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Share your story, share motivational tips and hear about other's progress. Receive encouragement from peers and participate in activity-based challenges to win great prizes!
Understanding and tracking health data is the first step to achieving your wellness goals. From basic vitals to physical activity and nutrition, stayhealthy helps you play an active role in your personal health and wellness.
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Kendriya Vidyalaya Salua conducting walk-in drive for the recruitment of Doctor & More Vacancies for Master degree/B.Ed/B.Tech/IT/M.Sc/Bechelor'sdegree/MBBS holders on August 06, 2014
Company name : Kendriya Vidyalaya Salua
Posts : Doctor & More Vacancies
Qualification : Master degree/B.Ed/B.Tech/IT/M.Sc/Bechelor'sdegree/MBBS
Salary : NA
No of Openings : NA
Location : West Bengal
Last date to apply : August 06, 2014
Details of Post :
Doctor & More Vacancies
Walk-in-interview will be conducted for the following posts on purely Part time contractual basis for the academic session 2014-15 on 06-08-2014 at 9 am.
Eligibility Criteria:
|Post & Subject
|Minimum Qualification required.
|PGT-English, Physics,
|At least 50% Marks in aggregate in B.Tech(Comp.Sc./IT)/BE/B.Tech+PGDCA or M.Sc.(Comp.Sc.) or B.C.A.+Post Graduate/PGDCA+Post graduate or B level DOEACC+Post graduate or C level DOEACC+ graduate.
|TGT-English, Social Scince,
|1. Bechelor'sdegree with at least 50% marks in aggregate in the concerned subjects as well as in aggregate.
2. B.Ed. or equivalent degree
4. Proficiency in teaching in Hindi & English medium.
|MBBS and Registered with MCI
Interested Eligible candidates may appear the interview with the Original as well as Photocopies of all the certificates and mark sheet.
Salary & Emoluments : As per KVS (HQ) Norms.
For more details contact : Principal, 03222-296534
Important dates to remember :
Last date to apply : August 06, 2014
|Click here for More Details
|Click here to apply
|All Jobs From Kendriya Vidyalaya Salua

subset: commoncrawl


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Swiss Company Cries Foul Play Over "Stolen" Patent
SEZ, along with its Austrian subsidiary SEZ AG and two German inventors, allege Applied Materials and one of its scientists ran off with co-created technology, leading to a patent issued in March 2004, without the knowledge of SEZ or its inventors.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, surrounds a patent issued by...
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Searching for Seamless Textured Cloth Material Tiles of Splendid Batik Designs?
If you want to texture your 3D clothing or furniture with beautiful Batik patterns check out our seamless textured cloth material tiles pack #1.
See here these neat seamless and tileable textures from the Mixed Batik Patterns pack 1 in this album!
These kinds of Hi-def tiling fabric textures are Hi-Q repeatable patterns – very well suitable for any kind of 3D textile and for virtual apparel.
Who Are the Users of Our Repeatable Fabric Textures?
Game developers, 3D artists and CG artists (including DAZ 3D and Poser users), use our CG Elves seamless textures, for texturing the clothing of their 3D models for animated commercials, films and MMORPG games – whether for dynamic or for posed renders.
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Get our seamless textured cloth material tiles of Batik design patterns here >>


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Dr. Carl S. Weber was one of the founding MWMC Board members, representing the academic community. Through this award, we celebrate Carl's life and work by acknowledging others who share his generous spirit, his commitment to Maryland's waters, his vision for collaboration, and his leadership in advancing monitoring and assessment. Beginning in 2007, the Award has been presented annually to an individual involved in water monitoring in Maryland who exhibits the spirit, vision and leadership so exemplified by Carl.
Carl, a founding member of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) Biological Sciences Department, taught there for nearly 40 years. Although his training was in biochemistry, Carl developed an interest in stream ecology in the 1980s and became a self-taught aquatic biologist, eventually creating and teaching courses in stream and river ecology. Carl used Herbert Run--a Patapsco River tributary that flows through UMBC--as a living classroom for his students that spurred research and restoration activities on the stream. In 2002, Carl won the UMBC 2002 Alumni Association Award for Mentoring. Many of the students Carl taught and mentored have gone on to internships and careers in the environmental protection field. Carl was instrumental in bringing the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research Network to UMBC through the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. He also served as the first chair of the Patapsco Tributary Team.
Carl's entry into the monitoring world began when he got involved with the Friends of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park in his home watershed. In 1989, he began leading a unique and innovative new project for Maryland Save Our Streams and Baltimore County, becoming involved in every aspect of the program. "Project Heartbeat" was the first program in the United States to train volunteers to collect and analyze benthic macroinvertebrates and to assess physical habitat using EPA's 1989 Rapid Bioassessment Protocol. Over a 10 year period, thousands of volunteers were trained to collect benthic samples and identify them to the taxonomic family level in a controlled lab setting. Through Carl, UMBC provided lab space and equipment and Carl taught and supervised volunteers to identify 200-300 samples a year. Carl chaired both the community steering committee and the technical advisory committee, building a bridge among volunteers, watershed organizations, academia, the County, the State, EPA, and other stakeholders. Carl performed all the lab quality control and data analysis and co-authored Project Heartbeat's Quality Assurance Project Plan, the first of its kind for a volunteer biological monitoring program. Project Heartbeat had a profound impact on volunteer water monitoring, environmental education, and watershed collaboration, not only in Maryland, but across the country. Because of this program, Baltimore County has a quality baseline data set on the health of its streams spanning more than 10 years. Project Heartbeat maintained a high level of scientific credibility and the program contributed to advances made in stream assessment and analysis methods within the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Maryland Department of Environment. The road to DNR's "Stream Waders" program was paved, in part, by Project Heartbeat's success. No one person is more responsible for any of these accomplishments than Carl Weber.
580 Taylor Ave, Annapolis MD 21401


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Decolorization potential of mixed microbial consortia for reactive and disperse textile dyestuffs
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Four different aerobic mixed consortia collected from basins of wastewater streams coming out of dying plants of Crescent Textile (CT), Sitara Textile (ST), Chenab Fabrics (CF) and Noor Fatima Textile (NF), Faisalabad, Pakistan were applied for decolorization of Drimarene Orange K-GL, Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL, Foron Yellow SE4G and Foron Blue RDGLN for 10 days using the shake flask technique. CT culture showed the best decolorization potential on all dyestuffs followed by ST, NF and CF, respectively. CT could completely decolorize all dyes within 3–5 days. ST cultures showed effective decolorization potential on Foron Yellow SE4G and Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL but complete color removal was achieved after 4 and 7 days, respectively. NF culture showed 100% decolorization efficiencies on Foron Yellow SE4G and Foron Blue RDGLN but it took comparatively longer time periods (5–7 days). Where as, the NF culture had decolorized only 40% and 50% of Drimarene orange and red, respectively, after 10 days. CF caused complete decolorization of Foron Blue RDGLN and Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL after 4 and 8 days, respectively but it showed poor performance on other two dyes.
KeywordsMixed cultures Textile dyestuffs Decolorization potential Industrial effluents
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TV's in The Kitchen: Cozy or Excess?
Growing up, our grandma had a small black and white TV in a corner of the kitchen. Since she was always whipping up a dish or a fancy dessert, you could usually find her in the kitchen with the TV on. Since then, a television in the kitchen has always given off a cozy vibe.
Kitchen space from Rajiv's Bangalore Wabi Sabi
While we currently don't have a television set in our kitchen, we wondered how AT readers felt... We've posted about a tube in the bedroom and even in the bathroom but is having one in the kitchen overkill? There are certainly ways to make a TV in the kitchen less conspicuous by purchasing a small flat-screen or plopping it in a corner out of the way. Since most of our friends are now using their laptops to stream shows, you could eliminate the TV in the kitchen altogether. Yet, because the kitchen is typically the hub of the house, it would make sense to have a TV set centrally located (and we definitely think it adds a bit of coziness (a similar feeling to the dryer or washing machine running in the background).
What do our AT readers think? Do you have a TV in the kitchen? Do you consider it cozy, necessary or excess?
Related Television Posts
- Kitchen Counter To Hide Your TV
- Where's Your TV?
- Before and After: Incorporating A Flat Screen TV Into A Bookcase
[Image from House Beautiful]


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Bush is a wee fanny. He is choking for a war with Iraq. He demands they have inspections and they agree and he says they're stalling for time.


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The owners of a minor league baseball team in Florida sued the Florida Marlins in State Supreme Court in Manhattan yesterday, seeking to block the Marlins from participating in the Nov. 17 expansion draft and from using their name and logo. The National League and its president, Bill White, also were named in the suit.
The owners of the Miami Miracle, the team that vacated Miami when the National League granted the area one of two expansion franchises for the 1993 season, are seeking a temporary restraining order enjoining the Marlins from doing business until they compensate the Miracle partnership for its exclusive territorial rights under the Professional Baseball Agreement.
In seeking a temporary restraining order, followed by injunctions, the partnership says it will suffer irreparable harm if the Marlins are permitted to participate in the expansion draft and continue using the name and logo.
The case was assigned to Justice Shirley Fingerhood, who ordered the defendants to show cause at a hearing on Oct. 28 why an order should not be issued. The case could derail major league baseball's plans to stock the Marlins and the Colorado Rockies in a televised draft in four weeks.
The clubs, which paid $95 million each in expansion fees, are scheduled to draft 36 players apiece as the nucleus of their major league organizations. The existing 26 clubs have to file their 15-player protected lists the day after the World Series ends, which could mean as early as Friday if the Series is over on Thursday night. Free-Agent Ban SoughtContinue reading the main story
The lawsuit, which was filed in New York because that is where the league offices are located, also asks that the Marlins not be permitted to sign major league free agents. Under baseball's plan, the expansion teams will be permitted to sign players who become free agents after the World Series.
Marvin Goldklang of Livingston, N.J., is the principal owner of the Class A team, which this year played in Fort Myers, Fla., as a member of the Florida State League and last month became affiliated with the Minnesota Twins. He also is a limited partner in the Yankees' ownership.
Goldklang and his Miracle partners seek $20 million in punitive damages from the Marlins and an unspecified amount of damages to be determined in a trial.
The dispute stems from what the suit charges is the Marlins' failure to pay the Miracle for claiming its territory. A major league club can claim a minor league territory, but it must compensate the minor league club. Procedures at Issue
According to the suit, the Marlins never followed any of the procedures outlined in the rules. For one thing, it says, the expansion team did not file a notice to claim the territory before occupying it, as the rules require. The suit contends that the National League is jointly liable in the Marlin's failure to adhere to the agreements.
The Miracle partnership said the Marlins indicated recently that they intended to file a notice this week and also had indicated they would seek arbitration on the compensation dispute. But, the suit says, the rules of arbitration require the claiming major league club to seek arbitration before occupying the territory. Both actions would be more than a year late, the suit claims.
Fingerhood yesterday granted a temporary restraining order blocking any attempt by the Marlins to initiate arbitration proceedings.
The Marlins, the Miracle owners argue, "have waived any right to seek arbitration by failing to seek arbitration" before they effectively joined the National League and occupied the Miracle's territory.
The arbitration process itself has been damaged, the suit says, by the absence of a major league commissioner. The commissioner is a critical figure in a seven-man panel that would hear a compensation dispute because, the suit says, he is a person who "enjoyed a qualitatively independent status" and he would appoint the seventh, or neutral, member of the panel.
The name Marlins, the suit says, was for years the name of the Miami minor league team that was founded in the 1920's. The team, the suit states, had been noted in the past few decades for helping develop such players as Jim Palmer, Jose Canseco, Eddie Murray, Ferguson Jenkins, Cal Ripken Jr., Benito Santiago, Mike Flanagan and Dennis Martinez.
The owners of the Marlins gained their name fraudulently, the suit charges. The Miracle partnership accommodated the request for the name, it says, "with the clear understanding and expectation" that it would receive "just and reasonable compensation" under baseball agreements. 'Overtures' Cited
The partnership, the suit says, has made "a number of overtures to the Marlins to engage in a dialogue and negotiations on what constitutes just and reasonable compensation. However, the Marlins have consistently rebuffed all of the Miracle's attempts to resolve this issue, or even to negotiate with the Miracle."
The Marlins have taken this stance, the partners say in court papers, despite a National League membership agreement of Sept. 9, 1991, requiring that the Marlins "forthwith commence negotiations" with the minor league club.
With baseball people traveling from Atlanta to Toronto for the World Series yesterday, attempts to reach officials of the Marlins or the National League were not successful.
A sports article on Oct. 21 about a lawsuit that seeks to bar the Florida Marlins from baseball's expansion draft, on Nov. 17, misstated the date on which each of the 26 established teams must submit its list of 15 players who cannot be chosen. It is Nov. 9, not the day after the World Series.


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Custom Classic Arm Guard
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- Pulls cloths tight to forearm for bowstring clearance
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Personalize your Classic Arm Guard with a name or word of your choosing. Choose up to 8 letters.
The Custom Classic Arm Guard has the characteristics of a Classic Hill Style Arm Guard. It features and easy-on, easy-off application so that you can spend more time shooting and less time putting on your equipment. The Classic Arm Guard also features an easy adjustment of the lace length. This allows it to be worn bare arm or with a shirt or jacket. It measures 7 inches long and is made from thick leather so that it greatly reduces string slap or chaffing. This Custom Classic has options to create an arm guard just for you.
- Color: Custom (View our color options by clicking here.)
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THIS SALE IS FOR A CUSTOM ORDER. CRAFTING TIMES APPLY. (Click here to see Estimated Crafting Times)


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Our Culture
Extraordinary Plants, Extraordinary People
At Green Circle Growers, we are proud to be among the leading horticultural companies in America. We know that our employees giving their best efforts is one of the reasons why we are a leader in the industry. As one of the largest employers in our local community, we offer our employees the chance to work for a diverse and exciting company.
Great Opportunities
Offering great career opportunities for young professionals in a wide range of sectors from business to horticulture, Green Circle Growers takes pride in providing a energetic work environment for all employees to succeed and grow in their career aspirations. With a variety of career opportunities available, we encourage our employees to express their individual personalities, talents and positive attitudes.


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For all those busy professionals, the Concierge Service is proved to be quite beneficial as they offer all the required assistance in managing and handling their households and planning vacation and other things to make life convenient. Their services range from assistance in shopping to planning vacation, hotel bookings to management of house and more. There are also other such wonderful benefits which you can enjoy their services. But it is necessary for you to hire only the reliable and certified service provider to avail the great benefits.
Hiring The Best Concierge Service
It is always recommended that people must prefer hiring the Concierge Services based on their requirements. So, it is always better to understand your needs prior to hiring their services. You need to know that for every different need there are different services and hence based on your needs you need to choose their services which can fulfill your needs and budget. There is VIP Concierge service provider who specializes in all the domains and can help you to handle your household as well as other outdoor activities.
After you understand your needs, it is the time to start your hunt for the right service provider. Search online for the reputed and reliable service provider in the field. To do this you can check the testimonials and reviews of each customer to know the service quality of the company.
You also need to check the reviews and compare the service quality of the service provider prior to making a selection. Besides, you also need to compare the prices and rates of different service provider. You need to ensure that the payments are accepted by card, especially the Gold MasterCard or other popular cards. These were some of the tips which you need to consider while hiring the services of Concierge.


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HOUSTON --Fort Bend County deputies say a 20-year-old special needs woman who was reported missing Tuesday afternoon was found safe hours later.
Ketifa Grant was found around 10:30pm at Lifetime Fitness in the Katy area, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. The 20-year-old, who suffers from Down syndrome and has the mental capacity of a nine-year-old, was reported missing around 5pm, about two hours after anyone had come in contact with her.
Family members were on their way to the gym late Tuesday to reunite with Grant.
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USA Network to Grey Advertising's MediaCom, New York, for its estimated $30 million media account.
Juno Online Service to DDB Needham Worldwide, New York, from Jordan McGrath Case & Partners to handle its $20 million account.
Omnicom Group has acquired the remaining shares of Abbott Mead Vickers, London, that it did not already own.
Lipton to J. Walter Thompson USA from Ammirati Puris Lintas, both New York, for its $15 million Ragu account.
Copyright December 1998, Crain Communications Inc.


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Jordi Cruyff has described his father, former Ajax and Netherlands star Johan, as a true legend of football.
Jordi Cruyff has described his father, former Ajax and Netherlands star Johan, as a true legend of football.
The 68-year-old passed away in Barcelona on Thursday after a long battle with lung cancer, prompting an outpouring of tributes from clubs, and both current and former players.
Former Manchester United winger Jordi admits it was confusing as a child to understand the fame which surrounded his father, who won three consecutive European Cups with the Dutch giants in the 1970s.
But the 42-year-old, now a sporting director with Maccabi Tel Aviv, is proud of what he considers to be an "immortal" legacy created by his father within the game.
Speaking on March 18, he told Omnisport: "There are times when you're young, you see everybody coming up to your father and you don't know why. Of course now I look back and see what an amazing legend he is. They admire him, they respect him, they love him. It gives me a super-proud feeling.
"The ways he plays football, you still see a lot of football nowadays partly based on the idea he brought in 30 years ago as a coach. The national team was also known as the team of 'Total Football'. It's a legacy.
"In football, you have the mortals, which is 99.9 per cent, and the immortals, the small percentage who will always be remembered. He's a legend. I can only be proud of that."
After his remarkable spell with Ajax, Cruyff won the league title as a player with Barcelona before going on to claim four consecutive championships as a coach at Camp Nou in the 1990s.


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One of the animals everyone wants to see when they go to the Galapagos is the seal. Or it is the sea lion? Could it be both?
This can be a little confusing. It was for us. I saw exciting pictures of people standing by what I thought were seals, on the beach or swimming with them in the water. I kept saying "I can't wait to see those seals when we go to Galapagos!" But what I was looking at were actually sea lions.
There are both fur seals (Galápagos fur seal: Arctocephalus galapagoensis) and sea lions (Galápagos sea lion: Zalophus wollebaeki) in the Galapagos Islands.
Which are you most likely to see? How will you know if you are looking at a seal or a sea lion? Here are a few facts that might help you tell them apart.
Fur Seal or a Sea Lion? Six Facts to Tell Them Apart:
- Sea lions are larger than fur seals. Adult female sea lions weigh around 50-80 kg and up to 120 kg. Adult female Galapagos fur seals usually weigh less than 30 kg.
- Fur seals are much harder to find. Fur seals live on rugged, hard to reach coastline. Sea lions live on the beach or on the rocks very near the beach.
- Sea lions have a longer nose. Sea lions have a longer nose with the eyes being set back farther on the head. Fur seals have a shorter snout with the eyes set closer to the nose.
- Fur seals have larger ears. The ears of a fur seal are larger and stick off farther from the head. Sea lions have smaller ears that are closer to the head.
- Sea lions feed at different times during the day. Sea lions don't mind feeding at different times during the day or night. Fur seals feed mainly at night.
- Fur seals mate on land. Sea lions usually mate in the water.
We saw sea lions on the back deck as soon as we arrived at the hotel on Santa Cruz Island. We also saw them as we entered the dock of Floreana Island, and they welcomed us by swimming near the boat as we came into the bay of Isabela Island.
It was exciting and fun to see them; they always bring a smile to my face. Have you seen the fur seals or sea lions of the Galapagos? Please share your comments on this post.
See more photos of Galapagos sea lions
Image of the Galapagos Fur Seal is courtesy of D. Gordon E. Robertson, PhD, Fellow of Canadian Society for Biomechanics, Emeritus Professor, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada and used under creative commons license.


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Redskins Brian Orakpo, London Fletcher Play in the Super Bowl PrequelJanuary 31, 2010
Only two members of the Washington Redskins will carry the colors in Sunday's 2010 Pro Bowl Game in Miami.
Brian Orakpo made the second team roster as a rookie at linebacker. Some controversy attached to Orakpo at linebacker. He and his many fans preferred to play at defensive end where he could go for broke as a pass rusher. Former Skins defensive coordinator Greg Blache had Orakpo swing from DE to outside linebacker, depending on down and distance.
Although Orakpo struggled at OLB, he gradually got better and still managed 11 sacks.
How smart was that move? New Redskin defensive coordinator Jim Haslett might install the 3-4 defensive alignment with Orakpo as a beast of an outside linebacker. Orakpo backs up the Cowboys' OLB DeMarcus Ware in the Pro Bowl and Ware is just the player Orakpo has the chance to emulate.
It's an awesome thought, but let's see how it plays out next fall.
London Fletcher-Baker make his Pro Bowl appearance, albeit through the back door. Fletcher was the No. 2 tackler in the NFL in 2009, but only made the Pro Bowl as the alternate for Jonathan Vilma was excused to play in the Super Bowl next weekend.
It's really inexcusable that the NFL keeps overlooking Fletcher for the honor. I hope he has a big game.
Lots of people are not happy that the Pro Bowl is played this weekend as a prequel to the Super Bowl. It's an experiment I've wanted to see for a long time.
The two week gap between the conference championships and the NFL World Championship game made sense...in the 1970s when it took two weeks to manage the logistics of selling tickets and moving teams, media and fans to the Super Bowl site. Before the Internet, this was all done by snail mail and paper airline tickets.
The Pro Bowl was always anti-climatic, played as an exhibition game in far off Hawaii as a reward for better players. A lot of veteran players tried to get out of it if they were nursing injuries.
Today, the NFL could move the Super Bowl up to the week after the conference championships and still sell out the stadium and surrounding hotels. The Super Bowl is not, NOT , about filling the stadiums. It's about money the league makes for providing a venue for the two week long corporate party before the big game. So why not make the Pro Bowl the exhibition to the big dance?
Who can afford to fly off to for off Honolulu in these troubled times? It's tough for the common fan. It's tough for the high rollers whose company took government bail-out money last fall.
Miami is a lot closer and cheaper. Also cheaper are tickets to the game. Upper deck seats to Sunday's Pro Bowl were going for $70 on Stub Hub. Upper deck seats to the 2010 Super Bowl run from $1,588.00 per seat and up on Stub Hub.
So the NFL can give two weeks and two games with real people like you and me to hit the Pro Bowl and take in the festivities of Super Bowl Week, while keeping the big money happy with Super Bowl parties leading up to the big game.
Purist won't be happy , but Super Bowl Week is about money. Lots and lots of money.
I can't afford either, so I'll have the Pro Bowl on mostly for background noise.
This story also published on redskinshogheaven.com.


text: This bath and shower gel radiates femininity and gives off a powdery, creamy scent that wraps you in an olfactory cashmere jumper. Being kind to your skin, My Name Bath and Shower Gel by Trussardi enchants you with top notes of white violet and heliotrope whilst heart notes of lilac and musk give the scent a mystical depth. The base notes of amber and vanilla linger the longest and bring the fragrance to a sophisticated end. Suitable for all skin types. LBCheck stock and price


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We have a new addition to our family, a little girl. Since Dear let me go wild in the closing yarn store, I had to look for something to make for the "new girl." My mother-in-law wanted me to make the same dress I made for another baby, but I wasn't really feeling it, I knit it twice before. So, I found a cute little hoodie called Roo by Kate Gilbert.
I decided to knit this in the round instead of pieces because I hate piecing knit projects. Here is the progress so far.
Friday, April 29, 2011
New Babies, the human kind
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Socks? Never Say Never
I never thought I would ever knit a pair of socks. I mean, what a waste? I can buy them cheap and they get holes in them and worn out really fast. Right? Well, with the closing of my favorite yarn shop, I bought some pretty sock yarn (Alpaca Sox by Classic Elite). Then I searched for a free sock pattern on Ravelry and found the Artichoke socks by Megan Humphrey. I went back and forth between the socks and Rosebud's Zauberball dress
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Friday, April 1, 2011
It's been a long time
A lot has happened since I last posted. This is what my downstairs looks like, minus some furniture. We have been living and doing school like this since last July.
We also had a run-in with the neighbor this fall. We told them that their dog seems to have an unhealthy interest in our sheep and they should make sure it does not roam here because we don't want our sheep hurt or our llama to kill their dog. We thought it was all worked out, but one night I was home alone without a vehicle and their dog was chasing and biting my ewes. All of my ewes were pregnant at the time. Well, I could not catch their dog, nor did the neighbors respond to my screams that their dog was over here. The dog split the flock, confused the llama, and had already seriously injured one of my colored merino ewes (Button, the one that gave the awesome banded fleece). My only option at that point was to shoot their dog and call the police. The neighbors never asked about the sheep, never paid the vet bills, and told me I should have just let their dog kill my sheep, they would have bought me more. Where in the world he was planning on picking up an ultra fine merino ewe, let alone a dark brown one, I have no idea. They started tearing down our fence and driving by our place slowly. They even screamed at my 12 year old daughter when she waved at them (H did not know who they were when she waved). Well, spring is coming. Hopefully they settled down.
We also had the roof of our sheep barn slide off from too much snow on one side and no snow on the other side.
So, we had to move all of the sheep outside while we worked on building pens and moved them to a new building. We got them in just in time.
27 also rejected her lambs again. This is the third year in a row. She had 3 girls, but one did not make it, its spine was blocking the birth canal and she had to be delivered, but she was too weak. These 2 Suffolk X Merinos are Pinky and Quiggles (standing).
We lost a few lambs early on because the barn the sheep were moved to did not have the bedding build up and it was too large of a space for them to keep warm (we had a very cold winter, colder than normal). We were being very careful about checking on the sheep and getting them into pens a day ahead of their lambing date and putting in heat lamps. We also coated every lamb with a polar fleece coat. Still, if we did not catch the lambing within 1 hour, we lost a lamb. Hopefully next year will not have those problems.
We also had a tragic death this winter, one of my husband's co-workers. It was very sad and confusing for everyone. He left a little boy without a father.
We changed churches so the kids could be a part of a larger pool of children; our old church only had a few kids in it.
Now? We are working with a general contractor to get our house lifted, a new foundation poured, add some bathrooms (we only have 1), new electric, new plumbing, and square off our house. We will have to pack everything up again, including the basement, finish tearing off all of the plaster upstairs and pull all of the plumbing and electrical, and move out. They hope to begin by the end of June and be done by September. We are excited to finally see progress in getting our house in order. This project is very expensive and we hope we can swing it all because this old house really needs it.
I also did some knitting.
Posted by ambersmerinos 1 comment:
Labels: babies, barn, building projects, home improvement, knitting, lambing, lambs, miscelaneous, oddness, sheep
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Jess Taylor IS Grateful for the support Of :
The Ontario Arts Council
The Canada Council of the Arts
Jess Taylor is a Toronto writer and poet. She founded The Emerging Writers Reading Series in 2012. Pauls, her first collection of stories, was published by BookThug in 2015. The title story from the collection, "Paul," received the 2013 Gold Fiction National Magazine Award. Jess has also released two chapbooks of poetry, And Then Everyone: Poems of the West End (Picture Window Press, 2014) and Never Stop (Anstruther Press, 2014). Jess is currently at work on a second collection, a novel, and continuation of her life poem, Never Stop.
Jess Taylor is represented by Marilyn Biderman, Transatlantic Agency.


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Occidental Leather 1546 Stronghold Lights
List Price: $81.20
You Save: $8.12 (10%)
Part Number: 1546 UPC: 759244184600 Weight: 1.3
• (1) Set of Suspenders
• Ultra-light industrial nylon suspension set features pockets at chest height for pencils or clip-on items.
• Extremely comfortable and even weight distribution.
• Heavy duty spring clips snap on and off.
• Just slide onto your tool belt and get to work.
• The leather loop attachment system for up to a 3" tool belt is included.


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What is the national reputation of the Askew School?
A study published in the January 2005 issue of the Journal of Public Affairs Education revealed that the Askew School faculty ranked 4 th nationally in numbers of refereed articles published in major public administration journals. Earlier published studies of faculty publishing also tabulated us as top ten' in frequency of refereed articles published. In the 2012 survey done by US News , the Askew School was ranked 16 th among more than 260 programs nationally in the general category of public affairs.'
How many courses should I take?
Some students attempt too many courses at one time, a practice that adversely affects their performance. The university states that 12 credits--a very heavy load--is full time, and this load is required for students on graduate assistantships with tuition waivers. Students who work full time should take no more than six credits each semester. Nine hours is a full load for someone working part-time.
What kind of workload should I expect in classes?
In graduate work, for every one hour spent in class substantially more than three should be spent out of class (the "three-hour rule" is for undergraduate work). Nearly every course will require a major paper of at least 20 pages. Each paper should take at least 80 or more hours to do. Expect to study six nights a week. When students work hard we can say so in our letters of reference; these letters are often more important than grades in securing employment.
What should I expect to pay for books?
Since graduate study necessitates substantial amounts of reading, do not be surprised if the cost for books per course is at least $150, more for some classes, less for others. The faculty is concerned with these expenditures, but has a responsibility to ensure a quality education. Aspiring professionals should be accumulating a professional library. Expenditures for new and used texts may be tax deductible.
I work 40 or more hours per week. Should I be expected to complete all course requirements expected of a full-time student?
Yes; to do otherwise would reduce the value of your degree and your investment.
What about attendance?
We try to be understanding of work demands but absences are to be avoided. The university Bulletin states that "students are expected to attend all classes." Students absent for two weeks or more may be dropped or assigned a grade of "F." Notify us in advance. Some professors require class attendance or it counts against your semester grade. Check with each instructor for his or her specific policy on attendance.
Do I need to bother with various style requirements in written assignments?
Yes, definitely.
How do I keep in touch with what is going on in the School?
Every FSU student is assigned an email account. The school sends official notices to students and provides other information as well through the public administration student listserv called pastudt.' Email communications should be checked regularly. Hard copy' folders are also available outside the school's main office for students and faculty members to use to leave materials for one another.
What happens to the student evaluations of faculty?
About half of each faculty member's annual evaluation is based on teaching effectiveness and the student evaluations play a major role in this. The School personnel committee reviews these each year in judging teaching performance.
I am interested in taking courses during the summer. How extensive are the offerings?
Summer offerings are not as extensive as those during the academic year. Most MPA core courses are offered, but a very limited number of electives are likely.
How much flexibility is there in program requirements?
Every effort is made to tailor a student's coursework to his/her needs, so long as a coherent program of studies results. Baseline standards, however, must be adhered to maintain accreditation.
What about the internship and job placement?
If you have less than a year of full time, post-baccalaureate, professional work experience, expect to do an internship. We provide assistance in finding placements for internships and jobs following graduation. The internship can start as early as the second term.
When should I begin my Action Report?
A formal proposal, preceeded by a conference with the instructor, is due prior to the term in which the Action Report is taken. As you proceed through the program, be thinking about topics that might be developed into a major applied research project. The Policy Development class is a good place to start work on a topic that can be developed into an Action Report.
Where do Askew School students do their internships?
Being located in the capital city of the nation's fourth largest state, which also has outstanding professionals in local governments, the opportunities for internships in Tallahassee are many. Most of our students do their internships with agencies of the State of Florida, with local governments, and with nonprofit organizations in the area. Our students are often selected for highly competitive internships with the Florida Legislature and Office of the Governor. Some of our students do their internships elsewhere in local and federal organizations, as well as with domestic nonprofit organizations and occasionally with internationally oriented NGOs (nongovernmental organizations). Placement assistance in finding internships in international settings is available through FSU's International Programs Office.
What is the graduation rate for students in the MPA program?
In 2012, the Askew School did a study of the cohort of students who began their MPA studies in 2007. We learned that 77% of those students had graduated by 2012. Most had graduated within 2-3 years but others who work full time took a while longer.
What is the placement rate for MPA program graduates?A survey done in 2012 of the graduates of the previous two years revealed the following patterns of employment Federal 7%; State 26%; Local 15%; Foreign Government 3%; Domestic Nonprofit 16%; Internationally-oriented NGOs 3%; For Profit 20%; Seeking Further education 7%; Unemployed & seeking 3%.


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Military Benefits
The IBSC is very pleased to announce that the FP-C® and CCP-C® Exams have been added to the list of tests approved by the Veterans Administration. Veterans and other beneficiaries may receive reimbursement for the cost to take the IBSC/BCCTPC Exam. We are currently working with the VA to approve TP-C® and CP-C® testing.
Forms and instructions can be obtained from the GI Bill website. To download a brochure detailing the benefits of this program, click here. If you have any questions regarding this program, please call the office.
Exam candidates deployed overseas have the option to schedule their exam at a DANTES Location.(See WEB-based testing)


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Fine sterling silver and gemstone jewelry. One of the largest selections of sterling jewelry in New England, over 7, 000 pieces on display. All at 50% to 75% off regular retail.
Location: 141 Water St. Stonington.
Phone: 860 535-1774
Winter Hours: 7 Days a Week Year Round, Monday thru Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm
Online: Visit Us on Facebook
Come visit A.K. Dasher Jewelry and be amazed by one of the largest selections of sterling silver jewelry in New England. We have thousands of pieces of sterling silver and gemstone jewelry from all around the world at prices that are 50%-75% off regular retail! Leave some extra time to enjoy visiting our shop, you'll be delighted at how much there is to see. We are renowned for our friendly sales staff, we offer beautiful free gift wrapping and we love to have fun. See you soon!
"People come from around New England to shop for inexpensive, good-quality silver jewelry at A.K. Dasher"
The Boston Globe, October 4th 2006
Our postcards highlight the beautiful, often one-of-a-kind pieces we have on display. We have an amazing variety this season, ranging from delicate drop earrings in highly polished silver to dramatic necklaces sure to make a statement. All at incredibly low prices.


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Vintage Jewels / Antique Haven,LLC ®
Vintage Jewels / Antique Haven / Deb Hancock, Glendale AZ
Antique Hand Painted Pink Roses Porcelain Brooch Bar Pin
$62.00 This is a lovely hand painted bar pin or brooch. It is painted with roses in shades of pink, with green leaves, stems and buds. Painted against a soft green background, the effect is stunning. Measures 2" long and a little over 3/8" wide. Circa 1900. The brooch is in a pleasing bar shape with rounded corners, and is prong set in brass with a simple C-clasp, the mechanism is tight and holds the brooch well. It is very well painted and an extra nice example.The porcelain plaque is in excellent condition with no damage or apparent wear.
Please make your payment within 24 hours of purchase unless other arrangements are made prior to purchasing. Thank you for understanding.
International buyers please use Pay Pal.
29 other shoppers have this item in their Cart or Wish List
Store Wide Sale! Make Offers
GOLD Sold ONLY Online! No gold at my brick and mortar store! Offers welcome, most reasonable offers accepted.


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We're convenient situated on the 21st floor of Burjuman Business Tower, offering breathtaking panoramic views over Dubai. With a multi-cultural and language spoken team we're proud to be apart, voted & recognized among the leading dental centers of the Middle East.
Take a look at our smile gallery and see how our cosmetic and restorative dentistry treatments have transformed people's lives.
Great customer service from the front desk to the medical staff. Everyone smiles and seems to be happy, I think it all stems from the top…
A good smile can brighten another person's day, or it can uplift the mood inside a room. It can help you feel more confident with yourself, and it can also make a person feel more comfortable to be around you. A smile can do a lot of things. That is why we here at Dubai Sky Clinic aim to help our customers achieve a smile that they can proudly share to the world.
Our mission is to become the best dental clinic in the city and one of the top dental clinics in UAE by providing our clients with the most comprehensive and advanced services to meet their needs. Whether you are looking for a cosmetic dentist who can turn your smile into a gleaming masterpiece, or a reliable emergency dental clinic that you can always turn to in case of an emergency, our clinic is ready to meet your need.
We take pride in having some of the most decorated and recognised dentists and dental specialists working with us in-house in a pursuit to provide the highest quality services and treatments to our clients in the city.
If you are looking for a cosmetic dentist who can dramatically improve the quality of your smile, our clinic houses Dr. Maximilian Riewer, a specialist in cosmetic and general dentistry with more than 16 years of experience in servicing VIP customers internationally. On the other hand, if you are in need of a reliable oral surgeon for a complicated emergency operation, our oral surgery team is led by our Arabic dentist, Dr. Rabih Abi Nader, a top oral surgeon and implantologist, and one of the most decorated specialists in his field.
Every top dentist in our clinic is supported by a team of dental specialists who are capable of providing competent support in every procedure or emergency treatment.
We understand that every client has a unique case, a different need to meet. With that in mind, we offer a wide range of services, including the following:
If you want to know how our procedures and treatments can improve your smile, feel free to get in touch with us today!


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Month long circuit-based exercise program is designed for men over 55 who want to increase strength and flexibility. Classes meet Mondays and Wednesdays 3-4 PM, and Fridays 8-9 AM. A physician's clearance is required.
Call 781-624-4367 or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com for more information.
No matter what you're facing, receiving exceptional, unified care is non-negotiable. That's why we're bringing people, caregivers and excellence in medicine together. As One.
Learn More
South Shore Health Systems: >> See all


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mango chillers
If you like it, save it!
Save and organize all of the stuff you love in one place.Got it!
If you like something…
Click the heart, it's called favoriting. Favorite the stuff you like.Got it!
Author Notes: A healthy fruit slushy - ready in five minutes! —garlic and zest
Serves: 2
ripe mangoes, chilled
juice of 1/2 lime
cups ice
- Peel and pit the mangoes and transfer the flesh to the blender along with the lime juice. Secure the lid and puree. Add the ice. Secure the lid on the blender and start at a slow speed, gradually increasing until the fruit and ice are pureed into a smooth consistency. If the blender freezes up, or doesn't seem to be making progress, tamp down on the ice or turn off the blender and stir the mixture, then resume blending.
- Serve immediately, preferably in an insulated glass.
More Great Recipes:
Fruit|Dessert|Snack|5 Ingredients or Fewer|Gluten-Free|Vegan|Vegetarian|Summer|Fourth of July|Memorial Day


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For this first card, I wanted to create a design that can be completed in about 5 to 10 minutes (depending on your stamping speed). The embossing makes it look like you spent forever creating it ... but that's the secret behind using the Big Shot! I used Baja Breeze, Garden Green, and Real Red as my color combination.
This card features the popular Dasher reindeer stamp (116816, $8.95). I used the Emboss Resist technique to make the image pop! This card takes a little more time than the first design, but don't you just love how the pattern of the paper shows through Dasher's body?
- Use Embossing Buddy on Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper (DSP) to remove static.
- Stamp Dasher onto DSP using Versamark ink pad.
- Heat emboss using Clear Embossing Powder and a Heat Tool.
- Sponge Early Espresso ink all over the DSP. The clear embossing powder will resist the ink, allowing the printed pattern on the paper to show through.
- Use a tissue to wipe off any excess ink from your paper.
- Optional: Crumple up the DSP to give a "distressed" look.
The third card we will be making features the Simply Said stamp set. This set can be purchased separately or as part of a discounted product bundle that is available through our Online Spectacular promotion. Hurry - this promotion ends on November 30!
|Simply Said Bundle (Item number 124242)
|Sale Price: $22.47
|Regular Price: $37.45
The Simply Said Bundle includes the Simply Said Wood-Mount Stamp Set and Daisy Dash Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel. Get this bundle for 40% off the retail price--but only through November 30!
Simply Said stamp set
Daisy Dash Wheel
Tuesday Night Card Class Details
Learn the art of rubber stamping! All skill levels are welcome. Even if you consider yourself to be non-crafty, you will be amazed by how easy and fun it is to make your own greeting cards. Join us on Tuesday nights and you'll make and take home 3 beautiful hand-stamped greeting cards for just $5 or the class is FREE with a minimum $10 order of Stampin' Up! product.
When: Every Tuesday evening from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
What to Bring: Permanent adhesive, such as Stampin' Up! SNAIL or similar product. All other materials will be provided. If you forget to bring your adhesive, SNAIL will be available for an additional fee.
Class sizes are limited! When you contact me to sign up, be sure to specify which date you will be attending.


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Microsoft on Monday released the DirectX Media 5.1 Software Development Kit (SDK), a set of programming interfaces for developers wishing to add multimedia features to their Windows 95/NT 4.0 programs. The DirectX Media 5.1 run-time libraries are already integrated into Internet Explorer 4.0 and are scheduled to be included in Windows 98 and Windows NT 5.0, both due next year.
The SDK includes the DirectShow, DirectAnimation, Direct3D, and DirectPlay APIs.
"Microsoft DirectX Media 5.1 advances the multimedia developer community for Windows in two ways," said Eric Engstrom, general manager of DirectX Media at Microsoft. "First, it delivers a high-performance SDK for creating dynamic applications, tools and content. Second, it provides end users with optimal performance of those applications and content, through the incorporation of DirectX 5.1 run times in Internet Explorer 4.0 and upcoming releases of Windows. This advance is significant because it means that developers don't have to spend valuable design time building their own run times, and end users don't have to download viewers just to display Web content. That's a huge benefit for Internet developers, and it goes a long way toward making the Internet a more enjoyable, user-friendly experience for end users."
The DirectX 5.1 SDK is available now on at Microsoft's DirectX Web site


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Messy Church
Good question........So, here's the answer.
Some time ago a group of Christians in a local church wanted to try and connect with families in their community who had no prior connection with church, and either no idea or very little idea what being a Christian is all about.
As they prayed about that, God gave them a vision for opening up their buildings and creating an informal space where families could come and learn about God and about being a Christian through hands on craft activities (hence the Messy bit!), simple hospitality (refreshments and a meal together - hopefully not so Messy!) all related to stories and messages from the Bible (hence the church bit!)
They found that it worked, which things tend to do when God's in charge! Families came along, enjoyed the whole experience, and began to connect with God in a way they hadn't done before. So Messy Church was born. Since then it has spread all over the country as a new and different way of being church.
Here at OPBC we've been running our own Messy Church since May 2013 and in that time have welcomed a lot of families. We've loved getting to know them and we hope the feeling is mutual.
Why not come along yourself and join us. We'd love to see you. You don't know what you're missing!! See you soon.
OPBC's Messy Church team.


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We return with joy this morning to Matthew 12. I want us to look together at verses 38-42. We've titled this message 'Judgment on Christ-rejectors,' and that is clearly its theme as we examine these particular verses. To begin with, let me say that the Bible is abundantly clear that all men are sinners, separated from God, and on target for divine judgment. From the beginning of the Scripture to the end, this message is given repeatedly, that man is sinful and lost and separated from God.
It is not always apparent how lost man is to other men, it is not always easy to determine how sinful man is, because there is, in the world of men, a sort of relative goodness. There are religious, moral, good people who say they believe in God and do kind and good things to others. But ultimately, the sinfulness of man is always made manifest under one condition, and at this point it becomes unavoidable and explicit.
The sinfulness of man is clearly seen when a person comes face-to-face with Jesus Christ; at that point, there can be no hiding it. No matter what the life is like, it is unmasked for its sinful reality in confrontation with Jesus Christ. The sin issue becomes crystallized when a person is forced to face Christ. That is the crux of the revelation of man's sinfulness.
Before we look at Matthew 12, I want to read you John 15:22-25 to give you an understanding that will help elucidate the text in Matthew 12. Here, our Lord is meeting with His disciples in the upper room. The unbelief of the nation of Israel is already crystallized and made manifest; they have already set in motion the plot to kill Him. This is the night of His betrayal, the night before His arrest, only hours before His death. As He speaks in this upper room to His disciples, whose feet He has just washed, He gives them all kinds of insights that they might be held together by the truth when He is gone. One of the things He promises them is that there will be difficulty; that the world will hate them because it hated Him.
Then He moves to talk about the people who rejected Him. He says, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin." Here, He is referring to the Jewish leaders who appeared, on the surface, to be holy. They appeared to be righteous; they were certainly religious. They appeared to love and obey God, and to keep His laws, and to uphold His word. They were the most religious people in the world at that time, as far as their world was concerned, and no one really knew how utterly vile and sinful they were, because of the mask of religion, which they wore so well.
However, when Jesus came, and they were confronted with Him, immediately by their rejection of the living Son of God, no matter what else they pretended to be, it was clear how sinful they were. So the Lord calls them, "Whited sepulchers, a brood of snakes, evil, vile, perverted, wicked men with black hearts and poisoned mouths." He curses them again and again, as recorded in Matthew 23. The real evil of those hearts would never have come to the surface if Jesus hadn't shown up, but by what they did in rejecting Him, turning on Him, hating Him, and ultimately taking His life, they manifested the true character of their evil hearts.
In fact, in verse 23, Jesus says, "He who hates Me hates My Father also." The truth about them is now known; they don't love God, they hate God. Because if they loved God, they would have loved Jesus. Obviously, He is God. In verse 24, He said, "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father."
What that is saying is that when you come face-to-face with Jesus Christ, you may have hidden your sin well for a long time, but if you reject Jesus Christ, at that point, the mask is off and the truth is out. No matter what you appear to be on the surface, you are a vile, wretched sinner as manifest in your rejection of Jesus Christ. The heart of evil is unveiled in confrontation with Christ.
That is precisely what we have back in Matthew 12. the Pharisees had kept up the charade, the facade, the hypocrisy. The masquerade was very successful until Jesus showed up. That's true today in many ways; there are many religious people who seem to go along very well with their religious masquerade until someone confronts them with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and when they reject it, the real truth is made manifest. They don't love God at all.
Take the cults - the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and others - who appear so religious, so good, so holy, so righteous, and so obedient to the laws as they believe or proclaim God gives them. When you confront them with Jesus Christ, all of a sudden the hypocrisy is revealed, the mask is off. They don't love God; they hate God, despise Him, because they hate His Son. The same thing can even occur in the liberal churches, churches where people go to talk about the Bible at an arm's length, and politics, book reviews, social problems, and psychological solutions. When you walk in and introduce the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the mask is off; they don't love God. That is always the revealer.
So Jesus had effectively stripped the masked, disrobed, if you will, the Pharisees and the Jewish people, and showed them to be vile, wretched sinners. This didn't sit too well with them, as you can imagine. They weren't really thrilled about this. So by the time we reach Matthew 12, they are hardened in their rejection. They have seen Christ, heard Him teach, seen His miracles, seen the character and quality of His life, experienced His power, and their conclusion is that He is a Sabbath-breaker, and satanic. By that verdict, they reveal their evil hearts. They reveal that they don't love God. You can't reject Jesus Christ and love God; you hate both or love both, because they are one and the same. So they have already reveled their hearts.
Go back to in the chapter. They say that Jesus is a Sabbath-breaker, and they do this in public because they're trying to discredit Jesus in the eyes of the people. They want to hold their place; they are sitting at the top of the religious pile. They love the acclaim of men, to sit in the chief places and be called 'father' and all of that, as Matthew 23 says. They love to be on top, to have everyone's respect, and be thought of as holy, sanctimonious, pious. So they want to maintain their power, control, dominance, and hold it over the people. When the people begin to become attracted to Jesus, they feel they must discredit Him publicly before the people so that they can maintain the place of supremacy.
They accuse Jesus of being a Sabbath-breaker, and they do it publicly, but by the time the accusation is over, He literally attacks them. He says, "You don't understand your own Scriptures, You don't understand the Sabbath, and least of all, you don't understand that I am the Lord of the Sabbath." So they attack Him a second time in chapter 12; this time they say, "He is not only a Sabbath-breaker, but satanic."
He turns right back on them and says, "That kind of accusation is absurd, prejudiced, rebellious, and betrays your vile hearts. You will be damned for it, and you are beyond the point of forgiveness and repentance. You will never be forgiven." Each time they attack Him, they lose. But they have one final shot. They are trying to discredit Him in the face of the people, and they have one final attack at the end of Matthew 12.
I really believe that Matthew has reached a climax in the flow of his gospel. The Pharisees reach the pinnacle of their rejection in verse 24 when they say He is satanic; there is no hope for them to be redeemed because they have all the evidence they could possibly have and they have concluded the very opposite of the truth. They are hopeless and damned by their unbelief.
Matthew has reached a high point. This is the final, full-fledged rejection of Israel. As he comes to the conclusion of chapter 12, the words that Jesus speak become words of judgment. Especially from verse 38-45, Jesus speaks judgment on these who have rejected Him. The occasion is their last attack, and He turns it into a speech about judgment. By the way, He closes the chapter with an invitation in verses 46-50, which we'll see later on. They approach Jesus, then, with their final attack.
Keep in mind that they really aren't interested in anything He does or says; they are only trying to make Him look bad in the eyes of the people. That's why they accused Him of being a Sabbath-breaker, and being satanic, because they could see the people beginning to turn toward Him. Now they have one more shot to discredit Him, and it is in verse 38. "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.'" I call this section from verse 38-40 'the last sign.' Verses 41-42 are 'the last sentence.'
Remember that they had been devastated by Jesus' attack; He had just said something to them that was beyond anything they had ever imagined that they would hear. In verses 31-32, He said they had blasphemed the Holy Spirit and they would never be forgiven for that in this age or in any future age. He had just told them that they were rotten trees with rotten fruit, a generation of snakes, that they were speaking evil because they had evil hearts, and He told them that by their evil words they would be damned.
So He has really spoken strongly to them. He has spoken as strongly as could be possible. They are trying, at this point, to keep their cool, because if they blow it right here, they will lose their reputation with the people. So they apparently retreat at this point, and get together to try and figure out a strategy as to how they might come back with an attack that will ultimately discredit Christ. At this point, they look like the losers, and they have to give it one more shot, to get on top in this one-upsmanship approach.
Verse 38 says some of them came back. This was probably a specially-appointed committee who were prepared with the right approach and represented the whole snake pit of Pharisees and scribes. They were the lawyers. They had to have spent at least 30 years on the earth, and they have spent years and years of that time studying the law until finally they were granted the right to be a lawyer or an interpreter of the law. They took the chair, if you will, of the scribe. They were recognized as authorized experts in the law - those who were able to understand, interpret, and apply the law of God. Here they come, the recognized experts, the scribes and Pharisees with them.
They say, "Master," and this betrays their hypocrisy. They are trying to come off as pious, sanctimonious, and they want to keep their reputation in front of the people. So in their hypocrisy, for the peoples' sake, they acknowledge Jesus in a way that the people seem to perceive Him - as a master, a teacher, a rabbi. It is a title of great respect: one who knew the law, who could teach the law, was an authority in the law. So they call Him 'Master' and it just drips with hypocrisy; they did not respect Him at all, they despised Him. But they nonetheless try to keep up their reputation.
They ask this question, "We want to see a sign from You." The implication of the question is important, because the people would have perceived this differently than you would if you just read it. When a scribe came, in an official assembly of scribes and Pharisees, to ask a question like this of a man like Jesus, the question would carry tremendous weight. The people would feel that it was a question attached to the scribal understanding of the law. In other words, if they are asking this of Jesus, then this must be what the law requires of Him. So the assumption would be that the scribes must have determined from the law that if He is the Messiah, He should do a sign. That is probably what they thought; that this was some official question.
The people, then, were being told that this person Jesus had not yet sufficiently validated His claim to being the Messiah, that there was yet a sign that needed to be done. What kind of sign are they asking? He's done healing after healing, cast out demons, transformed lives, given salvation, and forgiven sin; what more could they want than the thousands and thousands of miracles that they had already seen? What else could they ask for? There is really a simple answer. In Matthew 16, there is a parallel situation where they come back with the same question again and get the same answer. We know it is parallel because the terms are all the same. This time we get a little more insight into what they were asking for.
In verse 1, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Him. They desired that He would show them a sign. What kind of sign? A sign from Heaven. So He talks about the heavens, the Heaven that they perceived. They were asking for a sign from Heaven, so He began to talk about the sky and all of that. In verse 4, He says, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah," and then He left.
Go back to Matthew 12. In verse 38, they ask for a sign. He says, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." He gives the same answer, and I think it came again in chapter 16 because it was the same question.
What am I leading to? When they asked for a sign, I think they wanted a sign from Heaven. What does that mean? The Jews were always after a sign; they always wanted to see some supernatural verification of everything. In I Corinthians 1:22, the Apostle Paul says, "The Jews demand signs." It was characteristic of them to expect certain wonders to prove that a man was a messenger from God.
I think, in great measure, that's why the Lord gave the ability to the apostles and those who worked with them to do signs, wonders, and mighty deeds, because that was the expectation level of the Jews. "Prove yourself by doing something extraordinary!"
For example, when Rabbi Eliezer was challenged one time, he appealed to certain signs. The Jewish tradition says that the people were challenging the rabbi's teaching and authority, so first, a locust bean moved 400 cubits, if you believe their tradition. Next, the channels of water were made to flow backwards. Then, the walls of a certain building leaned forward and were only stopped by the bidding of another rabbi.
Finally, Rabbi Eliezer exclaimed, "If the law is as I teach, let it be proved from Heaven," and at that moment, a voice came out of the sky saying, "What have you to do with Rabbi Eliezer? For the instruction is as he teaches." What a lot of hocus-pocus, but that is typical of the Jewish mentality through history; if someone said he was from God, they wanted some kind of sign.
There is more to this than just that, because they had had sign upon sign upon sign, but they wanted one from Heaven, or in Heaven, really. They wanted a spectacular, sensual display of control over the celestial sphere. They would have liked to have seen Him rearrange the constellations, have the stars go rocketing all over the place, or have clouds gyrate into unique forms and come out spelling in Aramaic, "This is Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Messiah."
They would have loved to have seen Joel's prophecy come to pass and have Him turn the moon into blood, and black out the sun, to paint the sky with a wave of His hand in rainbow colors from one end to the other, causing the blue to disappear. They would have even liked if there had been an angel parade from the Milky Way to the temple; a long string of angels. They wanted a Fourth of July fireworks show in Heaven.
You know why they asked this question of Him? Because they believed He couldn't do it, and they wanted to discredit Him in front of the people when He didn't. That was their whole intent. They were saying, "If He is the Messiah, let Him do that." The implication was that that was what He was supposed to have done, although no such prophecy exists at all. They did it to embarrass Him and discredit Him.
They not only don't believe in Him, and blaspheme Him, they want to embarrass and discredit Him in front of everyone so that no one will believe Him. They have not only personally rejected and blasphemed Him, but they now take on the ministry of getting everyone else to reject Him. That is their ploy. They are impudent, insulting, and hypocritical. His reply is most interesting.
Verse 39. "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign." In other words, the only kind of people who want that kind of a show are evil and adulterous. The implication is that, "If you were really united to God in the way that you were originally to be united with Him, as His wife and the covenant; if you had been faithful to God, you wouldn't need that kind of thing. You manifest the adultery of your hearts in even seeking such." He characterizes the entire Jewish nation of His day, and says, "You're adulterous. You have created a breach in the covenant relationship to God, which is seen in the Old Testament as a marriage bond. You have violated your vows and followed after false deities."
They had had a period of their history in which they were idolatrous, and at that point, their harlotries were committed with idols. At this time, they were no longer idolatrous in the formal sense, since the Babylonian captivity. But they nonetheless were unfaithful to God and had committed harlotries with their legalism, traditions, self-righteousness, and their own egos. They had still abandoned God; their harlotries were no longer attached to the gods of the Canaanites, but to the gods of their own design and devising.
As Psalm 73:27 says, "They had played the harlot." Isaiah indicts them in chapters 50 and 57 in strong terms for their harlotries. In Jeremiah 3:6-10, he condemns them for their harlotries. He does it in Jeremiah 13:27, 31:32; and Ezekiel 16 is also an indictment of them.
They were carried away into Babylonian captivity because of their adultery; they had violated their covenant with God and gone after false gods, and committed spiritual adultery. Hosea writes of it. They had done this; they were the adulterers and adulteresses who had made friendships with the world and had become at enmity with God, as James 4:4 describes it. This was their history.
You say, "Was it true in Jesus' day?" They weren't idolaters after the Babylonian captivity in the sense of the formal, named gods of the Canaanites and other peoples, but they were just as idolatrous and adulterous here for their worship of their man-made, legalistic, traditional system of self-righteousness. By the way, isn't it obvious that they had no covenant with God if they would kill His Son? It's obvious.
So He says, "Anyone who seeks such a sign gives manifestation of being a part of those who have abandoned God and their covenant with Him. You are a nation of adulterers and adulteresses, and that is obvious because you seek a sign. You don't know God, or you would know you need no sign." Then He says this, "No sign will be given to it."
He couldn't do it; they were right. But He couldn't do it not for the reason they thought. It wasn't that He didn't have the ability - He had the ability. He was the one who had put it all there, He could have rearranged it any time He had wanted. If you wonder about that, look at the book of Revelation and read when He will, because He will. He could have done it from the power viewpoint, He couldn't have done it from the moral viewpoint because Christ is not in the business of bending to the whims of those who want no relationship with Him. It was morally impossible to grant such to those who hate Christ.
He then said this, and this is fascinating. "No sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." What is that? We all remember the story of Jonah, don't we? He took a short ride on a long fish. He was called by God to preach in Nineveh, he said, "I don't want to go to Nineveh," and took a boat the opposite direction. There was a storm, and he told the captain, "The problem is me. Throw me out." They threw him out, a great fish swallowed him up, he was in the fish three days. A disobedient prophet would make anything sick, so the fish vomited him up on the shore. He went to Nineveh and preached, the whole place repented in sackcloth and ashes, and God spared His judgment.
Jesus said, "This generation will be given no sign except the sign of the prophet Jonah." Look at verse 40 and it tells you. "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." That's the sign. It's a prophecy, beloved.
Keep this in mind; in the Old Testament, you have at least two types of prophecy. One is what I like to call verbally predictive prophecy, where a statement is made about something that is going to come to pass. Like, "A scepter shall come, a king will be on the scene, a greater Son of David, a virgin shall conceive. One shall come out of the Root of Jessee," all of those verbal prophecies pointed to Christ.
There is also a second kind of prophecy, and that is what I call typically predictive prophecy; not only verbally predictive, but typically. That is, it is a type or picture. Something in the Old Testament is a picture of something in the New Testament. The story of Jonah, while it doesn't verbally predict anything about Christ, typically predicts the most monumental thing about Christ, His resurrection. Throughout the Old Testament, we have those kinds of pictures. I believe the only time you have an Old Testament type is when it is so stated to be in the New Testament. In other words, if there is an Old Testament type, you can only know it to be a type if in fact the New Testament tells you that, and in this case, that's exactly what we have.
Jesus here says the story of Jonah was a prophecy; it was as much a prophecy as Isaiah 53. It was a predictive prophecy given in picture rather than in word, and as Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days and nights in the heart of the earth. It looked like the end of Jonah, but it wasn't; it looked like the end of Jesus, but it wasn't. Jonah was buried in the depths; Jesus was buried in the depths. Jonah came out; Jesus came out. It was a picture of the resurrection. It was three days for Jonah; it was three days for Jesus. It was a perfect picture.
A couple of thoughts come to mind as I look at verse 40. One is that Jesus believed the story of Jonah. Isn't that good? Aren't you glad for that? I read a commentary this week that said, "Just because Jesus refers to Jonah doesn't mean that He really believed it was true." Well, you may want to believe Jonah was a liar, but it's awfully difficult to believe Jesus was a liar and in complicity with the lie of Jonah. If Jesus said this is the story, then this is the story. Jesus validates the authenticity of Jonah.
Another note is the term 'great fish.' Some people say it's a whale, but the term is simply a great fish. It's the same term used in Jonah in the Hebrew language. In whatever language, it just means 'great fish.' That's all. Homer used it in classical Greek to speak of a seal on one occasion, on another occasion to speak of a whale, and on another occasion to speak of a shark, so we don't really know what particular kind of fish it was. It may have been a special fish that God made and dropped down, had it do its thing, and that was the end of the species. I don't know, and it doesn't really matter, but whatever it was, it was big enough for Jonah to get all the way inside of.
Another thing is that it says three days and three nights. People always seem to have trouble with that because they say, "If Jonah was there three days and three nights, that's a 72-hour period, so Jesus has to be in the earth 72 hours. If He rises on Sunday morning, that puts the crucifixion all the way back to the middle of the week, not Friday. There goes the story!"
Well, we don't really have to do that because the phrase 'a day and a night' simply was a phrase referring to a 24-hour period or any part of that period. It was the only way you could refer to a 24-hour period unless you used the obscure term, which is used in II Corinthians 11:25, nuchthemeron, which is very rarely used, to refer to that. So when you refer to a period, the normal way to refer to it would be as a night and a day; that's what they called a 24-period. The Talmud says, "Any part of one is as the whole." So Jonah was in the fish some part of three days, as the Lord was in the earth some part of three days, not necessarily the whole 72 hours.
For example, you might even say, "I went to San Diego and was just there a day." Does that mean that you got there immediately when the sun rose and didn't leave until it set? No, if you say you were there a day, we could think you were there 24 hours, or you could have been there two; it could have been just for a part of the day. In other words, the day doesn't necessarily force you to the 24 hour period, and in this language, neither does the day and night force you to the 24-hour period. It simply is a term to designate any portion of the day.
So this is a picture of the resurrection; that is a sign. No sign will be given but the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That was the last sign, folks. After that, we don't read of Jesus doing any miracles. Oh, yes, in His glorified body He came and went with the apostles, and He could appear and seemingly disappear, but as far as actually performing miracles after the resurrection, Christ Himself does not do those. This was the last sign.
May I hasten to add, it didn't help the situation. It was clearly a sign from Heaven, for no one could raise the dead but God, yet Jesus was right. In Luke 16, when He said, "If they don't believe Moses and the prophets, they will not believe the one who rises from the dead." They didn't believe. In fact, the Jewish leaders actually paid the Roman soldiers to lie about what happened. They didn't believe Him. So this was the last sign, and when they rejected this, that was the coup de grace, it was over.
You see, when we are confronted with the living Christ and His death and resurrection from the dead, then the matter of destiny will be determined. If you turn your back then, no matter how religious you appear, or holy you try to be, you show yourself to be a vile sinner who hates God because of what you do with Christ. That was the only sign they would ever see, and they showed their true sinfulness in the face of that sign.
We live on this side of the resurrection; our whole society in America knows the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have Easter every year. The Western world knows that. So many people appear to be so good, so righteous, so holy, so religious, and so concerned about God, but they reject Christ and His resurrection, and they are showing themselves to be liars. They don't love God; they hate God. You see, when you come to Christ, then the cloak comes off, according to John 15. What you do with Him is the determiner.
From the last sign, we immediately see the last sentence in verses 41-42. By obvious association with Jonah, the Lord passes to speak of Nineveh, the city to which he went. He says this, "The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here."
What is this saying? Think back to the story of the Ninevites; they were Gentiles, pagans, idolaters, they had no law of God, they were outside the covenants and the promises, they were dark and alienated from God, without understanding. Into their midst comes a prophet by the name of Jonah. Do you know what his own testimony is? This is what he said about himself. "I am sinful, I am foolish, I am rebellious." Jonah 1 and 4 say that. I wouldn't say that is a great recommendation.
So there is a people with no advantages and a sinful, rebellious, foolish, disobedient man who was just vomited up by a big fish, doing something that he didn't want to do in the beginning. His whole message is one of doom; that's all he talks about - doom, devastation, destruction, damnation. He is talking to a people with no advantages. You know something else? He did no miracles either, so there were no signs. Yet do you know what happened when he preached?
Jonah 3:5. "So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them." From the leaders to the common folk. "Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes." That was the attitude, the oriental attitude of repentance.
"And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, 'Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.'" He even makes the animals fast. "But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth," and he's putting sackcloth on the animals! "And cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way," which tells us that it was genuine; God said it was genuine and stamped it with genuineness. It wasn't though; 150 years later that city was destroyed. After this generation, it died away. This generation's repentance was true, "And God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it."
So a Gentile, pagan, idolatrous people, outside the covenants and the law of God got a half-baked, disobedient, foolish, rebellious, wicked prophet who came and preached nothing but doom to them, did no miracles, and the whole place repented and believed God. Contrast that. Verse 41 says, "A greater than Jonah is here."
Here is a different situation - these are Jews, not Gentiles. These are the people of God, of the covenant, of the promises, of the adoption, of the fathers. This is God's people, those who have the law. One came to them greater than Jonah. Who was it? It was the God of Jonah in human flesh, and He was perfect, sinless, compassionate, powerful, and His message was not of unmitigated doom but of grace, mercy, forgiveness, salvation. He did miracle after miracle and sign after sign. But they hated and killed Him. So says our Lord, "In judgment, the people of Nineveh will rise up and condemn these people, for with much less, they believed and repented." They act as a historical condemnation of the unbelief of Israel.
He is not done; there is one other illustration of the final sentence in verse 42. He recalls another event in their history from I Kings 10. "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it." Here is someone else condemning this generation: the queen of the South. Who is that?
If you read I Kings 10, and we won't take the time to go into it all, you'd read there about a lady that we know as the Queen of Sheba. The land of the Sabeans was at a great distance from Israel and was a land in Arabia. This particular group of people were very prosperous; they had existed on the trade route to India and they had become incredibly rich because of their proclivity for successful trading. They had also parlayed some agricultural genius into great wealth. The had developed trades and skills, so that this queen was literally wealthy beyond imagination.
It says that she would stand in judgment with this generation and condemn it. She is a Gentile, an Arab, a she! A Gentile Arab woman is going to condemn the chosen people. Why? Because, "She came from the farthest parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon." What does that mean?
She heard about Solomon, that he was the wisest man in the world. And in those days, there weren't any books to speak of, so if you wanted to know what a wise man thought, you had to go and talk to the wise man; there was no other way. She came from the farthest parts of the earth, and that was a long ways away. From their perception, it looked like the farthest parts of the earth.
In Joel 3, it calls this same land, "A nation afar off." Jeremiah 6:20 talks about this being a 'far country,' so it is a great distance, crossing all the desert with her entourage and the stuff she brought with her. If you read I Kings 10, it is staggering what she brought; this wasn't, "I'm going to drop in and see Solomon and I'll be back on Monday." This was a major enterprise.
So what was so big about that? Here is a Gentile, pagan, idolatrous, godless, lawless, woman queen of a bunch of pagan people who hears about a man who has the wisdom of God. She crosses the desert with all of her entourage from a remote land to come without an invitation to seek that wisdom. You know what happened when she got there? It was more than she thought it would be, and she was so astounded that she started unloading on Solomon treasure after treasure after treasure. He didn't need that, but it was her way of honoring him and thanking him. Think about that.
Look at the end of verse 42. "And behold," and there's that exclamation; it's unbelievable! "A greater than Solomon is here." He's saying, "You don't even have to take a journey! I'm here, and you don't care." Here was a Gentile woman with no advantages and no invitation who crossed the desert with all this stuff to hear wisdom from the lips of a man who speaks the truth of God, and they won't even listen when He is in their midst! And He's greater than Solomon, the God of Solomon. No wonder she will rise up and condemn them in judgment.
She would have had an excuse for not attaining the wisdom of Solomon, but the Jews had no excuse for not attaining the wisdom of Christ. So Jonah and the queen will rise up and condemn the unbelieving and unrepentant Jews of Jesus' day.
Do you want to know something? WE can draw that into our own day. There are people today who reject Jesus Christ and the resurrection of Christ and the wisdom of Christ. They may be sitting in a religion, or a church, and someday, pagan Ninevites and a pagan queen, by contrast, will condemn them in judgment. What it is saying is that those who are far off that believe prove that those who are near are responsible to believe. If you try to exist within the framework of Christianity and reject Jesus Christ, yours is the greatest condemnation. Let's bow in prayer.
Lord, the clarity of Your Word strikes us to the heart. Oh, we see how Jesus cut through all of the facade of these hypocrites who came and pretended to be religious, to love God, to worship and obey God, but who, in fact, will be condemned by the remotest pagans who truly believed and repented. We pray, Lord, that there might be application in this; that we might not only understand that it happened in the life of our Lord and in His time, but that we understand that it happens again today. People in our society, even in our churches, will be condemned by people from afar off who have believed and repented, when many who have heard of Christ and know of the sign of His resurrection have refused to believe.
Lord, we pray that You will bring every person here into confrontation with Jesus Christ; His life, wisdom, resurrection from the dead, and that in that confrontation, the mask might come off and people might know their sin. And in the knowing, that they will come to You for the forgiveness that You offer. Thank You, Lord, for teaching us in Your Word this morning that Jesus Christ alone is the point of decision that determines eternity. We pray in His name, Amen.
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Beards, mustaches up for judging
Men — and women, too — can show off their facial hair at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 13, at Third and Cowls streets. There's no fee to enter.
Up for grabs are the Turkey Rama Beard King title and the official Beard Belt, said Zach Geary, the contest's hirsute emcee.
Men will be judged in several categories: Longest beard, best beard, best mustache, best Tom Selleck-style mustache, best wizardly Gandalf beard and most pathetic Joe Dirt beard.
Women can enter the Frida category, named in honor of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, whose "Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird" shows a distinct mustache.
Geary pointed out that women entering the Turkey Rama contest can compete with either real or fake facial hair. Male entrants, however, are limited to the home-grown variety.
Geary, who works as director of marketing and research for green builder Cellar Ridge, has taken to calling himself the "bearded steward for the MDA." He said he's excited that a competition finally will recognize the joys and subtleties of facial hair.
"Having a beard is as easy as not shaving," Geary said. "But to get a good beard, you really have to take care of it."
The contest also may clear up some misconceptions.
"People are always asking, but really, a beard is not hot at all," he said. "It seems to have its own natural air flow."
Geary will show off his beard as he emcees the Turkey Rama contest. Contestants will be judged by a panel of people who are experts in the art of beards and mustaches, although they're not necessarily hairy themselves — Sylla McClellan of Third Street Books, Jen Feero of La Bella Casa, Matt Deppe of McMinnville Water & Light and Ossie Bladine of the News-Register.
In additon to the Beard Belt, the MDA will be handing out prizes such as mustache waxes and beard balms, courtesy of Man's Face Stuff of Portland. For more information, call the MDA at 503-472-3605.