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THIS was the end to any further public attacks or complaints from my assailants in that part of the country. The outcry was all hushed as suddenly as in my dream, and the rush and noise of my persecutors were silenced and have continued so.
My second book entitled "Triumphs of Truth" was soon afterward circulated, and although several pamphlets had been sent out by the Fullerites against my first book, "Simple Truth", all was still from that time on. Elder J. Mason, of whom I have spoken in connection with the division of Sugar Creek Church, was among those who published pamphlets. Elder Fairfield of Troy, north of Dayton, Ohio, was another, but I made no reply, nor took any public notice of these men or their productions. All the excitement died away among the Baptists, and no further trouble ensued among them. I returned home looking upon this meeting and its results as one of the most signal displays of God's divine interpositions for good that I had witnessed. Elder Gard was greatly rejoiced, and so we went home believing that our good Lord had evidently caused the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He had restrained.
The revival at Lebanon had gradually declined, and now it was rather a cold season in the church, yet all were in peace and brotherly love and fellowship. Our congregations were large, orderly, and attentive, but baptisms were very few. Nothing, however, seemed to present a discouraging appearance; yet I became oppressed in mind, and I was led to think that my work was probably finished at that place, and it was my duty to seek some other field of labor, for I felt that I was in the way here. This feeling oppressed me sorely. I soon thought that I could see in the countenances of the members that they were tired of my preaching, but I am now convinced that all this was a temptation. Perhaps it grew out of certain circumstances which I will here briefly relate.
Some elders who were of the Andrew Fuller school, but who had a standing with the old order of Regular Baptists, as stated above, had made so formidable an attack upon me through the press and otherwise (although they did not reside near Lebanon) that many rumors prejudicial to me were spreading over all parts of the country, and other denominations seized upon this state of things to rally all their strength against me and the Lebanon church. The first move of this kind was made by the Methodist Episcopal people. One evening a messenger, who said he was sent by some of the leading Methodists, came to my house and invited me to come that night to hear a stranger, who was a very able minister, preach in the Methodist meeting-house. I was not in the habit of attending their meetings and had never before received a special request to attend them. I thought it strange that they should pursue such a course, but I attended the meeting.
Mr. Mitchell, the strange minister, was just opening meeting when I took my seat in the house. He read for his text the words of the apostle Peter: "Repent and be baptized every one of you." He took his position on the hypothesis that baptism was the application of water in the name of the divine Trinity, but the manner in which the water should be applied, nor the quantity to be used was not stated, but was left for each candidate to choose according to his or her own conscience. And as baptism was not essential to salvation, but only "the answer of a good conscience toward God", whatever the quantity or by whatever mode water was applied, so that it answered the conscience, was gospel baptism. He spoke lengthily and burlesqued the Baptists severely. Several times during his discourse he said if any minister of that order was present and believed that he could defend their narrow, contracted views, he should have his pulpit when he was through and they would hear him try. Finally at a late hour he closed, dropping on his knees in prayer, and while on his knees he dismissed the congregation who rushed out of the house in haste.
I returned home convinced that there was a design in what I had witnessed. The next morning early some of the Baptists came to my house and told me that people were in a high state of excitement, that a rumor was going all through the town that Mr. Mitchell had exposed the doctrine of the Baptists on baptism effectually, that he had repeatedly challenged me to reply and defend the sinking cause if I could, that he had offered me his pulpit and promised they would all stay and hear me, but that I was so badly beaten that I sat dumb and could not be provoked by taunts, nor prevailed on by fair offers to say one word—in short, that no man had ever been so exposed, and yet I was afraid to say one word. I explained to the brethren the above-stated facts. They said that not only I as their preacher, but the church and the cause of God and truth in general were suffering from the rumors that were going on the wings of the wind, and these rumors would lose nothing by being repeated. They thought it therefore necessary that I should see Mr. Mitchell before he left town, and have something done in the case to stop this rumor.
I went to visit him, and when the ceremony of introduction was through, I asked him if he had intended his remarks the evening before as a challenge to me personally, to take his pulpit then and reply to him. If so, why did he dismiss the meeting in so summary a manner as to give neither time nor opportunity for me to say one word without interrupting him in his discourse. He said he meant it for a challenge, and I should still have the use of the same pulpit for a reply if I believed that I could refute anything that he had said, and if I felt desirous to venture a reply he wished to be present and have the privilege of offering a rejoinder to me. He was now on his way to Kentucky, his appointments were published and he must fill them, but on his return, say in two or three weeks, he would let me know in time to make an appointment public.
I told him that I looked upon his course as an attack upon me and the Baptist Church, whose servant I felt myself to be in the gospel of Christ. I was but a weak man, and altogether unqualified to defend deep and complicated mysteries, but then I did not regard baptism as such a proposition. The Scriptures were plain, definite, and all on one side of the question. His position I believed to be weak in itself, altogether fallacious, outside the gospel and revealed truth, and very easily refuted. But if he claimed the right to reply to me, which was not in his challenge at the start, I should claim the right to reply again to him, and so we could continue the debate to an indefinite time. He said: "Very well," he would stay and continue the discussion till I would be glad to desist. I replied: "The manner in which you have made this unprovoked attack as a stranger upon the Baptist cause in this place, and the excitement you have raised through the town against them, demands from me a reply; and I shall expect from you early information of your return, so that I may have full time to give a general notice of the appointment for my reply." The agreement was thus made and we parted.
In about three or four weeks, late on Saturday evening, I received notice that an appointment was circulated through town that I would reply to Mr. Mitchell's former sermon the next day at eleven o'clock, in the Methodist meeting-house. I had a previous appointment to preach at the Baptist meeting-house at the same hour. I went to see one of our deacons and stated the case to him, and we agreed to have someone at our meeting-house early to tell the people that the meeting had been changed to the Methodist meeting-house, as the houses were both in the same town. When the hour came I went to the appointment in the Methodist house and found it crowded to overflowing, and many were on the outside who could not obtain room inside the building. I made my way through the throng toward the pulpit, when Mr. Mitchell said to me in a loud voice that a number of leading members of the Presbyterian Church had come there with a request. Mr. Gray, their minister, and his congregation were desirous to hear the discussion, and hoped that we would postpone our appointment until Mr. Gray should deliver a short sermon to his congregation, and then we could occupy the Presbyterian house, which being large, with spacious galleries, would accommodate all the people present. The Presbyterians present spoke up and endorsed what Mr. Mitchell had said, and added that they believed all present were willing to the arrangement if I would agree. I answered that if it was the wish of Mr. Gray and his congregation, as the Methodist house would not accommodate the people, I would not object to the proposition.
A short discourse was delivered by a Methodist minister present, after which we all repaired to the Presbyterian meeting-house. When we entered the house, Mr. Gray was just concluding his discourse. He said: "I now yield this house and pulpit to these two gentlemen for a discussion of the subject of baptism, and I hope the brethren will prosecute the investigation in a spirit of Christian tenderness and moderation."
Mr. Mitchell said: "I do not know how mad I may become before we are through, and if I take this pulpit I do so without any restrictions."
I then said: "The subject for our discussion is of a controversial character, as I am to reply to a sermon that Mr. Mitchell, some weeks before, had delivered; and, of course, my remarks would be opposed to his, and I should not go into that pulpit with my hands and tongue tied, but should feel at full liberty to discuss the subject in my own way.
Mr. Gray said: "To be sure, that is entirely proper." He then came down from the pulpit and invited us up. We entered the pulpit, and I began my reply to Mr. Mitchell's former discourse, by using the same text which he had used on the occasion referred to.
I first showed the high authority for baptism, and the well-defined subjects admissible to that ordinance. Believers, all such as brought forth fruits meet for repentance, were the legal subjects, and all others were forbidden, even those who were the children of believing parents, or the descendants of Abraham, if they had not these fruits, were rejected. The action of baptism was not left to every man's conscience, but was well defined by the word baptize, which word in all languages is entirely a different word from sprinkle or pour. But it was not only well defined by the word employed in the commission, or authority under which it is administered, but also in the manner practiced by the apostles, who declared it to be a burial: "Buried with Christ in baptism." Both the candidates and the administrator "went down into the water", when the act of baptism was performed, and then "they both came up out of the water." The ordinance of baptism was performed between the acts of going down into and coming up out of the water. It was also defined as being administered in "rivers", or in places where "there was much water." These, with many other words, figures, and defining circumstances, which I introduced, settled the question as to what baptism really is. And if to be baptized is to be buried in water, then to be sprinkled with water, or to have water poured on some part of the person, is not baptism, but quite a different thing, and the operation is expressed by a very different word—a word of a different signification, and plainly defining a different action.
I then showed the error of Mr. Mitchell's main position, that baptism was to answer the conscience, when the conscience was such as to depart from the living God. Such a conscience was defiled, and could not lead the subject into the obedience of faith. But we read of some, "whose hearts were sprinkled from an evil conscience," whose consciences were purified by the blood of Jesus Christ." This was evidently the kind of conscience called "a good conscience", which can only be answered in the service of God. To such, baptism is "the answer of a good conscience." On the other hand, sprinkling, pouring, or no baptism at all, or any other departure from the literal observances of the ordinances of the living God, may answer such evil conscience. Hence the preference which some have between a well-defined ordinance and positive command of God, and a vague and rebellious departure therefrom, choosing the latter, rather than the former, is an evidence of the kind of conscience which they have. We should therefore look well to the choice which is made, and, by it, decide whether the conscience which dictated it, is good or evil; for "by their fruits ye shall know them."
Among many other texts I quoted from Ephesians: "There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Now if the phrase "one Lord," means but one, and He alone is the Lord of the one body, the church, and if the phrase "one faith," means but one true and living faith, the faith of the one body or church, which I presume few will deny, then it follows, of course, that to the same body, or church, the phrase "one baptism," must mean but one, the immersion of believers. Because the Baptist Church has believed in, and constantly practiced this one baptism, and opposed all intrusions and inventions of men in its stead, they have suffered sore persecutions, and thousands of them have lost their lives as martyrs, under the persecuting zeal of Paedo-Baptists.
Here Mr. Gray suddenly sprang to his feet, holding a large key in his hand. He struck the back of the seat a severe blow with the key, which very much startled the congregation by the abruptness of the stroke and the noise occasioned in the spacious building. With a very angry look, accompanied with rapid gestures, he cried out to me, in a loud tone of voice: "You are stating lies in the pulpit." I had stopped speaking at the time, and stood silent until he ended his fiery invectives.
I then said: "I am truly sorry to see Mr. Gray forget the counsel he had given us, when he yielded his pulpit to us, and so soon to disturb the attentive and orderly congregation." (The remarks that so much provoked his ire were in reference to an historical statement, to which I had alluded, by the way.) I went on: "But if Mr. Gray will be seated again, and does not disturb the meeting until I am done speaking and through with Mr. Mitchell, he can then appoint a day for the purpose, and I will now pledge myself to prove, from authentic history, the truth of my statement."
He still remained standing, and said that my statements were false, and should stand as a falsehood until I did prove them to be true, which he averred I could never do. I then said: "I am very sorry to see Mr. Gray act so disorderly, in open violation of the laws of the land, and I should feel still more sorry to see some officer of the peace take him out of his own meeting-house, as a disturber. It is very unpleasant to be called a liar while preaching in the pulpit, and have the charge persisted in, and repeated. Now, if a friend will go to my house and bring me Robinson's History of Baptism, I will prove my statement to be true before I proceed any further."
A young man then started to bring the book, but many voices were heard in the audience saying: "Mr. Thompson, go on; do not mind him, but pursue your subject."
I replied: "If Mr. Gray will take his seat and act like a peaceable man, I will proceed; and I will hold myself bound to him and all present to prove the truth of what I have stated; I am willing to let Mr. Gray set any time he pleases, when a sufficient notice can be given, and I shall do as I promise. But to be interrupted in this rude and disorderly manner is more than I am willing to submit to."
Many persons now spoke and said they wished Mr. Gray to take his seat, and for me to go on, and that they wished to hear me through. Mr. Gray then took his seat, and I went on and finished my reply.
Mr. Mitchell made but few remarks; he said he could not stay to continue the investigation any longer and dismissed the congregation. He left Lebanon, and I never heard of his returning again. The Methodist people were all mute about what had passed between Mr. Mitchell and myself, and, strange as it may appear, they became my warm friends, in opposition to Mr. Gray.
The next Saturday a piece from the pen of Mr. Gray came out in a political newspaper, published by one of his friends, in which lengthy quotations were made from Mosheim's Church History and Russell's Modern Europe. These quotations he gave as the historical evidence on which I had predicated my statements when he arrested me. These quotations consisted mainly of ridicule of the German Anabaptists, whom these authors accused of being a set of journeymen tailors and bakers, who had excited and led on the Munster insurrection, by running stark naked through the town, crying: "We are the naked truth," and declaring that they were commissioned to build up the temple of God, and that they held in utter contempt all laws and magistrates, etc. These quotations were coupled with many remarks of his own; and Mr. Gray promised that the expose would be continued in the next paper. I went to the same editor in order to reply through the same medium, but he refused to publish my reply. So, I went to another editor in town, who had been raised under Presbyterian influence, and he published my reply to Mr. Gray. This newspaper investigation went on for some time.
In the investigation I showed that the name Anabaptist was a nickname given them by their enemies, because, as they alleged, these dippers rebaptized. They maintained that the ceremony performed by the authority of Antichrist was not gospel baptism, and hence that they did not re-baptize, for they, no more than modern Baptists, did not admit the validity of the so-called baptism received in infancy, at the hands of the ministers of Antichrist. Their baptism was not re-baptism, but simply baptism. I showed that the Munster affair was far from being begnn and led on by these Baptists, but rather that it was started and led on by a PaedoBaptist of the Lutheran order. The Baptists being at that time passing through a severe persecution, some of them fell into the movement, in the hope of obtaining deliverance from their cruel persecutions. It was a civil and not a religious revolution. Their manifesto was good and patriotic enough for a Lycurgus to have signed it, and yet many of these Baptists lost their lives because they were Baptists. So, even Mr. Gray's own historian, who was an inveterate enemy to the Baptists, strongly corroborated my statement, which had been so very offensive to Mr. Gray.
I thanked him for giving what he wished the people to receive as my historical testimony, but I could inform all of them that I had no reference to the Munster matter, therefore, my thanks must be the whole reward for all his labors. I then gave the full proof of my statements, and the debate turned on the simple question of baptism. Mr. Gray soon withdrew from the controversy. Afterward the discussion was published in pamphlet form, copied from the papers, under the title: "Both Sides of the Question." Thus ended the attempt to injure me and the Baptist cause on the part of the Methodists and Presbyterians.
About this time a Universalist minister, by the name of Kidwell, of Wayne County, Indiana, came to Lebanon, and commenced a regular series of meetings, one or two days and nights in each month. He was called a great man, as an orator, reasoner, and scripturian. I had never before heard of him, and did not go to hear him for several months. I heard that he gave challenges at the close of his sermons, and although he had large numbers to hear him, no one would meet him in discussion. I believed, from the course he pursued, that he sought my downfall. His meetings were held in the court-room. At length, while one of his meetings was in progress, several of my friends and brethren came to my house and said to me they believed that all the preachers in town were remiss in duty, and that this Kidwell was deceiving the people in sight of their houses, and challenging them to come out at the close of each one of his discourses. Yet there was not one David among them to oppose this Goliath. The watchman who saw the wolf coming and remained silent would be held responsible for the injury done to the flock. The public challenges, so often repeated and not responded to, were used by Kidwell as conclusive evidence that all the ministers about the town well knew that his doctrine could not be successfully met, and that their own must fall if subjected to a fair scriptural investigation, and that this was the only reason why they remained so cowardly silent. "The wicked fleeth when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
This in substance was their talk to me. They said the people, generally, were also talking in the same way, and that this silence on the part of the ministers of the town, was a strong argument in favor of Universalism. Kidwell was now preparing to organize a church, and about sixty names were already registered, of persons who were pledged to go into the organization, and many of these were among the most influential men of the town. A high degree of excitement was prevailing in the town and country, and if this man was not met fairly and boldly, and his flesh-pleasing doctrine fully exposed, it was impossible to say where it would end. Kidwell was to preach that evening in the court house, and they wished me to go and hear him. I finally agreed to go and hear him once, but not to reply, stating that he was a stranger, and, from rumor, was of too bad a character to be patronized as an honorable opponent, although he, no doubt, was a smart man and a good orator.
In the evening I went to hear him. He commenced by saying that a certain minister of the town had come there pledged to reply to him; he should, therefore, be very brief in his remarks and give place. He spoke twenty or thirty minutes, and then said he'd give place for the gentleman to reply. I supposed some preacher had agreed to reply. Kidwell stood silent a short time, and then said that he was sorry to see the gentleman who was to reply afraid to do so; he had given him full time, and he hoped he would not now back down and give up without one effort to sustain a sinking cause. Truth, he knew, was mighty and had nothing to lose by investigation, and if the man who had come there to reply to him believed that he had truth on his side, he should be zealous enough to attempt, at least, to stand up in its defense. He waited again for about a minute, and then said: "A man by the name of Thompson, the minister of the Baptist Church in this town, is the man who was to have replied to me. But I suppose that he sees his cause cannot be sustained, and, therefore, he will not make a fruitless effort. I would advise him to make the attempt at all events, and not yield without one last, mighty effort, or an open confession of the native weakness of his system, and then abandon it for ever."
I then arose and stepped to the lawyer's desk, in front of the bench, and, facing Mr. Kidwell, said: "This is all a very strange proceeding to me. So far from having come here pledged to reply, I had said that at this time, and under the present circumstances, I did not intend to accept Mr. Kid-well's challenge." I then named the reported bad moral and religious character of the man, saying: "If the reports which have reached me were even half true, no man could equalize himself with Mr. Kidwell without dishonor; but whether these rumors were true or false I know not. He is a stranger to me. This is the first time I have seen him. But his vamping, boasting, challenging manner, would seem to corroborate the rumors alluded to. A little more modesty and humility would better become a stranger. I have not risen to reply. I can see nothing in his discourse that merits a reply. I arose because I was named and called upon. He may now know two things, at least: one is that I can see nothing in his sermon just closed, that merits a reply; and the other is that, according to report, the man who would recognize him as a minister would dishonor himself by debating with him. I have now said all that I took the stand to say.
He was standing when I ceased speaking. He said I was entirely justified in what I had said. It was true that very reproachful rumors had been circulated against him. One was that he had stolen corn from a widow lady's corn crib; another was that he had defrauded a widow out of a large amount of money; and others as bad as these. But they were all false. He heard them and would settle them all; and, as I had heard them, it was prudent and commendable in me to refuse to engage in discussion with him until he had fully refuted these reports and established a good character. He should do this; and the next time he came to Lebanon, which would be in one month from that time, he would bring certificates from good men to prove his character good; and then he would hold me bound to investigate the points in dispute, or back down publicly. And so the matter ended for that time.
When the time came round for him to return, a heavy rain had caused such a freshet in the streams that he could not come. After this I received a letter from him explaining the reasons why he had not been true to his appointment, and letting me know that he would be back again on a certain day. He stated that he had the certificate required, and therefore should hold me bound to investigate the points of difference between us. He requested that I should make the same public. At the time set he came on, produced a certificate signed by a number of names, so that those present said they thought it would acquit me from any just imputation of dishonor by engaging with him in an investigation; and especially so as he was the editor of "The Star in the West", a religious paper, and the approved organ of his denomination.
The preliminaries were then settled, a board of order chosen, and a regular discussion ensued. I shall not attempt to give the arguments, but will state that we continued the debate two days in good order before a large and deeply attentive audience. At some parts of the debate the solemnity felt and the tears shed plainly manifested that hearts were melted and consciences made tender. The result of this debate was that some came and joined the Baptist Church who said that they had been bewildered with the Universalist doctrine, but during the debate all was explained, and their minds were relieved. On the other hand Mr. Kidwell could not get a respectable number together again. No more was heard of his church organization. After trying a few times and finding the people would not go to hear him, he abandoned the place. These were my first debates, and I was convinced that they were gotten up for my downfall and the destruction of the Baptist influence in the place. They in-tended it for evil, but God overruled it for good.
These are some of the circumstances which I believe brought on my mind the desponding feelings spoken of before. This gloom became heavier, until I could not rest, but I kept it all to myself, with the exception of my wife, who alone knew the state of my mind. I finally resolved to visit a number of churches in the western part of Ohio and the eastern part of Indiana, and see if my mind would not become settled as to where my labors were required. My wife and I started on this tour, and we visited the churches in Butler County, Ohio, also in Union, Franklin, Fayette, and Rush Counties, Indiana. I held meetings daily from place to place during the tour. All the Baptists in these churches were very solicitous for me to come among them, although I kept my mind to myself as to the object of my tour.
Soon after, my mind felt a drawing back to Lebanon, and this feeling increased daily, until I became fully settled and assured that God was about to display His power and grace in a marvelous manner at that place, and that I should see the church there in a short time revived, sinners converted, and many of the ransomed of the Lord returning to Zion. This place, I now fully believed, was to be my present field of labor; and after this change had taken place in my mind I was in such a hurry to get home again that I could hardly wait to fill my appointments. When they were filled, I hastened home, fully assured in my mind that I was going to where the Master had appointed me to behold His glory made known. Of this I was so fully assured that I seemed to have no doubt of it, and yet all the evidence I had was my own feelings. But these were enough for me, for I did believe them to be of God. I said nothing of this to any one but to my wife and to Elder Thomas. I said to Elder Thomas when I was going to start home: "I feel some very strong impressions that the Lord is about to make bare His arm at Lebanon. You will soon hear good news from us." He said he should rejoice to hear such news, and if such a work of grace should really take place he wished me to write to him, and, the Lord willing, he would come in and feast with us. I promised to do so and we parted.
The Primitive or Old School Baptists cling to the doctrines and practices held by Baptist Churches throughout America at the close of the Revolutionary War. This site is dedicated to providing access to our rich heritage, with both historic and contemporary writings.


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"The View" co-host Joy Behar brought her sharp tongue to CNN's "Reliable Sources" today when she slammed Fox News hosts Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly. Beck regularly references his past struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and Behar thinks that could be one of the reasons why he cultivates such an outrageous personality:
But I think that he is frequently ridiculous and doesn't make any sense as far as I'm concerned. But he calls himself a rodeo clown, he's a clown, he's on the cover of Time magazine. I mean the media just plays right into his hands... He's addicted to all of that publicity I think. It took the place of drinking.
CNN host Howard Kurtz played a clip of Bill O'Reilly and Behar in a contentious moment on "The View," which led to O'Reilly branding Behar a "pinhead" on his show. Behar called it a "badge of honor":
He called me a pinhead. He's called me a Kool-Aid drinker. It's ok, it's like being on Nixon's enemies list. I think it's a badge of honor to be called a pinhead by Bill O'Reilly.

subset: commoncrawl


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CANOOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK WILDEWOOD RENAISSANCE FAIRE CAMPGROUND Five days on the road with Dad, and Keelie Heartwood still didn't have a belly button ring. Her sort-of boyfriend Sean hadn't called her even once, and now she was stuck at another Ren Faire. Worse, her best friend from California would soon arrive to see her in all her misery. A horn blatted in the rain outside, followed by raucous laughter from the Merry Men's cram-packed little party tent next door. She added a line to her journal about not being allowed to party with the other Rennies, and being confined to the camper. Life sucks, Keelie wrote. She closed the book where she'd been documenting her pitiful existence, then leaned back in her cramped bunk and stared into space. It wasn't a long stare, because it was limited to the trailer's cozy eight-feet-by-six-feet. She'd been working hard at thinking "cozy" instead of "claustrophobic." It wasn't fair. She was stuck camping, but she'd heard that all the other elves, including the nasty elf girl Elia, were staying at some luxurious lodge in town down the road from the Faire. They had room service. She barely had room. Keelie was supposed to wait inside for her dad to return from his errand. It had been hours. She'd spent the time listening to the loud fun next door at the Wildewood Renaissance Festival's party headquarters. If her friend Raven were here, they could join in the fun. But Raven had gone to Manhattan after the last Ren Faire, to work an internship at Doom Kitty, the famous Goth record company. It was a better gig than digging up herbs with her mother, Dad's old friend Janice the herb lady. Janice would be joining them soon, but Keelie really missed Raven. She was beautiful and confident, and treated Keelie like an equal rather than a fifteen-year-old tagalong. The Wildewood's theme was Robin and his Merry Men, and Robin's partners in crime were singing (or what they optimistically considered singing) a rousing song that had something to do with married women and beer. Every chorus ended with a shout of "hey nonny!" They'd been at it for the past two hours, getting louder and more off-key by the minute. Keelie sensed the trees stirring around her, and apparently they weren't happy with the concert either. She'd been able to sense them all her life, but it was only since she'd moved in with Dad that they'd actually talked to her and allowed her to see their spirit faces. The ancient oaks, larger than the trees in Colorado, pressed their energy around her now, wanting her to come out and open herself to them. There were whispering birches and silent elms, too, and small cherries and rooping willows that liked to keep their roots wet by the banks of the river that flowed, deep and silent, at the edge of the Faire's campground. Sir Davey's Earth magic lessons had helped her block the trees most of the time, so that she wouldn't go crazy, but tonight she was tired, bored, and lonely, and she couldn't concentrate on the simple words her father's good friend had taught her. She had three more lessons to get through, from the notebook he had left her, but she couldn't focus on them. Keelie reached up and groped around on the little wooden shelf (cedar, from the north woods) built into her bunk. Her fingers closed over the smooth sides of the pink rose quartz she'd impulsively bought at the High Mountain Renaissance Faire. She held it in front of her, closed her eyes, and concentrated, trying to center herself. She inhaled and released her breath, then imagined that her feet were like tree roots seeking the dirt, grounding her. Her hands tingled, and there was a small ringing in her ears like tiny bells, which eased away most of the green tree-energy that surrounded her. The exercise would have been totally effective, but she was interrupted several times by shouts of "huzzah" from next door. "Huzzah" was apparently the medieval equivalent of "You go," and the Merry Men made full use of the word. Keelie opened her eyes. The room was bathed in a pinkish glow. Yes! She'd done it. She'd been working with Sir Davey for weeks to summon the crystal's protection. She couldn't wait to show him how far shed come. She slumped back against the wall with a sigh. If only she could use the stone to send herself to the beach, or, for that matter, to bring her dad home from his errand. Her father's ridiculous little homemade camper was fine for overnight stays, like the ones they'd had on their trip from the Faire in Colorado to here, the Wildewood Renaissance Festival in upstate New York. This Faire was the last stop in her dad's annual summer Tour de Ren Faires. He traveled to three a year, selling the beautiful and unique wood furniture that he made during the winter. When they finished here, they'd head for his winter home in Oregon. She'd gotten over the embarrassment of people seeing her stepping out of the elaborately decorated little fairy-tale camper perched on the bed of the old pickup truck. But it was dollhouse-sized—too tiny for the three days they'd spent cooped up here while Dad set up his shop. She missed the spacious apartment of the High Mountain Renaissance Faire. She wistfully recalled their claw-foot bathtub and the tapestries depicting unicorns and flowers. Outside, rain thrummed on the metal roof and the wooden sides of the camper, and against the tiny windows. Even the little cat door, unlatched now to let Knot in and out, creaked slightly. Raindrops pelted it as if tiny water soldiers were laying siege to the camper. Keelie shuddered, remembering the water sprite she'd rescued in Colorado. That reminded her of the Red Cap, the destructive evil fairy she'd defeated. Not bad for a girl who until two months ago hadn't known she had magical abilities. She checked her watch, a contraband object according to the rules of the Faire. Everything the visitors saw had to be in keeping with the theme: "…nonperiod items must be left in the staff living area so as not to distract from the period Ambience…" That's what the Players' Manual said. What a joke. If that were true, then everyone over fifteen could forget about having teeth. She'd taken history; she knew what it had been like back then. The world of the Renaissance Faire was a fabulous fake. Fun, but not to be taken seriously, so she figured some rules were better ignored. According to her forbidden timepiece, it was just after midnight. Zeke, her dad, had left at ten to see Sir Davey and show him the way to the rock and gem shop's new location. Sir Davey had just arrived in his mammoth Winnebago, and was parked in the motor home section of the campground. It would be great if they could stay in his RV. She'd have to sleep on the pull-out sofa, of course, but she'd heard that Davey's RV had a real bathroom in it. A hot shower sounded fabulous, not to mention going to the bathroom without crossing the entire campground. Maybe if she stayed in Sir Davey's "cavern on wheels" she'd sleep peacefully—without sensing trees and having magic tingle through her body. Dad had promised Keelie her own room in their supposedly beautiful tent. She hadn't seen it yet, since it had been too wet to set it up. The tent was stashed in his shop, along with the furniture he'd shipped here to sell. He was late. May he'd gotten so busy that he'd forgotten her, or some tree had distracted him. Or worse,some woman. Dad was a babe magnet, and Keelie didn't want to share him with anyone now that she'd rediscovered him. She needed to replace her destroyed cell phone. She didn't want to use Dad's, a small wooden rectangular box that he used to call other elves. The one time she'd tried to use it to call Sean at the Florida Ren Faire, she'd ended up telepathically linked to a spruce tree in Alberta, Canada. After that, she tried talking Dad into buying her an iPhone. Mom had used a BlackBerry, which Dad might have been interested in because it sounded so natural and earthy, but none of her friends would be caught dead with one. Mom. Keelie sniffled, wishing for lightning, thunder, some kind of weather drama. The plain old rain was making her maudlin, reminding her that her mother had only died three months ago. Not that she was over feeling sad; on the contrary, lately she'd been weeping over every little thing. She thought she'd gotten used to being without Mom, and to life without malls, friends from private school, tennis lessons, and the beach. Maybe she just needed to stay busy, to postpone the worst of her grief. She missed Ariel, too. Keelie had bonded with the blind hawk that she had cared for in Colorado. Cameron, the birds-of-prey expert from the High Mountain Faire, had taken Ariel to a specialized rehab facility in Pennsylvania. No vet could help the bird. Ariel suffered from an elven curse, and so far no one had been able to break it. Another loud "Hey nonny!" interrupted her thoughts. Keelie covered her ears to muffle the men's singing, but it was no use. They were bellowing so loud that the townies could probably hear it. "I put her forthwith over my knee And the naughty wench began to plea, A little harder, master, pleeeaaaase…" Keelie put her pillow over her head. It didn't sound likely that the Merry Men would get depressed and go to bed. Something smacked the side of the trailer. She imagined her dad's hand holding on to the wall, injured, trying to find help and unable to reach the door. She held up her glowing quartz crystal. It shone brighter, and little rays of prismatic pink flashed around the room. Ridiculous. But the image of her hurt dad lingered. Keelie pushed away the light blanket that covered her and sat up, leaving the bunk to open the door. Fat raindrops pattered on the ground beyond the wood-gingerbread encrusted overhang. The rain gleamed in the darkness, illuminated by lights from the Merry Men's tent. Out here, she could also hear feminine laughter coming from it, along with the deeper rumble of male voices. She wasn't going to look. A Budweiser can gleamed in the light from the tent opening. No doubt this was the source of the thump on the wall. The morons in the tent had heaved an empty can out their tent door. It wasn't even period ale, as if she cared. She sighed. No Dad. Just a bunch of late revelers. She was tempted to disobey Dad and join them, but he'd have a fit if she did. She'd gone with Raven to one of the infamous tent parties at the other Faire. For Keelie, that party had been an eye-opener. Bottles of mead, a strong, honey-flavored wine, had been passed from person to person, followed by a shared cigarette that she knew wasn't tobacco. And the guys who played the pirates at the Faire had been there. They were every bit as handsome as the jousting knights, but they took their rascally personas too seriously. Raven had danced for them, and one of the pirates had taken advantage of Raven's distraction to sit close to Keelie. It had been fun, and scary, and exciting. But when Raven saw that the man had started feeling her up, she stopped dancing and got her out of there, at least without making a scene. Keelie appreciated that, and now knew that she wasn't about to attend a tent party alone. Not that she'd want to go to this one. Earlier, Keelie had overheard some of the Merry Men say that the Rivendell party area was quiet now, but that's where the action would be once the Faire opened. The jousters kept the horses corralled in the meadow next to their tents, the section jokingly named Rivendell by some insider who knew that most jousters were elves. Jousters. She had a soft spot in her heart for one in particular—Sean. Her heart fluttered when she recalled their kiss. But her chest tightened when she remembered that Sean hadn't called since their departure. He'd promised he would. Keelie needed to talk to Raven. But Raven wasn't here, and she was stuck at this Faire with no phone. She couldn't even escape and find one, because she didn't have a driver's license. This was another sore point. Dad hadn't given her any driving lessons, and was always making excuses whenever she approached him about it. Something moved in the forest behind the tents. Holding up the rose quartz crystal like a lantern, Keelie squinted, but saw nothing. She was about to step back and close the door when the shadow stepped out of the forest. It was a horse, although not big and brawny like the jousters' mounts. Maybe it was an Arabian. His white coat gleamed brightly, even in the darkness and deep shadows of the woods. It was probably one of the trick horses, the swift ponies that performed clever tricks in between jousts. Maybe he had broken free from the meadow. Someone was going to be in big trouble for letting it get loose from the Rivendell corral. Keelie wasn't about to get soaked trying to catch it, either. The roads around the Faire were far from busy, so what trouble could the horse get into? It would be safe enough until morning. The trees began to sway, although there wasn't any wind. Then Keelie felt green whispers trying to form in her mind. The rose quartz grew warm against her palm, and magic washed over her. Her hand tingled as the protective stone grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the light disappeared, and the night was black once more. As Keelie's senses dissolved into spiraling green energy, even the sounds from the Merry Men's tent disappeared. She was alone with the trees. A heartbeat later, a single beam of pink light, like a laser, shot from the rose quartz. It reached across, turning into a bright silver glow that surrounded a slender spiral horn on the horse's head. Then the horse turned sharply and ran into the woods, the glowing horn still visible. Heart pounding, Keelie realized what she had seen. Oh. My. God. Adrenaline rushed through her body. The muscles in her legs tightened. Poised. Ready. She took a step toward the woods. But, overcome with an overwhelming anxiety that screamed danger, she found that she couldn't move. Something magical was forcing her to stay in place, rooted to the ground. The scent of cinnamon surrounded her.
A minute later, that's where Dad found her, holding the rose quartz aloft and still staring blankly into the indigo shadows.


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Cleavant Derricks
Birth Name: Cleavant Derricks
Born: 05/15/1953
Birth Place: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Born: 05/15/1953
Birth Place: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Derricks made his feature debut in a small role in "Fort Apache, The Bronx" (1981) but won his first kudos with his meaty role in "Moscow on the Hudson" (1984), as a security guard who befriends Russian emigre Robin Williams. His next two features were less well-received on the whole, but Derricks won favorable notices as one of Michael O'Keefe's baseball colleagues in "The Slugger's Wife" (1985) and almost the only praise that the notably unfunny comedy "Off Beat" (1986) garnered.
Derricks subsequently left features and has dedicated most of his energies over the past decade to TV work. After acting in a number of comedy and drama pilots he won his first series role in "Good Sports" (CB... Continue Bio >>
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hello all,
i'm configuring my new zimbra and in default COS configuration there are options:
- trash folder
- domains allowed by proxy
I'm wondering what does it mean ? especially trash folder (even when it's unchecked i have trash bin folder in my users' accounts). I was looking for it in google but found nothing intersting
thank you in advance


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I live down near San Diego and one of the rock stations down here is having March Music Madness. It's like the tourney but with bands instead of teams.
They have four regions: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s and then 16 teams in each region. they have an hour long match-up where they'll alternate playing two songs from each band. People can call in or place their votes online. I just caught the tail end of it but I have to say that I'm a fan.
For those of you interested check it out:
FM94/9 - March Music Madness
one shining moment, hahaha
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Beaded Flower Shoe Clip
Be the first kid on the block to make this craft and start a trend. Bright colors and a simple design make this a perfect summer project.
3 yds 28g craft wire
2 6mm soldered rings
1 pair shoe clip findings
2 colors 11/0 seed beads
2 8mm flat flower bead
2 4mm round firepolish
Chain-nose Pliers
Glue (E6000)
Anchor a piece of 28g wire to a soldered ring by winding it around a couple of times, leaving a 1" tail.
String 2 1/2" of seed beads onto the long wire, slide down to the base and wind wire around the ring next to the anchor wire. This will create a loop that is the first petal of your flower.
Continue the process until you have 8 petals around the ring.
Add 1 1/2" of a contrasting color seed beads and make a petal.
Repeat 4 more times until you have 5 petals.
Thread the long wire up through the center, string on a flat flower, add 4mm bead and thread back down through the flat flower, pull firmly and twist the two tail pieces to secure.
Glue on shoe clip finding with E6000. Be sure to wait a full 24 hours for the glue to cure before using. If your shoe clips have holes you can get additional security by weaving the wire in and out of the holes.
This craft is reprinted courtesy of FaveCrafts.com.
Listed under:
Bead Crafts, Flower Crafts, Teen Crafts
Tagged as:
What do you think?
Maria Nerius has been designing crafts for over 20 years. She's a successful author and writer who loves to tweet (MariaNerius)and currently her work can be seen on www.FaveCrafts.com. You can follow Maria's Musing on her blog: http://marianerius.wordpress.com. Feel free to contact Maria: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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By: Will Peters
Number of Reviews: 1382
Average Score: 65
Visit Play Daddy
Heads Up!
This review is outdated. Information may be inaccurate.
This review is outdated. Information may be inaccurate.
Play Daddy is home to exclusive action showing older men with younger women. It isn't an ideal site, though, since you have to pay extra to download the videos and even though the quality of the streams has improved from what they were when the site first launched, they could still be much better.
PlayDaddy has an integrated PPV system that lets you rent or download-to-own videos and those files are apparently much higher in quality. Watching the streaming movies that come with your membership might serve as a convenient preview and convince you to buy a particular flick, but it would be nice if you didn't have to jump through another costly hoop to do it.
At any rate, there are 205 videos for you to stream in an embedded Flash player. The newer movies look quite good, while the older ones aren't nearly as impressive. There are also 205 photo sets to browse. Some are high-res, but others aren't that large. You can't save the images in Zip files or view them in slideshows.
There is diversity in the dirty-old-man perversity. You'll see interracial sex, threesomes with two girls and one wrinkly dude, or in most cases two older men double up and share a sexy babe. You will also see scenes where a guy shares his wife with another experienced fellow, so there's action between the men in these scenes.
Some of the chicks are cute and perky, while others have an edgier look. You'll see all-American beauties from California, Florida and Texas, as well as lots of South Americans from places like Chili, Argentina and Brazil. Although most of the mature guys have flabby skin and big stomachs, a few of them are in amazing shape and look like bodybuilders.There's a model index that will connect you to the material of a particular chick or old guy, but you don't really get any info about the performers. You will see the age and location of each performer listed below the vids, though. Play Daddy updates with two new exclusive scenes a month, but the lack of downloadable vids remains disappointing.
* Please include a pro and a con about the site. Balance is essential in making a comment worthwhile. Scores without comments will be deleted.
* Watch out for ratings of zero and 100. In our opinion, there is no such thing as a site that is absolutely perfect or completely worthless.


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Canadian Scientists Raise Fish to Walk on Land – and Succeed
Three researchers at Montreal's McGill University authored a study that looked at fish raised from birth to walk on land.
The study, which was published in Nature, watched more than 100 fish over eight months—some in an aquatic environment, and others on a mesh floor of pebbles and just three millimetres of water. The fish, which have functional lungs and can breathe air, adapted, even over a period of time as short as eight months: the researchers noted their very skeleton altered, enabling their fins and heads to allow for easier terrestrial movement.
"The study allowed us to examine how developmental plasticity affects the 'terrestrialization' of fish," explain authors Emily Standen, Trina Du, and Hans Larsson. "We measured the developmental plasticity of anatomical and biomechanical responses in Polypterus [the species of fish they selected] reared on land."
"Our results raise the possibility that environmentally induced developmental plasticity facilitated the origin of the terrestrial traits that led to tetrapods," she said, referring to 400 million years ago when fish first moved from sea to land.


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3 Bethesda Metro Center
3 North Ln, Bethesda, MD 20814
Rent Upon Request
Executive Suites For Lease
|Total Space Available:
|Rental Rate:
|Rent Upon Request
|Listing Type:
|Executive Suite
|Property Type:
|Short-Term Offices, Workspaces, Office Centers
|Date Available:
|Last Updated:
|122 days ago
|Listing ID:
Bethesda Metro Center is located at the threshold of downtown Bethesda, is home to the Bethesda Metro Subway stop and is just a Metro stop away from Washington, D.C. This prestigious business address puts you at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue, Old Georgetown Road and East West Highway, just minutes from I-270 and I-495/Capital Beltway. A stunning 17-story interior atrium and garden accentuates this professional and functional environment. Further enhancements include our well-appointed reception area, furnished offices, multi-office suites, four equipped meeting rooms accommodating up to 16, videoconferencing capabilities and a friendly, knowledgeable staff that provides support services as-needed. Close proximity to the Nation's Capital has long made it an attractive location for high-tech research and development firms. Nearby neighborhoods include the National Institutes of Health and the Naval Medical Center, as well as a multitude of law firms and banking and financial institutions. Center amenities include abundant underground parking, food court and a summer activities forum. The center is adjacent to the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Clients also enjoy immediate access to a number of retail and specialty shops along with many fine restaurants.
Find commercial real estate for lease and sale on Cityfeet, where commercial real estate brokers, agents and commercial real estate property owners connect to close deals. Cityfeet offers products and services to the commercial real estate community so that they can market, buy, lease and sell commercial real estate. In addition to commercial real estate, Cityfeet has countless commercial property listings for investment or tenant use.


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Discover More Ideas You'll Need
Rated 5 out of 5 by 1 reviewer.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Sofeee Dinner Party Gifts I bought these to hand out as a gift to all my friends. I filled them with cobbler, brownies and cookies and gave them as parting gifts. It's dessert in a jar, everyone gets to re-use the jar and also pick their dessert. Fun! August 11, 2015
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Nintendo launches a blue shell at GTA4.
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As if you didn't know, Nintendo announced this morning that it has shipped Mario Kart Wii to retail everywhere. The latest in Nintendo's classic franchise comes packaged with the new Wii Wheel, as well as online play for up to 12 players and its own custom Wii Channel.
You'll find more in the press release below:
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Since the invention of the automobile, kids have pantomimed driving with pretend steering wheels. Since the dawn of the video game age, people of all ages playing racing games have twisted and turned their controllers to steer their vehicles, even though it had no effect on the action on the screen. Now, Mario Kart® Wii makes these fantasies a reality and brings a new level of immersion and interaction to video games.
The raucous driving game, which launched Sunday, comes packaged with the Wii Wheel™ steering wheel accessory that houses the Wii Remote™ controller and lets players steer just as though they were driving a real car. The accessory has been specifically designed and engineered so that even someone who has never played a video game before can pick up the Wii Wheel and start racing instantly.
"Just like Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii will have everyone in the household playing together, laughing and having fun," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "With the Wii Wheel and ability to race with Mii caricatures, Mario Kart Wii literally puts players directly into the game."
While newcomers will find it easy to hop into a race, Mario Kart Wii holds plenty of challenges to keep veterans busy. Mario Kart Wii features 16 new tracks, as well as 16 retro tracks from previous Mario Kart games. Dozens of characters from the Mushroom Kingdom are present, and each has his or her own collection of customized vehicles to race.
For the first time in the Mario Kart series, racers can compete on either motorbikes or karts as they find shortcuts, grab power-ups and take down other racers in a frantic free-for-all. In addition to the Wii Wheel, players can also choose from three other control configurations, such as the Nunchuk™ and Wii Remote controllers, Nintendo GameCube™ controller or the Classic Controller™, so everyone will find a suitable setup.
Four people can compete on a single Wii™ system, or up to 12 people near or far can race via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's online gaming service. A new Mario Kart Channel on the Wii Menu lets players compete in tournaments, check rankings, see when their friends are playing and download ghost data.
For more information about Mario Kart Wii, visit www.mariokart.com. Remember that the Wii console features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.
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I don't know if you can tell or not, but I'm kind of obsessed with City Directories. It started when I was going through them on Footnote.com and learning so much about William Moore. Now it's a full blown obsession. I just can't believe the things I've learned just by looking up people in the directories. Today though, I found something even crazier then I've found in the months since my first look.
From the directory excerpt you see above, what interests me most is the second Thorward on the list.
— George died April 8 1940 age 88
This is a great find for me, because the only documentation I have of George's death are his obituary (a newspaper clipping with a year written on it), and the year on his tombstone. This gives me a date to check in vital records now instead of just a year.
Now we have George's wife Josephine. For her, I only had a year written on her tombstone.
Now here's George and Josephine's son Lewis. I had his death date already, but this just proves why you should be using city directories! It just might solve the missing relative problems you have. It might give you a ballpark date to search for vital records. They are full of information!


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FOLKSTONE, England, July 6. A team of five lifesavers from Cronulla, a suburb of Sydney, have created a new world record with the first ever six-way crossing of the English Channel – in memory of the "King of the Channel" – the great Des Renford. Renford, one of the world's greatest open water swimmers, died laate last year.
The six-way English Channel Crossing was completed by the "Fab Five" from Cronulla in a time of 61 hours and 7 minutes.
Popular Central Coast schoolteacher and ever-green Cronulla surf lifesaver, Greg Stewart, 47, was the proud swimmer who reached the English shore at Folkstone at 10:30pm local time today – after battling sea-sickness for the first 35 hours of the attempt.
The never before attempted-feat was completed by:
Richard Ford (brother of Olympic gold medallist Michelle Ford); Stephan Yates, Baden Green (1991 individual Channel conquerer), Greg Stewart and Peter Tibbitts with their support staff Kevin Nielson (Coach) and Marianne Tibbitts (project manager) – all members of the Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club.
Tibbitts, the winner of five Australian Open Surf Belt finals, completed the fifth leg in France when he walked above the high water mark.
Team manager Marianne Tibbitts, wife of Peter, said the team was in high spirits and elated to have accomplished an amazing test of endurance. "The conditions continued to be favorable for the last two legs of the swim, although a storm did interrupt the sky for a short time but the guys swam through it,"
Marianne said.
"Greg had been sick during the first four legs – approximately 35 hours – but recovered for the last two legs.
"Over the course of the swim it became apparent that France to UK was quicker. On each of these legs it was approximately 1 ½ hours quicker than the return back to France.
"The boys completed the swim in the memory of Des Renford, the great Australian who completed 19 individual career crossings and who passed away last year.
"Des was an inspiration to the whole team and he will always continue to be and the team would like to honor the Victor Chang Research Institute and the Special Olympics – the two charities Des supported."
The "Fab Five" would like to thank their sponsors who assisted in making their dream possible: Sold Out Event Management; HYKE for the clothing; Spank for costumes and caps Team Software for the support boat.
For further information, click on: www.soldout.com.au


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The plot description says the film is about a robot (Diesel) that was designed by the Pentagon to be the ultimate weapon. The project is eventually scrapped and buried, but 20 years later the Diesel-bot is discovered and activated by a child. The government then swoops in to try and take control of the situation and the robot must protect the family he's staying with.
The actor W.C. Fields was once quoted as saying, Never work with animals or children, and its not exactly hard to figure out why. With both you are introducing elements that can never be predicted, and given how insane film sets typically are unpredictability is not a very good thing. So imagine how director Adam Shankman must have felt when a wild baboon starting going nuts while he was trying to make Rock of Ages.
With little more than a week to go before this rowdy rock musical struts onto the world stage, choreographer turned film director Adam Shankman (Hairspray) is taking a new tactic to tease out more interest, revealing some of the incredible work composer Adam Anders, three-time Emmy-winning choreographer Mia Michaels, and small army of musicians, singers and dancers and have put in to make Rock of Ages the flashiest spectacle of the summer
Adam Shankman may have taken a four year break from features between doing Bedtime Stories and Rock of Ages, but that doesn't mean you should expect him to disappear once his new rock musical is released. Shankman's latest isn't due out for another few weeks (on June 15th), but he has already begun assembling a cast for his next project.
ased on the musical by Chris D'Arienzo, Rock of Ages is about two young people, Drew and Sherrie (Diego Boneta and Julianne Hough), who travel to the big city in 1987 looking to live out their musical dreams. Upon meeting they instantly fall in love and have to deal with consequences and the challenges that come with it. The film also stars Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Paul Giamatti...
Adam Shankman has been approached to helm Warner Bros' This is Where I Leave You, the in-development adaptation of Jonathan Tropper's cheered novel. Back when the studio first bought the rights to the book in 2009, writer-director Greg Berlanti (Life As We Know It) was attached to helm.
Tom Cruise is now almost 50 years old, but if you think that's going to stop him from taking on the most challenging film roles he can find you are dead wrong. Beginning this week in IMAX theaters you will be able to see Cruise scale the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa in Dubai - and then swing from it on a cable and then next year he'll be rocking out on stage 80s style in Adam Shankman's Rock of Ages.
Aside from having a title that makes all seven-year-old boys giggle, the original story for The Nutcracker is rich with elements that could be really cool on screen if done properly, from living wooden soldiers to the seven-headed Mouse King. We'll have to see if Shankman makes this one something special, of if it's just another flick that will turn up on TNT every year around the holidays.
The pitch, which is still in early stages, somehow mixes Grumpy Old Men with Trading Places. Obviously, neither Martin nor Baldwin could stand in for Eddie Murphys Billy Ray Valentine, but the idea of them riffing as modern-day versions of Mortimer and Randolph Duke gets my pulse racing. Heck, Baldwin plays a version of a Duke brother on 30 Rock each week, so this idea certainly has potential.
Brace yourselves, Constantine Maroulis fans. (What are they called? Marou-maniacs? Con-fan-tines?) The former American Idol who made a name for himself and scored a Tony nomination in the Broadway production of Rock of Ages, was photographed with Adam Shankman and Matt Weaver, respective director and producer of the currently filming Rock of Ages film adaptation.
Personally I see this as a perfect opportunity for Forte to bring back his blond MacGruber mullet wig-- they were totally in back then!-- but given how few people actually saw the MacGruber movie, that might not be exactly what Shankman has in mind
The crazy thing is that Cruise is shooting his first scene today-- apparently a rendition of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me"-- so this is pretty much the earliest we've ever gotten a look at an actor in costume. In the USA Today article Shankman says they've toned down the character
Shankman accompanied the photo with the caption "Russell and Alec making my life heaven on #rockofagesmovie," which may be a reference to the cover of the song "Heaven" by Warrant that the entire cast performs at one point in the original Broadway show that the movie is based on
Baldwins presence tends to make just about everything better (yes, Im looking at you, Its Complicated), so the news that hes staying on board Rock, which expects to begin shooting on May 23, is welcome, indeed. We also hope that the unspecified health problem is minor
It's a disappointing blow for the Hairspray director but far less disappointing when put into context. Losing Alec Baldwin sucks, but losing him in this situation is like taking Danny Ainge off the 1985-1986 Celtics or removing Jeff Lynne from the Traveling Wilburys
Remember, this cast already includes Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand and Julianne Hough in central roles, with Tom Cruise, Mary J. Blige and Paul Giamatti also rounding out the cast. The lead role went to relative unknown Diego Boneta, but otherwise it's going to be a musical crammed with famous faces
Catherine Zeta-Jones' career trajectory has always befuddled me. After years of television work and small films, the actress finally made it big in the late 90s and even won an Oscar for her performance in 2002's Chicago. Despite the huge win, however, her workload never seemed to increase, averaging only one to two movies per year since.
He's the right hand man to the club's owner Dennis Dupree, played by Alec Baldwin in the movie; yes, the world will soon be blessed with a duet between Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand as they sing REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" and confess their true feelings for each other
Boneta has appeared on TV's 90210 and Pretty Little Liars and has an ongoing music career, so it seems unlikely he was cast through the pen casting call that the producers held in late March. Still, the 21-year-old seems like a good choice-- fresh face, clearly talented, very handsome
After the news came out yesterday that Warner Bros. would be releasing the Broadway musical adaptation of Rock of Ages on June 1, 2012, director Adam Shankman sent out a Tweet saying, "I just heard the news: #rockofagesmovie is being released June 1, 2012. I guess I better start making it soon...
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Curating the City
Launched in 2005, the Conservancy's Curating the City program is an educational initiative that treats Greater Los Angeles as a living museum.
We curate and interpret the remarkable collection of significant architecture throughout Los Angeles County, offering a fresh look at L.A.'s architectural and cultural heritage.
Through tours, related events, and permanent resources, Curating the City encourages the ongoing exploration and appreciation of L.A.'s unique built environment.
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Electronic Arts ditches premium model for free-to-play mobile games in 2013
Electronic Arts has no plans to release any new premium-download mobile games in 2013 and will instead focus its efforts exclusively on the free-to-play model.
Nick Earl
"The market has spoken very loudly that [freemium is] the model they like," EA All Play Senior Vice President and General Manager Nick Earl told GamesIndustry International. "Even though there's some vocal minority that don't like it, ultimately the numbers would show that they and others all support the freemium model better."
Earl pointed to the success of EA's Real Racing 3: While some gamers voiced their displeasure over the franchise's shift to in-app purchases, the title has earned an average Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store rating of 4.5 stars, with close to 40,000 user reviews to date.
"I think initially [critics] were a little bit annoyed because the all-you-can-eat model makes sense for them," Earl said. "That's the kind of people they are. But at the end of the day, they're going to pay to eat, if that's their choice. And they're happy doing it."
Real Racing 3 has now topped Apple's Free Apps chart in 90 different countries. Last month, EA said gamers have spent more than 14 million hours behind the virtual wheel, completing more than 25 million races per day. "At the end of the day you kind of have to look at real numbers," Earl added. "The old proverb, 'You can't please all the people all the time' is just so true."
EA's mobile titles and services, including handhelds, generated approximately $100 million in revenue during the quarter ending Dec. 31, an 18 percent year-over-year increase. The Simpsons: Tapped Out, a freemium iOS title first introduced in early 2012, generated more than $23 million in revenues during the final three months of last year alone.
EA's mobile gains have nevertheless failed to stem declines in the console segment. Two months after the company reported third-quarter fiscal 2013 net revenues of $922 million, down from $1.06 billion a year ago, CEO John Riccitiello resigned in mid-March, accepting blame for the company's recent financial missteps. EA's market value has fallen by close to two-thirds after Riccitiello assumed the CEO mantle in April 2007.
For more:
- read this GamesIndustry International article
Related articles:
Electronic Arts CEO Riccitiello steps down, shoulders blame for missteps
EA accelerates shift to premium with Real Racing 3 for iOS, Android
EA: Simpsons: Tapped Out revenues topped $23 million last quarter
Electronic Arts in talks to port games to Microsoft's Windows Phone 8
EA merges Firemint, Iron Monkey mobile game units to create Firemonkeys


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Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including "Boardwalk Empire," "Eastbound and Down," "Homeland," "Masters of Sex," "The Walking Dead" and more, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week.
"Seduced and Abandoned"
Monday, October 28th at 9pm on HBO
Alec Baldwin and director James Toback went to Cannes last year to half-jokingly attempt to raise money for a "Last Tango in Paris"-inspired drama for which they didn't yet have a script. What came from this exercise is a playful, rueful and very enjoyable reflection on the film industry as an intersection between art and business, as the pair meet with billionaires, legends like Bernardo Bertolucci and Roman Polanski and stars like Jessica Chastain and Ryan Gosling to talk about cinema.
"Independent Lens": "The Graduates"
Monday, October 28th at 10pm on PBS
"The Graduates/Los Graduados" is a two-part bilingual documentary that follows six Latino and Latina students from different parts of the U.S., looking at the challenges they and their families and educators face. The first part, "Girls," will follow three female students from the Bronx, Chicago and Tulsa who deal with violence, homelessness and motherhood. The second part, "Boys," airing next week, will track a trio of male students from Georgia, Massachusetts and San Diego who face homophobia, gang pressure and being undocumented. "The Graduates" is produced and directed by Bernardo Ruiz ("Reportero").
"30 for 30": "This is What They Want"
Tuesday, October 29th at 8pm on ESPN
Filmmaking partners Brian Koppelman and David Levien have been plenty busy on the big screen, having written "Ocean's Thirteen," "The Girlfriend Experience," "Runner Runner" and "Solitary Man," which they also directed. But they still made time to stop by ESPN, on which they had 2005 scripted drama "Tilt," for this documentary about tennis star Jimmy Connors' incredible comeback in 1991 at the age of 39, and what his provocative personality did for coverage of the sport.
"The Returned": Series Premiere
Thursday, October 31st at 9pm on Sundance Channel
Fabrice Gobert's acclaimed French drama about the dead coming back to life, to the shock, joy or distress of those they left behind, finally makes it to U.S. shores via Sundance Channel. Set to some wonderfully moody music by Mogwai, the series is set in a small mountain town where the deceased return, years or decades after they first passed, in a story that's as much about grief and mourning as it is the supernatural. Check out our review.
"Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories: Haunted House"
Thursday, October 31st at 11:59pm on Adult Swim
Anti-comedy kings Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim return to Adult Swim with a half-hour Halloween special that's also the pilot for their new series on the network. The pair will be joined by Zach Galifiankis in the first installment of this anthology series, which will find them having to live in a haunted house for the usual reasons -- to earn their inheritance.
Also worth a look: TBS, home to "Conan," adds to its talk show line-up with "The Pete Holmes Show," hosted by the stand-up and College Humor star, starting on Monday, October 28th at midnight.


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The 49ers surprisingly emerged as a powerhouse in 2011. Which begs the question: can they do it again?
The bettors at the MGM Resorts International sportsbooks in Nevada have answered with their money.
As of Friday, San Francisco was the 4-1 favorite win Super Bowl XLVII at the MGM hotels, with Green Bay the second betting choice at 9-2.
"They're by far drawing the most" money, Jay Rood, the vice president of race and sports at MGM, said of the Niners, who won 13 games a season ago and fell in the NFC title game.
By contrast, San Francisco, as of Friday, was 10-1 at the Cantor Gaming-run sportsbooks in Nevada, as well as at The LVH Hotel and Casino. At Cantor, the Patriots and Packers were 6-1 co-favorites on Friday, while the Pats were 9-2 favorites at LVH.
The lesson for future-book bettors, as always, is to shop around for the best price. The overarching theme, however, is the public believes San Francisco, which opened at 10-1 at MGM, is for real. MGM's hotels dot the Las Vegas strip and draw many travelers.
MGM's bettors have also steadily backed the Packers, winners of 15 regular-season games in 2011 but disappointments in their divisional-round loss to the Giants. They have drawn the second-most money at MGM. The third-most popular team with bettors at the sportsbook? The Broncos, who were 7-1 off a 75-1 opening line as of Friday. This, of course, has much to do with the addition of Peyton Manning. Incredibly, bettors have made approximately 1,400 Super Bowl bets on Denver at 10-1 or lower, Rood said Friday.
"The money hasn't stopped, and the liability keeps rolling up," Rood said.
Future-book odds are a function of that liability — the winnings that bettors will take away if the club wins the Super Bowl. The more money that flows toward one team, the lower the odds move.
Such is the case with 49ers.
"Is this an accurate reflection of what I believe to be the case, that they're the favorites for the Super Bowl?" Rood said. "No. We're trying to manage (the) liability at this point."
Sportsbooks will also adjust a club's odds upward with an eye on drawing more bets. For instance, the Steelers, despite "drawing good action," as Rood noted, were 12-1 on Friday, double their opening odds.
The Saints, who opened 10-1, were 18-1 at MGM as of Friday.
"They're largely getting ignored," Rood said.
At 18-1, the Saints aren't an unreasonable gamble — assuming Drew Brees takes the field.
"Drew Brees, that's the engine," Rood said. "If Drew Brees is in there, you have a V-8. Anyone else, you have a four-cylinder."
- San Francisco


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Having a naked woman in your car while it's parked on Ballard Street will draw the attention of the police.
Having suspected drugs in your car at the same time will land you behind bars.
That was the case Monday for a Lawrenceburg man who was charged with trafficking heroin and other related drug charges.
A woman who police say was three times the legal limit while driving more than 100 mph on U.S. 127 allegedly threatened to kill a state trooper after he pulled her over.
Joyce A. Bailey, 39, of 114 Chautauqua St. told the trooper, "I will have my father cut out your (expletive) heart and feed it to the hogs," according to a criminal citation filed by trooper Tim Mullins, before adding "I will get out of jail and go back to Wyoming and you all will never see me again."
The feud between the county's coroner and two members of the Anderson County Fiscal Court boiled over Thursday night when the coroner delivered a blistering public rebuke of magistrates Meredith Lewis and Kenny Barnett.
Coroner Dr. Mark Tussey ripped into Lewis for calling him "irresponsible" in March for money he spent on uniforms and safety parkas.
On Thursday, Lewis spent several minutes explaining why she made the remark and at one point during the 15-minute exchange apologized for making it.
An edict from the Obama administration that requires public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms, locker rooms and showers of their choice or risk lawsuits and the loss of federal funds has left school officials here looking for answers and seeking legal advice.
The mandates were issued last Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education, catching educators across Kentucky off guard and scrambling to figure out how, or if, they should comply.
From staff reports
A woman is charged with three felony counts of child abandonment, second-offense DUI, three counts of second-degree wanton endangerment and three counts of possession of heroin-related drug paraphernalia after leaving three young children — including a weeks-old infant — alone in her vehicle for an hour last Wednesday night at the West Park Shopping Plaza in Lawrenceburg.
A state audit of the Anderson County Fiscal Court shows numerous problems, including how the county controls its credit cards and its purchases.
Released last week by state Auditor Mike Harmon, the audit focuses on the county's finances during the 2013-2014 fiscal year and includes a litany of issues related to segregation of duties.
Employees at the Anderson County Clerk's Office got a wet welcome when they arrived to work Monday morning to find over an inch of water in a portion of the building and heavy damage to the building's basement.
Clerk Jason Denny said some portions of the upstairs — including his office — had an inch or more of water on the floor due to a busted water line.
Denny said none of the office's paper records were damaged.
A Lawrenceburg man suffered what first responders described as "significant head and chest injuries" when the motorcycle he was riding earlier this evening smacked into a tree on Ninevah Road.
People at the scene identified the victim as Dwayne Hawkins, 50, who lives nearby and had to be airlifted to an area hospital. They said that Hawkins' family had been notified and left the scene shortly after the helicopter transporting him took off.
Anderson County firefighters were able to rescue a cow this afternoon that became stuck in a small pond on Hammond Road.
The cow was apparently trying to stay clear of an eager bull when it was either knocked into the muddy water or went in while trying to get away, the owner told rescuers.
Sen. Bernie Sanders posted a strong victory in Anderson County in the Democrat presidential primary, knocking off former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by a just over 500 votes.
Sanders collected 1,649 votes to Clinton's 1,132.
Statewide results were not yet available, and all local results were unofficial.
Republicans held a presidential caucus earlier this year that went to Donald Trump.
Copyright © 2016
The Anderson News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Lawrenceburg, KY and the surrounding area.


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Pension Defrosted Aeropsace Corp. Unfreezes Its Pension to Attract Skilled Workers
That action stands in stark contrast to what is happening at companies like IBM, General Motors and Hewlett-Packard, all of which have frozen their pension plans during the past few years. According to research by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, the number of Fortune 1,000 companies that have frozen or terminated a defined-benefit pension plan more than doubled from 34 to 71 between 2001 and 2004.
On the surface, the Aerospace Corp., based in El Segundo, California, is an unlikely candidate for the role of pension rebel. It is a government-funded research corporation with a mandate to support the space program through research and development. As such, its employees tend to be highly educated individuals who are not necessarily motivated by money but by the learning and research opportunities the company provides.
Even so, the Aerospace Corp. recognized that it must remain competitive in the labor market if it is to compete for Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers against large corporations, like Boeing, that still offer a traditional defined-benefit pension plan. A competitive benefits package is particularly important because the company's compensation scale is more closely tied to that of the federal government than the private sector.
Employee retention was also a key issue. The defined-contribution plan that replaced the pension plan for new employees in January 1993 provided no incentive for workers to remain with the company. As a result, turnover among those employees was higher than acceptable before the retirement plan change, says Grant Aufderhaar, principal director of the sensor signals and electronics subdivision in the company's Chantilly, Virginia, office. He says that the portable nature of the defined-contribution plan may have contributed to that. "The defined-benefit pension plan provides some golden handcuffs and an incentive for people to stay with the company," he says.
To further encourage employees to remain with the company and work longer before retiring, the company began a phased retirement program that allows employees at retirement age to structure a flexible work schedule to serve as mentors and transfer knowledge to younger employees. "We are concerned about keeping people on the job as long as possible so that we don't lose that knowledge," says Charlotte Lazar-Morrison, the company's director of HR. "That is key to the nature of our work."
The pension change was also largely driven by employees, led by Aufderhaar. He joined the company in the middle of 1993, just after the pension plan had closed to new employees and had been replaced by a defined-contribution plan. About five years ago, Aufderhaar compared his retirement benefit statement, which showed how much he had accrued in the defined-contribution plan, with that of a colleague who had joined the company in 1992 and, thus, was a participant in the defined-benefit pension plan.
Aufderhaar saw a significant disparity in the value of those benefits. Quite simply, employees participating in the pension plan had significantly more retirement benefits waiting for them than employees who could participate only in the defined-contribution plan.
Aufderhaar decided to do something about it. To better position himself as a pension reformer, he got an appointment as a fiduciary, serving on the defined-contribution plan committee. "That became a platform to bring forward my concerns about the retirement plan situation to the company," he says. As a member of the defined-contribution plan committee, Aufderhaar had greater access to corporate officers and was able to speak to them about his concerns and highlight the implications that a disparity in retirement benefits might be having on the company's ability to attract and retain a qualified workforce.
Old plan becomes new plan
Even though management was acutely aware of the need to change the pension plan, it still had to keep a lid on costs.
The original pension plan includes a variable-benefit component that accounts for two-thirds of benefit accruals. The defined-contribution plan that replaced the pension plan for new employees in 1993 provides a contribution equal to 8 percent of an employee's pay. Therefore, company management decided on a new plan that offers a bit of both: a contribution equal to 4 percent of pay to the defined-contribution plan and a benefit accrual in the defined-benefit pension plan designed to equal another 4 percent of pay. Like the original defined-benefit pension plan, the new plan also has a variable-benefit component that accounts for two-thirds of benefit accruals.
With this plan design, the company was expecting the changes to be cost-neutral. However, the company still faced some risk during the transition to the new plan because the company allowed employees to choose whether to participate in the new plan or stay in their existing retirement plan.
"We knew that employees would make the best decision for themselves, which meant that healthy employees were likely to choose the defined-benefit plan to enjoy certain benefits in retirement, while less healthy employees were more likely to stay in the defined-contribution plan because they would be unlikely to have a long retirement and want to maximize the assets they could pass on to their heirs," says Tom O'Connor, the company's assistant treasurer. "That scenario would have significant cost implications for the plan" because healthy employees tend to live longer and collect more benefits.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not play out. Although the company set a goal of getting at least 25 percent of eligible employees to migrate to the new plan, in reality about half chose to move to the defined-benefit plan. However, because those employees represent an even distribution among age groups, the benefit payouts from the plan will be more spread out and the change was less costly than expected, O'Connor says.
To further control pension plan costs, the company also eliminated subsidies for early retirement. In the past, employees received 100 percent of their benefit if they retired at age 62. Now, the age for full retirement benefits is 65. This change supports the company's goal of keeping employees working longer and reducing plan costs associated with providing full benefit for early retirement.
Communicating the change
HR director Lazar-Morrison admits that the pension plan change initially was greeted with some skepticism, even though employees had pushed for it. "But once people began using the tools to make their projections, they began to see that the change was a good thing," she says.
The company provides online tools that helped employees make the initial retirement plan choice and allow them to track retirement benefit projection as often as they want. The tools allow individuals to run different retirement scenarios based on age, salary level and retirement age using the two plan options.
The communication that accompanied the retirement plan change also had to be top-notch. "There are plenty of mathematicians in company who developed their own tools to double-check company projections," Aufderhaar says. Fortunately, the company's tools held up to the scrutiny.
These changes, though still new, are starting to have an impact on the company's ability to meet its workforce goals. Lazar-Morrison reports that having the new retirement plan is making it easier to attract new midcareer employees and that the retirement plan changes are more attractive to a broad spectrum of employees.
Workforce Management, April 10, 2006, p.1, 37-38 -- Subscribe Now!


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A friend of mine posted this on facebook. Of course this kid was the biggest, shady drug addict and thief when he was a teenager. Then he "found god". I try really hard to ignore shit like this the best I can. What would you guys do? Not specifically for this actual posting, just in general. When people you know post crap like this online, or you overhear friends making snarky comments what do you do? I didn't comment on this. It's kind of funny. If it was malicious, then I would have.
Views: 2425
And yet, indoctrination doesn't work in the end, does it? Most of us were probably indoctrinated and probably spent some years as believers. It isn't indoctrination which keeps people religious, it's mental inertia and sloth, liking the social aspects of going to church, and of course...fear of death.
Yeah but I'd say the "mental inertia" works in atheism's favor as well. Indoctrination has become exponentially less effective since the dawn of the age of information. The religious teachings being passed down are gradually diluted from generation to generation. People just don't care enough to preserve the teachings in their original context (Islam being the most resilient) because it's just not convenient for anyone living in a society as progressive as ours to go around treating women as if they're inferior, owning slaves, and bashing babies against rocks. It's ironic, but I'd argue that you can thank or blame America's laziness for religion's decline.
I can't help but to speak up when someone "flaunts" their religion by attacking someone else's beliefs or lack of beliefs. I find it very easy to hold back when someone says "god bless you" and stuff like that though because they are trying to be sincere to me. The only time I speak up is when someone is attacking someone else's beliefs or when my friends ask me about Atheism and ask me a few questions.
I spent years trying to force myself to believe in god, so now 99% of my facebook friends are Xtians. Honestly every single day is filled with this very same degree of shit which I ignore until they bring it on to my wall. At that point I let loose with a flood of pent up rage and frustration.
All in all I just sort of bottle it up until it is too late and then remove them from my friends list.
A facebook "friend" super-christian woman I used to work with posted some idiotic disparaging nonsense about how April 1st was atheist day. I informed her that I was a lifelong atheist and that it was so very christian of her to mock and put down a minority group. I asked her "what happened to the nice person I used to work with?" She responded with an insincere apology and more nonsense about the lord challenging her to acknowledge her mistakes and what amounted to pity for those who did not believe. I realized that the prospect of independent thought was, for this woman, as foreign a concept as subsisting on a diet of acid and broken glass. Most religious people are so fanatical in their beliefs that changing their mind is a physical impossibility - not to mention I would be just as hypocritical as them to try - so I never do.
We must handle it the same way they handle it when we post Pro-Athiest pics and links. Silence. My path to Athiesm was my own and no one could change my mind. I imagine their delusion of God and Jesus being real is just as unshakeable and it's better to ignore it. Kinda like dog poop on the sidewalk. Yes it's rude, in bad taste, ill-planned and a nuisance to everyone, but in the end, it will dry up and wither away...sort of like worshipping Zeus.
A friend of mine posted this on FB as well and I too, said nothing. I debated over it since it totally makes no sense whatsoever. I want FB to be a fun place, to catch up with friends and family and I try not to get into debates if I can help it. It bothered me for a few days and I went back to it, but in the end, I said nothing because I know, that no matter what I said, there would be no "lightbulb" moment for my friend.
Such a silly description. I love the comment he makes about the saying. "Glory to Jesus!" lol :p
I agree with you, this was harmless, however if this person was posting this just because they knew you were an atheist and did it to smite you I would've said something. I think that people post things like this because sometimes they want someone to make a scene over it but then you just blow it back in their face by not doing anything.
Oh, my cousin posted this exact thing a few weeks ago! So I gave him a big lecture and have been posting atheist pictures whenever I get the chance.
So, in answer to your question: anything people post in appreciation of religion is a thing that I can't ignore.
This is the problem with things like Facebook and Twitter- an ability to push agendas, from all points. A friend of mine once said that he disliked social networks because he felt a medium where you could instantly get any thought you have out to potentially millions of people is a dangerous thing. How many things do we simply type into FB or Twitter that in real life we'd stop and think about first.
I'm going off these sites and haven't used them for a few weeks now (Though did have to go on twitter recently to send a DM). I no longer debate creationists either anymore. I don't see the point, I'm not going to convince them and it's unlikely they'll convince me. And besides, I wouldn't be conclusively swayed by their evidence as I'm not in the right fields of research to fully understand such levels of proof, hence I must defer to those qualified and as such it is their job to convince the scientific establishment and not to convince me.
I think we need to pick and chose our battles. I've got a lecture to give next month on the myths of Christmas which will be posted online hopefully, but that's as far as my Christmas debate will go this year, after spending way too much time arguing over it with Christians.
My response to stuff like this is always the same: