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BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 30th September 2016
Van Morrison looks back at his life and work in a series of interviews with Leo Green. Last in a series first broadcast on BBC Radio 2.
Tonight Van discusses the way he records, the reasons why his music is so popular with film and TV producers (featuring in over 150 films to date) and introduces duets with PJ Proby, the late Bobby Womack and Mavis Staples.
Van Morrison - Jackie Wilson Said [Polydor]
Georgie Fame & Van Morrison - Who Can I Turn To [Verve]
Van Morrison - Spanish Steps [Virgin]
Van Morrison - Coney Island [Mercury]
Van Morrison - Real Real Gone [Polydor]
Van Morrison - Sweet Thing [Warner Bros]
Van Morrison - Wonderful Remark [Polydor]
Van Morrison - Days Like This [Polydor]
Van Morrison - Someone Like You [Mercury]
Van Morrison & Bobby Womack - Some Peace Of Mind [Polydor]
Van Morrison & Mavis Staples - If I Ever Needed Somone [RCA]
Van Morrison - The Healing Game [White]
Friday, 4 November 2016
Too Late To Stop Now: The Van Morrison Story - 4. Episode 4
Posted by Zero Swamp at 19:09
Labels: Documentary, Van Morrison
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ReTrans Freight has more of an impact on your business than any freight management company. We do this by offering the following as core features:
Committed pricing from all major carriers, without the obligation of our clients signing a contract
Integrated transportation management and logistics consultation
Technology solutions that provide maximum flexibility and transparency
Through these features, we find more significant cost savings, eliminate inefficiencies and find better opportunities for freight management to support the growth of our clients. Our leading transportation management system software drives impactful LTL and eCommerce shipping solutions, helping clients lower and stabilize costs on LTL shipping, effortlessly manage shipments and improve the overall online buying experience for their customers.
Since the beginning, we have been a pioneer and leader in the field of freight management.
Back in 1982, when the company began under the name Logistics Management, Inc., we were one of the first logistics management companies in North America and immediately began providing our clients with extraordinary value through enterprise freight management.
Since then, we've been building our team of experts in all aspects of freight management to ensure we now provide comprehensive solutions that meet the demands of today's customer. In 2012, Logistics Management, Inc. was purchased by ReTrans Corporation. Kuehne + Nagel, one of the world's leading logistics companies, then purchased ReTrans Corporation in 2015, giving our customers access to international end-to-end transportation and supply chain solutions.

subset: commoncrawl


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We moved in officially only a couple of weeks ago but it is slowly coming together.
Here are some shots of the foyer, which is starting to feel more complete.
Let's see...the lamp is from Home Goods. My mom had the mirror and suitcase and didn't mind handing it over. I'll have to double check but if I had to guess, both are from where else but garage sales.
The contemporary art coffee table book is from a garage sale as well but the Nake Berkus book can be found here from Amazon. Love me some Nate.
Oh and these flowers! Left-overs from my brother's wedding.
We found this old fashioned ice chest at an awesome estate sale just a few towns over. I found out about the sale via Garage Sale Rover, an iPhone app.
I've learned (from the master of course) that if it is not the last day of an estate sale and you are interested in an item, you can put a bid in, which is exactly what we did with this piece.
I think it was priced at $300 and we offered $100. Right there on the spot they said "SOLD"!
Maybe we should have offered $75 haha?
I'm still looking for a rug by the front door, which will probably not be used that often.
The way the house it set up, it is more likely that guests will come through the kitchen door.
Which is sort of a shame because the front door and walkway is pretty charming...
Speaking of the front door, I'm contemplating painting it this summer. Not sure what color however.
The good news with guests not coming through the real front door
is that the rug I end up getting won't get too dirty.
Here are some that I've been checking out on Dash and Albert. I recently bought a small kitchen rug from there and I'm happy with it. Apparently, these rugs are made to stand up to high traffic areas and best of all pets.
Clearly there is a theme here: neutral and beachy. We don't live right next to the beach (I think the nearest one is about 20 minutes away) but I can't help it sometimes. That's what I like!


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Ch 14: Renewable Resources and the Environment
About This Chapter
Renewable Resources and the Environment - Chapter Summary
Most environmentalists promote the use of renewable resources, as they offer sustainable options to our energy crisis. These lessons go over the most commonly-used forms of renewable energy today, and the lessons explain the science behind each of these renewable resources.
One of the benefits to using our materials as your go-to study guide includes the fact that we cater to your needs. First of all, we never make you wait on us, so you don't have to worry about setting up appointments or ordering study materials. We make everything we offer convenient for you, and we do so by keeping all of our resources online with full access available around the clock. Our platform is also mobile-friendly, so you can view it on practically any Internet-ready device. As you go through this chapter, you will get to learn about the following:
- A definition of solar energy
- Solar thermal electric generation through solar cells on solar panels
- Benefits and disadvantages to biomass
- Pros and cons of using wind energy and hydropower
- Advantages and drawbacks of geothermal energy and tidal energy
- Energy efficiency vs. energy conservation
1. What is Solar Energy? - Definition, Pros & Cons
Learn about solar energy and how charged particles from the sun travel to Earth to provide heat and light. Explore solar energy as a direct and indirect energy source and examine the pros and cons of harvesting solar energy for other uses.
2. What Are Solar Panels? - Photovoltaic Solar Cells and Solar Thermal Electric Generation
How do devices take advantage of the sun's abundant energy? Learn about photovoltaic solar cells and solar thermal electric generation and how these technologies can be used to convert solar energy into heat and electricity.
3. Biomass for Renewable Energy: Pros and Cons
Biomass is organic material that can be used to generate heat, electricity, and even fuel. In this lesson, you will learn about the advantages of this abundant and renewable energy source as well as the disadvantages.
4. Wind Energy: Pros and Cons
Wind energy is a renewable form of energy that involves harnessing the natural energy of the wind. Learn how wind is used to generate electricity and the pros and cons of this energy source.
5. Hydropower: Pros and Cons
Hydropower is power generated from moving water. Learn how this energy from water can be harnessed by hydropower plants to generate electricity as well as the pros and cons of this renewable energy source.
6. Geothermal Energy: Advantages and Disadvantages
Geothermal energy is heat energy that is stored within the earth. Learn the methods being used to tap into this thermal energy to heat buildings and generate electricity as well as the advantages and disadvantages of this renewable energy source.
7. Tidal Energy: Advantages and Disadvantages
The tides move a massive amount of water, and the energy from this moving water, known as tidal energy, can be captured and converted into electricity. Learn how tidal energy works and the advantages and disadvantages of this energy source.
8. Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency: Examples and Differences
Saving energy is an important topic, but energy conservation and energy efficiency are not the same thing. Learn what the difference is and some examples of both energy conservation and energy efficiency.
Earning College Credit
Did you know… We have over 200 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Transferring credit to the school of your choice
Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.
Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Environmental Science 101: Environment and Humanity course
- Introduction to Environmental Science
- Ecosystems and the Effects of Pollution
- Habitats & Ecosystems
- The Evolution of Ecosystems
- Meteorology and the Environment
- Geology and the Environment
- Biological Science
- Causes and Effects of Freshwater Pollution
- The Relationship Between Land and the Environment
- Effects of Population Growth on the Environment
- Environmental Impact of Agriculture
- Solid and Hazardous Waste
- Human Impact on the Environment
- Nonrenewable Resources
- Environmental Sustainability
- Analyzing Environmental Risks
- Impact of Environmental Policy
- Studying for Environmental Science 101


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Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the man suspected of murdering Aniah Blanchard, the stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight Walt Harris, whose remains were found last month.
Charges against Ibraheem Yazeed, who is being held in Lee County Jail in Alabama without bond, were upgraded from first-degree kidnapping to capital murder, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes said at a press conference Monday.
"We have determined that Mr. Yazeed was the lone person responsible in this case for abducting Aniah Blanchard," Hughes told reporters.
"He is the only person responsible for Aniah's murder."
Blanchard, a 19-year-old student at Southern Union State Community College in Alabama, went missing Oct. 23 outside a gas station in Auburn.
Human remains found during the search for the teen were confirmed as belonging to her last week.
The medical examiner ruled that she died of a gunshot wound.
Yazeed, 29, was arrested Nov. 7 in Blanchard's disappearance after her abandoned black Honda CRV was found in Montgomery with her own blood inside.
Police received a tip that Yazeed was allegedly seen Oct. 23 at the Auburn gas station forcing Blanchard into her car and driving away.
Another man, Antwain Shamar Fisher, 35, was also charged with first-degree kidnapping and is being held on $50,000 bond. David Lee Johnson Sr., 63, is charged with hindering prosecution in the case.
Hughes wouldn't answer questions about the charges against those men.
"This case has shaken our community to its core," Hughes said.
The post Prosecutors to seek death penalty in murder of UFC star's stepdaughter appeared first on New York Post.


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Flu Nasal Aerosol
Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is a type of influenza vaccine in the form of a nasal spray. It is an attenuated vaccine, unlike most influenza vaccines, which are inactivated vaccines. LAIV is administered intranasally, while inactivated vaccines are administered by intramuscular injection. Both live attenuated and inactivated vaccines are typically trivalent, since they contain material from three different influenza virus. LAIV is sold under the trade name FluMist in the United States and Canada. (source)
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MCE 2016, Mostra Convegno Expocomfort in Milan from 15 to 18 March, has represented the continental showcase for innovative technologies in comfort and energy systems. 2.100 exhibitors and more than 155.000 visitors with a significant growth of the international participants.
Innovative, reliable and efficient solutions.
This year VP Solar, after the conference on the Thermodynamic organized in the previous edition of 2014, wanted to be present with two stands, one of which within the That's Smart geared to promote new technologies for innovative, automatic, comfortable and energy-efficient building.
For this scope VP Solar has for years been engaged with its engineers in selecting, testing and proposing innovative, reliable and efficient solutions. DomusManager (www.domusmanager.it) is a project that expresses symbolically this commitment: a home built in 1982 with G energetic class, renewed to class A +, applying photovoltaic, thermodynamic, heat pumps, storage.
High interest during MCE of VP Solar storage systems.
VP Solar storage systems, in particular, created high interest during MCE. It is fascinating to think you can see grow the auto-consumption of a building with photovoltaics, up to approach energy independence.
Which 2016 storage? To this question VP Solar gave multiple answers, depending on the needs of users, both residential and commercial, in a broader framework, the system that produces, consumes efficiently, stores, monitors and manages the energy. it.
This vision was also presented during the 5 events and 3 mini meetings and the Politecnico di Milano workshop "Towards energy self-sufficiency", organized during the event, which was attended by more than 1.000 professionals, and has been recognized as worthy of general interest.
The experience of VP Solar team, committed since 1999 in the distribution of energy systems, can help resellers and installers to always find the best solutions.


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Ocean Carrier ISPS Surcharge Update - All Trades
CMA CGM informs its customers of the updated amounts of the ISPS (vessel) surcharge.
The Ocean Carrier ISPS (International Ship & Port facility Security code) Surcharge, identified in our Charges Finder tool under "ISS01", will be updated as follows:
Effective from April 15th, 2019 (date of loading in the origin ports) until further notice
USD 14 / EUR 12 per unit for all trades
Applicable on top of freight
Prepaid/Collect (except for Taiwan: payable elsewhere)
(*)The associated basic freights are available here: https://www.cma-cgm.com/ebusiness/tariffs/finder. Bunker-related surcharges, THC (Origin and/or Destination), Peak Season charges and similar charges and other Safety and Security-related surcharges may also apply and are accessible at http://www.cma-cgm.com/ebusiness/tariffs/charge-finder. Other charges such as contingency charges and local charges may be applicable.
Please contact your local CMA CGM office should you require information about any other pricing information


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2019 Bmw M5 Photos – Today we are going to discuss the The sixth-generation BMW M5, made its debut late last year, but now, we finally get to see the one we've been waiting for. Remember when BMW showed off a few of their hottest models at the close of the year. Consumers who crave the fantasy car, which can be comfy for rides using standart cost obviously. BMW is a very good Brand, Who does not know car manufacturers who are already in the automobile market year-end. Automobile manufacturers are always present the sort of car that's extremely aerodynamic and sporty and features quite sophisticated features. The convenience of the Toyota Rush car is perfect for your family.
2019 Bmw M5 Photos
Then in the previous year, Redesigned, sixth production of BMW's muscle performance sedan is the quickest M automobile ever. BMW has introduced a brand new vehicle that is BMW M5. This sort of Sedan vehicle with a sporty and trendy design and also this car is great for use in various circumstances. Possessing an extremely sporty exterior look, of course, the inside has a characteristic that's extremely technologically advanced to the region of this car that'll be release. Since it was first produced so far, the car has experienced a very substantial shift. Although 2019 BMW M5 Photos it's circulating in the marketplace, but its existence has been verified to exist this year.
Is a kind of car Sedan, among the most well-known cars available on the market nowadays. BMW M5 is in a more comfortable layout for your rider and also for the dash is also designed more contemporary and technically the newest immobilized panel. But the good news is the M5's fresh M xDrive all-wheel-drive system with two-wheel-drive style. The rest of the instances, the transport situation paths all electricity to the rear, along with the Active M Differential handles distance between the trunk. But don't find worried about this. They promise great things. The BMW M5's existed for more than 30 years, and every generation has been radically improved compared to the past.
The previous two generations of M5 were offered with optional dual-clutch broadcasts, the M5's all-wheel driveway system is called M xDrive. At the most recent creation, BMW M5 is currently outfitted with the most recent technology, the utmost capacity generated for the sort of car in its class. As BMW M5 cars grow, BMW M5 automobiles are based on functionality. The new model is faster and more powerful, but it's also more elegant than the vehicle it replaces.
All New Engine 2019 BMW M5 Photos
BMW M5 2019 Has a lengthy lease income with no significant changes since it was initially introduced. Somehow, BMW is very passionate about redesigning this car having a more modern form. When looking at the exterior specifications of the BMW M5, can look an extremely hard sporty aura. The M5 can also store in its memory two driver profiles, including preferences for transmission and engine response, steering effort and suspension damping. The new models has an extremely aerodynamic design with a fresh look and more futuristic compared to compared to other Sedan versions that are advertised.
After the Sedan arrives next spring, that in this segment is more concerned with the comfort aspect instead of the passenger capacity aspect afterward the BMW M5 specification additionally puts more emphasis upon the convenience of the cyclists. Even the BMW arrives in spring 2018, you start with all the limited-production First Edition models.
2019 BMW M5 Photos Colors
So just a tiny report on the 2019 BMW M5 Photos and its specifications, when viewed by the cost of this car does look quite costly in comparison with the same type of car that's actually a Sedan. However, BMW M5 already has a panoramic vehicle. Therefore we're not amazed if the purchase price is realized a little more expensive because it is comparable to the features which are inside it plus it's extremely helpful. Although it has been started but the BMW have not released the state price. The brand new sixth-generation BMW M5 goes on the market next spring. Pricing hasn't yet been announced, the state price will be in certain moment.


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October 9, 2019
Public Information Bureau (609) 882-2000
Major Brian Polite - ext. 6514
Lt. Theodore Schafer - ext. 6515
SFC Jeff Flynn - ext. 6516
Sgt. Lawrence Peele - ext. 6531
Tpr. Alejandro Goez - ext. 6527
Tpr. Charles Marchan - ext. 6513
Flyer - English [pdf] | Flyer - Spanish [pdf]
The New Jersey State Police Unions have collectively offered an additional $10,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Dulce Alavez, 5, from Bridgeton City, N.J., who has been missing since September 16.
The funds offered by the State Troopers Fraternal Association, the Non-Commissioned Officers Union, and the Superior Officers Association raises the total reward to $52,000.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bridgeton City Police Department at 856-451-0033.
# # #
Follow the New Jersey State Police online at Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The social media links provided are for reference only. The New Jersey State Police do not endorse any non-governmental websites, companies or applications.


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The Nelson Leafs have clinched their second straight division title.
Jack Karran scored and added three assists as the Leafs beat the Beaver Valley Nitehawks 7-4 on Saturday in Fruitvale to secure first place in the Neil Murdoch Division.
Keenan Crossman, Reid Wilson, Shawn Campbell, Emery Neilson, Kaleb Comishin and Cole Wyatt also scored for Nelson (32-10-2), while Hunter Young stopped 31 shots.
Quaid Anderson, Kevin Duguid, Nathan Ingram and Nolan Corrado replied for the Nitehawks (22-17-5), who left Noah Decottignies on the hook for all seven goals on 38 shots against.
Ingram and Anderson gave the Nitehawks a 2-0 lead in the first period before Crossman and Wilson tied the game in the second.
That set up a wild third, which saw Nelson blow a 4-2 lead before scoring three straight goals. The final period featured four goals — two from each team — in a span of just one minute 56 seconds.
The win was the fifth straight for Nelson, which has outscored opponents 18-6 over the last three games.
The Leafs host the Spokane Braves and Fernie Ghostriders on Friday and Saturday, respectively. They end the season with a road game at Grand Forks on Feb. 22 before returning home Feb. 23 for a rematch against the Braves.
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Bottles of wine and Albanian appetizers: cheese olives sausage, min-pizzas, chips, crisps, nuts, sheep cheese, cornichons, bell pepper, and more. A glass of wine. Cobo winery, Poshnje, Berat. Albania, Balkan, Europe.
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Copyright: Per Karlsson, BKWine Photography
ageing, aging, Albania, Albanian, appetizers, Balkan, barrel, barrique, bell, Berat, bg11-432-3207.tif, BKWine, cask, cellar, central, chai, cheese, chips, Cobo, cooking, cornichons, crisps, cuisine, domain, domaine, East, Eastern, Europe, European, food, foodstuff, gastronomy, glass, gourmet, historic, horizontal, meal, mealtime, Mediterranean, min, more, nuts, oak, old, old-fashioned, olives, pepper, piece, pizzas, Poshnje, producer, sausage, sheep, South, southeastern, Southern, storage, store, supper, tasting, underground, wine, winecellar, wineglass, wood, wooden


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How are Australians and New Zealanders going to financially cope in retirement?
Written on the 30 July 2010 by James Cagney
Do you know that 90% of the population in Australia and New Zealand will need support to survive in their retirement?
Will your hopes and dreams for your retirement turn into a nightmare! Australia Hot Property (BN20574423) will show you value for money investment property, which will give you excellent capital growth and sustainable returns. We will help you make money - so you can be independently wealthy in your retirement. Or you can be paralysed by FEAR by listening to the media and your friends and family or just continue in your comfort zone and retire poor (you'll be right mate).
We will show you how to:
* Find properties that will give you what you want
Life is about choices and decisions have consequences. So make a decision today to get your hands on this valuable information and start using it to make money by investing on the Gold Coast. Make sure you make enough money whilst you can, so you do not have to lower your standard of living in retirement – as 90% of the population in Australia and New Zealand will be forced to do.
Procrastination will keep you broke. So do not make an excuse - make an effort!
Most people are too busy making a living to make money. Do not lose out on the opportunity to do something about your future whilst it is in your power to do so. Most people think up numerous reasons why the time is not right to invest in property. Unfortunately, most people see the difficulty in every opportunity - instead of looking for the opportunity in every difficulty. This mentality shows why 90% of the population need support to survive in their retirement. Will you be one of them?
If you would like more information about the properties that we have that will ensure you enjoy your retirement go to www.jamescagney.com.au or click here >>>>>> here .
Author: James Cagney


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Tailored Entertainment exclusively represent and hire the UK's best acts for weddings, corporate events and private parties. Our DJs with sax perform UK wide as well as internationally - base locations including; London, Hampshire, Sussex, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Midlands. For a friendly chat about booking your DJ with sax, please call our expert team on 0800 564 2240.
Your very own in-house DJ, seamlessly spinning your favourite tunes, with optional live music accompaniment. DJ Paul is a remarkable talent, guaranteed to leave your guests talking of little else afterwards.
James boasts a dance floor packing catalogue of awesome tunes, expertly delivered with a high-energy, contemporary style and vibe. There's no wonder that he's among the best DJs for hire in the Midlands.
Combining a young and contemporary feel, state of the art sound and lighting system and the perfect playlist, DJ Gems assures an unforgettable night of music and entertainment that you and your guests will remember forever.
An electrfying DJ with an awesome twist - bringing your night to life with her live saxophone accompaniment. DJ Ellis is truly unique.
DJ Elliott is the real thing. A master behind the turntables, spinning funk fuelled neo-soul and old school dance anthems - all in his own, unmistakeable style.
"The Heights were fantastic! We loved them & so did our guests. Would definitely recommend them." Louise Howells - Birthday Party, Crewe Hall, Cheshire
Our cover bands work regularly in Birmingham and can travel comfortably to venues such as The Sunflower Lounge, o2 Academy, Canalside, Cosy Club Birmingham, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Radisson Blu Birmingham, Midlands Art Centre, The Bierkeller, Revolution Birmingham, Wallsall Football Club, The Night Owl, Highbury Halland many more.
For a friendly chat about booking a cover band for your party, corporate function or wedding in the Midlands area, please call our live music experts on 0800 564 2240.
We have bands available to hire nationwide...


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Jena Choctaw Youth Dancers at COA
Jena Band of Choctaw Youth Dancer Devin Stapleton demonstrates the fancy dance at the LaSalle Council on Aging last week as part of Native American Heritage Month. The youth dancers shared their Choctaw heritage with attendees from the demonstration of different dances to the Choctaw language with a brief reading from an English-Choctaw Bible.
To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition http://www.etypeservices.com/Jena%20TimesID339/
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August 4, 2019
Hosea 11:1-11
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
11:2 The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols.
11:3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them.
11:4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
11:5 They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
11:6 The sword rages in their cities, it consumes their oracle-priests, and devours because of their schemes.
11:7 My people are bent on turning away from me. To the Most High they call, but he does not raise them up at all.
11:8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
11:9 I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
11:10 They shall go after the LORD, who roars like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west.
11:11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD.
The book of Hosea is an interesting book. It is the first of the 12 books of the minor prophets which just means the books are short. In fact, in the Hebrew bible they are lumped together as one book called The Twelve.
The message in Hosea is a cycle of betrayal and idolatry, judgement, repentance, redemption, and restoration.
Hosea is the story of a prophet who is commanded by God to marry a prostitute. He marries Gomer. She leaves him for another and he goes and brings her back. The story is a picture of God's relationship with the Israelites. Hosea is a prophet during the reign of Jeraboam who was king of the northern ten tribes of Israel. If Jeraboam had obeyed God, his family would have been established like King David but he set up a couple of golden calves and led the people into sin and they turned their backs on God.
So God gives Hosea a message for the people but instead of saying the message, Hosea is to LIVE out the message. God tells Hosea to marry an adulterous wife. There will be children and God tells Hosea what to name them.
There will be a son – Jezreel which means scattered, a daughter named Lo-ruhammah which means not loved, and another son named Lo-ammi which means not my people. These names might seem unimportant but we will come back to them.
Hosea married Gomer who was a prostitute before the wedding, and an adulterer after. Gomer represents the Israelites who have turned away from God and worshipped false gods. God speaks to Israel through Hosea about the coming consequences if they don't repent.
How Do We Feel About The Story of Hosea and Gomer?
I come to this story carrying some sympathy for this young pastor, Hosea. Hosea hears God's call and I wonder if he doesn't imagine himself preaching some glorious sermon that will cause the people who hear him to turn back to God. Maybe he was a little nervous, maybe he was humbled to receive such a calling. Whatever he was feeling, I doubt he imagined what would come next. This man of God, through obedience, finds himself in a situation that sounds a lot like the headline in one of those magazines by the check-out counter at the grocery store.
I don't know about you but I didn't feel the same sympathy for Gomer when I first read this story. I might have felt sympathetic for the prostitute. I mean, it was difficult for a woman in those days. If you were poor and had no male family member to take care of you then you just did what you had to do to survive. But then Hosea loved and married her and she was unfaithful! My judgemental self probably responded in a similar manner to Hosea's friends. I'm sure they had a lot of advice for him and in human terms it would have made perfect sense. Don't do it Hosea! She is not good enough for you. Think of your career as a pastor! She will break your heart! Some people may have just been mean and gossipy but others may have spoken out of genuine concern for their friend. They would have seen this as a huge mistake. Here she was – living what seems a terrible lifestyle and Hosea as we say, "made an honest woman out of her". Not only did he marry her, he LOVED her. So he not only changed her name from prostitute to wife. He changed it to beloved wife. And Gomer goes right back to her old ways. Hosea not only brings her back – again! -he pays a ransom to do so.
Why would Gomer go back to this life?
Maybe Gomer had named herself a prostitute by her life before Hosea.
You can change your address and call yourself something else but do you believe it in your heart? Maybe she still felt that the old name applied. Maybe that voice on repeat in her head told her that she was unworthy so many times that she came to believe it and no matter how much Hosea professed his love, she couldn't shake the name or the shame she had given herself.
Is Jesus in Here Somewhere?
Let's look at the new testament for some insight into this whole name business.
In Matthew 3, John the Baptist baptizes Jesus and God names and claims His son – "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Then just a few short verses later, we come to the temptation of Jesus. In Matthew 4 what does the devil say? If you are the son of God. Three times the accuser gives reason for doubt about the name that God has just given Jesus.
Doesn't it often happen that way? As soon as we have a spiritual experience – a God moment, feel convicted by a sermon, do something selfless for someone else – immediately following one of those experiences it seems like something happens and other things try to tell us that we belong to them. Our spouse does something irritating and our anger says it owns us. Bills come in the mail and the washing machine breaks and the car starts making a funny noise and our money (or lack of it) and our stuff claims us. We buy a burger for the guy near the overpass carrying a sign that says "will work for food" and as we drive away we watch in the rear view mirror as he throws the burger in the trash and our heart for the needy grows cold. We are owned by an unforgiving and critical spirit. In an instant we went from better to bitter.
The accuser, the father of lies, uses the very things that bring us closer to God against us.
But only God can truly name us because only God can see who we were created to be IN HIM. God has the final say!
God has named us sons and daughters, so loved that He put on flesh, walked among us healing and teaching, suffered and hung on a cross, died and three days later defeated death…everything else that the world names us is a lie of temptation that only becomes true when we listen to it.
Maybe that is what happened to Gomer. Maybe she couldn't accept the grace of forgiveness from Hosea because first she would have to admit once and for all how broken and in need of forgiveness she was and after all, isn't that precisely why grace is so hard? And sometimes, harder than admitting how broken she is or …we are, is having hope that we could actually be something other than what the world names us. Hope. Grace. The very things we need the most can be the hardest for us to accept. Maybe it is not true for you, but for me it is always easier to extend grace, to forgive someone else, than it is for me to accept it myself. I think we all sometimes deep down, want so badly to feel safe, to belong, that we run in the opposite direction from hope and grace because our doubt gets in the way and the accuser says we are not worthy and we forget that the good news of the gospel is exactly the answer to that lie.
Remember the names of the children?
Hosea 1:10-12 "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'children of the living God.' The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. (which not only means scattered but also means God plants!)
Hosea 2:23 I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.'I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'"
God doesn't wait for his people to "come around". He meets us right there in the midst of our sin and that is where grace happens.
Where Are We?
No longer scattered, no longer unloved, people of God.
The story of Hosea is a picture of sin and brokenness and separation from God but it is also a picture of Jesus, a ransom for sin, for being made whole, and of us being given a new name.
For while we were yet sinners (our old name), Christ died for us. (Redeemed – our new name!)
Galatians 3:26-28 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (emphasis mine)
The accuser can't name you. The world can't name you.
There is a story about Martin Luther, the Catholic priest who was responsible for the beginning of the reformation (the beginning of the protestant church). In his time, you could purchase what were called "indulgences" from the church. In other words, if you had sinned, you could sort of buy your way into heaven. Martin Luther said, no we are justified not by anything we do in ourselves, but by faith in Jesus Christ through grace. One story says that when he felt temptation he would shout these words. "I am baptized!" It was sort of a way of saying "Evil – you think you can tell me who I am? You should meet my dad!"
Last week, in his sermon on prayer, Mark said that the name of God should always be set apart as holy. As he spoke, I was thinking about one of the names of God. I AM.
When we begin a sentence about ourselves, We start out by saying I am (whatever – angry, hungry, a Methodist,) and in a way, we have started our sentence with the name of God. Maybe that is meant to be a reminder of who (and WHOSE) we are.
God is holy and we are grafted onto the family tree as sons and daughters and so through Jesus Christ, we too are holy, precious and redeemed children of the living God. That is what the power of the transforming love of God is like. That is what God is like. That is what love is like. We are loved. We belong. THAT precious people is our name. Amen.
Let Us Pray
Father, we thank you for your creation, for breath, and for Your Son, Jesus, the Christ. We see ourselves and each other as the world names us. We thank You because You see us as beautiful, beloved.
Ephesians 2:10 says that we are your handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which you have already prepared in advance for us to do.
Help us to remember the God moments where we feel close to you so that when we find ourselves wandering in the dark valley we can shout "I am baptized" and know we are just passing through on our way home to you.


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"A charge attack where you close in and seemingly disappear, then strike a hit as soon as you appear in front of your opponent."
Angry Hit is a Rush Attack used by Innocent Buu in Dragon Ball Xenoverse.
The user charges towards the opponent with Rapid Movement and attacks as soon as they appear in front of the opponent.
Video Game Appearances
Angry Hit was named and first appeared in Dragon Ball Xenoverse as one of Majin Buu's Super Skills. It can also be obtained by the Future Warrior as a reward in Parallel Quest 36: "Majin Banquet".
"Closes with the opponent at blinding speed before unleashing a melee attack."
— Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Tutorial description
In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Angry Hit returns as one of Majin Buu's Super Skills which the Future Warrior can learn by completing School Quest: "Lesson 1" of Majin Buu's Training.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dragon Ball Xenoverse, 2015
- ↑ Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, 2016
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


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Live In or Near The TWIN CITIES? Read This!
Adam Ruben, Executive Producer of a production company in the Twin Cities area called 'Drive Thru' wrote in asking us to find some hard core LOTR fans for something really cool! Take a look! [More]Posted in Old Main News on June 24, 2003 by xoanon


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Thanks to the folks at Five Star Games, Stevivor's got three Steelbook Editions of Yakuza Kiwami on PS4 to give away to lucky readers!
Available from 29 August, Yakuza Kiwami is a homage of the original Yakuza, built from the ground up and delivering action at 1080p and 60 frames-per-second. Check it out in action below.
To win one copy, all you need to do is register your details and tell us, as creatively as you can, in twenty-five (25) words or less: As 'Kiwami' means 'Extreme', what would you add to the Yakuza franchise to make it extreme?
The Steelbook Edition of Yakuza Kiwami comes with a copy of the game alongside an attractive steelbook.
Simple, no? Get in your entry before 11.59 pm AEST on 28 August; we'll pick three (3) total winners on 29 August. Entrants must be a resident of Australia, aged 15 or above. Winners will be contacted by email to arrange delivery of their prize. Full terms and conditions can be found here.
Good luck!


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Tap to Read ➤
6 Health Benefits of Red Banana
Reshma Jirage
Feb 5, 2020
Red banana is known for its sweet flavor as well as for its numerous health benefits. Loaded with a variety of nutrients, red banana can be considered as an instant source of energy. It helps to overcome various health issues and boosts immune system.
Among more than 1,000 varieties of bananas found in the world, red bananas come under the subgroup from Southeast Asia. If you wonder, how to eat red bananas, they combine well in desserts and savory dishes, when they ripe and become soft and deliciously sweet. Nutrient-rich red banana can be considered as 'must eat fruit' for good health.
Red banana nutrition factors include proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Carbs in red banana include sugars and 1% of dietary fiber. Red banana provides important nutrients such as vitamins like vitamin B6 and C as well as minerals like potassium and magnesium. Red banana is known for its antioxidant properties due to its rich content of vitamin C.
Improves Digestive Health
With its high fiber content, red banana can be a great choice for those who suffer from various digestive problems such as constipation, bloating, inflammation and inflammable bowel disease. It can help regulate bowel movements, which ultimately reduces the risk of colon cancer. Prebiotic fibers in the banana can increase friendly bacterial flora in the gut.
Good for Eyes
Red banana consists of fat-soluble vitamin A, which is good for the health of the eyes. It also contains two types of carotenoids, beta carotene and lutein, which are necessary for good vision. Lutein can help to prevent an incurable eye disease called age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Effective in Weight Loss
Regular consumption of red banana can keep your weight under control and reduces the risk of obesity-related diseases like hypertension, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. There are only 90 calories in red banana with negligible amount of fat. Including red banana in your daily diet, keeps your stomach full, preventing the intake of excess calories
Keeps Your Heart Healthy
Since red banana is rich in important minerals like potassium and magnesium, it can be a good remedy to lower blood pressure. Red banana can be considered as a 'heart-healthy' food due to its high potassium content. Potassium reduces the negative effect of sodium and minimizes the risk of heart attack and other heart diseases.
Good for Skin
Vitamin C and B-6 present in red banana can help to maintain texture and elasticity of the skin. Its antioxidant properties can help prevent wrinkles and aging of the skin. Due to its high water content, red banana keeps your skin hydrated and glowing. Use of a face mask prepared with mixing red banana, honey and lemon juice gives you a younger-looking skin.
For Healthy Hair
Red banana being rich in nutrients and natural oils keeps your hair soft and maintains the natural shine of the hair. Also, the consumption of red banana enhances hair growth and treats the dandruff. The hair mask prepared by mixing red banana, olive oil, coconut oil and almond oil is helpful to repair the damaged hair.
Good for Overall Health
Red banana improves your overall health in many ways. It is suitable for all age groups. It gives instant energy boost and keeps you energized throughout the day. Some other health benefits of red banana include: relieves heartburn, cures piles, prevents formation of kidney stones and reduces stress.
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Two weeks after his senior prom at age 19, Adeyinka Muhammad Mendes, who had been raised as a Christian, decided he would convert to Islam, influenced by time he spent in synagogues and mosques during a trip to Israel.
Mendes says his trip to the Middle East kindled a love for monotheism and a sense of the "absolute oneness of the Divine."
"When I say 'the Divine' I mean the God who is known by many names in many cultures and many religions," he adds.
"I am not thinking of Superman or an old man with a white beard on a throne sitting in a cloud," he says. "I'm talking about the divine reality that reveals itself through Scripture, through nature, through history and through each and every one of us."
In August, Mendes became the imam at the Institute of Islamic Studies, which is building a new mosque on Old Trenton Road. Mendes says IIS is targeting completion of the building by the end of this year.
The imam, a resident of West Windsor, brings with him life experiences and religious studies from throughout the world.
His intercultural experiences started at birth, with a Nigerian father who immigrated to the United States in the 1960s, eventually graduating from Howard University College of Medicine, and a mother born in Louisiana and raised in Houston, who graduated from Howard's School of Law.
Mendes's father, who died in 2004, was a general practitioner who did family medicine and a little surgery. His mother has worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for decades as a discrimination attorney and is getting ready to retire.
Mendes himself was born in Dayton, Ohio, and then moved with his parents and two brothers, one older, one younger, to Cincinnati when he was 2. By the time Mendes was 6, his father, who had at that point been in the United States for 20 years and was a citizen, decided he wanted his children to know and appreciate his people and his culture, and they moved to Nigeria.
"We always had African and Nigerian art, clothing and history and language books around the house—but he wanted us to be immersed," Mendes says. And, equally important, "he wanted to help his people with what he gained here."
Nigeria is split 50 percent Muslim, 40 percent Christian and 10 percent ancestral nature-based religions.
"Growing up in Africa helped me to appreciate the diversity of human beings; it has 300 ethnic groups, and each has its own language, food and cosmology," says Mendes, who was raised as a Christian.
He was also exposed to extreme social and economic distinctions. "I got to see a lot of wealth and at the same time there was this contrast of destitution and poverty, almost side by side, a real economic disparity," he says.
Nature was also central to his Nigerian experience. "The beautiful thing about Africa is that there are no natural disasters—no tornados, no hurricanes, no earthquakes," he says. And they lived right near the Atlantic Ocean. "The nature, the ocean, would greet us every morning."
For kindergarten in the United States, Mendes had attended public school. In Nigeria he went first to a Catholic school and then to a private nonaffiliated school under the University of Lagos.
His Nigerian education differed drastically from what he found when his family moved back to Houston after seventh grade. Mendes said Nigerian students don't take education for granted.
"Everyone was serious about doing well in school because getting into college or university is not guaranteed; you really had to prove yourself," he said. Coming back to the United States was a real shock. "I didn't see a real appreciation for education, even among children who were in honors classes. School was seen as something you do to get a good job."
Both in school and in film, music and popular culture, he was surprised by the lack of respect for parents and elders, and it took him several years to adjust. But there were also things he loved about American education—"the creativity, the spontaneity and the technological advances that I saw in the classroom."
Mendes attended Mirabeaux B. Lamar High School, in a well-to-do neighborhood "like the West Windsor of Houston," he says. It was very diverse, with people from every ethnic group—but it was still very stratified. At lunchtime, students of European and Asian descent would eat on the front lawn, and black and Hispanic students in the cafeteria.
Although in Nigeria he had viewed himself as an African American, which was how his Nigerian friends identified him, he says, "When I came back from Nigeria, I was not an American, I was the Nigerian." And that evoked "really racist comments" about Nigerians, like "Do they wear clothes? Do they have cars? Do they swing from trees?"
By contrast, in Nigeria, he says, "there's no race consciousness. Race is not an issue; everyone there is brown. What matters is your ethnic group or your nationality."
In America, he says, "this false social construct of color and race" that one encounters when filling out any application "is part of what makes our society our society. That shaped me, but I never fully accepted it. I ultimately rejected looking at people in terms of race."
Even embracing Islam, he says, "had a lot to do with me coming to reject looking at people in terms of racial categories. I still like to look at people in terms of ethnic diversity; they have an ancestry, culture and traditions."
The trip to Israel that helped Mendes make the decision to convert to Islam happened after his junior year in high school. It was an internship jointly sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and the Mickey Leland Kibbutzim Internship Foundation where students delved into the cultural, religious, and political landscape; studied history; and spent time on an Israeli kibbutz.
The first week students were placed with a Jewish or an Arab family, and Mendes stayed with a Jewish family in Haifa. The next three weeks he lived at Kibbutz Retamim, where he worked on the farm and in the chicken house.
The last few weeks they toured Israel, visiting sacred sites, snorkeling in the Red Sea, going to the Knesset (parliament), hiking, climbing Massada and learning about its history and "what it meant to the Jewish people."
The trip was an important learning experience for Mendes. For one thing, it sparked a love for history, "walking on cobblestones over 2,000 years old."
He also met people from all over the world. Particularly significant for Mendes was the exposure to people from different religions, even some he had never heard of, like Bahai and Druse. "It changed me completely and caused an existential crisis," he says.
As a Christian, he had been comfortable in his faith, but, he says, "I was meeting people in other religions who were more comfortable, full of more conviction and more certainty."
All of this raised questions for the thoughtful teenager: What is truth and how do we recognize it? Is there an ultimate truth? Is truth relative or absolute?
"Jerusalem particularly changed my life," he continues, remembering walks in the Old City's Jewish, Christian, Armenian,and Muslim quarters. When he visited the Dome of the Rock, he says he felt "a tranquility, a resonance."
The trip's participants went on a mini-tour after their return to talk in synagogues and churches about their trip to Israel. "We were meeting different people, hearing their concerns and I became a lot more concerned and involved in the Israel-Palestine conflict, being more aware of the history, the nuances, the different versions of history," he says. "I can't take sides because truth never takes a side; and I hope to be in service to truth."
"I was a different person when I went back to the States," he says, citing his increasing commitment to justice, to African American and white American racial reconciliation and to environmental issues—sparked by the beauty of night hikes in the Negev under the full moon.
"Spirituality became more a part of my life," he says. He started meditating and "studying the Bible voraciously looking for answers to my existential questions; studying Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism—I read everything I could get my hands on; I was searching."
He also reread The Autobiography of Malcolm X, a book he says every American should read. "It tells the story of the triumph and tragedy of being an American through this man's life," he says.
Mendes said he decided to convert to Islam at the end of his senior year of high school, because he "felt called to a path to God that united human beings without favoring any ethnic group over another, black over white, Jew over gentile, gentile over Jew, believer over infidel, or atheist over believer."
That summer, he did a YWCA internship in Jordan working in a summer camp for Palestinian orphans—children whose fathers and uncles had been killed in the war with the Israeli Defense Forces.
He then went to Morehouse College, where he studied history and planned to become a lawyer. After two years he realized that "all I wanted to do was go to Sudan and live in the desert and study and be with mystics and scholars." So he transferred to Ohio State University to major in Arabic language and culture and Near Eastern studies. There he fell in love with classical Islamic scholarship and after two years was able to read, write and speak Arabic fluently.
In 1999, he met his wife, Rukayat Yakub, at a conference in Leicester, England, and they married in 2001. She was raised Muslim by two Nigerian parents in London and Nigeria, similarly to Mendes.
Also in 1999, Mendes went to study at a seminary in Damascus, Syria. "My takeaway from Syria was that I didn't know anything," he says. "It was very humbling. I met men and women who had devoted their entire lives to spirituality, scholarship and service to humanity."
Although Americans know a bit about the world, he says, "I went to this other space where people knew a lot about the soul, the spirit. Damascus is oldest continuously lived in city in the world and, like Jerusalem, the history there was humbling."
Next he went to study in Mauritania, living in the Sahara Desert with Bedouin Arabs who were scholars and had memorized the entire Koran. The students lived in tents made out of old clothes, though the professors had slightly higher accommodations—their tents were made out of camel hair, which kept them warm in the winter.
He spent a little under five months there, studying classical Arabic and sacred law and ethics. "It was profound, the nature, the night sky was glorious," he says. "The people were so generous, complete strangers who take you in and give you everything; they don't hold back at all, and that really affected me."
For many seminarians, a month in Mauritania is like a year anywhere else because there are no distractions, the environment is so pristine and natural, and you are in the elements, among scorpions and wildcats. "You are facing your fears and pushing yourself to the limit every day," Mendes says.
For example, one day a fellow student had been stung by a scorpion and was shaking uncontrollably in excruciating pain, and he had to just wait out the 10 or so hours until his body stopped reacting. Another night he spotted a scorpion in the tent he was sharing with two others and it scurried away. After searching frantically but unsuccessfully for it, he says, "I said a prayer and turned off the lights and went to bed, hoping I wouldn't get stung in the head."
That, he says, exemplified having to "face your fears" and "putting your faith into practice with regard to the natural world."
His next stop was Nigeria, where he studied advanced Muslim civil and criminal law and ethics, Arabic and theology/spirituality. He visited at a time of political upheaval, when certain political movements wanted to make Sharia, or Muslim law, a part of the legal code.
In fact, Sharia had always been part of Nigerian society until British colonialism stripped the criminal code of Islamic influence, except for civil cases like marriage and divorce, and replaced it with British common law. During this struggle, he says, many people died in a huge riot, and politicians on all sides were using the issue for political gain.
Violence involving Yoruba nationalists (a Nigerian ethnic group), resentful of how they had been treated by other ethnic groups and ignored by the federal government, also touched Mendes. Dressed in traditional Muslim gear, he was heading to his father's on a 10-hour bus ride for a surprise birthday visit. Yorubas were stopping buses, pulling off non-Yorubas and killing them.
Luckily his bus wasn't stopped, because although his father was Yoruba, Mendes says he did not look Yoruba to many Yorubas and he could have been murdered.
"It was another lesson in how violence, bigotry and intolerance is an unacceptable route for us to take as human beings. When I came back, it really affected the way I articulated Islam, as nonviolent, nonmisogynistic, and for the environment," he says.
He and his wife married about six months after his return from Nigeria, in late 2001. Since meeting in Great Britain, they had kept in touch when they could, but both were sometimes unreachable.
'Whether you walk in wearing jeans or a face veil, you are welcome and you are appreciated—that's the kind of environment I want to foster.'
Separately from him, she had pursued a traditional classical education in Syria and Mauritania, where she studied with a famous Bedouin sheikh in a village close to the capital. The sheikh had versified one of the most advanced Islamic law books to make it easier for students to memorize. In a traditional Muslim seminary, Mendes explains, "you're not just studying texts; you're memorizing your textbooks."
He started out teaching history and Arabic in Houston public schools, but then moved to a Muslim private school looking for someone to design their Arabic and Islamic studies curricula.
A year later an old friend invited him to move to Pittsburgh to work in a research institute that specialized in the collection, preservation, collation, translation and publication of ancient Arabic manuscripts, where he worked part time.
Scholars suggest that about 20 million manuscripts are extant throughout Africa, some dating back 900 to 1000 years, with subjects ranging from law and ethics to astronomy, logic, philosophy, history, photography, medicine, ethnobotany, optics and architecture.
These manuscripts "had their own lineage of learning, he says, explaining that "the history of Islam in black Africa goes back to the very beginning."
When the Arabs in Mecca were trying to kill Muhammad's followers, Africa, and particularly eastern Africa, embraced the fleeing Muslims. The manuscripts, therefore, attested not only to this history but, he says, they "debunk the myth that Africa doesn't have a history, that Africans are illiterate and never contributed anything of magnitude or significance to human knowledge."
In Pittsburgh he also taught core academic subjects at a private school. During this period, he says, "I began to be regarded as a Muslim teacher, and I was becoming more nationally known as an instructor in difference Islamic sciences (so called, because the root of "science" is "to know"): philosophy, jurisprudence and spirituality."
At the same time, he adds, "I had no intention ever of becoming an imam; in fact, I ran away from being an imam most of my adult life." Although he had immediately received offers to be an imam or an assistant imam on his return from Nigeria, he says, "I wanted to work a regular job, or start a business, and teach a few friends on the weekend."
After three years in Pittsburgh, an experience and an offer pulled him south to Atlanta.
The experience was a post-9/11 FBI raid—on false premises—at the mosque he was involved in building. This was documented in the film The New Muslim Cool, about the life of his friend, Puerto Rican-American rapper Hamza Pérez, who embraced Islam as a young man. Mendes, who was interviewed by the press after the raid, had two cameos in the film.
Then his old mentor—Muhammad Mahdi, an American Muslim pharmacist originally from Chicago who taught Mendes to read and recite the Koran in Arabic while he was at Morehouse—encourage him to come to Atlanta, where he was involved in a number of promising business projects; Mendes had already worked for him at a distance in Pittsburgh.
After about six months in Atlanta, he started getting teaching requests and ended up teaching part time for eight years at Risala Institute. At the same time he was working full time in business-to-business sales and became a successful sales executive.
Things changed, though, when he was 35 and had been in Atlanta for four years. He had an encounter with an Islamic scholar, he says, "who was able to show me that there was more to life and more to Islam than I thought." This prompted a change in Mendes's thinking that opened him to the idea of becoming an imam.
Then new kinds of doors started opening to Mendes. He started speaking nationally and internationally and also "engaging different religious communities, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, and working to serve as a bridge."
In 2010 he left his job in corporate sales and became an imam at Masjid Al-Momineen, the Mosque of the Faithful, in Clarkston, Georgia, near Stone Mountain. It was predominantly Somali, with many survivors from the civil war, but on Fridays, he says, the congregation was "like the UN."
"Clarkston is the most diverse square mile in the U.S.; 60 different languages are spoken," he says, explaining that "being Muslim is not an Arab thing; unfortunately the media has done a poor job of helping people see that Muslims are among the most diverse of religions, with all shapes, sizes and ethnic groups."
While an imam, he was working two other jobs, teaching in a private school and teaching Arabic for a national organization in Atlanta and other cities.
He left the Clarkston mosque because, he says, "it really wasn't a good fit. I really wanted to be at place where I could cultivate the kind of atmosphere that Americans would be comfortable in."
If he had stayed, he says, it could have taken 20 years to cultivate "what he would have liked to see." Also, he adds, "I have four daughters, and I need to be in a mosque where my daughters are respected, empowered, and appreciated."
He moved next to the Medina Institute Mosque, which started in Norcross, Georgia, then moved to Duluth. He was imam and shared with the resident scholar, he says, "a message of Islam that is peaceful, that is loving, caring, for the oppressor and the oppressed." The mosque grew quickly and in a year "went from opening its doors to busting at the seams." The congregation was primarily South Asian and Ethiopian.
While he was there, he received the invite from the Institute of Islamic Learning and decided to accept.
"A big part of why I left Atlanta and came to the Institute of Islamic Studies is I saw that there were lot of people in the mosque here who share my vision of the way to practice Islam, that brings the best from our tradition and the best from what it means to be a modern person living in U.S.," he says.
Mendes lives in West Windsor with his wife and their six children: Maryam, 14, at West Windsor High School South; Halimah, 13, at Grover Middle School; Aminah, 10, at Village School; Muhammad Husayn, 7, at Dutch Neck Elementary School; Fatimah, 4, at a Montessori school; and Isa, 1.
Mendes says his new mosque falls midway between very conservative mosques where women are segregated completely and ultraprogressive ones where men and women are standing side by side in prayer, and may have a female or a gay or lesbian imam. "I'm kind of in the middle; I like to take the best from wherever it comes," he says. "There are parts of my approach that people consider more conservative and parts that people consider more progressive. I believe in moderation."
In his new position, Mendes is fulltime residential scholar as well as imam, and he jokes, "As residential scholar, I'm supposed to have a lot of free time to write and research, but as an imam I have no time, because I'm ministering, counseling and consoling, 24/7."
The congregation of 400 to 500 is 95 percent South Asian with a few people from other parts of the world and a few Americans.
"It is not one of the most diverse congregations in New Jersey, but my hope and my expectation is that with my appointment as well as moving us to a larger building (before the end of the year, we're praying), that will change," he said.
"I am committed to making it an environment where everyone is welcome: South Asians, red-blooded Americans, children, youth, seniors, people of other religions, atheists and agnostics. Whether you walk in wearing jeans or a face veil, you are welcome and you are appreciated—that's the kind of environment I want to foster," Mendes says.
He also wants to engage with Central Jersey's dynamic interfaith community, which he sees as diverse and involved not just with the intellectual and academic side of being clergy, "but with the service of souls: taking care of the needy, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick. I'm impressed with what I see from the Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh communities, and I want to be an asset."


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Race cars leave the track to raise money for veterans
JEFFERSON CITY - Race Days parked over 30 race cars in the Capitol Mall on Sunday for three days straight to raise money.
The money raised will go to the Central Missouri Honor Flight, people voted for their favorite cars by putting money in the car's box.
The car who raises the most money at the end of the three day event, which went from Friday through Sunday, wins first prize.
This year's race days raised over $ 2,000 for Mid-Missouri Honor Flight.
Ralph Beach is a veteran who helps out at Race Days, he went on the 50th Honor Flight back in November and wants to encourage every veteran to go.
"It's a heart wrenching, eye opening experience that I would like every veteran of eligibility, that being Vietnam and Korean and World War 2 veterans, could go," Beach said.
Beach admires the group that helped him have a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"Every veteran can't afford to go, but the Central Missouri Honor Flight in Columbia is one of the most organized groups of people I have ever dealt with," Beach said.
Shelley Becker, the Community Relations Coordinator for Central Missouri Honor Flight, said fundraisers, like these, help keep honor flights going.
"It means longevity, it means were able to take more flights, it means we're gonna be able to get more veterans on an honor flight," Becker said.
Becker said the flights provide something for the veterans that can't be found in most places.
"We provide closure, we provide ways for veterans who are hurting and need healing to hear welcome home and to hear your service meant something," Becker said.
Becker said each flight costs $73,500 and sends 110 veterans to our nation's capital.
The next flight is on April 26 and will be the 51st honor flight so far.


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Napanook comes from one of Napa's greatest estates, Dominus, but is designed to be ready to drink sooner than the top wine.
Dominus Estate
Pétrus owner Christian Mouiex had searched for a long time to find the perfect vineyard to make the perfect Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. He found it when he brought a tenderloin section of the legendary Inglenook ...Learn more


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Thurmond Triathlon
August 2020. The seventh Thurmond Triathlon, a beginner triathlon, will take place in Thurmond and is open to anyone 7 years of age and older. Individuals, duos or families will bike from the Historic Thurmond Depot 2 miles to Stonecliff where they will then paddle 1.5 miles to the Dun Glen Day Use area. From there contestants will run a two mile loop around the Historic Town of Thurmond.


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ABM is an acronym for account-based marketing. Traditionally, entrepreneurs try to comprehensively cover the marketplace with their product with the help of advertising and other tools to achieve business goals. Account-based marketing (ABM) employs a business strategy which directs marketing resources and sales goals towards selected accounts within a specific market. Instead of trying to…
Category: Automated Advertising
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Congratulations! You've successfully convinced your marketing and sales teams to not just implement an ABM strategy, you've also been allocated an infinite budget for the right tools to execute that strategy. You're living the dream. So what's next? In part 1 of this post, we outlined some of the things you should establish before making…
Setup ABM Ad Drip Campaigns with ListenLoop and Salesforce
In this video, I'm going to show you how to set up ABM advertising drip campaigns using ListenLoop integrated with your Salesforce CRM. We're going to start here by clicking on New Campaign and we're going to pick a list of accounts from Salesforce. I've already connected with Salesforce here, so we're going to skip…
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Designer Swathi Anand provides insight on developing various ad creatives for an automated advertising platform.
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Like the difference between a flat head screwdriver and a Phillips head, advertising automation and generic retargeting are similar but not identical.
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Email marketing has created overly-hunted prospects who receive more emails during different stages of the sales cycle.


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Do you want to hear a ghost story? I have one for you. It's a story about a self-doubting landscape photographer facing a place that has been photographed by two world-famous landscape photographers. Who is the self-doubting photographer? None other than yours truly. The place is Yosemite National Park, and of course the two ghosts were the great landscape photographers Ansel Adams and Galen Rowell.
To say that these ghosts were intimidating was an understatement. Ansel Adams made landscape photography a legitimate art form while Galen Rowell colorized Adams' vision of Yosemite as well as creating his own unique vision of the park. How was a landscape photographer from Ohio who only had a week to photograph Yosemite supposed to create photographs worthy of these ghosts? This was the question I asked myself as my family and I reached the park.
As soon as we entered the park I was awestruck and emotional. Tears welled up in my eyes. This was the place that Ansel Adams immortalized. This is the park that inspired two men who motivated me to become a landscape photographer. I was excited and terrified at the same time. How was I going to bring a fresh new perspective at one of the most photographed national parks? How was I going to exorcise these ghosts of Yosemite?
I began by photographing the first landmark a visitor sees in Yosemite Valley, El Capitan. I was marveling at how huge the granite monolith was when an idea struck me like a lightning bolt. Instead of photographing El Capitan at eye level, why not lower the tripod and shoot up at the landmark? It worked beautifully. Not only did this create a new view of Yosemite, it emphasized just how grand the landscape really is. I also used this technique in Yosemite Valley for the more famous landmarks and for the Tuolumne Meadows and vistas seen along the Tioga Road.
Suddenly, poof! Yosemite's ghosts disappeared. Actually, I don't really think anyone else saw these ghosts but me. I was feeling overwhelmed by the thought of competing with Ansel Adams and Galen Rowell, then I came to realize that emulating the ghosts was impossible. What I had to do was create my own unique vision of Yosemite and learn from Adams and Rowell, not compete with them.
So, the next time you are in any park, be it state or national, feeling overwhelmed and wondering if you can ever photograph the area like so many professional photographers have, take a deep breath, grab your equipment and try to create your own unique vision of the park. It will help to exorcise your demons and ghosts.


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Life's Little Inconveniences On a Hill named Broga
Has this ever happened to you?
Something happens during your routine and there are so many twists and turns that you feel almost lost. Like an easy drive home from work can be disrupted by a car accident which gets you stuck in the traffic for hours. How about planning to get settled down at the end of the day to read a book, only to be disrupted by a baby's crying? You try to get a quick something to eat and the phone rings insistently or an email that pops up in your mobile which comes with the heading "Urgent?"
You are not alone.
Life's surprises can pop out, disrupt and frustrate you in any circumstance, even during the simplest of routines.
That perfectly describes my weekend hike to Broga Hill. It's a popular hiking spot located in Broga, Semenyih which is about 45 minutes from Kuala Lumpur. The 26 of us from the SG Trekking Group left at 2am from the Woodlands MRT station in search of a sunrise from scenic hike which was termed "Easy" even for beginners.
We cleared both custom checkpoints in Woodlands and Johor in less than 30 minutes and I thought that it is going to be a smooth and easy accomplishment.
Broga Hill is frequented by casual hikers because of its location on the edge of the Titwangsa Range. It is approximately 400m in altitude and takes its name from the local river, which was actually named after the Buragas, a mythical beast that once called this area home.
The hill is unique as it is rather devoid of trees, which is an uncommon sight amongst tropical rainforests. Remnants of burnt out tree trunks indicate that the area may have been ravaged by a forest fire and the trees did not regrow. It offers a good view of the surrounding area and has become a popular picnic and photography spot.
Broga Hill is mentioned as a place where rebels, who were backed by the British, fought against the Japanese during World War II. Because of this, some say that the town is haunted by those who were massacred by the Imperial Japanese Army. It is easy to see why this belief has taken hold because it is remarkable that there are very few trees. Traces of a forest fire remain that was so devastating that the forest never grew back.
Nature's loss is our gain, however, because it is a beautiful picnic spot. An easy hike and a beautiful sunrise would be the perfect beginning to the day. We were greeted with a downpour instead.
The rain must have started somewhere during the long journey when we were sound asleep on the bus. We reached the Broga town limits at 7am, and with the pouring rain, any hope of catching the sunrise soon evaporated.
The carpark at the foot of the hill was crowded with hundreds of eager hikers all geared up for the hike. There was a sense of disappointment in the air. In spite of all this, I could still see many people braving the rain, not to be deterred, to continue the hike to achieve what they came here to enjoy.
Underneath the canopy, the upcoming hike didn't seem like it would be so difficult. What's a little rain, after all? Remember, however, that there are no trees near the top of the hike, which means that all of that rain water must wash down the hill without interruption. It was a little wet and a little messy, but not too difficult when first starting out.
The muddy paths posed a big challenge to all hikers less than 20 minutes into the hike.
The chunky mud were stuck in the boots making it very heavy for hikers to lift their legs and take the next step. Hikers were trying their best to scrap off the mud from their boots with whatever branch or rock they can find. We can see some hikers who started the journey together with us, shook their head and turned back.
Some have described Broga as a dragon. That might be accurate on a regular day, but today it was more like a waterslide. There are three unique climbs that must be accomplished in order to achieve success and only a few small ropes are installed to help climb the most difficult sections.
In the middle of a downpour, however, every section becomes a difficult section. This caused several long waits as everyone needed to use the ropes in order to climb. We did finally reach the first peak after 30 minutes.
The view that waited for us there may not have been a sunrise, but it was beautiful in its own right. A perfect moment, there in the haze of the falling rain. It may have whitewashed the lalang fields, but still wonderful to see nonetheless.
As we continued on toward the second peak, the lalang field turned into a flat bed of grass as hikers who were descending from the top were sliding down. Fun on a gorgeous day perhaps, but this easy terrain turned into a hiker's nightmare and you can soon see a lot of people giving up at this point.
I managed to get a good shot at the "untampered" lalang field off the main trek though.
There was no slowing down once the final peak was in sight. The route to the final peak was more forested and there were a couple of huge rocks to overcome. These are not to be messed with on good days, but especially avoid them if you are just beginning to hike in wet weather conditions.
Made it to the top in 1hrs 42 mins in a so many termed "easy" hike that will take an average of 1 hour.
Coming down was no easy task too. One wrong step would land you on the butt sliding down the slippery and muddy terrain. It would make you look like you have just emerged from a mud wrestling match!
To show the gravity of this matter, I learned later that 2 female hikers had injured themselves during the hike and had to be rescued by 6 firemen and 1 ambulance standing by (http://www.nst.com.my/node/33004)
What seems to be a normal easy hike turned out to be a challenge and to others, a day in the hospital.
How do you deal with life's little twists and turns? Do you turn back at the first sign of obstacle, leaving yourself frustrated and felt that you have travelled 400km for nothing? Or do you bite your teeth with grittiness and press on?
Meeting new people, helping each other to overcome obstacles, and forging new friendships along the way are a great reward in themselves. The chance to see some amazing views is simply another reward on top of that!
Life will be inconvenient. Some days may feel perfect and you will get to see a beautiful sunrise at the summit. Then there are days when you will get all wet and muddy. Your butt might be bruised.
On this day, on a hill name Broga, I was glad to have chosen the 2nd option.
Posing with my hike companions Juliet and Jing Jing at the 2nd peak.
How to Get to Broga Hill?
- You must first get to Jalan Semenyih. 333km from Singapore or approximately 4hours drive. If you are taking the journey on your own, then you'll need to reach Kajang Town.
- Once you reach Kajang Town, you will continue on straight. Go through SKVE and then take the exit after the second toll.
- Continue on Kajang Seremban Highway and exit toward Jalan Bangi. Make a right to turn to Jalan Semenyih.
- Continue along Jalan Semenyih until you see the signboard for Broga. Look for a Petronas fueling station that is right opposite of a T-junction. Turn left and cotinue on toward Nottingham Campus. It will be on your left.
- As you progress, you will reach a rabbit farm. There you will see the entrance to Broga Hill opposite of the farm. There is a small parking charge.
Read about our other visits to Broga Hill:
Broga Hill / Gunung Tok Wan: Chasing the Sunrise and Entering into the Underland
Broga Hill with the Family by Nicolas Chan


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The Drug Denosumab Might Protect Against The BRCA1 Gene Mutation, Which Is Huge News For People With A Genetic Predisposition To Breast Cancer
When Angelina Jolie had a preventative double mastectomy in 2013 and her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed in 2015, she gave a face to women struggling with a genetic predisposition to breast and ovarian cancers. By that point, the BRCA1 gene was already a far too familiar enemy for thousands of families throughout the United States — but that soon may change. Researchers may have found a drug that prevents the BRCA1 mutation, the "breast cancer gene," from causing cancer. Should their discovery continue to prove effective in future tests, a non-surgical alternative for preventative treatment could soon be available.
The New Zealand-based research team, comprised of Emma Nolan and Professors Jane Visvader and Geoff Lindeman, published their findings yesterday in the journal Nature Medicine . They focused on the effects of denosumab, an existing drug which is already used to treat osteoporosis, in halting cancer development, specifically in women with the BRCA1 gene.
Here's a little background on that gene: First of all, it exists in all humans, and is expressed in breasts and other tissue-heavy areas of the body. When functioning properly, the BRCA1 gene helps the body repair damaged DNA. Inherit a faulty BRCA1 gene, however, and your chances of developing breast cancer by age 70 are between 50 and 85 percent. In addition, women with the gene mutation are 20 to 40 percent more likely to develop ovarian cancer.
12 percent of women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, according to the National Cancer Institute; meanwhile, 65 percent of women with the faulty BRCA1 gene will. While there's genetic testing which can now alert women to an elevated risk of cancer, the preventative measures are severe: Mastectomies, hysterectomies, and the removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes. Women in their 20s and 30s experience loss of fertility and menopause.
Though the denosumab studies have so far been exclusively in clinical trials, results imply the drug may have the ability to halt the development of cancer in high-risk women. That's huge. That's life-changing. That's, as scientists are beginning to note, the "holy grail" of cancer research findings. There's a lot of work left to be done before anything can conclusively be said about whether it will be an effective treatment — but it's offering one thing that we haven't had so far: Hope.
So here's hoping more trials will support the findings. Because the implications are enormous.


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Alan Snitow
Alan Snitow is the founder of Round Edge Consulting, a marketing and brand strategy consultancy that advises Fortune 500 marketers, advertising agencies, public relations firms, digital marketing consultancies, and start-ups on everything from go-to-market strategy, positioning and messaging strategy, insight development and research design, workshopping and ideation, to corporate speaking and executive speechwriting.
Prior to Round Edge, Alan spent his career in strategy and leadership positions with some of the most successful advertising agencies in the United States, in New York and then Chicago.
Over the years Alan has been fortunate to work across categories for a host of blue chip marketers including Anheuser-Busch, Amazon, Mars/ Wrigley, Verizon, McDonalds, Samsung, Bank of America, Verizon, FiatChrysler, MoetHennessey, and State Farm.
Of particular relevance to GBTA is Alan's work in the travel and hospitality space for companies including Starwood Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, American Airlines, Best Western Hotels and Resorts, AAA, Delta Vacations, La Quinta hotels, and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives.
Alan is a magna cum laude graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. When he isn't working, Alan is an avid wine collector and a student of martial arts, who is at the dojo and good restaurants as often as his work and two children will allow.


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posted by Alicia Caramenico
on July 20, 2016
A new article in the New York Times confirms concerns that drugmakers' patent schemes promote monopoly-like pricing rather than improved patient access. The article spotlights two blockbuster drugs Humira and Enbrel, and their bevy of new patents that will try to prevent meaningful competition from biosimilars.
Humira already has market exclusivity under orphan drug status for treating certain illnesses that gives it seven years without any competition from other medications for the orphan indication – further allowing AbbVie to increase Humira's prices if it chooses. Recall AbbVie increased the list price of the branded biologic eight times by a total of 73 percent, over three years.
More than 70 additional patents for Humira would protect the world's top-selling drug until at least 2022, according to the NYT.
From 2010 to 2014, Enbrel's price jumped 88 percent, all while demand for the medication fell. Enbrel's two new patents, the NYT points out, would protect the drug till 2029 – delaying competition from more affordable generics for 31 years.
These two drugs illustrate how drugmakers continue to command higher and higher drug prices for longer periods of time due to monopoly power resulting from patent protection. The health insurance community isn't alone in standing up against harmful patent schemes that aim to block competition. Google, Apple, Cisco, and other technology companies have long been fighting for patent reform. Drugmakers' efforts to delay generic entry, block competition, and artificially prolong market exclusivity oppose the goals of promoting a fair and efficient patent system.


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I haven't blogged for a while and there are a couple of reasons. My work has been extremely busy and there are certain days where I just don't feel like blogging after a long day of counseling people. Also, I have been a bit slack in my eating habits . . . and my exercise ones as well.
I have a feeling it has to do with the fact that I am not using the scale anymore. Last time I stopped using it (a couple of years ago), I found myself slacking off with my healthy habits because I didn't have a number to keep me in check. So now I find myself in the same cycle, despite my best efforts to the contrary. I still eat fruits and veggies when I can, but I have found myself splurging more and more in terms of eating out.
Over the past few days I have considered giving up the blog for good. I told myself it was because it took up too much of my time. But honestly, it was because I didn't want to blog about what I have eaten over the past couple of weeks, nor did I want to confess that this week is the first time in about two weeks that I have done consistent exercise. These past few weeks have taught me that my issues with food and weight will always be a constant struggle for me.
I have come up with an idea that will give me some accountability in the weight department. I can't take credit for this idea though. I got the idea from Tina's blog. She is kind of a role model. I love how self-confident she is and how far she has come in terms of her disordered ideas surrounding food. I admire her a lot.
So I will start weighing myself this weekend. However, the catch is that I will not look at the numbers at all. I will have my husband look at the scale. Every week, he can tell me whether I have lost, gained, or maintained. I think this is a great compromise. This way, I do not obsess about the actual numbers and hopefully, I will start to like my body regardless of what the numbers are. But this method will still allow me to ensure that the scale is actually going in the right direction.
I am trying to tell myself that a couple of weeks without consistent exercise and a couple of dinners out does not mean I have gained weight . . . at least not the ten pounds I have been envisioning. I have still eaten somewhat healthy most of the time. I just have a tremendous amount of guilt when it comes to food and exercise. Above all else (even weight), this is what I would like to work on the most. I know that if I don't develop a better relationship with food, then my weight loss will most likely not be permanent. Not to mention the fact that I will still be unhappy with myself even when I reach my "happy weight."
I am glad that I decided not to quit this blog. The blogging community has provided me with a lot of support lately and I would hate to give that up. Also, I think the fact that I post most of what I eat helps me be a healthier person. There have been lots of times where I intentionally added extra veggies to my meals because I knew I would be posting them online later. This blog is an added way to hold me accountable. I just have to realize that no one is judging me if I have an occasional hamburger and fries. I have realized that no one can possibly judge me harsher than I judge myself.
I appreciate all of the readers who follow my blog and I appreciate you sticking with me through the ramblings of this post. I plan on doing a little baking and/or cooking later this week and I can't wait to share the results with you. I realize that I have so many cookbooks and I barely use any of them. I just like looking at all of the pictures of the food. 🙂
So how do you hold yourself accountable? Do you feel any guilt regarding food . . . or even posting pictures of food that may not be considered all that healthy?