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JR7-A Jenner with Hex Base
A superb sculp, printed in high quality resolution with the appropriate resin, under licence from Syllogy https://www.patreon.com/Syllogy
!!Important!! Please ensure you have checked the main shop page for current lead times. These timescales will change based on how busy we are.
As with all resin prints this piece uses supports, there may be some tidying to do but we will do our best to minimise this. We will clean and cure all miniature prior to dispatch.
We will always do our best to print in grey but with the state of the world we will print in whatever colour we can get if there is a shortage.
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Actual pictures incoming, they're on the job list. Just check out the feedback from our other mechs though. If you need a different scale just ask.
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All the best
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To Heaven and Back
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One million copies sold! Dr. Mary Neal (featured in the Netflix original series Surviving Death) tells the incredible story of the kayak accident during a South American adventure that took her to heaven—where she experienced God's peace, joy, and angels—and back to life again.
In 1999 in the Los Rios region of southern Chile, orthopedic surgeon, devoted wife, and loving mother Dr. Mary Neal drowned in a kayak accident. While cascading down a waterfall, her kayak became pinned at the bottom and she was immediately and completely submerged. Despite the rescue efforts of her companions, Mary was underwater for too long, and as a result, died.
To Heaven and Back is Mary's remarkable story of her life's spiritual journey and what happened as she moved from life to death to eternal life, and back again. Detailing her feelings and surroundings in heaven, her communication with angels, and her deep sense of sadness when she realized it wasn't her time, Mary shares the captivating experience of her modern-day miracle.
Mary's life has been forever changed by her newfound understanding of her purpose on earth, her awareness of God, her closer relationship with Jesus, and her personal spiritual journey suddenly enhanced by a first-hand experience in heaven. To Heaven and Back will reacquaint you with the hope, wonder, and promise of heaven, while enriching you own faith and walk with God.

subset: commoncrawl


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Martha Graham
Choreographer / Dancer
Date Of Birth:
11 May 1894
Date Of Death:
1 April 1991
Place Of Birth:
Allegheny , Pennsylvania
Best Known As:
The modern dance choreographer who did Appalachian Spring
Martha Graham was a pioneer of modern dance and one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century. Martha Graham's love of expression through sharply precise movements of the body, and her radical challenge to the smoother moves of classical dance, shaped modern dance. She had her first independent recital in New York in 1926, after studying in Los Angeles at the Denishawn School (founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn); by the 1930s she had her own school and had founded the Martha Graham Dance Company. Her most famous early ballets include Lamentation (1930), Frontier (1935) and Appalachian Spring (1944, with composer Aaron Copland). Her later works were informed by tales of North American lore, Greek mythology, the Bible and historical figures, including Joan of Arc and Emily Dickinson. Martha Graham continued dancing to the remarkable age of 75. During her long career she had a devoted following and her school turned out some of the most prominent American dancers of the century, including Alvin Ailey and Twyla Tharp. She received Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievement in 1978, and was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 1984. She published a memoir, Blood Memory, in 1991.
Extra Credit
Martha Graham says in Blood Memory that she danced at the White House for eight different U.S. presidents. Franklin Roosevelt was the first, in 1937… She married the dancer Erick Hawkins in 1948, after a long love affair. The marriage was short-lived, and they divorced in 1954. It was Martha Graham's only marriage and she had no children… She is no relation to Katharine Graham, publisher of The Washington Post.
Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.
See also:


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Previous Programs Developed, conducted and sponsored by Dar al Islam, many of which are currently under the stewardship of our partners.


text: Press Center Welcome to Stockholmsmässan's Press Center. Come to the Press Center to collect your accreditation, work in peace and quiet, conduct interviews and meet your colleagues over a cup of coffee! The Press Center is located up one flight of stairs by the Main Entrance. Stockholmsmässan offers free and open wireless connectivity. You can work on your laptop here, and you'll have printer and photocopier access to make your work easier. The Press Center is also well-stocked with press materials from exhibitors and organizers, compilations of press information, conference programs, etc. If you'd like our press releases, please follow us at Mynewsdesk. You can always reach us at email@example.com or +46 8 749 41 00. While an event is in progress: +46 8 749 42 86. A warm welcome from Catarina, Cathrin and Eva-Marie Stockholmsmässan's Press Service


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Thank you all for playing in the Stock the Pantry Challenge #3!
It's time to announce our winners!
It's time to announce our winners!
There are three winners for the Stock the Pantry Challenges!
Random.org chose our winners!
1. Anne
Congratulations, ladies! I have e-mailed you about your prize. If you haven't received the e-mail, be sure to check your spam and junk folders!
Thank you to everyone who played, and we hope to see you back on July 20th for our next
Stock the Pantry challenge!


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Click here to view the full A to Z Database list with descriptions.
Are you seeing a security or privacy error message when you try to access a database off-campus? Follow these instructions.
Search for films and film clips to help you in your research or to embed in class presentations.


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Every Friday is Health Tip Day at Zen Habits.
A couple weeks ago I posted my Beginner's Guide to Running, which turned out to be pretty popular. Today I present my Beginner's Guide to Cycling, which I hope is just as useful.
I'd like to note that I'm not nearly as qualified to write this guide as I was to write the running guide. I'm a very early beginner in cycling, and what I'm posting here is just the basics, from what I've learned from my research (websites, books, and talking to experts) and from my limited experiences so far. I basically just want to share what I've learned so far, so that it might help others who want to get started.
Also, I'd like to note that this guide applies only to road cycling, not mountain biking, as I haven't hit the trails yet. Last, please add to this guide with your own tips and experiences in the comments!
Two Most Important Tips
There are a lot of important tips here in this guide, and in the links I provided, but here are the most important two.
- Start slow. There's no need to kill yourself when you start. Even if you're already in good shape, cycling uses different muscles than other exercises, and your body will need time to get used to the new types of stress. Start out nice and easy, enjoy yourself, and progress gradually. Just do 2-3 miles at first, and do them nice and slow. Have fun!
- Be safe. More than most sports, cycling can be very dangerous, especially if you're on the roads with all the crazy drivers out there. In my area, two cyclists were hit in recent months (one died), so I take extra precautions. Ride during the daylight hours, follow traffic laws, always yield the right of way, wear bright colors and reflectors, wear a helmet. More safety tips below.
The Bike
What's the best bike to get for cycling? Heck if I know. I'm just a beginner. I suggest that you start with any old bike you can get your hands on. Really. If you've got one in your garage, or you know someone who has one that's not being used, just spray some WD-40 on the rusty parts, inflate the tire and make sure there are no leaks, and give it a go. You don't need anything fancy to start with.
The really nice bikes are optimal, of course, but they are also well over $1,000 (some are well over twice that), and they aren't necessary to get into the sport and enjoy it. Once you get into it, and are sure you'll be doing it for the long term, look into a better bike.
The nice road bikes are lighter, with strong frames, thin tires (for less friction), with a whole host of other nice features to make riding fast and easy. However, I use an old mountain bike, and I still love riding.
What's most important is that the bike fits you. The bike should fit your height (from ground to crotch), as well as the distance from the seat to the handle. I'm not an expert at this — it's best to go to a good bike shop to get fitted.
Cycling, more than many other sports, is equipment-centric. I am of the minimalist school – you don't need a host of fancy gear to get started. Add those later.
What's the minimum gear needed? Here's my list:
- Helmet. Don't ever ride without one. It can mean the difference between a bad headache and being a vegetable. Make sure it fits well (see this guide for tips on that, along with other equipment needed to get started).
- Water bottle. Get one with a cage that attaches to your bike. Regular bottles don't fit in this cage, btw. An alternative is a hydration backpack. You really only need hydration tools once you start cycling beyond an hour, but it's good to have just in case.
- Pump. A portable pump that you attach to the bike is necessary, in case you get a flat or a slow leak. You don't want to be walking your bike back home. A floor pump is good to have at home, too, for easier pumping, but isn't absolutely necessary.
- Repair kit. A simple repair kit would include a patch kit, a spare inner tube, 2 tire levers, a multi-tool for bikes, all in a small bag that attaches to the bike.
Other stuff you could get later:
- Gloves. I actually have a pair of these, and you could consider them essential. They absorb shock from the handles (cycling gloves are padded), but more importantly, if you crash, your palms are protected.
- Bike computer. This attaches to the bike (no, they don't have it in Linux or Mac flavors) and tells you how far you've gone, how fast you're going, your RPMs, and all other kinds of good info. Very useful, but not absolutely necessary. I don't have one at this point, but it's on my to-buy list.
- Gel-padded seat. For beginners, riding on a hard cycling seat can be very uncomfortable. This gel padding has saved me a bit of pain. Experienced riders tell me that you get used to it after awhile, and I have, to some degree.
- Glasses. To some, these are a must. I haven't gotten them yet, but they block bugs and other debris from hitting you in the eyes. Hasn't been a problem for me yet, but then I don't go that fast!
- Shoes/pedals. The most efficient way of peddling is if you are using your up-stroke as well, not just your down-stroke (pulling the pedals up and pushing them down). To do this, of course, you either need cage pedals to put your shoes in, or the kind of pedals that lock into your cycling shoes. You'd also need special shoes for that, of course. I plan to get these some time, but haven't gotten to it yet.
- Lights. These are a must if you ride when it begins to get dark. I don't do that out of safety concerns.
- Racks. Important if you want to transport anything. There are all kinds of racks and panniers (cycling bags). Awesome for touring or commuting.
There are, of course, a ton of other equipment out there. But you don't need them in the beginning.
The Clothing
We've all seen the tight and bright clothing that the pros wear. I'm sorry to report that I've gone minimalist here as well — I just wear my running shorts and shirt and shoes. That's really all you need to start off.
However, if you begin to get serious about cycling, you should consider some good clothing. Good cycling clothing is thin, so you don't get too hot, flexible for comfort, with special material that "wicks away" sweat (basically, it doesn't soak it up and chafe your skin like cotton does). It's also tight, so the wind doesn't flap your clothing all around and irritate the hell out of you. And the bright colors serve a purpose as well: they make you visible to those crazy drivers!
Cold weather: I don't live in cold weather, but many of you do — in that case, thin cycling wear is good, but layer it on. If you get hot, you can always take off a layer.
Always be safe on the road. Do not be daring, do not insist on the right of way, do not break traffic laws (yes, you have to follow them too), and always be as visible as possible. If you know the common causes of accidents, you can look out for them:
- Opening car doors. This is a common one — someone opens their car door, right into your path, and you don't have time to swerve. Slam! The only thing to say is to be on the lookout for any doors that are about to open, and don't ride too close to parked cars.
- Sideswiped. If you right on the outermost edge of the road, as many cyclists do, cars will be tempted to try to pass you in the same lane. As this is a tight fit, this could result in you being hit. It's safest to take the center of the lane, even if that doesn't seem as safe, until you can safely move to the shoulder to let cars pass if necessary. You have just as much a right to that lane as the cars do.
- Intersections. If you are making a left turn across an intersection, be very careful. You might think that the oncoming traffic, or the cross traffic from either side, will see you, but you could be wrong. Be very sure you are seen by all drivers. Right turns can also be dangerous if the traffic going into that lane doesn't see you — or if the driver behind you also making a right turn doesn't see you, as he is busy looking to his left.
Safety is too large a topic to be covered here. Try this guide or this one for more.
Shifting Gears
This is a topic that might seem simple, but for many true beginners, it can be confusing and a little scary. But with a little practice, it's actually pretty easy. Here's what you need to know:
- Three front gears. There are usually three gears in the front — the large, medium and small. There is one shifting mechanism at the handlebars for switching between these gears (marked 1, 2 and 3). The large one is for when the pedaling is the easiest, and can go the fastest. Good for downhills and flats. The small one is for hills, and takes a lot of pedaling to go the same distance as the other two, but is much easier to turn. The middle is between them, and is probably going to be used most often (at least by us beginners).
- Seven back gears. These also go from small to largest, and have a shifting mechanism for switching between them (1-7). I usually pair the small front gear with the largest three back gears (1-3), the medium front gear with the middle back gears (3-5), and the large front gear with the smallest back gears (5-7).
- Basic premise. Basically, you want to pedal using the largest front gear with the smallest back gear that you can handle while still pedaling at a high cadence (pedaling fast). That means that if you can shift to a larger front gear while still pedaling at a high cadence, you should. But if it begins to get too tough for you to pedal at a high cadence, shift down to a smaller front gear (or larger back gear or both). This will take a little practice, but it's not hard. And as you get better at cycling, you will be able to pedal faster with the harder gears, over time.
There's more to gears and shifting, though. Read this guide for more.
Obviously this is a pretty important area. It's a major safety skill that takes a little practice to learn. A few tips:
- Down hills. The temptation going down hills, to limit your speed and make sure you don't get out of control, is to brake the whole way down. It's recommended that you don't do this, though — the brake pad could burn out. You want to do it in spurts.
- Front brake. Many beginners use both brakes simultaneously to brake. But more experienced cyclists (and I'm not one yet) use the front brake most of the time. If you practice using the front brake, you will lose the fear of flipping over the front wheel.
- Rear brake. This is good for certain situations, especially if it's slippery or your front tire blows out.
This is a great guide for braking.
For beginning cyclists, hills can be a big challenge. Experienced cyclists actually have no problems with hills — they know how to shift, to brake, to pace themselves, and they have gotten stronger on hills with practice. There are two areas with hills to be concerned with:
- Uphills. Cycling uphill isn't that hard if you shift to the right gears. It took me a little while to learn this. What I like to do is build up some speed going into a hill, shifting to a bigger front gear and getting some momentum. This will carry me a little ways up the hill. As the pedaling becomes more difficult, I gradually shift to easier gears until I'm on the smallest front gear and largest back gear. If I'm lucky, I don't get to that point. It's also good to learn to pace yourself — don't pump the pedals too hard early on in a long hill, or you'll tire out.
- Downhills. Steep downhills can be scary for us beginners because of the speed. I recommend slowing yourself down with intermittent braking. If the downhill isn't too steep, I recommend shifting to your big front gear and smallest back gear — you can really build up some speed that will carry you when you hit the flat or the next hill.
Flat Tires
They happen to everyone. Know how to fix them, and be sure to have a pump and a spare inner tube. You don't want to be walking the bike home. It's really not that hard. See this guide and this one for more.
Commute to Work
One of my goals is to regularly commute to work. While I've done it a number of times now, I'm still working on this one. It saves money on gas, helps the environment, and gets your exercise in all at once. Does it get any better?
The main issues for commuting to work mostly revolve around being clean with clean clothes. I give my tips on bike commuting here, but for me, the key has been to bring clothes to work when I drive or carpool to work, and then to shower at work (this is a great option if you're lucky enough to have it). Also try this guide on bike commuting and this one for a lot more info.
Cycling Forums
If you're just getting into cycling, a great way to learn more, and to motivate yourself, is to join a cycling forum (off-line cycling groups are great too). Here are a few to get you started:
Cycling Links
There are a ton of sites on cycling out there. Here are just a few to get you started:
Cycling Books
Again, there are a ton of them. Here are a few I recommend:
- The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair
- Bicycling Magazine's New Cyclist Handbook
- Bicycling Magazine's Training Techniques for Cyclists
Also see:
- 6 Tips for Commuting to Work by Bike
- Beginner's Guide to Running
- Top 42 Exercise Hacks
- Top 15 Diet Hacks
- Recipe: Best … soup … ever
- How to Get Back on the Exercise Train
- Trying to eat healthier? Make lifestyle changes, and have a weekly cheat day
- Health tip: Try eating vegetarian sometimes
- Recipe for a Flat Stomach
- Get Healthy and Fit, Part 2 – Exercise Edition


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Was $2.99 Now $0.99 Save 66%
Grace, Sam and Dixie have known each other forever. But Grace has a secret. Pregnant and penniless after one drunken night with Sam, she gave up her baby for adoption without telling him. And condemned herself to twenty years of guilt. When her daughter traces her, out of the blue, Grace longs to meet her. But she's asking about her father and if Grace confesses to Sam after all these years, it will surely wreck his marriage to Dixie. How can their friendship survive such a betrayal? Yet does Grace have a choice?


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When your car breaks down, you need a professional auto repair shop you can trust. You need a team that does honest work, on time, at affordable prices. You need Ultimate Automotive.
We are a full-service auto mechanic shop that can do it all. With a team of certified mechanics qualified to repair everything from brakes to electrical wiring and transmissions to onboard computers, we've established ourselves as the number one local automotive center.
Come on by or give us a call by clicking the button below!
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With age and regular use, the components on your vehicle will eventually need repairs. We provide a wide range of car repair services, including:
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Have you ever noticed the check engine light come on in your vehicle? Although your engine is largely mechanical, it's also fully integrated into your car's self-diagnosing computer system. And it's not just your engine either—nowadays virtually every part of your vehicle is linked up and monitored by computers. To keep up with these innovative technologies, we invest in top-of-the-line diagnostic systems testing equipment. These technologies give us the ability to make more accurate assessments and deliver repairs in a more efficient, timely, and precise manner. Our competitors simply can't compete. Call now to book an appointment.
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Everyone on our team is both trained and certified to deliver professional auto repair services. We don't mess around. When you bring your vehicle to Ultimate Automotive, you know that every single person who lays a finger on your car has the requisite training and years of professional experience. After all, we're one of the leading automotive centers in the region. It's no surprise that we only hire the region's best auto mechanics.
Honest and Transparent Car Repair Quotes
Want to know why all our clients are return clients? Because they know that when they're quoted on a set of services, they know they're getting the best price on the market. Go ahead and compare our quotes to a local competitor. There's simply no competition. For us, the most important things—aside from doing amazing work every time—are honesty and integrity. They are the pillars of our business. The values that drive us forward. The values that get you driving again.
For Top-Tier Car Repairs, Call Ultimate Automotive Today
The car mechanics at Ultimate Automotive have one goal: To make sure that everyone who walks through our doors can drive their car off the lot happy and satisfied with our services. And we'll do everything in our power to make this happen.
Give us a call to book an appointment for service or auto repairs!


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Scientists say they have figured out how a very clever virus outwits a very hungry caterpillar.
The caterpillar is the gypsy moth in its larval stage, and the invasive species damages roughly a million acres of forest in the U.S. each year by devouring tree leaves.
But the damage would be greater if it weren't for something called a baculovirus that can infect these caterpillars and cause them to engage in reckless, even suicidal behavior, scientists say. The virus is so effective that the government actually sprays it on trees to help control gypsy moth outbreaks.
Now a team of scientists thinks they have discovered how the baculovirus takes control of gypsy moth caterpillars. The key is a special gene that's carried by the virus and affects the caterpillar's eating behavior, according to the team's new study in Science.
The discovery explains a phenomenon scientists have wondered about for decades.
Normally, gypsy moth caterpillars feed on tree leaves at night when predators including birds and squirrels can't see them. Then during the day, the caterpillars climb down and hide in the tree bark or even under leaves on the ground.
But caterpillars abandon that sensible strategy when they're infected with a baculovirus, says Kelli Hoover, an entomologist at Pennsylvania State University and the paper's lead author.
"As they get sick they climb up to elevated positions and stay there and die," she says. What happens next is pretty gruesome. "The inside of the caterpillar gets pretty much converted to millions and millions of virus particles, then there are other enzymes that cause the exoskeleton to melt. And that liquefies the caterpillar and then it can rain virus down on the leaves below."
When other caterpillars eat those leaves, they get infected too.
A Clever Pathogen
Hoover and a team of researchers suspected that the virus was taking control of the caterpillar by using a gene involved in molting, which the gypsy moth larvae must do several times as they grow. The gene also affects eating behavior because in order to molt, larvae must stop eating.
To test their hypothesis, the scientists infected some caterpillars with a baculovirus that carried the normal version of this gene and other caterpillars with a baculovirus carrying an inactivated version of the gene. Then they put the caterpillars in tall plastic containers lined with a screen.
"Every time the caterpillars were infected with the normal gene they would die at an elevated position in the container," Hoover says. "If the gene was knocked out, they didn't."
That's probably because this gene disrupts a hormonal system that tells the caterpillar when to stop eating," Hoover says. "And to feed you need to be up in the tree."
The result is devastating for the gypsy moth, but great for the virus, says David Hughes, an entomologist and biologist at Penn State and a co-author of the study. So if you look at the world from the point of view of a baculovirus, it's easy to see how it would have evolved to carry this gene.
"The most important challenge for a virus is outcompeting other viruses," Hughes says. So a virus that could make its host die in a place that spread the infection to other hosts would have a big advantage, he says.
Other scientists say the finding reveals just how clever a pathogen can be.
"Who knew that a virus would be able to manipulate the behavior of its host?" says Jim Slavicek, a research biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, who also contributed to the new study.
Virus As A Weapon Against Outbreaks
Slavicek says knowing precisely how baculovirus overwhelms the gypsy moth could help scientists develop more potent strains of the virus. It could also help them determine when in the gypsy moth's life cycle it is most vulnerable to infection.
And he says all that could help bring down the cost of spraying with baculovirus. Right now, he says, land managers often use cheaper methods, such as insecticides or a deadly fungus.
"The advantage of the virus is that it is specific for gypsy moth larvae, and so it will impact no other animal, insect, plant in the treatment zone."
Gypsy moth outbreaks in the U.S. are less severe than they were a couple of decades ago, thanks to better treatments, Slavicek says. But he says the pest remains a major threat that can leave a forest bare in a matter of weeks.
During an outbreak, Slavicek says, there are so many caterpillars that their remains make some roads so slippery that road crews have to apply sand.
And if you drive on those roads at night, he says, "millions of moths will fly to the car and it can be so dense that it's like a snowstorm. You can't see what's in front of you."


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The highly anticipated second book in #1 New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout's Wicked Trilogy has a cover!
The amazing TORN cover was created by Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations with photography by Kelsey Kukal-Keeton from K Keeton designs.
Check it out below!
TORN is set to release July 19th. Be sure to grab the first book in the series, WICKED, which is on sale for $.99 for a limited time!
TORN Synopsis:
Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.
Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.
Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she's left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they'll kill her.
Then there's Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy's bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him?
But as the Fae Prince begins to close in on Ivy, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn't figure out who she can trust—and fast—it's not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.
Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans…
Don't miss the first title in the series, WICKED, now just $.99 for a limited time only!
About Jennifer L. Armentrout:
#1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON'T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.
She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.


text: The apple is cold, crisp, and sour as the juices fill your mouth. As you consume the fruit, you glimpse, for a moment, a massive, shadowy figure, Her snow-white hair framing a perfect, icy-eyed visage. Beneath you, a vast, perfect web of silken strands lies - and, for a moment, you realize that you too are part of it, weaver and strand both - and home.


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(history.com) – On this day in 1940, John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath, considered a classic in U.S. working-class literature.
The book traces the fictional Joad family of Oklahoma as they lose their family farm and move to California in search of a better life. They encounter only more difficulties and a downward slide into poverty. The book combines simple, plainspoken language and compelling plot with rich description. One of Steinbeck's most effective works of social commentary, the novel also won the National Book Award.
Like The Grapes of Wrath, much of Steinbeck's work dealt with his native state of California. He was born and raised in the Salinas Valley, where his father was a county official and his mother a former schoolteacher. Steinbeck was a good student and president of his senior class in high school. He attended Stanford intermittently between 1920 and 1925, then moved to New York City, where he worked as a manual laborer and a journalist while writing stories and novels. His first two novels were not successful.
He married and moved to Pacific Grove in 1930, where his father gave him a house and a small income while he continued to write. His third novel, Tortilla Flat (1935), was a critical and financial success, as were his subsequent novels In Dubious Battle (1935) and Of Mice and Men (1937), both of which offered social commentaries on injustices of various types. His work after World War II, including Cannery Row and The Pearl, continued to offer social criticism but became more sentimental. Steinbeck tried his hand at movie scripts in the 1940s, writing such successful films as Forgotten Village (1941) and Viva Zapata (1952). He also took up the serious study of marine biology and published a nonfiction book, The Sea of Cortez, in 1941. His book Travels with Charlie describes his trek across the U.S. in a camper truck with his poodle, Charlie, and his encounters with a fragmented America. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in 1962 and died in New York in 1968.


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Editing copy boils down to two key things: recognizing weaknesses and knowing how to fix them. It's a critical part of the writing process and yet, one that's all too often overlooked. After all, if you don't know that there's an issue to begin with, how can you fix it?
That's why, if you struggle with editing, you're going to love this article ...
Because by the end of it, you'll be armed with 10 powerful, uber-specific editing actions that'll make your copy more addictive, engaging, and compelling than it was before you got to work revising it.
Whether you're writing a landing page, a blog article, an email, or a web page, making the following changes will have a profound impact on your readers. Namely, these edits will make them more likely to do what you want them to do -- and that's what great copy is all about.
10 Simple Edits That'll Instantly Improve Any Piece of Writing
A mesmerized reader, for all intents and purposes, is an engaged prospect -- and that's exactly what marketers want. After all, engaged prospects are more likely to keep reading your copy, which makes them more likely to reach a call-to-action that's irresistible.
Are you ready to edit your copy like a pro? Here's what you gotta do ...
1) Open with questions that get the reader to say "yes."
Inertia, be it mental or physical, is a powerful force. In other words, whether it's a long-term relationship or a boulder rolling down a hill, the longer it's in motion the harder inertia makes it to stop. That's why writers love using it, especially in their introductions.
The idea is that the longer you can get the reader to say "yes" to your honest, accurate statements, the more likely they are to keep saying "yes" and, ultimately, harmonize with your message. Why? Because they'll feel like you understand them; like you know exactly what they're going through.
Make them say "yes" enough and they'll get the feeling that your product or service can help solve their problem. Hopefully, it can.
2) Double tap the "Enter" button every 1-3 sentences.
As you know, hitting "Enter" or "Return" twice leaves a space between paragraphs. But just because that space is void of words, does not mean it doesn't serve a purpose.
Just as photographers and designers use negative space to create a focal point, writers can use white space to create emphasis and draw attention to something that's important.
White space also makes copy appear less intimidating and more readable. It structures the message in a polished, elegant frame that invites readers to dive in.
3) Bold your key benefits.
Bolding the benefits will quickly point readers to the information you absolutely need them to know. In fact, in-text formatting of any kind -- italicizing, underlining, capitalizing, back-linking -- will help you capture and maintain a reader's attention. That happens because our minds are hardwired to notice change.
Imagine watching a play go from a monologue to a dialogue in the same scene. Or a movie fade to a perfectly white screen. It gets your attention, right?
Something new, thinks your subconscious. Something that stands out. Let's focus.
4) Isolate important information using bullet points.
As Kurt Vonnegut once wrote, "Pity the readers." That means go easy on them when you write. Consider that they have to focus on and instantly make sense of every word and every little mark you put in front of them. And they have to do it all online, where attention is at a premium. So help them out.
Bullets and numbered lists will:
- Organize your text, making it more scannable and digestible.
- Highlight your key points and other important bits of information.
- Draw the most attention after your headline and subheads, making them an ideal vessel for benefits.
(Click here to learn 8 quick tips for writing bullet points people actually want to read.)
5) Start sentences with "Imagine," "Remember," or "Picture this …"
These words are triggers. They let readers know you're about to tell them a story, jog their memory, or paint them a picture (the way I do here). People love that stuff. Always have. According to producer Steven Moffat, "We're all stories, in the end."
So think of it this way: The word "Imagine" at the beginning of a sentence or paragraph serves the same purpose as the title sequence of your favorite Netflix show. It signals to you that you're about to experience something you enjoy. It yields an anticipatory sensation. It creates suspense. And that'll keep you engaged in just about any situation, whether you're watching TV or reading an email.
6) Incorporate the word "because" as often as possible.
"Because" is another trigger word. It lets people know they're about to hear a justification -- a reason why -- which, according to renowned researcher and author, Dr. Robert Cialdini, is great at getting people to nod their heads:
"A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor we will be more successful if we provide a reason. People simply like to have reasons for what they do," writes Cialdini in his bestselling book, Influence.
Why? Because science proved it.
(Note: The word "because" has the same effect on paper as it does in-person.)
7) Convert sentences to active voice.
Nothing kills writing quite like the overuse of passive voice. A simple way to combat this? Convert sentences to active voice.
Active voice means the subject of each sentence is doing the action rather than receiving it. The latter would be passive voice. For example:
- Active: Usain Bolt broke the world record.
- Passive: The world record was broken by Usain Bolt.
See how much stronger and more confident the active voice is? Its counterpart is comparatively weak and deflated. Passive voice is just, kinda … meh. It can make you sound like you're playing a round of Clue. You can do better.
To passive-proof your text, start by doing a CTRL-F for the word "by." That'll quickly highlight sentences in which the subject may be receiving the action rather than doing it. Or you can let Hemingway Editor find them for you.
8) Rewrite everything in the second person.
Second person is the most engaging narrative mode because it's the most personal. Pronouns like "you," "your," and "yours" will help the reader see themselves in your copy and, consequently, in the story your product or service is trying to tell.
Great writing speaks to readers on an intimate level. It connects with them, which is incredibly difficult to do. But writing in the second person makes it easier.
9) Count your adverbs and then cut that number in half.
Or, better yet, quarter it. In his memoir, On Writing, Stephen King wrote, "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." Why so harsh? Because adverbs are very, very good at weakening your writing. See?
If you want your writing to grab people by the collar, replace that mediocre adverb-verb combo with a single punchy, potent verb. For example, instead of writing "she's very mad" you could write "she's irate." Or instead of writing "adverbs are very, very good at weakening your writing" you can write "adverbs sabotage compelling sentences."
10) Amend your call-to-action to be a call-to-value.
Before you publish that landing page or send out that email, you should double-check your call-to-action (you know, the essential end-piece that tells your reader what to do next). Make sure it's clear and concise, bold and visible, urgent and compelling. Most importantly, make sure it communicates benefits (i.e., the value that awaits those who do what you're asking).
For example, if you're a travel agent, don't let your copy read "Call now for a free quote" or something equally typical and uninspiring. Instead, drive them to take action with a sneak peak: "Call now and let the anticipation begin" or "Click today and be gone tomorrow."
Let your prospects see themselves in the action and they'll be more likely to take it.
Feeling Prepared?
Editing isn't easy. It takes guts and character to amend creative work. But remember, you're doing it for a reason: to make your writing stronger and clearer. In the end, making these edits will take time and effort, but they'll yield more email opens, more shares, and more conversions.
And believe me, it'll be worth it.
What are your best editing tips? Share them with us in the comments section below.


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The lil SOLID device, developed by South Korean company KT&G, is presented by Philip Morris. It is a compact and lightweight device, and the all-in-one design and simple display and vibration system make it very convenient to use.
DUAL HEAT tobacco heating technology gently warms tobacco from the inside up to 350C, revealing its taste and aroma without smoke and without ash IQOS Heets UAE.
A full charge of the battery is designed for 20 sessions, which means that it will last for the whole day. You can use 4 sessions in a row, and 4 more will be available in just 3.5 minutes*. The display will tell You when your IQOS Lil SOLID is ready to work again.
The device is intended for use with Fiit tobacco sticks.
- Device Lil SOLID
2. The power supply for charging the device from the network
3. USB cable type B. Suitable for charging the device from the mains, computer or external battery.
4. a lil SOLID cleaning Device that will help keep your lil SOLID clean to maintain a consistent taste and feel. - cleaning Sticks (10 pieces)
The color in the image may differ from the original.


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Answer: My identity. It's called privacy and anonymity. It's one of the basic principles of a free society - that's why we have anonymous voting - to protect anonymity and be certain that I can think and do what I feel are right without someone like you being able to seek retribution. - anonymous
Many people don't want the things they say online to be connected with their offline identities. They may be concerned about political or economic retribution, harassment, or even threats to their lives. Whistleblowers report news that companies and governments would prefer to suppress; human rights workers struggle against repressive governments; parents try to create a safe way for children to explore; victims of domestic violence attempt to rebuild their lives where abusers cannot follow.
Instead of using their true names to communicate, these people choose to speak using pseudonyms (assumed names) or anonymously (no name at all). For these individuals and the organizations that support them, secure anonymity is critical. It may literally save lives.
Anonymous communications have an important place in our political and social discourse. The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that the right to anonymous free speech is protected by the First Amendment. A much-cited 1995 Supreme Court ruling in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission reads:Protections for anonymous speech are vital to democratic discourse. Allowing dissenters to shield their identities frees them to express critical, minority views . . . Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. . . . It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights, and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation . . . at the hand of an intolerant society.
The tradition of anonymous speech is older than the United States. Founders Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers under the pseudonym "Publius," and "the Federal Farmer" spoke up in rebuttal. The US Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized rights to speak anonymously derived from the First Amendment.
The right to anonymous speech is also protected well beyond the printed page. Thus, in 2002, the Supreme Court struck down a law requiring proselytizers to register their true names with the Mayor's office before going door-to-door.
These long-standing rights to anonymity and the protections it affords are critically important for the Internet. As the Supreme Court has recognized, the Internet offers a new and powerful democratic forum in which anyone can become a "pamphleteer" or "a town crier with a voice that resonates farther than it could from any soapbox."
For the libtards among us, anonymity means NOT using your real name or other identifying information in posts on the forum where anyone can read it. ALL members are required to disclose their identity to be selected for the Infantry.
Please read the following:
In Defense of Internet Anonymity


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Editor's note: This post comes from Kent Brown, Sr. Product Manager for BizTalk.
BizTalk Summit 2012 is a series of events conducted by the Microsoft BizTalk product team to help customers understand the product strategy and roadmap and to prepare for the upcoming releases of BizTalk Server 2013 and related Windows Azure integration services. The event, first held at the Microsoft campus in Redmond on December 10-11, is being repeated in 3 major cities in Europe in January (follow links for details and registration):
These events will cover the following topics:
- Keynote – Vision and Roadmap for BizTalk
- What's new in BizTalk on-premises and in the Cloud
- Deep Dive on BizTalk Server 2013
- B2B Integration with BizTalk-related services on Windows Azure
I look forward to seeing you in Europe!
Kent Brown
Sr. Product Manager
BizTalk Server & Windows Azure


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Kind: Mica Wallpaper
Size: 3 ft x 23 ft = 69 sq.ft / 1 yard x 7.5 yard ( 0.91 m x 7 m = 6.5 sq.m )
Stripable: YES
Usage: Living room, Bedding room, Study, Kids' room, TV Background and other
DESCRIPTION: Wallcoverings Mart
High-quality, wear-resistant and heat-resistant Wallpaper of this series are made of two natural minerals - vermiculite and mica. Vermiculite is distinguished by its heat – insulating and fire-resistant properties, and mica is a hybrid of quartz and granite, which adds a brilliant 3D Shine to the finish. Vermiculite is obtained by weathering or hydrothermal modification of biotite or phlogopite to create an absorbent heat-resistant material, and mica is obtained by a chemical reaction between quartz and granite. Together, these two natural minerals create an amazingly beautiful and durable coating that can be applied to walls.
Color tones can vary due to lighting and your monitor settings. The color on pictures are for reference only and may slightly differ from the actual color on a roll. We are taking pictures of an actual item.
It is not the cheap Auto-stick wallpaper, you should buy the adhesive in order to hang it. Please, calculate your room size carefully to make sure it is enough for your fitment.
Ask a Question-
I have a small powder room. 3x7x8. How many rolls do I need?
Please provide in detail measurments of each wall so we can calculate


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Firebase Performance Monitoring
Gain insight into your app's performance issues.
You use the Performance Monitoring SDK to collect performance data from your app, then review and analyze that data in the Firebase console. Performance Monitoring helps you to understand in real time where the performance of your app can be improved so that you can use that information to fix performance issues.
Key capabilities
Automatically measure app startup time, HTTP network requests, and more | When you integrate the Performance Monitoring SDK into your app, you don't need to
write any code before your app starts automatically monitoring several
critical aspects of performance. For native apps, the SDK logs startup time, rendering data by screen, and activity while in the foreground or background. For web apps, the SDK logs aspects like first contentful paint, ability for users to interact with your app, and more. |
Gain insight into situations where app performance could be improved | Optimizing the performance of your app can be challenging when you don't know exactly why it is falling short of user expectations. That's why Performance Monitoring lets you see performance metrics broken down by attributes, like country, device, app version, and OS level. |
Customize monitoring for your app | You can instrument custom code traces to capture your app's performance in specific situations, like when you load a new screen or display a new interactive feature. And, you can create custom metrics on these custom code traces to count events that you define (like cache hits) during those traces. |
Identify significant changes in app performance | Identifying and resolving major app performance issues, like network outages, is vital to the success of your app. Performance Monitoring lets you set up and customize alerts for the most critical parts of your app so you can see and respond to performance pitfalls – before they affect your users. |
How does it work?
When you add the Performance Monitoring SDK, Firebase automatically starts collecting data for several common processes in your app, for example:
Performance Monitoring uses traces to collect data about these processes. A trace is a report that contains data captured between two points in time in your app.
The collected performance data for each trace are called metrics and vary depending on the type of trace. For example, when an instance of your app issues a network request, the trace collects metrics that are important for network request monitoring, like response time and payload size.
Each time an instance of your app runs a monitored process, the associated trace also automatically collects attributes data for that app instance. For example, if an Android app issues a network request, the trace collects the device, app version, and other attributes for that specific app instance. You can use these attributes to filter your performance data and learn if specific user segments are experiencing issues.
The out-of-the-box traces from Performance Monitoring get you started with monitoring your app, but to learn about the performance of specific tasks or flows, try out instrumenting your own custom traces of code in your app.
Implementation path
Add the Performance Monitoring SDK to your app | You can add the Performance Monitoring SDK to your app, along with any other
Firebase products that you want to use in your app. Apple platforms | Android | Web | Flutter |
(Optional) Instrument custom code traces and custom metrics in your app |
Using the Performance Monitoring SDK, you can instrument custom code traces and custom metrics to measure specific aspects of your app's performance. | |
Monitor performance data in the console in real time | In the Firebase console, you can monitor performance data from your users to learn the specific situations where your app's performance could be improved. You can also break down the performance data by attributes, like app version, country, device, or OS. |
User data
Performance Monitoring does not permanently store any personally identifiable information (such as names, email addresses, or phone numbers). While monitoring HTTP network requests, Performance Monitoring uses URLs (not including URL parameters) to build aggregated and anonymous URL patterns that are eventually persisted and shown in the Firebase console.
For more details, refer to the Examples of information collected by Performance Monitoring.
Next steps
To get started using Performance Monitoring in your app, visit:
To learn about setting up alerts, see Set up alerts for performance issues.


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Kibion® Dynamic*
*Previously known as IRIS Dynamic.
The new instrument Kibion® Dynamic, based on the IRIS technology, is a leading instrument for quantitative diagnosis of breath tests. Kibion® Dynamic employs detectors of non-radioactive 13C-labelled stable isotope based on infra-red technology. Together Kibion® Dynamic and UBT provide a complete solution for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that is implicated in gastric ulcers and gastric cancers.
Kibion® Dynamic – a modern fully-flexible instrument
- Touch-screen with quick navigation
- Easy-to-use software
- Full functional flexibility
- High-capacity throughput


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Hashish Ketema Gold (Afghan) is produced practically everywhere in and around Afghanistan. The best kinds of Hash originate from the Northern provinces between Hindu Kush and the Russian border (Balkh, Mazar-i-Sharif).
The plants which are used for Hash production are very small and bushy Indicas. In Afghanistan Hashish is pressed by hand after the addition of a small quantity of tea or water. The Hashish is worked on until it becomes highly elastic and has a strong aromatic smell. In Afghanistan, the product is stored in the form of Hash-Balls (because a round ball has the least contact with air), however, before being shipped, the Hash is pressed tightly in 100g slabs generally. Good qualities of Afghani are signed with the stem of the producing family.


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Complementary therapies in assisted reproduction may diminish the effectiveness of medical treatment for infertility in women, a scientist will tell the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Lyon, France, Wednesday, July 4.
Dr. Jacky Boivin, from the School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Wales, UK, will say that her research had also shown that women who used complementary therapies were more negatively affected by their fertility problems than non-users, and that this could account for the fact that they were willing to use complementary therapies that were not proven to improve fertility.
Many women use complementary or alternative therapies (CATs) to resolve fertility problems, even though there is little evidence that they are effective. However, it is not clear whether people use these to reduce stress or to increase their chances of getting pregnant. So Dr. Boivin and a colleague from the University of Copenhagen, Dr. Lone Schmidt, set out to study why women made these choices, in the hope of being able to better inform them both of their effectiveness and of other options for achieving pregnancy and reducing the stress of infertility.
They examined the psychosocial and medical profiles of 818 Danish women at the start of their IVF treatment, and then looked at which women went on to use complementary therapy in the subsequent 12 months. The study was the first large scale prospective evaluation of CAT use in an infertile population.
?We found that women who went on to use complementary therapies ? for example reflexology and nutritional supplements ? during their treatments were more distressed and emotionally affected by their fertility problems than non-users?, says Dr. Boivin. ?This difference in stress may mean that women used CATs for stress reduction, and if this were the case it would be important for future research to establish whether CATs achieve this goal more effectively than conventional psychological therapies.?
So far, research shows that psychological therapies are more effective in achieving stress reduction. ?But women may be reluctant to ask for this because of the stigma attached, or perhaps simply because they are not aware of the research?, she says ?We hope that our study will provide a good basis for women to make a decision on whether or not to use CATs as compared with other available options. We are currently developing brief coping interventions that may be more appealing to people who do not want to use conventional one or one or group counselling.?
The study also found that women who used CAT had a 20% lower pregnancy success rate over the 12-month treatment period. Our findings do not allow us to make a direct causal link between CAT use and pregnancy rate?, says Dr. Boivin. ?It may be that complementary therapies diminish the effectiveness of medical interventions, as has been shown in previous research. Or it may simply be that persistent treatment failure encourages women to seek out CATs because they are more willing to try anything to get pregnant.?
The next step for the researchers is to study the same group over a five year period and see how many become pregnant in the longer term. ?It is important to do this because we are concerned that, with persistent treatment failure, women might become more and more susceptible to deceptive advertising about ineffective CATs or other unproven treatments?, says Dr. Boivin.


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Shlach Lecha
Shelach Lecha: Freedom Requires Patience
Whose idea was it to send the spies?
According to this week's sedra, it was God.
The Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." So at the Lord's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. (Numbers 13:1-3)
According to Moses in Deuteronomy, it was the people:
Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to." The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. (Deut. 1:22-23)
Rashi reconciles the apparent contradiction. The people came to Moses with their request. Moses asked God what he should do. God gave him permission to send the spies. He did not command it; He merely did not oppose it. "Where a person wants to go, that is where he is led" (Makkot 10b) – so said the sages. Meaning: God does not stop people from a course of action on which they are intent, even though He knows that it may end in tragedy. Such is the nature of the freedom God has given us. It includes the freedom to make mistakes.
However, Maimonides (Guide for the Perplexed III:32) offers an interpretation that gives a different perspective to the whole episode. He begins by noting the verse (Ex. 13:17) with which the exodus begins:
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Reed Sea.
Maimonides comments: "Here God led the people about, away from the direct route he had originally intended, because He feared that they might encounter hardships too great for their present strength. So He took them by a different route in order to achieve His original object." He then adds the following:
It is a well-known fact that travelling in the wilderness without physical comforts such as bathing produces courage, while the opposite produces faint-heartedness. Besides this, another generation rose during the wanderings that had not been accustomed to degradation and slavery.
According to Maimonides, then, it was irrelevant who sent the spies. Nor was the verdict after the episode – that the people would be condemned to spend 40 years in the wilderness, and that it would only be their children who would enter the land – a punishment as such. It was an inevitable consequence of human nature.
It takes more than a few days or weeks to turn a population of slaves into a nation capable of handling the responsibilities of freedom. In the case of the Israelites it needed a generation born in liberty, hardened by the experience of the desert, untrammelled by habits of servitude. Freedom takes time, and there are no shortcuts. Often it takes a very long time indeed.
That dimension of time is fundamental to the Jewish view of politics and human progress. That is why, in the Torah, Moses repeatedly tells the adults to educate their children, to tell them the story of the past, to "remember". It is why the covenant itself is extended through time – handed on from one generation to the next. It is why the story of the Israelites is told at such length in Tanakh: the time-span covered by the Hebrew Bible is a thousand years from the days of Moses to the last of the prophets. It is why God acts in and through history.
Unlike Christianity or Islam there is, in Judaism, no sudden transformation of the human condition, no one moment or single generation in which everything significant is fully disclosed. Why, asks Maimonides (Guide, III:32), did God not simply give the Israelites in the desert the strength or self-confidence they needed to cross the Jordan and enter the land? His answer: because it would have meant saying goodbye to human freedom, choice and responsibility. Even God Himself, implies Maimonides, has to work with the grain of human nature and its all-too-slow pace of change. Not because God cannot change people: of course He can. He created them; He could re-create them. The reason is that God chooses not to. He practices what the Safed Kabbalists called tzimtzum, self-limitation. He wants human beings to construct a society of freedom – and how could He do that if, in order to bring it about, He had to deprive them of the very freedom He wanted them to create.
There are some things a parent may not do for a child if he or she wants the child to become an adult. There are some things even God must choose not to do for His people if He wants them to grow to moral and political maturity. In one of my books I called this the chronological imagination, as opposed to the Greek logical imagination. Logic lacks the dimension of time. That is why philosophers tend to be either rigidly conservative (Plato did not want poets in his Republic; they threatened to disturb the social order) or profoundly revolutionary (Rousseau, Marx). The current social order is either right or wrong. If it is right, we should not change it. If it is wrong, we should overthrow it. The fact that change takes time, even many generations, is not an idea easy to square with philosophy (even those philosophers, like Hegel and Marx, who factored in time, did so mechanically, speaking about "historical inevitability" rather than the unpredictable exercise of freedom).
One of the odd facts about Western civilisation in recent centuries is that the people who have been most eloquent about tradition – Edmund Burke, Michael Oakeshott, T.S. Eliot – have been deeply conservative, defenders of the status quo. Yet there is no reason why a tradition should be conservative. We can hand on to our children not only our past but also our unrealised ideals. We can want them to go beyond us; to travel further on the road to freedom than we were able to do. That, for example, is how the Seder service on Pesach begins: "This year, slaves, next year free; this year here, next year in Israel". A tradition can be evolutionary without being revolutionary.
That is the lesson of the spies. Despite the Divine anger, the people were not condemned to permanent exile. They simply had to face the fact that their children would achieve what they themselves were not ready for.
People still forget this. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were undertaken, at least in part, in the name of democracy and freedom. Yet that is the work not of a war, but of education, society-building, and the slow acceptance of responsibility. It takes generations. Sometimes it never happens at all. The people – like the Israelites, demoralised by the spies' report – lose heart and want to go back to the predictable past ("Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt"), not the unseen, hazardous, demanding future. That is why, historically, there have been more tyrannies than democracies.
The politics of liberty demands patience. It needs years of struggle without giving up hope. The late Emmanuel Levinas spoke about "difficult freedom" – and freedom always is difficult. The story of the spies tells us that the generation who left Egypt were not yet ready for it. That was their tragedy.
But their children would be. That was their consolation.
For more from Rabbi Sacks, please visit www.rabbisacks.org
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Weekly Parsha
Candle Lighting - New York
Friday July 19th, 2024 at 20:04 *Shabbat ends at 21:10 *
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* Times given as an indication, check the times of your community


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Our New Teachers about Rule of Law
The Gray Lady is dedicating space this week to reflections on Gitmo. In addition to a debate on it (more on that tomorrow), it offered Lakhdar Boumediene and Murat Kurnaz space to tell their stories, albeit in the opinion section.
Both men told of their terrible treatment.
But both also discussed what they learned about American rule of law by being falsely imprisoned for years.
Boumediene describing losing faith in American justice, which not even the knowledge that the case bearing his name is taught in American law schools has yet returned, given the number of men who remain unjustly imprisoned.
The fact that the United States had made a mistake was clear from the beginning. Bosnia's highest court investigated the American claim, found that there was no evidence against me and ordered my release. But instead, the moment I was released American agents seized me and the five others. We were tied up like animals and flown to Guantánamo, the American naval base in Cuba. I arrived on Jan. 20, 2002.
I still had faith in American justice. I believed my captors would quickly realize their mistake and let me go. But when I would not give the interrogators the answers they wanted — how could I, when I had done nothing wrong? — they became more and more brutal.
About 90 prisoners have been cleared for transfer out of Guantánamo. Some of them are from countries like Syria or China — where they would face torture if sent home — or Yemen, which the United States considers unstable. And so they sit as captives, with no end in sight — not because they are dangerous, not because they attacked America, but because the stigma of Guantánamo means they have no place to go, and America will not give a home to even one of them.
I'm told that my Supreme Court case is now read in law schools. Perhaps one day that will give me satisfaction, but so long as Guantánamo stays open and innocent men remain there, my thoughts will be with those left behind in that place of suffering and injustice. [my emphasis]
Kurnaz describes watching Germans, upon his return, teaching Americans about something once renewed in Germany by the Nuremberg trials: the rule of law.
I LEFT Guantánamo Bay much as I had arrived almost five years earlier — shackled hand-to-waist, waist-to-ankles, and ankles to a bolt on the airplane floor. My ears and eyes were goggled, my head hooded, and even though I was the only detainee on the flight this time, I was drugged and guarded by at least 10 soldiers. This time though, my jumpsuit was American denim rather than Guantánamo orange. I later learned that my C-17 military flight from Guantánamo to Ramstein Air Base in my home country, Germany, cost more than $1 million.
When we landed, the American officers unshackled me before they handed me over to a delegation of German officials. The American officer offered to re-shackle my wrists with a fresh, plastic pair. But the commanding German officer strongly refused: "He has committed no crime; here, he is a free man."
I was not a strong secondary school student in Bremen, but I remember learning that after World War II, the Americans insisted on a trial for war criminals at Nuremberg, and that event helped turn Germany into a democratic country.Strange, I thought, as I stood on the tarmac watching the Germans teach the Americans a basic lesson about the rule of law. [my emphasis]
Gitmo has come to embody many things in this country over the last decade: Bush's incompetence and criminality, our bigotry and inhumanity, and–as most would like to treat it now–a big political tussle between Obama and Republicans.
But at every turn–from the Bush Administration grasping claiming the piece of land existed outside the rule of law, to the corrupt legal process that created memos authorizing torture there, to Jim Haynes' insistence that "we can't have acquittals," to the DC Circuit's continued efforts to make sure detainees get no meaningful review of their detention–Gitmo has been about shedding the rule of law. It has been about finding ways for America to defy the law even while maintaining the pretense we still uphold it.
In this country, we have mostly ignored that lesson of Gitmo (not liking what it says about us, I guess). But it's a lesson our former captives know well.


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Artistic Super Tuscans
Mary Davidek
Artistic Super Tuscans
You may suspect a read detailing the work of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo or Botticelli as Tuscany is known for its artistic contributions. Florence, the heart of Tuscany, is considered to be the birthplace of the Renaissance and is one of the most important cities in the world for art lovers and historians. Tuscany boasts some of the world's most prized works of art in the numerous museums and art galleries, the Uffizzi, the Pitti Palace, and the Bargello, just to name a few.
The Uffizzi Gallery (left) and the Palazzo Pitti (right) are home to some of Tuscany's most valuable works of art.
Aside from its artistic legacy, the cultivation and appreciation of wine is also deeply steeped in the history of Tuscany. Italy is one of the oldest wine-producing regions of the world and is still the largest wine producer by volume. There are over 350 different wine grapes commonly cultivated in Italy and many of these are indigenous to Tuscany. In Tuscany you can find everything from unpretentious local village wines to more sought after and prestigious wines like Brunello de Montalcino, Chianti Classico or Super Tuscans.
The 'super' heroes of Italian wine
In the early 1980's prominent Tuscan wine producers believed the legal rules of the DoC and DoCG (Italian wine law) governing the production of Chianti were too restrictive. For example, they required the use of some white grapes and they prohibited blending non-indigenous grapes i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Syrah. In an effort to produce the best wines and embrace artistry in their craft they continued to use these less traditional grape varietals. Although not legally defined or regulated, the term "Super Tuscan" was coined to distinguish these artistically expressive wines from the inexpensive, lower quality wines that were typically associated with the term vino da tavola, or 'table wine'.
Today, super Tuscans use the legal labeling of IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica), which gives producers more flexibility, or artistic license, and certainly has more cachet than vino da tavola. Super Tuscans now represent some of the most luxurious wines of Italy and tend to be modern, big and rich—and often carry a price tag exceeding $100- $200 a bottle.
Some super Tuscans contain Sangiovese but others are made solely from Merlot (like the famous Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Toscana Masseto), or from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah (Riccardo Baracchi Toscana Ardito), or from even less traditional varietals, like a combination of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot (Argiano Toscana Solengo).
Castello di Amorosa's 2009 La Castellana is 70% Cabernet, 15% Sangiovese and 15% Merlot. Exotic dried plum and tinder box on the nose and a refined palate of brooding dark cherry and dusty cocoa.
Our 2010 vintage, the first blended by Sebastiano Rosa of Italy's famed Sassicaia has garnered a whopping 92 points from James Laube of Wine Spectator.
Sebastiano may be Castello di Amorosa's Super-hero Tuscan!


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Landscape Pre-Development Services in the Buckingham, TX Area
BrightView is the leading landscape development company for commercial landscape pre-development services in Buckingham, TX. With an in-house pre-development and estimating team, we ensure your project begins on budget and stays on budget.
Your Landscape Pre-Development Professionals in the Buckingham, TX Area
Let your BrightView Landscape Development Buckingham, TX team handle the pre-development discussions with the planning commissions and other local government officials, from zoning and community enhancement to environmental impact. Learn more about how our pre-development services can help you below.
Environmental Impact
When your plan calls for walls, count on our expertise for precise execution. Whether it's an entrance monument, or a large-scale wall for privacy, security, or erosion control, we can do all this and more.
Specialized Skill Considerations
Officials may require the use of professional landscape development companies with specialized skills such as hardscaping, especially for projects that have a more significant impact on local communities, which is readily satisfied with BrightView's network of landscaping experts.
Financial Considerations
Before approving, local authorities will want to ensure there is adequate funding to complete the project, and that you are working with a company that has a track record of landscape construction management. Also, they will look for confirmation that any expenses incurred by the city will be recovered and any ongoing revenue generating opportunities.
Enhancing the Community
Landscapes that have a positive impact on the community are viewed more favorably which require drawing and documentation to help decision makers visualize your intended installation. Proposals often require details such as materials to be used and justifications on how the project will benefit the local community. Discussions with local residents may also be appropriate to preempt objections.
Amenities & Traffic Integration
With the introduction of new amenities, due consideration must be given to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic, both during and after the completion of the project, as well as the potential consumption of any public or private utilities. Other considerations include safety, parking requirements, trash removal, recycling and bathrooms.
Working with Local Government
We will work with the local government officials and the planning commission that oversees the jurisdiction for your landscape construction project. Before the designs are finalized, we will ensure the project falls within the city's overall plan, development and zoning requirements—which may require extensive documentation and discussion to clear the way for a successful project.
11439 Denton Dr