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an Expert
When the Sleeping Giant is Awake
Policies to increase the political participation of minority ethnic groups must address not only their levels of turnout but also the rate at which they become citizens. At the most general level, policies that create incentives for legal alien residents to become citizens ultimately will increase the level of voting among Latinos and Asians in both California and the rest of the nation. Immigrants who live in the United States for five years are eligible to apply for citizenship, a time-consuming but not difficult process. Yet many immigrants often live in the United States for decades, paying taxes and raising families, without becoming citizens.
A fruitful approach to boosting the citizenship rate would be an outreach program that stresses the values of full membership in the political community while facilitating the naturalization process for those who are eligible and interested. States, local governments and volunteer organizations can do more to prepare immigrants through English language classes and instructions for the civics test. Just as there are voter-registration drives, private groups can conduct citizenship drives. States could also lobby the federal government to increase staff and technical resources devoted to the naturalization process.
These recommendations are less controversial than some others. For example, requiring citizenship as a prerequisite for public employment, like airport security, would undoubtedly boost the citizenship rate, but it is both normatively suspect and would be politically controversial.
Once citizens, taking the steps to register and vote must be addressed. In some cases, civic education and community mobilization efforts might be especially helpful. The key is to provide assistance and motivation for those who need it. This study does not provide a definitive prediction of what the future will look like in California. It is intended as a road map that reveals the course of current trends. Hopefully, it will highlight some of the areas most in need of improvement and also offer some help in finding the best solutions for making California a healthy democracy.
Much of the participation gap for Latinos and Asians is explained by citizenship. In other words, a large number of Latino and Asian adults in California are ineligible to vote because they are not citizens. But even among citizens, turnout differences are considerable. Between 1990 and 2000, white turnout was about 10 points higher than that of blacks and 18 points higher than that of Latino and Asian American citizens.
For blacks and Latinos, that remaining voting gap with whites is almost entirely explained by socioeconomic factors such as age, education, income, and residential stability. After taking these factors into account, we find only minimal differences in turnout between whites, blacks, and Latinos.
Significantly, however, Asian American citizens vote much less frequently than would be predicted on the basis of their socioeconomic status.
Among Latinos, overall we found the lower electoral participation is due almost completely to three factors: their citizenship rate, their relative youth, and their socioeconomic status. Other findings about Latino voting behavior include:
Asian votersOur findings defy some widely held assumptions: that intrinsic cultural differences explain the voter participation gaps among Latinos and blacks and that the growth of the Latino and Asian electorate will mirror population trends. It also reveals that various immigrant groups do not assimilate to American political culture in similar patterns.
These turnout differences are not unique to California. A similar pattern emerges in other states with high proportions of foreign-born residents, especially New York, Florida, and Texas. In all regions, adjustment for socioeconomic differences sharply reduces the electoral surplus of whites compared to Latinos, but the anomaly of low Asian turnout persists.
The relatively low turnout among Asians, as a whole, is something of a puzzle. Ironically, when it comes to political assimilation, the group often labeled the "model minority" because of educational and professional achievements--factors that in other groups correlate to high voter participation--lags behind Latinos. Although their socioeconomic profile compares to that of whites in California, Asian turnout still lags that of whites by more than 20 percentage points, about the same percentage as the Latino turnout deficit.
Among other findings about Asian voters:
The slow pace of Asians' political incorporation invites several hypotheses. One is that the diversity of Asian immigrants makes it difficult to mobilize for political activities. Language difference and organization rivalries may mitigate a sense of collective fate that could stimulate participation. Another factor may be that many Asians arrived from countries lacking democratic traditions. Some political observers say Asians, more than other groups, view economics and not politics as the most effective path to individual and collective achievement.
RecommendationsThese findings have significant implications for the future course of policy making in California. Representative democracy is predicated on the belief that a more engaged electorate will produce governance that is more responsive and better reflects the public's interests. Moreover, voting helps immigrants, the main source of California's population growth, become assimilated and fosters social cohesion and loyalty to democratic institutions. In California, where direct democracy through the use of initiative and referenda have become so important, the question of who votes carries particular significance.
By Jack Citrin, professor of political science, University of California, Berkeley, and Benjamin Highton, assistant professor of political science, University of California, Davis
This opinion article appeared in the California Journal in the December 2002 issue
Try to imagine California on Election Day, 2040. The Golden State is home to more than 58 million men, women and children-nearly double the number in 1990. It is also so racially diverse that for every Asian in California, there are two whites and three Latinos.
And yet, for all of these demographic shifts projected by the California Department of Finance, the Golden State's voters in 2040 still won't look much like the general population. Indeed, white voters will remain a majority of the California electorate for at least another 40 years unless citizenship and voter participation rates increase. As it stands now, for every Latino who casts a ballot in 2040, there will be two whites.
This is one of the major findings contained in our new study, released to California Journal by the Public Policy Institute of California and titled "How Race, Ethnicity and Immigration Shape the California Electorate."
We examined the future California electorate to determine whether the existing gap between the state's electorate and its population will continue to pose a challenge for leaders attempting to foster harmony among rapidly changing ethnic groups. We also explored the reasons behind lower turnout rates among various ethnic groups and found important distinctions among Asian adults.
Regarding Latino votes, the study provides an unprecedented glimpse at the future of the so-called "Sleeping Giant," a common reference to the anticipated political power of California's Latino community.
One of the most important political developments in California during the last decade was the growing number of Latino voters, who began the 1990s as 9 percent of the voting population and grew to 14 percent by 2000. (Note: A Los Angeles Times exit poll regarding last month's election found Latinos at 10 percent of the 2002 electorate. If that finding is confirmed, it will obviously warrant further attention.)
This study suggests that Latino voting power may very well double in size during the next 40 years, promising a far more significant role in policy decisions and leadership positions for Latinos. At the same time, the study indicates that Latino voters will still be outnumbered by white voters, even when they represent a much larger share of the population.
Possible scenariosAs Yogi Berra put it, "Prediction is hard--especially about the future." It would be a heroic task to predict the precise demographic contours of the California electorate 20 or 40 years from now. Our study considered several possible scenarios involving various rates of participation for ethnic groups in California elections. It also considered a range of possibilities regarding the number of immigrants who will become citizens.
Perhaps the most critical question regarding the future of the California electorate is how many of the millions of non-citizen residents who are here now and will arrive in the coming years will become naturalized and thus eligible to vote. This question is also critical to the turnout of Asians, who are significantly underrepresented in California elections, but for different reasons than Latinos.
Today, among those of Mexican descent in California, a little more than half (55 percent) are citizens. Compared to all immigrant groups, those from Mexico are the most likely to reside in America for many years without seeking citizenship. Among immigrants from Mexico who have lived in the U.S. at least 10 years, just 27 percent have become U.S. citizens. Among those who immigrated before 1970, only 54 percent are citizens. And for those who immigrated in the 1990s, less than 10 percent were U.S. citizens by 2000.
Although current trends suggest that the composition of California's electorate will change at a gradual, steady pace over the next 40 years, unforeseen events, policy changes and social initiatives could close the participation gap between minority groups and whites.
But even when we considered a range of citizenship and participation rates, our study found that California's electorate will continue to over-represent whites and under-represent Latinos and Asians when compared to the general population.
For example, if current trends hold, our study indicates that whites would comprise about 35 percent of voting-age adults in 2040, but 53 percent of voters. At the same time, Latinos would comprise more than 40 percent of voting-age adults, but only 26 percent of the electorate.
To become the largest group of voters, Latino turnout would need to match that of whites and citizenship rates would need to increase 50 percent. Under this scenario, Latinos would barely edge whites (39 to 38 percent) among voters. We also considered two other scenarios in which trends in participation and citizenship differ.
If the gap in participation between Latino and white voters was cut in half, but citizenship rates continue unchanged, we predict the 2040 electorate would be 50 percent white, 29 percent Latino, 14 percent Asian and 7 percent black.
Alternatively, if the citizenship rate increases by 50 percent and participation rates remain unchanged, the 2040 electorate would be 45 percent white, 33 percent Latino, 16 percent Asian and 6 percent black.
Socioeconomic factorsThe report's findings are based largely on demographic data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau as part of its Current Population Survey (CPS). We used CPS data from the six November elections between 1990 and 2000.
We focused on the state's four key ethnic groups-Latinos, Asians, blacks, and whites-and considered differences in citizenship, registration, and turnout. We then address whether group differences in turnout are explained by socioeconomic factors such as age, education, income, and residential stability.
One of the most important goals of our research was to identify the reasons why minority ethnic groups have lower participation rates than whites. The answer is critical to finding the best methods for improving participation rates and making our electorate more representative.
Just the Facts: Latino Voters in California
A Portrait of Race and Ethnicity in California
Ethnic Context, Race Relations, and California Politics
Finding Common Ground: Racial and Ethnic Attitudes in California
How Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Shape the California Electorate


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While Audrey Williams's claim to fame has been her marriage to country music legend Hank Williams, she also longed for a music career of her own. Her desire for fame led to a series of duets with her husband, a solo career in the 1950s, and the formation of a backing vocal group called the Cold Cold Hearts. Although Williams never found fame and, according to many critics, lacked vocal talent, she played an important role in her husband's rise to fame in an era when women were seldom allowed to take leading roles in management, even in the management of their own careers. Furthermore, she played a central role in promoting Hank Williams' legacy and launching the career of Hank Williams, Jr.
Audrey Mae Sheppard was born on February 28, 1923, in Banks, AL. Sheppard met Hank Williams in 1943, and the two married in Andalusia, AL, in December of 1944, ten days before Sheppard's divorce from her first husband was finalized. Audrey Williams worked diligently to promote her new husband's career, and by 1946, they had made the acquaintance of Fred Rose of Acuff-Rose Publishing, a key figure in Hank Williams' later success. Audrey Williams occasionally performed with the Drifting Cowboys and sung a number of duets with her husband. Their relationship, however, was often strained, partially due to Hank Williams' alcoholism. The two separated, reunited, and eventually divorced on December 31, 1951, one year before Hank Williams' death. The couple had one child, Hank Williams, Jr.
Following Hank Williams' death, Audrey Williams worked within the country music community as a music publisher and booking agent. "Through the 1950s and '60s," one writer noted, "Audrey was a powerful force in the traditionally all-male Country Music business with her own record label, publishing and film production companies, talent search, and touring all-star show." She pursued an unsuccessful solo career on Decca and MGM during the 1950s, and later formed the vocal group called the Cold Cold Hearts to back her in one more comeback attempt. Williams was hampered, however, by her reputation for her "out-of-control emotions and substance abuse," noted Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann in Finding Her Voice: The Saga of Women in Country Music. Few promoters were willing to take a chance on Williams, and when the Cold Cold Hearts broke up in 1970, she also left the music business.
Williams' later years (1970-1975) were highlighted by substance abuse, a suicide attempt, and financial problems. Although she had attempted to direct the career of Hank Williams, Jr., the two became estranged after he turned 18. She was arrested for drunk driving and also gathered media attention when she held a Hank Williams garage sale. By the mid-'70s her finances were in disarray and she owed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) taxes. The day before the IRS arrived to repossess her home, however, Williams died in bed on November 4, 1975.
One of the odder legacies of the Williams' is the Audrey and Hank Williams Recovery Center, a facility founded in Nashville to help individuals struggling with substance abuse.

subset: commoncrawl


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UH-Led Team Finds Planet Bigger than Earth
Astrophysicists reported today in the journal Nature that the exoplanet Kepler-78b appears to be made of rock and iron just like Earth. The team, led by Dr. Andrew Howard of UH's Institute for Astronomy, measured the mass of the planet with the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. It's actually a little bigger than Earth and nearly double its mass, or weight.


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This item from Red Swallow Antiques is now in the Shop Backroom.
More from Red Swallow Antiques
Vintage Multi-Colored Sterling Silver Enamel Bracelet
Flattering to so many different styles and colors, this multicolored enamel bracelet makes a statement that can be enjoyed year round. I would tentatively date it to the 1960s, but there are not enough distinguishing marks, clasps, or materials to date it with entire accuracy. It's definitely vintage, but it could be older or a little newer than the 1960s. While its age is unusually hard determine with accuracy, its appeal is not. Classy and colorful, the deep, rich colors of the enamel set against the silver are a delight to view and, even better, to wear.
Condition: Excellent vintage condition. A speck here or there in the enamel, but those appear to be original to the piece. A little tarnish, which is only natural and makes it more attractive. Measures 7 ¼" by 7/8" and each of the thirteen plaques measure 7/16" by 7/8". Marked 925 as sterling silver.
Gender: Female, Age Group: Adult, Color: Silver/blue/red/green, Size: 7 1/4"
If you were the pending buyer of this item, go to My Account to view, track and check payment for this item.
Red Swallow Antiques
Elara Strand
Williamsburg, VA
Only the beautiful, only the genuine.
Ask about our flexible layaway plans and no-hassle returns!


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Tired Pony
The album was well received by many fans and the supergroup subsequently went on tour in both the U.K. and across America. Lightbody reassembled Tired Pony in 2012 and began writing music for their sophomore record. They retreated to Jacknife Lee's California-based home studio, where they recorded the tracks for The Ghost of the Mountain. The album arrived in 2013 and featured a small number of guest appearances, including vocalist Bronagh Gallagher and actress Minnie Driver. ~ Andrew Leahey & Scott Kerr
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Track List: The Place We Ran From
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Proper 12A
July 21, 2014
The Lectionary Gospel +
Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52
Author: Scott Hoezee
Comments, Observations, Questions to Consider
In our seminary classes, we familiarize our students with Paul Scott Wilson's little mnemonic device to ensure sermon unity: The Tiny Dog Is Now Mine or TTDINM in which each of those letters is preceded by the word "One" as in "One Text," "One Theme," and so on with the "I" being "One Image." When preaching, we tell our students, select a single, central image and let that work its way all through the sermon for the sake of clarity. One good image in a sermon is much better than 4 or 5 competing and disparate images.
But in the latter portion of Matthew 13, Jesus is on something of a simile binge. The kingdom is . . . a mustard seed . . . a bit of yeast in dough . . . a hidden treasure . . . a pearl of great value . . . a net catching fish. Jesus here slides easily from the agricultural to the culinary to the marketplace and to the fishing trade. It all seems jumbled together at first blush. One of my students wouldn't get away with this in a sermon! (Thankfully, I have never been asked to grade our Lord!)
But even though Jesus is throwing out these various images at a fast and furious pace, he's also teaching one of the most remarkable truths that emerges from the gospel: namely, the unexpected hiddenness of the kingdom of God.
Jesus always made clear that the kingdom of God was going to save and rescue this world precisely by virtue of its being so very different from the powerful, flashy, showy political kingdoms that otherwise capture our attention. The kingdom of God, Jesus said, looks small, even tiny. It looks foolish. In fact, the kingdom can even disappear completely the way a seed gets buried in the soil. It takes 750 mustard seeds to equal one gram. Drop one of those little wisps into the dirt and you won't even be able to see it or even find it back if you try. The same is true of yeast in dough: once it's mixed into the water, flour, and oil, the yeast disappears—you could not separate it back out again (much less locate it) if you tried. Yet these tiny things have great effects.
So also with the kingdom: it's not what you expect in terms of political clout. The kingdom of God is not about gleaming capital cities studded with marble colonnades and soaring executive mansions. It's not about some fierce army plowing under the opposition by sheer dint of its power. Compared to all of that, God's kingdom looks as insignificant as a grain of mustard or a packet of dry yeast. But the kingdom can change hearts. It can change the world. It has changed the world.
The kingdom is here but it's modest. It's hidden. It's quiet. In fact, those who discover the kingdom sometimes tend to stumble upon it almost by accident. The kingdom is a great treasure, but you're not going to find this valuable commodity posted on the big board on Wall Street. No, you're going to stumble on it in some remote field. The person who owns the field won't even know it's there, but once you find it, your joy will be so massive that you'll do whatever it takes to buy that field.
All of this is profoundly surprising. We are so accustomed to these images in Jesus' parables that they typically don't strike us as absurd or paradoxical.
But they are.
Think of it: the kingdom is a seed scarcely visible to the naked eye and that disappears completely in dirt. The kingdom is yeast which a woman kneads into dough. In Jesus' day so-called "woman's work" was disdained such that Jesus was being quite provocative by making a woman the parabolic agent of working the kingdom into this world.
And has it ever struck you that the man who finds the treasure in the field is a little devious? Jesus says that this man finds some treasure in a field that does not belong to him. He then covers up this treasure again so the owner won't know it's there and then, without saying a word, he buys this field from the unsuspecting owner. It's a little sneaky! Suppose you were at a garage sale looking over some old purses. But then suppose you discovered that inside one of those old purses was a wad of $100 bills. Wouldn't you feel a little shady if you silently purchased it for $3 without telling the owner that she had missed a wee little something when cleaning out the purse before the garage sale?!
Tiny seeds, invisible yeast, woman's work, a slightly underhanded purchase: had it been left up to us, this is not how we would have described the single most powerful, meaningful, and joyful reality in the universe! But it is how Jesus described it. This is the kingdom Jesus bequeathed to us. It is the kingdom he asked us to pray for and the kingdom in which we asked us to live out the will of God on earth every day.
But this also means that if we take our cues from Matthew 13, then it is clear that both our kingdom living and our kingdom proclamation will be more about quiet acts of loving faithfulness than about headline-grabbing, bullhorn tactics. We cannot present the gospel of a suffering servant like Jesus by being arrogant finger-waggers. We cannot give the world the good news of grace if we mostly position ourselves as stern bearers of bad news and judgment. The kingdom of God represents the most powerful force the world has ever known. But we've got to let the kingdom grow and leaven in its own quiet, humble ways if people's hearts are really going to be changed.
In fact, as commentator Dale Bruner points out, it is curious to notice that in the parables of the treasure and pearl, it is only after the people run across these valuables that they become changed people who sell all they have. That may be one of the Bible's many hints, Bruner claims, that we cannot force people into the kingdom by first requiring them to follow a prescribed list of good deeds. Once you find the gospel, you have all the joy you need to motivate you to live a changed life. Until then, however, you won't find much motivation to follow the will of God on earth nor will the church's acting as the world's morality police bully people into the kingdom.
And so as bearers of God's kingdom, we keep plugging away at activities which may look silly or meaningless to the world but which we believe contain the very seed of a new creation. We keep coming to church and singing our old hymns, reciting our old formulas and creeds. All of us who preach keep cracking open an ancient book called the Bible, looking to find within it truths that are anything-but ancient. We keep gathering at sick beds and death beds and whisper our prayers for the Spirit of the resurrection to be with us in life and in death. We keep drizzling water onto squirming infants and popping cubes of white bread into our mouths in the earnest faith that through the Spirit baptism and communion don't just mean something, they mean everything.
And we keep working for Jesus in this mixed-up, backward world of ours. We quietly carry out our jobs and raise our kids and tend our marriages in the belief that God has designs for all those things and it's our job to follow them. We keep pointing people to an old rugged cross, having the boldness to suggest that the man who died on that cross is now the Lord of the galaxies.
But we cannot close out our look at Matthew 13 without noticing that after piling up one fiercely quiet and subtle image after the next, Jesus concludes with an image where subtlety goes out the window. There will come a time of reckoning at the end of all things, Jesus says. There will come a time when the "bad fish" will get tossed into a fate that is more than definitely on the grim side. So in the long run, despite all Jesus had to say about the hiddenness of the kingdom in the here and now, the day will come when the kingdom will be all in all and each person will either be in that kingdom or outside of it. We witness to the kingdom in ways consistent with the kingdom, which means lovingly and humbly and compassionately. But witness we must. The stakes are too high to stay quiet.
"Have you understood all these things" Jesus asked. Hilariously the disciple reply with a simple "Yes," which you just know was not completely true! And to compound whatever fogginess they may had anyway, Jesus then says that if you do understand all this, you'll be like a homeowner who brings out "new treasures as well as old." What that means is still a bit of a mystery even 2,000 years later!
"Have you understood all these things?" Sure. Yup. Got it.
Well, probably not. But even yet today we need to understand these things well enough to sense the glory of the kingdom's hidden nature and yet the absolute urgency of our pointing people to that kingdom every chance we get.
Textual Points
Frederick Dale Bruner in his Matthew commentary (Volume Two "The Churchbook") believes that the "new and old" image in verse 52 refers to the new teachings of Jesus in the gospel and the "old" teachings from the Hebrew Scriptures and all that led up to the proclamation of the gospel in Christ. In a way, this reflects back on this string of parabolic images right in Matthew 13. For those who had come to believe, based on the Old Testament, that a kingdom was always and only some shining political reality ruled over by people like David or Solomon, the notion of a hidden kingdom is very new indeed. But Bruner notes—in a comment perfect for all of us who preach—that the "new" things are also the endlessly fresh and new applications of the gospel that have come and continue to come all through the ages. In this sense, those of us who preach and who are led by the Spirit to constantly fresh applications of what we now call "the old, old story" are instruments of God to bring out the new things that confirm in every age all that is from of old.
Illustration Idea
A kingdom, Dallas Willard wrote in The Divine Conspiracy, is a place where one person's influence determines what happens. In the case of the kingdom of God, the kingdom is not for now a geographic spot on a map but rather the kingdom of God is present any place and every place where the influence of Jesus' living presence determines the shape of life. Wherever and whenever Jesus' wisdom, Jesus' wit, Jesus savvy, Jesus' words, and Jesus' love mold the words, actions, thoughts, and life patterns of some person or group of persons, then there is where God's kingdom is manifest.
We've got to show the world how real the kingdom is by how we conduct ourselves. And the first, best way we can do that is to live as Jesus lived. Of course, Jesus did not reach everybody, and we surely won't either, therefore. To some Jesus appeared misguided, so will we appear to at least some. To others Jesus seemed quintessentially ineffective (what with all those quirky and confusing parables and that rag-tag group of loser fishermen and women of questionable repute who followed him around). So also we may never come close to generating a fraction of the kind of the head-turning excitement that tingles people's spines every time George Clooney or Jennifer Lawrence walks into a Los Angeles restaurant for dinner.
But we live the quiet, faithful, humble, service-oriented life of Jesus because it's all we have to go on!
Old Testament Lectionary +
Genesis 29: 15-28
Author: Scott Hoezee
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider
Jacob is presented honestly by the author of Genesis. Jacob is very much a "warts and all" type of figure who has a predilection for deceit and trickery. Even after his dream of the ladder to heaven, still Jacob could not resist the language of wheeling and dealing in striking a kind of bargain with Almighty God. Lots of other people might have responded to such a vision by declaring, "My Lord and my God! I will worship and serve you forever!"
But not Jacob.
Instead he says, "OK, God: if you do what you promised, then I'll consider making you my God after all. But I'm going to wait."
All along in the Bible we know that God's purposes are going forward. The fact that they did go forward is the only reason anyone ever bothered to preserve these stories in the first place. But Scripture is honest in showing us that many times the plans of the Holy One moved forward through some very ordinary events and, sometimes, even through what could accurately be described as some real shenanigans!
Genesis 29 is a case in point. The tale of Jacob's arrival in Haran at his Uncle Laban's ranch and the subsequent story of the years he spent there are full of humor, irony, deception, and no small measure of dirty tricks. Curiously, God is not much mentioned throughout the bulk of these stories. In Genesis 29, the only reference to Yahweh comes from Leah but even she invokes Yahweh mostly as her partner in taking revenge against Jacob and Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel far more than Leah, but Leah was the one who ended up having all the children in this little ménage á trois and she sees it as Yahweh's way of blessing her so as to insult Jacob and Rachel. Leah may or may not have been onto something, but it's not exactly the way you expect God to show up in a "Bible Story!"
Most of this chapter is just a cracking good story, albeit it very mundane in its day-to-day details. Jacob arrives in Haran at last only to fall completely in love with the beautiful Rachel. In a testosterone-fueled burst of machismo, Jacob single-handedly removes the cover stone from the well so Rachel's sheep can drink. He then discovers that Rachel is none other than his cousin and so rejoices at having found family again after being exiled from his own family of origin. Laban, for his part, grandly welcomes Jacob, but it doesn't take too long to discover that when it came to being a trickster, Jacob had met his match in Uncle Laban. (Who knows, maybe Laban was even the one who taught his sister Rebekah how to pull off the kind of deception she and Jacob had recently pulled on witless old Isaac and equally witless young Esau. There is a kind of family tradition of being sneaks!)
So Laban lets Jacob work for seven whole years, knowing the whole while that when that entire long time was up, he'd be pulling a fast one on Jacob. He wouldn't get Rachel who had the lovely face of an angelic beauty but Leah who had the misfortune of having a nose like a camel and eyes like a basset hound. The story of the much-anticipated wedding night is filled with humor. As was traditional, Jacob slipped into the nuptial tent after dark, made love to his new wife, and then fell asleep with her in his arms. In the light of the morning, however, Jacob nudges Rachel awake only to find Leah's sad sack visage turning toward him! Throwing his bathrobe on, Jacob dashes across the ranch to where Uncle Laban sleeps and all-but throttles the old man in incredulous rage!
Then, in a marvelous twist of Genesis irony, Laban defends himself by invoking the very same tradition Jacob and his mother had subverted back home: the tradition of primogeniture, of the firstborn coming first in all things. "Maybe you sidestepped this tradition back at your home," Laban as much as says, "but you're not getting away with it here. Leah is your wife. You can have Rachel only second." Jacob has indeed met his match! But he will still marry also Rachel. The text is dismally dismissive (and even derisive) when in verse 28 we are told that Jacob blandly "finished out the week with Leah" before finally getting the girl of his dreams. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this was a most unhappy way to start a marriage!
Before the chapter is finished, however, Leah starts having babies, and we quickly see some famous names popping up for the first time. These children will be the heads of what will eventually become the twelve tribes of Israel. Through deception and chicanery, God's covenant is lurching forward. Promises once made to Abraham, to Isaac, and now recently reaffirmed also to Jacob, are actually coming to fruition. Amazing!
The theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg notes that history is the necessary horizon for all theology. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel believed it was serving a living God who was orchestrating an historical progression that proceeded in a linear fashion. History was not cyclical but linear; not just a repeating cycle that kept trudging around the same meaningless circle but actually a story that had a beginning, a middle, and some day a final and glorious end. What motored history forward was the tension between promise and fulfillment and the ways those promises ended up coming to fulfillment.
Even so, however, the Bible and its authors were honest enough to admit that although history proceeds from some past point toward some future point, that line is not usually razor-straight as though drawn with the use of a ruler but zig-zaggy and jagged, full of ups and downs, unexpected tricks and even woeful setbacks. History moves and God acts, but as often as not it happens through the foibles and flaws of real people who lead gritty lives.
Historian Theodore White once claimed that the job of the professional historian is to tell later generations what the past means. To do that, White says, the historian allows the passage of time to burn off all the details, leaving behind just the bare peaks and ridges of broad historical movements. So history gets divided up into epochs with names like "The Dark Ages" or "The Middle Ages" or "The Renaissance," and we quietly end up assuming that those labels suffice to tell us the past. Never mind that countless individual people and families lived in each of those periods. And never mind that the details of their lives may or may not have had much in common with the broad, epochal strokes of the historian's brush. The big things are the main thing. The rest seems somehow less important.
But in this Genesis, God is in the details, even if the details are tawdry, typical, and mundane. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we don't have to think that we are subsumed into some broad epochal historical movement that steamrolls over us. Nor do we have to think that to be elevated to the status of a saint, we need to lead the kind of life that stands out, that deserves to be immortalized in stained glass. After all, if Jacob can be considered a patriarch of the faith and so his own kind of saint, there's hope for every last one of us!
God does get his plans and purposes achieved through even the details of the most ordinary of our lives. There may be ups and downs for all of us, as well as for the church generally, but God is the Persistent One who keeps moving things along in and through (and let's admit, sometimes also despite) our lives. God doesn't give up.
A while back I stayed at a retreat center in a quite old house. In one of the bathrooms was a sink with a leaky faucet. Every fifteen or so seconds another drop of water plopped out of the spigot and onto the hard, stone porcelain of the sink. Apparently it's been like that for a while because in that same sink I noticed a small trench, maybe an eighth-of-an-inch deep and an inch long, that had been worn into the stone. Now porcelain is very hard and water is very soft, but it's the persistence of the water that eventually makes even the stone give way.
God is like that, I think. He is relentless and persistent. Even through a story as full of human foibles as this one, you know all along that the Holy Persistent One of the cosmos is at work, carving out of this world's history and out of the lives of individuals like Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Laban, you, and me the path that someday, and in retrospect, we will see leads straight into the glory of God's kingdom.
Illustration Idea
What does a sacred life look like? How might the life of a saint be described? In the fine film The Third Miracle, a Catholic priest is asked to investigate the life of a woman named Helen, who was reputed to have performed some miracles in her life and who, after her death, was credited with the healing of a child suffering from lupus. So the priest checks into the woman's history and background but finds a mostly unremarkable life that even included conceiving a daughter out of wedlock.
Later, when the bishops and cardinals gather to hear the priest's report and so weigh whether or not to recommend her to the Vatican for canonization as a saint, one bishop is assigned the formal role of playing the "Devil's Advocate." And he quite easily was able to mention details from Helen's life that seemed to disqualify her as a saint. So much of her life was common, even now and again sinful. Ironically, in the end, the miracles are deemed to be genuine, and so despite the ordinary nature of Helen's life, the movie ends with the live possibility that she may be declared a formal saint one day after all.
The preacher and novelist Frederick Buechner has written many books about Christian people, including a series of books about a preacher named Bebb and his Pulitzer-nominated novel Godric about a Medieval saint. But his books are full of the common, the ordinary, even the tawdry because Buechner is convinced that the life of a saint is not generally going to be so very different from any other Christian person's life, replete with struggles, doubts, failures, sin, fears, and the rest. Buechner has even gone so far as to say that if you actually set out to write a novel about a saint, you'd likely end up making a hash out of it. You'd likely end up trying to create a story that you think would look like a saint's life, full of piety and spine-tingling events and elevated holy language. What would result would perhaps look very spiritual but it probably would not look at all like the life of anyone who actually ever lived. Instead Buechner suggests that when writing novels, Christian writers could better simply create a flesh-and-blood character similar to any number of real people we already know and then show how the holy permeates that person's life even so.
The Lectionary Psalms —
Psalm 105: 1-11, 45b
Author: Doug Bratt
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider
Psalm 105 is one of the psalms that recite the "wonders" (5) God has done for Israel. The Scriptures suggest worshipers periodically gathered to hear such recitations of God's "miracles" and "judgments" (5). They listened to those stories so that they might "remember" the "wonders" God "has done" (5).
Yet as Frederick Gaiser notes, this remembering was more than just simply recalling some historical facts. The Scriptures recount God's mighty deeds so that worshipers may be drawn into those events. In a very real sense, when these stories are recalled, God's saving work becomes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, present for each new generation.
Yet that call to remember, Gaiser goes on to note, also connects 21st century worshipers to these stories. In John 20 Jesus tells Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not yet seen and yet believe." We didn't see, for example, the exodus or Jesus' resurrection. Yet through the power of the Holy Spirit we believe God continues to do what God has graciously done in the past.
While Psalm 105 recounts Israel's history, that history begins not with human actions, but with God's promise. God, writes the poet, "remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac," the poet writes. "He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: 'To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit'." This great promise of the land, and the way God acts to keep it, forms the basis of the praise that floods this psalm.
While Psalm 105 may seem like nothing more than a long and not particularly exciting Israelite history lesson, a close inspection of it reveals that few of its verbs actually refer to Israel. So Psalm 105 is not primarily a story of Israel's political, cultural or military accomplishments. It's not even mainly a story about remarkable people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
No, Psalm 105 insists that Israel's story is actually largely God's story. God, after all, is almost exclusively the actor in this psalm. Psalm 105 dramatically and repeatedly describes God's power persistently at work to both save and protect Israel. God is the one who, after all, "remembers his covenant forever" (8). God is also the one who confirmed that covenant to Jacob and Israel (8).
In verse 1 Psalm 105 begins, "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name," it begins in verse 1. "Make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts." This, however, isn't just the Israelites' doxology. It's a song of praise that you and I also seek to join them in living out, not just on Sundays, but throughout the week.
So what does Psalm 105's long history lesson have to do with such praise and thanksgiving that soaks this psalm? Psalm 105 gives content to Israel's praise and thanksgiving. The Israelites aren't, after all, just thankful in general. They thank God for very specific things this psalm describes, for the very specific ways God saved and protected them.
In a similar way, we aren't just generally thankful either. You and I aren't even just thankful to God in some generic ways. God has done and continues to do very specific things in our lives. So you and I try to be very specific in our thanksgiving.
Christians give thanks to the Lord most of all for the gracious gift of his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit by whom we trust Christ for our salvation. We give thanks to the Lord for the way God works in his church to spread the gospel of joy and peace to the nations. Worshipers also give thanks to the Lord for concrete things like friends and relatives, and like food and drink. Psalm 105 reminds of what God has done, partially so that we may properly praise and thank him.
Something more, however, is also at work in this remarkable history lesson that is Psalm 105. This psalm also serves, by God's Holy Spirit, to encourage worshipers to continue to trust in God's good purposes. Israel can, as verse 4 calls, her "look to the Lord and his strength" because she remembers the wonders the Lord has done throughout her history. By God's Spirit, Israel's memory of the kinds of wondrous things God did in the Exodus builds her confidence in God's ongoing work.
We too remember God's faithfulness in order to cultivate confidence in God's ongoing faithfulness in our lives. You and I remember God's work in our past in part so that we may believe in his good plans and purposes for our future. Christians also talk to each other about what God has done in order to encourage trust in the Lord.
Yet why does God want Israel to remember what God has graciously done for her? God did them, the poet insists in verse 45, "that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws." So Psalm 105 isn't just a call to praise and thanksgiving or a summons to ongoing trust in the Lord. It is also an invitation to thankful obedience to the Lord.
After Adam and Eve fell into sin, God wanted a people who would live in godly ways in the midst of the world's ungodly people. God created, protected and cared for Israel so that she would publicly "keep his precepts." God, one biblical scholar eloquently writes, "quite literally moved heaven and earth not just to fix Israel up all nice and pretty in a land where the people could kick back and lead a rich, fat life of milk, honey, wine and cheese. No, God had orchestrated cosmic events with the goal of establishing a little colony of heaven."
Of course, Psalm 105 doesn't mention just how this heavenly colony fared. It doesn't describe Israel's largely faithless response to God's gracious care and protection. The poet leaves it to Psalm 106 to mournfully detail Israel's disobedient response to God's wonders and miracles.
Yet the rest of the Scriptures show that God didn't give up on our world or God's idea of establishing a heavenly colony. So God sent God's own Son, Jesus Christ, to be the New Israel. And where the old Israel fails miserably, God's Son succeeds completely. In the midst of the world's blatant disobedience, that eventually includes his own murder, he is perfectly obedient.
Now, however, that Jesus Christ has returned, in body, to heaven, he leaves you and me with the task of being a colony of heaven. God graciously saves you and me, in part so that we will be an enclave of obedience in the midst of the world's depraved disobedience.
God lovingly created, protects and cares for us in part so that we may represent and display his reign over his creation. Quite simply, God calls you and me to be different and distinct. He calls us to be holy. So in a culture that encourages people to seek their own rights in various relationships, Christians seek to serve and even sacrifice ourselves for each other.
In a society that calls us to seek out what's best for us in our workplaces, Christians seek to promote things like racial equality and social justice. In a society that tells its senior citizens to live it up in retirement, Christians use our new free time to serve the most vulnerable citizens of our society.
Illustration Idea
"Memory" and "remembering" play a large role in Psalm 105. So those who preach and teach this psalm might peruse websites dedicated to helping improve one's memory. Sites such as "Memory-Improvement-Tips.com," "Memory Improvement," and "Improving Your Memory Techniques" are eager to help memory.
Why is memory loss such a concern? It's not just vital to things like learning and daily functioning. The loss of our memory also involves a loss of a very basic part of who human beings are.
When we forget what God has done, we lose a vital part of what God has created us to be. Is that, perhaps, why the Holy Spirit so often equips those who forget nearly everything else to remember things like psalms and hymns?
Lectionary Epistle +
Romans 8: 26-39
Author: Stan Mast
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider
Christian author Doris Betts tells a story about driving down the highway in North Carolina and seeing a highway patrolman beside the road. Apparently a chicken truck had run off the road and broken apart. Chickens were running loose. The driver was trying to recapture the chickens. People were trying to steal the chickens. There was chicken blood everywhere. It was a scene of mixed horror and humor, and the patrolman was trying to bring order out of the chaos. That's us, says Betts. In the middle of life's chaos with its horror and its humor, we try to bring order, meaning, and stability.
In these last words of Romans 8, the Gospel of Jesus Christ provides us a perspective on life that not only brings order to the chaos, but also enables us to live joyfully, peacefully, hopefully, and faithfully in the midst of the chaos. Paul sums up that perspective in three statements that I would call the bedrock certainties of life. He leads off with this first certainty. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." We know this, says Paul. There's no doubt about it. It is one of the bedrock certainties of life—"in all things God works for the good of those who love him…."
That is, arguably, the most magnificent promise in the Bible, and perhaps the most difficult to believe. Some of you have read Angela's Ashes, a bestselling book about the miseries of growing up poor in Catholic Ireland. It is written by Frank McCourt, who recalls that in the space of 3 years, the McCourt family lost an infant daughter and twin toddler sons to poverty, hunger, and disease. As the family prepares to bury the second twin, Father McCourt prays, "Dear God, this is what you want, isn't it? You want my son, Eugene. You took his brother, Oliver. You took his sister Margaret. I'm not supposed to question that, am I? Dear God above I don't know why children have to die, but that is your will. Could you at least be merciful? Could you leave us the children we have? That is all we ask. Amen."
How can we believe in this magnificent promise in the face of such unspeakable tragedy? Well, first of all, we must understand the promise. Frankly, some of the difficulty we have with it stems from the fact that we have misunderstood it. Maybe the easiest way to understand what it means is to get clear on what it doesn't say.
For example, it doesn't say that all things are good. This is not a promise that flies in the face of reality and claims that even really terrible things are good. Later in this passage Paul will mention things like persecution and famine and death, and he never hints that such things are good in themselves. Some things are not good; they are downright evil and wrong, and we ought to hate them and try to get rid of them. The promise is that all things, even the bad things, work together for good.
But that brings me to the second thing this promise doesn't say. It doesn't say that things just kind of work themselves out by some sort of natural process. This promise is true only because God is at work in all things, even bad things. Other translations of this text leave God out of the picture—"everything works together for good." That translation is based on the fact that the word "God" is not found in the Greek of verse 28. But God is certainly the one who does this miraculous thing, as is obvious from the marvelous and mysterious words of verses 29-30. An old Reformed confession calls those verses "the Golden Chain of Redemption," because each verb is tied to the other verbs by a common subject, namely, God. "Those whom he foreknew, he predestined; those he predestined, he called; those he called, he justified; those he justified, he glorified." God is the actor in redemption, even as he is the actor in keeping the promise of verse 28.
This is why the promise is so certain; it is based on the effective choice and powerful activity of God from eternity to eternity. The God who loved us from all eternity and will get us to perfection in eternity is not about to leave our fate in between to chance or the forces of evil. The text does not say that things will just sort of work out somehow; it says that God makes all things work for good.
Again, the text does not say that things will work out the way we want them to, even if we are sure that it would be best if they did. It says that God will work for "the good," and defines that good in a very specific way in verse 29. We have been predestined "to be conformed to the likeness of his Son." That is our destiny, our highest good. There is nothing better than to be like the Son of God with all the privilege and honor and wealth and power and blessing that includes. The text does not say that we will get everything we think is good, but that in all things God works to get us the ultimate good.
Again, the text does not say that this will happen quickly or painlessly. We will be "conformed" to the likeness of Jesus, and the word "conformed" has about it the idea of being shaped, molded, squeezed, and thrown into the oven. Think of what a potter would do to turn a simple lump of clay into a lovely piece of pottery. Such "conforming" might take time and it might cause pain. This is not the promise of an easy life.
Finally, the text does not say that this promise is for everyone. In the Greek, the idea thrust forward is that this promise is for those who love God. It is not a promise for those who hate God. Of course, God in his infinite mercy may very well make things work for the good of those who hate him and want nothing to do with him. But God makes no promise to that effect. This is a promise for those who love God. However, knowing that we waver in our love for God and desiring to anchor this promise in something more solid that our shifting affection, Paul closes with this business about God's call. This promise is for those who are "called according to God's purpose." Who are they? Not people who love God perfectly, but those who have solid evidence of God's call in their lives, which is a simple trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
That's what the promise means, and doesn't mean. "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love the Lord, and are called according to his purpose." That brings us to the next and more difficult question. In the midst of all the terrible things that can happen to us (which Paul brutally lists in verses 35 and 36), how can we be sure that this magnificent promise will hold true for us? Well, says Paul, we can be certain of that because we know two more things. There are two more bedrock certainties of life– God is for us and nothing can separate us from his love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
"What then shall we say in response to this?" asks verse 31, referring not only to the few verses we've just talked about, but to all this Gospel that has been spelled out in 8 long and complicated chapters. What is the conclusion of it all? What does it all amount to when you take away all the fancy theology? Just this—God is for us. Ultimate reality, the heart of the universe, is not hostile or indifferent, but benevolent to the inhabitants of planet earth.
In the Civil War novel, Cold Mountain, Ruby and Ada argue "whether the world might better be viewed as such a place of threat and fear that the only appropriate attitude was gloom, or whether one should strive for light and cheer, even though a dark-fisted hand seemed poised to strike at any moment." To which the Bible replies with bed-rock certainty, ultimate reality is not a dark-fisted hand poised to strike at any moment, but the hand of a Father who is determined to bless his children.
God is for us, and Paul spells out what that means in numerous ways. God protects us. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The answer is, many and much. But God is for us, and he will protect us so that the good he wants for us will be accomplished for us. God provides for us. After all, he gave us his Son. If he did that, how could he not also give us all things? God saves us our own sin and his own judgment. "It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn us?" Many will try, but it will have no ultimate effect. Indeed, Jesus continues to live for us and is seated at the right hand of God for us to make intercession for us. Note the echo– "for us, for us, for us." Those two words ring through the passage and in our hearts. That is the bedrock certainty underlying the magnificent promise of verse 28.
But how do we know God will always be for us? I read recently that the great central question of today's youth is not, "What is the meaning of life?" but "Will you be there for me?" It is a completely understandable question in a world filled with separations of all kinds—broken marriages, broken promises, broken contracts, bankruptcies, death of all kinds. How can you count on anyone to be there for you tomorrow, even if they are for you today? Good question. The Bible asks it of God. "Who shall separate us from the love of God?" And then it lists all the terrible thing that can happen to us. How do we know God will be there for us through all the vicissitudes of life?
Here is the third bedrock certainty of life. "I am convinced that nothing in all of space, nothing in all of time, nothing human or sub-human or superhuman, nothing in the entire universe can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." There is the reason for our certainty—not some abstract idea of God, not some system of theology, not a tradition of belief, but the personal reality of God's love, God become human and dying on a cross out of love for us humans. Christ Jesus our Lord is the ultimate proof that God is for us. He is the final guarantee that nothing can separate us from God's love.
We're all a little like Moses standing on Mt. Nebo at the end of the long wilderness wandering of Israel. He looks south, back toward Egypt and the wilderness, back to the past and life's surprising journey and the grace of God in his life. And he looks west across the Jordan, where he can see the Promised Land, the future, where he is not privileged to go, but which he can see in broad contour. So far the similarity. Here's the great difference. We shall enter the Promised Land and live forever because Jesus is our Savior and Lord.
Now in the meantime, standing here on Nebo between our past and our future, we know three things for sure. God is unalterably for us; nothing can separate us from his love in Christ; and whatever happens to us God will work to our final good. And because there are these bedrock certainties, we won't just make it through. We won't stagger to the edge of Jordan and stumble across. No, we will be "more than conquerors." Indeed, says Paul, we are already. We may not feel that way all the time, but we are. And we will feel like "more than conquerors" as often as and as long as we stand on these bedrock certainties of life.
Illustration Idea
For a different way of thinking of life, consider this poem by Jason E. McBride.
The morning air thickens
with lilac
and I am like this fly
who strains against its net
prison. The web, strung taut
between waxy leaves,
catches sunlight in dew drop
prism pockets—a beautiful
With a thousand eyes
he marvels
at the finely wrought tapestry—
even while he trembles
at his certain end—to be devoured
this early hour
of his life-span:
a day.
Quite unlike the attic's
dark corners, where cobwebs,
overbaked in stale summer heat,
sag with the weight of dust.
I've seen a hollowed fly carcass
dangle there, gazing up at bare
rafters with a thousand empty
I have such moments.
In them, I, from my spinning sphere,
send a cry through cupped hands,
hurling sound waves that bend
in space—up—past the moon,
echoing around Neptune, words
toppling over words, crunched
and stretched by the Doppler Effect
in a web of whirling worlds
and silent spaces. My voice,
dissipating through galaxies,
fills constellations with mere
And you, Lord, pressed
your stethoscope to the chest
of the universe and listened.
And my cries came to you,
like gnats or flies,
through the screen door
of your clean and furnished mansion,
buzzing in the shiny
waxy caverns of your


text:
In recent years, the number of competitions in the robotic domain has increased tremendously. This growth is spurred by the appealing nature of robots, the flexibility that they afford in competition themes due to the practically unlimited applications, and by the recognition that competitions can yield advances in a technological domain that is immature. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has supported a variety of competitions to help stimulate innovation in certain critical technologies and capabilities needed in robotics. In this paper we present some general views of competitions and discuss the experiences NIST has had with robotics competitions as catalysts for advancing the state of intelligent systems. This paper is a lead-in to others in a special session organized at the 2010 Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems (PerMIS) workshop that describe in more detail how competitions are used to advance intelligent systems.
Proceedings Title: Proceedings of the Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems (PerMIS) 2009
Conference Dates: September 21-23, 2009
Conference Location: Gaithersburg, MD
Pub Type: Conferences
Download Paper
Measurement, Performance Evaluation, Performance Metrics, Intelligent Systems, Robotics


text:
Subaru WRX Forum (http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/)
- Vendor Announcements (http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f85/)
- - Exclusive! The WRX Watch from Fossil and Mach V Motorsports (http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f85/exclusive-wrx-watch-fossil-mach-v-motorsports-5852/)
Exclusive! The WRX Watch from Fossil and Mach V Motorsports
We here at Mach V Motorsports love WRX's, and we love a nice wrist watch, too. We commissioned Fossil to produce this limited edition watch. Only 555 will be made. The watch is all stainless steel, including the band and back. The back of the watch is engraved with "Mach V Motorsports Limited Edition" and the serial number. The watch features a high-quality Japanese movement. It's backed by the full Fossil warranty.
The comes with a special WRX aluminum collector's tin, and includes a certificate of authenticity.
This watch will never be sold in any store. It is exclusive to Mach V Motorsports. Once the 555 units are gone, they're gone for good.
[b]These watches are in stock now![/b]. You can reserve a specific serial number, if you want, for a small additional fee.
We're very excited to be offering this watch, and we know they are going to sell out.
[url=http://www.fastwrx.com/exwrxwabyfo.html]Limited Edition Fossil WRX Watch - click me![/url]
Click the link above for more details, and to order.
Mach V
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text: AUTObiography Blkmag1c's 2010 GTI Share Comments Want your car featured in a VWvortex AUTObiography? Tell us what it means to be a Volkswagen enthusiast, and show us how you and your car demonstrate those ideals! Send the completed form with a handful of high quality pictures (at least 600 px wide) to firstname.lastname@example.com. Next up is VWvortex reader: Blkmag1c How long have you owned this car? 8 months. Is there anything unique about the history of this car? I popped her cherry! What drew you to this specific car? The culture of the car.. What other cars did you consider? None! What was your objective with this car? DARKNESS!! What tuning style would you describe this car as? OEM+, Murder.. Who helped you build this car? My Buddy Kent.. What makes your car special? I like my Black CC Interlagos Wheels..Havent seen anyone else rocking them What is your favorite part/feature/function? Love watching movies on the navi screen Who or what inspired the direction of modifications on this car? My Fiance, former R32 owner, current 2011 A4 Avant Titanium owner.. What don't you like about this car? No front spoiler on US models stock.. BULL****!! What was your biggest obstacle in building this car? Removing stock shocks from front, when doing coilovers. How did you overcome the issue? Beat the piss out of the stock shocks, and broke the driver side axle with a prybar, not on purpose.. HAHA… What would you change if you could? Nothing right now, but I am not even close to being finished. On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with the outcome of this project? 8.5 right now.. Everything has worked out to plan so far.. Even getting that axle fixed on warranty.. Mwahhhaaa!!! What would you do to the car if money were no object? Bag it, new audio system, big turbo with stage 3 tune, shave the bay, paint matte black. Who has been your biggest critic of this project? My lady. What do your family and friends say about this car? They love it.. What is your most memorable/humorous/embarrassing moment with this car? Well to be honest it's my first Man transmission, so you know.. Has this car competed in any events? Yes H2O 2010, 2nd place in class. What is your favorite place to drive this car? Back windy roads around town.. What is your ideal day with this car? Sunny 72 degrees, good music and some back windy roads. Who gets to drive this car? Me and the Fiance. If your car had a motto, what would it be? "THEY AIN'T READY!!!" If you had to name your car, what would you name it? Well its name is Blackmag1c.. What was your previous project? None .. First one.. What is your next project? CC, Mk4 R32, Golf R. Could go many ways.. What one word best describes your car? Darknessesss!! Any regrets? Tell us about it. None so far.. Owner Information: Name- John Ciuppa Address- Eagleville, PA VWvortex Username- Blkmag1c Occupation- Senior Staff Photographer Club Affiliations-none. Vehicle Information: Year-2010 Make-VW Model-GTI Mileage-10,000 Color (Include original if applicable)-Black Engine-2.0T Engine Modifications- Evoms Intake Exhaust Modifications-stock Transmission Modifications-stock Suspension Modifications-H&R street performance coilovers Brake Modifications-stock Wheels and Tires-19×8 Matte Black CC Interlagos, 225/35/19 Exterior/Body Modifications-DeBadged, Black Emblems, Yakima Roof Rack,Color matched side markers, Blacked out tails and reflectors,Nokya Hyper yellow fogs. Interior Modifications- Red footwell lights, Angry Fast shift knob, Osir suede shift boot, Audio/Video/I.C.E.- VIM Module for rns510 Thanks/Props- Marisa, Kent


text:
General education learning goals are infused into your major's curriculum, in co-curricular settings, in the community, and through self-reflection.
General education is a requirement at the Lesley University College of Art and Design, and is delivered with options for flexibility and choice. We consider past learning and experience when helping you shape your general education curriculum choices to best meet your individual needs.
Courses to meet the liberal arts requirements of general education are available throughout the offerings of Lesley University.
The distribution of general education courses give you broad exposure to
the liberal arts and will allow you to select from offerings available
across the university. Some of the courses that meet the general
education distribution requirements may also meet the requirements in a
major you select. This allows for integration as well as breadth and
depth of knowledge as you progress through the college experience.
Students must fulfill the following general education requirements:English Composition: 3 creditsWriting & the Literary Arts: 3 creditsMath: 3 creditsScience: 3 creditsSocial Science: 3 creditsHistory: 3-6 creditsLiberal Arts Electives: 9-12 credits
Fundamental Base of KnowledgeStudents will develop a fundamental base of knowledge necessary for all future academic study and professional preparation.Critical ReasoningStudents will develop the ability to solve unfamiliar problems and generate new meaning.Social ResponsibilityStudents will develop an understanding of the individual's role in the larger community and the natural world, and an awareness of the importance of involvement in the same.Multiple PerspectivesStudents will develop an awareness of multiple viewpoints by exploring the relationship among values, attitudes, cultures, and behaviors.Life-Long LearningStudents will acquire the interest and ability to further their learning.
Kristina Lamour-Sansone
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Associate Professor of Design
Geoffry Fried
Professor of Design
Animation and Motion Media
Art History
Design for User Experience (online)
Digital Filmmaking
Fine Arts
Graphic Design
Interactive Design
Interdisciplinary Studies
Foundation Year
Dual Degree:
BFA and Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Teacher of Visual Art
All Undergraduate Minors
Undergraduate Tuition and Fees:
One-Year Cost: Full-Time
One-Year Cost: Part-Time
College of Art and Design
Meet Our BFA Students and Alumni
About College of Art and Design
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Directions to Campus
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Request more information
Schedule a campus visit
Email: email@example.com
"Everyone at Lesley University enjoys a richly artistic, intellectual, and academic community."
— Dana Mueller, Adjunct Faculty Member
Illustration Student Sara Alfageeh Received the Kingston-Mann Award for Her Powerful Essay.


text:
The Capital Rebels
Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 March 2014 10:26
Written by theglasshousetx
Wednesday, 12 March 2014 10:24
Will the nation's capital break federal law?
Maybe you saw the article we posted on our Facebook page last week about Washington, D.C. decriminalizing the possession and consumption of small amounts of marijuana. Last week, the D.C. City Council voted to eliminate laws that made possession of up to an ounce of marijuana a criminal offense punishable by a fine of $1,000 or a six-month prison sentence. This summer, new regulations go into effect that will make possession only punishable by a $25 fine. Public consumption will remain a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $500 or 60 days in jail.
But wait! We have more good news!
Yesterday, the D.C. Board of Elections cleared a ballot measure that could put them right in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington. The board's decision allows a band of activists to begin gathering the 25,000 signatures needed to get the measure on the November ballot.
According to the Washington Post, if the signatures are collected and the ballot measure passes, it will allow adults 21 and over to possess up to two ounces of marijuana for recreational use, and to grow up to three plants in their homes. Things are looking good – a recent Washington Post article assures us that if activists can get the measure on the ballot, it has a pretty strong chance of passing.
The most humorous part of this process is that if the measure passes and recreational marijuana use is legalized in Washington, D.C., the very CAPITAL of the NATION will be in conflict with federal law. Isn't it ironic? (Don'cha think?)
Questions have already arisen about how overlapping local and federal jurisdictions would affect enforcement – what if you're smoking in a national park? On the Mall? What if Obama feels like lighting up? Who knows?
What do you think of decriminalization in Washington, D.C.? Do you expect the measure to make it onto the ballot? Let us know in the Comment section or on our Facebook page!
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Morgan tells Ava he feels he signed Duke's death warrant. Sonny traps Julian, and Duke lets out his frustrations on him. Mr. Nakamura tells Sam that Silas was the one that had that prescription filled, prompting Nathan to arrest Silas. Felicia lets Mac in on Lucy's secret that she slept with Scott, and says not to tell Kevin. Brad flashes back to when meeting Lucas about his criminal family in Port Charles. Julian comes home all bruised asking Morgan who he's working for him or Sonny. Mac arrives and punches Scott telling him to stay away from Lucy. Duke and Shawn ask Sonny what he plans to do with Morgan.moreless
Sonny and Shawn realize that Carlos has taken T.J. has a hostage. Julian asks Bobbie who Lucas is when she gets an incoming call from him. Molly goes to Morgan saying that T.J. thinks Sonny had Carlos at his coffee warehouse. Felix tells Sabrina that Patrick will make his choice. Patrick tells Robin he'll be staying at the hospital so she can stay at the house while he figures everything out. Silas tells Ava he got a call from a cop and she realizes he doesn't want Sam knowing his secrets. Carlos is thrilled when Julian and Morgan come to his rescue. Molly sits and prays that T.J. will be okay.moreless
After taking on the Scarecrow with the aid of the Golden Age Flash, Batman must travel to 19th century London to help Jason Blood, the alter-ego of Etrigan, when he's framed for a series of crimes committed by the Gentleman Ghost.moreless
The League captures a dying Luthor, who breaks out of prison and assembles a group of villains to defeat the heroes.
Windom Earle sets his sites on the Miss Twin Peaks contest. Lucy chooses a father for her baby. Leo is punished when he frees Major Briggs. Cooper unlocks the key to entering the Black Lodge. Annie and Dale make a commitment to each other. Catherine and Andrew find a mysterious key. Donna confronts Ben Horne. The Miss Twin Peaks contest ends in chaos. Windom Earle kidnaps Annie. Andy deciphers the Owl Cave puzzle.moreless
Cooper and company find the mysterious petroglyph. Windom Earle befriends a rock and roll youth, and tells him tales of places called the White and Black Lodge. Pete helps Catherine open the first puzzle box. Lana wants Milford to rig Miss Twin Peaks. Annie and Cooper go for a nature walk. Cooper finds the poem Earle sent to the girls. He tells Harry it's a poem he once gave to Caroline. Major Briggs agrees to look into Earle's Project Bluebook work. Cooper deduces Leo Johnson is working with Earle. Shelly, Lucy, Donna, Nadine, Lana and Audrey enter Miss Twin Peaks. Mike tells Bobby about Nadine's special bedroom talents. Cole says goodbye to Shelly. Donna wants to know what is going on between her mom and Ben Horne. Treymayne hosts a wine tasting party. Windom Earle leaves his next victim and a terrifying promise for Cooper: "Next time, it will be someone you know."moreless
Harry sinks into a deep depression after Josie's death. Josie's body holds more questions then answers. Norma's troubled sister, Annie, arrives in Twin Peaks. Wheeler and Audrey hit it off. Cooper's stalemate angers Earle. Eckheardt's assistant, Jones, leaves a puzzle for Catherine. Windom Earle visits Donna. The Log Lady and Major Briggs share similar tattoos and go to Cooper with them. The Miss Twin Peaks contest is coming up, and Norma wants Shelly to enter. Cooper meets and is taken with Annie. Ben holds a Save the Pine Weasel fashion show that goes wrong. Jones slips into Harry's bed.moreless
Major Briggs has no memory of the place he was taken, but now has an odd tattoo on his neck. Andy and Dick break into Little Nicky's files. Mike and Nadine begin an affair. Shelly and Bobby's love is strained. Evelyn asks James to kill her husband. Hank attacks Big Ed, but is beaten by Nadine. Ben slips deeper into his fantasy life. When the drug bust goes bad, Cooper is taken hostage by Jean Renault. Leo Johnson comes back to life. After physical and mental torture by Renault, Cooper is saved by a quick thinking Bryson and Truman.
Later that night, an explosion and blackout empties out the police station, and when Cooper and Truman return, they find a gruesome scene let by Windom Earle.
Ben takes Bobby under his wing in a hope to destroy Hank and Jean. However, Ben's mental state is starting to crack. Cooper starts to look at buying real estate. Major Briggs's supervisor reveals that Briggs was studying transmissions from the woods. Andy and Dick learn of Little Nicky's troubled life. James meets Malcom, the chauffer for the Marsh family. Dougie Milford dies on his honeymoon, and the major blames Lana. Cooper finds drugs at Dead Dog Farms. Dick thinks Nicky is trying to kill him. Evelyn starts an affair with James. Ben begins to reenact the civil war. Audrey produces photos that may save Cooper. Hank catches Ed and Norma in an embrace. Denise and Cooper enlist Ernie Niles to ensnare Jean Renault. Major Briggs returns as mysteriously as he had vanished.moreless
Mrs. Briggs talks about her husband's disappearance into the woods. Nadine is put on the wrestling team, where she falls for Mike Nelson. James is hired by a mysterious wealthy woman named Evelyn Marsh. Dick takes on an orphan named Little Nicky. The case against Cooper will be handled by DEA Agent Denis (Denise) Bryson. Hank tells Ben that Jean Renault has taken over One Eyed Jacks. Windom Earle contacts Cooper with an omnious message. Dougie Milford weds Lanna Budding. Josie asks Catherine for protection. Andrew Packard comes out of hiding, very much alive.moreless
Leland is laid to rest and Sarah Palmer tries to accept all that has happened to her family. Dr. Jacoby returns from Hawaii. Cooper prepares to leave Twin Peaks. Mayor Milford objects to his brothers engagement to a younger woman. Hank and Ernie meet with Jean Renault. Jacoby has Ed enroll Nadine in High School. Audrey and Cooper say goodbye, and Cooper tells her about the death of a woman he loved. Bobby plans to take advantage of Ben's ruin. Cooper is made a Bookhouse Boy. Agent Rodger Hardy arrives to suspend Cooper for his illegal entrance into Canada and his involvement in the murders at One Eyed Jacks. Norma's mother reveals herself to be the critic who wrote a scathing review of the Double R. Josie returns to Truman. Major Briggs vanishes in a bright light while fishing with Cooper.moreless
Albert returns to examine Maddy. Cooper asks for twenty-four hours to finish his case. James and Donna reaffirm their love. Andy accidentally leads Donna and Cooper back to Mrs. Tremond's house. Cooper is given a missing page from Laura's diary, describing the same dream he had. The One Armed man is ill, tells Cooper he has all the clues he needs. Catherine reveals herself to Ben, and he signs the mill back over to her. Leland and Donna learn of Maddy's death. Cooper calls together everyone for a final confrontation. James leaves town. Cooper tricks the killer into revealing himself after decoding the various clues from his dream. The spirit of Bob flees from the killer's body, who dies in Cooper's arms and is welcomed into the next life by Laura. Truman, Cooper, Albert and Major Briggs ponder the existence of Bob, and where he has gone to…moreless


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The Changing Face Of Social Media: Facebook-Direct Airfares
Delta Air Lines are now taking reservations through the popular website.
With around 160 million customers each year, Delta Air Lines have moved their ticket sales into the social media world, taking bookings through Facebook directly. Dubbed the 'Delta Ticket Window,' the Atlanta-based carrier is the first airline to make the move, available to U.S. citizens in the form of a Facebook Application. Created by Alvenda – a social commerce company who claim to be the first company to bring retail onto Facebook in July 2009 with the StoreCast™ platform; the application is reportedly the first of it's kind for travel services. Launched on the 12th of August, Bob Kupbens, Delta's Vice President of eCommerce stated;
Our customers are spending more time online and are looking for new ways to connect with us. We're now bringing Delta to our customers rather than the other way around – on our own website, on Facebook, on travel web sites, on Internet news sites, and beyond.
From Delta's Facebook page, users can access the application via the 'Book A Trip' tab. With over 500 million Facebook users, Delta's venture is the first of no-doubt many commercial ventures into the social media realm.
[via FutureGov]


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And any Israeli who is committed to Palestinian statehood alongside Israel is also, therefore, a "Palestinian nationalist."
But when I asked which firm she now worked at, I realized I had committed a faux pas.
Smiley, by contrast, knew exactly what mistakes he was making as he committed and concealed them.
In the past, Perry has been committed to banning abortion with very narrow exceptions.
Pershing was committed to this second decision by his prior decision to deploy the AEF as an independent corps.
He says, "I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day."
"Lady Rachel committed suicide," said Jessop, raising a haggard face.
The Jewish error is one that is often committed, their mistake often repeated.
They committed suicide to escape the destiny for which he designed them.
Stockdale was also summoned, cross-examined, and committed, but to Newgate.
1590s, "entrusted, delegated," past participle adjective from commit (v.). Meaning "locked into a commitment" is from 1948.
late 14c., "to give in charge, entrust," from Latin committere "to unite, connect, combine; to bring together," from com- "together" (see com-) + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Evolution into modern range of meanings is not entirely clear. Sense of "perpetrating" was ancient in Latin; in English from mid-15c. The intransitive use (in place of commit oneself) first recorded 1982, probably influenced by existentialism use (1948) of commitment to translate Sartre's engagement "emotional and moral engagement."
commit com·mit (kə-mĭt')
v. com·mit·ted, com·mit·ting, com·mits
To place officially in confinement or custody, as in a mental health facility.


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Marshawn Lynch Narrates the 'Planet Earth II' Iguana ChaseTwo of the greatest runs in recent times have been mashed together.
Panthers' Fast Start Too Much For SeahawksAs the back-to-back NFC champion Seattle Seahawks found out Sunday in the Queen City, spotting top-ranked Carolina 31 points was all but a recipe for disaster.
Injury Report: Seahawks Hope To Have Lynch And Willson Ready For PanthersWhen the two teams faced off a season ago in the NFC playoffs in Seattle, the Seahawks were a rather solid favorite to beat Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
Will Seahawks Make Another Magical Run To The Super Bowl?While quarterback Russell Wilson has also been putting up some impressive stats (35 TD's) this season, it is Seattle's defense over the last month or so that has been equally if not more dominant.
Seahawks And 49ers Battle To Avoid Last Place In NFC West Thursday NightThe Seattle Seahawks entered the 2015 NFL season with high expectations while the San Francisco 49ers entered the season with more questions than answers.
Seattle Team Grades: Seattle Avoids Meltdown, Wins in OTYes, it is a cliche, but the game is never over until it's actually over as Seattle comes from behind to advance to the Super Bowl.
Seahawks Injury Report: Seahawks Injured Doubles Packers ListA trip to the Super Bowl is on the line.
Green Bay Packers Inury Report: Rodgers, Lacy Probable For NFC Title GameThe Green Bay Packers listed both their starting quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) and running back (Eddie Lacy) on the injury report as limited participants in Thursday's practice. The team estimated that the two players would have been limited on Friday as well and gave both a probable chance to play on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in the NFC championship game. The Packers list four players on their injury report and the Seahawks list seven (two not injury related) on theirs.
Three Keys To Another NFC Championship For SeattleIf Seattle wants a second straight trip to the Super Bowl, here are three vital areas to focus on.
Despite Bye Week, 'Hawks Still Banged UpTen injured Hawks and just five injured Panthers for this Divisional Round game.
Yet Again, Seattle's Defense Is Key To A RepeatHow can the Seahawks win their second straight Lombardi Trophy? The same way they did last season.
TTYM: Marshawn Lynch Likes To Dance And Peyton Manning's Backup Is BoredHere are five interesting moments in sports you may have missed this week.


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Originally posted on SteelerAddicts | Last updated 10/28/12
This year has been a transition year for the Steelers; figuring out just what exactly is "Steelers Football" has been tough to say the least, but Jonathan Dwyer and the offensive line are trying to clear things up. On a day where the division rival Ravens were on a bye, the Steelers seized the opportunity to gain ground in the AFC North and Dwyer was a big part of that. For the first time in 4 years, a Steelers running back had back to back 100 yd games (Willie Parker was the last). Dwyer finished with 17 carriers for 107 yds, and another clock eating first down late in the game to help ensure the win. In very "Bus" like fashion, Dwyer moved the pile, moved the chains, and ultimately helped move the Steelers into the Win column over the visiting Redskins (the first time this year the Steelers have had back to back wins). With Rashard Mendenhall still on the bench and Isaac Redman deactivated, Dwyer was asked to carry the load and he responded to the challenge, staking his claim to t...
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text: Mr. Wang Mingliang, Founder and Director of UBM Sinoexpo, said: "As a professional exhibition organising company, we have successful experience of working with industry associations to take their events to the next level. Take Furniture China as an example. We have been working closely with China National Furniture Association for over 20 years on Furniture China which has grown from a 3,000 square metre show into a mega international exhibition of 350,000 square metres. This model will also work successfully for Guzhen's lighting fair."UBM Sinoexpo and the Guzhen government have started on the promotion of the 12 th International Lighting Fair & LED Application Exhibition to be held from 18 - 21 October 2013 in the new Lighting Capital (Guzhen) Conference & Exhibition Center and in three lighting marts, providing a total exhibition area of 250,000 square metres. Organised by the Government of Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, China Association of Lighting Industry and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the 2013 Fair is expected to welcome 1,000 exhibitors. Notes to Editors 1. About UBM Asia ( www.ubmasia.com ) Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in mainland China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global presence in 25 major cities with 30 offices and over 1,400 staff.With a track record spanning over 30 years, UBM Asia operates in 21 market sectors with 160 dynamic face-to-face exhibitions, 75 high-level professional conferences, 28 targeted trade publications, 18 round-the-clock vertical portals and virtual event services for over 1,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world. We provide a one-stop diversified global service for high-value business matching, quality market news and online trading networks.UBM Asia has extensive office networks in China, Southeast Asia and India, three of the world's fastest growing B2B events markets. UBM China has 11 offices in the major cities in mainland China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen, where we organise more than 60 exhibitions and conferences. In ASEAN, UBM Asia operates from its offices in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines with over 50 events in this region. UBM India teams in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad organise 20 exhibitions and 60 conferences every year across the country. 2. About UBM plc ( www.ubm.com ) UBM plc is a global events-led marketing services and communications company. We help businesses do business, bringing the world's buyers and sellers together at events and online, as well as producing and distributing news and specialist content. Our 5,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into expert teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.For more information, go to www.ubm.com; follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc to get the latest UBM corporate news. For press enquiries, please contact:


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Medium Decorative Wood Christmas Tree by Creative Co-Op
Accent your home with the natural beauty of a wood Christmas Tree made from real wood. This wood Christmas tree is made of poplar wood with a Sophora log with real tree bark on the outside.
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Description Author Lindsey P Name Creative Co-Op Decorative Wood Christmas Tree - Medium(XC8397) GTIIN / UPC Code 807472926513 Brands Creative Co-Op Type ------------------ Home or Commercial Home Material Wood Color Natural Size 14" Quantity Included 1 Manufacturer's Warranty N/A Country of Manufacture China Weight (in Lbs) 0.7


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Topic closed. 67 replies. Last post 3 years ago by Drenick1.
Especially when the jackpot goes into the $350million and above? Personally: l don't mind a 2,3 way split. Consider the following Solo winners: Gloria, Pedro, Chan in San Jose- the mystery winner in Milpitas. What's so bad about splitting the jackpot? Thoughts? *Have a good Hump Day people.
I agree 100%. The US has so much to again all around if there were more winners. How much money do you really need? More players would play the lottery if there were say, a 10 million dollar winner every month. We all talk about winning the lottery, but, in reality, how many winners do we have per year?
I like the big jackpots and I like the single winner. However, if the jackpot is super huge as in 300 - 400 million and above it would be okay to have more than one winner. If the games only produced a 10 million dollar winner I wouldn't be as excited to play. They call it a dollar and a dream and my dreams are bigger than 10 million.
So you would not play for 10 million dollars? I like the big jackpots also, but the reality is most of us will not see that jackpot win. I will take what I can get.
Also, with more winners, you might see your numbers come up.
Probably not on a regular basis.
Thanks for responding Saylogirl- but let me ask this " how have your dreams panned out thus far in bagging the jackpot ? There are those players who only get into the race when the jackpot rises above $200 mil, but l am willing to bet " soup for nuts" that if they won $50mil- they would not be walking around with a sad look on their faces. The question ultimately is " what is enough? " Now if your 15 bedroom, 5 garage home is in foreclosure...l think l would understand.
I totally agree! a 10 million jackpot amounts to just a bit more than $3 million after taxes and while it certainly would make my life easier I don't consider that a dream. Anything over $20 million after all tax obligations are met would be considered a "dream" in my book so I would have no issues splitting a $300-400 million jackpot with 4 or 5 lucky individuals.
LOL cool question. I dont care if Im the only winner or if I win with 5 other peorple. I JUST WANT TO WIN!!!!
I would be happy if I walked away with 20 million after all taxes. The 50 million jackpot would be enough for me anything over that would be "icing on the cake".
And I agree with your post!!
Exactly. I have NEVER heard someone buying a lottery ticket shout out " One Winner". It could piss off the folks inline behind him/ her.
Would you like the ideal if you had to share with 1 or 2 other winners?
Ultimately I would love to be the only winner, but I wont mind sharing if its that high.
Your avatar had me fooled there Drenick1,You have the " no sharing look". - Boy am l surprised!
No problem with one winner on $350 Million/185 million cash......If I had to split the 185 cash three ways...61.66 Million...minus $24 million in fed taxes...leaving me roughly $37 million ??...BEAUTIFUL !!!! works for me
Stay Positive, Believe and good things will come your way
Noise-gate, here is another part of the question, "how long have some of you been playing the lottery for that big win" . For me, it's been about 17 years, I will take what I can get.
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Measure Success: Simon Sinek
How To Measure Success: Simon Sinek
Momentum and successMy friend Georgia Hurd is not famous. She's not rich. And she's not yet attained the success she desires. She moved to Los Angeles to become an actress and has been working really hard to achieve her dream. She has been through some hard times. Money has been tight. Her work schedule often hurts her social life. But she perseveres. Her work ethic and her drive are amazing. She is so focused on where she wants to go, it is inspiring. After a couple of years of pushing and lots of wondering if it will ever happen, she's starting to get some momentum. This week alone, she was called in to do a modeling job for American Apparel, she had some fantastic auditions and people are starting to take notice of her. What Georgia has found is momentum. It is that momentum that makes her feel good. It is the momentum that makes her feel successful.
This is my measurement: momentum. That's what I want to track and measure. Money and the people I meet are stepping stones, indicators that momentum is building — but it is the momentum that makes me feel good.
Studies show that over 90% of Americans don't feel fulfilled by their work. Think about that. The vast majority of Americans go home at the end of the day without the feeling of success. I imagine a world in which that statistic is reversed. That most people go to work every day to a job they love and go home at the end of the day feeling fulfilled. That's the world I'm working to build. My contribution is to share a message that can help make that dream a reality. But only when others join me in this cause; to help spread the message; to build the companies that people love to work for; and to choose jobs based on how the job makes them feel, not simply how much it pays, will this dream become a reality.