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Builder May Sue Miss. Co. Over Jail Project
HERNANDO, Miss. — The DeSoto County Board of Supervisors recently rejected the two lowest bidders for the Desoto County Jail project, citing the bidders' failure to meet experience requirements.
The board selected the third-lowest bidder – Oklahoma-based Flintco – with a bid of $13.8 million. The construction cost of the new jail, which is going up south of Hernando, is projected at $16 million.
The lower bids among the seven opened on May 12 were rejected: a $13.7 million bid from Panola Construction of Mississippi and a $13.6 million bid from Murphy & Sons, also of Mississippi.
Flintco operates a Memphis office; DeSoto County is part of the Metropolitan Memphis Statistical Area.
Having completed work on the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis, Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto in Southaven, Miss., the Memphis International Airport ground transportation center and air traffic control tower, and numerous jails, Flintco possesses a prestigious reputation in the area.
Murphy & Sons, which has built several schools in DeSoto County, said it will sue over what it deems "an arbitrary and capricious" specification requiring bidders to have built at least two jails costing $8 million or more within the past five years.
Consultants and county officials, including procurement director Vanessa Lynchard and Supervisor Bill Russell, a member of the jail planning committee, said the requirements were sensible and within DeSoto's rights, and changing them now would be unfair and engender lawsuits from contractors who refrained from bidding based on the jail experience specification.
Murphy lists $60 million in recent DeSoto school projects, but officials say they want to contract with a firm that specifically possesses jail construction experience.
Flintco lists two jail projects in its portfolio, including the Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez, Miss. Flintco's bid for the DeSoto jail met all the other guidelines.
Design consultant Michael Childress, a partner in the Evans Taylor Foster Childress firm of Memphis, said the firm did not receive any questions on jail experience from Murphy in the weeks between advertising and the deadline for questions seven days ahead of bid opening.
Murphy claims the guidelines excluded local builders and raised the cost of the project for taxpayers.
A contract has been sent to Flintco for review, according to the county. Once the supervisors approve the minutes of their last meeting at their next meeting, the contract will become official.


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Homophobic smears continue in Gainesville
Last month we reported homophobic smear tactics were being used in Gainesville against openly gay city commissioner Craig Lowe who is now running for Mayor. Apparently, the opposition has not gotten the memo that homophobia doesn't play well in Gainesville because they are at it again.
Equality Florida Action PAC has endorsed Craig Lowe for Mayor and last week we made phone calls to people in Gainesville to tell them about Craig's candidacy. Today, which also is the first day of early vote in Gainesville, a conservative talk show was discussing Equality Florida calling voters in the city. Hosts complained Craig was using his title as Campaign Chair of the successful campaign to stop Charter Amendment 1 last year in those phone calls. One of the male hosts had received a call and said he didn't know why because he was not a "sexual deviant", implying that pro-equality voters are in fact "sexual deviants". Really? "Sexual deviant" is soooo 1990s.
This same show has a history of radical, right-wing rhetoric and has made homophobic slurs in the past. Despite these despicable things being said about the LGBT and allied community, in the next week voters in Gainesville will once again prove that homophobia has no place in our elections.

subset: commoncrawl


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This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
In Chocolate, More Cocoa Means Higher Antioxidant Capacity
By Jim CoreApril 4, 2005
Cocoa powder contains more beneficial antioxidants than other chocolate products, but processing decreases their contents.
Those are the results of a study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their cooperators interested in the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and procyanidin levels of six chocolate and cocoa products: natural (unsweetened) cocoa powders, Dutch processed (alkalinized) cocoa powders, unsweetened baking chocolates, semi-sweet chocolate baking chips, dark chocolates, and milk chocolates.
Chocolate and cocoa powder are derived from beans that contain hefty quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids. The researchers found natural cocoa contains the highest capacity of the antioxidant procyanidin. Antioxidants are thought to be effective in helping to prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
Ronald L. Prior, an ARS nutritionist at the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center (ACNC) in Little Rock, Ark., presented the study's results in San Diego, Calif., today with Liwei Gu and Xianli Wu of ACNC and Jim Harnly, a chemist at the ARS Beltsville (Md.) Human Nutrition Research Center. They presented the findings at Experimental Biology 2005, an annual meeting that brings together 16,000 biological and biomedical scientists from dozens of different disciplines.
The researchers found natural cocoa powders contained the highest levels of TAC and procyanidins, which were found to be the dominant antioxidant in chocolates. Milk chocolates, which contain the least amount of cocoa solids, had the lowest TAC and procyanidin levels. Baking chocolates contained fewer procyanidins, because they contained more fat (50-60 percent) than natural cocoa. Alkalinization, used to reduce the acidity and raise the pH of cocoa, such as Dutch chocolates, was found to markedly reduce procyanidin content. Researchers concluded that chocolates containing higher amounts of cocoa ingredients have higher procyanidin contents, therefore, higher antioxidant capacities.
Nine major manufacturers provided commercially available chocolate and cocoa samples and the National Institute of Standards and Technology provided its Standard Reference chocolate for analysis. The study was partially funded by a grant from the American Cocoa Research Institute.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.


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Welcome to the 293rd Tablescape Thursday!
Hope you're in the mood for a beach party because lately all I want to do is create beach-themed table settings. Ummm, wonder what that means? Perhaps someone is craving a trip to the beach! 🙂
Remember the fishnet I purchased on THIS shopping trip when I couldn't breathe and had to get out of the house?
It worked just right as a tablecloth for this tablescape. I didn't take time to do this, but wouldn't this fishnet tablecloth look great with a few starfish tied around the edge that's hanging down? It came with one starfish tied to it, just barely visible there on the corner in the photo below.
I'm also using the shell-covered candle holders purchased during that same shopping trip.
I love the colors in this cute little seagull so much, especially his bright, orange bill. He may actually be modeled after a Laughing Gull. Anyone out there know their shorebirds? Update: Thanks Cee for identifying Mr. Seagull as more likely being a California Gull with lots of artistic license taken in his design. 🙂
I let his bill be my guide for this week's table. I've used these lobster and crab salad plates before so you may remember them from previous tablescapes.
Isn't Mr. Seagull a handsome fella? He was a find this year in Marshalls. I love collecting shorebirds when I can find them for reasonable prices. They can be expensive in some shops but this little guy was just $12.99.
I did something a little out of the ordinary with this table setting. I used plaid, orange/coral napkins for three of the place settings. These napkins have been used several times for fall table settings but never for a spring or summer tablescape.
I used solid-color, coral napkins at the other three place settings, alternating around the table with the plaid and the solid. Using plaid at all six place settings seemed a little too busy but I loved how the table looked alternating them with the solid coral napkins.
Orange/coral plaid napkins may not be something you would expect to see in a beach-themed tablescape, but I think that makes it even better. It's fun to try new things and if you're like me, you usually know right away if it works. If you like how something looks, go with it, even if it is a little off the beaten path. The beautiful stemware is by Noritake.
It was getting late in the day by the time I took these photos so the late afternoon sun was coming in and lighting up some parts of the table while creating shadows in other areas. I love that!
Oh, I almost forgot, remember the starfish napkin rings I made a while back in this tutorial post: Make Starfish Napkin Rings. They came in handy for this tablescape. Note: In the tutorial they are a different color. I later painted them white and added coral accents for another tablescape.
I pulled out my DIY Pottery Barn-inspired shell chargers for this setting. I love using them for beach-themed tables whenever I can.
You'll find the tutorial to make your own Pottery Barn inspired shell chargers here: Shell Chargers, A Pottery Barn Knock-off
Flatware is by Gourmet Settings and the pattern is called, Silver Tear. It's available here: Gourmet Settings Silver Tear I love using it with beachy table settings because the design reminds me of nautical ropes.
An overhead view…
As evening wore on, I snapped a few pics with the candles aglow.
Happy Springtime!
Do you have plans for a beach trip any time soon?
Looking forward to the beautiful tablescapes linked for this week's Tablescape Thursday!
If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then copy and paste the address showing in the address bar, into the "url" box when you link up.
You'll need to include a link in your post back to the party in order to link up and participate. That's so visitors to your blog will be able to find the party and the other Tablescape Thursday participants. Requiring a link back also prevents businesses from linking up to sell their products. (Yep, that really happens, unfortunately.)
If you would like to use the Tablescape Thursday logo button in your post, just copy and paste it to your computer and upload it to your post as you would any photo.
Please, don't add your post name/blog name ALL IN CAPS…it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links.
Click on the Blue Frog below to see the links to all the participants in last week's Tablescape Thursday:


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Is it possible to send an automatic email that includes details about the requested page to the webmaster when a visitors hits a 500 internal server error page?
That way the web master could act more quickly to solve the problem. This is a general question so which platform is used is irrelevant.


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To incorporate the 1985 International Year of the Youth, five Saivite youth decided to host the first-ever Saivite Youth Convention in the Republic of South Africa. The organizers were Morgan Yegambaram, S. Padayachie, Vijeand Desai, Sivanesan Chetty and Archie Hirasen. The effort aimed to "bring about a Saivite youth awareness" and "assist in stopping the conversion process" into Christianity.
Planning the program was nearly as instructive as the convention itself. The committee worked in close association with the Saiva Sithantha Sungum spiritual head, Sri Swami Sivananda Navalar, and with Swami Arunananda, also of the Sungum. They placed ads with Indian papers and radio and put up eye-catching displays at strategic points in Hindu areas. So by 10 AM on the day of the event. Dec. 29, the Sangam's Chatsworth Centre was filled to capacity with 900 youths and adults.
After an opening prayer by Swami Navalar, the entire hall echoed with enthusiastic chanting of "Aum Namasivaya" put to music. Kumari Kubashni Pillay, 17, gave a scintillating performance of Bharata Natyam. Messages were read from Saiva Siddhanta Church, Hawaii; Thiruvavaduthurai Aadheenam of Thanjavur, India; and the Saiva Siddhanta Mandram of Mauritius.
Morgan Yegambaram spoke briefly on "Problems and Solutions Facing South Africa." He emphasized the problem of conversion, giving practical hints for speaking with Christian missionaries and stressed the importance of religious education. He also spoke briefly on sectarianism (which is often ridiculed) as a matter of pride and strength.
Sash Padayachee spoke on the 3 pillars of Saivism: the temple, the scriptures and the sat gurus, and urged the youth to be strong in their faith and practice.
An open discussion on "Our 1986 Goals" gave all a chance to speak, although few were bold enough to do so and not many suggestions were put forward. However, the coordinating committee resolved: 1) to foster Saivite religious education among the youth (based on the Master Course of Saiva Siddhanta Church); 2) to hold the Youth Convention annually; 3) to publish and distribute 10,000 copies of the Catechism and Creed of the Master Course; 3) to hold religious/cultural/social events: 4) to propagate the "authentic" Saivite scriptures and not a "mixed or confused brand of Saivism."
In the words of the organizers, "All told, the convention was a success, but more importantly it is a forerunner to greater adventures in promoting, protecting and preserving Saivism here in the Republic of South Africa. All signs indicate that we will not stop here!"
Article copyright Himalayan Academy.


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Despite gaffe, Supreme Court won't revisit landmark child-rape ruling
| Washington
Less than a week before its October term is set to begin, the US Supreme Court became a spectacle of sound and fury on Wednesday over a landmark decision handed down three months ago declaring that the death penalty for child rapists is cruel and unusual punishment.
At issue was whether the high court would revisit the landmark 5-to-4 decision after revelations last summer that contradicted the majority justices' conclusion that a "national consensus" had emerged against the death penalty for the rape of a child.
The June 25 decision said only six states had laws authorizing capital punishment for child rape. But unknown to the justices at the time they wrote the opinion, Congress in 2006 had amended the nation's military law to authorize capital punishment in such cases for child rapists. In 2007, President Bush issued an executive order concurring with the congressional action.
These actions were not discussed in the case briefs to the high court or at oral argument.
In light of the new information, the US Solicitor General's Office and the state of Louisiana asked the court to rehear the case and take a fresh look at whether a "national consensus" had really formed against the practice.
The answer came on Wednesday. The author of the opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy, and the four other members of the majority stood behind the landmark decision, agreeing only to amend the opinion with a footnote mentioning the congressional action.
"The court has determined that rehearing is not warranted," Justice Kennedy said in a three-page statement.
Justice Antonin Scalia issued a blistering criticism of the court's action in standing by the prior decision. "The views of the American people on the death penalty for child rape were, to tell the truth, irrelevant to the majority's decision in this case," Justice Scalia writes in a three-page statement joined by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Scalia says the majority justices simply imposed on the country their own policy judgment concerning capital punishment for child rape.
"While the new evidence of American opinion is ultimately irrelevant to the majority's decision, let there be no doubt that it utterly destroys the majority's claim to be discerning a national consensus and not just giving effect to the majority's own preference," Scalia writes.
According to a statement by the court, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were the only justices who voted to grant the petition to rehear the case.
In his majority opinion, Kennedy had supported the court's finding of a national consensus by noting that only six states had enacted laws making child rape a capital offense. He said five states had proposed similar legislation, but two of those efforts failed and the other three were still pending. In addition, Kennedy said that no individual had been executed in the US for the rape of an adult or child since 1964.
"We conclude there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape," Kennedy wrote in the June 25 opinion.
The decision came in a case called Patrick Kennedy v. Louisiana (07-343). Mr. Kennedy had been convicted and sentenced to death for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter in March 1998.
The high court ruling invalidated Kennedy's death sentence and established that capital punishment for the rape of a child – regardless of the circumstances of the crime or the age of the victim – would be an unconstitutional form of cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The majority opinion said a societal consensus had formed against the practice.
Within hours of the ruling, presidential candidates from the two major political parties denounced it.
"I think that the rape of a small child, 6 or 8 years old, is a heinous crime and if a state makes a decision that under narrow, limited, well-defined circumstances the death penalty is at least potentially applicable, that that does not violate the Constitution," said Democratic presidential candidate and former constitutional law professor Barack Obama.
Republican candidate John McCain denounced the ruling as "an assault on law enforcement's efforts to punish these heinous felons for the most despicable crime."
Senator McCain added, "That there is a judge anywhere in America who does not believe that the rape of a child represents the most heinous of crimes, which is deserving of the most serious of punishments, is profoundly disturbing."
Both the solicitor general and the state of Louisiana urged a rehearing.
"The court's decision is grounded on a materially erroneous understanding of federal law," wrote Acting Solicitor General Gregory Garre in a brief to the court.
"Contrary to statements in the opinion, both Congress and the president have recently determined that a maximum sentence of death is appropriate and proportionate for cases involving the extraordinarily grave crime of child rape," Mr. Garre wrote. "That determination by two co-equal branches of the national government not only is entitled to great weight, it also underscores the emerging 'national consensus' supporting – not opposing – capital punishment in cases of child rape."
Lawyers for the convicted rapist, Kennedy, countered in their brief that the existence of the military's child-rape law warranted little more than a footnote in the opinion. "This court has never looked to military law to provide guidance in conducting Eighth Amendment analyses of state capital punishment laws," Jeffrey Fisher, a Stanford Law School professor serving as Kennedy's lawyer, wrote in his brief.
Lawyers for Louisiana countered in their brief that military law is American law, and that a statute enacted by Congress expresses the will of the people.
"When Congress enacts a law, be it military or civilian, that law is relevant objective evidence of a national consensus," Neal Katyal, a professor at Georgetown Law Center representing Louisiana, wrote in the Louisiana brief.
The state's brief says that federal and state lawmakers have overwhelmingly supported the death penalty for child rape. The military law passed the US House by a vote of 374 to 41 and the US Senate 95 to 0. The state laws also passed by significant margins: Louisiana, 113 to 23; Georgia, 195 to 2; Montana, 126 to 23; Oklahoma, 127 to 16; South Carolina, 83 to 26; and Texas, 152 to 18.


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Stories & Reflections
The warrior of the light knows the silence which precedes an important battle.
And this silence seems to say: "things have stopped. Better forget the fight, and enjoy oneself a little."
Inexperienced combatants put down their weapons at that moment, and complain about the boredom.
The warrior is attentive to the silence; someplace, something is happening. He knows that destructive earthquakes come without warning. He has walked through forests at night; whenever the animals make no noise at all, danger is near.
While the others talk, the warrior practices his swordsmanship and pays attention to the horizon.


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The Tarot in History
§ 4
Our immediate next concern is to speak of the cards in their history, so that the speculations and reveries which have been perpetuated and multiplied in the schools of occult research may be disposed of once and for all, as intimated in the preface hereto.
Let it be understood at the beginning of this point that there are several sets or sequences of ancient cards which are only in part of our concern. The Tarot of the Bohemians, by Papus, which I have recently carried through the press, revising the imperfect rendering, has some useful information in this connexion, and, except for the omission of dates and other evidences of the archaeological sense, it will serve the purpose of the general reader. I do not propose to extend it in the present place in any manner that can be called considerable, but certain additions are desirable and so also is a distinct mode of presentation.
Among ancient cards which are mentioned in connexion with the Tarot, there are firstly those of Baldini, which are the celebrated set attributed by tradition to Andrea Mantegna, though this view is now generally rejected. Their date is supposed to be about 1470, and it is thought that there are not more than four collections extant in Europe. A copy or reproduction referred to 1485 is perhaps equally rare. A complete set contains fifty numbers, divided into five denaries or sequences of ten cards each. There seems to be no record that they were used for the purposes of a game, whether of chance or skill; they could scarcely have lent themselves to divination or any form of fortune-telling; while it would be more than idle to impute a profound symbolical meaning to their obvious emblematic designs. The first denary embodies Conditions of Life, as follows: (i) The Beggar, (2) the Knave, (3) the Artisan, (4) the Merchant, (5) the Noble, (6) the Knight, (7) the Doge, (8) the King, (9) the Emperor, (10) the Pope. The second contains the Muses and their Divine Leader: (11) Calliope, (12) Urania, (13) Terpsichore, (14) Erato, (15) Polyhymnia, (16) Thalia, (17) Melpomene, (18) Euterpe, (19) Clio, (20) Apollo. The third combines part of the Liberal Arts and Sciences with other departments of human learning, as follows: (21) Grammar, (22) Logic, (23) Rhetoric, (24) Geometry, (25) Arithmetic, (26) Music, (27) Poetry,(28) Philosophy, (29) Astrology, (30) Theology. The fourth denary completes the Liberal Arts and enumerates the Virtues: (31) Astronomy, (32) Chronology, (33) Cosmology, (34) Temperance, (35) Prudence, (36) Strength, (37) Justice; (38) Charity, (39) Hope, (40) Faith. The fifth and last denary presents the System of the Heavens (41) Moon, (42) Mercury, (43) Venus, (44) Sun, (45) Mars, (46) Jupiter, (47) Saturn, (48) A Eighth Sphere, (49) Primum Mobile, (50) First Cause.
We mnst set aside the fantastic attempts to extract complete Tarot sequences out of these denaries; we must forbear from saying, for example, that the Conditions of Life correspond to the Trumps Major, the Muses to Pentacles, the Arts and Sciences to Cups, the Virtues, etc., to Sceptres, and the conditions of life to Swords. This kind of thing can be done by a process of mental contortion, but it has no place in reality. At the same time, it is hardly possible that individual cards should not exhibit certain, and even striking, analogies. The Baldini King, Knight and Knave suggest the corresponding court cards of the Minor Arcana. The Emperor, Pope, Temperance, Strength, justice, Moon and Sun are common to the Mantegna and Trumps Major of any Tarot pack. Predisposition has also connected the Beggar and Fool, Venus and the Star, Mars and the Chariot, Saturn and the Hermit, even Jupiter, or alternatively the First Cause, with the Tarot card of the World.[1] But the most salient features of the Trumps Major are wanting in the Mantegna set, and I do not believe that the ordered sequence in the latter case gave birth, as it has been suggested, to the others. Romain Merlin maintained this view, and positively assigned the Baldini cards to the end of the fourteenth century.
If it be agreed that, except accidentally and
[1. The beggar is practically naked, and the analogy is constituted by the presence of two dogs, one of which seems to be flying at his legs. The Mars card depicts a sword-bearing warrior in a canopied chariot, to which, however, no horses are attached. Of course, if the Baldini cards belong to the close of the fifteenth century, there is no question at issue, as the Tarot was known in Europe long before that period.]
sporadically, the Baldini emblematic or allegorical pictures have only a shadowy and occasional connexion with Tarot cards, and, whatever their most probable date, that they can have supplied no originating motive, it follows that we are still seeking not only an origin in place and time for the symbols with which we are concerned, but a specific case of their manifestation on the continent of Europe to serve as a point of departure, whether backward or forward. Now it is well known that in the year 1393 the painter Charles Gringonneur--who for no reason that I can trace has been termed an occultist and kabalist by one indifferent English writer--designed and illuminated some kind of cards for the diversion of Charles VI of France when he was in mental ill-health, and the question arises whether anything can be ascertained of their nature. The only available answer is that at Paris, in the Bibliothèque du Roi, there are seventeen cards drawn and illuminated on paper. They are very beautiful, antique and priceless; the figures have a background of gold, and are framed in a silver border; but they are accompanied by no inscription and no number.
It is certain, however, that they include Tarot Trumps Major, the list of which is as follows: Fool, Emperor, Pope, Lovers, Wheel of Fortune, Temperance, Fortitude, justice, Moon, Sun, Chariot, Hermit, Hanged Man, Death, Tower and Last judgment. There are also four Tarot Cards at the Musée Carrer, Venice, and five others elsewhere, making nine in all. They include two pages or Knaves, three Kings and two Queens, thus illustrating the Minor Arcana. These collections have all been identified with the set produced by Gringonneur, but the ascription was disputed so far back as the year 1848, and it is not apparently put forward at the present day, even by those who are anxious to make evident the antiquity of the Tarot. It is held that they are all of Italian and some at least certainly of Venetian origin. We have in this manner our requisite point of departure in respect of place at least. It has further been stated with authority that Venetian Tarots are the old and true form, which is the parent of all others; but I infer that complete sets of the Major and Minor Arcana belong to much later periods. The pack is thought to have consisted of seventy-eight cards.
Notwithstanding, however, the preference shewn towards the Venetian Tarot, it is acknowledged that some portions of a Minchiate or Florentine set must be allocated to the period between 1413 and 1418. These were once in the possession of Countess Gonzaga, at Milan. A complete Minchiate pack contained ninety-seven cards, and in spite of these vestiges it is regarded, speaking generally, as a later development. There were forty-one Trumps Major, the additional numbers being borrowed or reflected from the Baldini emblematic set. In the court cards of the Minor Arcana, the Knights were monsters of the centaur type, while the Knaves were sometimes warriors and sometimes serving-men. Another distinction dwelt upon is the prevalence of Chrstian mediæval ideas and the utter absence of any Oriental suggestion. The question, however, remains whether there are Eastern traces in any Tarot cards.
We come, in fine, to the Bolognese Tarot, sometimes referred to as that of Venice and having the Trumps Major complete, but numbers 20 and 21 are transposed. In the Minor Arcana the 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the small cards are omitted, with the result that there are sixty-two cards in all. The termination of the Trumps Major in the representation of the Last judgment is curious, and a little arresting as a point of symbolism; but this is all that it seems necessary to remark about the pack of Bologna, except that it is said to have been invented--or, as a Tarot, more correctly, modified--about the beginning of the fifteenth century by an exiled Prince of Pisa resident in the city. The purpose for which they were used is made tolerably evident by the fact that, in 1423, St. Bernardin of Sienna preached against playing cards and other forms of gambling. Forty years later the importation of cards into England was forbidden, the time being that of King Edward IV. This is the first certain record of the subject in our country.
It is difficult to consult perfect examples of the sets enumerated above, but it is not difficult to meet with detailed and illustrated descriptions--I should add, provided always that the writer is not an occultist, for accounts emanating from that source are usually imperfect, vague and preoccupied by considerations which cloud the critical issues. An instance in point is offered by certain views which have been expressed on the Mantegna codex--if I may continue to dignify card sequences with a title of this kind. It has been ruled--as we have seen--in occult reverie that Apollo and the Nine Muses are in correspondence with Pentacles, but the analogy does not obtain in a working state of research; and reverie must border on nightmare before we can identify Astronomy, Chronology and Cosmology with the suit of Cups. The Baldini figures which represent these subjects are emblems of their period and not symbols, like the Tarot.
In conclusion as to this part, I observe that there has been a disposition among experts to think that the Trumps Major were not originally connected with the numbered suits. I do not wish to offer a personal view; I am not an expert in the history of games of chance, and I hate the profanum vulgus of divinatory devices; but I venture, under all reserves, to intimate that if later research should justify such a leaning, then--except for the good old art of fortune-telling and its tamperings with so-called destiny--it will be so much the better for the Greater Arcana.
So far as regards what is indispensable as preliminaries to the historical aspects of Tarot cards, and I will now take up the speculative side of the subject and produce its tests of value. In my preface to The Tarot of the Bohemians I have mentioned that the first writer who made known the fact of the cards was the archaeologist Court de Gebelin, who, just prior to the French Revolution, occupied several years in the publication of his Monde Primitif, which extended to nine quarto volumes. He was a learned man of his epoch, a high-grade Mason, a member of the historical Lodge of the Philalethes, and a virtuoso with a profound and lifelong interest in the debate on universal antiquities before a science of the subject existed. Even at this day, his memorials and dissertations, collected under the title which I have quoted, are worth possessing. By an accident of things, he became acquainted with the Tarot when it was quite unknown in Paris, and at once conceived that it was the remnants of an Egyptian book. He made inquiries concerning it and ascertained that it was in circulation over a considerable part of Europe--Spain, Italy, Germany and the South of France. It was in use as a game of chance or skill, after the ordinary manner of playing-cards; and he ascertained further how the game was played. But it was in use also for the higher purpose of divination or fortune-telling, and with the help of a learned friend he discovered the significance attributed to the cards, together with the method of arrangement adopted for this purpose. In a word, he made a distinct contribution to our knowledge, and he is still a source of reference--but it is on the question of fact only, and not on the beloved hypothesis that the Tarot contains pure Egyptian doctrine. However, he set the opinion which is prevalent to this day throughout the occult schools, that in the mystery and wonder, the strange night of the gods, the unknown tongue and the undeciphered hieroglyphics which symbolized Egypt at the end of the eighteenth century, the origin of the cards was lost. So dreamed one of the characteristic literati of France, and one can almost understand and sympathize, for the country about the Delta and the Nile was beginning to loom largely in the preoccupation of learned thought, and omne ignolum pro Ægyptiaco was the way of delusion to which many minds tended. It was excusable enough then, but that the madness has continued and, within the charmed circle of the occult sciences, still passes from mouth to mouth--there is no excuse for this. Let us see, therefore, the evidence produced by M. Court de Gebelin in support of his thesis, and, that I may deal justly, it shall be summarized as far as possible in his own words.
(i) The figures and arrangement of the game are manifestly allegorical; (2) the allegories are in conformity with the civil, philosophical and religious doctrine of ancient Egypt; (3) if the cards were modern, no High Priestess would be included among the Greater Arcana; (4) the figure in question bears the horns of Isis; (5) the card which is called the Emperor has a sceptre terminating in a triple cross; (6) the card entitled the Moon, who is Isis, shews drops of rain or dew in the act of being shed by the luminary and these-as we have seen-are the tears of Isis, which swelled the waters of the Nile and fertilized the fields of Egypt; (7) the seventeenth card, or Star, is the dog-star, Sirius, which was consecrated to Isis and symbolized the opening of the year; (8) the game played with the Tarot is founded on the sacred number seven, which was of great importance in Egypt; (9) the word Tarot is pure Egyptian, in which language Tar=way or road, and Ro=king or royal--it signifies therefore the Royal Road of Life; (10) alternatively, it is derived from A=doctrine Rosh= Mercury =Thoth, and the article T; in sum, Tarosh; and therefore the Tarot is the Book of Thoth, or the Table of the Doctrine of Mercury.
Such is the testimony, it being understood that I have set aside several casual statements, for which no kind of justification is produced. These, therefore, are ten pillars which support the edifice of the thesis, and the same are pillars of sand. The Tarot is, of course, allegorical--that is to say, it is symbolism--but allegory and symbol are catholic---of all countries, nations and times they are not more Egyptian than Mexican they are of Europe and Cathay, of Tibet beyond the Himalayas and of the London gutters. As allegory and symbol, the cards correspond to many types of ideas and things; they are universal and not particular; and the fact that they do not especially and peculiarly respond to Egyptian doctrine--religious, philosophical or civil--is clear from the failure of Court de Gebelin to go further than the affirmation. The presence of a High Priestess among the Trumps Major is more easily explained as the memorial of some popular superstition--that worship of Diana, for example, the persistence of which in modern Italy has been traced with such striking results by Leland. We have also to remember the universality of horns in every cultus, not excepting that of Tibet. The triple cross is preposterous as an instance of Egyptian symbolism; it is the cross of the patriarchal see, both Greek and Latin--of Venice, of Jerusalem, for example--and it is the form of signing used to this day by the priests and laity of the Orthodox Rite. I pass over the idle allusion to the tears of Isis, because other occult writers have told us that they are Hebrew Jods; as regards the seventeenth card, it is the star Sirius or another, as predisposition pleases; the number seven was certainly important in Egypt and any treatise on numerical mysticism will shew that the same statement applies everywhere, even if we elect to ignore the seven Christian Sacraments and the Gifts of the Divine Spirit. Finally, as regards the etymology of the word Tarot, it is sufficient to observe that it was offered before the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and when there was no knowledge of the Egyptian language.
The thesis of Court de Gebelin was not suffered to repose undisturbed in the mind of the age, appealing to the learned exclusively by means of a quarto volume. It created the opportunity of Tarot cards in Paris, as the centre of France and all things French in the universe. The suggestion that divination by cards had behind it the unexpected warrants of ancient hidden science, and that the root of the whole subject was in the wonder and mystery of Egypt, reflected thereon almost a divine dignity; out of the purlieus of occult practices cartomancy emerged into fashion and assumed for the moment almost pontifical vestures. The first to undertake the role of bateleur, magician and juggler, was the illiterate but zealous adventurer, Alliette; the second, as a kind of High Priestess, full of intuitions and revelations, was Mlle. Lenormand--but she belongs to a later period; while lastly came Julia Orsini, who is referable to a Queen of Cups rather in the tatters of clairvoyance. I am not concerned with these people as tellers of fortune, when destiny itself was shuffling and cutting cards for the game of universal revolution, or for such courts and courtiers as were those of Louis XVIII, Charles IX and Louis Philippe. But under the occult designation of Etteilla, the transliteration of name, Alliette, that perruquier took himself with high seriousness and posed rather as a priest of the occult sciences than as an ordinary adept in l'art de tirer les cartes. Even at this day there are people, like Dr. Papus, who have sought to save some part of his bizarre system from oblivion.
The long and heterogeneous story of Le Monde Primitif had come to the end of its telling in 1782, and in 1783 the tracts of Etteilla had begun pouring from the press, testifying that already he had spent thirty, nay, almost forty years in the study of Egyptian magic, and that he had found the final keys. They were, in fact, the Keys of the Tarot, which was a book of philosophy and the Book of Thoth, but at the same time it was actually written by seventeen Magi in a Temple of Fire, on the borders of the Levant, some three leagues from Memphis. It contained the science of the universe, and the cartomancist proceeded to apply it to Astrology, Alchemy, and fortune-telling, without the slightest diffidence or reserve as to the fact that he was driving a trade. I have really little doubt that he considered it genuine as a métier, and that he himself was the first person whom he convinced concerning his system. But the point which we have to notice is that in this manner was the antiquity of the Tarot generally trumpeted forth. The little books of Etteilla are proof positive that he did not know even his own language; when in the course of time he produced a reformed Tarot, even those who think of him tenderly admit that he spoiled its symbolism; and in respect of antiquities he had only Court de Gebelin as his universal authority.
The cartomancists succeeded one another in the manner which I have mentioned, and of course there were rival adepts of these less than least mysteries; but the scholarship of the subject, if it can be said to have come into existence, reposed after all in the quarto of Court de Gebelin for something more than sixty years. On his authority, there is very little doubt that everyone who became acquainted, by theory or practice, by casual or special concern, with the question of Tarot cards, accepted their Egyptian character. It is said that people are taken commonly at their own valuation, and--following as it does the line of least resistance--the unsolicitous general mind assuredly accepts archæological pretensions in the sense of their own daring and of those who put them forward. The first who appeared to reconsider the subject with some presumptive titles to a hearing was the French writer Duchesne, but I am compelled to pass him over with a mere reference, and so also some interesting researches on the general subject of playing-cards by Singer in England. The latter believed that the old Venetian game called Trappola was the earliest European form of card-playing, that it was of Arabian origin, and that the fifty-two cards used for the purpose derived from that region. I do not gather that any importance was ever attached to this view.
Duchesne and Singer were followed by another English writer, W. A. Chatto, who reviewed the available facts and the cloud of speculations which had already arisen on the subject. This was in 1848, and his work has still a kind of standard authority, but--after every allowance for a certain righteousness attributable to the independent mind--it remains an indifferent and even a poor performance. It was, however, characteristic in its way of the approaching middle night of the nineteenth century. Chatto rejected the Egyptian hypothesis, but as he was at very little pains concerning it, he would scarcely be held to displace Court de Gebelin if the latter had any firm ground beneath his hypothesis. In 1854 another French writer, Boiteau, took up the general question, maintaining the oriental origin of Tarot cards, though without attempting to prove it. I am not certain, but I think that he is the first writer who definitely identified them with the Gipsies; for him, however, the original Gipsy home was in India, and Egypt did not therefore enter into his calculation.
In 1860 there arose Éliphas Lévi, a brilliant and profound illuminé whom it is impossible to accept, and with whom it is even more impossible to dispense. There was never a mouth declaring such great things, of all the western voices which have proclaimed or interpreted the science called occult and the doctrine called magical. I suppose that, fundamentally speaking, he cared as much and as little as I do for the phenomenal part, but he explained the phenomena with the assurance of one who openly regarded charlatanry as a great means to an end, if used in a right cause. He came unto his own and his own received him, also at his proper valuation, as a man of great learning--which he never was--and as a revealer of all mysteries without having been received into any. I do not think that there was ever an instance of a writer with greater gifts, after their particular kind, who put them to such indifferent uses. After all, he was only Etteilla a second time in the flesh, endowed in his transmutation with a mouth of gold and a wider casual knowledge. This notwithstanding, he has written the most comprehensive, brilliant, enchanting History of Magic which has ever been drawn into writing in any language. The Tarot and the de Gebelin hypothesis he took into his heart of hearts, and all occult France and all esoteric Britain, Martinists, half-instructed Kabalists, schools of soi disant theosophy--there, here and everywhere--have accepted his judgment about it with the same confidence as his interpretations of those great classics of Kabalism which he had skimmed rather than read. The Tarot for him was not only the most perfect instrument of divination and the keystone of occult science, but it was the primitive book, the sole book of the ancient Magi, the miraculous volume which inspired all the sacred writings of antiquity. In his first work Lévi was content, however, with accepting the construction of Court de Gebelin and reproducing the seventh Trump Major with a few Egyptian characteristics. The question of Tarot transmission through the Gipsies did not occupy him, till J. A. Vaillant, a bizarre writer with great knowledge of the Romany people, suggested it in his work on those wandering tribes. The two authors were almost coincident and reflected one another thereafter. It remained for Romain Merlin, in 1869, to point out what should have been obvious, namely, that cards of some kind were known in Europe prior to the arrival of the Gipsies in or about 1417. But as this was their arrival at Lüneburg, and as their presence can be traced antecedently, the correction loses a considerable part of its force; it is safer, therefore, to say that the evidence for the use of the Tarot by Romany tribes was not suggested till after the year 1840; the fact that some Gipsies before this period were found using cards is quite explicable on the hypothesis not that they brought them into Europe but found them there already and added them to their stock-in-trade.
We have now seen that there is no particle of evidence for the Egyptian origin of Tarot cards. Looking in other directions, it was once advanced on native authority that cards of some kind were invented in China about the year A.D. 1120. Court de Gebelin believed in his zeal that he had traced them to a Chinese inscription of great imputed antiquity which was said to refer to the subsidence of the waters of the Deluge. The characters of this inscription were contained in seventy-seven compartments, and this constitutes the analogy. India had also its tablets, whether cards or otherwise, and these have suggested similar slender similitudes. But the existence, for example, of ten suits or styles, of twelve numbers each, and representing the avatars of Vishnu as a fish, tortoise, boar, lion, monkey, hatchet, umbrella or bow, as a goat, a boodh and as a horse, in fine, are not going to help us towards the origin of our own Trumps Major, nor do crowns and harps--nor even the presence of possible coins as a synonym of deniers and perhaps as an equivalent of pentacles--do much to elucidate the Lesser Arcana. If every tongue and people and clime and period possessed their cards--if with these also they philosophized, divined and gambled--the fact would be interesting enough, but unless they were Tarot cards, they would illustrate only the universal tendency of man to be pursuing the same things in more or less the same way.
I end, therefore, the history of this subject by repeating that it has no history prior to the fourteenth century, when the first rumours, were heard concerning cards. They may have existed for centuries, but this period would be early enough, if they were only intended for people to try their luck at gambling or their luck at seeing the future; on the other hand, if they contain the deep intimations of Secret Doctrine, then the fourteenth century is again early enough, or at least in this respect we are getting as much as we can.


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Welcome to our September 2014 Senior News Letter for New Westside Terrace Retirement Home and Assisted Living in Longview Washington. We have senior news for New Westside Terrace residents and all seniors in Longview WA, Kelso WA, Cowlitz County WA, and surrounding Lower Columbia areas of Western Washington and Oregon are invited. Some of our activities and events are for seniors, while some are for all ages to enjoy. Many of our events are open to the public and all are invited!
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It's May 21st, time for the Teen FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance! Click the button!) Every 21st, we will feature an author and his/her latest Teen fiction book's FIRST chapter!
Robert Liparulo and his book:
Thomas Nelson (May 6, 2008)
Robert Liparulo is an award-winning author of over a thousand published articles and short stories. He is currently a contributing editor for New Man magazine. His work has appeared in Reader's Digest, Travel & Leisure, Modern Bride, Consumers Digest, Chief Executive, and The Arizona Daily Star, among other publications. In addition, he previously worked as a celebrity journalist, interviewing Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Charlton Heston, and others for magazines such as Rocky Road, Preview, and L.A. Weekly. He has sold or optioned three screenplays.
Robert is an avid scuba diver, swimmer, reader, traveler, and a law enforcement and military enthusiast. He lives in Colorado with his wife and four children.
Here are some of his titles:
- Comes a Horseman
- Germ
- Deadfall
—Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Thirty years ago
The walls of the house absorbed the woman's screams, until they felt to her as muffled and pointless as yelling underwater. Still, her lungs kept pushing out cries for help. Her attacker carried her over his shoulder. The stench of his sweat filled her nostrils. He paid no heed to her frantic writhing, or the pounding of her fists on his back, or even her fingernails, which dug furrows into his flesh. He simply lumbered, as steadily as a freight train, through the corridors of the big house.
She knew where they were heading, but not where she would end up. In this house, nothing was normal, nothing as it appeared. So while she knew in advance the turns her attacker would take, which hallways and doors he would traverse, their destination was as unknowable as a faraway galaxy. And that meant her taking would be untraceable. She would be unreachable to searchers. To would-be rescuers. To her family— and that realization terrified her more than being grabbed out of her bed. More than the flashes of imagined cruelty she would suffer away from the protection of the people who loved her. More than death.
But then she saw something more terrifying: her children, scrambling to catch up, to help. Their eyes were wide, streaming. They stumbled up the narrow staircase behind her attacker, seeming far below, rising to meet her. The thought of them following her into the chasm of her fate was more than she could stand.
"Go back," she said, but by this time her throat was raw, her voice weak.
The man reached the landing and turned into another corridor.
Temporarily out of sight, her son yelled, "Mom!" His seven-year-old voice was almost lost in the shrillness of his panic. He appeared on the landing. His socked feet slipped on the hardwood floor and he went down. Behind him, his little sister stopped. She was frightened and confused, too young to do anything more than follow her brother. He clambered up and started to run again.
A hand gripped his shoulder, jarring him back.
The boy's father had something in his fist: the lamp from his nightstand! He past the boy in the hallway. His bare feet gave him traction.
Thank God, she thought.
He reached her in seconds. With the lamp raised over his head, he grabbed her wrist. He pulled, tried to anchor himself to the floor, to the carpeted runner now covering the wood planks. But the brute under her walked on, tugging him with them. The man yanked on her arm. Pain flared in her shoulder. He might as well have tried pulling her from a car as it sped passed.
She caught a glimpse of the bizarrely shaped light fixtures on the corridor walls—mostly carved faces with glowing eyes. The bulbs flickered in time with her racing heart. She could not remember any of the lights doing that before. It was as though the electrical current running through the wires was responding to a disruption in the way things were supposed to be, a glitch in reality.
"Henry," she said, pleading, hopeful.
His grip tightened as he stumbled along behind them. He brought the lamp's heavy base down on her assailant. If the man carrying her flinched, she did not feel it. If he grunted or yelled out, she did not hear it.
What he did was stop. He spun around so quickly, the woman's husband lost his grip on her. And now facing the other direction, she lost sight of him. Being suddenly denied her husband's visage felt like getting the wind knocked out of her. She realized he was face to face with the man who'd taken her, and that felt like watching him step off a cliff.
"Nooo!" she screamed, her voice finding some volume. "Henry!"
His hand gripped her ankle, then broke free. The man under her moved in a violent dance, jostling her wildly. He spun again and her head struck the wall.
The lights went out completely . . . . but no, not the lights . . . her consciousness. It came back to her slowly, like the warmth of fire on a blistery day.
She tasted blood. She'd bitten her tongue. She opened her eyes. Henry was crumpled on the floor, receding as she was carried away. The children stood over him, touching him, calling him. Her son's eyes found hers again. Determination hardened his jaw, pushed away the fear . . . at least a measure of it. He stepped over his father's legs, coming to her rescue. Henry raised his head, weary, stunned. He reached for the boy, but missed.
Over the huffing breath of the man, the soft patter of her son's feet reached her ears. How she'd loved that sound, knowing it was bringing him to her. Now she wanted it to carry him away, away from this danger. Her husband called to him in a croaking, strained voice. The boy kept coming.
She spread her arms. Her left hand clutched at open air, but the right one touched a wall. She clawed at it. Her nails snagged the wallpaper. One nail peeled back from her finger and snapped off.
Her assailant turned again, into a room—one of the small antechambers, like a mud room before the real room. He strode straight toward the next threshold.
Her son reached the first door, catching it as it was closing.
"Mom!" Panic etched old-man lines into his young face. His eyes appeared as wide as his mouth. He banged his shoulder on the jamb, trying to hurry in.
"Stay!" she said. She showed him her palms in a "stop" gesture, hoping he would understand, hoping he would obey. She took in his face, as a diver takes in a deep breath before plunging into the depths. He was fully in the antechamber now, reaching for her with both arms, but her captor had already opened the second door and was stepping through. The door was swinging shut behind him.
The light they were stepping into was bright. It swept around her, through the opening, and made pinpoints of the boy's irises. His blue eyes dazzled. His cheeks glistened with tears. He wore his favorite pajamas—little R2D2s and C3P0s all over them, becoming threadbare and too small for him.
"I—" she started, meaning to say she loved him, but the brute bounded downward, driving his shoulder into her stomach. Air rushed from her, unformed by vocal chords, tongue, lips. Just air.
"Moooom!" her son screamed. Full of despair. Reaching. Almost to the door.
The door closed, separating her from her family forever.
Saturday, 4:55 P.M.
"Nothing but trees," the bear said in Xander's voice. It repeated itself: "Nothing but trees."
Xander King turned away from the car window and stared into the smiling furry face, with its shiny half-bead eyes and stitched-on nose. He said, "I mean it, Toria. Get that thing out of my face. And turn it off."
His sister's hands moved quickly over the teddy bear's paws, all the while keeping it suspended three inches in front of Xander. The bear said, "I mean it, Toria. Get that—"
At fifteen years old, Xander was too old to be messing around with little-kid toys. He seized the bear, squeezing the paw that silenced it.
"Mom!" Toria yelled. "Make him give Wuzzy back!" She grabbed for it.
Xander turned away from her, tucking Wuzzy between his body and the car door. Outside his window, nothing but trees—as he had said and Wuzzy had agreed. It reminded him of a movie, as almost everything did. This time, it was The Edge, about a bear intent on eating Anthony Hopkins. An opening shot of the wilderness where it was filmed showed miles and miles of lush forest. Nothing but trees.
A month ago, his dad had announced that he had accepted a position as principal of a school six hundred miles away, and the whole King family had to move from the only home Xander had ever known. It was a place he had never even heard of: Pinedale, almost straight north from their home in Pasadena. Still in California, but barely. Pinedale. The name itself said "hick," "small," and "If you don't die here, you'll wish you had." Of course, he had screamed, begged, sulked, and threatened to run away. But in the end here he was, wedged in the back seat with his nine-year-old sister and twelve-year-old brother.
The longer they drove, the thicker the woods grew and the more miserable he became. It was bad enough, leaving his friends, his school—everything!—but to be leaving them for hicksville, in the middle of nowhere, was a stake through his heart.
"Mom!" Toria yelled again, reaching for the bear.
Xander squeezed closer to the door, away from her. He must have put pressure on the bear in the wrong place: It began chanting in Toria's whiny voice: "Mom! Mom! Mom!"
He frantically squeezed Wuzzy's paws, but could not make it stop.
"Mom! Mom! Mom!"
The controls in the bear's arms weren't working. Frustrated by its continuous one-word poking at his brain—and a little concerned he had broken it and would have to buy her a new one—he looked to his sister for help.
She wasn't grabbing for it anymore. Just grinning. One of those see-what-happens-when-you-mess-with-me smiles.
"Mom! Mom! Mom!"
Xander was about to show her what happened when you messed with him—the possibilities ranged from a display of his superior vocal volume to ripping Mr. Wuzzy's arms right off—when the absurdity of it struck him. He cracked up.
"I mean it," he laughed. "This thing is driving me crazy." He shook the bear at her. It continued yelling for their mother.
His brother David, who was sitting on the other side of Toria and who had been doing a good job of staying out of the fight, started laughing too. He mimicked the bear, who was mimicking their sister: "Mom! Mom! Mom!"
Mrs. King shifted around in the front passenger seat. She was smiling, but her eyes were curious.
"Xander broke Wuzzy!" Toria whined. "He won't turn off." She pulled the bear out of Xander's hands.
The furry beast stopped talking: "Mo—" Then, blessed silence.
Toria looked from brother to brother and they laugh again.
Xander shrugged. "I guess he just doesn't like me."
"He only likes me," Toria said, hugging it.
"Oh, brother," David said. He went back to the PSP game that had kept him occupied most of the drive.
Mom raised her eyebrows at Xander and said, "Be nice."
Xander rolled his eyes. He adjusted his shoulders and wiggled his behind, nudging Toria. "It's too cramped back here. It may be an SUV, but it isn't big enough for us anymore."
"Don't start that," his father warned from behind the wheel. He angled the rearview mirror to see his son.
"What?" Xander said, acting innocent.
"I did the same thing with my father," Dad said. "The car's too small . . . it uses too much gas . . . it's too run down . . . "
Xander smiled. "Well, it is."
"And if we get a new car, what should we do with this one?"
"Well . . . ." Xander said. "You know. It'd be a safe car for me." A ten-year-old Toyota 4Runner wasn't his idea of cool wheels, but it was transportation.
Dad nodded. "Getting you a car is something we can talk about, okay? Let's see how you do."
"I have my driver's permit. You know I'm a good driver."
"He is," Toria chimed in.
David added, "And then he can drive us to school."
"I didn't mean just the driving," Dad said. He paused, catching Xander's eyes in the mirror. "I mean with all of this, the move and everything."
Xander stared out the window again. He mumbled, "Guess I'll never get a car, then."
"Xander?" Dad said. "I didn't hear that."
"He said he'll never get a car," Toria said.
Silence. David's thumbs clicked furiously over the PSP buttons. Xander was aware of his mom watching him. If he looked, her eyes would be all sad-like, and she would be frowning in sympathy for him. He thought maybe his dad was looking too, but only for an opportunity to explain himself again. Xander didn't want to hear it. Nothing his old man said would make this okay, would make ripping him out of his world less awful than it was.
"Dad, is the school's soccer team good? Did they place?" David asked. Xander knew his brother wasn't happy about the move either, but jumping right into the sport he was so obsessed about went a long way toward making the change something he could handle. Maybe Xander was like that three years ago, just rolling with the punches. He couldn't remember. But now he had things in his life David didn't: friends who truly mattered, ones he thought he'd spend the rest of his life with. Kids didn't think that way. Friends could come and go and they adjusted. True, Xander had known his current friends for years, but they hadn't become like blood until the last year or so.
That got him thinking about Danielle. He pulled his mobile phone from his shirt pocket and checked it. No text messages from her. No calls. She hadn't replied to the last text he'd sent. He keyed in another: "Forget me already? JK." But he wasn't Just Kidding. He knew the score: Out of sight, out of mind. She had said all the right things, like We'll talk on the phone all the time; You come down and see me and I'll come up to see you, okay? and I'll wait for you.
Yeah, sure you will, he thought. Even during the past week, he'd sensed a coldness in her, an emotional distancing. When he'd told his best friend, Dean had shrugged. Trying to sound world-wise, he'd said, "Forget her, dude. She's a hot young babe. She's gotta move on. You too. Not like you're married, right?" Dean had never liked Danielle.
Xander tried to convince himself she was just another friend he was forced to leave behind. But there was a different kind of ache in his chest when he thought about her. A heavy weight in his stomach.
Stop it! he told himself. He flipped his phone closed.
On his mental list of the reasons to hate the move to Pinedale, he moved on to the one titled "career." He had just started making short films with his buddies, and was pretty sure it was something he would eventually do for a living. They weren't much, just short skits he and his friends acted out. He and Dean wrote the scripts, did the filming, used computer software to edit an hour of video into five-minute films, and laid music over them. They had six already on YouTube—with an average rating of four-and-a-half stars and a boatload of praise. Xander had dreams of getting a short film into the festival circuit, which of course would lead to offers to do music videos and commercials, probably an Oscar and onto feature movies starring Russell Crowe and Jim Carrey. Pasadena was right next to Hollywood, a twenty-minute drive. You couldn't ask for a better place to live if you were the next Steven Spielberg. What in God's creation would he find to film in Pinedale? Trees, he thought glumly, watching them fly past his window.
Dad, addressing David's soccer concern, said, "We'll talk about it later."
Mom reached through the seatbacks to shake Xander's knee. "It'll work out," she whispered.
"Wait a minute," David said, understanding Dad-talk as well as Xander did. "Are you saying they suck—or that they don't have a soccer team? You told me they did!"
"I said later, Dae." His nickname came from Toria's inability as a toddler to say David. She had also called Xander Xan, but it hadn't stuck.
David slumped down in his seat.
Xander let the full extent of his misery show on his face for his mother.
She gave his knee a shake, sharing his misery. She was good that way. "Give it some time," she whispered. "You'll make new friends and find new things to do. Wait and see."


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North Mississippi Beef Expo set for Oct. 21-22
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi beef producers are invited to attend the 2021 North Mississippi Beef Expo.
The event will be offered at two locations. On Oct. 21, the expo will be held at the Ripley fairgrounds located at 10719B Highway 15 S. On Oct. 22, it will be held at the Batesville Civic Center located at 290 Civic Center Drive.
Topics include beef genetics, mineral supplementation, cattle market updates, beef cattle herd health and research updates from the MSU Prairie Research Unit.
The program begins at 8:30 a.m. each day. The event is free, but preregistration is required for a correct meal count. To preregister, visit the expo's registration site.
The Mississippi State University Extension Service partnered with the Mississippi Cattlemen's Association, Farm Bureau, Chickasaw Equipment Company and The People's Bank to host the event.
For more information about the event, contact Lance Newman at 662-234-4451 or email@example.com.
MSU is an equal opportunity institution. For disability accommodation, please contact Newman at 662-234-4451 or email@example.com.


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Koch Membrane Systems has released its new SUPER-COR XL, SUPER-COR XL PLUS and the SUPER-G PLUS line of high performance filtration modules designed for more compact and efficient juice clarification systems.
By utilizing the advanced SUPER-COR XL, SUPER-COR XL PLUS and SUPER-G PLUS modules, customers are now able to recover up to 99% of their juice with crystal clarity. Standard SUPER-COR and SUPER-G membranes are currently used to process more than 75% of the apple juice manufactured in the United States as well as a major portion of worldwide production.
The new XL series in the SUPER-COR product line features 12-foot (3.66 meters) tubes and is a 20% increase over the standard 10-foot (3.0 meters) length. The new PLUS series available in both the SUPER-COR and SUPER-G product lines features modules containing more tubes per housing. The SUPER-COR XL PLUS features 37 half-inch (12.7 mm) diameter tubes versus 19 in the standard product, and the SUPER-G PLUS has 9 one-inch diameter tubes versus only four in the standard module.
The larger SUPER-COR XL PLUS modules provide a 133% increase in membrane area over the standard product line. The larger SUPER-G PLUS modules have a 122% increase in membrane area. SUPER-COR XL, SUPER-COR XL PLUS and SUPER-G PLUS modules are now available in all current KMS microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes.


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Donating to World Vision
World Vision, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization, contributions to which are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Information concerning World Vision, including financial, licensing or charitable purposes, may be obtained without cost by writing to our principal place of business at: World Vision, Inc., P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063, or by calling 1.888.511.6548. REGISTRATION WITH A STATE DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THAT STATE Residents of the following states may obtain financial or other information from the offices indicated.
Florida: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL FREE 1.800.HELP.FLA (1.800.435.7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. FLORIDA REG. #CH1794.
Georgia: The following will be sent upon request: A full and fair description of the charitable program for which this solicitation is made; a financial statement or summary, consistent with the requirements of Georgia Code § 43-17-5.
Maryland: Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401, 1.410.974.5534, or within Maryland, 1.800.825.4510.
Mississippi: Official registration and financial information of World Vision may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of State's office by calling 1.800.236.6167.
Pennsylvania: Official registration and financial information of World Vision, Inc. may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State toll-free, within Pennsylvania, at 1.800.732.0999.
Virginia: A copy of the financial statement is available from the State Office of Consumer Affairs, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218, 1.800.552.9963 or 1.804.786.2042.
Washington: Financial or other information is available from the Corporations Division, Office of the Secretary of State, P.O. Box 40234, Olympia, WA 98504-0234 or by calling 1.800.332.4483 (within state) or 1.360.725.0378.
West Virginia: West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, West Virginia 25305.


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Atlas - Giant Sticker Poster
Giant world map to decorate with 150 stickers included!
A real graphic trip to share with a lot of humor and a multitude of details.åÊ
Choose options
Behind OMY are two Parisian creators: Elvire Laurent and Marie-Cerise Lichtlé, both professional graphic designers and illustrators.
Companions and friends since their years of study at the Paris Decorative Arts, they share a common artistic sensitivity.
Instinctively, they decide to bring to life their first range of products, responding to their own desires and enthusiasm. This is how they create an innovative concept in an unexpected format: XXL coloring poster.
Quickly, this idea takes flight and becomes a must-have.
No one had thought of it before...
In 2012, OMY was born with a simple idea: to bring joy through creativity. Since then, we have designed and offered innovative, cheerful, and graphically unique products for everyone, young and old alike.
Our creative studio, nestled in the heart of Paris, is the birthplace of our collections. It is where our meticulously detailed illustrations, vibrant colors, and innovative designs are born, infused with a quirky sense of humor that is uniquely ours.
From Paris to more than 65 countries around the world, our mission remains the same: to spread our good vibes through our creations.
OMY, a story of brightness and shared smiles.
At OMY, the quality of our products is an absolute priority.
Manufacturing holds a central place in our concerns, and we make sure to select the best designs, materials, and textures to offer impeccable quality at an affordable price for everyone.
We prioritize French manufacturing, which currently represents 50% of our production.
When local manufacturing is not possible, we turn to alternatives, always keeping in mind the quality of our products and the respect for our planet.


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The Catalog is the official publication of record regarding courses offered, degree and certificate program outlines and requirements and additional policies and procedures for the campus.
2023-2024 Catalog- 2022-2023 Catalog
- 2021-2022 Catalog
- 2020-2021 Catalog (PDF)
- 2020-2021 Catalog Supplement 1 (PDF)
- 2020-2021 Catalog Supplement 2 (PDF)
- 2019-2020 Catalog (PDF)
- 2019-2020 Catalog Supplement (PDF)
- Catalog Archives
Note: The PDF Catalog is also available in alternate formats (Braile, enlarged text, e-text, etc.) Please contact Disabled Student Programs and Services at (626) 585-3174 or in Room D-209.
Course & Program Outlines
View the official course and program outlines through our curriculum management system, WebCMS. All classes offered by the college are searchable by course department and course number.
Schedule of Classes
View the course schedules for both past, current, and upcoming semesters and sessions.
Academic Calendar
See official dates for the starts and ends of semesters and intersessions as well as important deadlines related to being a student at PCC.


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Grundfos focus on the climate challenge
Grundfos' 2009 Sustainability Report, which was published recently, advises on the results achieved in 2009 with regard to sustainability and responsibility and also underlines the company's efforts to fight the major global challenges.
The report includes the following:
A statement about the Grundfos White Paper on climate – "Sustainability first – Our perspectives on the Climate Challenge", which underlines our attitude and commitments as to how Grundfos can make a difference in relation to climate change.
Development of a Footprint strategy, which sets an ambitious target for Grundfos to never emit more CO₂ than we did in 2008.
A 10 per cent reduction of our CO₂ emissions, which is a satisfactory result seen in the light of the falling turnover. The objective, however, is to achieve even better results in the future.
ALPHA2 pump number 1,000,000 was manufactured in 2009. In addition, Grundfos A-labelled pumps sold during the 2005-2009 period have achieved annual energy savings of 750 million kWh – which corresponds to 359,000 tons CO₂.
Being a responsible company, Grundfos attaches great emphasis on creating a workplace with room for employees with a reduced capacity. In 2009, the Group target stipulated that 3 per cent of Grundfos employees should be people with a reduced capacity for work, which was surpassed by a 4 per cent result.
The 2009 Sustainability Report gives a comprehensive view of our CSR activities and results, and the report is therefore relevant for a wide range of our stakeholders.


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Handmade Canvas Bag
30-Day Money Back Guarantee
30-Day Money Back Guarantee
At Glimsbee we stand by the quality of our products so we want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase. Should you for any reason be unhappy with your purchase we will issue a refund to your credit card or exchange an unsatisfactory product for another one if returned within 30 days after you received your product.
Please see our Returns and Warranty section for further details.
Tracking number included on every order
Tracking number included on every order
Tracking numbers are provided on every order and are included in your shipping confirmation email. Shipment processing time for all orders could take up to 5 business days, once this takes place the shipping confirmation email is automatically sent.
Store your cosmetics, pencils, perfume, medications or any other personal item with this versatile and cute canvas bag!
- Made of soft and high quality canvas
- Very useful for travel, for the gym or for home use
- Easy to clean
- A great gift for your relatives and friends
- Product size: 8.3"L * 5.1"H
24/7 Customer Support
24/7 Customer Support
Hit us up with any questions or comments at email@example.com. We're here to help you! Nothing means more to us than providing you with the customer service you truly deserve.


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PetSmart Training
PetSmart's accredited pet training instructors can help you achieve positive, consistent behavior from Fido. Classes are available for Puppies, Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced dogs. Click-A-Trick, Private Education, and Personal Training Camp may also be available. Visit your local PetSmart for more information on class times and prices.
Visit Website
Or call 407-895-6576 for more information.
Traveler Photos
We haven't received any photos of PetSmart Training yet.
Want to feature your creature? Upload a photo of your pet at PetSmart Training! You can also share by using the hashtag #bringfido on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.


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Dec 1, 2017
"Marketing and diversity are so intrinsically connected because you have to be effective at connecting with consumers," Diego Scotti, Chief Marketing Officer at Verizon, says in his conversation with Marie McGehee. They chatted about Verizon's evolution as a brand, Diego's personal journey in marketing, and how...
Oct 31, 2017
Oct 15, 2017
Oct 10, 2017
From a phishing attack at a water supply facility that left a community with contaminated water, to a cyber breach at a university that got final exams cancelled. Sravya sits down with Bryan Sartin and Alex Schlager to discuss real-life cyber crimes they've encountered in today's connected world.
Sep 25, 2017
In a time of increased connectivity and smarter devices, millions of children in schools across the country are being left behind with aging technology. Jeremy hosts a discussion between Rose Stuckey Kirk, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Verizon, and Justin Reich, Assistant Professor in Comparative...


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The members of your social network are listed here. If you need to search for a specific member, enter your search criteria in the fields below.
Note: You will be able to edit Profile Types of members only if there are more than 1 profile type on your site excluding Admin & Super Admin profile types.
More info: See KB article.
Add New User Bulk Import Members


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Also appears in:
Free delivery on this product
- Type: High quality Satin print
- Theme: Boats & Harbour
- Location: Dartmouth
- Orientation: Landscape
- Image size: 390 x 115 mm (without border)
- Paper size: Can vary - supplied with border for mounting & framing
Former architect John works from his studio in Bedfordshire. His impressive oeuvre demonstrates a stunning attention to detail, as well as an elaborate understanding of line, form, light and shadow with an underlying fondness for Cornwall.
No reviews yet, check back soon!


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Will Amazon's Same-Day Delivery Model Hurt Newspapers?
In Nieman Journalism Lab blog post, Ken Doctor explores the possible effects of Amazon's shift into same-day delivery on newspaper advertising revenues:
Here's what most hurts most about the new Amazon threat: It aims directly at the one category of newspaper advertising that has fared the best, retail.
Classifieds has decimated by interactive databases. National has migrated strongly digital. Retail, which made up of just 47 percent of newspaper ad revenues 10 years ago, is now up to 57 percent of newspaper totals. Now that advertising, albeit in just a few markets initially, will have to compete with Amazon-forced marketplace change.
Doctor also considers the implications of the move for Google, cityscapes and shopping centers, and employment.
(HT: Marginal Revolution)


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Explore the help topics, and if you can't find your answer or just want to say 'hi', please come by the forums (which are filled with friendly folk, we promise!) or email us.
Top questions
Quick question?
Tweet @rememberthemilk
How do I create a Smart List?
Start by performing a search with your desired criteria:
- Navigate to the Search screen by tapping its icon in the upper left.
- Enter a word (or multiple words) that appears in the name of the task you want to locate. (You can also use advanced search operators.)
- Tap Search to see the results.
Once you've tested the search and are happy with the criteria, you're ready to create the Smart List.
- On the search results screen, tap the Title Bar at the top of the screen and then tap Save Smart List.
- Tap the List Name field and enter the name.
- Tap the Sort Order field and change the sort order, if desired.
- Tap Save.
Your Smart List has now been created; you can access it under the Smart Lists section in the left menu.
Still need help?
Contact a human


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- Catalog Home
Lund Performance Catalogs
LUND is the first automotive accessory manufacturer to develop and offer comprehensive packages to customize and personalize trucks, SUVs and vans. An American-based company and the creator of the wrap hood shield category through the invention of the Interceptor hood shield, LUND designs and manufactures the most stylish, high performance and premium automotive accessories for trucks and SUVs. Product categories include: Interceptor hood protection, nerf bars, running boards, tonneau covers, exterior accessories, storage boxes, cargo management and bed accessories. Choose LUND for Premium Style, Lasting Performance.


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Why Get Married?
From: Anonymous
Dear Rabbi,
Why should a person get married?
Dear Anonymous,
Ill first explain some ideas behind the Jewish notion of marriage and why its essential, and then refute some common arguments against getting married.
One of the main reasons for getting married is to help each other grow through a life-long process of emotional, intellectual and spiritual sharing and challenge. This is the meaning of the verse, "It is not good, this state of mans being alone; I will make a helpmate opposite to him" (Gen. 2:18). As long as a person is single, it is not good meaning not only is the person incomplete, but the entire Creation is also lacking perfection (Rabbi S. R. Hirsch). The purpose of this union is that each should help the other reach perfection. Sometimes this is achieved by sharing; sometimes by opposing, questioning and challenging. This ideal dynamic of "opposing-helpmate" is best achieved between a man and woman committed to a love for growth together for life.
Marriage as context for growth is also intimated by the verse, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). As father or mother, a persons main responsibility is to ensure that the child grow to be the best person possible. Marriage, then, takes a person to the next, natural and higher plane of potential perfection. Becoming one flesh is an allusion to this fusion of two perfect halves into a unified whole. In fact, the Zohar (Lech Lecha 91b) teaches that every soul is divided into male and female components before being sent into the world. Ideally, every match is the re-fusion of the halves into one.
But this becoming one flesh is not only figurative. Contrary to popular misconception, Eve was not necessarily created from Adams rib. According to a statement of our Sages Adam was split in two. The Talmud (Eruvin 11) explains the verse, And G-d took one of his sides, to mean that Adam was originally a composite of both male and female aspects side by side. G-d separated them in order to create the longing for, and fulfillment in, the male/female union. Therefore, marriage is the venue through which one attains spiritual, emotional and physical unity and perfection.
Of course, the true pinnacle of male/female physical unity comes to fruition in the birth of their children another reason to marry. Thus, G-d simultaneously commands and confers blessing upon the union of man and woman, "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28). However, the point is not just to have children. Being fruitful means realizing ones potential through sharing and challenge in marriage, in order that ones productive traits and talents ripen, and his branches become laden with sweet and pleasant fruits. Only then can one truly multiply, as his perfection through marriage is conferred to and perpetuated by their children, the fruits of their labor. In this way, a married couples figurative unity as one flesh becomes manifested literally in one flesh, many times over.
Some people object to getting married because, they argue, as the divorce rate gets higher and higher, why marry to get divorced? In truth, if people really knew themselves and truly understood the purpose of marriage in short, if each person strove to become as perfect a half as possible before tying the knot, marriage would strengthen the knot, not undo it. Some consider marriage restrictive. Is permissive truly desirable? In any case, one who desires only to receive might find marriage restrictive; one who desires to give will find marriage limitless. Others claim marriage limits ones horizons experientially, career-wise, etc. However, the commitment and obligation to spouse and children provide an opportunity to attain true greatness precisely because of the need to succeed as both a person and professional.
Finally, some resist marriage for global considerations to alleviate mother earths over-burdened resources or to reduce world hunger and the like. While these are noble concerns, they dont preclude family life. First, a lot can be done to improve personal and global consumption besides being barren. Consume less and have children a creatively modest lifestyle could permit having children without adding significant demand on resources. In addition, there is really no direct correlation between one persons ability to feed his children and another persons not. Give more of your income to hungry children while feeding your own. Last, a Jew in particular should avoid this solution of celibacy or sterility. Relatively speaking, the Jews are but a tiny fraction of the world population. If anyone should undergo population control, nations who have historically persecuted, decimated and annihilated the Jews, but are themselves among the most populous, should perhaps take precedent. A Jews self-imposed sterility abrogates the Divine command/blessing to be fruitful and multiply, making him a willing accomplice to those who have sought, and still seek, our extermination. "Am Yisrael Chai!"