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by legendary euphonium soloist, Arthur Lehman U.S. Marine Band,
edited by David Werden
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When I was thinking of writing this article, I was going to title it "The Art Lehman method of teaching". However, I quickly realized that there actually was never any such thing. Oh, I taught many pupils over a long period of time but I always taught in the exact same way as Harold Brasch had. I just used his method. What could be easier? His method worked for me. Why wouldn't it work for others? I always considered Harold Brasch to have been, by a great margin, my very best teacher. No one else came close to him as a teacher. In my opinion he was a perfect teacher of euphonium. Although Harold has been dead for over twenty years, he is still my idol, both as a teacher and as a euphonium player. I always thought that he had the best tone of all. I still have the same opinion. However, what we want to discuss is his method of teaching here. What made Harold such a fine teacher? Many things, actually. His entire method of teaching was very practical, logical, crystal clear, factual, and sensible.
When one came to Harold for lessons, he chatted with him for a time. What was he doing? Where was he playing? What was he interested in learning? Such questions as those. Then, he would ask the pupil if he had some music along with him which he could play for Harold so as to demonstrate how well the pupil was playing. Normally, the pupil really needed lessons so how he played whatever was on the page of music wasn't so precise. That's how it got started. All Harold needed was a tiny start such as that and it was "off to the races" for him.
Whatever faults were revealed, when the new pupil played some music on the sheet he had brought along with him, that gave Harold a starting point. He would explain whatever was wrong with the way it was played, he would demonstrate the correct way of playing the passage, and he would demonstrate the way the pupil had played it. What this revealed in a very clear manner was that the pupil hadn't played the passage well, that there was a better way of playing it, and after that the two worked it all out. Usually, things got cleared up in a hurry. But, of course, that was only with that particular small part. When another lesson period arrived, and the new pupil appeared once again, he had been given something to work on, and he was asked to warm up a bit first. Harold would wait patiently until some brief warmups were gone through. Then, the pupil would be asked to play through the new passage. When he had finished that, it was probably not as nearly perfect as it should be, so Harold would repeat the process. Play it the best way he could - and it would be extremely precise - and he would play it just as the pupil had played it - pretty poorly - after that the two would work on the part together. Before long the passage would be vastly improved. A new passage would be assigned for next week and the pupil would pack up and leave.
For advanced pupils, Harold would ask them to play through a solo they were working on or one they regularly performed. Made no difference to him. Whatever the advanced pupil did, how well he performed the solo - or thought he did - Harold could play it all so much better that the pupil may, initially, have been discouraged. However, any serious pupil is not discouraged for long and he will buckle down and learn what Harold has to offer. And that was much. Brasch would work on the solo variation by variation, part by part, even measure by measure - until the pupil became much improved in everything. As time went on, various aspects of music would be delved into. Intonation, vibrato, chord structure, tuning, automatic compensation system, etc. All would be explained very thoroughly and clearly. Harold would demonstrate everything. Explaining, and playing, things the right way and the wrong way. Seeing, hearing both ways was often a great revelation. Demonstration made everything crystal clear. Let us for a moment get some background on Harold's musical education. When he auditioned for the U.S. Navy Band and was accepted, he was required to go through the Navy School of Music, as were all Navy Band Musicians. He took all of the prescribed courses and when he graduated, he wound up no.2 in his class. He was certainly a brilliant student.
And, as I concluded after studying with him exclusively for nine years, in the field of music he was a genius. Perhaps his genius in music included his ability as a music teacher. I am sure that this is the case. At least, I have never run across a teacher as fine as was Harold Brasch. And from all that I hear about other teachers, he tops them all.
When I first joined the U.S. Marine Band in 1941, Harold was already a world famous soloist. I was just beginning as a soloist of a major U.S. service band. I certainly had an awful lot to learn. Fortunately, I was taking lessons from him just as soon as I came down to the Washington. D.C. area. What a lot of territory we covered, musically speaking! One thing I remember that he helped me clear up. I had a problem with facial contortions when I played. In going up for high notes, for no reason in particular I screwed up my face and pushed up my chin muscles - scrunched them up. While this didn't look so great and I know that Harold noticed it right away, he never said anything until something came up. I was missing my octave high notes when I made a jump from the lower one to a higher one. This had to be corrected but I didn't seem to improve. Harold concluded that my facial contortions were one cause of this serious fault. He worked me hard on this problem. Tried to have me keep from contorting my chin, etc. Got me looking in a mirror. When I observed what I was doing - contorting my face - I knew what to avoid doing, but how to do that was the trick. Harold instructed me how to eliminate it but said that it would take a lot of work and be a long process. He was correct. However, with his encouragement and help, I did the job. I must have just about worn out the big mirror on top of my dresser! And when the facial distortions were eliminated at long last, my problems with playing octave high notes simply disappeared. What a happy joy that was!
During my nine years of study with Harold Brasch, we went over many problems and every one was solved by Harold's fine teaching approach and skill. If there were any phase of euphonium playing which we failed to investigate in those nine years, I fail to see what it possibly could have been. We covered everything. Now, if I could only have understood everything as clearly as Harold did, I would be even happier about it than I already am.
As I would say, when Harold and I were sitting side by side and playing in the National Concert Band - also for nine years - and someone came up to us before or after a concert, and I introduced Harold to that person, "this is Harold Brasch, my teacher. He taught me all I know about playing the euphonium - but not all he knows!" Harold would just grin. He knew what I meant. He was the master, always. I was merely one of his many pupils. I was very fortunate that I knew him as a teacher, side partner, and friend. It is sad that he was taken from us at such an early age. He and I were not even a year apart in age. Yet, here it is 21 years after his death and I survive. Life isn't fair, is it?
Written by Arthur Lehman for Keith Barton,January 2, 2006
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August 4, 2016


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by Shawn Brasseaux
On 15 occasions, the Authorized Version makes reference to "reins." Most of these are found in the "Old Testament." As a brief introduction, we look at few of a couple of those verses right now. Psalm 7:9 says: "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins." And, Jeremiah 20:12: "But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause." What are such "reins?" Why this curious word?
The Hebrew word usually rendered "reins" is כִּלְיָה, or kilyah (Strong's #H3629). Kilyah appears 31 times in the Hebrew Bible. Our 1611 translators translated it as "kidneys" 18 times and "reins" 13 times. (Another Hebrew word—חָלָץ, or chalats [Strong's #H2504]—is rendered "reins" in Isaiah 11:5. This gives a total of 14 Old Testament usages of "reins.") The word "kidneys" is generally restricted to the literal, fleshly organs of sacrificial animals offered in Judaism—Exodus 29:13, Exodus 29:22, Leviticus 3:4, Leviticus 3:10, Leviticus 3:15, Leviticus 4:9, Leviticus 7:4, Leviticus 8:16, Leviticus 8:25, Leviticus 9:10, and Leviticus 9:19. There are two figurative usages of "kidneys" in Deuteronomy 32:14 and Isaiah 34:6. "Reins" in the Greek New Testament is νεφρός, or nephros, (Strong's #G3510). It appears only once—Revelation 2:23.
Now, to the English word. "Reins" is a form of the Middle English reines, reenes; which was derived from the Old French reins; which was taken from the Latin rēnēs meaning "kidneys, loins" (plural). Even today, modern-day medical terms reflect the Greek, Latin, French, and English etymologies. Have you ever heard of renal failure—the kidney(s) malfunctioning? The medical study of kidney diseases is called nephrology—reflecting the Greek word, of course. Medical science dealing with the function of kidneys is known as renal physiology. Now that we know how "kidneys" and "reins" are connected, how should we handle the King James verses that say God is interested in seeing and knowing our "reins?" Is God really concerned with our kidneys?
In ancient times, kidneys (hidden inside our torso, or loins) were assumed to be the seat of our emotions, feelings, and affections. "Reins" is related to our literal kidneys. However, "reins" can also be used figuratively in reference to our innermost component (again, emotions, feelings, affections; mind). For the record, Strong's Concordance has the following definition for the Hebrew word kilyah (#H3629): "feminine of H3627 (only in the plural); a kidney (as an essential organ); figuratively, the mind (as the interior self):—kidneys, reins." Strong's defines the Greek word nephros (#G3510) as: "of uncertain affinity; a kidney (plural), i.e. (figuratively) the inmost mind:—reins."
The "reins," are actually the mind, rather than the heart (another part of our innermost being), since some verses (see below) use both "reins" and "heart." However, the King James Bible translators are not wrong in using "reins" to refer to something other than literal kidneys. They are using the word in a figurative sense to indicate the mind, as you can now see for yourself.
- Job 16:13: "His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground."
- Job 19:27: "Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."
- Psalm 7:9: "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins."
- Psalm 16:7: "I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons."
- Psalm 26:2: "Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart."
- Psalm 73:21: "Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins."
- Psalm 139:13: "For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb."
- Proverbs 23:16: "Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things."
- Isaiah 11:5: "And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins." (Jesus Christ as He reigns in the Millennium!)
- Jeremiah 11:20: "But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause."
- Jeremiah 12:2: "Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins."
- Jeremiah 17:10: "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
- Jeremiah 20:12: "But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause."
- Lamentations 3:13: "He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins."
- Revelation 2:23: "And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."
Also see:
» What is "the foolishness of God" in 1 Corinthians 1:25?
» Are we created in "the image of God?"
» What are "phylacteries?"

subset: commoncrawl


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Joe-Anna Marie C. Abelinde
A cursory look at reasons why the rice that we produce is never enough to meet our domestic needsSee Article
Joe-Anna Marie C. Abelinde
We have long taken for granted the freedom that comes with our democracy. But it doesn't negate the need to speak out against impunity. Give voice to your values. Speak out. Do not let the bullies silence you.See Article
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The National Land Use Bill has been certified by the President in his last State of the Nation Address. The declining number of land devoted to food production is detrimental to our food security as a nation, and will be hitting the most vulnerable segments of our population.See Article
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Our partner-cooperatives' founding fathers reunitedSee Article
Joe-Anna Marie C. Abelinde
Those who are already vulnerable bear the brunt of disasterSee Article
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A cursory look at how the proposed constitution and federal set-up will affect property rights security and access to productive resources among farmers and fishersSee Article
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Organic rice farmers were trained on block farming production to improve production, post-harvest and processing efficiencies. Click here to see their journeySee Article
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My Name is Jennifer
A bit about me
I love the creative process.
I've been an artist my whole life—well, since I was old enough to hold a crayon or smoosh playdough, anyway. The creative gene runs in my family. I also earned a degree in Art, with emphasis on graphic design, from San Diego State University.
I love combining traditional and digital media in a myriad of ways. I love creating beauty out of nothing and bringing ideas to life in visual form. I love illustration and book design.
I've always been creative in all sorts of ways, with love for both visual and performing arts, crafts, making music, and dance.
I live in San Diego County with my husband Brian and our Rat Terrier, Ely.
Photo by Chris Herd


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UPDATE (Sept. 16, 2019) — A jury found Garry Evans not guilty on all 14 counts following his trial in Rush County.
RUSHVILLE, Ind. – Officers with the Rushville Police Department arrested a pastor on child molestation charges following an investigation into sexual assault allegations at the Rushville Baptist Temple.
Garry Evans, 72, was charged with three counts of child molestation, four counts of sexual battery and five counts of child solicitation.
According to court documents, the investigation began on Sept. 4 when a 3-year-old girl disclosed info to her mother who then reported the incident to the Department of Child Services.
In an interview with police, the girl said Evans took her into his office by herself to get candy. Once in the office, Evans pulled down his pants and made the girl touch his penis. He then told the girl not to tell anyone.
Officers obtained a search warrant, and it was executed on Sept. 22 at the Rushville Baptist Temple Church in the 1300 block of North Spencer Street.
"There's not been a day gone by that we haven't done something associated with this case," said Rushville Police Chief Craig Tucker.
As word of the allegations spread throughout the church, it prompted several other women to ask their daughters about it. According to court documents, police interviewed four more girls all under the age of ten who said they were molested by Evans.
One girl said Evans touched her "nearly every time she went to church." She said when she told Evans "No," he just laughed.
Another girl said Evans regularly touched her; one time she told him to stop and left the room because it made her uncomfortable.
All of the incidents occurred when the girls went into his office to get candy. One girl told police Evans touched her every time she went to the church.
"If they can find a way to develop some relationship where they're in power, where they're in control they will utilize that with pedophiles, they have this unquenchable desire and thirst for that level of intimacy with children," explains Camishe Nunley, with Healing with Hidden Hurts.
Police believe there could be many more victims that haven't come forward and are encouraging parents to notice the signs of potential abuse.
"If you have a child who has exhibited unusual behavior after being in the vicinity of the church or this pastor and you believe there has been something that has happened to this child that might indicate something inappropriate happened, we definitely want them to give us a call," Chief Tucker said.
Experts are encouraging parents to have an open discussion with their children about good touches versus bad touches. Also if you think your child has been sexually abused, don't go into details about act because it could re-traumatize them. If your child or any child tells you about being inappropriately touched, always believe them.
Evans has been the pastor at Rushville Baptist Temple for about 30 years. He is currently being held without bond at the Rush County Jail.


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I've been shown to build everything on the Tree of Life 12 Sphere Template to activate the Eternal Seal around everything I do in preparation for the fall of the monetary system and the matrix.
It's Gods' Eternal Structure Template that builds the eternal foundation and Holy Spirit Light into everything that comes through so that it doesn't crumble when the matrix does.
Anything that is not built on the Law of Structure (Tree of Life) will fall in the coming years and that includes…


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- Coolmax fabric
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- Cellphone pocket
- Waterproof zip


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Though The Almanac would disagree, it's dawn.
Fully an hour before that sage would announce it
The lesser blue on the horizon
Visible through the bare trees
Is measure enough
for me.
The air is solid on the truck window
Though the winter devil is not so close
That a brief touch of warmth
Dispels its touch; clear vision
for what is ahead.
To the north, six lamps ,
bobble down a cut in the wood
with hushed curses.
Tip tops tangle
And roots grasp
Cleated boots
Downhill, river bound
Shadows stomp and pace
At the inside of the bend.
Lights are now out.
The forge is lit
Bellows build the fire
The hammer, the tongs, the switch
of our trade, of our passion,
Leaded and run deep,
To work the Steel.
With a keen vision
That old eyes haven't known
Since the days of our wee youth
We see, feel, sense,
In the cool, gray light
The minor tug of unseen lips
On a morsel of deception.
A line zips through the water.
No war cry, but maybe a grunt,
Perhaps a quiet recognition,
Of what we've all been waiting for.
Heads turn in unison to the sound
All hearts beating a few steps quicker.
Reel in, with urging and envious eyes,
Step back, give room,
willing the fight to be a good one.
And it is.
No log to be beached
But a bright, shiny, nickel-
plated demon with the strength
Of its namesake
It runs
It runs
And so does the smith
Reeling, praying, cursing
It runs.
And it is over.
Ambushed on the beach
By a Scotsman and his kerchief.
The records books will not record
This Steel
But it is real and solid
And satisfying to the smith and his peers
In ways that confound words
And emotions and everything.
But that look in the eyes and
the murmured accolades
A handshake, the recognition
That satisfy almost as much
As this Steel.
The smile, the outward joy
Expressed during
The trip's first days
Is gone.
Tired, haunted eyes
Dull expressions from days of casting
Satisfied. Content.
Ready for another go.
And another,
And another,
After that.
Steel is at hand.


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For those of us graduating in May, we only have 80 or so days left here in the Forest. While some find refuge in the fact we have limited time left here, others aren't so happy. While the reasons vary from person to person, I have found many of my fellow single-and-ready-to-mingle seniors ready to make their next move, so they can make the next move.
But, listen, this advice column goes to both my friends using the short timing as an excuse and all you thirsty seniors urging to bust a move within the coming months. Oh, and maybe the rest of y'all, but this is for my graying fellow seniors, mostly.
While I understand why some of you may not want to shoot your shot, you've got to remember, the shot clock is ticking. Soon the game will be over, and you will be out of here with that possibility gone forever.
Maybe you are worried that opening up and expressing your true feelings will corrupt or disturb your friendship, and I understand this. But don't blame the timing; acknowledge that you are fearful and that you are don't want to possibly ruin a relationship. But more so, deconstruct why you believe being open with someone will hurt your relationship. Are we not adults? Well, for us seniors, we will need to be soon. But truly, we have the emotional ability and maturity to recover from some awkwardness. Given this, I say make the move, shoot the shot, just do it and see what happens. Maybe it will work out, maybe it will complicate things, but at least you won't worry about the "what if."
Plus, if things get messy, we only have a little bit of time left here, so if it is actually awkward, who cares? Soon you and whoever's DMs you try to slide in may not ever see each other again.
Real connection doesn't happen often in life and if you feel it, be real with your friend. Just because one doesn't work out, keep shooting if you feel a connection.
Maybe you don't want to listen to some single scrub like me. I understand that, but I'm just like you; I am feeling those feelings for someone and unsure what to do.
What I am really saying here is don't be scared; take a chance because real connection is something beautiful, something that while it can bring drama and pain, brings a ton of happiness. And who knows, maybe time won't limit the relationship — the future is unknown. Don't make assumptions of what they will say, where you will be, or where you could be together.
So, slide into those DM's, ask someone out for a messy dinner at Moe's Southwest Grill, or see if someone will let you rip their Juul, but most importantly, just ask and have a conversation.


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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post2749051430799956072..comments2023-11-28T14:55:44.149-05:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Think of the ChildrenJames Maliszewskihttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-7417120755931470292011-11-20T19:53:25.520-05:002011-11-20T19:53:25.520-05:00Is it just me, or do I sense certain parallels wit...Is it just me, or do I sense certain parallels with D&D's history Oo ?

Just a bit :)James Maliszewskihttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-81934865105770833162011-11-19T19:11:01.995-05:002011-11-19T19:11:01.995-05:00The concerns about violence in comics are interest...The concerns about violence in comics are interesting; growing up in the '70s (aged around 6-8) British comics like Victor and Commando were all war stories with Nazis being gunned down in droves by heroic British Tommies. Then in the '80s (aged ca 9-15) it was 2000 AD, with man-eating dinosaurs, future cops slaughtering 'perps' by the truckload, mutant bounty hunters doing likewise to their prey.

I think I always found the lack of killing in American superhero comics slightly baffling and exotic.

My 4 year old son loves killing, and relishes having my plastic D&D minis kill each other off, or else his Schleich knights do likewise. I remember being the same way. I do remember finding the propeller scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark disturbing though - the blood spray from an unscene source made way more impact than the exploding heads.Simonhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-77071727170043488982011-11-19T18:47:33.433-05:002011-11-19T18:47:33.433-05:00'Captain America' was by far the best Supe...'Captain America' was by far the best Superhero movie I've seen. Being set in a more innocent past probably helped a lot.Simonhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-59330631420226444352011-11-19T09:25:45.570-05:002011-11-19T09:25:45.570-05:00I have a 4 year old daughter myself, James, and ha...I have a 4 year old daughter myself, James, and have faced the same issue repeatedly. Most recently with "Green Lantern," which seemed to be omnipresent there for a while.

I agree with many of the sentiments already expressed above. But I would add a couple of nuances. These days, comic books sell so few copies, and substantially all through comic book specialty stores catering to long-time adult fans, that the medium has effectively already died as a form of mass-market entertainment.

As a result, we should de-couple the genre (i.e. super heroes) from the medium (comic books). From the perspective of our broader popular culture, the latter is so 'niche-y' now as to be irrelevant to the former, I believe.

Why have there been more comic book movies over the last 10 years? Two reasons, I think. The primary reason is the same one George Lucas stated when he made the Star Wars prequels: the CGI technology evolved to the point where the necessary visuals were suddenly economically feasible.

Why are they all PG-13? Several people above made the point that that's what the primary audience (teens and young adults) want. I'd only add that foreign markets are a huge driver, too, and the same rationale applies again.dan2448https://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-45948875017247090732011-11-18T17:09:55.707-05:002011-11-18T17:09:55.707-05:00i'm an elementary school librarian and lifetim...i'm an elementary school librarian and lifetime geek - and i've been ordering all-ages comics for my school for the last few years. a lot of my students want to read comics because they see the movies...and, well - most of the comics are labeled by the publishers as YOUNG ADULT. both major comics companies have kid-friendly imprints. marvel has MARVEL ADVENTURES and DC has DC KIDS. the books are digest sized in order to compete with all the manga that's out there. TOKYOPOP had an all ages imprint also but they shut down their US operations. SCHOLASTIC also has a kid imprint - it's called GRAPHIX - you can check that out here: http://www.scholastic.com/graphix/

GRAPHIX doesn't really do superhero stuff - but if you haven't checked out jeff smith's BONE or kazu kibuishi's AMULET you really should - and your kids will probably love it also!

there is some really good independent stuff out there like RUNNERS and ATOMIC ROBO but, like the guy above me said - none of this stuff is promoted outside of the educational community - so to find it you need to dig.xwardukexhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-83926925384222140622011-11-18T16:03:12.675-05:002011-11-18T16:03:12.675-05:00as a former comic book retailer i think the proble...as a former comic book retailer i think the problem is not that the industry has gotten darker, or gritter, it's that the industry does nothing to promote or advertise at that market.

all the publishers have a great all ages titles available, but still that vast majority of our clientele is an aging population. so the books majority of the books are geared to an older clientele with more sophisticated tastes. i had maybe one kid under the age of 10 for every 30 regular customers that were mid 20+. i found that i had two customers pools that were the biggest. one was college age kids who were discovering the trade paperback market and the wide diversity found in that and the other was the 40+ hardcore collector. the under 10 crowd probably a percent or less, and this is over a 20 year span.

i can't tell you the number of times i've( or heard other retailers voice the same complaint) complained about the publishers, not throwing us a bone and doing some advertising. would it seriously kill them to make a commercial to run during the cartoon on tv, or in the trailers in front of the movies, doing at the very least informing consumers of the 1-800 comic book locator number so folks can find a local shop to read about more of the adventures they just saw. you hear the publishers complain about the dwindling marketplace, but you don't see them trying to let folks know we are out here. they have much deeper coffers for advertising than most struggling shops, and they don't even have to make a full blown commercial, most of us would be happy with a still with the 800 number on it.Anonymoushttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-56186018106001948602011-11-18T14:56:33.146-05:002011-11-18T14:56:33.146-05:00I think part of the comics getting mroe mature is ...I think part of the comics getting mroe mature is that it is a matter of who and how you buy them.
We don't let 10 year olds wander down to the general store to buy a comic book these days.

For comics to get into the hands of kids these days their parents would need to drive them to a comic shop and purchase them.

Kids discover their entertainment via TV now, not by getting the change to see a colorful hero on a rack while mom shops.Baquieshttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-45239114733536073062011-11-18T13:06:42.988-05:002011-11-18T13:06:42.988-05:00I know there have been at least a couple of promin...I know there have been at least a couple of prominent comics creators that have pitched all-ages-friendly comics to Marvel and DC and been refused on grounds that the publishers aren't interested in those audiences. I mean, it wasn't even "kiddie stuff" these guys were talking about but just classically done superhero/action comics like they used to publish from the 60s through the mid-80s. Old EC horror comics are more appropriate for kids now than the average Superman or Batman comic.Andyhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88412638018326317242011-11-18T11:47:45.735-05:002011-11-18T11:47:45.735-05:00About the pricing of today's comic books: Prin...About the pricing of today's comic books: Printing and publishing is simply not what it was 30 years ago. I am not sure that Disney would be able to charge substancially less for their books in order to make them more "allowance-friendly".

Why must every superhero movie be dark and gritty?
Mind you, I could ask the same thing about roleplaying games ...

That is also so true. It's all about PI, image, "street cred", or whatever you'd like to call the industry's (any industry's) reaction towards obsessive behaviour of fans.

James of the Underdark Gazette laments that White Wolf dropped the ball regarding the success of Laurell K Hamilton and Jim Butcher. But even before that White Wolf didn't even try to capitalize on the urban fantasy boom started by Harry Potter and Buffy.
Maybe they feared an uproar from the oh-so-serious-and-dark WoD fans confronted with a Storyteller-powered "Magical Boarding School" (Mage lite), "Vampire Hunters" (Hunter lite, with sprinkles of Ghostbusters), or Spiderwick-like "Fairyland behind my garden" (Changeling lite).

But maybe the main problem is not even the (feared or imagined) fan reaction. Maybe it is that the creators of all our entertainment just don't want to write kid friendly stuff.
Case in point: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/11/martin-amis-brain-injury-write-children

Years and years ago I read a quote from a children's books author. It went along the lines of: "It's easy to write for kids: you only have to write better."Greyhawk Knighthttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26601971154792318892011-11-18T05:34:17.213-05:002011-11-18T05:34:17.213-05:00I'll just say that this got me read up on the ...I'll just say that this got me read up on the Comics Code Authority -- and I was surprised to see that it was only this year that DC and Archie comics finally discontinued its use. Seems like that would have been 10 or 20 years ago.Deltahttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-50685040416275372242011-11-18T04:20:21.945-05:002011-11-18T04:20:21.945-05:00The comics seem to have grown up with our generati...The comics seem to have grown up with our generation for sure. The arguments that comics were just as gritty and full of sex and violence in the past is just not true. I got a subscription for each of my boys to a comic of their choice and the material was adult oriented. I think any reader here over 40 knows exactly who comics were aimed at and what the limits on violence and sex, to use two examples, were back then. A great parody of the whole change in comic books and Superhero movies, in my opinion, is the movie Kick Ass. It takes the metamorphosis of the superhero into adult entertainment completely over the top to hilarious result. I can't see how anyone who actually grew up reading superhero comics and watching superhero shows and movies could argue against your premise. I personally think its a shame because a lot of what they do in the movies seems like nothing more than gratuitous violence. The pencil in the eye scene in the last Barman movie immediately comes to mind. The added mindless violence is pervasive in all kinds of entertainment, though. And, in my opinion, just as unnecessary. Finally, Captain America WAS more kid friendly, and a great summer popcorn movie to boot.Scheyhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63918085178973043712011-11-18T04:09:33.461-05:002011-11-18T04:09:33.461-05:00@Gavin: "They don't even know how to mar...@Gavin:

"They don't even know how to market to kids anymore."

I think the problem is a lot more fundamental: Things like the Ultimate Universe and the DC Reboot are basically a way for the comic industry to say: "Continuity is bad! It keeps new readers away!"

If continuity is the problem, then they won't solve it by creating a new Universe, since that one is already starting to develop a continuity.
In an ironic twist, it's the normal Marvel universe with its decades of continuity that would be easier for new readers to get into, since THAT universe keeps a certain status quo. The Ultimate Universe hower is completely unrecognizable for new readers, with several well-known characters eiher dead or having turned into traitors.

Is it just me, or do I sense certain parallels with D&D's history Oo ?Doreshhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-13020629138762152572011-11-18T02:23:09.741-05:002011-11-18T02:23:09.741-05:00Have you tried the last version of Blue Beetle (Ja...Have you tried the last version of Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes)? I think it's one of the few comic books which could be enjoyed by kids, teens and adults alike. I personally find all the grim and gritty stuff usually marketed as adult very boring and juvenile, but then as Keith Giffen would say comics today are marketed to a very specific crowd... (To me, the same goes for a certain kind of fantasy which is the most popular today, say, Martin.)Space Coyotehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-85864790624957692722011-11-17T23:35:37.820-05:002011-11-17T23:35:37.820-05:00It's all about money! Parents are not the stro...It's all about money! Parents are not the strongest purchasers of comic books or movie tickets. If they were, you'd see more superhero things aimed at children. I would say you can either accept that most fare out there is rated PG-13, or you could be prepared to allow your younger kids to watch "scarier" or more "intense" movies.

As a personal anecdote, when my parents took me to see 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' when I was 5 years old, my mom tried to cover my eyes when the Nazis were melting because she thought it would give me nightmares and I punched her because in my mind that was the best part of the film. To this day I can't watch that film or 'Temple of Doom' without shaking my head about the hysteria of overprotective parents.Patrick Mallahhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22797054459175971712011-11-17T20:17:06.220-05:002011-11-17T20:17:06.220-05:00Someone brought up the Marvel Ultimate line and th...Someone brought up the Marvel Ultimate line and that is the way things go wrong with the industry. The whole original intention of the first boor in the line, Ultimate Spider-Man, was to bring new and younger readers in because they could get a fresh start with a younger Peter Parker.

Then they took the rest of the line and took it all grim and gritty then started killing off people. They don't even know how to market to kids anymore. Kids just have TV and movies these days and that makes me sad.Gavinhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32670078760098930352011-11-17T20:12:35.852-05:002011-11-17T20:12:35.852-05:00What about Sky High? I enjoyed that movie a lot. W...What about Sky High? I enjoyed that movie a lot. While the main characters are teens, it seems to have been produced for pre-teens as well.Jerryhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31921970536755319072011-11-17T18:03:42.609-05:002011-11-17T18:03:42.609-05:00@Bifforama: Don't you love comic companies? O...@Bifforama:

Don't you love comic companies? One of the whole excuses for Spider-Man's "One More Day"-fiasco was that "Kids don't like a married Peter Parker", yet I don't really think the stories got any more kid-friendly after that...

@Suburbanbanshee:

Or in the case of the DC reboot: Turn long-time, strong-willed female characters into nymphos OoDoreshhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-14268527409022299992011-11-17T17:45:12.371-05:002011-11-17T17:45:12.371-05:00The comics industry also says it wants to attract ...The comics industry also says it wants to attract girls, but then it's all busty, scantily clad chicks sleeping around. Or of course the game of killing off all the long-time female characters in humiliating ways, or turning them into psychopathic villains.

DC's new Cartoon Network shorts are doing a thing on Amethyst of Gemworld. It looks like it will be cute. But of course, any girl who uses a search engine will find out about the whole psychopathic villain thing, and all the other storylines gone bad.

I love comics; but comics doesn't love comics.Bansheehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51136207225112446732011-11-17T17:25:59.141-05:002011-11-17T17:25:59.141-05:00The comic companies don't really seem interest...The comic companies don't really seem interested in attracting kids to the marketplace. As others have said, the prices of comics put them solidly out of the reach of most kids. $4 per issue? How many of those are you going to get per month. They know that kids don't buy comics, so why tailor titles to them?

Even Boom Studios, which puts out Disney comics like Cars and The Muppets, charge as much per issue as the major publishers. My son likes to read Sonic comics, but I only get him back issues or digests as the singles are too costly.

If companies are only selling to adults with discretionary incomes, the stories will be targeted at that demographic. That is no way to create a marketplace of future consumers, but so be it. If my son only knows Batman from The Brave and The Bold, I'm fine with that.

Plus, where do kids see comics these daysBifforamahttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-2847410308277656842011-11-17T17:25:26.126-05:002011-11-17T17:25:26.126-05:00@Doresh That was probably the most succinct descr...@Doresh

That was probably the most succinct description of Marvel Ultimates available.

Don't even get me started on the whole Quicksilver/Scarlet Witch relationship they had in those books.Coldstreamhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63831470711171754512011-11-17T17:16:09.349-05:002011-11-17T17:16:09.349-05:00The Latest two Batman Films are not 'Batman: B...The Latest two Batman Films are not 'Batman: Brave and the Bold'. I made a prediction a while back that the direction in which this series of films was going was toward a 'bad robin' scenario where 'The Riddler' would be a high intellect master manipulator who would target Bruce Wayne by putting a 16 year old Harlequin in the batman's path where she could kill Alfred (his support mechanism) and paint Bruce publicly as a 'pedophile' so Bruce and Batman are hunted criminals and push him toward an Arkham email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-33179668462508717742011-11-17T16:15:39.901-05:002011-11-17T16:15:39.901-05:00@Christian Lindke: "Paizo makes great produc...@Christian Lindke:

"Paizo makes great products, but they are geared at an older audience. They have modules inspired by films like "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (a very good adventure BTW), but I wouldn't want those to be the way I introduce rpgs to my twin daughters."

I think that depends on the exact adventure. "Crown of the Kobold King" and "Revenge of the Kobold King" can be easily turned into tongue-in-cheek comedy adventures (especially if the titular Kobold King talks like Profion XD).
Carnival of Tears? Not so much...

What's really weird is the reboot of the DC universe: They claimed they wanted to attract a younger audience, yet a lot of the new comics are full of gore Oo
And Marvel isn't better in that regard: As far as I understand it, the Ultimate Universe exist for the sole reason of slowly killing of every single Marvel character in pointless and graphic ways.Doreshhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-55520936915895283202011-11-17T16:05:12.237-05:002011-11-17T16:05:12.237-05:00Have you ever read the Batman stories published in...Have you ever read the Batman stories published in 1939-1940? Unlike the Batman of the contemporary movies, this Batman had no compunctions against killing people.

Or how about the EC Comics from the 1940s and 1950s?

I don't agree with the idea that comics should necessarily be "for the children". J. R. R. Tolkien said that children who couldn't handle the dark themes of fairy tales should simply wait until they are older to read fairy tales. I think the same can be said of comics with dark themes.

Frankly, I don't think blood, violence, crime, nudity, etc. in comics bothers children (generally speaking) nearly as much as it bothers adults thinking about children reading and seeing such things.

For that matter, there is more horrific sex and violence in the biblical book of Judges (for example) than there is in any comic I've ever seen.

All of my comments here are not directed at anyone in particular.Geoffrey McKinneyhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63259612544866967662011-11-17T15:46:57.704-05:002011-11-17T15:46:57.704-05:00I think it's worth mentioning that before the ...I think it's worth mentioning that before the Comics Code Authority, there was no expectation that comics were supposed to be solely for kids. You could probably even make an argument, albeit weak, that the grittiness is just getting back to where may comics were before the government started meddling.

I dunno. I think there is no dearth of children's entertainment these days; how many 24-7 cable channels do they have for kids now? I'm happy to see adult superhero fare, honestly.buzzhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-37702687526766182442011-11-17T15:17:16.870-05:002011-11-17T15:17:16.870-05:00When you say you and your friends were into "...When you say you and your friends were into "jazz music", is that code for smoking weed?

Well, I was never into jazz music, but several of my friends were. None of them, so far as I know, were into it for any reasons other than actually enjoying the music. So, fair or not, I tend to classify a teenage liking for jazz as a geeky pastime.James Maliszewskihttps://firstname.lastname@example.com


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Hyundai Elantra: Floor mat anchor(s)
When using a floor mat on the front floor carpet, make sure it attaches to the floor mat anchor(s) in your vehicle. This keeps the floor mat from sliding forward.
The floor mat must be properly anchored so that it will not interfere with the operation of the accelerator pedal. Any interference with the accelerator pedal could cause the accelerator pedal to be unable to return to the idle position. A pedal that cannot return to the idle position could lead to an accident which may result in severe personal injury or death.
The following must be observed when installing ANY floor mat to the vehicle, so that it will not interfere with the pedal.
- Ensure that the floor mats are securely attached to the vehicle's floor mat anchor(s) before driving the vehicle.
- Do not use ANY floor mat that cannot be firmly attached to the vehicle's floor mat anchors.
- Do not stack floor mats on top of one another (e.g. all-weather rubber mat on top of a carpeted floor mat). Only a single floor mat should be installed in each position.
IMPORTANT – Your vehicle was manufactured with driver's side floor mat anchors that are designed to securely hold the floor mat in place. To avoid any interference with pedal operation, HYUNDAI recommends that only the HYUNDAI floor mat designed for use in your vehicle be installed.


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Horizon Ground Chalet Fully Finished For Sale In SeaShell
Bua: 258 Sqm
Land Area: 600 Sqm
3 Bedrooms
3 Bathrooms
Maid Room
Fully Finished With ACs
Prime Location / ba7ary
Asking Price: 6,300,000 L.E
About us:
A team of highly qualified agents driven by passion and knowledge of the industry, the team offers professional experience and expertise in all areas of real estate ranging from Residential Sales and Marketing to commercial sales and leasing.
In a very short time we have succeeded to create an impact in a very competitive market, this only happened by deeply understanding our client's need, and our commitment to the ethics of real estate, our dedication to win for our client is what helped us stand from the crowd.
Our mission:
Is to build a long term relationship with our clients, this will come by only putting our client's interest and need first, by our professionalism and dedication to provide the most informative and loyal service to our client, our devotion to help our clients to find their dream home, and our pride to offer the finest homes in the country.
Representing our client is a privilege that we honor, and we understand that selling or buying a home is a process filled with emotions, that is why we are keen to accomplish it with the highest integrity and honesty, with a team filled with enthusiasm, driven by the commitment to create a relaxing and hassle free process for our clients, and offering a consultative and professional service to our clients to help them achieve their real estate goals.


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Friday, May 04, 2012
Session 117 - Quispers
We proudly present a glorious session of your (at least third) favourite podcast that is so drunk that you can smell the beer through your headphones or speakers. A truly 2D experience!
You're welcome!
This delicious and booze filled show features talk of films, Wasabi GOATS, music, taste, the Midlands, car insurance, boring places, Cubans, bum pinching GOATS, Wasabi nuts and beer... lots and lots of beer.
Audiogasms® are piped into our brains this week by the only man to ever be in a space ape themed band with C.J, the ever delicious B Sydes!
Additional Audiogasmic® rub down is provided by our new friends from the English county of Canadia, RedFinn!
As ever, It's here! It's beer! Seriously guys... lots and lots of beer.
Posted by Liquid Inspiration Podcast at 9:34 pm
Labels: ABC4, B-Sydes, Balls, Beer, Bromley Daz, Bromley Daz Guesses The News, C.J Hixon, Canadia, Drunk, Ghosts, Goats, Liquid Inspiration Podcast Session, Quisper, RedFinn
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Actually, the results were so close, I decided to choose the top TWO designs! So now you can show off your Aspie pride with a cartoon from my Autism and Evolution post:
Neurotypical is My Second Language
No Evolution Without Autism
And if you voted for one of the other two designs and are interested in it, just leave a comment or send me an email and I'll throw that up on Zazzle too! (I like all four.)
Choose from a variety of styles and colors to customize your own shirt.
- A value T-shirt starts at only $15.85!
- Get a ladies' casual scoop tee in 3 colors for $21.15!
- A super-comfy Basic American Apparel shirt in 7 colors is yours for $26.45!
I wear my Dude shirt out in public, and it is fun, I must say. People be all like, "Move aside yo! Aspie comin' thru!" Okay, not really. But you should get one anyway.
Celebrate your different-ness and spread the word about this here blog. Thanks!


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The event, which was has been expected for 3 years, the event, which will be central to student activities this spring — a combined super final of All-Ukrainian competition program Ukraine`s Best Student (UBS) and the national beauty contest of an individual The First Lady (Persha Lady) with the participation of the winners of the last 3 years. May 14, 2016 in Uzhgorod there is a meeting of the most talented and active students — winners of the regional stages of the UBS and beautiful female students, the winners of the regional stages and the semi-finals of The First Lady.
For the first time in history an incredible event will take place, which will stir the whole student world — a combined super final of Ukraine`s Best Student and The First Lady. The participants of the event will be the winners of the previous stages of the years 2013-2015. Studrespublika invites! How and where the best of the best will be chosen, how to get in on the action — see below.
So, let's start in order. As part of the super final of the contest Ukraine`s Best Student to participate are invited to the winners of each category in the regionals in 2013, 2014 and 2015. During the super final one best student throughout Ukraine will be determined in their category:
As part of the super final of the beauty contest of apersonality The First Lady participants are winners of regional stages and the winner of the semi-finals of the competition, which is traditionally held during the finals Studrespublika (in 2013, 2014 and 2015). Participants of the super final should present their social project within the framework of The Goodwill Mission in the form of a short video clip. During the super final the most beautiful, socially responsible and talented students in Ukraine will be determined.
All participants in The UBS and The First Lady has already proven in the regionals, that they are the best, the most talented, active, most ingenious and beautiful. Now the struggle is even more intense, because these qualities must be presented to all Ukraine and prove that they are worthy to take up the cup of the best students, and become the most charming student of Ukraine and put a crown on the winner's head.
We wish the win to the best and a fabulous evening all the fans and spectators of the contest. Let's meet on the combined super final — the action will be incredible!
Come in Uzhgorod, reserve tickets!
In case of organizational issues and tickets booking contact: acting project manager Rehina Popova (044) 529-13-75 (093) 619 31 65, email@example.com
For media partnership: brand manager Vira Andriyuk (097) 883 22 26, email@example.com
* * *
Organizers: NGO Students' Republic in cooperation with the Transcarpathian Studrespublika, Transcarpathian Regional Palace of Children and Youth PADIYUN, The Regional State Administration of Transcarpathia with the organizational support of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Uzhgorod City Council.
Partners: Impression Electronics, MSI, Kaspersky, Nai-Luna by Anastasia Ivanova, BІОКОN, Watsons Ukraine, Lamel, Hellisen, publishing house Summit Book, tourist complex Camelot, Sun Valley, Valentyn's Stefan'o Confectionery House, photo studio Kotska, Transcarpathian League of KVN, holidays corporation Ne Ponyal.
Media partners: Pro Zakhid, UzhInform.
Special thanks to Roman Mehela.
Автор: Press-service of Studrespublika


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While I enjoyed the wonderful food at Bob & Ollie's Labor Day party today, I also heard some bad news.
Word on the street is that the SouthWest style house off Greentree and a house on Glen (and Apple?) were broken into just last week and on August 20 this trailer was stolen off a lot on Verde near Greentree:
For more info about the $500 REWARD please check our new lost / found / stolen property page.
Weekenders should be especially vigilant about protecting their valuables with alarms systems.
There are some pretty cool systems available that will actually send you an email and let you watch what's going on when the alarm is triggered. Of course you should also have a neighbor willing to take a look because the deputies are unlikely to get there on time.


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The advantages you can get from bamboo can be found even before it is processed and will last well after you have obtained your bamboo pillow, bedding, or clothing. On the other hand, cotton has long been known as the ideal fabric for anything that should touch the skin. Although choice cotton has indeed great and extraordinary benefits, the innate merits that make bamboo better can match these advantages any time, which even premium cottons can't go up against.
In this article, we discuss what takes place over the course of the development of both these well-known materials so that you can decide for yourself which is the greener option.
Eco-Friendly Growth
Over the past years, more and more businesses and households are aiming at going green. Because of this craze, people now see what makes bamboo better as the most ecologically beneficial material for the production of fabrics. Thus, from the very start, bamboo is already been a gift for the ecosystem.
Shoots Up Fast
Compared to cotton, bamboo matures very rapidly, growing up to 120 centimetres per day – thus the raw material requirement can be filled much faster than what can be produced by a cotton plantation. Bamboo is a highly sustainable material. In comparison to cotton, it can generate much more fibre per acre of land, and replanting is not always necessary after it has been harvested. This leads to another advantage – it does away with the need to turn over the soil using gas-guzzling tractors to prepare it for new seedlings.
Saves Water
Bamboo once again outdoes cotton during the growing process. It is a misconception that because bamboo is known to absorb more water that it also needs to drink a lot of it. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Because of bamboo's ability to absorb water, it takes only about a third of the amount of water that would be used to properly irrigate a cotton plantation. To specifically demonstrate, in order to make a single cotton T-shirt, a farmer would need to grow a crop of cotton that uses up to 2,700 litres of water. Bamboo is considered to be highly viable and therefore the most sought-after option in place of cotton.
Completely Organic
In order to properly nourish plants, fertilisers are needed. In growing cotton plant, a farmer would need good fertiliser in order to deliver quality cotton. On the other hand, bamboo develops long and strong all by itself. There is also organically grown cotton, but the expenses of generating a crop where only natural pesticides and fertilisers are used increases consumer costs beyond normal tolerance levels.
Another major problem that all farmers deal with is pests, and cotton is one of those crops that invite many different damaging insects. Cotton is known as the most pesticide-intensive plant to grow. Most cotton plantations use harsh chemical pesticides aside from the chemical fertilisers that are already used on the cotton plants, making cotton farming exceedingly dangerous to the environment. What's more, these toxic substances can be passed on to consumers as they remain in and on the fibres. Conversely, bamboo has no natural pests because it has a self-produced organic pest repelling element.
Cleans the Air
One benefit of bamboo that is often missed is that the bamboo plant takes in more carbon dioxide from the air than a cotton plant can, and consequently, releases more oxygen into the air. Because of this, the quality of the air is greatly improved as it grows, which is a much needed requirement especially in these times of rising industrial pollution.
Returns Safely
For the finale, bamboo, recognised as the most organic fabric available on the market, is completely biodegradable. When it has reached the end of its lengthy life, it can be easily and safely returned to the environment. Its course of decay does not generate any pollution at all, and is moreover beneficial to the soil.
Once again here are the benefits that make bamboo better than cotton:
- To grow, bamboo needs a third the amount of water – a non-renewable resource that is important to our survival
- It also does not need chemical fertilisers or pesticides that poison the soil and water table
- Bamboo even cleans the air that has been polluted by chemical sprays and exhaust from industrial factories
Put simply, it's completely benign existence – leaving no harmful effects from its beginning up to the very end – makes bamboo better than cotton by far.


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What Cats Think
Cats take center stage for a colorful and whimsical celebration of feline personalities featuring the eye-popping illustrations of Mies van Hout
What do cats think when they get caught in the rain, or when a bird is just out of reach? If they could tell us, their voices would be full of charisma and attitude.
Cats have been our companions for thousands of years. From the sandy roads of Ancient Egypt to the shopping bag left on the kitchen counter, felines have always embraced their curiosity.
With a lot of history comes a lot of personality. Charming, capricious free verse from author John Spray pairs brilliantly with the striking art of celebrated illustrator Mies van Hout in this delightful tribute to cats.


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But this year! This year we determined to make use of the communal pressoir - the village cider press. It's something I find absolutely charming, that the community organizes a cider press in the autumn and that you have to call the town hall to make your appointment. More specifically, you call the town hall on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9 and 10 a.m. It also tells you something about how many apple trees are in the fields and backyards here.
Last Thursday evening was our appointment. We drove them down to the community building next to the bank where a lot of people were milling about. It was hard to tell who was or wasn't in charge. There was one truck with a trailer full of apples and I felt slightly silly with mine all packed into the car with the seats down -- like a real amateur. But then I saw that there was also a very bent old lady who was frail-ly loading up her finished cider into her car with the help of her children.
We loaded our apples into this VERY LOUD room and dumped them into the hopper on the left. HORRIBLE chomping noises came from the machine as it schlurped up the apples and squished them to a pulp. The boys were fascinated. Then it rolled the squished apples on the squishing bands and out squeezed the cider. The hose in the middle of the photo sucked up the fresh juice and pumped it over to...
A big blue barrel marked for us!! The nice cider pressing man gave us little cups of the fresh juice -- mmm, good!!
Since the total amount of liters (before pasturization) was 160 liters, and since we are curious about exactly how many apples I lugged down to the car (with the help of the workers, of course), we can use what the appointment man told us in the following equation:
60 liters = 160 liters
100 kilos of apples Number of kilos of apples we picked
I tried to get people interested in this equation as in "Real Life Homeschool Math" but no one fell for it and I ended up doing it myself. We picked 267 kilos of apples!! Gracious! And translating to kilos by multiplying by 2.2 we discover that that is 586 pounds.


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What Happens When Developers Leave Their Open Source Projects?
Open source software is the heart of enterprise business tech. Without projects like Docker, Kubernetes, Rust, NGINX, MariaDB, Apache, and so many others, big business would struggle under the unbearably slow and inflexible weight of proprietary software.
The open source projects leading enterprise computing stand as some of the biggest success stories in the modern era of computing. But not every open source project enjoys such sweet victory. In fact, you'll find the various repository landscapes rife with abandoned projects. Dig deep enough and you'll even find outdated or abandoned open source components in proprietary software.
Although one might be led to shrug this off, so long as the components and software still functions. But when a project is abandoned, and users continue employing the project, it leaves those users open to security risks.
Consider this: A project is abandoned and left in a repository. Users desperate to get something to work fail to check for when the last update occurred and install the package. There's no telling what security vulnerabilities were discovered since that project was last updated. Those vulnerabilities are now found on that user's desktop or server. So this isn't just about whether or not a project will still function, long after it's abandoned — it's more about why the abandoned project is still available.
One might be inclined to believe the abandoned projects should be automatically culled from a repository, after X months of inactivity. And that would probably be a viable solution. However, there's one other thing to consider, one that I'll illustrate with a rather infamous project that rose to serious popularity and then, seemingly overnight, was abandoned.
The Truck Factor
Before we get into that example, let's talk about a term most projects would rather not consider. One of the first questions that might come to mind is why are projects left behind? Or what does it take for a project to be designated as "abandoned"?
For this, you must consider the Truck Factor. Truck Factor defines the minimal number of developers that must leave before a project becomes unsustainable. In most cases, Truck Factor only applies to projects that include a small number of developers. Where does the name "Truck Factor" come from? How many developers must get hit by a truck… It's a bit morbid, but that's the only origin story I can find for the nomenclature.
Oftentimes, open source projects are abandoned because of time. A developer creates a passion project and works on it while in school or during their "off hours." But then life happens. Work. Family. Children. Those pet projects—even ones with respectable user bases — fall to the wayside. Other times, projects just hit an immovable force. Say, for example, the Google Drive Linux client, Grive. This project was a darling of Linux desktop users, as it was one of the few options that made it possible to sync Google Drive. However, Google made serious changes to how sync functioned, and Grive no longer worked.
Out of those ashes rose a fork of the abandoned Grive, Grive2. Grive2 works with the Drive REST API as well as partial sync. Grive2 is still in active development and makes it possible for Linux desktop users to sync Google Drive.
For an incredibly detailed look into the Truck Factor, read the paper, "On the abandonment and survival of open source projects: An empirical investigation", written by Guilherme Avelino, Eleni Constantinou, Marco Tulio Valente, and Alexander Serebrenik.
Around 2010, a new operating system exploded onto the mobile market, CyanogenMod. This project caught the attention of users, developers, investors, and even Microsoft and Google.
CyanogenMod came into being from a method of rooting Android, which would allow modified firmware to be installed on any rooted device. When the rooting process was discovered, Stef Kondik (who goes by the handle Cyanogen) developed a modified Android firmware she dubbed CyanogenMod.
This, of course, didn't sit well with Google and, thanks to a collection of proprietary apps (Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and the Google Play Store), Kondik received a cease and desist order demanding the proprietary GApps be removed from CyanogenMod.
Unfortunately, GApps are core to Android and, without those apps, Android becomes considerably less desirable. However, developers and the open source community didn't approve of Google's tactics and brought this to light. Instead of facing down that criticism, Google softened their stance and made it such that the GApps could be included (by way of backing them up from the original firmware and reinstalling them with CyanogenMod).
By 2013, CyanogenMod was struggling, so Kondik started a new business, called Cyanogen Inc, with the sole purpose of monetizing CyanogenMod. In 2014, Kondik turned down an offer from Google to purchase CyanogenMod. Then, in 2015, Microsoft was set to invest in the company (as a possible replacement for it's failing Windows Mobile platform), but this never came to fruition. Next, a partnership with OnePlus failed, because of a deal Cyanogen Inc. made with MicroMax.
On Dec. 23, 2016, Cyanogen Inc. released the following notice:
"As part of the ongoing consolidation of Cyanogen, all services and Cyanogen-supported nightly builds will be discontinued no later than 12/31/16. The open source project and source code will remain available for anyone who wants to build CyanogenMod personally."
The project was officially abandoned.
As Harriet Wheeler once sang, "Here's where the story ends."
Only it doesn't.
On Jan. 22, 2017, the first release of LineageOS was made available. LineageOS was a fork of the abandoned CyanogenMod. The LineageOS project is still in active development, the latest release, 17.1, based on Android 10.
The moral of that story? There is metaphorical gold to be mined in some abandoned projects.
And that's where the idea of culling abandoned projects gets tricky.
Forks happen.
Sometimes a developer will have an idea that is similar to a previous project. Why reinvent the wheel, when you can simply improve upon its design? So sometimes those abandoned projects can be picked up, dusted off, forked, and made relevant again.
This is only possible, because those projects are open source.
The WordPress and Jenkins Approach
One of the biggest problems with abandoned projects is finding them. If you head over to GitHub, and search for a project, the only way to know if that project has been abandoned is by checking the last update. Sourceforge does include the Inactive tag, which makes it easier to filter for abandoned projects.
WordPress has a different approach. With one of the world's largest repositories of add-ons, WordPress had to develop a means to tag abandoned projects. By using the adopt-me tag, WordPress makes it easy for developers to find open source projects to adopt. At the moment there are only two pages of projects looking for a new owner, but that list is always changing.
The Jenkins project has adopted a similar tact, with Adopt A Plugin. With this effort, you can email the Jenkins Developers mailing list and request to be made a maintainer of an abandoned project.
What Needs to Be Done
Open source projects get abandoned all the time. Sometimes those projects should be abandoned and sometimes not. It's that latter case that needs to be addressed. For any developer considering abandoning a project, if you believe the project still has value, consider putting that project up for adoption. Of course, to make this actually work, a service such as GitHub would have to make it possible for developers to easily search for projects up for adoption. At the moment, that feature does not exist. Instead, abandoned open source projects languish in GitHub.
It's time GitHub helped make it not only possible, but easy for those projects to be resuscitated. This wouldn't be terribly difficult. All they would have to do is regularly scan repositories for last commit dates. If a commit hasn't occurred within a set time frame, an email to the maintainer is triggered informing them they have X days to reply until the project is tagged as abandoned. Once tagged as such, the project could then be moved to a special (searchable) repository designated for abandoned projects, making it easy for developers to find. After all, there are plenty of developers out there looking for projects to work on. There might be an abandoned open source project waiting on GitHub for you — one that could change the very landscape of IT or how users interact with services and software.
You never know.
But until GitHub makes this change, finding an abandoned project to dust off can be a challenge.


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Convert EPS to DOCX via C#
EPS to DOCX C# conversion. Programmers can use this example code to export EPS to DOCX within any .NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET 5-7
Convert EPS to DOCX in .NET
How to convert EPS to DOCX? You can easily convert programmatically a document from EPS to DOCX format with a modern document-processing .NET API. Use just a few lines of С# code to convert files with high quality. The Aspose.PDF library will allow any developer to efficiently solve the tasks of converting EPS to DOCX using .NET.
For a more detailed description of the code snippet and other possible conversion formats, see the Documentation pages. Also, you can check the other conversions of formats, which are supported by our library.
In order to convert EPS to DOCX, we'll use Aspose.PDF for .NET API which is a feature-rich, powerful, and easy-to-use conversion API for .NET platform. Check the details of Installing the Library on the Documentation pages. To verify the benefits of the library, try using the conversion EPS to DOCX code snippet. You may also use the following command from the Package Manager Console:
How to Convert EPS to DOCX
.NET developers can easily load & convert EPS files to DOCX in just a few lines of code.
- Initialize a new Document
- Call the Document.Save method while passing the output file path & SaveFormat.Docx as parameters
- DOCX file will be saved at the specified path
System Requirements
Aspose.PDF for .NET is supported on all major operating systems. Just make sure that you have the following prerequisites.
- Microsoft® Windows™ or a compatible OS with .NET Framework, .NET Core, and PHP, VBScript, Delphi, C++ via COM Interop.
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- Aspose.PDF for .NET DLL referenced in your project.
Here is an example that demonstrates how to convert EPS to DOCX in C#. You can follow these easy steps to convert your EPS file to DOCX format. First, upload your EPS file and then simply save it as a DOCX file. You can use fully qualified filenames for both EPS reading and DOCX writing. The output DOCX content and formatting will be identical to the original EPS document.
Example: Convert EPS to DOCX via C#
This sample code shows EPS to DOCX C# Conversion
Input file:
File not added
Output format:
Output file:
Convert EPS to DOCX using .NET library
Aspose.PDF for C# API provides a wide range of features for working with PDF files. Some of the features include:
- Create PDF documents from scratch or from HTML, XML, or images.
- Edit existing PDF documents by adding or removing pages, text, images, and other content.
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- Render PDF documents to images or XPS format.
- Print PDF documents directly from your application.
- Digitally sign PDF documents.
You can find more information on Aspose.PDF for C# API in this Aspose documentation


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Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry consisting of seventeen syllables in three lines. The first line contains five syllables, the second has seven, and the third returns to five syllables. Traditionally, they also have some reference to the seasons and nature, but many times this requirement is ignored in English-language haiku. Here's one from a Threadless.com t-shirt that I can't seem to get out of my mind. "Haikus are easy / But sometimes they don't make sense / Refrigerator."
Surfnetkids » Resources » Language Arts, Reference » Poetry » Haiku


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The National Theatre, June & July shows
The National Theatre
View from First grade seats on the second floor
Awarded Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence 2019. That makes 3 consecutive years of excellence!
We love our guests and continue to learn from each and every one of them. Thank you so much!
July 21st 2021 Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay feat.our Kabuki guide, Kazui and her mother!
For more information and watching the video, please visit "About your guide"!


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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Usputuspud Disco CS
Crank Sturgeon Onager Sass CS
Bruce Springsteen Nebraska
The Fugees The Score
The Usputuspud tape is on the Caligulan Records label (which I've posted about before, use that handy search function up there), and it's "the solo endeavor of Matt Rogers, guitarist of Crucial Blast and [oops, torn press sheet]rdo's Wildildlife." That doesn't mean much but the terse next line, "It's all harmonica," pretty much guaranteed that I would listen (that and Caligulan's suave packaging). Not that "all harmonica" meant that it would be good, in fact, I listened more to just see how bad it could be. But you know what? It's good. Very good, in fact. The harmonica is slowed down and stretched out and overdubbed and stacked up until it gets louder and thicker and heavier and becomes some cosmic railroad-in-your-bedroom-closet type shit. Seriously, check it out. The Crank Sturgeon tape is on a new-to-me label called Cryptic Carousel. Let me tell you, I haven't listened to Crank Sturgeon in years, and there was something so instantly comforting about putting his tape on and realizing all over again that no one else drags an overamped contact mic through "tape, junk, voice & squawkbox" quite like he does. A sound as recognizable as Hendrix playing guitar.
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Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Elizabeth Blackwell: America's First Woman Doctor
Illustrator: Cynthia Martin , Anne Timmons
Nonfiction Graphic Novel Series
For ages 6 to 9
Capstone Press, 2006 ISBN: 978-0736864978
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England and was educated at home with her eight siblings. In 1832 when she was eleven years old her family left England to make a new beginning in the United States. After her father died Elizabeth determined that she would do what she could to support her family. Elizabeth and her family started a school for girls and Elizabeth faithfully taught her students even though she disliked teaching.
Then one day Elizabeth visited a friend of hers who was dying of cancer. The friend commented on how much she wished she had had a female doctor to attend her. The friend then suggested that Elizabeth should consider studying medicine. At first the idea appalled Elizabeth but then she grew to like the idea of having a profession which would make it possible for her to "serve others and challenge myself."
With the support of her family Elizabeth set about raising the money to pay for medical school and educating herself about the human body as much as she could in the meantime. By 1847, after several years of hard work being a teacher, Elizabeth had enough money to pay for the university fees. Unfortunately her troubles were not over for she now had to find a medical school which would be willing to accept a woman student. Finally she was accepted at Geneva Medical College and her journey towards becoming a doctor truly began.
Today it is difficult to imagine how hard it was for Elizabeth Blackwell to get the people in her world to agree to her becoming a doctor. Even after she had proved how clever and capable she was, she still had to convince would-be patients that she could take good care of them.
Written with obvious empathy and understanding of Elizabeth's situation, this biography serves as an excellent introduction to Elizabeth Blackwell's life and work. The graphic rich comic book style format makes it very accessible to young readers.


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Today we received several amazing recaps of the two conferences that took place in March this year. This post just has the purpose to link them. Images and stories are courtesy of their respective owners and creators.
ICS.UG recap by We4IT (German):
Storified recap of both conferences by Amanda Bauman, our IBM Champion Girl:
Flickr album from ICS.UG in Bremen, Germany by Oliver Heinz:
Flickr album from ENGAGE.UG in Ghent, Belgium by Oliver Heinz:
Google+ album by Engage
Other links collected by Amanda Bauman on IBM DeveloperWorks:
Thanks for sharing all those impressions - this is a great community with nice people and I am proud to be a part of it!
Author: Oliver Busse
This software is licensed under the
Apache License 2.0
Code snippets or any other console output - if not otherwise
proclaimed - licensed under
WTFPL – Do What the Fuck You Want to Public License
Made with love and IBM XPages,
using Twitter Bootstrap 3
This website uses the XPages Extension
Bootstrap4XPages Plugin and the
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When question of history or research arises that I am aware of I will break my rule of not responding to criticism because I want to present the facts. A few people have been mentioned that some of the dialogue in Madame Presidentess is melodramatic or over the top. While I don't know for certain which parts they are talking about, I can think of three areas that may be the culprit and the reason is the same for all: they are actual historical quotes. There certainly could be places where I, as the author, am guilty of being too dramatic, but I have a feeling these are the areas in question. The links in the story below will take you to documents that show the conversations in question.
1) Rev. Henry Ward Beecher/Steinway Hall Meltdown
Drama must run in the Beecher blood because not only was Harriet Beecher Stowe (Henry and Catharine's sister) a famous novelist, but Henry was very much an over-the-top performer. As a preacher, that makes sense because it would help him get his message across. But his flair for the dramatic also appears to have carried over into his every day conversations. "He was unabashedly theatrical, using his whole body to communicate the full range of human emotion, with dramatic gestures and subtle facial expressions (Applegate 211)." He was also known for his "blunt, colorful language" (Applegate 194) and had a propensity to cry and be overly emotional (Macpherson 121).
In a documented interview with a reporter in the November 2, 1872 issue of Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly and later reproduced in several biographies of Victoria, she recalled one of their most dramatic conversations, one which took place when she asked him to introduce her before her speech at Steinway Hall and which I have reproduced with only minor alterations in my novel. The context is that Victoria and Theodore told Rev. Beecher that it would be best if he publicly espoused the Free Love he practiced in his private life by endorsing Victoria; otherwise it would come to light in some other way. The historical conversation is as follows:
Theodore Tilton: "Someday you have got to fall; go and introduce this woman and win the radicals of this country and it will break your fall."
Henry Ward Beecher: "Do you think that this thing will come out to the world?"
Theodore Tilton: "Nothing is more in earth or heaven, Mr. Beecher, and this may be your last chance to save yourself from complete ruin."
Henry Ward Beecher: "I can never endure such a terror. Oh! If it must come, let me know of it twenty-four hours in advance, that I may take my own life. I cannot, cannot face this thing!'
I couldn't make this stuff up, folks.
2) Catharine Beecher/The Carriage Ride
Whereas Henry was dramatic, his sister Catharine had a mean streak. Victoria and Catharine Beecher fought often through letters and articles. But there is one particularly dramatic event that is documented by Victoria herself. Isabella Beecher, Catharine's sister and Victoria's dear friend, thought the two might be able to get along if they just met in person. (A noble, but misguided notion.) Catharine and Victoria ended up taking a carriage ride through Central Park, in which they discussed several of their philosophical differences in thinking about the proper role of women. Toward the end of the conversation, Catharine freaked out and Victoria told her where to shove it. As recounted by Victoria in the May 17, 1873, issue of Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly and reproduced in Marion Meade's biography of Victoria, as well as those written by Barbara Goldsmith, Mary Gabriel and many other biographers, here is the actual conversation:
Catharine Beecher: "Evil! I know my brother is unhappy, but he is a true husband. I will vouch for my brother's faithfulness to his marriage vows as though he were myself."
Victoria: "But you have no positive knowledge that would justify your doing so."
Catherine: "No…No positive… I know he is unhappy. Mrs. Beecher is a virago, a constitutional liar, and a terrible woman altogether, so terrible my brother's friends and family seldom visit. But unfaithful—no. I will hear no more of it."
Victoria: "You will hear. In concubinage with his parishioner's wife—it is common knowledge. And if you were a proper person to judge, which I grant you are not, you should see that the facts are fatal to your theories."
Catharine: "Victoria Woodhull, I will strike you for this. I will strike you dead."
Victoria: "Strike as much and as hard as you please. Only don't do it in the dark so I cannot know who is my enemy."
This is when Catharine yelled for the driver to stop and let her out. Myra MacPherson continues the conversation with Catharine adding, "I will strike at you in every way; I can and will kill you, if possible" (117).
The rest of their conversation in my novel is pulled from letters between the two. A historical cat fight is better than a fictional one any day!
3) Tennie's Courtroom Testimony
When Anne Claflin (Victoria's mother) sued Col. Blood (Victoria's second husband) for alienation of her daughters' affection, all of Victoria's dirty laundry came out in open court, a misfortune that dogged her all the way through the end of her candidacy. Despite her mother's overwrought testimony, the oddest testimony comes from Victoria's sister, Tennie. She was supposed to be supporting Col. Blood's side of the case, and she did at first, but through a series of bizarre ramblings, ended up defending her mother.
The following comes from actual court testimony, originally reported in the New York Herald and reproduced in The Woman who Ran for President: The Many Lives of Victoria Woodhull by Lois Beachy Underhill p. 140 and Mary Gabriel's Notorious Victoria: The Uncensored Life of Victoria Woodhull p. 104:
"I have humbugged people, I know. But if I did, it was to make money to keep these deadheads. I believe in Spiritualism myself. It has set my mother crazy because she commenced to believe when she was too old." She turned to the judge. "But, Judge, I want my mother. I am willing to take my mother home with me now or pay two hundred a month for her in any safe place. I am afraid she will die under this excitement. I am single myself, and I don't want anybody with me but my mother."
Tennie then collasped in sobs and made such a scene that the judge called both lawyers to the bench.
There is no reason given in any of my sources Tennie's odd behavior, so as a novelist, I chalked it up to her using some of the drugs her sister was addicted to (her sister was an addict, that part is true) to calm her nerves before testifying.
Applegate, Debby. The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
Doyle, John E. P. "Plymouth church and its pastor,: or, Henry Ward Beecher and his accusers"
Gabriel, Mary. Notorious Victoria: The Uncensored Life of Victoria Woodhull
Goldsmith, Barbara. Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism, and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull
MacPherson, Myra. The Scarlet Sisters: Sex, Suffrage and Scandal in the Gilded Age
Meade, Marion Free Woman: The Life and Times of Victoria Woodhull
Underhill, Lois Beachy The Woman who Ran for President: The Many Lives of Victoria Woodhull


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(Washington, D.C.) — The White House is signaling that President Trump is set to make a "big announcement" today regarding the Middle East.
The big question: Will Mr. Trump decide to back the Israeli government's desire to incorporate large sections of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) into sovereign Israeli territory, or ask Israel to refrain from "annexing" such territory for the time being, in order to keep trying to advance the Arab-Israeli peace process?
Last week, I met in Jerusalem with senior advisors to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and separately with a senior advisor to Defense Minister Benny Gantz to better understand their positions. I also spoke with Palestinian Muslims and Christians to hear their views. With each of them, we discussed at length how American Evangelicals are likely to see the issue (for more on that, here is the column I wrote last week for The Jerusalem Post.)
Since arriving in Washington several days ago, I have had extensive meetings with Ambassadors and senior diplomats from Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan to hear their views and discuss the wide range of viewpoints in the American Evangelical community over how best to advance peace.
This what I'm hearing:
- The Arab leaders believe the Trump administration is preparing to give the green light to "limited annexation" — not the full 30% of the West Bank as Netanyahu wants, and not the Jordan Valley, but perhaps about 5% of the West Bank. (They cautioned me, however, that they are still not entirely sure of the President's final decision, that things are fluid, that Mr. Trump may not be 100% settled on his course of action, and their governments still hope to persuade Mr. Trump that for the sake of peace this is the wrong move at the wrong time.)
- Every senior Arab and Muslim official that I spoke with are unified in total opposition to Israeli annexation of any amount — they do not see "limited annexation" as an acceptable compromise — they are very unified, operating in close coordination with each other, and fully backing Jordan's King Abdullah. No daylight.
- One told me that Israel's pending move would be "catastrophic" for the steadily warming relations between Israel and the Gulf Arab states which has never been better in history, and keep getting better month by month. "This will set Arab-Israeli relations back by years."
- None of the Arab officials can comprehend the urgency — why is Israel doing this now? Why this summer? Why would Netanyahu, the architect of Israel's successful regional strategy to build closer relations with the Arab states, choose to damage these relations so badly? Does he realize just how much damage this will do, or does he think this will all blow over like the Jerusalem decision? They were admant that this is very different than the Jerusalem Embassy move. That was an American decision. This is a provocative, unilateral Israeli move that will force the Arab states to publicly and strongly condemn Israel and force them to back away from closer ties with Israel.
- Another Arab official told me, "This is going to give a win not to the Arab states who have made peace with Israel, or those who are steadily moving towards peace with Israel. It's going to give a win to Iran, Turkey, Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera, and all the forces of extremism in the region. What's the point? Why give them the win?"
- All are particularly worried about an explosion in the Kingdom of Jordan — that the streets will erupt in intense protests against Israel, that the King will need to take dramatic measures to pull back from close working relations with Israel. I didn't press any of them regarding exactly what steps Jordan may take, but many options are on the table and being actively contemplated.
- What struck me as particularly interesting was that the tone of the leaders I spoke to was not so much bitter anger at Netanyahu and the Israeli government but astonishment, bewilderment and serious frustration that after so much progress in recent years that Israel would be willing to throw that all away for land that Israel already effectively controls and that no one is threatening to take away.
- There is also bewilderment at why Israel would make such a highly controversial move — and risk incurring condemnation from the European Union, Asian countries, the Arab world, etc — before knowing whether or not President Trump will be reelected and there to stand beside Israel in such a decision over the next four years. Vice President Biden and his team has already made it clear that they are strongly opposed to Israeli "annexation." Most Democrats in Congress are opposed as well. This will severely damage bipartisan support for Israel in Congress. What if the White House, the House of Representatives and possibly the majority of the Senate is in Democrat hands come January?
Now would be a good time to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem and the region, and praying that Israeli and American leaders will have true wisdom at this critical moment. Please pray for the Palestinian people who are feeling increasingly hopeless and left out of the process and seeing the U.S. and Israel make decisions without them. And pray, too, for the leaders and peoples of the moderate Arab states who are increasingly in favor of peace with Israel and see extraordinary opportunity for enhanced prosperity for all sides if treaties can be signed and trade relationships opened.
Strange times in the Epicenter these days.
- Join Secretary of State Pompeo and me July 17th for a discussion of Mideast peace, annexation, the Gulf Arab states and the future of the Epicenter. Register now while there is still space available.
- Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible donation to The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? At this unprecedented moment of crisis, would you help us bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, care for the poor and needy and those unemployed and shut-in's in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, teach the Word of God, answer spiritual questions, educate the Church about the importance of Bible prophecy and strengthen struggling congregations and ministries in the Epicenter? The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks.