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Today, upon exiting the library here at school, a woman asked me what my major was and of course I said "theology". She said "oh" and scurried along with her rolling camo backpack. At first I was a little confused but that quickly turned to a thought train about choice, which naturally lead to further affirmation of the fact that God loves us.
Why? How did this question lead to such a profound truth?
I thought about my major, how I had chosen it, and how I am experiencing such joy through my major. I had many options and I very well could have chosen to be a biology major and spend countless hours in the science building or become a computer science major and adopted carpel tunnel syndrome along with perpetual bloodshot eyes. But I didn't. I chose to be a theology major.
Now I firmly believe that each person has a vocation and that if you listen, God will call you to your vocation, but you have to choose. It takes personal commitment to the will of God in order to discover this vocation and through multiple environmental factors, I have come to realize that God wants me to be happy. He loves me. He has created me with a purpose.
So what can you do with this?
1. Take time to think about your strengths and weaknesses. How do your strengths and weaknesses reveal God's will for you?
2. Praise God for the gift of our free will! What a beauty it is to have such opportunity at our fingertips.
More to come soon. I'm learning a whole bunch of new subject material here at school and I can't wait to apply it to my search for ministry. I'm taking a class called Human Growth and Development in which I have to do 10 hours of field experience in a classroom so stay posted for some great stories.
God bless!


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The Chief Justice of Nigeria – CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has warned judges against the use of technicalities to obstruct justice in the country.
Onnoghen who made the remark on Monday in Abuja when he declared open the 2017 National Energy Workshop for Judges, said judges must not allow technicalities to stand in the way of justice in order to sustain public confidence in the judiciary.
He said the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution would engender timely disposition of cases and encouraged the judges to adopt it adding that the workshop would enlighten the judges on global best practices in confronting the challenges that might arise in the power and petroleum sectors.
He expressed confidence that the workshop would aid the justices and judges in the adjudication and resolution of lingering disputes.

subset: commoncrawl


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In the lead up to the ISTEK Schools 3rd International ELT Conference, we'll be introducing some of the presenters on the blog. Next up is Stacey Kaya…
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am married and a mother of three. I reside in Istanbul with my family and work in one of the Çınar Schools. I am an American. I have been living in Istanbul, Turkey for 10 years.
What is your teaching background?
I have 10 years experience teaching English as a second language.
I have specialized in teaching young learners for 9 years.
I worked in a program to aid children with disabilities in the USA for 3 years prior to that.
Tell us a bit about your session.
My session is a compilation of proven story telling techniques that are used currently in today's classroom. I will perform stories and dramatize songs that appeal to children and the "child" in all of us as well. I encourage audience participation.
Why are you interested in the area you'll be presenting on?
In all the years I have been teaching, I have found that I have had most success with storytelling and drama. My classrooms are filled with lively students, who love to attend the lessons, fight to participate, view English as a treat and not a punishment and most importantly are happy. I'm happy! Happy children bring happy results. What more could a teacher ask for?
What should your audience expect to learn?
Simply put, what works! Teachers are given the course books to teach with but worry about how to apply them in the classroom. They are overwhelmed. The trainers that are sent from the publishers fall short demonstrating how to use the books because they are not in everyday practice with students. They cannot give you that hands on experience that is so vital to keeping the class alive, alert and involved. I believe I can help and that's what drives me to want to participate in this convention.
What are three words that sum up your session?
I need four words. Techniques, drama, creativity and most importantly FUN!
Which other presenter(s) are you looking forward to seeing?
I'd like to see them all! Everyone brings something new we can learn from and every presentation is valuable to me.
Can we find you on Twitter or Facebook?
Have you been to Turkey before or is this your first time?
I visited Turkey three times before settling here.
What other aspects of the conference are you looking forward to?
When I am not doing a workshop, I hope to see as many workshops as I can. I am excited to have so many talented people sharing their expertise all in one place. I am hoping to make connections with others in my field and look forward to learning from them.


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November 21, 2014 Volume 58, Issue 47 Sen. Vukmir Tours Milwaukee Safety Net Hospitals Aurora Sinai, Wheaton St. Joseph's provide frontline perspective Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) recently toured Milwaukee's two safety net hospitals—Aurora Sinai Medical Center and Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph campus—to see firsthand the role these hospitals play in their communities. Vukmir is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner and educator with more than 25 years of nursing and teaching experience. "We appreciate Sen. Vukmir taking time to visit Aurora Sinai Medical Center to learn about the unique challenges faced by Milwaukee's last downtown hospital. Aurora Sinai serves a critical role in Milwaukee's and the state's health care infrastructure, as Medicaid patients make up nearly 50 percent of our annual volumes. In 2013, Aurora Sinai's Medicaid shortfall totaled -$28 million and we provided $4.4 million in charity care," said Carolynn Glocka, president, Aurora Sinai Medical Center. (continued on page 6) U.S. Sen. Baldwin Leads Bipartisan Letter Urging President Not to Cut Rural Hospital Funding Green Bay Press Gazette Editorial: Rural hospitals play important role U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led a bipartisan group of 27 senators, with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), in support of rural hospitals and the value they provide to communities across the country. Baldwin and 26 other senators expressed opposition to provisions the President has previously included in his budgets. Those include reducing Medicare reimbursement levels for critical access hospitals (CAHs) and removing Tammy Baldwin the "critical access" designation for any hospital within 10 miles of another hospital. "I am deeply concerned by this proposal from the Obama Administration. If enacted, these policies would compromise access to health care and weaken rural economies in Wisconsin and across the country. I fear these proposals could even force many rural Wisconsin hospitals to shut their doors—causing a ripple effect on our economy and leaving many without access to care," Baldwin Guest Column Team-Based Care in Wisconsin: Moving it Forward By George Quinn, WCMEW executive director, and Chuck Shabino, MD, WHA Chief Medical Officer In the WHA 2011 report, "100 New Physicians a Year: an Imperative for Wisconsin," the projected shortage of physicians in 2030 was based, in part, on the assumption that teambased care would leverage physician resources by involving other caregivers in health care delivery, therefore limiting the projected shortage. One recommendation in the report was to have stakeholders in Wisconsin's health care workforce investigate team-based care to better understand how it will impact the future of care delivery. Acting on that recommendation, the Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce (WCMEW) earlier this year established a workgroup on team-based care. Their first goal was to create a forum that would showcase existing team-based care teams and provide a foundation for understanding the culture necessary to make these teams successful. That idea grew into the "Building a Culture for Patient-Centered Team-Based Care" conference held November 12, 2014, which drew 200 attendees and attracted 30 team presentations. The workgroup outlined five critical questions that were addressed at the conference: Q. What is the state of team-based care in Wisconsin? A. It is important to note that team-based care is not limited to ambulatory/clinic-based care. (continued on page 5) (continued on page 7) Board Chair: Ed Harding, president/CEO, Bay Area Medical Center, Marinette Editor: Mary Kay Grasmick, VP Communications - [email protected] 5510 Research Park Drive P.O. Box 259038 Madison, WI 53725-9038 P (608.274.1820) F (608.274.8554) www.wha.org House Ways & Means Release Comprehensive Draft Medicare Hospital Bill Draft proposal includes "Bay State Boondoggle" fix, RAC fixes, 96 hour fix This week the U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means released a 150-page draft proposal, known as the Hospital Improvements for Payment (HIP) Act of 2014, which would make multiple changes to the Medicare system for hospitals. The Wisconsin Hospital Association continues to analyze the provisions and will provide comments to Wisconsin's Congressional Delegation and the Committee. Several very positive provisions included in the bill have been the focus of WHA's advocacy, including: • "Bay State Boondoggle" – to correct a provision included in the health reform law that provides Massachusetts hospitals hundreds of millions of dollars in bonus payments—at the expense of nearly every other state in the country. Close to two dozen state hospital associations, including WHA, have come together seeking to reverse this manipulation of the Medicare payment system. • "96 Hour Fix" for critical access hospitals (CAHs) – to harmonize Medicare's Conditions of Payment with its Condition of Participation. The two have differing 96-hour requirements, believed to be a drafting error dating back to the enactment of the CAH designation itself. • Medicare Data – allowing for entities like the Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO) to have access to Medicare data In addition, the proposal includes multiple provisions to address problems with the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program. Those provisions include: • Creation of a new Hospital Prospective Payment System to deal with shorter stays. (Short stays have been a target of the RACs and have resulted in an overwhelming backlog in the federal Medicare appeals process.) • Additional six-month extension of RAC audit moratorium (through September 2015) • RAC provisions, including limits on RAC reviews, allows for rebilling, and more RAC monitoring • Requires notice to be provided to Medicare beneficiaries if in observation 24 hours or more A few other provisions included in the bill are: • Requires hospitals, including CAHs, to report "assessment data" on conditions, functionality, cognitive function, living situations/access to family, etc. • Makes some adjustment to the readmissions program related to dual-eligibles, socio-economic factors. There are also provisions related to price transparency, among others. To read the full draft log onto: http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397845 Watch for more information in The Valued Voice in the coming weeks. Common and Complex ICD-10-PCS Coding Scenarios Focus of WHA Webinars The October 1, 2015, deadline for ICD-10 implementation allows Wisconsin hospitals and health systems the opportunity to take full advantage of the additional time to prepare for the ICD-10 transition. In early December, WHA is offering two webinars featuring well-known coding expert Lynn Kuehn. Kuehn will focus on helping coders, coding managers, and members of a hospital or health system's ICD-10 implementation team better understand how to work through common and more complex ICD-10-PCS coding scenarios, to be better prepared for on-time and efficient implementation. On December 2, Kuehn will lead a webinar focused on making root operations selections and assigning all characters for the codes included in 10 common ICD-10-PCS cases encountered at hospitals and health systems of all sizes. This interactive webinar will be a great way to work through some of the most common cases you'll encounter after October 1, 2015. (continued on page 4) The Valued Voice -- Page 2 -- 11/21/14 President's Column Wisconsin's Strong, Vibrant High-Performing Rural Health System under Siege Twenty years ago a small group of rural, upper Midwestern lawmakers led by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and former Iowa Congressman Jim Nussel championed legislation that transformed rural health care and saved hundreds of rural hospitals from closure. They convinced colleagues to allow individual states to define small rural hospitals as "necessary providers"—organizations deserving slightly higher Medicare payments because of their "necessary" function of providing accessible health care services to their communities. Today Wisconsin has 58 critical access hospitals (CAHs), nearly all of which owe their designation to the "necessary provider" criteria. Every one of these hospitals has strengthened local health delivery. And as a group, these hospitals have ensured access to hundreds of thousands of individuals and families all across Wisconsin at Today Wisconsin has 58 Critical a marginal additional cost that amounts to "erasure dust" in the Access Hospitals (CAHs), context of the larger Medicare program. nearly all of which owe their designation to the "necessary Other supplemental payment programs like Low Volume provider" criteria. Adjustment, Sole Community Provider and Medicare Dependent Hospital each provide a few extra dollars to slightly larger rural hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of older and often times sicker patient populations. Unfortunately, the CAH program in particular has been under siege recently via Obama Administration budget proposals and OIG reports that attack the "necessary provider" criteria and instead suggest mileage requirements. Similarly, CMS last year announced a new rule that undermines a 20-year precedent related to length of stay in a CAH bed. If a patient stays longer than 96 hours, payment is denied. This is an astounding and baffling example of regulatory fiat This is an astounding and usurping clinical decisions. baffling example of regulatory fiat usurping clinical decisions. It is particularly fitting as we celebrate Rural Health Day to recognize Wisconsin's strong rural delivery system and remind lawmakers to not tamper with low cost, essential payment programs that are foundational to achieving rural health care excellence—a situation in which Wisconsin rural residents today receive health care from organizations whose clinical infrastructure and performance is equal to that in more urban settings. Special thanks to Sen. Baldwin (see www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/us-senator-tammy-baldwinleads-bipartisan-support-for-rural-hospitals) for standing up for rural health care! Steve Brenton, President Mark Your 2015 Calendar for the Wisconsin Rural Health Conference Glacier Canyon Lodge at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells *** June 17-19, 2015 More information will be available in spring 2015 at www.wha.org. The Valued Voice -- Page 3 -- 11/21/14 Quality Residency Hits the Mark The quality residency program formed by Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) and the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) is a big success with new quality managers. The program is designed to engage new and novice hospital quality improvement directors in a two-year track of education, leadership training and networking. The program was enhanced in September to accommodate additional residents and allow veteran residents to attend individual program sessions. Quality Residency Program participants Thirty-six residents recently completed the fourth session of their ten-session program. The modular format of the program is designed to allow new applicants to join at any time. Each session begins with a learning needs assessment and then content is designed to the needs of the current residents. Faculty for the program includes a combination of staff from WHA, RWHC and external quality experts. "The residency is a very rewarding experience for both the residents and instructors. The high level of resident participation and collaboration, and the value of customized curriculum has exceeded everyone's "Thank you for giving me the tools I expectations," said Kelly Court, WHA chief quality officer. needed. Your classes have helped me tremendously in my new job role." - Jerene Managan,RN, Riverside Medical Center Jerene Managan, RN, case management coordinator at Riverside Medical Center who participated in the program, said, "Thank you for giving me the tools I needed. Your classes have helped me tremendously in my new job role." The WHA Foundation and Wisconsin Office of Rural Health are helping fund the program to keep it affordable for participants. Contact Kelly Court at [email protected] or Beth Dibbert at [email protected] for an application package and additional information. Continued from page 2 . . . Common and Complex ICD-10-PCS Coding Scenarios Focus of WHA Webinars On December 9, Kuehn will focus on teaching participants to improve critical thinking skills by tackling more complex ICD-10-PCS cases. Kuehn will provide tips on how to differentiate between root operations groups and similar individual root operations. Intended as the capstone for the webinar series, this session will assist attendees in making decisions to code 10 common but more complex ICD-10-PCS cases. Full information on both sessions and online registration are available at: http://events.SignUp4.net/14WICD-10-PCSSeries. Encourage your team to gather for this webinar series and learn together through one, low-cost registration. The Valued Voice -- Page 4 -- 11/21/14 Continued from page 1 . . . Guest Column: Team-Based Care in Wisconsin: Moving it Forward Teams range from population-targeted teams such as those that target the unmet needs of veterans in rural Wisconsin, to specific clinical processes such as coordinated coagulation therapy. There is great diversity in how the team-based approach is applied. In addition, there is a desire to connect with others interested in team-based care. Future meetings could be structured around this idea. Finally, there is an increasing body of knowledge suggesting that team-based care is a critical element of success in the quality and effectiveness in care delivery. This knowledge needs to be widely disseminated. Q. Why are teams formed? A. The most often-mentioned reasons for creating teams were to improve quality of care and patient safety while making better use of resources; in other words, enhancing the value of care being provided to patients. Team-based care also has benefits to those providing the care. It enhances professional satisfaction and minimizes burnout. It provides a more even sharing of workload, and it builds cohesion across work groups. Q. What are the key ingredients needed for teams to be successful? A. A shared vision of the mission, roles and responsibilities is critical to the team's success. In addition, organizational support and leadership are necessary for teams to have staying power. Leadership is demonstrated by a clear indication of caring; a willingness to listen in a non-defensive way and seek input by encouraging team members to speak up about issues that concern them and take action on those concerns; a facilitation of communication and teamwork; and, by enhancing information sharing. The right skill sets, attitudes and knowledge base are also keys to success. Skills mean how to do a certain task, attitudes are represented when individual team members know why a task is important and they are willing to carry it out, and knowledge is understanding what to do in the appropriate circumstance. Finally, team members display characteristics such as adaptability, situational awareness, good interpersonal relationships, coordination and communication, and good decision-making. These skills and characteristics can be built through training and experience. Q. What are the barriers to team-based care? A. Organizational culture, while a key ingredient for success, can also be a barrier if the culture does not provide the leadership, empowerment and encouragement of self-learning and autonomy necessary for teams to thrive. Limited time and resources were also repeatedly mentioned as barriers, as well as the regulatory and payment environment. Q. How do we as a state move team-based care forward? A. The next step will be to continue sharing best practices in team-based patient care. WCMEW is helping to create the educational resources and networking opportunities that will be helpful to hospitals and health systems as they implement new models of care. The WCMEW workgroup will continue to analyze data on team-based care outcomes, including quality measures, the cost of care and patient and team-member satisfaction, and make the information available. Finally, WCMEW will follow this first conference with others that will involve more networking and sharing of best practices, showcasing innovative models and skill building in areas such as coaching and mentorship. The Valued Voice -- Page 5 -- 11/21/14 Continued from page 1 . . . Sen. Vukmir Tours Milwaukee Safety Net Hospitals "Despite these financial constraints, we remain committed to helping our patients access high-quality and cost-efficient care through medical homes and many unfunded case management and supportive services. We look forward to working with our legislative leadership next session to find ways to further improve the health of our patients while increasing efficiencies within government health programs that support this population," said Glocka. During her time at Aurora Sinai, Vukmir was able to see and understand the passion and commitment by the hospital, Dawn Porter, interim NICU manager and Sen. Vukmir physicians and nurses for treating the often complex needs discuss the highly-specialized care provided at Aurora of their economically-disadvantaged patients. She was Sinai's neonatal intensive care unit able to hear from several veteran OB nurses about their pride in being able to successfully provided care to an opiate-addicted newborn. It was later relayed to the Senator that the cost of that care was over $400,000, for which Medicaid reimbursed the hospital $40,000. Vukmir was also able to learn about the mental health care-related problems in the Milwaukee area. In fact, she was told there were three behavioral health patients with posted security each waiting for a bed to open or for the arrival of the Milwaukee County crisis team. While visiting Wheaton Franciscan St. Joseph campus, Vukmir heard similar examples of the role the hospital played in their community. In order to address the medical and even socio-economic needs of their patients, the hospital has taken a comprehensive, multifaceted approach. This approach includes case managers, social workers and a primary care clinic at the hospital among other strategies. All of this work has led to what is known as a 52 percent "stick rate," which is the rate that individuals without a primary care doctor then establish one and receive follow-up care there. Deb Standridge, right, and several emergency room physicians discuss with Sen. Vukmir, second from right, the complex issues surrounding ER usage, lack of medical homes and Medicaid reimbursement. Deb Standridge, Wheaton's North Market CEO, had this to say about this complex problem: Dr. Nena Stanley, left, discusses the medical home/primary care clinic established at Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph campus with Sen. Vukmir. Regarding her passion to help, Stanley said, "I am at the right place. I am making a difference here." "Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph has the busiest single hospital emergency department in Wisconsin, on track to experience a record 90,000 patient visits this year. We attribute the increase in part to newly-insured childless adults now eligible for Medicaid. Because an estimated 50 percent of our emergency department visits could take place in a primary care setting at a lower cost with better continuity of care, we work hard to link patients to a medical home in the community or on our St. Joseph campus." The overarching goal at both Aurora Sinai and Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph is to help patients access the appropriate level of health care and better manage chronic conditions, avoiding emergency visits and hospitalizations. The biggest challenge is that current Medicaid reimbursement doesn't cover the full cost of delivering the care, or the cost of additional case management support. That shortfall on every single Medicaid patient combined with the increase in volumes is unsustainable in the long term. The Valued Voice -- Page 6 -- 11/21/14 Continued from page 1 . . . U.S. Senator Baldwin Leads Bipartisan Letter Urging President Not to Cut Rural Hospital Funding said. "Critical access hospitals play a vital role providing access to medical services, as well as economic security and jobs to rural communities. That is why I am leading a bipartisan effort to stand up for rural hospitals, their patients, and the local economies they help support." The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) and Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) both expressed appreciation to Sen. Baldwin for her efforts and her long-standing commitment to Wisconsin's rural hospitals. "The Wisconsin Hospital Association greatly appreciates Sen. Baldwin's efforts on behalf of rural Wisconsin hospitals," said WHA President Steve Brenton. "Rural and critical access hospitals provide essential access to care across much of our state and the nation. We are grateful for those in Congress who continue to stand up for our rural providers against ill-advised policy proposals." "Rural Wisconsin hospitals are very appreciative of the senators for their efforts in opposing unnecessary and arbitrary efforts by the Administration that would jeopardize rural access to critical health services," said Tim Size, RWHC executive director. "Wisconsin has a number of critical access hospitals that would likely be affected by the Administration's plans. These hospitals are critical in the services they provide to their communities and deserve our country's support." The Green Bay Press Gazette editorialized on the joint Senate letter, expressing strong support for the role rural hospitals play in their communities. "We agree with the senators' sentiment because we believe these rural hospitals play an important role in their communities, both medically and economically. If this sounds familiar, it's because it is. Just over a year ago we urged Congress to defeat a similar proposal…Each [hospital] faces challenges in accessibility, lack of health care providers, and a growing number of underinsured residents, according to the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health…We're all for saving money in Medicare, but not at the expense of health care for those who live outside of urban areas." Read the signed Senate letter: www.baldwin.senate.gov/download/?id=6c1ca798-ab56-44ae-aed2c6494b912d9e&download=1 Read Sen. Baldwin's press release: www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/us-senator-tammy-baldwinleads-bipartisan-support-for-rural-hospitals Read the Green Bay Press Gazette editorial: www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/opinion/ editorials/2014/11/19/reduce-funding-rural-hospitals/19299247/ The Valued Voice -- Page 7 -- 11/21/14
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Once we were able to take Walter home from the hospital we were instructed to show up at Children's Medical Center of Dallas at 8:00 the following morning. There we met a few of the doctors that would be taking part in Walter's care. We became part of the "Vascular Abnormality Clinic" which consists of doctors from both Children's and Scottish Rite Hospital who work on cases together to determine the best route of maintenance and care. Since his condition will never go away it becomes a situation where we work together to maintain the pain associated with it. The doctor we spent the most face time with, Dr. Burns, actually lives only a few blocks away and went to the same high school and my husband and me. Small world. Once I get back to my house from the hospital I will upload pictures of what his leg looked like. Ha! I have no idea when that will be!
So we began to settle into the idea that he had this congenital condition and the shock began to wear off and we were able to settle into our own skin a little bit. Not for long, though. He came down with what I thought was a nasty cold when he was 7 weeks old. I took him to the pediatricican who told me very calmly, "I would like you to take him to Children's hospital. Do not go home and get anything, just go there. I don't want to scare you, but I want you to go quickly". What? What in the world?
So off we went, back to Children's, and of course this time I knew the way. We were immediately taken into the ER by wonderful doctors and nurses. They quickly determined Walter had a pretty severe case of RSV. I had heard horror stories about RSV, mainly from my sister, whose twins caught the virus when they were 4 months old. We were quickly checked into a room, which I learned during my stay there was nothing short of a miracle because of the numbers of children affected with RSV. It was absolutely terrible to watch my baby once again hooked up to all kinds of machines to help him breathe. Once again I questioned how we had ended up there, why my sweet baby was once again begin poked and prodded by doctors. We were there for seven days before we were released under strict orders to try our best to keep Walter inside the house as much as possible.
While I was in the hospital I made a video of Walter with my cell phone. It shows what a RSV coughing fit looks like. I took this video to show to my friends with newborns because I had no idea what I was seeing when he began his coughing. Had I known what to look for, maybe we could have caught the RSV earlier? Again, once I am home from the hospital I will upload the video.
Weekly miscellany...
21 hours ago


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Brave Frontier gets a Shin Megami Tensei IV crossover
gumi, Inc. love themselves a good crossover, and they're at it again with their popular (30 million downloads) iOS RPG Brave Frontier. This time around, players will be crossing paths with characters from Atlus's Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, which is coming to Nintendo 3DS on September 20th.
Through October 5th, 2016, collaboration exclusive Vortex dungeons will be opened to provide players the chance to recruit Lucifer, Merkabah, and Krishna from SMT4:A to their party. The collaboration will continue as a special Grand Quest is opened, giving players the chance to acquire Asahi, Nozomi and Flynn by completing objectives.
It doesn't even in there. A special Facebook Share Milestone event will be run during the crossover period in which Brave Frontier players can work together to unlock Dagda and other milestone rewards!
Although the crossover originally struck me as coming from left field, it does make sense. Both games are popular and highly respected on their respective platforms, and there are surely many RPG fans who play both titles on their iPhone/Android and Nintendo devices.
Indeed, I've got my copy of Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse preordered, and I consider the original Shin Megami Tensei IV one of the best RPGs I've played on the 3DS.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Shin Megami Tensei is a story-driven, turn-based RPG that sees you fighting, recruiting and fusing demons to build your custom army. The combat mechanics and collectable nature (there are over 450 demons in SMT4:A) would actually make for a great game on iOS, so perhaps Atlus is using this as a testing ground for mobile development.
As for Brave Frontier (which has over 400 heroes/beasts of its own), the App Store describes it thus:
Hundreds Of Heroes. Millions Of Players. Be A Legend Now!
Explore the land of Grand Gaia and save it from the evil hordes of the corrupted god Maxwell in this epic mobile role-playing game. As powerful summoners, you have the ability to conjure powerful demigods, brave warriors and majestic beasts to fight for you!
Brave Frontier is available now for free in the iTunes App Store, but with over 100 missions and a PvP arena, you know there'll be plenty of chances to spend actual money.


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By the time women are allowed to be ministers
People stop believing in God.
So many influential
Women in my life were not feminists.
My mother lived alone for many years without a man
Which I can't help but see
As a sign of strength
Yet fiercely believed that man was the head
Of the household and women should submit.
She once told me that my younger brother
Had authority over me because he is a man.
Mom made us go to church —
What was that poem by Alice Walker
About women whose hands were strong
And who had clean words to say
And dragged her off to church?
She only had eyes for the Bible.
Mom tried to get her Papa to stop drinking
When she was a kid.
He told her if she didn't stop being so religious
She'd end up in the mental hospital like his mother,
Her grandmother, who was in an institution for 20 years.
That was back when they could lock you up for good.
Ironically Papa's unkind prediction came true.
My mother said in therapy that she wanted to talk about gender roles.
The therapist tried to redirect her to talk about her case manager
Whose appointment she'd missed.
Mom just said the caseworker was a good friend.
I'm going on about my anger at anyone who says women can't be ministers
Speculating that in that case I have a calling
Thinking in 5 or 10 years I can see myself as a Unitarian minister.
I called God She to my stepfather once
And he said, "That's a deception of the Devil!"
I reject this.
I reject my mother's gospel of non feminism.
I reject her gathering up the wretched of the earth,
The rejected of our small town
Into her arms and her red car and carting them off to church.
I reject the husband who would beat his mentally retarded wife
Leave her doubled up on the kitchen floor
Then pose beside her in the church directory.
I reject this.
I reject submitting to your husband.
I reject the man as head of the household,
Even if this means I will live in my own solitary household
With no man to call my own.
She says she's praying for me to meet a Godly man
And I think of dear closely held Southern archetypes
Like the Gentleman Caller who I'd sip ice tea with
On a cool summer evening
In a veranda wearing a white lace dress surrounded by jonquils
And A Good Man is Hard to Find
Who Flannery O'Connor writes about as a serial killer.
But that's not what she means. She wants a man–
And it must be a man–
To pray and read the Bible with me
And go to church and raise a family,
Like she wrote on a wipe-board magnet on her refrigerator:
My future spouse and children.
c. Arlaina Ash 2014


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'Thor: The Dark World': world premiere greeted with thundering applause
Leicester Square was in an unholy uproar last night as those mighty gods of the Marvel film universe, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), joined up to do battle with the infernal forces of fandom. Shrieking, weeping and wildly brandishing their autograph books, the young crowd went completely wild at the sight of these two intergalactic stars, there to promote the global release of comic-book sequel 'Thor: The Dark World'. Hiddleston in particular has become a firm favourite, and the scream that greeted his arrival could've deafened an elephant. Also on hand – though slightly less mania-inducing – were the film's co-stars Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Christopher Eccleston and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgaard, who delivered the quote of night when interviewer Alex Zane asked him how he felt about seeing his traditional mythology up on the big screen: 'There aren't Norse myths. They're American myths'. Well whatever their provenance, these are hugely popular and highly entertaining myths. The film itself was exactly the kind of witty, action-stuffed big-budget bonanza we were expecting.
You can read our review of 'Thor: The Dark World' and keep an eye on the Time Out website for all the Marvel news – including early word on 'The Avengers 2' – as soon as it comes in.


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Legal Status
Document Details
Published Document
I. Introduction and Background
On October 19, 1999, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. ("NASD"), through its wholly owned subsidiary the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. ("Nasdaq"), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") a proposed rule change pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Act") [1] and Rule 19b-4 thereunder.[2] The proposed rule change modifies the procedures employed by the NASD in assessing fees against issuers listing additional shares on either the Nasdaq National Market ("NNM") or Nasdaq SmallCap Market ("NSCM").
Notice of the proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register on December 16, 1999.[3] The Commission received no comments on the proposal.
II. Description of the Proposal
The Commission recently approved a rule change filed by the NASD to modify the fee rate structures and notification requirements applicable to issuers listing additional shares on the NNM and NSCM.[4] The rule change harmonizes the fee structures applicable to issuers of additional shares of NNM and NSCM securities, and allows issuers to file notifications of several issuances on a single form.
To further simplify the administration of the Listing of Additional Shares ("LAS") Program, the NASD is modifying notification procedures applicable to issuers of additional shares, and Nasdaq's monitoring and assessment of fees on the listing of such additional shares.
Nasdaq staff employ the LAS Program to monitor compliance by issuers with Nasdaq listing rules governing shareholder approval, public interest concerns, reverse mergers, and voting rights. Since 1992, all Nasdaq issuers have been required to file a notification form upon the creation of a stock option, employee stock purchase, or other stock remuneration plan, or upon the issuance of additional shares of any class of securities included in Nasdaq.[5]
The NASD believes that the current LAS Program is difficult and unduly time-consuming to administer. Specifically, the NASD believes that, under the current LAS Program, it is difficult for an issuer to calculate the number of shares to be reported for LAS purposes: an issuer must track the number of shares approved by Nasdaq according to current LAS criteria (a number not otherwise monitored by issuers and which has often proved difficult for Nasdaq staff and issuers to reconcile) instead of the total number of shares outstanding reported in periodic reports required to be filed with the Commission. Furthermore, the timing of the notifications required by the current LAS Program varies depending on the nature of the action undertaken by an issuer and, as a result, has proved confusing to issuers and their counsel. This in turn has led to delays in filing or failures to comply with LAS Program notification and fee requirements.
To remedy these deficiencies, the NASD proposal makes the following changes to the current LAS Program:
1. In order to address the problem of monitoring the number of fee-assessable shares, the billing aspect of the LAS Program will be separated from required compliance reviews. Issuers will be billed each quarter for any increase in their total shares outstanding ("TSO") as reported in publicly available periodic reports required to be filed with the Commission.[6] This modification will ensure that the LAS Program is administered based on a publicly disclosed TSO number rather than on the number of approved shares currently calculated by Nasdaq according to existing LAS criteria. This modification will thereby eliminate the current procedure of establishing a baseline number of shares upon an issuer's initial listing as well as the resultant confusion surrounding when transactions resulting in new shares being issued must be reported to Nasdaq. This modification will also permit Nasdaq staff to rely on the publicly reported TSO when performing reconciliations.
2. To address the uncertainty which has surrounded issuers' LAS notification requirements, the process of reporting to Nasdaq will be streamlined by confining issuers' notification requirements to those transactions implicated by the Nasdaq's corporate governance compliance requirements.[7] Consequently, notification will not be required, unless:
(a) a stock option plan, purchase plan or other arrangement is established without shareholder approval; or
(b) the issuer enters into a transaction that may result in a change of control; or
(c) the issuer issues common stock or a security convertible into common stock in connection with the acquisition of the stock or assets of another company, if any officer or director or substantial shareholder of the issuer has an interest of 5% or more (or if a group of such persons collectively holds an interest of 10% or more) in the company to be acquired or in the consideration to be paid; or
(d) the issuer enters into a transaction that may result in the potential issuance of common stock (or securities convertible into common stock) representing more than 10% of either the total shares outstanding or voting power outstanding on a pre-transaction basis.
Under the proposed rule change, all LAS notifications will be required to be filed 15 calendar days prior to issuance (except for stock splits and dividends Start Printed Page 4458which are required to be filed 10 calendar days prior to the record date pursuant to Rule 10b-17 under the Act [8] ). This requirement eliminates the numerous timing requirements under the current LAS Program and enables Nasdaq staff to consider the most current information when evaluating such transactions.
The NASD believes that these changes will improve Nasdaq's administration of the LAS Program by focusing on the TSO reported publicly in periodic reports required to be filed with the Commission instead of relying on a calculated number of approved shares. In addition, the NASD believes that the changes will streamline the filing requirements imposed on issuers by reducing the filing burden to the extent that no filings will be required for issuances that do not raise corporate governance concerns, while simultaneously streamlining the notification filing time frame. Finally, the NASD believes that the changes will allow Nasdaq staff to focus on larger and more complex transactions in its review of issuers' compliance with corporate governance rules and other continued listing standards by eliminating the requirement that issuers file information about issuances that do not raise corporate governance concerns.
III. Discussion
The Commission finds that the proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to the NASD. Specifically, the Commission finds that the rule change is consistent with the provisions of Sections 15A(b)(5) and (6) of the Act.[9] Section 15A(b)(5) requires that the rules of the NASD provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among members, issuers and other persons using any facility or system which the NASD operates or controls. Section 15A(b)(6) requires in pertinent part that the rules of the NASD be designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade and not to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers or dealers. The Commission believes that the amended rules, which affect the notification and billing processes associated with the LAS Program, are consistent with the Act because they are designed to simplify the procedures applicable to Nasdaq issuers listing additional shares on the NNM and NSCM, as well as those of Nasdaq staff monitoring such issuers. This in turn will increase the issuers' levels of compliance and the staff's surveillance effectiveness.
IV. Conclusion
The Commission finds that the rule change is consistent with the Act, in general, and in particular with Sections 15A(b)(5) and (6) of the Act.
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,[10] that the proposed rule change (SR-NASD 99-61) be, and hereby is, approved.[11]
For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated authority.[12]Start Signature
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
1. 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).Back to Citation
2. 17 CFR 240.19b-4.Back to Citation
3. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 42214 (Dec. 9, 1999), 64 FR 70309.Back to Citation
4. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 42300 (Dec. 30, 1999), 65 FR 1210 (Jan. 7, 2000) (SR-NASD-99-40).Back to Citation
5. See NASD Rules 4310(c)(17) and 4320(e)(15). The Commission granted permanent approval to the LAS Program in 1993. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 31859 (February 16, 1993), 58 FR 9584 (Feb. 22, 1993) (SR-NASD-92-27).Back to Citation
6. Billing for all issuers will be conducted on a calendar year basis and LAS fees will then be assessed on any increase in the TSO number set forth in an issuer's most recent periodic report filed with the Commission pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Telephone conversation between Arnold Golub, Senior Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, Nasdaq, and Matthew Boesch, Paralegal, Division of Market Regulation, Commission, on December 6, 1999.Back to Citation
7. See NASD Rules 4310(c)(25) and 4320(e)(21).Back to Citation
8. 17 CFR 240.10b-17.Back to Citation
9. 15 U.S.C. 780-3(b)(5) and (6).Back to Citation
10. 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).Back to Citation
11. In approving the proposal, the Commission has considered the rule's impact on efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).Back to Citation
12. 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).Back to Citation
[FR Doc. 00-1970 Filed 1-26-00; 8:45 am]


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When Alexander Hamilton and James Madison saw how the Electoral College was developing, they were so upset they attempted to craft a constitutional amendment to stop it. The two "Founding Fathers" of the United States were two of the primary architects of the body that actually casts the votes to elect the president. Even they, back in 1804, had strong feelings for and against the US system for electing one of the most powerful people in the world.
The Wikipedia article on the Electoral College has been viewed 1.3 million times in the past 30 days. Sixty-two authors have made 5,482 edits to the article, which cites 157 references, from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to contemporary statistics guru Nate Silver. If you want to understand how and why red and blue maps of the United States are everywhere on Tuesday, November 8, this article has the whole history, ad-free.
You can also check out the United States presidential election of 2016 article, with newspaper endorsements, fundraising totals and other information. Looking at all the US races, the United States elections, 2016 article boasts a massive table with each state's party vote for president, governor, US Senate and House. It's like the red-and-blue United States map, but more complicated, and informative. And there are separate pages for US House races and US Senate races, and articles on individual candidates, from North Carolina Rep. Alma Adams to Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke.
But let's say you don't care about the United States, or that you don't care about just the United States. The article List of elections in 2016 links to articles on political races in more than 60 nations and the article List of next general elections lists upcoming national elections. Editors in Brazil are working to combat peoples' lack of political memory by providing easy-to-read and good-quality election information.
If you're tired of all the people in politics, the article Non-human electoral candidates might give you a lift. Consider: in 1967, an Ecuadorian foot powder company advertised its product, Pulvapies, as a mayoral candidate. The foot powder won by a clear majority.
The Politics portal is also a gateway to all kinds of articles and categories on the subject, including Wikiquote article on famous political quotes. For example:
"Politics is the art of the possible." – Otto von Bismarck
"Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable." – John Kenneth Galbraith
And Wikimedia Commons has all kinds of political media, like the oldest political cartoon from 1510, a flag map of the world and women's right to vote poster from 1915 in the United States.
Whatever your political needs, Wikipedians are putting a wealth of neutral, ad-free information at your fingertips on the US election night and beyond.
Jeff Elder, Digital Communications Manager
Wikimedia Foundation
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text:
General News of Wednesday, 2 August 2017
Source: Myjoyonline.com
There is an "amazing earthquake happening quietly" at the Auditor-General's Department, anti-corruption campaigner, Ace Ankomah was thrilled to say on the Super Morning Show Tuesday.
Some Ghanaians indicted for pocketing public funds are coughing up their loot since the department laced its boot to ask for the taxpayers' money back.
"I will leak some [info] to you" Ace Ankomah was too gleefully obliged to share hot gossip with host, Kojo Yankson.
"The A-G said he surcharged somebody and got a phone call from another person. The 'somebody' who had spent our money had gone to the people [he shared the money with] to say 'massa contribution time'.
The host and his guest laughed over the story of a panicking pilfering public officer.
The A-G's department almost never demands money back. It writes about stolen and misappropriated monies in its annual reports, talks about stolen monies, complains about stolen monies but – no it doesn't demand the money back.
It can by law, it should by its professional ethics, but it doesn't due to some self-imposed inertia – for years.
And so, a department designed to be a General in Ghana's army of anti-corruption institutions, is barely a lieutenant on the losing side of the war against graft.
Thanks to OccupyGhana, a civil society group campaigning for the conscionable use of public funds, the Auditor-General, a once de-motivated army general playing corporal, is responding to duty.
The giant is waking up. Five Supreme Court judges grabbed the department by the scruff of the neck to read the law which Mr Ankomah summarrised as "if you play the fool with our money, we will play the foul with you". It means no one can misappropriate public funds and go scot-free.
Ace Ankomah and hordes of lawyers and activists fetched gallons of water-tight arguments to splash on the face of the A-G while the judges barked 'sit up and step up' at the state auditor.
Things have not been the same since that June 14 judgement.
A new Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo was appointed in January and has fully embraced a responsibility apparently shirked since January 1993.
So for 25years, absconding with state money is a low-risk activity with high-end 'rewards'. Much much safer than 'galamsey'
"If there is any legacy to leave behind at the end of my tenure of office, it will be to activate the A-G's power of surcharge and disallowance to protect public purse", he told his staff at a welcome-from-Zambia durbar.
Ace Ankomah said Mr Domelevo called him up for a meeting to discuss Occupy Ghana's suit against the A-G demanding the state to wake up and smell the coffee.
"I went to the meeting prepared to have a fight because we have been having this fight for a long time"
"I said my brother, have a seat. Then he asked me 'why are we in court when we are on the same side?'. That completely disarmed me," Ace Ankomah said.
Mr. Ankomah, another type of citizen vigilante, moved into the uncharted territory of praising a senior public servant.
"He took the law that we haven't been implementing for 25 years. He took the same law to Zambia. Zambia passed it and has been implementing it. Ghana needed a CSO to spend hundreds of thousands of cedis to go to the Supreme Court for the Auditor-General to implement it"
"In fact, Ghanaians should thank Mahama for bringing in this man to Ghana", Ace moved into even rarer realms of praise for the most unlikely.
Wednesday afternoon, Mr Daniel Domelovo is set to release the first fruits of a feisty chase down of a cache of cash held hostage by 'greedy bastards'.
Ace Ankomah's delight was self-evident. Altruism pays – with a smile of satisfaction widens over the face.
It has been a wearisome fight. They have been called bloody names. The forces for the public good can now rest…….but not yet.
The Auditor-General's Department may have gotten its bark back but it is a top dog on the government's leash.The department, while guaranteed independence by the Constitution, is not backed by financial independence.
The department needs government to get even a printer. The government pays staff salaries and unseen political influence can determine promotions and perks. The service presents its budget to the government for justification.
"And their budget is never met."
Ace Ankomah's "crystalising" view is that Ghana's two A-Gs – Auditor-General and Attorney-General must work like a commercial service provider. They must do all government jobs at a fee like a lawyer-client relationship.
"If we make them financially independent, they can recruit top-level. A-G needs to hire accountants, auditors, lawyers. We need them to be absolutely independent"
He said a simple request for router, printer, scanner, goes through a requisition process that can be bureaucratically unnerving.
"When you put people through all of these things, they sort of sit back. So even when they are asked to fill the forms, they don't fill it.
"Now if any of my associates needs these things and it is justified to me, it is a matter of an hour it will be delivered because [my firm] has financial independence.
"If the tools they need to work [with] depends on a government which does not want them to do the work, then the work does not get done.
"A constitutionally guaranteed independence is nothing if they are not given real financial independence", Ace Ankomah in the Joy FM studio. managed to throw in his own small version of Kwame Nkrumah's Old Polo grounds speech delivered on the eve of the country's independence.


text:
You see, I've been told by quite a few people that it's better to read the books in this order: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, and then Clockwork Angel, and next City of Fallen of Angels. So in other words, in the order they are released in. I don't know for sure, if Cassandra Clare meant for that to be the way, but in the end it makes sense, because a little birdy told me that in City of Fallen Angels information and people are introduced that had to do with Clockwork Angel.
So anyway, it's official...I'm HOOKED! I'm in a Cassandra Clare craze! I know now, that I will be unable to wait for Clockwork Prince and City of Lost Souls to be released in paperback, I am so hooked now, that I NEED THEM NOW!!!!! Okay, so I should probably first read and buy City of Fallen Angels, before I even think about reading City of Lost Souls :).
So anyway, as you've probably already guessed I LOVED LOVED LOVED (!!!!!) Clockwork Angel! What did I love about it?
Well, let's see, let me think about that...
How about EVERYTHING!!!!!
I loved every moment of this book! I loved the writing, the story, characters, the details (oh, the details!!). It was so beautiful! I felt like I was there every moment, it was magical!
Clockwork Angel is the beginning of the Infernal Devices, which take place in the 1800s. It's the story of Tessa, and her getting acquainted to a world she did not know existed. She meets the Shadowhunters that dwell in the Institute in London, England. Charlotte, the young, yet matured leader in the "family", who is married to the inventive Henry, whose inventions never seem to work out right, but has a kind heart none the less, and a fighting spirit like the rest of them. Then there's the selfish, materialistic Jessamine, who doesn't anything to do with the Shadowhunter world, and is looking for any escape out. Jem, the kind hearted, quiet member who is the only one that seems to understand the troubled, yet somehow you know caring, Will, who is yet, still underage, but ready to fight for his kind to protect and serve as needed.
Tessa comes to London, from New York, after receiving a letter from her brother, sending her ticket to travel to London, and be with him, after their Aunt dies unexpectedly. Upon arrival, Tessa is greeted by Evil. She finds out she's not who she thought she was, and must learn to live with that.
When Tessa arrives at the Institute, she can't help but feel intrigued by Will, who doesn't seem to care about anything, and is very cold, but at the same time, she can't help but feel there is more to him. What's he hiding?
After reading Clockwork Angel I can already tell that a love triangle is most likely in the near future for Will, Tessa, and Jem. In this first book in the series, mainly only Will and Tessa's relationship is spoken about, but the reader definitely can tell that something is going through Jem's head as well. So I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens in Clockwork Prince, but hopefully, that will be VERY soon! :)
Overall Rating:
Enjoy your week, and honestly if you haven't gotten a chance to read any books by Cassandra Clare, go and pick up a copy of either City of Bones or Clockwork Angel, believe me, you won't be disappointed!
The Romance Bookie :)


text:
Just to let you know, this is for peer leadership.
When I look in a mirror I see someone interested in change. Interested in changing the world around her and aware that her world is already changing. Highschool was a change for sure and I'm sure my path will be littered with many more. But I'm learning to take it in my stride, accept whatever change blows my way and maybe do a little changing of my own….


text:
Middle and Ring together
The tendency of characters to keep their middle and ring fingers together
- In promotional artwork for Megaman 10, Sheep Man,◊ Chill Man,◊ and Strike Man◊ pose like this.
Hello, Unknown Troper. You'll need to get known to lend a hand here.
Community Feedback Replies: 20
People Sit On Chairs, unless the gesture means something....
Even I'm calling chairs on this.
People Sit On Chairs. This means absolutely nothing.
This might be a thing. You always see anime characters doing it, and always while holding their hand out like that. I have no idea what it means, but I think it means something.
^ that's the point of People Sit On Chairs, stuff that you see all the time but doesn't covey any meaning, in other words Not A Trope. The thing is... You might also be right , this might be something but the only thing we got to work with here is one example, that's it, without a description how can we understand what he's trying to do here and even if we did get it how would this fall outside of something like Hand Signals or some other related trope?
I think this is just what happens when a cartoonist used to drawing four-fingered hands draws them with five.
Ooh! Does the Vulcan "live long and prosper" gesture count?
^Nope, because the proper gesture has the split between the middle and ring fingers.
^^^In Disney comics they manage to do it with four fingers. I say Lazy Artist.
It's an artist "cheat" -- treating the two middlemost fingers as one unit saves some effort and, combined with a lifted/arched pointer and/or pinky gives a delicate look. It's also a more natural look than pointer and middle or ring and pinky together.
^ Well if it's a artistic shortcut we might have something here that's not People Sit On Chairs.
Possibly related fact: the tendons in your middle and ring fingers are connected. Whenever you move one of them, the other moves, even slightly.
^ What he said. And chairs.
Perhaps we could expand this to other animation saving things with hands. This would also be a Sub Trope of Lazy Artist.
I think it's at least worth a mention on Four Fingered Hands.
^^^ connected tendons making the movements of these two fingers affect each other does not make them stick together like they do in this shortcut. No chairs.
And your point is?
So... animators sometimes use shortcuts? This is chairs so hard it hurts.
^ Agreed. A mention on Four Fingeredhands is all that's needed.


text:
Allow me to tell a story now. It's just past 11pm. We have my sisters and my nieces here as usual, plus the people and pets that come with them, who have joined us for the holiday weekend. I am in bed, thinking about the day and how much homework I have to do in the morning. I can hear my sisters singing at the campfire. They range in their song choices from sweet to sacreligious, but I can hear them, I can make out their individual voices like they are my own. I can see the glow of the campfire, and smell the comforting smoke. I taste tears in the back of my throat, and I remember.
The year 2000, I moved back to the Twin Cities from my failed experiment called "college", with no direction and no hope. I fell into despair. I was enticed to go to a spiritual retreat and participate in "The Sacred Hunt", for lack of a better description, this is an intense ritual/ceremonial/physical experience where fasting and physical activity are engaged in order to seek the divine. I planned from January to participate in this event in August of that year. The week of the event, I fasted, I prayed, I went to the sweatlodge, I cried, I anguished, I thought about driving home. And then it was time to hunt. The elder who gives the blessing before the hunters go to the woods for their travail, grasped my shoulders and said, "Do this for your Sisters."
I know that she did not just mean those heathens outside with the angelic voices, she meant all women. You see I've been a big sister for a long time, and I'm good at it. This is what I bring. Some women are good wives, good mothers, good daughters, I am not; I am a Sister.
The trappings of these elaborate type of ceremonies no longer hold an appeal for me. They have been hijacked by people who don't care much or want to have understanding and knowledge about them. The elder who looked into my eyes and spoke the words of the Divine to me, is actually a drug addict, still revered in some similar groups, but essentially pitiful. But the truth of my Sacred Hunt remains.
My sisters singing to the dark night, by a cozy fire, living in harmony and always with me, is my secret dream. Serving and sacrificing for my world of Sisters is my life's work and calling.


text:
I told her we at least needed to go have some summer fun in ID first, then we'd talk when we got back home. Well, we've been home for less than a week and Ri is already bored. And she is really missing her friends from school. So, today we decided we'd head to Sumner for a little fun at the park and some errand running. Didn't get to do any junking, but Ri was a good sport for the rest. And her first plant this month was a double impatient, so she was happy that it was something pretty.
We tried a new place for breakfast, The Berryland Cafe. It was your typical Mom and Pop greasy spoon breakfast joint. We opted just for a couple cinnamon rolls.
Couldn't believe with those and a cup of coffee and hot chocolate that we'd got out of there for $6. Not the healthiest breakfast we've ever had out , but certainly the cheapest! :o)
We drove past the in home of interest (see post from Friday) to check it out a little more. For some reason i am not too sold on it, but Hubbie is. I discovered that if we were to move there, then the next time i'm pregnant i'd just have to walk down the street about a mile and a half to the East to admit myself into the nearest hospital (uuuhhhh, not sure about living that close to a hospital, but we'll save that for another post.)
We headed to our couple other errands up in Federal Way (cause running errands here isn't truely running errands until you've driven through or visited at least 4 other cities) and decided that since Hubbie is working late tonight, Ri and i are going to have a tea for dinner while we watch Cars, Mary Poppins, or Enchanted. So we visited some great bakeries and got some items for that. Then Ri decided she wanted to visit Children's Bookstore, which is our local toystore/teaching supply store. It's our new home away from home. Driving there, Ri and i decided that we would start homeschooling now. She really wants to work on Math "at least a couple times a week" and i picked up some grammar workbooks too, because she's really been interested in playing Mad Libs. :o) And i couldn't resist these maps...factory laminated and perfect for that, "Mom, where's Gambia, et al?" question when we are listening to They Might Be Giants and their "Alphabet of Nations" song. :o)
I think we'll just use the world map for now as a little factiod generator/beginning Geography. The US map, i think we'll introduce with PE and Math. I think i'll make my own scale at first, and then we'll record how many miles (1 mi = 1") we can walk across the US. One thing that might be fun this school year too is to have Ri start learning the capitals. I think she's read for it. That girl is a sponge, i tell ya! And truth be told, just looking through these items gathered today, i'm getting a little excited to start, myself.


text:
ProtoType Gliders 2011
By Sbaits
- 231 views
- View Sbaits's images
Really don't like these. Well the bottom two are alright I guess. Mainly prototypes anyways they have so many holes in the bottom... but they work now kinda, just not as good as my thin glider. Next builds should be good.I think I put lead too far up on these which causes blow outs if you go fast, the slope on the perch head could be causing issues as well.
Never going to use a stencil for painting lines again, that's just wrong. Also like a black back better, if I did't fill in the tops heavy that may have worked. I was trying to match the perch green from my lake. Should fade the white belly up more.
Going for a red devil spoon theme (one of my favourite lures) figured if I could get a glider of it using this scale method... Maybe a bit of foiling next time fade in the red and overlay the white and fade out the white as it goes over the foil belly.
I feel could really produce if I could get the action the way I like it. This pattern also looked good when it was just black white and pearl.. simple but effective.


text:
Be warned: your favorite book may not appear here. One of my favorite books doesn't appear here (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). It's hilarious and I love it, but it's not great literature. There's a difference between my favorite and what I think is the best. Star Wars has long been my favorite film. Sunset Boulevard is the best.
That said, there are several books that I love (I'm going to mention Good Omens, His Dark Materials, The Hotel New Hampshire, The Stand, High Fidelity and The Straight Man) that just don't measure up. I will read them again and again, but they won't make the list. And the one book that everyone loves (To Kill a Mockingbird) just doesn't measure up as literature. And there are no pre-20th century books. There are no short story collections, no non-fiction books, no works of philosophy. And there are no books originally written in a foreign language (that will be an upcoming list). There are no 21st century books (that will also be an upcoming list). What there are, are the 25 best English language novels of the 20th Century.
25 – Humboldt's Gift (Saul Bellow) – Pulitzer Prize, last book he wrote before winning the Nobel Prize
"Humboldt wanted to drape the world in radiance, but he didn't have enough material." (p 107)
24 – Mother Night (Kurt Vonnegut)
" 'All people are insane,' he said. 'They will do anything at any time and God help anybody who looks for reasons.' " (p 90-91)
23 – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
" 'What's wrong?' I yelled. 'We can't stop here. This is bat country!" (p 18 )
22 – The World According to Garp (John Irving) – National Book Award
"In the world according to her father, Jenny Garp knew, we must have energy. Her famous grandmother, Jenny Fields, once thought of us as Externals, Vital Organs, Absentees and Goners. But in the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases." (last lines)
21 – Lord of the Flies (William Golding) – ML list #41
"The first rhythm that they became used to was the slow swing from dawn to quick dusk." (p 58 )
20 – As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner) – ML list #35
"My mother is a fish." (p 84)
19 – Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) – ML list #18
"People aren't supposed to look back. I'm certainly not going to do it anymore." (p 22)
18 – Native Son (Richard Wright) – ML list #20
"His eyes closed, slowly, and he was swallowed in darkness." (p 251)
17 – The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) – ML list #10 / Pulitzer Prize
" 'I'm just tryin' to get along without shovin' nobody around.' " (p 13)
16 – To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf) – ML list #15
"Then indeed peace had come. Messages of peace breathed from sea to shore." (p 142)
15 – The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) – ML list #64
"If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it. I'm sorry I told so many people about it. About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." (last lines)
note: If I were to list the books that have had the greatest influence on my life, I would have to list, in order, The Diary of a Young Girl, Walden, Winesburg Ohio and then Catcher in the Rye. I read it when I was 16. It's when everyone should read it.
14 – Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson) – ML list #24
"He was one of those rare, little understood men who rule by a power so gentle that it passes as a lovable weakness." (p 14)
13 – Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov) – ML list #4
"I am thinking of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets, the refuge of art. And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my Lolita." (last lines)
12 – The Ghost Writer (Philip Roth)
"As even the judge knew, literary history was in part the history of novelists infuriating fellow countrymen, family and friends." (p 110)
11 – 1984 (George Orwell) – ML list #13
"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." (opening line)
10 – The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald) – ML list #2
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." (last line)
9 – Beloved (Toni Morrison) – Pulitzer Prize
" 'It's gonna hurt, now,' said Amy. 'Anything coming back to life hurts.' " (p 35)
8 – The Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie)
"Gibreel Farishta floating on his cloud formed the opinion that the moral fuzziness of the English was meteorologically induced. 'When the day is not warmer than the night,' he reasons, 'when the light is not brighter than the dark, when the land is not drier than the sea, then clearly a people will lose the power to make distinctions, and commence to see everything – from political parties to sexual partners to religious beliefs – as much-the-same, nothing-to-choose, give-or-take. What folly! For truth is extreme, it is so and not thus, it is him and not her; a partisan matter, not a spectator sport. It is, in brief, heated. City,' he cried, and his voice rolled over the metropolis like thunder, 'I am going to tropicalize you.' " (p 365)
7 – Absalom Absalom (William Faulkner)
" 'Now I want you to tell me just one thing more. Why do you hate the south?'
'I dont hate it,' Quentin said, quickly, at once, immediately; 'I dont hate it,' he said. I dont hate it he thought, panting in the cold air, the iron New England dark: I dont. I dont! I dont hate it! I dont hate it!" (last lines)
6 – Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) – ML list #7
" 'I thought you didn't believe in God.'
'I don't,' she sobbed, bursting violently into tears. 'But the God I don't believe in is a good God, a just God, a merciful God. He's not the mean and stupid God you make him out to be." (p 178)
note: Joseph Heller, late in life, was famously told by a student that he had never written anything since that was the equal of Catch-22. He replied "who has?" Given that the remaining five novels all were written before 1961, I'm inclined to agree with him.
5 – A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce) – ML list #3
"Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo." (opening line)
4 – Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad) – ML list #67
"Perhaps all the wisdom, and all truth, and all sincerity, are just compressed into that inappreciable moment of time in which we step over the threshold of the invisible." (p 149)
3 – Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)
"With a gasp Frodo cast himself on the ground. Sam sat by him. To his surprise he felt tired but lighter, and his head seemed clear again. No more debates disturbed his mind. He knew all the arguments of despair and would not listen to them. His will was set, and only death would break it." (p 919)
2 – Ulysses (James Joyce) – ML list #1
"and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes." (last line)
1 – The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner) – ML list #6
"The broken flower drooped over Ben's fist and his eyes were empty and blue and serene again as cornice and facade flowed smoothly once more from left to right, post and tree, window and doorway and signboard each in its ordered place." (last line)
So, there it is, the Top 100 Novels. If you didn't know what was coming at #1, you've never met me or seen my 31 copies of it (that's not a typo).
There will be more film lists coming, as well as the aforementioned 21st Century novels, but I feel the need to add one final note about this list.
Three of the top five books (Portrait, Heart of Darkness, Sound and the Fury), I first read in high school. This rarely happens as they are all very difficult books not normally taught in high school. But I read them in AP English at Villa Park High School with Carol Mooney as my teacher. When I got to college I was the only one who had read any novels by Faulkner or Joyce. I already had a love for both of them and that made me the resident in-class scholar on both and I owe that debt of thanks to Carol.


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Riley Butler
My condolences to Richard, Rich, Robbie and family members. My thoughts are with you.
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02/11/1942 ~ 06/21/2018
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Sarah Ellen (Eisley) Desmond (Sally), PhD., born September 5, 1938 in Charleroi, PA, raised in New Cumberland, PA. Resident of Raleigh, NC since 2007. Beloved wife of Richard Earl Desmond, PhD. They were married in Washington DC on June 1, 1963. Sally is survived by her husband, and two sons, Richard, Jr., of Eugene, OR and Robert, of Raleigh.
She is also survived by four grandsons: Red and Cal of Eugene, OR and Bowen and Kellen of Raleigh, and her sister, Suzanne Vanderbilt of Redondo Beach, CA. Sally was predeceased by her father, Freeman Eisley and her mother, Clara Voigt Eisley of New Cumberland, PA.
Sally was an outstanding student. From New Cumberland High School, she won scholarships enabling her to attend Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA in 1957. She graduated in 1960, Magna cum Laude, with a major in English. She then won a scholarship to attend Boston University to pursue a Master's degree in Government, which she attained, with Honors in 1962. In Boston, she met her husband-to-be, Richard Desmond in1962. They were married at St. Stephen's in Washington, DC on June 1, 1963. The couple moved to Minneapolis, MN in 1964, where Sally worked in Higher Education Administration, while her husband pursued a PhD in Counseling Psychology. Sally was as good a worker as she was a student.
In 1970, Sally moved to Pittsburgh, PA where her husband joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and she enrolled in the PhD Program in Higher Education Administration. The couple had two sons and lived in Mt. Lebanon until they moved to Raleigh in 2007. Sally received her PhD, taught at the U. of Pittsburgh, and was active in PTA in Mt. Lebanon. She loved being a mother more than any of her other roles, and was a wonderful mother, as her sons attest. Sally contracted Parkinson's Disease in 1986 and lived with it until her death in 2017, an outstanding amount of time to cope with this disease. She coped with Parkinson's with courage and dignity and never complained. This was the way she lived her life; with strength, love and dignity.
A memorial service will be held 5:00 PM, Saturday, July 22, 2017, at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, 831 Wake Forest Rd., Raleigh. The family will receive friends from 3:30-5:00 PM at the funeral home prior to the service.
Contributions may be made to the Parkinson's Research Foundation, 5969 Cattle Ridge Blvd., Suite 100, Sarasota, FL 34232 or www.parkinsonshope.org
Condolences may be made to www.bryan-leefuneralhome.com
Bryan-Lee Funeral Home
831 Wake Forest Road Raleigh, NC 27604
Bryan-Lee Funeral Home
831 Wake Forest Road Raleigh, NC 27604


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My new site is at Discovery Bay Marine Lab. This is not a normal assignment, but due to the late date of the site change this was made available to me. So what is it and what am I doing? Discovery Bay Marine Lab (DBML) is an extension of UWI (University of the West Indies) and it is a facility that is available to scientists for marine research and schools for educational purposes. I am currently looking for housing but thankfully I am actually working again. My main assignment is to work on social media, public outreach and updating the educational presentations. I am also to work with the local fisherman on the Special Conservation Area on public outreach and education.
Last week when were waiting for Hurricane Matthew to hit I had Richard call my dad. In the conversation Richard told him I had a site change and what I was now assigned to do. My dad at some point in my life paid attention! He told Richard that it was cool that I was able to do this because it was a dream of mine since I was 8 years old! I do not ever remember talking about this to him, but maybe I did and the tattoos might give it away! The other piece of the conversation was that my dad now has two gas-powered pogo sticks, so now he and Richard can race! I definitely have to ensure this DOES NOT happen. This sounds like a broken skull and emergency room visit.
I keep thinking back to all the times in my life when life basically slapped me across the face and said sit down and shut up. I always wondered if I was just strapped with bad luck or if I had been a bad person in a previous life? Well maybe, just maybe, fate had put all the challenges before me so that I could appreciate when I am allowed to achieve my dreams. I have to say there is nothing like finally accomplishing that life-long dream. It is like joy wrapped up in a fuzzy puppy handing you chocolate! There really is no measure of that joy, there is no way to describe it or to show enough gratitude that you are finally able to achieve something you thought was out of reach.


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Yesterday boyfriend and I went a little shopping.
This is what I bought myself - besides some underwear I am not going to show off in this blog.
Right now I am not sure what to keep or not, there is the one or other piece I am not that sure about.
Speaking of the gray jeans shirts, the black jeans and the green fake leather jacket.
Later on we will retry the stuff and decide about everything.
(And I am still waiting for a package from Zara.)
Shoes are missing? RIGHT! I need some new shoes.
In between shopping we hopped into Starbucks. It was lovely to sit in the window, watch the people walk by and relax a little before continuing shopping.
(Tomorrow I'll show you the boy's stuff we shopped! Interested?)
After cloth shopping we just put the bags into the flat and drove to IKEA for some interior shopping. More about that in a little while.
When finally home I cooked us a nice meal and really late that night at least I fell into bed.
Thanks for reading.
Drop me a line.


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Go 4 Despatch Limited
Go 4 Despatch Limited: address, phone, fax, email, web site, schedule
Go 4 Despatch Limited
Locality: Hamilton
Address: ALEXANDRA HOUSE 123 PRIESTSIC ROAD Sutton-in-Ashfield NOTTINGHAMSHIRE NG17 4EA
Phone: +44-20 9350982
Fax: +44-20 9350982
Web site:
Director / owner / responsible person Go 4 Despatch Limited: n\a
Find error in description or want add more information on you company? - Contact me!
Go 4 Despatch Limited credits: register number, status, company type, incorporation date
Register number: 08494963
Company type: Private Limited Company
Status: Active
Incorporation date: 18-04-2013
Get full report form global database UK for Go 4 Despatch Limited
Service Go 4 Despatch Limited: TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE, Land transport and transport via pipelines, 49410 - Freight transport by road
Job on Go 4 Despatch Limited vacancies, practice, working, traineeship, career
In Go 4 Despatch Limited open follow vacancies:
Package Manager. 2200 GBP.
Project Co-ordinator. 1700 GBP.
Controller. 2700 GBP.
Cleaner. 1000 GBP.
Tester. 2400 GBP.
Tester. 3200 GBP.
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Also view related and similar companies and organisation this bisness category, as Go 4 Despatch Limited: Beelsby Contractors Limited | Gladwell Transport Ltd | Rowsham Logistics Ltd | Drimnin Sealink Limited | John Richard Reed Limited
Go 4 Despatch Limited is a Private Limited Company. Company number assigned by Companies House is 08494963. The company was incorporated on Thursday 18th April 2013, so the company age is 3 years 2 months 2 days. The company registration status is Active. The company Standard Industrial Classification is 49410, so Go 4 Despatch Limited is engaged in Freight transport by road. Go 4 Despatch Limited register address is ALEXANDRA HOUSE, 123 PRIESTSIC ROAD, Sutton-in-Ashfield (area code: NG17 4EA). We have no data about company previous names in last 10 years.


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SUBDIVISION Cinco Ranch West<< BACK
|$400,000 Katy, TX 77494
Fantastic home backing to Green Belt in Cinco Ranch. Many recent updates make this the perfect home. New roof 2018, Remodeled Master Bath, Powder room remodel, Hardwood flooring, plantation shutters, custom landscape, Sunset Pool /Spa and Pergola. Open concept living with two story family room and ease of flow from the kitchen/breakfast room to the living area. Study with french doors or can be a formal living area. Spacious dining room is great for large crowds. Master down with 4 secondary bedrooms up. Freshly painted walls just completed. Neutral throughout. Master bath is luxurious with updated shower, tiles, and countertops. The yard is a vacation waiting to happen. Beautiful pool/spa with pergola for additional shade. Cozy firepit for those chilly nights. The backyard faces a green belt so you never have backyard neighbors. Convenient location to trails, shopping, schools and churches. Curb appeal plus. You won't want to miss out!


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The polaroid house
The Polaroid house!
So awesome… So amazing… A lady had the idea to fill this abandoned house with polaroid, and invited everyone to come along and share their polaroid with the walls, floors, roof and any other crack or crevace.
The last Polaroid was taken down April this year, but the pictures remain!
It's on flickr just search Polaroid house I guess…


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Looks like the part time position is now full time.
Looks like what was ok to have kids in the office is now no kids in the office.
Looks like what was babysitter no longer needed is now babysitter needed daily.
Looks like English is getting easier.
Lets hope that nothing else changes....


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Viña del Siós Rosat 2009
This is a nice rosé wine. Plenty of color and taste. Its price is 6,5 EUR in the cellar.
A blog for restaurants all around the world, where you can see the size and quality of the dishes. Wine, brandy, beer, meals,... are also welcome!


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Hawaiian fruit is the best! If you missed part one of my series on Hawaiian Fruit, check my post from August 1.
So, did you figure out which of the following fruits are actually native to the islands?
Pineapple, Mango, Guava, Papaya?
The answer is: NONE!!
|Hala--Tourist Pineapple
There is a native fruit, however, that confuses tourists. It's called Hala and looks very much like a pineapple. In fact, the Hala is often times referred to as Tourist Pineapple because of its mistaken identity.
Next post (on Monday) I'll start talking about specific fruits. Do you know what fruit is most common in Hawaii? Come back on Monday and find out as well as learn something about this highly nutritious fruit.
Mahalo for visiting!


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New Member
I have Windows 7 (64 bit) installed. I mistakenly shut my computer down using the sleep button a week ago. When I press the start button on my computer, I can see/here the computer starting. I get several lights on steady on my keyboard but the mouse and the monitor never seem to work. I have tried to make things work by pulling the power cord on the computer, holding the start button on the computer until it shuts down, and pushing the reset button but nothing seems to work. As a further point, before this problem occurred, during previous starts, a white on black question came up on the monitor asking me whether I wanted Windows Vista or Windows 7--I have no idea why. I would appreciate any help to get me to where the computer works normally again. Thank you in advance.


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Nicholas Reid reflects in essay form on general matters and ideas related to literature, history, popular culture and the arts, or just life in general. You are free to agree or disagree with him.
In 1995, when I was still a film-reviewer, there was released an historical romance which met with a mixed critical reception and did only average business at the box office. The film was Michael Caton-Jones' Rob Roy with the tall Irishman Liam Neeson playing the Highland hero and the American Jessica Lange playing his wife. Personally, I enjoyed the film – not only because of its authentically Scottish settings but also because, however unhistorical the specific details of its story, it did capture accurately the early 18th century class distinctions between grand aristocracy and absentee landlord and lesser laird and peasant. Even as it romanticised the sturdy peasant outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor, its view of a past age was a nuanced one. I strongly suspect that many of the snarky, negative reviews the film received (notably from the Guardian in England and from one – now deceased – radio reviewer in New Zealand) were because the film was un-PC enough to feature a campy villain, played by Tim Roth.
The film Rob Roy included a number of violent scenes, but there was one in particular that made audiences gasp. The corrupt and villainous factor has been sent by a great lord to capture Rob Roy and seize his goods. Finding Rob Roy absent from his humble home, the factor and his men seize Rob Roy's wife, pin her down to a table and violently rape her from behind. Such a scene would never have been part of the kiddie-oriented versions of the story of Rob Roy that had appeared in previous decades (such as the sanitised Disney Rob Roy, The Highland Rogue, starring Richard Todd, in 1953). It could be written off as a piece of sheer sensationalism, exploiting the freedom from most censorship that cinema now has.
And yet, when I compare this violent and upsetting scene with another account of the same event, it seems a model of honesty.
In 1817, Sir Walter Scott wrote his novel Rob Roy, only very loosely based on the historical character of that name and (as every study-guide will tell you) mainly set in England with its main (English) character reaching the Highlands and meeting Rob Roy only about halfway through. It is indeed one of Sir Walter's more tedious productions, which is saying a lot given that Tedium was his middle name [look up my comments on The Bride of Lammermoor via the index at right]. It is indicative of its stodginess that this novel by Scotland's best-known novelist, featuring one of Scotland's best-known folk heroes, has never been the basis for any of the films or other dramatisations of the Rob Roy story.
Scott's plot is purely fictitious, as are most of his characters. But in 1829, for a new edition of the novel, Scott added a long, rambling introduction explaining the historical circumstances of the real Rob Roy, as he understood them.
And it is here that we come to a less honest version of the violent scene in Michael Caton-Jones' movie.
Scott is explaining how Rob Roy's aristocratic creditors sent their men to recover goods and money from him. This is what he writes:
"It is said that the diligence of the law, as it is called in Scotland, which the English more bluntly call distress, was used in this case with uncommon severity, and that the legal satellites, not usually the gentlest persons in the world, had insulted MacGregor's wife, in a manner which would have aroused a milder man than he to thoughts of unbounded vengeance. She was a woman of fierce and haughty temper, and is not unlikely to have disturbed the officers in the execution of their duty, and thus to have incurred ill treatment, though, for the sake of humanity, it is to be hoped that the story sometimes told is a popular exaggeration."
Clearly, this euphemistic paragraph, which is as specific as Scott ever gets, is referring to the same incident that was dramatized in Caton-Jones' film. But note how Scott gamely tries to pretend that something dreadful did not really happen. He is, after all, writing for a largely English readership, and is playing his usual games of prettifying events to suit their delicate sensibilities and turning the Scottish past into a romanticised diversion.
Let's unpack this paragraph and see what lies under it.
Scott: "…the diligence of the law … was used in this case with uncommon severity…. the legal satellites, not usually the gentlest persons in the world."
Translation: Hired thugs and repo men were sent to beat the crap out of Rob Roy and his family and take their worldly possessions.
Scott: They "insulted MacGregor's wife, in a manner which would have aroused a milder man than he to thoughts of unbounded vengeance."
Translation: "Insulted"? What, you mean they said "Poo" to her and other rude words? Obviously the "insult" was some form of sexual violation – probably rape.
Scott: "She was a woman of fierce and haughty temper, and is not unlikely to have disturbed the officers in the execution of their duty…"
Translation: She screamed bloody murder as the hired thugs tore her house apart, and probably threw in some choice cuss words too.
Scott: She "incurred ill treatment, though, for the sake of humanity, it is to be hoped that the story sometimes told is a popular exaggeration."
Translation: Actually, I'm pretty sure she really was raped, as the common people said, but I'm going to pretend it didn't happen because I don't want to upset my readers and I can suggest to them that the story of rape was a peasant "exaggeration". This will help my readers to feel culturally superior to those uncouth Highland peasants.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I admit that the game I am playing here is a fairly easy one. It's the simplest thing in the world to take a very old text, like Scott's introduction to his novel, and put it into more vulgar, if honest, language. I am aware that polite, restrained and euphemistic language was the norm when Scott was writing. Even so, I feel mildly scandalised that Scott chooses to gloss over the event in this way. Usually I am on the side of those who say that films could do with more restraint in their depictions of violence. I've often enough written articles on the benefits of implying things rather than showing them in all their gory detail, and you can find me any day of the week discoursing on the greater subtlety of films in the days when director and producers had to suggest things and challenge the audience to join the dots.
But in this case, I'm on the side of blunt honesty.
When nasty things are wished away like this, a particular sort of ugliness is created – a complicity between author, reader and the evil that has been done. I take the second part of Keats' proposition – "truth is beauty" – and say the honest depiction of rape as rape is, aesthetically, more beautiful than the euphemism, because it is true.