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Today's NJCAA
HistoryThe idea for the NJCAA was conceived in 1937 at Fresno, California. A handful of junior college representatives met to organize an association that would promote and supervise a national program of junior college sports and activities consistent with the educational objectives of junior colleges.
The constitution presented at the charter meeting in Fresno on May 14, 1938, was accepted and the National Junior College Athletic Association became a functioning organization.
Colleges represented at the charter meeting were Bakersfield, Chaffey, Compton, Fullerton, Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernadino, San Mateo, Santa Monica, and Visalia.
The initial activity sponsored by the NJCAA was track and field. Sacramento played host to the first National Junior College Track and Field Meet in 1939, which started a series of annual meets, unbroken except for three years during World War II. While the first meet drew only California schools, the second, in Modesto, in 1940, assumed a wider scope with participants from Phoenix, Arizona and Trinidad, Colorado, in addition to the Californians.
While founded by California men, there was no intention for the NJCAA to be just a "West Coast Organization". This became apparent when Trinidad College's invitation to sponsor the 1941 Track meet at Denver, Colorado, was accepted.
The NJCAA was fast gaining national recognition. At the 1941 meet in Denver, teams representing colleges from east of the Mississippi, joined southern and west coast members.
After Pearl Harbor, only one more meet was held during the war years. This was staged at Visalia, California, and was the last sponsored activity by the NJCAA until the spring of 1946 when the fifth National Junior College Track and Field Meet was held at Phoenix, Arizona.
In 1945, the NJCAA, weakened by the war and not yet ready to renew activities, had given its blessings to an invitational basketball tournament at Compton. The tournament mushroomed into a national activity by 1947, with teams participating from as far away as Washington and Louisiana. Other schools from the Great Lakes area, the middle west, and the east coast clamored for invitations that could not be provided. Clearly, a nationwide basketball program, sponsored by the NJCAA, was a necessity.
Compton invited the NJCAA to call a special meeting in connection with its 1947 tournament, to consider a national basketball program, from which grew the present regional and national tourney plan.
Attempts were made to carry on this extensive program of national competition, but lack of entries and financial hardships caused the curtailment of golf, tennis, boxing, gymnastics, and swimming after a three year trial. However, these events could be conducted at anytime in the future when requests from five or more regions were filed.
In 1949, the NJCAA was reorganized by dividing the nation into sixteen regions. The officers of the association were the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, public relations director, and the sixteen regional vice presidents. The NJCAA Bulletin was authorized and published as the official organ of the Association. Among other official acts, policies for conducting regional and national events were written, the constitution was revised, the organization was incorporated as a non-profit corporation, and the first NJCAA Handbook was published. This booklet gave status and stability to the organization that it had lacked in previous years.
Hutchinson, Kansas, became the site for the NJCAA Championship Basketball Tournament. Co-sponsors, the Lysle Rishel Post, American Legion, and the Hutchinson Junior College hosted this event in 1949.
The growth of the organization and the work of the committees outmoded the 1950 Handbook, necessitating a second edition in 1952.
The NJCAA, working with the American Association of Junior Colleges Sub Committee on Athletics, wrote and adopted the "Statement of Guiding Principles for Conducting Junior College Athletics" in 1953. The Statistics Bureau, at this time was concerned with regional and national records only. In 1954, it expanded its scope to include individual and team scores of all member colleges.
Steps were taken to obtain low cost and reliable insurance for the NJCAA members. The Insurance Committee was responsible for obtaining the NJCAA Insurance Plan from the Associated Agencies. The plan, as adopted, covered major and catastrophic accidents with a minimum cost to each member school.
The NJCAA obtained representation on various national rules committees during 1954. Also, the name, NJCAA BULLETIN, was changed to the JUCO REVIEW.
The Statistics Bureau became the Service Bureau in 1955 and began to compile and release weekly ratings of member college basketball teams. For the first time, the official All-American Junior College Basketball Teams were selected by the Bureau. Previous to this time, the All-Region and All-NJCAA tournament teams were considered to be the All-American Teams.
The important contributions to the NJCAA program in 1956 included the addition of football statistics and rankings to the Service Bureau program. The adoption of policies for conducting the National Football Championship and awarding the contract to the West Hollywood Kiwanis Club was culminated in the initial game played at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Coffeyville, Kansas, defeated Grand Rapids, Michigan, for this first NJCAA Football Championship.
In 1957 another important step was taken by the NJCAA. An affiliation with the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations (NFSHSAA), and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) was formed to work together on many common interests. The primary emphasis, in the initial state, was placed on jointly producing playing rules in football, six-man football, soccer and baseball, and the continued use of common codes in basketball, track and other major sports. This affiliation was christened the National Alliance.
By 1958, the scope of the NJCAA had been recognized by other national organizations and the association was asked to participate in various national projects. These included (1) the People to People Sports Committee, a foundation to promote international goodwill through sports, (2) President Eisenhower's Physical Fitness Commission, (3) a study on equipment and supplies for physical education, athletics and recreation, sponsored by the Athletic Institute and the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and (4) the publication for the first edition of the Blue Book of Junior College Athletics by McNitt, Inc.
Baseball entered the national program during this year when the NJCAA Invitational Tournament was held at Northeastern Oklahoma A & M College, Miami, Oklahoma.
The legislative assembly of 1959 approved a National Championship Baseball Tournament, with the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce and Mesa College of Grand Junction Colorado, as the first co- sponsors of the event. Authorization was also granted to conduct National Invitational tournaments in golf, tennis, wrestling and cross country. Odessa, Texas; Rochester, Minnesota; Farmingdale, New York; and Alfred, New York, were chosen as the sites for these events.
National Invitational Meets in swimming and rifle were sanctioned in 1960. These and other recent additions to the national program pointed to a need for a revised handbook. Money was allocated for its printing in 1961.
In addition to the printing and distribution of the new handbook in 1961, the JUCO REVIEW publication site was changed from Ogden, Utah, to Buffalo, New York. A newspaper known as "Junior College Sports" was published in Grand Junction, Colorado, and the NJCAA played an important supporting role in this new venture. The year 1961 was also the first NJCAA Invitational Soccer Tournament in Middletown, New York.
All-American awards in soccer were approved by the 1962 legislative assembly. This year marked the entrance of the NJCAA into the Basketball Federation of the United States of America, the United States Gymnastics Federation and the United States Track and Field Federation.
In 1963, the NJCAA became a member of the United States Olympic Committee and was granted ten (10) votes on the committee and one representative on the forty-six (46) member Board of Directors. Representation on the NCAA Rules Committee in Track and Field, Wrestling, and Basketball was obtained during this period.
An agreement was reached with the Alee Shrine Temple of Savannah, Georgia to bring the NJCAA Championship Football Game back into the national program in 1964 after a lapse of four years. This game was named the NJCAA Shrine Bowl.
The Chamber of Commerce and Mesa College of Grand Junction, Colorado were awarded a new five-year contract in 1965 to conduct the NJCAA Championship Baseball Tournament. Also, in 1965, the NJCAA was given a voice on various U.S. Olympic Games Committees and our representatives were active in formulating plans for their sports in the overall Olympic program.
The rapid growth of wrestling in the junior colleges and the resulting increase in the number of teams coming to the National Invitational Wrestling Tournament warranted the establishment of a national championship event in this sport in 1966.
Negotiations were completed for two post-season football games. One sponsored by the Southwest Grid Classic, Inc., was called the Wool Bowl, and was played at Roswell, New Mexico. The second, named the Silver Bowl, was sponsored by Sterling College and the Sterling Rotary Club in Sterling, Kansas. Both bowl games were played for the first time in the Fall of 1966. This same year a new ten year contract was closed with the Lysle Rishel Post 68, American Legion, and Hutchinson Community Junior College of Hutchinson, Kansas, to continue to conduct the NJCAA Basketball Tournament at its present site.
The American Medical Association Committee on the Medical Aspects of Sports invited the organization to participate in their activities in this field. Also a liaison committee between the AAJC and the NJCAA was formed .
The year 1967-68 was one of many changes in the NJCAA. Membership stood at 391 colleges. The 1967 legislative assembly approved a grant-in-aid to Michael Mould, Keystone Junior College, LaPlume, Pennsylvania, to write a complete history of the NJCAA to fulfill a requirement for the completion of his doctorate degree at Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts.
In 1968 the legislative assembly reorganized the administrative structure for the 16 regions established in 1949 to 19 regions. This was accomplished by dividing Region VIII, Region I, and Region XV to form three new regions. Membership had now reached 419 colleges.
The NJCAA, for the first time, conducted its own Olympic Trials in basketball. A squad of ten players competed in the final trials in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Athletes of member colleges also competed in Olympic Trials for wrestling and track and field.
A third post-season football game, sponsored by the El Toro Foundation of Yuma, Arizona, was added to the football program. Called the El Toro Bowl, its first competition came in 1968.
Membership in the United States Collegiate Sports Council, the United States Baseball Federation and the United States Wrestling Federation were accepted by the NJCAA in 1968, and a National Invitational Gymnastics Meet was added to the program.
In 1969 the appointment of George E. Killian as full-time Executive Director was approved by the legislative assembly, and the new office was officially opened August l, 1969, in the Hilton Inn, Hutchinson, Kansas.
At the time of the 1970 legislative assembly, membership had increased to 476 colleges. A National Invitational Bowling Tournament was added to the program. Also, a Scholarship and Grant-in-Aid Committee was established to study existing practices and to make recommendations for future appropriate actions.
Two post-season football games, the Mid-American JUCO Bowl and the Green Country Shrine Bowl were added in 1971, along with National Invitational Championships in Ice Hockey and Judo. The membership reached an all time high of 501 members.
The year 1972 saw the addition of decathlon, fencing, and indoor track to the growing Invitational Championship scene. The Championship football game was moved to Yuma, Arizona, from Savannah, Georgia, and became known as the Sunkist El Toro Bowl. The membership climbed to 513 members for the 1971-72 college year.
In 1973 the legislative assembly reorganized the administrative structure from 19 regions, established in 1968, to 21 regions. This was accomplished by dividing Region III and Region XIX to form two new regions. Membership reached a record 533.
1974 saw the addition of the three invitational championships in volleyball, basketball, and tennis for women. The Men's Division began hosting a National Invitational Marathon Championship. The NJCAA "amateur rule" was completely rewritten by the Board of Directors. Membership climbed to a record high of 547.
A major change in the structure of the NJCAA occurred in 1975 when the Board of Directors approved a Women's Division. National Championships for women were approved in volleyball, basketball and tennis. National Invitational Championships for women were slated in field hockey, skiing, gymnastics, track and field, softball, and swimming and diving. Membership climbed to a record 563.
The year 1976 saw the membership of the NJCAA reach 296 for its Women's Division and 586 for its Men's Division. The Board of Directors reorganized the administrative structure from 21 regions to 22 regions by dividing Region XVII.
In 1976-77 the Women's Division sponsored four championship tournaments and eight invitational championships, while its membership grew to 345. Twenty-one sporting events were offered to the 580 members of the Men's Division, including the revival of the Junior Rose Bowl. The Board of Directors approved the concept of divisional play in the sports of cross country, tennis and golf for the 1978-79 college year.
In 1977-78 the membership of the Women's Division soared to a high of 434; the Men's Division stood at 564. Five football bowl games highlighted the Men's Division program.
In 1978-79 the membership in the Women's Division reached 471 while the Men's Division climbed back to 574. The Rodeo Bowl was added to the men's football program. The women's championship basketball and volleyball teams went to Mexico City for competition with the Mexican National Institute of Sport.
The year 1979 saw the addition of the Eastern Bowl to the list of sponsored NJCAA football bowl games, as well as the first Invitational Fall Golf Championship. The Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship moved from an invitational status to national championship status.
The year 1980-81 saw the Women's Division membership reach 490 members. Extensive changes were made in the Handbook and Casebook to bring about a more uniform interpretation of NJCAA Policy for the membership.


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Welcome to the home for York College Athletics.
Kim Kabernagel enters her first year on Jen Muston's women's lacrosse coaching staff.
Kabernagel excelled at both soccer and lacrosse at Drexel University where she received her degree in Biology in 2009. She then went on to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and graduated this past June. She currently works at Wellspan York Hospital as a Family Medicine Resident.
During her soccer career at Drexel, she was the team's Most Valuable Player in 2008, named a Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-star, as well as an NSCAA Regional Scholar Athlete.
In lacrosse, Kabernagel was a three year starter as a defensive midfielder and draw specialist. She was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All Star Team in 2009, and also placed on the IWLCA Academic Honor roll in 2008 and 2009.
Kabernagel's coaching experience includes assisting at St. Hubert's Catholic high school in Philadelphia, as well as private training.


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To help celebrate a popular annual event and a unique new exhibit, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh announces its inaugural BugFest Illustration Contest.
June 8, 2010 - 12:58pm
June 3, 2010 - 11:28am
Wildlife in North Carolina magazine again welcomes entries for its sixth annual nature and wildlife photo competition.
May 27, 2010 - 11:29am
In the drive to develop an invisible army, a crazed ex-Major and a scientist under duress must first corral an unusual and unpredictable army of one. Don't miss "The Amazing Transparent Man" (1960), showing at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on Friday, June 4 at 7 pm.
May 25, 2010 - 12:38pm
The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES™) announced the selection of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' Prairie Ridge Ecostation as one of the first landscapes to participate in a new program testing the nation's first rating system for green landscape design, construction and maintenance.
May 24, 2010 - 5:15pm
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' Nature Art Gallery is proud to offer an exhibit and sale of work by Ben Owen III, one of the world's most celebrated potters. Earth, Water & Fire: Works in Clay by Ben Owen III will open on First Friday, June 4 with a reception from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
May 12, 2010 - 1:25pm
Discover what puts the "fire" in firefly when the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh opens Glow: Living Lights, a new special exhibit on display from June 21 through September 12, 2010. Don't miss the first-ever museum exhibition to explore the phenomenon of bioluminescence — an organism's ability to produce its own light.
May 11, 2010 - 3:37pm
"The Second Jurassic Dinosaur Rush", a new book by Museum paleontologist Paul Brinkman, takes us back to the birth of dinomania, and the modern obsession with all things Jurassic.
May 10, 2010 - 6:15pm
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences today received a $1 million gift from the Duke Energy Foundation. The funds will be used to support and raise awareness for the Nature Research Center, to create exhibits for the Center, and to help provide outreach opportunities across the state. "We very much look forward to working with the Duke Energy Foundation to make the Nature Research Center a world class learning environment," said Museum director Betsy Bennett.
April 13, 2010 - 4:41pm
Come rain or come shine, celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a 1970s-themed green festival dedicated to sustainable living. The third annual Planet Earth Celebration takes place inside and outside the Museum.
April 13, 2010 - 2:30pm
Sharks invoke fear in many of us, but statistics show we are much more likely to drown in the ocean than be bitten by a shark. How do we know? Meet shark expert and curator of the International Shark Attack File George H. Burgess as the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences presents "Shark-Human Interactions: Who's Attacking Whom?".


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Associate of Arts or Science
Associate of Arts or Science
The Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees may be used for several purposes:
- they may serve as freshman- and sophomore-year programs for students who are planning to complete a bachelor's degree program;
- they may serve as degrees unto themselves for students who want to obtain a general education by sampling a variety of different subject areas;
- they may advance students' careers or provide job retraining;
- and they provide opportunities for intellectual growth and personal satisfaction.
The following will meet the minimum requirements for each degree:
|6-8 credits
|Mathematics and Critical Reasoning
|3-5 credits
|Humanities and Fine Arts
|9 credits
|Social Sciences
|6 credits
|Basic Sciences
|6-7 credits
|Additional Kent Core
|6 credits
|University Orientation (US 10097)
|1 credit
|24 credits
Minimum Overall GPA for Graduation: 2.000
The Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees include both required courses and electives. The required courses are to be selected from the university's Kent Core Requirements. Please work with an advisor on selecting these courses. Electives should be chosen in the students' area of interest. Students planning to pursue a bachelor's degree should select electives to meet the requirements of the degree they are pursuing.


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Das Haus: Striking House of the Future Blends Japanese Design With California Modernism
Concerned to eliminate the boundaries between the indoors and the outdoors, Nichetto designed a home that has plants everywhere: on shelves, in the bathroom, on the walls and there is even a small interior vegetable garden. Thyme and Rosemary plants grow in the kitchen and the living room is the home's "green lung," with tall evergreen trees that create a natural boundary between separate functions.
Defined by semi enclosed walls and large window openings, Das Haus is finished off with natural materials such as oak and handmade concrete that comes in soothing neutral colors. Bright, airy and furnished with many of Nichetto's own designs, this striking dwelling has been constructed with the dual aim of achieving optimum efficiency and earth friendliness.
Photos by Constantin Meyer and Koelnmesse
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Friday, June 6, 2014
Morelisa L. Sabb of Summerville and Robert A. Cordes of Summerville are engaged to be married on June 14 at Bethel A. M.E. Church in Summerville.
The bride is the daughter of James and Betty Sabb of Summerville. She is the granddaughter of Helen Glover and the late Oscar Glover of Summerville, and Mary Whetsell Sabb of Summerville.
The bridegroom is the son of Wilhelmina Ashby. He is the grandson of the late John and Sarah Simmons.
The bride is a 1999 graduate of Summerville High School and a 2004 graduate of Charleston Southern University.
The bridegroom is a 1999 graduate of Stratford High School and a 2005 graduate of Coastal Carolina University.
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Sunday June 16, 2013, 10am - 5pm
with Darcy Lyon and Zenshin Greg Fain
In the Green Gulch Farm Yurt
As we accomplish our daily tasks, it is easy to be caught up and swept into separate currents of responsibilities, stories about ourselves, separation of mind from body, body from heart. Yet all rivers eventually return to the ocean. Take a break from the differentiating currents and bathe in the great waters of practice. This one-day mini-retreat will integrate the Ocean Mudra Meditation, all levels asana practice, mindful walking and basking in the dharma of being. All levels are welcome: an excellent taste for those new to the practice or those considering joining Greg and Darcy for their longer retreats at Tassajara in August.
Fees: $90; $81 current SFZC members; $72 limited income. A delicious organic vegetarian lunch in the Green Gulch dining room is included.
Registration: Use the Ticket Table below (available soon). Or call our toll free number 888.743.9362 or our local number 415.475.9362
Also with Darcy and Greg at Tassajara:
The Significance of Joy: A Zen and Yoga Retreat, 8/16 - 8/18
Continuous Practice: A Living Circle of Yoga and Zen, 8/18 - 8/22


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A quality baby bedding set is essential in making your nursery warm and inviting. All N. Selby patterns are made using the finest quality materials and are uniquely designed to create an elegant and sophisticated nursery. Nightingale is absolutely breath taking and beautiful, a soft classic nursery with cotton percale bumper in subtle pink, gray and charcoal. Bumper has 4 sections with attached bows. Bumper pieces measures two long sections 52 x 11 inches and 2 short sections 26 x 11 inches. Sheet is in 300 thread count cotton percale with matching cord and ties on bumper. Dust ruffle has underskirt of pin tuck poly satin with a double overlay of champagne tulle. The sets coverlet is soft fancy fur, lined in pink and charcoal dot flange trim. The perfect touch is to add with the set the champagne ruffled mosquito net with bow. What an amazing nursery for your sweet baby girl. Wash gentle cycle, separate, cold water. Tumble dry low or hang dry.
4 Piece Set includes a coverlet, fitted sheet, dust ruffle, & bumperShipping Note: This item ships directly from the manufacturer within contiguous United States only. Cannot be shipped to AK/HI, PO boxes, US territories, or APO/FPO addresses.


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Million Mom March with the Brady Campaign
1225 Eye St., NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC, 20005
Phone: (202) 289-7319 | Fax: (202) 408-1851
Website: http://www.bradycampaign.org/?q=programs/million-mom-march
Principal Staff:
Dan Groff, President
Will Villota, Director of Community Mobilization
Type of Organization: National Policy/Research/Education
Founded: 2000
Mission Statement:
As part of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the Million Mom March Chapters believe that:
- all Americans have the right to be safe from gun violence in their homes, neighborhoods, schools, and places of work and worship.
- all children have the right to grow up in environments free from the threat of gun violence.
- gun violence is a public health crisis that harms not only the physical, but also the spiritual, social, and economic health of our families and communities.
- the availability and lethality of guns make death or severe injury more likely in domestic violence, criminal activity, suicide attempts, and unintentional shootings.
- it is possible to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by gun violence with reasonable, common sense policy.
Million Mom March Chapters work locally in five programmatic areas: federal legislation and elections; state legislation and elections; education and awareness campaign; linking with victims; and coalition building/community outreach.
Subject Expertise:
Empowerment, peace, public policy and violence


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February 23 - Keynote titled OSGi in the Enterprise: Agility, Modularity, and Architecture's Paradox
March 22 - 25 - Tutorial on Modular Architecture
June 14 - 17 - Sessions titled Turtles and Architecture and Patterns of Modular Architecture
July 26 - 30 - Two sessions on rich mobile applications and one on agile development. Half day tutorial on software process improvement.
re: #apple event "We sold more iPads than any PC manufacturer sold of their entire PC line." 2012-09-12
re: #Apple Event ""Our notebooks now rank #1 in the US in Market share in the last three months." 2012-09-12
Right on. I just won a Best Buy drawing worth $1000. Either that or I won a shiny new virus by clicking the link. Hmm...what to do. 2012-08-29
The #osgi alliance response (http://t.co/KrN8XNWg) to the @mreinhold #jigsaw announcement (http://t.co/9YvcDdqC). 2012-08-29
Good Q&A with @mreinhold on project #jigsaw. http://t.co/9YvcDdqC. Modularity will change the way we design and run apps! 2012-08-28
The opinions expressed on this site are my own, and not necessarily those of my employer.
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I've always been obssessed with (or tormented by) portability and mobility. I want my information with me, accessible, all the time. This obsession began over 10 years ago.


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In the first edition, first printing (1963) of The Orthodox Church by Timothy (Kallistos) Ware - a widely-cited and authoritative source on Orthodox teaching -, the author states (page 302):In the past, when I brought this up, Orthodox critics simply dismissed Kallistos Ware as any authority on Orthodoxy. Well, yes, I understand he carries no extraordinary ecclesiastical authority, but what would have to be asserted is that he doesn't know what he is talking about sociologically, in describing the eroding moral teaching on contraception. In other words, it would have to be shown that he is reporting the actual situation "on the ground" incorrectly.
Artificial methods of birth control are forbidden in the Orthodox Church.The first edition, revised 1984 version of The Orthodox Church, however (NY: Penguin Books, page 302), states (emphasis added):
The use of contraceptives and other devices for birth control is on the whole strongly discouraged in the Orthodox Church. Some bishops and theologians altogether condemn the employment of such methods. Others, however, have recently begun to adopt a less strict position, and urge that the question is best left to the discretion of each individual couple, in consultation with the spiritual father.The second edition, revised 1993 version of The Orthodox Church reveals even further alarming departure from Orthodox and previously universal Christian Tradition (page 296; emphasis added):
Concerning contraceptives and other forms of birth control, differing opinions exist within the Orthodox Church. In the past birth control was in general strongly condemned, but today a less strict view is coming to prevail, not only in the west but in traditional Orthodox countries. Many Orthodox theologians and spiritual fathers consider that the responsible use of contraception within marriage is not in itself sinful. In their view, the question of how many children a couple should have, and at what intervals, is best decided by the partners themselves, according to the guidance of their own consciences.
This isn't the only Orthodox source I found to establish my opinion on this. Fr. Stanley S. Harakas, professor of Orthodox theology at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (I believe that is affiliated with OCA, but I could very well be wrong about that), in his book: The Orthodox Church: 455 Questions and Answers (Minneapolis, MN: Light & Life Pub. Co., 1987), wrote on pages 40-42:
56. What beliefs does the Orthodox Church have about Birth Control?An Orthodox Christian (Christoper Parks), posted at the same time, an entry on his blog, in response to "common Catholic criticisms of the Orthodox Church." Here is almost all of it:
Within modern Orthodox Christianity, varying views on the subject exist . . .
Both these views have been held and promulgated through the years within the church, even though they are mutually inconsistent. This inconsistency has been reflected in approaches to the question of contraception.
[on p. 41, he cites Fr. John Meyendorff's book Marriage: An Orthodox Perspective, as arguing for the moral permissibility of contraception]
As we have indicated, there is evidence in the history of the church to provide support for both approaches. That is why there is still discussion and controversy. Even our archdiocese has responded differently at different times. In older issues of the archdiocese "yearbook" a strong negative attitude was expressed. In more recent issues, a position was taken indicating that this was a private matter, involving the couple alone . . .
What we are saying is that if a married couple has children, or is spacing the birth of their children, and wishes to continue sexual relations in the subsequent years as an expression of their continuing love for each other, and for the deepening of their personal and marital unity, the Orthodoxy of contraception is affirmed.
. . . please click on my screen name for a post that contains links to the following Orthodox sources on the topic of contraception:I then inquired on the same blog:
+ Basic Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church
+ The Mystery of Marriage, 10th All-American Council, Orthodox Church in America
+ On Marrriage, Encyclical Letter of the Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America
+ The Stephanos Project
+ For the Health of Body and Soul: An Eastern Orthodox Introduction to Bioethics, Fr Stanley Harakas at the Greek Orthodox Archidiocese of America website
+ The Sacramental Life of the Church, Rev. Alciviadis C. Calivas, Th.D. at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website (scroll down to The Purpose of Marriage)
Does [name] concede that the Orthodox view on contraception is a mixed bag (per Metr. Ware and Fr. Harakas), or does he deny this? That was the question I was dealing with. The claim that Orthodoxy is against it and the claim that it allows it for legitimate reasons, are two different things. Above, someone seemed to assert the first (or at least said he was unaware of anything different, which is a little less assertive). I'm not sure what position you are taking on it.He responded by simply stating that he was trying to "provide further reading for those interested" and "to provide reference material" which he hoped was "of some use". I asked again, a question to any Orthodox on the board who were willing to answer:
It seems to me that the facts of Orthodox compromise and confusion (of some sort and to some degree, at high levels) are clear (unless the two men above know little about their subject, (which would be weird on many grounds). It's even more clear that no Christian body accepted contraception until the Anglicans in 1930 (and even then it was only for "hard cases" – some things never change).
I'm still trying to figure out if Fr. Harakas' and Metr. Ware's generalizations about Orthodox varying opinions on contraception are true, or whether they are false (if the latter, why, and what other evidence confutes that)? Or is that impolite and "debate-mongering" to simply ask the question? If so, please accept my apologies beforehand (even though I don't know why this would be an apology-requiring thing at all).(No one answered).
The same Orthodox Christian, Christoper Parks, in his blog post on contraception, didn't make any arguments of his own. His general opinion of (and complaint about) the criticism of Orthodoxy on this score, seems to have been expressed in a sister post, where he wrote:
I, myself, have made a number of criticisms of modern Orthodoxy, . . .. So I have no interest in making the Orthodox Church appear as anything other than what it is. But, . . . I would like the criticisms of the Orthodox Church to be just. . . . A lot of what gets tossed around on the internet, especially on topics such as abortion, divorce, caesaropapism, etc, does get tossed around as if it's de fide in Orthodoxy and most certainly used "as the excuse for dismissing" Orthodoxy.It is true (I'm responding here to some criticisms received by other Orthodox) that at one time I had posted an article about compromises on abortion of certain Orthodox theologians. But it is no more fair to pin the blame for that on Orthodoxy as a whole, than it is to blame the Catholic Church for a dissident group such as "Catholics for Choice." We both have our liberals "within the camp," most assuredly. So I removed that article. But (let's be very clear about this) even when it was on my site, it did not accuse the entire Orthodox Church of "approving" of abortion (or some such sweeping, general charge). It was merely a chronicling of certain liberal theologians who exhibited a dangerously anti-life attitude.
I was in the rescue movement alongside at least one Orthodox participant. On my Life Issues Page I have several links to Orthodox pro-life material. But back to contraception: the Orthodox person mentioned above listed six links. What information can they can give us, in order to resolve the question, "Does Orthodoxy Allow Contraception Or Not?" Note again that this is one Orthodox Christian who obviously wishes to fairly, accurately present the teachings of his own communion, documented its teaching concerning contraception, in response to what he called "common Catholic criticisms of the Orthodox Church."
"Basic Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church"
("official Web Server of the Moscow Patriarchate")
XII. 3. Among the problems which need a religious and moral assessment is that of contraception. Some contraceptives have an abortive effect, interrupting artificially the life of the embryo on the very first stages of his life. Therefore, the same judgements are applicable to the use of them as to abortion. But other means, which do not involve interrupting an already conceived life, cannot be equated with abortion in the least. In defining their attitude to the non-abortive contraceptives, Christian spouses should remember that human reproduction is one of the principal purposes of the divinely established marital union (see, X. 4). The deliberate refusal of childbirth on egoistic grounds devalues marriage and is a definite sin.
At the same time, spouses are responsible before God for the comprehensive upbringing of their children. One of the ways to be responsible for their birth is to restrain themselves from sexual relations for a time. However, Christian spouses should remember the words of St. Paul addressed to them: 'Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency' (1 Cor. 7:5). Clearly, spouses should make such decisions mutually on the counsel of their spiritual father. The latter should take into account, with pastoral prudence, the concrete living conditions of the couple, their age, health, degree of spiritual maturity and many other circumstances. In doing so, he should distinguish those who can hold the high demands of continence from those to whom it is not given (Mt. 19:11), taking care above all of the preservation and consolidation of the family.
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in its Decision of December 28, 1998, instructed the clergy serving as spiritual guides that 'it is inadmissible to coerce or induce the flock to: refuse conjugal relations in marriage'. It also reminded the pastors of the need 'to show special chastity and special pastoral prudence in discussing with the flock the questions involved in particular aspects of their family life'.
Orthodox Church in AmericaThis obviously allows contraceptive measures, and does not condemn them in the least. I couldn't help noticing the next section, too, and a disturbing statement in it:
Tenth All-American Council, July, 1992
synodal affirmations
On Marriage, Family, Sexuality,
and the Sanctity of Life
Convinced of these God-revealed truths, we offer the following affirmations and admonitions for the guidance of the faithful:
. . . Married couples may express their love in sexual union without always intending the conception of a child, but only those means of controlling conception within marriage are acceptable which do not harm a foetus already conceived.
AbortionThis allows abortion in cases of rape, incest, or sickness, which is sanctioning slaughter (by default; by not condemning it as evil) of preborn children based on the morally irrelevant reason of how they were conceived, who their parent is, or how healthy either they or their mother is. This is immoral. Now, I've stated my opinion that the Orthodox Church is "strongly pro-life" above, yet it is very troubling to find this, even in the material that an Orthodox brother offered us, in hopes of demonstrating (presumably) that Orthodoxy is as committed to pro-life principles as the Catholic Church is.
Abortion is an act of murder for which those involved, voluntarily and involuntarily, will answer to God.
Those finding themselves confronted with tragic circumstances where the lives of mothers and their unborn children are threatened, and where painful decisions of life and death have to be made -- such as those involving rape, incest, and sickness -- are to be counselled to take responsible action before God, who is both merciful and just, to whom they will give account for their actions.
[emphasis added]
Obviously, that is not true in the case of these exception clauses (which we do not allow at all). This is not a consistent pro-life position. I don't know how much authority such a synod has within the Orthodox Church in America, but there you have it. Contraception is not condemned at all (which is a strong confirmation of my original claims, as received in the information provided by my original two sources, and abortion is allowed in hard cases. This is not traditional Christian reasoning. A child is a child. He or she is a human being, possessed of an eternal soul. It is a heinous sin to take that life because the parent of the child is a scoundrel, or ill, or because the child is seriously ill.
ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF THE HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA ON MARRIAGEAnother opportunity to condemn all contraception (in accordance with unbroken Christian Tradition) is lost here. Instead, a pious, high-sounding sort of language is utilized, to condone it (again, by default, or in direct effect). This has always been the case in the various statements of ecclesiastical bodies which attempt to modify the received teaching, concerning both contraception and abortion -- starting with the Anglican Lambeth Conference in 1930. I have studied such statements and even compiled them. The dynamics and "moral trajectories" are almost always the same. The abortion statement in this encyclical is very strong, but contradicts the one above (as it includes no loopholes other than the danger to the life of the mother).
H. Birth Control
1. The greatest miracle and blessing of the divinely sanctified love of marriage is the procreation of children, and to avoid this by the practice of birth control (or, more accurately, the prevention of conception) is against God's will for marriage.
. . . 2. In all the difficult decisions involving the practice of birth control, Orthodox families must live under the guidance of the pastors of the Church and ask daily for the mercy and forgiveness of God.
Orthodox husbands and wives must discuss the prevention of conception in the light of the circumstances of their own personal lives, having in mind always the normal relationship between the divinely sanctified love of marriage and the begetting of children. Conception control of any sort motivated by selfishness or lack of trust in God's providential care certainly cannot be condoned.
The next link referenced is The Stephanos Project, (subtitled: "Contraception, Natural Family Planning, The 'Theology of the Body,' and Population Ethics from an Orthodox Christian Perspective"), a web page produced by an Orthodox priest, Fr. John [I haven't found his last name yet]. I had already had a link to this page on my website (as noted above). Fr. John himself maintains the traditional view on the moral wrongness of contraception, and states in introduction to the page:
My work on this topic grew out research for my M.Div. thesis at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary on the topic of "Orthodox Christianity and Contraception."This source is a very important one, because of the stance of the webmaster, and his efforts to compare and contrast it with what he finds in his own Church. Thus, he has links such as the following ones, which espouse traditional teaching:
Establishing the Abortifacient Potential of the Birth Control PillIn his article, Is there a traditional view of contraception?, Fr. John argues that there was, and that Christians were against it. To briefly summarize his argument, he writes:
The Case Against Contraception (Rachel Miola)
Natural Family Planning Information Site
NFP and an Orthodox Vision of Sexuality
Although St. John Chrysostom is the Father most often appealed to in Orthodox sources to support acceptance of contraception, it does him an injustice to read this into his work.And what do we learn in this article about present-day Orthodox attitudes toward contraception?:
. . . According to Dubarle, Augustine offers "the most detailed, the most doctrinally systematic" condemnation of contraception.
. . . Although the evidence presented contains certain ambiguities, a consistent picture does emerge. Diverse sources from Ireland, Italy, North Africa, Greece, Serbia, Russia, and the Syrian Orient all attest to the fact that contraceptives were condemned by the Church. Until very recently opposition to contraception was commonly recognized as the traditional position.
. . . It should be noted that it was not until 1930 that any mainstream Christian group officially endorsed the use of contraceptives. The Christian world had been universally opposed to the use of contraceptives until that time.
It has become commonplace [my emphasis added] for Orthodox theologians to assert that there is no traditional position on the subject of contraception. Paul Evdokimov writes, for example:We fnd more of the information we are looking for in Fr. John's article, Orthodox Responses to Humanae Vitae, where he cites the reaction to Humanae Vitae of the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras:
In the age of the Church Fathers, the problem of birth control was never raised. There are no canons that deal with it. The ancient collections of penitential discipline are no longer entirely applicable; moreover they say nothing on the subject…One must therefore start from the patristic spirit [italics his] and not from a precise, inexistent teaching.. . . Francis Edgecumbe writes: "The traditional attitude has been strictly to forbid all employment of contraceptives, and even to discourage the so-called 'rhythm method'."
[Paul Evdokimov, The Sacrament of Love (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1995), 174.]
["Orthodox Reactions to Humanae Vitae" in the Eastern Churches Review 2:3 (1969): 305]
Father Gregory Naumenko, writing in Orthodox Life, offers a similar perspective:
The true Church of Christ has never in the past given her blessing for such a practice. This is clearly stated in the Book of Needs (Trebnik), where, in the Order of Confession, among the questions addressed to women we find the following: "Did they wear herbs so as not to have a child,… or whether someone poured something into her womb so as not to conceive, or ate some herb…She is to desist and be excluded for six years." Here the Book of Needs draws support from a ruling of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. Thus, the use of contraceptives goes against not only the spirit and purpose of the Christian marriage and the teachings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, but also goes against the clear and direct decrees and laws of the Church.
["Pastoral Practice and Contemporary Moral Questions" Orthodox Life no. 1 (1992), 30]
I absolutely agree with the pope . . . Pope Paul VI could not have spoken otherwise. Holding the Gospel in his hand, he seeks to protect the morals as well as the interests and the existence of the nations . . . I am at the pope's side, in all that he is doing and saying.Other positive Orthodox reactions are also cited:
Metropolitan Chrysostom of Athens stated: "While I am by no means a lover of the papacy, I feel the need to commend the papal encyclical."[6] Metropolitan Nikodim of Leningrad went on record as saying, "Every form of birth control is undesirable."[7] Father Virgil Gheorghiu, a Romanian Orthodox priest living in Paris, said: "We Christians know that it is not the mouth of the pope that has spoken in forbidding the use of contraceptives. It is God who has spoken through the mouth of the pope—and through the mouth of the ecumenical patriarch."[8]Francis Edgecumbe (see the source above), wrote:
It is interesting, in this connection, to note the change that has taken place in the kind of teaching given to the Archbishop's own flock. A few years ago the faithful of the Greek archdiocese were severely forbidden to employ contraceptives. The Greek archdiocese Year Book for 1957 contained the following statement (pp. 50-51): "If a husband and wife do not desire to have any children, they ought to abstain from all conjugal relations until they are able to have children, and then to come together again in sexual union, relying entirely and solely on God's omniscience. The use of contraceptive devices for the prevention of childbirth is forbidden and condemned unreservedly by the Greek Orthodox Church."Fr. John sadly concludes:
The first extended theological response came in 1969 from Philip Sherrard. In an article entitled "Humanae Vitae: Notes on the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI", published in Sobornost, Sherrard critiqued the use of natural law in Humanae Vitae, following closely the arguments of dissenting Roman Catholic theologians.[13]In a related past post on Pontifications (5-22-04) Fr. John wrote:
Another article appeared in 1974 in the Journal of Ecumenical Studies by Chrysostom Zaphiris.[14] He argued, following John Rock, the Roman Catholic inventor of the birth control pill, that that the Pill, by mimicking the natural hormones of a woman's body, was acting in accord with natural law. [15]
Many of the contemporary Orthodox discussions on contraception are built upon the arguments and views of these theologians. Their work has set the tone for much of the contemporary discussion.
Acceptance of contraception is clearly a recent phenomenon in the Eastern Orthodox Church. As Slesinski (a Byzantine Catholic) points out, I think Chrysostom would be horrified. Our tradition, no less than the Catholics, has rejected it until recent times. I find it highly significant that all the Orthodox arguments in defense of contraception parallel, sometimes word for word, liberal Catholic theologians.Another posted article is Contraception, Natural Law, and Eastern Orthodoxy. This is a very helpful survey of the reasoning of major Orthodox dissenters from Humanae Vitae. Fr. John writes:
Sometimes it seems that Orthodox writers are trying to define themselves in contrast to the Roman Catholic Church. But ironically, many of their arguments originated with Roman Catholic dissenting theologians. For example, Zaphiris' appeal to "synergism" hearkens back to John Rock, the Roman Catholic inventor of the birth-control pill. Sherrard's charges of "biologism" follow much the same line as the dissenting majority of theologians on Paul VI's special commission.Fr. John, to reiterate, summarized the present state of affairs in Orthodoxy regarding contraception as: "It has become commonplace [my emphasis added] for Orthodox theologians to assert that there is no traditional position on the subject of contraception." This abundantly confirms our suspicion, based on Fr. Harakas' and Metr. Ware's observations. The anonymous Orthodox Christian also cited Fr. Harakas' article, For the Health of Body and Soul: An Eastern Orthodox Introduction to Bioethics, (posted on the Greek Orthodox Archidiocese of America website) as a fifth source. The latter writes:
. . . The authors cited seem to think that some aspect of Orthodox identity is at stake—by accepting Humanae Vitae, they will be submitting to Rome. But Orthodox should not be afraid of these ideas simply because they are associated with Rome. Rather, we should ask what is the theological position which most truthfully represents our own tradition. As we have seen, Humanae Vitae may be more compatible than many have made it seem. Still, it will take a lot of careful work to discern what is the best position for Orthodox to take on the issue, and what, if any, would constitute a unique Orthodox perspective.
General agreement exists among Orthodox writers on the following two points:Lastly, the sixth cited source is the article, The Sacramental Life of the Church, by Rev. Alciviadis C. Calivas, Th.D. (also on the Greek Orthodox Archidiocese of America website). Rev. Calivas writes:
1. since at least one of the purposes of marriage is the birth of children, a couple acts immorally when it consistently uses contraceptive methods to avoid the birth of any children, if there are not extenuating circumstances;Less agreement exists among Eastern Orthodox authors on the issue of contraception within marriage for the spacing of children or for the limitation of the number of children. Some authors take a negative view and count any use of contraceptive methods within or outside of marriage as immoral (Papacostas, pp. 13-18; Gabriel Dionysiatou).
2. contraception is also immoral when used to encourage the practice of fornication and adultery.
. . . Other Orthodox writers have challenged this view . . .
Sexual relations are related to the mutual fulfillment of the spouses and then to child-bearing. The decision, therefore, to suspend fertility through the use of contraceptives is not necessarily in violation of natural law. Regarding this matter, Metropolitan Chrysostomos Zapheris notes the following:And so our survey of these recommended Orthodox sources has revealed nothing any different than what we were told by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware and Fr. Stanley Harakas. Other internal Orthodox indications exist, as to the compromise (or weakening, or change) of Orthodox prohibition of contraception. In a Google search, I ran across an Orthodox blog called St. Stephen's Musings, run by Karl Thienes. He states in a post entitled, "Sex, Marriage and Theosis: Part I" (12-30-04):
While the Orthodox Church fully acknowledges the role of procreation in the marital sexual act, it does not share the deterministic understanding of the act ... which ignores love as a dimension of great value in sexual intercourse between husband and wife.Creation of new life requires serious, prayerful, honest and sincere reflection. While some forms of contraception are more admissible than others, it is clear that abortion is not an acceptable form of birth control. The decision to regulate the size of one's family is the personal responsibility of the spouses. A serious commitment to the Gospel, however, precludes decisions that are based solely on hedonistic, selfish and prideful reasons.
I also agree that the gradual acceptance of contraception by many Orthodox clergy and prominent Orthodox scholars . . . over the last several decades should raise an eyebrow or two.In Part II of this article, Karl adds:
The truth of the matter is that, sans a more complete definition, [neither] this narrow (and very Roman Catholic) understanding of marital sexuality nor the gradual acceptance of contraception are healthy expressions of the Church's teaching about marriage and sex.In the article, Eastern Orthodoxy and Contraception: Contemporary Versus Traditional Views, the writer, Taras Baytsar (seemingly Orthodox; it's not totally clear), notes:
. . . The fact is we will not have healthy marriages without a vibrant monastic movement in America that actually informs our praxis, including our sexuality. This is one lesson the more "liberal" Orthodox (especially new converts) need to accept. As I noted in Part I, I sympathize with the traditionalist fears concerning certain ramifications of American Orthodoxy taking its cues from post-Enlightenment culture and western Christendom rather than the historic teachings of the Orthodox Church.
The voices of the various Orthodox churches have been muted in addressing the issue of contraception and "family planning." Even when church leaders have spoken, their communication is often inconsistent with early Church traditions and teachings, or contradictory from one period to the next or among Orthodox theologians. While the desire to avoid controversy is understandable, controversy can not be avoided at the cost of error or indifference.On the Orthodox web page, Differences Between Latin Catholicism and Holy Orthodoxy, one of the differences is the following:
. . . the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople. In 1968 the Roman Pope Paul VI wrote the encyclical letter Humanae Vitae in which he reaffirmed the Latin Church's rejection of contraception. After reviewing the encyclical, the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras wrote to the Pope to assure him of the Orthodox Church's "total agreement" with the encyclical's contents:
We assure you that we remain close to you, above all in these recent days when you have taken the good step of publishing the encyclical Humanae Vitae. We are in total agreement with you, and wish you all God's help to continue your mission in the world.Similar inconsistencies and ambiguities can be found within the Russian Orthodox Church. Father Alexander Men, one of Russia's best known and widely read theologians, addressed the morality of contraception in this way:
This is not my own opinion. I have consulted with our bishops and they are of the opinion that a person has a right to practice birth control. Otherwise, they may bring more children into the world than they can support, in which case they will become animals rather than human beings.A modified version of this view was also endorsed in August, 2000 at the Jubilee Bishop's Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, to whit:
[A. Men', Kul'tura i dukhovnoe vozrozhdenie, (Moscow 1992), pp. 445-450]
Among the problems which need a religious and moral assessment is that of contraception. Some contraceptives have an abortive effect, interrupting artificially the life of the embryo on the very first stages of his life. Therefore, the same judgments are applicable to the use of them as to abortion. But other means, which do not involve interrupting an already conceived life, cannot be equated with abortion in the least.. . . the positions stated above are only a few of the many that have been taken over the years by Orthodox Churches and theologians on the issue of contraception . . .
["Bases of Social Concept of Russian Orthodox Church," confirmed on Jubilee Bishop's Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow, August 13 - 16 2000) retrieved from http://www.russian-orthodox-church.org.ru/sd00e.htm. Emphasis in article]
We have seen the witness from Holy Scriptures, early Councils and holy Fathers of the Church. All of them attest to the immorality of contraceptives. St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Hippolytus of Rome, St. Epiphanius of Salamis, St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and many teachers and Doctors of the Church; proclaim the constant teaching of the Faith about this issue. They witness to the unchangeable nature of Tradition about artificial birth control.
- Latin Catholicism allow a Birth Control method called Natural Family Planning (NFP), but does not permit any other form of contraception (Note: Latin Catholics do not consider NFP a contraceptive). Historically, the only form of "contraception" that Orthodoxy allowed was total abstinence (ie. not just abstinence during a certain period of the month when the wife is capable of becoming pregnant, but a total and complete cessation of sexual relations).Conclusion?: Orthodoxy has compromised the ancient Christian teaching (and its own former teaching, very firm as recently as 40 years ago) which prohibits contraception It has called something good which is a sin, and which it used to itself regard as a serious sin. Catholicism has not done this. This is a major reason why I began considering conversion to Catholicism in 1990, and why I am a Catholic today.
If one has sex strictly for procreation and has no pleasure (like some Victorians, who never even saw each other naked), that is wrong, because sex was designed by God to be pleasurable. Likewise, if the purpose is made pleasure only with no regard for the most fundamental purpose of sex, that's wrong, too.
We see the consequences of the contraceptive mentality all around us. It has a very close legal, moral, and psychological link to abortion. Legal abortion (wherever it occurs, which is almost everywhere today) is always preceded by legal contraception. The Griswold case (1965, I believe) which overturned contraception laws was a direct precedent of Roe v. Wade, because it put up barriers between private behavior and state regulation (now the same flawed mentality is being replayed in the homosexual "marriage" and euthanasia debates).
Here is an analogy which was helpful to me: we think people are weird who separate the pleasure of eating from the nutritional value. They exist together, too. We need food, and we like food. Taste buds are biologically unnecessary. They don't help us survive at all, except perhaps to taste unpleasant things (sour milk or rotten eggs, etc.) which may, in turn be harmful. But we find people strange who would eat only for nutrition with no regard for taste at all (say, surviving on moss-covered bark or grasshoppers or some other "odd" food). We also find it unbalanced if someone is a junk food junkie; if all they ever ate was Twinkies or Butterfinger candy bars.
We instinctively know this. We also know that bulimia is mentally and psychologically abnormal. Food is to be retained, not thrown up. That separates the taste aspects of food from the nutritional value. Contraception and abortion are like the ancient Roman vomitoriums of today, where the deepest purpose and function of sexuality (the procreative purpose and the babies resulting from them) are regurgitated.
Why can we see the abnormality and moral shortcomings of these weird food practices, but not the same abnormality in people having sex for pleasure only, and deliberately preventing procreation? In effect they tie the hands of God. It's fine to space children and not have any more if the purpose is sufficiently serious. The Catholic position is not: "let nature take its course and have 25 children if that is what happens."
Rather, we say that it is wrong to deliberately prevent a possible conception and to have sex when the woman is fertile by using devises to neutralize that fertility. To follow Catholic teaching, a couple with sufficiently serious reasons (and there are several) to avoid conception, must abstain at those times. That respects natural law, whereas contraception has no respect for that, and simply caters to individual appetites with little regard for the most fundamental purpose of marriage and sex (not to mention the disastrous societal fruit of this mentality).
Dialogue on ContraceptionSecondly, if the argument is, "well Catholics are just playing games on this issue, and they are wrong," that doesn't establish (wholly apart from the question of its truth or falsity) that Orthodoxy is right. In other words, if I say "x committed murder" (and he in fact did), it makes no sense for x to say, "well, sure, I did, but so did y!" No jury in the world would excuse x for murder because y did it, too. Therefore, making comparisons with supposed Catholic compromise (even granting that they are valid) in no way gets Orthodoxy off the hook for its own compromises.
Dialogue on the Ethical Distinction Between Artificial Contraception and Natural Family Planning (NFP)
Dialogue on Contraception and Natural Family Planning (NFP) (vs. "Grubb")
The choice of responses thus far to this issue, then, seem to be:
1) Orthodoxy has not compromised (and then not dealing with clear evidences that it has done so), or:None of these fallacious approaches are sufficient or satisfactory. No one is arguing that Orthodoxy has not in fact compromised, and demonstrated this through hard, authoritative evidence (as Humanae Vitae and other clear-cut, unambiguous papal statements function for the Catholic). That only reinforces my original contention that Orthodoxy has indeed compromised. How Orthodox can face that fact honestly (especially those who remain opposed to contraception as a grave evil, as the Catholic Church does) is something to be grappled with. In any event, the methods above are not the way to go about it, because they are all internally inconsistent and deficient in methodology.
2) Orthodoxy has compromised, but so has Catholicism [entailing the fallacy noted above], or:
3) Statements and arguments based upon a manifest confusion between Catholic official, magisterial teaching and the renegade opinions on this issue of Catholic dissidents and liberals, or the opinions of lay Catholics, based on surveys. Thus, changes in "official" Orthodox statements concerning contraception are illogically, unfairly compared to Catholic sub-official teaching. The legitimate comparison should be between the official teachings of both communions.
As an Orthodox who is absolutely convinced of the sinfulness and irrationality of contraception, I can only pray that the arguments of Mr. Armstrong will convince some of the hierarchs in my own church to come back to the Tradition. For myself, I am not nearly qualified (nor am I willing) to interrogate the reasoning behind this line of thought. I will say that certain practices and certain hierarchs have been wrong before in the Church, and that the Spirit took some time to work them out. I do confidently hope that this is the case with contraception.
I too am surprised to hear of a new consensus (or anything approaching it) in the OC regarding contraception and divorce. Of course, it is sometimes more difficult to ascertain the 'de fide' elements of Orthodoxy in the absence of a magisterium, but this is in keeping with the less generalized/juridical and more spiritual father/child approach that is characteristic of the East. For all that though, I don't know any priests even who condone the use of contraceptives. Life is good as is its Creator.


text:
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Ecdysis is an immersive audio-visual installation depicting biological and architectural adaptation.Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Sculpting2014
Visit: http://exuviae.sougwen.com/
Dimensions: 25cm x 25cm x 25cm
Year: 2014 (Ongoing)
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Exuviae is a prototype for a forthcoming series examining dimensional mark making. The form is determined by an intuitive process that transmutes the energy of the gestural mark into sculptural form.
The immediacy of the drawn line is captured as gestural vector splines from a digital environment and brought into physical space utilizing 3d printing technology.
No. 1 was first debuted at "Hacking Arts" a group exhibition held at MIT Media Lab, September 2013Drawing, Fine Arts, Sculpting2014
Kinexuviae (Your Written Word, Grapheme) - 2014
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Short film by Sougwen Chung, music by Clint MansellDigital Art, Film, Fine Arts2014
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Kinecdysis (Grapheme) is inspired by the motif of ecdysis (from Ancient Greek: ἐκδύω, ekduo, to take off, strip off).
Recommended for: polymaths, poets and prophets.Art Direction, Fine Arts, Typography2014
Light Installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Geneva, Switzerland commissioned by Mapping FestivalArt Direction, Drawing, Fine Arts2013
Short film depicting a myogenic muscular form imploding. A transgression from interior to exterior.Animation, Film, Fine Arts2013
20" x 20"Sculpture. Exhibited at MIT Media Lab. Exuviae is a work that brings physicality to the immediacy of the drawn line.Fine Arts, Sculpting2013
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40" x 30" Print on Canvas. Communicates the moment before a great upheaval; a wave before its breaking point.Art Direction, Drawing, Fine Arts2012
9' x 12' light installation shown at ADC Gallery in NY. Explores the interplay of light and shadow on a dimensional drawing form.Drawing, Exhibition Design, Fine Arts2012
A light installation is inspired by the concept of Optogenetics, perception and memory.Art Direction, Drawing, Exhibition Design2012
Projection, Ink on hand-cut paper in Wooden Frame. 30cm x 30cm. More studies in light, form and the drawn line.Art Direction, Drawing, Fine Arts2013
Live Audiovisual performance for Sepalcure. Shown internationally at Unsound Festival, A:Visions MutekExhibition Design, Music, Performing Arts2013
The Etude Op.1, No. 1-4 is the latest series in an artistic inquiry into synesthetic, improvisational form.
Created with graphite on paper, Etude Op. 1 began as a series of deliberately bare drawings, exploring a way of seeing, interpreting, reinterpreting, experiencing, and contextualizing my immediate personal, physical, and auditory experience. Etude Op. 1, and my drawing to date, embraces the play between control and improvisation, intricate yet fluid gestures, balance and chaos.
Each No. in Opus 1 is a meditation on sound, the experience of music, impulses and ruminations of a personal nature, captured on a tactile canvas.
Drawing, Fine Arts2013
Scilicet was developed from a collection of ink and graphite drawings created in 2012. The vertiginous image depicts a visual gradient, beginning with intricate and precise line-work that resolves itself at silken and feather-like form.Drawing, Fine Arts, Painting2013
Force is one of a two piece series. It is a formal meditation inspired by the the ☰ hexagram of the IChing. ☰ Force is associated with 111, 乾, qián, the Creative, heaven, sky, 天, northwest, patriarch, the cerebral, and strength.
Drawing, Fine Arts, Painting2013
Drawing as performance. Recorded in Stockholm, Amsterdam, and New York. 2010 to present. Ongoing.Drawing, Performing Arts2010
Drawing completed in 2013Drawing, Fine Arts2013
24" x 18" graphite on paper. Drawn procedural form studies drawn in Brooklyn, New York.Drawing, Illustration2011
All works © Sougwen Chung 2013.
Please do not reproduce without the expressed written consent of Sougwen Chung.
Please do not reproduce without the expressed written consent of Sougwen Chung.


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The city is not raising its tax rate of 9.5 mills, which has been the same for the past eight years. The final vote to adopt the city's budget and tax rate will take place Oct. 7.
It appeared it was the committee meeting that drew the roomful of people to the Sept. 16 gathering, and the first speaker was Kim Carter from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
Carter was introduced by Sherri Rollins who is the chairman of Gray's Downtown Development Authority, and her mission was to inform the council about various funding mechanisms the state has in place that could finance DDA projects.
Carter is the coordinator for the state's revolving loan fund, and she explained the city would be the conduit to funnel the funds where needed but would not bear responsibility for repayment.
Grant administrator Linda Carol was the next to speak. She is currently working on Gray's CDBG that is rehabbing eight houses on North Jefferson Street and Martin Luther King Blvd. She said three of the houses have been completed and two are under construction.
For the full story, pick up a copy of this week's newspaper or subscribe to our e-Edition at http://ee.jcnews.com.


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Park City Mountain Resort is an easy 35-minute Interstate drive from the Salt Lake City International Airport. The airport features more than 650 flights a day from locations all over North America. It's so easy to get here, many people can leave home in the morning and be on the mountain by noon. Plus, Park City Mountain Resort is the only resort with ski-in/ski-out access to Park City's historic Main Street.
Salt Lake City Airport Facts:
View Directions from Salt Lake City International Airport to Park City Mountain Resort in a larger map
If you are staying, or live in, the Park City and surrounding area, we encourage you to take advantage of the area's free bus service. Find more information at:
Park City Mountain Resort
1345 Lowell Ave
PO Box 39
Park City, UT 84060
(435) 649–8111
© Park City Mountain Resort
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So who wants to come aboard the Mayhem ship?!? We are building a boat unlike any other, with a dozen serving wenches and plenty of booty for all. There will be casks of rum, fine cerveza, and gangplanks that we will use to force any undesirables off the boat.
More news coming soon as we gather our slaves to cut the wood for the ship. Then we will need to travel to the tar pits to collect tar and pitch to seal the ship and make it water-tight.


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Grand Valley Police Department
The Parking 411 - Rec Center
Parking with a Rec Center Membership
If you will be using the Rec Center or Kelly Family Sports Center facilities, you will need a parking permit, unless you choose to park and pay at a meter.
- While you have an active Rec Center membership, you are eligible for a no cost parking permit good for parking in the student sections of Lots C, G and H. The permit is NOT VALID at meters or designated spaces.
- Permits are issued one semester at a time and will expire on the anniversary date of your membership.
- Permits are not required to park in student parking spaces during the Spring and Summer semesters (May - August).
- Rec Center permits cannot be issued or used by current students of the university. Your permit privileges will be suspended if found to be in violation.
- Only one permit can be issued per individual and may be transferred to additional vehicles as necessary.
- Effective dates on permits must be visible and displayed at all times for the permit to be considered valid.
- Should you receive a citation while on campus, please refer to the information provided on the citation or visit www.gvsu.edu/parking for citation appeal information.
- Parking Services hours of operation are listed on our website. During hours of operation, parking questions may be directed to 616-331-PARK (7275).
Campus Recreation Classes
At this time, long term parking permits are not available to members of the community taking classes at the Rec Center or Kelly Family Sports Center. Grand Valley is a permit only campus and your options for parking while on campus are:
- pay and park at the meters
- stop in to our department before each class for a temporary parking permit. There is no cost to community members for daily permits.
Page last modified June 26, 2015


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bebe Logo Orlando Tee
Style # 186556
Show off your love for bebe and Orlando! This classic bebe tee features a soft lightweight knit, rhinestone-embellished logo and capped sleeves. Truly a jet-setter's essential.
- 94% cotton, 6% spandex.
- Center back to hem: 22" (56 cm).
- Machine wash.
- Imported.
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S.


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On a quest to bring good design to everyone—everywhere—OXO instills its kitchen tools with two qualities we all can admire: comfort and ease. For example, this set of two potholders protects your hands from heat, spills, and burns with nonflammable, stain, and steam-resistant silicone. Plus, its thick, multilayered fabric lets your hand breathe to prevent sweating. What a delicious solution to a common kitchen conundrum.
Set of 2 potholders
600° F heat resistant silicone on the outside. Cool, comfortable fabric on the inside.
Unique silicone rib design improves flexibility and dexterity, and provides a secure grip even on slippery surfaces.
Your hand fits securely in the potholder's pocket, letting you pick up items small and large without burning the top of your hand.
At 10" long, the potholder is long enough to protect your wrist.
When flat on a surface, the potholder doubles as a trivet under hot pots and pans.
Embedded magnet lets you hang the holder on steel surfaces.
Silicone hanging loop lets you hang the holder on a hook.
To clean, wipe the potholder with a damp sponge, or wash and dry in the laundry machine.
This product has no reviews yet. Be the first to review this product. Write a review
Enjoy 10% off your first order*


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The rumor mill is in full and enthusiastic swing on this one. And it's all true. Movie Maniacs Series 6 will consist entirely of characters from the Alien and Predator films.
Set for an April 2003 release, the official lineup is as follows:DOG ALIEN from Alien 3 with play action.
WARRIOR ALIEN from Alien Resurrection.
PREDATOR THE HUNTER from Predator 2 with play action
PREDATOR from Predator 2 with play action.
The deluxe boxed set for MM6 will be the ALIEN QUEEN from Aliens. This box includes a full custom base and other extras.
Note, the two Predator figures have substantial differences in weapons, accessories and body parts.
You'll note the timing of the release is different than in past years. We've previously released the Movie Maniacs series in September. We're experimenting in 2003 with an earlier release that hopefully will be beneficial to fans of the line as well as to us as a company.


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The 2011 Game Developers Conference has come to a close and with that so does GameSpot's coverage of the event. The GameSpot editorial team covered dozens of panels, featuring various industry luminaries who took some time to give their thoughts on game development, its history, and the current state of the gaming industry. While you can find all of our coverage by heading over to the Game Developers Conference event page, our GDC Uncut section is a collection of panels and events that we were allowed to film and bring to you in their entirety. You can view the individual videos by clicking the navigation links to the right or by clicking the links below.
- Game Developers Choice Awards
- Independent Games Festival Awards
- Classic Postmortem - Pac-Man
- Yu Suzuki's Gameworks: A Career Retrospective
- Cliff Bleszinski: Industry Lessons Learned and Applying Them to the Road Ahead
- The Game Design Challenge 2011: Bigger Than Jesus
- Classic Postmortem - Pitfall
Game Developers Choice Awards
Classic Postmortem - Pac-Man
Yu Suzuki's Gameworks: A Career Retrospective
Cliff Bleszinski: Industry Lessons Learned and Applying Them to the Road Ahead
The Game Design Challenge 2011: Bigger Than Jesus
Classic Postmortem - Pitfall
Independent Games Festival Awards


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Adrien Brody Gossip
Adrien Brody gossip, latest news, photos, and video.
Cannes Douche-Off
Tim P. Whitby/ ALBERTO PIZZOLI/ Vittorio Zunino Celotto/ Getty
Adrien Brody and Justin Bieber were both at AMFAR in Cannes last night. The smarm, right? The smarm. I know your first inclination is to say that JB has to be bigger douche because he's, well, he's JB. And Adrien Brody won an Oscar. Really? Because Adrien Brody also wore this: Full Story
Hayden Christensen back on set
How long has it been? I feel like it's been a long, long time. If anyone ever needed a Career Prospectus… It wasn't like this 10 years ago. Or less. He was Robert Pattinson back then – the goodlooking star of a mega franchise that didn't exactly showcase his talent. Full Story
From Oscar...to this
Fame, Splash
Someone somewhere, and I'm too lazy to look for the link, has a list of Oscar winners who should have their awards revoked for the sh-t they do after. Most of the time I think this is unfair. For example, Forest Whitaker is in that new Arnold Schwarzenegger movie and people will probably be criticising him for it but, like, in non-diverse Hollywood, how many quality scripts do you think Forest actually sees? It's not like he has the same options as Tom Hanks. Full Story
Adrien Brody is in love
Wenn, Gigi Iorio/ Splash
And when Adrien Brody is in love, it's like he's showing you his dick. Check him out at the Rome Film Festival with girlfriend Lara Lieto. Is this a man who's telling you he's found the woman of his life, or is this a man telling you how hot sh-t his girlfriend is and that must mean he's some hot sh-t too? He's not the first or only dude to have done this, no, of course not. Full Story
Adrien Brody & Justin Timberlake
Adrien Brody is in Rome shooting a movie. He was out the other night with girlfriend Lara Lieto and was overcome by the love. This time she managed to keep her hand out of his pants. It reminds me of when Justin Timberlake took the woman he married to Rome in 2008. Full Story
Love and an ass wash
Adrien Brody has been spending a lot of time in Europe these days away from his fake New York castle. Remember his fake New York castle? With the current Mrs Chris Hemsworth? Brody's cheese does seem more suited to a European sensibility. Full Story
Gary Oldman loves Jessica Chastain
As Brad Pitt said, admiringly, of Jessica Chastain:"Seven pictures in 2011 and five in 2012. Usually an actor has to work in the porn industry to have that kind of success."Jessica Chastain is pretty much why Jessica Biel has to marry Justin Timberlake. There's really nothing else for Biel to do. Unless she wants to sign on to a Paranormal Activity movie or something. Full Story
Eminem > Adrien Brody
Take a look at these photos of Adrien Brody at various Super Bowl related parties and events this weekend (the double douching with Diddy is my personal favourite) and try to explain why Stella Artois would book him for the all-important Super Bowl ad. Is this the Stella clientele? Leather suit wearing cheesedicks with soul patches and fake castles Full Story
New Year, new douche
Was it the leather pants in France? Is this what finally convinced Jennifer Aniston to give Adrien Brody a chance? Please. You must remember this from Cannes 2010. Adrien Brody in a brown baggy suit, all animal, yacht hopping during the festival like he's the one who's been giving Jay-Z his cool points. Full Story
The Artist & The Douche
Steve Martin is an avid art collector. When he was filming in Vancouver earlier this year, he successfully bid on two Lawren Harris paintings at the Heffel auction. He wasn't all look at my big celebrity penis about it either. Having said that, those two pieces set him back over $1.5 million. Maybe more. Full Story
Ebola infection repeat customer
Kate Hudson threw a Halloween party on Saturday night. It's an annual tradition. And hers is the party you want an invitation too. Gwen Stefani showed with Tony Kanal. Leo D turned up behind a mask. Adam Sandler and Nicole Richie were there too in addition to many more legitimate celebrities who cleverly avoided being photographed. Full Story
Dating up
Adrien Brody showed up at the screening for The Social Network on his own last night, still kinda douchey and smarmy, but not cranked up to his douche and smarm full potential. A few evenings earlier, in Los Angeles, the girl who let his cheese out and encouraged it to fly, Elsa Pataky, arrived at the LACMA Gala on the arm of Chris Hemsworth. Full Story
He can be almost normal
He doesn't have to walk around with the douche patch under his lips. He doesn't have to wear Ed Hardy gear or a leather suit. He doesn't have to posehard like it's a fragrance ad. See when he's casual, in kicks, in shorts, like a regular-ish person walking around New York, he can be almost normal. Full Story
On Predators
I know your immediate reaction. Mine too when I heard they were making it last summer. But it doesn't suck. In fact, I think it's pretty good. Not without its problems, certainly, but definitely rather watchable. And a possible franchise for Adrien Brody...? Would you ever have imagined? I was told at the screening that everyone wants to pretend like what happened between the original and this never happened. Full Story


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Learn how to use the CSS Flexible Box Layout module (aka Flexbox) to create advanced responsive layouts.
Responsive images are the next evolution in web design. Learn how to implement them today, with these real-life best practice scenarios for implementing responsive images in production sites.
Learn how to combine scalable vector graphics with CSS media queries to create responsive images for your websites and other interactive projects.
Learn how to make your site "retina"-ready by optimizing graphics and other content so that it looks great on retina (HiDPI) and non-retina displays alike.
Learn how to style SVG graphics and make them respond to changes to rollover states with CSS.
Learn how to display your data in a pie chart, with nothing more than HTML and CSS.
Learn to combine graphics and pseudo-elements to add more design and layout possibilities without adding more HTML to your web pages.
Build slideshows that harness the full power of the web with reveal.js.
Learn to style lists, tables, charts, and graphs with CSS, HTML5, and JavaScript.
Discover CSS gradients, and add depth and texture to your web designs while reducing load times.
Presents a short series of CSS animation techniques, such as looping, playing, pausing, and more, and puts them together in a small project: an animated infographic.
Take a tour of a workflow that optimizes CSS code for easier navigation, organization, and readability.
"I am a one-person small business and you make it affordable for me to get continuing education. Keep up with the good work!" —Frederique N.
more from our members »


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FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County commissioners on Thursday declined to identify a frontrunner among the four finalists for county administrator.
Commissioners conducted public interviews with the finalists at a special meeting after one-on-one interviews earlier in the day.
"I'd like to just measure twice and cut once," Commissioner Kelly Windes said at the meeting. "I'd like to sleep on it."
Commissioners also delayed their final selection because Commissioner Wayne Harris was absent due to a family emergency. The board agreed to make its decision at its meeting Tuesday in Crestview.
Whoever is hired will replace Jim Curry after he steps down April 19.
Commissioners had selected five finalists, but Richard Starks, county administrator for Florence County, S.C., dropped out of the running.
The remaining four are Rick Chaffin, deputy city manager of McKinney, Texas; Ted Lakey, county manager of Jackson County, Fla.; Stephen Layson, chief administrative officer of Bibb County, Ga., and Ernie Padgett, former county administrator of Manatee County, Fla.
Padgett also is a former administrator for Santa Rosa County and a former administrator and county commissioner for Jackson County.
Chaffin, whose experience lies primarily in municipal government settings, told the board he would welcome the challenge of leading a county in a new state.
"It's always a dynamic environment, whether you're in Texas or Florida," he told the board. "It's always a learning process."
Chaffin said he had developed a "collaborative" style of management from working extensively with the police and fire unions in McKinney, a city of about 133,000.
Layson, who is from Macon, Ga., is one of two finalists who also have served as elected county commissioners. He was on the Putnam County, Ga., board of commissioners for 12 years.
He said county governments largely operate in the same ways, but that he is prepared for the challenge Florida would present.
"I do think the difference is in the laws. … And you've got to study those," Layson said.
He told the board Okaloosa County is a place he and his wife could call home on a long-term basis.
"I think if I were to move my roots here … I hope I can retire here if you guys would keep me," he said.
Lakey, who has served as Jackson County's administrator for 10 years, told commissioners the Okaloosa post is "the next step up" in the field.
"I see Okaloosa County as a good opportunity for me," he said.
Lakey worked in and led the Public Works Department in Escambia County and was a correctional lieutenant with the Birmingham, Ala., Police Department.
He said his most significant achievements in Jackson County have been paving more than 100 miles of the 900 miles of dirt roads and bringing six major companies to the county.
Padgett told the board his four-year term as a Jackson County commissioner gave him an "appreciation for policy makers."
He left his post in Manatee County in 2007 because he and his wife wanted to travel and pursue other interests. He said he's decided to continue his career in local government and found the Okaloosa job interesting.
Padgett said he enjoys county government because "it's closest to the people."
"Citizens have real access to their local elected officials, and I like that concept," he said. "It's really stimulating for me."
Padgett said his management style is one of a facilitator who does not feel the need to micromanage his employees.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.


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Boscia formulates its comprehensive, botanically-based skincare line to be free of preservatives. Enriched with Jojoba Leaf to boost antioxidants and Willow Herb to sooth irritation, Boscia delivers on the promise of healthy, balanced skin.
There are no products matching the selection.
Boscia preservative-free skincare products nourish and protect the skin without damaging chemical preservatives. Thanks to Boscia's innovative natural ingredients, its cosmetics and skincare items remain fresh and usable for up to three years. Rich with botanical extracts and essential oils, Boscia natural beauty products help protect skin the way nature intended.
Start your morning with Boscia Restorative Day Moisture Cream SPF 15. This natural sunscreen lotion blocks broad-spectrum UV rays while helping skin retain moisture and achieve a uniform tone. The all-natural formula includes magnolia bark, mulberry extract, and jojoba leaf, ingredients that help improve the face's elasticity and reduce age spots.
On the go all the time? Try Boscia Blotting Linens. Boscia Blotting Linens to absorb facial oils without smearing your makeup. Made with linen from the abaca tree plant and infused with natural scents including lavender and green tea, they're an essential part of any skin care regimen.
After a long day, even natural cosmetics need to come off. When you're ready to kick up your feet, try Boscia Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil. Its botanical ingredients like peppermint and eucalyptus invigorate your skin while its gentle formula removes dirt and dissolves makeup without leaving an oily coat behind. This all-natural makeup remover clears pores and refines skin with rose hip, golden palm oils, green tea, and willowherb.
Before bed, be sure to treat your skin to a natural beauty ritual with Boscia Clear Complexion Kit, which includes tonic, cleanser, mask, and moisturizer. In addition to dried bamboo extract to neutralize bacteria, this four-step cleansing treatment offers the anti-inflammatory power of rosemary leaf and willow bark extracts.


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Today, let's give Veterans peace with words, the magic of angels & the power of imagination.
I guess today is called Veterans Day in the States and Armistice Day elsewhere is because Armistice means a temporary suspension of hostilities. Oh, if there could just be a permanent one.
Although my new line of art and sayings will be unveiled in 2010,
I wanted to share this one with you now:
Websters is one of my favorite references for creativity. When I was a little girl, I heard that a good movie star could read the phone book and make you laugh or cry. I decided I could open the dictionary and create words that could do the same. Later, I started doing it with pictures too.
It's all about using our imagination. Connecting to the magic that the magi brought us. Imagine that. And today, and always…imagine peace. Let's call upon the magic of angels and give Veterans peace.
I have included American Idol discovery David Archuleta singing Imagine. I hope it's okay, because it is so appropriate, but of course we'll remove it, if there are any copyright issues.
Imagination is the mother of the gift of the magi, magic, image, and of course, imagine. Imagine, the image I see creates reality…sing along:
Even just the tiniest portion of Beatle John Lennon's classic is so inspiring. It's a classic moment on American Idol, too. Simon Fuller was so visibly moved by this young boy's appreciation for a song written before his life began.
I hope it's okay to share at least these few lines with you on Veteran's and Armistice Day — Lennon's lyrics say the same things as so many sages say, in so many ways. The Secret is about the law of attraction. David Spangler speaks of the law of manifestation. Wayne Dyer asserts the power of intention.
-=*=- -=*=- -=*=–=*=- -=*=-
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one!
~John Lennon
-=*=- -=*=- -=*=–=*=- -=*=-
Today, let's give Veterans peace…
with words, the magic of angels & the power of imagination.
Vivian Greene
Invest In Love inc
"All that is real is seen with the heart."
© 2009 – 2011, Vivian Greene. All rights reserved.


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Jewellery/Cufflink box
Choose a different colour:
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The Kiki James jewellery/cufflink box is a beautiful home for small items of jewellery such as cufflinks, studs, rings or earrings. With eight small compartments its simple to locate the items you want at a glance. Handmade from our fine Bloomsbury leather selected especially for its beauty and durability, the current collection offers a variety of colours, each with a gorgeous suede lining.
- This item comes presented in a luxury gift box


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Mr. Hamrick was born on Dec. 22, 1949, and was a lifelong resident of Jones County. The son of the late Ed. S. Hamrick and Mary Ann Williams Hamrick, he was a graduate of Jones County High School, Young Harris College and the University of Georgia, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Mr. Hamrick was the co-owner of Hamrick Builders and Supply Inc. in Gray for 36 years. John was an avid hunter, an outdoorsman, and truly loved the land. In addition to his parents, Mr. Hamrick was preceded in death by his brother, Carlton Grady Hamrick; and by his grandparents, Carl and Carrie Williams and Grady and Ethel Hamrick.
Mr. Hamrick is survived by his daughters, Mary Lauren and Kady; son-in-law, Jacob; sister and brother-in-law, Anne and Jimmy Trawick; sister-in-law, Beth Hamrick; and by his grandchildren, John and Josie. John was loved by so many and will be sincerely missed.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to either Sunshine United Methodist Church Cemetery Fund, c/o Andrea Crutchfield, 118 Jackson Road, Round Oak, GA 31038 or to Gray United Methodist Church Building Fund, 117 S. Jefferson St., Gray, GA 31032.
Bridges Funeral Home and Crematory in Gray had charge of arrangements. Please visit the online memorial at www.bridgesfh.com.


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This is the July 2011 released model. These newer models have not gone down to this price ever before. MacBook Air laptops are the slimmest laptops around, thanks in part from the Core i5 ULV processor, built-in SSD drive (cannot be removed or swapped), and built-in battery.
2.4lbs & 0.7" thin; 11.6" 1366x768 LED; Intel Core i5 ULV 1.6GHz Dual-Core Sandy Bridge; 2GB RAM; 64GB SSD; 802.11n + bluetooth; Mac OS X; webcam; 5hr battery; backlit keyboard; Thunderbolt port


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Step 2: History
Step 3: The dawn of a new era
Start by squeezing most of the air out of the bag so that the front and back of the bag are together and flattish down to the chips, or thereabouts.
Step 5: Fold corners in
Step 6: The tricky part
I am even more a fan of useful origami than i am of stale chips. But (sigh) in deference to the tone of the comment stream i'll refrain from mentioning origami, too.
Thanks, Flywoodkb !
This is appropriate technology.


text: L'Oreal Dazzle Me Infallible Lipgloss ($9.99 MSRP for 0.21 fl. oz.) is a muted, medium-dark pink with fuchsia and silver shimmer and sparkle. Burberry Hibiscus is similar in color but has no shimmer at all. Bobbi Brown Electric Violet is lighter and has finer shimmer (and less of it). MAC Radiant Jewels is redder with less sparkle. MAC Electric Fuchsia is lighter.