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The Cure
- Harry Kraus Author
- 2008 24 Jul
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from The Cure by Harry Kraus (Crossway).
I'm tired. That's a bad thing. But that's a common thing for missionaries serving on foreign fields. In Africa, tiredness is almost a badge. I'm working hard for Jesus, you know. Others should notice and break into some sort of spontaneous expression of praise; if not directly to God, at least stop and pat me on the back. But this isn't a book about being exhausted for Christ, and in fact most of what I have to say will show you how futile and empty most of our precious work has become. Because we've strayed away from the main thing.
Yes, I'm tired. I am. But not like you might think. I'm tired of Christianity being misunderstood. Tired of Christianity being judged on the basis of Western culture. Tired of letting Hollywood define us, tired of materialism being the first love of the Christian, and tired of watching church growth being made up of disenchanted souls hopping from congregation to congregation instead of the lost swelling our ranks. I'm tired of seeing Islam make advances when I know the truth is on our side. Tired of seeing people embrace a religion that hides behind a cloak of lies while truth sits idle on the curb, ignored and forgotten.
We've strayed from the essence that defines us. We've left the main thing long behind, while we strive forward. We're busy. Fruitless. And don't forget that admirable missionary trait, tired.
We are awash with conferences and filled to the brim with discussions about methods for effective evangelism, contextualization, cell churches, culture-appropriate dress, and techniques for language acquisition. We talk about church planting strategies, partnership, and biblical visions for our eleventh-hour calling to complete the Great Commission. Just this week I attended a week-long missions conference where we spent more time learning about emergency contingency plans (in case an under-the-radar team in a creative access country is compromised), self-defense techniques, and spiritual warfare than we did about the main thing.
In fairness, the conference planners didn't really ignore the main thing. They just assumed the attendees (many were seasoned missionaries) had already mastered the main thing. So on we go with other items of importance while the very heartbeat of the gospel is sidelined.
Don't misunderstand. There are other important components of effective ministry. I am a huge proponent of thinking and acting strategically in planning outreach. An understanding of spiritual warfare is vital. There is even a place for study of safety issues and preventing possible hostile actions against missionaries who serve within environments unfriendly to Christians and our message. But it's still not the main thing.
I've spoken to dozens, perhaps hundreds of missionaries serving on foreign fields and many more Christians back home, and I've concluded that most of us have tilted away from the core of God's motives behind the Great Commission. In a moment of profound tenderness we answered the call. But in the busyness of doing church, the heart of the gospel has faltered, its rhythm pathologic and in many cases expressing a fatal asystole. The heart of the gospel that once beat strong within is now stilled, registering a flat line, being ineffective and room-temperature dead.
Back home, the Christian church is facing its own onslaught of problems. The evils inherent to postmodernism, cultural irrelevance, the rising threat of Islam, and materialism need to be combated and overcome, but too many congregations are mired in pettiness, arguing over externals, worship styles, and schedules. The heartbeat of the gospel gasps beneath arguments over dress, programs, and budgets.
It's not like we deny the heart of the gospel. We give it mental assent, but in action we deemphasize its importance.
What am I talking about? Agape.
Yes, love. But I've called it by its Greek name to avoid the confusion and emotional baggage that swirls around this word that our culture has robbed of its meaning.
It's the most important component of effective evangelism. Remember what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13?
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." - 1 Corinthians 13:1–3
So there it is. The main thing. But that concept is so distorted by our contemporary culture that it's been left a dreamy emotion, a nebulous and fluffy feeling that we can't get our minds around and therefore ignore in our preparations for the work of the church. But without it we are nothing. All our strategies, partnerships, and efforts at contextualization, cell church, and programs are little more than an offbeat crashing of a cracked brass cymbal.
But I've never heard much more than a passing reference to love within the context of the mission of the church. "How to" books abound. Want peace? Want to stop obsessing? Want to forgive? Want to be free from your past? Our libraries and bookstores will be glad you've stopped in. Hundreds of titles will assist in your search.
But I need to love my neighbor. I need to love my brothers and sisters in Christ. And leave it to Jesus to make my life even more difficult when he said, "Love your enemies."
Jesus didn't make it optional. Over and over the injunction to love is issued in the strongest language.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." - John 13:34
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." - John 15:12
But I can't just respond to a command and love, can I? Jesus can't be serious.
Or is he?
Why do we ignore love? Perhaps we just assume the basics are, well, just that—basic. Been there. Done that. Of course, there's love. Every Christian knows that God is love. We all sang it loudly in Sunday school. And all of us memorized John 3:16. Some of us even mastered 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. So where is it? Does it really define us as we were told it would? Is it possible that the church has just moved on to other, less ethereal topics and left love for those who are honeymooning with their faith? Has love been relegated to a syrupy-sweet, dreamy emotion, unworthy of serious time and study? Is there really anything syrupy-sweet about dying in agony on a jagged, bloodstained cross?
Maybe we've been looking at it all wrong. But we can't afford to do that. Having a correct theology of agape—God's love for us, especially seen in his Son's death in our place, now flowing through us to others—beats at the very heart of the gospel.
To uncover the answers, we need to back up from the love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 to examine the metaphor Paul uses to describe the church in 1 Corinthians 12. We, the church, are the body of Christ. I've spent most of my adult life preparing for and practicing the art of surgery, performing thousands of dissections in an attempt to change the effects of pathology (illness). My prayer is that within these pages, through a careful dissection of Paul's metaphor, we'll come to an understanding together about Christ's command (love!) and how to fulfill it.
So let's begin.
Down with clanging cymbals. Up with the basic mission of the church. It starts within the heart of every believer.
For further reflection:
1. "We've strayed from the essence that defines us. We've left the main thing long behind, while we strive forward." Do you agree or disagree? Why?
2. What is agape love? What is its source, and where do we see it most clearly? How is it different from the love we normally practice or seek?
3. Why are there so many "how-to" Christian books but so few books on the importance of love in and through the church?
4. What did Jesus say should be the telltale sign that we are his people? What is the key verse for his command on this? How are you, or your church, doing in this area?
5. What is the heart of the gospel, its driving force or central truth? What does this mean to you personally?
The Cure
Copyright © 2008 by Harry Kraus
Published by Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.


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I gave up my morning coffee over a year ago, and replaced it with Earl Grey tea. Winterwoods Tea Company makes my favorite, their blend called Inland Grey. Winterwoods has released four new tea blends as part of a Kickstarter campaign that ends on Sunday night! Right now, the only way to order the new blends is through the Kickstarter campaign. Tirza, of Winterwoods, sent me a couple of the new blends to try: Bee Wrangler and Wildwood Cedar. The Bee Wrangler is a black tea that goes perfectly with raw honey, the way I drink my tea. I love it! The Wildwood Cedar is a delicious herbal blend, and a new favorite for me. It doesn't require sweetener at all! You can read more about these and the other two new blends on the Kickstarter page. In case you are new to Winterwoods Tea Company, you can read more about them below:
(Shane and Tirza, the founders of Winterwoods Tea Company)
At Winterwoods Tea Company we're passionate about creating delicious, nourishing loose leaf tea blends using the finest locally farmed and wild foraged organic herbs. We begin by sourcing our ingredients from small, sustainable farms and companies who support our values and we hand-mix all of our original tea blends in the heart of the Pacific Northwest in beautiful Spokane, Washington. Our tea is carried at natural foods stores, gift boutiques and coffee/tea shops across the United States and we also sell through local farmers markets as well as online.
We believe that tea should be healing and nourishing and that's why you'll never find synthetic ingredients, preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial colors, refined sugars, sweeteners or other additives in our teas. As a "farm to tea cup" company, our original blends contain only organic herbs, spices, tea leaves, dried fruit bits and sometimes pure extracts. All of our blends are gluten and dairy-free.
At Winterwoods Tea Company we are committed to the following:
• Ingredients sourced as locally as possible
• Handcrafted in small batches
• Freshly blended, sealed, and sold within 30 days of packaging
• Certified organic or wild foraged ingredients
• No preservatives, pesticides or artificial ingredients
For this weekend's giveaway, we're excited to offer the following gift to one lucky Small Things reader:
Two of bags of our organic tea including one Inland Grey (Ginny's favorite!) and one Wildwood Cedar, one of our brand new Pacific Northwest herbal blends, along with a tea infuser.
We'd also love to offer Small Things readers 10% off any purchase at our shop through the end of October. Please use coupon code: small things.
You can find Winterwoods Tea Company's online store here, the kickstarter campaign (the only way to get the new tea blends) here, and you can follow Winterwoods on Instagram here.
For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post. Comments are closed and the winner is Heidi, who commented, "Wow…. I want to go camping with you guys! You really do it in style!!
Thank you for the giveaway :)"

subset: commoncrawl


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Sediments in Brunei Bay and Rajang Rivermouth
A dense tan flow of sediments makes its way into the South China Sea from the mouth of the Rajang River in Sarawak, Malaysia. The river is located in northwest of Borneo and it originates in the Iran Mountains. The river flows approximately 563 km to the sea, making it the longest river in Malaysia.
Up the coast, sediments can also be seen on the northern shores of Brunei Bay, the gateway to Brunei and Borneo. It is located east of Bandar Seri Begawan. It is a deeply indented bay with an area of about 250,000 ha, shared between Brunei Darussalam and the East Malaysian States of Sarawak and Sabah.
A chain of islands including the large Malaysian island of Labuan forms the boundary between the bay and the South China Sea. Freshwater flows into the bay via a labyrinth of interconnecting channels and waterways.
Most of the east and south shores of the bay are covered in extensive mangrove forests with associated mudflats and sandflats at the mouths of the major estuaries. The mangrove forests form a continuous, intact forest within Bruneian territory, but those within the adjacent Sarawak territory have been largely clear-felled to supply the wood-chip industry.
The major rivers entering the Brunei Estuary in the southwest are the Brunei, Limbang, Temburong, Bangar and Trusan. The Limbang and Temburong drain catchments which are predominantly primary rainforest, and carry high silt loads.
The smaller Brunei River receives the drainage from the city of Bandar Seri Begawan and its environment, and is therefore subject to considerable urban pollution. Several smaller rivers drain the extensive peat swamp forests of Temburong District. These carry very small silt loads, but are rich in peat and woody debris.


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14 February 2012
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Since the first Iron Man movie, Marvel has been slowly building towards The Avengers, with Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) acting as the lynchpin the ties all the films together. What started out as a bit part for this versatile actor has turned into a great role that the fans love. In fact, due to the fan reception to his character, Agent Coulson got his own moments to shine in the short films A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (which was a great extra on the Captain America Blu-ray) and The Consultant. Both shorts help bridge the gap between Thor, Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk.
Anyway, last June I traveled to New Mexico where Joss Whedon's The Avengers was shooting in Albuquerque. Shortly before going to set on the second day, I participated in a group interview with Gregg. He talked about making The Avengers, what Agent Coulson's day to day life is like, whether or not he get to kick some ass in The Avengers, what it's like working for so many different directors but playing the same character, and so much more. Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.
As usual, I'm offering two ways to get the interview: you can either click here for the audio or the full transcript is below. The Avengers opens May 4.
Question: What did you think of X-Men: First Class?
CLARK GREGG: I liked it. I liked it. I like anything Jennifer Lawrence is in. She's so beautiful. It's amazing.
What did you like about it?
GREGG: A lot of stuff, a lot of cool stuff like, "Call me Magneto!" Yeah, you do! I haven't seen a coin go through somebody's head as a means of killing in a while. That was innovative – a Nazi coin.
In slow motion?
GREGG: That was hot. In slo-mo, right. I was hoping that it was going to start slo-mo and then just explode out the back of his head.
As it's PG-13, I guess it's got to be like that.
GREGG: All the PG-13 superhero movies are depriving me of the gore that I need.
We need to get this music turned off.
GREGG: Really? Because I kind of thought it was a cool soundtrack to go on.
What was the first movie you saw in a theatre that was not a Disney movie?
GREGG: In a movie theater?
GREGG: I only remember the first movie I saw was Georgy Girl in a drive-in when I was really little, but I have Oliver! memories. Was that Disney?
GREGG: I don't think so.
It wasn't animated so it counts…
GREGG: I would say it's a bunch of blur, like Oliver! and Flubber movies, and you know, The World's Greatest Athlete and then there was Enter the Dragon and it all changed for me.
Where's Coulson in this movie as opposed to the last movie? He obviously had big role in Thor, dealing with Thor on Earth, so where is he now when we first meet him here?
GREGG: I forgot what a tightrope walk this is… I need more coffee! Well, now that he's come out as a skrull…(laughs) No, no, not really… what do we know? We know that he's had to deal with the arrival of this rather large fellow from Asgard, in Thor. I don't think they know much. Coulson doesn't have a lot of exposure to Loki. He just gets to see the Destroyer – do you know what I mean? He learns a little bit about Thor and where he comes from, but I think a lot of it still remains mysterious. I guess what we know about the Avengers is there's a reason why all of the heroes that we've been meeting, from Thor to Captain America – everybody – they need to work together.
Because Coulson is, in my mind, a kind of a cross between the world's most persistent bureaucrat, a secret ninja assassin and really the guy who wrangles the rock stars at Lollapalooza, is mostly what it feels like. His job is definitely to get all the rock stars onto the stage at the right moment. It's kind of like a very muscular version of sci-fi Woodstock, I think is what The Avengers is, but that's really from my point of view. You know what I mean? Like they say to the gravedigger, what's "Hamlet" about? He says, "It's about this guy who digs graves." And I think very much that's how I look at The Avengers from Coulson's role. It's about how do you bring this very disparate personalities together. They're from different worlds you know. One is a god, who isn't always so god-like. It's really kind of about wrangling. I think of Phil Jackson a lot, because I think the way you coach Kobe (Bryant) is probably really different than the way you coach Pau (Gasol).
Do you have a sense of what this guy's day-to-day life is when he's not popping up in these movies, briefly interacting with?
GREGG: You know as a fanboy myself, one of the fun things about the gig has been every time I get a new script, I get to find out more about his day–to-day life and what goes on and what his relationships are. In the early days of Iron Man, I think at first he really just seemed to be this guy who really wanted to have a meeting with Tony Stark and was getting blown off all the time. I kind of love that about him that he was this kind of – I don't know – just a bureaucrat hiding in plain sight, who had ended up having some real game and a secret.
I think in The Avengers and, to a certain extent, in Thor when Nick Fury details him to go handle this mysterious hammer that shows up in the desert, and I think the way he see him deal with the arrival of the Destroyer, it doesn't seem like it's his first clambake, if he's willing to walk out to that giant monstrosity with the spiky shoulders and the tight fitting suit and no face with flames, and kind of be like, "Excuse me, you're using unregistered weapons technology," it made me think, "God, what the hell else has this guy seen this month that he's just casual about that guy?" I think that really gets extended here, that some of kind of mind-bending stuff starts to go down… I guess one of the cool things about The Avengers is it feels like maybe no-one's ever seen anything like what's about to go down here, but Coulson is deliciously hard to ruffle.
This is the first time your character meets Bruce Banner, whereas all the other Avengers you've interacted with in their movies. Do you have a scene with him where you meet Banner?
GREGG: I'm not in Captain America because it takes place in the '40s. Both he and Bruce Banner are relationships that evolve during this – two more rock stars that I got to get on stage, ready to play ball.
There's obviously Nick Fury asking for everyone to come to be in the Avengers, but does he send you to recruit everybody or does he do it himself?
GREGG: I think there's a different scenario for different people, but certainly because of having done Iron Man, 1 and 2, and Thor, I have a relationship already with those two characters, and I'm a logical choice to kind of help integrate some of the other ones.
Are you put in a lot more dangerous situations here? Do you have any kind of action sequences? Do you kick ass at all for this film?
GREGG: Am I allowed to say any of this stuff?
Oh, without spoiling anything, you know.
GREGG: Do I get to kick ass at all? … Oh yeah.
Is there some stuff that you haven't done in previous films that you get to do here?
GREGG: Yes, definitely. As you can imagine when you have to summon a force like that together, the opposing elements are pretty freaking gnarly. I would think of those pioneer movies where they've got the cook and the ladies loading the guns and firing at the surrounded wagons. I don't put Coulson in that category, I think he is on the upper tier of people who come to scrap at situations like that but everybody's involved.
Where do you rank in the hierarchy, because there are other new S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that we will be meeting in this movie? Where is Coulson on the chart below Fury?
GREGG: Speaking as Coulson, it's unclear. I feel like that are other formidable S.H.I.E.L.D. elements and they don't have Coulson's connection to some of these people. I think what I like about what seems to be going on is there are differing opinions about who's where on the hierarchy and I think that's some of what goes on in the movie.
Does Maria Hill have very specific duties? Because on the other three movies, you've been called upon to approach Tony Stark, you've taken care of the hammer, and she hasn't been seen. Is she doing other things that we'll see in this movie?
GREGG: Yeah. I would say that our job descriptions are slightly different within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Can you elaborate on that? Are you on the Helicarrier a lot or are you more out in the field still?
GREGG: There's a Helicarrier? (laughs) Yes, both.
What was your reaction walking on that set? We were told yesterday there were 75 extras in one of the scenes on the Helicarrier and you guys have filmed there for a few weeks. That obviously must be a lot of shit going down on the set. Are you involved in that stuff?
GREGG: For me, one of the really cool things about this is that throughout these movies, there have been – and I enjoyed it this way – hints at what S.H.I.E.L.D. is and how they function within this Marvel movie universe which, as you know, is deeply based in the comic books. But what I've also really liked about it is that it not only has Marvel set about… if they just were slavishly trying to bring the comic books to life, literally, I don't the movies would work, because it's different to see something on screen in three dimensions with actors, and they kind of, I believe, are constantly trying to find a way to absolutely respect the source material and at the same time, transform it into something that works and that you believe on screen.
I think that's got to be a big task in a movie like this where you got a guy from Asgard with a cape, and you know Tony Stark has always been a little more grounded and his technology is actually oddly close to what's possible. What got me going on this? S.H.I.E.L.D., it has been hinted at what they do, who they are, and I think what's cool about this movie is that S.H.I.E.L.D. is a much bigger part of this, that you start to really understand who S.H.I.E.L.D. is, this kind of genesis from Howard Stark, that I think will be revealed a lot in Captain America and how it functions. I think S.H.I.E.L.D. has been around for quite a while and its real purpose becomes very clear in this movie.
What were you told that your character was going to become, this sort of continuity throughout the entire sort of Marvel franchise?
GREGG: You know it's been an ongoing thing. I've told a couple of people this so forgive if it's redundant: it was definitely, I think, something that evolved during Iron Man. It was not a big role, but there just was a purpose, I think, that it served. So by the end of Iron Man and it turned into this tremendously fun, big role and nobody was more shocked than me. They called and said, "Listen, we want this guy in Iron Man 2 as well," and during one of the scenes in Iron Man 2, they said, "Tell him you have to go, tell him you're going to New Mexico." At the end of it, I said, "Oh, what's in New Mexico? Where am I going?" And they said, "Oh shit, Thor! Didn't anybody tell you? Thor. You're in Thor." I was, "That's sweet!" Then all of a sudden I was here, in Santa Fe, in the desert with the Destroyer and I thought, "This is amazing!"
There is some excitement to the need-to-know basis of Marvel and that I never know what's going to happen next. Then, I was at Comic-Con getting ready to go on stage to do the panel for Thor and Joss Whedon comes over and says, "Oh crap, you're in The Avengers. You have a really good part. You have a big part in Avengers. Can we introduce you as part of the cast?" I was, "Dude, yes." You know, that was one of the highlights of my life, was walking out with that cast in giant Hall H, where someone has just been stabbed with a pencil to get a seat, you know. I started to hear whisperings about Iron Man 3 this week and I thought, "Oh, maybe I might be in another one." They don't tell me much until… usually, it slips out when they say, "Oh, this is one of your costumes for Iron Man 3."
Are you in it? Have they confirmed that yet?
GREGG: I can't confirm or deny that.
You've obviously had a part to play in inventing this character, because Coulson was in the first Iron Man but obviously he's not in the comics. Do you know who invented him?
GREGG: I don't. Jon Favreau was the one who called me up, and I think he was a function of those writers and Jon. I don't know. You never know, especially in the first movie when they were really kind of figuring it out on the fly and Robert was very involved.
Nick Fury wasn't in the movie until the very, very end, either. They could have had Nick Fury earlier, but they had you instead.
GREGG: You know I'd always liked Iron Man. I didn't know a ton about S.H.I.E.L.D., and, at a certain point, I turned to Jeremy Latcham from Marvel and said, "I work for Nick Fury, is that right? "Yeah, oh yeah." I said, "I need to know a little more about S.H.I.E.L.D. just so I can seem to know what I'm talking about." This is one of the beauties of it – the next day, I walked in and he had this thing that was like this big, it was fantastic: you can't get your hands on it, artwork of the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury, and it was amazing. And I just sold it on eBay. No. (laughs)
Can you talk a little about the script?
GREGG: Which? Of this one?
GREGG: It's a really good script. After Joss had said that to me and introduced me, I hadn't heard much for a while and they said, "Listen, we're sending an armored car with the script." I knew there were a lot of superheroes in it, and it felt to me that what may have felt like a big part before all the superheroes got involved… I knew my lines would be the first to go, so I was very anxious to read the script. First of all, it was one of the best superhero scripts I've ever read, and somehow Coulson still had a predominant place in this all-star team. I was very, very pleasantly surprised.
Who did you have the most fun working with, out of all these guys and girls?
GREGG: You know you can never discount the pleasure of showing up to work with Scarlett Johansson and now Cobie Smulders. That's just a day that's easy on your eyes. What I think is incredible about what Marvel has done and with Jon Favreau I think really maybe helped come up with, is what the template is. You know I grew up on the Batman movies, and they had some terrific actors in, but you know a lot of the other ones – it wasn't always the case that you had people the caliber of Jeff Bridges or Robert Downey, so to kind of show up and work with Jeremy Renner or Robert or with Mark Ruffalo, any of them, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, the caliber of people you're acting with, to me, is really fun. From the first day I started doing scenes with Robert, it's been one of the funnest experiences I've ever had.
What's the experience has been working with Joss Whedon as opposed to Branagh or Jon Favreau? Do they approach things differently in the way you get into your scenes?
GREGG: Well, Whedon is a big diva! I feel a little silly because there's not a lot that sucks about this for me. The Branagh and Favreau thing was kind of hilarious just because they're both incredibly funny, they're both actors and other than that, they could not be more different and yet I really dug… both of them have something to bring that they kind of felt like weird cousins, brothers from another mother, from very different mothers. I really liked coming into a new world and trying to… it felt appropriate because the Coulson in Thor had different stuff to do and I was learning more about him from the Coulson in the two Iron Man movies, so it felt right to have a different director, who's giving a different kind of direction, and then to show up here and have this very different kind of movie, in a way – much more of a kind of ensemble movie with a very different kind of director, who may be the most geeked out of any of them with the most encyclopedic knowledge, and at the same time really takes it seriously. I think what he's written, to me, feels very… ironically there's a continuum. It feels very Shakespearean, which I thought I had gotten in spades with Kenneth Branagh, now, it's very much grounded in those kinds of stakes here.
Marvel seems to be signing people to these five- or nine-picture deals or whatever it is; have they approached you about the eight-picture contract or are you one-by-one?
GREGG: You know the funny thing about that is that even when Agent Coulson was basically a guy who walked through a couple of scenes and be like, "I need to have a meeting with you," they still signed me up for a lot of pictures just to do that. I think I'm still working that one off.
Do you get to do what Sam does where he shows up for two minutes, does a little bit at the end and that's one picture right there?
GREGG: Yes. I never know if you're going to New Mexico for six months or, "We need you in Los Angeles for two nights next week."
In this picture, is there a particular Avenger that Coulson has more of a relationship with, more of an affinity for than the others?
GREGG: Well, I think it's clear that there's a history with Tony Stark. They have a relationship that's contentious and to me they get each other a little bit and there is that history there, there's definitely a history with Mr. Thor, although I don't think he likes it if I call him that. At the same time, Captain America is a very famous figure even within the world of the Marvel universe. Do you know what I mean? Everybody, including Coulson, grew up idolizing him. It's quite a big day in Coulson's life when Captain America shows up.
Is Coulson us? Is he like the every man?
GREGG: I think so.
That the audience can see things through his eyes?
GREGG: I mean, for the most part, and then there'll be a scene where you go, "Wow, Coulson's got something that's not normal!" but for the most part, yeah. I think that's one of the coolest things about him in this universe and to play him, is not just because I love these comics and this world so much, is that he doesn't have anything… you know, he's not from Asgard, he doesn't have any superpowers. He's just there kind of representing, I think, the people in the theatre.
I would imagine that S.H.I.E.L.D. has some fun weapons. Do we get to see some new weapons we haven't seen the previous films and do you get to play with any of them?
GREGG: It seems like with a foe like that, that they'd have to come out with some new hardware, right? But we haven't shot that yet.
I know this film is taken from the P.O.V. of S.H.I.E.L.D., so do you get a sense that after this film that there could be separate S.H.I.E.L.D. movies and have you guys talked about that at all?
GREGG: I certainly have talked about it a couple of times. I think so. I mean I'd love to see a S.H.I.E.L.D. series, to me, because S.H.I.E.L.D., while it has these superheroes involved with, is run by some people who don't fly all the time, it feels like a great idea for a series, whether it's a series of a couple of movies or a TV series.
Have you done a scene yet with all the Avengers, with everyone in consume on set? I get the impression that there are a lot of smaller scenes being pieced together now and all the actions are going to be like later in the shoot?
GREGG: I'm nodding. Yes.
What was that like? It's just like very odd for you to be in a suit with all these costumes and everything?
GREGG: You know it was a lot like my experience in general which was on the one hand, you kind of walk in and just go this is absurd – there's Scarlett Johansson in a catsuit, and you know the biggest biceps in the history of the world right there. It's a little bit like walking in to do a scene, you go through the door and there's the Jedi council, and you have to keep a straight face. All I do I start to kind of check myself to see if I'm in the Make a Wish Foundation, you know, like am I dying and nobody told me they just got me in this scene somehow, because, you know, you're looking around at all these superheroes. You want to laugh but Coulson is meant to do something really very important and serious. I usually have to burn one take of just going, (laughing) "There they all are! Sorry, it's the Avengers. Okay, I'm going to start over."
But when you're doing a scene like that… we've all heard that Robert likes to possibly change dialogue or improv – maybe some of the other actors do – so does a scene like that a little bit longer to put together with everyone making sure the dialogue is perfect and they want to really make it perfect?
GREGG: You know I think it varies. It's kind of a superhero chain letter, these movies in a way… no, it's not, it's like that's game. What's that game? Telephone? There's another game we used to play. Someone will help me figure out what this is… but Jon wrote the first two chapters and then they turned it over and Kenneth with other writers did the next chapter and now Joe Johnston and his writers, they're doing the next chapter and they're all part of this serialized novel; each one has its own process. In the middle of it, it always feels like, "Oh, this is exactly the process this chapter required." Certainly, a chapter where Tony Stark is in the middle of it and he's this reckless, eccentric, genius, I feel like Robert makes sure that the way the scenes evolve, reflects Tony Stark in that kind of reckless improvisatory way.
I don't know if it's that this movie is from a S.H.I.E.L.D. point of view but it definitely has a different process. To me, there's less of that improvising in terms of the words, and more improvising in terms of the dynamic and how the people are interacting, that seems exactly right for this. At least the chapters that we've written so far, when I say written in terms of performed, this section of it seems to be less like that, and yet that might be a function of this particular kind of phase of the story. It may change when things get a little crazier.
As an actor who also does writing and directing on your own, have you ever talked to Marvel about doing some of that work on any of their properties whether it be writing a script for something, or pitching them an idea for something that you could work on not just as an actor?
GREGG: I have talked to them a little bit about it. I mean one of the things that's been really fun is that the writing has been so good for Coulson. They let him be funny. They kind of get who he is and expand him. At the same time, they're always, in a really cool way, to the different directors, they're like, "Do you have any ideas about this or are there any things you might think he might say differently?" We've talked about some things: the stuff I've done and this thing I'm about to do is very kind of small scale independent. I have this movie that I'm going to try to make in October, it has one special effect, and I've been just shamelessly hitting up the poor, poor bastards in the visual effects department who are so busy, for contacts and help like, "How can I do my one special effects for almost nothing on my indie film budget?" It's definitely something I would love to do and I'm just going to lean on them until they give me a shot.
What's the title of the movie?
GREGG: It's called, Trust Me.
GREGG: We're going to start shooting on October 3rd in L.A.
You want to tell us a little bit about it?
GREGG: It's a kind of neo-noir that's very loosely about the underbelly of show business. I wrote it and I'm going to act in it with a young girl named Madeline Carroll who is in Mr. Popper's Penguins with me, who was in this movie Flipped, and the rest of it is just now casting.
Don Cheadle said yesterday that Iron Man 3 may shoot in February. Is that what you've heard?
GREGG: As always, I'm one beat behind on the information. That's slightly different than what I had heard, but that works for me.
What had you heard?
GREGG: I heard it just in the New Year. I didn't know. I kind of thought it was earlier.
Have you met with Shane Black yet and what are your thoughts because a lot of us obviously revered Kiss Kiss Bang Bang?
GREGG: I love Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I'm a huge fan. I have not met with Shane Black.
Coulson, at least from the superhero's point of view, I don't think they respect him too much, in his part so far. He's been kind of a bumbling character like trying to chase them and trying to stop them, does that change in this or do they think more seriously?
GREGG: That's so funny. I guess this goes back to the gravedigger thing. I so don't… from my point of view, they must respect him. (laughs) He will kick their ass. No, he won't. I think if anyone is viewing him that way, I think that's bound to change.
Did you have any scene with Hawkeye in this because you had a scene with him in Thor? Is there any kind of like a little more connection between you and Hawkeye in this one?
GREGG: Coulson interacts with everybody substantially in this.
Hawkeye's like an employee. I thought he might be more…
GREGG: They all work for me. Is that what you mean? (laughs) Nick Fury is my puppet government.
For more from our Avengers set visit:
35 Things to Know About The Avengers from our Set Visit; Plus a Two-Part Video Blog Recap and 8 New Images
Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Mark Ruffalo The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Chris Hemsworth The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Tom Hiddleston The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige The Avengers Set Visit Interview


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David Schwimmer Makes His WEB THERAPY Debut Monday, August 20th at 11:00 PM (ET/PT)
"Fiona Wallice" (Lisa Kudrow), television's worst online therapist, will add a second "Friend" to her client roster as David Schwimmer guest stars on the SHOWTIME comedy series WEB THERAPY on Monday, August 20th at 11:00 PM ET/PT. Schwimmer will appear in four episodes as "Newell Miller," the son of Fiona's college professor with whom she had a "romantic" encounter in order to raise her grade. Unbeknownst to either of them, Newell witnessed the whole thing and has been traumatized ever since. Divorced three times (all to Fiona doppelgängers) and hoping to move on with his life, Newell heeds the advice of his new therapist by making contact with Fiona to confront his demons and the person behind them.


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Find a Repair Shop
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If you don't have a repair shop in mind, consider using one of our 1200+ preferred Clear Choice Claim Service® repair facilities. These facilities provide prompt, quality service at reasonable prices. If you choose a Clear Choice facility, repairs can begin as soon as we send a referral and we guarantee the work for as long as you own your vehicle.
Please report your claim so that we can get to work as quickly as we can to get you back on the road.


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Siteimprove Named 2018 Transatlantic Company of the Year
mar 16, 2018
Siteimprove is recognized for its impressive growth in a complex U.S. market as well as their strategic choice of in placing a majority of its activities and investments in the United States.
The award was presented to the Danish software company Siteimprove at AmCham's Annual 2018 Transatlantic Summit.
In receiving the award, CEO & Founder of Siteimprove Morten Ebbesen stated: "We began operating in the U.S. in 2005, only two years after we were founded. At the time, our early entry in the U.S. was a somewhat daring move from a cost and risk perspective, but we worked hard and succeeded. This propelled our entire company forward because it created a strong financial foundation we could use to grow in other markets and also mature our key product offering. In this way, the U.S. has played a special role in how we evolved as a company."
He continues: "We are extremely proud to be recognized by AmCham for our strong footprint in the US and that our success contributes to growth and jobs in the Minneapolis area. We are fast approaching 200 employees in the U.S. that accounts for 61% of our entire revenue and this year we expect to grow even further because we have a highly relevant product for companies and organizations."
Spokesperson and Chairman of the jury, Jørgen Bardenfleth, noted that "The jury was very impressed by the growth and engagement that Siteimprove has shown in the United States - particularly during the past three years. In that period, Siteimprove's U.S. revenue has grown from $8.1 million to $28 million and the number of employees has increased by 279%. Siteimprove's U.S. activities are in rapid growth in a complex software market – and are also the company's fastest-growing business compared to the rest of the world. The fact that their U.S. business makes up 61% percent of the company's combined activities show that Siteimprove is fully committed to the U.S".
The other finalists included KMC, LEO Pharma, SimCorp, Ørsted og Weibel Scientific.
About the Award
The Transatlantic Company of the Year is awarded to a registered Danish company invested in the U.S. that has demonstrated significant achievements within the United States, in one or more of the following areas:
- Growth: Relative growth in turnover, employees or profitability in USA
- Investment: Significant investments in R&D, new facilities or acquisitions in USA
- Partnerships: Strategic partnerships in USA, with organizations, companies or government agencies
- Innovation: Development/implementation of an innovative solution in USA
- CSR/Sustainability: CSR programs in the USA & how they increase overall sustainability
AmCham's Executive Director Stephen Brugger on the award: "AmCham wishes to recognize the important contributions and positive impact of Danish companies investing in the United States. The award is presented annually in order to highlight the importance of the economic ties between the United States and Denmark and to celebrate business excellence by a Danish company in arguably the most competitive market in the world".
For more information, contact:
- AmCham Denmark: Stephen Brugger, Executive Director, (firstname.lastname@example.com, tlf: +45 20 16 59 32)
- Siteimprove: Mads Gyldenkærne, Press Contact, (email@example.com), (Tlf.: +45 5227 1027)
Photos from the award ceremony can be obtained from Pamela Juhl: (www.pamelajuhl.com, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, Tlf: +45 2679 4382)
About AmCham Denmark
Established in 1999, The American Chamber of Commerce in Denmark (AmCham Denmark) is a non-profit, non-governmental business association representing more than 210 U.S., Danish and international companies actively investing in Denmark and the U.S. Accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC, AmCham is part of the global AmCham network present in more than 100 countries.
AmCham Denmark is also an active member of the European Council of American Chambers of Commerce (AmChams in Europe), which is the umbrella organization for 44 AmChams throughout Europe and Eurasia. In Europe AmChams represent the interests of more than 17,000 American and European companies employing 20 million workers – account for more than $ 1.1 trillion in investment on both sides of the Atlantic.
As the voice for international business in Denmark, AmCham is committed to building a competitive business environment in Denmark, and to doing its part to minimize barriers to international trade.


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December 20, 2010
December Perspective: Looking ahead
Posted in Windermere by Geoff Wood
It is December again, and beyond all of the holiday festivities it is also prediction season. It's that time of year when prognosticators everywhere wax eloquent on what might happen next year and beyond. Looking back, history is full of predictions from silly to bizarre, and from incredibly wrong to amazingly correct.
Read More >
October 25, 2010
The First Decade
Posted by Geoff Wood
The other day I was searching for my daughter's cell phone number – which I haven't memorized because I simply speed-dial it – and I realized it's been years since I memorized anyone's phone number.
Read More >
September 09, 2010
What is a Community?
Posted in Community and Windermere by Geoff Wood
The annual Windermere Symposium takes place at the end of the month, during which hundreds of our agents gather in person. It's a community in the very best sense of the word: people united by shared values, camaraderie and a common cause.
Read More >
August 18, 2010
A Humbling Experience
Posted in Community by Geoff Wood
It's a humbling experience to sit down with a man like Ralph Jenkins. He's seen more than most people. He's done more, and given more. And he knows more. So when I have a chance to talk with Ralph, I ask a lot of questions and listen carefully.
Read More >
July 12, 2010
Going, going...
Posted in Community and Windermere by Geoff Wood
Have you seen the lists on the Internet and various publications touting what is disappearing in America?
Read More >
May 03, 2010
24th Annual Windermere Cup
Posted in Community and Windermere by Geoff Wood
The 24th annual Windermere Cup is on the books. Each year, as part of the festivities surrounding the Opening Day of boating season, the University of Washington hosts crews from across the nation and around the world for this rowing competition.
Read More >
March 18, 2010
Lessons From The Mountain
Posted in Market News and Windermere by Geoff Wood
At just over 14,000 feet, Rainier is iconic in that many world-class climbers practice on it to prepare themselves for the really big ones like Mount Everest.
Read More >
January 20, 2010
What is success?
Posted in Windermere by Geoff Wood
I've never really defined whatever we've accomplished at Windermere in terms of success or failure; rather, it is what we value.
Read More >
January 04, 2010
Auld Lang Syne
Posted in Market News and Windermere by Geoff Wood
On New Year's Eve, a bunch of us were talking about the true meaning of that song… the one we kind of know the words to. It starts like this, "Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?"
Read More >


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Ladies and gentlemen (and any other label you may prefer), I am home after a long trip that took me to Kamloops for Imagine No Religion 2, Toronto for work, and Montreal for vacation (and more work). I stupidly left my laptop in my apartment, so I have been unable to blog. This has been (by far) the longest I have been away from the site since I started it over 2 years ago, and I can't imagine such an absence happening again.
Anyway, I've got lots to talk about: the conference, the protests in Montreal, the things I saw and did while on the road, and apparently there's some talk about hooking up at conferences and flirting, so I might weigh in to that mess as well. I won't be back to normal (and neither will the blog) until the weekend, so I hope you will bear with me as I try to get back into my groove.
Glad to be back!


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Until recently, Diana Lorenzo wasn't sure she wanted kids.
Now she is sure, but the 32-year-old small-business owner wonders whether she and her husband can afford it.
"We're hurting, financially," she said. "We've streamlined everything, and that's why I can't imagine. Where can I cut?"
The U.S. fertility rate fell 4 percent from 2007 to 2009 — the biggest drop in more than 30 years, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Those years coincided with the worst recession in at least 30 years. The CDC cautions that there is not enough data to prove cause and effect, but independent researchers do see a trend.
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And many women told msnbc.com anecdotally that the economy has played a major role in their decision not to have a baby right now.
For Lorenzo, just getting pregnant would bring financial worries. Both she and her husband run their own businesses — she has a media buying firm and he's a mechanic — and both have struggled through the economic doldrums of the past few years.
Now things are starting to improve, and Lorenzo thinks having her own business is an asset because it will give her some flexibility with a child. But she recently learned that just adding maternity coverage would cost about $400 more a month in health insurance, pushing the monthly premium over $1,000.
That's even before she starts to factor in the costs of insuring and raising a child. As the middle child of five, Lorenzo said she watched her parents work two jobs and occasionally skip meals to pay their children's expenses.
"I don't want to be in that position," she said.
For other parents, the financial strain of raising one child leaves no budget for another.
Frances Claxton, 28, loves her siblings and always figured she'd have two kids.
Then she lost her job shortly before becoming pregnant with her son, Andrew, now 2, and she and her husband moved to Gladewater, Texas, from Oregon because he got a promotion. She hasn't been able to find a new job, and the couple is grappling with medical bills because their son was born with a cleft lip that has required multiple surgeries.
"When I think about how Andrew's growing up so fast it does really make me long to have a baby again. They really are only a baby for a short period of time," Claxton said. "But (it) immediately goes back to, well, we can't afford one, so I've got to forget about it. I'm lucky that I got to have one."
Researchers say there is growing evidence that Claxton and Lorenzo are part of a trend.
"We clearly saw a strong association between the change in economic indicators and the change in fertility," said Gretchen Livingston, a senior researcher with the Pew Research Center.
Livingston was the co-author of a report published in 2010, based on 2008 data, that showed a substantial drop in birth rates in economically hard-hit states, such as Arizona and Florida. North Dakota, which was less affected by the economic downturn, showed a slight increase in its fertility rate.
That follows a pattern of other adjustments people have made because of economic woes, said Laura Lindberg, senior research associate with the Guttmacher Institute.
"Marriage rates stalled. Migration stalled. People didn't seem to be engaging in major life changes," she said. "So, I think that supports the same idea: The decline in the birth rate isn't one aberrant data point when everything else has been moving along smoothly."
The CDC data showed the trend was most pronounced in women ages 15 to 29, and especially those 20 to 24.
Livingston, of Pew, also noted other signs of change caused by the weak economy, such as more multigenerational households and more grandparents taking on child-care responsibilities.
"To add fertility to the mix doesn't surprise me," she said.
Still, Lindberg said it's too early to say whether the recent decline in fertility signals a more permanent change.
In the Great Depression, she said, it appeared many women put off having kids because of the economy and then weren't ever able to have those children. These days women are more likely to have children later in life, both because of fertility treatments and changes in social norms.
"We have a lot more opportunity for catch-up," Lindberg said. "The window is just bigger than it used to be."
TODAY Moms: What's the best age to start having kids?
For now, Lorenzo — the Florida woman facing the insurance-premium increase — said she expects to delay having children for a while.
"Maybe it means I have to get more creative, and if I really want it, it will happen," she said.
Still, the waiting is hard.
"It's pretty devastating because it keeps me up at night," she said.
Melissa Thompson, 30, and her husband often talk about having kids. But then something comes up — like he doesn't get a paycheck that week — and the financial stress causes them, yet again, to put off starting a family.
In many ways, Thompson, who lives in Sherman, Texas, said this would be an ideal time for her to get pregnant. She has a steady job as a trainer for a computer software company that has good benefits and allows her to work from home.
But her husband recently decided he needs to find a new job because the family business he used to work in, installing security systems, had to downsize due to the recession. Meanwhile, he is still trying to finish college.
Thompson thinks she'll eventually feel comfortable enough financially to have a child. But even then she expects that she'll never be as prepared as her parents were.
"I wouldn't have been able to go to college without their help. I wouldn't have been able to get my first car without their help, and I feel like if we're not stable enough and we can't provide things for our kid then that kind of makes me sad," she said.
Despite the tough times, some parents say they have gone ahead with plans to have children.
Catalina Herndon, 27, knew it would be a financial stretch when she and her husband decided to have a baby. He's completing his Ph.D., and she works as a behavioral specialist in an elementary school in Arizona, which has been hard-hit by a state budget crisis. Together, they make less than $50,000 a year.
Still, Herndon said the couple, who live in Tucson, decided that the financial struggles would be worth it because they currently live close to their families, who can help out with child care and provide other types of support. That may not be the case later, when her husband finishes his education and they will likely have to move for his career.
"He and I both agreed that family was the most important thing," she said.
Nevertheless, it's a struggle. Herndon said her mother watches her 7-month-old son while she works, and the couple even plans out errands carefully to save on gas.
One day, she found herself with just $35 or $40, grappling with the fact that she needed both baby food and groceries.
"I called my mom, crying, (saying) 'I can't feed my family,' " Herndon recalled.
Mom's advice: "That's what the dollar menu is for."
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints


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Discover how to leverage the features of Box to upload, organize, and manage your personal content in this interactive demonstration session. Find out how to give people different levels of access to your content with Box's sharing and collaborative features, and discuss ways others are using Box to share and collaborate at Penn State.
This hands-on workshop will help participants get started using Box for sharing and collaboration. Participants will be guided through the steps for sharing content via link, setting up collaborative folders, organizing content for effective collaboration, and using Box's communication tools within a collaborative workflow.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will become familiar with the basic tools for data management in Microsoft Excel. Participants learn how to import, extract, and manipulate spreadsheet data. Participants will also use some of Excel's tools to work more efficiently, including data validation, PivotTables, and PivotCharts.


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Man jumps on stage during mayor's State of City speech
Mayor Sly James not hurt, finishes address
A man jumped on stage during the mayor's State of the City speech Tuesday morning.
KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported that the man shoved the Mayor Sly James aside from the podium and started talking about how ineffective he and the city were.
He was shouting into the microphone as James gripped its side trying to hold on the dais.
"My first thought was, where did he come," Mayor James said. "What is he doing here? And what is it that he's screaming? Then I kind of looked to see if he had anything in his hands."
The man shouted and cursed for about 10 to 15 seconds before police seized him and threw him to the ground.
"But I didn't see anything, and he pounded on the podium and then just some blurs as they were trying to take him down," James said.
Loud shouts and noise associated with a scuffle could be heard backstage.
About 10 minutes later, the man was taken out of the Gem Theater, where the incident happened, and placed in a police van.
At that time, the man was complaining loudly about City Councilman Jermaine Reed being effective, Mahoney reported.
"It's extremely disturbing and alarming," Reed said. "And again, I am just learning this information."
Reporters shouted at the man to give his name, but he did not.
Later, political activist Rachel Riley said she "salutes" the protester.
Riley said he was speaking the truth about the problems of Kansas City, and the mayor was glossing over them.
Witnesses said as most were watching James speak, the man was able to quickly rush down the theater aisle and up to the stage.
"I am not going to question my security," James said. "Because there is nothing they could have done except to stand by me side by side. We don't live that way."
This is not the first security issue for the mayor: During a march on the Plaza, his security team had to push him into some bushes because someone starting shooting. Police don't believe James was the target.


text: Access your world from a single USB port! - Instantly upgrade the connectivity of any PC via USB- 3 USB 2.0 ports to hook up more devices and an Ethernet port for connection sharing- Enjoy the convenience of tidy cable management in an easy-to-carry form- Convey your sense of st Shop Modal header Any PC with a USB port gets instant access to more connections in simple plug and play. Perfect for Ultrabook™ and tablet users, this hub offers three extra USB ports so more devices can be connected, while its 10/100Mbps Ethernet plug lets you share an internet connection! Perfected using luxurious materials and crafted to fit both on-the-go and at home, this sleek adapter suits all lifestyles and allows you to get more done in style.


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3 Stone Trilogy Style Cluster Diamond Pendant
Elegant, 3 stone diamond cluster pendant, set with matching equally sized round brilliant cut diamonds in a very simple modern design.
3 Stone Trilogy Style Cluster Diamond Pendant
Elegant, 3 stone diamond cluster pendant, set with matching equally sized round brilliant cut diamonds in a very simple modern design.
Trilogy Set Diamond Pendant
A trilogy setting of equal sized, Round Brilliant cut Diamonds, make this pendant both feminine and eye-catching. The pendant comes complete with an 18-inch curb chain, which can be adapted to suit your preference. The three Round Brilliant cut Diamonds have been expertly graded G Colour and SI1 Clarity prior to being set. This stylish necklace is available in 18 Carat White or Yellow Gold, 18 Carat White or Yellow Fairtrade Gold and 950 Platinum. The pendant will arrive at your door safely packaged and presented ready for that special moment. As this design is crafted to order, please allow 4 weeks for delivery.
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UK clients can now take advantage of additional value offered by Fairtrade Gold. Many of our commissions can be created in 18ct White Fairtrade Gold or 18ct Yellow Fairtrade Gold. Responsibly sourced and fully traceable, Fairtrade Gold gives UK clients the reassurance that their purchase has helped the lives of impoverished, small scale artisanal miners in areas such as Peru. As part of the Fairtrade Foundation, miners receive a fair price for the gold they produce, and a premium per kilogram which benefits the development of their community.
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Once your diamond pendant commission has been completed, we will send out your parcel by Royal Mail Special Delivery. This next day service delivers by courier before 1pm the following day. Once sent, your parcel reference is emailed to you. Diamond pendants are delightfully presented in luxurious packaging as shown below. Our main outer box is wrapped in a protective sealed wrapping to ensure your parcel arrives in box fresh condition. We also include certification where appropriate, and a detailed valuation within your document wallet.
Read more on delivery information
A note on diamond grading
Besides exceptional value for money, we maintain strict standards for all of our diamond pendants and for the diamonds themselves. All diamonds are cut and polished to the highest standards. We provide a minimum of a very good cut grade as standard, with excellent cut diamonds being available upon request. Most certified diamonds are GIA certified for your reassurance, GIA is the most respected authority for diamond grading. All diamonds are provided with the assurance of being 100% conflict free, and we are now able to provide upon request fully traceable diamonds in certain sizes, colour and clarity grades. For 100% ethical assurance, consider Fairtrade Gold now available for diamond pendants. All diamond solitaire pendants weighing 0.30 carats and above, selected in grades above J colour and SI2 clarity will include full certification for your reassurance.
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All pendants arrive with an 18 inch chain as standard. Other sizes are available upon request.


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Best Kids' Products For September 2011
LilSugar's Must Have For September
LilSugar's Must Have For September
Summer's about to become little more than a memory, meaning it's time to turn our thoughts to more indoor activities. With the kids back in school, and books on our mind, we've got our eye on a few fun finds that will keep everyone entertained when the weather turns cool. From a funky downloadable book both parents and tots will enjoy to a baby journal every mom has time to fill out, here are LilSugar's items to snag for September!


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"A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems" Alfréd Rényi
Coffee, the greatest addiction ever, has been making the news recently. Join me for a run-down of this greatest of the warm liquids:
1) How Coffee Affects Your Brain – PhD Comics
Short answer: very nicely, thanks.
2) This is your brain on coffee – NYT. From the story:
In one large-scale epidemiological study from last year, researchers primarily at the National Cancer Institute parsed health information from more than 400,000 volunteers, ages 50 to 71, who were free of major diseases at the study's start in 1995. By 2008, more than 50,000 of the participants had died. But men who reported drinking two or three cups of coffee a day were 10 percent less likely to have died than those who didn't drink coffee, while women drinking the same amount had 13 percent less risk of dying during the study. It's not clear exactly what coffee had to do with their longevity, but the correlation is striking.
Apparently coffee makes life worth living.
3) Correlation, causation, and a suicidal link with coffee – Improbable Research. The highly improbable take on the above story:
This is one of the few reports to explicitly state that coffee seems to cause ("Drinking several cups of coffee daily appears to reduce") a life-or-death effect in people who drink it. In so doing, this report may be a watershed (and/or coffeeshed) in the history of biomedical science, and in the field of biological psychiatry….BONUS: The report also says, a few paragraphs later, "In spite of the findings, the authors do not recommend that depressed adults increase caffeine consumption…"
The obligatory insight from XKCD belongs here.
4) We have the benefits from coffee, so what about the cost? Well, DataGenetics has you covered. Here you can calculate the cost of coffee (or any regular purchase) with surprising sophistication. Of course, if you deduct the costs of premature suicide and lethargy then coffee always works out to be a surprising bargain.
Stay caffeinated, my friends.
-Dr. D


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How to Arrange Kebab Skewers
5 Prep Tips to Perfecting Your Kebabs
Is this your first Summer to face a grill? If so, don't be afraid to face the coals head-on: we've got you covered with a new series, BBQ U, where we coach you on all the fundamentals of grilling, and then some. Today we're tackling skewers, which, if you've never tried, are worth taking a stab at; after all, just about everything seems to taste better on a stick.
Kebabs are a barbecue staple, but it's important to be diligent in the prepping process. No matter how good the ingredients, seasoning, or sauce, if the ingredients are not properly cut and arranged, the kebab will not cook evenly and thoroughly on the grill. If you've experienced issues in the past or are new to kebab making, these five tips will help you perfect your prepping technique.
- Soak the skewers: Always soak wooden skewers before loading them up with vegetables. It will ward off splinters as you load them up with veggies, plus it prevents skewers from burning or catching on fire prematurely. Simply soak them in water for half an hour to an hour as you chop the veggies.
- Cut similar-sized shapes: Just as with other methods of cooking, the pieces of veggies and meat will cook at different rates if they are not the same size. Whether it's a mushroom or a piece of meat, make one item on the skewer the designated size, usually about an inch, and cut the other vegetables the same size.
- Mix it up: Alternate the different ingredients for a colorful presentation and combo of flavors with every bite.
- Flat-sided arrangement: When piercing the items through the skewer, align them so that every piece on the skewer touches the surface. This will ensure that every item chars a little on the grill.
- Leave spaces in-between: Bunching up all of the ingredients, makes it really difficult for the items to thoroughly cook. Instead, leave a little space (like 1/4 inch), so the flames can lick in-between the vegetables and meat.


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Prime Minister Julia Gillard has used a meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan to call for an investigation into the brutal cull of more than 20,000 Australian sheep in Pakistan.
Ms Gillard raised the issue with Raja Pervaiz Ashraf during the Asia-Europe Summit in Laos, telling him that Australians were distressed by "these acts of cruelty" and that she wanted the matter investigated.
"I did raise with the Prime Minister of Pakistan my concern about the graphic and very cruel images," Ms Gillard told reporters in Vientiane.
"[I was] very strong in raising those concerns and very clear this is something that has distressed the Australian people."
On Monday night Four Corners screened footage that showed the sheep, which had been sent to Pakistan after being rejected by Bahrain over health concerns, being culled.
The sheep, exported by Wellard, were cleared by quarantine and independent tests, however Karachi authorities alleged the animals were unfit for human consumption and they were eventually culled last month.
Ms Gillard said on Tuesday that Mr Ashraf had assured her Pakistan would investigate the cull.
But Ms Gillard noted that this incident - whereby the sheep were alleged to have been unfit for human consumption - was different from recent issues with live Australian exports to Indonesia.
"This was a false claim about disease in these sheep and the industry has already voluntarily responded by suspending live sheep being sent to Bahrain and Pakistan," she said.
Ms Gillard also told reporters that the Australian government had been "working hard" to ensure that live experts was a sustainable industry with appropriate standards for animal welfare.
Government backbenchers, animal rights groups and the Greens have used the public screening of the brutal cull of Australian sheep to renew their call for live animal exports to be banned.
Labor backbenchers, including Melissa Parke and Kelvin Thomson, on Tuesday again raised the need for an independent office of animal welfare, separate from the agriculture department.
Ms Parke also said that there were inherent risks when sending animals overseas and said it was time to move from live exports to a domestic meat trade.
''For industry to keep saying these are isolated incidents is simply not credible and the department, as regulator, has now conceded it cannot guarantee the welfare of animals sent overseas,'' Ms Parke said.
''These animals are suffering for profit, it is immoral and unacceptable.''
RSPCA said the debacle was yet another chapter in a long history of shipments of live sheep being rejected and is a clear sign that the trade was not worth the risk.
RSPCA Australia chief executive Heather Neil said that despite the implementation of two different systems designed to protect live animals to the region, Australian animals weren't being protected.
"Live export is a senseless trade – from both an animal welfare and economic perspective – and planning for a future without it is in the best interests of Australian animals and a sustainable livestock industry in this country," she said.
Various industry bodies, appearing as a united front at a press conference in Parliament, defended live animal exports, noting trade had voluntarily been suspended to Bahrain and Pakistan.
''Obviously we are here again in circumstances that we don't want to be, I think the industry was once again very shocked last night by the footage,'' National Farmers Federation president Jock Laurie said.
Industry defended new animal welfare rules which they said were improving welfare in other countries.
''But every now and again we have a hiccup in the system... so let's make sure that we find a way to overcome that problem and that's what we are asking to do here,'' Mr Laurie said.
He said that the impact of less trade was affecting domestic sheep prices. Mr Laurie said the trade was worth $1.8 billion and employed 13,000 people.
The department of agriculture launched an investigation into the Pakistan saga last month, however it has yet to report back.
''Let's just have a good sensible rational discussion around this, rather than an emotional discussion,'' Mr Laurie said.
Independent MP Bob Katter today urged Australians not to "submit to the emotional blackmail" being perpetrated in the media by the "hand-wringing, eye-daubing set".
In a statement, Mr Katter said that the live exports outrage was coming at the expense of domestic industries and Australia's global food obligations.
"If it is the ABC's personal objective to destroy one of the major sources of protein – a basic building block of nutrition – for third-world countries; and to have an absolutely devastating effect on our sheep and cattle industries, well they're doing a wonderful job of it," he said.
"We will pay a terrible price for this moral arrogance."
Mr Katter added there was also "a little touch of xenophobia" at play.


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CELTICS: Boston falls to Denver Nuggets despite Jeff Green's 20 points
DENVER >> Ty Lawson started the second half of the NBA season the same way he closed the first -- on an offensive tear.
Lawson and Danilo Gallinari each scored 26 points, and the Denver Nuggets snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Boston Celtics 97-90 Tuesday night.
Lawson has averaged 27.5 points in his last four games, well above his season average of 15.8 going into the game against the Celtics.
"I'm just attacking, not thinking about whether I should shoot it, not second-guessing my shot," Lawson said. "I'm just trusting myself and it's been working out for me."
And it's also working for the Nuggets, who gained a split of their season series with Bostonafter losing in triple overtime to the Celtics the week before. The loss to Boston had ended the Nuggets' season-high nine game winning streak and marked the start of a three-game skid leading up to the All-Star break.
"Tonight, we just didn't close out any quarter very well," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "End of the first, end of the half, the end of the third killed us. They went on their little run to end the game.
"Everybody came into this game wanting to win it and that may have gotten in our way. Each guy wanted to win it instead of trusting the team. We had a great first half, it got away from us in the third and fourth."
Lawson noted that Gallinari (sinus infection) and Andre Iguodala (neck strain), who contributed defensively despite not scoring, returned after missing the previous two games to help make the difference in the rematch with the Celtics.
"Everybody was back," Lawson said. "And it shows how much we've matured as a team, to come back from the All-Star break and beat a team like that."
Andre Miller and Kosta Koufos added 11 points apiece and Kenneth Faried had 16 rebounds to go with his seven points for the Nuggets, who beat Boston for the eighth time in nine games in Denver, including the last four in a row.
"They're one of the better defensive teams in the league and you've got to figure out ways to get baskets," Miller said. "We didn't always shoot the ball the way we wanted to, but we found ways to get some easy baskets and we got to the free throw line. And we finished off the game the right way."
Jeff Green had 20 points off the bench to lead the Celtics, who have been playing well despite losing Rajon Rondo (torn ACL), Jared Sullinger (back surgery) and Leandro Barbosa (torn ACL) to season-ending injuries in the past month.
Avery Bradley added 17 points and Courtney Lee had 15 for the Celtics, who are still looking for their first win on the road against a Western Conference team this season.
"We got stagnant with ball movement," said Boston's Paul Pierce. "We just didn't make the adjustment. A little too much one-on-one. On the other end, we didn't get key stops. We fouled a little bit too much. Every crucial possession that we needed a stop, we didn't get the stop that we needed and they were able to pull away."
Behind much of the night, the Nuggets stretched their lead to 78-70 going into the fourth quarter when Corey Brewer made layups on successive possessions.
The Celtics fought back to tie it at 84-all on Bradley's 3-pointer with 5:37 left to play, but Gallinari hit a clutch 3-pointer and Lawson added a basket on a putback.
After Kevin Garnett missed a pair of free throws, Faried grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in to give the Nuggets a 93-86 lead with 2:35 left.
Boston got a driving layup from Green and a pair of free throws from Jason Terry to cut Denver's lead to 94-90 with 1:09 left.
After Faried missed a pair free throws, Garnett missed a short, contested jumper and Gallinari rebounded for Denver, getting the ball out to Lawson. He was fouled and made both free throws to give the Nuggets a six-point cushion with 20.7 seconds remaining.
The Celtics didn't score again.
Boston had pulled to within four points late in the third quarter when Denver's JaVale McGee was called for goal-tending on Green's 3-pointer. That cut into a lead that Denver had built with a 9-2 run punctuated by a 3-pointer by Gallinari and a swooping one-handed dunk by McGee.
Lee hit a 17-foot jumper as the second-quarter buzzer sounded, offsetting a 3-pointer by Lawson moments earlier and giving the Celtics a 50-49 halftime lead.
Boston led by as many as nine points after going on a 12-2 burst that culminated in Lee's three-point play for a 36-27 lead with 7:08 left in the quarter. Denver answered with a 12-3 run, pulling into a 39-all tie when Miller drained a 3-pointer and Lawson drove for layups on back-to-back possessions.
NOTES: The game was preceded by a moment of silence for Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who died Monday at 80. ... In a pregame ceremony, Iguodala was presented with his Olympic ring by USA Basketball executive director Jim Tooley. Iguodala, who missed two previous games with a neck strain, was held scoreless on 0-7 shooting in his return. ... The Celtics continue a five-game road trip by playing the Lakers on Wednesday in the second of a back-to-back set. ... Boston missed a chance to sweep the season series with Denver for the first time since 2003-04.