely see explored in mainstream comics with a confidence I haven't seen from him since he redefined The Incredible Hercules. Magnus: Robot Fighter #3 is another step on the smart, modern recontextualization of the character, and when you toss in Smith's excellent art in this issue and some quick, clever background worldbuilding, you've got a winner. This issue may have been primarily a single extended action sequence, but it was still one of the week's smartest comics.
My Rating: 4.5 / 5