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Peak lost no time in leaving Exeter. To lighten his baggage, and to get rid of possessions to which hateful memories attached, he sold all his books that had any bearing on theology. The incomplete translation of Bibel und Natur he committed to the flames in Mrs Roots's kitchen, scattering its black remnants with savage thrusts of the poker. Whilst engaged in packing, he debated with himself whether or not he should take leave of the few acquaintances to whom he was indebted for hospitality and other kindness. The question was: Had Buckland Warricombe already warned these people against him? Probably it had seemed to Buckland the wiser course to be content with driving the hypocrite away; and, if this were so, regard for the future dictated a retirement from Exeter which should in no way resemble secret flight. Sidwell's influence with her parents would perhaps withhold them from making his disgrace known, and in a few years he might be glad that he had behaved with all possible prudence. In the end, he decided to write to Mr. Lilywhite, saying that he was obliged to go away at a moment's notice, and that he feared it would be necessary altogether to change the scheme of life which he had had in view. This was the best way. From the Lilywhites, other people would hear of him, and perchance their conjectures would be charitable.
Without much hesitation he had settled his immediate plans. To London he would not return, for he dreaded the temptations to which the proximity of Sidwell would expose him, and he had no mind to meet with Moxey or Earwaker. As it was now imperative that he should find work of the old kind, he could not do better than go to Bristol, where, from the safe ground of a cheap and obscure lodging, he might make inquiries, watch advertisements, and so on. He already knew of establishments in Bristol where he might possibly obtain employment. Living with the utmost economy, he need not fall into difficulties for more than a year, and before then his good repute with the Rotherhithe firm would ensure him some position or other; if not in Bristol, then at Newcastle, St. Helen's--any great centre of fuming and malodorous industry. He was ready to work, would delight in work. idleness was now the intolerable thing.
So to Bristol he betook himself, and there made his temporary abode. After spending a few weeks in fruitless search for an engagement, he at length paid his oft-postponed visit to Twybridge. In the old home he felt completely a stranger, and his relatives strengthened the feeling by declaring him so changed in appearance that they hardly knew his face. With his mother only could he talk in anything like an intimate way, and the falsehoods with which he was obliged to answer her questions all but destroyed the pleasure he would otherwise have found in being affectionately tended. His sister, Mrs Cusse, was happy in her husband, her children, and a flourishing business. Oliver was making money, and enjoyed distinction among the shopkeeping community. His aunt still dealt in millinery, and kept up her acquaintance with respectable families. To Godwin all was like a dream dreamt for the second time. He could not acknowledge any actual connection between these people and himself. But their characteristics no longer gravely offended him, and he willingly recognised the homespun worth which their lives displayed. It was clear to him that by no possible agency of circumstances could he have been held in normal relations with his kinsfolk. However smooth his career, it must have wafted him to an immeasurable distance from Twybridge. Nature had decreed that he was to resemble the animals which, once reared, go forth in complete independence of birthplace and the ties of blood. It was a harsh fate, but in what had not fate been harsh to him? The one consolation was that he alone suffered. His mother was no doubt occasionally troubled by solicitude on his account, but she could not divine his inward miseries, and an assurance that he had no material cares sufficed to set her mind at ease.
'You are very like your father, Godwin,' she said, with a sigh. 'He couldn't rest, however well he seemed to be getting on. There was always something he wanted, and yet he didn't know what it was.'
'Yes, I must be like him,' Godwin replied, smiling.
He stayed five days, then returned to Bristol. A week after that, his mother forwarded to him a letter which had come to Twybridge. He at once recognised the writing, and broke the envelope with curiosity.
'If you should be in London [the note began], I beg you to let me see you. There is something I have to say. To speak to you for a few minutes I would come any distance. Don't accuse me of behaving treacherously; it was not my fault. I know you would rather avoid me, but do consent to hear what I have to say. If you have no intention of coming to London, will you write and let me know where you are living?
What could Marcella have to say to him? Nothing surely that he at all cared to hear. No doubt she imagined that he might be in ignorance of the circumstances which had led to Buckland Warricombe's discovery; she wished to defend herself against the suspicion of 'treachery'. He laughed carelessly, and threw her note aside.
Two months passed, and his efforts to find employment were still vain, though he had received conditional promises The solitude of his life grew burdensome. Several times he began a letter to Sidwell, but his difficulty in writing was so great that he destroyed the attempt. In truth, he knew not how to address her. The words he penned were tumid, meaningless. He could not send professions of love, for his heart seemed to be suffering a paralysis, and the laborious artificiality of his style must have been evident. The only excuse for breaking silence would be to let her know that he had resumed honest work; he must wait till the opportunity offered. It did not distress him to be without news of her. If she wished to write, and was only withheld by ignorance of his whereabouts, it was well; if she had no thought of sending him a word, it did not matter. He loved her, and consciously nourished hope, but for the present there was nothing intolerable in separation. His state of mind resulted partly from nervous reaction, and in part from a sense that only by silent suffering could his dignity in Sidwell's eyes be ultimately restored. Between the evil past and the hopeful future must be a complete break.
His thoughts kept turning to London, though not because Sidwell might still be there. He felt urgent need of speaking with a friend. Moxey was perhaps no longer to be considered one; but Earwaker would be tolerant of human weaknesses. To have a long talk with Earwaker would help him to recover his mental balance, to understand himself and his position better. So one morning in March, on the spur of the moment, he took train and was once more in the metropolis. On his way he had determined to send a note to Earwaker before calling at Staple Inn. He wrote it at a small hotel in Paddington, where he took a room for the night, and then spent the evening at a theatre, as the best way of killing time.
By the first post next morning came a card, whereon Earwaker had written: 'Be here, if you can, at two o'clock. Shall be glad to see you.'
'So you have been new-furnishing!' Godwin remarked, as he was admitted to the chambers. 'You look much more comfortable.'
'I'm glad you think so. It is the general opinion.'
They had shaken hands as though this were one of the ordinary meetings of old time, and their voices scarcely belied the appearance. Peak moved about the study, glancing at pictures and books, Earwaker eyeing him the while with not unfriendly expression. They were sincerely glad to see each other, and when Peak seated himself it was with an audible sigh of contentment.
'And what are you doing?' he inquired.
The journalist gave a brief account of his affairs, and Peak brightened with pleasure.
'This is good news. I knew you would shake off the ragamuffins before long. Give me some of your back numbers, will you? I shall be curious to examine your new style.'
'And you?--Come to live in London?'
'No; I am at Bristol, but only waiting. There's a chance of an analyst's place in Lancashire; but I may give the preference to an opening I have heard of in Belgium. Better to go abroad, I think.'
'Perhaps so.'
'I have a question to ask you. I suppose you talked about that Critical article of mine before you received my request for silence?'
'That's how it was,' Earwaker replied, calmly.
'Yes; I understood. It doesn't matter.'
The other puffed at his pipe, and moved uneasily.
'I am taking for granted,' Peak continued, 'that you know how I have spent my time down in Devonshire.'
'In outline. Need we trouble about the details?'
'No. But don't suppose that I should feel any shame in talking to you about them. That would be a confession of base motive. You and I have studied each other, and we can exchange thoughts on most subjects with mutual understanding. You know that I have only followed my convictions to their logical issue. An opportunity offered of achieving the supreme end to which my life is directed, and what scruple could stand in my way? We have nothing to do with names and epithets. Here are the facts of life as I had known it; there is the existence promised as the reward of successful artifice. To live was to pursue the object of my being. I could not feel otherwise; therefore, could not act otherwise. You imagine me defeated, flung back into the gutter.' His words came more quickly, and the muscles of his face worked under emotion. 'It isn't so. I have a great and reasonable hope. Perhaps I have gained everything I really desired. I could tell you the strangest story, but there a scruple does interpose. If we live another twenty years--but now I can only talk about myself.'
'And this hope of which you speak,' said Earwaker, with a grave smile, 'points you at present to sober work among your retorts and test-tubes?'
'Yes, it does.'
'Good. Then I can put faith in the result.'
'Yet the hope began in a lie,' rejoined Peak, bitterly. 'It will always be pleasant to look back upon that, won't it? You see: by no conceivable honest effort could I have gained this point. Life utterly denied to me the satisfaction of my strongest instincts, so long as I plodded on without cause of shame; the moment I denied my faith, and put on a visage of brass, great possibilities opened before me. Of course I understand the moralist's position. It behoved me, though I knew that a barren and solitary track would be my only treading to the end, to keep courageously onward. If I can't believe that any such duty is imposed upon me, where is the obligation to persevere, the morality of doing so? That is the worst hypocrisy. I have been honest, inasmuch as I have acted in accordance with my actual belief.'
'M--m--m,' muttered Earwaker, slowly. 'Then you have never been troubled with a twinge of conscience?'
'With a thousand! I have been racked, martyred. What has that to do with it? Do you suppose I attach any final significance to those torments? Conscience is the same in my view as an inherited disease which may possibly break out on any most innocent physical indulgence.--What end have I been pursuing? Is it criminal? Is it mean? I wanted to win the love of a woman--nothing more. To do that, I have had to behave like the grovelling villain who has no desire but to fill his pockets. And with success!--You understand that, Earwaker? I have succeeded! What respect can I have for the common morality, after this?'
'You have succeeded?' the other asked, thoughtfully. 'I could have imagined that you had been in appearance successful'----
He paused, and Peak resumed with vehemence:
'No, not in appearance only. I can't tell you the story'----
'I don't wish you to'----
'But what I have won is won for ever. The triumph no longer rests on deceit. What I insist upon is that by deceit only was it rendered possible. If a starving man succeeds in stealing a loaf of bread, the food will benefit him no less than if he had purchased it; it is good, true sustenance, no matter how he got it. To be sure, the man may prefer starvation; he may have so strong a metaphysical faith that death is welcome in comparison with what he calls dishonour. I --I have no such faith; and millions of other men in this country would tell the blunt truth if they said the same. I have used means, that's all. The old way of candour led me to bitterness and cursing; by dissimulation I have won something more glorious than tongue can tell.'
It was in the endeavour to expel the subtlest enemy of his peace that Godwin dwelt so defiantly upon this view of the temptation to which he had yielded. Since his farewell interview with Sidwell, he knew no rest from the torment of a mocking voice which bade him bear in mind that all his dishonour had been superfluous, seeing that whilst he played the part of a zealous Christian, Sidwell herself was drifting further and further from the old religion. This voice mingled with his dreams, and left not a waking hour untroubled. He refused to believe it, strove against the suggestion as a half-despairing man does against the persistent thought of suicide. If only he could obtain Earwaker's assent to the plan he put forward, it would support him in disregard of idle regrets.
'It is impossible,' said the journalist, 'for anyone to determine whether that is true or not--for you, as much as for anyone else. Be glad that you have shaken off the evil and retained the good, no use in saying more than that.'
'Yes,' declared the other, stubbornly, 'there is good in exposing false views of life. I ought to have come utterly to grief and shame, and instead'----
'Instead----? Well?'
'What I have told you.'
'Which I interpret thus: that you have permission to redeem your character, if possible, in the eyes of a woman you have grievously misled.'
Godwin frowned.
'Who suggested this to you, Earwaker?'
'You; no one else. I don't even know who the woman is of whom you speak.'
'Grant you are right. As an honest man, I should never have won her faintest interest.'
'It is absurd for us to talk about it. Think in the way that is most helpful to you,--that, no doubt, is a reasonable rule. Let us have done with all these obscurities, and come to a practical question. Can I be of any use to you? Would you care, for instance, to write an article now and then on some scientific matter that has a popular interest? I think I could promise to get that kind of thing printed for you. Or would you review an occasional book that happened to be in your line?'
Godwin reflected.
'Thank you,' he replied, at length. 'I should be glad of such work --if I can get into the mood for doing it properly. That won't be just yet; but perhaps when I have found a place'----
'Think it over. Write to me about it.'
Peak glanced round the room.
'You don't know how glad I am,' he said, 'that your prosperity shows itself in this region of bachelordom. If I had seen you in a comfortable house, married to a woman worthy of you--I couldn't have been sincere in my congratulations: I should have envied you so fiercely.'
'You're a strange fellow. Twenty years hence--as you said just now --you will one way or another have got rid of your astounding illusions. At fifty--well, let us say at sixty--you will have a chance of seeing things without these preposterous sexual spectacles.'
'I hope so. Every stage of life has its powers and enjoyments. When I am old, I hope to perceive and judge without passion of any kind. But is that any reason why my youth should be frustrated? We have only one life, and I want to live mine throughout.'
Soon after this Peak rose. He remembered that the journalist's time was valuable, and that he no longer had the right to demand more of it than could be granted to any casual caller. Earwaker behaved with all friendliness, but their relations had necessarily suffered a change. More than a year of separation, spent by the one in accumulating memories of dishonour, had given the other an enviable position among men; Earwaker had his place in the social system, his growing circle of friend, his congenial labour; perhaps-- notwithstanding the tone in which he spoke of marriage--his hopes of domestic happiness. All this with no sacrifice of principle. He was fortunate in his temper, moral and intellectual; partly directing circumstances, partly guided by their pressure, he advanced on the way of harmonious development. Nothing great would come of his endeavours, but what he aimed at he steadily perfected. And this in spite of the adverse conditions under which he began his course. Nature had been kind to him; what more could one say?
When he went forth into the street again, Godwin felt his heart sink. His solitude was the more complete for this hour of friendly dialogue. No other companionship offered itself; if he lingered here, it must be as one of the drifting crowd, as an idle and envious spectator of the business and pleasure rife about him. He durst not approach that quarter of the town where Sidwell was living --if indeed she still remained here. Happily, the vastness of London enabled him to think of her as at a great distance; by keeping to the district in which he now wandered he was practically as remote from her as when he walked the streets of Bristol.
Yet there was one person who would welcome him eagerly if he chose to visit her. And, after all, might it not be as well if he heard what Marcella had to say to him? He could not go to the house, for it would be disagreeable to encounter Moxey; but, if he wrote, Marcella would speedily make an appointment. After an hour or two of purposeless rambling, he decided to ask for an interview. He might learn something that really concerned him; in any case, it was a final meeting with Marcella, to whom he perhaps owed this much courtesy.
The reply was as prompt as that from Earwaker. By the morning post came a letter inviting him to call upon Miss Moxey as soon as possible before noon. She added, 'My brother is away in the country; you will meet no one here.'
By eleven o'clock he was at Notting Hill; in the drawing-room, he sat alone for two or three minutes. Marcella entered silently, and came towards him without a smile; he saw that she read his face eagerly, if not with a light of triumph in her eyes. The expression might signify that she rejoiced at having been an instrument of his discomfiture; perhaps it was nothing more than gladness at seeing him again.
'Have you come to live in London?' she asked, when they had shaken hands without a word.
'I am only here for a day or two.'
'My letter reached you without delay?'
'Yes. It was sent from Twybridge to Bristol. I didn't reply then, as I had no prospect of being in London.'
'Will you sit down? You can stay for a few minutes?'
He seated himself awkwardly. Now that he was in Marcella's presence, he felt that he had acted unaccountably in giving occasion for another scene between them which could only end as painfully as that at Exeter. Her emotion grew evident; he could not bear to meet the look she had fixed upon him.
'I want to speak of what happened in this house about Christmas time,' she resumed. 'But I must know first what you have been told.'
'What have you been told?' he replied, with an uneasy smile. 'How do you know that anything which happened here had any importance for me?'
'I don't know that it had. But I felt sure that Mr. Warricombe meant to speak to you about it.'
'Yes, he did.'
'But did he tell you the exact truth? Or were you led to suppose that I had broken my promise to you?'
Unwilling to introduce any mention of Sidwell, Peak preferred to simplify the story by attributing to Buckland all the information he had gathered.
'I understood,' he replied, 'that Warricombe had come here in the hope of learning more about me, and that certain facts came out in general conversation. What does it matter how he learned what he did? From the day when he met you down in Devonshire, it was of course inevitable that the truth should sooner or later come out. He always suspected me.'
'But I want you to know,' said Marcella, 'that I had no willing part in it. I promised you not to speak even to my brother, and I should never have done so but that Christian somehow met Mr. Warricombe, and heard him talk of you. Of course he came to me in astonishment, and for your own interest I thought it best to tell Christian what I knew. When Mr. Warricombe came here, neither Christian nor I would have enlightened him about--about your past. It happened most unfortunately that Mr. Malkin was present, and he it was who began to speak of the Critical article--and other things. I was powerless to prevent it.'
'Why trouble about it? I quite believe your account.'
'You do believe it? You know I would not have injured you?'
'I am sure you had no wish to,' Godwin replied, in as unsentimental a tone as possible. And, he added after a moment's pause, 'Was this what you were so anxious to tell me?'
'Yes. Chiefly that.'
'Let me put your mind at rest,' pursued the other, with quiet friendliness. 'I am disposed to turn optimist; everything has happened just as it should have done. Warricombe relieved me from a false position. If he hadn't done so, I must very soon have done it for myself. Let us rejoice that things work together for such obvious good. A few more lessons of this kind, and we shall acknowledge that the world is the best possible.'
He laughed, but the tense expression of Marcella's features did not relax.
'You say you are living in Bristol?'
'For a time.'
'Have you abandoned Exeter?'
The word implied something that Marcella could not utter more plainly. Her face completed the question.
'And the clerical career as well,' he answered.
But he knew that she sought more than this, and his voice again broke the silence.
'Perhaps you have heard that already? Are you in communication with Miss Moorhouse?'
She shook her head.
'But probably Warricombe has told your brother----?'
'Oh, of his success in ridding Exeter of my objectionable presence.'
'Christian hasn't seen him again, nor have I.'
'I only wish to assure you that I have suffered no injury. My experiment was doomed to failure. What led me to it, how I regarded it, we won't discuss; I am as little prepared to do so now as when we talked at Exeter. That chapter in my life is happily over. As soon as I am established again in a place like that I had at Rotherhithe, I shall be quite contented.'
'Contented?' She smiled incredulously. 'For how long?'
'Who can say? I have lost the habit of looking far forward.'
Marcella kept silence so long that he concluded she had nothing more to say to him. It was an opportunity for taking leave without emotional stress, and he rose from his chair.
'Don't go yet,' she said at once. 'It wasn't only this that I'----
Her voice was checked.
'Can I be of any use to you in Bristol?' Peak asked, determined to avoid the trial he saw approaching.
'There is something more I wanted to say,' she pursued, seeming not to hear him. 'You pretend to be contented, but I know that is impossible. You talk of going back to a dull routine of toil, when what you most desire is freedom. I want--if I can--to help you.'
Again she failed to command her voice. Godwin raised his eyes, and was astonished at the transformation she had suddenly undergone. Her face, instead of being colourless and darkly vehement, had changed to a bright warmth, a smiling radiance such as would have become a happy girl. His look seemed to give her courage.
'Only hear me patiently. We are such old friends--are we not? We have so often proclaimed our scorn of conventionality, and why should a conventional fear hinder what I want to say? You know-- don't you?--that I have far more money than I need or am ever likely to. I want only a few hundreds a year, and I have more than a thousand.' She spoke more and more quickly, fearful of being interrupted. 'Why shouldn't I give you some of my superfluity? Let me help you in this way. Money can do so much. Take some from me, and use it as you will--just as you will. It is useless to me. Why shouldn't someone whom I wish well benefit by it?'
Godwin was not so much surprised as disconcerted. He knew that Marcella's nature was of large mould, and that whether she acted for good or evil its promptings would be anything but commonplace. The ardour with which she pleaded, and the magnitude of the benefaction she desired to bestow upon him, so affected his imagination that for the moment he stood as if doubting what reply to make. The doubt really in his mind was whether Marcella had calculated upon his weakness, and hoped to draw him within her power by the force of such an obligation, or if in truth she sought only to appease her heart with the exercise of generosity.
'You will let me?' she panted forth, watching him with brilliant eyes. 'This shall be a secret for ever between you and me. It imposes no debt of gratitude--how I despise the thought! I give you what is worthless to me,--except that it can do you good. But you can thank me if you will. I am not above being thanked.' She laughed unnaturally. 'Go and travel at first, as you wished to. Write me a short letter every month--every two months, just that I may know you are enjoying your life. It is agreed, isn't it?'
She held her hand to him, but Peak drew away, his face averted.
'How can you give me the pain of refusing such an offer?' he exclaimed, with remonstrance which was all but anger. 'You know the thing is utterly impossible. I should be ridiculous if I argued about it for a moment.'
'I can't see that it is impossible.'
'Then you must take my word for it. But I have no right to speak to you in that way,' he added, more kindly, seeing the profound humiliation which fell upon her. 'You meant to come to my aid at a time when I seemed to you lonely and miserable. It was a generous impulse, and I do indeed thank you. I shall always remember it and be grateful to you.'
Marcella's face was again in shadow. Its lineaments hardened to an expression of cold, stern dignity.
'I have made a mistake,' she said. 'I thought you above common ways of thinking.'
'Yes, you put me on too high a pedestal,' Peak answered, trying to speak humorously. 'One of my faults is that I am apt to mistake my own position in the same way.'
'You think yourself ambitious. Oh, if you knew really great ambition! Go back to your laboratory, and work for wages. I would have saved you from that.'
The tone was not vehement, but the words bit all the deeper for their unimpassioned accent. Godwin could make no reply.
'I hope,' she continued, 'we may meet a few years hence. By that time you will have learnt that what I offered was not impossible. You will wish you had dared to accept it. I know what your ambition is. Wait till you are old enough to see it in its true light. How you will scorn yourself! Surely there was never a man who united such capacity for great things with so mean an ideal. You will never win even the paltry satisfaction on which you have set your mind--never! But you can't be made to understand that. You will throw away all the best part of your life. Meet me in a few years, and tell me the story of the interval.'
'I will engage to do that, Marcella.'
'You will? But not to tell me the truth. You will not dare to tell the truth.'
'Why not?' he asked, indifferently. 'Decidedly I shall owe it you in return for your frankness to-day. Till then--good-bye.'
She did not refuse her hand, and as he moved away she watched him with a smile of slighting good-nature.
On the morrow Godwin was back in Bristol, and there he dwelt for another six months, a period of mental and physical lassitude. Earwaker corresponded with him, and urged him to attempt the work that had been proposed, but such effort was beyond his power.
He saw one day in a literary paper an announcement that Reusch's Bibel und Natur was about to be published in an English translation. So someone else had successfully finished the work he undertook nearly two years ago. He amused himself with the thought that he could ever have persevered so long in such profitless labour, and with a contemptuous laugh he muttered 'Thohu wabohu.'
Just when the winter had set in, he received an offer of a post in chemical works at St. Helen's, and without delay travelled northwards. The appointment was a poor one, and seemed unlikely to be a step to anything better, but his resources would not last more than another half year, and employment of whatever kind came as welcome relief to the tedium of his existence. Established in his new abode, he at length wrote to Sidwell. She answered him at once in a short letter which he might have shown to anyone, so calm were its expressions of interest, so uncompromising its words of congratulation. It began 'Dear Mr. Peak', and ended with 'Yours sincerely'. Well, he had used the same formalities, and had uttered his feelings with scarcely more of warmth. Disappointment troubled him for a moment, and for a moment only. He was so far from Exeter, and further still from the life that he had led there. It seemed to him all but certain that Sidwell wrote coldly, with the intention of discouraging his hopes. What hope was he so foolish as to entertain? His position poorer than ever, what could justify him in writing love-letters to a girl who, even if willing to marry him, must not do so until he had a suitable home to offer her?
Since his maturity, he had never known so long a freedom from passion. One day he wrote to Earwaker: 'I begin to your independence with regard to women. It would be a strange thing if I became a convert to that way of thinking, but once or twice of late I have imagined that it was happening. My mind has all but recovered its tone, and I am able to read, to think--I mean really to think, not to muse. I get through big and solid books. Presently, if your offer still hold good, I shall send you a scrap of writing on something or other. The pestilent atmosphere of this place seems to invigorate me. Last Saturday evening I took train, got away into the hills, and spent the Sunday geologising. And a curious experience befell me,--one I had long, long ago, in the Whitelaw days. Sitting down before some interesting strata, I lost myself in something like nirvana, grew so subject to the idea of vastness in geological time that all human desires and purposes shrivelled to ridiculous unimportance. Awaking for a minute, I tried to realise the passion which not long ago rent and racked me, but I was flatly incapable of understanding it. Will this philosophic state endure? Perhaps I have used up all my emotional energy? I hardly know whether to hope or fear it.'
About midsummer, when his short holiday (he would only be released for a fortnight) drew near, he was surprised by another letter from Sidwell.
'I am anxious [she wrote] to hear that you are well. It is more than half a year since your last letter, and of late I have been constantly expecting a few lines. The spring has been a time of trouble with us. A distant relative, an old and feeble lady who has passed her life in a little Dorsetshire village, came to see us in April, and in less than a fortnight she was seized with illness and died. Then Fanny had an attack of bronchitis, from which even now she is not altogether recovered. On her account we are all going to Royat, and I think we shall be away until the end of September. Will you let me hear from you before I leave England, which will be in a week's time? Don't refrain from writing because you think you have no news to send. Anything that interests you is of interest to me. If it is only to tell me what you have been reading, I shall be glad of a letter.'
It was still 'Yours sincerely'; but Godwin felt that the letter meant more. In re-reading it he was pleasantly thrilled with a stirring of the old emotions. But his first impulse, to write an ardent reply, did not carry him away; he reflected and took counsel of the experience gained in his studious solitude. It was evident that by keeping silence he had caused Sidwell to throw off something of her reserve. The course dictated by prudence was to maintain an attitude of dignity, to hold himself in check. In this way he would regain what he had so disastrously lost, Sidwell's respect. There was a distinct pleasure in this exercise of self-command; it was something new to him; it flattered his pride. 'Let her learn that, after all, I am her superior. Let her fear to lose me. Then, if her love is still to be depended upon, she will before long find a way to our union. It is in her power, if only she wills it.'
So he sat down and wrote a short letter which seemed to him a model of dignified expression.
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text:
A key tax watchdog has recommended a dramatic overhaul of the Australian Taxation Office's harsh penalty regime and protracted advice process.
The inspector-general of taxation,
"I have made a number of recommendations to improve the penalties and interest regime," Mr Noroozi said, after the federal government released his report late on Wednesday.
That included pushing the onus on to the ATO to prove penalties and lifting the $10,000 threshold at which they might apply – possibly to $100,000. He also flagged capping interest charges where an ATO adjustment takes more than two years.
Assistant Treasurer
While small businesses and individuals may view as a win the government's agreement to consider the issues, they may spurn the one recommendation rejected: slashing penalties where the ATO has not given guidance on a topic.
"Where no ATO advice exists on a particular area, I have recommended that penalties and interest do not apply as long as taxpayers take reasonable care," said Mr Noroozi.
In response, the government said that allowing such a "blanket protection" could pose a "significant risk to the revenue".
The inspector-general has tried to push the ATO to provide more guidance – and sooner – on its views through another crucial recommendation: involving the tax man at earlier stages of law design.
The government has agreed in principle to bring the ATO into the tax law design process.
On Mr Noroozi's recommendation, paid external advisers could sit on the design team.
The ATO has received harsh criticism in recent years for its interpretation of new laws and for apparent changes in position on existing laws. The inspector-general has recommended the government consider forcing the ATO to bring out timely public binding advice with substantial new laws.
Other key initiatives backed by the government include a shift to issuing private rulings without demanding extra information from taxpayers, which has led to mini-audits.
Curiously, the government has noted that taxpayers have a "safe harbour" where they have relied on a tax agent, despite a contrary ATO view. It has similarly "noted" a recommendation to consider giving the ATO the power to withhold punishment from taxpayers where a law has "unintended, anomalous, inequitable or, impractical consequences", until fixed by Parliament. Hefty penalties applied to excess superannuation contributions, which have caused significant angst and public backlash, could fall in to such a category.
The ATO has agreed to publish more data on its compliance activities, consult with experts from outside the office on its interpretation of court cases and on detail demanded in tax returns, and issue more determinations. Decisions to extend the time taken to review a taxpayer's situation will require senior executive approval.
It has refused to elevate its income tax guides – Tax Pack and e-tax – to public ruling status.
The Australian Financial Review

subset: commoncrawl


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Get an overview of this hotelMotel in Texas City with outdoor pool and 24-hour front desk
Popular property highlights
Situated in Texas City, this motel is 1.9 mi (3 km) from Bayou Golf Club and 2.5 mi (4 km) from Bayou Golf Course. Texas City Museum and College of the Mainland are also within 6 mi (10 km).
Property Features
Along with an outdoor pool, this motel has coffee/tea in a common area and a seasonal outdoor pool. Free WiFi in public areas and free self parking are also provided. Other amenities include a meeting room, laundry facilities, and a 24-hour front desk.
Room Amenities
All 117 rooms offer free WiFi, TVs with cable channels, and free local calls.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!Opens in a new window
Motel 6 Texas City
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
Motel 6 Texas City features an outdoor pool, coffee/tea in a common area, and laundry facilities. Public areas are equipped with complimentary wireless Internet access. Limited complimentary onsite parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- 24-hour front desk
- Total number of rooms - 117
- Number of floors - 2
- Coffee/tea in common areas
- Free WiFi
- Laundry facilities
- One meeting room
- Parking (limited spaces)
- RV, bus, truck parking
- Free self parking
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Outdoor pool
- Outdoor seasonal pool
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Outdoor pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
- Cribs/infant beds (complimentary)
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking, RV, bus, truck parking, Parking (limited spaces)
Room Amenities
- Air conditioning
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Access via exterior corridors
- Phone
- Free local calls
- Daily housekeeping
- Private bathroom
- Shower/tub combination
- Desk
- Television
- Cable TV service
- Free WiFi
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Rollaway/extra beds (surcharge)
Nearby Things to Do
Recreational amenities at the motel include an outdoor pool.
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Minimum check-in age is 18
Check-out time is 11 AM
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! Children stay free when using existing bedding.
- Rollaway/extra beds are available.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets stay free
- 2 per room
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
No rollaway/extra beds available
No elevators
Pets allowed (no fees)
Optional extras
- Refrigerator fee: USD 10 per night
- In-room microwave fee: USD 10 per night
- Rollaway beds are available for an additional fee
Hotel Name
- Motel 6 Texas City
- La Quinta Inn Texas City Hotel Texas City
- 6 Texas City


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Currently, the most wanted actor in Telugu industry - Mahesh Babu, is a very soft spoken, humble actor. He has acted in many successful movies such as Okkadu, Murari, Athadu, Dookudu, Pokiri and many more. He worked in nine films as child artist and 17 films as lead actor till date.
He has won seven Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Awards, three Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Awards, three CineMAA Awards and one South Indian International Movie Awards.
Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to Telugu Cinema actor-superstar Krishna and Smt Indira Devi on 9th August 1975. Since his father had to spend a lot of time on sets, he made sure all his children spent sufficient time with him on location and on sets. Mahesh says this was where his interest for acting began. His elder brother, producer and actor, Ramesh Babu had a significant role in his upbringing and he enjoys a great relationship with him. He also has two elder sisters, Padmavathi and actress-producer Manjula Ghattamaneni, and one younger sister Priyadarshini.
Mahesh and all his family have always kept family and family values as their first priority. Mahesh Babu dated Bollywood actress and former Femina Miss India Namrata Shirodhkar for five years. They married on 10th February 2005 in Mumbai. They have two children, son Gautam Krishna and daughter Sitara. Here are some of his rare childhood and family pictures.
A Young Mahesh Babu
Mahesh Babu has very high family values. Here is one of his rare childhood photo. The person highlighted in red box is Mahesh Babu and the person standing behind him is his elder brother Ramesh Babu.
More Rare Mahesh Pictures
Here are some of Mahesh Babu's pictures as a young boy. In one of the pictures, Victory Venkatesh holds Mahesh Babu.
Venkatesh and Mahesh Babu acted together in a recent release, Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu.
Mahesh And Ramesh Babu Together
Mahesh Babu with his brother Ramesh Babu. Mahesh Babu used to spend his holidays on sets and on locations and was not shy to do some small roles when needed.
Mahesh And Ramesh Babu With Father Krishna
Mahesh Babu's father superstar Krishna made sure all his children spent some quality time with him during their holidays. Mahesh said this was one of the reasons for his interest in films.
Mahesh In A Function
Mahesh Babu attending a function with his family. You can see superstar Krishna and his sister actor and producer Manjula in this picture.
A Young Mahesh Babu
Mahesh Babu has worked in nine films as child artist and 17 films as lead actor till date. Here is a rare picture from his early acting career.
Mahesh Babu With Close Friends
Mahesh Babu with his close friends. His wife Namratha, sister Manjula and actor Sumanth are also present in this picture.
Mahesh With Son Gautham
Mahesh Babu with his son Gautham. Mahesh makes sure he spends a great amount of time with his son Gautham and daughter Sitara. Here is a picture in which Mahesh is spending some quiet time with his son Gautham.


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A growing companyIn March 2013 the French finance company Sogedi moved into their new office in Haute-Goulaine. The company needed larger facilities since it had grown substantially and the number of employees had three folded. Important aspects in creating the new work environment were efficiency and productivity as well as the well-being of the employees. To create a representative and functional workspace.
Well-beeing & efficiencyWhen furnishing Sogedis new open space office acoustics and functional solutions were important. Focus was on creating a good work environment with a pleasant sound level. With significant values as well-being and efficiency. For the individual, the group and the department. Ergonomically, space-efficient and practical interior solutions. For individual work, dialogue or meetings.
Mobility and focused workThe result is an open space office of 1200 m2 divided on two floors. Furnished with functionality and design. With colours and light. And practical solutions. All for prosperous co-workers. Work stations with user-friendly and ergonomic task chairs and space-efficient desks with convenient storing. Meeting rooms with inviting furniture and representative management rooms. Smart screen solutions provide a good sound level and also work as room or space divider.
CLIENT: French finance company Sogedi moved into new built office in Haute- Goulaine.
FUNCTIONS: Open space office of 1200 m2 divided on two floors.
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: More than 50
INTERIOR SOLUTIONS: Series[e] one table, Rezon screens, Screenit screens, Series[n] desk, Mento task chair, Esencia task chair, Plint chair, Fenix chair, Centrum armchair, Angle table, Remus, Serie[e] storage.
We believe in making life better at work. At kinnarps, we do more than just sell furniture. With products and services to match your needs, we deliver inspiring and effective workspace solutions to help your organisation prosper.
Read more about our philosophy
If you get the chance, please visit us at one of our show rooms around the globe.
Find your local showroom


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- Washington Post reporters and photographer recall their favorite moments from the 2012 London Olympic Games, and what it was like to be in the arena watching the events. ()


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Для получения актуальных цен по гостинице Horizonte Bay, пожалуйста, укажите интересующие вас даты и выполните поиск.
This holiday apartment complex is situated on the Costa Antigua, 2 km from Caleta de Fuste, one of the principal tourist spots on the island. The apartments have one bedroom but are equipped to hold up to 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children. Additional facilities include a swimming pool with a separate children's area, a mini supermarket and sporting facilities. This coastal accommodation is equipped with all the necessary services to enjoy this peaceful island. There is entertainment for all the family with theme parks and exclusive golf courses nearby.


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Ask Health Experts and Get Answers to Your Health Question ASAP
This is very highly suspicious. Many people have sever allergic reactions to bee, wasp (yellow jacket) stings. Sometimes there is an immediate reaction, and at other times the reactions take time.
Wasp stings and bee stings that produce any kind of reaction that involves swelling of the airway or tightness of the chest and throat should be considered a medical emergency of at least an urgent need. This means getting to the hospital right away, you should not need an ambulance.
The tightness in your chest could suddenly progress to a stage of causing you to compromise your breathing and airway.
you should go now to the emergency room, and place ice on the wound while you are in route.
the physician will listen to your airway, and if it sounds a particular way, he will have you given a shot of epinephrine, and he may also give you benadryl or other antihistamine. If it is bad enough he may also include cortisones.
While you are there you can ask the doctor for a prescription to pick up a bee sting kit that you can keep near by.
These kind of allergies do not normally confer immunity and you could have a worse reaction the next time.


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Gaining 475 yards of total offense in freshman quarterback Jonathan Wallace's first career start, the Tigers overcame a sluggish first half to put the hammer down on the Aggies to earn win number two on the season.
Getting the opportunity to watch Wallace take the reins for an entire game, offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler said he saw some positives and negatives for the young quarterback in the win.
"He started out slow," Loeffler said. "It's really good that we were able to get a win because we're able to go into that meeting room tomorrow and have some stuff with him that we have to clean up. We had some first half woes, some things we missed. He's going to watch the tape and know he's got to improve in the first half and he will.
"The one thing that is positive about Jonathan is that some mistakes are going to be made, but he's not a repeat offender. When you have a young freshman quarterback like that they are going to make mistakes, but they have to correct them fast. That's what he did."
Completing 9-16 passes for 164 yards with one touchdown and one interception, Wallace and Tre Mason mishandled the exchange on the first play of the game for the Tigers to show some early nerves. However, like he has done this season and in his playing days at Central High in Phenix City, Wallace responded by leading his team to a victory and showing the poise his teammates see every day in practice.
"That's how he's been from day one," Loeffler said. "He's improved every day since he got on campus. He's got a long way to go. He's a guy that is in the office until 11 o'clock at night. He's a grinder. All the little details that he's trying to do is what is giving him some success."
One of the biggest plays of the day on offense for the Tigers came with Auburn leading 21-0 and facing a third and seven from its own seven-yard line. Getting man coverage on the outside, Wallace hit senior wide receiver Emory Blake for 29 yards to give the Tigers some breathing room. Four plays later Onterio McCalebb raced in from 38 yards to put this one out of reach and cap Auburn's longest drive of the season.
"We were in a run –pass check situation and he checked to the pass," Loeffler said. "He made a heck of a throw. In my opinion getting a 94-yard drive was great for our football team. Our objective was to flip the field. We at least wanted to get two first downs, but anytime you can score on a 94-yard drive in a coming out situation, I think that was probably the critical drive of the game."
With the Aggies stacking the line of scrimmage, Auburn's running game struggled with the zone-read. Loeffler said the Tigers made some adjustments offensively that allowed them to get some openings. With so many young players on that side of the ball the first-year coordinator said he was very pleased to see them adjust on the fly and succeed.
"We came out with the game plan that we were going to run," Loeffler said. "We saw from the box that they were giving us some obscure looks to run him (Wallace). We were able to counter and adjust. It was nice to see them be able to adjust and run the football. That's what we're going to have to be able to do.
"You have to be able to adjust," he added. "Our young team has had trouble adjusting. We were able to adjust today and there are some things we can really build on. It's going to be nice to be able to walk in that meeting room and be able to pound and correct the things that need to be corrected. We need to be better in the first half."


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Decimal Fraction
Related Words
Definition of Decimal Fraction
A Decimal Fraction is a fraction in which the denominator is a power of ten.
More About Decimal Fraction
Decimal fraction can be easily converted into decimal by inserting a decimal separator in the value of the numerator at the position from the right in accordance with the power of ten of the denominator.
Example of Decimal Fraction
are the examples of decimal fractions. These decimal fractions can be expressed as 2.3, 0.47, and 0.089 without the denominators.
Video Examples: Decimal Fractions
Solved Example on Decimal Fraction
Ques: A teacher asks Patrick to convert the decimal number 153.31 to the equivalent (decimal) fraction. What should be Patrick's answer?
Correct Answer: A
Step 1: 153.31 = 153 + 0.31 [Divide the decimal into real part and decimal part.]
Step 2: 0.31 = [Convert the decimal to fraction.]
Step 3: 153 + 0.31 = 153 + = 153 = [Substitute and convert the mixed fraction to improper fraction.]
Step 4: Patrick's answer should be .
Translate :


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"Now You See Me..." is a pretty good movie – I think.
"Now You See Me..." is a pretty good movie – I think.
I don't know precisely, because Dearly Beloved and I attended the June 7 presentation at a local theater. I was all revved up over it because I had seen the previews a month or two back, and I was pretty sure DB would enjoy it, too.
We had dinner out and then checked in at the theater. The gist of the story is that a group of magicians and illusionists use their skills to befuddle law enforcement authorities while they play a Robin Hood sort of gig. It was well-done and held us in rapt attention right up to the moment, nearing the climax, when the screen suddenly went blank, the sound ceased and we were left in a dark auditorium along with the other patrons, wondering what happened.
I thought at first, it might be part of the movie, but after several seconds, realized that was not the case.
After a while, a young lady appeared down front and announced there had been a technical problem and that the digital equipment would have to be rebooted, a process that apparently takes some time to accomplish.
So, they apologized and gave each of us a raincheck for a later showing.
I hate when that happens. It was a pretty good movie up to the point where it wasn't — and I really wanted to see the rest of it.
Oh, well, perhaps next week, we can do it again. DB will look forward to dinner out again, I'm sure!
BANJO MUSIC: Oak Run's Lee Endicott wrote: "Smiles I had after reading your Saturday Bits and Pieces about banjo music. In addition to Mark Twain's terrific description of it, I add that it is a thigh-slapping, head-bobbing rhythm, which keeps you swaying. Best example of this can be heard by three banjo experts on Bourbon Street in Preservation Hall, New Orleans."
Tom Miller, Ocala, wrote: "Reading your column, as usual, I find that we share a great love for banjo picking. We have a place in Gilmer County, Ga., near the county seat of Ellijay. Up in 'them thar' mountains there are plenty of good old-fashion pickers. One in particular, a young man named Barry Abernathy, does not have any fingers on his left hand. He chords the banjo by reaching over with his thumb, and plays a real mean banjo. He played a few years with Doyal Lawson and Quicksilver and won Emmys three years in a row for best banjo picker. Quite an accomplishment for a fellow with no fingers."
Tom, it's truly amazing what some people can accomplish if they really put their sights on a goal and persevere.
THANKS! : Ocala's Jenny Younica wrote: "My daughter, who is in the Air Force, just returned home from Afghanistan. On her flight from Atlanta to Valdosta, she was approached by a gentleman in a business suit, who thanked her for her service to our country. He then told her she was in the wrong seat. She assured him she had checked her ticket, and she was where she was assigned. He told her, 'I fly first class all the time, and your seat is up front — this is my seat.' She was honored.
"Upon landing, as the pilot was doing his routine 'thank you for flying Delta,' he added, 'We have been fortunate to have a celebrity with us on board today.'
"My daughter glanced around, looking for a famous face. The pilot then announced there was a service member on board, returning home from Afghanistan, and to give her a round of applause. My daughter sheepishly realized it was for her.
"I am already extremely proud of her, and it's great knowing how much our other fellow Americans appreciate the members of our military."
NEIGHBORHOOD ANGEL: Ocala's Tom Snyder wrote: "One of our residents on SW 115th Loop is known as 'Hank the Crank.' But believe me he is anything but. He has made it his job to see that every lamppost on the loop has a flag flying and each lamp has a golf ball on top covering the sharp spike. This lessens the chance of the flag catching on the spike and ripping.
"Hank is also our local 'angel.' All of our residents know that any repair, from leaking faucets to clogged drains, is reason to call Hank. His wife is confined to a wheelchair 24/7 and has a caretaker come twice a day to take care of her. During those hours, he has time to answer all the calls for help. It would be nice if all neighborhoods had a handyman like Hank."
Perhaps, Tom, you and your neighbors might provide him a bit of respite when the caretaker is not there, so Hank can catch his breath. He sounds like a guy who hands out RAKs regularly and could probably use some in return.
QUESTION: Who is the earliest president of the United States for which we have a surviving photograph? (That's photograph now, not a painting or drawing, although daguerreotype might be a more accurate term.) I'd give you a hint, but I don't want to make it too easy for you.
Send comments to firstname.lastname@example.com and include your FULL name and town. This column appears each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and online at www.ocala.com.


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|From: Robby Findler (robby at cs.uchicago.edu)
Date: Wed Oct 18 09:59:23 EDT 2006
At Wed, 18 Oct 2006 09:08:15 -0400, Prabhakar Ragde wrote: > Matthias Felleisen wrote: > > I bet you > > know that they can do this already with a right-click on the mouse. They > > are just too lazy. > > I don't think this is quite right, is it? Right-click (control-click for > me, on a Mac) on what appears to be text spelling out a decimal number > but is in fact a snip representing a rational brings up a menu that lets > me change the representation to mixed or improper fractions, but there > isn't anything in that menu offering to convert it to plain text. > Furthermore, when I type 0.25 or 3/4 as constants in my program, in the > Definitions window, and then control-click on them, I cannot change the > representation; they are not snips, and I don't know how to make them > snips, except to generate them as values in the Interactions window. So > it appears that snips are snips and text is text. --PR In the HtDP design-pattern sense, yes. Snip is a different data definition than text (technically, the text is a special kind of snip, as is the fraction, but different kinds). But maybe we should consider changing right-click, so that when you click on text that is a numeric constant, you get the same menu (and your textual constant becomes a snip). Ditto when you switch the view of a snip to something that could actually be written as a text (a mixed fraction or, in the teaching languages, a decimal) Robby
|Posted on the users mailing list.


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Reviewed By steve f (warrington, PA) Reviewed for a 1997 Acura CL —7/16/2017 5:20 PM
I'll never buy any thing else !!
Reviewed By Gregory L (SOUTH PASADENA, CA) —4/9/2016 10:21 AM
I had been using Hawk pads looking for the promised great street/track pad that people claimed they were. The only Hawks that worked are very hard on rotors and noisy. I moved on to StopTech and Baer performance pads, good street pads but not a track pad. Next I tried the EBC Yellows then Blues when first came out then to Blue NDX. The NDX are the BEST street/track pads so far with great pedal feel, long rotor life and good fade resistance. Work on my S197 GT and M3 track days and DD street use.


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This country note presents student performance in science, reading and mathematics, and measures equity in education in Estonia. The interactive charts allow you to compare results with other countries participating in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
This annual publication presents detailed country notes and internationally comparable tax data for all OECD countries from 1965 onwards.
The 2016 edition of the E-Leaders meeting will discuss how to make data-driven public sectors a reality. Digital technologies can generating a real transformation of the public sector, but are the E-Leaders capable of driving this transformation?
English, PDF, 1,168kb
This note presents selected findings based on the set of well-being indicators published in How's Life? 2016.
English, PDF, 1,439kb
This policy profile on education in Estonia is part of the Education Policy Outlook series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries.
The effective use of school resources is a policy priority across OECD countries. The OECD Reviews of School Resources explore how resources can be governed, distributed, utilised and managed to improve the quality, equity and efficiency of school education.
The series considers four types of resources: financial resources, such as public funding of individual schools; human resources, such as teachers, school leaders and education administrators; physical resources, such as location, buildings and equipment; and other resources, such as learning time.
This series offers timely policy advice to both governments and the education community. It includes both country reports and thematic studies.
Notice biographique du Représentant permanent de l'Estonie auprès de l'OCDE.
This case study presents the Political Parties Act, the legislative framework for funding, regulating and monitoring political parties and candidates. It also discusses the Estonian Party Funding Supervision Committee, the electoral management body charged with overseeing compliance with the Political Parties Act.
The 2015 edition introduces more detailed analysis of participation in early childhood and tertiary levels of education. The report also examines first generation tertiary-educated adults' educational and social mobility, labour market outcomes for recent graduates, and participation in employer-sponsored formal and/or non-formal education.
This report is the first joint OECD Public Governance Review between two countries. The Report discusses challenges in whole-of-government strategy steering and the opportunities of digital government.


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Mounted police officers were deployed to a party in Altone Rd, Beechboro after reports of more than 100 youths causing a disturbance after the event was advertised on Facebook.
Police were called to the scene at about 10.15pm Saturday after several reports were made that the gathering was creating a disturbance.
While the crowd was dispersed, the party was not reported as an out-of-control gathering and no arrests were made.


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Lou Reed, founding member of The Velvet Underground, has died. Although I did not always agree with Reed's politics or views on religion, I was deeply moved by his art. As my friend, Rod Dreher, notes, "He was a broken man — he wrote and sang about very dark things, including drug addiction and prostitution — but out of that brokenness came beauty, at times, and even grace." Other than Bob Dylan, Reed was about the only performer that I would have liked to have met.What follows are videos of … [Read more...]
R.I.P. Lou Reed
Five doctrinal issues that divide Catholics and Protestants
In my second installment for the week of Reformation Day are links to five articles I published over at The Catholic Thing. Each deals with a doctrinalissue over which Catholics and Protestants disagree:Justification: "Was Aquinas a Proto-Protestant?" The Catholic Thing (09 December 2010) Sola Scriptura: "Revelation, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium." The Catholic Thing (16 September 2011) The Eucharist: "Transubstantiation: From Stumbling Block to Cornerstone." The Catholic … [Read more...]
The week of Reformation Day: "Reformation Day and Schism"
Today begins the week that includes, October 31, the day that Protestants have traditionally called "Reformation Day." For it is the day that in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg. We are now only 4 years away from the 500th anniversary of those earth-shaking events that transformed the trajectory of Western Christianity. During this week I will be posting links to several articles in commemoration of Reformation Day. These articles either deal … [Read more...]
Caution! Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Jesus" is historically flawed
Read the review of the book over at The Catholic Thing. The reviewer is David G. Bonagura, Jr., who teaches theology at St. Joseph's Seminary, New York. Several years ago I penned a piece on O'Reilly and his theological acumen. Entitled, "Don't Know Much About Theology," you can read it here. … [Read more...]
"Don't call it a pullback; we've been here for years." Why I love Russell Moore; he appropriates LL Cool J
You can read it here on National Review Online. As for LL Cool J, here's what I'm talking about. … [Read more...]
Bob Dylan's amazing live version of Mr. Tambourine Man from 1995
When my brother, Jim, and I saw Dylan in Vegas on May 13, 1995, he sang it just this way during that live performance. … [Read more...]
A question I didn't think anyone was asking: Where did all these Calvinists come from?
Read all about it at The Gospel Coalition. BTW, I think it's a great question! … [Read more...]
Great cover of Bob Dylan's pro-Israel song, "Neighborhood Bully."
The band is called "Daniel Israel and Blood on the Tracks." The lyrics to the song follow: Neighborhood Bully (music and lyrics by Bob Dylan)Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man His enemies say he's on their land They got him outnumbered about a million to one He got no place to escape to, no place to run He's the neighborhood bullyThe neighborhood bully just lives to survive He's criticized and condemned for being alive He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to … [Read more...]
My cousin Tony Sclafani's new book: Grateful Dead FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band in History
My cousin Tony Sclafani recently published a book, Grateful Dead FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band in History (Backbeat Books, 2013). Here's a summary of it: The Grateful Dead rose out of San Francisco's 1960s underground rock scene with an unprecedented sound and image. The group's members were steeped in rock, folk, classical, and blues, and their instrumental prowess and refusal to bow to commercial conventions helped originate jam band music. Unapologetic in their ad … [Read more...]
The Underground Thomist: J. Budziszewski's scholarly website
J. Budziszewski, professor of government and philosophy at the University of Texas, has a new website, The Underground Thomist. I was perusing it this morning. It is really amazing. You should check it out. … [Read more...]
Gerald McDermott: Is Evangelical Liberalism an Oxymoron?
Just saw this essay this morning on First Thing's On the Square. Here is Professor McDermott's conclusion: The lesson Evangelicals should learn from this new dust-up over evangelical theology and modernity is that sola scriptura is necessary but not sufficient for maintaining theological orthodoxy. Only a "single-source" view of scripture and tradition in which hermeneutical authority is given to the mutual interplay of Scripture and orthodox community—the method that the church practiced for mo … [Read more...]
Gerald McDermott on The Emerging Divide in Evangelical Theology
Here's the introduction: Imagine the scene. Ancient Jerusalem is at war. Its army is fighting far away. Behind the city walls, its old men, women and children nervously await word on what happened in battle. Their lives and future are at stake. Suddenly, a cry rings out from the sentries watching from the look-out points on top of the wall. "Your God reigns.." A rider approaching the wall has signaled victory. The whole city explodes in celebration. The word "evangelical" comes from this Hebrew … [Read more...]
George Weigel on the upcoming double papal canonizations
Weigel writes: "I doubt that Pope Francis has heard of Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame shortstop. But like "Mr. Cub," whose love for baseball led him to exclaim "Let's play two!" before Sunday doubleheaders in the 1950s, the pope from the end of the world seems to think that papal canonizations are better in tandem: hence the Sept. 30 announcement that Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II will be canonized together on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2014." >>>continue reading … [Read more...]


text: Every Monday morning I eagerly watch my "in-box" waiting for the arrival of a special email. For the past four months, and the next 14 more, this is my only weekly contact with our daughter "Sister A.", who is serving as as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Regardless of … Continue reading


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|Bradley Britigan, M.D.
Starvation was previously thought to produce resistance because most antibiotics target cellular functions needed for growth. When starved cells stop growing, these targets are no longer active.
Starvation alarm a key to survival
But the team that Dr. Britigan was a part of found that bacteria starvation initiates a reaction that actually lets the bugs resist antibiotics.
This new knowledge "may provide new approaches to negate bacterial resistance to antibiotics, a growing problem in treating patients," said Dr. Britigan, who worked on the study while he was still at the University of Cincinnati.
A new treatment target?
In particular, the team found that the starvation alarm mechanism in the bacteria may be a potential target for treatment.
In the study, the team shut this mechanism down in sample bacteria and then starved them. These bacteria proved easier to kill than those with active starvation alarm mechanisms.
In the study, Dr. Britigan worked with researchers from the:
- University of Washington;
- University of Cincinnati;
- Northwestern University;
- McGill University; and
- INRS Armand Frappier.
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College elusive for some immigrants under new law
Many students whose parents entered the United States illegally are finding higher education harder to afford under an Indiana law that requires those without proof of citizenship to pay out-of-state tuition rates.
A law that took effect July 1, 2011, left non-citizens enrolled in college with few options. They could either pay out-of state tuition or drop out and wait for immigration reform to pass or apply for a work permit under a federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.
The Kokomo Tribune reports a bill passed this year will help about 300 students who were enrolled on or before July 1, 2011, pay in-state tuition rates.
Sen. Jean Leising sponsored the bill and says she thought it was fair to grandfather in those students already enrolled.
Information from: Kokomo Tribune
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Una's little pearl-pure face gleamed up at her beseechingly from the manse pew.
She rouses and listens, then the little hand creeps into his beseechingly.
And he took both her hands so beseechingly that she felt more ungrateful than ever.
"Tell me about it," said the girl, beseechingly, and her breath came short and hot.
"I shall take it off; now for sure—as sure as this is Wednesday," said Gitl, beseechingly.
As she approached, Madeleine opened her blue eyes and gazed at her beseechingly.
Patty brought her gaze back from the window and looked up at Priscilla beseechingly.
The children wept, and Nana ran to him beseechingly, but he waved her back.
"That you certainly ought not to do," said Antinous, beseechingly.
Madge looked at him beseechingly just before they arrived at their skiff.
late 12c., bisecen "to beseech, beg urgently," from be- + Middle English secen "to seek" (see seek). German cognate besuchen is merely "to visit." Related: Besought; beseeching.


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Texas Instruments' (TI's) new MOSFETs incorporate Ciclon Semiconductor's NexFET technology to achieve greater than 90% power efficiency in a footprint up to 20% smaller.
TI has acquired Bethlehem, PA-based Ciclon Semiconductor, a fabless designer of high-frequency, high-efficiency power management semiconductors.
- Wireless broadband developments in Southeast Asia markets
As of 2013, the 10 ASEAN nations had a total of over 700 million mobile subscriptions, with the CAGR from 2003-2013 reaching 24%. This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the various mobile broadband markets in ASEAN and looks at the respective trends in 4G LTE development for those markets.
- 2015 global tablet demand forecast
This Digitimes Research Special Report provides a 2015 forecast for the global tablet market and analyzes the strategies of key market players such as Google, Apple, Intel, and Microsoft.
- 2015 China smartphone panel trend forecast
This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the strategies of key China-based major panel makers BOE, Tianma and IVO for attacking the different market segments through technology and pricing, and their relationship to local vendors Huawei, Lenovo, ZTE, Xiaomi and Coolpad.


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& Showtimes
& Photos
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Rather explicit but for a purpose.The opening credits montage shows snippets from a variety of different sex scenes with black bars visible on sensitive areas, including a threesome from Where the Truth Lies.A brief snippet of an oral sex scene from The Cooler is shown, with nudity and movement visible.The infamous anal sex scene from Storytelling is shown(with a red bar over what's supposed to be penetration, because the director had to do that in order to get an R-rating), with a meter on the side of the screen counting the amount of thrusts for comedy.In addition, scenes from Orgazmo, American Psycho, Henry and June, and Eyes Wide Shut are shown, plus several other films. Plenty of frank sex talk.All Of The sexual content is an educational format to show how many sexual movies will be likely rated NC-17 as opposed to hyper violent R films9/10
Shows a few violent images from various movies though the blood and gore is kept to a minimum.Shows examples of dismemberment from "Sin City" briefly. The main character from "Boys Don't Cry" is shown being shot in the head with blood exiting the back of the head onto a wall behind him.The violence is quite graphic but very brief in every instance.Both of these movies have been rated R by the MPAA Ratings Board.8/10
Around 20 f-words, and the counts for other obscenities double that, leaving the count at around 60-80.8/10
Very slight. Some conversation regarding drugs.5/10
A brief clip from "Saving Private Ryan" may be disturbing to some.The film addresses adult subject matter, and the politics and corruption within the American film industry.3/10TOTAL EXPLICIT CONTENT: 28/50Suggested MPAA Rating: R for some strong sexual content, nudity, language and brief violent images. Was probably rated NC-17 because the MPAA can't take criticism.
Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet!


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Image Gallery
07.11.2017 'Nathan Bridges Dune' on a Martian Mountain
07.11.2017 'Ireson Hill' on Mount Sharp, Mars
06.29.2017 Traction control testing
06.21.2017 A.I. laser targeting
06.01.2017 Diagram of Lake Stratification on Mars
03.21.2017 Break in Raised Tread on Curiosity Wheel
02.27.2017 Swirling Dust in Gale Crater, Mars, Sol 1613
02.27.2017 Dust Devil Passes Near Martian Sand Dune
02.27.2017 Sand Moving Under Curiosity, One Day to Next
12.13.2016 Now and Long Ago at Gale Crater, Mars
12.13.2016 Where's Boron? Mars Rover Detects It
10.03.2016 Curiosity Self-Portrait at 'Murray Buttes'
10.03.2016 Butte 'M9a' in 'Murray Buttes' on Mars
09.19.2016 Ribbon Cutting
09.09.2016 Farewell to Murray Buttes (Image 5)
09.09.2016 Farewell to Murray Buttes (Image 4)
09.09.2016 Farewell to Murray Buttes (Image 3)
09.09.2016 Farewell to Murray Buttes (Image 2)
09.09.2016 Farewell to Murray Buttes (Image 1)
08.26.2016 Out-of-this-World Records
03.30.2016 Erisa Hines
03.30.2016 Buzz Aldrin
02.12.2016 Women in Science
02.09.2016 Adam Steltzner, a JPL engineer
01.27.2016 Night Close-up of Martian Sand Grains
01.27.2016 Curiosity Self-Portrait at Martian Sand Dune
12.17.2015 Alteration Effects at Gale and Gusev Craters
Downslope of the FanThis false-color map shows the area within Gale Crater on Mars, where NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Aug. 5, 2012 PDT (Aug. 6, 2012 EDT). It merges topographic data with thermal inertia data that record the ability of the surface to hold onto heat. Red indicates a surface material that retains its heat longer into the evening, suggesting differences relative to its surroundings. One possibility is that the materials that make up these soils and rocks have been more tightly bound together by mineral cements. The black oval indicates the targeted landing area for the rover, known as the "landing ellipse," and the cross shows where the rover actually touched down at the Bradbury Landing site.
An alluvial fan, or fan-shaped deposit where debris spread out downslope, has been highlighted in lighter colors for better viewing. On Earth, alluvial fans often are formed by water flowing downslope. New observations from Curiosity of rounded pebbles embedded with rocky outcrops provide concrete evidence that water did flow in this region on Mars, creating the alluvial fan. Water carrying the pebbly material is thought to have streamed downslope, extending the alluvial fan, at least occasionally, to where the rover now sits, studying its ancient history. The evidence for former water at the Bradbury Landing site may help the science team better understand the nature of the red areas in this map.
The rover is heading toward Glenelg, just to the lower right of Bradbury, where three different types of material connect up in a "triple junction."
This image was obtained by the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Odyssey orbiter.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
All Images


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Contact Us
Drop us a line.
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que cannot accept catering or carry-out orders submitted online or by e-mail.
All orders must be made by phone or in-person.
CLICK HERE for Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que donation information and form
Contact Details
The Original Gas Station Restaurant
(913) 722-3366
Leawood Restaurant
(913) 338-5151
Olathe Restaurant
(913) 782-6858
SendJoesBBQ (Shipping)
844-JOES-BBQ Our shipping office hours are (CST) 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The 180 Room, Private Dining & Event Space
(913) 390-0180


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Editorial: Kandiyohi County sets a good example
Kandiyohi County's government once again is demonstrating how a local government entity can and should work in reinventing itself, its operations and reviewing how it delivers services.
The goal of the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners and its administration is two-fold: increase the efficiency of the county staff and improve services to the public.
Those are worthy goals to deliver appropriate value and efficiencies to county taxpayers.
Basically, the county commissioners and the county's administration continue to think outside the box, reviewing and embracing new ideas, and working with others.
This week the county hired a part-time facilitator for the next 12 months to coordinate the next phase of the county restructuring. This Phase 2 project involves the restructuring of the county departments housed in the Health and Human Services Building in north Willmar.
The county is also an engaged stakeholder in the Vision 2040 project, which is a community-wide effort focused on developing a strategic agenda for Willmar and Kandiyohi County for the next quarter of a century.
The County Board is composed a variety of political philosophies, but those commissioners know how to work together, understand compromise, value their staff and do not to fall prey to personal grudges or agendas.
We commend Kandiyohi County for continuing to set a fine example of good governance and seeking continued improvement.


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Nicki Minaj looked purrrr-fectly wild on the Grammy red carpet.
"This outfit is a masterpiece by Givenchy," declared the singer.
"And what they made for me is a miraculous piece of lionesss-meets-her-cub-meets-fabulocity-meets fashionista-meets-runaway-meets everything," she told Ryan Seacrest.
Is this an alter ego? "This is the only one...I dont have alter egos. At least I dont know about them. Unless the egos sneak up..."
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Boston podcast directory
NOTE: Boston Common is no longer being updated. For the latest Boston-area blog posts, please see Universal Hub
Like everything else I'm working on these days, it's sorta half-baked (I should add links to explanations of podcasting), but it's a start. Thanks to C.C., who's now doing daily podcasts, for the idea. If you know of any Boston-area podcasters who aren't on the (currently very short) list, drop me a line (there's an Add a Site link, but when you click on it right now, it brings up the form to add a restroom to the Restroom Guide, which is another thing I need to fix, grr).
Previous: Hub blogs forEVAH!
Next: Had this been an actual emergency ...
C.C. says (on January 7, 2005 11:47 PM):
Thanks for putting this list up. I'm hoping it continues to grow! If any Boston area musician is reading this we'd love to showcase your music on our show. Drop me an e-mail!
Post a comment


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Parent Portal Information
Parent Portal Frequently Asked Questions
Parent Portal Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I get an Access ID and Access Password for my child?
You will need to go, in person, to your child's school so they can verify your identity and give your Access ID and Access Password. Only legal guardians may pick up your child's access key information.
Does the school setup my Parent Portal Account?
No, you set up your own account. Instructions are available at the following link:
Who do I contact with general Parent Portal questions:
IF this
does not answer your question you can contact your child's school. Service is offered as a best effort. The division cannot troubleshoot home computer issues.
What do I do if I forgot my Parent Portal login user name or password?
On the Parent Portal page is a link called "Having Trouble Logging in?" It will step you through the process of requesting your account information. The information will be sent to the email you used to originally setup your account.
Why am I not getting a confirmation email after requesting user name or password help?
Most email providers/programs run some type of Spam guard program. If you do not see an email from firstname.lastname@example.com, check inside your SPAM folder, Junk mail folder, Bulk Items folder or Trash Folder to see if the email landed in any of those folders. It is recommended to add this address to your contacts list to insure delivery.
Do I have to have a separate account for each of my children?
No! You can have one account with all of your children attached. You just need the Access ID and Access Password for each child.
Can both parents have a Parent Portal Account?
Yes! Both parents can have their own separate parent portal account. You can also allow access for other guardians as well. Perhaps they are staying with their grandmother for a time; you can allow her to setup her own account as well.
Will the Parent Portal be up all year?
In the event that we do an upgrade to the system, we may take it down temporarily. It will also be inaccessible at the end of each grading period and during the summer when we are updating information and scheduling for the upcoming year.
How quickly will students' grades and attendance be available in the Parent Portal?
The information is in real-time. As soon as a teacher publishes grades or takes attendance on your child, it shows up in the Parent Portal right away. Grades will be entered in a timely manner. It is not expected, however, that a test or major assignment will be graded and entered into Parent Portal the same day it is completed. Depending on the complexity of the assignment it may be several school days before the grades are posted into the Parent Portal. Please be patient.
Even though I can see my child's grades online, will students still receive mid-term and report card grades?
Yes, a paper report card will be distributed each grading period. To receive mid-term reports parents must opt-in through the parent portal to receive a summary report of grades at any time.
Who do I contact with a question about my child's grades?
Contact your child's individual teacher with specific grading questions.
How often will my student's grades be updated?
You will need to discuss this with your child's school. There is no current county policy of how often the grades must be updated.
Will I be able to make changes to my student's information via the Parent Portal?
Not at the current time. Future updates could include such features, but right now, the only thing you can change via the Parent Portal is your account information and your email preferences.
Do all teachers post grade and attendance information to the PowerSchool Parent Portal?
First through twelfth grade teachers will enter grades. Remember, the teacher's grade book is a "snapshot in time" and not necessarily an accurate reflection of the student's overall progress or performance. Similarly, the student's grade average may change depending on the weight or value of graded work.
What do I do if I do not want a particular person to have access to my child, but I already gave them the Access Id and Password?
If this is a custody change issue, you will need to get a court order to prevent a parent from having access to your child's account, just as you would to prevent them from having access to their information within the school. If this is an auxiliary adult, like an aunt or an uncle who no longer needs access, you can request the school to have the account disabled/removed and the student's Access ID changed to prevent them from setting up a new account.
Will I still be able to access the Parent Portal if my child transfers to another school?
If a student transfers to another school within Washington County, VA parent/guardian accounts will still be valid. No further action will be required of the parent to access his/her account.
What happens to my account if my child transfers out of the school division?
This access is a service offered to all parents/guardians of currently active students. Once a student is withdrawn or graduates from the division, the Parent Portal account will be inactivated.
I lost my original Parent Portal Information letter, how can I get another copy?
The letter is typically not needed once you create your account. But, if it is needed you must pick up a copy at your child's school. Be prepared to provide a photo i.d.
What are the system requirements for the Parent Portal?
Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7,
X 10.4 or higher, Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher, Firefox 3 or higher, Safari 3 or higher, Java 1.5 - 1.6.
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With illy, the anticipation of savoring coffee that inspires the soul and delights the senses is always rewarded.
For over 75 years, illy has maintained an uncompromising devotion to creating a distinctive blend of fine Arabica coffees with a smooth, rich and full-bodied taste.
Our authentic Italian coffee is flawlessly consistent, smooth, balanced, and never bitter – perfect for all coffee preparations. Using an exclusive process, illy coffee is packed in an air-free, pressurized can that enhances and seals in the precious aromas and oils, so you enjoy the freshest taste – cup after cup.
Add inspiration to your day, every day, with illy.


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Iraq plans to track [2] the issue of foreign support for ISIL terrorists at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
On Monday, Iraqi Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari announced the plan to pursue the issue of financial support of certain countries for the ISIL Takfiri group and prepare documents on the crimes committed by them in the country.
The Iraqi minister said Baghdad has established a committee to prepare documents on the ISIL criminal acts and then submit them to the International Criminal Court [3] (ICC) to bring the terrorists to justice and end the financial backing they enjoy.
Shammari said the committee will then ask the international tribunal to put the name of the terrorist group on its list of war criminals.
The ISIL militants took control [4] of the city of Mosul in a lightning advance on June 10. The takeover was followed by the fall of the city of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad. The control of Tikrit was later retaken by the Iraqi army.
The militants have since had control of some areas in northern and northwestern Iraq [5], and have committed major atrocities in these areas including beheading thousands of people ant troops.
[1] http://www.syndigate.info
[2] http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/08/05/374109/iraq-to-track-foreign-support-for-isil/
[3] http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/Pages/default.aspx
[4] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24179084
[5] http://www.albawaba.com/news/un-thousands-flee-isis-assault-in-northern-iraq-594575
[6] http://www.presstv.ir


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Ancient Indian sages composed the Kama Shastra ( kama sutra picture ) on the basis of the Vedas. The first formulation of the Kama Shastra, or the rules of love, is attributed to Nandi, Shiva's companion. It is preserved today in the form of the 'Kamasutra' written down by the sage Vatsyayana sometime between the first and sixth century A.D. The Kama Sutra is recognised as the true surviving text of the original Kama Shastra.
Current Status: Blessed (1)
Seeded on Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:11 AM
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Books of The Times; Words and Pictures to Make the Holidays Bright
By CHRISTOPHER LEHMANN-HAUPT
Published: November 30, 1992
"A good heavy book holds you down," the humorist Roy Blount Jr. has written. "It's an anchor that keeps you from getting up and having another gin and tonic." In the season of the eggnog, some of these potential gift books, which are arranged according to price, will hold you happily down for hours.
A selection or two or more from EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY, the old familiar collection of world classics in English founded in 1906 and reissued by Alfred A. Knopf last year. The library includes every sort of book from Homer's "Iliad" to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," with new introductions. "Everyman, I will go with thee, and be thy guide, in thy most need to go by thy side." Remember?
THE UBIQUITOUS PIG, by Marilyn Nissenson and Susan Jonas. (136 pages. Harry N. Abrams . $29.95.) It was Harry S. Truman who said, "No man should be allowed to be President who does not understand hogs." No one can fully understand pigs without reading this astonishingly diverse and richly illustrated volume on the surprising, contradictory beasts.
FLY-TYING TOOLS AND MATERIALS, by Jacqueline Wakeford. Photography by David Hawker. (132 pages. Lyons & Burford. $29.95.) Tools, feathers, hooks, threads, flosses, wools, chenilles, tinsels, wires, Lurex, hackles, fur and hair for the tier of artificial fishing lures, as vividly and subtly illustrated as any book as done before, by the author of "Fly-Tying Techniques."
Two indispensable language-reference works: THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, THIRD EDITION. (2,140 pages. Houghton Mifflin. $39.95.) As well as 16,000 new words in this new edition of a dictionary first published in 1969, there are instructive usage notes on such problematic words as "hopefully," "masterful," "compose," "comprise," "critique," "enormity" and hundreds of others. And FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS: A Collection of Passages, Phrases and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature, 16th Edition, by John Bartlett. Justin Kaplan, general editor. (1,405 pages. Little, Brown and Company . $40.) George William Russell, or A. E.; Charles Hamilton Aide, and Francesco Algorotti, among others, are out. Some 340 new quotations are in, including ones uttered by Casey Stengel, Arlo Guthrie and Monty Python's Flying Circus. Incidentally, it turns out that it was Bill Nye, not Mark Twain, who said "Wagner's music is better than it sounds."
THE MACMILLAN VISUAL DIC TIONARY, edited by Jean-Claude Corbeil. (862 pages. Macmillan . $40, through Jan. 1; $45 thereafter.) What do you call the whosy at the end of thingamajig? Look it up here among the thousands of brilliantly precise illustrations. For instance, the hard section at the end of a shoelace is called the tag. The section beyond the tail of a spermatozoon is the end piece. A parapet with openings for weapons to be pointed through is called machicolation.
Three unusual books about food: THE STORY OF CORN, by Betty Fussell. (356 pages. Alfred A. Knopf. $30.) An amazing food examined, literately, from many perspectives. THE HERITAGE OF SPANISH COOKING. Text by Alicia Rios. Recipes by Lourdes March. (256 pages. Random House . $45.) A history of Spain's gastronomy with 150 recipes to bring to the plate some of the sumptuous illustrations. And SAVORING ITALY. Photographs by Robert Freson. Edited by Alexandra Arrowsmith. (254 pages. HarperCollins/Callaway Editions . $50.) A pictorial celebration of Italian regional cuisine that stands as a sequel to the author's much admired volume "The Taste of France."
MUHAMMAD ALI MEMORIES, by Thomas Hauser. Photographs by Neil Leifer. Designed by Walter Bernard and Milton Glaser. (Unpaginated. Rizzoli International Publications . Hardcover, $49.50; paperback, $29.95.) The feats of Clay and the accomplishments of Ali in vivid pictures and captions, from the first fight with Sonny Liston to the ending with Larry Holmes.
Three extraordinary new atlases of a radically altered world: HAMMOND ATLAS OF THE WORLD. (303 pages. Hammond. $65.) Created from a digital database of satellite-imaged latitudinal and longitudinal locations. OXFORD ATLAS OF THE WORLD. (288 pages. Oxford University Press. $65.) Incorporating up-to-date boundaries and place names, as well as the latest worldwide census and survey data. THE TIMES ATLAS OF THE WORLD, NINTH COMPREHENSIVE EDITION. (123 plates, 222 pages. Times Books/Random House . $175.) Bigger, easier to read, more detailed. All three have endpaper keys to their map plates.
HENRI MATISSE: A RETROSPECTIVE, by John Elderfield. (480 pages. Harry N. Abrams/Museum of Modern Art Book. $75.) The most appealing art book of the year, this is the complete illustrated catalogue of the exhibition on display at the Museum of Modern Art, the largest and most comprehensive of Matisse ever assembled, with an interpretive text by the exhibition's organizer.
LISSAUER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR MUSIC IN AMERICA: 1888 to the Present. Researched and written by Robert Lissauer. (1,685 pages. Paragon House. $135.) Think of a song, whether it's swing, ragtime, pop, soul, blues, country, rock, movie, show or instrumental, and look it up by title, year or writer. Each entry offers vital history of the song. Over 19,000 entries. Win bar bets. Put fears of forgetfulness to rest. Recall the popular poetry of your life and times.
THE FIELD GUIDE ART OF ROGER TORY PETERSON. Art and Introduction by Roger Tory Peterson. Foreword by S. Dillon Ripley. Two volumes: EASTERN BIRDS and WESTERN BIRDS (336 and 356 pages. Houghton Mifflin. $150 each; boxed set, $300.) The 300 paintings from Roger Tory Peterson's famous field guides to American birds, reproduced in their original sizes, with an introductory essay on Mr. Peterson's art and the history of field guides. A work of the stature of Audubon's "Birds of America."
And have a Merry Christmas.
Photo: An American weather vane from the 1920's in "The Ubiquitous Pig."


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Published: September 4, 2012 at 2:44 PMIt may be a pub, but this seems a little racy for a Disney park: "with Gaston on Belle on them"
Published: September 4, 2012 at 4:17 PMI doubt it's as good as butter beer, but it will still be fun to try...And the souvenir cups? Seen the pictures? yeah, they look Walmart quality. I'll likely stick with dole whips and baked goods from Norway for my favorite WDW snacks/drinks.
Published: September 4, 2012 at 5:22 PMYeah I'm not a fan of the cups. Something you would get at Walmart.
Published: September 5, 2012 at 4:41 AMEnchanted Tales with Belle went through a soft opening on Tuesday. The walls are still up, however random groups of guests in Fantasyland were offered the chance to 'be some of the first to experience' the attraction. My family got in and thought it was really great! If you are in the park in the next few days look to see if a cast member is manning the door in the construction wall near Pinocchio's- maybe you can get an early preview too!
Published: September 5, 2012 at 5:31 AMCall me crazy, but I'm less than impressed. This seems like a very cynical way to ape Universal's Potter-verse success. People got into butter beer as much for the taste as for the ability to immerse yourself even deeper into the Potter mythology. In the Beauty and the Beast movie its pretty obvious they are drinking beer, mead or hard cider and not this LeFou's Brew. In Harry Potter, butter beer is a very real thing...that's the difference.
Published: September 5, 2012 at 8:33 AMI'm disappointed! I was expecting a lot more from Disney. I've been to Hogwarts several times and every visit I have a minimum of 2 Butterbeers (Frozen and Carbonated). If its a hot day my Butterbeer count may go up.
I even love the experience of buying Butterbeer. Standing in line outside of the cart, seeing people ahead of me enjoying their first taste and watching their faces light up. Then when its my turn I hope my extra friendly demeanor will grant me some extra foam on top of my drink.
I understand Butterbeer had huge expectations to live up to and IMO it exceeded them. Its hands down the best theme park drink I've ever experienced.
I've been to Cars land more than a dozen times and have only bought their frozen drink once. Its not very good. I dont like the foam or the taste and to hear that its going to be the signature drink of LeFou's makes me a bit sad.
I know there will be pundits who cry fowl over the fact that Disney's drink is healthier, but if I wanted something healthy to drink I'd go to Whole Foods.
When I pay $5.00 for a signature drink I want something that is delicious and Universal has clearly delivered on these expectations while Disney has not.
Published: September 5, 2012 at 4:42 PMI really don't understand why people compeletly fall all over Butterbeer like it is the greatest invention to man and yet slam a drink they have never had yet?
We knew that Disney was making this Tavern for awhile, HP or not.
What would you have liked to see in the drink?
Walmart quality? They look nice to me! Also, I highly doubt they would allow glass or ceramic at the MK.
I bet its going to be a hit, no matter what it ends up tasting like.
Published: September 6, 2012 at 9:53 PMOf course we will try the drink but The way it looks like a draft beer with a frosty head on it can't help but make you think about Butterbeer. Maybe a grape juice slush like looked like wine or champagne might have been unique. I don't like how WDW was moved to generic cups but I guess you have to save a penny where you can.