text:
Adestria guitarists Russell Klein and Brian Stump reveal the serendipity that led to forming their 6-piece metalcore outfit—which in four short years has hammered out a stunningly brutal sound full of intricate layers, time signatures, and catchy melodies.
"If I didn't do this, I'd regret it for the rest of my life," says Russell Klein, as he discusses the difficult decision he made when he dropped out of UC San Diego's chemical engineering program in 2010 to tour with metalcore sensation Adestria as lead guitarist. It was a serious gamble to risk a lucrative career prospect that offered financial security for a life potentially filled with Taco Bell combo dinners as a road warrior. And while many others who've made similar bets in pursuit of their dreams live in some sort of limbo waiting for their day to come, it appears that Klein's risky move is starting to pay off. In the four short years since the band's inception, Adestria has accomplished what most bands spend their whole careers trying to achieve, and their success story is, in many ways, the stuff music dreams are made of.
Adestria got its start serendipitously at a party when singer Matt Anderson met up with people who shared similar musical tastes. Over drinks, the initial talks began and a casual jam session was arranged. But no one had major expectations. "I don't think we had any idea we were going to get as serious as we have," says rhythm guitarist Brian Stump. But it happened, and it happened fast. In 2010 the band recorded an EP, Oh the Places You'll Go, which generated a ton of buzz almost immediately upon its release and resulted in Alternative Press magazine naming them the No. 5 unsigned band. This led to a deal with Artery Recordings in late 2011, and they recently released their full-length debut, Chapters.
Adestria's brutal breakdowns and virtuosic, effortless-sounding fretwork might give the impression that these players were child prodigies, but that's hardly the case. Keyboardist Mikey Colasardo first picked up his instrument upon joining the band, and it has taken Adestria—whose members are largely self-taught—quite some time to develop their finesse. "We all weren't that great in the beginning," says Klein. "It took a lot of hard work and practice together to reach a point where we were all at a mutual ability that was good enough. Our older music wasn't nearly as technical." Stump echoes that: "The musicianship has come a long way since we started, and it's still getting better and better the more and more we play." Currently on the road with the SoundRink Tour, Klein and Stump discuss their band's evolving chemistry and the art of keeping order in a young six-piece band.
Chapters is like an epic odyssey—
there are so many layers
and parts that come out of
nowhere. What's your typical
writing process like?
Russell Klein: It always starts
off with some sort of riff for the
guitar, then we add drums, and
from there we add keyboards
and additional layers. We
modify it as we go, section by
section, and work on the parts
to make sure it's not too long,
or we'll move a part from one
place to another, or change a
note here or there. Lately, we've
been doing a lot of writing on
the computer.
Brian Stump: We'll build a foundation, then tweak from there. Everyone's opinion definitely comes into effect.
With so many people in the
band, do each of you have to
make a lot of compromises?
Stump: Yeah, it makes the writing
process a little difficult at
times, but nothing good ever
comes easy. I don't mind taking
the hard route.
How do you communicate the
riffs to each other—do you
write them out in tab or give
each other mp3s?
Klein: Brian and I just teach
each other how to play the
parts. Generally, we all write
together as a group. We practiced
four days a week, so we
were all together during the
writing process.
Stump: I also tab-out riffs using a program called Guitar Pro. It's an incredible app that I've got it on my iPhone. When we're on tour, even if I don't have my guitar handy, I can sit and bust out a couple of riffs. I can do it over and over, because god knows I've got plenty of time on the road.
With two guitarists, a bassist,
and a keyboard player, it must
be easy to clutter things up,
sonically. How do you arrange
things so that everyone has
their own space?
Klein: There's a lot to contribute,
and sometimes someone obviously
has to take a backseat. Our
keyboard player holds a lot of
rhythm notes down and then
accentuates a lot of the lead notes.
For the most part, we haven't run
into too many problems there,
because we have things designated
as "when we [the guitarists] do
stuff" and "when the other person
is taking the lead."
Stump: Basically, Russell takes the leads and we use our keys as less of an in-your-face, techno, secondary lead instrument and more for creating atmospheric textures.
But there are several moments
on Chapters, like in "More
Than You Know" and "1984,"
where the piano is the featured
Stump: Piano's great over
breakdowns for certain parts.
That's kind of where we give
Mikey his moment to shine,
and I'll keep a solid rhythm and
harmonize certain lines in these
spots. None of us are overly
zealous to be in the spotlight all
the time. It's nice that we can
kind of balance it between us.
On songs like "1984" and
"Compromised," the guitar
parts under the vocals are
almost like a shred etude, with
nonstop 16th- or 32nd-notes.
Did you do that to differentiate
the parts?
Stump: Yeah, we definitely try
to keep ourselves busy. It's nice
to have your part in a song and
just kind of hand the torch
over—keep it rotating around.
So it's not because, if Brian's
playing chords and Mikey's
adding stuff on the keyboards,
then playing fast, perpetual
motion lines is one of the only
other textures left?
Klein: Yeah, that's pretty much
the reason behind it. We just
want to make sure that the parts
are interesting even without the
vocals and other stuff. We want
to make sure that there's always
something going on.
In the breakdown in
"Compromised," you play a
series of arpeggios that are
executed with some tricky
rhythms. Where does that
rhythmic chicanery come from?
Klein: That idea came from our
producer Nick Sampson, who
plays a lot of styles like that. He
likes those "off" timings. We
shot some ideas back and forth.
We wanted to do a breakdown,
but we also wanted to have a
lead over it. It was something
we'd never done before, and it
turned out pretty sweet. When
you get another mind in there
helping you write stuff, you get
stuff you wouldn't necessarily
come up with on your own.
Nick's band, I Am Abomination,
was a huge influence on us.
What other bands or players
have influenced your music?
Klein: A major influence when
we first started playing was As
I Lay Dying—you can hear it
in our music, for sure. August
Burns Red and the Devil Wears
Prada are other huge influences.
We try to do a mix of the heaviness
and style of Devil Wears
Prada, but get a little more
technical and add guitar riffs
and little things like that.
Stump: Yeah, we've been compared to the Devil Wears Prada before. I guess the melodic breakdowns are where people make the connection. I also like jamming on my acoustic guitar and really like Andy McKee. He's pretty mellow. If I'm lying down and I want to relax, I listen to that.
Would you ever try to incorporate
some of Andy McKee's
influence into your writing?
If taken from the right angle,
it could probably work with
your music.
Stump: Definitely, with a lot of
the tapping. It would be awesome
to somehow incorporate that in.
Did you do anything deliberate
during the Chapters
songwriting process to differentiate
yourselves from
your influences?
Klein: Yes—we didn't want to
do the usual heavy-metal riffs
nonstop, and then breakdown,
and then break down the breakdown.
We wanted to add a lot
more musicianship to it, so it's
not necessarily just heavy breakdowns.
We'll have a part where
we have a lot of guitar work,
and then a lot of drums—a lot
of cymbal hits between a lot of
fills—and then we'd have a part
with the piano. At our shows,
we do have heavy breakdowns—
and we like it heavy here and
there—but we don't want it
to be only that. We wanted to
show that we're not just any
hardcore band. We wanted to be
taken seriously as musicians.
Was it hard in the beginning to
find like-minded people who
also had a similarly high level
of technical ability? Because
your music's not easy …
Klein: In the beginning, it was
definitely a lot less technical.
The skill level has definitely
grown majorly in the last four
years. We've all kind of done it
together. We all worked on our
songwriting together to develop
this style that we all liked,
because we all are into slightly
different styles and we tried to
get it to mesh together. Russell
has also kind of taken me under
his wing.
Did you take lessons or are
you self-taught?
Stump: I started real young,
playing trumpet, and then
played drums in a punk band. I
moved to guitar when I was 18.
I've mostly been self-taught, but
I'm definitely open to getting
lessons. Learning on my own
is awesome, but it's getting to
the point where it helps to have
that different brain.
Klein: I took lessons for about a year when I was in elementary school, and then I actually stopped playing guitar for about five years. When I picked it up again in high school, I taught myself from that point on. I read a lot of Wikipedia articles trying to figure out theories, and I also talk to a lot of other guitar players. In San Diego, there are lots of really talented musicians and they'll be like, "Have you ever tried doing something like this?" or "It helps me remember different chords by doing it this way."
Although it seems like it's
worked out very well for you
guys, one of the tricky things
about teaching yourself is that
if you learn something wrong,
there's no one there to help
you fix it—and it could lead
to bad habits.
Klein: A lot of people have a lot
of bad habits. I have a couple of
bad habits, and it took me a while
to teach myself to not do that
same thing over and over again.
Like what?
Klein: Some people hold the
pick with the side of their
index finger and put their
thumb on top of it, whereas
some people hold it with their
fingertips, using the index,
middle finger, and thumb
together. The first is the standard
way, and the other isn't.
Is there a disadvantage to one
way or the other?
Klein: Yeah, with one you use
more finger movement, and the
other you use more wrist. When
you move your wrist, that's the
proper way to do it and you can
get more control. But Brian uses
more of a fingertip style, which
works for him. It's just two different
styles of guitar playing.
Is it true that Mikey couldn't
really play keyboards when he
first joined? If so, that's pretty
remarkable. Even though he's
not playing a lot of virtuosic
runs, it still takes a great deal
of musicianship to keep it
together and not get lost.
Klein: That's right. He first
picked up keyboards when we
started the band. But he also
took a couple of classes at the
college where we went when he
started out, and he started getting
a lot of practice there. He
got on the ball with learning
how to play really quickly.
Let's talk about gear. What
guitars do you use?
Klein: Right now Brian and I
both use ESP LTDs. I've got
an LTD Viper 1000. They're
not quite the custom ones, but
they're a little over a $1,000
brand new. We're working on
getting an endorsement from a
couple of different guitar companies,
something a little more
Stump: Mine has a Les Paullike body and is flat black, with EMG pickups. The EMGs are like butter—they pick stuff up a lot better. I've never really messed around with a whole lot outside of EMGs. I just picked it up and loved it from the beginning. I don't feel like I need to change anything.
Yeah, EMGs do pick up a lot
of details.
Klein: When we were recording,
the EMGs picked up so
much from the open strings
that we had to tape those
strings off.
Do you do that live, too?
Klein: No, not live—it's pretty
much indistinguishable live.
How about amps?
Klein: Right now, I have a
Peavey JSX with a 5150 cab.
Stump: I use an EVH 5150 III. It's got 6L6 power tubes, which give it an incredible tone.
Do you guys EQ your amps
differently to differentiate
your parts, or do you set them
similarly to create one big
wall of sound?
Stump: My amps usually are set
with a little more low end. But,
in general, our tones are pretty
close. We don't want it sounding
off balance and lopsided.
How about the oft-overlooked
components of tone, like
strings and picks?
Klein: My favorite picks are
1.14 mm Snarling Dogs Brain
Picks. They're really thick and
have a special grip on them,
which I like because I get pretty
sweaty when I play and lose
traction sometimes. And we're
both using Dean Markley Blue
Steels strings, .011–.052.
Stump: We're looking into thickening the gauge, though, just to give it a little more beef. But right now it's kind of like, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." As far as picks, I don't know why but I can't play on anything except those grippy nylons. I guess I'm just spoiled because I started from day one with them. Anything else just kind of strains my fingers. I like the nylon .88s—they have a little bit of flex, but aren't too flimsy.
Russell Klein's Gear
ESP LTD Deluxe Viper 1000
Peavey JSX head, Peavey 5150
4x12 cab, Mesa/Boogie 4x12 cab
Boss DD-20 Giga Delay
Strings, Picks, and Accessories
Dean Markley Blue Steel .011–
.052 sets, 1.14mm Snarling Dogs
Brain Picks, Mogami cables, Line
6 Relay G50 wireless, DiMarzio
ClipLock straps
Brian Stump's Gear
Eclipse Deluxe
EVH 5150 III head, Mesa/
Boogie Dual Rectifier
head, Marshall JCM900
4x12 cab
Ibanez TS9 Tube
Strings, Picks, and Accessories
Dean Markley Blue Steel
.011–.052 sets, .88mm
Snarling Dogs Brain
Picks, ISP Decimator
noise-reduction pedal,
Boss TU-3 tuner, Monster
cables, Line 6 Relay
G50 wireless, DiMarzio
ClipLock straps
Russell, a lot of shredders like
light-gauge strings to facilitate
speedy lines. Are you still able
to easily shred with the .011s
on top?
Klein: Yeah. A lot of people use
even thicker strings than that.
This is actually a thin gauge for
our style of music. I know a lot
of people use .012–.056.
Judging by some of your
promo videos—where you're
downing a lot of shots—you
guys party pretty hard. How
do you keep it together playing
music this difficult with
alcohol-impaired motor skills?
Klein: We're pretty strict about
not partying before we play, and
we're really good at not doing
too much beforehand. After
we play, we go absolutely nuts,
but beforehand we might do a
drink or two together just to
ease the nerves.
Rule number one for me is: Keep your head straight until after you play. You'll play a better show. Everyone's on the same page about that. We enjoy partying, but we don't want to project that image ... maybe our videos are doing a pretty poor job. We don't want to project an overly party-band image, because a lot of kids come out to our shows and I don't want to be coming up to them smelling like booze, totally trashed, and making an idiot of myself. We do party, but we try to keep it at a level—at least at shows— where it's very controlled.
I've played shows where I've partied a little bit beforehand and I wasn't happy with my performance. We've all done the same thing but, if we're not in the right state of mind, we're just not happy with ourselves—because we're our own worst critics.
YouTube It
Watch Russell Klein and Brian Stump lead Adestria's live aural assault.
Adestria kicks off this August 2011 gig at the
Bottom Lounge in Chicago with a ruckus, maintaining
a totally pro and upbeat performance
despite the stunning lethargy from the small
crowd—which was clearly made up of a lot of
kids waiting for the headlining act.
Klein nails blistering arpeggios starting at 0:30,
just before the vocals begin.
Several songs into the same Bottom Lounge set,
Adestria fi nally breaks through to the shy, reserved
kids in attendance. Singer Matt Anderson
beseeches them all to get moving, and Stump
actually reaches out and pushes a couple of kids
in the front row—prompting a bona fi de mosh.


text:
$11 million X-Wing Kickstarter counters Death Star
These are they funds they're looking for
The Rebel Alliance responded this week to the Empire's efforts to build a Death Star by lobbying to build a squadron of X-Wing fighters.
The saga started this January when the White House officially responded to a petition to fund construction of a fully-operational, moon-sized space station by saying no.
In response, the erstwhile minions of the Emperor (at www.gnut.co.uk) took to Kickstarter in an effort to raise £20,000,000 for the construction of the Death Star, with over £226,000 currently pledged.
To counter, a hero of the Republic (Simon Kwan, product designer) established another Kickstarter campaign to raise $11 million to assemble a precision X-Wing fighter.
Gold leader
One fighter may not be up to the task, the Kickstarter notes, so it has established a reach goal of $4,485,672,683, or the all-time box office total for all of the Star Wars films.
A second stretch goal for the campaign is to raise 13 million Galactic Standard Credits, a form of currency that has been used since a long, long time ago.
With the credits, the Republic hopes to fund "a Class YT-1300 Freighter (heavily modified) and a crew consisting of a Corellian smuggler and a Wookie co-pilot."
Among it's lofty goals (leading a successful uprising against the Empire, etc.), the X-Wing campaign hopes to include iPhone and Siri integration in its designs.
There has been no word yet as to whether or not the X-Wing will be compatible with Android, Blackberry, or Windows Phone, or if those platforms have gone to the Dark Side.
Via CNET
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Most Popular
By Tom Power
By Mike Moore

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Sun is constantly roiling with nuclear heat and intense magnetism that make sunspots, flares, coronal mass ejections, and all sorts of space weather. When directed toward Earth, those solar blasts can disrupt satellite and radio communications, damage our electric-powered tools and toys, and create auroras.
But it is not always easy to know when the Sun is spitting plasma and energy in our direction. This is why NASA launched the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, in October 2006. The twin satellites were sent out along roughly the same orbit around the Sun as the Earth itself. The orbit of STEREO-A (ahead) is slightly closer to the Sun and moving faster than Earth; the STEREO-B (behind) orbit is slightly farther from the Sun and moving a little slower than our planet. The difference in speed creates separation between the satellites and a stereoscopic view of our nearest star.
The images above show the surface of the Sun from two different angles on October 14, 2012. The top image is from STEREO-B and shows a dark vertical stripe on the upper middle face of the Sun. The lower image comes from STEREO-A, which was more than 90 degrees ahead of STEREO-B; that is, somewhat beyond a right angle from that vertical stripe. In the lower image, the vertical stripe instead shows up as a large loop stretching into the solar atmosphere, or corona.
The stripe and the loop are differing views of the same dense mass of electrified gas (plasma) held in place by a magnetic field. When viewed straight on, as in the STEREO-B image, the line of plasma appears darker because it is relatively cooler than the solar surface below. (More of its energy is magnetic than radiant.) Solar scientists call these dark lines "filaments." When viewed from the side, however, the line of plasma looks like a bright loop stretched out against the blackness of space; solar physicists call this a prominence. Essentially, filaments and prominences are the same phenomenon, just viewed from a different perspective.
As of September 1, 2012, STEREO-A and STEREO-B formed an equal-sided triangle together with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which views the Sun from orbit around Earth. This geometry allowed the three craft to provide overlapping views of the entire Sun. It also allows solar physicists to study solar events in three dimensions.
NASA image courtesy of the STEREO science team. Caption by Mike Carlowicz, based on information from Karen Fox and Steele Hill.


text: Teamers, Here is another opportunity for Ada advocacy. (Apologies to those of you who already received previous distributions of the full CfP.) If you know someone doing interesting Ada-related work, please urge them to submit a paper or an extended abstract for Ada-Europe's annual International Conference on Reliable Software Technologies, to be held next year in Vienna, Austria. The deadline for submission of papers, extended abstracts and proposals for tutorials and workshops is October 31. Also note that exhibition space is allocated on a first-come first-serve basis. Thanks for your help in promoting this event and the use of Ada around the world. Dirk Craeynest, Ada-Europe'2002 Publicity Chair -- Dirk Craeynest | Email [log in to unmask] (AE'2002) Offis - Aubay Group | [log in to unmask] (work) | Ada-Belgium Weiveldlaan 41/32 | Phone +32(2)725.40.25 | Ada-Europe B-1930 Zaventem | +32(2)729.97.36 (work) | ACM SIGAda Belgium | Fax +32(2)725.40.12 | Team Ada *** Intl. Conference on Reliable Software Technologies - Ada-Europe'2002 *** June 17-21, 2002, Vienna, Austria *** http://www.ada-europe.org/ *** -- cut here ------- >8 ------- >8 ------- >8 ------- >8 ------- >8 ----- ------------------------------------------------ Call for Papers - Reminder *** SUBMISSION DEADLINE: OCTOBER 31 *** 7th International Conference on Reliable Software Technologies - Ada-Europe'2002 17 - 21 June 2002, Vienna, Austria http://www.ada-europe.org/conference2002.html ------------------------------------------------ Sponsored by Ada-Europe, organized by Technical University Vienna, in cooperation with ACM SIGAda. General Information ------------------- The 7th International Conference on Reliable Software Technologies (Ada-Europe'2002) will take place in the year 2002 in Vienna, Austria. The full conference will comprise a three-day technical program and exhibition from Tuesday to Thursday, and parallel workshops and tutorials on Monday and Friday. For more information, visit the conference Web site at http://www.ada-europe.org/conference2002.html Schedule -------- - 31 October 2001: Submission of papers, extended abstracts and proposals for tutorials and workshops - 10 January 2002: Notification to authors - 10 February 2002: Full papers required for accepted extended abstracts - 10 March 2002: Final papers (camera-ready) required - 17-21 June 2002: Conference Topics ------ The conference will provide an international forum for researchers, developers and users of reliable software technologies. Presentations and discussions will cover applied and theoretical work currently conducted to support the development and maintenance of software systems. Participants will include practitioners and researchers from industry, academia and government. There will be a special session on embedded systems, including the use of Ada in this realm. For papers, tutorials, and workshop proposals, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to: + Embedded Systems (special session). + Management of Software Development and Maintenance: Methods, Techniques and Tools. + Software Quality: Quality Management and Assurance, Risk Analysis, Program Analysis, Verification, Validation, Testing of Software Systems. + Software Development Methods and Techniques: Requirements Engineering, Object-Oriented Technologies, Formal Methods, Software Management Issues, Re-engineering and Reverse Engineering, Reuse. + Software Architectures: Patterns for Software Design and Composition, Frameworks, Architecture-Centered Development, Component and Class Libraries, Component Design. + Tools: CASE Tools, Software Development Environments, Compilers, Browsers, Debuggers. + Kinds of Systems: Real-Time Systems, Distributed Systems, Fault- Tolerant Systems, Information Systems, Safety-Critical and Secure Systems. + Applications in Multimedia and Communications, Manufacturing, Robotics, Avionics, Space, Health Care, Transportation, Industry. + Ada Language and Tools: Programming Techniques, Object-Oriented Programming, New Approaches in Tool Support, Bindings and Libraries, Evaluation and Comparison of Languages, Language Extension Proposals. + Ada Experience Reports: Experience Reports from Projects using Ada, Management Approaches, Metrics, Comparisons with past or parallel Experiences in non-Ada Projects. + Education and Training. + Case Studies and Experiments. Submissions ----------- Authors are invited to submit original contributions. Submissions should be in English. An extended abstract (4-6 pages) or, preferably, the full paper (up to 12 pages) should be sent using the Web submission form. For more information please see the conference Web site: http://www.ada-europe.org/conference2002.html select "Call for Papers" and then "Web Submission Form". To enable publication of the accepted papers before the conference, strict adherence to the dates of the schedule is essential. Authors of extended abstracts must be prepared to submit a full version of their paper before February 10, 2002. Proceedings ----------- The proceedings will be published in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series by Springer, and will be available at the start of the conference. See the LNCS Authors Instructions page ( http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html ). Awards ------ There will be honorary awards for the best paper and the best presentation. See the Ada-Europe Prizes page for previous winners: http://www.ada-europe.org/prizes.html . Call for Tutorials ------------------ A tutorial should address any of the topics of the theme of the conference. A tutorial will last a half or a full day. The proposals should include a title, an abstract, a description of the topic, a detailed outline of the presentation, a description of the presenter's teaching experience in general and with the proposed topic, duration (half day or full day), level of the tutorial (introductory, intermediate, or advanced), expected audience experience and background. Proposals should be submitted by e-mail to the Tutorial Chair Helge Hagenauer, mailto:[log in to unmask] . Full-day tutorial presenters get a free conference registration and receive a fee for every paying participant in excess of 5; for half-day tutorials, the benefits are also "half". Call for Workshops ------------------ Half- and full-day workshops can be held to address timely issues or to initiate a longer term effort on a topic of interest. Proposals should be submitted by e-mail to the Program Co-Chair Alfred Strohmeier, mailto:[log in to unmask] . Exhibition ---------- The conference will be accompanied by a three-day commercial exhibition on June 18, 19 and 20. Vendors of software products and services should contact the Exhibition Chair Thomas Gruber, mailto:[log in to unmask] , at their earliest convenience for further information and to ensure their inclusion. Organization ------------ See full CfP at conference Web site. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 28 Oct 2001, BLIEB/AS/DC, based on 10/A4 + modif.


text: Pick from the hundreds of gorgeous webcam girls and watch them for free at livejasmin. Most of this amateur cam girls are streaming from their homes and are eager to get naked for you. Once you find the perfect girl you can get her in a private show where you can direct the show. Chat for free with the girls below till you find the one that will satisfy all your desires.


text:
Rockin' around the... Halloween tree?
If you just can't wait to put up the Christmas tree, this might be the thing for you.
In the latest craze to arrive from the USA, people here in the UK are starting to put up "Halloween trees', decorated with ghastly and spooky trinkets. And once November's here, we don't suppose there's any point in putting it away before January..


text:
As you probably know already we constantly develop new products.
On the way now i 3 new product lines, you will find a quiet test sale of one of them on allfreightfree.com. This is for a cold sparkling alcohol free drink.
There will be another product line for at hot alcohol free drink, probably in June.
New Absinthes and mini bulk essences for hobby and micro distilleries are other news for 2009 that is already available.
We are working on a complete product line based on a new Swedish invention, cationic food grade polymer. This is water soluble and glue to all material so hard that it even stays under water. Our estimation is that it will stay on a surface for probably over 10 years.
Cationic polymer is a plastic that is positively charged. All bacteria, virus, staphylococcus, sponge, mold, algae, moss etc. are negatively charged. They can not live on a positively charged surface. For example if a swine flu virus hits the surface, it glues to it and dies. Without any poison, from the electrical charging.
We are working to make products for 3 areas:
To protect house, roofs, buildings etc from sponge, algae, moss etc. Protects from all of those and longer that any poison.
To stop Salmonella spread in food industry and restaurants. Spray all surfaces and diseases can not spread from one piece of food to next one placed on the same surface.
To stop disease spread at doctors, hospitals etc. Where many sick people use the same toilets etc. Just spray and wipe clean – replace old Spray cleaner with our product Smittstopp – and a positively charged surface stop all bacteria, virus etc to spread from surface to next human. Use it on tap, door handle, light switch, toilet flush button etc.
Then the Swine Flu arrived
Close to the same day we had Smittstop (the name means Stop Disease Spreading in Swedish) produced the Swine flu started. Sale in Sweden jump started as people sprayed the surgical masks (most of those only give 98% or less protection) and used Smittstopp to prevent spread in toilets etc.
You can order Smittstopp from https://allfreightfree.com/en/smittstopp-37/smittstopp-500-ml-544.html. You can order Smittstopp freight free and we will start ship with English labels the 5th of May 2009.
This is a invention and there is currently no other competing products. We are the producers so there is no middlemen increasing the price. Our production is limited so we can not supply huge quantities to other countries – but we can supply the cationic polymer to any one interested for their own production. We have no problem supplying one or a few at a time directly to end user.
To test function is very easy and cheap using the "test plates" for food hygienic test. Apply Smittstopp in a frequently used toilet on taps, door handle etc. Wait until heavy used, plate sample and send to laboratory and grow. There will be nothing, zero. Even if one take a handle inside a public buss, wait 3 weeks and take a sample – nothing. Any interested importer are urged to this test – result is simply amazing.


text:
A writer on my Facebook feed asked a question of his fellow writers recently: How much of writing success is talent, how much perseverance, how much conscious education in craft? I've thought about this a lot as well, so I'm going to ramble on about it for a bit. "Success" we're going to define here as "The ability to achieve the ends you want to achieve aesthetically for both yourself and a reader"; the elements of publishing/sales success are related, but much less in the writer's control.
First, talent. I actually don't think "talent" as a term is very useful, because what we mean when we talk about "talent" breaks down into a number of constituent elements that are more interesting and helpful to discuss. To wit, I believe "talent" is actually a combination of:
Imagination: The writer is capable of envisioning and creating on paper something new on this earth: a new human being, a new form of magic, a new planet, a new story. Of course this is what most writers do, but writers who are gifted in imagination take that a step beyond, to put together things no one else has thought to join before, and then render those inventions thrillingly real and meaningful: Ursula K. LeGuin with the genderless world of The Left Hand of Darkness, or Shaun Tan's faceless exterminators in one of the nightmare worlds of The Arrival, or Neil Gaiman relocating gods from all around the world to the United States in American Gods, or J. K. Rowling's conception of wands as indicators of personality. Or these gifted writers demonstrate great depth and breadth in what they imagine.... Half of Americanah, by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie, is set in a cramped, fluorescent-lit African hair-braiding shop shown in such well-chosen detail that readers can scent the oils in the air. Or Patrick O'Brian created Stephen Maturin, a short, half-Irish, half-Catalan doctor, naturalist, spy, violin player, Catholic, opium addict, faithful lover, terrible husband, worse housekeeper, excellent friend, awful seaman, who is more real to me than half of my acquaintance, because Mr. O'Brian imagined him that deeply and wonderfully. An original imagination, as with Ms. LeGuin or Mr. Gaiman, will attract readers for the chance to expand our minds beyond the familiar; a deep imagination, as with Ms. Adichie or Mr. O'Brian, will attract readers for the chance to delve farther into what we already know is real. Either way, they offer the pleasure of discovery to readers, who then feel they can confidently come to this writer to see something new.
Observational Skill, leading to Emotional and Philosophical Insight: The writers whom I admire most are ones who are capable of creating human beings whom I believe in as real people, and then using those characters to say something true and maybe new about the real world that is all around us. That requires these writers (1) to have observed human beings carefully, and remembered and thought about what they observed, so they could combine those thoughts with their imaginations, and create characters with the histories and personalities and all-around richness of real people. (That in turn requires writers to have an interest in human beings to start with, and the skill and patience to observe and remember and analyze. Not all people have those qualities.) And (2) the writers must have something to say about our world -- about race, or death, or politics, or war, or how love feels, or the pleasure of hating something. Some of this wisdom can come about through observation, but a lot more arrives via life experience -- especially pain, if you can use it well.
Dramatic Skill: The ability to make observed or imagined creations join together and move on the page in some emotionally compelling action. This usually involves a sense of timing on the writer's part -- knowing just how long to let the lovers stare into each others' faces before a kiss, or how to make a fight scene move at the proper speed. And it involves a sense of what is dramatically compelling to other people: Not just that you have two men sitting on a stage for hours, but giving them something to do or to talk about, even if it's the fact that they aren't going anywhere.
Writing Craft: The ability to put the results of all this imagination and insight down on the page in a manner that clearly communicates those thoughts and feelings to a reader. That simple, and that hard.
All of these things could be inborn, or they could germinate through the years before the writer starts to write, in combination with one other element that isn't exactly talent, but is absolutely essential to a writer's development:
Unconscious Reading: Thirty percent of writing well is getting good prose and story structures into your bloodstream -- or maybe forty or fifty percent, I don't know. The younger you start, the better; the more you read, the better. (I often read submissions with prose that I find just not very good, and I think "This writer hasn't read enough good prose" -- the Writing Craft part of their talent just isn't there yet.) Your reading forms your sense of sentence structure: I spent ages 13-21 more or less living in Jane Austen novels, and as a result of the way her work blossomed in my brain, I am close to incapable of writing a sentence with simple structure and fewer than five words. Your reading also defines your vocabulary, which in turn defines the store of words available to you to convey whatever you want to say. The content of what you read then determines what defines a good story for you -- whether it's giant wham-pow fights or witty banter or two characters having long philosophical dialogues. That often becomes the kind of story you will end up writing in fiction, because that is what makes you happy as a reader. Or it becomes what you react against, as you see a story created by someone else, and you want to tell it your way, or just better.
Your reading combines with all of the elements of talent identified above, especially dramatic skill and writing craft, to form the base level at which you work, the moment you decide to sit down in front of a blank page. And then you have to:
Practice: So. Much. Practice. "I know what I think when I see what I say," E. M. Forster said, and a writer's unique personality and the range of their abilities can emerge only through doing a lot of saying -- writing, and writing, and writing, and then revising, revising, revising. Practice is the only thing that can help you close the Taste Gap, as Ira Glass calls it: "Do a huge volume of work." It helps you develop confidence, as you see what you're good at and figure out how to fix the issues that come up in the Taste Gap. That confidence then frees you up to take risks and try new things. It doesn't matter how much talent you have, if all the skill and wisdom and imagination of Jhumpa Lahiri and Katherine Paterson and Ray Bradbury flows in your veins: You will never become a good writer without practice and then more practice.
Let's say you have talent and you're practicing regularly in order to get better. The following things can then help you improve and/or increase your odds of writerly success as well:
Conscious Reading: Separate from the Unconscious Reading above: This is the reading you do to study the techniques other writers use to achieve their effects. You can then imitate or steal those effects for your own ends. When I wrote "So. Much. Practice." above, I was stealing an effect I have seen in many, many places -- mostly online, but I think it's shown up in printed work as well -- where those ultra-short sentences (hey, fewer than five words!) give the point about the necessity of practice extra weight by virtue of their brevity. Studying books about writing and storycraft (like my own Second Sight) would also fall into this category.
Cultivating a Process: Write longhand first, then dictate that writing into a computer. Type 50,000 words in thirty days. Create a detailed outline of each scene and plot point, then flesh it out in prose. Be Anthony freaking Trollope and write precisely 250 words every fifteen minutes from 5:30 to 8:30 in the morning. Post all your writing on the Internet and get feedback from anonymous commenters. Never let any civilians see a word until your editor has reviewed the entire novel and approved of it. It doesn't matter what you do, and there is no wrong way to do it. Just find a writing and revising process that helps you do your best work.
Choosing the Right Material: In the fall of 1815, Jane Austen entered into a correspondence with James Stanier Clarke, a cleric who served as domestic chaplain and librarian to the Prince Regent of England. Mr. Clarke suggested several ideas for possible future novels Miss Austen might write, and she turned them down in a wise letter dated April 1, 1816:
You are very, very kind in your hints as to the sort of composition which might recommend me at present, and I am fully sensible that an historical romance, founded on the House of Saxe Coburg, might be much more to the purpose of profit or popularity than such pictures of domestic life in country villages as I deal in -- but I could no more write a romance than an epic poem. I could not sit seriously down to write a serious romance under any other motive than to save my life, and if it were indispensable for me to keep it up and never relax into laughing at myself or other people, I am sure I should be hung before I had finished the first chapter. No, I must keep to my own style and go on in my own way, and though I may never succeed again in that, I am convinced that I should totally fail in any other.I love this letter partly for the personalities that shine through for both parties -- Mr. Clarke clearly thinking no writer could want anything more in life than to recommend themselves to the Prince Regent; Miss Austen clearly thinking how much he resembles her own Mr. Collins. But I love it more because it is such a wonderful example of writerly common sense and self-knowledge: She knows what her personal fictional strengths and limitations are, and what she enjoys writing in general, and she chooses to work within those boundaries. Or put another way, she knows what her fictional values are -- laughter and real people in country villages, not the highfalutin' pretentiousness of the serious romances of the time -- and she writes within and to satisfy those values. The result is six of the most enjoyable and wise novels in the English language, and I think I speak for most Austen fans in saying we are immensely grateful to have her Persuasion (the novel she wrote after this exchange) in place of any historical romance about the House of Saxe-Coburg.
So what is the right material for your personal fictional values and range of practice, your strengths and limitations? What will you enjoy writing, and what are you good at writing? Finding a subject matter and style that brings all of that in line will vastly increase your odds of being successful as a writer -- especially if it's also material that uses the element of talent at which you're strongest to its utmost. (Jane Austen had a deep imagination, but perhaps not a hugely original one; enough dramatic skill to tell the domestic-village stories she wanted to tell, and then observational skill and insight out the wazoo. And then all of her teens and twenties were spent in reading and practice, most of it thoroughly delightful.)
Cultivating a Purpose: Why do you write? This is very useful to know, because it is what will keep you going, especially in finishing something: the need to see a story completed, or get paid, or receive other people's praise, or teach others a lesson, or make some noise, or think out loud. (The latter is mostly why I write, and why I write at such length; once I start getting my thoughts out through my fingers, I feel vaguely unsatisfied until those thoughts are out in full.)
Finding Congenial Sources of Feedback: People who understand what you're trying to do, and can tell you where you succeed and where you're falling short. Essential for course corrections when you lose sight of what you're trying to achieve, feedback for knowing whether you're getting there, and emotional support all around.
If you have talent of some kind and then all of the above working together, then the last thing you need is:
Perseverance: Sheer cussedness, frankly, to stick with the practice and the submissions, the slowness and the unfairness, the damned taste gap and the jealousy, the reviews that don't get it and the reviews that do and then correctly identify the places you failed (which are even worse). The lovely moments in writing are truly lovely, when you nail that thought down in words, when you change a reader's way of thinking and they write to tell you so. You need perseverance to pull you over the many moments in between.
Writers, readers, reviewers: Is there anything I'm missing here? What else do you think is necessary for becoming a great writer?


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Request to Amend Accountability Plan – South Dakota – NCLB Policy Letters to States
July 15, 2008
The Honorable Rick Melmer
Secretary of Education
South Dakota Department of Education
700 Governors Drive
Pierre, South Dakota 57501-2291
Dear Secretary Melmer:
I am writing in response to South Dakota's request to amend its state accountability plan under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Following discussions between the Department and your staff, you made certain changes to South Dakota's accountability plan, which are now included in the amended state accountability plan that South Dakota submitted to the Department on May 27, 2008. I am pleased to approve South Dakota's amended plan, which we will post on the Department's website. A summary of South Dakota's requested amendments is enclosed with this letter. As you know, any further requests to amend South Dakota's accountability plan must be submitted to the Department for review and approval as required by section 1111(f)(2) of Title I of the ESEA.
Please also be aware that approval of South Dakota's accountability plan for Title I, including the amendments approved herein, does not indicate that the plan complies with Federal civil rights requirements, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
I am confident that South Dakota will continue to advance its efforts to hold schools and school districts accountable for the achievement of all students. If you need any additional assistance to implement the standards, assessment, and accountability provisions of NCLB, please do not hesitate to contact Martha Snyder (email@example.com) or David Harmon (email@example.com) of my staff.
Kerri L. Briggs, Ph.D.
cc: Governor Mike Rounds
Diane Lowery
Amendments to South Dakota's Accountability Plan
The following is a summary of South Dakota's amendment requests. Please refer to the Department's website (www.ed.govhttps://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html) for South Dakota's complete accountability plan.
Acceptable amendments
The following amendments are aligned with the statute and regulations.
Reporting on teacher qualifications (Element 1.5)
Revision: Through this technical amendment, South Dakota clarifies that it will include the professional qualifications of teachers in the State and in the districts on the annual State Report Card. Additionally, the report card will also include state-level and district-level information on the percentage of teachers teaching with emergency or provisional credentials, and the percentage of classes in the state and districts not taught by highly qualified teachers, in the aggregate and disaggregated by high-poverty compared to low-poverty schools, which (for this purpose) means schools in the top quartile of poverty and the bottom quartile of poverty in the state and districts. This information will also be included on the annual local educational agency report cards of local educational agencies within the state that receive Title I funds.
Rewards and sanctions (Element 1.6)
Revision: Through this amendment, South Dakota raises the targets that schools and districts must attain in order to be considered distinguished schools and districts. This amendment provides that only student groups meeting the minimum subgroup size of 10 students will be considered in determining whether a school has significantly closed the achievement gap between disaggregated groups of students and should be recognized as a distinguished school.
Including all students (Element 2.1)
Revision: South Dakota clarifies its workbook to specify which district is responsible for students placed out of district for instruction. In particular, this amendment clarifies that, when a student has been assigned out of district and is enrolled in a South Dakota school operated to serve the special needs of a student (e.g., special education or alternative programs), the student will be counted in his or her district of residence for accountability purposes.
Full academic year (Element 2.2)
Revision: For accountability purposes, a student in South Dakota is enrolled for a full academic year (FAY) if the student is continuously enrolled from October 1 through the last day of the testing window. This amendment modifies the FAY definition for students with disabilities to reflect the December 1 child count date for students with disabilities. The FAY definition for students with disabilities is amended such that a student in the students with disabilities subgroup is enrolled for a full academic year if the student is enrolled from December 1 through the last day of the testing window.
Making AYP determinations (Element 3.2)
Revision: South Dakota amends its workbook to reflect new programming for averaging AYP. South Dakota states that, under its uniform averaging procedure, two-year averaging will not be run unless a student group is equal to or greater than 10 across two consecutive years. In cases where there are 10 or more students in the current year, but not the previous year, only the current year's data will be used to determine AYP.
Including students with disabilities in AYP determinations (Element 5.3)
Revision: In accordance with 34 C.F.R. § 200.20(f)(2)(i)(B), South Dakota will include former students with disabilities as part of the students with disabilities subgroup for two years when determining AYP. A student whose Individualized Education Plan (IEP) has been terminated by the December 1 child count date will be considered a former student with disabilities. A former student with disabilities will be included AYP determinations for the students with disabilities subgroup for a maximum of two test administrations.
Graduation rate (Element 7.1)
Revision: Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, South Dakota will implement a graduation rate that is consistent with the compact created by the National Governors Association. South Dakota amends its workbook to state, "South Dakota intends to implement graduation rate calculations according to the formula promoted by the National Governors Association (NGA) effective the 2008-2009 school year."


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Homily XLVII.
"Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have not eternal13151315 "no life," N.T. life in yourselves. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath life13161316 "eternal life," N.T. in himself."
[1.] When we converse of spiritual things, let there be nothing secular in our souls, nothing earthy, let all such thoughts retire, and be banished, and let us13171317 al. "but having renounced all these things, and having banished all these things from our minds, let us," &c. be entirely given up to the hearing the divine oracles only. For if at the arrival of a king13181318 Ben. adds, "in a city." all confusion is driven away, much more when the Spirit speaketh with us do we need13191319 al. "we must needs hear with." great stillness, great awe. And worthy of awe is that which is said to-day. How it is so, hear. "Verily I say unto you, Except a man eat My flesh, and drink My blood, he hath not eternal life in him." Since the Jews had before asserted that this was impossible, He showeth not only that it is not impossible, but that it is absolutely necessary. Wherefore He addeth, "He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life."
"And I will raise him up at the last day." For since He had said, "He that eateth of this bread shall not die for ever" ( ver. 50 , not verbally quoted), and it was likely that this would stand in their way, (just as they before said, "Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and how sayest Thou, that he shall not taste of death?"— c. viii. 52 , not verbally quoted.) He bringeth forward the Resurrection to solve the question, and to show that (the man who eateth) shall not die at the last.13201320 εἰς τέλος He continually handleth the subject of the Mysteries, showing the necessity of the action, and that it must by all means be done.
Ver. 55. "For My flesh is true13211321 "truly," N.T. meat, and My blood is true drink."
What is that He saith?13221322 al. "but what is the, ' is true meat ' ?" &c. He either desireth to declare that this is the true meat which saveth the soul, or to assure them concerning what had been said, that they might not suppose the words to be a mere enigma or parable, but might know that it is by all means needful to eat the Body. Then He saith,
Ver. 56. "He that eateth My flesh, dwelleth in Me."
This He said, showing that such an one is blended with13231323 ἀ νακιρνᾶται Him. Now what follows seems unconnected, unless we enquire into the sense; for, saith some one, after saying, "He that eateth My flesh, dwelleth in Me," what kind of a consequence is it to add,
Ver. 57. "As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father"?
Yet the words harmonize perfectly. For since He continually spake of "eternal life," to prove this point He introduceth the expression, "dwelleth in Me"; for "if he dwelleth in Me, and I live, it is plain that he will live also." Then He saith, "As the living Father hath sent Me." This is an expression of comparison and resemblance, and its meaning is of this kind, "I live in like manner as the Father liveth." And that thou mayest not deem Him unbegotten, He immediately subjoineth, "by the Father," not by this to show that He needeth, in order to live, any power working in Him,13241324 ἐ νεργείας for He said before, to remove such a suspicion, "As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son also to have life in Himself"; now if He needeth the working of another, it will be found that either the Father hath not given Him so to have it, and so the assertion is false, or if He hath so given it, then He will need no other one to support Him. What then means the, "By the Father"? He here merely hinteth at the cause, and what He saith is of this kind: "As the Father liveth, so I live, and he that eateth Me shall live by Me." And the "life" of which He speaketh is not life merely, but the excellent13251325 εὐδόκιμον life; for that He spake not simply of life, but of that glorious and ineffable life, is clear from this. For all men "live," even unbelievers, and uninitiated, who eat not of that flesh. Seest thou that the words relate not to this life, but to that other? And what He saith is of this kind: "He that eateth My flesh, when he dieth shall not perish nor suffer punishment"; He spake not of the general resurrection, (for all alike rise again,) but concerning the special, the glorious Resurrection, that which hath a reward.
Ver. 58. "This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever."
Continually doth He handle the same point, so as to imprint it on the understanding of the hearers, (for the teaching on these points was a 167 kind of final teaching,) and to confirm the doctrine of the Resurrection and of eternal life. Wherefore He mentioneth the Resurrection since He promiseth eternal life, showing that that life is not now, but after the Resurrection.13261326 Ben. "both because He had said eternal life, and also showing." "And whence," saith some one, "are these things clear?" From the Scriptures; to them He everywhere referreth the Jews, bidding them learn these things from them. And by saying, "Which giveth life to the world," He inciteth them to jealousy, that from very vexation that others should enjoy the gift, they may not stay without. And continually He remindeth them of the manna, showing the difference, (between it and His bread,) and guiding them to the faith; for if He was able13271327 al. "it was possible." to support their life for forty years without harvest, or corn, or other things in course;13281328 ἀ κολουθίας much more now will He be able to do so, as having come for greater ends. Moreover, if those things were but types, and yet men collected what came down without sweat or labor; much more shall this be the case, where the difference is great both in the never dying, and in the enjoying the true life. And rightly hath He spoken often of "life," since this is desired by men, and nothing is so pleasing to them as not to die. Since even under the old Covenant, this was the promise, length of life and many days, but now it is not length merely, but life having no end. He desireth at the same time to show, that He now revoketh the punishment caused by sin, annulling that sentence which condemneth to death, and bringing in not life merely, but life eternal, contrariwise to the former things.13291329 or, "those before."
Ver. 59. "These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum."
[2.] The place where most of His marvels had been done, so that He ought there especially to have been listened to. But wherefore taught He in the synagogue and in the Temple? As well because He desired to catch the greatest number of them, as because He desired to show that He was not opposed to the Father.
Ver. 60. "But many of the disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is a hard saying."
What means "hard"? Rough, laborious, troublesome. Yet He said nothing of this kind, for He spake not of a mode of life,13301330 πολιτείας but of doctrines, continually handling the faith which is in Him. What then means, "is a hard saying"? Is it because it promiseth life and resurrection? Is it because He said that He came down from heaven? Or that it was impossible for one to be saved who ate not His flesh? Tell me, are these things "hard"? Who can assert that they are? What then means "hard"? It means, "difficult to be received," "transcending their infirmity," "having much terror." For they thought that He uttered words too high for His real character, and such as were above Himself. Therefore they said,
"Who can hear it?"
Perhaps making excuse for themselves, since they were about to start away.
Ver. 61, 62. "When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it," (for this is an attribute of His Godhead to bring secret things to light,) "He said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see13311331 ἴ δητε θεωρῆτε, G. T. the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?"
This also He doth in the case of Nathanael, saying, "Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these." ( c. i. 50.) And to Nicodemus, "No man hath ascended up to heaven but the Son of man which is in heaven." ( c. iii. 13.) What then, doth He add difficulties to difficulties? No, (that be far from Him,) but by the greatness of the doctrines, and the number of them, He desireth to bring them over. For if one had said simply, "I have come down from heaven," and added nothing more, he would have been the more likely to offend them; but He who said, "My body is the life of the world"; He who said, "As the living Father hath sent Me, so I live by the Father"; and who said, "I have come down from heaven," solves the difficulty. For the man who utters any one great thing concerning himself may perhaps be suspected of feigning, but he who connects together so many one after another removes all suspicion. All that He doth and saith is intended to lead them away from the thought, that Joseph was His father. And it was not with a wish to strengthen, but rather to do away that stumbling-block, that He said this. For whosoever deemed that He was Joseph's son could not receive His sayings, while one that was persuaded that He had come down from heaven, and would ascend thither, might more easily give heed to His words: at the same time He bringeth forward also another explanation, saying,
Ver. 63. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing."
His meaning is, "Ye must hear spiritually what relateth to Me, for he who heareth carnally is not profited, nor gathereth any advantage." It was carnal to question how He came down from heaven, to deem that He was the son of Joseph, to ask, "How can he give us His flesh to eat?" All this was carnal, when they ought to have understood the matter in a mystical and 168 spiritual sense. "But," saith some one, "how could they understand what the 'eating flesh' might mean?" Then it was their duty to wait for the proper time and enquire, and not to abandon Him.
"The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."
That is, they are divine and spiritual, have nothing carnal about them, are not subject to the laws of physical consequence, but are free from any such necessity, are even set above the laws appointed for this world, and have also another and a different meaning. Now as in this passage He said "spirit," instead of "spiritual," so when He speaketh of "flesh," He meant not "carnal things," but "carnally hearing," and alluding at the same time to them, because they ever desired carnal things when they ought to have desired spiritual. For if a man receives them carnally, he profits nothing. "What then, is not His flesh, flesh?" Most certainly. "How then saith He, that the flesh profiteth nothing?" He speaketh not of His own flesh, (God forbid!) but of those who received His words in a carnal manner. But what is "understanding carnally"? It is looking merely to what is before our eyes, without imagining anything beyond. This is understanding carnally. But we must not judge thus by sight, but must look into all mysteries with the eyes within. This is seeing spiritually. He that eateth not His flesh, and drinketh not His blood, hath no life in him. How then doth "the flesh profit nothing," if without it we cannot live? Seest thou that the words, "the flesh profiteth nothing," are spoken not of His own flesh, but of carnal hearing?
Ver. 64. "But there are some of you that believe not."
Again, according to His custom, He addeth weight to His words, by foretelling what would come to pass, and by showing that He spake thus not from desire of honor from them, but because He cared for them. And when He said "some," He excepted the disciples. For at first He said, "Ye have both seen Me, and believe not" ( ver. 36 ); but here, "There are some of you that believe not."
For He "knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him."
Ver. 65. "And He said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me except it were given unto Him from above from My Father."
[3.] Here the Evangelist intimates to us the voluntary character of the Dispensation, and His endurance of evil. Nor is the, "from the beginning," put here without a cause, but that thou mayest be aware of His foreknowledge from the first, and that before the words were uttered, and not after the men had murmured nor after they had been offended, He knew the traitor, but before, which was an attribute of Godhead. Then He added, "Except it be given him from above from My Father"; thus persuading them to deem God His Father, not Joseph, and showing them that it is no common thing to believe in Him. As though He had said, "Unbelievers disturb Me not; trouble Me not, astonish Me not. I know of old before they were created, I know to whom the Father hath given to believe;" and do thou, when thou hearest that "He hath given," imagine not merely an arbitrary distribution,13321332 ἀ ποκλήρωσιν but that if any hath rendered himself worthy to receive the gift, he hath received it.
Ver. 66. "From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him."
Rightly hath the Evangelist said, not that they "departed," but that they "went back"; showing that they cut themselves off from any increase in virtue, and that by separating themselves they lost the faith which they had of old. But this was not the case with the twelve; wherefore He saith to them,
Ver. 67. "Will ye also go away?"
Again showing that He needeth not their ministry and service, and proving to them that it was not for this that He led them about with Him. For how could He when He used such expressions even to them? But why did He not praise them? why did He not approve them? Both because He preserved the dignity befitting a teacher, and also to show them that they ought rather to be attracted by this mode of dealing. For had He praised them, they might, supposing that they were doing Him a favor, have had some human feeling; but by showing them that He needed not their attendance, He kept them to Him the more. And observe with what prudence He spake. He said not, "Depart ye," (this would have been to thrust them from Him,) but asked them a question, "Will ye also go away?" the expression of one who would remove all force or compulsion, and who wished not that they should be attached to Him through any sense of shame, but with a sense of favor. By not openly accusing, but gently glancing at them, He showeth what is the truly wise course under such circumstances. But we feel differently; with good reason, since we do everything holding fast our own honor, and therefore think that our estate is lowered by the departure of those who attend on us. But He neither flattered nor repulsed them, but asked them a question. Now this was 169 not the act of one despising them, but of one wishing them not to be restrained by force and compulsion: for to remain on such terms is the same as to depart. What then saith Peter?
Ver. 68, 69. "To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Seest thou that it was not the words that caused offense, but the heedlessness, and sloth, and wrong-mindedness of the hearers? For even had He not spoken, they would have been offended, and would not have ceased to be ever anxious about bodily food, ever nailed to earth. Besides, the disciples heard at the same time with the others, yet they declared an opinion contrary to theirs, saying, "To whom shall we go?" An expression indicating much affection, for it shows that their Teacher13331333 al. "Christ." was more precious to them than anything, than father or mother, or any possessions,13341334 or, "anything that is." and that if they withdrew from Him, they had not then whither to flee. Then lest it should seem that he had said, "to whom shall we go?" because there were none that would receive them, he straightway added, "Thou hast the words of eternal life." For the Jews listened carnally, and with human reasonings, but the disciples spiritually, and committing all to faith. Wherefore Christ said, "The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit"; that is, "do not suppose that the teaching of My words is subject to the rule of material consequences, or to the necessity of created things. Things spiritual are not of this nature, nor endure to submit to the laws of earth." This also Paul declareth, saying, "Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down;) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.") ( Rom. x. 6, 7.)
"Thou hast the words of eternal life." These men already admitted the Resurrection, and all the apportionment13351335 or, "rest," ληξιν which shall be there. And observe the brotherly and affectionate man, how he maketh answer for all the band. For he said not, "I know," but, "We know." Or rather, observe how he goes to the very words of his Teacher, not speaking as did the Jews. They said, "This is the son of Joseph"; but he said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God"; and "Thou hast the words of eternal life"; having perhaps heard Him say,13361336 al. "often say." "He that believeth on Me13371337 "Him (the Son)," N.T. hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." For he showed that he retained all that had been said, by recalling the very words. What then did Christ? He neither praised nor expressed admiration of Peter, though He had elsewhere done so; but what saith He?
Ver. 70. "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?"
For since Peter said, "We believe," Jesus excepteth Judas from the band. In the other place Peter made no mention of the disciples; but when Christ said, "Whom say ye that I am?" he replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" ( Matt. xvi. 15 ); but here, since he said, "We believe," Christ with reason admitteth not Judas into that band. And this He did afar off, and long before the time, to check the wickedness of the traitor, knowing that He should avail nothing, yet doing His own part.
[4.] And remark His wisdom. He made not the traitor manifest, yet allowed him not to be hidden; that on the one hand he might not lose all shame, and become more contentious; and on the other, that he might not, thinking to be unperceived, work his wicked deed without fear. Therefore by degrees He bringeth plainer reproofs against him. First, He numbered him too among the others, when He said, "There are some of you that believe not," (for that He counted the traitor the Evangelist hath declared, saying, "For He knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him;") but when he yet remained such, He brought against him a more severe rebuke, "One of you is a devil," yet made the fear common to them all, wishing to conceal him. And here it is worth while to enquire, why the disciples at this time said nothing, but afterwards were afraid and doubted, looking one upon another, and asking, "Lord, is it I?" ( Matt. xxvi. 22 ), when Peter beckoned to John to find out the traitor, by enquiring of their Teacher which was he. What is13381338 al. "Is not this." the reason? Peter had not yet heard, "Get thee behind me, Satan," wherefore he had no fear at all; but when he had been rebuked, and though he spoke through strong affection,13391339 διαθεσεως instead of being approved of, had even been called "Satan," he afterwards with reason feared when he heard, "One of you shall betray Me." Besides, He saith not even now, "One of you shall betray Me," but, "One of you is a devil"; wherefore they understood not what was spoken, but thought that He was only reflecting upon their wickedness.
But wherefore said He, "I have chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil"? It was to show that His teaching was entirely free from flattery. For that they might not think that He would flatter them, because when all had left Him they alone remained, and confessed by Peter that He was the Christ, He leadeth them 170 away from such a suspicion. And what He saith is of this kind. "Nothing abasheth Me from rebuking the bad; think not that because ye have remained I shall choose to flatter you, or that because ye have followed Me I shall not rebuke the wicked. For neither doth another circumstance abash Me, which is much more powerful than this to abash a teacher. For he that remaineth affordeth a proof of his affection, while one that hath been chosen by a teacher, being rejected, attacheth to him a character for folly among senseless persons. Still neither doth this cause Me to refrain from My reproofs." This at least even now the heathen frigidly and senselessly urge against Christ. For God is not wont to make men good by compulsion and force, neither is His election and choice compulsory on those who are called,13401340 al. "for what is to come." but persuasive.13411341 προτρεπτικὴ And that thou mayest learn that the calling compelleth not, consider how many of these who have been called have come to perdition, so that it is clear that it lieth in our own will13421342 γνώμῃ also to be saved, or to perish.
[5.] Hearing therefore these things, learn we always to be sober and to watch. For if when he who was reckoned among that holy band, who had enjoyed so great a gift, who had wrought miracles, (for he too was with the others who were sent to raise the dead and to heal lepers,) if when he was seized by the dreadful disease of covetousness, and betrayed his Master, neither the favors, nor the gifts, nor the being with Christ, nor the attendance on Him, nor the washing the feet, nor the sharing His table, nor the bearing the bag, availed him, if these things rather served to help on13431343 ἐ φόδια γέγονε his punishment, let us also fear lest we ever through covetousness imitate Judas. Thou betrayest not Christ. But when thou neglectest the poor man wasting with hunger, or perishing with cold, that man draws upon thee the same condemnation.13441344 al. "vengeance." When we partake of the Mysteries unworthily, we perish equally with the Christ-slayers. When we plunder, when we oppress13451345 lit. "throttle." those weaker than ourselves, we shall draw down upon us severest punishment. And with reason; for how long shall the love of things present so occupy us, superfluous as they are and unprofitable? since wealth consists in superfluities, in which no advantage is. How long shall we be nailed to vanities? How long shall we not look through and away into heaven, not be sober, not be satiated with these fleeting things of earth, not learn by experience their worthlessness? Let us think of those who before us have been wealthy; are not all those things a dream? are they not a shadow, a flower? are they not a stream which floweth by? a story and a tale? Such a man has been rich, and where now is his wealth? It has gone, has perished, but the sins done by reason of it stay by him, and the punishment which is because of the sins. Yea, surely if there were no punishment, if no kingdom were set before us, it were a duty to show regard for those of like descent and family, to respect those who have like feelings with ourselves. But now we feed dogs, and many of us wild asses, and bears, and different beasts, while we care not for a man perishing with hunger; and a thing alien to us is more valued than that which is of our kin, and our own family less honored than creatures which are not so, nor related to us.
Is it a fine thing to build one's self splendid houses, to have many servants, to lie and gaze at a gilded roof? Why then, assuredly, it is superfluous and unprofitable. For other buildings there are, far brighter and more majestic than these; on such we must gladden our eyes, for there is none to hinder us. Wilt thou see the fairest of roofs? At eventide look upon the starred heaven. "But," saith some one, "this roof is not mine." Yet in truth this is more thine than that other. For thee it was made, and is common to thee and to thy brethren; the other is not thine, but theirs who after thy death inherit it. The one may do thee the greatest service, guiding thee by its beauty to its Creator; the other the greatest harm, becoming thy greatest accuser at the Day of Judgment, inasmuch as it is covered with gold, while Christ hath not even needful raiment. Let us not, I entreat you, be subject to such folly, let us not pursue things which flee away, and flee those which endure; let us not betray our own salvation, but hold fast to our hope of what shall be hereafter; the aged, as certainly knowing that but a little space of life is left us; the young, as well persuaded that what is left is not much. For that day cometh so as a thief in the night. Knowing this, let wives exhort their husbands, and husbands admonish their wives; let us teach youths and maidens, and all instruct one another, to care not for present things, but to desire those which are to come, that we may be able also to obtain them; through the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom and with whom, to the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory, now and ever and world without end. Amen.
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"We've got a better way than fight or flight! We've got the power rooted in what's right. Tuned to channel insight Flashing inner light - We're the rad dudes with the dyna-kinda might"
Let your Mouse roll on over and sniff out the wisdom of the BULLYPROOF Shields
FutureWAVE surveyed the field of conflict resolution, condensed the various concepts into ten key "shields" and developed them into a simple easy-to-remember acronym: BULLYPROOF. We made each letter stand for an animal character demonstrating a more powerful tool than violence. Then we developed BULLYPROOF SHIELD puppet shows and plays to make learning those ten steps easy, fun and entertaining.
"Whenever I got mad, all my years of conflict-resolution training went right out the window. Now I use BULLYPROOF to anchor my training. I think, "B" – How can I Bust out of this conflict and come at it another way? 'U' – Am I Understanding what's going on inside this person? 'L' Am I doing reflective Listening? …etc. By the time I get to "F" my Fear and anger are gone and I'm able to handle the situation rationally. It's a great check list for empowerment."
-- Diane LeResche, 1st Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason U.
Our BULLYPROOF acronym is a checklist for handing conflicts. However, frequently bullying is not about conflicts, anger or disagreements. Rather, it can be a pattern of dominance, contempt and disdain by the bully, directed at those perceived as weak or unassertive.
Therefore we also offer STAND and recommend our Bullyproof SKILLS be used as one part of broader program of creating a "caring community" a safe school environment in which the bystanders stand up and say no to bullying behavior. See LINKS for additional resources.


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San Francisco is a great city for many reasons, and one of them is that our city dump has an artist residency program. That's right, they invite a couple artists at a time to rummage through our trash and make art from it. In fact, artists are only allowed to use materials they find at the dump to create the show, and they have 3 months to do so (photos from last reception).
Our buddy Ferris Plock has just began his art dump residency and will be blogging as he creates his show opening January 21st. This is his first blogging installment.