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Dear All
The cost of premature Cancer-related mortality: In an important study which looked at the cost of premature cancer-related mortality in Ireland in 2009 and which was published as recently as 26 March 2014, researchers have confirmed that the cost to the community of the deaths of people with brain and CNS tumours is disproportionate to the incidence and ranking of the disease.
They measured the economic burden by years of potential productive life lost (YPPLL). The premature mortality cost for brain and CNS tumours ranked 3rd at �42.4 million (about $58m USD) which contrasted with their 7th ranking place in terms of number of cancer deaths in Ireland. The individual cost per each brain and CNS death was �421,200 (about $580,000 USD) for males and �202,542 for females (about $279,000 USD), which represented the second most expensive of all cancer deaths in terms of cost per death. These figures are influenced by the low survival and relatively low age at diagnosis of people with brain and CNS tumours.
New Chair for the IBTA. Following the recent IBTA announcement of Chair and Co-Director Denis Strangman�s retirement from the International Brain Tumour Alliance, IBTA Co-Director Kathy Oliver will become Chair of the organisation effective as of 3rd June. Kathy and Denis will attend the annual scientific conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) where the IBTA will have a slot in the combined patient advocacy booth (# 3005).
Heavy cost of unnecessary headache-related brain scans: A study in the USA has identified a cost of $1 billion for brain scans for headache patients. Neurologist Dr Brian Callaghan, who led the study said: �There�s solid research showing that the number of times you find serious issues on these scans in headache patients is about the same for a randomly chosen group of non-headache patients ... And a lot of the things we find on such scans aren�t necessarily something we will do something about�. Comment � This finding is relevant to the question of (1) reducing misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses of brain tumours; and (2) the usefulness or otherwise of population-based scanning for brain tumours. In some countries there appear to be too many occasions of missed diagnosis because of a failure to refer for a scan. On the other hand we are aware that random scanning would have to be repeated on individuals at least every six months to identify a brain tumour which, as we know, can appear with little or no warning.
eMEET on-line resource: A new online, interactive training programme designed to help patient advocates better understand medicines development and health technology assessment has been launched.
Developed by Eli Lilly and Company in collaboration with internationally renowned experts in the fields of patient involvement and health technology assessment (HTA), the eMEET (Medicine Evaluation Educational Training) online resource is a unique tool designed to help patient advocates navigate the complex world of medicines development, evaluation and assessment. eMEET is endorsed by Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), the global scientific and professional society for those who produce, use, or encounter HTA. See here to access the resource
Your chance to help influence brain tumour research: James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnerships in the UK give those most directly affected by a disease the opportunity to influence the direction of future research. The Neuro-Oncology JLA Priority Setting Partnership invites all patients, friends, caregivers, relatives and health professionals to submit the topics they think need to be researched to improve outcomes for people with brain and spinal cord tumours. The research questions submitted will be prioritised by a panel of patients, clinicians and charity representatives. The final �Top 10� topics will be promoted to research organisations and funding bodies, such as the National Institute of Health Research UK and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. Visit www.neuro-oncology.org.uk for more information and to take part. The survey closes on 30 April 2014.
Book by Mr Henry Marsh (UK): Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, who specialises in brain tumours, has written a book about his career. There is a review available here. Mr Marsh carries out important pro bono work in the Ukraine where he has generously assisted in one of the hospitals.
Meetings and deadlines:
The deadline for the early-bird registration for the Annual British Nero-oncology Society (BNOS) Conference to be held on 9-11 July is 30 April 2014.
The deadline for the 11th meeting of the Asian Society for Neuro-Oncology (ASNO) to be held at Istanbul during 11-14 September, is 16 May.
Abstract submissions for the World Cancer Congress being held in Melbourne, Australia, during 3-6 December, are now open and close on 30 May.
Abstract submissions for the 19th Annual Scientific Meeting and Education Day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, to be held in Miami during 13-16 November, close on 9 June.
Radiofrequency guidelines: A panel of the Royal Society of Canada has advised against the introduction of any additional precautionary measures for Health Canada�s Safety Code 6 which sets out limits to exposure to radiofrequency fields aimed at protecting the health of workers and the general public, although the panel did advise that Health Canada should pursue research on the subject. A news item reporting this decision mentions an international study MOBI-KIDS which is assessing radiofrequency fields and brain tumours in the child and young adult populations.
UK stereotactic radiosurgery: UK newspapers have referred to a letter of complaint to NHS England written by neurosurgeon Matthias Radatz and signed by thirteen specialists, which includes �every regional representative of the Radiosurgery Clinical Review Group in England�. The letter is said to refer to a lack of trained staff, restrictions on the use of advanced Radiotherapy, and threats to close 18 specialist (radiosurgery) centres.
Watson to sequence DNA: The computer company IBM will use its Watson cloud computing system, in conjunction with the New York Genome Center, to sequence the DNA of twenty brain tumour patients in order to identify the best ways to treat them. It has been claimed that the system can do in seconds that which might take people years to accomplish.
Doctor Stanislaw Burzynski: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to allow the parents of eight children to have access to the antineoplastins produced by controversial oncologist Dr Stanislaw Burzynski but only if (according to the linked newspaper report above) they can find a qualified, independent physician to administer the drug. Beyond infusing the drug and overseeing their care, the doctor would have to formally apply for expanded access to an "investigational new drug," as well as get approval from an institutional review board, an independent panel that reviews safety and ethical issues involved in clinical trials.
Company developments:
MagForce and MF 1001: The German company MagForce has announced the enrolment of the first patient in the MF 1001 clinical trial assessing its NanoTherm therapy as monotherapy and in combination with radiotherapy compared to radiotherapy alone in GBM patients. The event occurred at the University Hospital Muenster under the leadership of Professor Dr Walter Stummer. The therapy involves the injection of superparamagnetized iron oxide nanoparticles into the Tumor and their heating in the alternating magnetic field of the NanoActivator.
In a letter to shareholders the company confirmed its proposed expansion in EU 28 countries, including Germany, and stated �... we continue preparing our registration path for the USA. In December, we filed a presubmission with the FDA and expect our dialog with the agency will be most helpful as to defining the regulatory path for NanoTherm� therapy ...�
PBTF and Siemens: In a very interesting innovation worthy of adaptation elsewhere the US-based Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) has partnered with Siemens Hearing Instruments Inc to distribute top-of-the-line hearing aids and audiology services to patients with brain tumors and other forms of childhood cancer. Hearing loss can result from platinum-based Chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
G-202: A small Phase II trial of GenSpera�s G-202 involving 34 patients with recurrent glioblastoma has commenced at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. The drug is activated by the enzyme PSMA.
Brain-derived exosomes: Aethlon Medical Inc announced that it had isolated brain-derived exosomes released into the bloodstream from glioblastoma tumours, thereby holding promise as both a disease biomarker and therapeutic target.
I-124-CLR1404: Cellectar Biosciences (formerly Novelos Therapeutics) has announced the enrolment of its first patient in a Phase II trial of its new PET imaging technology. I-124-CLR1404 in glioblastoma.
Regeneus: Regeneus believes that a recent academic paper showing a remission rate of 30-60% in a rat Glioma model using its Kvax cancer vaccine shows its efficacy and safety.
Tocagen: Tocagen announced that the first patient has been dosed in its clinical trial investigating the intravenous administration of selective cancer therapy Toca 511 and Toca FC, in patients with recurrent high grade glioma (HGG) including Glioblastoma Multiforme.
Vacquinol-1: Swedish researchers using in vivo models have identified the potential for vacuolization (whereby the cell membranes collapse) in attacking glioblastoma cells.
Focused ultrasound: In March the US-based Focused Ultrasound Foundation hailed the use for the first time of focused ultrasound �using InSightec�s ExAblate Neuro system� on a patient with recurrent glioma. Part of the person�s tumour was thermally ablated through the intact skull.
Prognosis: The widow of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, who died from a brain tumour, delivered a sharp rebuke to those who would issue a pessimistic prognosis. In a commentary published in a local newspaper which has just come to light she wrote: �When my husband was first diagnosed with cancer, he was told that he had only two to four months to live, that he'd never go back to the U.S. Senate, that he should get his affairs in order, kiss his wife, love his family and get ready to die.
�But that prognosis was wrong. Teddy lived 15 more productive months. During that time, he cast a key vote in the Senate that protected payments to doctors under Medicare; made a speech at the Democratic Convention; saw the candidate he supported elected president of the United States and even attended his inauguration; received an honorary degree; chaired confirmation hearings in the Senate; worked on the reform of health care; threw out the first pitch on opening day for the Red Sox; introduced the president when he signed the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act; sailed his boat; and finished his memoir "True Compass," while also getting his affairs in order, kissing his wife, loving his family and preparing for the end of life.
�Because that first dire prediction of life expectancy was wrong, I have 15 months of cherished memories � memories of family dinners and songfests with our children and grandchildren; memories of laughter and, yes, tears; memories of life that neither I nor my husband would have traded for anything in the world.
�When the end finally did come � natural death with dignity � my husband was home, attended by his doctor, surrounded by family and our priest.�
Overview of GBM therapies in development: A researcher associated with a drug monitoring company, which is following 47 pre-registration drugs for glioblastoma, has given an interesting insight into the status of these therapies which is freely available here.
Bevacizumab and children: Bevacizumab ( avastin) has been added to England�s Cancer Drugs Fund to treat low grade glioma in children to try and delay the need for radiotherapy until the patient is older and less likely to develop side effects to radiotherapy.
Journalist�s guide to covering cancer: The European Society of Oncology�s (ESO) media team have published a Journalist�s Guide to Making Sense of Cancer, which is available here. It is also a useful guide for patient advocacy groups.
Thank you for all your continuing support.
Denis Strangman (Chair and Co-Director)
International Brain Tumour Alliance IBTA
Kathy Oliver (Co-Director)
PO Box 244, Tadworth, Surrey
KT20 5WQ, United Kingdom
Tel:+ (44) + (0) + 1737 813872
Fax: + (44) + (0) +1737 812712
Mob: + (44) + (0) + 777 571 2569


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It's a light and cosmic logo with a bass blow at the beginning and bass slide down at the end.
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Way We Live Now
III-at-Ease in Compton
The Levittowners
The Way It Spozed to Be
These must be bad days for historians with literary interests. They, alone among social scientists, cannot hope to participate in the situations and events that engage their attention. The most serious writing about social processes today seems to be by persons who took part in them at least as journalists. Academic writing in the social sciences tends, by comparison, to seem more lifeless than ever. The kind of sociology that carries conviction today is really anthropological; to have any impact the sociologist must function as an ethnographer to the group or institution he is studying.
While scholarly writing in the social sciences is still largely abstract, detached, and statistical, the more competent journalists who write about slum life, or our daily operations in Vietnam, and the schoolteachers who discuss what was actually going on in their schools, have begun to make scholarly detachment look, quite literally, sick—like a nervous disorder whose symptoms include compulsive and ritualized avoidance accompanied by a marked decline in perception. Unfortunately, sociology has not developed to the point where methodological rigor can compensate much for the loss of the impressions it excludes. Both its methods and its laws still seem too artificial, compared to those of the physical sciences, to justify an observer's unwillingness to allow his pattern of observations to be guided by the events themselves rather than by his scheme of collecting data.
Professor Gans's work on The Levittowners shows in this respect troubling signs of internal conflict. He is, at fortyone, Senior Research Sociologist at the Center for Urban Education—a regional laboratory of the US Office of Education—and Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia. He commands a lucid, casual, unobtrusive prose style. And he chose to study Levittown, New Jersey—the third Levittown to be constructed—as a participant observer from the viewpoint of an ordinary resident.
The Ganses were among the first twenty-five families to move there in 1958. He was thus in a position to supplement his unimpeachable position as a bona-fide charter resident with as much professional procedure as he chose. He chose to use a lot of professional procedure. He told his fellow-residents that he:
was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania and…would do a study of the community formation process in Levittown…I did not go into detail about it—I was rarely asked to—and I did not tell people on my block that I was keeping notes on their (and my) activities as homeowners and neighbors. To have done so would have made life unpleasant for them and for me. I disclaimed association with the mail questionnaire or the interviews on behavior change [which he had done by graduate students from the university], fearing (probably unnecessarily) that I might be rejected as a participant-observer. Finally, I did not tell people I had moved to Levittown in order to do the study. Actually, it would not have occurred to them that I was not simply interested in a good low-priced house and the chance to…
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"From the early days of the campaigns in the Southwest Pacific, when
men and supplies available to reinforce our position were but a trickle,
to the time when with added resources we were enabled to mount offensive
operations with increasing violence," wrote General Douglas MacArthur,
"the U.S. Army's San Francisco Port of Embarkation and its subsidiary
Oakland Army Terminal, "gave magnificently of their full support--support
which in no small measure contributed to the victorious march which
carried our arms to the heart of the Japanese Empire."
But the Army's Port of Embarkation, which played so important a role in American victory in the Pacific Theater of World War II, already embodied great historical significance as the symbol of and an institution contributing to America's coming of age as a world power at the beginning of the 20th century.
Because of the long distances involved, the Pacific War required a particularly long logistical "tail" to support the fighting troops at the "sharp end." As American troops island hopped across the Pacific from Hawaii and Australia towards the Philippines and Japan, a string of airbases and forward supply points provided aerial supremacy, control of the vital sea lanes and staging areas for combat divisions. Most of these soldiers, and many of the navy ships and personnel too, started their overseas journeys from the numerous military posts around San Francisco Bay. And many of the soldiers and sailors recalled the passing through the Golden Gate and under its spectacular bridge as the last memory of home and their first sight of homeland upon their return.
Essay by Gordon Chappell, Regional Historian, National Park Service
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Last week, an insightful reader shared some relevant and sobering insight into the state of our culture and the church here in America. She wrote:
I have never been more discouraged with both the church and with the state of man. I am overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness and the feeling that the tidal wave of cultural deception is ready to break over the landscape in a way that we have never seen before. Then I go to church and see how inept the body of Christ has become and leave feeling alone and hopeless about the state of God's Kingdom on earth.
There is no question that such is the state of things. Even the most cursory examination of our culture reveals the fact that critical milestones on the road to every civilization's decline have come and gone. Our civilization appears to be racing toward self-destruction and the church—in almost every measurable category—appears indistinguishable and either ill-equipped or indifferent to arresting the demise of the very civilization it helped create. Whether or not this will be the case, only God knows.
What I am prepared to suggest is that a century or more of Christians being conditioned and committed to nothing more than proclaiming a truncated gospel, rather than making disciples joined in the body of Christ and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, has accommodated this decline at best and at worst contributed to it. In other words, the reductionist gospel produced private decisions for Jesus but failed to fulfill the Great Commission, build up the church, render the invisible kingdom visible, or fully convey the message of Christ to a lost and broken world. It is an overarching reason for the despairing sentiment expressed above. As such, it is also a key to changing these conditions.
So, how do we express the gospel of the kingdom beyond its modern reductionist version? You know, the detached consumer-oriented, drive-by evangelism that often relies on tracts and rote presentations—often between strangers. First and foremost, Christians must demonstrate what life looks like under the reign of God within a distinct community: the church. Because as one writer puts it, "Before the church is called to do or say anything, it is called and sent to be a unique community of those who live under the reign of God" (Darrell L. Guder, Ed., Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, [Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI, 1998]). In a radically individualistic America, this may be the church's greatest obstacle to carrying out the missio Dei.
Jesus' invitation is to "enter the kingdom of God." Practically, this means that we are saved out of our isolation and alienation and into the community of God's people. As C. S. Lewis points out in his classic work Mere Christianity, when Christians are "united together in a body, loving one another, helping one another…" their life together becomes "the one really adequate instrument for learning about God…." The apostle Paul stresses that the Gentiles who were once alienated from "the commonwealth of Israel" have been brought near "by the blood of Christ" that "he might create in himself one new man [or humanity] in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross" (Eph. 2:12–16 ESV). There is a profoundly corporate sense to God's redemptive plan that carries forward from national Israel to form a new covenant people (the church) out of both the Jew and Gentile into the new Israel.
In Ephesians 5:30 Paul writes we are "members of His body." However, in our individualized culture, we hear Paul's teaching about our being members of Christ in precisely the wrong way. For us a member is a person who merely belongs to something like a club or group. The member in this sense is an individual who voluntarily joins the organization. Therefore, we naturally assume that we possess the rights to our memberships, including the church. Rather than assuming the biblical idea that we exist for the church and the church exists for Christ, we tend to believe that the church exists for us. The American idea of the church, which is reinforced by the privatized "gospel," is more about serving the individual attendee rather than the kingdom of God. This might explain why we are nation of church-shoppers and -hoppers! In contrast, Paul uses member in an organic sense. We are members of Christ in the same way that the eye, ear, hand, and foot are members of the body.
At the conclusion of Ephesians chapter two Paul writes, "Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:20–22 ESV, emphasis mine). Again, the emphasis is on the corporate nature of God's redemptive plan. We together are the temple of the Holy Spirit, not "I'm a temple" and "you're a temple" and so on. The Christian life to which we are called is far more centered on being we than me.
Also, this community is not merely the social gathering of a people with common values—but rather a people who display proof of God's redemptive work in the world. In other words, we are intended to bear witness to Christ's kingdom come into the world. And this proof or witness flows forth from converted individuals whose transformation is formed and authenticated through their interactions with each other. This community, the church, is intended to bear testimony to the restoration of fellowship with God and each other—a community of self-sacrificing love and support that stands in contrast to the fallen world.
Jesus himself established this one principle as the authenticating fact of our faith when he said "By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35, emphasis mine). In Jesus' priestly prayer in John 17, he reiterates that our relational unity serves as the essential evidence that God the Father has sent the Son. This relational unity was the preeminent witness of the early church in which "they had all things in common." Their love for one another is what drew would-be disciples into their community and established the authority of their proclamation: that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior.
The lament expressed by the reader above over both the church and culture is not without warrant and it is reminiscent of the prophets. Like the Israelites in Babylon, the church in America today—the Israel of God—finds itself carried away into captivity: cultural captivity. This is the bad news. However, the good news lies in the possibility that the church, in our generation, will by God's grace recover the full scope of its message and mission as revealed in the gospel of the kingdom. The first step will no doubt involve repentance of our individualism that separates us into voluntary members, followed by submission to Christ, the church, and each other.
© 2011 by S. Michael Craven
Article from http://www.battlefortruth.org/home.asp
About the Author
S. Michael Craven, President Michael is a respected Christian cultural apologist, author, columnist, and speaker who works to challenge the spiritual apathy and cultural indifference of the Church in our generation through serious research, writing, speaking, and teaching. Michael is the author of THE CHRISTIAN MIND: The Key to Cultural Relevance & Renewal and more recently, UNCOMPROMISED FAITH: Overcoming Our Culturalized Christianity (NavPress, 2009). Michael also authored the popular Cultural Apologetic Series, which have sold more than 100,000 copies, addressing key cultural issues. Michael's weekly commentaries are syndicated on Crosswalk.com, Christianity.com, and The Christian Post reaching more than four and half million readers each week. Michael has been a featured speaker on university campuses including the University of California – Berkeley, national conferences and seminaries, appeared on Fox News, CNN, ABC, NBC, and many other national television and radio programs. Michael is an occasional guest host of the nationally-syndicated radio program, Point of View and serves as an adjunct professor at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon teaching a course of his own design, How to Maximize the Church's Redemptive Influence. Michael also serves as a Senior Fellow of Cultural and Family Issues at the Center for Cultural Leadership in Santa Cruz, California and was recently elected Moderator of the Fellowship of Mere Christianity. http://www.battlefortruth.org/home.asp


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Immensely popular and ridiculously lucrative, the Madden NFL series of video games is an entertainment behemoth. It is also forever and inextricably tied to its source material: the real, live version of the sport it simulates. It is the Christopher Reeve of video games, never really discussed on its own merits, but in light of how it represents its even more popular counterpart.
So if Madden is, ultimately, a video game, is it possible to enjoy it as such?
I like to consider myself a passive appreciator of football. If I'm with people watching a game, I'll watch it, and have a good time. I think I know most of the rules. I'm a bit fuzzy on positions, and really don't know a thing about strategy. Most of what I know regarding the reputations of players and teams comes from overheard conversations among friends and the first two seasons of The League.
But I love video games of all stripes, and wanted to know if I could play Madden cold through an entire football season. Make a campaign of sorts, where I start as an ignorant scrub and end as a strategic genius and marketing mogul. That sort of thing.
Here's what happened:
For my season-long experiment, I elected to play Madden NFL 12. I'm not sure how well regarded that particular vintage of Madden is, but it's the one I'm using because it's the only one my little brother has and I really don't want to pay for another. I could have used Madden 08—which I've had ever since my cousin forgot it at my house and I refused to return to him until he gave back my copy of Resistance—but newer is better, right?
The first thing that needs to be said about Madden is that it is confusing as hell.
No, wait.
The first thing that actually needs to be said about Madden 12 is that it uses the music from the Inception trailers for it's intro. Which is so hilariously pretentious. Look at it:
Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can move on to the second thing that needs to be said about Madden 12. Which is that it's confusing as hell.
There are way too many options, and you're supposed to just know what they all mean. What's Ultimate Team? I'm not sure, but I think it's a card game? The intro mentions lots of cards and coins, but never outright says "This is a Card Game," which I find troublesome. It is sponsored by Chevrolet, though I'm not sure why.
What I'm trying to look for is some kind of career mode or campaign, something with a beginning and an end that will give me some sort of path to follow. I think the closest one can get to that is Franchise mode. There's also a Superstar mode, but I'm not sure it's what I want. Right now I'm scared and confused and want a safe space with clear rules and boundaries and stuff. Basically anything but the main menu.
Speaking of menus, I hope you like them. If you got rid of the actual sports, Madden would still have enough content for a solid thirty-hour spinoff called NFL Menu Hydra. For every menu you clear out of, three more take its place. It's pretty itense.
So, Franchise Mode it is. Franchise Mode starts at the team select screen, which I think is pretty logical. What team do I pick? I try to look at the overall rankings, but no team outright sucks. Every one of them is ranked eighty plus. So I decide that I would play as the Cincinnati Bengals, because I have never met a Bengals fan in my life and the home team Jets/Giants combo have ruined enough commutes for me to harbor a grudge.
Now I have a team. Should I fantasy draft? Yeah, why not? It always looks fun on The League. I'll have a team that's uniquely mine. I'll win at Madden on my own terms.
Not once was I told that the draft was fifty rounds long. That's obscene. That's almost a full hour of gameplay. Sometimes, an hour is all I have to play. I began to wonder if I would have any actual football to write about this week. And then, noticing the wealth of positions that I do not know and feeling overwhelmed once more, I draft Adrian Peterson and set that sucker to sim.
I should note that I am not having fun yet. As the number of draft rounds grows larger and larger I start to regret this idea of mine more and more. The fantasy draft is a pit of hopelessness and despair from which there is no exit. I begin to kind of regret setting it to sim. I could have made this more fun if I had just drafted kickers for all 50 positions. Or safeties. I could have the safest team in the NFL. We'd have pads with extra padding and helmets with extra…I don't know, helm. I should have brought a book.
Thankfully, a simulated fantasy draft doesn't take as long as the real thing (Which is what, a weekend? Man it must be so boring), and as soon as it's wrapped up I have a team! I'm not sure how good this team is or what it means for my prospects, but it's better than not having a team. Perspective!
Now the preseason begins, which means I finally get to play! I'm beyond excited but also terrified (again) because I don't know any of the controls. There are so many controls. And you have to learn them all at once. It's overwhelming, which is a feeling I'm quickly getting tired of. For once, I'd like to just feel whelmed in this game. Just a good, steady stream of stuff I can handle.
Instead, I get the Detroit Lions. I don't know how good the Lions are (or how good they were in 2011, when the game was released), but that doesn't change the fact that I have the equivalent technique and and strategy of a two year old:
JOSHUA: "Give me the ball! I want it!"
THE LIONS: "No."
JOSHUA: "Waaaaaah"
THE LIONS: "GO TO YOUR ROOM!" *scores touchdown*
So I was really surprised when I won by twenty-two points (28-6). I double checked the difficulty, which was at "Pro," and the controls, which I still didn't understand because there was no "WIN" button. I decided not to investigate any further and just enjoy my victory.
I did understand one thing, though. When you're winning and playing offense, Madden is fun as hell. Pass plays are scary because I don't know any plays and pretty much don't know where any receivers are going to be until they're there, and run plays are exhilarating because you're in control the entire time. Run plays are when Madden most feels like a game.
I don't know what the hell to do when playing defense. Everyone seems to know where to be except the guy I'm controlling. I feel like I'm in the way or something.
I decide not to play again during the preseason. After all, it could be really long, and I actually want to catch up to the actual real-life football season and play one game a week, learning more about Madden as I go. So I sim the rest, and I'm ready to begin the regular season with a 3-1 record. My one loss was against the Indianapolis Colts, 14-12, at the very end. Great. I now had a nemesis. And a question:
What if I finish this thing and it turns out I really like football?
Images by Rachel James/Flickr and Nathan Rupert/Flickr


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*1656 (Graz, Austria), †5. 4. 1723 (Vienna, Austria)
Austrian architect who worked also in Czech lands, representative of high Baroque style. His work combines the tradition of Roman Baroque style with French classicized tendencies and influenced fundamentally development of architecture in whole Central Europe. He was court architect of Salzburg archbishop and Austrian general Eugen of Savoy. His buildings are monumental and glorious, representative character prevails over the Baroque joyness.
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30 years ago, Apple's Macintosh changed the world forever
As a historic moment in Silicon Valley, it's right up there with the coin flip that christened Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and the Traitorous Eight mutiny that launched Fairchild Semiconductor and the microchip industry:
Bow-tied Steve Jobs, standing on the Flint Center stage in Cupertino, Calif., on Jan. 24, 1984, reaches into a bag and pulls out a rectangular all-in-one personal computer called Macintosh.
"Hello, I am Macintosh," the squat machine's robotic voice says. "It sure is great to get out of that bag!"
Hard to believe that it was 30 years ago. Hard to believe that there are grown men and women - working people, couples with children, bosses, company founders and the people who fund them - who have never known a world without Macintosh.
In fact, it's hardly an exaggeration to say that the launch of the Mac goes well beyond a key moment in Silicon Valley history or even computer history. The launch was a watershed moment in world history.
"Nowadays, it's obvious that computers are part of the everyday lives of virtually everybody; and the Macintosh was the turning point," says Andy Hertzfeld, a member of the original Mac team.
Steve Jobs on that stage marked the moment that the tools of the digital age were offered to all of us. It was the moment that the artist in Manhattan, the photographer in Santa Monica, the novelist in Des Moines, and the kid down the street in San Jose were offered the chance to create and communicate in ways they hadn't yet imagined.
The Macintosh changed everything. It was a computer with a price tag that was within reach for many, and more importantly, it was a computer that almost anyone could operate without going to school to become an expert. It really was the "computer for the rest of us." It lived up to the hype of that memorable Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott, the one featuring a hammer-throwing woman obliterating conformity.
Conformity was indeed obliterated that day in January.
And on a smaller scale it was a moment that a band of techno-pirates - the freethinking coders and designers working under Jobs' management - had an inkling that their passion and joy for changing the world might actually be enough to get the job done.
"We were not doing it from a business point of view," says Bill Atkinson, who developed then-mind-boggling pieces of software for the Mac. "We were doing it from the change-the-world point of view. We wanted to make something beautiful and usable and something that people would delight in."
They had raised a pirate flag over a bland building called Bandley 3, away from the main Apple (AAPL) campus in Cupertino, and played Frisbee, Nerf ball and musical instruments to keep things interesting between the sessions of wiring boards and writing code. But amid the playfulness - and the power struggles befitting any high-stakes project - there was brilliance and a sense that this was their time.
"There was a slight counterculture bent to it," says Dag Spicer, senior curator at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. "I think that was a big factor, the fusion of the hippie and the engineer. Jobs was known for hiring artists and musicians. For Jobs, it was, 'You're either an artist or a drone.'"
For all that, the machine was not an instant blockbuster. "We were very proud of our baby," says Daniel Kottke, who worked crafting and re-crafting circuit boards for the Mac, "but it didn't really take off."
At $2,495 it was more expensive than many on the team wanted. There were few programs for it and tools for desktop publishing had not yet been developed. But the software came, and with the Mac's breakthrough features - the mouse, graphic icons to click on and drag and drop, MacPaint, MacWrite and eventually the HyperCard system of creating, storing and linking digital content - the machine grew in popularity.
And of course it was the Mac, in the form of the fanciful and bullet-shaped iMac, that will be forever linked with the resurrection of Apple during the second coming of Jobs, who returned in 1997 to the company he co-founded and led into the iPod/iPhone/iPad era.
"So, the iPhone, or the smartphone in general, has become a major part of people's lifestyles. They find it empowers them and connects them," Atkinson says. "We were trying to make the first installment of that with the Mac."


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Hello to all!
I came with this problem. Since I print my jtable with the default method .print everything works great.
So now I need to add a text before and after the jtable but not a header and footer.
So lets clarify once more not a header and footer only in the first page and in the last.
The text on the start should be something like "Start of report", and in the end "End of report"
How can I do it?
Thank you in advanced!


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Government term
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 results.
The Government has passed the first reading of the Canterbury Earthquake Insurance Tribunal Bill on the 8th anniversary of the first Canterbury Earthquake, say Ministers Andrew Little and Megan Woods.
Justice Minister Andrew Little has introduced a Bill to help Cantabrians resolve outstanding residential insurance claims from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.


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July 26, 2010
Ms. Vivian Daub
Director, Planning Staff
Office of Planning, Analysis, and Accountability
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20460
Re: Draft FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan
Dear Ms. Daub,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Draft FY 2011-2015 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Strategic Plan.
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is a nonprofit scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. AIBS is sustained by a robust membership of individual biologists and nearly 200 professional societies and scientific organizations with a combined individual membership exceeding 250,000.
The draft strategic plan addresses many important issues facing the nation: climate change, water quality, pollution, and environmental stewardship. Meeting these challenges requires science. Research and monitoring conducted by EPA directly impacts the lives of every American every day. Whether monitoring drinking water quality, assessing impacts from climate change, or informing restoration of degraded environments, EPA science can and should play an important role in protecting and promoting public health and safety.
As outlined in the proposed plan, "advancing science, research, and technological innovation" is a second tier priority, included as a cross-cutting fundamental strategy. Although science is essential for achieving each of the five goals outlined in the plan, the need for science within EPA goes beyond these areas. In the new strategic plan, science should be a top tier, EPA-wide strategic goal: "Informing sound policy through research and monitoring."
When President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, he envisioned an independent agency that created and enforced environmental protection standards, and conducted research. In his message to Congress establishing the agency, President Nixon outlined the "principal roles and functions of the EPA." These were the establishment and enforcement of environmental protection standards, technical assistance to others to limit pollution, formulation of environmental policies for the nation, and the "conduct of research on the adverse effects of pollution and on methods and equipment for controlling it, the gathering of information on pollution, and the use of this information in strengthening environmental protection programs and recommending policy changes." As currently drafted, the strategic plan fails to completely reflect the roles laid out by President Nixon. The elevation of science to a strategic goal would help remedy this issue.
The EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) has also recommended the elevation of science within the agency. In letters dated May 2009 and November 2008, the SAB communicated the need for a broader science mission at EPA: "[I]t is clear that if the Agency is to truly protect the environment, it must undertake a larger program of research that goes beyond its immediate regulatory needs and address the broad array of environmental problems facing the nation." Some of the elements that the SAB called for in its Strategic Research Directions 2008 have already been incorporated into the draft strategic plan, including the promotion of interdisciplinary research and improved communication with stakeholders. Other elements are missing, such as the EPA's role in land-use decision making or the consideration of "emerging environmental disasters." Elevating science to an agency-wide strategic goal would help EPA to respond to the SAB's recommendations.
Within the new science strategic goal, several key areas should be addressed. Foremost is the need for scientific integrity and transparency; the plan does not currently address these issues as related to science. Additionally, environmental monitoring should be incorporated into the plan. Monitoring of ecosystems provides data that are necessary to inform environmental management decisions. Moreover, scientific monitoring of environmental conditions is the only way for the agency to know when it has met many of the performance metrics outlined in the areas of air, climate, water, and land.
The strategic plan should also address the curation of, and access to, scientific collections held by the agency. The directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy instructed agencies to do so in the annual Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies (M-10-30) released on July 21, 2010: "Agencies should implement strategies for increasing the benefits for science and society derived from scientific collections by following the recommendations in the report by the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections and efforts outlined in the National R&D Strategy for Microbial Forensics."
Scientific collections, including tissue and cell cultures, biological specimens, and soil and water samples, offer a treasure trove of information about Earth systems and aid in regulation and management of the nation's natural resources. These collections, which are irreplaceable data, contribute to cutting edge research on environmental contamination, biodiversity, and climate change. For instance, two recent publications on the extent of pollution in National Parks utilized natural history collections to establish baselines of environmental contamination. Furthermore, an extensive collection of shells housed at Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences is being used by scientists to better understand historical levels of environmental contamination in the Gulf of Mexico, information that is vital for restoration efforts in light of the BP oil spill.
Lastly, we commend EPA for increasing its emphasis on addressing climate change, both through mitigation strategies as well as adaptation to unavoidable climate impacts. Importantly, the plan also includes more attention to climate science, an essential part of informing climate policy decisions.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of these comments. If AIBS may be of further assistance on this or any other matter, please contact Dr. Robert Gropp, AIBS Director of Public Policy at 202-628-1500.
Richard T. O'Grady, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Read more AIBS Position Statements


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Directe contactpersoon voor Lindab producten in uw land
Foto 1/2
Air duct system and Comfort RCW diffusers for sports arena.
Tegera Arena, Arenatorget
Using the old Leksand ice arena as a basis for the new Ejendals Arena, home of the Leksand Ice Hockey Team, meant creative thinking regarding the ventilation system and its design.
The normal procedure for arenas is to place the air supplies as low as possible and allows the warm air to rise. The remaining parts of the old arena did not make this possible. After testing at Lindab's laboratories, the decision was taken to opt for Lindab RCW-diffusers hung from the arena's roof.
These rotational diffusers distribute the cooled air both horizontally and vertically and proved to be an ideal solution for the indoor climate at the new Ejendals Arena.


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Be Happy.
Gift Shop
My DailyOM
About Us
DailyOM - Creative Visualization for Beginners by Richard Webster
Creative Visualization for Beginners
Creative Visualization for Beginners
BY Richard Webster
What is creative visualization?
"The mind is everything; what you think, you become." -Buddha
"When I was very young," said Arnold Schwarzenegger, "I visualized myself being and having what it was I wanted. Mentally I never had any doubts about it. The mind is really so incredible. Before I won my first Mr. Universe title, I walked around the tournament like I owned it. The title was already mine. I had won it so many times in my mind that there was no doubt I would win it. Then when I moved on to the movies, the same thing. I visualized myself being a famous actor and earning big money. I could feel and taste success. I just knew it would all happen."
Creative visualization is the art of creating pictures in your mind to obtain whatever it is that you desire. Some people, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, use it instinctively, but most people need to learn how to do it. It is arguably the most useful skill you could ever master, as it can totally transform your life. You can use creative visualization to change your circumstances, progress in your career, improve your health, eliminate negative habits, and even attract love, money, and any other goal. Amazingly, there is nothing strange or remarkable about this incredible creative power that we all possess. Everyone who has achieved great success in life has used this power consciously or unconsciously.
Walt Disney is an example of someone who believed in creative visualization and used it to create his entertainment empire. He called the process "imagineering." When you visit Disneyland or Disney World you are seeing examples of "the dream that you wish will come true."
Many years ago, I heard a story that I like to think is true. Apparently, years after Disneyland and Disney World were completed, someone said to Mike Vance, the Creative Director of Walt Disney Studios, "Isn't it a shame that Walt Disney didn't live long enough to see this?" Apparently, Mike Vance replied, "But he did see it. That's why it's here." Walt Disney may well have been the world's greatest creative visualizer.
No matter what your present situation may be, you are using your creative mind to attract to you whatever it is you think about all the time. If you think you're unlucky or unfortunate, for instance, your subconscious mind will make this a reality. Most people use this ability unknowingly, and are not aware that they can deliberately use creative visualization to transform their lives. It's sad that most people use the incredible potential of creative visualization for negative purposes, when, with just a little effort, they could use it to achieve positive and productive goals.
Years ago, I met a man who told me how unlucky he was. He recounted a sad story of all the terrible things that had happened to him. He looked at me in amazement when I said that I believe we create our own luck in life.
"Do you think I'd deliberately inflict all this pain and suffering on myself?" he demanded.
Of course, he hadn't done it deliberately. He was simply unaware that his negative thoughts had created all the misfortune he had experienced.
Fortunately, many people are the complete opposite. They consider themselves fortunate, talented, or blessed in other ways, and as a result, these qualities are manifested in their lives.
You have probably heard the story of the half-filled glass of water. Positive people tend to think that the glass is half-full, while negative people consider it half-empty. Both points of view are correct. All the same, which group of people do you think live happier, richer lives?
I'm sure that many people are born with a predisposition toward positivity or negativity. However, this can be changed. If you tend to look on the gloomy or negative side of every situation, you can use creative visualization to change your approach to life. Even if you have become negative as a result of events that have occurred in the past, you can use creative visualization to turn your life around and become more positive. It is important that you do this. When you think in a negative manner, you act in the same way. Your body language, voice, and general approach will reveal your negativity to others. And, not surprisingly, you will attract more negativity.
Thousands of years ago, Aristotle taught that imagery was an essential part of thought, and that we simply can't think without pictures. He believed that motivation came about when someone either saw (or sensed) something, or imagined it, by creating or remembering the image in his or her mind. Over the centuries, different thinkers, such as Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Thomas Hobbes, expressed similar views. However, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this view came under attack, as people were considered to be nothing more than "conscious automatons." As a result, psychologists virtually ignored visualization until Robert Holt wrote a paper called "Imagery: The Return of the Ostracized" in 1964.
Your thoughts create your reality. By changing your thoughts, and focusing on what you want in your life, you have the power to create the life you have always dreamed about. You possess a magnificent, creative imagination. Absolutely everything begins in the mind. Every time you think a thought, you are creating energy. If someone calls you a dreamer, you should take it as a compliment, as nothing will happen until after someone has imagined it in his or her mind. Daydreaming is valuable, as it allows you to think about what you most desire in your life.
With creative visualization, you use your imagination to create a clear impression of whatever it is that you desire. Once you have done this, you need to keep feeding this thought with energy and emotion until it becomes a reality. You must constantly focus on the result you desire. You can have anything that you're able to visualize. You can ask for anything at all, and know with absolute certainty that if you apply the correct principles, you can have it.
However, you need to be specific. Asking for a lot of money is not a good idea. Money on its own is not of much use. It's what you can do with the money that is important. Consequently, you should visualize whatever it is you intend to use the money for. Do you want a million-dollar home? Visualize it. Picture it as clearly as you can in your mind. Visualize the number of bedrooms it will have. Notice how well appointed the kitchen and bathrooms are. Visualize the grounds and the views from the windows. Spend as much time as you wish walking through your new home in your mind. It is much easier to visualize your dream home in your imagination than it is to think about piles of money.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is best known for his general theory of relativity, but he also devised totally new ways of looking at time, space, and gravity. He used creative visualization techniques throughout his life. He said: "Words or language ...do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought ...My elements of thought are . . . images." Einstein was fortunate in attending a school that followed the precepts of the Swiss educator, Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827). Pestalozzi believed the process of education should encourage the gradual unfolding of a person's inabilities. Observation and visualization were a major factor in this. In fact, Pestalozzi considered visual thinking to be one of the most powerful features of the mind, and believed that imagery was the start of all knowledge.
Einstein practised this throughout his life. At the age of 16, he used creative visualization to determine that the speed of light was always constant. Einstein visualized a cart that chased a point of light. The existing theory was that when the cart reached the speed of light, it would seem as if neither the cart nor the point of light were moving relative to each other. In Einstein's visualization he clearly saw that if he was sitting on the cart, the point of light constantly moved up and down as it rode the wave of light.
I came across an interesting example of creative visualization in a book called This is Earl Nightingale. Earl Nightingale told the story of a man who had become extremely wealthy in the lumber industry. When reporters asked him how he had done it, he told them that he sat every night in a darkened room and meditated, trying to visualize how the lumber industry would be conducted in another ten years. He wrote down any ideas that came to him, and implemented them in his business right away. His evening visualization sessions put him ten years ahead of his competitors and he made millions of dollars as a result.
Many people use creative visualization to achieve prosperity, but you can use it for almost any purpose. You can visualize a perfect partner, a promotion or new position, spiritual growth, abundant health, and a happy and fulfilling home and family life. You might want to become more confident, or develop a winning personality. You might want to eliminate stress and worry. You might want to progress in your favorite sport.
While working on this book, I came across an interesting example of creative visualization in my daily newspaper Michael Mayell, a successful entrepreneur, described how he used the technique to find his wife. "I sat down and wrote a list of all the attributes I really needed a partner to have, as well as things that would be a bonus," he said. "Then I visualized it and I affirmed it and I just knew I was going to pull this person into my life." Six months later he met Melanie, who ultimately became his wife.
You cannot use creative visualization to force another person to do something. That affects the natural balance of the universe and creates negative karma. Consequently, you are unable to use creative visualization techniques to force a specific person to fall in love with you. However, you can use these techniques to attract the perfect person into your life.
I have a good friend who had a series of relationship problems. She has an incredible talent for attracting losers, and despite her total lack of success in the past, she continue to think that somehow she could change each new partner. Of course, sooner or later, every relationship ended disastrously. After several bad experiences, she decided to forget men entirely and lead a celibate life. This didn't work, either. She finally learned the techniques of creative visualization and has now found "Mr. Right." He possesses all the qualities that she visualized, and she finds it hard to understand how she had sent out the wrong message to the universe for so many years.
This is just one example of someone who used creative visualization to attract the right partner. My friend finally managed to send out the qualities she desired, and did not request a specific person by name.
An acquaintance of mine named Brendan wanted to play the oboe. He had inherited an instrument several years earlier, and occasionally thought about having lessons. When he finally decided to do something about it, he couldn't find a teacher. He found teachers of other instruments, but no one was able to suggest someone in his town who could teach him the oboe.
He started visualizing himself having regular lessons with a wonderful teacher. Nothing happened for several weeks. One evening, he and his wife were at the movies when the man sitting next to him appeared to have a heart attack. Brendan helped the man get comfortable and arranged for an ambulance. He sat with the man and his partner in the lobby until the paramedics arrived. About a week later, a small advertisement appeared in the local paper thanking the kind stranger for his help, and asking him to make contact. Brendan phoned the man and was delighted to find that the attack had not been as bad as he had feared. In the course of the conversation, Brendan learned that the man played the oboe, and would be delighted to teach him. The universe had enabled Brendan's visualization to work.
I had a similar experience a couple of years ago. I had been studying the I Ching, but was unhappy with the imprecise interpretations that this great oracle produced. I was on the verge of giving up my studies, when my wife suggested that I visualize myself learning the I Ching from an expert on the subject. A month or so later, I was in a shopping mall and an elderly Chinese man came up to me. He had been to a talk I had given several months previously and wanted to thank me. I was grateful for his thanks, but his next words stunned me. He asked me if I'd like to learn the I Ching from him. For the last two years I have enjoyed weekly lessons from him. He refuses any pay, but allows me to buy him lunch after each lesson.
A few weeks ago I had a drink with a friend. He told me about the problems he was having with a family who had moved into the house next to his. He told me that the phrase "neighbors from hell" did not even begin to describe the situation. Everything they did upset him, and he was planning to tell them exactly what he thought of them. I asked him if he thought that was a good idea. He shrugged and said that he couldn't think of anything else he could do.
I suggested that he sit down quietly, and visualize himself having a pleasant conversation with the neighbors. He should picture himself discussing his concerns with them in a quiet, friendly, reasonable way. By doing this, he might defuse a potentially dangerous situation, and might even find them to be pleasant, friendly, and agreeable. He agreed to try it, and told me a few days later that it had worked out extremely well. The neighbors were aggressive and angry when he knocked on their door, but soon invited him in. They had a pleasant conversation, and by the end of it all the problems had been resolved. My friend accused me of putting a magic spell on him. In fact, it was his creative visualization that ensured success. Instead of approaching the neighbors expecting trouble, he knocked on the door anticipating a positive resolution.
This example shows that creative visualization can be used for almost everything. The only limits are those that you create yourself.
There are four essential ingredients to achieve success at creative visualization. Obviously, you need to visualize your goal. You do this by "seeing" it in your mind. The second step is to use mental imagery. This means clothing your desire with as many senses (feel, taste, smell, sound, and emotion) as possible. The third ingredient is to practice. This is a mental rehearsal of everything that is involved in reach your goal. The fourth ingredient is repetition. The more frequently you visualize your goal, the better.
Let's Get Started Exercise
This first exercise will teach you the basics of relaxation and visualization. Sit or lie down comfortably. I usually use a recliner-type chair or the floor for this. Unless I am doing a creative visualization in bed at night, I seldom lie down on a bed to visualize, as I usually fall asleep during the relaxation stage.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible. Ensure that the room is warm enough, or that you are covered with a blanket. Wear loose-fitting clothes. Temporarily disconnect the phone, so that you will not be disturbed while doing this exercise. Dim the lights, or draw the curtains.
Now you are going to do what is called a progressive relaxation. It is called this because you start with your toes, and then progressively relax different parts of your body until you are completely relaxed.
When you feel comfortable, close your eyes and take three or four slow, deep breaths, holding the breath for a few seconds each time before exhaling. Once you have done this, think about the toes on one of your feet. I always start with my left foot, but it makes no difference which foot you choose to start with. Tell them to relax, and allow a feeling of pleasant relaxation to enter into these toes. If you find it hard to do this, wiggle your toes for a few seconds and then try again.
Once your toes are relaxed, allow the relaxation to drift into your foot. Take as much time as necessary to do this, and then allow the pleasant feeling of relaxation to drift through your ankles and up into your calf muscles. Once these muscles feel relaxed, allow the feeling to drift over your knees and into your thighs.
Once your leg feels completely relaxed, focus on the toes of your other foot and gradually relax that leg, also. Once both legs are relaxed, allow the relaxation to drift into your abdomen and up to your chest. Relax one arm, followed by the hand and fingers. Repeat with the other arm. Now let the relaxation drift into your neck and face, and spread up to the top of your head.
You are now almost totally relaxed. Think about the muscles around your eyes and allow them to relax as much as they possibly can. Finally, mentally scan your body searching for any areas that may not be completely relaxed. Focus on any areas you find until they are completely relaxed too.
You are now totally relaxed. It is a wonderful feeling, and one that most people seldom experience while they are awake. It is also extremely beneficial, as it allows every cell in your body to relax. When you are relaxed like this, your brain produces alpha waves and you enter the alpha state. This is a state of heightened awareness and suggestibility.
Relaxation is the first part of this exercise. The second part is to visualize. Think about someone you know extremely well. It might be your partner, a work colleague, or a friend. It makes no difference whom you choose, as long as you know the person well enough to picture him or her in your mind.
You might see this person perfectly in your mind. This means that you are naturally a visual person. Sixty percent of the population use their visual sense more than their other senses. They make use of the other senses, of course, but rely primarily on their visual sense. These people have the ability to see something clearly in their minds. Other people rely more on their sense of hearing, and are called auditory, and still others rely on their feelings. They are called kinesthetic.
If you are naturally auditory or kinesthetic, you may find it hard to "see" someone in your mind. This does not matter. The more times you practice this exercise, the better you will become at it. After all, when you were a very young child and hadn't developed any language skills, you used your visual capabilities all the time. As you had the ability then, you can learn how to use it again. Even if you never get beyond the stage of seeing a vague shape in your mental eye, you can still become an expert at creative visualization.
(If you want to "see" your visualizations, the next experience will help you develop this ability.)
For this exercise, all that is necessary is to imagine the person in your mind. Some people "see" the other person, and others sense his or her presence. There is no right or wrong way of doing this. The purpose of this visualization is to see how clearly you can imagine the other person in your mind.
Picture your friend as clearly as you can, and think about an incident you can remember that involved him or her. It might be something mundane, such as getting into a car, or eating lunch. It might be something exciting or titillating. Again, it makes no difference what it is. Experiment to see how clearly you can recall this incident in your mind.
The final stage of this visualization is to imagine you and your friend visiting a place that you know, but have not been to with this person. If you and the other person have never gone to the movies together, you might want to imagine the two of you walking into a theatre, buying the tickets, and then going into the cinema. Again, it makes no difference what you decide to do.
Once you have imagined this clearly, take a few slow, deep breaths, stretch, and open your eyes. Congratulations. You have taken a major step toward becoming a successful creative visualizer.
Practice this exercise as often as you can. Just for the fun of it, choose a different person to visualize. Picture other scenarios as well. You might want to visualize the living room of your home when you were a young child. An elderly friend of mine used to enjoy walking down the main street of the town he lived in when he was a child, visualizing all the shops that he passed.
How To "See" More Clearly
It is not necessary to "see" your visualizations. However, you can improve your ability at seeing them, if you desire. Study a painting or a photograph for two or three minutes, and then close your eyes. See if you can recall it in your mind's eye. With practice, you'll be able to recall the picture in detail.
You can also experiment anywhere you happen to be. Close your eyes and see how much you can recall of wherever you happen to be. Don't worry if you find it hard to "see" anything clearly when you first start. Be patient, keep practising, and gradually your skill will improve.
Most people want to skip the early experiments and move directly to a creative visualization. However, you will move ahead more quickly if you spend a reasonable amount of time working on the preliminary exercises first.
In the next chapter we'll look at desire, one of the essential qualities of an effective creative visualization.
© Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.


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Once again, I put my twins down for a nap. This time I was sure there were no books , no pens or pencils and no chairs in sight. It was quiet alright and I gave them about 10 minutes, what could they possible do that they haven't already? I am telling you, if one doesn't think of it, the other one surely will.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
They were napping, part IV
Once again, I put my twins down for a nap. This time I was sure there were no books , no pens or pencils and no chairs in sight. It was quiet alright and I gave them about 10 minutes, what could they possible do that they haven't already? I am telling you, if one doesn't think of it, the other one surely will.
Posted by Jane at 6:54 PM 21 comments
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Sweetest Party
I had to share these pictures that I took at my niece, Sofie's birthday party. It was the most adorable party, which is no surprise when the mother and party planner is my sis-in-law, Dawn. Some wonderful ideas to share.
Posted by Jane at 9:05 PM 9 comments
All was quiet . . . again
Twenty minutes after putting my twins to bed I assumed once again that they would be fast asleep, I will NEVER assume that again. When I walked in, they were both very busy with pens and pencils drawing fast and furious all over the wall. Here is their works of art, they look a little too proud. Once again, I couldn't get mad at these faces. I let their daddy take care of time out.
Posted by Jane at 6:35 PM 13 comments
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
How much do YOU love Chick-Fil-A?
Chick-fil-a has cow appreciation day this Friday. Free combo meal if you come dressed as a cow. It isn't that bad, we actually went last year with a bunch of neighbors and we all ate free, we just cut a few black spots and taped them to our shirts. No one even laughed at us. Truth be told, when I go places with all my kids we can be a circus anyway, whats a few cow spots and some ears? Go here to print a costume that is super easy, my four kids will all be wearing it for a kids meal. OK, I will too. If you want to See Jane dress as a cow, meet me for lunch. I will be removing it as soon as I order though =)
If I can get Aaron to wear a costume maybe we'll go for lunch AND dinner, but I really think it would be a cold day you know where before he dresses as a cow. Maybe when we go there for dinner I will tape a cow tail on his rear when he isn't looking, ha ha.
My sisters friend sent her this when she mentioned meeting for lunch there, I think it expresses how we all feel, agree? I never met a person that didn't love the place.
Posted by Jane at 6:20 AM 7 comments
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
It was naptime . . .
I put these two down for a nap and it had been quiet for some time so, of course, I assumed they were asleep. Problem is, I bought them some new chairs a week ago and they can't stop sitting in them. They are the most exciting thing in their lives. I went in their room to make sure all was well. Instead of being fast asleep like I assumed, they just sweetly smiled at me, like all was normal. This is the second time these chairs have kept them from napping, they are that fun. At least last time they sat in them on the floor. I kept telling them, STAY IN YOUR CRIB, so, technically, they were obeying me, right? I just couldn't get mad at them, I thought it was too cute. I was just trying not to laugh as I told them it was wrong. Could you get mad at these faces?
Posted by Jane at 7:05 PM 10 comments
I'm giving these away, tonight!!
I love to make treats and I love even more to eat them for breakfast the next day. This is a problem. My solution is, as soon as I wake up and take a little bite, I quickly turn on the faucet and throw the pan of cookies, brownies or whatever under the water and my temption is destroyed, just like that. I realize this is kind of a waste so I have come up with an alternative to this wasting of yummies. I have a million recipes bookmarked that I would love to try, but I don't want to make dessert every night of the week. Tonight we are having a little girls night, cousin slumber party with my girls and their cousins, of course my first thought was, what is for dessert? I had two recipes I couldn't decide between so I made them both, ridiculous, I know. I don't have a football team here tonight, just a few little girls with small appetities. So, onto my solution. I made up two plates of my treats and the first two people to leave a comment get them.
If you are interested in the recipes, click here for the smores brownies and here for the peanut butter fudge treats. They are both yummy, very, very sweet. Hopefully not too sweet for you.
Look for more give-a-ways like this to come. I have found a way to try new recipes and make my old favorites without completely destroying any sort of diet I may try to adhere to. I can still have a taste without eating the WHOLE pan. And don't think I haven't done that before. Thanks for helping save a girl some calories. Good luck, enjoy your unexpected dessert!
Posted by Jane at 6:51 PM 10 comments
Monday, July 6, 2009
4th in Denver
We celebrated this little darling's 2nd birthday
(isn't she THE cutest? I wanted to sneak her home with us)
Posted by Jane at 6:27 PM 3 comments


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|At CC's Hideaway Hotel Phuket, is nestled in the lush hills of Karon Beach overlooking the Andaman Sea. Completely hip and cool, CC's Hideaway is an oasis for guests seeking a respite from the crowds, heat, noise and chaos from the more urban locations. Our modern tropical design setting combined with CC's amenities, friendly customer service, and beautifully designed facilities complement its natural surroundings and distinguish itself from other traditional accommodations. Only about 20 km from Phuket Town and about 40 km from the airport, getting to and from CC's Hideaway is a breeze.
Uniquely decorated rooms in vibrant, fresh colors that are hip and cool. Feature modern accommodations
infused with traditional and modern Thai furnishings with magnificent views towards Kata beach and the Andaman Sea.
Standard (Economy) Room:
Elegant and stylish, every room is not only decorated in Modern Thai style but also equipped with the comforts of the Western world. With Beautiful mountain views with a semi private patio.
Pool View:
A range of beautifully appointed rooms, with a clean and open design. Overlooking the sparkling waters of the pool area.
Pool Access:
A range of beautifully appointed rooms, with a clean and open design. Each one with a private terrace that makes an ideal setting for an intimate candlelit dinner and with direct access to the pool.
Vista Ocean View
Every room is not only decorated in Modern Thai style but also equipped with the comforts of the Western world, beautifully furnished with custom Teak furniture, - Breathtaking Ocean Views overlooking the Andaman Sea and Kata Beach.
|Standard (Economy) Room
|Standard (Economy) Room
|Standard (Economy) Room
|Pool View
|Pool View
|Pool View
|Pool Access
|Pool Access
|Pool Access
|Vista Ocean View
|Vista Ocean View
|Vista Ocean View
|Refuge Restaurant
Refuge Restaurant specializes in Thai Food and offers a wide selection of Western dishes also. Refuge offers exquisite meals complemented by a wide selection of cocktails, freshly prepared juices and a variety of other beverages. Enjoy the view of the Andaman see as you dine. Refuge focuses on quality and use of locally grown foods. Our highly dedicated and creative staff prepare beautiful dishes. Our food is served in the warm, friendly and professional 'CC Hideaway' service style. Throughout the week various specials are offered in addition to our regular menu offerings.
Sanctuary Bar & Lounge
Located on the main level of CC's, Sanctuary offers great views of the Andaman Sea.
Sanctuary is a full-service bar and lounge, with trained bartenders and waiters offering great cocktails and delicious meal service.
All Day 07:00 - 02:00
|Escape Massage & Beauty Salon
We want your time with us to be absolutely wonderful.
Attentive and individualized service is the hallmark of Escape and we pride ourselves on having an expert Hair Designer and Beauty therapy specialist that are committed to making you look and feel fabulous.
CC's Boutique
What distinguishes CC's Boutique from other hotels is that we are committed to supporting the suppliers of our furnishings and artwork. To that end, we offer for you purchase custom handmade replicas or customized variations of essentially all the art and furnishing available in our rooms. Pricing will be provided to you upon request. If you really want a particular object in your room, we can do that too, but you might have to wait until we get a replacement.
Sky Terrace
There are two separate decks distinctly designed and located in the highest common areas of the hotel.
They offer spectacular views of the Andaman Sea and beach communities below. Away from the main level of the hotel, these areas will offer you extra space to stretch out and relax with a minimum of people around you.
Sunbathe and cool off with the outdoor shower or just sit and read under the partially roofed cover. Jointly designed by Thai and American designers, these spaces are intended to be the essence of the Hideaway experience.
The decks are open 24 hours for you to enjoy. Beverage and food service will be available during restaurant and bar hours of operation.
|Swimming Pool
|Pool Bed
|Sky Terrace
|Internet Service
|Phuket is an island on the southwest side of the Thai peninsula, nested in the Andaman Sea and surrounded by smaller islands. CC's Hideaway is one of the most secluded of the island's hotels, in the hills above Kata Beach, just a 15 minute drive from the town of Patong, which boasts an active nightlife. The hotel offers a stunning view of Kata Beach.


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Royal Mail, asks us to inform the designated operators of other UPU member countries that, since 18 January 2018, heavy snowfall has been affecting trunking and mail delivery and collection in the Parcelforce network in the following areas (all postcodes in Scotland): AB, DG, ML, G, IV, DD, KY, FK, PH, KW, EH, PA and TD.
EMS items and parcel post are affected.
Royal Mail thanks designated operators for their understanding and cooperation and will inform them as soon as the situation returns to normal.


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Yesterday we learned that wannabe pickup artist Armando Romero was attempting to use USC's name and facilities to host creepy PUA events. Now the university informs us he won't be allowed to do that anymore.
In response to my queries, USC's Assistant Vice President for Media Relations Carl Marziali sent me the following email:
I checked with our director of trademark licensing and social responsibility, Matthew Curran, who stated: "This individual is not authorized to use the university's trademarks, name or logos. We will be contacting him to formally request that he cease from doing so."
Also, at the request of USC Libraries, Information Technology Services disabled the individual's USC email account for misuse of university resources.
Romero's "USC Dating Services" page has been removed from Facebook. So, as I speculated, it is not okay for a USC alum to host a "Picking Up Chicks 101" seminar at a university library, or to use the university's name to promote his objectionable "services." Opportunistic PUAs everywhere take note.


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Britney Spears, Heath Ledger Get People's Choice Nods
Plus, PEOPLE will honor fans' favorite star under 35 for the first time
Fresh off the heels of her appearance with Madonna at Dodger Stadium in L.A. last week, Britney Spears has scored a People's Choice nomination for favorite scene-stealing guest star for her role on How I Met Your Mother.
But dominating this year's nominations is the late Heath Ledger and his movie The Dark Knight, which came away with nods for favorite movie, favorite cast and favorite on-screen match-up for Ledger and costar Christian Bale.
The Joker and Batman will compete with other favorite duos Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf.
New this year is an award for favorite star under 35, which has been added to the list to celebrate PEOPLE'S 35th birthday and the show's 35th year.
The People's Choice Awards, hosted by Queen Latifah, will air on CBS Jan. 7.
Who's your Favorite Star Under 35? PEOPLE.com and the People's Choice Awards are counting your votes! Click here to vote now!


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Fossil Convertible Pouch Mlg0428998
$67.99 $98
Get ready to pack in a snap! With the innovative design of our convertible pouch, you can alter its silhouette from a shave kit to a pouch with a simple snap (or unsnap) of the buttons. Constructed in leather and coated canvas materials, this is one smart travel essential.
Browse all deals at Fossil
See more in Travel Accessories
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* This offer may contain time-sensitive information and offers. Please check with Fossil to confirm actual price & availability.
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Friday, November 12, 2010
Warts And All
5 comments:
- Jay's Shadow said...
(Me like witches...)
- November 12, 2010 at 12:51 PM
- Rot said...
I really dig those witches.
Using masks in a haunt is an art form.
- November 12, 2010 at 12:53 PM
- Erin | Bygone Living said...
Awesome! Love the Lizzy Borden graves too.
- November 12, 2010 at 12:56 PM
- crudedoodle.com said...
i wonder how that glow in the cualdron is achieved
- November 12, 2010 at 1:47 PM
- Old Hag said...
Jeez! I'm blushing!
Rot: Thanks, my art form is that I adore my daughter-in-law (witch #3). She's been dying to be a witch for years. (No pun intended) I totally planned on making witch heads but to keep from blowing her cover...masks. It worked for us...witch #3 had a ball on Halloween.
Crudedoodle: Trial and error for the glow. We cut a sheet of plexiglass and broke it. We cut a thin sheet of acrylic to fit inside the cauldron (horse feeder) and drilled four holes in the center and pumped in smoke. The acrylic keeps the smoke inside and the holes allow some escape through the center (as well as the perimeter of the acrylic). That smoke that's kept inside keeps the light bulb hidden and stays opaque...a nice glow!
- November 12, 2010 at 5:13 PM


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Faith Is About To Release A Tell All Book! (Faith Catches Lil Kim Butt Naked In Biggie Smalls Bed & Fight Breaks Out) Plus Miss Info Speaks On 50 Cent's Statement On Kim Osorio "That Statement Is Totally Some Sexist BullSh*t" [Audio Only]
Miss Info from Hot 97 reports thats Faith is releasing a autobiography book very soon
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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Call for Entries: Recycled Repurposed Revitalised
Patchwork-Inspired Homeware/Furniture Category
Sydney Quilt Show 2017
Closing Date: 1 May 2017
The Recycled Repurposed Revitalised: Patchwork-Inspired Homeware/Furniture category is a once off challenge to visually enhance the exhibition space at the Sydney Quilt Show 2017 with 3 dimensional objects by using the theme of "recycle, repurpose, revitalised". Item examples are: no larger than a single chair, free standing, stools, small side table, pedestals, plinth, screens, lamps/stands, foot stools, dining chair, bean bags.
|Revitalised Chair by Megan Manwaring
- Entry is only open to financial members of QuiltNSW.
- There is NO entry fee associated with this category.
- Entries to use repurposed furniture decorated with recycled/reloved textiles, patchwork or to create homewares from recycled patchwork blocks and/or unfinished quilts
- The size of the item must be no larger than a single chair AND must be able to be carried by ONE person.
- Judging categories: Best Design, Best Revitalisation, Best Innovation and Viewers Choice (announced on Sunday morning 25 June).
- Items/objects must be delivered by the entrant to the Sydney Quilt Show exhibition space on Wednesday 21 June or by 10.00am on Thursday 22 June.
- Items/objects must be collected by the entrant at the close of the Sydney Quilt Show, i.e. after 4.30 pm on Sunday 25 June.
- All entries must include a good quality 10 x 15cm photograph showing the entire object/item up to whatever stage it is at, at time of entry.
Posted by QuiltNSW Webmaster at 8:16 am
Labels: Quilt Show 2017


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rogue in colorblock with snakeskin detail
brass/dark denim
Inspired by free spirits, rebels and dreamers, the aptly named Rogue is a go-anywhere bag. Finished with genuine snakeskin details, it's crafted in natural colorblock pebble leather.
rogue in colorblock with snakeskin detail
Shipping and Returns
Standard shipping is free on all orders over $100. For all other orders, shipping is $15.
For more on shipping, read here.
Product details
- Natural pebble leather with genuine snakeskin details
- Inside zip and French purse pockets
- Zip closure, fabric and suede lining
- Two open compartments
- Handles with 3 1/2" drop
- Detachable straps with 10" drop for shoulder wear
- Shoulder straps can be linked together for crossbody wear
- 12 1/4" (L) x 9 3/4" (H) x 5 1/2" (W)
- Style No. 59997
Product Care
Love your leather, and it'll love you forever. To help preserve the beauty of your bag over time, we offer free lifetime leather care at our Coach Retail stores. Simply call to make an appointment, and we'll professionally clean and condition your bag while you shop (tip: bring a back-up bag for your belongings). We recommend this service every three months.
You can also clean and condition your bag at home by purchasing our Coach Leather Cleaner and Coach Leather Moisturizer.
Note: Coach Leather Cleaner should not be used on Sport Calf, suede or haircalf leathers. Coach Leather Moisturizer should not be used on buffalo, calfskin, suede or haircalf leathers.
Coated Canvas and Fabric/Jacquard
Clean with our Signature Fabric Cleaner. You can do this at home by purchasing our cleaner here.
Clean with a suede brush and suede eraser. Use the eraser to gently rub away spots and the brush to remove surface dirt and scuff marks and to revive the nap.
Do not expose to water or moisture. If the leather gets wet, immediately wipe dry with a soft cloth, wiping with (not against) the direction of the scales.


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Here is a video of the new Sizzix Eclipse.
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Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 3:38 PM | By: Not Just Scrap
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About Us
- Not Just Scrap
- Coram, NY, United States
Not Just Scrap was founded in 2005. Not Just Scrap is located in Long Island, New York. We are primarily an on-line store but you are more than welcome to call us and make an appointment to visit us.
Our goal is to provide our customers with the latest and best resources for the greatest scrapbooking, stamping and papercraft experiences. We are dedicated to helping you preserve your memories.
Company Overview
We started as a store front in Centereach in 2005. We closed our store front in July 2012 and are now an On-line business.
If you are local you are more than welcome to come visit us. Just call to make an appointment.
Need a Scrapbook but don't have the time to create it. Not Just Scrap specializes in Custom Pages and Scrapbooks. Just call us for a quote.
Not Just Scrap is also well known for our Photo Restoration Service and our Personalized Custom Papers and Diecuts.
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Blog Archive
- ► 2012 (17)
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- Tim Holtz new release
- Bo Bunny new release
- Tattered Angels new release
- Ranger Inks new releases
- Sizzix Eclipse
- Provocraft Cricut Imagine
- This Weeks Special - July 30 - Aug 1
- Class Pics for Cricut Layout Classes
- CHA Summer 2010
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- This Week Special - July 19-25
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- ▼ July (14)


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On last night's premiere of Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew, eight (minor celebrity) patients who love sex, masturbation, and porn checked into treatment for their sexual compulsions. Their stories lead the viewer to ask, "Am I a sex addict?"
In an interview with Dr. Drew about the show, Rich Juzwiak pointed out that the show will make people wonder if they are sex addicts. Dr. Drew responds:
[W]hen it comes to sexual addiction, really you have to look at how deeply embedded in trauma that frequently is. Not everybody has trauma. People have periods of their lives where these things come up, and they might get carried away, let's say. That does not an addict make. That's just like when someone binge drinks for a while and then stops.
In this clip, the Jeff Spicoli-esque surfer James Lovett talks about masturbating until he is in pain. He also tells Dr. Drew that he has never contracted an STD, but upon a physical examination, he learns that he has HPV in his throat.
Adult film actress Penny Flame discusses how she has issues with emotional intimacy. When she entered rehab, her bags were searched for drugs and sex toys. She had several vibrators, dildos, and a pair of knee pads confiscated. Other rules in sex rehab are detailed in a a celibacy contract that each patient signed. It calls for no pornography, no seductive behavior, appropriate dress, dress, and worst of all, no masturbation.
What's odd, to me anyway, is that this sex rehab is co-ed. I would think that this would make the entire process difficult, if not impossible.
But perhaps the constant platonic interaction with the opposite sex is part of the treatment.


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Single for a Season
Emily Stimpson offers advice for joyful living until wedding bells ring.
Emily Stimpson is the author of The Catholic Girl's Survival Guide for the Single Years, in which she shares her firsthand advice for Catholic single women who hope to get married one day. She recently spoke about her book, the impact it's having, and why joyful singles are a needed witness in the world today.
What prompted you to write this book? How did your own experiences affect this work?
Mostly, a growing recognition that more and more single women were wrestling with the same issues I've wrestled with over the past 15 years, and there weren't any practical resources from a Catholic perspective to help them in that wrestling. There were books that talked about how to find a spouse, books about how great the single life can be, and books that were memoirs of the single life — but nothing that addressed many of the concrete challenges faced by faithful single Catholic women wanting to get married, still hoping to get married, but trying to live the best life they can now.
So my book attempts to give them that resource, addressing not just questions about dating and chastity, but also careers, finances, housing, friendships, coping with depression and more. I address those issues both through explaining what the Church teaches, then offering practical applications of the teaching based on my own and other women's experiences.
What is the most important message you want to give to single Catholic women in terms of them having hope in God's plan for their desire for marriage?
To trust God. He really does know what he's doing, and this time of singleness is not unaccounted for. It's part of his perfect plan to lead us to himself and make us the women he's calling us to be. Likewise, to never give up hope. It's never too late to get married. Probably the only expiration date on a vocation to marriage is death.
What response have you gotten from your fellow singles?
Probably the most common is: "It's so good to know I'm not the only one struggling with these issues." It's hard for most women to admit their struggles with singleness, and, because of that, they can end up feeling very alone in it.
What more can the Church do for singles in terms of helping them find their spouses?
I'm not sure what more the institutional Church can do. Praying during the General Intercessions for singles discerning their vocation, struggling with loneliness or seeking a spouse would be a start. Offering events at parishes that aren't just for families or couples, but for all adult parishioners would also be great. But the most helpful thing might just be individual Catholics welcoming single people into their homes, introducing singles to each other, and just encouraging us and guiding us as we navigate the dating scene.
What practical tips would you give your fellow single Catholics?
To set aside the world's opinion of what you should be doing or what's impressive and discern as best you can what God has for you in this moment and do it. Also, to take advantage of all the opportunities singleness brings: traveling, serving, learning. Spend time with married friends and their children, learning as much as you can from them about the nuts and bolts of family life. Above all, spend time with God. Learn to go to him in all things, and depend upon him for everything. Let him mold you and form you into the person he made you to be so you can live the life he wants you to live.
This book is for women, but what does it offer Catholic single men?
More insight into the feminine mind than is probably fair. Besides that, it has some practical advice on vocations, dating, chastity, finances, career decisions, marriage and suffering that I'm hearing some guys are finding helpful. That surprised me, as the book was written for women, but I guess if it works, it works.
Is there a special saint you'd recommend single Catholics seek the intercession of?
I've dubbed St. Catherine of Siena (a lay consecrated virgin), St. Edith Stein (a philosopher and religious) and St. Gianna Beretta Molla (a wife, mother and doctor) as my book's three patronesses. I figure between the three of them I've got all the vocational bases covered, and, more importantly, each I believe has something very important to teach single women today. Two of them actually were single women for a time in the modern era — St. Edith and St. Gianna. Accordingly, I think they understand a bit what we're going through and can offer some particularly powerful assistance to us in our struggles.
How can families support their single children/grandchildren, etc.?
The most important thing they can do is pray for them. It also helps if they make an effort to understand just how hard it is right now for most Catholic singles to find someone who is willing to date chastely and who practices the faith (or any faith for that matter). Be supportive about their decision to put God and the Church's teachings first and stay hopeful for them. In other words, don't encourage them to compromise what they believe to be right and true, but also don't consign them to "permanent bachelor" or "old maid" territory just because they're not married at 35 or 40.
You have an upcoming column for the Register about lists vs. standards. Can you elaborate on what are the non-negotiables when it comes to looking for a good Catholic spouse?
Well, I like to say that love, among other things, means never asking someone to commit a mortal sin. So, in terms of dating, that means only dating someone who loves you and respects you enough to remain chaste while dating and remain open to life after marriage. Also, someone who — if not already a Catholic or a strong Catholic — admires and respects your faith, is interested in learning more about it, and has demonstrated that he desires to grow in both faith and virtue. Our spouses are our life's companion on the journey to God. They're supposed to help us grow in holiness, so we want to make sure that the person we marry is going to be a help in that journey and not pull us in the opposite direction.
Modern culture is very much opposed to a good single Catholic's way of life. How can Catholic singles best live their singleness in this world we're living in?
By being joyful, hopeful, uncompromising witnesses to the truth of the Church's teachings about femininity, sexuality, vocation and holiness. For anyone, married or single, those teachings are the only path to peace, wholeness and joy. But if no one in the culture sees people walking that path, it's going to be awfully hard for them to believe that or walk it themselves.
Amy Smith is the Register's associate editor.
- Keywords:
- singles
- marriage
- emily stimpson