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|Don't ask me if I'm sure! This is hard enough...
|It's not you, it's me! Ok, it's you. Ok ok, perhaps we both are to blame.
|1, 2, 3, 4 or 5? That is really the question.
I've notified my guild that I will take a break from the game from the middle of April, for an unknown amount of time. I really can't tell if it will be a week, a month or a couple of months. My hope is that a break from WoW, from WoW-news, and perhaps most important; from opinions about WoW, will purify my relationship with the game. I'm hoping that my return to this amazing world will be magical. I've been a loyal fangirl the last 6,5 years, and to be perfectly honest, I prefer that role SO MUCH over the cynical annoyed consumer-person I've been developing into this last month. If New Draenor is half as good as Pandaria, and I'm certain it will be, I will be hooked again!
That is, if I'm not one of those that disappear... ;-)
Take care so long!
Hugs, Lae

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Donate your Desktop wallpaper for charity with the simple application Donate Your Desktop.
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When we flew to California in 2012, I couldn't find much online about packing and traveling with a tube-feeder, wheel-chair user, etc. Eli did great on our flight, makes him sleepy actually. So, our trip to see my Great Aunt Wilma in the Napa Valley was a great success!
I had the opportunity earlier this year to write an article for our local children's magazine, called PlayDate, about traveling with a child with disabilities. Here is a link to my article:
May 28, 2013
Traveling with Disabled and Special Needs Children
One thing that I didn't mention in my article was the wheelchair the airline offers for those who can transfer out of their wheelchair. They will put you on this little skinny thing, and load you on the plane. This wheelchair is small enough to fit down the center aisle of the plane, so you can then transfer into the airplane seat. (I got in trouble for taking this picture! So, I gotta share it!)
Eli is not able to sit in a regular airplane seat, so we had to take his carseat.
You totally break a sweat getting the thing into the plane, belted in, going back out, getting your kid, carrying them up the stairs and into the plane (we have to do that on Horizon Air), and then buckle them into the chair in the tightest space you can imagine, while everyone else is trying to board and wondering why you are taking so long! Stressful! The flight attendants were WONDERFUL and our time in the air went by quick as Eli loved to nap while flying. They didn't have any problems with Eli using his electronics!
Finally - to make our trip a little easier, I bought this "Roll n Go" to haul the car seat through the airports. Looks like they are no longer available through the One Step Ahead catalog. Bummer!
Hope you enjoyed my article, and if you have more questions, feel free to comment on this post and I'll get back to you! Happy traveling!
I have a couple older articles I wrote for them, too. Mostly about my journey raising Eli.
March 15, 2013
This is My Life....and Our Life!
November 24, 2010
The Book of MY Eli
It's been an honor being a contributor to PlayDate, and having the opportunity to spread awareness for children with disabilities!


text: Fourteen Mississippi State University staff members are new participants in the university's 2011 Learning Experience for Aspiring Professionals program. Formerly known as the Staff Leadership Program, LEAP's goals and purpose include the advancement of knowledge, enhancement of leadership skills, and direct practical work application for selected employees. Chosen through a competitive nomination and selection process, this year's group includes: Brandy ...Read More »


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Tech's "sharing economy" movement has spawned companies like Airbnb and Relay Rides, which let people save and make money via exchanges for things like spare bedrooms and car trips.
Now a new slew of startups is using the model to match consumers with professional services for less.
YourMechanic, for instance, has a mobile network of certified auto mechanics who will come to your home or office; Pathjoy promises "maid service for the masses," booked online. Similar exchanges are popping up for chefs (Kitchit) and barbers (GoHaircut).
Backers say the new breed of mobile services isn't just more convenient and cheaper for users; it's also a way for craftspeople to find steady employment in an uneven economy.
"Most stylists are looking for part-time work to supplement their income," said GoHaircut CEO Tom Maxim, who hit on the idea while at a New York startup that was trying to take on Skype. Locked into long hours at his desk, Maxim asked if his barber would make house calls; soon Maxim's co-workers were doing the same, and he moved to Silicon Valley to turn his idea into a company.
San Jose, Calif.-based GoHaircut, launched in October, contracts with a half dozen stylists who will drive to a customer's home or office, lay down a mat and start snipping.
"The convenience factor goes without saying," said Sahil Jain, who recently began using GoHaircut for himself and his three employees at San Francisco advertising startup AdStage.
"And $30 per head for haircuts that typically can be upward of $100 just can't be beat."
As with most of its peers in other come-to-you markets, GoHaircut lets customers pay directly on its website, so no money changes hands once the professional shows up.
Abhas "Art" Agrawal, CEO of Mountain View, Calif.-based YourMechanic, first began experimenting with online labor marketplaces 5 years ago, when he launched a site to help hospitals find temporary nurses. When that flopped amid the 2008 recession, Agrawal decided to open a car repair shop.
But while interviewing mechanics, he learned that many of them offered mobile repair through outlets like Craigslist – and realized he could combine two business models into one.
"The problem is, you don't know who these guys on Craigslist are," he said. "You don't know how much it should cost. The whole experience felt broken."
YourMechanic, which made its debut in September, has compiled a database of automobile part and labor prices. So if the owner of a 2000 Honda Civic needs brake pads, the app can calculate what the job would cost, taking into account how far the mechanic needs to drive, then ship the parts from a wholesaler.
Agrawal said his company — whose investors include actor Ashton Kutcher and venture capital firms SoftTech and Andreessen Horowitz — works with about a dozen certified mechanics who cover roughly half the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ashu Desai, who met Agrawal while both were going through the Y Combinator tech incubator, recently bought a used BMW and hired a YourMechanic grease monkey to replace his drive belts and brakes and flush his power steering and fuel injection systems.
"The service cost me $1,050, as opposed to nearly $3,000 at the BMW dealership," said Desai, CEO of a Palo Alto, Calif., startup that teaches students to design iPhone games.
He liked that the work was performed in his own driveway, saving a trip to a garage, and that the website showed him customer reviews of each mechanic.
On-site services aren't new to the valley; during the dot-com bubble, many companies began offering workers mobile perks like personal training and dentist visits, the better to keep them corralled on campus. GoHaircut, for instance, has a local competitor called On-site Haircuts, which operates a salon inside an RV.
But the company, which was founded in 2003, sets up at specific locations on specific days. "They don't come to your office on demand," Maxim notes.
The new wave of such services is built, in part, on the increasing ubiquity of mobile phones, which make it easy for customers to schedule services on the fly and for workers in the field to be notified of new clients.
Here's a sampling of startups that use mobile technology to bring professionals to users at a discount:
—Exec: Errand-running service recently added housecleaning to its offerings. www.iamexec.com
—GoHaircut: Contract barbers and stylists come to your home or office. www.gohaircut.com
—Kitchit: Choose among a roster of several hundred chefs who will cook chez vous. www.kitchit.com
—Pathjoy: Touts professional housecleaning for $20 an hour. www.pathjoy.com
—Uber: A network for limo and towncar drivers provides "on-demand private drivers." www.uber.com
—YourMechanic: Combines vast database of car repair prices and on-site, discounted mechanics. www.yourmechanic.com


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Information in this web form is transmitted via a secure internet connection and is only accessible by Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital Staff. You may also download the form PDF below and bring it with you to the hospital.
" We moved last year, but continue to drive clear across town to take our dogs here, simply because you're not going to find better care for your four-legged family members. Dr Herman is the best vet we've ever seen. She treats our dogs as if they were her own, and never makes us feel rushed, despite our seemingly endless questions. The rest of the staff here is amazing, as well! Always super friendly, and they remember our dogs by name when we walk through the door. Love this place! "
" I would highly refer this Veterinary Hospital to anyone. Words just can't describe how wonderful the staff is there. Dr. Goodman has so much empathy and really made our visit much better than we had anticipated. My entire family has been there to meet the team and we just can't believe how wonderful they are. "
" Great care! First time at this clinic, actually first time at any hospital with a problem. Staff was fantastic, caring and confident. Took great care of our cat peppy and put her on the path to recovery. Can't forget the followup, they called three times the following week checking up on her condition. NO ONE follows up like that anymore. Great care, great clinic, very cat friendly. "
" I switched to Murray Hill Vet Hospital since it was closer to my house. My pup and I had a great first visit! Friendly, knowledgeable staff! I feel confidant in their ability to treat animals. Great communication. Will definitely refer friends and family.
" Very friendly and knowledgeable staff! Clean and nice environment! And most importantly took excellent care of my Golden Doodle! "
" Fabulous! - I love this clinic and have taken all my loved ones to them. They are worth every penny. I won't go anywhere else unless I don't have any more furry loved ones - which I can't imagine!"


text:
Grades PK-12
School Board will not allow any student to wear clothing that distracts
from or disrupts the school's learning environment. The student's
cleanliness and grooming will also be considered. The principal will
have the final say in what is or is not proper dress. The students as
well as the parents are expected to use good judgment regarding dress
and appearance.


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Legendary Chimp 'Cheetah' From Tarzan Movies Dies at 80 [VIDEOS]
Cheetah, the chimp who starred in the Tarzan films of the 1930s, has died in the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, FL of kidney failure at the age of 80.
The beloved ape moved into the sanctuary in 1960 after living on the estate of Johnny Weissmuller, who had portrayed Tarzan in the films.
Sanctuary outreach director Debbie Cobb described Cheetah as an outgoing chimp who enjoyed finger painting and interacting with humans. Another sanctuary employee added that while Cheetah wasn't a "trouble maker," the famous ape also wasn't above throwing his droppings when he didn't get his way. Bad Cheetah!
See the Hollywood legend in action below.
Cheetah hamming up in 'Tarzan'
Cheetah at the Suncoast Sanctuary last year
[via CBS]


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As you know, for a long time now we've been in the gospel of Matthew and we find ourselves in the last section of chapter 27. It's our commitment at Grace Church to just go through one book of the Bible after another. And we have had glorious years together in this gospel of Matthew.
We come this morning to a text of Matthew that usually is passed by rather rapidly. It isn't one of those with which we're familiar, it doesn't contain any verses or lines which we might remember. It probably never was the subject of a sermon you heard in the past or a Sunday school lesson or a Bible study. Nobody ever took their life verse out of this portion. In fact, for the most part it seems to be a rather routine portion which discusses the burial of Jesus Christ.
But the fact is it is an amazing passage of Scripture. And in looking at the burial of Jesus Christ, we are face to face with some astounding truth. I mean, generally all of us who are a part of the Christian faith are aware of the significance of the cross of Christ. And we have and should have made much about the cross. For weeks we've been studying the elements of the cross described by Matthew and the other gospel writers. And we sort of are ready for the resurrection. We're anxious to get to chapter 28 and see Jesus risen from the dead. And admittedly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single greatest miracle the world will ever know because it is that miracle of resurrection which demonstrated His accomplished work on the cross which redeems us and His power over death which brings us to glory. And so rightly so do we extol and celebrate and exalt the miracle of the resurrection...and rightly so do we glory in the crucifixion where our sins were borne by the Lord Jesus Christ to free us from their guilt and penalty.
But between the crucifixion and the resurrection there is the burial of Jesus. And at first thought it would seem to be anything but miraculous, a rather mundane and necessary act with little or no consequence except for what happens on both ends of it. But that's not the case at all. The burial of Jesus Christ is as supernatural and as miraculous in many ways as was His death and as will be His resurrection. It is a marvelous and thrilling account of supernatural intervention in every detail in the life of Christ...from His birth to His burial to His resurrection, everything is controlled by God the Father for the fulfillment of divine purpose and prophecy. And we shall see that as we look at this text.
Even His burial then becomes a testimony to His kingliness, a testimony to His deity. Even His burial is proof in fact that He is none other than the Son of God who He claimed to be. It is a marvelous and thrilling thing to see God giving evidence as to the deity of Christ even in His being buried.
Now it comes to us in three particular features in verses 57 through 66. The first testimony really comes through Joseph of Arimathea, the second through Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in verse 61, and the third strangely enough through the chief priests and Pharisees from verse 62 to 66.
Joseph and the two Marys and then the group of scribes and...or the groups rather...group rather of chief priests and Pharisees each play a very important role in the burial of Jesus which role ultimately speaks to the truthfulness of Christ's claim to be the Son of God. And so, God is giving testimony to His Son even in this.
Now we need to begin with looking at Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph of Arimathea is the first focal point of the burial of Christ...from verse 57 through 60 we'll look at this. And we don't know much about the man but enough to really see some marvelous things. Let me give you just a little bit of background. There are two key prophecies that must be fulfilled in the burial of Jesus...two very explicit ones. One is an Old Testament one given by Isaiah. The other is a New Testament one given by Jesus Himself.
In Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 9, this whole chapter, as you know, is devoted to the death of Christ. It talks about the fact that He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, He bore our griefs, carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. It talks about Him being taken from prison unto judgment, and so forth. It describes the meaning of His death. Then in verse 9 it says, "His grave was assigned to be with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death."
Now the Holy Spirit through the prophet of Isaiah says it was an assignment for Him to be placed with criminals in a criminal grave, yet that didn't happen but rather He was with a rich man in His death. Now that rather strange and obscure prophecy would be very difficult to understand until one arrives at the burial scene of Jesus Christ. Keep it in mind, He was to have been buried or He was to have been put in a grave for criminals, but instead He is buried with a rich man in His death.
The second prophecy is one in the New Testament given by Jesus Christ Himself. And we find that one in the twelfth chapter of Matthew and verse 40...a very explicit one. Jesus says, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Jesus here predicts then that there will be three days between His death and resurrection. Not only that, that He will be in the earth three days. He will be buried for three days. Now He there calls them three days and three nights, or three day and nights, as the Jewish colloquial expression was.
So there are two major prophecies very explicit, very easily recognized that must relate to the burial of Christ. He must be buried with the rich and He must buried for a period of three days. Now God uses Joseph of Arimathea to fulfill these prophecies as the human instrument. So Joseph then gives testimony to the deity of Christ through being used in fulfilled prophecy...fulfilled prophecy.
Now let's go back to Matthew chapter 27 and notice verse 57. "When the evening was come," and we need to stop at this point and point out to you that this evening is the early evening of the Jewish day which is 3 P.M. to 6 P.M., the closing out of the day, the Sabbath day will begin around 6 P.M. and run from evening to evening. And so it is three in the afternoon on Friday. It is the early evening. A very important note. By 3 P.M. Jesus was dead. That in itself is amazing because usually those who were crucified lingered longer than that. Some lingered for many days. In this particular case Jesus was nailed to the cross at nine in the morning and dead by three in the afternoon. And you will remember in our study last time, we pointed out that He was dead not because someone took His life but because He gave His life. No one took His life from Him, He yielded up of Himself and that is what astounded Pilate, how He could be dead so soon. But it was imperative that Christ be dead by 3 o'clock so that He could be in the grave on some part of Friday so that that day could be included in the three days He had to be in the earth. He had to be buried on Friday so that Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at least a portion of each of those days, He would spend in the earth as He had prophesied that He would.
Now go to John chapter 19 and let me show you how this scene begins to unfold. By three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus is dead. He has yielded up His own life. He said it is finished, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit, giving Himself up. He who controlled life also controlled death. He who could raise Himself from the dead could also cause Himself to be dead by the expression of His own divine will. He willed Himself then into the Father's presence in death at three in the afternoon. And so, Jesus is dead on the cross.
Now we pick the story up in John 19 verse 31, "The Jews...and whenever John uses the term Jews he has reference not to the multiplicity of people but to the leaders who are hostile to Christ...the Jews therefore because it was the preparation." Paraskeueis a word that basically means the day before the Sabbath. This leaves no doubt in the mind of any Bible student that it indeed is Friday. This was the technical term for Friday. It was called the preparation because as far back as the sixteenth chapter of Exodus the Jewish people were instructed that they were to keep the Sabbath holy and that meant that any food preparation for the Sabbath had to be done on the day before. Do you remember that even when the manna was delivered by God for them, they had to collect enough on Friday to carry them over Saturday because they were not permitted to do that on Saturday? So Friday became known then as the day of preparation for the Sabbath because all that the Sabbath would encompass had to be done on the day before so that the Sabbath was not in any sense unholy or unsanctified or unset apart unto devotion to God.
So, the Jews then came and it was the preparation, that is Friday. "That the body should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath." Which obviously tells us it was Friday because they were concerned that the bodies would hang on the cross on the Sabbath. It was the Sabbath on Saturday and the parenthesis indicates not just any Sabbath but an high day. What does that mean? It was not just Sabbath it was also...what?...Passover. Passover falling on the Sabbath. And so they were very concerned that these dead bodies not be suspended in the air right outside their city just north of the temple area on the Sabbath day. I mean, it was Passover and Passover was a very important day and they were very sure to obey all of the rules and regulations on the Passover day and in the Passover season. And basically they were reaching back to a text in Deuteronomy 21 verses 22 and 23 which says, "And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death and he be put to death and thou hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree but thou shalt surely bury him that day for he who is hanged is accursed by God, that thy land be not defiled."
Now they weren't necessarily always attending to this issue. There were many other days when they didn't mind someone hanging on a cross over night. But here was the Passover and they were very concerned to carry their legalistic and traditional and even scriptural injunctions to the limit. And so because of this, they come to Pilate and they say, "Look, we don't want these bodies hanging there." Now the only basis for taking them down would be that they were dead. And this wouldn't happen in that brief a time. And so it would be necessary then that as they request in verse 31, their legs be broken. The word "broken" literally means to shiver to pieces. And what the Romans did was take a large wooden mallet like a huge hammer and they would smash the legs until the bones were disintegrated. The effect of that was to cause the body then to slump on the two wounds in the wrists and suffocate the internal organs. Prior to that when there was still structure in the legs, the victim could push himself alternately up and back, sometimes hanging on the wounds of his hands and sometimes hanging on the wounds or being literally propped up by the wounds in his feet. But at least there was a little bit of relief. Once the legs were smashed to pieces, the body would then slump, suffocate the internal organs. The pain would be excruciating.
And then following that they would give what Edersheim calls "the death stroke." And they would ram a spear into the heart. And I suppose we might ask why it was that if they were going to ram a spear into the heart they even bothered to break the legs. And some have suggested to us a couple of reasons...one, the pain and excruciation of the shattered legs would put the victim into a tramatized state where the piercing of the heart could be done and almost like a relief kind of thing rather than a severe mortal would as might be given to a victim not in that kind of extreme pain. Others have suggested, however, that they crushed the legs as sort of a momentary penalty for the fact that the victim was going to die too soon, as if to say you're not going to be able to stay there and suffer the full pain so we're going to intensify the pain that you have right now. And perhaps there was an interval of a few minutes between the crushing of the legs and the jamming of the spear. We can't be certain about that.
But the idea was to cause the victim to die immediately. And therefore take the body down off the cross and maintain the sacredness of the Sabbath. Is that not inconceivable that they would slaughter the Lord of the Sabbath in an effort to keep the Sabbath? But that was the twisted thinking of their system.
So, they came in verse 32, the soldiers did, and they crushed the legs of the first...that is the thief on the one side of the Savior...and then they crushed the legs of the other who was crucified with Him but when they came to Jesus they saw that He was dead already and they broke not His legs. Even in His death, prophecy is now fulfilled for in Psalm 34 and verse 20 it says very very explicitly and very clearly of the dying Savior, "He keeps all His bones and not one of them is broken." How do you know that that prophecy is intended to be for Jesus Christ? The testimony of Scripture makes it clear. Notice verse 36, "For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of Him shall not be broken." Now that doesn't say that the Roman soldiers were doing to that to fulfill the prophecy of Psalm 34. The Romans wouldn't even have known Psalm 34. The Romans did it because God brought them to that. In other words, they passed by breaking Jesus' legs because that's exactly what God wanted them to to fulfill a prophecy that would demonstrate that God indeed was certifying this as the Son of God.
You say, "I don't buy it. They didn't break His legs because He was dead." Then ask yourself this, look at verse 33, or 34, "One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side and immediately came there out blood and water." Then ask yourself the question, if they knew He was dead, why did they offer the death stroke into His heart which revealed the fluid, the serum in the pericardium as well as the blood gushing out of His heart? Why did they do that if He was already dead? The answer is in verse 37, "And again, another Scripture saith, They shall look on Him whom they pierced." And that is out of Zechariah 12:10. The prophet said they won't break His legs. The other prophet says they will pierce Him, that does not make sense that they would do one and not the other and that is the point. They did exactly what God intended them to do to certify that this is indeed the one of whom the prophet spoke. Even in His death, prophecy is being fulfilled.
Furthermore, it tells us in verse 34 that, "There came out blood and water." Now there's an interesting prophecy in Psalm 69. Psalm 69 talks about the cross, we believe, because it says, "They offered me gaul for my drink," and it talks about Jesus thirsting and all of that on the cross. And then it says in verse 20, "Reproach has broken my heart." And I read this week an account by a medical doctor of the fact that it is very very rare but under extreme intense pressure and trauma, the heart which is a muscle could in fact rupture and therefore spill its blood into the pericardium with the limpid serum and create the blood and water that flowed out of the side of Jesus Christ. That is a real possibility. We can't be dogmatic that His heart actually burst, but we do know this, the heart does react to the emotions of the mind, does it not? We know that as simply as your heart beginning to beat faster when something happens to stimulate your emotions. Under the intense and unbelievable weight of all the sins of all the people who ever lived on the face of the earth, it is not inconceivable that a human heart could literally rupture and therein another prophecy be fulfilled.
So, Christ is dead on the cross. And even in being dead on the cross the things that are going on explicitly and to the very detail fulfill what the prophetic promise was. His legs will not be broken, His side will be pierced and He will have a broken heart...whether broken by the rupture of the heart muscle or broken by the piercing of the spear, either way the prophecy is fulfilled.
So He's dead. And it's the first evening. The spear wound, by the way, was so deep in Him that He could say to Thomas at a later time, "Thrust thy hand into My side and be not faithless but believing," when Thomas needed assurance that this indeed was the risen Christ. By the way, the blood and water show that He was truly human and they also show that He was truly dead...truly dead.
Now once this happened the body had to be taken off the cross. And when taken off the cross it would be thrown into a common criminal's grave. And it's very likely that that would be a pit somewhere where they threw the criminals or it might be Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom, where the city dump in Jerusalem was and they might have just throw the bodies there to be consumed by the always smoldering fire or to be ripped and shredded and eaten by wild animals. The Romans customarily did nothing more than throw the bodies of criminals into pits to be burned or eaten by scavengers. And that was what would have been assigned to Jesus. Isaiah 53 says in verse 9 He would be assigned with the wicked in His death...but He would wind up with the rich.
How would this happen? And who would care for His body? The disciples were all fled. Even John doesn't seem to be around at this particular time. And certainly the rest haven't shown their faces at all. And the women don't have any resource to bury Jesus Christ, they're from Galilee, they don't have any grave in the city of Jerusalem. Who is going to care for this? And how fast it must be cared for so that Jesus should be in the grave by six o'clock so that He can be there part of Friday because by His own prophecy He has to be in the ground three days. And so, God the Father in a miraculous and marvelous way moves on the heart of a man, and we pick the scene up in verse 57 right where God would have us pick it up, "When the evening," that is when it came to be between three and six, "was come, there came a...what kind of man?...a rich man."
How interesting...how interesting. A rich man came. A rich man from Arimathea. Now he was more than just a rich man. In fact, you could have said a lot of things about him and never even said that he was a rich man. But oh how important it is that he be stated to be a rich man. I mean, for example, Mark says in chapter 15 verse 43, he was a Sanhedrin member, that means he was a member of the ruling body that convicted Jesus Christ of the crime of being the Son of God, or claiming to be the Son of God and sentenced Him to death. He was a member of the Sanhedrin. That same verse in Mark 15:43 also says he was a knowledgeable counselor, that is he was a man who had great knowledge and wisdom as a counselor. That same verse also says he was one who waited for the kingdom of God, that is he had a heart that really sought God and God's truth. You go to the gospel of Luke and Luke tells us in chapter 23 verse 50 that he was a good man. And then he says he was a just man. And then in the next verse, Luke 23:51, he says he was a man who had not consented to condemn Jesus to death. Though he was a member of the Sanhedrin, he had not consented to the condemnation of Jesus.
So here is a good man and a just man, and a man who would not condemn an innocent person to death and a knowledgeable counselor and someone waiting for the kingdom of God and a member of the Sanhedrin. But above all things, he was a...what?...a rich man. And that for the sake of the fulfillment of the prophecy. Now it tells us he was from Arimathea. The only thing we know about Arimathea is a statement made by Luke in chapter 23 verse 51 that Arimathea was a city of the Jews. Now that designation puts it in Judea rather than Galilee. Galilee was known as Galilee of the Gentiles because it had been populated by so many Gentiles from other surrounding areas. But Judea, the southern part, was distinctively Jewish, so when it says it was a city of the Jews it is to say it was in Judea.
Now we assume that it was in great proximity to the city of Jerusalem because the fact is that Joseph of Arimathea had his own grave in there, in the city, right outside the city--I should say--of Jerusalem where he would put Christ eventually. So we assume that he wouldn't have lived very far from there. Many Bible scholars feel that the Arimathea is just a form of the old word Ramah which is the city from which Samuel came approximately three or four miles north of Jerusalem, which is very likely. Others would go a little further, say 20 miles north to a place known as Ramathaim-Zophim and feel that that was the place, we really can't be dogmatic. My own conviction is that it was probably somewhere very near Jerusalem because that's where his tomb also was.
Now it says about this particular man named Joseph, the end of verse 57, "Who also himself was...and the Greek text says...discipled by Jesus," using a verb form. He had become a follower of Jesus. He was discipled by Jesus. The word "discipled" means to be a learner. He was learning from Jesus. He was listening to Jesus. He was believing what Jesus said. He was following Jesus. He was a disciple. Perhaps he had been at the trial before Annas and Caiaphas because his Sanhedrin membership would give him access. Maybe he was even there at the trial before Pilate. But since that time he's been doing some things to prepare because this is something that's now in his heart to do, to provide for the burial of Christ.
Now we don't know what his involvement is in the past. We have no information except one statement given by John in his gospel, chapter 19 verse 38, John says this, "He was a disciple of Jesus...listen...secretly for fear of the Jews." Up to this point he had been a secretive disciple because he was afraid of what it would cost him. He was afraid of the leaders. I mean, if he was a member of the Sanhedrin and they found out he was following Jesus, it would be the end of his Sanhedrin rights. It would be the end of his wealth because he wouldn't be able to do business with anybody. It would be the end of his social status, he and his family would be alienated and ostracized. It would be the end of everything. The price would be very very high and this man was not going to take a step of boldness and identify with Jesus until he was certain that Jesus was in fact worth the effort.
But God moves on his heart. Supernaturally wonderfully, the secret disciple has to act fast. How many secret disciples do you think there were in Jerusalem who happened to have an empty tomb right near Calvary? Probably one and sovereignly does God move on his heart. And Mark says he summoned up courage...he summoned up courage. He had to move fast because God had to have somebody get Jesus in the ground while it was still Friday. So far the Jews had cooperated. They were in a hurry to get Him down. So they cooperated and Pilate who could have just left Him there hanging, corrupting and decaying, honored their request because he was not about to offend them, they had gotten enough into him with their blackmailing forcing intimidating approach. He wasn't going to carry it any further. So the Jews had cooperated, Pilate had cooperated, now the Lord needed somebody who could get Jesus in the ground before Friday ended. And so here came this man.
Now some have asked the question, "What about in Matthew 12:40 where it says, `As Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so must the Son of Man be in the earth three days and three nights,' doesn't that mean that He had to be there actually three full days and three full nights?" The answer to that is no. There are many people who take that view and therefore they back the crucifixion clear back to Wednesday. They have Him in three Wednesday, Wednesday night, Thursday, Thursday night...no, that doesn't work, I don't know how...Thursday, Thursday...Friday, Saturday and up on Sunday. The problem with that is any of those views that say three days, three nights leave you with a fourth day resurrection.
In other words, if you take the view that He had to be there three days and three nights, He can't rise till the fourth day. But everything in the text says on the third day. So that eliminates the need for interpreting that particular three days and three nights as if it meant three actual 24-hour periods. It is simply a Jewish colloquial expression for any part of a day. To them a 24-hour period was called a day and a night. They had no other way to refer to it in the Greek except a very obscure word, a sort of a combination word which is not used at all. And they would rather not use that but the more common rendering.
To show you that, look back in your Bible for a moment at Esther chapter 4. In Esther chapter 4 you have sort of an indication of this same usage in verse 16. There's a request there made for fasting. Esther wants the people to fast for three days and three nights. Now does she mean three 24-hour periods so that they don't stop till the fourth day? No, because in the next chapter, chapter 5 verse 1, it says, "It came to pass on the third day. Now the need for fasting was over, she made her appearance and so forth. So what we see there is the same thing we see in the New Testament. The concept of day and night is simply a reference used by the Jews to a 24-hour period.
Now if you were to say, for example, "I'm going to go to San Diego for three days," does that necessarily mean you're going to be there three 24-hour periods? Not at all. It could mean that you were there for a few hours one day, a full period of time another day, and a few hours on the third day. And that is consistent with the way the Scripture refers to it.
We, for example, could look at many of the Scriptures in the New Testament related to the resurrection of Christ and we see this. On the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:21, the disciples are bemoaning the consequence of the death of Christ. And it says in verse 21, "We hoped it had been He who should have redeemed Israel." Boy, we wish it had been Him. Too bad it wasn't. He's dead. And then they say, "Besides this, today is the third day." So they understood that it wasn't going to be after three 24-hour periods but it was going to be on the third day that that's what our Lord had intended to say. And in fact that is exactly what He did say back in Matthew chapter 16, verse 21...He would be killed and raised again the third day. Chapter 17 has the same thing in verse 23, they shall kill Him and the third day He shall be raised. So the references, the chronological historical factual references to the death of Christ indicate that Christ expected and those who expected it expected a third day resurrection, not a resurrection after three 24-hour periods which would put it on the fourth day. We conclude therefore that when Jesus said three days and three nights He wasn't saying three full 24-hour periods, but three portions of those full 24- hour periods. A day and a night being the same that we would use for a day. I was there a day...it doesn't mean 24 hours, it means any portion of a day.
Now this is consistently understood by the Jews as well. Look at Matthew 27, where we are, and notice verse 63. We remember that He said after three days I'll rise again. Now here's an interesting thing. Here they use after three days. Now did they mean on the fourth day? No. Verse 64, "Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until...what?...the third day." So when they said after three days they were simply saying after any part of the day has started. Now I know that's kind of technical but I want to cover that because many of you have been asking me about that particular statement in Matthew 12:40.
To put it in a historical setting for you, the Talmud says, the Jewish commentary on tradition and Scripture, the Talmud says this, "A day and a night makes one ona(?) and a part of an onais as the whole." So there they explain the meaning of that. So it is Friday. And it isn't important that He be there a full 24- hour period, but I'll tell you something, it is absolutely essential to the integrity of Jesus and the Word of God that He be there a part of that first day, right? So He's got to be in the grave before six o'clock.
And the Lord has gotten the Jews to get their part done, and Pilate's done his thing, and now we've got to find a guy to bury Him and he has to be a rich guy who has a tomb near enough so that Jesus can be carried from the cross after being let down by the soldiers to the tomb, properly prepared with the linens and the spices, put in the grave and it's still Friday. And this has to be done by a bunch of people who don't know they have to do it really before evening comes. You say, "Well, they wouldn't want to violate the Sabbath." Listen, don't worry about that, Joseph had already done that in terms of the tradition because when he went in to Pilate's praetorium to ask for the body, he had defiled himself. That's what the Jews earlier wouldn't do. Secondly, when he himself carried the dead body of Jesus from the cross to the tomb, he would have defiled himself with a dead body. So he...that was not a big issue to him. He would have gotten Jesus in the grave even if it had been after the beginning of the Sabbath. He was operating with speed and haste not because he was concerned about his own observance of the Sabbath but because God was very concerned that Jesus be in there before the Sabbath began.
You know, it just boggles my mind when some of these puny brained people come up and say, "Well, I don't believe the Bible." I mean, what in the world...you know, my response to that is, "Well, you must have studied this thing for years to come to such an astute conclusion." "Oh no, I haven't." "Well, do." See. I mean, I've been doing this for a long time and the more you dig into the Word of God the more astounding it is that every detail is covered. And I don't mean to be ungracious about that but simply to say don't do that to the Word of God unless you're in a position to say you've come to that conclusion after long years of study. It's there, it's all there, so clear.
So here comes Joseph and he went to Pilate in verse 58. That was something, folks. I mean, you can't imagine the price he paid when he did that. In the first place, he didn't know what Pilate would do to him. Pilate had had enough of Sanhedrinists. Pilate had enough of those intimidating blackmailers who were going to tell Caesar on him if he didn't do what they wanted. The Sanhedrin had forced him to kill an innocent man. The Sanhedrin has forced him to violate his conscience. The Sanhedrin had even given nightmares to his wife. The Sanhedrin had put him in a humiliating position for a haughty Roman. And he didn't like them, you can be sure of that. And why would he be generous to a member of the Sanhedrin and give him the body? And besides, the only person who had the right to a body would be a family member, otherwise the criminal's body was to be publicly desecrated as part of the testimony of what a criminal act results in.
So, Joseph had no right to the body and he certainly as a member of the Sanhedrin had no particular favor to expect from Pilate. Furthermore, he would have had to explain why he wanted the body since he was a member of the Sanhedrin who were desiring Jesus to be dead, and also since he wasn't a member of the family and what would he say, other than that he was a follower of Jesus Christ which would be sort of a joke to Pilate because this poor tortured pathetic individual, Jesus, had just died on the cross without anything very attractive about Him. So the amazing reality is that there was no human reason that Joseph could have expected to receive the body.
Furthermore, it's remarkable to me that Joseph would have known that upon doing this the word would spread like wildfire that he himself was going to bury Jesus Christ, that he was a disciple of Jesus and he would have lost his reputation, he would have lost his social standing, his status, all that he had. He would have been in a situation where he no longer would have been able to do business with people. He would have lost his wealth and on and on it goes. The price was very high.
And may I remind you of something very marvelous? He is doing this for a man he believes in not who has risen from the dead, but who is dead. That is remarkable commitment...remarkable. So convinced that this man was the man of great truth that he would step out and be courageous even though the man was dead and give Him the dignified burial He deserved. He was drawn by love and attraction to Jesus to do this for Him, who had been so desecrated and dishonored, even at the loss of all of his own benefits in life.
So verse 58 says he went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. The implication here is that he had to beg for it. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given over. First of all, Mark 14 says Pilate sent some people to check if Jesus was dead because he couldn't believe He'd be dead already. And Joseph wanted the body. He polluted himself in a traditional ceremonial sense by even going to Pilate, he sort of polluted himself for the Sabbath. And then he further, as I said, polluted himself by carrying the dead body of Jesus which we assume he must have carried himself. No doubt the soldiers took Him down and then Joseph took Him away.
By the way, I want to just add a footnote. I wish we had time to go to John chapter 19 verses 39 and 40 because there was another man with Joseph whose name was Nicodemus. And it's a wonderful scene. Nicodemus was the teacher in Israel, no doubt also a member of the Sanhedrin. These two men were very very prominent men. I mean, this man was a wise counselor, a knowledgeable man, a man of stature and dignity. And Nicodemus was the teacher in Israel, according to John 3. And here are these two men who are coming to Jesus in His burial. And it says that Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes, aromatic spices. They didn't embalm, they just anointed the body with a heavy load of spices to keep the wretched smell of death from polluting the area around. And it even says in John 19 that Joseph of Arimathea brought what amounts to about 72 pounds of this. Myrrh was a liquid and aloe's a powder and they mixed it. And Joseph got the fine linen, it says in verse 59. So they must have worked out a deal where you buy that and I'll buy this. The only time anybody ever got anointed with 72 pounds of that stuff was when they were royalty. And these two dear men are saying, in effect, the world may not offer you that kind of respect that a king should have, but we will even in your death. And they bury Him with a burial of a king. And the women helped, too. And they wrapped each limb, arms and legs, and then the torso and a special napkin for the head. And as they wound those robes...those linens around Him, they filled the linen with all the spices and put Him in the grave.
And verse 59 says, "When Joseph had taken the body..." My belief that he carried it himself. You say, "Well, was it a long way?" Well not according to the latest archaeological discoveries. Those of you who have been to Israel know that what they believe to be the burial place of Jesus Christ now called Gordon's Calvary, that area, and the Garden Tomb is completely adjacent. I mean, you can stand in the Garden Tomb and be having communion right in front of the open grave where the Lord lay and look to your right and just a stone's throw away is Calvary. And it would have to have been near so that they could transport Him readily and take the time to prepare Him and still get Him in and it still would be Friday. The Lord knew all of that. And it says in one of the other gospel writers that there was a garden there, there was a garden there. And they have discovered that and they've even discovered a winepress in it where no doubt the grapes were crushed, or the olives were crushed. Verse 60 says, "Having wrapped in a clean linen cloth the body, he laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock." And that tomb there known as the Garden Tomb now is cut by hand out of a wall of rock and a little low cliff. And just off to the right of it is another sort of rocky cliff with a skull-shaped visage on it and beneath that on the highway would have been where Jesus was crucified. So if that indeed is the place, Joseph could have carried Him just a very very few feet really away to put Him in his own tomb. Oh how God superintended every detail to make sure Jesus would indeed be in the ground and it would still be Friday.
And so, Joseph got the linen and Nicodemus got the spices and the ladies all helped. They put Him in the grave. And once He was in, verse 60 says, they rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher and left. They rolled the stone across. And the stone was there because there were grave robbers, frankly, and very many people were buried with things that belonged to them, things of value. I mean, that was a common practice. People wanted to...even as they do today, you see people in a casket with rings and jewelry and things like that. And there were grave robbers. And then with this particular person there was a great amount of concern. Furthermore they had to protect the body from animals and birds and those that might enter in to do some deed of desecration.
So, the stone was rolled across. And if you were to go to the Garden Tomb you would see a great trough and in it a huge circular stone which would be rolled across the entrance to that place. The wonderful thing is, it all happened on Friday. See, verse 62 says, "Now the next day that followed the day of preparation..." So it was Friday before verse 62. And Jesus was in the grave and the prophecy would be fulfilled if He would come out of it on the third day.
Listen, the amazing burial of Jesus Christ attended to by this secret disciple who now becomes public for the whole world to know throughout all history, Joseph of Arimathea, the whole thing is orchestrated to fulfill specific prophecy that Jesus would be three days and that He would be with the rich in His death. He is buried in a wealthy man's grave which the wealthy man made for himself.
Now I don't know what got Joseph of Arimathea from being secret to being public, maybe it was the earthquake and the darkness and the rocks splitting and the graves opening and the temple veil ripping from top to bottom. I don't know whether it was the heart of love. I don't know whether it was the agonizing sympathy he felt when he watched Jesus going through the things He went through. Whatever it was, humanly speaking, I don't know. What I do know is it was God working on his heart. And God was bringing to pass the fulfillment of prophecy. So Jesus was with the rich in His death and He was in the grave for three days.
Now one verse more. Verse 61 tells us there was a second group of people who also were used by God to give evidence of the deity of Christ, oh...in a wonderful way. It just says, "And there Mary Magdalene--that's Mary from the village of Magdala up on the coast, the west coast of the Sea of Galilee--and the other Mary," she is defined for us in verse 56 as Mary the mother of James, that's James the Little or James the Less and Joses, she's also called by the other writers the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, she was one of those ladies who served the Lord, who came with Him from Galilee, who attended to His physical needs, who provided food and sustenance and substance, and so forth. And these two dear ladies remained.
There were other ladies there. There were many who attended to the linen and touched His body and handled Him and wrapped Him and placed Him in the grave. And they all left. And I guess from verse 60 we conclude, too, that Joseph left, he departed. And only two ladies were left...Mary of Magdala and Mary this mother of James and Joses and wife of Cleophas. And they are sitting, and the Greek says, opposite the sepulcher. And they're just sitting there in deep sorrow, in deep agony. And if Joseph of Arimathea is used by God to confirm the deity of Christ through fulfilled prophecy, these two are used to confirm the deity of Christ through first-hand testimony...first-hand testimony. It's so powerful...so powerful...these lingering women...
You say, "What's the significance of verse 61?" Go down to chapter 28 verse 1 and see. The end of the Sabbath, okay now we're early Sunday morning. The Sabbath day comes to end at 6 A.M., it goes from really a...the Sabbath that they're looking at comes to an end in the morning, the dawn of the first day of the week. The end of the Sabbath, it begins to dawn toward the first day of the week. And here comes Mary Magdalene and that other Mary to see the sepulcher. They've been there. They come to get a closer look. "Behold, there's a great earthquake, an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, came, rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, his raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said to the women, Don't be afraid."
Now they really got in on something, didn't they? I want you to know they didn't hear about the resurrection, they saw it. You want to know something? There are only two eye witnesses to the resurrection. There are only two human eye witnesses, two Marys...boy, what a testimony of God's special gracious place for women. The disciples, I hate to tell you this, were second-hand witnesses. They were first-hand witnesses of the risen Christ, they were second-hand witnesses of the resurrection. They were there. They felt the ground shake. They received communication from a dazzling brilliant angel whose garment was white as snow and whose face was like lightning. I mean, can't you imagine how it was for the rest of their life? "O Mary, tell us...I mean, tell us about it. I mean, what was it like when Jesus came out of the grave." We do not worship someone that someone hopes came out of the grave, we have first-hand eye witnesses and they went and spread the message.
And the angel said, "Don't be afraid. I know you seek Jesus who was crucified. He's not here, He's risen. Come and see the place. Now go and tell the disciples He's risen." And they became the priority witnesses, the first-hand testimony was given by two women to the resurrection of Christ. They ran out of that place, verse 8 says, they ran to bring the disciples word.
And then amazing, verse 9, "And as they went to tell His disciples, behold...what? I mean, this is it, right?...Jesus met them...Jesus met them and they worshiped." And in verse 10 He says, "Go tell My brethren." First-hand witnesses. How marvelous, how glorious. Even in His burial, God had a couple of women who couldn't quite leave the grave. Oh, they might have left for a time on the Sabbath day, but they came back that third day, maybe hoping against hope in the dawn that what He said would really come to pass. And it did and they saw it. And God honored their faith, however feeble it may have been, it was certainly stronger than others who should have been there. And they became those who gave testimony. They became the ones who spoke the word of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and could say we were there and we saw it. And in Mark 16:9 when Jesus had risen on the first day, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and she went and told those who had been with Him. They were the first witnesses.
Listen, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a hoax, there were folks who saw it...incredible folks. Not people who had something to gain, not the disciples of Jesus that someone might think must have fabricated it to carry on their particular program. These were women. These weren't the disciples, they were disciples of Jesus in one sense, but certainly not the ones that the world would assume would be the ones to fabricate the resurrection. In fact the truth is the disciples were a little reluctant to even believe them. And Thomas was reluctant to believe when he heard as well from them after they had come to believe. So God gave us some first-hand eye witnesses who spread the word of the resurrection. Through first-hand testimony and through fulfilled prophecy even in the burial of Christ, God is at work vindicating Jesus Christ as His Son.
There's a third group and I can't tell you how unbelievably fascinating this is. God uses now the chief priests and the Pharisees to verify the deity of Jesus Christ. You say, "How does He do that?" Come back next Sunday morning and I'm going to tell you but we don't have time for that this morning. It is the most amazing thing. They are so concerned that the disciples are going to steal the body that they set the situation up to prove the resurrection really happened. And God causes the wrath of men to praise Him and we'll see that next Lord's day.
Father, we thank You that we have been able this morning to come to worship You. We worship You in our prayers. We worship you in our songs. And we worship You even in the study of the Word for how it lifts our hearts in adoring praise to You for the Word insights our praise. We praise You for controlling history, for saying something would be true and hundreds of years later making it true, having it come to pass even as it was said, for the truthfulness of the Old Testament, the truthfulness of the New Testament, for the way that history is sovereignly controlled by Your all powerful hand, we thank You. We thank You that Jesus even in his burial is affirmed as the one who fulfills all prophecy, the one who is indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God. We thank You for the testimony born on the pages of the gospel of Matthew. We thank you that whether it's a secret disciple like Joseph or whether it's passionate devoted loving dedicated disciples like the two Marys, or whether it's hatefilled vengeance ridden men like the chief priests and Pharisees, they're all a part of a scene in which everything and everyone affirms the deity of Jesus Christ. We thank You for how You control not only Your own but all others as well to bring about Your own holy purpose. We bless Your name, we worship You as the sovereign God who works all things according to the counsel of His own will and we praise You for the salvation You give us in the risen Christ. We pray in His name. Amen.
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New Home Dairy book and we're in it!
April 4, 2011
It's a new book on making cheese and Urban Cheesecraft is profiled in it! The photos are beautiful, the recipes useful and the tips great even for me, consumer of every cheese book out there. Get it folks!
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2012 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships
December 8, 2012
Balloon Fiesta Park, Albuquerque, NM
This December, close to 3,000 youth athletes will journey to Albuquerque, NM for the 2012 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships. The International Balloon Fiesta Park is home to the annual International Balloon Fiesta-the world's largest hot air balloon festival. The scenic Sandia Mountains will also provide a beautiful backdrop for the Championships.
Competition takes place in six two-year age divisions, ranging between the ages of 7 and 18. Check the USATF calendar for meet listings to find where you can begin your journey to the National Championships and the experience of a lifetime.


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Florida women play key role in emergency birth-control case
The long and sweeping movement to broaden access to emergency contraception — which may culminate soon in girls and women of all ages having over-the-counter access — has been led, in part, by a group of Florida grassroots activists — students, mothers, daughters.
The original lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calling for all restrictions to be lifted on the so-called morning-after pill has nine plaintiffs, most of whom have deep Florida roots, their journey starting at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Five of the plaintiffs attended UF; one of those, Candi Churchill, grew up in Cooper City; their attorney, Andrea Costello, who also attended UF, is from North Miami.
The cause — first fought as students, now as seasoned activists — will be heard again Tuesday, as a federal judge decides the next step in a case shaping the national discourse on women's reproductive rights. The case's origin traces, in part, back to an infirmary pharmacist at UF in the 1990s who refused to dispense emergency contraceptives based on his religious and moral beliefs.
"We are just women who are willing to stand up for ourselves, other women and girls,'' said Stephanie Seguin, who grew up in Fort Myers, now an organizer with the National Women's Liberation Gainesville chapter and a plaintiff. "This is a way for women as a group to have more control over our lives. This is about self determination for women and girls.''
Seguin became plaintiff number five.
The issue of full access to birth control has simmered for decades, a battle now defined by science, grassroots campus activism, two national feminist organizations, FDA hearings and two presidential administrations accused of political meddling.
In April, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman ordered the FDA to make emergency contraception available over the counter, without a prescription or age restriction — in practice, the pills to be displayed on the same retail shelves as, say, aspirin or cold medicine or condoms. Before the ruling, emergency contraception, used after sexual intercourse to help prevent pregnancy, was stored behind pharmacy counters, available only to women 17 and older, without a prescription.
Unrelated to Korman's ruling, the FDA last week approved the application of Teva, that company that makes Plan B Step One, to offer the emergency contraception without a prescription for females 15 or older without a prescription, but with proof of age.
And last week, the Justice Department filed a notice of appeal of Korman's April ruling and asked him to stay his order — scheduled to go into effect Friday — until the appeal is resolved. Korman will hear oral arguments Tuesday morning in the federal courts' Eastern District in Brooklyn.
In arguing against the stay, Costello said the government has no grounds for the request.
"We believe immediate harm will come to women and girls because they need timely access to emergency contraception,'' said Costello, senior staff attorney at the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and the attorney for the plaintiffs. "We obviously want this decided quickly because every minute women and girls don't have access is a minute too late.''
For more than two decades, feminists from UF have worked to expand access to birth control in the United States. In 1991, the UF Chapter of the National Organization for Women campaigned against a pharmacist at the campus infirmary who was refusing to dispense the emergency contraception, which required a prescription at the time. The pharmacist, Michael Katsonis, eventually resigned.
"I just quietly said no. I said, 'I don't dispense it.' And if I was the only one there when someone asked for it, I would call another pharmacist, but I guess it got to be a problem,'' Katsonis, now living in West Wendover, Nevada, told The Miami Herald. "I wasn't and I'm not trying to impose my religious beliefs on others. I did it because of the health aspect. I still haven't seen anything scientific that convinces me that the morning-after pills are not destroying innocent lives.''
Last year, Katsonis was laid off from his pharmacy position at a drug store. He believes it was because of his stance.
"I see these young girls pregnant and it makes me want to weep,'' he said. "I just don't feel that the morning-after pill is the right way to handle things and I wonder how they are going to emotionally respond to that decision 10, 15 years down the road.''
For the students at the time, the lesson was clear: The NOW activists, who later became organizers in Gainesville's NWL chapter, realized the strength of well organized campaigns, and more importantly, the need for change in the way birth control was handled.
"Through these women's experiences, we realized we didn't want a pharmacist to have the power to say yes or no,'' said Churchill, a NWL Gainesville chapter organizer and plaintiff. "The event with the pharmacist [in 1991], was pivotal in our getting really involved in this issue."
Churchill became plaintiff eight.
For more than two decades the NWL Gainesville chapter — along with the national organization and New York chapter — have worked on women's issues, the last 10 focused on making the morning-after pill available without restrictions on age or how it can be sold. That grassroots fight has included sit-ins (and arrests), sending thousands of petitions to the FDA, testifying, and eventually filing the federal lawsuit.
There have been victories along the way: In 2006, the FDA agreed to eliminate the prescription requirement for women 18 and over. Three years later, a judge ordered the FDA to drop the prescription for girls aged 17 and older.
In 2003, NWL and NOW members launched a "speakout" campaign, encouraging women, from all walks of life to share their own experiences about why the morning-after pills should be available over-the-counter. Later that year, more than a dozen women from Florida and New York testified at an FDA advisory committee meeting.
Much of the power of the movement is built upon personal experiences.
For Lori Tinney, supporting the cause was the bookend on an introspective journey. She arrived on the Gainesville campus as an 18-year-old freshman who did not believe in abortion.
"As I went through college, I spoke to a lot of women and after a while, maybe over a two-year period, I realized that a woman should be able to make their own choices based on their needs. You just can't walk in other people's shoes,'' said Tinney, who used the morning-after pill when she was in her mid 30s. She is now married and mother of a three-year-old daughter. "Women have the right to make the call about a pregnancy and there certainly shouldn't be any barriers to making that call.''
Now, working at a nonprofit legal organization, Tinney became active with the Gainesville NWL chapter about a year after graduating in 1995. "I felt like I wasn't really doing anything to change the world. But I said to myself, you can be mad or you can do something about it.''
Tinney became plaintiff six.
In 2004, NWL joined the Center for Reproductive Rights as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the FDA to remove the prescription requirement. Tummino v Hamburg was filed Jan. 21, 2005, with the names of nine women (15-year-old Anaya Kelly, of Gainesville, was added last year), including some who had their own experience with the morning-after pill. Plaintiffs include Carol Giardina and Jenny Brown, who both used to live in Gainesville, and Kelly Mangan and Frances Hunt, who both attended UF.
The women believe the suit, in the tradition of the civil-rights movement, forces a legal battle to make social change, in this case, the advancement of women's freedoms.
"Access to birth control is the unfinished agenda of the 1960s struggle. The ability to make your own decision is a cornerstone of women's liberation,'' said Churchill. "We are working to build a lasting movement."


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Celebrating an old-time General Store and the simpler days gone by.
Take a journey back to yesteryear in our historic store, dating to 1912. Visiting us is like taking a trip back in time to the simpler days when going to the General Store was depended upon for food, supplies, and neighborly news updates.
Life's a little easier than it was back then, but the pleasure of a trip to the General Store remains. Whether you relax and enjoy a game of checkers next to the potbelly parlor stove or stroll around as your footsteps echo on the wooden floors of our over 100 year old building, you will find a mix of extraordinary merchandise, old time candy, toys, antiques, collectibles and gifts.
At The Merchant General Store it is our goal to give our visitors the experience and charm of an old time general store. It is very rewarding to us and gives us much pleasure to see our visitors reminisce on their childhood memories or to come and experience what their parents, grandparents and beyond did when coming to the old time general store.
While at The Merchant General Store sit down and enjoy a game of Checkers as you sip on a glass bottle of Coca~Cola or one of our many other flavors of soda and listen to old time tunes.
Store Hours:
Monday - Friday 10:00am to 5:30pm
Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm
Sunday Open seasonally - By Chance or Appointment


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Originally Posted by karne
Voronov finished ahead of Gachinski at Worlds 2012, IIRC. And they must be okay with him because he was 2nd at Nats, with quite a score.
Either way, I guess we'll have to wait til June 1 to find out. Hopefully Artur gets at least one, though I wouldn't complain if it meant he could save his strength for the important competitions. Plushenko of course is the favourite for Sochi; but if his body fails, it's going to be one heck of a fight for the right to go instead.
You're right, but he was 17th to Gatchinski's 18th so not much a difference there, and that was with Voronov skating near his best. There is a chance Kovtun and/or Menshov could get 2 GPs without needing COR anyways as they both have had good seasons. Nationals was a bit of a fluke for Voronov IMO and he'd never get PCS like that internationally, and internationally he hasn't skated very well this season anyways. Gatchinski has much more potential. I don't see Voronov getting favored over him if it comes down to those two.
a 210 score in men's would put Gachinski at the bottom the results in a GP men
he can hope for 1 GP but 2 GPs is very unlikely.


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R. Claudio Aguilar,Associate Professor &Assistant Head of Biological Sciences
Jennifer Freeman,Assistant Professor of Toxicology
Xiaoqi Liu,Professor of Biochemistry
Deborah W. Knapp,Dolores L. McCall Professor of Comparative Oncology &Director of the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program
Philip S. Low,Ralph C Corley, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Director of the Purdue Center for Drug Discovery
Emily Dykhuizen,Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Our warmest gratitude to Dr. Douglas Lowy, Acting Director of the National Cancer Institute, for visiting the Purdue Center for Cancer Research on June 29th to talk about the NCI's efforts in cancer research and how centers like ours are working together to solve the cancer problem. Together, we enable life!
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CHIPLEY � The Chipley City Council approved a development order allowing the construction to proceed on a 15-unit apartment complex for disabled residents.
The apartments are being built by Goodwill Industries � Big Bend and will be wheelchair accessible, and the project was introduced to the council back in March.
CHIPLEY � The Chipley City Council approved a development order allowing the construction to proceed on a 15-unit apartment complex for disabled residents.
The apartments are being built by Goodwill Industries � Big Bend and will be wheelchair accessible, and the project was introduced to the council back in March.
The 15-unit complex planned for Chipley will be located behind the Washington Square plaza on Main Street.
One unit will be occupied by the building manager, and there will be four two-bedroom apartments and 10 one-bedroom apartments.
The complex is expected to cost $1.4 million to build and should be ready for occupancy sometime next summer, Goodwill officials have said.
The housing is being built with federal funds, and the rent will be prorated based on the resident�s income, she said. The facilities will be completely wheelchair accessible, including the laundry room and community room.
The facility will be called the GIBB Chipley Village. Similar villages exist in Florida in Tallahasse, Panama City Beach, Marianna, Perry and Springfield. Goodwill also has villages in Georgia in Thomasville, Bainbridge and Cairo.
The apartments often exceed the American with Disabilities Act requirements for accessibility.
Residents for the apartments will most likely come from Chipley and Washington County, but Goodwill will accept applications from anyone, regardless of where they live. When the apartments are about 120 days away from being ready for occupancy, Goodwill will advertise and begin accepting applications from prospective tenants.
The complex has not been without controversy. Several residents have expressed the opinion that the apartments are not being located in a good area due to the lack of sidewalks in the city, which will limit accessibility and which could result in safety issues for the residents were they to take their wheelchairs onto Highway 77.
Two conditions forwarded from the city planning committee to the development order included increased street lighting for the apartment complex and location of the complex�s Dumpster in a more accessible location.
CEO Fred Shelfer was on hand to assure the council that the planning commissions concerns would be addressed. �We have a full-time apartment manager who is on hand to assist the residents,� he said. �If they have trouble getting their trash out to the Dumpster, there is someone there to help them.�
Council member Kevin Russell was the only council member who voted against approving the development order.
The council also had the first reading of an ordinance to abandon a portion of the public alley beside the Piggly Wiggly store. �You probably have seen the AC units, and the compressors for the meat department,� City Administrator Dan Miner said. �There are several mechanical things there that are sitting on city property.�
The abandonment will turn that property back over to the original owners, while the city will still maintain a 20-foot lane through the alley. The ordinance will be read again at the next council meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. on Dec. 10.
Mayor Linda Cain also read a proclamation declaring November �National Home Care Month,� and the council approved the resignation of Planning & Zoning Committee member Jim Gollehon and the appointment of Rebecca Cousson to the committee.


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Many bargains throughout the store between 12.00pm and 2.00pm
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Friday, October 21, 2011
CLINE surname
For my first Surname Saturday I will start with the one closest to me.CLINE. My Cline line goes back to my g g grandfather and comes to a dead stop. He was born @ 1820, in Virginia or Ohio. He married Martha KING, August 21, 1845 in Logan County Ohio. According to the 1840 federal census there were 170 CLINE families in the state of Ohio and 3 of them were in Logan County. None of these can be linked to my James. In 1850 there were 1,299 Clines in Ohio, 50 of them in Logan County. 5 of those were my family. While I have located several descendents and know there are many more I haven't found, James is still my brick wall.
Labels: Surname Saturday
2 comments:
Welcome to the GeneaBloggers family. Hope you find the association fruitful; I sure do. I have found it most stimulating, especially some of the Daily Themes.ReplyDelete
May you keep sharing your ancestor stories!
Dr. Bill ;-)
Author of "13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories" and family saga novels:
"Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited"
Thank you!!ReplyDelete
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It is currently Wed Jun 19, 2019 10:04 am
Pete Fowler wrote:On Adam's question on the pre-Beatles and the 62-63 period,
Adam Blake wrote: "Love Me Do" had flopped, "Please Please Me" was a hit, "From Me To You" was a bigger hit, "She Loves You" was a monster and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" a world beater. Somewhere in there is a moment where something changed quite deep in the culture. Or am I imagining it?
It was an outsider that came along out of who knew where. There was no idea at all that it would be an establishment changer. For my part, I liked it because I thought it was an American record, a bit like those rhythm and blues tracks I was wanting to hear, and occasionally could when the radio reception allowed.uiwangmike wrote:If I remember right, don't think anyone at the time thought Love Me Do was a flop. It was the first record by a group which neither I nor any of My Eel Pie Island-going schoolmates had heard of, and reached the Top 20 with not much radio play or TV exposure.
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Redskins Fans Welcome Team, Coach Shanahan Home | News
A few Redskins were faithful staked out at Redskins Park Sunday evening, waiting on Mike Shanahan and his team to get back from New York, as the coach's job hangs in the balance.
The frigid temperatures, cold rain, not even a heartbreaking season could keep the passionate fans from supporting their team. Christie Lopez is one of those fans, "No matter what. Win or lose, we are here," she says.
But after going 3-13, even these die-hards are tired. "I am glad it's over. Glad this season is over," says Lopez. "I am ready for a break, for whatever reason this season seemed extra long."
Even Coach Mike Shanahan got a warm welcome, as fans waived and welcomed him back. He arrived at the park riding in the team bus and left only 25 minutes later.
"I don't think all the blame should be on him, but part of it, yeah. I mean he's the coach," says Lopez. Regardless, these fans are standing by their 'Skins, hopelessly devoted. "Change can be good, if that's what it's going to take to get us in the right direction and what's best for the team and players and fan base, then yeah," says Lopez.
Although fans at Redskins Park did not get a resolution to the coaching decision Sunday evening, a press conference is scheduled to be held 9 a.m. Monday at Redskins Park.


text: Presidential Image Gallery Presidents George WashingtonJohn AdamsThomas JeffersonJames MadisonJames MonroeJohn Quincy AdamsAndrew JacksonMartin Van BurenWilliam HarrisonJohn TylerJames K. PolkZachary TaylorMillard FillmoreFranklin PierceJames BuchananAbraham LincolnAndrew JohnsonUlysses S. GrantRutherford B. HayesJames A. GarfieldChester A. ArthurGrover ClevelandBenjamin HarrisonWilliam McKinleyTheodore RooseveltWilliam TaftWoodrow WilsonWarren G. HardingCalvin CoolidgeHerbert HooverFranklin D. RooseveltHarry S. TrumanDwight D. EisenhowerJohn F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonRichard NixonGerald FordJimmy CarterRonald ReaganGeorge H. W. BushBill ClintonGeorge W. BushBarack ObamaDonald Trump Oath of Office April 15, 1865 Source: The Library of Congress Shortly after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn into office as the 17th President of the United States. Johnson, center left, took the oath of office in the Kirkwood House Hotel, in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 1865. ← Return to Andrew Johnson Gallery


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Even before she was crowned Homecoming queen 2013 at Arkansas Tech University, Molly Gibson had already made a special memory during the weekend of festivities.
Gibson, a junior from Atkins, rode in the Homecoming parade on Friday, Oct. 25, in a 2008 Ford Mustang white convertible. But this wasn't just any convertible.
It was a breast cancer awareness special edition Ford Mustang that is owned by Salli Summer Sexton of Hot Springs, one of just 124 such vehicles that exist in the world. The car features a breast cancer awareness ribbon painted on the side with pink striping, pink lights in the dash and pink stitching in the leather.
It was especially meaningful for Gibson because of her membership in Zeta Tau Alpha, which supports the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation with its philanthropic efforts.
"It is absolutely humbling to have the opportunity to ride in this very special car," said Gibson while she waited for the parade to begin. "It's so exciting because Zeta Tau Alpha is passionate about finding a cure for breast cancer and supporting those who are fighting to overcome breast cancer. I didn't expect to be a part of it in this special and different way."
Sexton is the cousin of Dr. Cathi McMahan, associate professor of recreation and park administration and head of the Arkansas Tech Department of Parks, Recreation and Hospitality Administration.
McMahan said that Sexton purchased the car two years ago when her cancer was in remission.
"Unfortunately, Salli's breast cancer has returned and the cancer has now spread to her brain and bones," said McMahan. "She has been undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and has undergone a number of other medical procedures this past year and unfortunately, due to the toll of the cancer is not able to drive the car of her dreams…the white convertible Mustang. It made her day to know that her car was used in the Arkansas Tech Homecoming parade."


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$850.00 — Sold out
an original watercolor illustration of The Gargoyles, DEMONA by Image and DC Comics artist Dustin Nguyen, measures 9"x 12" on 300lb Fabriano Artistico Hotpress Watercolor Paper
*includes Dustin Nguyen's 2014 or 2016 Art Sketchbook as free added bonus with this order.
Item is also available for pick up at ECCC 2017. If you would like to do this to save on shipping, please check out as usual WITH shipping and note that you will be picking up in Seattle. Your full shipping costs will be refunded to you after check out via paypal.


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China's benchmark index plunged more than 6% Tuesday, after a renewed slump in oil prices kept investors on edge about the global economy. The Shanghai composite index dived 6.4% to 2749.79 — its lowest close since Dec.1, 2014 — continuing weeks of volatility for Chinese stocks. U.S. stock futures initially plunged but quickly recovered and were trading higher before the start of regular trading. Dow and S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% at 8:00 a.m.ET.
Other Asian markets were also down — Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.4% to close at 16,708.90 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 2.5%, finishing at 18,860.80 points. In Europe, Germany's DAX index lost 0.3%, France's CAC 40 was down 0.1% and Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.4% lower. Brent crude fell to under $30 a barrel early Tuesday, before reaching $30.33 at 5.35 a.m. ET. It lost $1.68, or 5.2%, to $30.50 a barrel the previous day.
Investors in China were in near-panic in the absence of a shift in government policies and economic fundamentals, said Chen Yong, market strategist for Lianxun Securities. The approach of the Lunar New Year didn't help, as players become reluctant to invest for fear of any unexpected sharp falls in overseas markets.
Michael Every, who heads Financial Markets Research, Asia-Pacific, at Rabobank, said: "It's just another in a long series of slumps that we have seen in this market, and it's not the last we will see either because the market is still overpriced. And too many people want to get their money out. It's been a bubble since it began last summer." Every expects another 10% drop or more in Shanghai shares before things settle down. U.S. stocks ended lower Monday as oil prices dropped.


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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Christmas Cracker
Known for its blend of yuletide magic, Christmas Cracker is a firm favourite with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra audiences. Back for three concerts this year, the Orchestra is joined by Mary Carewe and Michael Dore to delight you with such merriments as Have Yourself a Merry Christmas, Mary's Boy Child, Sleigh Ride, The Little Road to Bethlehem and not forgetting the sing-along carols. With Sloane Square looking so festive, these concerts are a must to start your own Christmas celebrations!


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What does the file contain?
The main file contains a .ai and a .eps file.
Who all can use it?
If you're a gadget geek, this logo is meant for you! Use this fun logo for your tech related businesses.
How can you use it?
You can use it on ecommerce sites selling gadgets, tech magazines, if you're a creative company creating fun games and apps for different devices. Gadget reviewers and gadget bloggers can also use this.
What can you do with it?
You can easily edit colors. No gradients used. You can resize the logo as much as you want and there won't be any loss of quality as it is fully vector. CMYK, so go ahead and print it!
- Fully vector, layered, editable and scalable .ai and .eps files
- Two layout variations, color and black & white options
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You can download the font (you are responsible for the licensing of the font) from – http://www.dafont.com/clemente-pd.font
If you like this item, we would really appreciate a good rating/comment. Have fun!


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I was recently having connectivity issues at home, with the wireless router being at one end of the flat and the living room right at the other end. Having an ethernet connection in the living room, I decided to add a secondary WiFi and dug up an "old" Netgear wireless AP.
Not wanting to keep switching from Wireless #1 to wireless #2 all the time, depending on which was in closer range, I decided to give the devices the exact same name. Now it doesn't matter where I am in my flat I am always connected to the same wireless network, and with a 100% strength. The trick for it to work well is:
- Each device has a different IP address within the same subnet
- Both devices have the same SSID
- Each device broadcast on a different channel
- both devices use the same security settings (WPA is safer than WEP) and same access key


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Tom Wallisch's career as one of freeskiing's most accomplished and innovative athletes did not exactly begin "by the book." ESPN's "Action Sports Athlete of the Year" made his first tracks far from the traditional "resort scene" – on a bunny hill in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Penn. Retreating to the nearby resorts on the weekend, his athleticism and draw to skiing intensified with age.
The Wallisch family continued their weekend get-a-ways, often to Maryland small resort Wisp, which Wallisch credits as his "home turf" growing up. By the time he was 15, Wallisch further developed his talent conquering urban features after school and entering local big air competitions and rail jams on the weekends.
In 2006, the recent high school graduate made the biggest move of his career, heading west and settling in Park City, Utah as a student at the University of Utah. The new adventure immediately saw him amass a large following in the freeskiing community, thanks to a series of high-octane video edits. It did not take long for his park skills to catch up to his expert rail skills previously perfected in Pittsburgh. By the close of his first winter, the largest ski production companies were casting him in several major productions.
Exploding on the competitive scene in 2009, Tom topped the podium at many events and finished the season as the top AFP-ranked slopestyle skier in the world. The following season saw "T-Wall" cement his place at the forefront of his sport, with a gold medal in the slopestyle at the European X Games, first place at the Snowbasin stop of the Dew Tour and Freeskier's highly-coveted "Skier of the Year" title.
In 2012, Wallisch secured the top-ranked slopestyle spot in the AFP Rankings yet again, in addition to winning the Dew Your overall cup, seven podiums and two X Games medals - gold in Aspen and silver at Euro X.
An early season knee injury required Tom to take a step back from the competitive scene to ensure proper recovery. However, the freeskiing force remained active in the sport, filming his own unique ski film – The Wallisch Project – released with critical acclaim in Fall 2013. By close of this year, Tom returned atop the podium, earning the FIS World Ski Championship title in Voss, Norway.
Any winter days not spent on the competition circuit are focused on completing his marketing degree at the University of Utah and filming for any number of film companies, including Level 1, 4bi9, TGR, and Field Productions. During the short off-season, Tom soaks up the sun, whether that be skating, wakeboarding, or mountain biking.
AFP Rankings
X Games
FIS World Championships * 1st, SS, Voss, NOR, 2013
Dew Tour
World Cup * 1st, SS, VISA U.S. Grand Prix, Mammoth, CA, 2012


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First, assuming that you were in favor of the invasion of Iraq at the time of the invasion, do you believe today that the invasion of Iraq was a good idea? Why/why not?To quote myself:
[T]he striking thing about all of the....retrospective assessments of the war is their astonishing level of collective amnesia. The remarkably short, painless, casualty-free conduct of the military campaign itself has apparently now reached the status of an a priori given, and its effectiveness is therefore currently understood to be best measured by the state of Iraq's transition into peaceful, united, democratic statehood....I wrote that in April, and I stand by it. The conquest of Iraq had all sorts of enormous benefits--for the US, Iraq, and the world. In focusing exclusively on the current troubles there, antiwar commentators have ignored all the previous troubles: a huge sitting-duck Maginot line guarding a resentful Saudi Arabia against a belligerent northern despot (in between terrorist attacks on its barracks and compounds); regular air patrols--including bombing runs on anti-aircraft installations--to suppress an Iraqi air force bent on slaughtering recalcitrant Iraqis all over the country; a collapsing sanctions regime stoking anti-American feelings in both Europe and the Arab world, while increasing internal Iraqi suffering; and so on and so on and so on. (Remember "rogue nation" Libya?)
If one starts from my initial position, however--that is, sincere ambivalence about a risky, potentially catastrophic military incursion with the sole goal of ousting a horrible, dangerous military dictator--then the whole project looks markedly better in retrospect than it did at the outset. It's true that no "weapons of mass destruction" have been found--although few doubt that a chemical weapons program would have been easy for Saddam to reconstitute, given that he had had a highly successful one in the past. On the other hand, the strongest argument against the war--the largely unuttered "body bags" argument", envisioning a long, drawn-out, horribly bloody campaign involving thousands of civilian and military deaths--turned out in the end to have been completely contradicted by events.
If it had been known in 2002 that all of these problems could have been eliminated so cheaply, there would have been no argument at all against the war.
Second, what reaction do you have to the not-very-upbeat news coming of Iraq these days, such as the stories I link to above?Again, to quote myself, in April:
I've already made it clear numerous times that I consider the grand effort to democratize Iraq to be naively optimistic. And I suppose it's possible that by hanging around for long enough, the American army could ultimately damage its country's strategic position enough to undo its spectacular victory in Iraq. But to declare the current circumstances there a disaster based on a little continued unrest is to lose track of the recent history of that troubled country--which about a year ago experienced, despite a few bumps since, a truly wonderful upturn in its fortunes, thanks to its friends from the United States of America.I'd alter this assessment in only one respect--and that change represents my answer to question 3....
Third, what specific criteria do you recommend that we should use over the coming months and years to measure whether the Iraq invasion has been a success?The Iraqi invasion was a success, period. In fact, it was a spectacular success, with many positive effects and very few negative ones. No subsequent events can change that. The management of its aftermath may yet turn out to be a failure, although it would take a great many more major future disasters to turn it into one. At some point, though--and I believe that point has already been reached--blaming future unfortunate developments in Iraq on the initial American military intervention makes about as much sense as blaming them on the invention of fire. The chain of causation may be there, but the myriad oft-unmentioned beneficial consequences overwhelm even the most conspicuous detrimental ones.