text:
Molly Sheridan is a writer, editor, and producer specializing in classical and experimental music, with a focus on multimedia content designed for the web. A winner of ASCAP's Deems Taylor Award for music journalism, she's executive editor of NewMusicBox and CounterstreamRadio, both programs of New Music USA.
She hosted Carnegie Hall's Sound Insights podcasts and online artist interviews and her writing has appeared in publications such as TimeOut, The Washington Post, and the occasional concert program. She attended the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University, earning a bachelor's in journalism with a specialization in violin performance and French in 1999.
She currently divides her time between New York City and Baltimore, where she lives with her husband, the saxophonist Brian Sacawa, and cooks for Wonderland Kitchen.


text: 2. Mansion of Terror : Phantoms is one of three horrific haunted houses at Scream Hollow Halloween Park. Some may recognize the name, as this is a beefed-up incarnation of Austin's award-winning Mansion of Terror. The creepy mansion is a two-story abandoned Victorian-mansion built inside an actual forest. Story has it that in late fall of 1842, a beaten wagon-train limped into the Bastrop area containing only the children survivors of a horrific journey. Adella, a local spinster, took in the orphaned children. She built an orphanage among the towering loblolly pines, yielding plenty of wilderness for the children to play. The locals called her Saint Adella; however this was far from the reality, as none suspected the terror that lay within the ornate walls of this enormous mansion, or of Adella's obsession with black magic and the conjuring of spirits from the other side. The truth of the situation became apparent with the mysterious disappearance of Adella, the discovery of children graves in the mansion's ghostly chapel, and the magical and paganistic items left behind in the mansion. The gates of the Mansion were closed long ago to protect unknowing travelers from entering accidentally. However, the locks have now rusted off and the mansion gates are open with no one to protect those who enter it's walls. Sounds are beginning to fill the grounds of the mansion again, and if you listen intently, you can hear the nursery rhymes coming through the walls and the faint screams of children from the basement below the mansion. 3. Lost Pines : Zombie City is the second of Scream Hollow's frightening haunted house experiences. Lost Pines is a small town in Texas which holds a deadly secret. The town of Lost Pines has been contained and abandoned for 20 years. For reasons unknown, Lost Pines was evacuated and locked away from the public following the installation of a military outpost surrounding the city. No one was allowed in or out, and the town became closed and abandoned…until now. Recently, one building started humming with some sort of activity. A group of "cyber punks" hacked the security system, convinced that government was creating a deadly biological-weapon. They were half-right. Top-secret papers stolen from the military outpost show that something went wrong with experiments and weapons created in the city of Lost Pines, and that government feverishly tried to recreate the mysteries of their biological discoveries, attempting to control the weapon's effects. They wanted to develop a vaccination before releasing knowledge of the weapon. However, something went wrong in the process and the city was quarantined and secured, leaving so many questions unanswered. What happened to the people in the town? Where is everyone? Why is the military outpost abandoned? Can you discover the secrets in Lost Pines Zombie City? More importantly, can you survive and find your way out???

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
starbursty & prismatic for the holidays
16 comments:
- November 30, 2011 at 8:49 PM
- Katy said...
I love your blog!!! I hope you are doing well.
- November 30, 2011 at 9:27 PM
- Laura said...
What a fun project - so pretty!
- November 30, 2011 at 10:25 PM
- Danika Herrick said...
OOOOOHHHH! Love this! I was just in the middle of trying to remake the chandelier on the new cover of Elle Decor out of wooden skewers, but this is so much prettier!
- December 1, 2011 at 3:48 AM
- Vasudha Narasimhan said...
first of all....u have a lovely blog header....very creative...secondly...ur photographs are extra ordinary...love your blog... following:)
- December 1, 2011 at 11:25 PM
Oh hi, there you are! I have that very item in my bedroom right now (of course, you remember, since you were there!) but I swear you make it look so much cooler with your beautiful photographs.
I think I will make that my project for tomorrow - gluing mine together and finding a nice spot for it! - December 1, 2011 at 11:34 PM
- LindsB said...
Such an awesome project out of such simple materials- I love this!
- December 2, 2011 at 6:06 AM
- Samantha said...
LOVE your prism.
- December 2, 2011 at 8:45 AM
- Jenna said...
Great idea, I love those prism sticks!!
- December 2, 2011 at 1:50 PM
- jamie @ [kreyv] said...
Thanks SO much for this post! I have seen pokey, sphere thingies, and I have wanted to replicate them. I wasn't sure how to go about it, since everything I tried wouldn't stay in the styrofoam. Love them!
- December 6, 2011 at 4:50 PM
- Unknown said...
These are gorgeous!
- December 9, 2011 at 8:12 AM
Love this crystal look! It's got me thinking about making this craft using some bamboo skewers for an organic look as a change of pace. Or even paint them to coordinate with other accessories. Thanks for sharing this great idea.
- December 9, 2011 at 12:44 PM
- 1 Funky Woman said...
I'm in love! What a great project the kids could help with and then keep out all winter!
http://1funkywoman.blogspot.com - December 10, 2011 at 8:30 AM
- Mrs. Limestone said...
So clever!! I would have never guessed that was DIY. Love it.
- December 12, 2011 at 6:18 AM
- TNitemare said...
These are absolutely gorgeous. I'm making them as xmas party favors this year. Every year my sister and I invent some kind of ornament to give as table gifts for Christmas. This year I'm making these and spraying them with glitter glue for a more glistening effect. Thanks so much for this idea!!
- November 8, 2013 at 9:48 PM
- Anna Schafer said...
Anyway they didn't send us home emptied handed. We made glistening starburst things out of drink stirrers. beach holidays
- October 16, 2014 at 5:17 AM


text:
Thu, 9 March 2017
Bawdy Storytelling is the original sex and storytelling series. It features real people (and rock stars) sharing tales of their sexual exploits live and onstage. Think of us as a one night stand with The Moth and Savage Love. Sexual folklorist Dixie De La Tour and her ever-changing roster of storytellers share their own stories of love, lust, and feeling funny in your bathing suit area. You may even go home with a few new tricks for your boudoir arsenal! Join Bawdy Storytelling and help us reach every last person in need of some love and laughter. Please consider supporting the show via our Patreon.
Direct download: Episode_20_-_Leather_Celebration.mp3
Category:Storytelling -- posted at: 2:05pm PDT |


text:
Each day of hearings on January 6 explores a different way that a former president tried to undermine this republic.
On Tuesday, Republican state officials testified that Donald Trump asked them to violate their oaths of office. Today, the hearings focus on the Department of Justice. Trump's own appointees to run the department have said he wanted them to promote election lies.
INSKEEP: NPR national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson is covering the hearings. Carrie, good morning.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Why do the former president's own appointees say that he went too far at DOJ?
JOHNSON: Well, the Justice Department is not supposed to do the personal political bidding of the president, but that's exactly what we're likely to hear today from the committee, that the former president misused this department to try to cling to power, doing things like trying to get Justice to appoint a special counsel to probe nonexistent fraud. We know former Attorney General Bill Barr told Trump all these claims about election fraud were nonsense. Barr resigned in December 2020, but right after that, former President Trump started putting the squeeze on other top officials at Justice. There were something like nine calls or meetings demanding DOJ officials investigate fraud claims over the course of just a few weeks. Here's how the acting deputy attorney general, Rich Donoghue, put it in a deposition.
RICH DONOGHUE: And I said something to the effect of, sir, we've done dozens of investigations, hundreds of interviews. The major allegations are not supported by the evidence developed.
JOHNSON: Donoghue says he told the former president he was dead wrong when he made claims about fraud in Georgia, for example.
INSKEEP: Yeah, we've already seen the video of that deposition. Now he testifies in person before the committee today. Is he the only person who is saying this?
JOHNSON: No. We expect to see former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and Steve Engel, who led the Office of Legal Counsel at Justice. It's unusual for lawyers at this level to testify in public about interactions with the White House, but the current president, Joe Biden, decided that executive privilege should not apply to shield these conversations about an effort to overthrow the 2020 election. One person we're not going to be hearing from today is former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark. He's described as being sympathetic to Trump's baseless claims of fraud and also drafting a letter to officials in Georgia to try to help Trump's cause. Clark did appear for a deposition, but he invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination there.
INSKEEP: Now, why would Clark need to invoke the Fifth Amendment?
JOHNSON: Well, an investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee found Clark was going around his boss at the Justice Department, taking private meetings with the White House and at least one Republican member of Congress, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania. Trump had seriously considered whether to fire Jeff Rosen and install Jeff Clark as the acting attorney general. Steve, this all came to a head only three days before January 6. In a bizarre meeting at the White House some people have likened to Trump's old reality TV show "The Apprentice," virtually the entire DOJ leadership team threatened to resign if Trump gave Jeff Clark the job. Here's again what Rich Donoghue told the committee.
DONOGHUE: The president said, suppose I do this. Suppose I replace Jeff Rosen with him, Jeff Clark. What do you do? And I said, sir, I would resign immediately. There is no way I'm serving one minute under this guy, Jeff Clark.
JOHNSON: The prospect of Justice Department officials resigning in protest, of course, has a historical precedent, Steve. It happened 49 years ago during Watergate. We call it the Saturday Night Massacre. That was avoided here narrowly by some of the men we're going to hear from testify today.
INSKEEP: OK. We'll be listening. Carrie, thanks so much.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
INSKEEP: That's NPR's Carrie Johnson. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
This is one of my three final commissions for this year, meaning I have two more to go before this series is done and I can finally start lay-out for the "Airships and Tentacles" book.
These have been rather slow-coming – I've been chomping off bits of my work list, and well, between home repair, prepping for coming conventions, keeping food on the table (web/programming work), shipping, and *still* catching up on kickstarter stuff… it all feels like 'nibbling', though I haven't slowed down or stopped in nearly a year.
Anyway, I painted this one at 18×12 inches on Oak panel… you can see a few details below, but certainly not all of them. As per usual… tiny, tiny brush strokes and figures about the size of a grain of rice…
I have it imaged at 600DPI, to ensure that these details show as well as the original in printed form, and those prints are now available HERE.
There are only 10 available, they are printed on canvas at the exact same size as the original painting. As an early buyer incentive, the first two to sell are available for only $190; They'll go back up after those two have sold.


text:
26th of July Movement
Our editors will review what you've submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
- Spanish:
- Movimiento 26 de Julio
- Date:
- 1955 - 1961
- Related People:
- Fidel Castro
- Raúl Castro
- Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado
26th of July Movement, revolutionary movement led by Fidel Castro that overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba (1959). Its name commemorates an attack on the Santiago de Cuba army barracks on July 26, 1953. The movement began formally in 1955 when Castro went to Mexico to form a disciplined guerrilla force. The leaders of the movement remaining in Cuba to carry out sabotage and political activities were Frank País, Armando Hart, and Enrique Oltuski. At this time the movement espoused a reform program that included distribution of land to peasants, nationalization of public services, industrialization, honest elections, and mass education.
In early 1957, with Castro back in Cuba fighting in the Sierra Maestra, "Civic Resistance" groups were organized in the cities, and numerous middle-class and professional persons gravitated toward Castro. In 1958 the movement joined in a "Junta of Unity" with most other groups opposing Batista. After Castro's victory, the 26th of July Movement was integrated into the Organizaciones Revolucionarias Integradas in 1961.


text:
This article is more than 1 year old
Attack on open-source web app keeps growing
8 mil poisoned pages, thanks to osCommerce users
An attack targeting sites running unpatched versions of the osCommerce web application kept growing virally this week, more than three weeks after a security firm warned it was being used to install malware on the computers of unsuspecting users.
When researchers from Armorize first spotted the exploit on July 24, they estimated it had injected malicious links into about 91,000 webpages. By early last week, The Reg reported it had taken hold of almost 5 million pages. At time of writing, Google searches here and here suggested that the number exceeded 8.3 million.
Armorize said attackers are exploiting three separate vulnerabilities in the open source store-management application, including one that was discovered last month. Harold Ponce de Leon, the lead developer of osCommerce, said there's only one vulnerability that's being exploited, but he admitted that no one on his team has spoken to anyone at Armorize to reconcile the difference of opinion.
"It is devastating not only to see the damage the attack has inflicted to online stores, but also to customers who are getting affected with old IE6 browser exploits," he wrote in an email.
He said a fix has been available since November's release of osCommerce Online Merchant v2.3. The steadily climbing number of infected webpages suggests that a large percentage of osCommerce websites can't be bothered to install it. And that means people visiting those ecommerce websites are being unnecessarily exposed to attacks. ®


text:
Enjoy Free |
Site Map > Electronic Library > Charles Dickens > Bleak House > CHAPTER XVI |
Listen to audiobooks at Litphonix
previous: CHAPTER XV
My Lady Dedlock is restless, very restless. The astonished fashionable intelligence hardly knows where to have her. To-day she is at Chesney Wold; yesterday she was at her house in town; tomorrow she may be abroad, for anything the fashionable intelligence can with confidence predict. Even Sir Leicester's gallantry has some trouble to keep pace with her. It would have more but that his other faithful ally, for better and for worse - the gout - darts into the old oak bedchamber at Chesney Wold and grips him by both legs.
Sir Leicester receives the gout as a troublesome demon, but still a demon of the patrician order. All the Dedlocks, in the direct male line, through a course of time during and beyond which the memory of man goeth not to the contrary, have had the gout. It can be proved, sir. Other men's fathers may have died of the rheumatism or may have taken base contagion from the tainted blood of the sick vulgar, but the Dedlock family have communicated something exclusive even to the levelling process of dying by dying of their own family gout. It has come down through the illustrious line like the plate, or the pictures, or the place in Lincolnshire. It is among their dignities. Sir Leicester is perhaps not wholly without an impression, though he has never resolved it into words, that the angel of death in the discharge of his necessary duties may observe to the shades of the aristocracy, "My lords and gentlemen, I have the honour to present to you another Dedlock certified to have arrived per the family gout."
Hence Sir Leicester yields up his family legs to the family disorder as if he held his name and fortune on that feudal tenure. He feels that for a Dedlock to be laid upon his back and spasmodically twitched and stabbed in his extremities is a liberty taken somewhere, but he thinks, "We have all yielded to this; it belongs to us; it has for some hundreds of years been understood that we are not to make the vaults in the park interesting on more ignoble terms; and I submit myself to the compromise.
And a goodly show he makes, lying in a flush of crimson and gold in the midst of the great drawing-room before his favourite picture of my Lady, with broad strips of sunlight shining in, down the long perspective, through the long line of windows, and alternating with soft reliefs of shadow. Outside, the stately oaks, rooted for ages in the green ground which has never known ploughshare, but was still a chase when kings rode to battle with sword and shield and rode a-hunting with bow and arrow, bear witness to his greatness. Inside, his forefathers, looking on him from the walls, say, "Each of us was a passing reality here and left this coloured shadow of himself and melted into remembrance as dreamy as the distant voices of the rooks now lulling you to rest," and hear their testimony to his greatness too. And he is very great this day. And woe to Boythorn or other daring wight who shall presumptuously contest an inch with him!
My Lady is at present represented, near Sir Leicester, by her portrait. She has flitted away to town, with no intention of remaining there, and will soon flit hither again, to the confusion of the fashionable intelligence. The house in town is not prepared for her reception. It is muffled and dreary. Only one Mercury in powder gapes disconsolate at the hall-window; and he mentioned last night to another Mercury of his acquaintance, also accustomed to good society, that if that sort of thing was to last - which it couldn't, for a man of his spirits couldn't bear it, and a man of his figure couldn't be expected to bear it - there would be no resource for him, upon his honour, but to cut his throat!
What connexion can there be between the place in Lincolnshire, the house in town, the Mercury in powder, and the whereabout of Jo the outlaw with the broom, who had that distant ray of light upon him when he swept the churchyard-step? What connexion can there have been between many people in the innumerable histories of this world who from opposite sides of great gulfs have, nevertheless, been very curiously brought together!
Jo sweeps his crossing all day long, unconscious of the link, if any link there be. He sums up his mental condition when asked a question by replying that he "don't know nothink." He knows that it's hard to keep the mud off the crossing in dirty weather, and harder still to live by doing it. Nobody taught him even that much; he found it out.
Jo lives - that is to say, Jo has not yet died - in a ruinous place known to the like of him by the name of Tom-all-Alone's. It is a black, dilapidated street, avoided by all decent people, where the crazy houses were seized upon, when their decay was far advanced, by some bold vagrants who after establishing their own possession took to letting them out in lodgings. Now, these tumbling tenements contain, by night, a swarm of misery. As on the ruined human wretch vermin parasites appear, so these ruined shelters have bred a crowd of foul existence that crawls in and out of gaps in walls and boards; and coils itself to sleep, in maggot numbers, where the rain drips in; and comes and goes, fetching and carrying fever and sowing more evil in its every footprint than Lord Coodle, and Sir Thomas Doodle, and the Duke of Foodle, and all the fine gentlemen in office, down to Zoodle, shall set right in five hundred years - though born expressly to do it.
Twice lately there has been a crash and a cloud of dust, like the springing of a mine, in Tom-all-Alone's; and each time a house has fallen. These accidents have made a paragraph in the newspapers and have filled a bed or two in the nearest hospital. The gaps remain, and there are not unpopular lodgings among the rubbish. As several more houses are nearly ready to go, the next crash in Tomall-Alone's may be expected to be a good one.
This desirable property is in Chancery, of course. It would be an insult to the discernment of any man with half an eye to tell him so. Whether "Tom" is the popular representative of the original plaintiff or defendant in Jarndyce and Jarndyce, or whether Tom lived here when the suit had laid the street waste, all alone, until other settlers came to join him, or whether the traditional title is a comprehensive name for a retreat cut off from honest company and put out of the pale of hope, perhaps nobody knows. Certainly Jo don't know.
"For I don't," says Jo, "I don't know nothink."
It must be a strange state to be like Jo! To shuffle through the streets, unfamiliar with the shapes, and in utter darkness as to the meaning, of those mysterious symbols, so abundant over the shops, and at the corners of streets, and on the doors, and in the windows! To see people read, and to see people write, and to see the postmen deliver letters, and not to have the least idea of all that language - to be, to every scrap of it, stone blind and dumb! It must be very puzzling to see the good company going to the churches on Sundays, with their books in their hands, and to think (for perhaps Jo DOES think at odd times) what does it all mean, and if it means anything to anybody, how comes it that it means nothing to me? To be hustled, and jostled, and moved on; and really to feel that it would appear to be perfectly true that I have no business here, or there, or anywhere; and yet to be perplexed by the consideration that I AM here somehow, too, and everybody overlooked me until I became the creature that I am! It must be a strange state, not merely to be told that I am scarcely human (as in the case of my offering myself for a witness), but to feel it of my own knowledge all my life! To see the horses, dogs, and cattle go by me and to know that in ignorance I belong to them and not to the superior beings in my shape, whose delicacy I offend! Jo's ideas of a criminal trial, or a judge, or a bishop, or a govemment, or that inestimable jewel to him (if he only knew it) the Constitution, should be strange! His whole material and immaterial life is wonderfully strange; his death, the strangest thing of all.
Jo comes out of Tom-all-Alone's, meeting the tardy morning which is always late in getting down there, and munches his dirty bit of bread as he comes along. His way lying through many streets, and the houses not yet being open, he sits down to breakfast on the door-step of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts and gives it a brush when he has finished as an acknowledgment of the accommodation. He admires the size of the edifice and wonders what it's all about. He has no idea, poor wretch, of the spiritual destitution of a coral reef in the Pacific or what it costs to look up the precious souls among the coco-nuts and bread-fruit.
He goes to his crossing and begins to lay it out for the day. The town awakes; the great tee-totum is set up for its daily spin and whirl; all that unaccountable reading and writing, which has been suspended for a few hours, recommences. Jo and the other lower animals get on in the unintelligible mess as they can. It is market-day. The blinded oxen, over-goaded, over-driven, never guided, run into wrong places and are beaten out, and plunge redeyed and foaming at stone walls, and often sorely hurt the innocent, and often sorely hurt themselves. Very like Jo and his order; very, very like!
A band of music comes and plays. Jo listens to it. So does a dog - a drover's dog, waiting for his master outside a butcher's shop, and evidently thinking about those sheep he has had upon his mind for some hours and is happily rid of. He seems perplexed respecting three or four, can't remember where he left them, looks up and down the street as half expecting to see them astray, suddenly pricks up his ears and remembers all about it. A thoroughly vagabond dog, accustomed to low company and publichouses; a terrific dog to sheep, ready at a whistle to scamper over their backs and tear out mouthfuls of their wool; but an educated, improved, developed dog who has been taught his duties and knows how to discharge them. He and Jo listen to the music, probably with much the same amount of animal satisfaction; likewise as to awakened association, aspiration, or regret, melancholy or joyful reference to things beyond the senses, they are probably upon a par. But, otherwise, how far above the human listener is the brute!
Turn that dog's descendants wild, like Jo, and in a very few years they will so degenerate that they will lose even their bark - but not their bite.
The day changes as it wears itself away and becomes dark and drizzly. Jo fights it out at his crossing among the mud and wheels, the horses, whips, and umbrellas, and gets but a scanty sum to pay for the unsavoury shelter of Tom-all-Alone's. Twilight comes on; gas begins to start up in the shops; the lamplighter, with his ladder, runs along the margin of the pavement. A wretched evening is beginning to close in.
In his chambers Mr. Tulkinghorn sits meditating an application to the nearest magistrate to-morrow morning for a warrant. Gridley, a disappointed suitor, has been here to-day and has been alarming. We are not to be put in bodily fear, and that ill-conditioned fellow shall be held to bail again. From the ceiling, foreshortened Allegory, in the person of one impossible Roman upside down, points with the arm of Samson (out of joint, and an odd one) obtrusively toward the window. Why should Mr. Tulkinghorn, for such no reason, look out of window? Is the hand not always pointing there? So he does not look out of window.
And if he did, what would it be to see a woman going by? There are women enough in the world, Mr. Tulkinghorn thinks - too many; they are at the bottom of all that goes wrong in it, though, for the matter of that, they create business for lawyers. What would it be to see a woman going by, even though she were going secretly? They are all secret. Mr. Tulkinghorn knows that very well.
But they are not all like the woman who now leaves him and his house behind, between whose plain dress and her refined manner there is something exceedingly inconsistent. She should be an upper servant by her attire, yet in her air and step, though both are hurried and assumed - as far as she can assume in the muddy streets, which she treads with an unaccustomed foot - she is a lady. Her face is veiled, and still she sufficiently betrays herself to make more than one of those who pass her look round sharply.
She never turns her head. Lady or servant, she has a purpose in her and can follow it. She never turns her head until she comes to the crossing where Jo plies with his broom. He crosses with her and begs. Still, she does not turn her head until she has landed on the other side. Then she slightly beckons to him and says, "Come here!"
Jo follows her a pace or two into a quiet court.
"Are you the boy I've read of in the papers?" she asked behind her veil.
"I don't know," says Jo, staring moodily at the veil, "nothink about no papers. I don't know nothink about nothink at all."
"Were you examined at an inquest?"
"I don't know nothink about no - where I was took by the beadle, do you mean?" says Jo. "Was the boy's name at the inkwhich Jo?"
"That's me!" says Jo.
"Come farther up."
"You mean about the man?" says Jo, following. "Him as wos dead?"
"Hush! Speak in a whisper! Yes. Did he look, when he was living, so very ill and poor?"
"Oh, jist!" says Jo.
"Did he look like - not like YOU?" says the woman with abhorrence.
"Oh, not so bad as me," says Jo. "I'm a reg'lar one I am! You didn't know him, did you?"
"How dare you ask me if I knew him?"
"No offence, my lady," says Jo with much humility, for even he has got at the suspicion of her being a lady.
"I am not a lady. I am a servant."
"You are a jolly servant!" says Jo without the least idea of saying anything offensive, merely as a tribute of admiration.
"Listen and be silent. Don't talk to me, and stand farther from me! Can you show me all those places that were spoken of in the account I read? The place he wrote for, the place he died at, the place where you were taken to, and the place where he was buried? Do you know the place where he was buried?"
Jo answers with a nod, having also nodded as each other place was mentioned.
"Go before me and show me all those dreadful places. Stop opposite to each, and don't speak to me unless I speak to you. Don't look back. Do what I want, and I will pay you well."
Jo attends closely while the words are being spoken; tells them off on his broom-handle, finding them rather hard; pauses to consider their meaning; considers it satisfactory; and nods his ragged head.
"I'm fly," says Jo. "But fen larks, you know. Stow hooking it!"
"What does the horrible creature mean?" exclaims the servant, recoiling from him.
"Stow cutting away, you know!" says Jo.
"I don't understand you. Go on before! I will give you more money than you ever had in your life."
Jo screws up his mouth into a whistle, gives his ragged head a rub, takes his broom under his arm, and leads the way, passing deftly with his bare feet over the hard stones and through the mud and mire.
Cook's Court. Jo stops. A pause.
"Who lives here?"
"Him wot give him his writing and give me half a bull," says Jo in a whisper without looking over his shoulder.
"Go on to the next."
Krook's house. Jo stops again. A longer pause.
"Who lives here?"
"HE lived here," Jo answers as before.
After a silence he is asked, "In which room?"
"In the back room up there. You can see the winder from this corner. Up there! That's where I see him stritched out. This is the public-ouse where I was took to."
"Go on to the next!"
It is a longer walk to the next, but Jo, relieved of his first suspicions, sticks to the forms imposed upon him and does not look round. By many devious ways, reeking with offence of many kinds, they come to the little tunnel of a court, and to the gas-lamp (lighted now), and to the iron gate.
"He was put there," says Jo, holding to the bars and looking in.
"Where? Oh, what a scene of horror!"
"There!" says Jo, pointing. "Over yinder. Arnong them piles of bones, and close to that there kitchin winder! They put him wery nigh the top. They was obliged to stamp upon it to git it in. I could unkiver it for you with my broom if the gate was open. That's why they locks it, I s'pose," giving it a shake. "It's always locked. Look at the rat!" cries Jo, excited. "Hi! Look! There he goes! Ho! Into the ground!"
The servant shrinks into a corner, into a corner of that hideous archway, with its deadly stains contaminating her dress; and putting out her two hands and passionately telling him to keep away from her, for he is loathsome to her, so remains for some moments. Jo stands staring and is still staring when she recovers herself.
"Is this place of abomination consecrated ground?"
"I don't know nothink of consequential ground," says Jo, still staring.
"Is it blessed?"
"Which?" says Jo, in the last degree amazed.
"Is it blessed?"
"I'm blest if I know," says Jo, staring more than ever; "but I shouldn't think it warn't. Blest?" repeats Jo, something troubled in his mind. "It an't done it much good if it is. Blest? I should think it was t'othered myself. But I don't know nothink!"
The servant takes as little heed of what he says as she seems to take of what she has said herself. She draws off her glove to get some money from her purse. Jo silently notices how white and small her hand is and what a jolly servant she must be to wear such sparkling rings.
She drops a piece of money in his hand without touching it, and shuddering as their hands approach. "Now," she adds, "show me the spot again!"
Jo thrusts the handle of his broom between the bars of the gate, and with his utmost power of elaboration, points it out. At length, looking aside to see if he has made himself intelligible, he finds that he is alone.
His first proceeding is to hold the piece of money to the gas-light and to be overpowered at finding that it is yellow - gold. His next is to give it a one-sided bite at the edge as a test of its quality. His next, to put it in his mouth for safety and to sweep the step and passage with great care. His job done, he sets off for Tom-all-Alone's, stopping in the light of innumerable gas-lamps to produce the piece of gold and give it another one-sided bite as a reassurance of its being genuine.
The Mercury in powder is in no want of society to-night, for my Lady goes to a grand dinner and three or four balls. Sir Leicester is fidgety down at Chesney Wold, with no better company than the goat; he complains to Mrs. Rouncewell that the rain makes such a monotonous pattering on the terrace that he can't read the paper even by the fireside in his own snug dressing-room.
"Sir Leicester would have done better to try the other side of the house, my dear," says Mrs. Rouncewell to Rosa. "His dressing-room is on my Lady's side. And in all these years I never heard the step upon the Ghost's Walk more distinct than it is to-night!"
Turn to the next chapter: CHAPTER XVII


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Killer Sudoku solving techniques
Killer Sudoku adds a new dimension to standard Sudoku, requiring arithmetic to solve. You will need specialised Killer Sudoku solving techniques to progress in these puzzles besides the standard Sudoku techniques.
Multiple 45 Rule
The multiple 45 rule is an extension of the 45 rule. It applies the 45 rule to more than one row, column or block, taking them together as a larger region.
Figure 1In the eighth and ninth columns (highlighted in Fig. 1), all cages lie completely inside, with the exception of the 21 cage, so the multiple 45 rule can be used. The total of all numbers in two columns is always 45 × 2 = 90. The outside total, the total of all cages in these two columns including the 21 cage which sticks out, is 93. So, the outside square in the seventh column must be 93 – 90 = 3.
This Killer Sudoku contains another example of the multiple 45 rule, using three columns.
Figure 2In the first, second and third columns (highlighted in Fig. 2), all cages lie completely inside, with the exception of the 13 cage. The total of all squares in three columns is 45 × 3 = 135. The inside total for these three columns, the total of all cages except the cage sticking out, is 126. So, the inside square in the third column is 135 – 126 = 9.
Figure 3In general, look for multiple rows, columns or blocks next to each other where all cages except one lie completely inside.


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Travel is supposed to let you get away from it all. But it doesn't always feel that way for families traveling with children with special needs. Despite passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act more than 30 years ago, hotels, transportation modes, and destinations can still pose challenges. Fortunately, there are resources available to help families plan their trips and minimize the risk of a vacation riddled with frustration and disappointment.
Does it have to be uncomfortable to travel? asks The Rolling Rains Report, an online newsletter that highlights and promotes initiatives to make life easier for travelers with disabilities and their families. The answer is an emphatic "no." Published by Dr. Scott Rains, who is paralyzed from the waist down, the newsletter discusses strategies for trip planning, the many ways that principles of universal design can enhance travel and hospitality, and a host of other issues arising with travel at home and abroad. The Report also includes a long list of external links with useful information.
There are numerous other resources for families planning to hit the road that provide general and specific information—just do a Google search on "travelling with children with special needs" To find many resources offering tips and checklists. Planning Trips for Children with Autism, published by Simmons University, explores a variety of potential challenges—dealing with unfamiliar environments, wait times, and sensory impacts, to name just three—and offers many helpful links. Those traveling by air might want to consult this checklist published by Seattle's Center for Children with Special Needs. Thepointsguy.com, a site dedicated to travel in general, includes a section dedicated to sharing experiences by travelers with children with special needs.
To sum up, however far you plan to go, whatever you want to do, someone has been there, done that, and is available to help you.


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This article contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.
Pandaren wardancers are a pandaren warrior variant. Pandaren are by all accounts graceful and skilled warriors. Their wardancers epitomize the pandaren art of warfare — and for the wardancers, battle is indeed an art. Their title does not come coincidentally. Their movements are precise and fluid; they appear to dance through a battlefield, their blades flashing silver, blood spraying into the air, and bodies toppling as they move. While wardancers are deadly, they, like all pandaren, are inherently peaceful. The greatest hope of the wardancer is to not have to use his skills. However, in Azeroth's current age, the wardancers' skills are needed more than ever. Wardancers move out to confront demons, undead and other horrid creatures, their hearts lightened by the thought that, through their battles, other creatures will live — perhaps, other creatures will never know battle.[1]
Resplendent in their elaborate bambus armor and dangerous with their shaktani warblades to hand, the wardancers are the very epitome of the pandaren outlook on the world. To the pandaren, each individual has an art, an art that he or she should spend his or her life perfecting. For the wardancers, this art is the art of violence and war. Wardancers are not warlike, however; they are perhaps the world's only artists who regret every opportunity they are given to practice their art. Nevertheless, they save their regret for purifications undertaken after combat. In the midst of battle, few sights can equal that of a pandaren wardancer, performing a lethal dance of steel and blood, moving to the sacred song that all wardancers are taught to hear within the din of violence.
Wardancers are at the forefront of any pandaren war effort, cutting a swathe through the enemy. Though they are trained to use effective group tactics during their careers as pikemen, wardancers do not operate together. Instead, each wardancer operates alone on the battlefield, supported by those pikemen over whom he is both captain and mentor. He dances the shaktani dance alone and with grim determination. Wardancers are backed up by pandaren who throw pan-spears at the enemy, while guarding the flanks of their champion pikemen.[2] Wielding thin, delicately balanced blades, the pandaren wardancers quickly established themselves as some of the deadliest swordsmen of the world.[3]
The iconic pandaren wardancer wears a long, black tunic with gold buttons and gold trim. He wields a delicate shaktani sword in one hand, and his other hand is empty. He balances on the balls of his feet, eyes watching, and when the time is right, he is a spinning, leaping weapon of destruction.[1]
They can speak Common, Dwarven, and Pandaren.[4]
Warcraft III April Fools[]
See also[]
- ^ a b Dark Factions, pg. 35
- ^ Manual of Monsters, pg. 77-78
- ^ Manual of Monsters, pg. 76
- ^ Dark Factions, pg. 182


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Lunar Water Strip-Mines?
You may have seen the headlines a few weeks ago, when everyone was crowing "Water on the Moon!" after the LCROSS results were finally published. Turns out the moon is wetter than the Sahara (woo!) and all the news sites seemed excited about how we'd be using this for a lunar base. It only takes a ton of rock to get 11-12 gallons of water!I wondered, am I the only one who thinks 12 gallons isn't very much? I couldn't help envisioning a tiny lunar base surrounded by acres of mine tailing devastation.
So I calculated how much rock it takes to make a ton (assuming basalt; lunar highland anorthosite would be a little less dense). Turns out it's not very much: a ton of basalt would make a cube about 8.6 feet on a side. So okay, I guess it would take quite a while to work up to those acres of devastation. It was an interesting calculation, anyway; rock is a lot less dense than I thought.
You can read the details in my SJAA Ephemeris column this month, Full of Moon.
[ 19:55 Nov 21, 2010 More science/astro | permalink to this entry | ]


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Grease is the Word
Contents |
Judges: Sinitta, David Gest, David Ian and Brian Friedman
ITV2 coverage (Greased Lightnin): Holly Willoughby
TalkbackThames in association with Syco for ITV1/2, 7 April to 9 June 2007 (10 episodes in 1 series)
David Ian jumps channels, and the shark, in this cobbled-together cobblers designed to spoil the BBC's Any Dream Will Do.
Though on paper Grease has the better songbook than Joseph, the sum of this series is much less than its parts. One of those parts is the seemingly rent-a-celeb casting of the judges - particularly David Gest (note: only hired due to I'm a Celeb) and Sinitta (note: a former squeeze of exec producer Simon Cowell).
After the Sandys and Dannys had been whittled down after the boot camp, an intolerable set of auditions and live shows eventually selected a winner.
Susan McFadden (sister of the former Mr Katona, Bryan) and Danny Bayne who received generally very poor crits when the show opened in August 2007.
Even Simon Cowell admitted the show was a flop. Speaking to The Sun, he admitted: "Grease Is The Word is not going as well as I had hoped. It has been slaughtered by the critics - and rightly so."
Anthony Kavanagh, who finished as the runner-up to winner Danny Bayne, previously enjoyed modest chart success in the late '90's, under the name Kavana.
Web links
The final couples profiled at The Stage.


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A storekeeper is arranging the items on the rack, is a bit surprised when he sees a dog coming inside the shop, he shoos him away. But later, the dog is back inside again. So he goes over to the dog and notices that it has a note tied to its neck. He takes the note and it reads "Please give 2 packets of cigarette & a lighter. The money is with the dog." The storekeeper looks inside the dogs mouth and to his surprise there is a $10 note in its mouth. So he takes the money and puts the cigarette & lighter and change in a bag, and then places it in the dogs mouth.
The storekeeper is so impressed, and since it is the closing time, he decides to follow the dog. The dog is walking down the street, when it comes to the zebra crossing, he waits till the signal turns green. He walks across the road till the bus stop. He waits on the stop and looks up the timetable for the bus. The storekeeper is totally out of his mind as the dog gets into the bus and sits on a vacant seat. The storekeeper follow the dog. The dog waits for the conductor to come to his seat. He gives the change to the conductor and shows him the neck belt to keep the ticket. The storekeeper is almost fainting at this sight and so are the other people in the bus.
The dog then moves to the front exit of the door and waits for the bus stop to arrive, looking outside. As soon as the stop is in sight he wags his tail to inform the driver to stop. Then not even waiting for the bus stop to arrive the dog jumps out and runs to the house nearby. It opens an big iron gate and rushes towards the door. As it approaches the door, he changes his mind and walks towards the garden. The dog walks up to the window and beats his head several times on the window. It then walks back to the door and waits. The storekeeper maintaining his senses walks up to the door and watched a big guy open the door.
The guy starts beating, kicking and abusing the dog. The storekeeper is surprised and runs to stop the guy. The storekeeper questions the guy "What in the heaven are you doing? The dog is a genius he could be famous in life."
The guy responds "You call this clever? This is the 3rd time in this week that the dog has forgotten the door keys."
The moral of the story: "You may continue to exceed onlookers expectations, but will always fall short of the boss' expectation"


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[Image: The "Situationist Drawing Device" by Ji Soo Han and Paul Ornsby].
The "Situationist Drawing Device" is a backpack-sized mechanism for recording the experience of landscape. Designed by Ji Soo Han and Paul Ornsby, and operating by way of mirrors, the Device "records a journey taken in an altered state of perception through drawing." It is an "intermediary and interpretative tool," the designers add, one that stands between the human body and the landscape it exists within and explores.
It is spatial equipment—an optical exoskeleton. Navigational clothing.
[Images: The "Situationist Drawing Device" by Ji Soo Han and Paul Ornsby].
This video shows it at work:
"As each eye retina receives different images, both conditions blur into one and simultaneously alternate—phasing in and out over the other," the designers write. "This blurring effect, as known as retinal rivalry, creates a new perception of the site. The device was initially adapted from the pseudoscope (Greek, false view) which is a binocular instrument that reverses depth perception. The idea of reversing left and right eye vision was adapted to reverse forward and backward vision."
You advance by looking backward, walking into layered optical phantoms of the place you've left behind. It is both mnemonic and projective.
[Images: The "Situationist Drawing Device" by Ji Soo Han and Paul Ornsby].
The key detail, though, is that the backpack also registers, through drawing, your experience of wearing it; a small, Iron Man-like disc (see opening image) on the user's back serves both to house and to produce those vaguely seismological sketches. It is a mystical drawing pad for upstart Situationists.
[Images: The "Situationist Drawing Device" by Ji Soo Han and Paul Ornsby].
The device later inspired Han to design a project called the "Scrap Metal Refinery," a few images of which appear here.
[Images: The "Scrap Metal Refinery" by Ji Soo Han].
That proposes a bridge that would stride across its own curved shadows and reflections, which are meant to be seen as a form of spatial notation, the structure registering itself in the landscape.
[Images: The "Scrap Metal Refinery" by Ji Soo Han].
For my money, the device is the stronger of the two projects, recalling the introductory essay written by CJ Lim for an edited collection of student work produced at the Bartlett School of Architecture, Devices: A Manual of Architectural + Spatial Machines. Quoting at length:
Devices have shared a long and complex history with architecture. The machines of Vitruvius and Leonardo da Vinci were devised in times of peace and war for both the construction and destruction of the built form. Today, kinetic intelligent systems are incorporated into building facades for environmental and aesthetic control. The device, however, has simultaneously followed a parallel trajectory—the Victorians invented a proliferation of devices, often ingenious, rarely of much practical use; Heath Robinson's contraptions displayed the absurd length to which devices were invented to satisfy our convenience and curiosity; his illustrations, sometimes carrying satirical and political overtones, are best remembered for their humor. Similarly, many of today's devices no longer perform quotidian practical tasks but are the results of artistic endeavor and are housed in galleries and museums.
The "Situationist Drawing Device" is what happens when an unironic Vitruvian sensibility is crossed with the willful absurdity of Situationist urban exploration, by way of mirrors and pens: an unfeasibly complicated piece of clothing through which the experience of built space is memorably upended.
Read a bit more at Ji Soo Han's website.


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Ranch Entertainment Launch Party & Rice and Peas Party's 5th anniversary
Last night Shaggy's new record label Ranch Entertainment was launched with a crazy party at Santos Party House in New York! Shaggy, Beenie Man, Rayvon, Red Fox, Tony Curtis, Mr Easy, Stein, LUST, RSNY, GC and more took the stage much to the delight of the audience and press. Check out a video below!
Ranch Entertainment Launch Party with Shaggy, Beenie Man and more


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current issue Volume 9 Issue 7 ( July 2024) |
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International journal of modern research in Engineering and Technology is a peer reviewed online journal for professionals and researchers in the field of computer science. The main aim is to resolve emerging and outstanding problems revealed by recent socialand technological change.
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Finland Terrain Gold Pendant
by geobling
Your browser does not support WebGL. Please download the latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
Pendant shaped like Finland including terrain data. Sized approximately 3.5cm by 3.5cm with a hook on the back to attach to necklaces.
Samples images of Finland's shape and pendant dimensions (country: Albania, material: Silver).
The GeoBling series of jewelry started in 2011 by the Society for Printable Geography uses data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography mission to create artifacts resembling the countries of the world with realistic terrain information. Our complex algorithms created by computational geometry and geodata experts can create a custom piece of jewelry for almost any country in the world within seconds.
The thickness of this pendant is between 1mm (where the country is low) and 4mm (the highest peaks). A solid closed hook (no moving parts) on the rear allows attaching this pendant to a necklace. The necklace must fit through a hole sized 4mm by 3mm. Please contact us if you are interested in a different size, a country not currently available on Kraftwurx or with specific requests for dimensions.
The data used to generate this item is the "Hole-filled seamless SRTM data V4" provided by the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). This data is available publicly at srtm.csi.cgiar.org. The Society for Printable Geography is not afiliated with CIAT in any way.


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The Peace and Freedom Party, born from the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s, is committed to socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism, racial equality, and internationalism.
The opening sentence of the Party platform has provoked questions such as, "Why are you for socialism?" or "What is socialism?" The answer is not simple, because the Peace and Freedom Party is a 'multi-tendency' party." People from different organizations, as well as those without other affiliation, can be members of the Peace and Freedom Party.
We asked members of the PFP to provide their definition of socialism, both to answer the question and to illustrate the range of opinions within the party and the Socialist movement in general. Below runs the fourth in our continuing series, "What is Socialism?"
Capitalism is a political-economic system that privileges the interests of capital; that is, the class that owns and controls the strategic economic levers of society.
Socialism is also a class society, but it privileges poor and working people who are the producers of wealth and who are most in need of social assistance. Communism is yet another societal form, where the state has withered away, classes cease to exist, and the bounty of productive labor is distributed according to the principle of from each according to their abilities and to each according to their need.
Communism, thus, is an ideal and most distant form. As a transitional form, socialism entails a state that governs in the interest of the entire society but privileges the popular classes and a political party that represents the advanced consciousness of the popular classes based on their concrete experience of struggle against capitalism.
–written by Roger D. Harris


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After years of knitting, sewing, crafting, creating, imagining, and inventing, we decided to put the projects to rest and share our hobbies with friends. Our first guitar straps were created as ambitious presents for guitarists in local Chicago band, The Lesser Scene, who performed initial quality control tests. Violin and viola case straps were then customized for chamber group, Quartet Parapluie, who command a crowd at Danny's bar in Wicker Park on lucky Friday nights. Their enthusiasm and encouragement drove us to take our products to the public. Our first 'official' showing at Intonation Fest, 2006 featured our guitar straps with an added line of belts, handbags, messenger bags, and apparel. As our first custom orders rolled in, so did members from the weekends headlining band, The Streets, and their support and praise was enough to realize that people appreciated the selection, beauty, and craftsmanship. Since our first shows, our product line has expanded to include bass guitar straps, banjo straps, camera straps, sax straps, additional apparel items.
At Souldier, all of our products are handmade in the USA. We do not outsource to other agents and pride ourselves on the craftsmanship of our product. Our straps and hand cut leather ends carry a lifetime warranty that we are proud to standby. The online store was created with the customer in mind, offering complete customization of any and all products we offer. With an ever increasing product line, we hope you continue to visit the site, and contact us with your designs ideas. Our products are not designed for the masses, but for those are committed to their craft. Support the independent lifestyle.
Souldier is proud to offer: Custom Guitar Straps, Custom Bass Straps, Custom Banjo Straps, Custom Mandolin Straps, Custom Ukulele Straps, Custom Camera Straps, Custom Dog Collars, Custom Belts, Hootenanny Straps, Vintage Guitar Straps, Torpedo Guitar Straps, Saddle Straps, Purses, Wrist Cuffs, Headbands, Dog Collars, Keychains, Wallets, and tons more.


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Because of the long history between Christians and Muslims, the Christian witness is viewed with great animosity by the Muslim. The roots of this tragedy go back to the Emperor Constantine, who after allegedly having had a dream of the cross (313), wed the sword to the cross. One of his successors, the Christian Emperor Heraclius (reigned 610-641) was a contemporary of Muhammad (reigned 622-632). "Holy War" (Jihad). Following Muhammad's death (632), Muslim armies swept the Christian Byzantines out of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt (636). Christians and Muslims have been at war with one another ever since. Leaving aside the question of Muslim atrocities against Christians of both the East and the West, let me review the grievances of Muslims against the West, perceived as Christian. The Crusades (around 1050-1291) are painfully and permanently inscribed in Muslim memories. The Colonial Period (around 1450-1970), during which Western nations occupied about ninety percent of the Muslim world, has left the Muslim psyche with a deep sense of shame and humiliation that needs to be avenged. But above all else, the loss of Jerusalem to the Jews in 1967, after more than thirteen hundred years of possession, rankles daily in Muslim minds. This, of course, is blamed on the "Christian" West because of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 — perceived as the greatest sin ever committed against humanity. We need to remember, when seeking to witness to Muslims, that we are working in an atmosphere poisoned by the memories of these and more recent (e.g., the U.S.'s two invasions of Lebanon) Muslim casualties. It is only by the grace of God that we have as much opportunity as we do to work with Muslims. If we exhibit any form of cultural superiority, religious triumphalism, or selective amnesia concerning the sins of the West, perceived as Christian, we only make matters worse. More to the point, the denigration of Islam as a religion or slurs against its founder, Muhammad, will not be tolerated. Working with Muslims calls for an especially sensitive approach. Thus, although I will address apologetic issues later in this series, it is first of all important for Christians to know something about how to approach Muslims. In orthodox Islam, God has supposedly not spoken to a single human being since the year Muhammad died (632). For this reason, giving your own testimony of how you became a Christian — of how God revealed Himself to you — takes Muslims by surprise. This is a thoroughly biblical approach (1 John 1:3). And there is no argument against a testimony. Muslims are usually genuinely seeking to please God (as they understand him). They can be complimented, for example, on their practices of confessing God, praying five times daily, giving to the poor, keeping a month-long fast, perceiving themselves as pilgrims, and even striving (jihada) on the "way of God." Similar points of contact can be found in their belief system concerning God, prophets, holy books, angels and demons, the decree of God, and the day of judgment. Of course, on each subject there are points of variance between Islamic and Christian doctrine, but the point is to find a common starting place. One will find that each subject can always be related to the teaching of the Lord Jesus and the apostles and other Scriptures. The Quran bears surprising witness to Jesus. It affirms His virgin birth, His ability to heal and raise the dead, that He is both a word from God and a spirit from God, that He is the Messiah, an all-righteous one (sinless), among those nearest to God, that He is alive in heaven now and will return to judge the earth (Quran 3:45, 49; 4:158; 82:22). Muslims often are convinced that Christ is greater than Muhammad from just reading the Quran. These above points are excellent starting places in leading Muslims to biblical truth about Jesus. Indeed, in our effort to bring Muslims to study the Bible, we have an unexpected ally in Muhammad's book, the Quran. In a careful reading of Quranic references (3:84; 5:51, 71; 6:34; 10:37, 64, 94; 46:12), we find that Muhammad affirmed his belief in what was revealed to Moses and Jesus. He taught that God confirms and guards all previous scripture, that Christians are to stand fast on their own books of the Law and the Gospel, and that none could change the Word of God. Finally, the Muslim is told that if he has doubts he should ask the Jews and Christians, who were reading the Holy Books before he was. If and when a Muslim begins to study Scripture, he (or she) is going to be under suspicion by his family and friends. He will need strong support and encouragement from a Christian friend. This support is even more critical at the time of conversion, baptism, and post-baptismal trauma. One must be ready to die with his or her disciple (John 15:13). Even before all of the above begins, the Christian worker would do well to find a way to minister to human need in the environment of the disciple. This could take the form of personal help, medical service, teaching, relief in times of disaster, and development programs of any kind to improve the quality of life (Matt. 25:31-46). Finally, we must realize that this work is not simply an intellectual exercise; it involves the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. In utter dependence on Him, we receive the insights and ideas that grip the mind and heart of our Muslim friend. And similarly, the Holy Spirit works in our friend to give understanding, insight, and receptivity to the good news of Jesus Christ. This trust in the work of the Holy Spirit is something to be cultivated in prayer and faith by the Christian worker. This article first appeared in the Spring 1993 issue of the Christian Research Journal.
Islam has as many branches and sects as Christianity. The two major ones are the Sunnis and the Shias. They split over the issue of apostolic succession. When Islam's founder Muhammad died unexpectedly in A.D. 632, he had left no arrangement for a successor. His followers divided into two camps. The Sunnis were those who thought the leader should be elected democratically from among his closest followers, and the Shias were those who thought the leaders should be related to Muhammad. Perhaps 85 to 90 percent of all Muslims would call themselves Sunnis. We will consider witnessing to Sunnis in this installment, and in Part Three we will turn our attention to the Shias. The word Sunni comes from the Arabic Sunnah, which simply means "the trodden path," or "tradition." In the Islamic context, it means someone who follows the exemplary pattern of conduct established by Muhammad, believed to be the model for all humankind. Since Muhammad was just one solitary man, confined to a slice of time in seventh century Arabia, he could not foresee the problems Islam would face in its rapid expansion into other lands. His followers — who were imbued with Muhammad's obsession with law — had to devise new laws based on their understanding of what Muhammad would have done, if he had remained among them. This process took almost two hundred years and resulted in the formation of Islamic or Shariah Law. A Sunni, then, is a person who believes that the true way of life is to attempt to keep the laws of Islam (Shariah) derived from the Quran and the other collected sayings of Muhammad. For this person, paradise is the reward of those whose good deeds outweigh their bad on the day of judgment. With such a Muslim believer, there are two evangelistic approaches that can be used: to show the futility of the idea of salvation by law, and to show the inadequacy of Muhammad's life as a model for all humankind. Both approaches ultimately lead to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Muhammad, in his obsession to discover and execute the will of God, set in motion a movement that resulted in a wild proliferation of laws attempting to cover every facet of life. By borrowing from the Egyptians the idea that God would weigh our good deeds against our bad deeds in a balance scale on the day of judgment, he betrayed a lack of understanding of the function of law. The law does not save; it condemns. Christians can begin by complimenting the Muslim on his or her zeal to keep the law of God as he or she understands it, but then we must go on to show that the law has the ultimate function of showing us where we failed. As Paul wrote, "the letter [law] kills, but the Spirit gives life" (1 Cor. 3:6). Our Muslim friends also need to be disabused of the idea that 51 percent performance is good enough to obtain salvation. Show them what James wrote: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it" (James 2:10). To this could be added Paul's words in Romans 3:20, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin," and in Galatians 3:24, "The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24). This then leads on to a discussion about Christ. And this discussion can be based on materials from both the Quran and the Scriptures. In Quran 7:158, Muhammad asked people to follow him. Elsewhere in the Quran, Muhammad testified that Jesus was among those nearest to God, held in honor in this world and the hereafter (Quran 3:45). Muslims understand this to mean that Jesus was sinless and all-righteous, something that the early Muslims never claimed for Muhammad. In fact, in several Quranic passages (16:61; 40:55; 42:5, 30; 47:19; 48:1-2), we read that Muhammad was exhorted to seek forgiveness for his faults, that not a single living creature would be left on earth if God punished everyone for their wrongdoing, and that one of Muhammad's military victories served as an assurance of forgiveness of his sins, past and future. It is pointless for Muslims to argue for Muhammad's sinlessness or to compare him to Jesus, whom Muslims consider to be both sinless and alive in heaven, near to God right now. The contrast could be more sharply drawn by pointing out that Muhammad's grave is in Medina today, whereas Christ is alive in heaven with God. In the Quran (2:253; 3:45-49; 4:158, 171; 5:49; 19:33; 89:22) it is noted that Jesus was called the Messiah; He was born of a virgin; He was among the righteous ones — those nearest to God; He received strength from the Holy Spirit; He could give sight to the blind, cure lepers, and raise the dead; He prophesied His own death and resurrection; He was called a Word from God and a Spirit from God; and finally, He is coming back with thousands of angels to judge the world. All these characterizations add up to a powerful picture of a Christ who was more than a prophet, and — on Quranic terms alone — superior to Muhammad. From this point on, it is up to the Christian witness to lead the Muslim friend into a study of biblical material on the person and nature of Christ. One suggestion would be to start with John 1:1-14, where Jesus is set forth as the eternal Word of God, an idea Muslims implicitly accept. Then go on to show the purpose of God for Him in becoming a man: to carry out the will of God in accomplishing the salvation of lost humankind, who would not be saved by the law, either Islamic or Mosaic. This article first appeared in the Summer 1993 issue of the Christian Research Journal.
In previous installments of this series, we noted that Islam is divided into many sects, the two major ones being the Sunnis and the Shias. The original split between the latter two was over the question of who should succeed Muhammad as leader of the community. The Shias felt the leader should come from Muhammad's family; the Sunnis thought he should be someone of noted piety elected by and from Muhammad's closest companions. The Sunnis won with the first three successors; then the Shias, or party of Ali, assumed the leadership. But Ali was martyred, as were his only two sons (more on this shortly). Down through the centuries, the Shias usually lost out in these power struggles. This led to their taking on the nature of a protest movement against the corrupt Sunni leaders. Inevitably, to justify their separate minority identity, they developed theological doctrines that radically differed from those of the Sunnis on at least two major points: the idea of martyrdom and the idea of divine light indwelling their leaders. Both these beliefs open up Shias to Christian witness in a way not possible among the Sunnis. Martyrdom for the cause of the people is memorialized in the Shia calendar year during their lunar month of Muharram. Of the three martyrs mentioned above — Ali (Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law) and Ali's two sons, Hasan and Husayn (Muhammad's grandsons) — that of Husayn is celebrated annually. The first ten days of the month of Muharram are dedicated to "passion plays" that retell the story of Husayn's betrayal and courageous stand, facing overwhelming odds, against the ruling house of Mecca (the Umayyids). On the tenth day, it is common for parades of self-flagellating men to beat themselves until the blood flows, lamenting the failure of the people to come to the defense of their beloved leader. This brings us to the key point: Shias believe that the shed blood of their slain leader atones for their sins. They accept the concept of atonement — an idea totally unacceptable to the Sunnis. Of all the approaches I've seen Christians use in witnessing to the Shias, the most effective is through films depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (By the way, unlike Sunnis, Shias accept art forms depicting human beings, and practice drama.) I have seen them weep profusely while viewing such films. Afterwards, it is easy to speak to them of the deep spiritual meaning of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Anyway, with or without the use of a film, asking a Shia to talk to you about the martyrdom of Husayn naturally opens the door for the Christian to then bring into the conversation the atoning death of Jesus on the cross. The points to emphasize are the overwhelming odds against Jesus during His arrest and trial, the significance of the shed blood of Christ in atoning for the sins of the people, Christ's victory over death, and His promise of eternal life to those who believe in Him. The second major point of contact has to do with the idea of "divine light" indwelling Muhammad, Ali, Husayn, the early "Imams," and currently, the present leading Ayatullah, whoever that may be. Before proceeding, let me explain the two technical words above. In Sunni Islam, an Imam is a leader of the prayers at the mosque. It could be anyone. In Shia Islam, the Imam is a big word. It refers to the succession of the spiritual leaders of the community. Depending on which branch of Shia Islam one is talking about, that line of succession terminated with the disappearance of either the fifth, the seventh, or the twelfth Imam. These lines came to an end centuries ago. Each was supposedly indwelt by divine light. This light was then passed on to a lesser order of clerics called "Ayatullahs." This word means "Sign or Miracle of God." The late Ayatullah Khomeini was the most famous such Ayatullah of our day. His successor at the moment is named Khameini. For the Christian witness, this idea of divine light is the bridging point with Shias. It was Jesus who first said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). Behind this is the idea of pure light coming through a sinless servant of God. The problem for Shias is that they are forced by their own set of assumptions to attribute sinlessness to their present-day Ayatullahs. But not even Muhammad claimed this attribute for himself. The Quran exhorts Muhammad (and others, too) to seek forgiveness of his sins (Q. 40:55; 42:5; 47:19). The universality of sin is mentioned in Quran 16:61. The Quran also says that whatever misfortune happens to a Muslim happens because of his sin (Q. 42:30). It further says that even when victory comes it occurs so that God may forgive one's sins (Q. 48:1, 2). From these verses, one can demonstrate that no one is sinless or capable of being the "Light of the World." The big exception, of course, is Jesus. Even in the Quran, we read that he is "among the righteous ones," that is, sinless (Q. 3:46). Moving from these Quranic passages, the Christian witness should then be able to show to the Muslim that Jesus is "the holy Son of God" (Matt. 1:20, 21; Luke 1:32); that He was indeed sinless (2 Cor. 5:21); that in Jesus is true spiritual life and this life is the true light of men (John 1:4); and, finally, that Jesus Himself claimed to be the Light of the world (John 8:12) and it is in His light that we see light (John 1:9). Don McCurry is a consultant to many Christian organizations on the subject of Muslim evangelism. He is president of Ministries to Muslims (4352 Austin Bluff Pky. #357, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, or P.O. Box 6400, Altadena, CA 91003)
This article first appeared in the Fall 1993 issue of the Christian Research Journal.
CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS MINISTRIES was granted permission to post this article by the Christian Research Institute
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.


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Will Grayson, Will Grayson
One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson crosses paths with . . . Will Grayson. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, and culminating in epic turns-of-heart and the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high school stage. Told in alternating voices from two YA superstars, this collaborative novel features a double helping of the heart and humor that have won them both legions of fans.
Penguin Random House


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Islamist Boko Haram militants disguised as preachers killed at least 24 people and wounded several others in an attack near a mosque in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, a military source and witness said on Monday.
The attackers arrived in cars late on Sunday and gathered people at a mosque in the remote village of Kwajafa, pretending to preach Islam. They then opened fire on them, witness Simeon Buba said.
The group's six-year insurgency, and President Goodluck Jonathan's failure to end it or protect civilians, were factors in the victory of opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari in last week's election.
The group fighting for an Islamic state has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds, although a military operation against them by Nigeria and neighbors Chad, Cameroon and Niger in the past two months has wrested back much of the territory it controlled.
"People didn't know the Boko Haram men came for attack because they lied to our people that they came for preaching," said Buba in a telephone conversation.
"They opened fire on them and killed many people," he said, adding that houses were set on fire.
Some people were being treated for gunshot wounds and burns at a hospital in the Borno state town of Biu on Monday, a source there said.


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You Pray And You Pray…
Frustrating isn't it? You pray and you pray. You make long duas and just pour your heart out. You beg and you plead to Allah to give you something or remove some harm from you.But no matter how hard you supplicate, your duas just don't seem to get answered. And you have no idea why.
You're not a bad person. There are worse people out there than you. Why won't Allah answer your duas? What are you doing wrong? Is there some secret formula or secret code to getting the Almighty to respond?
Let me first put your mind at ease by letting you know that Allah hears everything you say, and He knows everything you desire.
And when My servants ask you, concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the #invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided.So rest assured, that Allah hears you. But look at the last part of that verse. Allah commands us to respond to Him and Believe in Him.
Are you doing that? Have you responded to Allah and His messenger (peace be upon him)? Is your belief (imaan) complete?
Perhaps you're lacking in a few areas. Or perhaps it's something even deeper than that. Let's look at a few reasons that might be holding your duas up.
1. You Aren't Doing Your Part.
This might be the most obvious problem. You want Allah to give you this and give you that, but you aren't giving Him anything in return.I'm sure you understand that Allah punishes us for the wrong we do. That punishment is not just in the hereafter; it can also happen in this life. Neglecting the 5 pillars of Islam is sinful and will earn Allah's punishment.
Perhaps that's why He's not giving you what you want. So stop backsliding and straighten up. Do what He has commanded you to do and you might see your life improve through #dua.
2. You Are Impatient.
You just couldn't wait could you? You asked Allah for something over and over again, and when you didn't get it when you wanted it, you got impatient.And so you gave up. You stopped asking and started believing that Allah wasn't going to answer your dua. And then you went and told someone that Allah didn't answer your prayers.
The supplication of a slave continues to be granted as long as he does not supplicate for a sinful thing or for something that would cut off the ties of kinship and he does not grow impatient." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah! What does growing impatient mean?" He (PBUH) said, "It is one's saying: `I supplicated again and again but I do not think that my prayer will be answered.' Then he becomes frustrated (in such circumstances) and gives up supplication altogether.Your knowledge is limited. But Allah's knowledge is unlimited. You might think you want something right now, but Allah knows better when it is right to give it to you.
Related in Muslim.
Perhaps He didn't give it to you at that time because it would bring you more harm than good. Perhaps He wanted to test you and had you been patient with the test, He would have rewarded you with something better. Only Allah knows.
But since you became impatient, and said the wrong thing and stopped making dua, you lost out on everything.
3. You Ask For Something Evil.
This should be a no-brainer.Why would anyone ask Allah for something bad? Is that what you did? Did you ask Allah for something that would bring you sin?
- Did you ask Him to give you a girlfriend or boyfriend?
- Did you ask Him to to give you a Riba-based loan so you could buy a house or car?
- Did you ask Him to bring you income from a job that sells pork or alcohol?
4. You Don't Think You're Gonna Get It.
Why would you even ask Allah for something if you don't believe He's gonna give it to you? What's the point of supplicating Allah if you don't have any faith that it's gonna happen?Impossible and possible is all in your mind. Just because you don't think it can happen, doesn't mean it won't. And it certainly doesn't mean Allah can't make it happen.
Don't you know that Allah is:
- Al-Aziz – The Mighty
- Al-Samad – The One that everything relies upon
- Al-Qadir – The Powerful
Abu Huraira reported: "None of you should say, 'O Allah, forgive me if You wish, (or) O Allah, have mercy on me if you wish.' Rather you should be firm in your request, for (Allah does whatever He wishes) and no one can force Him to do otherwise."That just about says it all.
5. You Are Involved In Too Much Evil.
Read the following hadith:"O people, Allah is Good and He, therefore, accepts only that which is good. And Allah commanded the believers as He commanded the Messengers by saying, 'O Messengers, eat of the good things, and do good deeds; verily I am aware of what you do,' Qur'an 23.51 and He said: 'O those who believe, eat of the good things that We gave you'." Qur'an 2.172 The Prophet, peace be upon him, then made mention of a person who travels widely, his hair dishevelled, and covered with dust. "He lifts his hands and makes supplication, 'O Lord, O Lord,' but his diet is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, and his clothes are unlawful, and his nourishment is unlawful. How then can his supplication be accepted?"There are many things you can take from this hadith regarding your duas. Let's look at some of them:
Narrated in Muslim.
- Allah is good and He only likes that which is good. So if you're good, then He will give you good.
- The things we eat and consume have an affect on our spirituality and closeness to Allah.
- Just because you're going through a difficult time, it doesn't mean Allah is obligated to answer your prayers.
- We are commanded to follow the example of the Prophets of Allah (peace be upon all of them).


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[This is a historical page as I no longer work at the W3C, please see my personal home page for the latest.]
In 1996 I joined the MIT Lab for Computer Science where I acted as a W3C public policy analyst and Working Group Chair. I've worked within the Technology & Society Domain on the technology and policy of digital signatures, encryption, privacy, and content-selection/free-speech. I've also worked on W3C's privacy and intellectual property policies: authoring and maintaining the copyright and trademark licenses and performing patent analysis. I was the W3C co-chair of the joint IETF/W3C XML-Digital-Signature Working Group, Chair of the W3C XML Encryption Working Group and the Chair of the P3P Harmonization Group (developing a OECD privacy guideline like implementation language for the Web).
In February 1999 I returned to MIT from a short sabbatical as Resident Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at the Harvard Law School. I had a lot of fun working with the faculty and students of a few Harvard/MIT courses and writing about Internet culture and democratic/anarchist principles.
After receiving a Computer Science degree from UMBC I moved to Boston and attended MIT. At MIT, I completed the two year Masters program in Technology and Policy. During that time I worked with the Research Program on Communication Policy. In the summer of 95, I worked at Open Market on electronic commerce protocols. In between graduating and returning to MIT, I did Internet and interactive media consulting with McCann-Erickson, and Internet gambling consulting for go-Digital in NYC. I obviously now work at MIT/W3C.
My research interests focus on the interactions between the technical, social, and legal disciplines -- I like finding relationships, patterns, and equivalences. In my Master's thesis, I examined how trust and risk are commonly managed by financial, policy/legal, and cryptographic instruments. This work led to my thoughts on social protocols: computer protocols (or their applications) that enable individuals and communities to express social capabilities. At the Berkman Center I was able to advance these thoughts further by looking at the relationship between Web-data schema design and contract law, computer agents and legal agency, and Internet culture and democratic/anarchist principles.


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I am using Ubuntu 12.04. I want to try out KDE and other desktop environments.
But I'm not sure if I'll like them enough to switch permanently. I want to be safe and make a transition in a piecemeal fashion.
Is it possible to install KDE on Ubuntu and yet not do away with the default Unity shell?
Could I install multiple desktop environments and switch between them by tweaking some startup configuration and then rebooting?