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Illinois to open up Mexico center in Chicago
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(AP) — A new center opening in Chicago will be a hub for Midwesterners with ties to the central State of Mexico, Gov. Pat Quinn and visiting Mexican officials announced Monday.
The center — named the Casa de Estado de Mexico — is for people in the U.S. connected to the central state, which is adjacent to Mexico City. The idea is to help people with social and legal services, such as processing marriage and birth certificates.
The center's director, Esther Burgos Jimenez, estimates there are 500,000 people in the Midwest with such ties. The center is similar to one that exists in Texas.
Quinn and Gov. Eruviel Avila of the State of Mexico stopped at the center on the city's near West Side for a celebratory ceremony and called it a chance for the two entities to continue a dialogue into other issues.
Agradezco el recibimiento de @GovernorQuinn, con quien tendré actividades de trabajo hoy y mañana en #Illinois. pic.twitter.com/mvjUF3txYB— Eruviel Ávila (@eruviel_avila) February 10, 2014
Quinn and Avila met last year while Quinn was in Mexico for a trade mission. The two men met privately at Quinn's downtown Chicago office Monday to discuss water issues and education before visiting the center, Quinn said.
He said that such center will create a stronger link between the two entities.
"It really helps with our commerce, our connection on culture and education," Quinn told reporters after the event.
The center is paid for by the State of Mexico, Burgos Jimenez said. It opens for business next week. Illinois officials said no state money was used for the project but it could help serve as a liaison with state authorities.
Avila and a contingent of other leaders and artists from the State of Mexico are visiting Illinois for two days, including a stop at Springfield's Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Also, university officials from the state of Mexico are expected to sign an agreement with Illinois and the University of Illinois to collaborate in the sciences, such as veterinary medicine and animal genetics. The orchestra of the State of Mexico — Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México — was scheduled to play a free concert at a Chicago high school later Monday.
Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, has touted trade between the two countries. Since 2010 Mexico has purchased $1.9 billion in agricultural products from Illinois, according to Quinn's office.


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Laure's Bright and Modern Studio
Much like my other teammates who have weighed in, my dream studio is light and bright. It's in Paris, it's in Los Angeles, it's in Stockholm. It has lively patterns balanced with swaths of white. The bed is the focal point and has luxurious linens and for fun, there are some surprises.
• This simple Marimekko Wallpaper will serve as a backdrop to define the bed area and to add a little pattern on the walls.
• And although the rug in my dream studio at the moment only exists as wallpaper, Makelike's Succulent Wallpaper is my inspiration for a great patterned rug that provides some color and a plushness underfoot.
• Staying with the succulent theme, I'd love to have a trio of these Pod Alluminum Planters filled with succulents and ferns.
• The bed is the four-poster bed frame from Ikea. I like the simple design and that it will help define the bed in an open plan room.
• Storage will come in the form of a classic danish modern credenza in absolutely mint condition from Danish Modern LA.
• I found this image from Real Simple and loved the idea of living in a small space but having the luxury of a fireplace. In the summer, I'll deck it out with plants. And I've been on the hunt for a gold mirror like the one in the picture, it makes me think of Paris in the 20's and it makes me happy.
• The Crapaud Chair from Francois Lalanne is one that I grew up with (Francois and Claude are my great aunt and uncle). The back of the frog is on hinges and flips open so that you can sit in it. I played on the one at my grandmother's endlessly.
• I adore the bedding that John Robshaw created and in my dream I would actually shell out the cash to sleep in some of it.
• A cozy blue armchair will round out the space and give someone somewhere to sit besides the bed (and the frog). Love this one from Jonathan Adler.
• A space isn't complete without some accessories and I love the bright burst of lemon yellow in the form of a retro needlepoint pillow also from Jonathan Adler.
• I always read in order to fall asleep at night so the Manana Floor Light from A+R will help shed light on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (which I'm 3/4's the way through at the moment).
And of course, no space would be complete without a kitty so Hazel makes an appearance as well.
(Images: All products are listed above with links to the original photos. Real Simple photo: Thomas Loof)

subset: commoncrawl


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The Munroe Lady Cats dropped three games in the Maclay Holiday Hoops Tournament.
In their opening contest the Lady Cats were blasted by eventual tournament finalist Lincoln High School, 58-21. Lincoln led 31-17 at the half.
A host of Lady Cats had a smattering of points. Courtney Mayo scored seven points and Anna Dooner scored six points. Dooner also pulled down five rebounds. Carrie Scott dished out five assists and Kristen Allen finished with five steals.
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Anti-depressants, Anxiety and Aerobics: The physical activity prescription
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A report by Health Policy Solutions.
By Molly Maher
Getting to yoga class is not always easy for Diane Sieg.
"There are days I'd much rather hide my head than exercise or do anything else," she said.
But for the public speaker, author and coach, physical activity is a balancing force in her life.
"I've always been involved in health and fitness because of my own issues around depression," she said. "I learned at a very young age that moving makes me feel much better."
Her background led her to develop a life-balance approach that includes consistent physical activity, like practicing yoga no matter how difficult it can be.
"It's a hard road because people who don't feel good don't want to move," she said. "We all have to remember what it is that keeps us going and moving in the right direction."
She now brings this approach to coach clients of the Wellness Treatment Center, where people with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues are led through a six-step program based on the research of Dr. Stephen Ilardi, associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Kansas.
Should we live more like our ancestors?
When Stephen Ilardi was majoring in math and economics as an undergraduate at Emory University, psychology was not on his radar.
Then, while volunteering at a psychiatric hospital, his curiosity led him to non-degree classes and eventually to graduate school at Duke University, where his interests shifted to the "bigger picture issue of depression."
The big picture is bleak, with increasingly high incidence of depression and inconsistent results from anti-depressant medication.
Dr. Ilardi's six part depression cure
- Intensive physical activity
- Increased Omega-3 intake
Lowers inflammation that can lead to neurotransmitter suppression
- Bright light exposure
Leads to cascade of reactions that increase dopamine- and serotonin-based activity, like those of antidepressants
- Healthier sleep habits
- Enhanced social connectedness
"More face time, less Facebook."
- Mindfulness about rumination
The dwelling on negative thoughts is psychologically toxic for patients.
"We have an epidemic that is burgeoning throughout most of the industrialized world and nothing we are doing seems to be making much of a dent," he said.
This depression epidemic, which Ilardi notes is the single leading cause of medical related disability in the United States, is not a result of modern society's higher self-awareness or of a culture of excessive complaining, he said.
Rather, it is at least partially a result of the disconnect between modern society and our hunter-gatherer past.
"There's arguably been no selection pressure in post-agrarian society," he said. "[Modern society] is badly adapted to post-industrial 21st-century life."
He and his research team set out to answer the question: Is it possible to create a successful depression treatment that returns some of these protective hunter-gatherer habits to an individual?
Once he'd identified that question, Ilardi said six different protocols quickly emerged as "robustly supportive" of good mental health. Among these is intensive physical activity.
Participants in his six-part program typically work out with a trainer, which Ilardi says can give them the extra motivation a person with depression needs.
Although sometimes participants may "feel like crap when they first start," Ilardi said they usually feel better after a few consistent workouts.
"Virtually all of our patients have reported they actually begin to see some benefit," he said.
Teen physical activity may lower chance of chronic depression
Dr. Andrea Dunn, senior scientist at Klein Buendel, a communications firm in Golden, first studied the effects of exercise on neurochemistry and depression by observing wheel-running rats in 1987.
One research project addressed the results of different exercise doses on depression using methods similar to those used to study prescription drug treatments. The results showed that the dosage did not have as much effect as the frequency: exercise three times or more per week produced a positive response, whether it was a low or high dose of activity. The low dosage measured was the public health dose recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine.
Today, Dunn is conducting a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The subjects are Denver-area teens and the objective is to determine ways to treat their depression before it becomes a chronic problem: DOSE (Depressions Outcome Study of Exercise) for Teens.
Dunn said typically depression begins in childhood or adolescence and patients wait four to five years on average to seek treatment. If a person suffers two or more episodes of depression, it likely will recur – if only episodically — for a lifetime.
Dunn's study will include participants 12 to 21 years old who are not currently in counseling, though there are exceptions for those on anti-depressants.
The goal is to include 20 to 25 young people who will exercise regularly for 12 weeks. Researchers will use interviews and the Hamilton 17 Rating Scale for Depression to measure the level of symptoms throughout the process.
How physical activity treats and prevents depression
Exercise is generally accepted as a good thing for most people. It has been linked to lower risks of diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call your local hotline.
The Depression Center offers consultations, second opinions and therapy sessions. Call (303) 724-3300.
See your family physician or therapist if you are concerned you may have depression or before beginning any new exercise practice.
Though casual enthusiasts long have claimed that there is a mysterious connection between exercise and happiness — the runners' high, for example — more and more work like that of Dunn and Ilardi is drawing scientific connections between physical activity and mental health, particularly in treatment for depression and anxiety.
Dr. MacAndrew Jack, a faculty member in the Contemplative Counseling Psychology department at Naropa University in Boulder, said that not only does exercise, even moderate levels like walking, activate reward endorphins that make you feel good, it also helps create a mind-body connection that leads to increased mental well-being.
"What's going on in your mind is much more related to your body while you're exercising," he said, though he notes that the strength of the connection may vary. It may be less powerful when a person is on a Stairmaster watching CNN, for example, than if he is fully preoccupied with physical activity.
Jack, who researches breathing patterns and their expression of and influence on our emotional life, said that the limbic sensors connection to breath regulation are also connected to emotional sectors. Breathing becomes more entrained during exercise, which increases harmony in the brain, he said.
Jack also cited the ability of exercise to broaden a person's perspective. Dunn said that depression causes a very narrow focus, something exercise expands.
Exercise helps induce nerve growth factors associated with mood and memory, and it encourages the release of endocannabinoids that can cross the blood-brain barrier, perhaps contributing to a "runners' high," Dunn said.
Similarly, Dr. Neil Weiner, the director of clinical services at the Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, attributes some of the psychiatric value of exercise to its effect on the hippocampus, where growth there increases the connectedness of neurons.
He adds that exercise often leads to other antidepressant results, like increased self-confidence and a sense of mindfulness.
Trends in physical activity as treatment in health care field
Research has found direct, positive results in lifestyle- and physical activity-based treatment programs.
Ilardi says the participants in his research, who represent a population with severe, chronic and treatment-resistant depression, have had about a 75 percent response rate.
Sieg said Ilardi's plan has worked impressively at the Wellness Treatment Center, which is open to anyone interested in improving his quality of life.
"As long as they follow, they get better," she said. "I've been amazed at the results."
At the end of her 12-week study on adults, Dunn saw the participants' scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression drop a mean of 47 percent.
Dunn said that recently – after 25 years in the field — she has seen increased acceptance of the connection between physical activity and mental health.
"Trying to gain credibility with the psychiatric community, to have more respect from them…it's taken a long time," she said. "It seems sort of ridiculous, because the two are so inextricably linked."
Weiner pointed out that the Cochrane Review, an industry standard for quality research, reviewed all studies related to physical activity and depression up until 2010. It showed that the majority of studies met basic research standards and their aggregate success rates were quite high, however only two studies met rigorous research standards, and their results were much lower.
No matter the status of research, Weiner says most therapists with extensive education around depression believe in the benefits of exercise.
Meanwhile, Ilardi has seen practical application of his research. He knows of least five treatment centers that use his protocols to treat depression, and more are reaching out to integrate it into their preexisting programs, a sign that there is recognition of alternative treatments for mental health issues.
"I think I've seen among psychotherapists a feeling of great openness when they hear me talk about the actual research and the potential for a lifestyle-based approach to depression," he said. "Many feel empowered."
Ilardi is married to a nurse practitioner in a psychiatric private practice. She integrates some lifestyle-based approaches, Ilardi said, but at least every other week she jokingly says, "You're ruining my practice."
Often her patients want to try something like his six guidelines before taking medication. If the exercise program is successful, her patients will need only one follow-up appointment and seek no further treatment.
He said his wife will make more from a session where she prescribes medication than from one where she does not. For her, the choice to use lifestyle approaches gives greater client satisfaction, making up for these economic factors.
In a prescription-based practice, "It's crazy to adopt a lifestyle approach to depression," Ilardi said.
Weiner said that the Depression Center regularly provides psychotherapy and behavioral activation therapy side by side.
Sometimes they are used in coordination with anti-depressants, and sometimes the therapies may not include strict exercise. Rather they may focus on mindfulness techniques, socialization or simple movement, like getting up to get the mail daily.
Patients need to understand that mild to moderate depression can have equal response rates from psychotherapy or behavioral therapy as from antidepressants, Weiner said.
"Patients should be educated about the facts of psychotherapy, of cognitive behavioral therapy," he said. "We give the patients a choice."
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Are your workers going increasingly mobile? Don't wait for their calls to slam Support when they experience poor application performance on the road. Discover in the Forrester report how companies are successfully deploying WAN optimization solutions that are specifically tuned for a mobile environment, delivering the acceleration needed to ensure consistent performance, room for new applications, and the ability to ensure end user productivity at all times.
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PRAIRIE VILLAGE — A Kansas lieutenant governor candidate is suing over the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village's prohibition on the open carry of loaded firearms in public places.
The Kansas City Star (http://is.gd/JcHPOM) reports that Libertarian Party candidate Grant Nelson alleges in the Johnson County suit that the ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution and the Kansas Bill of Rights. Under Kansas law, cities can regulate but not prohibit the open carry of firearms.
Nelson lives in Prairie Village and says he faces a heightened risk for attack because of his candidacy.
City officials say they will defend the ordinance. It doesn't prohibit the open carry of firearms on private property or in private businesses that allow open carry. It also doesn't apply to those who are legally licensed to carry concealed weapons.


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According to Fedex my XO was delivered on Jan22. Today is April 16, and I still haven't found out what really happened to my delivery.
I came to the conclusion that the laptop was delivered, but since this is an apartment building, it was probably stolen 5 min after being left at the front door. (IF it was indeed delivered at the right address)
I asked around, and no-one in the building has seen any sort of Fedex package.
Fedex isn't helpful on the mater: they are telling me it has been delivered according to the directions...
I sent an e-mail last month (I'm very busy with my work, and this is not a priority) and all I got was automated response... Nothing else in over a month..
I'm out of options. Anyone has any ideas on what I can do at this point?


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8:00 pm
Nature "Christmas In Yellowstone" The undisturbed beauty of Yellowstone National Park in winter dress is NATURE's holiday gift to viewers. Cameras capture breathtaking landscapes that frame intimate scenes of wildlife making their way through their most challenging season of the year. Filmmaker Shane Moore, who lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, leads the way on this winter exploration that includes meeting Tim Murphy, who has skied into Yellowstone for 26 winters to photograph its wonders.G
9:30 pm
Alfie Boe: Live from the Royal Festival Hall, London Filmed live at the Royal Festival Hall in London, during Alfie Boe's sold-out tour, the star of Les Miserables and the much loved tenor showcases his mesmerising and outstanding voice in his very own show. Perhaps best known recently for his role as Jean Valjean in the 25th Anniversary stage show of Les Miserables, Alfie Boe's star status continues to soar. The special showcases Alfie's magnificent stage presence as he shares with the audience a selection of uniquely inspired renditions from some of the best-loved musicals of all time including Sunset Boulevard, Company, West Side Story and Les Miserables - with Alfie performing his own emotive interpretation of "Bring Him Home" accompanied by Claude Michel Schonberg, one of the original writers of the score. D
11:00 pm
Nature "Drakensberg: Barrier of Spears" Africa's Alps rise more than 11,000 feet where a surprising number of creatures live in a hostile environment. Torrential spring rains destroy the grasslands at the base of the mountains, forcing animals to climb straight up sheer cliffs of volcanic rock to a grassy plateau.G


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Tonight we are going to have just a little fellowship time here with some question and answers. We've been doing this now for all the time that I've been at Grace Church. In fact, we used to do it on Sunday nights and we just had a great time. And then we got so many people, we couldn't cover everybody so we do it on Wednesdays from time to time. And it's an especially great time for those of you who have some questions to fire away. I'll do the best I can in answering them. The idea is not Stump the Pastor; the idea is (laughter)...that's easy to do...but to just ask whatever question you might have and we'll give it a shot and do the best we can on maybe a Bible question, a question related to the church or the ministry or something practical that's just been bugging you. And whatever it is, we'll fire away.
Now, we put some mikes in the aisles, but if you feel somewhat intimidated about getting out into the aisle and asking your question, just have somebody on the end reach and pass the mike down to you and that'll work just as well. But if you can, step out into the aisle and speak into the microphone and we'll just start whenever you're ready. That's your cue, so if you want to go directly to a microphone, do that.
QUESTIONER: Can you explain Matthew 18:32-35, please?
JOHN: Okay. Basically, this is a very, very important passage and it talks about forgiveness. I'll just give you a real quick look at it. You have to back all the way to verse 23: "Therefore is the kingdom of Heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had to begun to reckon, one was brought unto him who owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had nothing with which to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children that he had in payment to made."
All right. Here's the servant. He owes a debt. He owes a debt of an absolutely astronomical amount, but that man has absolutely no capacity to repay. Right? In his lifetime, he would never be able to pay back ten thousand talents. It is beyond his ability to pay back. So the lord says to him, the master says to him, all right, you're gonna have to be sold and your wife and your children and the whole thing and we're gonna take all we can get out of you. We're gonna liquidate you and your family.
"The servant, therefore, fell down and worshipped him, saying, 'Lord, have patience with me and I will pay thee all.'" Now that's the stupidity of the whole thing, is the guy said "I'll pay thee all," when that was an absolute impossibility. All right? In other words, the Lord is showing us a man who is in a desperate situation who was so far down that he had no possibility to redeem himself, and yet he was holding onto the fact that he could redeem himself. This is the picture of the person who thinks he can save himself by his own works, when the fact of the matter is, he is utterly hopeless. Okay? So that's part of the perspective here.
"Then the lord," of course, "was moved to compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt." Umm. "But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred denarii," which is minimal. A denarii'd be a day's work and so in a 100 days, three or four months, you could pay that back. Here's a guy who owes him just a pittance. "He laid hands on him and took him by the throat and said, "You better pay me what you owe me.' His fellow servant fell down at his feet and besought him saying, 'Have patience with me and I will pay thee all.'" Now, he could pay! "And he wouldn't but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt." Well, I mean, he wasn't giving what he got, was he? "So, when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, came and told their lord all that was done." The lord called him in and said, "you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you besought me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was angry...delivered him to the inquisitors till he should pay all that was due unto him. So, likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother his trespass."
Now, what you have here, basically, is this: God forgives you your sin on the basis that you forgive others. All right? Now, that is a very important concept. The basic bottom line is this, that if you aren't willing to forgive someone else, you reveal an impenitent heart. And an impenitent heart cannot truly experience the forgiving grace of God. In other words, your heart has to be right to receive salvation. Right? And if you manifest an unforgiving spirit, how can you possibly go to God and beg God to forgive you of a debt that you could never possibly repay? And then you turn around and won't forgive a man of some pittance. In other words, you reveal that your heart is not really true toward God. You haven't come, truly, in confession. And if you back up to Matthew 5, you find the same thing. You come to the Lord and you bring a gift and you try to worship Him and you've got something against your brother, leave your gift at the altar, get out of there, get that thing right with your brother and then come back and God will give you what you seek.
So, the basic point is that if you don't have a forgiving heart, if you don't understand the forgiveness of sin, then you do not have the right spirit to seek forgiveness from God. That's really what He's saying. Okay?
Yes, there's one way in the back, too. Oh, there's one. Okay.
Unidentified Speaker: Right here, John.
JOHN: Yeah.
QUESTIONER: Yes, sir. I was wondering if you have heard of John Todd...
JOHN: Oh, yeah.
QUESTIONER: ...and if you would comment on his credibility. Second, a question from the Scripture in Revelation 20, verses 4-5. Some I've run into indicate that this indicates that we will be going through the Tribulation. I was wondering if you would comment on those verses and the fact that this is the first resurrection.
JOHN: Okay. Revelation 20:4&5 I'll comment on in a moment. As far as Johnny Todd is concerned, Johnny Todd is, came through this area some years ago supposedly being someone saved out of a witchcraft background, being designated as a witch and a medium and contacting all these demons and so forth, supposedly was saved out of this and was going around giving his testimony. Those people who were sponsoring him at the time...he was involving himself in claims that the demon hosts were after him and he was going into churches and getting them to get guns together and arm themselves to shoot those who came against them and so forth and it was pretty bizarre. And people wanted us to have him here but I...it just never was right, never rang true to me. And then later on we found out that some investigation was done. And they found out that the same time that he was going around giving his testimony, going around telling about all this conversion, he was having other meetings in the other side of the camp with the occultists telling them what they wanted to hear and selling all of these products that he was engaged in in witchcraft and everything else. So he was living a completely double life. The Spiritual Counterfeits project in Berkeley did a resume on him and it showed up in Christianity Today, which showed him to be a complete fraud from top to bottom. He had bilked people out of all kinds of things. And at this point he has just disappeared from the Christian scene, and well he should because he has no credibility at all.
As far as your question relative to Revelation 20:4-5 saying this proves we should go, we'll go through the Tribulation. There's no passage in the Bible, in my mind, one passage that proves we will or we won't. You have to cover the whole body of truth. You know, when I did a series on will the church go through the Tribulation, I think I preached six hours on that because there is so much Scripture to deal with. Now, I believe that if you go into Revelation 20, what you have here is the statement about the fact that you do have some people...he's saying here that those who go into the kingdom and reign with Christ will be those who have not worshipped the Beast or his image or received the mark on their foreheads or in their hands. There is no question in my mind that the saints of the Tribulation are in view here because that's the context of what's happening. You see, in chapter 19 you have Armageddon. You have this great holocaust of Armageddon. You're in the Tribulation here and so you're dealing with those people. Now, there are only two groups of people in the Tribulation. The first group would be those who are sinful, those who took the mark of the Beast. They are described in the last part of chapter 19 as those who are slaughtered and those who are massacred and those who are cast in the Lake of Fire, right, and all of that. The other side are those who are the redeemed. And so in order to sum up the whole of human history to that point, he simply discusses where those who were the redeemed out of the Tribulation are going to fit into the picture. He's not discussing the church saints at this point. In fact, they don't really get into the picture until chapter 21 when the Bride comes down from Heaven. And then the church enters into the scene. The very fact that they come down to earth from Heaven is indicative of the fact that they'd been up there. So I think you just have to take the whole context and see it in that perspective. And as I say, if you have further questions, we have a whole series of tapes on will the church go through the Tribulation. To me the key thing in not believing we go through the Tribulation is that I believe the Bible gives us a blessed hope, not a miserable one. I'm not looking for the Tribulation, I'm looking for the Lord. And so I think that's the key thing. Okay?
QUESTIONER: John, I'd like to know what constitutes the church in view of Revelation?
JOHN: What constitutes the church? The church is distinguished in the book of Acts from Israel and the Gentiles. Israel, unique; the church, unique; the Gentiles, unique. Now, the church is a unique organism called the body of Christ, which by the way is a metaphor used for the church, never used for Israel, although many other metaphors are used of both. The church is born at Pentecost. It came into existence at Pentecost. It didn't exist before that. That's why Paul calls it a "mystery." It was something that was hidden and finally revealed. From Pentecost to the Rapture constitutes the church. All believing people who put their faith in Christ from the day of Pentecost to the Rapture constitute the church. Now, when the church is raptured out of the world at the Rapture, the calling away, the catching away, in I Thessalonians 4, you know, where we meet the Lord in the air "and so shall we ever be with the Lord," that is the fullness of the Gentiles. It's called "the fullness of the church." It's completed, then it goes. Then immediately begins on earth a seven-year period called the Tribulation. Okay? That is a time specifically dealing with what nation?...Israel. And that's why it's the 70th week of Daniel. You see, you have 69 weeks of Daniel's prophecy. Daniel predicts 69 years...69 blocks of seven - 483 years. And this period of 483 years goes from the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild the city to the coming of Messiah. Now, if you chart the course, accurately mathematically, from the time of Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild the temple when Isaiah said the period begins, to the coming of the Prince, you will find to the very day, that that 483 years will land on the very day that Jesus entered into the city of Jerusalem that we know as Palm Sunday. He came as the Prince. He came as the King. All right? But at that time, He came and what happened? They rejected Him that very same week. Right? And that was the end of the 69th week. But there's one other week of history still for Israel, one other period when they're gonna be redeemed. But it had to be postponed because they rejected the Messiah. And into the slot in that postponement the Lord dropped the Church Age, the mystery, the fresh channel. Israel was not available to God as His channel to reach the world anymore because they rejected Messiah. So the Lord, remember, turned to the Gentiles, carved out a church. When the church is complete and the church is taken out of the world, then you go right back to the 70th week of Daniel and that's a seven-year period we know as the Tribulation. God goes right back to dealing with Israel. Israel becomes the focal point of the world. There's where you have Armageddon and all the things going on that take place in Israel. And then after that, Israel is redeemed, they become evangelists and a multitude of people from all over the world are won to Christ, Revelation 7 says. And then comes the 1000-year millennial reign. And in the 1000-year millennial reign, there will be Israel and there will be redeemed Old Testament saints and there will be redeemed Tribulation saints and there will be the church all together.
But, basically, the church is that unique mystery period between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel. Old Testament people were not part of the church. The church never begins until the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit comes and indwells and makes the Body. That's the church. And anybody who's a believer, who's redeemed, is a member of the church. People say to me, "Well, what are your requirements for membership in your church?" And I always say, "Well, if you're a Christian, you can be in our church because we can't set a standard higher than God set." People say, "Oh, don't they have to do certain things and believe certain things?" No, we figure we'll take them like they are and try to make them into what we think they ought to be. Well, if we're looking for perfect people for the church, the church would be rather limited in its scope. I wouldn't be here, that's for sure. Okay?
Somebody else have a ..
Unidentified Speaker: Here's one _______.
JOHN: Okay.
QUESTIONER: I've been considered a newborn Christian for a very short time.
JOHN: How long?
QUESTIONER: Say about six months, seven months. And I have a lot of knowledge to learn, I guess, like everybody else.
JOHN: Sure.
QUESTIONER: But the biggest question that I have a hard time answering _______ a friend of mine who's doing things now that I'm away from, and his question...I tell him how all the _____ that God gives you and how He gives you all the chance and He's forgiving and loving and all of this for anybody. And he doesn't feel he'll ever deserve the right, but when it comes to the part when I just say he deserves the right to be a Christian to go to Heaven or anything and have eternal life, he goes, "Well, if He's that just and so that liberal, what if Satan wanted the same thing? Would He give it to him?"
JOHN: Yeah. Well, of course, the key thing...I would just say this. If somebody says that they're not worthy, seize on that because they've just made the greatest recognition possible. Well, when somebody says "I'm not worthy," you grab that and say, "You're right. You are right. That's the whole point." And then when they say, "Well, but how can God do that and be just? If He's so just, how can He forgive me?" Right? That's what he's saying? If He's so righteous and so just and all, the answer to that is, because He was so just He had to take all your sin and pay for it Himself in order to free Himself from the binding of His own justice to forgive you. In other words, there had to be a penalty paid. People say, "Well, if God's so just, how can He forgive?" That's not the issue. If God is...God is so just that in order to forgive, He had to pay the penalty Himself. And that's the key thing. And if a person cannot understand the graciousness and the love of a God who not only wants to redeem an unworthy soul, but wants so much to redeem that unworthy soul that He Himself takes on the penalty, if you can't understand that kind of love, then his eyes are still blinded and you need to pray for the Spirit of God to give him understanding.
JOHN: Good.
JOHN: But the answer, you know, he's saying, "Well, will he accept the Devil in the end?" That isn't the point; the point is him. You know, don't let him get you off on something. People, whenever they talk about salvation or anything, they want to get philosophical about it when they're really not ready to deal with it. So, he's not ready yet. You just be there and hang in there and when God's timing is right, boy, it'll click. It'll click. When the Lord opens a heart, that's the way it is. You know, I was thinking about Acts 16 where you see Lydia and I love it. Paul arrives and the Bible says, "And the Lord opened her heart," just like a flower to the gospel. And all she had to do was hear the message and she just took it in.
So, we do the best we can in presenting Christ. We don't let people get off on philosophical arguments. Just keep driving the point right back to the person. What about you? Lucifer isn't the issue with you; you're the issue with you. What about you? You're not gonna have to answer for the Devil, but you are gonna have to answer for you.
And by the way, the Bible says He didn't die for the Devil anyway. He died for the sins of men, not angels.
QUESTIONER: John, I'd like to know the meaning of Matthew 24:32-36 parable.
JOHN: Matthew 24, I didn't get the rest, 30...
QUESTIONER: 32 through 36.
JOHN: You people are gonna steal all my thunder in Matthew (laughter). "Learn a parable of the fig tree. When its branch is yet tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer's near." Now, I want you to know folks, I don't know beans about a fig tree from personal experience. But I do know enough to know about winter and summer, that leaves lose their leaves in the winter. Right? And when leaves start coming back you that...what? Summer's near, summer's near. That's the whole point of verse 32. When the branch is tender, puts forth leaves, summer is near.
All right. "So likewise, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Well, what is near? Well, all of the previous part of the chapter is talking about the events of the coming of Christ. And it's simply saying, when you begin to see these things come to pass...what things?...well, the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation, verse 21; "the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel," verse 15, where the anti-Christ desecrates the sacred place; when you see, verse 7, "nation rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom," famines, pestilence, earthquake, various things. In other words, false Christs and false prophets, when all of these elements of the end time begin to come to pass, then you know that summer is near. You know that the time for the arrival of the Son of Righteousness is very near.
Then in verse 34, he introduces another element and says, "This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." And the question is, what generation. And maybe the safest answer is, the generation that is alive when all of these things begin to happen. It's gonna happen so fast that they'll see the end. And I think that's really true. You know, the Tribulation is short, isn't it? And in fact, the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation is basically a time of peace. And it's in the middle of the Tribulation that all of the sudden the seven seals are opened and the seven trumpets are blown and the seven vials are _____ _____ poured out, and in a rapid-fire, almost staccato succession of a tremendous cataclysmic events, bang, bang, bang, bang, in 3 1/2 years, the holocaust of the whole world takes place. So that the generation that is alive when these things begin to come, just like the people who are alive when the fig tree puts forth its leaves, are the same people who are gonna be around when the summer comes because one follows so quickly on the other. And this is the way it's gonna be. Heaven and earth might pass away, but My Word shall not pass away. In other words, you can believe this.
Now, there's one other belief here and this is one that's been discussed and it's a possible one. The word generation, "genea" is a word that means race, people, nation, generation...very, very broad word. It's like our work people. You know, it could mean anything. And some say that the fig tree here is Israel. Right? Have you heard that view? The fig tree is Israel and that's true in the Bible. Very often Israel is a fig tree. And the generation that is alive when the fig tree puts forth its buds or its leaves will not pass away till all these things come to pass. And so they say, the generation that is alive when the fig tree puts forth its leaves, or comes out of the night of its winter...and, of course, you know as well as I do that in, I think, May of 1948, Israel became a nation didn't they? And many Bible scholars believe that the fig tree put forth its leaves; that the night of the winter of Israel's history was ended and Israel began new life and they became a nation duly constituted, autonomous nation and the fig tree put forth its leaves. And the generation that is alive to see that will not all die off until all the events of the end come to pass, which if that's the proper interpretation, and some believe it is, although you cannot be dogmatic about it...it is a possible interpretation...then the generation that is alive as of 1948 will be alive when the things of the return of Christ take place. Now you get into the discussion of how long is a generation. And some people say 40 years and some people say 60 years and some people say 30 years. If it's 30 years it's too late. Some people keep...they keep raising their date. I noticed that David Wilkerson just revised his vision (laughter). Did you see that? He had a vision, you remember, at the conference in Minneapolis and he predicted that the whole thing would come to pass by 1978 and he has now revised his vision. This is the revised vision (laughter) and the reversed version or perverse vision or something. But anyway, he's revising his vision upwards into the 80's. If it's 30 years, it's behind us. If it's 40 years, it's gonna be 1988, but I don't really know. I do know this: If you go to verse 36, it's very helpful. It says, "But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but my Father only." So I don't why people keep setting dates because they don't know. And every time I hear somebody do that, I can't believe they will do that. Why do people do that when it says here...I heard a guy the other day say on the television, they were interviewing him...you know, if you're not sick to start with when you stay home, just watch Christian television and you will be (laughter). I mean, you'll really be sick (laughter) when you hear the stuff that goes on on that; it's unbelievable; unbelievable. Anyway, I don't want to get into too much of that. But this guy was saying that the Lord must come in the next two years, you know, just in defiance of Scripture. And so, we don't know when, but the generation that's alive when it begins to come to pass, will be alive when it fully comes to pass cause it's gonna happen so fast. That's one view. The other view is that the ones that are alive when Israel is born will see the fullness of the end.
So, either way, folks, things are happening so fast in our day and age. I'm not predicting when the Lord's gonna come, but man, I'll tell you, somebody said to me, "What has to happen before He can come?" I said, nothing but the trumpet and when that happens, we're gone. Because there are no parts of the puzzle left out...none.
Okay, Bill.
BILL: Why is there death at that time?
JOHN: Why is there death?
BILL: Yeah.
JOHN: Because wherever there is...he's talking about in the Kingdom, the 1,000-year millennium...there will be death because wherever there is physical life, there is death. There are people alive today. Right? We're gonna get raptured and taken out of the world. They'll still be people here, right? So, we're in Heaven; there's still people here. All right. Some of those people are gonna be saved. Right? In fact, Revelation 7 says an innumerable number of them are gonna be saved and the whole nation of Israel is gonna be saved. Great revival in the Tribulation. All right? The Bible tells us that anti-Christ is gonna slaughter those people that are saved. Is that true? All right, it is true. But he will not kill all of them. As best we can tell, the prophets indicate that Satan will kill two out of three. So, in the Tribulation period there are going to be people who will have believed in Christ and escaped the slaughter of the anti-Christ. If you read Revelation, you will find that in the 12th chapter and on, that there is going to be an escape. There's going to be a...these people are going to flee from anti-Christ, anti-Christ's army is gonna chase them, the ground is gonna open and swallow the anti-Christ's army and the people will be saved. Some people feel they'll be hidden in Petra, in Edom. Nonetheless, there will be some saved. Now, when Christ comes at the end of the Tribulation, and He comes to set up His kingdom, He will judge the ungodly, the goats - Matthew 24, [sic] [this is in Matthew 25] and He will say to the goats, "depart you cursed into everlasting punishment." But the sheep, the sheep are the still remaining living saints who have escaped the anti-Christ. To them He will say, "Come, ye, beloved of my Father and inherit the kingdom." Therefore, going into the millennial kingdom are living physical beings. They are the ones, who because they still have a physical body, will have the capacity to die. Now, the change in the environment, in the food and in the pollution and everything that occurs in the kingdom is going to lengthen their life so that if they do die at 100, they die like a baby. But nonetheless, where there is physical life, there is decay and death. So they will die physically. And I just imagine that when one of those people die's they'll just lie down and die and then they'll just come right back again in a glorified body instantly. But there will be death as long as there is physical life and there will be people in the kingdom in physical form. Okay? That's a good question.
QUESTIONER: In regards to the millennium, I've often been asked and I don't know how to answer this question. When we're raptured, from the time we're raptured and we come back and we live in the millennium, will we be living with our families, like, with our children, or what kind of change will take place?
JOHN: Well, when we're in the church and at the Rapture we go to Heaven, there will be the dissolution of all human relationships as we know them...okay?...because there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage in Heaven, but like the angels. So there's no more, you know, of that kind of thing. But it is not going to be the loss of the uniqueness of that relationship, but rather everything that an intimate, loving relationship could be and more than we can dream, will be true with everybody. In other words, there will be no reason to have families because there will be one family. If you can imagine what it's like to be loved by your child or to be loved by your wife or to know the fulfillment of loving your wife and loving your children, then you will only have a small comprehension of what it will be like to be loved and to love in exchange in an infinite capacity with everybody who exists in God's dominion. It's just the full explosion of all the potentialities of love and relationships. So it isn't the loss of anything; it's the gaining of everything in that sense. But there won't be anymore families as such, so you won't be living with your...you might as well make the most of it while you're here. I think we'll be friends in Heaven, but (laughter)...you know, and we'll have a great time.
Bill, did you have somebody who was gonna ask a question?
JOHN: Yes?
QUESTIONER: Yeah, hello, John.
JOHN: Hi.
QUESTIONER: It's good to be in the house of God.
JOHN: Yeah.
QUESTIONER: But coming back to Matthew 25 (laughter)...
JOHN: I think I'm sentenced to Matthew. Okay.
QUESTIONER: There's a passage here that's really been troubling me because it speaks of ten virgins.
JOHN: Right.
QUESTIONER: And it said that they went to meet the Lord.
JOHN: Right.
QUESTIONER: And that they were together. And then they got drowsy and they fell asleep. And then it was a great shout. Praise the Lord; the Lord came. But then it speaks of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins.
JOHN: Right.
QUESTIONER: And the wise had oil.
JOHN: Right.
QUESTIONER: And the other didn't. But what puzzles me is that then the Lord came, so the other five that didn't have the extra oil went to the other five who had the oil and asked them to give them some. And then they told them, well, we don't have enough for you. We have for ourselves. We can't give it to you. So then, anyway, they went to the feast and the other five then miss the feast...
JOHN: Right.
QUESTIONER: ...and the Lord came. And then later on, it seems like they got the oil, but when they went back to the Lord, the Lord told them I never knew you.
JOHN: That's right.
QUESTINOER: So, it's really...
JOHN: Well, the point is this. There are plenty of people who are religious, but they're not saved. These are people who procrastinate and procrastinate and put it off, put it off, put it off, put it off and they're religious. They're just like Matthew 7. "Many will say unto Me, Lord, Lord," Matthew 7: 21-23, "we did many wonderful works in Your name and we prophesied and we cast out demons" na-na-na-na, and the Lord says to them, "depart from me, you workers of inequity; I never knew you." In other words, there again, you're right back to the broad road that people think is the road to Heaven, but it isn't. So you've got ten virgins symbolizing spiritual purity, symbolizing religious vows. I mean, a virgin, devoted to God, you know, not even...you might liken this to a priest or a nun in a Roman Catholic system or to a monk, a Tibetan monk in some mystical part of Hinduism or something, whose whole life is prescribed religiously. But the problem is they don't have the oil. Now, the oil is probably a good symbol of the Holy Spirit. And the presence of the Holy Spirit, is that not the affirmation of our salvation? Do we not know we are redeemed because of the presence of the Spirit? Hasn't He given us the earnest of the Spirit that we may know we belong to Him?
All right. So here are these and they're religious, they're circumscribed, they've got their religious activities and the Lord comes, but they're not really ready because all their religious activities are outside and there's no oil in their lamps. And then they go running and they want somebody to give them their oil, but salvation isn't like that. You receive your oil from God and God alone, not from anybody else. I used to...I have a little thing I do with kids. I can't show you cause I don't have any scissors. But I take an 8 1/2" x 11" paper and fold it all over and I tell kids this is their ticket to Heaven and my ticket to Heaven. And I say to them, "Do you have a ticket to Heaven?" "No, we don't have a ticket to Heaven." "Well," I say, "I'll share my ticket with you." So I just cut it up one side and I cut it up the other side and I got a pile of pieces that just fall out. And I organize all those little pieces and they spell "Hell." And then I say, "You see, you can't get to Heaven on anybody else's ticket." And then I unfold what's remaining and it's a cross and that's the only way you get there.
And that's the picture, you see. You can't go and buy somebody else's religion or say, "Hey, share with me your virtue. Share with me the Holy Spirit." You get it directly from God. And so, at that point, the Lord says I'm sorry, I have no relationship with you. And they're shut out. And I think the point that He's making there is, there is a time when it is too late. Back to the pre-flood people, the antediluvians, God said, "My Spirit will not always strive with man." Constant rejection means you come to the point where you can't receive. So that's another tremendously powerful statement by Christ that you can be religious and be lost. Okay.
Eddie, did you have one back there?
QUESTIONER: Do you have any thoughts as to how the Rapture will be explained after we're gone?
JOHN: Yes, I do. People say, well, when you're all just gone, phwwtt, taken out of the earth, won't everybody say, oh, you know, we all believe; we all believe? No. And I got an insight into this from a very obscure situation and I've told you about maybe before. A guy came to my office one day and he says, "I'm a new Christian and I've been saved out of the occult." And he said, he said, "I'm a musician in the rock industry. I came to Hollywood to write a rock opera called Louisiam 1990"...I'll never forget the name of it. It was supposed to be, like, a sequel to Superstar, Jesus Christ Superstar, which he claimed was written by a medium spirit through automatic writing by a demon. And that's what he claimed. Anyway, he was to write this thing called Louisiam 1990 and he got involved in the Schirmer...you ever heard of Schirmer Music? Well, both of the Schirmers, the biggest music publishing company in America...they publish even church music...the Schirmers, both of them are mediums connected with the occult. They're very highly involved in what's known as the Mark Age Society, which is an occultic thing that meets in Santa Monica in a big, old mansion, you know, very spooky.
But, anyway, I'll see if I can shorten this down. This guy got involved in Schirmer Music and was contacted to write this thing. He started to write it and all of the sudden, these demon spirits took over. A witch was assigned to him. He met with this witch regularly and he would sit down and he would write this stuff and he didn't even know what he was writing, but he'd wrote this entire thing. He brought me the whole thing...this massive rock opera. And he said, during the process of this he got involved in mediums and demons and he was going to the Mark Age Society. And he said they gave him a book and I said, "Well, let me see the book." He brought me this book and in this book was an explanation of the Rapture. And this is what he told me they told him. And he gave me the book to read so, I mean, it was...the book explains how there are mediums in the U.N. and demons in high places and how they're in key points in the government and just like, you know, the Prince of Persia in Daniel, you know, how demons infest leaders of government and all the gods of the nations are demons and all this stuff. It was amazing stuff.
Anyway, he said that they told him that all the while they were saying, you know, the biggest hang-up in the world are Christians. We've got to get rid of Christians because Christians hold back society from ascending to the next level of spiritual consciousness. And they told this guy...he didn't know anything about the Rapture. He said to me, they're planning to remove all the Christians. And so we got to talking about the fact that when the Rapture occurs, at least if you're in that circle, it's very explicable. The demons will have claimed to remove those who are retarding society from reaching the next level of spiritual consciousness.
But believe me, Satan is way ahead of us in anticipation of these things. He's had a long time to think about it and to get his plans together. And he knows there's gonna be a Rapture. He can read the Bible. He's heard plenty of sermons, too (laughter).
So there are some...there's no indication at all, biblically, that there'll be a great revival afterwards. In fact, I believe that immediately after the Rapture...and this is just a personal belief...that the two witnesses of Revelation 11 will begin their ministry. And what does the world do to them?...kills them, kills them dead and lets their bodies be on television so everybody can gloat over it and have a party and give each other gifts, they're so happy they're dead. There's no revival. So there'll be some explanation for it other than the truth. Okay?
BILL: Right here, John.
JOHN: Yes?
QUESTIONER: Hi. I would like you to comment on the credibility of Howard C. Estep as a teacher. And also he has taught, and many other people have taught that between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1 that there's an indeterminable amount of time where there were beings on earth...
JOHN: Right.
QUESTIONER: ...and a flood which would, of course, been prior to Adam and Noah. Could you comment on that, please?
JOHN: I do not believe there's any biblical evidence for a gap theory. The Gap Theory, basically, was the brainchild of a man named George Pember who wrote a book called Earth's Earliest Ages and was pastor, I think, at Calvary Baptist Church in New York back in the late 1800's or early 1900's. And George Pember came up with this idea and, basically, it's not defensible scripturally. They like to stick a gap between verse 1 and 2 of Genesis 1. It's a good place to stuff a whole lot of stuff like the fall of the angels and all kinds of stuff you don't know what to do with. Some people, I think is it Unger or somebody, believes that the gap is before verse 1. But there's no biblical evidence for anything between those two verses. You're really pushing hard. So I don't accept a gap theory. That's a...there are a lot of good things being written today to show that that probably is not true.
As far as Dr. Estep is concerned, I think he's genuinely, or generally, I should say, pretty solid, biblically. He's on T.V. on "The King is Coming," and I think you could pretty well trust his...he may not agree with every little nuance...
JOHN: The Gap Theory, yeah, but that's, to me, that's not heresy or something. That's just a personal preference. He wants a gap between verses 1 and 2. I mean, who can argue. Right? There's nothing there for sure anyway in my Bible, but if you want to stick something in there. As long as...you know, he simply takes the fall of angels and certain things that he wants to explain...the problem with it is this. Basically, in the past, some Christians have felt that you've got to have somewhere, a long period of time, to sort of bend to the evolutionists. And so they find a convenient place to stick it. I don't think you need to do that. And I think more and more, modern science is showing that we don't need any of that stuff, that the evolutionist is the guy who's out to lunch. You know, they don't even want to debate us anymore because they don't have any answers. And science is really on the side of the creationists.
But, you know, I wouldn't think...I think anything he would stick in the gap would probably be some biblical event that you could trust so I wouldn't be concerned. I think he's a good man. He rightly divides the Word.
JOHN: Howard Estep. He's written lots of little books on prophecy and things like that.
QUESTIONER: Yeah, John, I'd like to know about how I could approach a person who believes in faith healing and tongues? And I've been trying to work with the couple, you know, and they just seem to fall off the subject...
JOHN: Yeah.
QUESTIONER: ...and I want to approach them in a, you know, good way.
JOHN: Yeah, I think first of all what you have to do is build a relationship with them before you come down on them on something like that. You know, he who is convinced against his will is unconvinced still. I've found that the people who love me are more prone to believe me. And so you've got to earn the right to be heard, especially on something as touchy as that. But I'll tell you, you of course, can give them my book on that or some other book, you know, and then I'll get more letters (laughter).
I think, you know, when I was home Sunday night, I wanted to watch 60 Minutes, which I never get to see. And it just so happened that they did a thing on Oral Roberts which was very interesting; very interesting. There's a new book out called Give Me That Primetime Religion written by a guy named Jerry Scholls who was a key man in the organization who was the set-up man and a writer for Oral and involved in it and he just debunks the whole thing from top to bottom, every bit of it, just every bit of it. But they interviewed his brother, Oral Roberts' brother, which I thought was very interesting, and they said to him...and his brother had set up all his tent crusades, you know, and been with him all through the years...he said to him, "Can your brother Oral's hands heal?" He said, "Hands, heal? No." And that was it. He can't heal. Everybody knows it. And Jerry Scholls' whole book, he knows it. He talks about the people who get up out of their wheelchair, walk a few steps and they can barely get them around the back to get them back in a wheelchair. It's, you know, when you get into that thing, you know, people are living in a dream world. And to me it is the ultimate charlatanism because you're catching people at the point of their greatest distress and you're promising them things that they never can get. So I just...but, you know, I don't like to get into that with somebody cause, you know, they get mad at you. You're trying to help them and they think you're being unkind. I think the safest thing to do is to force them to respond.
So that's the thing. You're dealing with a very emotional area. And as I said, I think the best way to deal with somebody like that is to win them as a friend and then expose them to the truth on the basis of a friendship so that they know you're not trying to rack up a convert, but you're trying to help somebody you love. And once you've established the relationship, then you can share. And it's been amazing, you know, how people do respond. Really! When...I do believe there are real truth-seekers that God touches and if we put the truth in their hands, it's helpful.
The thing that grieves me...I'm not...I don't have an axe to grind with that movement. I just don't like people to be living in an illusion when there's so much reality. I think I closed the book, you remember, with the dog who was looking over the bridge into the river and he saw another dog with a bigger bone. And so he dropped his bone to get down and get that other bone. And he gave up the reality for the fantasy. And I think this is what happens. While all the while they're chasing the fantasy that is never there, they forfeit the reality, you know. And then it's ludicrous to stand back and say, well, I can tell you one thing, his ministry will never be blessed until he gets the baptism. I mean, what the...I mean, if I got anymore blessed, I couldn't stand it (laughter). So...and I'm not defending myself, I'm just saying it's an illusion. And then you have people who claim to heal and claim these things when you know it isn't true. I mean, it doesn't make any sense. You can't...you can't equate illness with non-spirituality. I mean, you sound like Job's friends. I keep thinking I ought to write them and say that, you know, is your name Bildad? Well, how do you come off telling everybody who's sick that they're carnal or fleshly? You know, what about the blind man who was sick for the glory of God? Give a few of us a break. I was thinking a lot about that when I was sick (laughter). I don't know.
Basically, you know, I carry...I just thank the Lord for all of you precious people, but I...and I know you, you know, we want to be loving, but I carry a burden in my heart for so much stuff that goes on in the name of Christ and the Bible that just is not biblical. And people get drowned in the sea of this stuff. It's just really sad and then all the money that they send to these things, it's just enough to curl your hair. You just...you know, they were telling about the seminars where they go in and the first day they hit everybody up for money and they set a goal of $2 million for one of these Oral Roberts seminars and then the next day he heals them, see. Well, you know what people are doing? Well, what do you think they're thinking? I gotta buy my healing, you know. I mean, if I do this thing for God, boy, then tomorrow I'll my healing.
So, anyway, anymore questions? We got a few minutes. Ooh, we got maybe a couple of questions.
QUESTIONER: Okay, this is a two-part question. Is there a commandment in the Bible that says that you have to fight for your country? And in view of the political scene in the Middle East, let's say United States decided to send some troops into the Middle East, you know, for their interests in oil, for that reason, would that be having to fight for your country?
JOHN: The way I answer that is this. I...Romans 13 says that we are to be subject to the powers that be, for they are ordained of God. So if the government of the United States asks me to serve, or my son to serve, I would serve, basically...only in this regard. If we as a nation were defending the rights of an innocent people who were being attacked...a non-aggressive people...we should have fought to win in Vietnam in my judgment. We should have gone in there. We didn't and now millions of people have been slaughtered. And this is part of the loss of the American reputation in the world. We could have gone in there...at this point, I'm a MacArthur. Right? MacArthur says, if you don't win in Southeast Asia, the whole of the East will fall. Just one after another every single thing he ever said was true. He is my fifth cousin after all (laughter). But anyway, I don't stand by everything he did. He had some problems (laughter). I'm reading his biography right now. They call it...the name of it is American Caesar so, you know. William Manchester wrote the book. But anyway, I feel, when we went in there, we were defending an innocent people against an aggressive, murdering, atheistic nation. And if that's what the government chooses to do, I can defend an innocent people. I can defend myself.
If we were to go to defend ourselves against an attack of Russia against our nation and our nation's resources, I think I'd be able to do that. If America ever became an aggressor against an innocent nation for the extension of its own power, that's where I would draw the line. And I think, for example, if you talk to a Russian Christian and they cannot even conceive of being in the military...a Russian Christian...they can't understand an American Christian being in the military because their perspective of the military is an overt, attacking, almost maniacal, power-hungry aggression. I mean, what do they care? Why do they want to slaughter people all over the world? Does it make a Russian leader happier? Does it give him more clothes on his back, more food in his belly, more vodka, what? What does he get? Nothing. It's a mad, demonic, godless thirst for power. That's all it is. And at that point, I mean, if my government said to me, you know, if I was in Russia and they said, now, you fight and go down and attack and slaughter all these Afghans, I couldn't do that. I'd say, I'm sorry, can't do that. But if we are defending the rights of an innocent people against an attack, then that's something different. That's the best way that I have to perceive that.
I think we better stop at that point. Why don't we stand for a word of prayer and we'll let you go.
Father, thank You so much for time together tonight. We feel like we just touched a little of the heart of the people in sharing questions. And it's so wonderful, Lord, and I think of it so many times. Whenever we have a question and answer, we go back to the basics so very often, which mean there's new life. There's new people asking those same basic questions about how to witness to their friends and what's it gonna be like when Jesus comes and how do I tell somebody about this truth or that truth. And, Lord, it's so wonderful to know that the church is like a maternity ward where there's the constant cry of newborn babes and you see that new life coming through all the time and asking those same questions that every new and hungry heart experiences. And we thank You, too, for the strength of those who have been in Your family for many years. And we thank You for the solidarity and the commitment that they give to the Body of Christ and that they can become a means of support to hold the weak and the newborn up, that they might grow and nurture in the admonition of the Lord. We commit ourselves to You, Father, in preparation for the Lord's Day and even in the days intervening, that we might be used in a wonderful way to represent Christ in our little part of the world. We pray in His wonderful Name. And everyone said Amen.
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The man who rear-ended the cruiser of a popular state police trooper in July 2003, leaving her severely brain injured until her death eight years later, has pleaded guilty to motor vehicle homicide.
The man who rear-ended the cruiser of a popular state police trooper in July 2003, leaving her severely brain injured until her death eight years later, has pleaded guilty to motor vehicle homicide.
But having already spent about two years in prison for driving drunk in connection with the incident, he won't serve any additional time.
William Senne, 29, was on his way to Cape Cod from Wayland at the time of the early morning crash, which initially left Trooper Ellen Engelhardt in a coma and later in a specialized care facility with a traumatic brain injury, unable to walk or talk. She died June 1, 2011.
Senne, who was 18 at the time of the crash, was reportedly traveling nearly 100 mph when his car slammed into the back of Engelhardt's cruiser, which was stopped with lights flashing in the breakdown lane on Route 25 in Wareham. She had stopped to investigate reports of damage to a guardrail from an earlier accident.
Senne pleaded guilty Wednesday in Plymouth Superior Court and was sentenced by Judge Charles J. Hely to 2� years with one year to serve. Hely deemed the year already served based on a 25-month sentence Senne received for pleading guilty in 2005 to drunken driving in connection with the case.
He was released from prison in 2007. He has since earned a bachelor's degree in economics and established a real estate business in Cambridge. Senne's family owned property on Bassetts Island in Pocasset until 2007, when it was sold to help pay legal bills and other expenses.
Engelhardt was well-known on Cape Cod, where she often directed traffic at the Exit 7 ramp off Route 6. The interchange was named in her honor in 2009.
In his ruling Wednesday, Hely ordered that Senne perform 500 hours of community service at a brain injury treatment facility.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz's office had recommended Senne receive an additional four to five years in state prison minus the time already served on the earlier charge.
"The judge made a decision, and I certainly respect that decision," Cruz said. "We just disagree."
Cruz's recommendation was based on the egregious nature of Senne's actions as well as his driving record, which includes speeding tickets before and after this incident as well as another accident, he said.
"He obviously wants to drive fast," Cruz said. "Some people shouldn't drive."
Senne initially lost his license after the crash but had it reinstated in September 2007, according to Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Verseckes.
Senne's license was revoked again under the state's immediate threat provision shortly after he was charged with motor vehicle homicide following Engelhardt's death.
The state Registry of Motor Vehicles is required to revoke a person's driver's license for 15 years for the first conviction for motor vehicle homicide, according to Verseckes.
Senne remains "deeply remorseful for the terrible tragedy that took place more than 10 years ago," according to a statement issued on his behalf by a public relations firm.
"Billy hopes that by once again tendering a plea to the court, Trooper Engelhardt's family will find some degree of closure," according to the statement. "He is firmly committed to being a productive member of society and will continue to grow his business, support charitable organizations and be a positive influence on his family and friends."
Engelhardt's daughter, Lora Tedeman, who previously said she did not want Senne to serve any more time, could not be reached for comment.
Engelhardt's father was a Boston police officer, and she had wanted to join the FBI before becoming one of the first female state troopers in 1981, Tedeman told the Times during a 2006 visit to the care facility where her mother was living.
Engelhardt worked the midnight to 8 a.m. shift out of the South Yarmouth state police barracks for much of her career so she could enjoy the sunshine, Tedeman told the Times.
Engelhardt was the first female Massachusetts trooper to die in the line of duty. State police dedicated a mobile unit to her in 2007 that allows troopers to more quickly process impaired drivers.
In a statement released Wednesday, state police Col. Timothy Alben said his agency appreciated the efforts of Cruz and his staff to speak for Engelhardt and hold Senne accountable.
"That said, we respect the judicial process," Alben said. "We hope, most of all, that the Engelhardt family finds solace in their warm memories of Ellen and in the stellar regard with which her memory is held throughout the Massachusetts State Police. Her sacrifice in the line of duty will forever be in our minds, and we will always grieve for her loss."


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Austin Bay somehow persuaded General Petraeus to sit down recently for a 30-minute interview. Pajamas Media has posted the audio and transcript here. The whole interview is necessary reading. At the conclusion, Bay asks Petraeus if there is anything else he would like to say. He answers:
Well, I can never end one of these, if given the opportunity, without talking about the magnificent work that is being done by America's young men and women in uniform out here under exceedingly difficult conditions. It's 120, 125 degrees here of late. Quite a few dust storms recently. Really resilient, barbaric at times, lethal and dangerous enemy facing us. Operating in a culture that is different from ours, a different language, different religion, tribal elements, and so forth. And absolutely performing magnificently, getting it about this very complex form of warfare that is called counterinsurgency, which entails offensive, defensive and civilian support operations, sometimes all in the same hour. And, again, could not be prouder to be soldiering with them, and can imagine no greater privilege than serving with them.
It has been said that they are the new greatest generation, and I absolutely buy into that and agree with it.
Is anyone paying attention?
UPDATE: In a message this morning, Austin adds: "As for persuasion — I asked in mid-April to interview him for my column. In June I asked if I could get audio for Pajamas and ArenaUSA — 'new media programs.' Power Line changed the game when you fellows, along with LGF and informed readers, challenged Dan Rather and shamed him." Invoking a metaphor General Petraeus uses in the interview, Austin explains: "You began 'resetting the media rheostat.'" Austin encourages interested readers to check out his expanded interview with slide show accessible here.
To comment on this post, go here.


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The Acapulco Rocker - contemporary rocking chair suitable for indoors and out. Composed of a metal base and seat woven with vinyl cord. The Acapulco Rocker is similar in construction and form to our Innit Rocker though avocado shape rather than the hoop shape of the Innit Rocker. The galvanized steel resists rust and the very durable yet flexible, UV protected vinyl will stay colorfast for years. This chair is incredibly comfortable without a cushion. It's weatherproof, breathable, stackable, easy to clean, and available in everybody's favorite color. A great, modern design for commercial and residential applications. Pretty good innit
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by Becky Johns, CC Chapman, Karl Gude and Charlie Wollborg
A story can be told in a million different ways and constantly improving technology makes it even more fun for anyone to tell their story in their own unique way.
Brands and individuals equally need to embrace that they must tell their story to the world. Through the use of photos, video, words and audio your story can be shared in unlimited ways.
This panel will feature a variety of individuals who have worked with all budgets and all sizes of organizations to present their visual story. You'll leave inspired, informed and ready to go out and embrace the visual.
United States United States, Austin
9th–13th March 2012


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Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WiFi Review
Back in April of this year Intel introduced its Third Generation Core series processors along with the Z77 "Panther Point" chipset. Since then we have seen that the platform offers an upside over the previous generation products. After looking at the Z77X-UD3H it was clear to see the path that Gigabyte would take bringing the rest of its Z77 lineup to market including the board I have to look at today, the Z77X-UD5H-WiFi. Packed full of features such as Untra Durable 4 technology that incorporates 2oz copper layers for better signaling and cooling, an all digital 12+2+1 phase power circuit, new glass fiber core for the PCB, ESD humidity and surge protection, and more. Added value and functionality comes by way of the inclusion of the companie's own WB300D Dual Band WiFi/Bluetooth expansion card to release you from the reliance on that wall mount RJ-45 jack.
As good an overclocker as the Z77X-UD3H was Gigabyte has set the bar pretty high with the lower end of its product stack. If the trickle down effect from the upper end is indeed evident at the low end of the price spectrum then these credentials should prove out with the Z77X-UD5H-WiFi. Priced at $209, the addition of the wireless package adds to the cost of the board but is a cost that should prove out its usefulness with the proliferation of smartphones and tablets in use in homes across the globe. Let's dig into what Gigabyte's Z77X-UD5H-WiFi has to offer and see if it earns its more than reasonable price tag.
Closer Look:
The packaging for Gigabyte's offerings has not changed much since I last looked at one of their motherboards. The front and rear panels are full of information about the Z77X-UD5H-WiFi laid out in vivid colors that catch the eye. The front panel illustrates the top line feature set including 3D Power and 3D BIOS, Ultra Durable technology, the motherboard name, GPU and CPU support, the inclusion of Gigabyte's WB300D Dual Band WiFi/ Bluetooth add in card, 2oz copper layers, and new glass fiber design in the PCB core. The back side of the package really expands on these features so that customers can make an informed decision without reaching for a smartphone to look up the feature set. Inside the package the motherboard and bundle are segregated by a cardboard enclosure for the motherboard. The large bundle is stored under the board and fills the compartment.
Gigabyte has delivered a fairly robust accessory bundle with the Z77X-UD5H-WiFi. The documentation and software include several installation as well as the general manual, a quick start guide, Gigabyte sticker, and a driver and software disk for the board and one specifically for the WB300D add-in card. The hardware side of the bundle includes an SLI bridge connector, SATA 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s cables, externally accessed USB 3.0 ports that can be mounted in a 3.5 inch drive bay, I/O bracket with ESD and EMI protection, WB300D WiFi/Bluetooth module, and a pair of antenna for use with the WB300D.
Since the bundle is sufficient enough to get the board installed and running, let's see what the Z77X-UD5H-WiFi has to offer.


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After hearing Kevin Haggerty's hair-raising story about his runaway Toyota on ABC News, Haggerty's local Hyundai dealer made him an offer he couldn't refuse: bring us your 2007 Toyota Avalon, and we'll give you a free 2010 Hyundai Sonata in exchange.
Haggerty, who stopped driving his Avalon after a random acceleration incident detailed in a recent Nightline segment, was happy to accept. On Friday, Leonard and Richard Datello, the owners of Flemington Hyundai in Flemington, New Jersey, handed Haggerty the keys to his new car. The dealership will assume responsibility for his Avalon, including the transfer of the title and paying off around $10,000 in loans.
"I saw 'Nightline' and thought, you know, I could help this guy," said Leonard Datello. "Nobody should have to drive a car around and feel unsafe like that."
Haggerty says his Avalon began having acceleration problems in mid 2009. In November, he took the car to his local Toyota dealer, but he says the mechanics couldn't explain why the sudden acceleration was occurring.
By then, Haggerty had seen ABC News reports on unintended acceleration, and had also watched a video on the Blotter about how to control an accelerating car.
On December 28, Haggerty was traveling east on Interstate 78, heading to work, when he says the car started accelerating again. Soon the car had revved itself up to 65 miles per hour.
As he started to panic, he thought back to the video. "I remembered the safest thing to do is to go into neutral and control the car, and that's what I did."
After getting the car under control, Haggerty called the dealership on his cell phone. They told him to bring the car in.
The car kept trying to accelerate, but switching from neutral to drive and back again as needed allowed Haggerty to steer the car onto an off ramp and the three miles to the dealership.
When he reached the dealership, the brakes and the tires were smoking. Haggerty put the car in neutral, but the engine was still revving. The service manager called a Toyota representative.
Toyota Driver: ABC News Videos Helped Save My Life
According to Haggerty, the representative told the service manager to replace the gas pedal and the throttle and their sensors.
"After I got out of the car at the dealership, the first thing I thought about was my family," said Haggerty. "And if they were in the car, if my wife was driving – you know, I'm not sure if she would have panicked and kept hitting the brake pedal and known enough to put it into neutral."
Even though he hasn't experienced any further incidents of sudden acceleration, after the December 28 incident, Haggerty used the car as little as possible.
"I was a little uneasy still driving the Avalon because I'm not sure if [Toyota] knows exactly what the problems were or if they know what the fix is," Haggerty told ABC News.
In January, Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles to fix sticky accelerator pedals. Last fall Toyota recalled 4.2 million vehicles because of poorly fitting floor mats. Haggerty says he did not have a stick accelerator pedal, and that he was able to show the service manager in December that he did not have an ill-fitting floor mat either.
Leonard Datello says his dealership will keep Haggerty's old Avalon in storage with plans to resell it at a later date, should the automaker find an adequate fix for the sudden acceleration problem. If Toyota does not find what he considers an adequate fix, said Datello, he will "junk the car."


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This weekend Microsoft ran into a glitch in its Xbox Live online service. For reasons that are currently (and will likely remain) unknown, the system's online cloud save option ceased to function. As a result, those gamers who use the cloud service to store and move their game saves were unable to access their vital data. Given the size of modern games, losing one's save can be a massive headache, particularly if it seems that the issue stems from nothing you did, but instead resulted from the actions of a company that you trusted with your data.
Microsoft knows this and, quickly realizing what a public relations hit this mistake might cause, has moved quickly to rectify the situation. This morning Xbox figurehead Major Nelson announced that the cloud storage service is once again completely functional, but more crucially, he also made it known that the company will be offering a free month of Xbox Live Gold service to anyone who was affected by the issue.
To wit, an official apology from Xbox Live general manager Alex Garden:
We want to thank all of our Xbox LIVE members impacted by the Cloud Saved Games service issue for your patience and understanding. It took longer than we expected to get back to full performance as we needed to ensure the integrity of everyone's game saves. Whether you couldn't access your game saves for a couple of hours or a couple of days, we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience. We will be automatically applying a one-month extension to the Xbox LIVE Gold memberships of everyone who was impacted. We can assure you we'll also be doing a thorough post mortem to help prevent this from happening again.
If you happen to be among those negatively impacted by this weekend's issues, the good news is that you don't need to do anything to reap the rewards of your momentary inconvenience. Microsoft claims that it has the usernames of everyone afflicted and will be automatically applying the extra month of Xbox Live Gold service to their accounts.
While this isn't exactly a positive endorsement for the Xbox Live cloud storage service, we're glad to see Microsoft move on this issue so quickly, and more importantly it does serve as a handy reminder for console owners that periodic data backups can save your life. In the grand scheme of things a Skyrim save isn't critical to your existence, but had you taken a few extra moments to mirror the save onto your console's hard drive (which is exceedingly easy, given how the system is set up), you wouldn't have spent last weekend raging against Microsoft and occupying your free time by spending time with loved ones.
Editors' Recommendations
- For $22 a month, an Xbox One system could soon be yours
- Delete Nintendo Switch Online and in six months it will delete your cloud saves
- How to delete and reinstall games on your Xbox One
- The best live TV streaming services: PlayStation Vue, Hulu, Sling TV, and more
- Xbox One vs. Xbox One S: Is a mid-tier upgrade worth your money?


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text: carpanfan96 1,711 Report post Posted March 15, 2013 The chair of the Charlotte City Council's economic development committee justsounded the two-minute warning on the local NFL stadium talks. Democratic Councilman James Mitchell tells me recent setbacks in the state legislature to secure funding for stadium improvements could prove even costlier if no progress is made by the end of this month. The Carolina Panthers have quietly signaled a desire to have a sense of where the negotiations are headed by the end of this month, several politicians told theCharlotte Business Journal this week. "If we don't have anything in front of the Panthers (soon), they might look at other options," Mitchell said. "It's up to the elected officials to show appreciation for the Panthers." Mitchell said the notion of any type of tax increase, even if it affects just Charlotte, won't work in Raleigh. "I didn't know the climate in the General Assembly," he said this week when asked about the stall in the Panthers' negotiations. "I was naive. I thought this was a no-brainer All kinds of stumbles have followed since the city and team reached the outline of an agreement last month. The biggest: lack of support from the governor and N.C. lawmakers for any state money or approval for higher tourism taxes. Then, too, the state and local restaurant lobbies criticized the suggested meals tax, though some local restaurant executives later signaled a willingness to go along. By then, state legislators from Mecklenburg County had lost their appetite, if one ever existed, for the tax hike Saying no to a team "might not bite the politicians in the butt," Ganis told me Friday. "But it will bite the taxpayers." . http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/queen_city_agenda/2013/03/stalled-talks-with-carolina-panthers.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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"Something Is Pretending To Be My Friend" by Spartan School | Nosleep Podcast
"Something Is Pretending To Be My Friend" by Spartan School
Welcome To the Dark Somnium Horror Narrations
Nosleep Podcast
This is a compiled video of all 4 parts of the series "Something Is Pretending To Be My Friend" by Spartan School
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To get your story included in this weeks themed playlist, be sure to contact me at [email protected]
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If you would like to make a donation, you can do so here.
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Anyone who has ever read my review of educational programming, might have recognized I can be very critical of flash over substance. The Discovery Channel has devolved over the years into reality themed programming. It all started with "American Chopper" a show about a family of custom motorcycle designers and builders. I found the show fascinating, until the focus quickly shifted from the building element to the "drama" in the shop. I haven't watched an episode of the series (now on TLC) for a few years because frankly, I have better things to do than watch grown men bicker.
"Doing Da Vinci" set off some quiet alarms from the premise alone: a group of engineers and craftsmen come together to bring some of Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous inventions to life. I was drawn to the program after having recently visited a museum exhibit titled "Da Vinci- The Genius" where many of these very inventions were created using materials of the time period, but often scaled down. It left a huge impression on me, so to see these inventions come to life, in full working condition was an allure I couldn't avoid.
The show follows a simple format: Da Vinci expert Dr. Jonathan Pevsner introduces one of Da Vinci's inventions to the team and charges them with the task of building a full scale, working replica of it. From there, the team gets down to brass tacks. Valek Sykes is the leader of the group, as it's his shop they're working from. Sykes brings his years as a special effects designer to the table, as well as colleague Jurgen Heimann. The other two mainstays of the cast are Bill Dugan and Flash Hopkins. Flash is a gregarious presence to say the least, and while his talent and enthusiasm are undeniable, his peculiar ways quickly grate on the nerves of Valek and Jurgen. In the first two episodes as well as season finale, engineer Alan Bovinett is present to see some of the more complicated aspects brought to fruition. His presence was greatly missed however, as Valek is left to deal with mistakes brought on by Flash's hasty approach to construction.
I expected it to happen and the series didn't fail; by episode three, the drama surrounding a building mistake ended up being brought to the spotlight for far too long. Tempers mildly flared and things did get back to the building aspect of the show, but the 40 minutes each episode runs is too precious to waste with bickering and arguing. The focus of the show is building these amazing machines, keep it that way. The series creators obviously latched onto the bickering and it quickly becomes apparent there are two factions here: Valek and Jurgen, the engineering minds and Bill and Flash, the builders. The rivalry is put to good use though in the fifth episode, where the teams have a contest to build one of Da Vinci's machines from incomplete designs. At the end of the day though, the differences do get put aside and the task is completed with all parties celebrating their hard work.
In terms of the core of the show, the inventions of Da Vinci, every episode is engaging. The engineering minds are amazing, taking the sketches from Da Vinci's notebook and figuring out how to make them practical (the designs by all accounts were theoretical and never constructed before); they face obstacles such as incomplete sketches and "booby traps" that a less sharp mind might not catch. They try to stick with materials of the time, but do end up using a lot of metal, but often to ensure the machines are structurally safe and sound. Viewers may be amazed to know Da Vinci developed the concept of ball bearings. When I first sat down to check out the beginning of the series, the program immediately sucked me in; information is relayed in a very understandable fashion and illustrated well by the building process going on. If there are two faults I have with the program, it's that there could be a little more depth and the episodes could be longer. The runtime feels half as long as it is.
The episode that impressed me the most was the Scythe Chariot. Seeing a cart of spinning death slowly come together is mind-blowing; the end product is akin to something from a fantasy film, but it's not, it's from the mind of one of history's greatest genius. The men have a serious reverence for it's deadly nature and the final test of its destructive power elicits smiles while managing to chill the spine. Also greatly appreciated is the cast's ability to explain building concepts, even basic ones, to the audience. I know very little of building, so hearing little comments about what is going on and why they are doing a specific task, helps me put together the big picture a little more easier.
After six episodes, Discovery has convinced me that "Doing Da Vinci" is worth my time. I'm optimistic the show will return, as Da Vinci has many more fascinating creations waiting to be built and tested. The notable absence of his flying machines leads me to believe they have surprises in store for future episodes. I do hope that the focus remains on the inventions and building process, rather than the bickering, as the subject is too unique to devolve into cheap reality schlock.
The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is quite solid. For a documentary/reality program, the color balance remains consistent and the level of detail is on the high end. I noticed no edge enhancement, but some mild compression artifacts were evident from time to time. It's nothing to make you say "Wow" but on the same page, isn't distracting from the program itself.
The Audio
The Dolby Digital English stereo track was more than adequate from the program. Dialogue was strong, clear and well mixed; an added treat is background sounds of other work going on, giving you a good sense that progress is being made and people aren't just posing for the camera. English subtitles for the hearing impaired are also included.
The Extras
A handful of deleted scenes appear on the first disc. They end up revealing a lot of interesting information was cut from the final episodes. A few of my unanswered questions about the designs were answered here. However, to see facts get tossed out, while the reality bickering remains, does raise my dander a bit.
Final Thoughts
"Doing Da Vinci" is a very solid addition to the Discovery lineup. It reminded me at times of the "good old days" of Mythbusters, when the focus was on solving the mystery. Like previous shows, "Mythbusters" got too big, too fast, and pales in comparison to the days of Jamie and Adam. "Doing Da Vinci" benefits greatly from the small team of builders and when they are able to put all their skills to use, the results are amazing. This is a talented team that is showing the world just how great a mind Leonardo Da Vinci had. One of the men sum's it up best early on, stating that Da Vinci was not only ahead of his time, but also possibly rivals some of the great modern minds. After seeing some of the creations come to life, I'd agree without a doubt. Recommended.