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text:
Sandstone shaft from a cross
Anglo-Saxon, late 8th-early 9th century
From Lowther, Cumbria, England
A Christian message
This elegant sandstone cross-shaft originally stood in the churchyard at Lowther alongside other crosses and hog-back grave covers. The purpose of these great Anglo-Saxon standing crosses has been much debated; some were clearly set up as memorials, others have been described as 'sermons in stone'.
The cross (now lacking its cross-shaped head) recalls the central message of Christianity, by taking the form of the wooden cross on which Christ was crucified, and symbolizing His redemptive sacrifice for mankind. The Christian message is reinforced by the delicate plant scrolls with their fruiting bunches of grapes that decorate the four sides of the cross shaft. They symbolize Christ as the 'true vine' of St John's Gospel, on whom the faithful feed in the act of communion.
The decoration shows the influence of Italian and Byzantine models, which were often adapted by Anglo-Saxon sculptors and manuscript painters at this period.
More information
D.M. Wilson, Anglo-Saxon art (London, Thames and Hudson, 1984)
R.N. Bailey and R.J. Cramp, Corpus of Anglo-Saxon sculptur (Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1988)
Height: 129.000 cm
Height: 129.000 cm
Museum number
Purchased with the aid of a contribution from

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Clear Quartz
Quartz Crystal Skull ~10 x 7.5cm
The elongated shape of this Quartz Crystal Skull really shows off its fine quality. This skull is carved from quartz with an excellent clear tone and clarity. It looks wonderful when the light hits it and is very eye-catching.
This crystal skull has been expertly carved from a single piece of clear quartz. Quartz is possibly the most important of all healing crystals. It is believed to have a powerful cleansing and healing effect, focusing the mind and channeling energy to where it is needed.
Crystal skulls represent ancient wisdom and they are a great way to bring crystal energy into your home. They can be used in crystal healing and also make lovely ornaments and gifts. With its fine quartz crystal and portable size, this crystal skull is a wonderful gift.
This product is a one-off piece. The picture shows the exact product you will receive.
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Tel Aviv-based Cloudyn Ltd. is seeking to fortify its position as the most broadly based supplier of optimization services with today's announcement of support for the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.
Silicon Angle / Mar 31, 2015


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About me:
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text:
KrabiOperating day:
DailyOperating time: 09.00 - 17.00
Contact Details
- -
Thanon Phetkasem, Tambon Khao Khram, Amphoe Klong Thom, Krabi . 45 km from Amphoe Mueang, krabi
Tel. -
Category : 国家公园& 海洋保护区, 水坝、湖泊和水库
Attraction Details :
Located in Sa Kaew district, 28 km from the main city of Krabi, The Green Lake is under the Khao Thong sub-district and is filled with eight small natural ponds, which is a locals' favourite recreational spot.
Getting there: Drive on Highway no. 4034, taking Krabi-NaiSa route.
Opening hours: Daily 9am-5pm
How to get there :
By Car
Accessible by the Krabi – Nai Sa route.


text:
This photo is awaiting approval and will be posted soon.
Play our fun game and find out if the one you like likes you back. Confide in us if you think you'd hit it off by clicking: Yes, No, or Maybe. We'll anonymously find out and let you know if the feeling is mutual. You have nothing to lose!
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You've already said No. If you've changed your mind, let us know. If you say Yes, we'll anonymously find out if the feeling is mutual. You have nothing to lose!
You've already said Maybe. If you've changed your mind, let us know. If you say Yes, we'll anonymously find out if the feeling is mutual. You have nothing to lose!
You both said YES! The feeling is mutual. Now the rest is up to you! Say Hi and get the conversation started.
Hey Guys! I'm a fun, friendly, outgoing, warm person with a great sense of humor and a loving heart. I love spending time with family and going out with friends. I enjoy the beach day or night, trying new restaurants (luv to eat), going to shows, concerts, sightseeing, traveling, dancing, listening to all sorts of music, watching movies and reading. I pretty much enjoy anything unless it comes to parachuting out of a plane or getting on a rollercoaster (yes i'm a chicken when it comes to that lol). I believe in living life to the fullest and I would like to meet someone who enjoys life, who knows how to have fun, and yet knows when to be serious.
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Any woman who has more than one child can tell you how different each child is from birth. You are born with your personality intact. The Color Code is based on your natural, innate personality type. Of course, people may change over time, but your Core Color will always remain the same.
Sometimes it is difficult to choose from the four options given, but there is usually one that fits better than the rest, or at least one that you could see yourself as more so than the others. If you're still unsure, try asking someone who knows you well, such as a parent or sibling. They can give clarity on areas of your personality that you may not notice.


text:
Follow @elspethrb
Aug 23, 2012 9:16AM ET
President Obama's campaign used Bill Clinton to make the case that Obama was a decisive bin Laden killer in March, and now it's using Clinton again, this time to remind voters that the economy can be good under a Democratic president.
Aug 22, 2012 5:33PM ET
We suspect that it is difficult to sustain sincere enthusiasm at event after event when you're giving the same speech in the same states to what must feel like the same people every day.
Aug 22, 2012 2:22PM ET
Kevin Williamson deserves a 10.0 execution score for his masterfully trolling National Review essay arguing that Mitt Romney should play up how rich he is because women like to have sex with rich men.
Aug 22, 2012 1:21PM ET
The most offensive and shocking—and just plain gross—thing said during the whole Todd Akin "legitimate rape" fiasco wasn't even what Akin said (you know, that women who are raped can't get pregnant), but what the man who popularized that idea had to say.
Aug 22, 2012 10:08AM ET
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke at his very first Tea Party rally Tuesday, the same day the Republican Party added a plank to its official platform calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban all abortions, no exceptions, as well as a plank backing abstinence-only education.
Aug 21, 2012 4:22PM ET
Mitt Romney has called on Todd Akin to quit his Senate campaign three hours before the deadline for Akin to do so without going to court Tuesday.
Aug 21, 2012 3:59PM ET
Vice President Joe Biden will show up in Tampa on the first night of his opponents' special celebration, the Republican National Convention, and give a speech outside.
Aug 21, 2012 1:32PM ET
Rep. Todd Akin says he's staying in the race for Senate against Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill despite the controversy over his rape comments.
Aug 21, 2012 1:28PM ET
Ladies, we know taking a pill at the same time every day is a huge pain. Well, the men of the House GOP have some great tricks to prevent pregnancy without that dumb old pill.
Aug 21, 2012 12:46PM ET
There's a reason all of Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's apologies for his "legitimate rape" comments focus on word choice.
Aug 21, 2012 10:36AM ET
Todd Akin isn't the only candidate who could cost the Republicans the Senate.
Aug 20, 2012 2:47PM ET
Todd Akin's aides are "making preparations" to quit the Missouri Senate race Tuesday, according to Richard Grenell, a Republican foreign policy aide who briefly worked for Mitt Romney.
Aug 20, 2012 1:43PM ET
Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin had to explain that he thinks "No rape is legitimate—it is an evil act committed by violent predators," in an interview on Mike Huckabee's radio show Monday.
Aug 20, 2012 1:34PM ET
President Obama "doesn't like, admire or even grudgingly respect" Mitt Romney, according to a new e-book by Politico's Glenn Thrush.
Aug 20, 2012 12:24PM ET
The Republican National Committee platform might hint that gay people are alright without explicitly mentioning sexuality.
Aug 20, 2012 10:42AM ET
Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin said women who got pregnant from a rape weren't really raped, and all kinds of Republicans have condemned him for it: Mitt Romney, Scott Brown, Karl Rove, Michelle Malkin, and Sarah Steelman, who came in third in the primary against Akin. But is there anything the party can do about it?
Aug 20, 2012 9:30AM ET
Mitt Romney has a reputation for being a straight-laced, conservative guy numbers cruncher, but the Republican National Convention will be a chance to change that impression. Except that the guy in charge of that event's pageantry? Mitt Romney himself.
Aug 17, 2012 6:12PM ET
The news says this is the worst, most meaningless, and meanest no-fun presidential campaign ever.
Aug 17, 2012 2:59PM ET
Today in Ad Watch: Rapid response ads suffer on slow news days, President Obama defends his Medicare cuts, and an Ohio senate candidate goes on spring break.
Aug 17, 2012 11:20AM ET
The topless Paul Ryan photo the world has been begging for has finally surfaced on TMZ, and yet it shows Ryan is neither jacked nor ripped.
Aug 17, 2012 11:15AM ET
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan had planned to spend a few weeks apart, but they're going to get together next week, because campaign aides say Ryan "helps ease the former governor's feeling of isolation," Politico's Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei report.
Aug 17, 2012 9:51AM ET
When asked about the Medicare debate, Paul Ryan said "bring it on," according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Salena Zito. But the Romney campaign's game face is not so steady behind the scenes.
Aug 16, 2012 3:01PM ET
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have been celebrated as a team that might not be the most charismatic, but who are details-oriented number-crunchers who care deeply about policy—i.e., wonks.
Aug 16, 2012 12:41PM ET
The coverage of Paul Ryan's as-yet-unseen-but-theoretically-ripped abs from the coastal elite media has tended to imply that the presumptive vice presidential candidate is a little vain and a little metrosexual. And yet, in the flyover conservative message boards, the tone on his toned bod is entirely different.
Aug 16, 2012 9:09AM ET
All the guys who were competing to be Mitt Romney's running mate have gotten a consolation prize, except one: Poor old Tim Pawlenty.
Aug 15, 2012 6:26PM ET
Why are Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan talking about welfare so much?
Aug 15, 2012 12:19PM ET
Maybe you're one of those people who thinks Mitt Romney is doing a disservice to the American people by not releasing more years of tax returns as is standard among presidential candidates. Well, you're wrong—it's the American people who are doing Mitt Romney a disservice by demanding them.
Aug 15, 2012 10:00AM ET
It might seem impossible now, but House Speaker John Boehner may follow in the footsteps of John McCain and George H.W. Bush, and become the Republican that liberals love after his comments to Fox News suggesting the Tea Party is made up of "knuckle draggers."
Aug 15, 2012 9:49AM ET
A Pennsylvania judge decided not to issue an injunction blocking the state's voter identification law from going into effect, The Associated Press' Marc Levy reports.
Aug 14, 2012 8:21PM ET
Today in Ad Watch: Remember how in like every political story for the past year, reporters would caution that this election is all about the economy? Right now, that's not true. It's about welfare, Medicare, student loans, and mean ads.


text:
Start: 08.02.2013
End: 08.02.2013
Strasbourg, France
This course is addressed to candidates wishing to improve their skills in regard to this paper. The aim of the course is to give the possibility to exercise skills in sitting this paper under examination conditions.
Strasbourg, France
Sylvie Kra
CEIPI Section Internationale
Université de Strasbourg
Boîte Postale 68
11, rue du Maréchal Juin
F-67046, Strasborug
+33 368858019
Deadline for registration is over.


text:
AS sure as night follows day, midyear adjustments to school districts' funding have left some administrators unhappy. For the most part, their griping is unwarranted.
The state's funding formula has a simple premise: If student enrollment increases, so does state funding at a district. If enrollment declines, so does state funding. Money follows the child, with a little more cash allocated for low-income students and those who use English as a second language, etc.
Allocations are adjusted midyear as firm enrollment numbers are established. There's nothing ominous about the process. But that hasn't stopped some school officials from suggesting otherwise. In particular, several were upset that virtual charter schools (which are public schools) get state funding.
Trish Williams, chief financial officer at Tulsa Public Schools, notes the financial pie "is only so big." But even without the handful of virtual charter schools, that pie would still be divided among more than 500 districts. Tulsa loses funds when students transfer to neighboring brick-and-mortar districts. Why should the process be different for those getting a public education through a virtual school option?
Donna Campo, superintendent at Liberty, argues virtual schools should get less state aid because they don't have the same infrastructure expenses as traditional schools. But school buildings are locally funded with property tax. Not one district in Oklahoma gets state appropriations for that purpose. Campo's complaint is without merit. If anyone is at a funding disadvantage, it's charter schools operating without local property tax support, not their traditional counterparts.
Williams referred ominously to online charter schools as "for-profit entities." Bixby Superintendent Kyle Wood described online schooling as "big business." But Oklahoma's brick-and-mortar schools expend billions annually. That's not big business? Williams, Wood and other administrators don't volunteer their time. Many superintendents have a six-figure income; some are paid more than the governor.
Continue reading this story on the...


text:
'Max Payne' Getting Official Marvel Comic Run
19 Apr, 2012
Already half way to a graphic novel, Remedy's noir shooter franchise Max Payne will be getting a three-issue comic run, Marvel announced earlier in the week. Remedy's Sam Lake (Max Payne, Max Payne 2) and Rockstar Game's Dan Houser (Max Payne 3) will pen the script for the comic, which will be published both digitally and in hard-back. Acting as a sort of prequel to next month's Max Payne 3, the comic will take place in between the events of the series' first two installments.
Fernando Bianco (Manhunter) will be providing the art for the run, with covers by Greg Horn. The first issue, "After the Fall", will debut in the next few weeks, free on both Rockstar's and Max Payne 3's official websites.
(via GamesRadar)
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Marketplace Activity
Community Inventory Summary
Market Pricing
Average Retail:
No Data Available
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Avg Auction:
(of 2 listings - 96 months ) $104.28 Details
(of 2 listings - 96 months ) $104.28 Details
1961 Canon la Gaffeliere Bordeaux Blend - France - Bordeaux - St Emilion - Red - Grand Cru Classe
France - Bordeaux - St Emilion
Bordeaux Blend - Grand Cru Classe
Producer Notes
A Grand Cru Classe, Chateau Canon-La-Gaffeliere is located in the center of the St. Emilion appellation. Thanks to its location, it gets the climate of both St.Emilion and Pomerol, which means that it is more continental than the maritime Medoc. The name of the vineyard derives from the medieval word for "leper" which reflects the leprosarium that was located there during the 14th century. After... More »
Drink DatesVF: 1971-1991
Community Tasting Notes average score of 89 points based upon 1 reviews


text:
November 10, 2011
Steve Lewis | (703) 875-4357
Mine Water Management in South Africa a Primary Focus
ARLINGTON, VA – To support the implementation of water management projects in South Africa, on November 5-17, 2011, USTDA is hosting a reverse trade mission for country officials directly involved in the environmental initiative.
The RTM included two roundtable discussions at USTDA's Arlington, Va. Headquarters, which focused on finance and regulatory issues in mine water management. The South African delegation, which included government officials from the National Treasury and Department of Water Affairs as well as mining company executives, also met with U.S. federal agencies and members of U.S. private sector with expertise in mining environmental policy development, finance and regulatory affairs.
Currently, South Africa is investing in advanced processes and technologies to reduce the cost and amount of water resources required for the country's mining activities. The country also faces rising acid mine-water drainage levels in certain regions, which they plan to mitigate through procedures and processes like those presented during their U.S. visit.
Petrus Matji, South Africa's National Treasury public finance director, was among the delegates attending the roundtable and RTM. He said the visit will aid his country in implementing an institutional funding model that will allow the South African government to more effectively respond to mine-water issues.
"By interacting with the U.S. government agencies and other colleagues, we're hoping to learn more and refine what we've already conceptualized," Mr. Matji said. "We have a very good mix of private sector mining companies, entities and departments that we've brought together here with a common goal and understanding to move forward."
Following the roundtable discussion, the delegation will spend the next several days meeting with U.S. government agencies and companies to explore state-of-the-art mine water treatment facilities, equipment and services. The delegation will travel to Denver, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Elko, NV, for their visits.
Michael DeRenzo, USTDA Sub-Saharan Africa region country manager, helped to organize the roundtable and RTM. He said that the delegation visit was a great opportunity to demonstrate USTDA's mission and a great example of the mutual benefits USTDA seeks with its partnership programs.
"We have an opportunity to partner the delegates with technical experts, financiers, policy makers and U.S. technology suppliers to work together on mine water management issues. The visit is a great opportunity for the agency to showcase what it does," Mr. DeRenzo said.
# # #
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority development projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project planning activities, pilot projects, and reverse trade missions while creating sustainable infrastructure and economic growth in partner countries.
Download the latest version of Adobe Reader here.


text:
TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine
View Single Post
February 1 2013, 09:48 PM
Fleet Captain
Re: TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine
TheGodBen wrote:
With Ezri, it's a little better because all the cast had some sort of relationship with Jadzia, and there was a lot of baggage leftover from her death.
A little better, maybe, but still pretty shallow for the most part, and then mostly silly in the final arc.
was the one episode where I thought some justice was done to the basic concept, which is pretty amazing, really. It
be a great sci-fi concept because it should allow the writers to explore issues of identity and transhumanism ("storing" memories and so on, though not by technological means in the case of the Trill).
By comparison, Rene Echevarria especially was able to develop the concept of the changelings in a way that never really happened with the Trill. Increasingly, it's not about Odo disguising himself as a barrel or whatever, but about his struggles with his own identity, individuality, place in the universe, etc.
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text: Roberta Brown | IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information Official Broadway League sites: - sites - broadway.org broadwayleague.com broadwayfanclub.com kidsnightonbroadway.com stagespecs.org tonyawards.com Quick Search For: In This Category: All Show People/Org. Theatre Season Roberta Brown Performer Female Productions ProductionsDate of ProductionsZiegfeld Follies of 1957[Musical, Revue, Original] Performer: Roberta Brown [Ziegfeld Girl]Mar 01, 1957 - Jun 15, 1957 Find out where Roberta Brown and are credited together © 2001-2015, The Broadway League, All Rights Reserved. (Copyright and Disclaimer)


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DALLAS (AP) — Energy Future Holdings is filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization after reaching a deal with some key financial stakeholders to keep its businesses operating while reducing its roughly $40 billion in debt.
The company owns TXU Energy, a retail electricity provider, and Luminant, the largest power generator in Texas. Its main stakeholders had been discussing a restructuring, and Energy Future had recently skipped a deadline to pay $109 million in in interest payments.
The Dallas company said Tuesday that it will separate its Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Co. subsidiary, which includes TXU Energy, and give preferred lenders all the ownership in that reorganized business. It also will give lenders cash proceeds from new debt in exchange for eliminating about $23 billion of Texas Competitive Holdings' funded debt.
Energy Future will still own Energy Future Intermediate Holding Co. and keep its interest in Oncor Electric Delivery Co., which is not part of the reorganization.
The company had bet that natural gas prices would rise, giving its coal-fired plants a competitive edge. Instead, natural gas prices have plummeted amid a glut of production from U.S. shale deposits.
It said Tuesday that it expects normal, day-to-day operations to continue during its reorganization. That includes provision of power to customers, the payment of wages and benefits, and payments to vendors.
Energy Future expects to leave its restructuring in about 11 months.
The holding company was acquired in 2007 by private-equity firms KKR & Co., TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.


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September 21, 2010
Reed Coldiron
At this point it looks as if one of Oklahoma State's top basketball targets for the 2011 class has set up an official visit to Stillwater. Fort Bend, Texas native D'Angelo Harrison talked with O-State Illustrated earlier this week about when he plans to make that visit as well as what it is that intrigues him about the Cowboy program now that they are back on his radar. Get our full report inside
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The Gingerman was the site for the first Austin WordPress meetup. About a dozen folks showed up including a local member of the WordPress team who passed out cool t shirts.
I wasn't able to stay long so I'm hoping to pick up the details of the last part of the meeting off others blogs.
Lorin Rivers has done a masterful job of stretching wordpress to it's limit with his current project. He extended the mysql back end of wordpress to do a much better job at handling large numbers of users, making it more suitable to host a large community. Keep at it Lorin, you can go places with this if you open source it.
Andy Skelton, one of the folks at the meetup said on his blog today: "Don't ask me why I didn't do it first. Paul Menard is doing a fine job starting an Austin WordPress Meetup. He listed it on Upcoming and Meetup and the crowds are growing."
Here are some cell phone pictures I took of the WordPress meetup at the Gingerman showing the attendees and lots of beer glasses.
This entry was posted by austinblogger on April 24, 2007 at 9:34 am, and is filed under austin, calendar, event, sxsw, web2.0. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
wordpress is the nice and best WordPress Bloggers first Austin meetup


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Mitel Cordless (DECT) Handset and Module (50005711) Description
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- Mitel Speak@Ease for "0" for secretary speed call
- 8 hours talk time
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- Mitel Communications Director (MCD): Release 5.0
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- Mitel SX-200 ICP: Release 4.0, UR3
- Mitel Border Gateway: Release 7.0
Free Free UPS Ground shipping on orders of $500+. Within Continental U.S. (under $500 orders only $9.95)
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Have Telecom Items For Sale? Top Dollar Offered - Lightning Fast Bids Provided firstname.lastname@example.com


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Personalized Prestige Plates
Personalized plates may be obtained for use on all regularly registered vehicles except:
- vehicles obtained for sale or demonstration by licensed dealers
- vehicles for which radio amateur plates are issued
- apportioned vehicles
- vehicles for which specialty plates are obtained.
- A maximum of 4 letters or combination of 4 letters, numbers, and spaces
- Only capital letters and Arabic numbers
- No symbols
- No combination with more than three (3) W's or M's (not allowed: WMWW)
- No combination of entirely numbers unless the first digit is a zero (0)
- No combination consisting entirely of numbers followed by a single alphabetic suffix (not allowed: 11A, 12B, 123C)
- No combination that spells, connotes, abbreviates, or otherwise stands for language that is obscene, vulgar, indecent, or pruriently suggestive
- No combination that duplicates a currently issued plate of conflicts with a series of letter and number combinations on a regular issue license plate
No refund of the application fee will be given if the applicant marks the wrong vehicle type. If uncertain as to the correct type of plates to order, please contact your County Treasurer.


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Latest eNews
- Oct 08 2015
Nate Shelton, 2011-2013 Board of Directors Nominee
Fellow SEMA members,
I am honored to run for SEMA Chairman of the Board at a critical moment to both SEMA and the aftermarket. I love this business and have dedicated my career to making both the industry and SEMA better.
We are experiencing tough economic times and need strong leadership to guide SEMA to a more prosperous future. Dealing with these challenges requires experienced leadership and the ability to hit the ground running. SEMA needs a chairman that has weathered difficult circumstances and won't need a learning curve. I have chaired many committees, was founding chairman of the Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council, served on your Board of Directors for 12 years and was elected SEMA Chairman of the Board in 2001.
In 2001, I led the association through the tragedy of 9/11. After considerable assessment of the economy and working in partnership with our members, we led the nation as the first major trade show in the face of adversity the likes of which the American economy had never faced before. I believe that single decision elevated the SEMA Show to the premier international automotive trade show in the world.
During my time as chair, we established aggressive yet safe investment guidelines that grew SEMA's reserves at the greatest rate ever experienced by the association. This gave SEMA the fiscal foundation to weather today's challenges. We applied prudent accounting practices and brought spending into alignment with Board expectations. Many of these practices are still used today.
This association exists to serve you—its members. Without your input we can't chart a course for the future. I have been a car guy, small-business owner, manufacturer and salesman my entire life. I understand the needs of our members and that SEMA must help and guide its members to secure the future of this industry from economic and regulatory woes.
I know this is the experience and passion you want from your association's next chairman-elect. Together, we will identify membership issues and increase member input to ensure that the decisions made by SEMA benefit the association and address the real problems we all face. Together we can build an industry and overcome our current economic struggles.
Thank you for your vote.
Candidate Bios and Photos
Chairman-Elect Category:
Doug Evans, Source Interlink Media
Nate Shelton, B&M Automotive Group
Manufacturers Category:
Joel Ayres, Takit, LLC (Incumbent)
John Brueggeman, 3M
Jim Chick, Bestop, Inc
Raymond King, Federal Mogul
Tim Martin, K&N Engineering Inc.
Mike Spagnola, Street Scene Equipment (Incumbent)
Brock Weld, BMF Wheels
Steve Wolcott, ProMedia LLC
Jeep Worthan, Auto Meter (Incumbent)
Distributor/Retailer & Services Category:
Greg Adler, Transamerican Auto Parts
Donnie Eatherly, P&E Distributors Inc (Incumbent)
J.R. Moore, Performance Warehouse
Famous Rhodes, eBay Motors
Brock Rude, JR Motorsports
Van Woodell, Weathers Auto Supply, Inc. (Incumbent)
Manufacturer's Rep Category:
Jeff Bates, Bob Cook Sales (Incumbent)
Joel Rosenthal, Gantt-Thomas and Associates, Inc.


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My review
2 yummy
Original recipe yields 12 servings
Based on a 2,000 calorie dietSee full nutrition
Ready In
This is a great recipe. You can use any fruit you like. My family likes bananas and strawberries. I also add a package of vanila pudding.
I prefer fresh blueberries, peaches & raspberries in season, but frozen work fine. Another twist to this recipe is fold one small package of dry jello powder with the cool whip before layering, ...
Awesome dessert! Friends went crazy for it!! I used strawberries and blueberries for a festive 4th of july effect instead of what was on the recipe. They were begging to bring the leftovers h...
I followed the recipe exactly but also made my own whipped cream. The recipe says 12 servings but I can assure you it fed more than twelve. This was a hit at a family party.
I prefer to mix vanilla pudding/custard with either cool whip or real whipped cream. I layer the angel food cake pieces then the pudding layer, then the fruit. A trifle bowl makes the layers s...
Excellent recipe! I followed the recipe precisely other than I made my own whipped cream. Very cool, fresh and great. Thank you!
I made this for mother's day and it was a huge hit! adults and kids alike were dying for seconds. I used strawberries,blueberries,blackberries,rasberrys and kiwi's. i skipped out on the peaches ...
Easy, delicious. Great summer recipe. I found after it sat in the fridge for a day or so, it was even better as the cake blends into the cream!


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Sheriff's deputy intercepts boat infested with invasive mussels
ONTARIO, Ore. - A pontoon boat infested with invasive mussels was intercepted by a sheriff's deputy and decontaminated Tuesday, state officials said.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife technicians discovered quagga mussels on a pontoon houseboat on May 20 at the Ontario boat inspection station in eastern Oregon.
It was the first boat of the 2014 inspection season found to be infested with the invasive mussels.
The driver hauling the Texas watercraft had bypassed the Ontario check station and was stopped by a Malheur County Sheriff.
Motorists hauling boats in Oregon are required to stop at boat inspection stations to have their watercraft inspected for aquatic invasive species under a 2011 Oregon law. Failure to stop at an inspection station could result in a $110 fine, ODFW said.
The boat had a large number of the juvenile life stage quagga mussels on the hull and outboard motor, according to ODFW, and was decontaminated at the inspection station with a high-pressure hot water cleaning.
"Boat owners have to take their responsibility to launch a clean boat seriously," said Rick Boatner, ODFW Invasive Species Coordinator. "If we are going to keep mussels out of the state, all boaters who use the state's waters have to do their part."
The Pacific Northwest, including Alaska and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, is the "only place on the continent" unaffected by the quagga and zebra mussel invasions that have devastated ecosystems and local economies, ODFW said.
In 2013, ODFW technicians conducted 7,441 watercraft inspections and 279 watercraft decontaminations. Seventeen of those boats contained either quagga or zebra mussels. All boats were decontaminated.
In addition to quagga and zebra mussels, inspectors are looking for aquatic plants and New Zealand mudsnails.
Inspections generally take less than 10 minutes.
2014 Boat inspection stations
· Ashland: I-5, Ashland Port of Entry, 7 days a week, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
· Ontario: I-84 and Hwy. 20 at Ontario Rest Area, 7 days a week, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
· Gold Beach: Hwy 101, Wed.-Sun., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. *
· Klamath Falls: Hwy 97 at Midland Rest Area, Wed.-Sun., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. *
· Lakeview: Hwy 395, south of Lakeview, Wed.-Sun., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. *
* Days and hours subject to change


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5 "bad" foods you should be eating
By Nicci Micco, February 22, 2010 - 11:25am
Nicci asks: What food myth have you bought into?
I only read through a hand full of the comments, but I thought it was appropriate to point out that you listed CHOCOLATE and then discussed what applies to DARK CHOCOLATE. Most Americans (and yes I am one) are addicted milk chocolate or at best semi-sweet chocolate. Dark Chocolate differs greatly from either of those.
I just thought it was best to point to your readers that point of difference. Beyond that every statement you made about it was spot on. I dissolve a little in my morning coffee and then have another about 3/4 of an ounce for a snack in the evening.
— Anonymous
03/08/2010 - 10:40pm
I put very little stock in these reports. My wife is a doctor of medicine annd does cancer based research related to CAM. I know that if you torture the numbers long enough they will confess to anything. First you have to look at who is paying for these various studies. There is no magic bullet....but it isnt beef and potatoes I can tell you that. I wonder why you dont list sweet potatoes.if any at all...instead of regular potatoes.....according to many reports they are about twice as healthy as regular ones....and despite the name sweet potatoes are better for diabetics.
— Anonymous
03/08/2010 - 6:10pm
Now that I've been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I have to say good-bye to all good-tasting food unless it's been over-processed, wrapped in shrink wrap or in a box, and hiding in the 2-shelf "health food" section of your grocer's freezer.
— Anonymous
03/07/2010 - 10:39am
Thanks so much for your article. I had a heart attack 2+ years ago, and while trying to maintain a "heart healthy" diet, have been depressed by the foods I had to "give up". I believe all the bad rep foods you mentioned were on my "don't eat" list, especially eggs and red meat. I will gladly add them back into my diet (in moderation, of course).
— Anonymous
03/07/2010 - 1:24am
any kind of pasta makes you fat
— Anonymous
03/05/2010 - 11:23pm
My Grandmother told me that I must never mix Rubarb and pineapple together as a dessert because it is poisonous. Is this true.
— jim_79455
03/05/2010 - 6:39pm
A myth my grandmother told me and I ask if it is true. you must never eat rubarb and pineapple together as it becomes poisonous.
— Anonymous
03/05/2010 - 6:16pm
Was told by my Grandmother never to serve Rubarb and pineapple pieces together as a dessert as it is a poison that can make you sick or kill you. Is this true.
— Anonymous
03/05/2010 - 6:10pm
How can someone who has a master's in nutrition and whose focus is weight management, with good conscience, be addicted to ice cream and pizza? Next to chips and soda they are two of the most fattening foods, not to mention high in cholesterol, that i can think of? What happened to apples, oranges and other fruits to satisfy the sweet tooth. Too much pizza is too hard on the arteries.
— Anonymous
03/05/2010 - 1:05am
Excellent article! I think there are a lot of things that in moderation are o.k. Portion sizes in America and fast food on every corner are the real culprits. I'm glad to see that eggs made the list. Eggs are the 'backup' dinner for my 5 year old when he doesn't like what I've made. He always has to try what I've made, but if just doesn't like it, I'll make him a scrambled egg. I am wondering how many he can have in one week?
— Anonymous
03/04/2010 - 6:15pm


text: > View Product Details Please select the size of the product. Please enter valid quantity. Joseph Abboud black wool 'Super 120's' tonal stripe suit with flat front pants overview details Retail: $795.00 Reduced: $259.97 $259.97 color : We're sorry. This style is currently unavailable. Black Joseph Abboud crafts this elegant and classic 2-button suit with luxurious wool from Italian textile masters Loro Piana. Color: Black Mid-weight tonal stripe wool woven Notched lapel with two button closure and four decorative buttons at cuffs Single angled chest pocket, dual convertible flap besom pockets; three interior pockets Classic fit with lightly constructed shoulders, side vented back, and 6" drop Canvassed lining Flat front pants with French fly zip and extended button tab closure at belt looped waist Pants have dual on-seam front pockets and dual rear button besom pockets Straight leg with unfinished 17'' open Size 40 R inseam measures approximately 37'' with a 11'' rise; may vary by size Exterior: 100% Wool; Lining: 50% Viscose / 50% Polyester; Dry Clean; U.S.A; style#318827101


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Crisis at the Border Shows Problems in US Immigration Law
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The Los Angeles Times reported (July 17, 2008) that on June 29th, the Agua Caliente Band dropped its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court against California State and the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) after the FPPC...more
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Next page: Chapter 3: Teens and the Media: Witchcraft in Popular Entertainment
Previous page: Chapter 1: "Witchcraft," "Neopaganism": What Are We Talking About, Exactly?
The Halloween witch is dead. The old crone on a broomstick with a black cat, a peaked hat and a wart on her nose is history. She has been replaced by a young, beautiful, sexually magnetic maiden who reveres nature, honors a goddess, practices magic and wields mysterious psychic powers. Such indeed is the image of the modern, Neopagan Witch today.
That is quite a transformation, from repulsion to allure, and it has happened very rapidly -- essentially within the span of a single generation (about 30 years). Moreover, the process itself seems to be accelerating; examples of the change in Witchcraft's public image have become more frequent and more dramatic near the end of that thirty-year phase.
It isn't easy to assess the meaning of historical change from within the history that's being changed. We can't get enough distance on current events to tell the difference between a transient fad and an enduring trend. Nevertheless, the changes in Witchcraft's public image have been happening fast enough, and are far-reaching enough, that they virtually draw attention to themselves as a significant development.
And of course those changes in the public's attitude toward Witchcraft have not happened in a vacuum. Context is critical. What's happening to Witchcraft is part and parcel of a much larger transformation that is happening to society as a whole. Unravelling the factors behind Witchcraft's rising popularity can give us insight into into the larger process of cultural change. And the reverse is also true -- if we see the larger patterns, we can better understand how those cultural changes speed up the mainstreaming of marginal movements and worldviews, such as Neopaganism.
Most people have probably already noticed at least some signs of Witchcraft's increasing presence and status in society. If they watch daytime television, they have seen Witches promoting their viewpoint to a sympathetic hearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show and other afternoon "chat" programs. If they watch cable news, they have seen Witches interviewed on Fox, CNN and MSNBC. If they read newspapers, they have seen the articles that predictably appear every halloween, explaining that Witches really don't deserve their infamous reputation. And if they pay attention to the entertainment world, they have certainly noticed the recent spate of movies and TV shows dealing with witchcraft as a theme. But unless they are closely attuned to the world of teenagers -- its spin-offs and its subcultures -- they are seeing just the tip of the iceberg. It is among the Internet-savvy younger generation that modern Witchcraft is seeing its most explosive growth -- and its most thoroughgoing image-makeover.
It is hard to be specific about the numbers involved. There is considerable emphasis on secrecy in modern Witchcraft, and Neopagan organizations don't make their membership rolls available for counting. Wild guesses have ranged as high as 5 million adherants of Wicca alone (Edwards, 1999, p. 23), but better informed estimates put the numbers at considerably less than that. One sociologist who spent ten years as a "participant-observer" of the Neopagan community concluded that the total number of Neopagans in the United States was between 150,000 and 200,000 in 1999 (Berger, 1999, p. 9). Five years later, those numbers may have as much as doubled. If her estimate is correct, that would put the projected number of Neopagans in the U.S. at approaching half a million by 2004. In another attempt to assess the numbers, the Covenant of the Goddess conducted a year-long poll of the Neopagan community beginning in 1999; They calculated the total number of both Witches and Pagans to be 768,400. If that estimate is correct, then by 2004, the figure could be near a million and a half. [1]
But of course the real numbers, whatever they are, are changing all the time, and in some ways are inherently unknowable. People can enter the Neopagan movement -- or depart from it -- without leaving any traces at all. People can and do become interested in Wicca without joining any group, or identifying themselves as "Witches" in any public way. They can also put that interest aside and move on to other fascinations without any outward signs of the transition. If we want to get a picture of how the modern Witchcraft movement is developing, we will have to rely on other kinds of information.
If you wanted to gauge the presence and influence of Christianity in this country, you would look to our churches, which are easy enough to see -- in most cases, just by driving down the street. Generally speaking, Christian churches are publicly accessible and tend to be publicly active. In a word, Christianity is socially "visible." Not so with Neopaganism. Although there are several organizations that represent Witchcraft to the general public, most of what modern Witches do together, as Witches, happens outside of public view.
To gauge the presence and influence of Witchcraft in our midst, we need (among other things) to know the movement's history -- its origins and development (see Chapter Eight). But to understand where, how and why the movement is growing today, we need to look at three areas of activity: first, at what's happening among teenagers; second, at what's happening on college campuses; and third, at what's happening on the Internet.
Those three connected sub-cultures form a matrix within which Neopaganism flourishes. They are connected because the denizens of the teen culture soon move on to the college scene, and cyber-literacy is increasingly taken for granted in both of those overlapping worlds. And, as we shall see, all three are also dis-connected from the rest of us in important ways, fashioned into a world apart by a combination of unruly hormones, proliferating technology and turbulent social change.
The website witchvox.com claims that it is "the busiest religious site in the world," registering over a million and a quarter "hits" by the end of its first full year of operation in 1998. (Nightmare, 2001; p. 118) In a Web survey conducted on the site in September 1999, it was determined that 60 percent of respondents were under thirty and 62 percent were female." (Edwards, 1999, p. 23) The observation that Wiccan enthusiasts are predominantly young and female may seem like a cliche, but it appears to be borne out by the data.
That surge of enthusiasm for Witchcraft among the young, especially among young women, is a distinctly new development -- one that began suddenly, in the late 1990s. It also stands in sharp contrast to the conditions that prevailed before the trend got started. In the early 1990s, one of the most dynamic segments of Neopaganism was the "women's spirituality" branch of the feminist movement. But, while "women's spirituality" was attracting plenty of women who were already politically active, very few of them were youthful. In 1993, journalist Cynthia Eller wrote a book praising and promoting feminist spirituality (Living in the Lap of the Goddess: The Feminist Spirituality Movement in America) in which she openly lamented the lack of younger women in the movement. Eller noted "how few women [in feminist spirituality] there are below thirty....There are women in their teens and twenties, but not many." (Eller, 1993; p. 18)
Five years later, that situation had been turned completely on its head. In 1998, "Spin Magazine in its 'Grrrl [sic] Power' issue ranked witchcraft as the top interest among teenage girls." (Nisbet, 1998) Not surprisingly, merchandisers were among the first to respond to the growing fascination. Teen-themed promotions for products such as Finesse Shampoo and Cover Girl Cosmetics (along with many others) featured witches in their ad campaigns. And the appeal to young women extended beyond the teenage culture per se. "Young and Modern magazine featured two pages on witchcraft with the banner headline 'Witchy Ways!'. . . Jane magazine featured Phyllis Curott (a high-profile witch) as one of their 'Gutsiest women of the year.'" (Edwards, 1999; p. 25) According to one commentator, "Sorcery and witchcraft have become the hottest themes in youth culture . . . for the first time in modern Western civilization." (Harvey, 2002)
What accounts for such momentous change within such a moment of historical time? The easy, if oversimplified, answer is that the change is accounted for by the sudden "explosion" of Witchcraft characters, stories and themes in the media during the mid-1990s (see Chapter Five). Indeed, there can be no doubt about the connection between the two. When The Craft was released in 1996, it triggered a dramatic rise in the number of people contacting Neopagan groups and websites, such as the Covenant of the Goddess (www.cog.org) and the Witches' Voice (www.witchvox.com). Neopagans have told me that the response was so strong, so sudden and so unexpected that they were literally overwhelmed by the surge of inquiries. That same high level of interest in Witchcraft was sustained over the next few years by a whole series of movies and TV programs featuring young, stylish, hip and glamorous women -- who happened to be Witches. Almost overnight, Witchcraft became the "in" thing for any teenage girl who also aspired to be young, stylish, hip, and glamorous (i.e., almost all of them). Interestingly, even as Witches were being portrayed in positive roles, Witchcraft itself retained its aura as a form of "anti-establishment rebellion" -- which naturally made it even more attractive to teenagers in general.
Yet it must also be said that the media explanation is oversimplified. There was more to Neopaganism's late 1990s success story than a few Hollywood screenwriters and popular actresses making witchcraft look good to impressionable kids. Our culture in general (and the youth culture in particular) responded to witchcraft because they were ready for witchcraft.
Witches had been working for decades to change the popular image and legal status of Witchcraft, and by the 1990s, their work was starting to pay off. Several Witchcraft organizations had been created during the 1970s, and they quickly began to give modern Witchcraft a higher public profile and a better public image. A 1986 Federal Court of Appeals decision (Dettmer v. Landon) had effectively declared "The Church of Wicca" to be a constitutionally recognizable "religion," with the same legal rights and standing as other religions.
Teenagers were untouched by any of those developments directly, of course, although they were affected indirectly by Neopaganism's new-found public relations self-confidence. But teens were affected directly by other trends that prepared them to embrace Witchcraft with enthusiasm when it broke out of the occult ghetto and into mainstream entertainment. By the early 1990s, there was a broad awareness of something called "dark spirituality" among teenagers in America. Appealing to disaffected and alienated youth, dark spirituality incorporated fantasy and science fiction themes (especially as portrayed in comic books and television) and it permeated the fantasy-role-playing scene, as in the controversial game "Dungeons and Dragons." More of a mood than a movement, dark spirituality emphasized the pursuit and use of power by occult means, including witchcraft, sorcery and spirit invocation. The occult theme was largely drawn from fantasy fiction and often acted out in fantasy role-playing games.
By the mid-1990s, dark spirituality was associated primarily with the "Goth" movement. The Goth movement (named for the medieval "Gothic" period) had come from Britain during the 1980s, and firmly taken root among American youth. Following the lead of such "pop-Goth" bands as "Depepche Mode" and "the Cure," Goth teens were fascinated by gargoyles and vampires, and specialized in gloom, depression and nihilism (the music of "the Cure" has been called "British Mope-Rock"). Goths were self-described as "pale-faced, black-swathed, hair-sprayed nightdwellers, who worshiped imagery religious and sacrilegious, consumptive poets, and all things spooky." ("Goth," 1998).
In the 1990s, the "spiritual underbelly" of high school was dominated by Goth style and imagery, but it also included all manner of social exiles and outcasts (such as dopers, gays and satanists) who existed on the fringes of teenage society. In 1997, an informal study of local teenagers by the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader showed how thoroughly this counterculture had spread throughout area schools. "Most said there's a subculture at nearly every school that includes Anne Rice-influenced gothic kids, faux vampires and outcast kids who dabble in the occult. After all, in the Bible Belt, what could be more shocking than experimenting with witchcraft, vampirism or Satanism?" (Isaacs, 1997).
The author reassuringly concluded that most signs of teenage involvement in the occult merely indicate a temporary rebellion against parental and social boundaries -- though she did note that "a small percentage" of those who flirt with occultic interests move on to a heavier involvement with more serious practices. She did not assess the effect of "normalizing" occultism in the minds of the rest of the kids, those who were dabblers or even just observers. In fact this process -- of making deviant spirituality into a normal part of the social environment -- was a major preparation for the late-1990s eruption of Witchcraft (and more broadly Neopaganism) in the youth culture.
The evidence that we have available, mostly from advertising and journalism, indicates that there is a high level of awareness of Witchcraft among teenagers, especially girls, coupled with a generally positive attitude toward it. How often do the awareness and the attitude come together to create an active interest -- or go on to create an actual involvement? It is difficult to know directly. In the absence of direct information, book sales may be our best indication.
If there is one book that is tied to the teen culture's enthusiastic embrace of Witchcraft, it is 1998's surprise hit Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation, by Silver Ravenwolf (a Wiccan pseudonym). Written for girls 11 and up (Radio U, 1999), Teen Witch has sold 150,000 copies, according to information on the author's website (www.silverravenwolf.com). The book is a 250-page "how-to" manual of modern Witchcraft that promises to teach teens how to become "a pentacle-wearing, spell-casting, completely authentic witch!" Among the spells available for casting are "such uniquely teen rituals as the Bad Bus Driver spell, the Un-Ground Me spell, and the Just-Say-No spell." (Mulrine, 1999)
According to the book's Frontispiece,
Now, for the first time, [teens] can explore what it's like to be a real Witch with a book written especially for you.
Find out how the Wiccan mysteries can enhance your life
Begin your journey with the Teen Seeker Ceremony
Combine common herbs from the supermarket to make your magickal formulas
Create your own sacred space
Read true stories of Wiccan teens
Work magick with real spells
Learn the Craft techniques for gaining love, money, health, protection, and wisdom
Discover how to talk to friends, parents, and other people about your involvement with WitchCraft.
The concept -- and the success -- of Teen Witch was directly related to the youth-market/Witchcraft explosion in the media during the late 1990s. The hit movie The Craft (1996) had created a ready-made audience among teens for learning more about Witchcraft, and almost certainly inspired Ravenwolf's decision to make teenagers the focus of her book. Partly because of those pop-culture connections, Teen Witch was not well received among "traditionalist" Wiccans in the Neopagan movement. Those who saw Witchcraft as an esoteric religion, transmitted by teaching and initiation, thought that Ravenwolf had sensationalized their beliefs. The book was widely disdained in the Witchcraft community for being crass, superficial and exploitive.
But that didn't seem to slow it down. Within its first year,Teen Witch was flying off the shelves at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and other mainstream bookstores. It quickly went to multiple reprintings and became the all-time bestselling title for its publisher, the occult-oriented Llewellyn Publications. That kind of success attracts attention -- and imitators. Other publishers tried to jump aboard the already rolling bandwagon with books like The Teen Spell Book: Magick for Young Witches (2001), followed by Where to Park Your Broomstick: A Teen's Guide to Witchcraft (2002) and Witchin: A Handbook for Teen Witches (2003) -- among many others.
The surprising success of Teen Witch prompted Ravenwolf to start writing Wiccan popular fiction aimed at the same audience. One day, in a reverie, she imagined that the teens in the cover-art for Teen Witch were real people. She gave them names and identities and came up with the idea for the "Witches' Chillers" series of supernatural/horror/mystery novels for Llewellyn Publishers. The central character in the series is Bethany Salem, a 16 year-old high school sophomore and Witch-in-training. Along with several of her teenage Wiccan friends from a local coven, Bethany uses witchy spells and psychic skills to solve crimes and fend off dangers in stories with titles like Witches Night of Fear, Witches Key to Terror and Witches Voodoo Moon. An advertisement for the series spells out its unsubtle appeal: "Do Teens Have Power? You Bet! Experience the Thrill of a Witches Chiller."
Ravenwolf is very clear that the purpose of her books is to encourage teens to investigate the world of Witchcraft for themselves. On her website, she says "Although the story is entirely fictional, I set about to devise a world where the teens use real magick, not the fairy tale stuff." And she not only makes the "magick" appealing, she also makes it accessible: "Woven into the Witches Chiller Series is a positive spell in each book that teenagers can do for themselves."
Even the Disney entertainment machine is exploiting the teen/Witchcraft connection, with a book series for adolescent girls called "W.I.T.C.H.," about five teenage girls who practice Witchcraft. According to a statement by Disney Publishing Worldwide, the book series was introduced in the U.S. in April, 2004, after several years of what a Disney executive called "an unprecedented global response to the characters and the concept" in other countries.
For many teens, high school merges into college as seamlessly as summer merges into fall. By 1999, what had begun among high schoolers had also moved with them onto the college campuses. There, the "teen wave" of Wiccan enthusiasm merged with the "goddess" contingent of feminism that had found a home in academia during the 1980s. The result is is that Neopaganism became securely ensconced as part of the social and academic scene at many colleges and universities. Today, according to college officials, increasing numbers of incoming students "identify Wicca and other pagan practices as their official religion." (Wereszynski, 2002)
What has startled observers is not just the extent of that change, but the speed with which it is taking place. "On college campuses in the past several years, many pagan groups that were once underground have become official student organizations . . . (in 1998) the Pagan Educational Network received its first request from a college student wanting to start a pagan group on her campus." (Reisberg, 2000). Five years later, in 2003, contact information was available on the Internet for Neopagan student groups at 99 colleges and universities in 35 states (Pagans on Campus). The schools on the list span the spectrum of educational institutions, from large State Universities (University of Texas, Penn State University) to advanced technical and research schools (MIT, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) to small, private liberal arts colleges (Reed College, St. Olaf's College) to elite Ivy League schools (Yale) and traditional women's colleges (Smith College, Wellesley College).
One result of the increasing pagan presence on campus has been an increasing recognition of Neopagan religion by university administrators. At Syracuse University, members of the student Pagan Society use the campus chapel to hold candlelight Pagan ceremonies. The Rev. Thomas Wolfe, Dean of the chapel was "worried some would object to having Wiccan rituals performed in the same spiritual center used by Christian, Jewish and Muslim students, (but) said he's faced no objections." (Wereszynski, 2002).
In addition, some schools now include Neopagan holidays on the approved list for student observation, along with those of Christianity, Judaism and other traditional faiths. At the University of Arizona and Lehigh University, for example, believers can be excused from class on Wiccan holidays. "'We acknowledge an individual's right to engage in their religious practices as they see fit,' said Lehigh spokesman Andrew Stanten. 'It is our firm belief that we embrace all kinds of thoughts.'" (Wereszynski, 2002)
In National Review Online, the Provost of Boston University calls campus Wicca "part of the florid undergrowth of the contemporary liberal university" and says "The widespread recognition of neo-pagans and similar groups shows how far the spiritual immune system of higher education has been compromised. Little inanities that once would have been brushed aside now settle in as opportunistic infections. " (Wood, Peter; 2001) Others, however, see the movement as connected to larger social developments. In October, 2000, the Chronicle of Higher Education took note of the "growing pagan movement on campuses in the United States." In an article titled "Campus Witches May Wear Black, but Don't Look for Hats or Broomsticks" the author suggests that the rapid rise of campus Wicca is a result of converging cultural trends:
It's no coincidence, scholars and followers say, that paganism is growing in an era when environmentalism and feminism are among the movements that have dominated campus discourse.
"Paganism reverberates with [those] two very powerful and culture-changing movements we've had now for several generations," says John K. Simmons, a professor of religious studies at Western Illinois University. (Reisberg, 2000)
In this we can see some of Witchcraft's appeal for college students and other young adults. It manages to appear both "ancient" and "modern" simultaneously. On the one hand, it claims to be part of a venerable tradition stretching all the way back to the dawn of human religion. On the other hand, it addresses modern concerns so explicitly that it often looks like political pandering. This odd combination of opposite qualities (achieved mainly by fabricating the "tradition") enables collegians to satisfy their desire for continuity and connectedness at the same time they satisfy their desire to disconnect from society and take a countercultural stance against it. It enables them to hang on to something like cultural rootedness at the same time they stand at the cutting edge of cultural change. In that respect, Neopaganism seems almost tailor-made to capture the fancy of the college generation.
Like teen Witches, collegiate Witches also have their own age-appropriate literature. The college-level equivalent of Teen Witch is Rocking the Goddess: Campus Wicca for the Student Practitioner by Anthony Paige. Paige is a graduate of SUNY Purchase College, where he started a Wiccan student group. In a recent interview, he candidly expressed the attraction that modern Witchcraft has for contemporary students: "Wicca appeals to some college students because 'there is no sense of sin . . . There is a karmic law, but there's no scorn or condemnation,' said Paige, who was raised a Roman Catholic . . ." (Wereszynski, 2002)
The content and purpose of the book are well-described by the publisher's promotional copy:
Wicca is the fastest-growing religion in America, and it thrives on college campusesin underground covens, classrooms, on the Web, and through campus associations. Now, in this comprehensive, thoroughly modern handbook, journalist and practicing Pagan Anthony Paige gives you the lowdown on everything you need to know to Rock the Goddess and celebrate Pagan rituals on campus and off. Whether you're a practicing Pagan or new to the tenets of Wicca, this practical handbookwritten by a student for studentsexplores today's college Wicca scene.
Filled with invaluable resources, history, role models, spells, Web sites, and personal stories from college witches nationwide, Rocking The Goddess is an indispensable guide to an old religion for a new generation, one that will help you feel the mystery, experience the magick, and find the witch within. (Branwen's Cauldron)
Today the link between teenagers, college kids and Witchcraft seems to be firmly established. It is not a fad or a passing fancy and it will almost certainly be a feature of our social landscape for some time to come. But another element turns that teen/collegiate linkage into an even more potent instrument for propagating Neopaganism -- and that other element is the Internet.
One of the real surprises of the 1980s was the emergence of a strong connection between Neopaganism, high technology and the computer culture. The relationship came to light in 1986, in the revised edition of Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon. In surveying Neopagans to bring her research up to date, Adler discovered that "their job profiles are pretty unusual, with an amazingly high percentage in computer, scientific and technical fields." (Adler, 1986; p. 446)
Why should there be an overlap between such seemingly disparate realms as the primal world of nature-religion and the high-tech world of computers and the Internet? At first impression, the connection seems unlikely and surprising. But in fact, it is one of several superficial ironies in Neopaganism that actually do make sense on a deeper level.
Another example appears in the fact that while Neopagans exalt Nature to the point of divinity and revere Nature to the point of worship, the movement itself is distinctly an urban phenomenon, concentrated in the cities rather than the countryside. That is not a new relationship. Rousseau's philosophy of naturalistic innocence arose from the overly refined culture of European aristocracy and probably couldn't have arisen anywhere else. Those who are most concerned with their connection to nature tend to be those who are most aware of their disconnection from nature. Such people are reacting to their real experience, even though they misinterpret their predicament which is predictable enough, from a biblical point of view.
The relationship between Neopagans and computers is more complicated. Margot Adler herself was taken aback by the results of her 1985 questionnaire:
The most unusual finding in this job survey is that so many people involved with Paganism were in technical fields. Out of 195 answers, 28 people or roughly 16 per cent were either programmers, technical writers or scientists -- and I'm not even counting the lab technicians or the students who said they were studying computer programming. (Adler, 1986; p. 447)
When asked the reason for that connection, the Neopagans themselves offered a variety of answers, but came to no consensus. One said that computers are "elementals in disguise." Another said that both activities attract the same kind of people -- namely oddball, solitary, creative types. Others offered that it's simply "where the jobs are." (Adler, 1986; p. 449) But one Witch, a "techno-pagan" who uses actual, physical computers as components of his metaphysical rituals, suggested a more basic connection -- within the human mind.
Magic is the science of the imagination, the art of engineering consciousness "Both cyberspace and magical space are purely manifest in the imagination," (he) says "Both spaces are entirely constructed by your thoughts and beliefs." (Davis, 1995)
He is suggesting, in an appropriate blending of occult and technical jargon, that the magical world-view is fundamentally compatible with the outlook that prevails in the computer culture. And that suggestion is borne out by the history of the computer culture itself. A great deal of the so-called computer revolution arose within a California subculture that was heavily influenced by "New Age" thinking and was therefore wide open to gnostic and occult spirituality. The hippie counterculture, especially in its '70s and '80s "New Age" version, has always affected the outlook of computer pioneers. From the beginning, a quasi-occult world-view was thoroughly woven into the way that many of the people in "Silicon Valley" thought about computers -- and for that matter about life in general.
New Age elements are rife throughout the post-1960s Bay Area culture that laid the groundwork for much of what we call cyberculture. A psychedelic, do-it-yourself spirituality directly feeds the more utopian elements of this Northern California subculture of Virtual Reality designers, computer artists and computer programmers for many of these folks, computers are the latest and among the greatest tools available for the achievement of the Aquarian goal: the expansion of consciousness by whatever means necessary For the more futuristic New Agers, the self is an information-processing entity that changes its nature, depending on the information-flows it receives and the various media to which it connects. (Davis, 1993; pp. 610-11)
In the magical world-view, Reality is not a "thing," but a "process" -- constantly changing, constantly in flux, and subject to manipulation by the directed force of will. Indeed, to the magician, the very "self" that is our identity has no fixed form or boundaries, but is expandable to the limits of divinity. Computers seem to offer a down-to-earth version of that same dream, and a tangible fulfillment of its yearnings. Through computers, the prospect of practical omniscience beckons; so too, the promise of virtual omnipresence, as the mind extends its grasp at will across the reaches of the global network. Magic and technology are two versions of the same impulse -- the impulse to self-will -- and it is inevitable that they re-converge. It is no accident that our feats of computer technology are rising to the level of virtual magic at the same time that Witches are embracing computers as instruments of actual magic.
The early blending of the computer culture and the magical world-view had several important results. One result of that connection can be seen in the fact that the content of much computer entertainment is heavily oriented to occult and pagan themes. The "gaming" subculture itself is also suffused with Neopagan sympathies and enthusiasms -- thus providing one more overlap between Neopaganism and the world of teens and collegians.
But another result has been even more important. The relationship between Neopaganism and the computer culture means that Neopagan enthusiasts were in attendance at the birth of the Internet, and Neopagans were therefore among the first to stumble upon the power of the Net to link scattered individuals together into an entity that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The Internet has been central to the development of the Neopagan movement for two reasons. First, it strengthens the hand of culturally marginal types in general by allowing people to connect together who would otherwise remain isolated from one another. Second, it does so while maintaining the individual's privacy and anonymity.
M. Macha Nightmare, author of Witchcraft and the Web, discusses those functions of the Internet and describes the difference that the Net has made to Neopagans:
Prior to the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web, Witches and Pagans were isolated from one another . . . several covens and traditions could exist in the same city, or even in the same neighborhood and never even know about one another . . . most Witches lived their lives in the figurative broom closet. Discretion was the safe and prudent approach when it came to our religion. We kept ourselves, and our groups, to ourselves.
The Net changed all that. On the Web, isolated individuals and groups found one another . . . The Web allowed community to be created where none had been. The anonymity of online communications liberated witchen folks to express their thoughts, feelings and experiences in relative safety. So, in a sense, the Web became our church. (Nightmare, 2001; pp. 23-4)
Other Neopagans writers have also emphasized the Net's features of "networking" and "anonymity" as critical to the emergence of Neopaganism as a movement. Starhawk says "The Internet has allowed the Pagan movement to grow tremendously, because it has provided a very safe way for people to connect with it." (Vale and Sulak, 2001; p.15) Rowan Fairgrove says "Millions of people are meeting in chat rooms, communicating, finding validation for what they do, making new friends -- especially those with non-mainstream interests. It's a very powerful experience when you discover you're not really alone -- that's the biggest difference the Internet has made." (Vale and Sulak, 2001; p.41)
While isolated individuals remain powerless to challenge the main culture -- or to build a "countercultural" alternative to it -- connected individuals can do both. And the privacy of the Internet means that cultural dissenters can make their connections without having to "come out" in a public way that would subject them to reproach or reprisal. The combination of those two factors means that cultural dissent in general becomes more feasible, less costly and easier to find and connect with. As an illustration, those same two characteristics of the Internet have also helped to create the homosexual movement -- a different "cultural minority," but one that overlaps Neopaganism significantly in its membership. In "Queer Witches and the World Wide Web: Breaking the Spell of Invisibility," self-described "Faggot Witch Sparky Rabbit" writes:
One of the biggest obstacles faced by Queer men and women is the cloak of invisibility put on us by the dominant culture's hetero-sexism. One of the worst experiences many Queer people share is the feeling, from childhood on, that "I am the only one of my kind in the world" So when the Web became available -- bam!! -- Queers were all over it from the git-go. When I was first learning about computers and the Internet, in the mid-nineties, a friend of mine said, "The Internet is made up of Pagans and Queers." I don't believe that statement was statistically correct, but it definitely was an accurate expression of what many Queer Pagans I know were experiencing on the web; there were a Hell of a lot more of us out there than any one of us had ever guessed. (Quoted in Nightmare, 2001; pp. 174-5)
"Breaking the spell of invisibility," AKA "minority empowerment," AKA "linking otherwise isolated individuals," was the single most important contribution of the Internet to cultural dissent of every kind -- Neopaganism included. It was a development that made everything else possible, as numerous "alternative cultures" arose, and many of them turned into outright cultural resistance movements. That has certainly been true of the so-called "erotic minorities," (read "deviant sexual proclivities") including not only homosexuality, but also pedophilia and Bondage/Dominance/Sado-Masochism (BDSM), both of which have established a "community" of like-minded enthusiasts on the Net. The same is also true of extremist zealotry of both left and right, e.g., eco-terrorism and militant racism. In fact, there is scarcely any form of deviance -- whether cultural, social, spiritual or otherwise -- that has not been empowered by the Internet. For that reason, the Net has been called "the clearinghouse of contemporary heresy," where "magicians are just one more thread in the Net's rainbow fringe of anarchists, Extropians, conspiracy theorists, X-Files fans, and right-wing kooks." (Davis, 1995)
Moreover, the very existence of that "rainbow fringe" serves its own culture-changing function. Because the Internet gives marginal causes a power and presence in society that they wouldn't otherwise have, it desentisizes people to cultural deviance in general, and eventually makes it seem routine. Sheer repeated exposure to cultural insubordination breeds at first awareness, then acceptance and finally, acceptability.
In the case of modern Witchcraft and Neopaganism, the Internet has clearly been a critical factor in the mushrooming growth of the movement since the 1980s. When M. Macha Nightmare says "the Web became our church," it is more than just a figure of speech. The Internet functions for Neopagans in several ways that are parallel to the way the Church functions for Christians.
Just as Christianity is most visible and most accessible through its churches, Neopaganism is undoubtedly most visible and accessible on the Internet. A serious involvement with Witchcraft in particular is more available to outsiders via the Internet than it is in any other way. In fact, without having access to the Internet, it is almost impossible to get a real impression of how vigorous and expansive the Neopagan movement has become.
The rapid rise and surprising success of the website Witchvox.com perhaps best illustrates the growing presence of Witchcraft and Neopaganism on the Web. Wren Walker and Fritz Jung founded "The Witches' Voice" in 1996. They acquired the domain name "Witchvox.com" and inaugurated their website in 1997 with 56 pages of content and a section of Neopagan links and contacts. Its declared purpose was to create and disseminate educational materials for Pagans and non-Pagans alike, to fight discrimination against Pagans, and to act as a tool for networking Pagans by providing an index of "Pagans, Pagan groups and Pagan shops," together with "their e-mail addresses, events and workshops." (Nightmare, 2002; p. 117).
The website was an instant hit with Witches and Neopagans of every persuasion. The resources offered by "The Witches' Voice" evidently addressed needs that were strongly and widely felt within the Neopagan community.
By the end of its first year, Witchvox was offering 385 pages which were viewed on personal computers the world over. Within that time, the site had received 1, 235, 237 hits. It listed several thousand Witches, Wiccans and Pagans on its state/ country pages, 385 circles and events, 250 witchen and metaphysical shops (most submitted by customers), 976 Pagan Web sites (with complete contact info), and a site map. . Truly, The Witches' Voice is something for us Witches to crow about. (Nightmare, 2001; p. 118)
But even that auspicious beginning was just a trickle in advance of the torrent to come. In the five years since its inauguration, Witchvox.com has grown as explosively as the community it serves. By October, 2003, the website had received almost 96 million hits ((95,748,682, to be exact) since its inception, and over 2 million hits (2,005,473) for the month of October in that year alone. Its contact list (now entitled "Witches of the World"), contained 2,520 pages of text, with over 46,000 named contacts, including individuals, groups, publishers, shops, bookstores, etc., all around the globe. There were extensive listings for all 50 states of the USA, all provinces of Canada, all regions of the United Kingdom, and all states of Australia, as well as 40 other countries world wide. There is also a separate catalog of electronic contacts ("Witchvox Links") that lists 6,917 Internet links, including some 5,000 Neopagan Websites (out of an estimated 9,000 Pagan Websites total).
By any measure, those statistics are impressive. But they indicate more than mere numerical inflation. Beneath the surface of those numbers runs a constant, invisible stream of activity that constitutes Neopagan "networking" -- Neopagans communicating, setting up meetings, arranging to do rituals, actually doing rituals online, disseminating news about festivals, celebrations, lectures and workshops, sharing spells and rituals, swapping information and opinions, arguing, agreeing, organizing events, co-ordinating political activism, etc., etc. This is where Neopaganism lives on a day-to-day basis, and to find it you have to pass beyond the portals of the Neopagan Websites -- to scan the online Neopagan bulletin boards, frequent the Neopagan chat rooms, and subscribe to the Neopagan listserves. To say that Witchvox.com lists 46,000 Neopagan contacts only hints at the teeming activity that goes on all the time at the grassroots of the Internet, but which never gets counted or catalogued.
Incidentally, that is another way that the Internet functions for Neopagans much as the Church does for Christians. It is where they find contact, interaction, edification, encouragement and teaching; indeed, for many Witches and Neopagans, the Internet becomes the primary, or even the sole means of "fellowship" with their co-religionists. It is also where the next stages of Neopaganism are being created. If, as Neopagans say, they are making up their religion as they go along, then the Internet is one place where that work of creation is being done. It has been said that the Witchcraft of tomorrow is taking shape today in the chat-rooms of the World Wide Web.
The modern Witchcraft movement has always put a high priority on changing the public's perception of of Witches and their craft. During the 1970s and '80s, that public relations work went forward cautiously, as a few out-of-the-broom-closet Witches spoke out publically on behalf of their beliefs. Federal Court decisions during the 1980s validated the constitutional status of religious Witchcraft, giving the movement a claim to legitimacy that opened new doors of growth and positive publicity. But the real point of transition, both for the movement and for the image of Witchcraft, came during the 1990s. The mushrooming interest in the subject that followed hard on the heels of the mid-1990s media blitz, fundamentally altered the composition of the movement. It also put a newer, hipper, more youthful face on Witchcraft for the general public to see.
Those converging changes created a new center of gravity for the Neopagan movement. The early close connection between Neopaganism and the Internet had helped to create the movement by bringing its participants together. Then the late 1990s "youth revolution" transformed the emerging Teenage/College/Internet connection into a powerful tool for bringing the message of modern Witchcraft to outsiders. In the space of half a decade, Witches took the Internet from an inward-looking tool of movement-building, to an active tool of cultural outreach.
Apart from the Internet, the most important catalyst in the process of modern Witchcraft's image-makeover has been the influence of the entertainment media. We will take a look at that part of the equation in Chapters Four and Five.
© Copyright 2004 by Brooks Alexander. Posted at Apologetics Index by permission. [Details]
This material may not be re-published, either online or offline, without the express permission -- in writing -- by the author.
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Originally posted by Animatrix
Oh damn, I didnt even think of the fact that someone could be bouncing off of my IP address and visiting who knows what sites.
Ill have to think twice about using it now.
Seems they just want to draw as many people as they can in so they can have a larger pool of IPs to bounce off of.
Originally posted by JBA2848
I noticed this site that has a large list of ips using tore nodes and is updated every hour. Not sure what to think. I thought tor hid all this information.
Originally posted by n0tsan3
So I've noticed that this thread is pretty dead now... I've been bumping around the .onion world and have yet to come across anything conspiracy related. Does anyone have at least one .onion site for conspiracy?