text: Enjoy hunting ringneck pheasants, Chukar partridges, and mallard ducks. NILO has maintained an ongoing commitment to the development and demonstration of hunting preserve and game management techniques. Also shoot trap, crazy quail, skeet, Riverside skeet, sporting clays, 5-stand, and the tower. Although a game bird cover of hybrid sorghum is NILO's most important crop, tracts of corn, wheat, alfalfa and clover are planted each year to preserve the farm setting and supplement the game birds' feed. This combination of wood and crop land provides natural beauty. Clay target shooting is another important part of the NILO experience. Every guest - no matter how much time he's had in the blind or field - appreciates the opportunity to warm up the swing and sharpen the eye by powdering some clay. NILO offers a challenging variety of Upland Game bird hunting and under natural field conditions. Hunters are paired up and always hunt over the dogs from mowed areas. This adds to safety and gives the hunter an opportunity to watch skilled dogs work in cover. Our guests may try their hands at bagging the feisty Ring-necked Pheasant or Chukar Partridge. The Clubhouse is the focal point of activity at NILO. Originally a small farmhouse, the building now serves as a warm and friendly place for guests to prepare for the upcoming hunt, gather for meals and relax and talk after a day in the field with gun and dog. At NILO FARMS, we have National Sporting Clays Association Instructors to help shooters at all skill levels gain proficiency by eliminating mistakes and by helping each shooter trust their instincts.


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I sniped these photos from The Chronicles… Kday '13 coverage because well, look at this beauty!
You've likely seen thousands of these puppies all over that are probably run down from years and years of shuffling kids and Golden Retrievers to and from stuff. If you live in the Northeastern US, you have seen tens of thousands of these things. How often do you get to see a RHD, Japanese spec Impreza wagon rocking original Work Rezax wheels? Never. That's how often.
She looks almost new, just with a drop and some gorgeous wheels. I really dig it because one: it is a roughly twenty year old vehicle that looks almost new and two: look at those wheels!
Pics and info: The Chronicles…

subset: commoncrawl


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After some grousing from local vendors, Columbus City Council passed legislation creating a food-truck pilot program, which went into effect June 12 in the Short North, Arena District and downtown.
After some grousing from local vendors, Columbus City Council passed legislation creating a food-truck pilot program, which went into effect June 12 in the Short North, Arena District and downtown.
According to the new rules, owners of food trucks must pay for a commercial sales license, and the trucks must pass inspections from the Division of Fire and Columbus Public Health, as well as a safety inspection from the Department of Public Safety's licensing section.
As of Friday, June 14, of the 17 food-truck purveyors who applied for the licensing, five received their proper certification. The local food-truck industry consortium estimates roughly 50 vendors would be affected by the regulations.
Daniel McCarthy, owner of Tatoheads, was one of the vendors who passed the inspection. Early indications suggest things are going well, despite some anticipated rough patches, he said.
City Council delayed action on the legislation for two weeks because of complaints from the local food-truck industry.
Both the local food-truck industry and the city understand "there's still a lot of work to be done," McCarthy said.
"Technically, this is what we would call Phase One," said McCarthy, a member of the Central Ohio Food Truck Association. "Overall, I think things are going well. It's not a perfect science. We are creating a new paradigm."
Amanda Ford, spokeswoman for the city's department of public safety, said the city is trying to strike a balance between food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants, preserve valuable parking spots and protect the safety of consumers.
"In the past, we've gotten complaints about food trucks being parked at parking meters in front of other establishments," Ford said. "Food trucks didn't show up overnight, but we've gotten more and more of them, so it's become an issue."
The city has created 16 oversized spaces that can accommodate 23-foot-long trucks. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Those who attempt to set up in the pilot-program area without proper licensing face parking citations, Ford said. If they refuse to leave, police can impound the vehicle, she said.
City officials will use feedback from the pilot program to determine citywide legislation, which likely won't be considered until next year, Ford said. She said she doesn't expect there to be any significant changes to the pilot program in the next four to six weeks.
Right now, food trucks only need to pass a health inspection and purchase a commercial vending license if they operate in the public right of way, she said.


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Here's how to embed:
1. look at an image in Flickr, and click "All Sizes" to get to a page that shows all of the accessible sizes for a given image.
2. click on "Medium" (500 x 333), which is perfect for Wetpixel
3. in the text box below the photo, you'll see some HTML, which is the code they want you to use to embed your image. Here's an example:

4. since our forums don't support straight HTML, you have to convert it to bbcode. take the image location (img src) and hyperlink (a href), and convert them. Here's an example of the above image, converted into bbcode:
5. Test:
Humpback mother and calf (Megaptera noveangliae)
6. (I added the caption, too)
If you embed a static image from Flickr, you MUST link back to Flickr. It is part of their Terms of Service.


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You will receive a full routine that can be presented in different ways, spoken or musical routine and comedy or serious presentation.
A possibility of presentation is shown in the demonstration video (comedy magic): you show a paper bag, explaining that on the inside, there is a tool from a hardware shop as a prediction. Then the magician starts to show many pictures that illustrates various articles from the hardware store: I.E.: hammer, pliers, drill, chain, brush, etc. Gives the nylon bag containing the pictures to the spectator and ask her to mix freely. Then ask the spectator to take a picture and to name the article aloud, so to the entire audience can hear it. Spectators will start laughing because the chosen picture is a shovel, because it is not possible that a shovel actually could be located on the inside of a small bag. Then the magician appears to be confused because of the laughter. Then you take the bag, and after a few magic passes, you produce a shovel of 63 inches, similar to those you see at most hardware stores.
There is another possibility in the outcome of this routine is taking from the bag a small shovel at first, like a beach toy and seeing that does not look like to the photograph, produces the big one.
The grip is made of plastic and as is detailed, in order to be able to throw it to the floor unintentionally (intentionally) or hit it with a fist near the microphone or making it sound like a real shovel. This will increase the strength of the image of a real shovel.
You receive everything you need to start making this routine: Latex apparition shovel, paper bag, special transparent forcing bag, 24 full color pictures, and instructions step by step with pictures in full color in Spanish and English.
Do you own this product? Write a review.


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Brussels, 20th December 2005
Competition: Commission launches consultations on facilitating damages claims for breaches of EU competition law
The European Commission has published a Green Paper on how to facilitate actions for damages caused by violations of EC Treaty competition rules' ban on restrictive business practices and abuse of dominant market positions (Articles 81 and 82 respectively). Violations of these rules, in particular by price fixing cartels, can cause considerable damage to companies and consumers but numerous obstacles can hinder actions for damages by injured parties in national courts. The Green Paper identifies certain of these obstacles, such as access to evidence and the quantification of damages, and presents various options for debate for their removal. The options set out in the Green Paper would seek to ensure that companies and consumers were compensated for their losses, while avoiding vexatious claims. Comments on the Green Paper can be submitted by 21 April 2006.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "Businesses and individuals who suffer losses because of illegal activities such as cartels have a right to compensation. Currently, this right is all too often theoretical because of obstacles to exercising this right in practice. This Green Paper sets out options for making that right a reality, and so making companies that break the competition rules pay for the harm that they do."
In its 2001 judgment, in Courage v Crehan (case C-453/99), the Court of Justice explicitly recognised a right to damages for breaches of EC competition law. The Court stated that:
"the full effectiveness of Article [81] of the Treaty and, in particular, the practical effect of the prohibition laid down in Article [81](1) would be put at risk if it were not open to any individual to claim damages for loss caused to him by a contract or by conduct liable to restrict or distort competition. Indeed, the existence of such a right strengthens the working of the Community competition rules and discourages agreements or practices, which are frequently covert, which are liable to restrict or distort competition. From that point of view, actions for damages before the national courts can make a significant contribution to the maintenance of effective competition in the Community."
However, there have so far been very few damages claims before courts of the Member States for breach of the competition rules. A study carried out for the Commission in 2004 revealed the main reasons for the low number of damages actions, reasons which are now addressed in the Green Paper. Following this study, the Commission discussed the issue with academics, experts from EU Member States' governments and a number of other interested third parties before preparing this Green Paper.
Strengthening damages claims by companies and consumers has several advantages:
The Green Paper identifies the main obstacles to a more efficient system for bringing damages claims, such as access to evidence, the defence that companies claiming damages may have simply passed on any price increases to their own customers and the quantification of damages. For each of the obstacles, several options are put forward for debate. As the Green Paper also addresses the protection of consumer interests harmed by a violation of EC antitrust rules, the Commission will closely coordinate any follow up with other initiatives on consumer redress.
The Commission invites all interested parties to comment on the issues
discussed and on the options formulated with regard to these issues, as well as
on any other aspects of damages claims for violations of Articles 81 and 82. The
comments will help the Commission to decide whether initiatives need to be taken
at Community level to improve the conditions for competition damages
For further information, see also MEMO/05/489.
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Welcome to the ZenZoneForum.com.
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Blackjack Soil Companys Golden Humic Acid Extract is a proprietary premium blend of 100% Humic Acid Extract in an aqueous base. Blackjacks Golden Humic Acid Extract is fast acting and has a guaranteed source of Phosphorus as Available Phosphate P205 (0-2-0). To this date, the studies on this product and products like it are classified by State and Federal authorities as experimental. However, many of the studies suggest that plant foods containing Humic Acid Extracts may allow the plant to feed easier and as a bonus, may allow the soils locked-up nutrients become more available to the plant. Golden Humic Acid Extract may also have a natural source of over 70 plant-derived trace elements, carbon, enzymes and amino acids that contain naturally occurring organically infused microscopic soil known as nano-nutrients that are not listed or guaranteed on the label. Because of fierce competition in the produce marketplace, most farmers do not add anything to the soil unless it can show a benefit to the farm. Millions of tons of Leonardite* have been sold to farmers to amend field soil with the intent to make it more fertile.*The mined ore in which Blackjack Soil Companys Golden Humic Acid Extract is derived from.
— Ships from Portland, Oregon USA.


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Part of the adventure of expository preaching through the Word of God as we've done it all these years is going from theme to theme and from style to style and from emphasis to emphasis just as it kind of lays out in the Scripture. Sometimes we're dealing with a narrative passage. Sometimes we're dealing with historical emphasis. Sometimes we're dealing with a parable or an illustration, sometimes a heavily doctrinal passage, sometimes a corrective passage. They just kind of come that way and that's part of the adventure. That's part really of the thrill of just taking the Word of God as it comes.
We're in the flow of 2 Corinthians, find ourselves in chapter 12 in a section that is basically under the general title of apostolic credentials. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ. That means he was a messenger of Jesus Christ. He was sent by Christ to speak the Word of God.. God basically told him what to say, gave him His Word, revealed it to him and he proclaimed it. The issue was, how did people know that he was a spokesman for God? How could it be proven? What was there to attest to that, to affirm that, to give credibility to that claim? And Paul in this particular passage is laying out his credentials. He started doing this way back in chapter 11 verse 22 in a very specific way, that is in contrast to the false apostles who were in Corinth. False apostles, as we remember, had come into the church and managed to woo over the people to win their affection and to gain their ears. And they were then undermining the apostle Paul's credibility and so he has to answer this and he has to reposition himself as the true apostle of Jesus Christ, and thus he asserts his apostolic credentials.
Now as we come down in to chapter 12 verses 11 to 13, just a little brief passage, at first glance perhaps we could read through it and just sort of with a nod of the head go on. But we best not do that because it introduces to us a subject that is of formidable significance in our contemporary church and so we've taken a bit of a digression in this passage to address that.
Let me read these verses to you, starting in verse 11. "I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!"
For those of you who have been with us through 2 Corinthians, most of that makes sense to you. For those of you who haven't, it may be a little oblique and we'll try to cover that as we move through it.
Satan, the father of lies, and the enemy of God's truth therefore has always worked to spread lies and deception, always worked to counter the truth of God, to undermine Scripture. He has also worked to destroy the credibility of God's messengers, God's spokesmen. Since God's Word has been spoken and written by humans, since God has used men to be His preachers and men to write the Word of God, Satan has endeavored to destroy the credibility of those men so that people will not believe that what they say and what they write is in fact God's Word. And along that line, no one except Christ Himself has been more systematically assaulted by Satan than the apostle Paul. God used Paul to write, as you know, 13 books out of the New Testament 27 books, nearly half of them. And because of the formidable significance of this man as a mouthpiece for the Word of God, Satan set an all-out attack against him to destroy his credibility. An attack which, by the way, still goes on even today as liberal scholars who want to debunk the Bible attempt to discredit the apostle Paul long after he has passed from this earth.
It is because of the assault that Satan has made on his credibility in the church at Corinth at the time this was written that Paul has to defend himself and that's precisely what he's been doing since chapter 11 verse 22. It's not a matter of his own personal pride at stake, it's a matter of the truth is at stake and if they listen to liars, they're going to hear lies. If they listen to him, they're going to hear God's truth and so he must defend himself.
In verse 11 he calls it foolish and we've gone through this before. The whole idea of having to do this is really foolish. "You yourselves have compelled me, you've made me do this foolish thing of having to defend myself. Actually I should have been commended by you." In other words, you knew enough about me, I was there for nearly two years, I've been back to visit you. I've written you three letters before this letter and this is letter number four. You know about me, you know me personally, you know my ministry, you know my life, you know my message. There's been enough interaction with the influence I've had even beyond you of people coming and telling you about what God has used me to do in other places. I shouldn't be defending myself, you should be coming to my defense. My praise should be in your lips, not my own. You've made me do this foolish thing because of an unwillingness to stand up and be my defender. I have to do this, you've compelled me and I will do it because I am not inferior to these most eminent apostles. They call themselves the most eminent apostles, the super apostles, the false apostles did. I'm not inferior to them so I will defend myself even though apparently in your eyes and theirs, I'm a nobody.
He is forced into this defense. And we've been going through this defense systematically since chapter 11 verse 22. Now in verses 12 and 13 he sort of summarizes the categories of that defense. In trying to affirm that he was in fact a true apostle, he has to turn to some proof. And he gives three categories of proof in verses 12 and 13 which simply sum up, basically, what we already know to be true about him. But let's look at the first category. His apostleship is proven because he was supernatural in power...he was supernatural in power. In case you're wondering what the others are, number two, he was sustained in patience and number three, he was selfless in purpose. It was his power, his patience and his selfless purpose that were the evidences of his true apostleship. And we'll develop the final two at a later time. In fact, at a much later time after our dedication next Sunday and after the Bible conference the following Sunday. But let's go back to this idea of his being supernatural in power, verse 12.
"The signs of a true apostle were performed among you." And then the end of the verse, "By signs and wonders and powers, or mighty deeds."
Now you remember back in chapter 12 verses 1 to 4 that he was reluctant to speak about visions. He said in verse 1 that they're not profitable, it's not profitable to speak about revelations and visions. Why? Because they're personal. They're private. They can't be verified. They can't be repeated. So there's no point in speaking about them and that's why he said he hadn't even told about a vision and 14 years had gone by and it was a remarkable one, he was taken to heaven. He was taken up into heaven and he came back again which is an astonishing experience but he hadn't spoken of it in 14 years because it didn't help to speak about it, since it couldn't be proven, it couldn't be verified, and couldn't be repeated and it had no value to other people apart from him. So he doesn't defend his apostleship on the basis of private visions.
But when powerful miracles were done through him in view of everyone, that is a verifiable credential and that's what he means in chapter 12...or verse 12, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you. And then at the end he defines them as signs, wonders and miracles. These refer to the supernatural miracles done by God through Paul that proved he was not a mere mortal man just on a human mission, but rather he was a man anointed by God to speak for God as attested to by God granting him miracle power.
The word "sign" speaks of the purpose of the miracle, to point to something. The word "wonder" speaks of the effect of the miracle, it produced astonishment and amazement. The word "power" speaks of the nature of the miracle, that is to say it was a supernatural act which created astonishment and wonder because it had no human explanation and therefore acted as a sign pointing to the apostle Paul as an instrument of the power of God. Supernatural miracles then were the first category of apostolic credentials that Paul mentions here in his summary, mighty miracles to authenticate the apostles.
Back to verse 12 again. They are called here the signs of a true apostle. And last time I talked about this with you and I'm going to talk about it again today because it is a very, very important subject. It is perhaps less important to us who are here at Grace Church and have been here any time because we have this subject pretty well in hand. But there's a wide world of people in the evangelical world across this country and all over the globe who are very, very confused about the issue of miracles. In fact, so confused that they have turned miracles into trivia. I'm always amazed when I hear somebody say, "Oh, the other day I went to the mall and I found a parking place, it was a miracle." Well close, but not quite. What is a miracle? A miracle isn't just everything that happens in your life. A miracle is a supernatural act, it's a supernatural act for which there is no natural explanation that acts to create amazement, astonishment and wonder that points to the fact that God has invaded the human world. And there is no other explanation. There is no human explanation for a miracle period.
And what I tried to tell you last time, and I'm going to go on and kind of emphasize this morning is that there...there's never been a time in human history, except the time of Christ and the apostles, in that one little location in Palestine, there's never been a time in human history when miracles were common...never. They were never normal. They were never common. And one well-known popular charismatic preacher has written a book called A Miracle A Day Keeps The Devil Away which sort of is the idea that somehow if you're going to deal with Satan you're going to have to have miracles and you ought to have them daily. And if you've got enough faith, you can have them hourly. The idea is that just miracles are a way of life. They are normative and they're normative through all of redemptive history. They should be a daily experience in the life of every Christian. And if you're not seeing miracle after miracle after miracle in your life, there's something wrong with the way you're spiritually wired, or you have weak faith.
Let me tell you something, and I say this with all honesty and I hope you'll understand it. In my entire life I have never seen a miracle...never in my entire life have I seen a supernatural invasion so that something occurred of a supernatural character, visible to me which had no earthly explanation. I have never in my entire life seen a miracle. The new birth, salvation, regeneration is miraculous, but I can't see it although I can view the evidence of it in the fruit of a transformed life. But I have never seen an instantaneous, complete, verifiable, inexplicable, supernatural invasion by God in a miraculous way, instantaneously. And that's what miracles are. And I've been around a while and I've been around the Christian community a while and I've certainly been with people who pray fervently and who serve the Lord faithfully. And I say again, I've never seen in my entire life a miracle. That's not to say that God didn't do some supernaturally wonderful things, but I've never seen a miracle. And that's okay, I'm not looking for one because miracles were a sign to validate some very important things which are no longer occurring today. And I'll explain that to you as we go.
The modern mystics have the idea that there's no difference in any era of human history. There's no difference between the present age, the apostolic age, the Old Testament age, it's all the same. This is a...this is, in my conviction, this is at the very core of the modern Charismatic Movement. You see it all the time on Christian television. This is at the very core of the movement. They want to normalize the miraculous. The grave error that is the foundation of this entire movement is a failure to grasp the uniqueness of miracles, and a failure to grasp the absolute uniqueness of the time of Christ and the apostles...the time when redemption reached its great culmination and the Messiah came and died and rose again and the apostles went out to proclaim the gospel of the Christ who had come and lived and died and rose. If you do not understand the uniqueness of miracles and you do not understand the uniqueness of the apostolic era, then you might come to the conclusion that we ought to expect miracles all the time. But if you understand those matters, then you will understand why miracles are not a necessity in the economy of God to accomplish what God needs to accomplish.
Now the question is this, and here's the question I'll ask and endeavor to answer this morning...Is the apostolic era with all of its elements, all of its miraculous elements normative for all times? Is it?
Well there are people today who tell us that it absolutely is, that it is the norm for today. We ought to be repeating exactly what went on in the apostolic time. The question again, is the apostolic era with all its elements normative for all ages? Should things be happening today just like they did in Jesus' time? And just like they did in the time of the apostle Paul?
Well, let's start in a general way. According to Scripture, the purpose of miracles can be seen in four aspects. You need to understand what miracles are for as revealed in Scripture and then you can begin to ask the question and answer the question about whether they should be normative for today. Scripture indicates to us that the purpose of miracles unfolds in sort of four sequential features.
Number one, miracles were used by God to introduce a new era of revelation. They were used by God to introduce a new era of revelation. So, the first period of miracles in redemptive history is the time of Moses and Joshua, and mostly Moses but Joshua got in on it as well. And you had the miracles that were attesting to the fact that Moses was God's prophet, Moses was God's spokesman. It was at that time that God gave the law, right? It was at the time of Moses that God gave the law, that great massive era of revelation in which God gave His law. It was the time when within that law God gave that codification of divine morality that we call the Ten Commandments. It was at that time that God identified a new nation brought out of Egypt and constituted as the people of God the nation Israel led through the wilderness, brought into the land of Canaan and established as God's people and then they became the receptors of God's revelation. It was at that time that God established the tabernacle, the place of worship with all of its features. It was at that time that God established the sacrificial system by which sin could be dealt with. It was at that time that God instituted the priesthood. And all those revelations were around the time of Moses and Joshua as God gave His great law. Little wonder that God attested to the fact of that great time of revelation miraculously. Again if we didn't see miracles, we wouldn't know God was giving His law. We could assume that maybe some committee somewhere was putting this all together, or some men were doing it, or some individual was doing it who had claimed to speak for God. But the attestation of that great time by the miracles that occurred around Moses and Joshua were the affirmation that it was a time of new revelation.
Then secondly, not only in the Old Testament did God give the law and attest to that era of revelation with miracles, but following the law came what is commonly called the prophets. And during the lives of Elijah and Elisha who certainly were symbolic of the office of the prophet, miracles occurred. They occurred not in any way in the number that they occurred in the time of Christ and the apostles, neither did they at Moses' time, but miracles did occur as Elijah and Elisha carried out their ministry which was a revival of the prophetic era. Prophets spoke for God. And so at the time of Elijah and Elisha there were miracles attesting to the fact that these men as prophets spoke for God and God therefore miraculously verified the law and the prophets.
Following the law and the prophets, of course, came the New Testament, the New Covenant. And miracles introduced at that time verified that Christ and the apostles represented the coming of the New Covenant. Moses and Joshua, the law...Elijah and Elisha, the prophets...Christ and the apostles, the New Covenant, that's the New Testament and that completes God's revelation. The law and the prophets, the Old Testament, and then there is the New Testament, the gospel.
So the first thing to understand about miracles is they are associated with the introduction of a new era of revelation. And as I told you last time, the periods in between that, outside Moses and Joshua, outside Elijah and Elisha, you just don't find miracles in the Old Testament. Beyond Christ and the apostles you just won't find miracles even in the New Testament.
Secondly as we move through this little progress, miracles were not only used to introduce a new era of revelation, but secondly, building on that, they were used to authenticate the messengers of that revelation...to authenticate the messengers of that revelation, that new era of revelation. So it was in the case of Moses and Joshua. Moses and Joshua were going to be God's spokesmen. They were going to be the ones that God would use as instruments to speak for Him. And in the case of Moses, you remember, in Exodus chapter 4, God said, "Take up this staff, throw it on the ground. It became a serpent. The Lord said to Moses,'Stretch out your hand, grasp it by the tail.' He stretched out his hand, caught it, became a staff in his hand that they may believe that the Lord the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has appeared to you." How are they going to know that God is talking through Moses? They're going to know because Moses is going to do things that have no human explanation. And this is God attesting to Moses as His spokesman. God was verifying.
And then in verse 9 he says, "If they...if they will not believe even these signs, or heed what you say, then take some water from the Nile, pour it on the dry ground and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground." If they don't believe after those two miracles, do another one. And God was attesting to Moses as His spokesman.
In 1 Kings chapter 17, just briefly, a wonderful testimony is given here to the prophet Elijah. You remember he went into the widow's house and he provided food which he had no food. And then he raised her son from the dead and the woman says to him in chapter 17 of 1 Kings verse 24, "Now I know that you're a man of God and that the Word of the Lord in your mouth is truth." Folks, I cannot tell you how important that statement is. Write it down, 1 Kings 17:24. The woman got the picture, "I know you're a man of God." Why? "Because you raised my dead son." Her son was dead and you remember what Elijah did, he goes up there and he lays on top of this child three times and asks the Lord to give him back his life and he's raised from the dead. He produces oil and flour for this woman and then he raises her son from the dead and the woman says, "You are a man from God. I mean, there is no human explanation for this." And, then she comes to the right conclusion,"And that the Word of the Lord in your mouth is truth." That was the whole point of a miracle, to attest to this man as the one who spoke the truth of God.
Now let me give you just a little footnote to that. The people who are running around today claiming miracle power, and you see them all the time on television, they're claiming miracle power. Inevitably they have an unbiblical theology, have you noticed that? Have you noticed that they are in doctrinal error? Have you noticed that they are confused about things like the trinity? Pretty basic stuff, a representation of the true nature of God. They're confused about the actual sin-bearing work of Christ on the cross. They're confused about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. They're confused about the completion of the Scripture. They're confused about a lot of things. And let me tell you, folks, God would never attest those men by giving them miraculous abilities or He would be confirming people who teach error. I mean, that alone should cause people to realize what's going on. God does not authenticate any but those who speak the truth.
The woman got it, "You're a man of God and the Word of the Lord in your mouth is truth." That was the whole point that the people would know that Moses spoke for God and that the people would know that the prophets spoke for God, God attested them by miracles and thus established the law and the prophets as from Him.
When you come into the New Testament, it's the same thing. Here comes Jesus and He speaks for God and Jesus says, "If you look at My life and you look at My works and you listen to My words, you will know that I speak for God." John 10:25, "I told you the works that I do in My Father's name, these bear witness of Me." Just look at My works, look at My miracles, look at the resurrections, look at the healings. Banished disease from Palestine during the time of His ministry. Look at the feeding of the crowds, did it twice. Look at the walking on water. I mean, you name it. Same with the apostles. They followed Jesus. They were given the ability to do miracles in order that it might be made known to all who watched that these were the men who spoke and wrote the truth of God.
So, summing up. First of all, miracles were used by God to introduce a new era of revelation. Two, to authenticate the messengers of that revelation. Three, to authenticate the message of that revelation. And we're just kind of building the whole picture here. And that's why I say God is not about to give miracle power to a messenger who speaks a faulty message. God is not going to attract people to error. Who's going to do that? Satan. Just be a little discerning, will you? God has only given three periods of relatively extensive miracles, three periods really of any miracles other than a very rare, rare occasion. And that's Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, but even those two don't come close to the kind of miracles and the number of miracles that were done during the ministry of Jesus and the apostles. Just thousands fold more miracles at that time because, of course, this was the great culmination of all redemptive history in the coming of God to earth in the form of Jesus Christ, His death, burial and resurrection, His saving work on the cross and the gospel being preached and written down by the apostles. In each case though that new message is validated by miracles. And you cannot have the miracle unless you have the new revelation and that that new revelation is the authentic Word of God.
Now one last point just fills out the picture. God used miracles to introduce a new era of revelation, to authenticate the messengers, to authenticate the message and then finally, to instruct the observers that God was revealing Himself. Look, go back to Egypt and what was going on in Egypt? Well miracles were being done in Egypt by the instrumentality of Moses, God was working through Moses. And what were those miracles supposed to do? They were supposed to show the Egyptians that God was the true God, right? That was the whole point. To instruct the observers about the fact that God was revealing Himself.
The intention of those miracles was to instruct Pharaoh and the other Egyptians as to the futility and the impotence of their own deities. Each plague, by the way, and that's a very interesting study. You go back and you study the book of Exodus chapter 7 through 12 where the plagues are and as you go studying through those, you will find that all of those plagues somehow linked up with one of the Egyptian deities. Somehow it was intended to smash the confidence of the people in the ability of their gods. They worshiped the sun, for example. And the sun burned them up. They worshiped frogs, and frogs overran the land. The point was God was just decimating their confidence in their false deities. And in Exodus 6, I'll just give you one verse there, a lot I could give you but Exodus 6...well, I'll give you two...Exodus 6:6 and 7, God says to Moses, "You tell the sons of Israel I'm the Lord, I'm going to bring you out from the burdens of the Egyptians, deliver you from their bondage. I'm going to redeem you. I'm going to get you out of there." And then verse 7, "I will take you for My people and I will be your God and you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." I mean, the whole point of those miracles was that those people would never question who was God, never.
Verse 17 of chapter 7, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord." How? "I'll strike the water in the Nile and it will be turned to blood." And that's the way it went. Chapter 8 says the same thing, verse 19, chapter 14 verse 31, God was putting Himself on display.
The same thing is true of the miracles of Elijah and Elisha. During their time those miracles were to call Israel away from idols. Israel had drifted toward idols and God was reconfirming the prophetic office, reaffirming His divine revelation, calling them away from their false gods and their idols back to the Word of God. And that dear lady whose son was raised, she got it and she got it very clearly. She realized exactly what was going on. He was a man of God and he was speaking the Word of God which was the absolute truth against all the lies of all the false gods.
Elijah the prophet came near, in chapter 18 verse 36, he's on Mount Carmel now and he's just absolutely obliterating the prophets of Baal up there. And he said, "O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel." And you know what happened? You remember? Fire fell and consumed the stuff on the altar and all though it was drowned in water and lapped up all the water and just destroyed everything, fire from God and put Himself on display, didn't He? And again you see the miracles of Moses and Joshua were to point to the true and living God, and that He had spoken. And the miracles of Elijah and Elisha were to point to the true and living God that He had spoken and called people away from false gods. And the miracles of Christ and the apostles were the same, they were to confirm to the world that this indeed was God and that He was speaking the truth of God. John writes in John 20, "These things are written about Christ and the story of His miracles, which is what the gospel of John is about, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and believing you might have life in His name," right?
Now listen, folks, the law and the prophets, that's the Old Testament. The New Testament and God is through speaking, isn't He? God's revelation is now complete. Hebrews 1:1 and 2 sum it up, "God spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son." You have the Old Testament, the New Testament, it's complete. And God authenticated the law and the prophets, God authenticated the New Testament writers and therefore the New Testament message as well.
And you know what He asks of us now? Don't be running around looking for more revelation and don't be looking around for more apostles, and don't be looking around for more miracles, just trust the Word already revealed. I don't need a miracles, you don't need a miracle, nobody needs a miracle, we just have what we need right here in our hands. This is the "once-for-all delivered to the saints faith," friend. There isn't anything to be added to this. In fact, if you get to messing around with adding things, you're in some real trouble. Revelation 22:18 says, "You add anything to this book and the plagues that are written in it will be added to you." That's a pretty final statement, wouldn't you say? There isn't much room for equivocation on that one. In case you're wondering where that is, it's Revelation 22:18. God authenticated the Scripture. He will not re-authenticate it. And He isn't running around authenticating people who don't understand it. And it's not still being written. He asks us to trust the testimony of the Scripture.
It's very simple, folks, we walk by faith and not by sight. We love Him whom we have not seen. All these people running around looking for miracles say, "Oh we have enough faith to believe in miracles." That's not faith, that's doubt looking for proof. I don't need a miracle. I don't...if I never see a miracle that...I don't care. A miracle adds nothing to me. This is all I need. The only miracle I'm looking for is the miracle of my transformation when I die, or get raptured. The only miracle I want to see in my life time is the miracle of salvation and transformation of the soul. Anything else is a temporary deal. I don't care if an axe head floats down a stream I'm looking at. I really don't. I don't care whether somebody multiplies food, that's not material to me. And I can't imagine that there would be any purpose for God to do that because there's nobody to authenticate today as a true apostle, right? Because the revelation is complete. You know, if all these people running around looking for God to reveal Himself in miracles would just open their Bibles and begin to discern carefully what's in there, they would get to the source of the very hope that they so languish for and that is real spiritual growth.
Now you're saying...are you saying God can't do a miracle? Of course not, God can do anything He wants to do, He doesn't ask me. He can do whatever He wants to do. I'm not telling Him anything. What I'm telling you is I don't need a miracle, I just need the Word of God.
Are you saying God can't heal somebody? No, He may heal somebody. He may choose to do that for His own purposes and that's fine and I believe that we should pray and the prayer of faith can save the sick, I believe that. I believe God works in wonderful ways. As I said, I've never seen something that could be described only as a supernatural event with my own eyes because it's just not common. There are times when God does wonderful things and, you know, we...lots of folks want to say, "Well, you know, somebody had a disease and they had an illness and they don't have it anymore and you can say it was a miracle." Well, I would rather say God intervened providentially, I don't know how He did it or what He was doing, but I wouldn't want to call it a sign and wonder. I'm not...I don't want to say God can't do things, He can. But I'll tell you one thing, He's going to be consistent and when the text is complete in the Word of God, signs and wonders and mighty deeds intended to point toward the law and the prophets and the New Testament ceased. And should God choose to do something miraculous today, it's not normal, it's rare. It's in His power to do whatever He chooses to do. Nothing in Scripture indicates that such has occurred in the day of the apostles is normative for us. The opposite is true.
And it's so sad because you see these people, you know, they're trying to get a fix on how to...how to really get some action in their Christian life and they're just running around chasing the next big deal. How do you think those guys pack those stadiums with all those people and they get them so worked up in all the emotional stuff? Is that a sign of great faith? That's a sign of doubt desperately looking for proof. That's a sign of people who haven't got anything to hold on to cognitive and they're just reaching out for some emotional charge that can convince them that God must like them because He did this for them. They don't understand the reality of God's relation to them as it's outlined in Scripture. I hope you don't need that to know you're His. It's not normative.
Well, people say, "There's one miracle that is and that's my heavenly language, speaking in tongues." I just remind you, and I don't want to get into all of this, but 1 Corinthians 14:22 is...people say they have a hard time understanding the tongues, but just this verse alone, let's just take this one and we'll leave it at that. First Corinthians 14:22, "So then tongues are for a sign not to those who believe." Now stop there, "But to unbelievers."
Well okay, that's pretty clear, isn't it? Did you get that? Tongues have nothing to do with you, they're not for edification, they're a sign for people who don't believe. People so often...people say, "Well, you know, if I'm going to be edified and built up in my life I need to do this." It's not even...it's not even for that. It's a sign not to those who believe, but to those who don't believe. You know, it was a divine miracle in the apostolic era to show Israel, listen to this, that when they...when they wouldn't listen to a language they could understand, God was going to judge them by speaking to them they couldn't understand. That was a judgment. I mean, we...we just need to go back to the Word and sort through these things.
Tongues and miracles were signs to authenticate the era of a new revelation, the messenger of that revelation, the message of that revelation, and to call the people who saw those signs to the true and living God away from idols and lies. The great Princeton theologian, Presbyterian theologian, B.B. Warfield who had an immense effect on me as a young seminary student when I began to devour his writings, and by the way, most of us are not able to read all the richness of Warfield because it's all in 20 volumes and it's, you know, it gets pretty wordy but we can thank our dear friend Sinclair Ferguson who told me this last week in Florida that he is condensing Warfield down to a manageable size for all of us. That will be a great, great legacy. He'll be finished with it in two years. Warfield was an immense mind and Warfield understood from the perspective of a Reformed theologian what I'm saying to you. Listen to this quote from B.B. Warfield, "Miracles do not appear on the page of Scripture flagrantly, here, there or elsewhere indifferently without assignable reason. They belong to revelation periods and appear only when God is speaking to His people through accredited messengers declaring His gracious purposes. Their abundant display in the apostolic era is the mark of the richness of the apostolic age in revelation. And when this revelation period closed," that would be the closing of the New Testament, "the period of miracle working has passed by also as a mere matter of course," end quote. Well said.
Joel Gurlach[?] who is a Lutheran writing on this subject of tongue speaking in particular says, "Glossalalia...which is the Greek term for languages...was given primarily for an evidential purpose to authenticate and substantiate some facet of God's truth. This purpose is always distorted by those who shift the emphasis from objective sign to subjective experience. That's a distortion," end quote.
The sign gifts were to authenticate those who came with God's new revelation. Just for an illustration, Acts 2:22...Acts 2:22. Here is Peter, day of Pentecost, he's preaching, "Men of Israel," he says, "listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene," now listen to this, "a man attested to you," that is affirmed to be in fact God, the spokesman from God, the Messiah of God, "attested to you by God," and how did God do it? "Through miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst just as you yourselves know." You see, the miracles, signs and wonder was to attest to the claims of Jesus to have come from God.
In the sixteenth chapter of Mark, the last verse, verse 20, speaks of the apostles, it says, "They went out, they preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the Word by the signs that followed." He confirmed the Word by the signs that followed. You see, it's always to confirm the Messiah, to confirm those who preached in the apostolic era and who wrote the Scripture.
I love this, Acts 7, here's another little footnote on this, Stephen was preaching a great sermon. They actually stoned him for it because the Jews got so mad at him. But in Acts 7 verse 36, this man led them out, speaking of Moses, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for 40 years, and he sort of gives us an overview of the time of the Moses' miracles. O he led you out, he did miracles in Egypt and the Red Sea and the wilderness over the 40 years, such as water from the rock and manna from heaven and all of that. But verse 37 is so key. "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel," and he quotes Deuteronomy 18:15, "God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren." That's a messianic prophecy. Why did God give Moses miracle power? Because he wanted the people to know that he spoke for God. He literally spoke the Scripture. End of verse 38, "He received...Moses did...living oracles to pass on to you." You see, God authenticates those who speak and write His Scripture.
Look at Hebrews 2 for a minute, this also is an important Scripture in this regard. Hebrews is written to Jewish people, obviously, who knew the gospel but were sort of hesitant to embrace it because it had so many social effects they would be unsynagogued and ostracized from their community and so forth. And so he's really telling them, you better not drift away from what you've heard, you know it's the truth, you better accept it. Verse 2, "If the word spoken through angels," that by the way refers to the law given to Moses which was brought by angels, "if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, the law of God is unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" If they couldn't violate Moses' law and get away with it, what are we going to do if we violate the gospel? Why? After it was at first spoken through the Lord...the Lord was the first to speak it...it was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. Who was that? The apostles. So they had heard from the apostles who had heard from the Lord.
And how did they know it was the truth? Verse 4, "God also bearing witness with them by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit." Those would be the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the miraculous gifts, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and here it indicates that those gifts there were specifically for the apostles.
So he is saying we better listen to this gospel because it was preached by Christ who was attested by God through miracles and it was proclaimed by apostles who heard Christ and they too were attested to by signs, wonders and miracles. And again it is a solemn warning to Jewish readers not to treat such authenticated revelation lightly. Which was confirmed miraculously.
Well clearly from just those few verses you get the picture. You get the idea here. Miracles were for special times and special individuals who were proclaiming new revelation. And now the Word of God is done and it's complete. And there are no more apostles. You know, I will grant these modern charismatic folks the fact that they...they want to have continual miracles, continual revelation and continual apostles and they're wrong on all counts, unfortunately. Listen again to B.B. Warfield, quoting from Abraham Khyper[??] a great European theologian, he says, "As Abraham Khyper figuratively expresses it, it has not been God's way to communicate to each and every man a separate store of divine knowledge of his own to meet his separate needs." What a great statement. I would like to shout that from the housetop. I would like to buy billboards across the country near churches and put that up. It has not been God's way to communicate to each and every man a separate store of divine knowledge of his own to meet his separate needs. That defines a whole movement today of people running around trying to hear a personal word from God for them. I hope you're not looking for that. I really hope you're not looking for that.
Warfield goes on to say this, "God has given the world one complete revelation adapted to all, sufficient for all, provided for all and from this one completed revelation, He requires each person to draw his whole spiritual sustenance." And you have it in your hand, my friend, and this is it. That is so greatly important, isn't it? If you're running around beyond the pages of this looking for answers, they're not there or you're going to get the wrong answers.
Warfield goes on, "Therefore it is the miraculous working which is but the sign of God's revealing power and it cannot be expected to continue after the revelation of which it is the sign has been complete," end quote.
Well, one age of miracles, the time of Moses. One age of miracles, at the time of Elijah. One age of miracles, at the time of Christ. And we have the result. We have the law and the prophets and the New Testament, a complete revelation established and verified and the record of the miracles is in the text itself. You see...back to your text now...I'm like the preacher who had three points...point one, I read my text; point two, I depart from my text; point three, I never return...I'm going to blow point three, I'm taking you back. Second Corinthians 12, when Paul says the signs of a true apostle were performed, he is asserting that these signs belong to a true apostle and if they belonged to everybody, then they can't be any good to verify an apostle. He is saying that following Pentecost, listen to this, following Pentecost when the Spirit of God came and the church was born, every sign and every wonder and every powerful deed, every miracle was to authenticate the apostles, messengers of the new revelation, the new age, the New Testament.
Listen now, it is important to be aware that after Pentecost no miracles, no unusual manifestation of the Spirit of God occurred except in the presence of an apostle or those directly ministered to as an associate of an apostle, in the case of Philip and Stephen. I'll say that again, no miracle ever occurred except in the presence of an apostle or one of the intimate associates of the apostles. And no miraculous gift was ever received apart from the presence of an apostle. Acts 8, the Holy Spirit didn't come to the Samaritans until the apostles came. Acts 10, they didn't come to the Gentiles...the Holy Spirit didn't come to the Gentiles until the apostles were there. Acts 19, when the disciples of John wandered in and said, "We don't even know about Christ, we just know about the preaching of John the Baptist," they heard the gospel, they believed and in the presence of the apostles the Holy Spirit was given...always in the presence of the apostles. And so here in 2 Corinthians 12:12 Paul was actually proving his apostleship by his ability to do these things, and if everybody could do them, it wouldn't prove anything.
Well, somebody's going to say, "Well look, why are these apostles so unique? I mean, you've said this about the apostles, but what makes the apostles unique?" Well I don't have time to answer that question. But I will answer it next time and it's very important, so just kind of hang in there and we'll get back...amazing how much material is in that verse, isn't it? You say, "It's mostly in the white spaces, isn't it? It is, it's just...you have to have a very thick magnifying glass, but if you did you could see it's all there. Join me in prayer.
Father, this is just wonderful and rich, rich truth to search out in the pages of Your Scripture. And we thank You so much for leading us to the truth. Lord, we don't take any credit for that, we...we don't rightly understand the Word of God because we're better than anybody else, we...we've just been blessed, we've been privileged. And these dear people have been faithful to search the Scriptures like the Bereans to check things out and make sure they're so. But, Lord, it's all Your grace and we pray for dear brothers and sisters who are in other movements in Christianity who are wandering all over the place, confused about such matters. And the main problem that's so distressing is that they have lost their singular confidence in the power of Scripture. To be the beginning and the end, the all and all for us. It is true, Lord, You're not going to give us our little individual revelations, You've spread one great table before all of us and we all eat at the same feast and that feast is contained for us, bracketed in the rich and profound truth set between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22. Father, we thank You for this veritable feast of truth and we come to it asking nothing more than we would understand the Word, that it would dwell in us richly and empower us to honor and serve You. Thank You for our time this morning, and we pray that we might with a greater understanding of Your Word have a greater understanding of who You are and worship You in spirit and in truth. In Your Son's name and our Savior we pray. Amen.


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It doesn't matter if Brazil wins or loses against Germany on Tuesday to advance to the World Cup final: Car sales there are set to stumble.
That's according to a research note from J.P. Morgan Cazenove, which examined average car demand growth in host countries of major sporting events.
Sales decelerate in the quarter of the event and then fall off sharply -- "we believe that heavy spending related to the major sporting events (tickets, travel, memorabilia, etc.) possibly leads consumers to delay their purchase of big-ticket discretionary items like cars."
The good news is that they recover four to six months later.
Anyway, this effect may be most pronounced on Fiat , the market leader in Brazil, with a 21.5% share. Brazil is the second-largest market for Renault , which has a 6.6% share in the country.
-- Steve Goldstein


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Teaching English and American Culture in China
Earn credit towards LDR 3000
Location: Zhejiang Province, China
Type of Program: Volunteer abroad, will count towards LDR 3000 Leadership Seminar Series
Duration: 3 - 4 weeks, typically in July
Time of Year: Summer
Majors: Open to all students, staff, & faculty.
Hosted by: Excellent Education
Estimated Cost: $1,120 + Round-trip Airfare to LAX
- Each teacher needs to pay a $250 program fee (due with application) plus $200 visa fee
- Travel insurance is also required of teachers, can be purchased from LTU Study Abroad for $20.
- Tour of Beijing and Shanghai for ~$650 for five days four nights with room (2 star in Shanghai, 3 star in Beijing) and meals, Beijing tours, airport transfers and local transportation included
- Security Deposit of $350 which will be returned upon arrival in China
Program Fee includes: Round-trip airfare from LAX to China, room and board, ground transportation in China, & two one-day excursions provided by host school.
Application Deadline: February 2017. Return it to Study Abroad Programs, c404
Program Description: This program brings native English speakers to China to teach English and American culture to Chinese students, ranging from elementary through high school. Program participants team teach for six 50 min periods, five days a week for 3 weeks. Host schools provide free weekend tours and excursions for visiting teachers. Curriculum topics are provided, but curriculum modification and development are done by the program participants before the trip. Students live in hotels near the school sites, in developed areas of China. Meals are provided by the host schools. After teaching, participants will be able to explore Shanghai and Beijing for five days four night.
Website: http://www.excellenteducation.us/summer_teaching_in_china_program
Download the information and application packet
Schedule a meeting with a Study Abroad advisor
Office Hours: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
A. Alfred Taubman Student Services Center, C205
Prof. Brian Craigo


text:
Rapper Machine Gun Kelly"s tour took an unexpected stop early this morning — to jail … after he was busted by police in Florida for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
According to the website for the Pinellas County Sheriff"s Office, MGK (real name Richard Baker) was busted at 4:12 AM and released a few hours later after posting $100 bond.
Kelly tweeted about the arrest, saying, "Just spent my entire night in a f**king Florida jail…s**t escaladed way to quick last night, it always does with us though."
MGK is currently touring and played the State Theatre in St. Petersburg last night. His next tour date is in Los Angeles on February 8.


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home depot memorial day circular
Rustic Furniture Depot is the largest retailer of rustic furniture, western furniture, rustic and western decor, as well as western bedding in Dallas Fort Worth all are open regular hours this labor day. Why? Check out these Home Depot Coupons! Lots of great deals at One Project Closer appliances, patio, garden, plants, tools and paint. Home Depot promo codes at DealNews the home depot offers a 10% military discount on in-store purchases on select items. com for May 25, 2017 this discount is available every day to active military personnel, retired. Find the latest coupon codes, online promotional codes and the best coupons to save you up to 50% off at Home 5. I had the unexpected pleasure to install carpet from both Home Depot and Empire Carpet in the same week watch for exclusive one-day deals spencer platt/getty images. Here is a summary of the experience home depot s special buy of the day offers online exclusive deals to save on home improvement projects home depot and lowe s offer a 10 percent military discount on memorial day. Home Depot Wenatchee Home Depot Local Ads, Guides, and Catalogs Home Depot Special Buy of the Day discounts for active duty, guard/reserve, retirees, and military veterans. Home Depot is offering up to 30% Off Select Coolers home depot and lowe s now offer 10% military discounts year round to all active duty, guard, reserve, retirees and their families, and some veterans. Free Shipping see the latest promotions for paint and paint accessories from the home depot. Rubbermaid 5 Gal check the latest home depot weekly specials, valid may 18 – may 24, 2017. Modern Red Cooler w/ Cup view all home depot weekly ads & sales, and save money with the retailer coupons, specials. With Home Depot printable coupons and promo codes in tow, enjoy discounts on the home-improvement retailer s stock of tools and maintenance equipment shop memorial day 2017 at the home depot for discounts on everything from lawnmowers to mulch and more. See how Team Depot and The Home Depot Foundation are committed to improving the homes and lives of U runner s depot of vero beach is open six days a week for all your running and walking needs. S come on down and have a personalized fitting with our experienced and. military veterans and their families restaurant depot offers one-stop shopping for food, equipment, and supplies at convenient locations across the country. Save 25% off select outdoor items, including furniture, pillows and cushions, during the Memorial Day Savings Event at Home Depot the official website of westhaven memorial funeral home, inc. Shop Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, Menards and Walmart in mississippi All are open regular hours this Labor Day


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This 50 Bottle Wine Cabinet with drawer is made of Oak and can be supplied with either an all wood wine rack or wood & galvanised steel wine rack.
Option 1 - All Wood Wine Rack / Danish Oil Finish
Option 2 - All Wood Wine Rack / Furniture Lacquer Finish
Option 3 - Wood & Galvanised Steel / Danish Oil Finish
Option 4 - Wood & Galvanised Steel / Furniture Lacquer Finish
Fully Assembled - Handmade in UK
Please Note: All wood option will only take wine bottles; wood & galvanised steel option will take wine bottles and most champagne bottles.
Delivery takes approximately 14-21 days from date of order - we will contact you with a delivery date.
Do you need any wine bottle neck tags?
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Story highlights
- Get a feel for "Les Miserables" in Paris' oldest neighborhoods
- Washington is a setting for parts of three films
- Everyday Philadelphia sites stand out in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Many years ago, in the days when air travel was a jacket, tie and cloth-napkin affair, movie studios used to make short travelogues. These films would show off the world's great cities and most striking destinations in full big-screen glory, giving audiences a glimpse of life around the world.
Today, we have YouTube and the cell phone video.
But films can still take us away -- and this year's Academy Award nominees for best picture go to some far-flung places, whether Civil War-era Washington, the present-day Philadelphia suburbs or the out-of-time bayous of Louisiana.
So, if you're looking for some new scenery, you could do worse than take in a major motion picture. Here's what they have to show.
City of schemers
Whether it's Abraham Lincoln pulling every string to get Congress to approve the 13th Amendment or a collection of 20th-century officials hoping to pull the wool over the eyes of Iranian hostage-takers, Washington is represented in a number of Best Picture nominees as a place where everybody has a plan -- and a price.
"Lincoln" takes place in early 1865 in a Washington that was more country town than modern metropolis. (Many of the city's notable structures date from the early 20th century.) Nevertheless, parts of it would be recognizable to modern eyes and worth a visit today, including the U.S. Capitol (East Capitol Street NE and First Street NE), which offers regular tours, and Ford's Theater (516 10th St. NW). The latter's campus includes the Petersen House, where Lincoln died. Advance tickets are $2.50, though a limited number of free tickets are available for same-day tours.
Actually, instead of the U.S. Capitol, you may want to tour the Virginia Capitol in Richmond: It stood in for the national house in the film. Indeed, much of "Lincoln" was shot in and around the River City, and the commonwealth's tourist office has shrewdly seized upon interest by creating a "Lincoln"-oriented website.
In Richmond, travelers can visit Maymont, a 100-acre estate of gardens, wildlife exhibits and the 1893 Maymont Mansion (2201 Shields Lake Drive). There's a $5 suggested donation to tour the mansion or you can go whole hog with a horse-drawn Maymont Lincoln Ride for $50 (but mention the online offer and get a 25% discount). Other places, including Richmond's Valentine History Center (1015 E. Clay St.) and its Jefferson Hotel (101 W. Franklin St.), also have "Lincoln" discounts and packages. And when you're hungry, drop by the Dixie Restaurant (250 N Sycamore St., Petersburg) for a Spielberger.
"Argo" takes place more than a century after "Lincoln," but its operatives share personality quirks with their Civil War-era forebears (especially the "Lincoln" arm-twisters played by James Spader, John Hawkes and Tim Blake Nelson). In the film, a CIA consultant to the State Department (Ben Affleck) comes up with an idea to get a handful of hostages out of Iran by saying they're Canadian filmmakers.
"Argo's" settings include Washington, where visitors can take a tour of the State Department's Diplomatic Reception Rooms (provided they've made a request); McLean, Virginia, where you'll find the beautiful Great Falls National Park; and, of course, Hollywood. But the more adventurous might try the spot where Affleck's character meets a fellow CIA agent: Istanbul's spectacular Hagia Sophia, built in the sixth century under the Emperor Justinian.
(You can also go to Tehran, but be aware the State Department has posted a warning for American travelers. The city scenes in the film were shot in Istanbul.)
A third Best Picture nominee, "Zero Dark Thirty," also involves espionage, this time telling the story of the manhunt for Osama bin Laden. With much of the film set in Pakistan -- also under a State Department advisory -- it's probably easier to stay stateside and visit the International Spy Museum, a Washington venue devoted to the dark arts of intelligence gathering (800 F Street NW). The museum has interactive adventures and offers tours of Washington's spy sites.
The CIA has tours as well -- but they're all virtual, so partake at your leisure.
However, if you want to venture overseas, you can head to Chandigarh, India, which stood in for the Pakistan locations. The city of about a million people is located in north-central India, about 160 miles north of New Delhi. Its website trumpets the locale as "the best-planned city in India" and "the face of modern India"; it boasts a layout by the famed architect Le Corbusier and an institute dedicated to his legacy.
Paris and France, then and now
Like the classic Victor Hugo novel on which it's based, the musical "Les Miserables" is set during the early 19th century in post-Napoleonic Paris and several towns in northern France.
Most of that era's Paris is long gone -- lost to Baron Haussmann's later modernization of the French capital -- but elements can still be seen in the streets and architecture of the two islands in the Seine River, Ile de la Cite and Ile Saint-Louis, and the neighborhood to the north called the Marais.
The Ile de la Cite was the medieval center of Paris and includes such landmarks as Notre Dame cathedral, which dates to 1163; La Conciergerie, where the royal family was held during the French Revolution; and the residential Ancien Cloitre. The fashionable Marais is now known for its shopping and cafes; it includes the lovely Place des Vosges square, where you'll find la Maison de Victor Hugo -- yes, the author's residence. The latter is now a museum (6 Place de Vosges; admission is free).
At one point, "Les Miserables" protagonist Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) becomes mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer, a small town near the English Channel (pardon, Le Manche). Montreuil was a medieval trading post and still features a castle and several fortifications. Hugo's choice of Montreuil was no accident; he spent a day there in the late 1830s and fell in love with the place. The love has been returned: Every summer, the town puts on a version of "Les Miserables."
Another best picture nominee, "Amour," takes place in present-day Paris. "Amour," about an aging couple dealing with illness, is often grim and wrenching, but Paris, always a source of light, provides hints of their rich life, whether it's their well-appointed residence (the setting for most of the film) or places where the former music teachers hear performances. Rent an apartment of your own through sites such as airbnb.com or parisattitude.com, and listen to music at such spots as Le Carmen (in Georges Bizet's old house, 35 rue Duperré), the classical music showcase Salle Gaveau (45 rue de la Boetie) and Autour de Midi, a jazz club near the Moulin Rouge in Montmartre (11 rue Lepic).
Around the South
The bayous of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" seem otherworldly. The young heroine, Hushpuppy (Best Actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis), and her father, Wink (Dwight Henry), live in a fictional marshy area called the Bathtub, isolated from the outside except for occasional boat traffic. The film was shot around Montegut, Louisiana, about 70 miles southeast of New Orleans.
Despite the erosion of recent decades, the Louisiana wetlands still remain a rich home to many varieties of fish, birds and plant life. Several companies offer tours, including Zam's Bayou Swamp Tours (136 Kraemer Bayou Road, Thibodaux; 985-633-7881) and Bayou Black Airboat Swamp Tours (251 Marion Drive, Houma).
While you're in the area, drive west on Highway 90 toward New Iberia and then head south to Avery Island. That's the home of the McIlhenny Company, makers of Tabasco sauce. The company offers regular tours of its factory and the surrounding area.
In the other direction -- about 35 miles north of Thibodaux -- you'll find the town of Edgard, where much of Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" was filmed. It's in this Mississippi River town, at Evergreen Plantation, that Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) has his plantation (though, in the movie, it's in Mississippi).
Evergreen Plantation remains a fully functional sugar cane plantation, according to its website, with 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places -- including 22 slave cabins. The site is privately owned and offers thrice-daily walking tours. The price is $20 per person, half-price for children under 12.
The world and Philadelphia
"Life of Pi" doesn't make it easy for the movie traveler. The film opens in Canada, where a writer is interviewing Pi Patel, a native of Pondicherry (now Puducherry), India. Patel's family runs a zoo, and early on, they decide to move to Canada and book passage on a ship. However, on the long trip across the Pacific, the ship sinks, and Patel is left to float in a lifeboat with a tiger.
The film was shot in a number of cities, but perhaps the most intriguing is Puducherry. The city, on India's southeast coast, is unique in that it was once colonized by the French and still has a notable French presence. Take a walk along the beach road, Goubert Avenue; drop by the Puducherry Museum, where you'll find ancient bronze and stone statues; and take a tour of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, one of the best-known in India. For more information on the city, go to the city's tourism website.
Or perhaps, on the whole, you'd rather be in Philadelphia, to paraphrase W.C. Fields. That's the locale of "Silver Linings Playbook," about two broken people finding their way to love through dancing.
The climax takes place at a dance competition at Ballroom at the Ben, in the former Benjamin Franklin Hotel (834 Chestnut St.). The hotel is now rental apartments, but there are several lodgings nearby, including the Loews Philadelphia (1200 Market St.) and the downtown Marriott (1201 Market St.). Want a gift for your sweetie? Sample the wares on Jewelers' Row (Sansom Street between Seventh and Eighth).
Though football season has ended -- and the film's beloved Eagles fell well short of the Super Bowl -- Lincoln Financial Field offers regular tours. VIP tours are $10 per adult.
And, when it's time to wind down, head out to Upper Darby, just a few miles west of the city line, where you'll find the Llanerch Diner (95 E. Township Line Road). This is where Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) and Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence) meet for a late-night bowl of Raisin Bran. You can arrive anytime; the restaurant is open 24 hours a day.
Just tell 'em Hollywood sent you.


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My neighbor had no clue. Here she sat, innocently sipping tea in my kitchen, while I prepared to lower the boom: Our 9-year-olds had been up to no good. I had a long list of their mischief, including throwing apples at a neighbor's freshly painted house. I had to tell her, but how? I hemmed. I hawed. I gulped my Earl Grey.
And I wondered: Do these things have to be so hard? In a word, no. Sure, sticky situations will crop up, from the backyard to the baseball diamond. But armed with the right advice, you can face them head-on. And you might even find that, when life hands you apples, a little applesauce isn't far behind.
Awkward Mom Moment No. 1
You need to tell another parent about something her kid did.
Though I didn't know it at the time, my conversation about the fruit-throwing frenzy followed the basic script that experts recommend. (Phew.) "Be friendly and stick to the first person—'I've been wanting to share something,'" says Kathleen Hall, Ph.D., CEO of The Stress Institute, in Atlanta. And if your kid is just as guilty as hers, say so up front. Done. Also on target, to my relief, was my follow-up: I said I figured she'd want to know, because I definitely wanted her to tell me anytime she found out my kid was running wild. In fact, I asked, "Is there anything he's done lately that you might like to, um, mention?" There wasn't—but we agreed to keep each other informed.
The flip side: A mom announces that she caught your kid snooping in her bedroom closet.
Go into journalist mode: Ask for details on what, when, and how. Don't be defensive—just say you really appreciate her letting you know, which helps promote future communication. And if the other parent is irate or overly critical, keep your responses minimal to calm her down. "I acted kind of dull," says a mom of two in Athens, GA, recalling a neighbor's recent accusation ("Your six-year-old forced my eleven-year-old to put on temporary tattoos!"). "I went, 'Uh-huh, uh-huh.' Eventually, she ran out of steam."
Awkward Mom Moment No. 2
Your kid spills a family secret: "Well, my daddy has been sleeping on the sofa?"
Talk privately to the other parent as soon as possible. If you don't do some immediate damage control, speculation can spread mighty fast these days. (Facebook, anyone?) Be honest--but without necessarily sharing every dicey detail, recommends Hall. For instance, you could say that you and your spouse are in a rough patch and seeing a counselor. With any secret that's very personal or painful, it's best to talk in person, notes Hall, but if you're too mortified for a face-to-face, a phone call will do. By being open, you'll engage the other parent's sympathies. Then you can suggest some two-way discretion: Please keep my secrets, and I'll do the same for you. (After all, if your kids see a lot of each other, this won't be the first time they air dirty laundry.) Such heart-to-hearts may even help turn a parent you know into a close friend.
The flip side: Your child's buddy happens to mention that his mom used to be a stripper.
Your pressing questions about pole dancing will have to wait. Unless you've just learned a secret that compromises someone's safety, mum's the word around Mom, says Hall. "Otherwise, bringing it up is just plain nosiness," she notes. But if you've found out, say, that a fellow mom has been drinking and driving in the carpool, then by all means, speak up--as Hall did. "I went over to her house and said, 'I heard you were driving and drinking a beer, and this just isn't going to work.'" Hall also warned the other moms in the carpool about the situation, and to everyone's relief, the drinking mom and her daughter decided to drop out.
Awkward Mom Moment No. 3
After hosting a sleepover, you get a ticked-off phone call from the other mom.
Maybe she's mad that you let the kids watch the latest Harry Potter or that they stayed up till the witching hour. Either way, it's time for an apology—and an assurance that you would not have allowed it if you'd realized she didn't approve. One mom I know got a call from a parent who was upset that the family had invoked the name of Christ in prayer at a meal while her child was visiting. This mom thanked the other for telling her and apologized. She said, "You know, this is an opportunity for us to learn more about each other and our different religions." The other mom replied, "I'm so glad you took this in a positive way"—and the kids remained friends.
To avoid such situations in the first place, be sensitive and ask plenty of questions before a child visits your home--even when you suspect the other parent won't mind the activity you've been planning, says Faith Boninger, Ph.D., a life coach and mom of two in Scottsdale, AZ.
The flip side: You want to inform a neighbor that it's not okay for your 7-year-old to spend afternoons gobbling pork rinds and playing Mortal Kombat: Armageddon on Xbox.
If you're royally angry, cool off for 24 hours or so. Then phone the other mom, thank her for having your kid over, and calmly complain: "I did want to mention that Jack has been a little freaked out about that video game last night." Once the problem's on the table, suggest some ground rules, like only video games rated "E" for everyone.
Awkward Mom Moment No. 4
You go way overboard cheering at your kid's sports event.
Michaun McComsey, a mom of two in Blacksburg, VA, recalls the shame of being shushed at a Tae Kwan Do tournament after she and her husband had been shouting "Get him! Get him!" to their son. "Everyone looked at us," she says. Later, watching themselves on video, the couple was horrified: "We were encouraging him to pummel this other kid!" In such a situation, experts say, the only thing to do is apologize profusely. "Just say to the other parent involved, 'I really lost it. I shouldn't have yelled that. I'm sorry,'" suggests Carleton Kendrick, a family therapist in Boston. Depending on what you yelled during the event, he says, you also may want to say you're sorry to the kids involved—theirs and yours.
After McComsey apologized, she vowed to stick to cheers such as "You can do it!" and "Keep it up!" And from now on, she'll be rooting for all the kids, not just her own. Well played.
The flip side: A parent from Little League shouts that the pitcher (your kid) has a lousy arm.
If the other parent seems out of control or potentially violent, you're better off griping to a coach or a referee—or enlisting the support of other aggrieved parents. (Peer pressure: gotta love it.) If, on the other hand, you're dealing with an annoying-but-harmless repeat offender, a low-key remark should shame her into better behavior. Try something like "Hi, I'm Mark's mom—he's the pitcher. I know you probably don't mean it, but your saying that really hurts his feelings." In general, it's best to use "I" sentences and describe how someone's behavior affects you or your kid, rather than tell them they're wrong, emphasizes Boninger.
Awkward Mom Moment No. 5
Another parent disciplines your kid right in front of you.
Try not to be too thin-skinned—your kid needs to understand he's in a world full of people who are watching what he does and passing judgment, as well as trying to protect him, Kendrick notes. But if you're truly bothered by a parent who often oversteps boundaries, experts suggest quietly taking her aside. After she tells your kid to, say, stop with the arm farts, assure her that it's annoying you, too—but you think he'll respond best if you correct him yourself, at home. Kendrick recalls how he tired of hearing his son, then 6, getting yelled at by a neighbor for running during games in her backyard. "I said, 'I understand you're worried he's going to fall, but, really, he's pretty nimble, and as long as he's not bumping into people, that's just who he is.'"
If your child seems hurt by another parent's reprimands, you might murmur something to him, too—ideally, before you speak to the parent. ("It's okay, honey; you and I can talk about this later.") Chances are, though, your child will feel just fine. During his own boyhood, Kendrick says, "I got feedback about my life and who I was from other adults, and that extended the embrace of care and love that I felt as a kid."
The flip side: You tell a kid to quit chewing like a baboon—while his mom is right next to you.
Apologize and make light of it. "Sorry, that slipped out of my mouth! I'm so used to saying it to my own kids. I don't know why I bother, though—they still eat like they just escaped from the zoo." Seeing the humor almost always smooths things over beautifully until the next awkward moment.
Awkward Mom Moment No. 6
The dreaded kid birthday party. You know no one...yet everyone else seems to know each other. How to deal?
Emily Roy, a Scottsdale, AZ, image and communication consultant (and a mom of four) says you will have to initiate any conversation you want to have in this situation. Be direct and friendly. "Hi, I'm Jen, Jordan's mom. I've seen you around but never actually met you. You're Sarah's mom, right?" And from there, lead the conversation so that you can learn a little something about her, like "Did you grow up in this area?" You will eventually hit upon something you can talk about. Just don't say anything negative—not about your pediatrician, your child's teacher, even your neighbor's dog. You don't know these potential friends well enough to be sure you'll avoid misunderstandings.
Awkward Mom Moment No. 7
You need to approach your boss about working more flextime. What's the best way to steel yourself for a productive exchange?
Every sentence that comes out of your mouth needs to be factual and not emotionally based. Focus on how you'll be meeting the goals of your present position, as well as any benefits to the company (like equipment your work-from-home days will free up, or being available earlier in the morning since you won't have to commute). Wrap up by giving control back to your boss and showing respect—let him have time to digest what you've said, while still making sure he understands you need an answer soon: "I'm sure this is something you'd like to think about. Would you be able to give me your thoughts next week, or would the following week be better for you?"
Awkward Mom Moment No. 8
You pick up your toddler from daycare and find the teachers gabbing away while the kids are tearing apart the room. You don't want to make a huge deal out of this, but it bothers you.
Take your concerns directly to the head teacher. Who knows, maybe one of them had just found out her dad has cancer or her lease isn't being renewed. Everyone has off days. If the problem persists, make an appointment to talk to the director. Remember that your intention is to solve the problem, not just to vent. Keep it brief and your tone concerned (not angry): "Donna, you know that I love this place. But last week when I picked up Henry, the teachers were so deep in conversation that they didn't seem to be paying much attention to the kids." Then wait for her response. Ask questions from there if you aren't getting the feedback you were hoping for: "Is there a policy in place regarding how much structured play the kids are getting?"
Awkward Mom Moment No. 9
You're on a job interview, and it seems to be going well, when you're casually asked, "Do you have kids?"
This is really poor form, but not uncommon. So if you feel obligated to answer, simply smile and say "I do." If it seems appropriate, finish with "And you?" The sooner that question is over, the sooner you can get back to showing them that they've found their candidate.


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At the top of Monday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams
seized on Pope Francis expressing compassion toward gay people of faith
and framed the comments as a major shift for the Catholic Church: "Making history. We're on the Pope's plane as he makes some stunning comments that sure sounded revolutionary..." [Listen to the audio]
Later introducing a report on the topic, Williams proclaimed: "To the journalists sitting in the back of his plane flying him back to the Vatican from Rio, the Pope's words today during a surprise airborne news conference seemed, if not revolutionary, certainly newsworthy and historic in terms of the Catholic Church."
In a top-of-the-show tease on Tuesday's NBC Today, echoing the
hyperbole from Williams, co-host Savannah Guthrie announced: "Candid
and controversial. The Pope's comments on homosexuality reverberating
around the globe this morning. Is the Church changing its attitudes?"
In the report that followed, correspondent Anne Thompson touted "what appears to be a change in attitudes toward gay priests and gay people." She asserted: "Surprise is a hallmark of Pope Francis' short papacy....But nothing has stunned the Catholic world like his comments on the flight back from Rio."
After Thompson's report, co-host Matt Lauer grilled New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan on the Pope's remarks:
> So there is no real change here, is what you're telling me. That this is not a change of ideology, a change of philosophy. The Church still views sex acts between homosexuals as a sin, so nothing has changed there?
> And yet it's being called a watershed moment for gay priests and gays who would like to become priests. Do you see it as that?
> Has he overruled the Pope Emeritus? Because Benedict signed a document about eight years ago which banned, basically, gays from becoming priests.
Lauer even tried to foster division between Cardinal Dolan and the Pontiff:
I want to ask you if you're on the same page exactly with this Pope. Because you've made some comments of late that have angered some in the gay community. You said that gay couples are entitled to friendship. You wrote a blog that compared gay Catholics, among others, to people with dirty hands. And while same-sex marriage is a big leap from what we're talking about today, when the Supreme Court had that historic decision on DOMA, you said it was a tragic day for marriage and the nation. Are you on the same page with the Pope?
In his final question to Dolan, Lauer lamented: "And yet, no change in tone when it comes to women and the priesthood?" Dolan pushed back: "Keep in mind, Matt...the Pope's job is to hand on, with it's full purity and integrity, the teaching of the Church. He can't make it up, he can't change it. It's not some policy like the board of governors changes."
Here is a full transcript of Thompson's July 30 report on Today:
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Candid and controversial. The Pope's comments on homosexuality reverberating around the globe this morning. Is the Church changing its attitudes? This morning, Cardinal Dolan, Americans highest ranking Catholic official weighs in live.
MATT LAUER: We want to turn now to an historic comment by Pope Francis on the subject of homosexuality. It's causing a stir among Catholics and activists all around the world. NBC's Anne Thompson is in Rome with more on this for us. Anne, good morning to you.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Pope's Olive Branch; Creates Stir With Comments on Gay Priests]
ANNE THOMPSON: Good morning, Matt. You know, those five words the Pope spoke, "Who am I to judge?," certainly has people talking this morning about what appears to be a change in attitudes toward gay priests and gay people.
Surprise is a hallmark of Pope Francis' short papacy. From paying his own hotel bill the day after he was elected, to his love of the crowds. But nothing has stunned the Catholic world like his comments on the flight back from Rio. Towards the end of an extraordinary hour and twenty minute press conference, asked about the so-called gay lobby inside the Vatican, the Pope said, "If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?" A sentiment largely welcomed outside New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I do think it was a good move, yeah. I think people need to be encouraged to not judge other people based on certain things.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: When Pope Francis said he wasn't going to judge anyone, I think this is a tremendous breakthrough for the Vatican, because this is what the modern Church should be about.
THOMPSON: At Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral, opinions were more divided.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN B: I don't think that he would ever condone gay marriage. It's just not natural. But there's a difference between supporting someone who is gay and supporting something that's immoral.
THOMPSON: But for this gay Catholic, it's a start.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN C: Let's talk about this as mature adults and let's get out of our stereotypes and let's start dealing.
THOMPSON: And for those in the priesthood, it is perhaps most important.
FATHER THOMAS REESE [SR. ANALYST FOR NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER]: What's key here is that the Pope is saying that gay people can be good people, can be good priests.
THOMPSON: Now, while the Pope offered a conciliatory message on gays, he was very definitive about the issue of women priests. He said no, that issue had been decided long ago by the Church. Matt.
LAUER: Alright, Anne Thompson in Rome this morning. Anne, thank you very much.