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by Caroline Symcox on Jun 4, 2013 in Nonfiction | 16 comments
It's something that often comes up when I'm preparing couples for marriage. We get a lot of weddings at our church. It's large and picturesque, with a lovely churchyard just perfect for those wedding photos. So once I've asked the nervous couple what they both do, inevitably the law of conversation means that they ask what my husband does. "He writes science fiction," I reply. They laugh. "Isn't that kind of difficult? I mean… science fiction and…"
It's a common conception: science fiction and religion don't mix. The thing is, they do. At least in my case. I've been a lover of science fiction since before I even knew what science fiction was. All I knew was I liked the books with the space ships on the covers. At school, I was a loner in many respects and was more often to be found with my nose in a book than mixing with my fellow pupils. The idea that there might be other people who liked books with space ships in them as much as I did, and that we might get on and spend time together enjoying our common ground wasn't something that occurred to me. It was entirely by chance that when I hit sixteen and was in sixth form, I discovered another girl who was a Babylon5 fan. I adored B5. We talked. We bonded. We went to a convention together, my very first. And that was that. Now I knew fandom existed, and I liked it. At University, for a while at least, I was president of the Oxford University Doctor Who and Cult Television Society. We got together and watched Doctor Who episodes, usually followed by a chaser of Blake's 7 or The Avengers or Sapphire and Steel or anything along those lines. I met my husband at the birthday party of a Doctor Who New Adventures author. What I'm trying to say is: I'm a geek. A card–carrying geek. Which I have to explain to every wedding couple I sit down with.
At the same time, I'm a Church of England priest. I've not been ordained for long, just two years in fact, but I've been a church–going Christian ever since I was old enough to take myself to church on my own on a Sunday, and I have felt called to be a priest since I was 16. My Christian faith, as I'm sure you can imagine, is a massive part of my life. This faith co–exists with my geekdom, but to a lot of people out there, it seems as if that happy co–existence shouldn't be possible. Why?
Clash of cultures
The first level I think is about a perceived culture clash. SF fans are often regarded, and often openly identify themselves, as outsiders. We're the ones who didn't quite fit in at school. The ones who preferred reading to chatting, who found their above–average intelligence attracted censure rather than praise, and who turned away into their own worlds as a result. SF fandom has thus traditionally been a place that welcomes the lonely, the weird, the outcast. It has been a place of belonging and comfort for people who have never belonged or felt comfortable anywhere before.
On the other hand, Christianity is often regarded, (frequently by Christians themselves) as an immovable part of mainstream life. The Church (be it Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist…) is an institution. Belonging to it is like belonging to the Conservative Association (if you're in the UK) or the Rotary Club. I'm not sure what a US parallel would be. The Republican Party, maybe? It's seen as a place that underlines and reinforces the status quo.
Clash of attitudes
Secondly, there's the fact of a perceived clash of attitudes. SF itself often centres upon notions of questioning, analysing and exploring. The world building of science fiction and fantasy means that the big questions of the world can be brought into the open and explored in settings that take invisible things and make them visible. Concepts can be drawn out to their furthest ends, or questions about faith made concrete and investigated. Now that's not the case with all SF, to be sure. Plenty of work in our genre retreads old ground. It works rather like comfort food –– giving us the same old stuff which we know we love. But the stuff on the edge takes us to new places, asks us new questions, carries us into the unknown. Similarly, fans who enjoy SF tend to enjoy that questioning, analysing attitude and share it. They want to look at things from new angles, to discover new things about themselves and about the world.
Christianity, meanwhile, can often come across as the exact opposite. In many places, the Christian church has manifested itself as a place where questioning is unwelcome. The world is presented as being a certain way, with the corollary that there is no other acceptable point of view. Operating within this worldview there is no discovering new things. It is about protecting the way things have always been.
The experience
The sketches I've drawn above are all too often the genuine impressions that people outside these two cultures have of them both, and that geekdom and Christianity have of each other. It's a case of the weird vs. the normal, the questioners vs the unquestionable. The truth is so much richer, more complex and rewarding. As I began moving deeper into the world of fandom, I was a little afraid that my faith would make me stand out. That I would be the only Christian, and I would be shunned as a result.
I needn't have worried. It's true that there are fewer Christians in fandom in the UK (or it could be that they're just quieter, which is always possible –– UK culture encourages the keeping–private of personal truths), but fandom has plenty of Christian presence. Actually, it has plenty of believers of all stripes –– Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan, you name it. Because the idea that fandom and believers should be at each others' throats is premised on a very limited idea of what it is to be a believer, and to some extent, of what it is to be a fan of SF and fantasy.
Christians: Defenders of the status quo?
It's true, sadly, that there are places, and there are churches, where those unflattering pictures of Christianity I drew are fully accurate. I think there are fewer of them than people might think, particularly if you're unlucky enough to live in a place where the church is like that, but they do exist.
That face of Christianity is a long way from where it should be, to my mind, and certainly from where it began. These days, Christianity can be seen as the very model of the status quo, and that was even more true a hundred years ago or so, but when it first came on the scene, to follow Christ was to be a consummate outsider. The original Christians fitted in absolutely nowhere, and faced a great deal of trouble as a result. Jesus wasn't interested in being part of the status quo. He asked the hard questions, attacked the assumptions of the people in power, called for the social structure to be up–ended. The powers that be had no liking for him or those who followed him. No wonder he was executed. No wonder so many of his followers faced the same fate. Now it can feel like the places have been reversed. That now Christians are the powers that be and have little time for those who question the way things are.
That's not my kind of Christianity. I doubt if it's the faith of any of my fellow geek–believers. We know that, originally, Christianity was a place of acceptance and belonging for the outcast, the lonely and the weird. And we're involved in a fandom that, at its best, is also a place for the outcast to belong, serves to make that knowledge so much the sharper. We know what it is to feel on the edge of mainstream culture. So our Christianity can't be about fitting in with the mainstream, because we know how shallow and damaging that mainstream can be.
A Christianity that doesn't belong to the mainstream is, as you might expect, not a popular thing. In its ideal form, it challenges the powerful and upholds the voiceless. But that's the ideal. If we're able to uphold this kind of Christianity on the edge, we make ourselves unwelcome. It involves paying what Bonhoeffer called the "cost of discipleship". It makes faith something we choose at some cost, and follow despite the best efforts of the status quo. It's not about being comfortable, or about being like everyone else. With this kind of Christian faith, being a Christian and being a geek can be extraordinarily similar experiences.
The 'unquestioning nature' of Christianity
The second clash, the clash of attitudes, can also be true. I know plenty of Christians, some close to home, who hate the idea of questioning. In their minds they know the truth, and questioning the way they know things to be is at best a distraction, and at worse a destructive act.
Again, this isn't a faith I know nor want to claim. For me, and for many, believing in Christ isn't something that shuts off questions––it's something that prompts them. There's a bit in the Gospels, in which someone asks Jesus what the "first commandment" is. Jesus answers that it is, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." What does it mean to love God with your mind? I think doing that involves thinking: asking and entertaining all the hard questions about life and the world and reality that you can imagine. It means taking seriously the differences between what science and scripture say, and working out how they can come together with integrity. If I were to stop asking questions, or worse, to stop others asking questions, I would be doing the exact opposite of loving God with all my mind. I would have stopped using my mind altogether.
When SF and faith come together
So, for me, science fiction and fantasy offer a wonderful opportunity. They are the perfect places to ask those questions about reality, about life and faith and power, and to see them explored and expanded. They open up our horizons, and make it possible to explore any question we can imagine.
The big questions: Some stories go head on at the big questions. One of my favourite authors in any medium is Ursula K. Le Guin, and one of her short stories is a perfect example of this kind of frontal assault. It's called "The Field of Vision," and was published in The Wind's Twelve Quarters. It's a polemical piece, angry and terse, and it tells the story of what happens when humans are enabled to experience reality, and thus to experience God. The only problem is: these particular humans were enabled without their knowledge or consent. The story confronts what it is to be human, and to want to retain that humanity in the face of too much reality. Le Guin asks the big question, "What would we see or hear or experience if we could experience the Truth?" I love this story because it's a question I so often ask in the context of my faith. How much of reality do we miss because our perceptions are so limited? What would humanity look like set against the revelation of the vast size and complexity of the Universe?
The round–about approach — tackling religious themes: Other stories seek to illustrate concepts. As well as my SF and fantasy fandoms, I'm an anime fan. Anime, being a medium rather than a genre, offers a massive and varied selection of different story types. A fairly large number of anime series display an interest in religions, sometimes purely on the level of enjoying the imagery, sometimes seeking to engage in a deeper examination of religious themes. One of my favourite series — Haibane Renmei — offers a gentle, thought–provoking exploration of the theme of forgiveness.
Within the story, religious imagery is kept to a minimum and explanations are few and far between. All we know is that haibane (literally meaning 'grey feathers') appear in the world of the story, a walled city, in cocoons, from which they are born not as babies, but as people at various stages of growth. They all dreamed while they were in the cocoon, and are named after the nature of their dream. A day or so after being 'born', they grow wings and are given circular haloes that hover over their heads. After a few years of life in the walled city, they have their "day of flight", which nobody can witness, and after which they have vanished from the world. Instead of answering the obvious questions begged by this set up (Are the haibane really angels? Have they died? Is it Limbo?), the story sets off to look at what it means to be forgiven, to forgive oneself, and then be able to offer that forgiveness to somebody else.
In its direct exploration of the theme of redemption, Haibane Renmei seems to me to be an immensely Christian story. I've used it as a gateway for non–anime–literate Christians before, to illustrate just how insightful and wonderful anime can be. I'm writing a nurture course at the moment (a course through which Christians take a closer look at their faith and get to ask some deeper questions about belief and worship and those kinds of things) and I'm tempted to make watching Haibane Renmei part of it. I've not seen a more perfect example of redemption in narrative before.
Exploring the social realities of religion: My final example of how SF and fantasy get to grips with the questions of faith is when stories engage with the social reality of religions and religious belief. On several occasions I've seen this done particularly well in fantasy settings, and one of my favourite examples is in the wonderful Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. In this story, McMaster Bujold has a magnificently drawn religious system and society. Religion isn't presented as inherently good or bad, but it is true, and has a direct impact on the world, its societies, and the story's protagonists. I really enjoy this approach, because the story takes religion seriously. Religious belief shapes people and societies, and it is very welcome when a story appreciates and shows that concrete impact, be it good or bad.
My own Doctor Who audio story, "Doctor Who and the Council of Nicaea" took this approach. It's a pure historical story, in which the Doctor travels to the year 325CE and the great Early Church council held in the city of Nicaea. He and his companions meet the major players at the council, and find themselves involved in the religious conflict that was such a massive force in the lives of the people of that time. In the story, the religious belief of the protagonists was presented as neither inherently good nor inherently bad, but simply as a fact of life. I'm happy to say that it was generally well received, and my aim, to show the complex reality that lies behind seemingly dry questions of religious doctrine, was recognised and appreciated.
Fandom as a questioning space
So SF and fantasy are wonderfully unafraid to question and analyse. And by extension, this is true of fandom, too. Geeks, like the stories they enjoy, aren't afraid to ask questions.
None of which makes for a particularly easy or comfortable ride. When I identify myself as a Christian, or even more, when I identify myself as a priest, I can expect that questioning to be directed at me. I can expect people who are coming from positions of curiosity, or from stronger positions of dislike, distrust or disbelief, to try to poke holes in my worldview. I can expect my beliefs to be examined and debated. This can be a negative exercise but, thus far, I've found out–and–out animosity to be a rare thing. More often, debate is a friendly exercise in exploration. My conversation partners want to know what I think and why, and want me to be rigorous in justifying my position.
It's not comfortable, but it's good. More than anything else, it keeps me honest. If I were ever tempted into trite answers or unexamined faith, conversations with fellow fans would stop that in its tracks. In this company, I'm not allowed to have a lazy worldview. Which is as it should be. If I can't explain what I believe and why, if I can't field probing questions, then I haven't thought deeply enough.
Fandom makes me think. The material makes me think. The people make me think.
And thank God for that.
Caroline Symcox is both a priest in the Church of England and a fan of science fiction and fantasy. Books, audio dramas, TV and films are all equally prone to attracting her fannish attention. She has written two Doctor Who audio dramas for Big Finish, Seasons of Fear (co–written with Paul Cornell) and The Council of Nicaea. Other published work includes a short story in the anthology Bernice Summerfield: The Dead Men Diaries and essays in Whedonistas and Chicks Unravel Time. Thanks to the arrival of her firstborn son, her time is currently divided between Baby Work, Church Work, Writing Work and Sleep, in that order.
I really love this article. I've always identified as a believer, though exactly how (or if) I worship and why has been in flux the past few years, and yeah, it sometimes feels that I have to defend myself against fellow sci-fi/fantasy-loving fans, many of whom seem to be skeptics. But I love that you bring up the point that Jesus was essentially an outcast looking to reach out to other outcasts while challenging the status quo, while now it seems that Christianity is the ultimate "authority" on the status quo.
What's interesting, though, is that the parallel seems to work in fandom, too. What started out as a place of refuge for outcasts and weirdos (ie: people who enjoy thinking as a pastime) seems to have turned into a place where there are Celebrity Geeks and a Cool Kids Table. I get derided for not having a smartphone and taking pictures with a regular point-and-click camera (*gasp*). There's a cool way to be a geek now, and there are cool things to like, and if you're not in the know, then you just don't know, you know?
It seems Christianity and Fandom have more in common than you even mentioned. They're both places that have seen their original purposes morph over time the more popular they became, so that it's now harder to find that pure, original, more inclusive version of it.
Wonderful article! As a Christian myself, I'm always troubled (and hurt) when I see the antagonism directed at Christianity (and all religions in general) from the geek community. It's refreshing to see something positive about religion and geekdom coexisting alongside one another. Good job!
For more thoughts on this subject you might be interested in taking a look at – http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2013/03/christianity-vs-science-fiction/
I've several times had debates with other science fiction fans about whether the supernatural can appear in a story and it still be science fiction. Most SF fans reflexively say no. They will call, for example, CS Lewis's OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET fantasy rather than science fiction because the humans in the story meet an archangel.
But shouldn't a fantasy story be about things the author believes don't exist? Lewis believes in angels and the Christian worldview. I have no trouble simply labelling it Christian science fiction. I don't believe something has to assume, or even merely not contradict, my naturalistic worldview (I'm an atheist) to qualify as science fiction.
A great article about being both Christian and a geek. I still think the Church, in its broadest sense, needs to embrace the idea of questioning, especially about their impact on the culture around them. They are too used to being the "outcasts" and the stories they tell in the New Testament re-enforce an outcast status, and yet, as you rightly mention, they are the establishment now. They are not the outcast; they must continue questioning even their own practices in the way they influence believers on a Sunday, believers who go out and cast votes, make laws, interact with a non-believing (or potentially-believing) group of citizens. We need to know that they (believers) are still questioning and critical of the Powers, even when those Powers are Christians themselves.
I like what you have to say regarding Christianity originally being the place for the outsiders. I'm reminded of Gene Wolfe's LONG SUN quartet. His character, Patera Silk, is a priest serving in a parish on the interior surface of a generational starship formed from a hollowed asteroid– and one of my very favorite characters in scifi (supposedly modeled after Chesterton's Father Brown). In Wolfe's book, the Christian God is known as the Outsider, and throughout the work Silk gradually comes to realize why for some of the very reasons you've outlined.
I stumbled on this in my reading list and almost hit delete (thanks to the title), but I changed my mind at the last minute. I'm glad I did, because you did a great job of explaining SF to people who don't get it, and I've been trying to do that for a while now and getting nowhere.
What I don't understand is how your christian belief system survives that speculative nature you seem to love. How are you not an atheist? Did you read a different bible than I did?
Hi infinite worlds, I am another Christian geek (with a personal love of time travel and alternate histories) and so I thought I might try to give an answer to your question.
I have a speculative nature, and a rational, scientific mind. However, that doesn't exclude the notion of God. My faith began as a relationship, and God has since proved Himself as real in many ways in my life.
I now study the Bible every day at theological college, and examine it in a rational way. I study what is history, what is story; what is a simply a cultural depiction of historical events (albeit worth learning from), and what is teaching for all of eternity.
This study is challenging, because of differing opinions and ideas, but I accept the truth of the Bible as a whole. The Bible helps me to understand God, and the world around us, but it isn't the reason for my faith. There us a misunderstanding that somehow Christians are people that rationalise the Bible into faith, or that faith is blind.
Neither is true. Faith is a result of the very real relationship I have with God, not simply wish fulfilment (as if I had my wish, I certainly would remake morality to suit myself!), and that relationship helps me read and understand the Bible.
Hope that helps.
Sorry, but what you said didn't make any sense to me. It didn't really answer my question, and the religious jargon was just confusing. Perhaps if you left out the religious context and tried to explain it more simplistically I'd get it, but as things stand it's just confusing.
Ok, no problem.
Christianity is not a belief system based on reading a book, it is about knowing God personally.
You can become a Christian without ever reading the Bible, and without ever going to church, (although it is hard to stay being a Christian without them.)
One word
I'm a longtime Christian geek, and I believe that truth and Biblical messages are engrained in many sci-fi and fantasy movies, shows, books, etc. I've been reading a new novel called Nexus, by Brian Weimer, which I bought off Amazon.com. It's the perfect hybridization of Biblical truth, and sci-fi, which doesn't beat people over the head with it, but still presents the truth. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great read!
Just got back from a festival of faith and writing where G. Willow Wilson spoke on the convergence of faith and fantasy/science fiction and comics. She's the author of Alif, The Unseen which won the World Fantasy Award. A Muslim-influenced fantasy novel. Her talk wove a long history of faith influencing fantasy and sf and comics. She started with Tolkien and Lewis, a Christian and an Athiest-turned-Christian who wrote allegorically and "applicably" about their faith. Tolkien arguably influenced the direction of most fantasy afterwards. She then switched to three comic artists: Stan Lee, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster who created (Lee) much of the pantheon of superheroes for Marvel and (Schuster and Siegel) Superman. They were all Jewish and their faith and culture influenced their design and creation. She went on to talk about Muslim influenced comics and novels, including her own re-imagining of Ms Marvel as a Muslim-American. She has a huge fan base and they are only on issue 3.
There's a wonderful long history/ conversation that faith has with SF/Fantasy and she pointed out that it is when established structures of government or religion fail us that we seek to create alternate fantasies to make those right again, to redistribute power, to give hope. Our faith reaches out to this form of writing to re-create reality and tell new stories. She had a great talk and I think helped others see that SF/Fantasy and comics were not an immature form for Believers, but a healthy form of change and revolution.
Forgot to mention that I just finished co-editing an anthology of faith-infused science fiction and fantasy from Canada, Tesseracts 18: Wrestling With Gods. Our goal was to invite writers to explore stories with characters who struggle with Faith. We were open to multi-faiths and got them: Hindu, Muslim, Judaism, Christianity, Wiccan, and other created just for us faiths. 26 stories and poems and its an excellent anthology if I do say so myself, which takes the idea of faith seriously. It doesn't seek to proselytize but merely to show characters struggling to believe. You can follow the weblink to my name on this post to learn more. Should be out Spring of 2015. We hope it contributes to the conversation.
Hey! I'm a fellow Geeky Christian, 15yrs old at a CCA school who loves Fantasy and Scifi, and I want to thank you for posting this encouragment to other believers.
I also believe that every good story in scifi and in fantasy originate or point to the Great Story that Christ Has written us into (History). Harry Potter, for example, died to save everyone else from Lord Voldemort, like Christ died to save us from our sin, and they both rose from the dead. Even better, I don't think , from my knowledge, that J.K.Rowling was even Christian. My point: everyone has a sense of a good story and cannot help but point to them in Literature, even if they deny Christ. Thx.
As someone who has been a Christian long enough to remember when Star Wars first came out and has had an active interest in Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Comic Books and especially Horror I must say there has not been one day of my life when I have I identified as a fan, a nerd or a geek. Not that I can't hold down a conversation with those that do, but once the discussion moves away from the meaning of the work, or even the craft of making these genre arts, and heads into living within those world's I'm outta there.
I find the endless discussions about costumes, possible team ups, sexual relations, alternative versions of the story, in short anything that smacks of being a fan (which I have always known was short for fanatic) to be a level that I as Christian cannot morally participate in. I see that more and more these fandoms are becoming substitute folk religions. And as I have seen geek culture going completely mainstream, and the internet insanity that goes with it, I beg for reality more and more.
Would CS Lewis be a geek? Absolutely not. Tolkien himself was utterly disturbed by what the Americans were doing with his work. He called them "my deplorable cultus". Now it is just commonplace for Christians to be involved in fandoms of all levels. Christians no longer seem to question this. And more and more geek culture IS culture. So while I probably have more genre credentials than than you can imagine. I think ultimately what we do cannot simply be judged by whether it is fun and we find it cool, or cute. I think it is up to us to be the salt of the world not the sugar.
I do not expect many to agree with me on this… because that is where we are. But I do have hope for the future that Christians will eventually become more interested in the reality God has put us in, which must include the imaginative worlds, but not only those worlds.


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The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Would you that spangle of Existence spend
About THE SECRET-quick about it, Friend!
A Hair perhaps divides the False and True-
And upon what, prithee, may life depend?
A Hair perhaps divides the False and True;
Yes; and a single Alif were the clue-
Could you but find it-to the Treasure-house,
And peradventure to THE MASTER too;
Whose secret Presence, through Creation's veins
Running Quicksilver-like eludes your pains;
Taking all shapes from Mah to Mahi; and
They change and perish all-but He remains;
A moment guess'd-then back behind the
Fold Immerst of Darkness round the Drama roll'd
Which, for the Pastime of Eternity,
He doth Himself contrive, enact, behold.
But if in vain, down on the stubborn floor
Of Earth, and up to Heav'n's unopening Door
You gaze TO-DAY, while You are You-how then
TO-MORROW, when You shall be You no more?
Waste not your Hour, nor in the vain pursuit
Of This and That endeavour and dispute;
Better be jocund with the fruitful Grape
Than sadden after none, or bitter, Fruit.
You know, my Friends, with what a brave Carouse
I made a Second Marriage in my house;
Divorced old barren Reason from my Bed,
And took the Daughter of the Vine to Spouse.
For "Is" and "IS-NOT" though with Rule and Line
And "UP-AND-DOWN" by Logic I define,
Of all that one should care to fathom, I
Was never deep in anything but-Wine.
Omer Hayyam
by Edward FitzGerald
taken by Pentax K10D, at Istanbul

subset: commoncrawl


text: Badfellas is a movie advertisement found in Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It appears on a poster in the Red Light District of Liberty City (in Grand Theft Auto III) and at the InterGlobal Films studio (in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) and can be seen vaguley in The Introduction (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) when CJ car-jacks a man in the Red Light District. The characters on the poster are (from left to right): Salvatore Leone, Luigi Goterelli, Maria Latore, 8-Ball, Joey Leone and Toni Cipriani. Badfellas is an obvious pun to the 1990 movie, Goodfellas which includes Ray Liotta, the voice of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City protagonist, Tommy Vercetti. Debi Mazar, who voices Maria, also appears in Goodfellas as Sandy. The Poster shows the beta version of the characters.


text:
It's been a long month but I am on the verge of vacation so I'm hoping to post a little more but I have been listening to music…..and buying! A lot of cool new releases came out and I found a lot of cool bargains over the last month so this is going to be a long update that's going to be posted in two parts…..
(free shipping this time around)
Airbourne – No Guts, No Glory (Special Edition) (2010) – $9: When Airbourne came out in 2007, I became a big fan. Yeah, I know they sound like AC/DC, or Rose Tattoo, or The Angels/Angel City or…..well, you get the idea. I liked the music, your basic barroom boogie Rock 'n' Roll with a ton of energy. I ended up getting an email straight from Roadrunner Records offering a fan-pack that included a limited edition double disc set that included a live DVD in addition to the regular album, the album also included 5 new songs as bonus tracks and a limited edition t-shirt…..all for $40! I don't like Airbourne that much! Could care less about the shirt or the DVD but the bonus tracks were the key. The regular U.S. pressing was $9.99 without the extra songs the first week of release but I passed. I found this seller on Ebay and I picked up this CD at a great price along with the next couple…..
Danger Angel – s/t (2010) – $7: I don't know much about Danger Angel except that they are on Perris Records, so that means the music must be in the Hard Rock style, and Jeff Scott Soto added lead vocals to one of the songs. I actually received a digital promo of the album months ago and I have never listened to it…..not sure why because even the cover looks cool like an old school '80s record. The band is from Greece, they've supported Winger and Jeff Scott Soto on tour and they're a new band. Hopefully this is a promising debut…..
Sinbreed – When Worlds Collide (2010) – $4: Here's another great deal that I got from the same seller on an album that I received a digital promo of but never really listened to. I'm a big Power Metal fan and Sinbreed is a pure Power Metal group from Germany so I'm hoping that it's a solid record. The band has a U.S. distribution deal with Nightmare Records and I received a digital promo but with all the new releases out now, I pushed it aside. I've read a lot of good reviews on this record so I'm looking forward to it.
Judas Priest – British Steel (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (2010) – $30: Back in mid-May, I went to the record store to pick up this album and, of course, I bought the 2 disc version not the 3 disc pressing…..I wrote about it in the "Buyer Be Aware" edition of CD Scavenger Hunt. I wanted the 3 disc set with the remastered album, the live DVD and the live CD of the live DVD. The version I ended up snagging for $14 on sale was just the remastered record and the live DVD and I returned it the next day for a refund. Turns out the 3 CD Deluxe set was released in Europe at the same time as the 2 disc set but the the U.S. release for the 3 disc was slated for early June. I ordered directly through JudasPriest.com so I wouldn't have a hassle, it was $30 but I received the album within 48 hours from Sony Direct in a perfect package. Sometimes buying straight from the band is the way to go.
Best Buy
Lamb Of God – Hourglass (3 CD box set) (2010) – $7: Best price on this 3 disc set was at Best Buy, they had it advertised for $16.99 in their new ad for the Tuesday release so I definitely made the trip. The reason I got the set for $7 instead of $17 was because I had a $10 off coupon from the Best Buy Rewards program that I was going to use to reserve my copy of Madden 2011. I went for the instant $10 savings on the box set and, even though I'm new to Lamb Of God, it's some very brutal music that I'm really getting into. I've actually seen Lamb Of God live but I never really got into their albums but I've made it a point lately to listen to more extreme Metal and the band fit the bill. Saved $10.
Newbury Comics
Visions Of Atlantis – Cast Away (2004) – $6 used: For the last couple of months I have been watching a few used CDs that have regular priced counterparts right with them. I've been meaning to buy them all up because they are solid bargains but I always find something else to pick up. This Visions Of Atlantis CD has been on my radar for at least two months, maybe longer. It's regular priced comrade is $16 so I figured maybe someone would snag this album if they saw the $10 savings. These two discs were filed in the "V" section in the regular stock CDs so I took the used CD and placed it in the Heavy Metal section under the "V" there. Not every Newbury Comics has a specific Metal section but there are some Metal dudes that work there and they are cool enough to make a dedicated place for Metal, this is one of the reasons why I keep going to the same store! I figured that since Visions Of Atlantis were a Symphonic Metal band then they should have a presence in the Metal section…..and keeping the two differently priced CDs seperate so i could wait and decide when to buy the used one. Saved $10.
Bang Camaro – II (2008) – $4: Here's another bargain CD that I've been watching for a while! Bang Camaro is a Boston band so I naturally have an interest because I live in Rhode Island about an hour away. Bang Camaro got a lot of press when they debuted in 2007 because they feature 8 to 12 singers on each album and sometimes on each song! The band lineup is a revolving door but the spirit of the project remains strong. I had the opportunity to buy the debut at a cheap price but I passed and now I can't find it locally. Bang Camaro came to my attention when I heard their song 'Revolution' while playing Madden 2010 on my Playstation 3…..it's a good tune so I figured I would finally give them a chance. There were three brand new copies of this CD: one for $8, another for $6 and the copy I bought for $4. Saved $4.
Stephen Pearcy – Social Intercourse (2002) – $5 used: I never really got around to buying any of Stephen Pearcy's solo work until just over a month ago. I have all the records from Arcade and Vertex, and I'm a huge Ratt fan, so I finally decided to pick this stuff up. I didn't expect to find anything new under Ratt but old habits are diehard and I checked their section…..there's this CD! It's been a while but I've seen this album go for around $15 in the record stores at regular price, while the online prices change rapidly, so I estimate I saved $10.
Nevermore – The Obsidian Conspiracy (2010) – $12: I bought this album the day of release on sale for $12 because i thought the cover was really cool. I have been into Nevermore since 1999's DREAMING NEON BLACK and that was only because I found out through the power of the Internet that the members of Nevermore were also members of Sanctuary…..I had a cassette copy of REFUGE DENIED when it came out in 1987! I've missed out on the last couple Nevermore albums since 2000's DEAD HEART IN A DEAD WORLD so I figured that this new album would be a good way to reconnect. Regular price was $17 so I saved $5.
Kingdom Of Sorrow – s/t (2008) – $10: I work with a guy that is huge into Kingdom Of Sorrow and he constantly asks me if I have heard any of the music or if I have picked up a CD. Up until a couple of weeks ago I really didn't pay attention to the recommendation but then the band's new album came out and I decided to buy that one on sale (I'll get to that next!). When I was going to grab the new CD, I noticed that the debut had a $9.99 sale sticker too. Maybe it was a mistake? The other two copies of the debut didn't have sale stickers so I snagged this one quick. I like to start at the beginning if I can with new bands so this was a good purchase. Saved $5.
Kingdom Of Sorrow – Behind The Blackest Tears (2010) – $10: Like I mentioned above, when this album was released there was a great sale price. Add the sale price to the constant recommendation from a co-worker with my going to Ozzfest this summer and you have the recipe for a CD purchase. Truthfully, I've been meaning to check out KOS because I've read good things but my co-worker's insistence made me not purchase the debut until this new record came out. Now I won't be staring into space when I see the band on Ozzfest…..saved $5.
Savage Grace – The Dominatress/Master Of Disguise reissue (2010) & After The Fall From Grace/Ride Into the Night reissue (2010) – $24 ($12 each): Now this was a complete surprise! Every week I get the Newbury Comics e-newsletter telling me what the new releases are and how much they are going to be but somehow I missed the reissues for the Savage Grace albums. Before I went out to the store, I jumped online quick and I found a quick announcement regarding the reissues. I double checked my newsletters (I save them for a while) and there they were on sale for $12
each! When I got to the store they had 2 copies of each reissue so I was able to get both and let someone else enjoy some classic Heavy Metal. Each reissue is a single disc housed in a nice slipcase with 4 bonus tracks and 3 bonus tracks respectively. There are full color booklets with extensive liner notes and pictures along with the preserved and uncensored original album artwork. You can tell that Limb Music took special time and care to get these reissues just right. Most of these albums are available on Ebay in cassette or LP form but the CDs are usually bootlegs. I believe AFTER THE FALL FROM GRACE has an official CD release but THE DOMINATRESS and MASTER OF DISGUISE are usually a 2-on-1 CD from Greece that is a definite bootleg. It's nice to have an official re-release finally…..and a superb job as well. Regular price was $16 each so I saved $8 ($4 each).
Total = $128
Total (year) = $813
Average price (per item) = $10.04
Total CDs (year) = 74
Total DVDs (year) = 2
Total Box Sets (year) = 4
Total LPs (year) = 1


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Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson (10 December 1830 – 15 May 1886 / Amherst / Massachusetts)
» Click to list general statistics » OR, select a date :
The Mystery Of Pain
Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there were
A day when it was not.
read more >>
- Hits: Number of visitors who read the poem on the given date.
- Posts: Number of visitors who posted the poem to a friend (via e-mail) on the given date.
- Dates that have "0" hits may not be shown on the list.
- Dates, poems and poets that have "0" hits may not be shown on the list. Statistics are generated daily.


text:
Snippet Name: Copy one table to another
Description: Easy way to copy the contents of one table to another table.
Comment: (none)
Language: MYSQL
Highlight Mode: MYSQL
Last Modified: February 28th, 2009
Description: Easy way to copy the contents of one table to another table.
INSERT INTO new_quotes
SELECT SUBSTRING( quoteid, 0, 0 ) , TYPE ,
QUOTE, rating, DATE, title, hits, catid,
submit_date, userid, author, lifespan, cat_name
FROM quotes WHERE quoteid <> ''
ORDER BY quoteid LIMIT 50 ";
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text:
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Lesson Plan
The Ten-Minute Play: Encouraging Original Response to Challenging Texts
|9 – 12
|Lesson Plan Type
|Estimated Time
|Seven 50-minute sessions (plus performance time for each group)
|Lesson Author
Sparta, New Jersey
After reading Beloved or another suitable novel, students review some of the critical elements of drama, focusing on differences between narrative and dramatic texts, including point of view. They discuss the role of conflict in the novel, and work in small groups to search the novel for a passage they can adapt into a ten-minute play. Students write their play adaptation in writer's workshop sessions, focusing on character, setting, conflict, and resolution. When the play draft is complete, students review and revise it, then rehearse and present their play to the class. As the plays are performed, students use a rubric to peer-review each group's work. Because students are responding to a novel with significant internal dialogue and conflict, they are called on to use both analytical and creative skills as they create the adaptation, rather than simply cutting and pasting dialogue.
Teaching Racially Sensitive Literature: A Teacher's Guide: This resource offers point for consideration prior to teaching a racially sensitive piece of literature, including teaching and discussion ideas for the classroom.
Ten-Minute Play Planning Questions: Students can use the questions on this handout as a guide when planning their ten-minute plays based on a novel.
When asked to read and respond to a challenging piece of literature, students can be easily tempted by the intellectual shortcuts of online summaries, responses, and student essays. Because this lesson requires students to make informed and thoughtful decisions about dramatic possibilities in a text, the assignment has several benefits. It is both imaginative and analytical, improving the likelihood of engaged, original, and thoughtful student work and response.
Students use existing dialogue and references to characterization, action, and behaviors in conjunction with imagined dialogue and stage actions to create a response to the text, all the while maintaining the integrity of the original. That is, they must keep in mind the author's own vision for the work while adding their own unique view and interpretation through a retelling. To encourage additional critical thinking, students perform their adaptation and participate in an analytical peer review process, placing the dramatic adaptation in the context of the novel as a whole.
Further Reading
DeSena, Laura Hennessey. 2007. Preventing Plagiarism: Tips and Techniques. (Chapter 2). Urbana, IL: NCTE.


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IUCN extends a warm welcome to the Government of Nigeria, which has officially announced its decision to become a Member of IUCN by endorsing the IUCN Statutes. The Federal Ministry of Environment has been designated by the Government of Nigeria as its liaison with the IUCN Secretariat.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world, has one of the most developed economies in Africa with robust financial, communication and transport sectors. Located in West Africa, Nigeria shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. Nigeria is a federal constitutional Republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Commenting on Nigeria's admission, IUCN Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Aimé J. Nianogo, said: "This will strengthen the environmental coalition in the sub region and facilitate our partnership and work in Nigeria, which, in spite of the extra large country's size and the socio-economic challenges, has managed to conserve significant portions of biodiversity areas, including several national parks".
Nigeria is also home to a wealth of biodiversity, counting 4,715 different types of plant species and over 550 species of breeding birds and mammals. In 1991, the Government of Nigeria established six national parks, including the Cross River National Park, which serves to protect Nigeria's last sizeable remaining area of rainforest. This park is particularly important because it is one of the most species rich in Africa. In addition to the huge diversity of plant life, the park is home to many endangered animal species such as the cross-river gorillas, leopards, chimpanzees, forest elephants and drill monkeys.
Also reacting to Nigeria's admission, the Honourable Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafa, Minister for Environment, noted that "the issues and concerns of environmental sustainability have become enormous and the government alone can't bear this. To ensure the integrity of the Nigerian environment and achievement of sustainable development, the Federal Ministry of Environment will work together with stakeholders, such as IUCN, to tackle the various environmental challenges the country is facing".
The petroleum industry is central to Nigeria's economic profile and it is the twelfth largest producer of petroleum products in the world. Following extensive consultations with its Members and other stakeholders in Nigeria, IUCN has supported the establishment of an Independent Advisory Panel to provide scientific recommendations to the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), and help restore the biodiversity of its oil spill sites in the Niger Delta. The panel is composed of leading international and local experts. It will collect ecological information on the sites that have been affected by oil spills and will also encourage the involvement of local communities and civil society groups in its activities.
Nigeria is also home to four non-governmental Members of IUCN: the Nigeria Conservation Foundation, the Nigeria Environmental Study Team, Savannah Conservation Nigeria and the Centre for Environmental Resources and Sustainable Ecosystems. The IUCN West and Central Africa Programme has a project office situated in Kano, Kano State, since 2005 and actively supports local government and civil society in the northern part of the country in various nature conservation fields, such as water and wetlands conservation and environmental education. The project office also collaborates strongly with the Government of Nigeria through its Ministry responsible for water resources.
Contact person: Mrs Monique C. Yigbedek Bisseck, Senior Constituency Support & Development for Central and West Africa, P.O. Box 5506 Yaoundé – Cameroon, Phone. +237 22 21 64 96, Fax. +237 22 21 64 97, Email : firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
The average hourly pay for a Registered Nurse (RN) with Case Management skills in Tyler, Texas is $29.00.
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Employees with Registered Nurse (RN) in their job title in Houston, Texas earn an average of 26.1% more than the national average. These job titles also find higher than average salaries in Seattle, Washington (26.0% more) and Los Angeles, California (25.5% more).
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text:
klarkash-ton wrote:We best split the silver before we get into town, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves with all the coin. I never was much of a numbers man myself, can one of you learned gentlemen work out the share?"
Once that's done...
"Now we best get our story straight. If anyone asks us, we searched the woods and came up short. Ran afoul of some low-lifes who tried to rob us, Gormlaith fought them off but took a nasty wound in the process. We're here to let her recoup then we're heading back out to continue the search. Now I'll go organise a common room at the King's Rest, as long as everyone agrees. Oh, and the ales are on me, so how many of you are feeling thirsty?"
"I agree with all that!" Brother Loren says, "However, we might want to secure a lockbox from the local inn keeper and hide most of the silver there. Otherwise, we will be lugging around so much coin we won't have the room or strength for any further items of treasure we may find."


text:
We all have very short memories.
Downton Abbey's entire third season has already aired in the U.K., so thanks to my nefarious ways, I was able to sit down and watch the whole thing in a marathon session. (If anyone from the RIAA is reading this, I purchased a plane ticket and flew to London, where a rogue DVR was awaiting me.) Spoiler alert, it is awful, which you will all find out very soon as the episodes slowly make their way over here via PBS. Yet no matter how many insane plots were introduced or how much egregious overacting flew in my face, I could not will myself to look away. The minutia of a 1920s mansion and its servants could be soapier than my bubble bath, and yet there was the next episode, all queued up.
It's the same phenomenon that comes after a night of heavy drinking. I wake up with a massive hangover, a slide show of each beer and shot flashing in my brain. I cringe at every one. "I'll never drink again," I vow as I fire up my PlayStation 3 and sip Gatorade like it's high tea with the Dowager Countess Of Grantham. "I'm going to jog more, finish that sitcom pilot, and pitch more articles about Downton Abbey!" I decide over a lunch that might as well have come from Mrs. Patmore's kitchen—Advil and regret. Then it's 7:45 p.m., and I rush out the door to meet a friend and catch the tail end of happy hour. I might have a problem.
What is it about Downton Abbey that intrigues as much as it infuriates? For that matter, why do we do things we know are bad for us, again and again, until we somehow convince ourselves it's fine? The answer lies in another show that actively encouraged audiences to hate it, yet teased them with a dangling carrot of shouting and three-second boob flashes: Entourage, the comedy about the trials and tribulations of an A-Team-type posse surrounding an A-list actor, which concluded its eight-season run on HBO in 2011. Both present escapism so over-the-top, it's impossible to feel shame.
In the spirit of Todd VanDerWerff's enlightening comparison of Community and Glee, I present undeniable evidence that Downton Abbey and Entourage are pretty much the same show:
1. Both shows are porn for people with anxiety.
Episodes of Entourage end one of two ways. Half the time, something terrible is about to happen that we are told will change the future of every character forever. Maybe Vinnie Chase is on the verge of losing a huge movie deal, or Turtle's new baked-clam restaurant is about to lose an investor. Or an STD scare (not really). The other half of the time, the previous problem is solved by a magical deus ex machina, like when Gus Van Sant sends Vince's reel to Martin Scorsese, who immediately casts Vince in the starring role of his The Great Gatsby adaptation—all in the span of a single episode. Then the guys gather around the bar, clink shot glasses, and go off in search of tail. "Looks like everything worked out" might as well have been Entourage's marketing slogan.
There are no stakes that last longer than an episode or two. No matter what the problem, there's always a magical solution waiting in the wings that sews everything up cleaner than Drama's mustache/soul patch combo. If only life were more like that.
In the same way, Downton Abbey is full of tension heightened by the fact that these people have nothing better to do than sit around and worry about nothing. Season two begins with Mary and Matthew wanting to be together, and ends with a marriage proposal. Along the way, there's Mary's lecherous newspaperman beau Sir Carlisle, who threatens to ruin her reputation should she ever leave, and Matthew's fiancée, Lavinia, who senses she's a consolation prize. Every character wonders how Matthew and Mary will ever find a way. They eat pastries and worry. They eat soufflés and worry. They pay credence to a bandaged stranger who claims to be Mary's long-lost first fiancé and disappears after an episode, and worry. The residents of Downton can rock a tux like no other, but they can't emotionally compartmentalize for shit.
To get Mary and Matthew together, it takes a death. Lavinia has to die—but not before telling Matthew, flat out, that this way he can finally wed Mary without feeling guilty, and that this is all for the best. Even with her last breath, Lavinia offers the perfect solution to an immeasurably fraught problem. Plus all that time worrying about what Carlisle's going to do was apparently for naught, because he doesn't speak out about anything. Matthew gets down on one knee, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
And get ready for a season three of gasping followed by an instantaneous and simultaneous "phew!" Let's get to some spoilers: Downton is in danger of financial collapse, and Matthew has just inherited a bunch of money from Lavinia's father. He feels guilty taking the money to save Downton because, you know, Lavinia. But Mary discovers a letter from Lavinia's father that essentially says he knew the whole time that Matthew was not long for his family, and that he should take the money guilt-free. Perfect! Meanwhile, gasp, Sybil dies after the family refuses to listen to their longtime physician and instead go for some hotshot guy Lord Grantham trusts. Robert and Cora's marriage suffers, as you'd expect. Until the Countess gets said physician to lie and say that even if they had listened to him, they couldn't have really saved her. The untimely death of one of Downton's beloved is treated only slightly more seriously than when Violet discovers Matthew's mom is employing a prostitute.
These shows are porn for anxious people because they offer an escape from the nebulous, vague dread that people with anxiety experience every day. How often I've sat around fretting over whether to buy the blue tie or the eggplant-colored one, my mind a centrifuge of false consequences and needless self-blame. How exhilarating it would be to learn the blue tie is sold out. No longer would I have to suffer the torment of simply existing! That happens maybe 2 percent of the time; the rest is an uphill battle.
Both Downton Abbey and Entourage raise the stakes artificially high, then provide tidy, swift resolution. Nothing lingers. How wonderful it would be, what a welcome reprieve, to live in those worlds.
2. Both shows began as well-intentioned satires that got out of control.
There are plenty of theories floating around as to why Downton Abbey's second season was so disappointing. Meredith Blake over at TV Club has written that essentially the show's soap factor took over, and there was only so much she could take. The show's executive producer claims it's simply a matter of calling a spade a spade—that the show was always a soap opera, and it was only after two seasons that people realized they were watching the kind of show where a guy can miraculously heal from a paralyzing wound that was supposed to take away his ability to walk and procreate forever.
After watching season three, I have a theory of my own: America ruined Downton Abbey.
The American model of television is largely dictated by the demand of the audience, not the creative arc of the show's creators and writers. In the U.K., it's not uncommon for showrunners to say, "That's it" and simply stop. Not so over here, where The Office should have ended two seasons ago and The Walking Dead is doomed to run forever as long as it's financially anchoring AMC's more realistically timed-out projects, like Breaking Bad. So here comes Downton Abbey, with a stellar first season that swiftly moved the plot along and took great care to ensure its characterization remained believable throughout a botched Cora pregnancy and an upcoming war that claimed some of Downton's finest. It was a soap opera—let's call the spade a spade—but it was a fleet one. Good TV comes from taking the thing you want to do in the series finale, doing it in the second or third episode, then going, "Oh shit, what now?" and writing your way out.
Then Downton Abbey was a hit, so Julian Fellowes and company thought, "Oh shit, what now?" Only instead of keeping pace with what they'd done before, they took their sketchbook for the rest of the show and streeeeeetched it out. The reason why we got that mysterious bandage guy in season two who disappeared after a single episode, never to be heard from again, is because what else were they going to do? Burn off a legitimate story arc? Downton's self-seriousness is now the punchline to its disastrous transformation.
When Entourage debuted in 2004, vapid celebrity culture was all the rage. (Okay, it still is.) So this was a show about a vapid celebrity doing vapid celebrity things; Vince and his crew stressing over his choice of date to a movie première was, in and of itself, the joke. And the show deftly mocked others from within. Stars like Jimmy Kimmel and Gary Busey appeared in season one and played crazy versions of themselves, demonstrating that they wanted to be part of the fun. People who enjoyed seeing fancy cars and fancy restaurants enjoyed it for what it was, and those who were in on the gag snickered ironically.
Then Entourage got itself a few Emmy nominations and, probably, requests from other celebrities to appear. It was popular enough, but beyond that, the right people were watching: Hollywood movers and shakers. It could no longer operate as a rogue commentary on the business if it was becoming a major player in said business, and right around season three, when Dom came and went like so many of Vince's yoga instructors, Entourage went off the rails. It became everything it was mocking.
Satire and intended longevity are mutually exclusive. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are so successful because they have few boundaries. They remain singularly focused on the visions of their hosts, and damn whoever they offend in the process. Burning a few bridges is par for the course. It just so happens that enough people still like those guys. Downton Abbey and Entourage are more timid. Their reputation is at stake—and in both those worlds, reputation is everything.
3. Both shows are about the elite and those who serve the elite.
For every movie star, there is an army of soldiers marching to the beat of the Hollywood drum—agents, managers, publicists, lawyers, lit agents, assistants, social-media directors, stunt doubles, paparazzi distracters, bodyguards, coke dealers, weed dealers, ecstasy dealers, etc. Just as for every Earl Of Grantham, there is an entire city/business ecosystem that relies on the steady flow of service jobs, be it working at the actual Abbey or serving beer to the servants on their nights off.
Downton Abbey and Entourage showcase the two sides equally. Ari and Lloyd get as much screen time as Vince and Drama, just as Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson are major players up there with Robert, Cora, and Lady Mary. And in both cases, those in service derive their entire identity from the service itself. When the Downton team gets a bit of a break in the recently aired Christmas special, Carson insists they stay behind and polish some silver. And when Ari's not yelling at his agents for not getting Vince some deal, he's withholding sex from his wife on "game day"—the day one of Vince's movies comes out. It seems downright depressing at times to watch good people destroy their personal lives so the irons can remain in the fire even when the room is empty.
But the big shots on Downton and Entourage are similarly at the whims of the artificial. Vince desperately wants to make movies so he can validate his rough-and-tumble Queens upbringing. Robert and his mom, Violet, want the Abbey to run smoothly because it validates the work of those who came before. People who seek the approval of others when they can no longer find it in themselves? See: porn for people with anxiety.
4. Both shows present skewed versions of loyalty.
Quantity has no place in friendship. There's no reason I can't be closer with someone I met one year ago than someone I met seven years ago—there's a magical alchemy when two people truly hit it off, and I don't just mean romantically.
Not so in the world of Entourage. There is an active dichotomy between what a new manager can do for Vince's career right now and Vince's loyalty to Eric as a friend and confidant. After all, he's known the guy since they were little kids, when they were Queens Boulevard. Eric might conveniently play Vince for his own gain and leverage their friendship as a means to get what he wants, but Vince will always forgive. And vice versa, as when E calls Vince out for being a coke-addicted fuck-up. Loyalty is a proxy of time.
On Downton Abbey, the number of years one has served the cause is a badge of honor worth more than all the cigarettes Thomas can smoke. The new guy is vilified, and the old way wins out, along with the old person carrying out the old ways. Miss O'Brien was tormented in season one not just because she ended the life of an unborn baby, but because she was so damn loyal to the family. How could she, a person who has served the Abbey through countless cricket matches, do something so heartless?
It's sort of a running gag how few new people enter into the orbit of, say, Happy Endings or Parks & Recreation. Presumably, these people are charismatic enough to have other friends, yet we rarely see them. It's no problem, though—the characters choose who they spend time with, a realistic portrayal of friendship born out of love and compassion. But both Downton Abbey and Entourage would not have it any other way. After all, they are fueled by anxiety, a mental place where the big, scary world is only tempered by militaristic routine. Compatriots are chosen out of fear.
5. Both shows offer glimpses into lives we will never have, and probably don't want.
In order to feel truly included, one must exclude as many others as possible. Posh late-night parties require meticulous guest-list curation and an immaculate dress code, ensuring those who attend will have the time of their lives, knowing this bacchanalia is entirely for their own benefit.
Downton Abbey takes place in the early 1920s in an immaculately groomed old building populated by servants. Now, I'm no oil tycoon or textile heir, but I assume the majority of us will never know what this feels like. (Or if you do, congrats! Why are you still reading this and not spending time in your hat room?) Yet we're given the chance to accompany Matthew on hunting expeditions fit for a J.Crew catalog, and feel Branson's thrill when he finally whisks Sybil away to Ireland. The flip side is that we also feel Violet's fury when Robert wears the wrong kind of suit to a dinner party, or Lady Edith insists on bringing a perfectly respectable, nice man to dinner who's in an arm sling, and therefore unsuitable for a woman of her stature.
Then there is Vincent Chase. He has sex with porn stars. He lives in a large house and gets stoned every day with his best friends. He takes private jets to Las Vegas and is all like, "I ain't gettin' no haircut!" He's the guy every horny teenage boy thinks is the ideal adult. Then comes the rejection, the drugs, the bankruptcy, and the betrayal. We wanted in, so we get it all. Much like on Downton, Entourage presents a monkey's-paw conundrum along the lines of "Be careful what you wish for."
But neither show is bold enough to see this through. "Downton is saved" is the equivalent of Entourage's "Looks like everything worked out." It's an empty victory cry we know is coming, yet every time it does, we feel a sense of relief. Because as far removed as Matthew Crawley's life might be from our own, the dissipation of anxiety is the ultimate reward. The English countryside and the Hollywood hills are backdrops that fool us into thinking we're looking through a window, when in fact, both are mirrors.
It's easy to forget.


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Leopard on the Loose in Hospital
A leopard made its way into the wards of a hospital in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, terrifying patients and staff for around 12 hours before wounding a police officer after it smashed its way through a window and fled.
The animal, which was still on the loose on Monday, was first spotted early Sunday in a timber warehouse in a densely-packed market place in the northern city, which has a population of nearly three-and-a-half million.
Within minutes, a large crowd had gathered and "a couple of mischievous elements" attempted to tease the creature, according to Sushant Sharma, a regional forest officer.
It was then that the leopard ran to the Meerut Cantonment Hospital, about a mile away from the market square, and entered a ward where three patients were staying at around 1.30 p.m., said a spokesperson for the Cantonment Board, a committee of supervisors at the military quarters in the city.
There are about 8,000 leopards in India, and nearly 200 are poached each year, said Shekhar Kumar Niraj, who heads the India chapter of TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network run by the World Wildlife Fund. As urban areas encroach on nearby forests the animals are venturing more frequently into populated neighborhoods. Biologically, said Mr. Kumar Niraj, the wild cat is a multi-habitat species leading to clashes with humans.
Mohammed Ali Zafar, the Cantonment Board spokesman, said "there were about three patients in the ward who were evacuated in a matter of a few seconds and the door was shut behind them." Efforts to cage the animal inside the hospital carried on for nearly 12 hours, Mr. Zafar added.
At 8 p.m., he said, a team of three officials from the Wildlife Trust of India, a non-profit conservation organization headquartered in Noida, arrived from Bijnor, a neighboring district about 45 miles north of Meerut.
Their attempts to tranquilize the leopard failed, said Mr. Sharma, because a cluster of reporters trying to take photographs of the animal made it irritable and it broke out of a door of the room where it was cornered and smashed through glass window and a concrete wall at the corner of a passageway at the hospital.
As it fled, the leopard bit Gajendra Pal Singh, a police official who was positioned outside cordoning off the hospital complex. Mr. Singh told The Wall Street Journal that he had suffered a wound on the left shoulder, which required seven stitches.
"But I am absolutely fine now and set to hunt the leopard down," Mr. Singh said.
While the search for the animal continues, the district magistrate of Meerut declared Monday a holiday for schools in the city. He could not be immediately reached for comment.
Killada Satyanarayan, a senior police officer in the city, said that about seven search teams of at least four officers each, were trying to trace the animal. He said that it was "very strange and bizarre for the animal to appear out of nowhere" on the streets of the city.
While it might be unusual in this city, which was the site of the first war of independence in 1857, it is more common in other parts of the country, especially in Mumbai where the forest meets the megacity.
In two incidents in January last year, a 9-year-old boy was killed by a leopard in Mumbai, and an elderly man died in a similar attack in Guwahati, in the east of the country.
Follow Aditi and India Real Time on Twitter @A4iti and @WSJIndia.
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Mexico charges vigilante leader with murder
MEXICO CITY (AP) — One of the main leaders of the civilian armed movement that formed to drive a drug cartel out of Mexico's Michoacan state was charged Thursday with the murder of two members of a rival vigilante group.
State prosecutor Jose Martin Godoy said investigators had found enough evidence to link Hipolito Mora to the killings of two men whose bodies were discovered in the back of a burned pickup truck over the weekend.
The "self-defense" groups had a falling out and fractured into two factions in the town of La Ruana when Mora had a dispute over leadership with Luis Antonio Torres Gonzalez, another vigilante leader known by the nicknames of "El Simon" or "El Americano" because he grew up in the U.S.
The two dead men were allies of Torres Gonzalez. Prosecutors said witnesses testified that Mora had threatened to kill one of the men for opposing the way Mora wanted to collect money to run the vigilante uprising.
Mora's lawyer, Eduardo Quintero, said prosecutors were building a case with suppositions by the victims' relatives.
"He had nothing to do with the murder," Quintero said. "The attorney general's office is trying to calm everyone down by charging Hipolito Mora."
Mora was one of the founders of the vigilante movement that began in February 2013 after he and fellow farmers and ranchers grew tired of the Knights Templar cartel's reign of kidnapping, murder and extortion. He became the public face of the "self-defense" crusade, appearing in dozens of interviews, while Torres Gonzalez was more closely involved in armed operations.
Vigilantes are now the de facto authorities in many of Michoacan's townships, but they have also served as a means to keep the government accountable.
They have demanded the arrest of the main leaders of the Knights Templar and they have often pointed out ties between public officials and drug traffickers. On Sunday, Mora applauded one of the biggest takedowns of President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration — the killing of the gang's top capo, Nazario Moreno, who was wrongly reported dead by authorities in 2010 but who had continued to be seen by Michoacan residents.
Along with Mora, a judge ordered the arrest of nine other suspects in the killings of the two vigilantes. The state prosecutor also said 28 people had been detained wearing "self-defense" T-shirts and driving cars and trucks that were reported stolen.
Godoy said his office also has gathered 35 complaints from the community accusing Mora of stealing and kidnapping. The easygoing Mora has been accused of abusing his position by allegedly holding on to lime orchards and farm fields taken over from the Knights Templar, which had seized them from the rightful owners.
Mora has denied the accusations, saying he returns land to rightful owners.
Estanislao Beltran, another vigilante leader in the nearby town of Division del Norte, said he trusts an investigation will reveal who the true killer is.
"We are hoping that Hipolito is found not guilty," Beltran said. "But to be honest, we are very confused; we don't know what to think."


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Juliette Binoche is in talks to star in 'Godzilla'.
The French actress has entered negotiations to join Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the big budget monster movie reboot, which will be spearheaded by Gareth Edwards and scripted by Frank Darabont.
No details about Juliette's character are yet known, Variety reports, and the plot is being kept under wraps for the moment. Bryan Cranston is also said to be mulling over a role in the Legendary Pictures film.
The famous screen reptile - who was created by nuclear radiation - originated in Japanese cinema in the 1950s and has featured in several movies, most recently in the 1998 Matthew Broderick-starring film.
Elizabeth confirmed her role in the film last month and hinted it would be going back to its dark origins.
She said: "It's definitely going to be different. It's not light-hearted fare. It's going back to its roots and its core - the reason why the Japanese made it."
Juliette was last seen alongside Robert Pattinson in David Cronenberg's 'Cosmopolis' and has received rave reviews for 'Camille Claudel, 1915', which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.
Producers are eyeing up a May 2014 release date for 'Godzilla'.
tagged in David Cronenberg Juliette Binoche Matthew Broderick Robert Pattinson Gareth Edwards Bryan Cranston Elizabeth Olsen


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Monday, March 5, 2012
CONTACT: Richard Penny, (425) 352-3395, firstname.lastname@example.com
BOTHELL, Wash. – Where does one go to learn how to think and act like a successful Chief Executive Officer (CEO)? The CEO Mentality Workshop ™ is a very good place to start. This one-day workshop will be facilitated by Dr. Sandeep Krishnamurthy, professor and director of the UW Bothell School of Business, and will help participants create a clear mindset for success.
This innovative workshop is being held May 5, and is in collaboration with Ryan Wuerch, current founder and CEO of Solavei and former founder and CEO of Motricity. Nationally recognized CEOs will be available during the workshop to mentor and coach participants to develop their own CEO Mentality™ and to discuss personal career aspirations.
The CEO Mentality™ Workshop provides valuable insight for any employee, or aspiring future employee, at any level within an organization, corporation, or business. Enrollment is limited to 30 to ensure an interactive experience for all participants.
This workshop runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 5 at the UW Bothell Eastside Leadership Center in Bellevue. Tuition is $100 for UW Bothell undergraduate students, $200 for UW Bothell School of Business Graduate students and $300 for UW Bothell alumni. For more information, go to http://www.uwb.edu/business/nondegree/ceomentality or call (425) 352-5394.
About UW Bothell: The University of Washington Bothell combines the benefits of a small campus with the resources and prestige of a world-renowned university. Offering over 30 degrees, options, certificates and concentrations, its curriculum emphasizes close student-faculty interaction, collaboration among students, and hands-on learning. For more information, visit www.uwb.edu.


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From $239 for Treasure Island Hotel&Casino w/Cirque Du Soleil Tickets or Wedding Package
AAA Four-Diamond Hotel on Vegas Strip with Wedding Chapel
More than 100,000 couples tie the knot in Las Vegas every year, and far more choose to honeymoon there. Treasure Island Hotel & Casino makes a lavish spot for celebrating either occasion—or any other event, for that matter. The AAA Four Diamond Award–winning hotel has just about everything you could ask for, and some things you probably hadn't thought of. There are 10 restaurants, five bars, a casino, elegant wedding chapels, and a theater that's home to Sin City's original Cirque du Soleil show, Mystère. A cast of 72 dancers, aerial acrobats, and clowns wows crowds at the critically acclaimed circus spectacle, which brought Vegas stage shows to a whole new level when it first appeared in 1993.
At Treasure Island's casino, you'll find table games, slot machines, and daily poker tournaments. Apply your winnings toward a porterhouse at Phil's Italian Steak House, or spring for a Vietnamese dinner at Pho—just two options among the hotel's wealth of restaurants and bars.
Las Vegas: The Strip Past and Present
Mentioning Las Vegas usually conjures up images of spinning roulette wheels and stone-faced poker players. If that's what you're looking for, you'll want to make a beeline for the casinos lining the neon-lit Strip. But for lower-stakes gambling in a throwback Vegas atmosphere, head downtown to Fremont Street. Vintage signs and showgirls crowned with headdresses recall the days of Sinatra and Martin, but this Glitter Gulch burns much brighter today than it did in the Rat Pack era: beginning at dusk, a canopy of more than 12 million LED lights erupts in a psychedelic light and music show every hour.
Educational attractions have never been Sin City's strong suit, but the Mob Museum boasts a winning formula: bank robberies, prostitution, and money laundering. Exhibits profile legendary mafiosos from Capone to Gotti, and mob artifacts include the bloodstained, bullet-pocked brick wall from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Within the former federal courthouse, you can fire a Tommy gun simulator, participate in a police lineup, or enter witness protection for the rest of your life.
Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.


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Sunday night, I was watching WWE SummerSlam on a live stream on my laptop and had the Yankees-Red Sox baseball game on ESPN in the background.
Sunday night, I was watching WWE SummerSlam on a live stream on my laptop and had the Yankees-Red Sox baseball game on ESPN in the background.
I am a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan so my rooting interest was non-existent, but I always love a good rivalry.
As it turns out, it did not take long for the action on the baseball diamond to trump the action in the wrestling ring.
Boston pitcher Ryan Dempster threw the first pitch of Yankees� troubled third baseman Alex Rodriguez�s at-bat behind A-Rod�s left leg.
The next two pitches were normal, a-little-too-tight inside fastballs.
Then, with a 3-0 count, Dempster drilled Rodriguez in the left arm.
Yankees� manager Joe Girardi flew out of the dugout incensed, a-la a 1983 George Brett after his infamous pine tar incident.
After an expletive-filled rage, Girardi was tossed and both teams were warned by the home plate umpire.
What I want to focus on is why Ryan Dempster did what he did.
A-Rod has had a checkered past in life just as he has in baseball.
He has been linked to steroids, lied about using steroids, been proven to have used steroids and cheated on his wife with the wife of former star Jose Canseco.
That is enough to deserve the label of scumbag in my opinion, but that�s still not why Dempster plunked him.
I have no factual knowledge of this, just inkling, but I stand by the opinion that Dempster did it for the game.
He did it for Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente and insert any other Major League pre-1980s legend.
Those guys that achieved legendary status in America�s Game all the while, being cleaner than a preacher�s sheets.
When Rodriguez came up again in the third inning, I was hoping Dempster would drill him again.
Let me clarify that I wish injury or harm upon no one, however, pretty much the only way a Major League hitter suffers a serious injury from a hit-by-pitch is if they take one to the cranium.
Nobody ever died from being hit in the arm.
After the game, which the Yankees won 8-6, Dempster said that he was just �trying to establish the inside part of the plate,� but I know better.
He has since received a five-game suspension from Major League Baseball for the incident, a suspension that I feel is a total joke.
I applaud Dempster for standing up for those who came before him, as we of humans of any trade should do.
If not for them, we would not be where we are.
I would take up anyway I could for the sports journalists who have come before me.
If not for them, I would not get to be doing what I love, and I think that�s the point that Dempster was trying to make.
Jordan Honeycutt can be reached at 252-635-5670 or at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow Jordan on Twitter @JHONEYnbsj29.


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Wednesday's gay marriage ruling contained two historic firsts: It was the first appellate decision for gay marriage since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Law exactly one year ago, and it also marked the first time since then a federal judge has argued for keeping a state ban on same sex marriages.
DENVER — Wednesday's gay marriage ruling contained two historic firsts: It was the first appellate decision for gay marriage since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Law exactly one year ago, and it also marked the first time since then a federal judge has argued for keeping a state ban on same sex marriages.
Justice Paul J. Kelly, Jr. was in the minority in his opinion as the two other judges on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel found the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of gay couples to marry. Kelly has broken the string of 16 state and federal judges who sided with gay marriage advocates in cases across the country over the past year.
Legal observers and friends both say that's not a surprise. "He's not afraid to be the only guy taking a position if he believes it's correct," said Hal Stratton, a former New Mexico Attorney General who served with Kelly in the state legislature in the late 1970s.
Kelly, 73, is a Republican and appointee of President George H.W. Bush who is known for his fondness for bow ties, withering questioning at oral argument and willingness to rule against law enforcement and for civil rights. On Wednesday, in his 21-page dissent, Kelly warned that his colleagues were overreaching in striking down Utah's voter-approved gay marriage ban.
Creating a national mandate for gay marriage, even in states where it is unpopular, "turns the notion of a limited national government on its head," he wrote, adding later: "We should resist the temptation to become philosopher-kings, imposing our views under the guise of constitutional interpretation of the 14th Amendment."
The dissent heartened gay marriage opponents, who saw a hope of ending their year-long losing streak and puncturing the aura of inevitability that now surrounds same-sex marriage. "We are at a new level and the Courts of Appeal tend to be more thoughtful and deliberate than the trial courts," said National Organization for Marriage president John Eastman, saying he expects more opinions like Kelly's.
It did not surprise Blain Myhre, a Denver appellate attorney who has argued multiple cases before Kelly. "He may have a more limited view of the role of the federal courts than a more liberal judge," Myhre said. But, he added, "I don't view him as an ideologue."
Nancy Leong, a University of Denver law professor who watches the circuit, said she was surprised because Kelly has been sympathetic to some plaintiffs alleging discrimination based on their gender or disabilities. "I was especially surprised that he was willing to become the first judge to say we shouldn't strike down a same-sex marriage ban."
Kelly has never been afraid of charting his own course. The son of a prominent judge in Long Island, New York, he graduated from Notre Dame University and then Fordham law school and took a job in the small, remote southeast New Mexican town of Roswell. In 1976, he ran for the New Mexico legislature and won, even though Democrats outnumbered Republicans in his district 2-1, according to an article about him written by a former clerk.
In the statehouse, Kelly was a strong foe of abortion rights but far from a doctrinaire conservative, Stratton recalled. He remembered that, when the legislature reinstituted the death penalty, Kelly inserted several provisions to limit its application.
After two terms, Kelly moved to Santa Fe to run his firm's office there and left elected office. He joined the volunteer fire department in his rural community outside the city and even well into his 60s would dash out of dinners to rescue people from car crashes. In a 2008 interview, Kelly, then 67, told the Santa Fe New Mexican he worked out four times a week. "I work to keep up with the younger guys ... We're swinging axes at metal walls and if you didn't keep in shape, you'd die."
President Bush appointed Kelly to the 10th Circuit in 1991. His highest-profile case was when he presided over Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's appeal. U.S. marshals accompanied him and his wife on an airplane from Albuquerque for the hearings in Denver, where the circuit is based. In his interview with his former clerk, Kelly also proudly cited his opinion in a 1998 case where he ruled that police cannot offer plea deals in exchange for courtroom testimony. Federal prosecutors and other law enforcement agencies were outraged and the full 10th Circuit reversed Kelly's opinion.
Kelly didn't budge, writing a dissent from the new opinion. "Courts," he wrote, "must apply unambiguous statutes as they are written."


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Will Ferrell Does Player Intros For New Orleans Hornets Vs Chicago Bulls Game!
Will Ferrell does the player introduction for New Orleans Hornets game vs the Chicago Bull
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Prime Farmland, and Important Farmland as a whole, decreased by record amounts during the 2002-2004 period. Urbanization was responsible for 60% of farm and grazing land losses.
Urban land expanded by 101,825 acres during the 2004 mapping cycle, with 24% occurring in the San Joaquin Valley. The inland empire counties (Riverside and San Bernardino) and the six-county Sacramento metropolitan area accounted for 23% and 15%, respectively, of the statewide total. Land idling, ecological restoration, rural residential development, and mining operations also effected downward pressure on the agricultural total. Fewer new acres were brought into production to offset losses, resulting in a net decrease of 138,644 acres in irrigated farmland for the period. The decrease in Prime Farmland (78,575 acres) was the largest yet documented in a two-year update since the program's inception.
Complete report (large PDF file, version 6.0--3.3 mb)
Report split and compressed to facilitate download-
Introductory Materials (185 kb): Acknowledgements; Table of ContentsERRATA Sheet (50 kb): Corrects for computation errors in the 2004 Land Committed to Agricultural Land statistics for Sonoma County. Posted July 2008.Main Report (673 kb): Executive Summary; Program Introduction; 2004 Improvements; Understanding the Data; Land Use Conversion 2002-2004 Appendix A (392 kb): County Conversion Tables* Appendices B, C, D, and E (228 kb): 2002 and 2004 County Acreage Tallies; County and Regional Conversion Summaries; Rural Land Mapping Summaries; Farmland of Local Importance Definitions
* Report tables are in PDF format- Excel 2000 versions of the same tables are also available for download.
You may need to update Acrobat Reader if you get error messages.
Paper copies are also available by contacting FMMP.