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I love brisket. My number one favorite food is (and always has been) corned beef, but very close behind it is brisket. I know, they're the same thing, just prepared different. So when Alex came home with a brisket, I was a happy girl. Falling apart tender brisket, caramelized vegetables roasted in the pan with the meat, and smooth dark gravy. Mmmm.
I guess I'll post this today since we'll be eating leftovers for a few more days, but maybe later after I clean the house I'll make something. Who knows.
1 onion, large diced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 c stock, water, or wine
2 T salt
lots of pepper
1 T duck fat, schmaltz, butter or olive oil
a 3-4 lb brisket
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat the fat or oil in a large pan. Rub the brisket with salt and pepper, and sear for about 5 minutes on each side until a nice crust forms. Spread all the vegetables in a large roaster pan, and place the brisket on top. Pour in the liquid, cover with foil, and stick the pan in the oven. Every hour or so, baste the meat. Let it cook 3-4 hours until very tender.
Brisket Gravy
Strain the pan juices, and try to get most of the fat off the top (using a gravy separator). Heat 2 T fat or butter in a pan until melted, and whisk in 2 T rice flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the reserved juices from the pan, and enough stock or wine to make 2 cups liquid total. Heat until thickened, taste for salt and pepper.
Alternately, put your roaster pan (minus the brisket, with the vegetables) onto two burners on the stove and bring to a simmer. Stir in another cup or two of liquid, stock or wine or water. Whisk in 2 T rice flour, and keep simmering while whisking. In a minute or two it will thicken up, then take it off the heat and serve.


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Youth join together to battle racial tension
Phi'LA actors during rehearsal practice – Brittani Tilford for Sentinel
Phi'LA actors enjoying a moment during rehearsal practice – Brittani Tilford for Sentinel
The Speakes 4 Them Foundation in collaboration with Jesse Jackson and Rainbow PUSH-LA are proud to present the highly anticipated stage play, "Phi'LA The Musical!"
With racial tensions and violence between African-Americans and Latinos greatly increasing among LA's youth, high school performing arts students have a powerful message of racial unity to share.
Written by Los Angeles Unified School Teacher, Jamal Y. Speakes, Sr., "Phi'LA The Musical" addresses overwrought racial contention and its' affect on friendship and family for the diverse teenagers of Los Angeles.
Part "High School Musical", part "Romeo & Juliet" with a dose of Hip-Hop and Spanish melodies, "Phi'LA" is the social story of a naive, Black teenager who moves to Los Angeles from
Philadelphia. He is confronted with racism and is threatened because of romantic interest in a Latina classmate. As tensions in the community rise, his street-wise younger brother takes matters into his own hands and fate forces the collision of two diverse worlds. This "edutainment" experience confronts prejudices, sparks debate and evokes change in the community.
The audience is taken on a journey that will push the envelope, spark debate and ultimately evoke change in the community.
Racial gang violence is an epidemic that the youth of Los Angeles have learned to accept; it has become a part of everyday life. According to the Gang statistics of Los Angeles, in 2008 there were 328 homicides in the city and 190 of them were gang related.
The cultural and communication gap between African-Americans and Latinos continues to increase among Los Angeles youth … but solutions do exist.
The play will reach an estimated 7,000 students during its performance at the Nokia Theater and the newly renovated ICM Foundation Performing Arts Center, October 12-18, 2009.
Since the premiere production last spring, "Phi'LA" has gained the support of a diverse group of community organizations and political leaders like Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Inc., who have become some of our strongest proponents.
The foundation would also like to present an unconventional marketing opportunity for companies to promote their organization or brand in conjunction with an upcoming stage play production.
The Speakes 4 Them Foundation (the parent non-profit of Phi LA The Musical!) is looking for companies who are interested in supporting this production and cause through donation or sponsorship to advance the goals of upcoming stage plays and productions.
For more information please visit www.philathemusical.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Travelers advice: French foreignoffice
Travel information: US government about argentina
Buenos Aires is one of the most appreciated cities in Latin America. We have a double goal to achieve. Give landlords the best income and tenants an affordable rent in this post-crisis. This does not prevent luxury and diversity. We have divided in three the commissions charged for our services. We have not forgotten the tourists who want to travel through Argentina. We will propose itineraries and lodgings in different places. Lastly, we consider important that students may have access to a decent lodging during their stay. Don´t hesitate to contact us.


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This post is bad news/good news. The bad is that we are about to lose another spectacular midcentury house. Located in West Vancouver, British Columbia, the house designed by Arthur Erickson for David Graham in 1962 is on the verge of being brought down by its present owners.
Now for the good news. Another Erickson house, the Filberg Residence, was designed in 1958 and is on the market. This spectacular home looks to be in great shape.
Graham House Article – Globe and Mail
Filberg House – Real Estate site
Filberg House Article – Winnipeg Free Press


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Jude Law takes his kids Rudy and Iris out for lunch at Kings Road Cafe on Thursday afternoon (January 3) in Los Angeles.
The 40-year-old actor just returned from Hawaii where he spent the New Year's holiday with his kids. Make sure to check out the pics of Jude shirtless at the beach!
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Jude Law
It was recently announced that Jude's film Anna Karenina will hit Blu-ray and DVD on February 19!
15+ pictures inside of Jude Law out for lunch with the kids… More Here! »


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UTS Library asked 8 years ago:
How long do fines stay on my borrowing record?
4 answers
74301 views
When you say they remain on your record for 5 years. Is it 5 years from when they were each listed?
Unpaid fines will remain on your borrowing record for 5 years.
within how many days I have to pay my fine?
Hi Radha,
As I understand it, there is no deadline for paying your fines. In fact, fines are not payable until the total amount is more than $29. Once your fines are over this amount your borrowing privileges will be suspended; once they are over more than $49, you may not be able to see your exam results.
I hope this information has been helpful.


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Hunter Shirt in Cobalt/Ruby
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As seen on Reese Whiterspoon, Beyonce, and stars all over.
The Hunter Shirt is a slouchy and perfectly oversized soft boyfriend shirt featuring mid-length sleeves and single chest pocket. Light weight and versatile, this shirt is like that reliable partner that takes you everywhere with the utmost style and comfort. You will never steal his plaid shirt again.
Runs true to size
100% Rayon
Hand wash
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Most orders are ready to ship in 1 to 3 business days after purchase. Check each style's specific delivery deadline on its product page.
Once order is shipped, arrival time is guaranteed entirely by the carrier.
Eligible items purchased from FAMEDROP are entitled to full refunds within 30 days of purchase. For more details, check our Shipping & Returns page.


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The Federal Reserve's proposed regulation governing transaction fees for debit cards is best understood as the latest skirmish between bankers, merchants, and consumers over the future of money.
In the beginning—well, maybe not the very beginning, but, say, prior to 1950—there were two ways to buy most items. You could pay cash, or you could write a check. After 1950 you could pay with a charge card like Diners Club, Carte Blanche, or American Express. These were all cards where you could run up a tab, but only for one month. Then, in 1958, there appeared, like the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, the credit card. With BankAmericard (later Visa) and MasterCard, you could run up a tab for as long as you liked, up to some dollar limit established by the issuer. Monthly payments were required but they didn't have to cover what you owed; indeed, the bank preferred that you didn't cover what you owed, because then it could charge you interest on that. It's probably fair to say that from the dawn of man until Sept. 1969, when Chemical Bank put up America's first automatic teller machine in Rockville Center, N.Y., every step in the evolution of money encouraged people to spend more and more.
In some ways, the advent of ATMs encouraged people to spend more and more, too, since now it was possible to put your hands on your cash at any time of day or night. And certainly people continued to use credit cards to spend like drunken sailors. But to access your bank account at an ATM you needed a debit card, a little piece of plastic that looked like a credit card but lacked its awesome capacity for destruction. A credit card let you buy stuff with money you didn't have, but to use a debit card you had to have the cash in your bank account. Credit cards were Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald splashing in the Plaza Hotel fountain. Debit cards were the Rev. Jonathan Edwards declaiming that we're all sinners in the hands of an angry God. And they could be used not just to get money out of a cash machine, but also to buy stuff in stores. A debit card became the equivalent of a little plastic checkbook, one that tucked neatly into your wallet and cost your bank much, much less to process than a paper check.
Debit cards did not catch on in the U.S. as quickly as they did in other industrialized nations. In a 1998 law review article, David Balto (then a staff aide at the Federal Trade Commission, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress) suggested this was partly because U.S. banks didn't want to "cannibalize their lucrative credit card programs." Visa and Master Card finessed the problem by promoting use of a different kind of debit card that had some characteristics of credit cards: the "offline" debit card.
An "offline" debit card didn't suck money directly out of your bank account; it waited a few days, then sucked the money out. You couldn't use an offline debit card at an ATM; an offline card was good only for buying stuff. Transactions with offline debit cards used the same flimsy method of verification as credit cards (a signature rather than the PIN number used for ATM cards). This made offline debit cards comparably susceptible to fraud. But it also enabled offline debit cards to travel through the same high-speed point-of-sale connections that by the mid-1990s were becoming widely available in stores for credit card purchases. Retail point-of-sale connections for ATM cards were much harder to find. Even today, only about one-quarter of the point-of-sale terminals that take debit cards will take the ATM kind. Banks preferred offline debit cards to ATM debit cards because their similarity to credit cards facilitated the introduction of swipe fees comparable to those for credit cards. Initially ATM cards incurred no swipe fees at all; as of not quite one year ago the New York Times estimated ATM swipe fees (23 cents on average) were about half those for offline debit cards (56 cents). The beauty of these swipe fees was that the purchaser never had to know they existed. They were paid by the merchant, who raised prices incrementally for all customers to cover the cost. Today Visa and MasterCard's point-of-sale networks compete on price not to lower debit fees they charge consumers but to raise debit fees they share with banks, their true customers.
The debit card was tamed.
Its popularity, meanwhile, increased to the point where last year, for the first time, the volume of debit-card payments exceeded that of credit-card payments. Half of all "third-party debits" to deposit accounts were made with debit cards, compared to less than one-third made with paper checks.
This year's Dodd-Frank financial-reform law contained an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) that pushed back against debit fees in two ways. First, it prevented Visa and MasterCard from penalizing retailers who offered customer discounts according to payment method. Such discounts make swipe fees for credit cards, offline debit cards, and ATM cards transparent to customers. Second, it directed the Fed to limit swipe fees charged for debit cards to a level that's "reasonable and proportional to the cost" incurred by the bank. The proposed Fed rule (text here) proposes a couple of different ways to do that, but in essence it says a debit swipe fee can't exceed 12 cents per transaction. That, apparently, is a tougher limit than was expected, and Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) thinks it's too low. Frank didn't favor Durbin's amendment when it passed because he thought it would hurt small banks, though small banks appear to be exempt. Senate Democrats, on the other hand, were emboldened to initiate a push to limit fees for prepaid cards in the same way the Fed is doing for debit cards.
Credit card use is down, though probably not permanently; the decline likely reflects current hard economic times. Debit card use was rising before the 2008 crash and is continuing to rise. Merchants would like to see debit fees down not because they favor thrift—far from it—but because they want to lower their costs. And consumers? Clearly they like debit cards. Consumer advocates, however, appear to be divided. Balto argues, persuasively, that ATM cards are an excellent financial innovation and offline debit cards are their corruption. But the distinction is rapidly disappearing; today about 87 percent of all debit cards are hybrids that can be used at ATMs with PINs or at stores with a signature. That's largely because it's banks who send you your ATM card. Might as well send you a dual-use card, they figure, because you just may use the offline function at the supermarket and put some extra cash into their pockets. Never mind that the hybrid cards are easier for thieves to use.
Debit cards have been so debased over the past 15 years that Reuters personal-finance columnist Linda Stern claims "you won't find them in the wallets of top consumer advocates." Better to tie yourself to the mast and pay your credit card in full every month, they say. Easier said than done. The Fed has a different idea: Rehabilitate the debit card. Eliminate its obnoxious bank fees and make consumer thrift practical again. Score one for the merchants, and one for consumers, too.
But the war over money's future never ends. Let's see what the banks' next move is.


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Fresh off a one-week hiatus following the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, Jon Stewart kicked off Monday's episode by trying to make sense of the wave of violent protests sparked by an anti-Islam YouTube video.
"Oh well it's YouTube, nobody pays attention to YouTube," Stewart quipped, brushing off the possible butterfly effect of the movie. "That'll be the last we hear of it."
If only that were the case.
U.S. & World
On the 11th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, violent protests erupted in Egypt and Libya in response to the movie, titled "Innocence of Muslims." U.S. embassies and consulates came under siege in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and the unrest has since spread to more than a dozen countries.
"So let me get this straight," said an exasperated Stewart. "All this destruction and bloodshed was over a dumb Internet video made by some a—hole?"
The American-made video ridicules the Prophet Muhammad, depicting him as a fraud, a pedophile and a womanizer.
Picking up on the satirical tone of the video, Stewart was quick to point out that several years ago Egyptian state television aired a movie based on the protocols of the Elders of Zion, which was received with little backlash.
"Did the Jews gain revenge by burning embassies?" Stewart ranted. "No! We got our revenge the old-fashioned way: a bad review in the Times. That is how we do it."
To see Stewart's take on the anti-Islam film backlash, check out the full clip below, courtesy of Comedy Central:


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The_Vanquished wrote:These guys look great.
I espesially like the Roman legionare, Great use of accessories. How was the shield made?
It was made from 2 1*2 plates modified with horizontal bar and on the other side at the top and bottom a 1*1 plate modified with vertical clip and above that construction 2 1*4 tiles and a mechanical hook (Exo force robot hand) attached to one of those 1*2 plates modified horizontal bar. That way the hand can move closer to the shield (thanks to 1*2 gap thats open by only using 2 plates with vertical clip instead of four).
English Grenadier early 18th century (NCO):


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New to the forum. Currently investigating Father's military service in the Black Watch and hope there are members who can assist.
He was on active duty from 1944 to 1946 and served in the Sixth Battalion.
His military information is sketchy but I'm gradually putting it together --- but there are a lot of pieces.
I'd like to find out more about the Sixth Battalion and where they traveled and were stationed between 44 and 46. Greece and Italy I think but would love to read something substantial about the Battalion in these years.
Can anyone suggest a good internet link to try or database to explore?
I'm not sure where to look.
Appreciate any assistance.


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With VCU's decision to bolt the Colonial Athletic Association still fresh in our minds, maybe now is a good time to take stock of the 17 years the Rams spent in the league. It was a good run and frankly, the CAA's Virginia-centric appeal was one of the things that made it fun for VCU fans. I can honestly say it's one of the things I'll miss, times change.
VCU has won 42 CAA championships since joining the league for the 1994-95 season. The Rams' 36 titles in men's sports are the most in league history. The VCU Baseball team will have a chance to add to that mark later this month. The Rams have won 13 championships in men's tennis, eight in golf and five each in men's basketball and baseball. Other sports were not as fortunate, but still enjoyed a great deal of success. Here, I'm going to look at the best team from each VCU program of the CAA era.
BASEBALL: 2003 (46-13, 17-3 CAA, CAA Champions, 1-2 NCAAs)
This was a legitimately hard decision. You could make compelling arguments for the 1998 and 2001 teams. This is one of the few picks that required some back-and-forth debate.
But for me, the 2003 squad was a shade better. Not only did they dominate the CAA regular season and sweep the conference tournament, but the Rams also led the country in ERA that season (2.54). Four pitchers, Cla Meredth (6th), Justin Orenduff (1st), Sean Marshall 6th) and Brian Marshall (5th), were selected in the first six rounds of the MLB Draft. Four other players were also eventually drafted. Sean Marshall and Cla Meredith played in the majors.
MEN'S BASKETBALL: 2010-11 (28-12, 12-6 CAA, NCAA Final Four)
While I'm picking a non-CAA champion here, I doubt I'll get few arguments. VCU's run to the Final Four in 2011 pretty much trumps everything. During the regular season the Rams were equally magnificent and maddening, but flipped a switch in March. VCU reached the CAA Championship Game, upsetting ranked and heavily-favored George Mason in the process. Despite losing to Old Dominion in the title bout, VCU received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where the Rams toppled USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas on the way to history.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 2008-09 (26-7, 15-3 CAA, NCAA First Round)
The Rams didn't win the CAA crown this season (Drexel did), but behind eventual WNBA first round pick Quanitra Hollingsworth, the Rams earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time via an at-large berth. The Rams met Rutgers in the first round and gave the Scarlet Knights a run for their money. In addition to Hollingsworth, future All-American and WNBA Draftee Courtney Hurt was a freshman on this squad.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: 1999 (3rd, CAA Championships)
Admittedly, VCU hasn't had much success on the cross country course, but did post back-to-back third place finishes in 1998 and 1999. The 1999 team, with CAA top 10 finishers Alberto Vicente and Joe Reid, gets the nod here.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: 1998 (3rd CAA Championships)
While the women's cross country team hasn't been able to break through the William & Mary/James Madison blockade, VCU did place third in 1998 and 1999 behind two-time CAA champion and All-American Maria-Elena Calle. In 1998, Calle won her first title and Claire Kelley was ninth for the Rams.
The 2010 Rams' Field Hockey Team reversed years of disappointment with their 13-win campaign. Despite a heartbreaking overtime loss to Drexel in the CAA Semifinals, this team, led by league Coach of the Year Kelly McQuade and sisters Marle, Flore and Rymme van Dessel, helped change the course of the program at VCU.
GOLF: 2002 (CAA Champions, 5th NCAA East Region, NCAA Golf Championship Qualifier)
I strongly considered the 1996 team, which included future All-Americans John Rollins and Donny Lee, but the 2002 group put themselves over the top with their run to the NCAA Golf Championship.
That season, VCU set a CAA scoring record by finishing 21-under at the conference championship at The Crossings, led by individual medalist Ted Brown's record-setting 12-under performance. In addition to firing a hole-in-one, Brown shot an 8-under 64 in the second round alone. The Rams, led by Brown and Ryan Zylstra, placed fifth at the NCAA East Region Qualifier at Settindown Creek in Atlanta to reach the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
MEN'S SOCCER: 2003 (17-5-0, 8-1-0 CAA, CAA Champions, NCAA Third Round; #11 Final Ranking)
Yes, VCU reached the Elite Eight in 2004, but the 2003 team was more dominant. Led by CAA Player of the Year Matthew Delicate, the Rams won the conference championship (which the 2004 team didn't do) and managed to make it to the NCAA Third Round. VCU outscored its opponents 50-24 and was ranked as high as seventh nationally during the season.
WOMEN'S SOCCER: 2005 (13-5-5, 9-0-2 CAA, CAA Runner-up, NCAA Second Round)
VCU capped a remarkable three-year run with its first Women's College Cup victory in 2005, a 3-1 decision over Clemson in the first round. While the Rams couldn't repeat their CAA Championship win (VCU was upset by second-seeded Hofstra 1-0) in 2004, VCU's landmark NCAA triumph over the Tigers eased that pain. Midfielder Sandra Anger completed her illustrious VCU career with an NSCAA Third Team All-America citation.
MEN'S TENNIS: 2000 (27-5, NCAA Runner-up, CAA Champions, #9 Final Ranking)
While Paul Kostin has led many great teams at VCU, the 2000 squad was his best. The 2000 men's tennis team became the first VCU sport to play for a national title when the Rams blitzed through the NCAA Tournament – including wins over three of the nation's top 13 teams – to meet Stanford in the Championship Final. For his efforts, Kostin was named National Coach of the Year by the USPTA. All-American Daniel Andersson captured league Player of the Year honors and also reached the second round of the NCAA Singles Tournament.
WOMEN'S TENNIS: 2006 (29-1, CAA Champions, NCAA Sweet 16, #12 Final Ranking
There were three ITA All-Americans (Marianna Yuferova, Olga Borisova and Tatsiana Uvarova) on this team, and it showed. The Rams won their first 29 matches to start the season before falling to No. 2 Southern Cal in the Sweet 16. Uvarova finished the year ranked 20th nationally and advanced to the final eight of the NCAA Singles Tournament.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: 2006 (CAA Champions)
The 2006 championship team, VCU's second, boasted dual Most Outstanding Performers in Davion Lambert and James Frierson. Frierson won the 100, 200, 400 and ran on the gold medal 4×100 relay, while Lambert captured long jump honors to push the Rams (181) past UNC Wilmington (172).
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: 2012 (CAA Runner-up)
EDIT: After thinking about it, I've decided to go with the 2012 CAA runner-up team over the 2005 runner-up team. Sophomore Jaleesa Williams was named Co-Field Performer of the Year after winning the shot put and discus, while placing third in the hammer throw. The Rams came as close as they ever have to winning a CAA Championship, 5.5 points shy of James Madison's total of 132.
VOLLEYBALL: 2005 (22-12, 11-7 CAA, CAA Champions, NCAA First Round)
Led by first-year coach James Finley, the Rams made a staggering 16-win improvement to win their first CAA Championship and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Led by Tournament MVP Ludmila Francescatto, VCU became the first No. 4 seed to win a CAA title with wins over No. 5 Georgia State, No. 1 Hofstra and No. 3 Towson. Finley was named State Coach of the Year, while Francescatto earned All-East Honorable Mention honors.


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Willow and Jaden Smith, otherworldy offspring of Will and Jada Pinkett, have conducted their first interview together for the "New York Times," and based on Jaden's past tweets, it's exactly what you might expect. A whole lot of WTF.
Or maybe they are on a whole other plane of existence beyond our current understanding, and we just don't "get it."
Some examples:
Q: What are some of the themes that recur in your work?
JADEN: The P.C.H. being one of them; the melancholiness of the ocean; the melancholiness of everything else.
Q: What have you been reading?
WILLOW: Quantum physics. Osho.
Q: So what's next?
JADEN: I have a goal to be just the most craziest person of all time. And when I say craziest, I mean, like, I want to do like Olympic-level things. I want to be the most durable person on the planet.
And so "Time," using actual quotes from the interview, has naturally built a "Jaden and Willow Smith Poetry Generator":
And it's magical. I mean… so melancholy.


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A lot of professional musicians skip music school, but in the case of Renato Annicchiarico (aka Enahena), the drummer and lead singer of local trio Tan of Dreams, it's truly a surprise. He has more music pouring out of him than he knows what to do with.
"I don't write music. I don't read it. It's just always been with me. The melodies are spontaneous. They just come to me on an hourly basis. My phone is filled with hundreds of tunes," Annicchiarico says.
Fortunately, he has psychedelic rock trio Tan of Dreams to funnel these songs to, which is why the relatively new group has more than 30 songs in their repertoire. During any given set, Annicchiarico will play whatever one of them he feels like playing in the moment.
"We go on how my inspiration is, on the fly. I'm jumping from one song into something else, which could be another song, originals or covers. It can also be an improvisation, like a total new thing. I also sometimes improvise the lyrics," Annicchiarico says.
The group's music is moody and dreamy, but still rocks out, and is filled with catchy (albeit strange) hooks. Appropriately, "tan of dreams" is an old term for the color of dreams.
"The dreams can have different colors, different flavors. So tan is a transformation, something that changes. So it's like converting dreams into reality," Annicchiarico says. "People dance to our music. Sometimes I wish I didn't play drums, because I dance when I sing. I'm a good dancer."
INFO: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. Crow's Nest, 2218 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. $5. 476-4560.


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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls
Please enter your Falcon Account ID (example: w2600000) and a comma- or space-separated list of book numbers which you were unable to check out.
After contact, books will be held until closing time on the following business day. If they are not picked up, we will contact the next person on the list or taken off reserve.


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Pediatric nurse practitioner champions kids' cancer clinic
GREAT clinic address late effects
When Shannon and Gary Whisenant were absorbing news of their child's grim prognosis, they didn't consider the potential long-term side effects of her cancer treatment.
The couple's 5-year-old Evan was gravely ill. She would require an extremely tough regimen involving numerous rounds of intensive chemotherapy, total body radiation with extra doses to the brain, more chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. Even with a transplant, the odds of Evan surviving five years with hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia were just one in two.
"We said, 'just fix her,' " says Shannon Whisenant, Evan's mother. "And then we powered through it."
Evan bravely survived the treatments. Now 10, the fourth grader appears and behaves like any girl her age. But Evan is not a normally developing child. She copes with multiple late effects, including melanoma, vision problems, diminished lung capacity, disrupted hormone production and other complications – many of which will be with her for the rest of her life.
Fortunately, the family has had ongoing support and care from Kathryn Wells, a pediatric nurse practitioner at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. Wells directs a clinic devoted to caring for the late effects of cancer treatment called GREAT, short for Getting Regular Evaluations After Treatment. The GREAT clinic recently got a $75,000 operational boost from Hyundai's Hope on Wheels.
Children's cancer treatment more aggressive
"When you are going through it, the worst thing would be to feel abandoned — to not know everything. Kay Wells guides me step-by-step through everything Evan needs."
— Shannon Whisenant, Evan's mother
Wells explains that many pediatric cancer patients suffer late effects because childhood malignancies are treated aggressively.
"They need very intensive treatment to be cured, and they can tolerate the treatment, even more than many adults can," she says. "And because we are treating them when they are going through growth and development, we need to assess what kind of damage that treatment may or may not have caused."
The childhood cancer survival rate has surged to 80 percent over the past several decades, but more than 70 percent of the 350,000 survivors will develop adverse health effects, and up to 40 percent of those effects will be severe or life threatening, according to a 2006 study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Lasting effects
Evan's treatments left her with osteoporosis; she takes vitamin D and drinks milk to maintain and, hopefully, rebuild bone density. She has had three melanomas, skin cancers that must be caught and treated quickly. Radiation to her head caused cognitive delays, making reading more difficult. Her cataracts eventually will require eye surgery. Because of damage to her ovaries, Evan will likely not be able to bear children, and will require hormone therapy to promote puberty.
Fortunately, early effects that limited her kidney and liver function have improved, and although her lung function is diminished, she still enjoys swimming in her backyard pool and playing in the park in her Antelope neighborhood.
The ailments are challenging, but not insurmountable. "It's who we are," says Shannon Whisenant. "It's who she is. But we are blessed. She is here."
Internet tool helpful
Wells has logged everything in Evan's "Passport for Care," an Internet-based tool developed by a pediatrics professor at Texas Children's Cancer Center that facilitates the comprehensive follow-up medical care for child and young adult cancer survivors.
"I can input the therapy the patient has received and, based on the (treatment) exposures the patient has had, it lists the different sorts of health problems he or she may be at risk for," says Wells. "It guides us in questions we should ask, physical findings we should look for and diagnostic tests we should consider."
At Evan's most recent GREAT clinic visit, for example, Wells checked to ensure Evan got follow-up with endocrinology, dermatology and ophthalmology, and that her blood and bone density tests were up to date. She discussed Evan's class work and diet, tested her balance and listened to her heart. She provided Evan's mother with a printed summary of Evan's treatment history and educational materials on each of the areas of concern.
"When you are going through it, the worst thing would be to feel abandoned — to not know everything," Shannon Whisenant says. "Kay Wells guides me step-by-step through everything Evan needs. She makes sure we are OK."


text: Prostate cancer is often considered an elderly man's disease, and little is known about the approximately 2% of cases that arise in men who are aged 50 years or younger. Research published in Cell Press journal Cancer Cell uncovers the genetic origin of such early-onset prostate cancer. The findings could help in the development of new diagnostic, prognostic, therapeutic, and prevention strategies for the disease. "It's been unclear whether prostate cancer in the young is explainable by a different mechanism than prostate cancer in the elderly. Our study implicates a different cause of disease in young patients," says co-senior author Dr. Jan Korbel of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. Dr. Korbel and his colleagues sequenced the entire genetic code of cells in 11 tumors from early-onset prostate cancer patients, comparing it with the code in tumors from 7 patients with elderly-onset prostate cancer. The researchers found that the receptor that binds testosterone - called the androgen receptor - is very active in tumors from young patients, causing a number of genes to rearrange and become cancer promoting. The genomes of elderly prostate cancer patients primarily showed abnormalities that were not caused by the androgen receptor's activity. Data from more than 10,000 additional patients showed that androgen receptor activity and corresponding gene rearrangements were indeed higher in younger patients. "Interestingly, young men have generally higher testosterone levels than elderly men, which raises the question of whether high physiological levels of testosterone in young men may be linked with early-onset prostate cancer, a question that we are keen to address in the future," says Dr. Korbel. Early-onset prostate cancer requires early diagnosis and definitive treatment due to the long life expectancy of younger patients and their higher risk of dying from the disease. "We hope that our findings on the disease's cause will promote the development of new strategies to diagnose, prevent, and even individually treat this cancer," says co-senior author Dr. Thorsten Schlomm of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany.


text:
Thanksgiving leftovers
The turkey and stuffing are long gone. Place settings and cookers are tucked away. Family and friends are back in their routine.
Thanksgiving leftovers
But before we send Thanksgiving 2012 to our memory, let me take a moment to reflect.
Many Thanksgiving celebrations center around the offering of actual thanks –acknowledgment of health, family, love, reunion, prosperity. For me, the maelstrom of events last week prompted an assertion of a different sort – an offering of thanks for the freedoms we enjoy in our country.
A great deal has been written and discussed about the tree cuttings and the arrests that followed. Our front page headline read, "If a tree falls, does it make a sound?" Without a doubt, I can say the reverberations continue.
The ability to express one's beliefs – to freely do so publicly is a cherished freedom in the United States of America - is something for which I am thankful.
It is a freedom that occupies the foundation of our great nation.
It also is a freedom that carries serious consequences.
I am cognizant of the ramifications that come with the expression of one's convictions and believe it is unnecessary to retrace why that path was taken. To repeat those would not serve the obvious need to facilitate change and, more importantly, to renew citizens' lawful right for openness with their elected officials and their local government.


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Quartz of the clear variety is believed to amplify thoughts and intentions, thereby focusing energy. It is highly activational. Quartz Crystal helps to magnify the vibrations of other gems it is combined with.
Many places throughout the world.
Second (Sex/Navel) Chakra Seventh (Crown) Chakra
Hi, I am Katy Sawyer, co-founder of Arkadia with my husband Jacob.
I am available to answer questions by email and phone as well as Skype.
Please do get in touch if you have a question about a particular piece or would like help selecting a gift.
You are also welcome to view our FAQs where I have put together a list of the most common questions and inquiries.
I value your interest in our family business and will do my best to exceed your expectations!
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Arkadia is a family business - we care immensely about our handmade jewelry, Moldavite and gemstone collection.
If you have any questions at all, please contact us right away.
We value your business and interest highly!
All orders are shipped within 24 hours!
USA order shipment is fully insured.


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Visit Our Stores for Availability and Amazing Deals!
You'll feel like a movie star as you get ready for your day or a night out with this glam style vanity. The piece has a look straight out of Hollywood thanks to intricate inlays that surround each of the sets of drawers that border the center shelf. Between the center shelf, topped in glass, and the tops of each of the pair of three drawer end pieces there is plenty of space so you don't feel cramped as you get ready. The vanity also boasts a silver finish that perfectly complements the inlays and silver knobs found on the piece.
The 1958 Glam Vanity with 6 Drawers by Homelegance at A1 Furniture & Mattress in the Madison, WI area. Product availability may vary. Contact us for the most current availability on this product.
This collection shows off a look straight out of Hollywood and fit for one of its stars. Each piece shows off an elegant silver finish accented beautifully by intricate inlays. Whether you're searching for the perfect pieces to complete your dining space or your bedroom this collection has the perfect piece for any looking to add some glam to their home.
The 1958 collection is a great option if you are looking for Glam
Transitional furniture in the Madison, WI area.
These images are representative of this group as a whole and may differ from this item.
Browse other items in the 1958 collection from A1 Furniture & Mattress in the Madison, WI area.
This item has been tagged as: Dresser, Bedroom Dresser, Dresser Chest, Chest of Drawers, Dresser Set, Dresser and Mirror, Bedroom Furniture, Bedroom Storage, Bureau, Clothing Storage, Linen Storage, Bedroom Cabinet, Chiffonier, Bedroom Closet, Highboy, Wardrobe, Vanity, Vanity with Hutch, Make - Up Table, Make Up Table with Hutch, Dresser to Sit At, Vanity Dressers, Large Commode
Nothing on this page may be copied or reproduced without explicit permission.


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The broadcast networks announce their 2017-18 schedules the week of May 15, so it's time for the Bear's last predictions for renewal or cancellation. Nearly every series still in limbo will know its fate by the end of this week.
This should come as no surprise: The Bear thinks both "The Originals" and "iZombie" have a decent chance to return next season. If only one should make it, the money would be on "iZombie," but it's likely both will be back.
The CW removed any tiny bit of lingering suspense about "Frequency" and "No Tomorrow" on Monday by officially dropping the hammer. The Status column for the remaining two shows will update as decisions are announced.
|Renew/Cancel Index
|Renewal chances
|The Originals
|Renewed 5/10
|Renewed 5/10
Already renewed: "The 100," "Arrow," "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "The Flash," "Jane the Virgin," "Legends of Tomorrow," "Riverdale," "Supergirl," "Supernatural"
Already canceled/ended: "Frequency," "No Tomorrow," "Reign" (series finale June 16), "The Vampire Diaries"
The Renew/Cancel Index is the amount above (or below) a replacement-level rating — i.e., the expected adults 18-49 rating of an emergency fill-in show should a series be canceled. For the 2016-17 season, replacement level is a 0.7 same-day rating in adults 18-49 for the Big 4 networks and a 0.2 for The CW. (Read more here.) The index number is taken by subtracting 0.7 (or 0.2) from a show's average same-day rating.
Friday scripted shows (denoted with an "F" above) on the Big 4 have average ratings about 30 percent lower than those of other nights, therefore their ratings are multiplied by 1.43 (1/0.7, or 70 percent) before subtracting the replacement-level number. There is little variance for The CW on Friday, so the multiplier is not used.
Shows that have ended their seasons have their R/C Index number frozen at the point of their final episode.
(O) – Owned: All other things equal, shows owned by studios affiliated with their networks have a better shot at renewal than those from outside producers.


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Among my grandfather's family papers was a little newspaper clipping. A young man's death notice. According to the notice the young man accidentally drowned in New Guinea, 1978, on his birthday. The notice gave enough information to construct a partial family tree, including a grandparent referred to only as "Couper".
Couper happens to be my grandfather's mother's maiden name, and every other paper stored with this clipping was a family paper. It seemed that this unfortunate young man was a relative, but despite knowing a little about his immediate family, I never knew how he fitted in and I've never tried in any serious way to find out.
Tonight, I stumbled onto a clue! Quite by chance I discovered that he was buried in the same plot as some of my known Couper relatives. Obviously the body was brought back to Australia for burial. The burial details still don't tell me exactly how he was connected, but they give a me a very plausible theory to work on!


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My favorite sheet of paper in this collection is called "Yardsticks". It is full of multi-color rulers and measuring tapes....and I just love it! You will see that I used it at the top of my card, and diecut the larger butterfly from it. Here is what I created!
"Big Hugs" supplies:
Cardstock/Paper/Brads/Ribbon: Taylored Expressions March Key Ingredients kit
Stamps: Taylored Expressions (Wreath of Love set)
Ink: Tsukineko (versafine: onyx black)
Felt: Papertrey Ink
Pearls: Kaiser Craft
Pins: craft supply
Butterfly Die: My Favorite Things
Diecut Machine: Cuttlebug by Provo Craft
Instructions: Please see the March Key Ingredients Inspiration Sheet for the steps to create this card!
Card Challenges Used:
-The Pink Elephant #141- butterflies
-The Pink Elephant #141- butterflies
-CES Challenge #78- photo inspiration
-PaperPlay #12- spring colors
-Simon Says Stamp challenge- bingo card (charms, diecuts, ribbon)
-Cute Card Thursday #209- anything goes
That is all I have for now! Please stop back by tonight when I share my next card for Lawn Fawn inspiration week!! ♥♥♥
Until later,
~Lea L.


text: HAVE A CHEEKY CHRISTMAS LUNCHSit back, relax, and leave the cooking to us this Christmas Day. Bring your Christmas cheer to The Cheeky Squire for a delicious 3 course set menu. Christmas is stressful enough without the hassle of entertaining; so dust off your Santa hat and let us bring you the best present of all - no cooking or cleaning.


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A benchmark test result has appeared online that many believe is from a Samsung Galaxy Note 7.7 - a new tablet that will take the S Pen concept from the Note, Note 2 and Note 10.1 and attach it to a 7.7-inch Android device.
While the test itself - discovered on benchmark site NenaMark - features absolutely no mention of the name or screen size. The closest it gets is with the native screen resolution of 1280 x 720, but it does carry the model number GT-N5100. This has previously been attached to former rumours about the existence of a 7-inch version of the Note, but is completely uncorroborated at present.
Read: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review
Certainly, the model numbers of the Galaxy Note family are preceded by GT-N, with the Note 2 being the GT-N7100 and the Note 10.1 being the GT-N8000 or GT-N8010, so GT-N5100 would definitely fit in with the convention as a Galaxy Note device. But why would a new 7.7-inch version have a lower number (the original Note was GT-N7000)?
We do know that a similarly tagged device was recently given Wi-Fi and DLNA certification by the respective groups, so it definitely exists.
Perhaps we'll find out more about the mysterious device at CES in Las Vegas at the beginning of January. If not, you can bet that all will be revealed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February instead.
Pocket-lint will be at both trade shows to bring you more.


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Sunday, 24 July 2011
Self Portrait sketch
Have been wanting to do one these for years. It's my first stab at a self portrait painting. Used the computers' camera rather than a mirror - which, if you'll excuse the pun, upon reflection, was not a great idea. Colour values kept shifting which made me constantly second guess observations - and the auto-exposure did the same for tones. Still, I enjoyed the exercise. Did this in ArtRage and took around an hour.
Labels: art rage, dale newton, oil painting, self portrait
Location: Surbiton, Surrey, UK
1 comment:
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Collection Items
Map[Coast of Maine showing entrances of Blue Hill Bay, Isle of Haut Bay, and Penobscot Bay, with Owls Head, Vinalhaven Island, Isle au Haut, and other islands. Scale ca. 1:48,500. Relief shown by hachures. Depths shown by soundings. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. LC copy imperfect: Deterioration along the bottom right edges. Vault AACR2
- Contributor: [Des Barres, Joseph F. W. (Joseph Frederick Wallet)] - [Des Barres, Joseph F. W.
- Date: 1776


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- Home
- Christmas Ornaments
- Novelty
- Personalized Camouflage Baseball Cap Glass Ornament
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
(based on 3 reviews)
December 04, 2014
"I bought two for my grandsons....perfect for my hunters"
December 26, 2014
"I ordered 5 for all the hunters in the family. They loved the hunting caps. Printing was beautiful!"
By Tim
Alvin, TX
December 17, 2015
Alvin, TX
December 17, 2015
"Perfect for my great nephew who is part of a hunting family. Had his name and the year put on it"


text: Talented AMF who plays in Racing Club in Argentina, a player with a great shooting and world class technique. Moreno also has been called for Colombian NT and with a few games for WCQ he showed all his talent. He is a great suprise for Colombian football, he is still young so he have a great future in football, so maybe (I hope so) we will see him in Europe in next years. He is the next big star of Colombian Football.


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It's been a while, but I'm happy to say that some of the episodes I've worked on for QPootle 5 on the CBeebies channel are finally up on BBC iPlayer.
Catch them while you can before they're no longer avaliable!
The Eight-Eyed Thingy from Galaxy 7
Q Pootle 5 is called into action when Groobie sees something lurking in his store cupboard. Is it really an eight-eyed thingy, or just some hungry space mice?
- Some great horror-esque lighting here.
Strange Sounds In The Night
Q Pootle 5 and his friends have a camp out to discover what has been keeping Bud-D awake at night.
- Look out for the nightime shots in this one :)
The Cosmic Whipple
It is the day of the Cosmic Whipple. But, when Oopsy gets stranded it looks like she is going to miss the most wonderful light show in the whole galaxy.
- Spectacular effects and colours make this one of most visually rich episodes yet!
New episodes are out next this week on the CBeebies channel at 7:35am, or check back on BBC iPlayer for daily new episodes. You can also keep up to date with Q Pootle 5 on the facebook page here.
Oh and this is nice to see after all the hard work :)


text:
Travis Glover Skater Profile
Sponsors: Zoo York, Mountain Dew, Ambush Skateshop, Gold, Deck Specks, Sprayground
Hometown: Atlanta GA, Stance: Goofy, Age: 31, Status: Am
Last Update: Saturday, May 10, 2014 Submit an Update
Tweets from Travis Glover (@Tgloves on Twitter)
Travis Glover Comments
Other Skater Links
- Full Skater Database - 6000+ skater profiles.
- Skateboarders on Instagram - browse your favorite pros and ams on Instagram.
- Skate News and Videos - daily skate news and videos from around the web.
- Media Coverage - we log all major magazine coverage by skater and photographer.
- Skate Photographers - we log all major magazine coverage by skater and photographer.
- Contest Results - over a decade's worth of contest history.


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Randall, Gilies (ca. 1600-1650)
Gilies Randall (ca. 1600-50), an English clergyman concerning whose life little is known. He was the son of Edward Randall of Chipping Wycombe, Bucks, and earned his bachelor's degree at Oxford in 1626. In 1643 he was charged with having preached Anabaptism, Familism, and Antinomianism. In the fall of 1644 he was deposed from his office as a clergyman "on account of his Anabaptism." He apparently held confused ideas.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III: 428.
Jones, Rufus M. Spiritual Reformers of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. London, 1914: 253-63.
Die Religion in Geschichte and Gegenwart, 2. ed., 5 vols. Tübingen: Mohr, 1927-1932: v. IV, Col. 1698.
|Christian Hege
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
Hege, Christian. "Randall, Gilies (ca. 1600-1650)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 3 Jul 2020. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Randall,_Gilies_(ca._1600-1650)&oldid=146683.
APA style
Hege, Christian. (1959). Randall, Gilies (ca. 1600-1650). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 3 July 2020, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Randall,_Gilies_(ca._1600-1650)&oldid=146683.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 251. All rights reserved.
©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


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Cecil CountyHome Menu
Community Services & Resource Directory
The Community Services & Resource Directory is provided as a service to the visitors of our site who would like information on local businesses and services.
Cecil County Government does not represent or warranty the goods or services of businesses or resources listed in this directory. This directory is intended only to provide contact information for local services.
Meals On Wheels Ray of Hope
- Departments:Community Services
- Divisions:Nutrition
- Phone:(410) 378-9800


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The main elements of the reproductive system include the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the uterus, and the vagina.
The ovaries are two small glands located on each side of the uterus that produce the hormones progesterone and estrogen.
About every 28 days, an egg is released from one of the ovaries into the nearby fallopian tube. The role of the fallopian tube is to carry the released eggs to the uterus.
If the egg is fertilized on its way to the uterus, it will implant in to the lining of the uterus and develop into a pregnancy. However, if the egg is not fertilized, it will pass through the uterus and will be shed with the lining. This is called menstruation, or having your period.
The lower part of the uterus is called the cervix. The cervix is a round structure that has a small opening in the center. This acts as a passageway between the uterus and the vagina. In front of the vagina sits the bladder, behind it sits the rectum, and surrounding the pelvic structures are the intestines.


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Funny, because Japan's D3 Publisher releases games called "Earth Defense Force".
Sam Raimi (Evil Dead series) is teaming up with District 9 producer Bill Block and Air Force One scribe Andrew Marlowe for "EDF", a film about an alien invasion. "EDF" stands for "Earth Defense Force", and apparently Raimi isn't directing.
Since 2003, D3 Publisher has released a handful of Earth Defense Force video games. The titles, developed by Tokyo-based studio Sandlot, are known "The Chikyuu Boueigun" ("The Earth Defense Force") and feature a group of troops destroying large alien-controlled insects and mecha.
The games have no relation to the upcoming Sam Raimi project. "There is no relationship at the moment that has been presented to us between the movie and video game," a D3 Publisher spokesperson tells Kotaku.
EDF follows a U.S. military unit that has been deployed to rescue a sub that accidentally run afoul in Chinese waters, reports New York Magazine. A dogfight ensues, but both Chinese and American planes are shot out of the water by three alien spacecraft that go on to destroy landmarks and key military structures. It's a race against the clock as humans try to create weaponry and vehicles that can sustain another attack.
While Earth Defense Force games have been released under various titles that include "Monster Attack" and "Global Defense Force", D3 tells Kotaku that is has a copyright on "Earth Defense Force". This could become complicated for the EDF film with new Earth Defense Force game next year.
This isn't the first game with "Earth Defense Force". In 1991, a Super Nintendo game called "Earth Defense Force" was release. The game also used the "E.D.F." acronym.


text:
On 1st March I set my family tree site, www.TwigsofYore.com, to "public".
In the month of March the site had 315 unique visits, and 1201 page loads. There was a definite spike at the start of the month, when I announced the site and again when one of my researcher relatives forwarded on the details to his close relatives. There is also a spike in visits towards the end of the month.
I use Statcounter to check up on my blog and website visits. It's free to use, but the detailed statistics only cover the last 500 page loads. My detailed statistics date from 22 March, so I am able to dig into that recent spike and see what was happening. It turns out it was one user using an apple device, and each page load that evening was counted as a visit. Something to remember when I look at the stats about the number of visits.
Along those lines… You know how you see those blog posts that say that searches on certain keywords found their blog – but don't worry because they can't identify you from it? Well it's true up to a point but only up to a point.
When I look at my detailed Statcounter log I can see the IP address with service provider and city/state/country, the operating system used, the screen size, and the page by page path taken through the site. I can also click the IP address and check out previous visits (but only if they are with the 500 latest page views). I can often see what page referred you to the site. If you used a search engine I can see the search terms you used. So although I don't know exactly who visitors to the site are, if it's someone I already know I can make a pretty good guess. But don't worry! I'm not interesting in stalking anyone on the site or off. I'm just pleased that they continue to find it interesting.
I can see that pages from the website are showing up in Google searches. In fact I set off a few Google alerts to myself when I made the site public!
Now of course I face the frustration of seeing visits from people using very specific search terms but not knowing exactly who they are. So please, if you find your relatives on the the site through a search (or otherwise) send me a message to say hi!


text:
Nuala O'Connor
Nuala O'Connor was born in Dublin, Ireland; she lives in East Galway. Already well-known under the name Nuala Ní Chonchúir, she has published four short story collections, the most recent, Mother America, appeared from New Island in 2012. Her third poetry collection The Juno Charm was published by Salmon Poetry in 2011 and her second novel The Closet of Savage Mementos appeared April 2014, also from New Island; it was shortlisted for the Kerry Irish Novel of the Year Award 2015. In summer 2015, Penguin USA, Penguin Canada and Sandstone (UK) published Nuala's third novel, Miss Emily, about the poet Emily Dickinson and her Irish maid. Miss Emily was shortlisted for the Bord Gáis Energy Eason Book Club Novel of the Year 2015. www.nualanoconnor.com
Nuala O'Connor on Granta.com
FictionFiction | The Online Edition
Fiction | The Online Edition
Nuala O'Connor
Nuala O'Connor's short story about Nora Barnacle, and her first meetings with James Joyce.


text:
Photographer's Note
17 km south of the center of Luanda, there were this little harbour called "Campo nautico de Cabgoc". Basically, the harbour handled by the "Chevron" oil & gaz company.
Many little kids like this one found an oppotunity to earn their living by providing services to the foreign people having their boats parked here. I guess he lived not very far in a small house like the one we can guess under the palm trees.
One thing interesting can be seen on the background, top area. You can notice amercian-style "vivenda". I've heard that at that time, there were no way to attract American workers out of the States if they couldn't find housing conditions similar to the ones they had in the US. So, guess what... One year before, that land was empty. 12 months later, you could see rows of dozens of standardized amazing houses with tennis camps, swimming pools and incredible electric fortified fences you may guess around. A real fortress built 17 km from the center of Luanda. Luanda, where about 8 million people are living, even the expatriates from other countries.
Well, I don't mean anything but I was really impressed by the american logistic to build these great houses in one of the poorest country of Africa, devasted by almost 30 years of civil war. I also felt quite sad these american guy only knew the road from their house/office to the airport and were forbidden to see anything else from that beautiful country.
Slightly cropped, levels and tones adjusted. USM applied.
Critiques | Translate
Paker (2650) 2005-03-09 16:15 [Comment]
but your note is very informative - thanks!
Xalkida (11744) 2005-03-09 16:15
Very nice shot Steven. I like the vivid colors and the natural lighting! Great shot!
eleparc (24063) 2005-03-09 16:33
too much light for me... it is very hard to take photos of black subjects in this kind of light or you have to be extra careful... good interesting note
Galeota (10352) 2005-03-09 16:56
Au contraire de ce que Eric dit, je pense que tu as réussi à mâitriser très bien ton exposition malgré la lumière qui devait certes être très forte. Je suis ravi de découvrir tes photos de Luanda. Mes origines portugaises me lient d'une certaine façon (pour le mal et pour le bien) à l'Angola à tout jamais. Ne serait-ce que par le lien de la langue, je me sens proche. Une composition simple mais efficace, avec une note bien écrite et intéressante.
robiuk (10807) 2005-03-09 17:36
Obviously, the light WAS strong but I think, apart from lack of natural brightness, the lighting in whole is managed very well as is composition.
The boy's contour and face (having in mind his dark complexion) is clearly visible and recognisable.
The note regarding foreign workers (especially Americans) is so typical, not only for this region but for others as well - according to my personal experiences.
emanuela (1257) 2005-03-25 13:15
nice composition, and very interesting note
Photo Information
- Copyright: Steven Le Vourc'h (Curioso) (9271)
- Genre: People
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2000-10-31
- Categories: Castles
- Camera: Sony DSC-F55E, JPEG 100 ISO
- Exposure: f/7.0, 1/350 seconds
- More Photo Info: view
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Travelogue: LIVING IN ANGOLA
- Date Submitted: 2005-03-09 15:29


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When you come home from the farmer's market with an abundance of perfectly ripe and sweet berries, your mind becomes swamped with ideas of how to use them. Of course, me being the pancake lover that I am, I had to make fresh berry silver dollars. After a reader sent me the recipe for Clinton St. Baking Company's pancakes, I knew I had to try it.
I've never tried a pancake recipe where the whites were separated from the yolks, whipped and then folded back into the batter, but when I thought about it... it made perfect sense. We all relish in the fluffiness of pancakes and whipped whites would make the fluffiest pancakes ever! No wonder I fell in love with Clinton St. Baking Company's pancakes immediately.
These pancakes were so lovely. Fluffy, bursting with bites of juicy berries. I topped them off with even more fresh berries and a bit of maple syrup. If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure that day, I was in heaven.
Clinton St. Bakery's Pancakes
Yields: 9 - 10 3" pancakes
Original recipe here.
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tbsn. sugar
pinch of salt
1 large egg, separated
1/4 + 1/8 cups whole milk
1 1/2 tbsn. unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tsp. unmelted for cooking
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups blueberries or sliced bananas (optional)
1/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
maple butter, for serving
Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, milk, melted butter and vanilla until combined. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until just combined; the batter will be slightly lumpy. Place the egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or whisk by hand, until medium peaks form. Gently mix half the egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in the remaining whites - the whites should not be fully incorporated into the batter. Heat a griddle until hot, about 350 - 375 F. Add the remaining unmelted butter to the hot griddle. Add 1/4 cup pancake batter and let set. Sprinkle with 1 tbsn. blueberries or sliced bananas, if using, over pancakes. When bubbles begin to form, lift the pancake, if golden brown, flip it. Cook until golden brown on the remaining side. Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter. Garnish with powdered sugar and serve with warm maple butter.


text:
Romance 20mm Flat - All Tan
IDR 855,000.00 IDR 1,900,000.00Size Guide
All NILUH DJELANTIK shoes are handmade with love in Bali by our experienced artisans who have been with us for more than 10 years.
Hand sewn for comfort and durability.
Made in small quantities only
Quality controlled before shipping
Unique style developed and 100% made in our atelier
We source only the best material to make long lasting shoes that will fit.
Got any special needs, non symmetrical feet ? Request for a special color ? Contact us and we will make a pair just for you.


text:
FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. – It was a peaceful day on Flagler Beach on Thursday, but 24 hours before, it was organized chaos as a team of experts tried to figure out why a 1-year old North Atlantic right whale died off the coast.
They worked much of the night performing a necropsy. Many times the whales are killed by ship strike or after they get caught in fishing gear.
Preliminary necropsy results show the latter. Experts say the 30-foot whale had fishing gear wrapped around its tail and indentations and bruises indicating more fishing gear was wrapped around its fins and head.
IMAGES: Dead right whale washes ashore
"We do have pretty good evidence of long-term entanglement that probably slowed the animal and weakened it to the point where it probably wasn't able to feed very effectively recently because of the gear that was in its mouth," said Bill McLellan, a leading expert in right whales from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. "The hard part is making sure we really document these tragedies extremely well so we try to make sure they don't happen again, is the most important part of this."
McLellan said the fishing industry is a partner in trying to reduce the number of animals caught in their gear, and they're working to try to do that by making fishing gear more visible to whales and strong enough to catch fish, but breakable if, say, a 30,000-pound whale gets caught in it.
"Strategic parts of the gear have to be able to break and allow that gear to be released off the animal so the animal can swim away and continue on its normal course of what it wants to do in a day," McLellan said.
It takes a lot of work to save the right whales, but many say it's worth it. And with only about 400 left in the world, experts have to do everything they can to learn from their deaths.
As for the whale that washed up Wednesday, it was buried on the beach.


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Hazrat Mahdi's (as) struggle and the difficulties he will face -1-
According to our Prophet (saas) in the hadiths, the End Times will be an age of moral degeneration, when hunger and poverty reach desperate levels and when people spend their lives in fear and tension because of anarchy, terror, conflict and disorder.
A time when killings, suicides, and slaughter rise to the worst possible level and when fraud, cheating, and injustice rule.
All unlawful things will be regarded as lawful in the End Times, and all kinds of perversion will be practiced openly across the world.
People will completely turn away from the moral values of the Qur'an, and the result will be a world ruled by lovelessness, ruthlessness, and selfishness.
Allah will be openly denied (surely He is beyond that) and perverted ideologies such as atheism, Darwinism, and materialism will spread and be portrayed as scientific in order to turn people away from belief in Allah.
The number of believers in the world will be very small and they will suffer terrible oppression, persecution and cruelty because of their beliefs.
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear at such a difficult time and wage his intellectual struggle in that climate.
Under these harsh conditions of the End Times, and like all the prophets sent in the past, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be subjected to false accusations, tested by various difficulties and troubles and be exposed to traps set by unbelievers.
What makes Hazrat Mahdi's (as) struggle different from the times of the other prophets is that in the End Times, degeneration and godlessness will be more widespread than ever before and will pervade the whole world.
Nonetheless, however, by Allah's leave the vile and disbelief-filled system of the unbelievers will be defeated.
No matter how widespread moral degeneration and how fierce the pressure on Hazrat Mahdi (as) may be, nothing, by Allah's leave, can prevent Hazrat Mahdi (as) emerging victorious from his struggle for the truth.
By Allah's leave, the two holy figures of the End Times, the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) will totally eliminate this perverted mindset and be instrumental in the moral values of Islam coming to rule the world. By Allah's leave, this great promise of our Lord's will come true in the century in which we are living.
As Allah has revealed, in the words of the Qur'an, " ... Allah will not give the disbelief any way against the believers," (Surat an-Nisa, 141) the snares set for and oppression on believers will never succeed.
By Allah's leave, when the Prophet Jesus (as) returns to earth and Hazrat Mahdi (as) appears, true believers will support these holy figures and, no matter how few their numbers, they will install the moral values of the Qur'an across the world.
At What Age Will Hazrat Mahdi (as) Commence His Struggle?
Our Prophet (saas) reveals in the hadiths that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will begin his work aimed at establishing the dominion of Islamic moral values at the age of 30 to 40:
He [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will be sent when he is between 30 and 40 years old… Hazrat Mahdi (as) is one of my children. He is around 40. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 41)
The Places Where Hazrat Mahdi (as) Will Wage His Struggle
Hazrat Mahdi's (as) Istanbul Period
The Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "… a man of the people of Medina [A GREAT CITY] [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will come to Mecca. (Mari' bin Yusuf Karami Hanbali, Fawaid Fawaid al-Fikr fil Mahdi al-Montazar)
The Messenger of Allah (saas) said, 'Six things will happen to this community: … The sixth is THE CONQUEST OF MEDINA.'
HE SAID, 'CONSTANTINOPLE [ISTANBUL].' (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 204; Ahmad Diya ad-Din al-Kamushkhanawi, Ramuz al-Ahadith 1/296)
As revealed in the hadiths of our Prophet (saas), Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be born in 'Medina," the dictionary definition of which is "a large city.' According to other information provided in the hadiths, the main center of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) intellectual struggle will be Istanbul.
In his Commentary, Imam Al-Qurtubi says that Hazrat Mahdi (as) 'will emerge from the western part of the countries of Islam.' In his book Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, the great Sunni scholar Barzanji says that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will come and spiritually conquer Istanbul:
"WE ARE TOLD IN AL-Qurtubi'S COMMENTARY THAT HE WILL EMERGE FROM THE COUNTRIES OF THE MAGHREB, AND FROM THERE WILL COME AND CROSS THE SEA."(, Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, 7th edition, p.162)
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be born in a great city, or medina, in the west of the countries of Islam, and when the time for his struggle arrives he will leave it and cross the sea to Istanbul. The hadiths even refer to a bridge by saying that a dry path across the sea will open up for Hazrat Mahdi (as); we are then told that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will enter Istanbul by that bridge:
"During the spiritual conquest of Constantinople he [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will plant a standard when he goes to make ablution for the morning prayer, and the water will divide in two and withdraw from him. He will cross to the other side through this path that opens and say, "o people, learn from this. The sea has parted its waters for us, just as it did for the tribe of Israel." then they will utter the takbir [Allah is Great] again and again and with twelve takbirs the twelve towers of the city will collapse. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi Alamat al-Mahdi al- Muntadhar, p. 57
The hadiths also state that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear with the sacred relics of our Prophet (saas). And the place where these holy relics are preserved is, of course, Istanbul.
It is related from Abdullah ibn Shurafa that: Hazrat Mahdi (as) will have the banner of our Prophet (saas) with him. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 65)
He [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will appear with the camel hair banner of the Prophet (saas). That banner has four corners, is unstitched and black in color. There is a halo on it. It has not been unfurled since the death of the Messenger of Allah (saas), but it will be opened when Hazrat Mahdi (as) appears. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 23)
As for signs, he [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will have with him the shirt, the sword, and the banner of the Messenger of Allah (saas). That banner has never been unfurled since the death of the Prophet (saas). And, it will not be unfurled until the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as). (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 164)
Bediüzzaman Said Nursi has also said, in the light of the hadiths of our Prophet (saas), that Hazrat Mahdi (as) 'will emerge from the erstwhile center of the Caliphate, in other words from Istanbul':
Now, the difference in the narrations about INDIVIDUALS LIKE HAZRAT MAHDI (AS), and their meaning, is this: those who expounded hadiths applied the text of the hadiths to their own interpretations and commentaries. For example, since the CENTER OF POWER at that time was Damascus or Medina, they imagined the events connected with Hazrat Mahdi (as) and Sufyan in places like Basra, Kufa, and Syria, which were in the region of those centers, and expounded them accordingly." (Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Words, p. 359)
Since in early times the centers of the Caliphate were in Iraq, Damascus, and Medina, on their own interpretations, the narrators showed these events as occurring close to the center of Islamic government, as though it was always going to remain thus, and said Aleppo and Damascus. They added their own details to the succinct predictions of the Hadith. (Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Rays / The Fifth Ray - Second Station - p.107)
As Bediüzzaman has said, the scholars who handed down the hadiths of the End Times described the events of the End Times in terms of the headquarters of the Caliphate in their own days. The headquarters of the Caliphate have changed many times from the days of our Prophet (saas) to the present; Damascus, Aleppo, Kufa, Mecca and last of all, Istanbul. Every scholar has therefore described these places, such as Iraq, Damascus, Kufa and Medina, the centers of the Caliphate in their own days, as where Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear. That is the reason for the difference in the accounts regarding the place where Hazrat Mahdi (as) will come from.
However, the common point in the accounts regarding the place where the events of the End Times will take place is that it will be in the center of the Caliphate. Bediuzzaman's statements indicate he reached the same conclusion.
The final headquarters of the Caliphate was 'Istanbul.' The Caliphate was officially abolished in the early days of the last century, and never moved anywhere else. The two banners of the Prophet (saas), his sword and shirt and other holy relics are all in Istanbul. In conclusion, Istanbul is the only city to maintain this spiritual title. Therefore, it is from here that people expect Hazrat Mahdi (as) to appear. (Allah knows best.)
It also appears from the hadiths handed down from our Prophet (saas) and statements made by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi that it is from Istanbul that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will intellectually defeat those godless and satanic philosophies such as Darwinism, materialism and atheism that strive against the moral values of the Qur'an.
"… Followers in far distant places will swear allegiance to Hazrat Mahdi (as). He will intellectually neutralize oppression and oppressors, and will stabilize countries, AND ALMIGHTY ALLAH WILL CAUSE HIM TO [SPIRITUALLY] CAPTURE ISTANBUL." (Al-Uqayli, An-Najm al-saqib fi Bayan Anna al-Mahdi min Awladi Ali Ibn Abi Talib Ale't-Temam wa al-Qamal)
ALLAH WILL CAPTURE CONSTANTINOPLE [ISTANBUL] THROUGH HIS BELOVED FRIENDS [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)].... He will lift sickness and sorrow from them. (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 181)
The Period When the Oath of Allegiance Will Be Taken to Hazrat Mahdi (as) in Mecca
The period when Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be in Mecca is a significant one in terms of the coming about of the global dominion of Qur'anic moral values. It is in his time in Mecca that leading Muslims will express their love for and spiritual devotion to him, in the name of all Muslims.
At the same time, the Meccan period equates to the final years of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) struggle. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi refers to this time as 'the time of politics and governance.' Allah has selected the city of Mecca as the place where believers will swear allegiance to Hazrat Mahdi (as) since it is a very holy site of great spiritual importance to Muslims. (Allah knows the truth.) Some of the hadiths on the subject read:
The Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "… a man of the people of Medina [A GREAT CITY] [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] WILL COME TO MECCA. Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out and swear allegiance to him against his will BETWEEN THE CORNER AND THE MAQAM." (Mari' bin Yusuf Karami Hanbali, Fawaid Fawaid al-Fikr fil Mahdi al-Montazar)
"HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) WILL APPEAR IN MECCA in the evening with the standard, mantle, sword, signs, light and beautiful expression of our Prophet (saas). …" (Mari' bin Yusuf Karami Hanbali, Fawaid Fawaid al-Fikr fil Mahdi al-Montazar)
"…… A group from the people of Mecca will bring him out (from where he is), against his wishes. THEY WILL SWEAR ALLEGIANCE TO HIM BETWEEN AL-HAJAR AL-ASWAD AND ABRAHAM'S MAQAM. (Sunan Abu Dawud, p. 5/94; Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 20)
Hazrat Mahdi's (as) Jerusalem Period
After His Meccan period, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will live for a long time in Jerusalem. There he will rebuild the Temple of the Prophet Solomon (as) and treat Christians according to the moral values of the Gospels, Jews according to the Torah and Muslims according to the Qur'an.
"HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) WILL DESCEND TO BAYT AL-MAQDIS [JERUSALEM] AND THE NATION WILL LIVE FOR A LONG TIME WITH THOSE WHO COME FROM HIS AHL AL-BAYT... (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 77)
WHEN HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) IS PERFORMING THE MORNING PRAYER WITH THE BELIEVERS AT THE BAYT AL-MAQDIS [JERUSALEM], he will introduce the Prophet Jesus (as) who has appeared, and the Prophet Jesus (as) will place his hands on his shoulder and say, "The call to the prayer has been issued for you, so you must lead it," and finally Hazrat Mahdi (as) will lead the Prophet Jesus (as) and the believers in prayer. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 25)
Hazrat Mahdi's (as) Roman Period
It is also revealed in the hadiths that at a later time Hazrat Mahdi (as) will spiritually conquer Rome; in other words, he will install the moral values of Islam there through his intellectual struggle:
"… Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his students will...capture Rome with tasbih [praise Allah] and takbir [declaration of the greatness of Allah] of Allah's greatness…" (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 204) (As-Suyuti, Al-Hawi lil-fatawi, II. 81)
How Long Will Hazrat Mahdi's (as) Struggle Last?
It is also revealed in the hadiths of our Prophet (saas) that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will wage his struggle until he completely neutralizes all atheistic philosophies and imposes the moral values of Islam on the whole world:
He will continue his struggle until people return to the truth. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 23)
According to the hadiths of our Prophet (saas), Hazrat Mahdi (as) will wage a difficult intellectual struggle against atheistic philosophies. He will adopt the most rational paths during that struggle, he will get fast results and there will be great intelligence and wisdom in his actions. The methods employed by Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be highly effective and unlike any seen ever before.
But Hazrat Mahdi (as) will work no miracles in his struggle. Because Hazrat Mahdi (as) will wage a struggle 'in the sphere of natural causes', in other words 'under natural conditions.'
Some people imagine that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will struggle in a mystical framework and think that he will perform extraordinary marvels. They believe that Hazrat Mahdi (as) is not a normal human being, but rather a most extraordinary entity. They think there will be a cloud and angels above his head that people will see when they look at him, and that the angels will introduce him to people. They also picture him, within that mystical framework, as someone who is invulnerable to tanks, rockets, guns and even nuclear weapons. The fact is, however, that all these beliefs regarding Hazrat Mahdi (as) are mistaken.
Allah has revealed in the Qur'an that many people expect the Messengers to be superhuman entities, but that they are in fact just normal human beings:
We never sent any Messengers before youWHO DID NOT EAT FOOD AND WALK IN THE MARKET-PLACE. But We have made some of you a trial for others to see if you will be steadfast. Your Lord sees everything. Those who do not expect to meet Us say, 'Why have angels not been sent down to us? Why do we not see our Lord?' They have become arrogant about themselves and are excessively insolent. (Surat al-Furqan, 20-21)
There will be no angel above Hazrat Mahdi's (as) head plainly visible to everyone and calling out, "This is the Mahdi (as), follow him.' Allah reveals in the Qur'an that people will only be able to see angels on the Day of Judgment:
(They say,) 'Why do you not bring angels to us if you are telling the truth?' The angels only descend with the truth and then they would be granted no reprieve. (Surat al-Hijr, 7-8)
In addition, in the hadiths our Prophet (saas) speaks of Hazrat Mahdi (as) being exposed to oppression, torture and persecution by the system of the dajjal, of his being imprisoned and living among difficulties and troubles and the threat of death, of his being chained by his hands and feet, of his being placed in solitary confinement and of disappearing from sight from time to time.
If Hazrat Mahdi (as) really were an extraordinary entity, invulnerable to guns and tanks and who called people to Islam owing to the angel above his head, then how could he be imprisoned, or tortured and persecuted, or face great difficulties? Who could ever threaten, imprison or torture someone who is invulnerable to any gun or other weapon? If Hazrat Mahdi (as) really were such a fantastical entity, there would never be times when he disappeared, and he would have no need to hide himself away from sight.
Even our Prophet (saas) received a sword blow and one of his holy teeth was thus broken. Many prophets have been martyred on Allah's path and many believers and Companions have been martyred in war or lost hands, eyes, arms or other parts of their bodies. In the same way that no prophet has ever come with supernatural features, so Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be a guide with no such attributes and will not wage his struggle in any such extraordinary manner.
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will oppose the system of the dajjal in order to ensure that the moral values of Islam rule the world. He will wage a great struggle against materialism and Darwinism, will teach people to live by the Qur'an and the Sunnah of our Prophet (saas) and will establish unity among all the Muslims of the world. And, by Allah's leave, he will achieve all these without eliminating the need for free will, by an intellectual struggle, using reason and good conscience.
Indeed, that is where the superiority of Hazrat Mahdi (as), whom Allah says will be rewarded with paradise, actually lies. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will never be worn down by all the difficulties, pressure, traps and tests he faces. Although, with a few exceptions, the whole world will oppose him, he will persist in his struggle with his love of Allah and bright faith, and will achieve a total, global success.
All Through History a Ruthless Campaign Has Been Waged against All Messengers and True Believers
All unbelievers and idolaters that have ever lived have opposed the true faith preached by Messengers, imagining that this would harm their own interests. This is a method employed by unbelievers for the same purpose over hundreds of years.
We are told in the Qur'an that all the Messengers who have preached the true faith have been the subject of such false accusations as "self-interest, madness, pride and sorcery." Our Prophet (saas) also says in the hadiths that all the Messengers after him will be exposed to various troubles and slanders for preaching the true faith sent by Allah. Allah says that this state of affairs set out in the Qur'an is His Law; He tells us that all Muslims may be tested by similar difficulties, slanders and persecution.
You will be tested in your wealth and in yourselves and you will hear many abusive words from those given the Book before you and from those who are idolaters. But if you are steadfast and guard against evil, that is the most resolute course to take. (Surah Al'Imran, 186)
But again under the Law of Allah, every trap set for believers has been thwarted right from the outset and every false accusation has been created to be exposed as hollow. Allah tells us in the Qur'an that these initiatives taken by unbelievers will always end in favor of believers.
When those who are unbelievers were plotting against you to imprison you or kill you or expel you: they were plotting and Allah was plotting, but Allah is the Best of Plotters. (Surat al-Anfal, 30)
Allah will defend those who believe. Allah does not love any thankless traitor. (Surat al-Hajj, 38)
That is your reward. Allah always confounds the schemes of the disbelievers. (Surat al-Anfal, 18)
This state of affairs that has persisted throughout the course of history will of course also apply to Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his community. However, every step taken with the intention of harming Hazrat Mahdi (as) will actually turn out in his favor. All measures taken to oppose Hazrat Mahdi (as) will lead to him being better known across the world, to his virtues becoming even clearer and to him enjoying ever-greater success.
Because the Period Involved Is the End Times, the Negative Forces Opposed to Hazrat Mahdi (as) Will Wage the Most Ruthless Struggle in History against Him
Allah has created unbelievers along with believers in all periods of history, and unbelievers have always waged a ruthless struggle against believers. Under the Law of Allah, communities of believers have always been small in numbers while unbelievers, as required by the test, have always constituted the majority.
Again under the Law of Allah, the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as) in the End Times will number some 300 people, and with these few individuals he will strive to bring about the global dominion of the moral values of Islam.
The effectiveness of the campaign that irreligion will wage against Hazrat Mahdi (as) can better be seen when considering the fact that by the use of technology the impact of both visual and written media, and also the means of communication such as the internet and satellites have reached their most advanced points in the End Times in which we are living.
Mr. Adnan Oktar gave an example of the impact of the negative forces opposed to the system of the Mahdi in an interview:
The system of the Mahdi will encounter intense incidents that have never been seen in the world before. It will confront things that have never been seen in the history of the world. That is because, in the time of the prophets, they used to produce corruption in only one region, for instance in a city of perhaps 100,000 people, or 50,000 or in a population of 1 million; but now they produce corruption in a population of 7 billion. There are billions of deviant people against the system of the Mahdi. (From Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on Gaziantep Olay TV on April 6, 2010)
It is in such a climate that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will begin work, and he will wage his struggle under those conditions. Unbelievers, hypocrites who leave Hazrat Mahdi's (as) community, idolaters who emerge from among Muslims and attack Hazrat Mahdi (as) and materialists, atheists and Darwinists representing irreligion will all join forces against the system of the Mahdi and use all the technological and communications means at their disposal to work against him.
During the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as) there will therefore be a harsh and intense climate of struggle made incomparably greater than those in any society that ever existed before with the means possessed by the deniers. However, as Allah promised some 1400 years ago, Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his few followers will overcome all these unbelieving societies.
Because of the Intensity of the Irreligion in the End Times, Hazrat Mahdi (as) Will Initially Wage His Intellectual Struggle in Secret
Our Prophet (saas) has revealed in the hadiths that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will carry out his activities in secret in the early period when people have not yet recognized him. One of the main reasons for this is that the period that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will emerge into is one in which the effects of irreligion and moral degeneration will reach the most serious dimensions. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not appear and will not be recognized by people at a most harsh time when unbelievers harbor an intense enmity toward believers and religious moral values, and work against them both openly and in secret. This is how the hadiths say that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will perform his early activities in secret:
AT NIGHTS HE [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] WILL BE ENGAGED IN WORSHIP while he will be hidden during the day... (Al-Uqayli, An-Najmu's-saqib fi Bayan Anna'l Mahdi min Awladi Ali b. Abu Talib Ale't-Tamam ve'l Qamal)
From Nahj al-Balagha: The Lord of believers (saas) said: "WHEN HE [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] HIDES AWAY FROM PEOPLE, NOT EVEN TRACKERS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE ANY TRACE OF HIM… (Sheikh al-Tusi, Kitab al-Ghayba, [Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 51], Ansariyan Publications, Collected by: Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, Iran-Q'um, 2003, p. 186)
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not appear in society during this time; he will meet with only a very few people:
"HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) WILL CERTAINLY RETIRE INTO OCCULTATION AND TURN AWAY (FROM THE PUBLIC) DURING THAT OCCULTATION..."(Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 216)
Hazrat Huseyin b. Ali (as) says:
"... HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) WILL DISAPPEAR FROM SIGHT FOR A TIME."(Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 51, p. 133; Al-Hurr al-Amili, Ithbat al-Hudat, Vol. 2, p. 333 and 399)
Hazrat Mahdi's (as) remaining secret and unrecognized at such a time will, by Allah's leave, be instrumental in him being protected from attacks by unbelievers and allowing him to work more easily.
BUT ALLAH WILL HIDE HIM (HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) FROM PEOPLE AGAINST THE OPPRESSION, CRUELTY AND WASTE OF PEOPLE'S EARTHLY DESIRES. (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 162)
His Having Few People alongside Him and Being Opposed by the Majority Will Make Hazrat Mahdi's (as) Struggle Even More Valuable
They consist of a group, including women, of 314 people. They will overcome all tyrants. Their hearts are like iron, and they are lions by day and devout believers by night. Neither those before nor after them can match them in self-sacrifice. (Al-Uqayli, An-Najmu's-saqib fi Bayan Anna'l Mahdi min Awladi Ali b. Abu Talib Ale't-Tamam wa al-Qamal)
It is narrated from Muhammad ibn Hanafi that: "Their numbers are those of the people of Badr. In the same way that those who went before could not surpass them, those who come after will not be able to catch them. Their numbers are the number of those who crossed the river with SAUL." (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 57)
It is a requirement of the Law of Allah revealed in the Qur'an that the number of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) supporters and helpers should be very small. This has been the same in the communities of believers that have ever existed. It is revealed in the Qur'an that the number of true believers around the prophets has always been small. For example, only a very few of the young people in his community had faith in the Prophet Moses (as):
"No one believed in Moses except for a few of his people out of fear that Pharaoh, and the elders, would persecute them…(Surah Yunus, 83)
One verse reveals that Pharaoh said this of the small number of people who believed in the Prophet Moses (as):
"'These people are a small group"(Surat ash-Shu'ara', 54)
Another verse reveals how the number of people believing in the Prophet Noah (as) was also very small:
"...But those who believed with him were only few."(Surah Hud, 40)
We are also told in the Qur'an that few people believed in the Prophet Lot (as). When a terrible disaster struck his people, Allah saved only those family members who believed in the Prophet Lot (as), and even excluding his own wife. We are told that only a few disciples, and nobody else, believed in the Prophet Jesus (as). It is also revealed in the Qur'an that the numbers of those known as the People of the Cave were also very small.
Throughout the course of history people have preferred to keep their distance from true believers exposed to false allegations and smear campaigns.
This is of course a grave error on the part of these people. But because of that error a great many people will also refuse to follow Hazrat Mahdi (as) out of a fear of the kind of pressure and difficulties they may face, and they will distance themselves from his community.
It is most surprising that the number of people who have faith in such a person who calls on others to believe in Allah and performs such great services for the religion will be few in number. Since Hazrat Mahdi (as) is someone whose devotion to Allah, purity and superior virtues are very striking and who will perform many service of great benefit to Muslims, one would expect a great many people to gather around such a virtuous person whose moral values are compared to those of our Prophet (saas), who heeds only the approval of Allah and who performs sincere work for people's happiness in this world and the hereafter. One would expect every Muslim who sees such a person's virtues and good works would want to be alongside and support him.
The fact that the number of people supporting Hazrat Mahdi (as) is very small, despite all this, is most thought provoking. It means that although the people in the society in which Hazrat Mahdi (as) lives and sees his superior virtues and the auspicious work he performs they will still keep their distance from him because of the pressure of irreligion and out of calculations of self-interest.
This state of affairs, which will arise as a result of the Law of Allah, will actually make Hazrat Mahdi's (as) struggle even more valuable. Allah will be victorious over a great many communities through Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his small number of followers. The fact that Hazrat Mahdi (as) wages his struggle under very difficult conditions and with the help of very few people but still achieves the global dominion of Islam will bestow upon him superiority in both this world and in the hereafter.
…How many a small force has triumphed over a much greater one by Allah's permission! Allah is with the steadfast. (Surat al-Baqara, 249)
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