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Last month California-based open-source robotics company Willow Garage issued a call for rigorous and creative research proposals involving their PR2 robot, and announced a plan to make 10 PR2s available for free use. The call created quite a stir in the research community, and resulted in an overwhelming volume of responses:
Willow Garage received 120 Letters of Intent from universities, companies, robotics clubs, and hackerspaces from 27 countries on 5 different continents, with proposed programs covering areas from motion planning to multi-robot coordination, and from education to eldercare. The winning proposals will be announced after the call's final deadline on March 1st. But whoever wins, the incredible level of interest for this call promises a bright future for everyone working on open-source robotics.
Willow Garage: http://www.willowgarage.com/blog/2010/0 ... ta-program


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The film ANITA will premiere on Sunday, March 23, at the Embarcadero Cinemas in San Francisco.
UC Hastings Professor Joel Paul, who was a principal witness for Anita Hill during her Senate testimony in 1991, will offer remarks after screenings at 2:30pm and again at 5pm.
From the Website for the Film "ANITA"
Against a backdrop of sex, politics, and race, ANITA reveals the extraordinary story of a woman who spoke truth to power. The film is both a celebration of Anita Hill's legacy and a rare glimpse into her private life with friends and family, many of whom were by her side on that fateful day 22 years ago. Anita Hill courageously speaks openly and intimately for the first time about her experiences that led her to testify before the Senate and the obstacles she faced in simply telling the truth. She also candidly discusses what happened to her life and work in the years since.
An entire country watched transfixed as a poised, striking African-American woman in a blue dress sat before a Senate committee of 14 white men and with a clear, unwavering voice recounted the repeated acts of sexual harassment she had endured while working with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. That October day in 1991 Anita Hill, a bookish law professor from Oklahoma, was thrust onto the world stage and instantly became a celebrated, hated, venerated, and divisive figure.
Just past the 22 year anniversary, Academy Award winning filmmaker Freida Mock revisits one of the most controversial watershed events of the past century, the Anita Hill – Clarence Thomas Hearings, the weekend of shocking television that made Anita Hill a household name and smashed the door open on the issues of sexual harassment and gender equality.

subset: commoncrawl


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Daniel Craig & Rachel Weisz: 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' Opening!
Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz hold hands while leaving the Richard Rodgers Theatre following the opening night performance of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Thursday (January 17) in New York City.
The 44-year-old actor and his 42-year-old wife attended the show to support his Munich co-star Ciaran Hinds, who stars alongside Scarlett Johansson and Benjamin Walker in the play.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Daniel Craig
Over the weekend, Rachel brought along Daniel to the 2013 Golden Globes, where she was nominated for her work in The Deep Blue Sea.


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Union boss proposes ethical offshoring
Pay your employees after you sack them
Trades Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber has proposed that employers who transplant British jobs oversees should take some responsibility for the holes they leave in the economy and peoples' lives back home.
They should do this, he wrote in today's Financial Times, by taking out insurance to cover 70 per cent of the former wages of those employees whose jobs they outsource. The cost of this would be only four or five per cent of the savings made by outsourcing, he said US experts had figured.
Barber took a clear swipe at those of his union colleagues who have exploited the xenophobic fervour that has been allowed to infect this country's politics to protect their members' jobs.
"There is nothing progressive about a position that denies development opportunities to those less fortunate than ourselves," he wrote.
And he mocks the blind adherents to the free market faith: "This fatalism is almost quaint in its echoes of old-fashioned Marxists who used to say that nothing could be done by governments of the left to tame the excesses of capitalism."
The UK is all very well, he says, for those corporations who like its low redundancy pay, limited consultation and the low expectations on those who've had their fill, but what about the people?
Those dislocated areas of Britain that are still smarting down the generations from the short sharp shock treatment administered them under the matronly care of Margaret Thatcher tend to be excluded from these debates.
Hence Barber's reference to the now defunct Rover, whose former employees have typically found themselves earning £3,500 less in whatever new jobs they found since Rover's old owners drove off into the sunset with the spoils.
More could be done yet to train and reintegrate discarded workers into the economy before they drop out of society, is the gist of what Barber says.
The cost of this, just as economists argue for a carbon tax to reflect the true cost to the environment of our polluting industries, should be carried by those firms who do the outsourcing, to reflect the true cost to society of their exploitation.®


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What to Expect at a Session
Come to the center during drop-in hours for writing help in any of your GVSU classes! Sessions typically last 20-30 minutes.
To be prepared for your session, it's a good idea to:
- Bring your assignment sheet with you.
- Leave plenty of time to revise your work upon leaving the Center.
- Come prepared with specific questions about your writing.
The Consultant Will Ask You Questions
During your session, the consultant will ask you questions about your writing assignment, goals for the project, and writing successes and struggles. We ask a lot of questions to ensure that the session is focused on your assignment and your individualized needs.
The Consultant Will Read Your Writing: Aloud or Silently
You'll then read through the paper together. Along the way, and certainly after reading through the paper, the consultant will ask more questions to help you think about how you want the paper to develop; the consultant will also give you feedback to your writing. During the session, you and the consultant may use resources to find answers to your questions.
The Consultant Will Help You Make A Plan
At the end of the session, the consultant will help you to devise a plan for revision. After all, you came to the writing center so you could make your paper better!
Feel Free To Come Back!
Feel free to make a follow-up appointment to come back with a new draft. It's a normal part of the writing process to revise and edit/proofread your paper multiple times. We're happy to help you continue to rethink the paper until you feel you've gotten it right!
We hope you'll drop by and see us soon.
Have other questions? Stop in and visit! Or call us at 331-2922.


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I have a hunch that the following scene happens only on one farm in the whole wide world so pay attention. You are driving down a two lane highway in Ohio when you pass a farmstead with a chicken coop in easy view through your windshield. In front of the coop stands a middle-aged woman with a kind of vacant air about her, cracking an egg on a fencepost and gingerly letting the white stuff ooze off onto the ground to separate it from the yolk. She tosses the shell back to the hens to eat. By now you probably have slowed almost to a stop because surely the poor woman has lost her mind from the hectic pressures of modern farming. She seems to be rubbing the yolk between the palms of her hand. A dog laps at the egg white drooling to the ground. By the way, she is also barefoot.
Unless you are an artist, and then maybe only a certain kind of artist, you are not going to believe what is going on here. The woman in the hen yard is Pat Gamby who with her husband Steve, has been farming at this location for 22 years. This is your typical Midwestern dairy farm except that it is organic, but neither Pat nor Steve is typical in any ordinary sense of the word. Besides being a farmer, Pat is a professional artist who started drawing at age four and, without any formal training whatsoever, was actually painting pictures on commission when she was still in high school. Steve, besides being a farmer, played minor league baseball until he got smart and realized that farming (and playing softball on my team) was more fun. I've found excuses to put them in several of my books, most recently Holy Shit, so readers might be familiar with them already. I thought I knew them fairly well too until I heard about this crazy, barefooted woman breaking eggs on fence posts to feed her dog and tossing the shells out to feed her hens.
Here's the story. In their startup years in farming, Pat began selling her paintings, typically of rural scenes or animals like the one above, at juried art shows to help pay off their farm mortgage (she and Steve were also raising three children). Recently, with the kids out on their own and Steve retired from milking cows to concentrate on less strenuous kinds of farming, she decided to go into painting full time. She and Steve built a studio right there in the barnyard, cleverly incorporating into it the décor of a traditional barn.
About that time she learned about tempera as a paint medium instead of oil or water. Tempera is egg yolk mixed with earth pigments and water and with it an artist can render uncommon detail to a painting beyond what is obtainable with either oil or water colors. Andrew Wyeth was the master of egg tempera and Pat admires his paintings exceedingly. "Also, with tempera, I've learned that there seems to be an almost unlimited number of unusual color tones you can mix."
There is no better place to paint for an artist using tempera than on a farm with a small flock of hens in residence. Pat says that she needs to get a fresh egg about every day because the yolk starts deteriorating and stinking fairly soon. So that's what she's doing out there in the hen yard — gently rubbing a yolk between her hands to get the last of the white off without breaking it. Most artists use a paper towel to do this "but sometimes I forget to bring one along," says Pat, "and I want to crack the egg right there in the lot so the chickens get the shell and the dog gets the white." I remind her that most artists would keep their shoes on when visiting a chicken coop. She just grins broadly. "I love going barefoot in the summer. I suppose people driving by think I've lost my mind."
Her full time painting venture is off and running already. She has a website now (patgamby.com). Recently, she signed a license with Crossroads Original Designs in Bucyrus, Ohio to do a series of paintings from which the company will sell prints in their national catalogs. Meanwhile, for those of you who delight in authentic details of farming, Pat says that if painters using tempera want to rub the yolks barehanded (if not barefooted), it works better with hens that are being fed corn rather than oats.
P.S. The above painting Pat calls "Scolding Molly." She explains: "While I was painting the horses, the Amish owner kept scolding the one horse, Molly, because she kept turning her head. Little did he realize that I liked her turning her head away."


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Week 2 – Aug. 27-Sept. 2
All games 7:30 unless noted.
Brooks vs. Kenwood, 4:15 at Eckersall
De La Salle vs. Gordon, 4 at Lane
Hawkins vs. Fenger, 4:15 at Stagg
Week 2 – Aug. 27-Sept. 2
All games 7:30 unless noted.
Brooks vs. Kenwood, 4:15 at Eckersall
De La Salle vs. Gordon, 4 at Lane
Hawkins vs. Fenger, 4:15 at Stagg
Kelvyn Park vs. Kennedy, 4:15 at Rockne
Lincoln Park vs. Bogan, 4:15 at Gately
Noble Street vs. Roosevelt, 7:15 at Lane
Westinghouse vs. Harlan, 7:15 at Gately
Christian Liberty Academy at Rockford Christian Life, 7
Ottawa Marquette vs. Longwood, 7 at St. Rita
Aurora Christian at St. Edward, 7
Amundsen at Maine East
Argo at Ridgewood, 7
Austin vs. Douglass, 4:15 at Hanson
Barrington at Rolling Meadows
Bartlett at Elgin
Bishop McNamara vs. St. Ignatius at University of Chicago
Bloom at Glenbard South, 7
Bolingbrook at Romeoville, 7
Bradley-Bourbonnais at Kankakee, 7
Bronzeville vs. Carver, 4:15 at Gately
Bulls Prep at Woodstock, 7
Byron at North Boone, 7
Collins at East Peoria
Conant at Prospect, 7
Crete-Monee at Marian Catholic
Crystal Lake Central at Crystal Lake South, 7:15
Curie at Sterling
Dixon at Rochelle, 7
Downers Grove North at Morton
Dunbar at Moline
Dundee-Crown at Streamwood
Dwight at Coal City
East Aurora at Yorkville
Eisenhower at Andrew, 7:15
Elk Grove at Hoffman Estates, 7
Englewood at Libertyville
Fenton at Maine West, 7
Fremd at Hersey, 7
Geneva at Wheaton North
Glenbard North at Carmel
Glenbard West at Willowbrook
Grayslake Central at Grant
Grayslake North at Round Lake, 7:15
Hampshire at DeKalb
Harvard at Oregon, 7
Herscher vs. Lisle, 7:15 at Benedictine
Hinsdale Central at Leyden
Hubbard at St. Laurence
Hyde Park vs. Harper, 4:15 at Stagg
Jefferson City (Mo.) at Belleville East
Johnsburg at Jacobs, 7:15
Joliet Central at Reavis, 7
Joliet West at Plainfield South, 7
Kaneland at Huntley
Lake Forest at Highland Park, 7
Lake Park at Glenbard East
Lake Zurich at Cary-Grove, 7:15
Lane at Glenbrook North
Larkin at West Chicago
Lincoln-Way East at Montini
Lincoln-Way North at Hillcrest, 7
Lindblom vs. Bronzeville, 7:15 at Lane
Lockport at Plainfield North, 7
Loyola vs. Dallas Jesuit, Tex., 4 at Dublin, Ireland
Lyons at Downers Grove South
Maine South at Wheaton Warrenville South
Manteno at Reed-Custer
Marine vs. Ag. Science, 4:15 at Eckersall
Marist at Brother Rice
Marian Central at McHenry, 7
Marmion vs. Fenwick at Concordia
Marshall vs. Prosser, 7:15 at Hanson
Metea Valley at Glenbrook South
Minooka at Providence
Momence at Chicago Christian
Mount Carmel vs. Morgan Park, 7 at Gately
Naperville Central at Neuqua Valley
Oak Lawn at Oswego East, 7
Palatine at Buffalo Grove
Phoenix vs. Senn, 4:15 at Lane
Plainfield East at Batavia, 7
Plano at Westmont, 7
Prairie Ridge at Mundelein
Proviso West at Addison Trail
Raby at Geneseo
Richards at Morris, 7
Rich Central at Oak Forest, 7
Rich South at Thornwood, 7:15
Riverside-Brookfield at Lemont, 7
Rock Falls at Marengo, 7
Rockford Lutheran at Genoa-Kingston, 7
Robeson vs. Joliet Catholic, 7 at Joliet Memorial
Seneca at Peotone, 7:15
Solorio at Shepard, 7
South Shore vs. Mather, 4:15 at Winnemac
St. Charles North at Plainfield Central, 7
St. Rita at Danville, 7
St. Viator at Deerfield
Stagg at Sandburg, 7:15
Steinmetz at Ottawa
Stevenson at Homewood-Flossmoor
Stillman Valley at Burlington Central, 7
TEAM Englewood at Evergreen Park, 7
Urban Prep-West at T.F. South, 7
Vernon Hills vs. St. Francis, 7 at College of DuPage
Warren at New Trier
Washington at Peoria Richwoods, 4:15
Waubonsie Valley at Oswego, 7
Waukegan at Antioch
West Aurora at St. Charles East
Wheeling at Schaumburg, 7
Wilmington at Sandwich
Winnebago at Richmond-Burton, 7
Woodstock North at Lakes
York at Hinsdale South
Young vs. Little Village, 4:15 at Rockne
Zion-Benton at Evanston
Leo at Hales, 1:30
Hiawatha at Hope Academy, 1
Mooseheart at Luther North, 1
North Shore Country Day at Alden-Hebron, 1
Aurora Central at Oostburg (Wisc.), 4
Benet at South Elgin, 1:30
Bowen at Guerin, 1:30
Clark vs. Uplift, 9:30 a.m. at Winnemac
Clemente vs. Tilden, 4:45 at Stagg
DuSable vs. Foreman, 3 at Hanson
Elmwood Park at Guerin, 1
Farragut vs. Muchin, 7 at Hanson
Gage Park vs. Comer, 1 at Eckersall
Julian at Nazareth, 1:30
Kelly vs. Schurz, 3 at Lane
Lake View vs. Juarez, 9:30 a.m. at Rockne
Naperville North at Thornton, 1
Niles North at Niles West, 1
Notre Dame vs. St. Patrick, 11 a.m. at Hanson
North Chicago vs. King, 4:15 at TBA
Oak Park at Proviso East, 1:30
Payton vs. Hope, 3 at Gately
Pritzker vs. Hirsch, 9:30 a.m. at Eckersall
Rauner vs. Crane, 4:15 at Rockne
Rowe-Clark vs. Sullivan, 1:15 at Winnemac
St. Francis de Sales vs. Washington, 4:15 at Eckersall
St. Joseph at Lake Forest Academy, 1
Sycamore vs. North Lawndale, 7:15 at Lane
Taft vs. Manley, 1 at Rockne
T.F. North at Thornridge, 1
Tinley Park at Rich East, 1
UC Woodlawn vs. Golder, 11 a.m. at Lane
UIC Prep vs. Johnson, 2 at Stagg
Vocational vs. Corliss, 11 a.m. at Gately
Walther Lutheran vs. Phillips, 2:30 at Solario
Wauconda at Orr, 1
Wheaton Academy at Immaculate Conception, 1
Bremen vs. Perspectives-Leadership, TBA at TBA
Peoria vs. Simeon, 2 at Jordan Stadium, East St. Louis


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Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) is a terror organization in Libya founded in 1995 and is connected with the al-Qaeda. The goal of this organization is the practising of the Sharia law and killing non-muslims. The biggest enemy of the LIFG was the libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. The LIFG was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States government in 2005.[1] In 2011, Barack Hussein Obama provided support to the Islamist rebels during the Libyan uprising.[2]
LIFG was originally compromised of Libyans who fought in the Soviet-Afghan war (1980-88). LIFG is suspected as one of the terrorist entities to provide materials for the May 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca. In November 2007, al-Qaeda leaders released an audio recording officially declaring LIFG had joined with the al-Qaeda organization. The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group has ties to extremist groups in Egypt and Algeria.
See also
- ↑ Terrorist Organization Profile: Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). start.umd.edu
- ↑ 'White Out' on Benghazi: State Dept. Issues Report, Clare Lopez, December 23, 2012. counterjihadreport.com
External links


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Donald A. Waterman 1936-1987
We note with sorrow the passing of Don Waterman, who died on January 4, 1987. Don was one of the pioneers of our field, whose early research built the foundation for the area that would later come to be labeled "knowledge based systems" (and still later "expert systems").
Full Text:PDF
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v8i1.571
Copyright © 2018, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (www.aaai.org). All rights reserved.


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Fret King Black Label Country Squire Classic Guitar, Butterscotch
Fret King Black Label Country Squire Classic Guitar, ButterscotchDetails
Featuring a 3-piece Amnerican alder body, Wilkinson WTB pickups and Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard, the Classic Squire Classic provides you with a classic look and a versatile guitar. This guitar comes in a Butterscotch colour.
Product Ref: 33040View Full Description
Buy on finance from £13.62 per month Finance from £13.62 per month
Please note: This is only available where all items in the order are dispatched in a single delivery.
To make it as easy as possible for you to get the gear you want, we offer a range of instant finance options. If you spend £250 or more online, you can choose to pay over 48, 36 or 24 months. The majority of decisions are given instantly, so you could get your new gear sooner than you thought!
Representative Example
To help you understand how our finance options work, the examples below are based on a total order value of £250:
|Deposit to Pay
|Total Payable
|Classic Credit 48 Months 14.9%
|No Deposit
|48 months: £6.83
Final payment: £6.83
No settlement fee
|Classic Credit 36 Months 15.9%
|No Deposit
|36 months: £8.65
Final payment: £8.65
No settlement fee
|Classic Credit 24 Months 18.9%
|No Deposit
|24 months: £12.41
Final payment: £12.41
No settlement fee
How to Apply
Applying for finance couldn't be easier - if your order totals £250 or more, simply proceed through the checkout as normal, then select Pay by Finance on the payment page, then click the orange APPLY FOR INSTANT FINANCE button. This will start your application with V12 Retail Finance, our finance partner, and completing this form should take approximately 10 minutes.
You should get an instant answer on whether your application has been successful, though in some rare cases V12 may need to look at the application in more detail.
Please note: This is only available on orders placed via the website consisting of a single delivery, and is not available in store or via phone currently.
Full DescriptionView Full Description
Fret King's Country Squire Classic, Butterscotch, features subtle and sensitive reworks of the timeless classic and boasts a two-piece centre-jointed American alder body, Canadian hard rock maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard. All these quality materials help give the Country Squire Classic its superior tone.
Great Design
The Country Squire features a gently offset body with sculpted heel and slim horn, providing great balance, along with enhanced access to the upper frets. It also has an extended tenon neck/body join for stability and fantastic sonic coupling.
A Versatile Guitar
Fret King have uniquely configured the pickup and control settings to provide the guitar's suiting tonal character, assisted by additional, useable tones. A versatile guitar, the Country Squire Classic provides, as its name suggest, "classic" tones, but you might be surprised by the staggered pole piece humbucker. The dual concentric tone/Vari-coil control pot rolls the Wilkinson 3+3 neck humbucker down to neck single coil.
Switch to the flat pole piece bridge pickup, and the Vari-coil will take you from authentic vintage '52 'Nashville Snap' to a creamy, focused single coil sound with enhanced mids and increased power.
The Wilkinson WTB bridge's 'cold rolled' original vintage spec stamped steel baseplate surrounds and enhances the magnetic field of the alnico V loaded bridge pickup.
Authentic Tone, Accurate Tuning
Authentic tone and accurate tuning is ensured by adjustable, pre-intonated barrel style natural brass saddles. Two strings per saddle solidly anchor the saddles to the bridge baseplate, ensuring the maximum mechanical coupling so important to providing all the power you need.
Body & Bridge
- Body: 3pc American alder
- Bridge: Wilkinson WTB
Neck & Fretboard
- Neck: Maple
- Fingerboard: Rosewood 10" radius
- Number of Frets: 22 medium jumbo frets
- Inlay: Pearl dots
- Scale: 25.5"/648mm
- Nut: Graphite
- Tuners: Wilkinson E-Z Lok
Pickups & Hardware
- Pickups: Wilkinson nickel covered humbucker WHHB3+3 (N), tapped single coil alnico WVOBT (B)
- Controls: Volume & tone/Vari-coil dual concentric knob, 3-way lever
- Hardware: Chrome
Included Accessories
- Bag: Luxury Fret-King carry bag included
The product price includes 6 years' warranty and 180 day money back guarantee.
However, the Gear4music extended warranty scheme provides an enhanced service, and is designed to offer a higher level of protection than many 'free' warranties offered by some retailers and manufacturers.
The highlights of this enhanced warranty service are:
- Warranty is extended to 6 years from the date of delivery.
- Our Money Back guarantee is extended from 30 days to 180 days (terms apply after 30 days)
- Collection and delivery costs are included for the first 2 years
- Claim 50% cash back on the cost of the policy after 6 years if it has not been used!
- Warranty is transferable if the item is re-sold
- Loan or replacement equipment will be provided if the product isn't repaired within 30 days
- If an item can not be repaired, a similar alternative product or cash discount (as defined in this policy) will be offered
- The policy can be cancelled within 30 days, and at any time after that for a pro-rata discount
Please note that this extended warranty is currently only available on products sold within the EU or EEA, and is subject to the terms and conditions as detailed on the extended warranty certificate provided.
For customers in outlying areas of the country, the price of the Extended Warranty may be marginally higher, due to the potential for higher collection and redelivery transport costs.
This enhanced warranty is in addition to the standard Gear4music and manufacturer warranty policies, and the Gear4music terms and conditions of trade. No statement or condition of sale contained within these terms affects or restricts your statutory rights as defined under the Consumer Contracts Regulation 2014.
Once the product is delivered, you have 180 days to decide that you definitely want to keep it. If you decide it is not suitable for any reason, you can return it back to us for replacement or full refund, including standard delivery charges.
All Products are new unless stated, and include a minimum of 2 years warranty.
Some items are only eligible for money back guarantee if they are returned to us unused and sealed in the original packaging, and in the case of software, unregistered. These items include:
- Software
- CDs & DVDs
- In-ear Monitors
- Earplugs and Ear Protection
- Mouthpieces, Reeds etc… for Woodwind and Brass instruments
- Mouth / Lip Care Products
We are unable to accept returns of any custom made items designed to work together as a unique package, such as computer system built to a customer's personal specifications. Exceptions may only be possible with prior agreement of the vendor, and may be subject to a cancellation fee.
If you also purchase items that do not qualify for free delivery, some delivery charges may be applied to your order which will be shown in your shopping basket.


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For more information about National Park Service air resources, please visit https://www.nature.nps.gov/air/.
Studies and Monitoring
North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park (NP), Washington, has its own unique environmental concerns based on its particular ecology. Air quality studies and monitoring programs at North Cascades NP focus on nitrogen and sulfur deposition, toxic air contaminants, and visibility. Click on the tabs below to review air quality studies and key scientific references at North Cascades NP, as well as to access information on air quality monitoring in the park.
- Studies & Projects
- Monitoring & Data
- Key References
Ongoing research in North Cascades NP, Washington:
Centralia: A Source of Nitrogen, Sulfur, and Mercury Pollution at North Cascades NP
Located approximately 225 km from North Cascades NP in Centralia, WA, TransAlta's Centralia Power Plant is one of the largest stationary sources of atmospheric nitrogen, sulfur, and mercury in the region. These pollutants are emitted through the coal-burning process used to generate electricity at the power plant. Retrofit technologies have been installed to better control sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, and noticeable reductions in sulfate have followed. Control of mercury emissions is currently achieved via existing controls for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The National Park Service currently requests better nitrogen oxide emission controls and continues discussions with other agencies and the owners of Centralia Power Plant.
Nitrogen & Sulfur Impacts
Nitrogen emissions in the Pacific Northwest remain a concern for park managers (Fenn et al. 2003 [pdf, 895 KB]). North Cascades NP receives elevated nitrogen deposition as compared to other sites in the region, resulting in increased surface water nitrate concentration. In conjunction with sulfur deposition, resulting effects could include acidification during rain-on-snow events. Anthropogenic nitrogen inputs also have the potential to unnaturally fertilize aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems (Clow and Campbell 2008 [pdf, 2.12 MB]). For instance, nitrogen deposition exceeds the critical load for lichen community composition in some polluted areas of the Pacific Northwest. As a result, in the Columbia River Gorge and the Willamette Valley, sensitive lichen species important to wildlife have declined and been replaced by pollution-tolerant species (Geiser and Neitlich 2007; Geiser et al. 2010). The critical load for lichens is not exceeded in the park and lichen communities remain diverse, containing many pollution-sensitive species. However, nitrogen deposition in the park is approaching levels known to affect alpine lakes and plant communities. A research study will evaluate nitrogen critical loads for alpine vegetation in the park. North Cascades NP continuously monitors nitrogen and sulfur deposition. Find data »
Airborne Toxic Contaminants Impacts
Air currents transport contaminants such as pesticides, industrial pollutants, and heavy metals from their sources, and deposit these toxics in rain, snow, and dryfall at North Cascades NP. The Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment Project found airborne contaminants, and in particular high concentrations of current-use pesticides, in air and vegetation samples from the park. Additional research found changes in metabolic, endocrine, and immune response-related genes in fish from contaminated lakes when compared to fish from uncontaminated lakes (Moran et al. 2007). The Pacific Northwest Contaminants Workshop addressed regional concerns regarding contaminant distribution and effects. Additional research is examining whether contaminants disrupt reproductive organs in park fish.
Ground-Level Ozone Impacts
The Puget Sound urban zone influences ozone concentrations at North Cascades NP (Brace and Peterson 1998; Barna et al. 2000), while trans-Pacific episodes also transport ozone and ozone-forming pollutants to the west coast of North America (Jaffe et al. 2003). The nearby metropolitan areas of Seattle and Vancouver contribute to occasional increased ozone levels recorded at the park (Eilers et al. 1994 [pdf, 520 KB]). However, ozone levels remain relatively low. Potential effects of elevated ozone on sensitive vegetation have not been documented. North Cascades NP continuously monitors ozone. Find data »
Visibility Impacts
The PREVENT (Pacific Northwest Regional Visibility Experiment Using Natural Tracers) study found that sulfur is the largest contributor to reduced visibility at North Cascades NP. Back trajectories indicate that sulfur dioxide emissions from the Centralia Power Plant are a significant contributor to sulfate levels at the park. Urban sources of sulfur are also significant. Nitrates, also contributing to visibility impairment, mostly result from nitrogen oxide emissions from pulp and paper mills, power plants, transportation, and fires (Malm et al. 1994). Better nitrogen oxide emission controls at the Centralia power plant would improve visibility at the park. North Cascades NP continuously monitors fine particles and visibility. find data »
Air quality monitoring information and data access:
Air Pollutant/Impact
Monitoring Program
Sites and Data Access
|Wet deposition NADP/NTN
|Dry deposition CASTNet
Abbreviations in the above table:
CASTNet: EPA Clean Air Status and Trends Network
GPMP: Gaseous Pollutant Monitoring Program
IMPROVE: Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments
NADP: National Atmospheric Deposition Program
NPS: National Park Service
NTN: National Trends Network
VIEWS: Visibility Information Exchange Web System
WACAP: Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment Project
For more information regarding monitoring and data assessments conducted by the National Park Service, link to the NPS Air Quality Monitoring Program or to the NPS Air Quality Monitoring History Database for a history of active and inactive monitoring sites at North Cascades NP.
Key air quality related references from North Cascades NP, Washington:
Barna, M., Lamb, B., O'Neill, S., Westberg, H., Figueroa-Kaminsky, C. Otterson, S., Bowman, C., and DeMay, J. 2000. Modeling Ozone Formation and Transport in the Cascadia Region of the Pacific Northwest. Journal of Applied Meteorology 39: 349–366.
Basabe, F. A., Edmonds, R. L., Chang, W. L., and Larson, T. V. 1989a. Fog and cloudwater chemistry in Western Washington. In: Olson, R. K. and Lefohn, A. S. (eds.) Symposium on the effects of air pollution on western forests. June 1989. Anaheim, CA. Air and Waste Management Association. pp. 33–49.
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# Updates
# 2009-04-04 - OS X: Speeding up Mail.app
Mail.app uses an sqlite3 database. The database can be optimized using the vacuum command. This yields significant performance increase, especially with large mailboxes. To do this, close Mail.app and issue the following command through a terminal:
echo "vacuum subjects;"|sqlite3 ~/Library/Mail/Envelope\ Index
# 2008-12-26 - A fresh start
Re-wrote this site to be more modular, more manageable and conceptually simpler. WordPress is a great CMS, but for a single-person managed site (as opposed to an entire community with multiple authors) it is overkill.
# 2008-10-27 - Restarting remote desktop VNC server on OS X
Remote desktop's VNC interface on OS X is fairly crash-prone: the symptoms of this crash is the VNC session ceases to be responsive. Only way to fix it seems to be to restart it by issuing the following command as root:
/System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/\ Resources/kickstart -restart -agent -vnclegacy on
Other than writing some sort of supervisor daemon to do this automatically (check if VNC is responsive, if not, issue the restart command), is anyone aware of a way to remedy this?


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In your Bibles, turn to the 2nd Chapter of Acts and we're continuing in our study of Peter's sermon. Preached on the day of Pentecost the day the church was born. Now I might preface our message this morning by saying it's very basic what we're talking about, because you have to understand that Peter is preaching to a group of people who don't know scratch, which is vernacular for nothing, about theology and have really never been able to interpret anything because they have no precedent. And so everything he says is very, very basic. And what we're going over here is the beautiful, marvelous, eternal story of Christ and the provision of His salvation for us in His death and resurrection.
And we trust that God will enrich your heart even though much of it is familiar to many of you and to others of you who maybe are not quite so familiar with it, that it might come as a moving power in your life to bring you to Jesus Christ. But all of us certainly need to know how better to communicate Jesus Christ and we need to know how to understand this Scripture which God has given to us.
So as we come to Peter's sermon, and we're taking it in many parts, we come this morning to that part of the sermon which is the main theme stretching from verses 22 to 36 and within the context of that majoring particularly on verses 30...pardon me, verses 24 and following dealing with the resurrection and the ascension of Christ.
Now the resurrection of Jesus Christ as well known to all of us is the cornerstone of Christianity. It is mentioned at least 104 times in the New Testament. It is, without question, the most profound and prominent point in biblical history and in all redemptive history. When the apostolic company, for example, after the apostasy and suicide of Judas, met together for the purpose of selecting one to complete their number again to twelve, in the process of their selection the statement was made that the reason for which one was to be chosen was that he might be a witness with us of the resurrection. That become the very chief thing, the great issue in the proclamation of Jesus Christ, that He was alive. For that's what sets Him apart from every other religious leader who ever existed.
He came out of the grave alive. The crucifixion loses its meaning without the resurrection, as we well know. The resurrection becomes in Scripture the crowning proof, not only of Jesus' deity, but the guarantee of our own resurrection. And if you remove the resurrection, then the death of Christ is the heroic death of a noble martyr or it's the pathetic death of a deranged mad man or it's the execution of a fraud and it can't be anything more without the resurrection.
And so we would conclude then it's not primarily His teaching, it's not primarily His miracles, it's not even primarily His dying that is the key it is primarily His rising again. Unless Jesus Christ had risen there would be no church. At the death of Christ, the disciples were scattered like chaff in the breeze. They were regathered when He arose from the grave and the church was born. And this became the cornerstone of all great apostolic preaching. And it's still the life blood of Christianity.
When the Jews, for example, in Acts 26 caught Paul in the temple and attempted to kill him, the Bible says that he received help from God and preached unto them resurrection. In Acts 17, when Paul was preaching to the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, the subject of his sermon was the resurrection. When the disciples and apostles were filled with the Spirit of God some days after Pentecost, the Bible says "that with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus."
And the resurrection was the key to Peter's great sermon. He spends one verse, verse 22, on the life of Christ. One verse, verse 23, on the death of Christ, and then he spends from verses 24 to 32 on the resurrection. This takes the overwhelming portion of his sermon. Now, we've already begun to study Peter's sermon and we're studying it rather slowly because we want to get everything out of it that's there, because it sets so many precedents for us in terms of ministry, terms of preaching patterns.
We've learned to begin with that the Spirit of God set the stage for this sermon, did we not? That all of the events of the day of Pentecost were one great big living illustration to grab everybody's attention. It was Pentecost 50 days after Passover, the city was jammed with hundreds of thousands of Jews. Both those who lived there and those who were pilgrims from other lands. They were there to celebrate the feast. The Spirit of God came with a sound like a mighty rushing wind and that sound gathered all of these people together.
The Spirit of God baptized the believers into the body of Christ, indwelt everyone of them and then filled them with power. They spoke the wonderful works of God in languages they did not know. And the people were brought together and confounded by all of this and they heard them speak the wonderful works of God, their own God, Jehovah God. And they were confused because they believed that these people were followers of one who was a blasphemer. And they believed they were satanic, but they couldn't figure out if they were satanic why they were announcing the wonderful works of God.
And it is at that point with the Holy Spirit having provided the living illustration that Peter stands up in verse 14 and begins to preach. And the first of his sermon is his introduction. And in his introduction he explains Pentecost. He shows them what's been going on and in effect, he says, "what you have seen is the sign that the age of Messiah has begun." And he says simply in verse 17, "it shall come to pass in the last days." Quoting out of Joel, "Saith God I will pour out of My Spirit."
And what Peter is saying is what you've just seen is the beginning outpouring of the Spirit of God announcing the birth of the Messianic age. It is the last days. Did you know that the Jewish last days have now been going on for 2,000 years. The whole age of Messiah is called the last days. And we saw that in the Old Testament they saw no parenthesis, no church age in the middle. They just saw the coming of Messiah and the kingdom and once Messiah came the last days had begun.
And so Peter says it's the beginning of the last days. This was what we call the prefillment of what will be ultimately fulfilled in the tribulation and the kingdom when all of the prophecy running clear down through verse 20 will be fulfilled. All those wonderful signs that we saw in the earth and in the heavens, and the miracles indicated in verses 17 and 18. And so he's saying, you've seen the beginning. You've gotten the beginning taste of Messianic times. Messiah has arrived. And he says in view of that fact, verse 21, "it's time to call upon and get saved."
The word saved has to do with deliverance. Deliverance implies judgment, that you need to be delivered from. And so what he's saying is, you know it's Messiah's time, you know it's the last days and you know the last days is always connected with judgment, so you better get it right with God so you'll be delivered from judgment. That's in effect what he's saying.
And so Peter begins in his introduction by explaining that Pentecost is proof positive that the Spirit of God is poured out, which means the Messianic age has come. The Messiah for which the Jews had prayed and longed for for years and for centuries has arrived. Now if there is a Messiah or if there is a Messianic age, there's got to be a Messiah right? And that's exactly what Peter wants them to know. And so now he says, now that I have explained that it is a Messianic time, let me tell you who the Messiah is. And he moves from his introduction to his second point, the theme. The main body of his sermon.
And in his theme, he spends his theme exalting Jesus. His introduction explaining Pentecost, his theme exalting Jesus. And he announces to them, the astounding, overwhelming fact that the Jesus of Nazareth whom they had despised and mocked and looked down on is none other than God's chosen and approved and accredited Messiah. And this stands not only my dear friends as a point of information, but as a fantastic indictment. For they had crucified their own Messiah using the hands of the Romans.
All right, let's look for a moment just reviewing the theme at how it is that Peter presents the facts that Jesus is Messiah. First of all, he begins with Jesus' life in verse 22. "Ye men of Israel hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth," and he uses their kind of derisive term for Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, "a man approved," or proclaimed, proven, openly declared "by God among you by miracles, wonders and signs." Remember we told you the difference. A miracle is a mighty deed. The wonder has to do with the effect that it had. And the sign has to do with its intention.
Jesus did mighty deeds which produced wondrous effects for the purpose of acting as a sign pointing a spiritual truth. Signs always point somewhere don't they? And Jesus' miracles were never ends in themselves. They were to create wonderment that men might turn to look at spiritual truth. "And so God through Jesus approved His Messianic character accredited Christ as the Messiah by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did by Him in the midst of you as ye yourselves also know." And he even indicts them because they knew. You remember Nicodemus who came from the Sanhedrin in John 3, said to Jesus, "we know that no man can do the things you do except," what, "God be with him." They knew that he was doing things that were divine. Even Caiaphas and his cohorts admitted that He was doing miracles. That's what upset them so much.
There was no question about the miraculous nature. Many of the people had even eaten the things that He had produced out of His own hands. They had seen Him heal time and time again. And so God had accredited Jesus Christ and the view of the whole world and established the fact by the very miracles that He did that He was none other than Messiah. The life of Jesus was living proof and living proclamation. By God, Himself, that Jesus was Messiah the Lord.
Then secondly, and we're still reviewing, verse 23, Peter talks about His death as being another verification of His Messiahship. It says in verse 23, "Him," that is referring to Jesus of Nazareth, "being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken Him by wicked hands have crucified and slain." In other words, what we saw from this is and here you have the two sides to the divine paradox, absolute sovereignty and human responsibility, they had by their own act of will, their own evil natures, crucified Jesus Christ using the Roman hands to do it. But they had not done...this is a shock to Jesus. He was no victim. It had all been planned by, watch it, the determinate counsel and foreknowledge, which means for ordination, we saw that last time, of God. Now we studied in John 19 the crucifixion.
Do you remember, that's a wonderful passage. You really ought to study that one and be familiar with it. Do you remember out of every single thing that occurred on the cross was a fulfillment of the Old Testament. When Jesus died, He was not a victim, He was fulfilling to the very letter every single detail of Old Testament prophecy. God had in His own counsel preplanned this thing all the way down the line. And so he says not only does the life of Jesus Christ accredit Him as Messiah, but so does His death. You study any passage of the Old Testament that speaks of Messiah and you'll find it fulfilled in Jesus Christ. You study from the beginning of His death every single little event till the time that He died on the cross and you'll find that every single one of them is fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy to the very letter. Both verbally predictive and typically predictive prophecies.
And so it is the determinate counsel and foreordination of God that made it happen. And yet that doesn't take away from the guilt of those who killed Him, but they did it by their own will. So Jesus seen to be Messiah by the life that He lived as God did miracles through Him. He is seen to be Messiah by the death that He died. How that God was accrediting Him by Him fulfilling everything and the counsel of God to the very letter. This had to be the Messiah, had to be.
Thirdly, and we come for our major study this morning to this point. Peter says "He is accredited by God through the resurrection." And this begins in verse 24. If Messiah's sufferings were ordained by the foreordination of God so was His resurrection. Watch verse 24. "Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that He should be held by it." Now here we have God again getting involved. It's God who did the miracles. It's God who set the plan in order in verse 23. It's God who raises Him up in verse 24 and this gets repeated several times down here. It's God in verse 33 who exalts Him. It's God in verse 36 who declares that that He's Lord in Christ. It's God doing the whole thing.
Jesus never came on a humanitarian mission. He never functioned out of His own desires and His own designs. He was on a divine schedule preplanned by the God of the universe and God, Himself, was activating the plan through Jesus Christ. And so we see that it begins whom God hath raised up. Now, this introduces the resurrection. Jesus was dead, but God raised Him up. The greatest accreditation of Jesus as Lord and Messiah is, in fact, His resurrection. And this became the major theme of apostolic preaching.
Now all through, and I want you to catch this point, it's very important. All through this particular sermon, there is a dichotomy implied between Jews or I should say between the Jews as they thought they were and the Jews as they really were. Because they constantly felt that they were plugged into God and Peter constantly shows them they were not. Now watch the...catch this thought here and unfortunately there's a division between verses 23 and 24 when the flow really gives you this dichotomy. Watch this.
Then end of verse 23. "Ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain whom God hath raised up." Now do you see a little bit of a contrast? You killed Him, God raised Him. Now this becomes a kind of a recurrent theme throughout all the apostolic preaching in the book of Acts. For example, in Chapter 3 Peter's preaching again, verse 14, "But you denied the holy one and the just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you," now watch here it comes again, "and killed the Prince of Life whom God hath raised from the dead." You see.
He sets the Jews at opposite ends of the world from God. This is a very important point in any kind of evangelism, in any kind of commitment to a real presentation of the gospel, we must begin by setting men at the other end of the world from God. They must know they are rebels against God. Nicodemus came to Jesus and he was a pretty good guy. If anybody was a goody good-good, he was. I mean, he had made it all the way on self-righteousness to the place of prominence in the Sanhedrin. He may have been the number one teacher in Israel. Now you might have expected Jesus to say well Nicodemus you're pretty sharp. I mean, you're moral and you do a lot of wonderful things. If you just did one little thing, you'd be all right. And Jesus says, Nicodemus, you know what your problem is, you're you. Just go back and get born all over again.
In other words, you've got to realize Nicodemus, you're at the other end of the pole from God. And the further you go in self-righteousness, the further you go the other direction. And so what Peter does here really is separate totally these Jews from God. You killed Him, God raised Him. Do you see? Now this occurs again in Chapter 10 and in this case, dealing with Gentiles. 10:39, "And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree Him God raised up." You see there's that same dichotomy again.
And over in Chapter 13, verse 29, I like the same thing here. "And when they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a sepulcher, but God raised Him from the dead." You see there's that same disparity. You killed Him, God raised Him. Now that is to show them that they are at the other end of everything from God, because the Jew always prided himself on his proximity to God. And he always rested Romans 2 in the knowledge of the will of God. See?
In Romans Chapter 2, I'm going to read you a couple of verses there. Verse 17, "But if thou art called a Jew," and here's a classic definition of the religious Jew, "if thou art called a Jew," here's what you'll do, "resteth in the law." That was characteristic of a Jew that he made his boast in the law. Not the keeping of it, but the possession of it. Do you see? That'd be like you driving in a 35 mile zone going 110. I mean, really just ripping through. See? And some policeman's able to catch you and he pulls you over. And he says "Man," he says, "you are really in trouble. Get out of the car." And you say, "I'm sorry officer, you can't give me a ticket." Why? "Well, because I have right on the car seat right beside the vehicle code. I've got it." He's going to say, "What does that have to do with anything? You've got it, you're doubly responsible."
The Jew kept going well, I'm okay, I have the law. Never kept it, but I have it. You see the Jew made his boast in possession not in obedience, and it was empty. It was empty. I can't fault their zeal for they were zealous, but they were zealous in their own self-righteousness in the possession of the law and in circumcision, not in obedience. And then watch this in verse 17, "And makest thy boast of God," verse 18, "and knowest His will." The Jew always thought that he knew God and knew God's will. And Peter starts out by driving a gigantic wedge between the Jew and God and saying you don't God and you don't God's will at all, whom you killed, God what? God raised. You don't even know where you are. And don't you see this is where every man must begin. He must begin by realizing he is absolutely separated from the mind and the will of God.
Only in Jesus Christ can a man be reconciled to God. Now let me show you how Jesus brought this to the attention of the Jews in John Chapter 8 in the very familiar passage and one that gives us good illustration for this. John 8, Jesus was in a dialogue with the Pharisees, the religious leaders, commonly in the gospel of John termed Jews. That seems to be a title John reserves as opposed to the people, which means just the general populous. The term Jew is referring primarily to the leaders.
In verse 37, He's having a little debate about the fact that they really don't know the truth and they aren't free and they're saying they are free, etc. Verse 37, "I know that you're Abraham's seed," physically they were of the seed of Abraham, "but you seek to kill Me because My word hath no place in you. But I speak that which I've seen with My Father." In other words, you say you're Abraham's seed and they not only meant it physically, but spiritually, they were...they believed they were his seed by faith too. And He said, what strangers; you claim to be Abraham's seed, but you want to kill Me. That's a little incongruous.
He says, "I speak that which I have seen with My Father," and then watch this shot, "and ye do that which you have seen with your father." Now there's the dichotomy, right there. He hits it. He's saying we've got different fathers. Then answered...they answered in verse 39 and said unto Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said unto them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham." You sure don't act like Abraham. "But now you seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham; Abraham didn't go to kill people who told the truth from God."
If you're Abraham's children, it's not obvious on the surface. Then He says, verse 41, "Ye do the deeds of your father." And then this reply, "Then said they to Him, we are not born of fornication. We have one father, even God." Jesus said unto them, "If God were your Father, you'd love Me for I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of Myself but He sent Me."
In other words, Jesus says, boy if you really knew God, you'd know Me right off the bat, right? They couldn't miss Him. If they knew God here He was. There wouldn't be any problem of recognition, none at all. Verse 44, "Ye of your father," whom, "the devil." Verse 47, "He that is of God hears God's words. Ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God." And then they really got upset. And they started calling Him names. You see Jesus drove a wedge right between God and these people because they had to know that they were at the other end from the will of God.
And they were religious and they read the Old Testament, and they took care of all the little nitty gritty rules of the law, but they were a million miles from God. And that's where it had to begin. That's where Peter had to begin. But their claim, and look at in verse 41, it's kind of an interesting claim, they said to Jesus, "We are not born of fornication." Some writers think that that's a slam at Jesus, because at the early church, the early disciples of Jesus proclaim that He was born of a virgin, but the Jews had a kind of a tradition going around that Jesus had been conceived by a Roman soldier by the name of Pathera who got Mary pregnant when Mary was unfaithful to Joseph, and that Jesus was born of a union between Mary and a Roman soldier who slept with her.
And this was the accusation thrown at Jesus. And some say that that's what they're saying that they're making a nasty crack about Jesus. At least we're not bastard children. But better than that, and that may be true, but I'm not sure it is. Better than that, I'm sure of one thing that can be applied here, in the Old Testament, one of the loveliest descriptions of the nation of Israel was that which saw Israel as a bride. Do you know that one? That's illustrated in the book of Hosea. You remember the story Hosea? Hosea married a wife and she turned out to be a prostitute? You remember her name as Gomer? I've always felt that anybody who'd marry a girl named Gomer was asking for trouble.
But anyway, he married Gomer and he loved Gomer and he betrothed Gomer as his wife. AndGomer was unfaithful and became a prostitute and God said, that's how it is between Myself and Israel. I married Israel as a chaste bride and Israel went a whoring after other gods. Now when Israel went after other gods, she was said to go a whoring and the apostate Jews are described in Hosea, I think it's Chapter 2, verse 4 as "children of whoredoms." In other words, the apostate Jews were the offspring of the false union between Israel and the false gods.
So when the Jews here said to Jesus we are not the children of any adulterous union, they mean that we have maintained our worship of the true God. We have never gone into idolatry, you see. We're not idolatrous children. We are not the children of spiritual adultery. We have always worshiped the true God. Now that shows you how locked in to their era they were. They did not worship the true God. They didn't know the true God. They were of their father, the devil. But because they had the system, they thought they had the reality. Oh is that dangerous. Oh so many people have a form of godliness, but no, what, power.
They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. And so they claim that they had never gone astray. They had always worshipped the true God. A claim that is so sickening with self-righteousness it's almost unreal. And it was in the same self-righteous, so-called worship of God that they sought the death of God's own Son, Jesus Christ. So as always, they claimed to love God, yet hated Jesus and Jesus says no. You see Jesus, before He could ever regather Israel into His arms had to tell them where they really were at. And that's what Peter has to do back in Acts 2.
Before Peter can ever talk to them about where they need to be, he's got to show them where they are. And just in that subtle little statement that carries itself through Acts, "you have killed Him, God has raised Him," is implied that constant dichotomy. And that constant issue that every man on the face of the earth must face. That he is a rebel against God. Then I love this statement. "God hath raised Him up." That almost becomes a title for God in Romans 4:24 when Paul talks about God, he gives God a name. He says, God...he just talks about God with a name, "Him that raised up Jesus." That almost becomes a proper name for God. "Him that raised up Jesus."
Now notice in verse 24 and it says, and we'll move a little faster now maybe, "Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death." God loosed the pains of death. That's a tremendous statement. Now the word pains is the key word to understanding that phrase. It's the word birth pangs. It has to do with the cramps and the pains that a woman has prior to giving birth to a child. And it's a significant word, because it's a word that means that the pain is temporary and it issues in something glorious or something further.
And here when Jesus died that was only a little temporary birth pang which would issue in the glorious resurrection. Do you see? Now this word is used a few places in the New Testament in significant ways. In Matthew 24:8 and Jesus, all of that discourse, Jesus said, "There will be wars and rumors of wars." Then He said, "Nation will rise against nation," verse 8. Then He said, "There will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes." And He said, when you see all that, that is only the beginning of sorrows.
And the word there is that isonly the birth pangs of sorrows. You haven't seen anything yet. Now there's something else about this word that's kind of significant. Whatever is born is something which has never been seen before, right? And there had never been a resurrection like Jesus.' He was the first, what, fruits. And so the birth pangs were to issue in a new kind of life, which was then given to everyone after Jesus Christ in His church in a glorious new birth in resurrection promise. The pangs that we see in Matthew 24 as we see wars and rumors of wars and all these things are finally going to give birth to the horror of the end of the great tribulation. And that's such evil as has also never been seen in the history of the world. So the word speaks of something that is not before ever known.
And so Jesus Christ suffered a few birth pangs that He might bring forth resurrection life for all who believe in Him. What a fantastic truth. And so as Christians, we don't fear death. We don't fear death anymore than a mother and the thrill and the anticipation of knowing that she's going to bring forth a new life, fear is the pang that precedes it. That's incidental to the joy.
And so it is that we may look forward to death. And we may say well, it might hurt a little bit. I mean, I might die slowly and it might be a little bit painful, but it's only birth pangs that are going to issue in a glorious resurrection life. That's our hope isn't it? We have a guarantee in 1 Corinthians 6, isn't it? Verse 14, where the apostle Paul speaking of this. Yes, says "And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by His own power." Do you know that the guarantee of your resurrection is just as secure as the guarantee was of Christ? Same power. So we have no fear.
All right, God raised Him up, He freed Him from the birth pangs of death which issued in resurrection life. Then this tremendous statement, because...here's a simple statement, because it wasn't possible that He should be held by them. There was no way death could hold Jesus Christ. Impossible. You say why? Number one, He was too powerful. Divine power, death could not handle Jesus. Hebrews 2:14 said that "Jesus became a man, became made of flesh, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death even the devil." Hebrews 2:14. Jesus had too much power. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and," what, "and the life." He not only gave life, He was life and death couldn't hold Him, no way.
He shattered the chains of death and came out of that grave. He had too much power. Secondly, not only divine power made impossible, but divine promise. In John Chapter 2, Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and in three days, I'll raise it up." And they all looked at the temple and thought good, how will He ever do that? They were thinking He was talking about the big stoned temple. And the next verse says, "But He spake to them concerning His own body." Jesus said, "you destroy and I'll raise it up." Divine promise made the resurrection necessary.
And in Luke 24, when He was talking to the disciples after His resurrection, it says in verse 44, "He said unto them, these are the words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and the prophets, the Psalms concerning Me." Those are three Old Testament divisions. Verse 45, "Then opened He their understanding, they might understand the Scriptures." The Old Testament. "He said unto them, thus it is written from the Old Testament and thus it behoove Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day." Did you know that even the third day resurrection was prophesied in the Old Testament in the feast of first fruits? Every detail.
And so divine power and divine promise made it necessary for Jesus to rise and death couldn't handle Him. Third thing, divine purpose. God had designed to call a people to Himself. And in order for those people to come to Him, they had to go through death and out the other side and Jesus had to make the way. "Because I live," what, "ye shall live also." So divine purpose as well.
Now God raised Him, death could not handle Him. Do you think could handle God? No way. That's a wonderful promise for us isn't it? Do we have to fear death? What does Paul say? "Oh death, where is thy victory?" He mocks death. Where's your sting? See. He's mocking it at the end of 1 Corinthians 15. The whole language is sarcastic. Take that death. See? He's laughing and scorning death. And we can, because Jesus Christ knows the way through.
Now to confirm the resurrection as God's plan for the Messiah, Peter very, very carefully takes an Old Testament text, Psalm 16, verses 8-11 and quotes it and then applies it. And this is a masterpiece. Watch this in verse 25. Now he's going to quote the Old Testament, Psalm 16. "For David," and of course, just whammo, he grabs you know one of the great lights in Jewish history whom they all loved and adored. "For David speaketh concerning Him." David spoke about Messiah. David do you mean to tell me that David spoke about Jesus of Nazareth? Boy that's new stuff.
They believe Jesus of Nazareth to be a blasphemer. This is the same Jesus who did miracles, verse 23, who died according to the plan of God, verse 24, who raise...who was raised according to the power of God and the one that David spoke about. You said David spoke about Him? Sure Psalm 16 and he goes right off to quote it. "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad. Moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope. Because Thou will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will Thou allow Thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the path to life. Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance."
Now here you have one of the interesting phenomenons in prophecy. Frequently, the prophet speaking in the first person is really the voice of Messiah. Now as you study the Psalms, you'll find this again and again. For example, in Psalm 22, David says, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me." But whose words were those really? They were the words of Jesus Christ on the cross. Very often it is prophetic pattern to put in the first person the words of the Messiah right in the mouth of the prophet.
You find it even later on in Psalm 22 and you find it elsewhere as well. And so here David is speaking, but it is really the Messiah speaking. And David was prophesying the words of Messiah regarding His trust in God as He looked to the cross. Now look at verse 25. "I foresaw the Lord always before My face." Here Jesus is simply saying I just kept My eyes on God. That's what it says. I kept My eyes on God. I was continually seeing before My face the Lord.
You see that's the whole key. Jesus never had any problem with anything He did, because His focus was in the right place. You know the thing that really fouls up Christians is that they get their attention off the Lord and they start looking at everything else. I always remember the story I read about the preacher who wanted to train his dog and so he would try to train his dog to be obedient. He threw a piece of meat on the floor and the dog would run over and gobble it up and he'd take a big stick and smash the dog. And the next day he throws some more meat and the dog would run over and eat the meat and he'd smash him again.
Well, pretty soon the dog got the message, eat meat, get smashed, you know. It didn't take too long. And then the dog didn't do it any more and the preacher begin to notice that the reason was that whenever you throw the meat there, the dog would never watch the meat, the dog would never take his eyes off the master. And as long as his eyes were on the master, he had no problem with the meat. As soon as he started looking over there he got fouled up. The temptation was strong. And the same thing true in the Christian life. If you go through life looking at all the goodies, you're going to get into problems.
Jesus Christ always knew where the focus was to be and He set His face toward God and He never moved it. And Jesus is talking here, the Messiah, prophetically through the mouth of David is saying, I just kept My gaze on God and God's plan. And whatever came just came, even in death. And then he says at the end of verse 25, "For He is on My right hand that I should not be moved." Isn't that good? The right hand was the sign of protection in marriage. Traditionally the bridegroom stands on the right hand as the protector of the bride. A bodyguard stands at the right side protecting with his shield, you see. Over here he holds his shield against the one he's protecting and he fights with his right arm. The right side was protection. So Jesus simply says I have nothing to fear. I go willingly to the cross, because God is My protector, I trust Him.
And verse 26, "Therefore did My heart rejoice and My tongue was glad." You say you mean He was happy about the cross? Hebrews 12:2 says that "He went to the cross for the joy that was set before Him." Sure. Oh He wasn't glad for the pain. He was glad for the results, and He kept His eyes on the joy that came past the pain. And so Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is saying "therefore did My heart rejoice, My tongue was glad." And then here comes the indication of resurrection. "Moreover My flesh also shall rest in hope." The literal Greek translation of that is this. "My body shall pitch its tent on the ground called hope."
In other words, I trust God. I don't have anything to fear. I can go right into death and I can just believe God to come right out the other side. That's what He means in verse 27 when He says, "Thou will not leave My soul in Hades. Neither will Thou allow Thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to Me the path to life." I don't fear anything. I trust. Now you see, this is the words in the mouth of David, and Jesus is really speaking. They are really Messianic prophecy. And He's saying My body will commit to the grave with a confident expectation that it will be raised to life again. We have that same confidence. Isn't that fantastic.
We have the same God with the same power who's going to give us the same resurrection. And when we rise from the dead, we'll be with Him and we'll be like Him. Verse 27, "Thou will not leave," and the word "leave" is abandoned. "Thou will not abandon My soul in Hades." Now that can't be true of David because David was in Hades. "Thou will not allow thine Holy One to see corruption." David's body, did it see corruption? Sure it did. Sure it did. So we say then he can't be talking about David. He must be talking about somebody else.
Verse 28, "Thou hast made known to me the ways of life." That means make known the path to life, resurrection. I'm going to rise. You say David is standing there saying I'm not going to be corrupted, I'm going to rise. And when I'm done rising, verse 28, "Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance." I'm going right to that grave, out the other side and right into Your presence and I'm going to look You face to face, God.
You say poor David, he was really disappointed. His body went in there and it's still there. David blew it. No, because David wasn't talking about David, you see. That's the whole point. And that's what Peter says, watch in verse 29. Oh this is good. "Men and brethren," that covers it, "let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both," what, "dead and buried." Poor David. He didn't get it. And his sepulcher is with us unto this day and the old indications in the time of Peter and some historic notes tell us that there were two very famous tombs at that time in Jerusalem, the tomb of David and the tomb of Huldah the prophetess and everybody knew about it. And no Jew had ever taught that David rose from the dead.
It was a very sacred place to go to worship. It's a place where David was buried. And so Peter simply says boys David didn't make it. He did not come out of the grave and he is dead and he is seeing corruption physically. David did not fulfill that prophecy. You say what does it mean? Look at verse 30, "But therefore, being a," what? Oh, David was speaking prophetically wasn't he? David was a prophet. He being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Messiah to sit on His thrown. He's seeing this before spoke of the resurrection, what, of Christ. Do you see.
David was prophesying. Now David had received a promise from God and that was a wonderful promise. That promise is recorded for us in 2 Samuel, and don't turn to it, because I don't want to take the time, but I just want to read you just a passage in 2 Samuel 7, which gives the promise. Now David had wanted to build a temple of the Lord. He looked at his own house and said boy I've got a...really a sharp place here and it's made out of cedars. And you know how cedars smell and oh man it was beautiful and the Lord's living in a tent and that's not right.
So David said to Nathan one night, Nathan, I'm going to build a house for the Lord. And Nathan said, Boy, David, that's terrific; go ahead. And God grabbed Nathan in the middle of the night and said, Nathan, you're supposed to be My prophet, what's the idea of telling David to do that when he didn't even ask Me. So He says, You go tell David there is no way he's going to build My house. He's a man of blood. His son Solomon will do it. But whenever the Lord doesn't let you do something, He gives you something greater.
And so in view of that God gives David this fantastic promise in Chapter 7, verse 11. "And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over people Israel and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies, also the Lord telleth me that He will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers and I will set up thy seed after thee which shall proceed out of thine own body, I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for My name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."
Now who do you think that is? Verse 16, "And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne shall be established forever. There's coming an eternal king from the loins of David. The word Messiah means what? Anointed king. And God promised to David an anointed king who would have an eternal kingdom. And so what is Peter saying here. He's saying, watch it, verse 30, "David was a prophet. He knew God had sworn with an oath to him that out of his own loins according to the flesh, he would raise up this anointed and the word Christ means anointed. It's the same word as Messiah, to sit on his throne on David's throne."
So what's Peter saying, Peter's saying, David was prophesying regarding Messiah when he's talking about resurrection. David wasn't saying this of himself. He was speaking of Messiah that he knew God had promised. Verse 31, "He seeing this before." You want a good definition of predictive prophesy, there it is. "He seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ," Messiah, "that His soul," that is Messiah's soul, "was not left in Hades, neither did His flesh see corruption." Oh is this a masterpiece of expository preaching on the part of Peter. He takes that text and applies it perfectly to Messiah. Look at his argument. Let me give it to you real quick. Are you ready?
Point one, Psalm 16 refers to the resurrection of somebody, right? Has to, it's what it's talking about. Psalm 16 refers to the resurrection of somebody. David doesn't qualify, true? Point number three, David knew the promise of God regarding a Messiah. Therefore, point number four, the Psalm refers to Messiah. Number 5, Messiah will be one who rises from the dead. Oh was he building his case.
Now watch verse 32, "This Jesus hath God," what, "raised up." Oh is that...oh can you imagine? That is powerful. He's been sneaking up on them. And now he let's them have both barrels. He takes that passage and unfolds it and says here He is. Are you looking for a Messiah, for this a messianic age? This Messiah better be one who rose from the dead. "This Jesus hath God raised." Is that powerful?
That's the clincher in verse 32. Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, and then he says, "whereof we all are witnesses." All of us knew this Jesus. And especially the apostles and the 500 who saw Him after His resurrection. So Jesus is exalted to be Messiah, not only by His life and death, but by His resurrection. Then Peter closes his theme by showing how Jesus is exalted to be Messiah through His ascension. Look at verse 33.
"Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit He had shed forth this which you now see and hear." This just wraps it up. Boy it's a masterpiece. Peter says, now back to what I told you at the beginning, what you've just seen happened because God promised the Messiah that He would send the Spirit. Messiah accomplished His work. God exalted Him and sent the Spirit as He promised He would, and that's what you've seen today people.
Boy you see Peter just tie this thing into one big messianic ball, just pulls the whole thing together. "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted." This Jesus was lifted up to sit at the Father's right hand. And He received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit and He shed forth this which you now see and hear.
What they had been beholding was God sending the Spirit as He had promised to send the Spirit in the messianic age. And we're right back to Pentecost again. The exalted Messiah has sent the Holy Spirit. The prophecy of the Old Testament is beginning to be fulfilled. It is the last days. It is Messiah's time, and it is time for salvation. Then Peter quotes another Davidic Psalm to prove Jesus is Messiah by His ascension in verse 34. "For David is not ascended into the heavens. But He saith Himself, the Lord said unto Lord, sit Thou on My right hand."
Now when David said that he wasn't talking about himself. He couldn't have been, because David didn't ascend into the heavens did he? He went into the grave. So the ascension, the promise "sit Thou on My right hand," whoever God gave that to it wasn't to David, right? At no time did God say to David sit at My right hand. It must be somebody else. Well, it is this Jesus whom God hath exalted and is seated now at His right hand. And then in verse 35, "Until I make Thy foes Thy footstool." And all of that's out of Psalm 110:1.
God said to somebody, I'm going to sit You at My right hand, and I'm going to have You put Your heel on the neck of Your enemies. You can read about that in Joshua 10:24-25 what that means. It just means subjection. But God said to somebody through David, "I'm going to lift You to My right hand and put Your enemies under You." Well, it couldn't have been David. It must again have been a reference to Messiah and indeed Jesus fulfills that for He went right from the earth and we saw Him go. And He entered into God's presence and is seated at the right hand of God.
And some day all of His enemies will be made subject. And at that time every knee shall bow before Him. And so because of His life, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension He is accredited to be the Messiah and Peter comes to an overwhelming climax in verse 36 and listen to what he says. "Therefore, on the basis of everything that I have said, let all the house of Israel know assuredly," that word's reserved for twice in the New Testament. It means absolutely with perfect certainty and no doubts. "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ." You see how far off they were from God? Whom they killed, God declared to be Messiah.
Now that's the climax. His Messiahship is brought into focus by His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. He is Messiah. He is Lord. He is God and He is King. Do you notice that all through this, it is God who's been doing the declaring? It is God who did the works in His life, verse 22. It is God who determined the counsel that brought His death, verse 23. It is God who raised Him up, verse 24. It is God who exalted Him, verse 33. And it is God who declares Him to be Messiah and Lord. This is the work of God and He's saying that to show them that they are so far from God.
And the reaction was unbelievable. Verse 37, "When they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?" "What shall we do?" The question is the same question that Pilate asked himself and the people about Him. "What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Christ?" You say what are the options? Listen as I read.
Acts 17:31, "God hath commanded all men everywhere to repent because He hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained." That's Christ. "Concerning which He hath given assurance unto all men and that He hath raised Him from the dead." The evidence is in, Jesus is God's man. Listen, "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked." That's the first thing you can do. You can laugh at all of this. You can mock at Jesus. Assign it to some kind of ridiculous philosophy.
Secondly, "Others said we will hear again of this matter." You can postpone it and do nothing, neglect it. Nevertheless certain men joined him and believed, or you can believe. Let's pray.
Father, we thank You this morning for the secure evidence that Jesus is who He claimed to be. We thank You that our faith is based on reason and fact. Father, that we take no intellectual backseat, we take no historical backseat, but that we can know the accuracy of the revelation of God historically and intellectually as well as spiritually and through revelation. We thank You that the facts are there, that Jesus filled every prophecy, every requirement for the anointed promised One.
Oh God we pray this morning that if there are some here who are mocking or who are putting off and postponing that they may this day believe. To Your glory in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Who doesn't love bugs?! Ok, well some people actually, but this week's worth of bug-tastic activities is sure to change that, and please the bug lovers, too. Egg carton caterpillars, bug races, and ant stories mean your summer reader will sneak in some learning while she's having some creepy, crawly fun.Download All (16)
Click on an item in the set below to see more info.
Week 1: BugsDownload Worksheet More info
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Take your nature explorations a bit further with these suggestions from PBS Parents. Go on a backyard bug hunt!
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Looking for more summer reading ideas? We've picked the best of the best of our most popular workbooks for every grade to help you make the most of your kid's summer. Avoid the summer slide and spark your child's imagination with our picks. Check them out here!
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Buffalo legislator, who sits on Veterans, Military Affairs and Homeland Security Committee, chooses Army captain from Orchard Park for prestigious honor
State Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-I-60, announced Friday he nominated United States Army Captain Roger L. Woodworth as his nominee for the New York State Senate's 2013 Veterans Hall of Fame Honoree Celebration. Woodworth will be recognized at a ceremony and luncheon on Tuesday in Albany for his efforts in the military as well as his work as a veteran in Western New York.
"I am proud to nominate Roger for this honor because of the many contributions he has made and continues to make in our community," Grisanti said. "His efforts at the Veteran One-Stop Center and the Western New York Veterans Housing Coalition, as well as his various interests outside of that work, are to be commended, which is why I am glad to acknowledge the work of him and all veterans as part of our celebration of veterans."
Woodworth was born in East Aurora and is a graduate of East Aurora Senior High School. He enlisted in the Army in 1996, attending basic training in South Carolina and advanced individual training in Virginia. After serving three years as an enlisted terrain analyst on the 42nd Infantry Division Terrain Team, Woodworth attended officers candidate school. He was commissioned in 1999 and began his career as an Army officer with service in Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment, Engineer Brigade, 42nd Infantry Division, as a tactical intelligence officer.
Woodworth served in leadership positions at various levels. In 2004, he was deployed to the Sunni Triangle and the four North-Central Provinces in Iraq. He led U.S. service members in ground combat and stability operations with Task Force Liberty during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and his unit was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation for its work. Following re-deployment in 2005, he continued to serve into 2006, at which point he assumed an operations officer role.
Woodworth's current assignment is as an engineer operations officer. He is also a traditional member of the New York Army National Guard with more than 16 years of combined active and National Guard service. His awards and decorations are too numerous to list, but include Bronze Star Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal and Humanitarian Service Medal.
Woodworth continues his service to veterans by remaining actively engaged in veterans' advocacy and service through various veteran-oriented committees and councils. He serves on the Erie County Legislature's VALER4Valor Committee and the VA WNY Healthcare Systems VA Advisory Council, among other veterans' advisory positions. He most recently served as chairman of the board of directors of the Veterans One-Stop Center of WNY and was instrumental in its founding. He also serves as treasurer of the WNY Veterans Housing Coalition.
"I am honored to have been selected as the Distinguished Veteran for the 60th Senate District of the State of New York," Woodworth said. "I am humbled by the opportunity to represent all the veterans of the 60th Senate District whose service on behalf of our nation and community is as equally worthy of induction to the New York State Veterans Hall of Fame. A tradition that continues through the work of the great veteran service and advocacy organizations that I've had the pleasure and honor of working with, I thank Sen. Grisanti for this prestigious honor."
Woodworth holds an MBA from the University at Buffalo's School of Management's Executive Program and an undergraduate degree in management. He held various management positions at M&T Bank and currently works full-time as president and CEO of the Veterans One-Stop Center of WNY. He lives in Orchard Park with his wife, Ellen, and their four children.


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Note: The HJC RPHA X Motocross Helmet has been discontinued and is no longer able to be ordered.Since 1971, HJC has specialized in manufacturing motorcycle helmets exclusively. HJC helmets are constantly tested in both laboratory testing as well as in "real" life for quality assurance. HJC is equipped with its own state of the art wind tunnel testing laboratory to test for aerodynamics, ventilation, noise, etc.
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I might be the only one who watches "Eureka" but I don't care, Colin Ferguson is a dream boat and someday he's going to marry me. More proof of his dreaminess can be found in these news clips from "Lake Placid 3", by far the most awe inspiring clips of the entire "Lake Placid" series to date.
Remember those "Witchboard" movies from the 80's? The only reason anyone watched them was in hope that you might get to see Tawny Kitaen naked. Spoiler alert, you didn't. "Ouija Board" apparently has nothing to do with those films but word has it Pierre Morel, who directed "Taken" will also take the helm of this one. That tied in nicely, didn't it?
I'm pretty sure at this point every women in Hollywood has been rumored to be taking the lead in the "Alien" prequel and today it's Anne Hathaway. I think the producers are just getting drunk and looking at their DVD collection and randomly screaming out names. "'The Princess Diaries'! That movie changed my life, get me that girl. Oh god I just messed myself"
A lot has happened this season on Eureka. To be honest I don't even remember what the season premiere was about anymore so much has gone on. The few months that the show took off didn't help that though.
Never let it be said that Eureka is big on giving away details. Two weeks ago we were treated to a shitty clip show and after taking a week off I assumed that was our season finale. Not so, apparently. Friday night my DVR was all ablaze and Eureka was back in full force.
Last week it seemed like all was fine and dandy in the town of Eureka. The mystery of the space craft had been solved, Henry had a replica of his long lost love, and Carter was about to finally get some action. The only question that was left was what the hell was going to happen next.
Oh ship! The ship finally went down this past week on Eureka. The ship hit the fan in the episode titled "Ship Happens". See what I'm doing here now? Don't worry, I'll keep it going.
Six episodes ago we learned that some sort of radio signal was being received in Eureka from outer space. We didn't know what the signal was or who was sending it, but we knew it was getting closer. Well this week we finally got to find out in the episode "If You Build It…".
Bowling, there's nothing quite like it. What other game gives you countless excuses to make jokes about how heavy your balls are. It's really a amazing sport.
Alright here we go, week three. Now we're getting somewhere. This past week's episode promised two wonderful things, the title would have a Cypress Hill reference, "Insane In The P-Brain" and we would finally get some info on these radio signals that are directed at Eureka.
I never like when shows take major characters and remove them from the series for a week. They usually come up with some random excuse why that person isn't around, usually a conference in some far away city or some other random crap.


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They can sort out how the medieval Church may have appropriated the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia (already being held in mid February); decide whether Valentine, a third century Bishop, had indeed been beheaded for holding secret marriages; and debate whether as a saint, he truly restored a blind woman's sight.
(And for goodness sake, will we ever agree whether Valentine really signed his final letter with these immortal words: 'From your Valentine?')
These questions are important--after all, an entire industry depends on these re-purposed, glossed-over events to thrive.
But, for me, the history of Valentine's Day would be nothing without the birds and, of course, the buns.
I've seen repeated many times this story that medieval people believed that birds mated on February 14.
It doesn't help that Chaucer seemed to confirm this belief in his fourteenth century Parliament of Fowls, "For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate."
(Birds, apparently, were smarter than people. Despite all the calendar changes--from Julian to Gregorian--that confused ordinary people, birds could figure out when February 14 was).
Logically, then, if you believed that birds mated on Valentine's Day, then it's only rational to eat as birds do. Thus, many people ate buns with caraway seeds on February 14 too, hoping to entice a mate.
(Am I the only one imagining people sitting around with their pints of ale, taking turns pecking at buns on their own and other people's plates...?)
So this year, why not forgo the chocolates, and bring on the seeds?! And here is a traditional caraway seed bun recipe, in case, like me, you've never made such a thing in your life. So long as you don't say "Romance is for the birds!" (Sorry, couldn't resist!)
I'm curious, though, does anyone still eat these buns on Valentine's Day? And other than chocolate and candy, does anyone have any traditional Valentine's day food?