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Top Items:
Marissa Mayer / The Official Google Blog:
RT @google: Tweets and updates and search, oh my! — At Google, our goal is to create the most comprehensive, relevant and fast search in the world. In the past few years, an entirely new type of data has emerged — real-time updates like those on Twitter have appeared not only as a way for people …
Discussion: Telegraph, InformationWeek, Mashable!, The Social, Electricpig.co.uk, Google Operating System, Gadgetrepublic.com, Softpedia News, ReadWriteWeb, TechCrunch, PC World, I4U News, O'Reilly Radar, Computerworld, internetnews.com, WebProNews, Silicon Alley Insider, Erictric, Google Watch, Geekword, The Web Life, Download Squad, Pocket-lint.com, Technologizer, paidContent, Internet Evolution, Googling Google, Search Engine Journal, Google Blogoscoped and Neowin.net
Thomas Claburn / InformationWeek: Web 2.0 Summit: Google Unveils Social Search
Adam Ostrow / Mashable!: BREAKING: Google Announces Search Deal With Twitter
Ben Sillis / Electricpig.co.uk: Twitter gets included in Google searches
Marie Boran / Gadgetrepublic.com: Twitter partners with Google and Microsoft
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch: Get Ready For The Firehose. Search Is About To Get Realtime, Real Fast.
Mark Sullivan / PC World: Google Gets Some Twitter Search Love, Too
Luigi Lugmayr / I4U News: Google Also Searches Twitter Tweets
James Turner / O'Reilly Radar: Why Google and Bing's Twitter Announcement is Big News
Juan Carlos Perez / Computerworld: Microsoft strikes search deals with Twitter, Facebook
Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider: Google And Twitter Sign Search Deal
Bertrand / Erictric: Google: Social Search Coming to Google Labs
Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint.com: Google shouts "me too" with twitter search deal
Harry McCracken / Technologizer: Google Previews Social Search, Talks Twitter
Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent: Google Follows Microsoft With Twitter Search Deal Of Its Own
Nicole Ferraro / Internet Evolution: Twitter Teams With Google, Bing; And Google Gets Social
Garett Rogers / Googling Google: Google announces Social Search with Twitter
Arnold Zafra / Search Engine Journal: Google, Too, Will Index Twitter Updates
Philipp Lenssen / Google Blogoscoped: Google Social Search, and Twitter Integration
Owen Williams / Neowin.net: Google announces search deal with twitter
Twitter Blog:
@google Nice! — Our friends down in Mountain View want to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. A fast growing amount of information is coursing through Twitter very quickly, and we want there to be many ways to access that information.
Discussion: Telegraph, InformationWeek, Computerworld and Technologizer
Emma Barnett / Telegraph: Google launches social search
Thomas Claburn / InformationWeek: Web 2.0 Summit: Facebook Bets On Wisdom Of Friends
Harry McCracken / Technologizer: Yup, Google is Getting Twitter Search, Too
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Web 2.0 Summit: Marissa Mayer Shows Off Social Search, Results From Your Social Networks — At the Web 2.0 Summit today in San Francisco, Google's Marissa Mayer unexpected came on stage to unveil a new product. She first announced that Google has also reached a deal with Twitter …
Ben Parr / Mashable!: BREAKING: Google Announces Social Search
Caroline McCarthy / CNET News: Coming to Google Labs: Social search results
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land: Google Social Search Is Coming & More On Google-Twitter
Jason Bean / EveryJoe: Google Releasing Social Search Functionality
Marshall Sponder / Webmetricsguru: Evolution of Search Results turns Social
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Google's New Social Search Is A Big Chess Move Against Facebook
Google's New Social Search Is A Big Chess Move Against Facebook
Discussion: Doc Searls Weblog and Search Engine Watch, Thanks:atul
Frank Watson / Search Engine Watch: Google Labs Rolling Out Social Search Experiment
Brandon LeBlanc / The Windows Blog:
Windows 7's Big Day Tomorrow + New Offers Announced! — Tomorrow's our big day - Windows 7 officially launches and hits General Availability (or GA as we have acronyms for everything). That means Windows 7 will be available for purchase worldwide! I thought I'd take a moment to highlight …
Discussion: Gizmodo, Technologizer, Gadget Lab, Computerworld, LiveSide, Associated Press, Mashable!, AustralianIT.com.au, Channel 10, internetnews.com, Guardian, Telegraph, Ars Technica, NEWS.com.au and Redmond Pie
Harry McCracken / Technologizer: Twenty-Three Years of Windows Launch Oddities
Brian X. Chen / Gadget Lab: 7 Things You Should Know About Upgrading to Windows 7
Kip Kniskern / LiveSide: It's Windows 7 Day! — Just wanted to say congratulations …
Jessica Mintz / Associated Press: With Windows 7 and new designs, PCs looking better
Stan Schroeder / Mashable!: Windows 7 Officially Released Today
Simon Canning / AustralianIT.com.au: Sober launch for Windows 7
Jack Schofield / Guardian: Who needs new Windows? — As Microsoft launches Windows 7 …
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica: Windows 7 engineers: how feedback shaped the final release
Nick Eaton / The Microsoft Blog:
Microsoft releases Windows 7 — It's midnight (Eastern time) on Thursday, October 22, 2009, which can only mean one thing: Windows 7 is now officially released. — Largely seen as a polishing of Microsoft's dud Windows Vista - and a much-awaited polishing - the new operating system …
Discussion: Ars Technica, Hardware 2.0, CNET News, The iPhone Blog, Japan Today, Download Squad and Wired Campus
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica: Windows 7 is here — At long last, Windows 7 is officially here.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes / Hardware 2.0: 7 Days of Windows 7 offers
Ina Fried / CNET News: Windows 7 hits the market
Rene Ritchie / The iPhone Blog: Windows 7 and the iPhone — Help and How-To!
Lee Mathews / Download Squad: Ask DLS: shouldn't we be able to download our Vista-to-Windows 7 upgrade?
Ben Terris / Wired Campus: How Good Is Windows 7 for Colleges?
Ina Fried / CNET News:
Microsoft starts selling PCs online
Microsoft starts selling PCs online
Discussion: TechCrunch
David Pogue / New York Times:
Windows 7 Keeps the Good, Tries to Fix Flaws
Windows 7 Keeps the Good, Tries to Fix Flaws
Discussion: VentureBeat and PaulStamatiou.com
Bing / Search Blog:
Bing is Bringing Twitter Search to You — One of the most interesting things going on today on the Internet is the notion of the real time web. The idea of accessing data in real time has been an elusive goal in the world of search. Web indexes in search engines update at pretty amazing rates …
Charles Arthur / Guardian: Twitter deals with Microsoft and Google
Matthew Hurst / Data Mining: Twitter, Bing and Google
Stephen E. Arnold / Beyond Search: Twitter Tizzy — Big day for Twitter. Instead of selling …
Kara Swisher / BoomTown: Microsoft's Qi Lu Talks About Bing (and Confirms Facebook …
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch: That Didn't Take Long: Twitter Search Is Coming To Google
Alex Wilhelm / The Next Web: Twitter Revenue Found - Coming From Microsoft
Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint.com: Twitter comes to bing
Charles Arthur / Guardian: Twitter and Microsoft confirm Bing search results tieup - and now Google too
James Temple / SFGate: Microsoft, Google enabling Twitter searches
Rob Diana / Regular Geek: Twitter Lets The Big Boys Handle Search
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb: Bing + Twitter: It's a Start, But Awkward
Jay Hathaway / Download Squad: Bing makes search deals with Facebook and Twitter
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Up Close With Bing's Twitter Search Engine
Up Close With Bing's Twitter Search Engine
Discussion: Telegraph, WebProNews, Geekword, Epicenter, Xconomy, ReadWriteWeb, TechCrunch, ITworld.com, LiveSide and InformationWeek
Chris Crum / WebProNews: How Does Bing Rank Tweets?
Muhammad Ali / Geekword: Bing brings Twitter search, outsmarts Google
Mark Sullivan / ITworld.com: Microsoft Strikes Search Deals with Twitter, Facebook
Thomas Claburn / InformationWeek: Web 2.0 Summit: Bing Wins Facebook, Twitter Partnerships
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Exclusive: Guess Who Else Is Coming to Dinner? …
Exclusive: Guess Who Else Is Coming to Dinner? …
Glenn Chapman / AustralianIT.com.au: Twitter enters Bing, Google universe
Arnold Zafra / Search Engine Journal: Bing Twitter Search Goes Live
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb: Things Have Changed: Facebook to Open Public Messages to Search
Kim-Mai Cutler / VentureBeat: Web 2.0: Testing out Bing's Twitter-juiced search
Rafe Needleman / CNET News: Hands-on with Twitterized Bing
Tony Bradley / PC World: Bing Lands Deals with Twitter and Facebook
Sam Diaz / Between the Lines: Tweets on Bing: Watch out for more noise, more clutter in search results
Alexei Oreskovic / Reuters: Bing seals Facebook, Twitter deals
Matt McGee / Search Engine Land: Live Blog: Qi Lu Speaking At Web 2.0
Leena Rao / TechCrunch: Pew Study Reports That Internet Users Are Becoming More Status Update-Friendly
Andrew Lyle / Neowin.net: Microsoft gets search deal with Facebook and Twitter
Will Chen / Facebook Blog:
A New Tune for Facebook Gifts — We're continuing to enhance the Facebook Gift Shop so you have more ways to express your appreciation for the people in your life. A couple months ago, we took a first step by testing new types of gifts created by developers, including e-cards …
Discussion: Computerworld, The Social, Inside Facebook, VentureBeat, TechCrunch and Mashable!
Owen Fletcher / Computerworld: Google, Facebook to offer music sales
Caroline McCarthy / The Social: Facebook's Gift Shop gets down to business
Justin Smith / Inside Facebook: Facebook Expands Virtual Goods Business with Licensed Music and Sports Gifts
Kim-Mai Cutler / VentureBeat: Facebook dives deeper into virtual goods with music, sports
Leena Rao / TechCrunch: Facebook's Gift Shop Sings A New Tune
Barb Dybwad / Mashable!: Facebook Adds Digital Music to Gift Store
Brad Stone / Bits:
Hot on Heels of Google, Facebook to Take First Step Into Music — Several reports Wednesday indicate that Google is set to roll-out a music service at an event at the iconic Capitol Records building in Hollywood next Wednesday. The service, we've confirmed from three people briefed on the details …
Discussion: New York Times, Kindle Review, Pocket-lint.com, VentureBeat, The Social, NBC Bay Area, Reuters, Media Decoder, WebProNews and GigaOM
Brad Stone / New York Times: Facebook and Google Expected to Offer Music
Duncan Geere / Pocket-lint.com: Facebook adds music to gift store
Kim-Mai Cutler / VentureBeat: More details: Facebook, Lala turn music tracks into virtual gifts
Caroline McCarthy / The Social: Facebook COO: No PayPal killer, ad network—yet
Yinka Adegoke / Reuters: Google, labels partner on music search: sources
Doug Caverly / WebProNews: Facebook Gift Shop May Soon Get Songs
Paul Bonanos / GigaOM: Facebook Users Will Soon Be Able to Give the Gift of Music
Peter Burrows / Tech Beat:
LaLa's Big Day — Earlier today, I spoke with Lala Media …
LaLa's Big Day — Earlier today, I spoke with Lala Media …
Discussion: The Register, L.A. Times Tech Blog and TechCrunch
Andrew Orlowski / The Register: You will learn to love Google's sorry music widget
Jon Healey / L.A. Times Tech Blog: The Internet: a place to pay for music?
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch: Google To Partner With iLike And LaLa For New Music Service
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
How The iPhone Is Blowing Everyone Else Away (In Charts) — Yesterday at the Web 2.0 Summit, Morgan Stanley Internet analyst Mary Meeker did her annual data dump slide presentation, this year focusing on the growth prospects of the mobile Web. As usual, there were 3 or 4 slides …
Discussion: Softpedia News, bijan sabet, ClipperHouse, Gizmodo, MobileContentToday and Kelsey Group Blogs
Dan Nosowitz / Gizmodo: Graphs and Charts Prove iPhone to Be the Most Successful Gadget Ever (Sort of)
Todd Ogasawara / MobileContentToday: AT&T Wireless iPhone Driven Data Traffic Up 4,900% in 3 Years …
Wilson Rothman / Gizmodo:
Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming — In the first segment of our exclusive Steve Ballmer interview series, the Microsoft CEO and I talk about Natal, the blurring of console generations, and the surprising assertion that "you'll be able to get" Blu-ray add-on drives for Xbox 360.
Discussion: I4U News, VG247, Pocket-lint.com, SlashGear, GamesIndustry.biz and Kotaku
Luigi Lugmayr / I4U News: Xbox 360 Gets A Blu-ray Drive Says Steve Ballmer?
Johnny Cullen / VG247: Ballmer: 360 will get "Blu-ray drives as accessories"
Duncan Geere / Pocket-lint.com: Blu-ray coming to Xbox 360
Chris Davies / SlashGear: Ballmer confirms Xbox 360 Blu-ray accessory?
Scott MacKintosh / GamesIndustry.biz: Ballmer hints at Blu-ray accessories for Xbox 360
Brian Ashcraft / Kotaku: Ballmer: You'll Be Able To Get Blu-ray Drives As Accessories
Prince McLean / AppleInsider:
Apple's new 27 inch iMac designed to also work as a display — Apple has designed its new 27" iMac model to serve as an external display for DisplayPort devices such as recent MacBook and MacBook Pros. — The new model is the first all-in-one system from Apple that doubles as an external display.
Discussion: Computerworld
Seth Weintraub / Computerworld: Apple's new 27-inch iMac is its crown jewel
Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
Toshiba Dynario fuel-cell: the battery revolution begins October 29th — We can hardly believe it but the day has finally arrived: Toshiba just launched the first Dynario fuel-cell for portable consumer electronics. That's right, the long promised and highly anticipated direct methanol fuel-cell …
Discussion: Toshiba
Robert MacMillan / MediaFile:
MySpace: A place for musicians... and their friends — It appears to be Music Wednesday on the Internet. On the same day that reports began circulating that Google and Facebook will launch a host of new music features, News Corp's MySpace is turning up the volume on its own music offering.
Discussion: TechCrunch, The Social, VentureBeat, Mediaweek, Variety and MySpace Press Room
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch: MySpace Adds Full Music Video Archives, Deep Artist Analytics
Caroline McCarthy / The Social: MySpace blasts out new music features
Kim-Mai Cutler / VentureBeat: Web 2.0: MySpace launches music video hub, artists dashboard
Antony Bruno / Mediaweek: MySpace Music Ramps Up User, Content Experience
Marc Graser / Variety: MySpace to become entertainment hub
Matthew Garrahan / Financial Times:
MySpace abandons race with Facebook
MySpace abandons race with Facebook
Discussion: SocialTimes.com
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Web 2.0 Summit: V For Van Natta: The Socialization Of Content
Web 2.0 Summit: V For Van Natta: The Socialization Of Content
Discussion: Bits and NewTeeVee, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Brad Stone / Bits: New MySpace C.E.O. Reaches Beyond the Social Network
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee: MySpace Adds Music Videos
Marguerite Reardon / CNET News:
Verizon CEO slams Net neutrality — CHICAGO—The day before the FCC is expected to start the ball rolling on new regulations to keep the Internet open, Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg painted a doomsday picture of what could happen in the industry if stricter rules are imposed.
Discussion: Gizmodo, eWeek, Open Internet Coalition, dailywireless.org, internetnews.com and techblog.dallasnews.com
Dan Nosowitz / Gizmodo: More Net Neutrality Bashing From Verizon CEO
Sam Churchill / dailywireless.org: FCC Neutrality Ruling Tomorrow
Victor Godinez / techblog.dallasnews.com: AT&T asks employees to protest possible net neutrality rules
Cecilia Kang / Post Tech:
New BFFs Verizon, Google agree on net neutrality, except for wireless
New BFFs Verizon, Google agree on net neutrality, except for wireless
Discussion: Engadget Mobile and Maximum PC
Chris Ziegler / Engadget Mobile: Google, Verizon team up to throw support behind FCC's net neutrality push
Ryan Whitwam / Maximum PC: Verizon Vehemently Against Wireless Net Neutrality
John Furrier / The SiliconANGLE:
Exclusive: Mike Schroepfer on Cloud Collision and Scaling Facebook [Interview] — Mike Schroepfer spoke today at the Web 2.0 Summit, and dropped the now headlined factoid that the site's 300 million users spend a collective 8 billion minutes on the site each day.
Discussion: VentureBeat, Thanks:ethanbauley
Kim-Mai Cutler / VentureBeat: Web 2.0: Facebook's challenges in scaling to 300 million users
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
The Web Spends 8 Billion Minutes Online Everyday Using Facebook
The Web Spends 8 Billion Minutes Online Everyday Using Facebook
Discussion: Softpedia News, Technologizer, VentureBeat, GigaOM, The SiliconANGLE and CNET News
Harry McCracken / Technologizer: Is Twitter Basically Broken?
Jennifer Martinez / GigaOM: Facebook Users Spend 8 Billion Minutes/Day on the Site
Neil Hughes / AppleInsider:
Apple's new iMacs viewed as boon for sagging desktop sales — While sales of portable machines saw tremendous growth during Apple's last financial quarter, desktop sales lagged behind. But the release of new iMacs this week is predicted to change that in a big way. — Piper Jaffray
Discussion: Macsimum News
Dennis Sellers / Macsimum News: Analyst: new iMacs will spur Apple desktop sales
Peter Burrows / Business Week: Apple Shares Hit Intraday High
Kim-Mai Cutler / VentureBeat:
Facebook shows off new homepage for touchscreen phones — Facebook is testing a new mobile homepage designed for touchscreen phones. You can try it here at http://touch.facebook.com. After launching apps for both the iPhone and Google's Android platform, Facebook still has to work …
Discussion: Geekword
Muhammad Ali / Geekword: Facebook reveals a new hompage for Touchscreen phones
Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
Amazon's international Kindle surprises owners with $20 refund, limited web browsing — The only thing better than unannounced functionality is an automatic, surprise refund on your purchase. With the international version of Amazon's 6-inch Kindle you get both.
Discussion: TeleRead, Kindle Review, Digit - Tech News, Gadget Lab and SlashGear
David Rothman / TeleRead: No more domestic-only Kindle 2: Amazon intros $259 K2 price …
Charlie Sorrel / Gadget Lab: Hands-On With the International Kindle and Its Surprise Web Access
Chris Davies / SlashGear: Amazon axe US-only Kindle, international Kindle now $259
Daniel Shen / DigiTimes:
Android-powered HTC Hero smartphones in tight supply, says HTC executive — The HTC Hero smartphones from HTC (High Tech Computer) are currently enjoying brisk sales in the markets in Europe and Asia, causing tight production at HTC, according to Jack Tong, vice president of Asia Pacific at HTC.
Discussion: Android Central, MobileContentToday, Pocket-lint.com, Android Phone Fans and IntoMobile
Casey Chan / Android Central: HTC Exec Says HTC Hero In High Demand
Todd Ogasawara / MobileContentToday: HTC Android Smartphone Supply Issues Could Kickstart Motorola …
Duncan Geere / Pocket-lint.com: HTC Hero "in short supply"
Rob Jackson / Android Phone Fans: HTC Hero Selling Like Hotcakes
Will Park / IntoMobile: HTC struggling to keep up with Hero demand


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NFL Football 2013: 5 Things We Learned From Week 12
Quarterbacks came up big in Sunday's key games, as playoff races took shape. Here are five things we learned in Week 12:
The Packers Can't Win a Game Without Aaron Rodgers
The Green Bay Packers (5-5-1) rallied from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Minnesota Vikings (2-8-1) to send the game into overtime tied at 26. And, that was how the contest ended. Backup quarterback Matt Flynn bailed the Packers out of the hole, but he didn't deliver the team's first win since Aaron Rodgers' left collarbone injury on Nov. 4 against the Bears. The Packers have now tried three arms — Seneca Wallace, Scott Tolzien and Flynn — to equal the one Rodgers' didn't injure. Hurry back, Aaron.
Cam Newton Is Becoming a Superstar
Overshadowed by young quarterbacks like Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck in 2012, Cam Newton has stolen back the spotlight by leading the Carolina Panthers (8-3) toward a playoff spot. Newton led his team back from a 13-point, first-half deficit against the Dolphins (5-6) in Miami on Sunday. He capped off his second late comeback in seven days with a 1-yard TD pass to Greg Olsen with 43 seconds to play, which gave Carolina a 20-16 win. Newton is on pace for career-bests in touchdown passes, completion percentage and QB rating, and he's winning games with his head (and his arm), instead of his feet.
The Chiefs Defense Is a Mess
The Chiefs' defense let the team down for the second week in a row. Chargers' quarterback Philip Rivers scorched Kansas City (9-2) for 392 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's 41-38 win, including a 26-yard scoring toss to Seyi Ajirotutu with 24 seconds to play. It doesn't get easier for the Chiefs. They'll face the Broncos for the second time in three weeks next Sunday, and they could be without pass rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, both of whom were injured against San Diego (5-6). No pass rush against Peyton Manning? What could go wrong?
Tony Romo Can Be Clutch, Too
Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo is often maligned for the team's losses. His performance in Sunday's 24-21 win over the Giants could help his reputation. After leading Dallas (6-5) to a commanding 21-6 lead in the third quarter, Romo engineered a 14-play drive that set up Dan Bailey's game-winning 35-yard field goal on the final play. The loss may have finally ended the post-season hopes of the Giants (4-7). Cowboys' fans were probably just glad Romo helped end someone else's season instead of theirs.
Tom Brady Is Never Out of a Game
When the Denver Broncos (9-2) broke out to a 24-0 first-half lead on Sunday night, some viewers in the TV audience may have switched over to the American Music Awards' broadcast. They missed a virtuoso performance from Tom Brady & the Pats. Brady threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns, as New England (8-3) came back to win 34-31 in overtime. The Patriots got lucky in the extra session as Ryan Allen's punt bounced and hit Denver's Tony Carter. New England recovered to set up Stephen Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal with 1:56 left in OT. There was nothing lucky about the way Brady erased the 24-point deficit by the 13:13 mark of the fourth quarter. Fans in New England certainly haven't grown tired of Brady's predictable success.

subset: commoncrawl


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All this talk about finding your tribe. It's so rewarding to connect to people with similar world views. True peers.
As we seek our global niche, we're integrating across all sorts of out-moded boundaries. You could also say we're segregating along the lines of our true selves.
Perusing a Berkeley Grade School Photos group at Facebook, I marvel at the sea of white faces in the hill school districts in the '40s to early '60s — all those boys in their khaki Cub Scout regalia, an aggressive club requirement on picture day. Although the town's schools were segregated simply by neighborhood, socioeconomic class lines also cut along race so Berkeley voluntarily desegregated itself, one of the first mid-sized American cities to do so. The integration program is reflected in a sudden appearance of multiracial group portraits.
Around the same time, the local government voted to rename its schools, exchanging African American civil rights leaders for the nation's founding fathers. In a major gilding of the lily, Lincoln became Malcolm X.
At 9, I was bussed to the flatlands to an institution still bearing the name of a gentle Yankee poet. Its yard littered in glass, a burned out car lodged in a stairwell on a Monday morning. A hardcore new learning environment, and new peers!
Perhaps my parents skewed the fuller lesson in ethnic and socioeconomic diversity by signing me up for the academically competitive Asian Cluster classes, which confined me to rooms where Japanese, Filipino and Chinese students gathered. Integration has its casualties too.
What casualties of integration — or segregation — litter the path to finding your tribe?
This blog has moved. Comment here.


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Brian Wingard
"If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth" (Col. 3:1-2).
"If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable" (1 Cor. 15:19).
Among the Kalenjins of western Kenya, there was a time that the report of a dead body in the bush meant a detour to avoid contact with it. The Kikuyu of central Kenya would burn a house containing a corpse, so that no one would have to touch the dead body. Before the gospel came to these tribes, death was truly an "unspeakable enemy."
Western culture has its own methods of keeping the knowledge of death at arm's length. People do not die; they "pass away." Cemeteries are called "gardens of rest." Mortuaries are "funeral homes, "containing "slumber rooms." At one time these terms might have reflected the Christian faith that death is not the end. Today, however, they largely serve the same purpose as pre-Christian African customs.
Wherever he lives, unbelieving man has been subject all his life to the bondage of the fear of death (Heb. 2:15). Ultimately the gospel is "good news" because it proclaims that "death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor. 15:54).
"I am the resurrection and the life," said our Lord to Martha. "He who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and he who lives and believes in me shall never die." He then asked her, "Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26). What answer would we give to our Savior's question?
Of course we believe this! But do we live as if this truth were not very central to our life?
Karl Marx described Christianity as "the opiate of the people" because it directed the thoughts of the masses toward the hope of a blessed afterlife, while blinding them to the oppression that they were suffering in this life. Although the church has always repudiated the charge of Marx, there has been a tendency in this century, even in orthodox circles, to downplay the hope of glory. You may hear slighting references to "pie in the sky" religion, or to someone being "so heavenly-minded that he's no earthly good."
There are many who say that unless Christianity has solutions for the here-and-now problems of life, it is of little use. They want a faith that offers solutions to personal, social, and economic problems. The gospel must show that it has "real and practical" benefits for everyday life. Christ is to be presented as the one who will make us happy, satisfied, and fulfilled.
This is, to some extent, a reaction against certain excesses in the church. There was the monasticism of the medieval church that equated holiness with separation from ordinary life in order to pursue a life of contemplation. There has also been the danger of Adventism, which has urged Christians to lay aside the pursuits of everyday life to await the imminent return of Christ. Then there have been those who have taught that the evils of society are to be expected, that things are going to get worse and worse, and that we can't do anything about them anyway.
The Scriptures are clear indeed that these sorts of things are abuses. The Lord has placed us in this world to live in it; he has given us directions for living in it in a godly manner. The Bible also tells us that he has called us to serve him in our various callings in life. We are to do everything to the glory of God; we are to redeem the time, for the days are evil.
Too often, however, the church has overreacted to these abuses. If we define the word practical merely in terms of this life, we have forgotten our roots. The most practical living is living with our eyes fixed upon the eternal promises of God and the glory that is to be revealed, while our feet tread the byways of daily life.
It is not the heavenly mind, but the worldly mind, that renders one unfit for the exercise of godliness. It is the man whose mind is set on the things of this world who will become cynical, selfish, ambitious, proud, and prayerless. These are the attributes of unbelief and they are well cultivated when the eternal promises of the Lord are forgotten. When we begin to define faith as the expectation of the things that are seen, we have written a prescription that will produce these qualities in our life.
It is the fruit of the Spirit that enables one to live the truly practical Christian life, and the fruit of the Spirit receives the best cultivation in the life of the one whose mind is set upon the things of heaven.
Jesus said to his apostles, "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). How can we believe Jesus' words, if our mind is not fixed on heaven? How was it, indeed, that Jesus overcame the world? Was it not by his death, burial, and resurrection? If his triumph was won by a victory over the grave, we will be comforted by that triumph only if we have a view that looks beyond the grave.
But what is heavenly-mindedness? First of all, heavenly-mindedness is characterized by a zeal for the worship of God. As activism in the church increases, the place of worship decreases. The value of the public assembly of Christians on the Lord's Day is more and more belittled. If it is believed that there is good in it, then that good tends to be explained by the psychological effect that worship will produce in people or by its effect on the rest of the week.
There is surprisingly little appreciation of worship for its own sake. Even the benefit of hymn singing and prayer has come to be viewed as the "uplift" that it gives to the participants, not because of the praise that is rendered to Almighty God thereby. Many professing Christians say that they don't go to morning or evening worship anymore because they "don't get anything out of it." How many times have they considered whether God "got anything" out of their worship when they did go?
Am I saying that the preaching of the Word on the Lord's Day is to be of no benefit to the Christian in his daily walk? By no means! But the practical importance of the sermon should not obscure the truth that worship is directed toward God. The sermon has a positive effect on daily life because it calls forth the obedience of God's people as he speaks to them from his Word, and this is in itself a most essential part of worship.
How does the apostle Paul define the "ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" that brings the wrath of God upon them (Rom. 1:18)? Is it murder, robbery, adultery, or homosexuality? As terrible as these sins are, they are not mentioned in his definition. Instead, he defines man's fundamental apostasy in this way: "Because that knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks" (vs. 21). The central crime of unbelieving man is his failure to worship God as God. The heavenly-minded man knows this, and he understands that at the heart of all true, biblical religion is the necessity of having God for God's own sake.
In the second place, heavenly-mindedness is characterized by a whole-souled embracing of all the promises of God as his eternal promises. That means that one's assurance of the fulfillment of these promises is more meaningful than any present experience. This characteristic makes the heavenly-minded Christian victorious. Christian endurance through sufferings and persecutions is really possible only when God's promise of eternal glory looms larger than the "sufferings of the present age" (Rom. 8:18). The faith that is represented in chapter 11 of Hebrews is neither the "stiff upper lip" of the British nor the stoicism of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Christian endurance is victory and conquest. For this reason the Bible calls on us to rejoice! The imagination of the heavenly-minded Christian is fired by the victory that is won in Christ's eternal kingdom and will be realized there.
But if Christians try to evaluate the promises of God according to worldly expectations, they put themselves in danger of exhibiting the same small-minded concentration on this world that characterized the unbelieving Israelites who attempted to evaluate God's covenant promises given to Abraham.
Moreover, if we don't see God's promises as eternal promises, we will not know how to deliver them to others. Unless the promises of God are eternal, we have nothing meaningful to say to those who question us concerning the "hope that is within" us (1 Pet. 3:15).
Even worse, if we do not have the eternal promises of God, we will be tempted to make promises for God that he has no intention of honoring. We cannot promise the anxious parent that the leukemia from which his child suffers will be removed. We cannot promise the man facing financial ruin that his debts will be paid. There is always the temptation to tell suffering people that everything will be all right, yet in this life everything will not be all right. Only if we have embraced the eternal promises of God, can we approach others with a truly meaningful promise from God.
This implies a mind-set that rejects worldly values and worldly wisdom. American culture points with admiration to the one who exercises "hardheaded common sense." The heavenly-minded person understands that this is likely to be hard-heartedness.
Worldly wisdom asks of life, "What's in it for me? Will it make me happy, rich, famous, or fulfilled?" But a heavenly-minded person asks, "How may I glorify God in my life?"
The worldly person looks at the eternal promises of God and asks, "What good are they, if they don't deliver the goods right now?" Such a person considers a blessing promised for the future to be worthless. But to the heavenly-minded person, the value of God's promises is not based on the speed with which they are fulfilled, but on the faithfulness of the God who gave them.
Someone may charge that the Christianity of which I have written is "irrelevant." We often hear that we must speak to people where they are at, and where they are at is very clearly in this world. How long, however, are they in this world? The "rich fool" thought he would be in this world long enough to build and use bigger barns; the Lord, however, had other plans for him (Luke 12:15-21)!
Yes, God in his Word does instruct us how to live in this world, but the principal goal of the gospel is to equip us for the world to come. Only the heavenly-minded will be properly equipped!
Dr. Wingard is an OP missionary to Kenya. His Bible quotations are mostly based on the KJV. Reprinted from New Horizons, December 1996.
|© 2020 The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Chaplains and Military Personnel


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Health care officials warn of state cut consequences
DANBURY -- Three years ago, nurse Andy Hull wrestled an 85-year-old patient, who was suffering from dementia, to the floor at Danbury Hospital. The patient reached out, gun in hand, and shot Hull three times.
Hull, 38, has recovered. He works at the hospital as a nurse-educator, training the medical and nursing staff, and credits the hospital for helping him get well, physically and psychologically.
He's not political. But when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced cuts in his proposed state budget that would strip Western Connecticut Health Network -- Danbury and New Milford Hospitals -- of about $35 million over three years, Hull wanted to speak up.
"The impact will be devastating,'' Hull said. "If you want to eviscerate a community, you pull the money for health resources.''
Hull is one of many voices objecting to Malloy's cuts that would reduce state funds to all state hospitals by $550 million within three years.
"This could be absolutely catastrophic,'' said Michelle Sharp, spokeswoman for the Connecticut Hospital Association. "It will hurt the patients, the employees, the communities.''
Getting no relief from the Malloy administration to its objections, state hospitals are taking their fight to the General Assembly, where legislators must pass a budget.
So far, Sharp said, more than 70,000 people have voiced displeasure with the cuts. There's a website -- protectmyhospitalct.org -- where people can go to comment.
"They're coming from everywhere,'' she said.
The cuts, by themselves, would be hard for any institution to absorb. But Malloy's proposal is coming in the midst of other serious changes that have forced hospitals to economize as much as possible.
The changes wrought by the Affordable Care Act -- aka Obamacare -- will alter the finances of health care institutions across the country when they start going into effect in 2014.
"We are considering it a perfect storm,'' said Steven Rosenberg, chief financial officer for the Western Connecticut Health Network.
The cuts the Malloy administration are proposing come from its compensation from what used to be called its State-Administered General Assistance, or SAGA, grants made to hospitals for uncompensated care -- unpaid bills from adults not eligible for Medicaid.
According to Western Connecticut Health Network, the gap between what the state was paying in SAGA grants and what those uncompensated costs actually cost the hospitals grew through the last decade as the state cut its contribution.
But in 2010, under the Affordable Care Act, the hospitals and the state agreed to enroll those patients under an expanded Medicaid program.
Under the new system, hospitals agreed to pay a tax to the state. In return, the state promised to use increased federal subsidies to reimburse the hospitals for that tax.
The system worked at first.
In 2012, the hospitals paid $350 million in taxes, and got $400 million in subsidies.
What the Malloy administration now is proposing is to cut the subsidies from $400 million in 2012 to about $81.5 million by 2015, while the hospitals continue to pay about $350 million a year in taxes.


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It's been a very long offseason for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and it won't be ending until at least four weeks into the regular season. But Big Ben's suspension doesn't preclude him from playing in preseason games, and that means Roethlisberger can and will see time against the Giants on Saturday night.
Ed Bouchette at the Post Gazette got confirmation from Steelers OC Bruce Arians.
While coach Mike Tomlin declined to reveal his plans for Roethlisberger, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians spilled the beans after practice Monday.
"Ben's going to play this week," Arians announced.
I find it somewhat odd that Big Ben was held out of the preseason opener against Detroit, a home game, and instead will play for the first time since his assault allegations in front of what will almost certainly be an openly hostile New Jersey crowd that has batteries with his name on them ready to go. Seriously, they are going to lay into that guy, which is cutely hypocritical, given that Meadowlands crowds have never exactly been friendly to the ladies.
Granted, there's no right place for Roethlisberger to take the field after his assault charges. He's going to get booed anywhere he goes, even at home. In fact, holding out the home opener suggests that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin feared Big Ben would be booed even more lustily by his own fans than by a road crowd.
I don't really buy that. I think Pittsburgh's dislike for Roethlisberger was more wishful thinking by the media than anything else. Starting him out on the road suggests that Tomlin and company would prefer to have Ben get his first batch of abuse in a road environment, where it will be certainly expected, perhaps to sway Steelers fans back in his favor. Hey, they can't boo Ben! Only WE can do that!
The question is: How will Ben stand up to all this? Saturday night will mark only the beginning of what will be a year of relentless and brutal taunting, and media scrutiny surrounding that relentless and brutal taunting.
Will that affect his play? Will he be the same quarterback he was before the proverbial fit hit the shan? Well, Ben never struck anyone as the particularly introspective sort. I'm not even sure he has an inner monologue. So if anyone can fend off the cries of CRIMINAL , it's probably a big lug who's never seemed to care about what people think. We'll find out in three days.


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Explore San Ysidro
Located off I-5 and I-805, minutes from The Plaza De Las Americas Outlet Mall
Plan your next getaway and book a room at Travelodge San Ysidro hotel. Conveniently located off I-5 and I-805, our hotel near San Diego is the ideal starting place for your next adventure. Our hotel provides friendly service and easy access to area attractions.


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HARRISBURG — Court Administrator of Pennsylvania Zygmont A. Pines is urging residents across the Commonwealth to be wary of prank phone calls and text messages about jury duty.
District court administrators said there have been several instances statewide of citizens who received a phone call or text message from family members or friends, saying that their names appear in the local newspaper for failing to appear at jury duty.
The call then directs them to dial a phone number where a recorded message advises them they failed to appear for jury duty and face either a $500 fine or a 30-day jail sentence. The message ends by saying the call is a joke, and that the number ought to be forwarded to others to prolong the hoax.
"This prank is causing confusion and anxiety and has resulted in disruptions and undue work for court employees, which translates to a waste of tax dollars," Pines said.
"Please don't forward these messages if you receive one. Our focus needs to be on providing the efficient administration of justice for the Commonwealth and its citizens."
If someone has a question about a jury service call they are encouraged to call their county court administrator's office, Pines said. A complete listing of court administrators is available on the Pennsylvania Judiciary Web site.


text: School Board meetings are held in the boardroom of the Administration Building, 200 North High Street, on the second Tuesday of every month at 5:30 PM. The public is encouraged to attend. A time of open forum is held at the beginning of every meeting to allow the public to address the board.


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by Barbara Sherf
Supporters of Chestnut Hill Friends new meetinghouse learned Oct. 26 at a fundraising campaign kick-off event that the meeting had already raised $2.63 million towards the $3 million needed for the building that will be erected next to the current meetinghouse at 100 E. Mermaid Lane. The meeting had already raised $2.8 million of the $5.8 million total cost of the project.
Titled "Building in the Light: The Campaign for Chestnut Hill Friends New Meetinghouse Project," includes as a centerpiece a "Skyspace" by world-renowned contemporary American artist James Turrell.
The meeting room will feature a Turrell Skyspace, an aperture in the ceiling with a retractable roof, coved ceiling, and recessed lighting, which focuses one's gaze on the beauty of the ever-changing sky overhead and induces silent reflection. It will be open at least twice a week at regularly scheduled, published times, with opportunities to open it more frequently upon request.
Speaking at the gathering of donors, neighbors, meeting members and local leaders, Jon Landau, campaign co-chair, said contributions to date have come from meeting members, other Quakers, art enthusiasts and supporters across the Philadelphia region. Last year the project received one of the largest grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The $2.63 million raised to date, added to the $2.8 million previously identified by Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting from other sources – including Turrell's donated design fees – mean that the project needs to raise another $370,000 to meet the $5.8 million total projected cost of the new meetinghouse.
Groundbreaking for the new building is planned for spring of 2012, with the building opening in the summer of 2013.
"We are launching the public part of this to get the community involved," Landau said. "This is a very important part of the fundraising where we invite the public to give as much as possible over the next six months. We need the larger community to help us close that gap."
Landau thanked everyone for their support and expressed the hope that with the official opening of the campaign many more people will learn about the project through a series of events over the coming months and consider contributing to it.
"We are delighted by the enthusiasm with which people and grant makers have welcomed our plans for a new meetinghouse with a Skyspace by James Turrell and a garden open to the public," Landau said. "The generosity of all those who have already contributed to this undertaking has been inspiring – it's been a struggle, but it's been a wonderful struggle."
Other speakers at the event were Glenn Bergman, general manager of Weavers Way Co-op; Rabbi George Stern, who recently stepped down as executive director of the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, and Jordan Bastien of Chestnut Hill, who served as the former director of the Andrea Rosen Gallery in New York.
"When I saw last fall's article about it in the Local, I threw myself at this project," Bastien said. "In my career as a contemporary art dealer, I've had the privilege of traveling the world and seeing a lot of amazing art. When I was preparing for a trip to Houston, every artist and collector I asked for recommendations on what to see said, 'the one thing you can't miss is the Skyspace in the Quaker meetinghouse.'"
Bergman endorsed the project as a community resource.
"This will be a remarkable venue for gatherings of local groups, a new garden for all to enjoy and a means of further knitting together the Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy neighborhoods," he said.
Rabbi Stern said people of all faith backgrounds would appreciate the Turrell Skyspace as a place for quiet contemplation.
"It is expected that visitors from all walks of life and of all faiths will appreciate this urban oasis just off Germantown Avenue and take the opportunity to also explore a currently little-used section of Fairmount Park that runs alongside the site," Stern said.
Built in 1931, the current meetinghouse in Chestnut Hill is no longer able to accommodate the needs of the growing Quaker community. After years of discussion and consideration, the Meeting decided to build a simple, two-story L-shaped building using environmentally friendly and sustainable building practices and materials on a wooded 1.8 acre-site on Mermaid Lane close to its current location. What is now an asphalt-covered former quarry will become a green oasis between Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy. The project has received support from many groups, including Friends of the Wissahickon.
For more information about Chestnut Hill Friends Meetinghouse project, visit http://www.chfmnewmeetinghouse.org/


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Hi Friends! I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day! I was pleasantly surprised by mine and I couldn't be happier that the weekend is here! Today's Fashion Friday theme is Red + Pink...oh-so appropriate for this week. As you know, pink is my favorite color so this outfit was really fun to put together. Take a look at all the pretty things I found...
{Shop it Here}
I am loving this dress! It's so cute and very Valentine appropriate. I paired it up with red peep toes, a pink clutch, an MK watch, a dainty bracelet and pretty pink earrings. I'm loving this whole look!
What about you? Would you wear this?
Are you crushing on this color combination?
Are you crushing on this color combination?
Here's wishing you a fantastic weekend full of all the things you love!
Enjoy every minute and be sure to check back next week for the Weekend Update.
I'm linking up with Long Distance Loving for Friday's Fancies.
Be sure to hop over and check out the link up!


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"The collaboration between the three universities is an Australian first. It is to deliver data centre capacity at a lower cost than could be achieved independently, while securing greater flexibility and setting high standards for sustainability."
Professor Margaret Gardner, AO, RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President
Weta Digital is a five-time Academy Award® winning visual effects and digital production services facility based in Wellington, New Zealand. Its reputation for creativity and delivery keeps it in high demand with some of the world's leading film studios, and film credits include The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Avatar and The Adventures of Tintin.
Weta Digital is a compute-intensive business, particularly since the production of the film Avatar (2009), which saw it build a data centre to house the largest number of CPU cores in the southern hemisphere at that time. Avatar used over 1 petabyte (1,000 terabytes) of storage for the rendering of its 3D CGI effects.
Much of Weta Digital's global reputation is in its ability to push creative and technical boundaries. Active in practical and foundational research, it has partnerships with a range of top research institutions around the globe.
Weta Digital has three petabytes (or 3,000 terabytes) of storage online at any one time. Its product array resold by Fujitsu includes NetApp storage and Brocade, Juniper and Arista networking equipment. The company's render wall contains 5,000 compact and efficient HP Blade servers.
The organisation is composed of over 800 crew at any given time across multiple local sites, linked via a private fibre network. The network features a 10 gigabit core and 200 gigabits per second of capacity to the renderwall.
To provide IT infrastructure procurement and maintenance of high capacity systems in keeping with Weta Digital's international reputation for pushing technical and creative boundaries in delivering award-winning feature films.
Download the Weta Digital case study (559 KB/A4, 2 pages)
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Category Archives: Business
Category: Business
Amazing Things To Do In Cornwall This Year
Summer holidays are always an exciting time for everyone – with the kids out of school and adventures to be had, picking the right one for everyone's tastes can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. If you find yourself going on the same holidays year in, year out, it can get a bit tiresome,
Summer Fun In Cornwall
Source Are you a fan of Cornwall and exploring all there is to see and do in this unique, sprawling part of the UK? Surrounded on almost all sides by Atlantic coastline and with a rich maritime history, it's no wonder people from around the world descend on the area time and again to experience
Characteristics of a Great Dentist
If you have dreams of one day becoming a dentist then it is important that beyond the educational side of things, that you also possess the characteristics which all great dentists should. I often speak with kids at schools in my area to offer them tips on different career choices and I usually like
How to Spot a Bad Dentist
Having spent many years in Northern Ireland myself and my family now have the best dentist Belfast has to offer, but it wasn't always this way. In fat for many years we went from one dentist to another trying to get the best possible dental care for my family. Somewhat surprisingly there are many
5 Reasons Why You May Need Emergency Dental Treatment
If you had a dental emergency today, who would you call? Let's assume that your regular dentist can't fit you in, what would be your plan B? The answer for most of us is that we do not have a plan B which means we would be frantically looking for the closest dental consultants to us,
What To Look For in a Great Dental Practice
Whether you have just moved somewhere new or you are simply looking to upgrade your dental care knowing what to look for in a great dental practice is essential. I went to a dentist in Cardiff for many years simply because it was most convenient and it wasn't until I needed an emergency appointment elsewhere
What Your Car Says About You
Successful entrepreneurs know that every opportunity is valuable. First impressions can be the difference between getting that contract, investor, meeting, or not. Taking care of every part of how you present yourself is an absolutely essential part of your job. That includes your hygiene, clothes, work, and yes, even your car. You don't want to
If You Love Technology…
If You Love Technology Then You Are Going to Fall Head Over Heels for the Samsung Galaxy S8 (and Plus) If you have been holding to your trusty handset for longer than its expected life, just hoping for the perfect phone to be released be worthy of your hard earned money, then today is the
Is there a set up fee for MAS?
If you are a new entrepreneur, you probably already know that money can be tight! That is why you should reach out to the merchant account services provider that offers you the best deal at the best price, without compromising on customer service in the process. Merchant Account Solutions, for example, is a
Does CBD Promote Bone Growth?
In a recent study, rats were administered one type of cannabinoid (CBD) and they showed marked improvement in healing from bone fractures. This study appeared in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, and it seems to indicate that the animals were less likely to have a re-fracture after bone healing. The same can't be


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Reuters | May 07, 2013
China raises concerns about EU-US plans for free-trade pact
BRUSSELS — China has raised concerns about European Union plans to negotiate an ambitious free-trade deal with the United States, fearing it is a protectionist move, a senior EU official said on Tuesday.
Chinese officials queried EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton about the issue when she visited Beijing at the end of April for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other Chinese leaders.
The 27-nation EU and the United States aim to launch negotiations on a transatlantic free-trade deal by the end of June, with discussions set to last at least two years.
China worried about whether the plan was "a pulling of the wagons into a circle to ... insulate the transatlantic economy from the rest of the world or is it, as we argue, even greater opening of both economies," the EU official said, briefing journalists on condition he was not further identified.
The EU argues that a deal would strongly benefit the United States and the EU but other countries would also profit from the expansion of trade and investment across the Atlantic.
"That was the reassurance we gave to the Chinese," the official said.
The European Union is China's biggest trading partner.
Chinese officials raised the possibility of Beijing negotiating its own free-trade agreement with the EU, a prospect that the EU official did not rule out "in the medium to longer term."
A transatlantic trade deal could add 0.5 and 0.4 percent respectively to European and U.S. gross domestic product, according to a European Commission report, although it could take a decade to deliver those effects.


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It's just about that time again…the time every year when Intuit discontinues supporting an older version of QuickBooks. This is called "sunsetting" a version.
As usual, it's the version from 3 years back. So QuickBooks Pro 2010, QuickBooks Premier 2010, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 10, and QuickBooks for Mac 2010 will all be unsupported by Intuit after May 31 of this year.
That means that you won't be able to get tech support from Intuit for these products. (You can still get database repair, Enterprise downgrade, or supercondense services through us however, even after the version is sunsetted.)
If you call up Intuit tech support after May 31, they will probably tell you you have to upgrade to a supported version before they can help you.
But a lot of people use QuickBooks without a support plan. Would they be affected? Yes, if they are using Intuit services related to QuickBooks:
* QuickBooks payroll services of any kind
* Intuit merchant services
* Bill payment services
* Online banking
* Email services through Intuit's servers
* QuickBooks online backup service
Basically, if your copy of QuickBooks 2010 has to reach out to Intuit on the internet to do any of its functions, those functions won't work anymore after May 31.
Also, if you need to register or re-register your QuickBooks 2010 software, you may not be able to. (See this blog article, however, for tips on a workaround for that.)
Options? Keep using your existing version without accessing the resources above. Or, upgrade to a newer, supported version.


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Show All Answers
We are happy to mail our brochures anywhere in the world. Please contact the Rio Rancho Convention and Visitors Bureau at (888) 746-7262 and we will answer your request promptly.
You may pick up brochures at the Chamber of Commerce located in the New Mexico Bank and Trust Building on Southern Boulevard at Highway 528 or at the Santa Ana Star Center.


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CBSE English Communicative Sample Paper for Class 9 CBSE exams for CBSE Students. Based on CBSE and CCE guidelines. The students should practice these Question Papers to gain perfection which will help him to get more marks in CBSE examination. Please refer to more CBSE Class 9 question papers in other links. The CBSE Question papers are prepared based on trend in past examinations and expected questions in CBSE exams. Its always recommended by CBSE to practice the papers released by CBSE to get better exams in CBSE exams. CBSE Last Year Question Papers for class 9 for final/ term/ SA1/ SA2 Examinations conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education for all CBSE affiliated schools in India and abroad. Please refer to more CBSE Class IX sample papers, question papers, HOTs etc in other links
Please refer to attached file for CBSE Class 9 English Comunicative Sample Paper 2014 (4)
Click for more English Study Material ›


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Oil prices were on the move today as fear rose over the potential for the events in Cyprus to damage the European economy, and after Schlumberger yesterday reported weaker-than-expected drilling activity in the U.S. during the first quarter. At 4:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Brent crude was down 1.74% to $107.61, and WTI crude was down 1.70% to $92.15. U.S. natural gas was up 2.09% to $3.96.
The top three
Today's oil and gas stock leader was Abraxas Petroleum (NASDAQ:AXAS), up 4.89% to $2.36. Abraxas is an exploration and production company focused on the Rocky Mountain region, Permian Basin, and Texas Gulf Coast Basin. In the middle of the day, the stock spiked to $2.54, giving it a gain of 12.9% for the day on no news -- but the stock quickly receded.
On Friday, Abraxas reported a mixed earnings release. Revenue was $19.1 million, higher than analyst expectations of $18.2 million. The company, however, reported a loss of $0.03 per share, while analysts had expected the company to break even this quarter.
Second among oil and gas stocks today was TransMontaigne Partners (NYSE:TMG), up 4.53% to $47.10. TransMontaigne is a master limited partnership that provides terminals, storage facilities, and pipelines throughout the southeastern United States. The stock is up 24% this year as investors clamor for yield. On Friday, the stock dropped 3.8% on no real news, and today's gain brought the stock back to the level before Friday's drop.
In a research note last Thursday, a Bank of America analyst went over why the company has a buy rating on the stock: TransMontaigne is relatively unlevered, has good growth prospects and the ability to fund them without raising additional capital, and could be an acquisition target if the industry continues to consolidate.
And in third place today was Warren Resources (NASDAQ: WRES), up 3.67% to $3.11. Warren Resources focuses on the Wilmington field in California and coalbed methane in the Rocky Mountain region. Two weeks ago, the company reported mixed earnings, and the stock is up 19% since then. CEO Philip Epstein said of the results: "We are in a strong financial position thanks to our continued drilling success in California. This financial strength will be helpful in implementing our new strategy of growing the company through acquisitions and joint ventures. As a result of drilling 17 new oil wells in California, our proved oil reserves increased by 9.5% during 2012 to 16.4 million barrels." While the company missed estimates on revenue, earnings per share of $0.04 were in line with analyst estimates.
Widely held oil and gas stocks
Among widely held stocks, Chesapeake Energy (OTC:CHKA.Q) was down 5.05%, for two reasons. First, Sterne Agee downgraded the stock to "underperform." Analysts are worried about the $3 billion funding gap between the company's expected cash flow and plans for capital expenditures. Second, Hess' (NYSE:HES) $265 million sale today of 43,000 acres in south Texas gives an implied value of $600 million for Chesapeake's stake in the area, below analysts' estimates of more than $1 billion.


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An anonymous (why? why?) reader writes:
"Your Jan. 2 column with nostalgic reminiscences of the Pomona/Ontario area was fascinating. I was pleased that Mr. Ruh included Buffums' in his list of once-upon-a-time stores; however, Buffums' was much more than white-gloved ladies having tea in the Palomares Room.
"Ronald Reagan visited Buffums' in the fall of 1965 to promote his book 'Where's the Rest of Me?' Elizabeth Taylor dropped in to buy travel tickets, taking time from filming scenes from 'The Sandpiper' in San Dimas. Jacqueline Kennedy assigned someone to select and send a gift to an acquaintance in Claremont. Mrs. Groucho Marx purchased children's clothes on occasion.
"Oh yes, Buffums' was the best of the best. And I am sure other former employees have more tales of this magical store. This, of course, is from a former Buffums' employee."
Nice of you to write, Former. He/she enclosed a photocopy of the Reagan book's title page, inscribed as follows: "With gratitude for a pleasant afternoon & Best Wishes, Ronald Reagan."
Buffums' was a classy SoCal department store chain — motto: "Southern California's Most Gifted Store" — and the Nordstrom of its day.
It was owned by the same family that produced Dorothy Buffum Chandler, without whom we wouldn't have the Music Center in downtown L.A. The Pomona store was built in 1962 on Palomares Street between Second and Third streets by architect Welton Becket (who also designed the Music Center…hmm). It marked the east end of the brand-new pedestrian mall.
Charles Phoenix's book — you've already ordered a copy, right? — has a full page on Buffums'. He describes the ornate interior in some detail. The store held on despite downtown's long decline, finally closing circa 1991, and as Phoenix notes, "the decorative furnishings were sold to the highest bidder."
The building was extensively remodeled and now is part of the Western University of Health Sciences, an osteopathic medical school.
Have memories of Buffums'? Share them below..


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Tag: man on the street
What's Your Energy IQ?
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READ THIS SECTION BEFORE WATCHING THE VIDEO ABOVE If you drive or ride in a car, then you burn gasoline, right? And it's likely blended with some stuff called ethanol. So it only makes sense that you really should ...


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Here's one way to tell if you're New Mexican, through and through. When Hatch flooded, did you have nightmares about chile dearth? Thought so.
We're delighted to report the annual Hatch Chile Festival came and went as usual, in all its pungent glory. And the precious peppers survived—most of them, at least. Some farmers did lose crops and, sadly, the town of Hatch didn't fare well either. But they're a sturdy bunch down there, and they're trying to dry out. The neverending monsoon season is making that difficult (seriously, New Mexico looks like Iowa these days).
This year at the Hatch festival, there were some new visitors in FEMA jackets wandering the municipal airport grounds. Perhaps they had their first green-
The harvest down south isn't over yet. Red chiles, which are green at first but allowed to ripen further, are harvested after the green. The two colors used to come from the same plant, but growers now plant special breeds for each. Red or green, farmers are having a hard time getting their pods out of the mud. And a wet chile is not a happy chile. Chiles thrive in toasty desert country. Farmers are worried the wet will bring "chile wilt," a fungus that destroys the plants and spreads fast.
Tiny Hatch (pop. 1,600) is the self-proclaimed "Chile Capital of the World." Our Land of Enchantment is the top producer of chiles in the country (you knew that), and the name "Hatch" indicates a bona fide pod. However, when asked why their chile is so good, most Hatch Valley natives don't offer a long narrative. "It just is," they say.
Farmers in the valley say their chile's superiority has to do with the rich soil and dry climate of the area—along with a history of developing and breeding chiles with folks at nearby New Mexico State University.
Not surprisingly, economic globalization has not been kind to Hatch Valley. The chile industry as a whole contributes more than $200 million to the state economy each year, and the value of harvested chile in 2005 was $47 million. (Doña Ana County, home of Hatch, produces nearly one-third of the state crop.) However, these numbers were much higher before 1994, when NAFTA was implemented. Since then, the United States has imported more and more cheap chile, particularly from Mexico. New Mexico chile farmers are still trying to figure out how to compete.
June Rutherford, who's been farming chile all of her 82 years, has noticed considerable change since NAFTA took effect. She used to export a large amount of chile to California. Now, none. Most chile is still harvested by hand, and so the cheaper labor in other countries continues to threaten what was once a lucrative endeavor. Researchers have not yet been able to perfect a chile-harvesting machine. This means it's also cheaper for local roasters and ristra-makers to buy their chile beyond the border.
Of course, says June—who's also dealt with mucky fields lately—the outsider chile's taste doesn't even compare to Hatch chile.
Local palates wouldn't think of disputing her. At the festival, June's booth is thick with customers—and dozens of her family members. She's a known authority. June's Special Hot Red Chile powder, packaged in one- to two-pound Ziploc bags, sells well. After all, her father, Joseph Franzoy, was the first chile farmer in Hatch Valley in 1915. She and three of her brothers still farm there. And yes, she still gets out in the fields.
She also helped create one of the four most common chiles in the valley. The Big Jim, a medium-spiced pod, is named after her late husband Jim Lytle. Jim began developing the variety, and June and her son finished it. The hottest chile is the Sandia, which is long and slim. A milder chile is the New Mexico No. 6. The Joe Parker turned out hotter than its breeders wanted, but it makes a great chile powder. All of these are considered New Mexican varieties, and all are the long green pod type. Breeders at NMSU have been working on chiles since the late 1800s.
It's the plant's genetics that mostly account for the spice factor, but the environment can also have an effect. Fruits ripening at higher temperatures tend to have more capsaicinoids, a group of alkaloids that make chile hot. Most of the New Mexico varieties are medium to mild. For example, the Orange Habañero pepper is about 40 times hotter than the New Mexico Sandia.
But chiles don't just get your endorphins (and other things) moving, they're good for you, too. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend chile as a high source of Vitamin C. Plus, a hefty chile slathering adds flavor without loading up on fat.
Happy gnawing on our state vegetable … uh, fruit ... this fall. Alexandria Berridge, this year's Hatch Green Chile Queen, put it this way: "Have you tasted that Texas stuff? Yuck!"


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Drinking the Bottom Shelf: Bud Light Golden Wheat
Will Gordon drinks his way through the bottom shelf of the liquor store...so you don't have to.
On Sunday afternoon as we were walking through the sun on our way to the day's third brunch, Bottom Shelf research director Emily wrecked everything by asking a short series of horrible questions.
Her: "So, what's the prize?"
Me: "What prize?"
Her: "For the contest. What are you going to win? Is it a boat? I've always wanted a boat. Or maybe a new toaster. We could use a new toaster."
Me: "Of what contest do you speak, woman?"
Her: "The eggs benedict eating contest, silly. What's your prize going to be? Does the runner-up get a prize, too? Not that I doubt you, but there are probably some people out there more gluttonous than you. Hypothetically, I mean, big planet and all. Maybe. Anyhow, what should we name the boat? The Early Grave? The Hollandaise Death March? The Young Widow's Solace?"
Me: "Oh, I get it. You are mocking the two brunches I ate on the way to this third brunch. Let's change the subject, harpie."
Her: "Do you like my perfume?"
Me: (In a fit of pique and honesty): "Not really. I preferred the stuff you had before."
Now, it turns out that I didn't prefer the last bottle of perfume but rather the last bottle's application method. I won't bore myself with the details, but it has something to do with this new one needing to be sprayed all around the house to the extent that my snot smells like lavender for three days after application, whereas the last one had some kind of magic roller ball. (The last one may have been Secret pH Balanced Shower Fresh, come to think of it.)
With that established, we were able to work out a neat little compromise in which I would shut my muffin hole and she would continue to smell pretty. That's all well and good now, but it doesn't help reverse whatever damage I've done to my liver with six months' worth of surreptitious Chanel Chance spritzers. You see, that shit costs like a hundred bucks a nip. There was no way I could throw it out or accidentally break the bottle while cleaning; I had to slowly deplete her stash in the most responsible way possible. For the record, you can get quite the little buzz from the combination of hyacinth, alcohol, and fear of a ridiculous death.
I'm not at all glad that Emily started either conversation, but the perfume talk and the excruciating 8-minute wait for a menu at House of Brunch Number Three jumbled around in my head and got me to thinking about how makeup and perfume are basically just condiments and garnishes for humans. I've been trying to ease back on flavor adulteration in my cooking lately, because for a while there everything I made just tasted like mustard or basil or Old Crow. But I still appreciate the way a good thing can be made better with the right touch of post-production flourish.
For instance, a turkey burger is a very good piece of food, but a turkey burger with bourbon-walnut mustard is a very great piece of food. Similarly, Emily's hands are very pretty, but Emily's hands adorned with trampy green nail polish are even better. This is all pretty basic; you guys don't need me to explain how barbecue sauce and belly button rings work, right? It's not that tough to make a good thing better. The true challenge is to gussy a crappy thing up into a tolerable thing, which is what Anheuser-Busch is trying to do with Bud Light Golden Wheat.
Bud Light stinks, but it sells, so A-B is forever dreaming of new-flavored ways to force it into your fridge. I've tried most of them—Bud Lights Lime, Platinum, and Lime-a-Rita—and appreciated their attempts to mask the Bud Light flavor, but I haven't actually liked one yet. But Emily recommended the Golden Wheat, which I'd somehow managed to overlook, so let's give it a whirl.
In the Anheuser-Busch worldview, Golden Wheat needs to exist because their other wheat line, Shocktop, has 168 calories per serving; the GW's 118 is more in line with the original Light's 110. Shocktop is also 5.2 percent ABV, whereas GW's 4.1 is actually a tick lower than the flagship's 4.2. OK, math's over, now let's get to the drinking.
Bud Light Golden Wheat is a handsome glass of beer. It pours a dark straw/light orange-amber color with some authentic unfiltered haze and a respectable bright-white head. It smells intensely of wheat and lemon, with lesser notes of coriander and orange. Swear to god, even my talentless nose can distinctly identify all four scents. It's really quite something, for a Bud Light.
It tastes spicier than it smells, with the coriander getting a bit pushier once it hits your tongue. Most of the flavors fall away quickly, though, leaving a bitter and Bud Lighty aftertaste. And after the first couple of quick sips, my face was sufficiently numbed by the spice and bitterness, so I was getting more of the traditional Bud Light taste as I neared the bottom. But even though it doesn't finish as strongly as it starts, Bud Light Golden Wheat is the best Bud Light on the market...read into that however much praise you will.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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MegaUpload has been down for almost a year now, but mastermind Kim Dotcom has had no intentions of letting it stay that way. Previously, he's teased some details about a relaunch and the servers are bought and paid for. Now, we've got a date: January 19th, 2013, the one-year anniversary of the takedown.
The new service, called simply "Mega" has a clever new approach to the file-sharing game, which could very well make it impervious to the kind of meddling that took down the first iteration. Dotcom also made reference to a doomsday launch switch, presumably the ironic opposite of the theoretical button U.S. authorities suggested could have existed to implode the original site in case of a raid.
There are still things we don't know about the service, like where it will be hosted since the classic MegaUpload.com domain is still seized by the feds. Where ever it's hosted, though, launching on January 19th certainly sending a message, a message you can probably interpret to contain profanity directed at the U.S. government. We'll just have to wait to see whether or not that's where this battle ends. [Kim Dotcom via TorrentFreak]


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NBA 2K14 - PS3 Cheats
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text:
Today I met someone that told me that they were not going to vaccinate their child because it causes autism. Sometimes I get really tired of this type of person and I know some of you do too.
I was wondering if anyone else has been in this situation and how did you handle it. Me, I just walked away from that particular person.
Views: 1018
I should point out to you arguing the vaccine/autism thing that Dr. Wakefield, the much maligned UK doctor NEVER asserted a definite link of MMR vaccines to autism was never published. He never made that claim. Some of his team colleagues put forth their own interpretation that MMRs were linked to autism but that was not part of Wakefield's Lancet paper. Dr. Wakefield was looking into the possible link of those commonly experienced gut disorders in children under five years old as a precursor to their autism related behavior. The link to MMRs was actually made by the parents of those 12 participating children. The children were all fit and well until they received MMR vaccinations, and the parents reported this to Dr. Wakefield's team. Dr. Wakefield included the parents' reports in the case study just as he should in studies of this sort.
It was British Medical Journalist Brian Deer and BMJ patsie Godlee who provided misleading information regarding 12 children's histories with the malicious purpose of injuring Dr. Wakefield by falsely making it appear that [he] altered, manipulated or misrepresented data for the 12 cases. In fact, all of the facts and findings in the Lancet paper are supported by the documents for these 12 patients, who are still firmly behind Dr Wakefield.
There are a number of independent studies that support the MMR Autism link, and here I do stress INDEPENDENT, because so few studies are independent of pharmceutical company influence these days. Professor Walker-Smith and Dr. Amar Dhillon together documented their own independent research that also points to a link between MMR vaccine and autism. Wake Forest University study determined that 70 of 82 autistic children they studied had measles viruses in their guts. Interestingly, the measles virus strain they discovered was not a wild virus -- it was the same strain used in MMR vaccines. Then there is Russian born U.K. paediatrician, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. She established the connection of gastrointestinal tract disorders among the very young to autistic and other behavioral problems She further proved her work by being able to cure many of them with proper diet and supplementation. She learned how the hard way, by curing her own autistic son, her published work is some of the best, most rigorous work I ever had to help review.
Vaccines should be given on a risk v benefit basis only, but these days the vast sums of money involved have blurred the medical basis of decisions. There is definately vaccine overload now. The sloppy way many vaccines are made horrifies me, the adjuncts that go into them would make your toes curl but worst of all is what happens to those parents who are unfortunate enough to have a child damaged by vaccines as the full weight of the big pharma machine lands on their backs - and the tactics they use are nothing short of Orwellian !
The medical journals are big business, and they are businesses that rely on advertising revenue from the various medical and drug companies that advertise in them and so I do not think we can consider them independent any longer, sadly. As to the drug companies……………. Would you like a list of the times they have been caught out falsifying studies, slewing test and study results, covering up the effects of dangerous drugs, harassing victims, slandering those who dare question them ? If you think the likes of the European Medicines Agency or FDA are there to protect you I suggest you look closely at the histories of those at the top of those organisations as they have all worked for the companies they are now expected to regulate or have financial links to them.
The problem with the "New Age bullcrap" is that there is actually a basis for it, unfortunately these people are often their own worst enemies but please do not think for one second that there is not a basis to what they say.
What do I say to them ? I say that as it is their child they must research both sides of the debate and come to their own decision and if they decide to vaccinate then go and take insurance on their child against having to take legal; action due to suspected vaccine damage. You can still do this in Europe but interestingly the number of companies will to do this are shrinking quickly - draw your own conclusions here - insurance companies always know a bad bet when they see it !
Judith vd R.
How responsible is it for a parent to bet that it's better to prevent a miniscule (and possibly almost imaginary) risk of autism than to immunize them against hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, and rubella, as well as polio, chicken pox, meningococcal meningitis, pneumonia, rotavirus, and flu?
I expect religious yahoos to claim that they know better than the scientists. I don't expect well-educated people to ignore expert advice and simple logic.
Agreed. How strong is the stigma of autism that people fear it more than possibly deadly diseases?
The biggest problem with children not being vaccinated, they are riding on the backs of kids who have been vaccinated - whooping cough is on the rise in certain parts of Australia, simply because kids are not being vaccinated. It can be passed on by teenagers who have no or very little sign of whooping cough but can pass it on to very young babies who don't stand a fighting chance - if parents want their boys to be sterile, let them get mumps.
The rise of many diseases around the world is directly linked to kids not being immunized. When smallpox was all but eliminated, parents didn't get their kids immunized against smallpox, up came the stats on smallpox.
For example, Iowa is one state that requires immunization against 10 diseases before a child can enter kindergarten, but state law allows parents with a religious belief against immunization to claim a non-medical exemption by filling out a card and having it notarized. Multiple diseases are on the rise in Iowa, as parents proceed not to get their kids fully vaccinated.
Risks of any approved vaccination are nearly insignificant compared to the risks associated with the diseases they prevent.
Anytime a decision is based on fear, then common sense and facts get set aside.
Parents are scared of immunization causing Autism - I find it dangerous for anyone to simply blame vaccines for the rise in autism diagnoses when it could just as easily be because of the greater awareness and methods of testing and diagnosis, and parents being generally more aware if they find something - whatever it might be - wrong with their child.
Autism is not a disease but a syndrome with multiple nongenetic and genetic causes.These studies fail to confirm that immunizations with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine are responsible for the surge in autism.
I have three children, and I would rather the chance of 'something going wrong' or Austism against the chance of them getting whooping couph, smallpox or polio - or my children spreading any disease.
These people are like the people who are afraid to fly: an emotional reaction of fear to a miniscule risk, which has them taking a far bigger in order to allay their fear. Just as you're far more likely to die in a crash on the way to the airport than in an airplane crash, people are willing, due to irrational fear, to bet their children won't die due to the diseases vaccination prevents in order to prevent a condition, autism, which after all is NOT fatal.
Bet your kid's life and help perpetuate fatal diseases. Does this sound rational to you?
Here is an interesting article by a psychologist about this and other irrational fears.
"These people are like the people who are afraid to fly: an emotional reaction of fear to a miniscule risk,.."
I agree. Modern day hypochondriacs.
@Judith Van Der Roos Thank you for your input, but, there is information out there that is counter to your argument against the much maligned Dr. Wakefield.
1.) http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2011/01/7246/
Also, Dr. Wakefield was struck off of the Medical Register and has not appealed the decision. Is that the action of innocent happenstance? I don't think so. His suing the editors and journalists is more grandstanding as he attempts to salvage what is left of his reputation. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/05/andrew-wakefield-sues... - That guilty verdict was way back in 2010. As always, history in this case is making things more clear.
During the first half of 2008 saw the largest US outbreak of measles—one of the first infectious diseases to reappear after vaccination rates drop—since 2000, when the native disease was declared eliminated. In some ways, we can attribute this to Dr. Wakefield.
It is sad, really. Sad that so many children have died because of the controversy surrounding this.
Just say - "you are an ignorant fool" and leave it at that
I think what's annoying to me is that in today's day and age. There is so much easy access to information. Scientific data, etc... Yet many people still rely on the ol word of mouth.
Or the word of others who profess to know what's going on and really don't.. or even conspiracy sites.
The issue of vaccinating your offspring is not to be taken lightly. I can certainly understand the parent's motivation to protect their children with the tools of modern science. It remains even today a hotly debated issue as to the pros and cons. And there is a very negative flip side to this coin. I worked with an individual that was struck with a horrendous result of having infant vaccination on his little girl. I believe the child was less than a year old when the series of prescribed vaccines were recommended and started by their family physician. Something went terribly wrong and the little girl had a violent reaction to the vaccine(s) and she suffered irreparable damage to her brain. Basically it "cooked" her brain cells. She was left permanently disabled mentally and physically. The medication necessary thereafter to keep her involuntary epileptic convulsions under control ended up poisoning her liver and other organs and she tragically died at the age of 20. After years of legal proceedings the state determined negligence and found in favor of my friend and they were awarded a large settlement.
Parents should exercise care and concern when having their children vaccinated. I believe extreme caution should be maintained when dealing with infants and very small children. As they grow older and larger I believe the risk of an adverse reaction possibly lessens.


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|Buddhist Christmas
Other non-Christian religions can get a bit uptight about Christmas, but Buddhism is fairly laid back.
A few years ago the city of Birmingham renamed Christmas to 'Winterval' as a result of protests by non-Christian faith communities, but as far as I'm aware it wasn't the Buddhists who were complaining.
But in general Buddhists are quite happy with Christmas and have no hangups about hanging up Christmas decorations and enlightening Christmas trees.
Presents under the Bodhi Tree
In the Simpsons episode She of Little Faith , where Lisa converts to Buddhism, Reverend Lovejoy tries to dissuade her by saying that she can't celebrate Christmas because "Santa doesn't leave presents under the Bodhi tree". Richard Gere puts things right by explaining that Buddhists believe that those religions that are founded on Love and Compassion are valid spiritual paths.
So you can eat your Christmas cake and still be a Buddhist, though of course you can never finally have the cake whether you eat it or not (all cakes are compound phenomena and thus subject to impermanence).
Excessive consumption of Christmas cake may also promote the realisation that there is no inherent difference between an object of attachment and an object of aversion. ("Can't you manage just one more slice? Look here's a nice piece with extra thick icing... What's the matter, aren't you feeling well?")
Was Jesus a Buddhist?
Many Buddhists believe that Jesus was a High Bodhisatva or manifestation of Enlightened Mind. There is also some evidence that in the 'lost years' Jesus travelled to the East and studied Buddhism - certainly you can't get any more Buddhist than the traditional Christmas message of 'Peace on Earth - Goodwill to All'. And who exactly were the Wise Men and where did they originate? Were they Buddhists?
A Buddhist Christmas Carol
Dickens' well-loved story A Christmas Carol sometimes upsets the more fundamentalist Christian evangelicals with its 'ghosts' (to an evangelical all such spirits are apparitions of Satan). But from a Buddhist perspective the story makes perfect sense:
|Chains of attachment to money-boxes
Marley's miserliness has resulted in him becoming a Preta (ghost) after death. His attachment in life was to money, and in the Preta realm his attachment manifests as fetters to chains of money-boxes, keys, ledgers and heavy purses.
In order to help purify his karma, Marley sets out to warn Scrooge that the same destiny awaits him. Marley is assisted in his task by two peaceful Buddhas (Christmas Past and Christmas Present - Buddhas can manifest in any form that is beneficial to sentient beings), and one wrathful Buddha ('Ghost of the Future!' I fear you more than any spectre I have seen').
|Buddhas can appear in any beneficial form
The Buddhas take Scrooge through a sort of mini-Bardo experience, where he reviews his life from the perspective of what he has done to others, or not done for others, rather than what he has done for himself. He awakens into a state of mind transformed by compassion and generosity.
Ho Ho Ho ... Hotei! The Buddhist Santa Claus
Unfortunately, this does have a slight problem with the self-generation visualisations. Most of the Buddhas are portrayed as young, slender and sitting upright, which means that those of us with a more Homeric appearance (in the Simpsonian sense) need rather vivid imaginations to 'bring the result into the path'.
So I was quite pleased when I discovered a Buddha with whom I could easily identify - Buddha Hotei - a manifestation of Buddha Maitreya with an amply proportioned physique (The Wikipedia article rather unkindly calls him 'fat').
Buddha Hotei is very popular in China and Japan. He's often portrayed sitting in a semi-reclining posture and laughing uproariously, while distributing presents to children out of an inexhaustible sack. The similarities with Santa are quite intriguing, see Hotei_1, Hotei_2, Hotei 3
The winter solstice
Of course the origins of Christmas long pre-date Christianity. The majority of the world's religions originated in relatively low latitudes (around 30°N) where the difference in day length between Summer and Winter is not particularly noticeable. However, for us folks who live further from the equator, the long dark nights and short dull days of midwinter are definitely a big psychological issue. That is why the Winter solstice has always been of such importance to Northern Europeans. It symbolises, if not the rebirth, at least the conception of the new year. In the Celtic calendar Imbolc (Candlemas) was the actual birth of the New Year, with the appearance of the first lambs and green shoots.
The early church failed to suppress the solstice celebrations and instead adopted them (much as they planted churches on pagan sacred sites), overlaying the scarcely concealed Druidic symbolism with Christian attributes. There is actually no historical evidence that Jesus was born on the 25th December.
The Celtic annual cycle of Imbolc, Halloween and Winter Solstice offers a rich source of symbolism and analogy for the process of rebirth, life, death, bardo and conception that would not be as apparent in traditional Buddhist countries, which are mostly at lower latitudes. So it is likely that as Buddhism continues to spread in the Anglo-Celtic cultural areas, it will adopt some of the Winter Solstice customs. There is no reason for in not to do so, for it is often remarked that unlike most other religions, Buddhism is not tied to a particular culture.
Because of its strong philosophical foundations, Buddhism is universal. It is effective for any sentient being, anywhere, any time.
- Sean Robsville
Read more at Buddhist Philosophy
Related articles:
Buddhist New Year
Buddhist Halloween
Buddhist Candlemas
Celtic Buddhism - Buddhism in pre-Christian Britain
Why Beauty Matters - Spiritual Art versus the Cult of Ugliness
Cauldron, Chalice and Grail Symbolism in Buddhism and Celtic Wicca
Buddhist origins of Christianity
Numinous Symbolism - Pagan, Buddhist and Christian
Evolution is no Threat to Buddhism
C J Jung, Buddhism, Tantra and Alchemy