text:
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Well, the word "holy" DID come to mind...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Still, you have to admire the wreckerator's tenacity in scrawling the inscription right over the plastic flotsam. That, my friends, is commitment! No namby-pamby dashes, squished text, or downward spirals here, no sir! This baker does not deviate, does not falter! S/he trudges onward even in the face of crippling ridicule, turning a deaf ear to nay-sayers, a blind eye to the warning signs of impending disaster, a numb hand to the piping bag, a stuffed-up nose to the smell of burning batter, and an insensate tongue to the bitter dregs of defeat!!
[sits back down]
Ok, so maybe I was reaching a little with that metaphor. I thought I was doing well until the "burning batter" bit, though. [taps teeth with pen] Huh.
Still, I think we can all learn something here. Something about perseverance, something about throwing caution to the wind, something about...oh, I dunno... picking the cake up more than 30 minutes before the party starts? [nodding] Yeah, that, too.
Note: Since I get asked a lot, many of you will no doubt be relieved to learn that Wreckporter Holly later received a full refund. You'll remember that more-than-30-minutes-beforehand thing next time, right, Holly? :)
83 comments | Post a Comment
she wrote it over the plastic? seriously?
- January 29, 2009 at 9:29 AM
- The Courteous Chihuahua said...
I was going to say that it looked like Julia herself did the inscription, but most seven or eight-year-olds can write better than that.
- January 29, 2009 at 9:31 AM
Jesus wept.
- January 29, 2009 at 9:34 AM
- laura beth said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- January 29, 2009 at 9:37 AM
- laura beth said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- January 29, 2009 at 9:39 AM
What's a pen? I get that it has something to do with what you typed. Is it some kind of new data input device, like an ultra ergonomic keyboard? Or is one of those old-timey things you sometimes talk about, like the rotary clock thingy? I swear, sometimes it's like you codgers are speaking another language.
- January 29, 2009 at 9:40 AM
Somebody's going to hell for this one.
- January 29, 2009 at 9:42 AM
- Baking and Mistaking said...
It appears that the dove exploded out of sheer joy. Sigh. If only we could all die that happy.
BakingandMistaking.blogspot.com - January 29, 2009 at 9:46 AM
Are you aware that you have a scientology add under this cake wreak? It would be funny if I didn't think that scientology is one of the worst cult and destrying lives in the name of profit. I understand that you probably do not have any input on what kind of add is put in your blog but I would look into that.
- January 29, 2009 at 9:46 AM
- Feisty Irish Wench said...
I'm going to assume the wreckorator is not Catholic, nor are they familiar with catholicism in any way. It would explain why the rosary was balled up in a corner though. Almost any other arrangement of the flotsam would have allowed room for the "Congratulations Julia" (hey! at least it was spelled correctly!)
And Laura Beth, the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and it ties into the consecration of the host. - January 29, 2009 at 9:47 AM
- Melissa Hale said...
Why is the rosary scrunched? and what is coming out of the communion cup? and where is the bible flying to? so many unanswered questions.......
- January 29, 2009 at 9:49 AM
The edging is nice. Are the things in the left hand corner supposed to be grapes???
- January 29, 2009 at 9:50 AM
- Bearess said...
Not to mention the horror of slapping a rosary into pee yellow frosting. Ack!
- January 29, 2009 at 9:54 AM
Holy Crap?
Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com) - January 29, 2009 at 9:55 AM
Well, on the good side, She did get things assosiated with religion on the cake - chalis, rosary, bible, wafer...
But what in the holy name of Jesus were they thinking??? The dove shouldn't be crapping a wafer into the chalis! - January 29, 2009 at 9:55 AM
- Unknown said...
It would be a nice cake except for:
1. The feathers or whatever around the dove.
2. The huge-bigger than the dove- communion wafer
3. The text written over the plastic
Annnnddd...what appears to be a lopsided cake. Does the upper right corner look just a tad lower than the rest?
(Peering at screen)
Yes. I think it is.
~Amy B. - January 29, 2009 at 10:02 AM
- April Feagley said...
Ummmm. Wow. I've never seen writing quite that bad on a cake. Or quite so many plastic items.
- January 29, 2009 at 10:07 AM
- Glory von Hathor said...
Is that a rosary or those fish eggs you get on the top of sushi?
- January 29, 2009 at 10:07 AM
- Boozy Tooth said...
AT least the cake has God on its side.
- January 29, 2009 at 10:08 AM
- Teacher of the Year said...
...Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us (like this wreckorator).
- January 29, 2009 at 10:09 AM
I am so glad that the previous commenters cleared up that the pile of round balls in the upper left corner is a rosary... I was really beginning to wonder. Maybe has to do with the shear loudness of the cake.
- January 29, 2009 at 10:15 AM
- Double A Training said...
OH my! I'm laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes. All I can think about is how much my grandmother would LOVE that cake! HAHAHAHAHA
badfirstdates.blogspot.com - January 29, 2009 at 10:15 AM
- Bibi said...
I can imagine the phone call to the bakery . . ."yeah, we got all kinds of religious pieces we can decorate the cake with, rosaries, bibles, you name it we've probably got it and what we don't have we'll just make with icing. Don't worry, it will be less 'congratulatory' and more religious we promise."
- January 29, 2009 at 10:17 AM
At least they spelled congratulations properly!
- January 29, 2009 at 10:29 AM
The roses are pretty...
I can't remember if I had a First Communion cake, but if I had had this one I know I would have remembered it!
After looking at this cake I feel like I need to go back to teaching at that Catholic school to expiate my sins. And to pray for the same for the last minute addition of poor penmanship in horrid green icing across the body and blood of Christ.
No, wait, scratch that. The chalice is plastic. I'll just stay out of lightning's way for the rest of the day and call it even. ;) - January 29, 2009 at 10:31 AM
I have to admit - whenever I feel tempted to eat cake, I just take a gander to your site to see what the latest cake wreck is ... HEY! You should create the Cake Wrecks Diet! :) You could make a ton of money! I should know - I'm approaching 100 lbs lost! lol
- January 29, 2009 at 10:32 AM
I know that bird! He sits over my car just after I've washed it! Looks like he's up to his old antics...
- January 29, 2009 at 10:37 AM
HaHa. I can only laugh at the fact they wrote over the sacramental gourd.
- January 29, 2009 at 10:38 AM
My first thought was, 'Where did they get that tiny Bible from?' My second thought was, 'Are Communion wafers usually plastic coated?'
- January 29, 2009 at 10:42 AM
- Colleen said...
That's nothing but a mess...jeez. I wouldn't have paid for that, instead I would have gotten a plain frosted cake and done the inscription myself. It would have looked better at least...
Colleen (cyberrblue.wordpress.com) - January 29, 2009 at 11:00 AM
- Torii said...
Did the dove leave a present up in the left corner?
- January 29, 2009 at 11:06 AM
I actually thought it was the wreckerator trying to be clever by putting the "t" in congratulations as a cross on the chalice. I mean, it seems sorta tacky to me, but I'm Jewish, so I have no idea what would be tacky in a communion cake. Turns out that tacky is as tacky does, and religion doesn't enter into it...
- January 29, 2009 at 11:09 AM
- mustdestroyalltraces said...
they really should have rethought the placement of the dove. as of now it looks as if it's shaking of the water from a recent bath. the bird bath of course being right below it.
that's just awkward. - January 29, 2009 at 11:10 AM
- OldMorgans said...
I was raised Catholic (but it did not stick. I sure did not get a cake for my First Communion, which was probably a good thing judging by this cake. I had to do a second look at the Rosary as it sure looks like a pile of fish eggs stacked above a cross. That tiny dove is making a big mess, for sure. But the best is the writing which just cruises along despite all obstacles.
Thanks for the morning giggles.
sagebeasties.blogspot.com - January 29, 2009 at 11:12 AM
So glad she got a refund for that one!
- January 29, 2009 at 11:13 AM
I'm glad some of the people here cleared some things up for me. I, too, thought that the rosary was a bunch of grapes. I thought that the dove and wafer were a pineapple. Maybe it was the lemony yellow of the frosting that turned me down the path of contemplating fruit possibilities? Maybe it's because I'm Lutheran...
- January 29, 2009 at 11:13 AM
I think that stuff around the dove is probably supposed to be the rays of light you often see in such an image.
Unfortunately, what it looks like to me is that the dove is vigorously dipping a cookie into a glass - er, chalice - of milk, and the milk is then splashing cheerfully out.
And I kind of hope the wafer really is plastic. I was raised Episcopalian, and even though I'm pretty much agnostic now, I find the concept of eating a fake wafer on a cake to be somehow vaguely wrong, approaching creepy. Not sure why, I just know that if I were eating this cake, I'd feel much happier having the wafer (and chalice) removed first even if they weren't plastic. Oh, and that goes for the Bible, too, and if I'd been raised Catholic, I suspect I'd have the same feeling about the rosary beads. - January 29, 2009 at 11:16 AM
I'm glad some of the people here cleared some things up for me. I, too, thought that the rosary was a bunch of grapes. I thought that the dove and wafer were a pineapple. Maybe it was the lemony yellow of the frosting that turned me down the path of contemplating fruit possibilities? Maybe it's because I'm Lutheran...
- January 29, 2009 at 11:17 AM
- Melisa said...
The "burnt batter" bit was the best part. Alliteration must never be questioned.
- January 29, 2009 at 11:22 AM
- Karie, the Regular Guy's Extraordinary Wife said...
Yeah, the word "holy" also came to my mind as well! I am an oft lurker, but this one "called" to me! What a mess! The rosary curled up in the corner had me laughing out loud, and the writing across the chalice, just about made me change my pants. Thanks for the laughs!
- January 29, 2009 at 11:29 AM
- Unknown said...
For a split second I thought this was a Monty Python cake. Seems more up their alley than Christianity's.
- January 29, 2009 at 11:29 AM
- MonkeyPunk said...
I didn't realize that was a rosary either... the cross doesn't look connected. My guess was it was supposed to be a pile of pearls that were actively not being cast before swine...
- January 29, 2009 at 11:47 AM
- Andrea said...
Did anyone else see this and think Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
- January 29, 2009 at 11:52 AM
- ess.jay said...
Baking and Mistaking, omg, what you said? HILARIOUS.
This cake is just one more reason why I'm an atheist, lol. - January 29, 2009 at 12:05 PM
- Erin said...
soooo, what would a good first communion cake look like? maybe just congratulations and a little chalice in the corner? Maybe just congratulatons.
maybe I'm just more willing than the wreckerator to accept my lack of creativity, but I can't really see how you could make a spectacular first communion cake. surely better than this, but not really great like some of Jen's Sunday Sweets.
Am I just missing it? What would make a truly awesome first communion cake? - January 29, 2009 at 12:11 PM
- ilovebabyquilts said...
The stuff around the dove is the power of the holy spirit, which the dove represents. Like in this artwork of the HS http://www.catholicfaithandreason.org/dove.jpg
Wow, there's 12 years of Catholic school working for me. I knew it would come in handy someday. Luckily I attended in the post-beatings days. When I got to college I took off Catholicism like a coat, dropped it on the floor, and walked away. - January 29, 2009 at 12:13 PM
- Susan said...
That looks like Mardi Gras beads, not a rosary. I'll go to hell for sure if I say what that makes me think.
- January 29, 2009 at 12:23 PM
- Unknown said...
Looks like the communion wafer is a bit underbaked too! I've never seen a shiny communion wafer. Ugh.
- January 29, 2009 at 12:36 PM
- Hyena Overlord said...
EW...yellow icing...and plastic decorations.
wvotd: flour; This cake is a waste of flour. - January 29, 2009 at 12:46 PM
- heartafire said...
Oh, Anonymous at 9:34---you said it!
"Holy Crap," indeed, H.A.Kitchen!
The commentary and the comments are the best part of cakewrecks to me---thanks for the laughs, everyone! - January 29, 2009 at 12:51 PM
- heartafire said...
OOooooh, 1101001, I am going to hafta snatch you up by your little 18-year old pony tail and teach you to respect your elders!
Love, A codger - January 29, 2009 at 12:52 PM
- Ted S. (Just a Cineast) said...
To be honest, I figured (before looking at the large image) that the chalice was fondant.
And the communion wafer isn't plastic; it's cardboard. Just ask any Catholic. :-) - January 29, 2009 at 1:06 PM
- Chic Runner said...
That is seriously just sad. Seriously who makes these?! ha ha.
- January 29, 2009 at 1:11 PM
For my cousin's first communion cake, a simple sheet cake with "God Bless Joey" written on it was ordered.
We got "Good bless Joey."
I don't think god likes cake. - January 29, 2009 at 1:11 PM
I think the chalice and host are actually chocolate, with the chocolate chalice sprayed gold. Chocolate or sugar chalices and hosts are commercially available for this purpose, and I've never seen a plastic one.
- January 29, 2009 at 1:13 PM
- HorribleLicensePlates said...
- January 29, 2009 at 1:14 PM
I'm surprised they got a picture of this cake before it was obliterated by a lightning bolt or something . . .
Boy, a fake wafer on a cake. I'm an agnostic born and raised and even so that raises my eyebrows. - January 29, 2009 at 1:28 PM
Oh em eff gee, is that host one of those magical white fudge Oreos that pop up around Christmas-time? XD
- January 29, 2009 at 1:41 PM
- Scritzy said...
That's an awfully tiny dove dipping the wafer into the chalice. Does that mean only a small portion of the Spirit was present?
This cake makes me want to cry. For more reasons than one. - January 29, 2009 at 1:55 PM
- sendingtheclowns said...
I meant egg YOLK.
In case anyone notices that I misspelled--I mean, had a TYPO.
heh heh...
WV: actuit: If you yell this word really loudly, someone will say, "Gesundheit!" - January 29, 2009 at 1:57 PM
- Danielle said...
Oh my goodness, this is actually a "pack". Down to the ugly yellow frosting. http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/holiday/communion/001.jpg
Poor Julia, I've seen a lot of nice communion cakes. This is not one. - January 29, 2009 at 2:47 PM
- E.A.D. said...
Hehehehehhe, molting Holy Spirit. Great visual. Or maybe those drops are sweat, because the dove is flying madly to rescue the holy wafer from certain drowning in a chalice of cheap wine.
- January 29, 2009 at 2:51 PM
I have to say this was the first time I actually yelled out "OH NO!!" and covered my head with my hands when I saw the picture. That's too bad.
- January 29, 2009 at 3:17 PM
No one has yet mentioned how out of proportion everything is. The host is huge in proportion to the chalice, and the dove and the bible are positively minescule. I too did a double take on the whole rosary thing. I thought it was tapioca.
Anyway using a rosary as a cake decoration is just plain wrong. - January 29, 2009 at 3:44 PM
I think I'm the only one who thought "What is a pile of snowballs doing on a communion cake?"
And then someone said it was a rosary and I did a loud, "OOOH".
That cake is a hot mess. I love the roses though. They are beautifully done. - January 29, 2009 at 3:54 PM
This looked awkward but not awful in the blog-sized photo. But when I clicked to enlarge it, the sloppiness of the writing became all too apparent.
The worst thing, tho, is that the rosary ... is real. And squooshing a real rosary into the frosting of a cake is just wrong.
As for how one would do a great First Communion cake: The Last Supper in fondant 3-D -- there's something that would stand out. - January 29, 2009 at 4:29 PM
Let's see, a communion wafer the size of a dove? Looks like you're going to need a larger chalice!
- January 29, 2009 at 5:15 PM
I'm gonna have to say that it was a mysterious attempt at signifying that the Word reigned supreme, above image, chalice, roses,--literally. Very medieval icing iconography!
- January 29, 2009 at 5:18 PM
Wow there is nothing else to say.
- January 29, 2009 at 5:52 PM
- Sand Mama said...
I can hear the thoughts..."Over the chalice? Around the chalice? Under the chalice? What to do what to do... Cant scrawl across the host, oh the dilemma... Over the chalice we go... is that Julia with two l's??..."
- January 29, 2009 at 5:53 PM
- Denise said...
Wow, that has got to be one of the worst decorating jobs I've ever seen! No way I would have paid money for that, glad to hear Holly got her money back!
- January 29, 2009 at 7:17 PM
I used to work in a place that had every one of those pieces of plastic. We'd be up to our ears in rosaries and Bible shaped cakes in May. Ahhh the memories...
Misha=) - January 29, 2009 at 10:39 PM
- GeekByMarriage said...
It's a sin against all good, upstanding cakes for this abomination to be brought forth into culinary existence!
Cue the angry mob with pitchforks and torches! - January 30, 2009 at 1:15 AM
Okay this is a first for me but I actually really like this cake. There is something really innocent and endearing about this failed cake. I like the colors and the composition, and It kind of reminds me of the holy grail. Is that what it is? the holy grail?
The whole drinking the blood of Christ and eating his body thing? - January 30, 2009 at 4:17 AM
I voted for you! I've just discovered your blog (I was looking for cake ideas! LOL!) and I must thank you for turning my day at work from a dreary into a great day! I can't stop laughing and my co-workers are starting to wonder if I've completely lost it! LOL!
- January 30, 2009 at 8:16 AM
"You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation. You got an ugly cake, and a host so fake." -- if Billy Joel had seen this cake before writing "Only the Good Die Young"
Despite all that, I have to add that I really love the yellow and white. I probably wouldn't use it for a first Communion cake, but I like it. - January 30, 2009 at 11:31 AM
- Bedlam said...
that second cake is so pretty
- January 30, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Two comments for this one,none of which have to do with the, erm, "lovely" writing.
1: Did anyone else immediately think of Monty Python when they saw the grail? (Okay, I may go to hell for that one...)
2: I had the same type of plastic rosary on my communion cake...and the same thought went through my head about the choking! - February 4, 2009 at 1:02 PM
- Marfannequin said...
Wow! That's my EXACT communion cake from 15 years ago! Except not exact in the sense that someone more capable wrote on mine.
- June 2, 2009 at 2:54 AM
I seek the Grail...
- November 16, 2009 at 10:00 AM
I have been in indentured servitude at a supermarket bakery for 11 years and I know what a lot of these decorators (I use the term in a kind, magnanimous way) have to work with.
You know what's really sad? The whole thing comes as a kit (just add cake and icing!) and they send you a card with a photo of what the cake is supposed to look like as a guide...
They may have deviated from the photo a bit on this one. - November 16, 2009 at 10:30 AM
If this thing is supposed to be a kit, with a template, where the heck do they EXPECT you to write "Congratulations"? There's no space! especially not with the dove taking a bath or dunking the host or whatever it looks like he's doing.
The bible looks so lonely floating in space.
the pile o' pearls (rosary)'s placement redemption is that at least there will be less icing to try to clean off those little beads since it's sitting in a pile instead of elegantly "draped" all over the cake (and icing). ick. messy. - November 16, 2009 at 3:43 PM
- Cupcakes Lady said...
I'm laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes, and at times I cant breath! lol xx
- October 13, 2010 at 8:16 AM
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text:
Updated at 9:29 pm ET --- Former South Carolina Republican governor Mark Sanford easily beat Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch to regain the House seat he once held.
For Sanford, the victory in the strongly Republican 1st Congressional District was sure to be widely viewed as a personal redemption. Sanford left the governor's mansion in 2009 after an extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman who is now his fiancee led to the breakup of his marriage.
For his party, Sanford's win was portrayed as a rejection by a solidly Republican district of everything the Democratic Party stands for.
In a statement Chad Connelly, chair of the South Carolina Republican Party, said:
Chad Connelly, Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, stated in part:
"Tonight, the voters of the First District made it crystal clear that the baggage of Obamacare and Barack Obama's liberal policies are too much, even for a credible Democrat candidate to overcome...
"Voters demonstrated they cannot be bought and that they know Mark Sanford will be another vote for fiscal sanity in Congress. We look forward to Governor Sanford returning to Washington..."
The House Majority PAC whose goal is to return the U.S. House to Democratic control sought to make lemonade out of lemons. In a statement, its executive director, Alixandria Lapp, indicated Democrats will try to make Sanford a liability to the GOP:
"The truth is that despiteall the chatter about the purported Republican rebrand, Republicans continue to select flawed candidates like Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock – and now, once again, Mark Sanford.
"The House Republican caucus has added yet another ethically challenged embarrassment who will be an albatross around the neck of every Republican forced to answer for Mark Sanford's embarrassing and reckless behavior."
--- original story below ---
South Carolina's latest contribution to the American political stage: a House race between a former governor whose extramarital affair provided unlimited fodder for TV comedians, and a rookie candidate whose brother happens to be one of the them.
As the tight race between Mark Sanford, who served two terms as governor, and Elizabeth Colbert Busch, sister of the noted satirist Stephen Colbert, drew to a close Tuesday, one thing was certain: South Carolina had generated yet another exquisite political spectacle.
A win by the Republican Sanford would launch a spate of stories about his political redemption after an affair that ended his marriage and, for a time at least, his career in elected office. A victory by Colbert Busch, the Democrat, would deliver yet another example of a flawed GOP candidate fumbling away a seemingly safe Republican seat.
The latest polling suggested a photo finish to the special election for the Charleston-area 1st Congressional District seat, which became vacant when Republican Tim Scott was named to the U.S. Senate.
Scott filled the seat vacated by Jim DeMint, who left Congress to run the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank.
With the polls closing at 7 p.m. EDT, it could be an early night. Or a very long night, followed by perhaps a recount, if the race is as close as one recent poll suggested.
The congressional district has been reliably Republican for years — Sanford himself represented it prior to winning the governorship. In 2012, President Obama lost the district to Mitt Romney by 18 percentage points.
But Sanford's personal troubles — leaving the popular former first lady Jenny Sanford for an Argentine mistress who is now his fiancee, followed by unfavorable publicity surrounding his February trespassing at Jenny Sanford's home in violation of their divorce agreement — made the race more competitive than Democrats could've hoped.
Indeed, Colbert Busch had appeared to open a lead over Sanford in the polls until a recent survey by Public Policy Polling, the Democratic pollster, showed the former governor apparently surging, with a statistically insignificant 1-percentage-point lead.
Colbert Busch's election-night chances turn largely on winning over Republicans and independents, especially women. She also needs to maximize African-American turnout. Sanford is counting on GOP voters being more disgusted with the Democratic Party than with his transgressions.
Both the South Carolina Republican and Democratic parties found cause for optimism in what they were seeing up through Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm hearing that there's higher turnout than expected," said Alex Stroman, executive director for the South Carolina Republican Party. "I know that absentee counts were higher in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester [counties]. The voting is up and Republican precincts like those in Mount Pleasant are above average. And so that's excellent for Gov. Sanford. ...
"Gov. Sanford definitely has momentum here in the past couple of days and Republican voters are coming home. And that Elizabeth Colbert Busch, if she were elected to Congress, would be absolutely out of touch with low-country values. And I think that's what you're seeing in the election."
Kristin Sosanie, communications director for the South Carolina Democratic Party, read the turnout differently.
"We're hearing that Charleston turnout, especially, is pretty high, which is a good thing for Elizabeth, for sure," Sosanie said. "Generally people are tending to be pretty engaged. Mark Sanford definitely has the advantage in terms of voter registration.
"But, we've heard stories, especially up to today — even today, people are still coming up to Elizabeth and saying that they support her — but from Republicans, Republican women, Republican men, independents, who just don't want to vote for Mark Sanford, have had enough of his kind of politics and they really support Elizabeth because she's more moderate."
Laura Woliver, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina, explained that voter turnout will be "the crux of the whole matter. ... If it's a high turnout, my guess is it would be for Colbert Busch.
"I don't think people are excitedly turning out for Sanford," Woliver said. "They would be dutifully turning out for Sanford if they're Republicans. But if there's a high turnout for this race, which usually would have a low turnout [as an off-year, special election], I would guess that it would be good news for Colbert Busch."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

subset: commoncrawl


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Business Travel Tips; Reduce Stress and Enjoy Yourself Traveling for Business is Less Stressful When You Take Time to Prepare and Organize.Here are a few tips for your business travel that will make that time away from home just a bit more enjoyable. Let's start with packing for business travel. Start with the purchase of a good carry one bag. Any seasoned business traveler will tell you carry on is the only way to travel. It will keep you out of baggage claim and you will never have to worry about lost luggage. Buy a couple of good quality pieces constructed of polyurethane-treated fabric that have nylon zippers. The polyurethane will keep the moisture out and the nylon zippers are far less likely to snag.Consider keeping a duplicate of as much as possible when it comes to those things that you use on a daily basis such as your toiletries. This way you won't have to worry about unpacking them when you return home. They can just stay in your business travel bags. You may also think about going to your local drugstore to purchase trial sizes of your toiletries. Try to pack your bag with space saving in mind. Cut down on the number of business suits for example by packing alternate shirts and ties that will go with the same suit.Women can change the look of a suit with different blouses, scarves, sweaters or jewelry. Pack socks and underwear inside your shoes. Not only does this save space but it will also help keep the shape of your shoes. Pack your belts around the edge of your suitcase. When considering the items to pack think of those things that are necessities and those items that may make your business travel just a little more comfortable.Here is a business travel tip when choosing your mode of transportation. When choosing transportation for business travel the distance that you will be traveling should be considered. Although air travel is the first choice when it comes to long journeys for a shorter trip that is only a couple of hundred miles away a train or automobile may be the better choice. Take into account the time you would spend traveling to and from the airport. Also, don't forget to consider the amount of time taken at the airport to check in, board, disembark and then find transportation to your final destination etc.If you do choose to fly consider alternative airports just outside your departure and destination city. Typically these airports may have fewer flights but also will have less chance for overbooking and delays.Always try to stay in hotels that cater to business travel. Most of these hotels will have high- speed internet access and will offer access to business machines. For unbiased reviews from other business travelers just like you we recommend that you research
hotel reviews at TravelPost.comOne of the more important business travel tips is to check your cellular service prior to leaving for another city. Check with your cell phone service provider. You may find that they don't provide service where your business travel takes you and therefore you will need to find an alternate carrier for this trip.Can you imagine not finding out until you're there!Hope that you will find these business travel tips helpful and may all of your business travel bring further success!
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Make the McKenzie Connection!
There was something shockingly sudden about the Ku Klux Klan's virtual seizure of the reins of power in Oregon in 1922.
Within a few months of Klan evangelist Luther Powell's arrival in southern Oregon, the "invisible empire" had spread through Oregon society like a virus. Tens of thousands of Oregonians had paid their $10 membership fee and had white eyehole-suits hanging in their closets, and tens of thousands more looked upon the secret society as a positive thing.
It's important to understand that the Klan in 1922 was different from the Klan in 1866. The 1922 Klan had arisen out of D.W. Griffith's 1915 movie, "The Birth of a Nation," which glorified the Klan, and gave the group its iconic robe-and-pointy-headpiece look and introduced the practice of cross burning. Then, after the war, an advertising agency took the Klan on as a client and crafted its public image and its sales message with the manipulative skills honed in First World War propaganda campaigns. The results were striking.
The original Klan of the 1860s had targeted freed former slaves and their white allies, and was quickly shut down in the early 1870s after leaving a trail of bloody corpses and terrified survivors strewn about the countryside. This new Klan would be, if you will, a kinder, gentler terrorist organization. It would last a little longer, and for a few years it would seem destined to take over, because the agency took its message down a notch. It appointed itself as the enforcement arm of white American Protestantism, ready and willing to undertake anonymous vigilante actions as needed to preserve white American Protestantism as the definitive American culture. Non-WASPS — black people, Chinese and Japanese folks, Jews and Catholics — were to be kept under control as a matter of cultural self-defense. (Melting pot, schmelting pot.)
With an eye on public relations, the new Klan controlled the level of vigilantism and terrorism carefully, seeking that perfect balance of edgy, attractive muscularity and avoiding becoming extreme enough to threaten mainstream society. Crosses were regularly lit afire in spots where they overlooked Catholic and Jewish neighborhoods (there were very few black people in the state at the time). They barged into Catholic churches during services dressed in their sinister, anonymous eyehole suits. They honored their organization's long-established tradition of lynching innocent people by conducting "necktie lynchings," in which victims were led to believe they were about to die, lifted an inch or two off the ground by the neck for a moment, and released with a dire warning. This went badly for them on at least one occasion, when their victim (a white guy whom they suspected of having seduced a 16-year-old girl) figured out who they were and sued them.
The new Klan also had designed a sales system of astonishing sophistication. Each recruiter ("kleagle") got a standard kit; in addition to the usual stuff like contracts and eyehole suits to sell the new recruits, the kit included a prospect list. Kleagles were encouraged to discreetly make contact first with Protestant pastors, and then target cops and local government officials for membership. Then the ads would be placed in newspapers and the kleagle and/or an especially enthusiastic pastor would arrange a dog-and-pony show in some hotel ballroom, in which the entire community was invited to come hear all about the Klan. Since the Klan was a secret society, the promise was that you could find out what it was all about by coming to one of these things, and the people who arrived were then played masterfully by the recruiter, who would finish the evening with sometimes hundreds of new $10 memberships — $4 of which, if he was a top-level kleagle, he got to keep.
In due course the kleagle would identify and deputize sub-kleagles to go out and repeat the process at other towns. Klan membership would spread virally until any man in the state who thought he might want to be a Kluxer had the opportunity to pay his $10 and take home his very own Klown suit.
As we know from last week, Powell did a yeoman's job of working this system. By election season in 1922, the process had completed itself and Oregon was shot through from one side to the other with Klansmen. These local Klan groups immediately got busy packing school boards, city councils and county commissions with friendly faces.
In Salem, the Klan found a ready ally in the fortuitously named legislator Kaspar K. Kubli, who soon became a member. Because Republicans at the time dominated the state government, the Klan got involved at the party level in a campaign to "purify" its ranks. It got control of the Multnomah County Republican Party, and probably several others as well. Roman Catholic and Jewish officeholders — as well as those the Klan thought just weren't friendly enough to its aims — quickly found themselves embroiled in primary battles with challengers who were clearly going to win.
The state's Republican governor, Ben Olcott, was an outspoken and intransigent opponent of the Klan. He knew the stand he was taking would probably cost him the election, but he also knew that letting a secret society of anonymous xenophobic vigilantes take over state government would be an awful thing, and he refused to give the state anything less than his full effort to stop it.
The primary election was a massive dogpile of victories for the Klan. There were just two high-profile losses: Olcott had been renominated, and so had Congressman Clifton Nesmith McArthur — yes, THAT Nesmith; he was the legendary pioneer's grandson. McArthur was a four-term U.S. Congressman whom the Klan had targeted for being too independent.
No problem: the Klan simply shifted its endorsement to the Democratic party's candidates in the fall, when the general election was held.
The Klan would get both Olcott and McArthur defeated in that election, replaced with men who were either Klansmen or at least friendly to the Klan's agenda. It would also get a law passed that more or less outlawed private schools in Oregon, in a direct attack on the Catholic church. And it would take over the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. It was very nearly a clean sweep. Every race the Klan had taken an interest in had swung their way.
"There is something new under the sun," wrote Waldo Roberts of the magazine Outlook, at about this time. "Oregon, politically the most conservative and temperamentally the least romantic state west of the Rocky Mountains, is now under the control of the Ku Klux Klan."
But not for long.
(Sources: Marsh, Tom. To the Promised Land. Corvallis: OSU Press, 2012; MacColl, E. Kimbark. The Growth of a City. Portland: Georgian Press, 1979; Lansing, Jewel. Portland: People, Politics and Power. Corvallis: OSU Press, 2002)
McKenzie River Reflections


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But it's not all about faster shoes and fashion statements. Just as there is more to a shoe than padding and foam; adidas is more than the sum of its products.
At the heart of the company is an extraordinary passion for the sporting lifestyle, carried by the dedicated men and women who work for it. And so, for adidas, shaping the sporting goods industry sustainably is more than a job; it's an impulse.
A sports industry giant, adidas employs more than 60, 000 people worldwide, producing more than 840 million product units each year. But the brand grew from humble beginnings - and the cramped kitchen of WW1 veteran Adolf 'Adi' Dassler.
Dassler began making running shoes from his base in Herzogenaurach, Germany, in 1919. In July of 1924, he went into partnership with his brother Rudolf. The pair opened a factory and the business began to grow.
In 1936 Adi drove from Bavaria to Berlin ahead of the Olympics with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded US sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. Owens' haul of four gold medals cemented the good reputation of Dassler's shoes amongst elite sportsmen – one that still holds true to this day.


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Putin gets approval to use military in Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine -- Russia executed a de facto military takeover of a strategic region in Ukraine as the parliament in Moscow gave President Vladimir Putin a green light Saturday to proceed to protect Russian interests. The newly installed government in Kiev was powerless to react to the swift takeover of Crimea by Russian troops already in Ukraine and more flown in, aided by pro-Russian Ukrainian groups.
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that Russia flew hundreds of troops into Crimea Friday and that between 2,000 and 6,000 Russian troops were already based in Crimea, according to U.S. officials. Those troops were deployed from their bases to secure other facilities in Crimea.
Martin also reports that Ukraine's armed forces have told the American ambassador to Kiev that they do not intend to resist the Russian troop movements.
The U.S. is not making any military movements in response to Russia's actions, Martin reports.
Putin's move follows President Obama's warning Friday that "there will be costs" if Russia intervenes militarily, sharply raising the stakes in the conflict over Ukraine's future and evoking memories of Cold War brinkmanship. The explicit reference to the use of troops escalated days of conflict between the two countries, which started when Ukraine's pro-Russian president was pushed out by a protest movement of people who wanted closer ties to the European Union.
"I'm submitting a request for using the armed forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine pending the normalization of the socio-political situation in that country," Putin said in his request sent to parliament.
Putin's call came as pro-Russian demonstrations broke out in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east, where protesters raised Russian flags and clashed with supporters of the new Ukrainian government.
Russia's upper house also recommended that Moscow recall its ambassador from Washington over Mr. Obama's comments.
Ukraine had already accused Russia on Friday of a "military invasion and occupation" of the Crimea peninsula, where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk called on Moscow "to recall their forces, and to return them to their stations," according to the Interfax news agency. "Russian partners, stop provoking civil and military resistance in Ukraine."
The crisis was sparked when Ukraine's deposed president, Victor Yanukovych, ditched a deal for closer ties to the EU and instead turned toward Moscow. Months of protests followed, culminating in security forces killing dozens of protesters and Yanukovych fleeing to Russia.
Ignoring Mr. Obama's warning, Putin said the "extraordinary situation in Ukraine" was putting at risk the lives of Russian citizens and military personnel stationed at a naval base that Moscow has maintained in the Black Sea peninsula since the Soviet collapse.
Reflecting a degree of caution, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, who presented Putin's request to the upper house, told reporters that the motion doesn't mean that the president would immediately send additional troops to Ukraine.
"There is no talk about it yet," he said.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said in remarks on Rossiya 24 television that while the president "got the entire arsenal of means necessary for settling this situation," he hadn't yet decided whether to use the Russian military in Ukraine or recall the ambassador from Washington.
"He will make these decisions depending on how the situation will develop," Peskov said. "We would like to hope that the situation will not develop along the scenario it's developing now - that is inciting tensions and making a threat for the Russians on the Crimean Peninsula."
The U.N. Security Council called an urgent meeting on Ukraine on Saturday, and the European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the crisis.
Putin's motion loosely refers to the "territory of Ukraine" rather than specifically to Crimea, raising the possibility that Moscow could use military force in other Russian-speaking areas in eastern and southern Ukraine, where many oppose the new authorities in Kiev. Pro-Russian protests were reported in the eastern cities of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk and the southern port of Odessa.
In Kharkiv, 97 people were injured in clashes between pro-Russia demonstrators and supporters of the new Ukrainian government, according to the Interfax news agency.
Ukraine's population is divided in loyalties between Russia and Europe, with much of western Ukraine advocating closer ties with the European Union while eastern and southern regions look to Russia for support. Crimea, a semi-autonomous region of Ukraine, is mainly Russian-speaking.
In Saturday's parliamentary session in Moscow, a deputy house speaker said Mr. Obama had insulted Russia and crossed a "red line," and the upper house recommended the Russian ambassador in Washington be recalled. It will be up to Putin to decide whether that happens.
In Crimea, the pro-Russian prime minister who took office after gunmen seized the regional Parliament claimed control of the military and police there and asked Putin for help in keeping peace, sharpening the discord between the two neighboring Slavic countries.
Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, said the election of Sergei Aksyonov as prime minister of Crimea was invalid.
Ukrainian officials and some Western diplomats said that a Russian military intervention is already well underway after heavily armed gunmen in unmarked military uniforms seized control of local government buildings, airports and other strategic facilities in Crimea in recent days.
Crimea only became part of Ukraine in 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred jurisdiction from Russia, a move that was a mere formality when both Ukraine and Russia were part of the Soviet Union. The Soviet breakup in 1991 meant Crimea landed in an independent Ukraine.
Russia put pressure on Ukraine from another direction when a spokesman for state gas company Gazprom said that Ukraine owed $1.59 billion in overdue bills for imported gas. Sergei Kuprianov was quoted by the RIA-Novosti agency as saying the gas arrears would endanger a recent discount granted by Russia. The discount lowered the price to $268.50 per thousand from $400. The Russian payment demand and loss of the discount would accelerate Ukraine's financial crisis. The country is almost broke and seeking emergency credit from the International Monetary Fund.
Russia has taken a confrontational stance toward its southern neighbor after Yanukovych fled the country. Yanukovych was voted out of office by parliament after weeks of protests ended in violence that left more than 80 people dead.
Aksyonov, the Crimea leader, appealed to Putin "for assistance in guaranteeing peace and calmness on the territory of the autonomous republic of Crimea." Aksyonov was voted in by the Crimean parliament on Thursday after pro-Russia gunmen seized the building and as tensions soared over Crimea's resistance to the new authorities in Kiev, who took office this week.
Mr. Obama called on Russia to respect the independence and territory of Ukraine and not try to take advantage of its neighbor, which is undergoing political upheaval.
He said such action by Russia would represent a "profound interference" in matters he said must be decided by the Ukrainian people.
"The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine," he said. Mr. Obama did not say what those costs might be.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter that it was "obvious that there is Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Likely immediate aim is to set up puppet pro-Russian semi-state in Crimea."
At the United Nations, the Ukrainian ambassador, Yuriy Sergeyev, said Friday that Russian transport aircraft and 11 attack helicopters had arrived in Crimea illegally, and that Russian troops had taken control of two airports in Crimea.
He described the gunmen posted outside the two airports as Russian armed forces as well as "unspecified" units.
Russia has kept silent on claims of military intervention and has said any troop movements are within agreed rules, even as it maintained its hard-line stance on protecting ethnic Russians in Crimea.
Meanwhile, flights remained halted from Simferopol's airport. Dozens of armed men in military uniforms without markings patrolled the area. They didn't stop or search people leaving or entering the airport, and refused to talk to journalists.


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Happy New Year! Late posting today, but I wanted to comment on two things:
(1) NFL: OK, the Chiefs making the playoffs (or, more accurately, the Broncos completely muffing the playoffs) was a shocker. And though there's no doubt that KC earned it (with by far the toughest Week 17 matchup of any AFC Wild Card contender), Denver completely crapped the bed on this one. KC fans must be thrilled.
Over in the NFC, there might not have been much drama after the Giants clinched the No. 6 spot on Saturday, so how awesome was the Lions-Cowboys result?
(A) The Cowboys swipe the mantle from the Giants for "Least Momentum Heading Into the Playoffs." (B) The Lions manage to bungle the one thing – top draft position – that they really needed. Even when they win, they lose. Unbelievable. I think it's official that rooting for the Lions is the worst fan position in the NFL.
(2) New Year's Day Bowls: As I've said before, the Arkansas-Wisconsin game is a proxy for the BCS title game:
If SEC tops Big Ten, it's one more piece of data that the Big Ten sucked this season and the SEC was terrific. If Big Ten tops SEC, the Big Ten has been underrated and
Rose Bowl: I'm torn. As a Big Ten alum, I almost always root for Big Ten teams in bowl matchups. And I absolutely hate USC. But as a
Fiesta Bowl: How can you NOT be rooting for Cinderella non-BCS team
Join in the comments for your bowl-day observations and analysis. Like me, I assume you're parked in front of the TV, too. Happy New Year!
UPDATE (5:45 p.m.): OK, so Wisconsing beating Arkansas (in what can only be described as one of the least entertaining bowl games I've ever watched) is a huge win for the Big Ten -- and erodes at least a bit of SEC haughtiness from the Bowl Season (and BCS title game).After all, wasn't Wisconsin supposed to be vastly overrated? Weren't they supposed to be hardly a "quality win" for Michigan, let alone Michigan's "best" win of the season? New reality: Wisco just beat an Arkansas team that was the 3rd-best team in the SEC and one that many (including me) had thought extremely highly of.
It's Wisconsin's first (and only) quality win of the season, but suddenly makes Michigan's win over Wisconsin that much more impressive. (Nevermind that still only makes 1.5 quality wins for Michigan this season -- better-than-we-thought Wisconsin and worse-than-we-thought Notre Dame. But certainly fodder for the argument that the Big Ten isn't being dragged down by Wisconsin being overrated. (God, I'm going to miss college football until next September.)


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UFC Store
Here are the 2011 Unofficial UFC Upsets of the Year...
On any given night…it's the mantra of underdogs in all sports, and in the UFC in 2011, these gentlemen proved that when everything is clicking on fight night, anything can happen. Here are the 2011 Unofficial UFC Upsets of the Year.
10 - Dustin Poirier over Josh Grispi
On January 1, 2011, Josh Grispi was supposed to be fighting in the first 145-pound title fight in UFC history against champion Jose Aldo. Aldo got injured and was forced to pull out of the bout. Instead, Grispi got to face a Louisiana buzzsaw named Dustin Poirier, and in 15 minutes he was issued his first loss in four years. That's not to say that Poirier had come out of nowhere, but consider that the previous four names on Grispi's victims list were Mark Hominick, Micah Miller, Jens Pulver, and LC Davis, and he finished all four in the first round. So for Poirier to come into the Octagon that night and not only win, but steamroll Grispi sent shockwaves through the featherweight division.
9 - Wanderlei Silva over Cung Le
In any other year, Wanderlei Silva defeating Cung Le wouldn't have raised an upset eyebrow, simply because the two premier strikers would be seen as evenly matched, with Silva probably getting an edge from fans and oddsmakers. But in 2011, despite Le's year and a half layoff, Silva was coming off a crushing 27 second knockout loss in July to Chris Leben, and many were calling for his retirement. You can't kill off an "Axe Murderer" that easily though, and Silva turned back the clock for a Fight of the Night performance that ended with a vintage second round TKO of Le and propelled him into the New Year with a new lease on his career.
8 - Rick Story over Thiago Alves
Rick Story was a promising up and comer when he agreed to put his five fight winning streak on the line against veteran contender Thiago Alves at UFC 130 in May. The key word there was 'promising,' as it was expected that while the future would belong to Story, the present was the property of Alves, who was going to use a win to propel himself back into the title picture at 170 pounds. Story didn't play along with conventional wisdom though, taking Alves down and keeping him on the mat for the bulk of their three rounder to earn a close, but unanimous, decision, announcing his arrival to the ranks of contenders in the process.
7 - Demetrious Johnson over Miguel Angel Torres
People forget that before his loss to Brian Bowles, Miguel Angel Torres was seen as a significant threat to Anderson Silva's hold on the mythical pound-for-pound title. A WEC bantamweight champion with out of this world submission skills and a willingness (some might say eagerness) to scrap while standing, Torres was riding high until he lost his belt and then dropped a subsequent bout to Joseph Benavidez. But with comeback wins over Charlie Valencia and Antonio Banuelos, he looked to be on his way back. But bantamweight prospect Demetrious Johnson stopped Torres' winning streak at UFC 130 with a wrestling-based gameplan that put him in the dominant top position for much of the bout. Yes, Torres fought well and attempted submissions from the bottom, but when the close verdict was rendered, it was no surprise that it went in favor of "Mighty Mouse." Watch Johnson earn a shot at the UFC® bantamweight title on UFC.TV
6 - Brian Stann over Chris Leben
Under the tutelage of Greg Jackson, Brian Stann had come a long way from his days as WEC champion, but even though he had sewn up most of the holes in his defensive game, the fairly new arrival in the middleweight division still had a tendency to raise his chin when a firefight broke out in the Octagon. It was assumed that a brief moment like that would be all knockout artist Chris Leben needed to end their UFC 125 bout in January. Yet it was Stann who brought out the big guns on fight night, stopping Leben in the first round and letting his 185-pound peers know that sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. Watch the fight here
5 - Stanislav Nedkov over Luiz Cane
No one in recent memory had more starts and stops to a UFC debut than Bulgaria's Stanislav Nedkov, but finally, in August, he stepped into the Octagon for the first time. The catch? He was fighting a Brazilian, Luiz Cane, in Brazil, in the UFC's first visit to the country in 13 years. Those are some daunting odds to face, but Nedkov fought like he was a 10 year UFC vet, keeping his unbeaten record intact by not only beating the favored Cane, but by stopping him in the first round. The looks on both fighters' faces after the bout spoke a thousand words, with Nedkov ecstatic and Cane simply stunned, a feeling shared by his countrymen at HSBC Arena.
4 - Charlie Brenneman over Rick Story
Hollidaysburg's Charlie Brenneman wanted nothing more than to fight in his home state of Pennsylvania on June 26th's UFC Live card in Pittsburgh, but though there were occasional rays of light, it just didn't look like it was going to happen. First, he wasn't even scheduled to fight, but then Matt Riddle was forced out of his bout with TJ Grant and Brenneman was called to fill in. Next, Grant went down with an illness and withdrew, leaving Brenneman without a fight on such short notice. But amazingly, on the day of the weigh-in, Nate Marquardt wasn't medically cleared to fight and Brenneman was asked to fill in against rising star Rick Story. He made weight, stepped into the Octagon, and fought 15 minutes with his fans cheering him on. When the bout was over, he had snapped Story's six fight winning streak and created the MMA version of a Rocky story.
3 – Dennis Siver and Rafael Dos Anjos over George Sotiropoulos
Entering their UFC 127 bout in February, Dennis Siver was a legit lightweight contender with a nice two fight winning streak, but Aussie hero George Sotiropoulos had an even nicer eight fight hot streak, he was fighting at home, and he seemingly had the perfect style to defeat the Germany product. But after leaving Sotiropoulos in the dust in the first round, Siver maintained his fast start, didn't let the bout stray to the mat where he could get submitted, and went on to pull off the three round unanimous decision win. Shockingly, things got even worse for Sotiropoulos in 2011, as he suffered a second consecutive defeat at UFC 132 in July, getting knocked out in 59 seconds by Rafael dos Anjos. See Dos Anjos finish Sotiropoulos on UFC.TV
2 - Johny Hendricks over Jon Fitch
When you discuss the idea of a 'live' underdog, once-beaten welterweight Johny Hendricks defined the term heading into his UFC 141 bout against perennial contender Jon Fitch. But…Fitch, with a 13-1-1 UFC record, was expected to grind out the win and keep his spot in the 170-pound pecking order intact. And if Hendricks did manage to pull off the win, it was probably going to be of the three round decision variety. So when Hendricks knocked Fitch out in 12 seconds, it was one of the most shocking moments of 2011, especially considering that the former Oklahoma State wrestling standout delivered a finish that fighters like Georges St-Pierre, BJ Penn, and Thiago Alves (twice) couldn't. That's impressive, and a heck of an upset.
1 - Tito Ortiz over Ryan Bader
If you picked 36-year old Tito Ortiz to defeat Ryan Bader at UFC 132 in July, you probably did so just for sentimental reasons. Why? Because the former light heavyweight champion had shown nothing in his previous five fights (a 0-4-1 stretch) that would make you think he could turn the tide against young powerhouse Bader. Yes, Ortiz was dealing with injuries during his losing streak and even then he had brief glimpses of his old form, but in a 15 minute scrap with an opponent who could very well send him to join Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture in retirement, what would he do to win? Well, he did it by shocking Bader with a flush punch to the jaw and then finishing matters with a guillotine choke that ignited the MGM Grand Garden Arena crowd and resurrected Ortiz' career. At a time when you usually bow your head and dread the day that an aging superstar steps into the Octagon and doesn't have it anymore, Ortiz came alive and proved that the great ones always have one great fight left in them.
Honorable Mention – Dennis Siver-George Sotiropoulos, Costa Philippou-Jorge Rivera, Jared Hamman-CB Dollaway, Minotauro Nogueira-Brendan Schaub, Jake Hecht-Rich Attonito, Igor Pokrajac-Krzysztof Soszynski, Chan Sung Jung-Mark Hominick, Jimy Hettes-Nam Phan, Demetrious Johnson-Kid Yamamoto, Brian Ebersole-Chris Lytle
Power Slap


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Export 2 results:
Filters: Author is Battaglia, Peter [Clear All Filters]
Relational inductive bias for physical construction in humans and machines. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci 2018) (2018). 1806.01203.pdf (1022.51 KB)
Mind Games: Game Engines as an Architecture for Intuitive Physics. Trends in Cognitive Science 21, 649 - 665 (2017). Preprint submitted to Trends in Cognitive Science (17.64 MB)


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Rolling Stones Merchandising : Jigsaws
The Rolling Stones are a British rock group who rose to prominence during the 1960s. Like most early British rock groups, they were influenced by a variety of American musical forms, especially electric blues and early rock"n"roll. By the mid 60s, the Stones had fused these influences into a signature, guitar-based sound that established a prototype for hard rock. Second in popularity only to the Beatles, the Stones affected a rebellious, bad-boy image that helped propel their rise from an energetic modern blues outfit to one of the world"s biggest and most influential bands. By the end of the Sixties, the Stones had racked up a great number of hit records, each single displaying an alarming rate of musical growth. They never strayed far from the blues, however, and by 1969, they returned triumphantly to blues-based hard-rock, embarking on the now infamous U.S. tour that saw them billed as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World." History Early history: 1961–1967 The Rolling Stones, 1964. (From left) Bill Wyman, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Enlarge The Rolling Stones, 1964. (From left) Bill Wyman, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Early in their career they played covers of blues, rhythm and blues, country, and rock and roll music. Their first recordings were covers of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Screamin" Jay Hawkins, Muddy Waters, Larry Williams and Howlin" Wolf songs, among others. Although founding members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are regarded as one of the greatest songwriting teams in the history of popular music, the band never stopped being inspired by other genres. Reggae, punk, and dance, country music and even Arab music have leaked into their recordings.


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After the death of a second Black man, readers call for federal action and suggest ending most traffic stops.
What to Do About Killings by the Police
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Dr. Nir is a scientist, entrepreneur, and angel investor with over 30 years of experience commercializing recombinant cytokines and pre-clinical contract research services. Dr. Nir is the Co-Founder of two preclinical Contract Research Organizations: SBH Sciences and Woodland Biosciences, four biotech companies: Karyopharm Therapeutics (Nasdaq: KPTI), Galectin Sciences, VuJa De Sciences, and Alma BioTherapeutics. Dr. Nir is also Co-Founder of SBH Diagnostics.
To fulfill his vision and help startup companies, he co-founded two additional companies; Sky Ventures and ABI-LAB; a bioincubator located in Natick, MA.
He received his PhD from Tel-Aviv University (Biotechnology; 1990) and Master in engineering management (1997; NJIT). Since 1997, Dr. Nir serves as the President and CSO of SBH Sciences where he manages all company's R&D and business activities.
Carlos Aparicio, PhD, InnoTech, Chief Operating Officer has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries. Prior to joining InnoTech Precision Medicine, he served as CEO & President of CLAS Automation, Inc., a world-renowned provider of laboratory automation services to Clinical Research Organizations (CROs), pharmaceutical companies, and academia. Prior to CLAS Automation, Dr Aparicio held C-level positions and worked in product development for ImmunoSite Technologies, Abbott, Beckman-Coulter, Warner-Lambert, and Ciba-Geigy. In addition, he is currently a Technical Lead for the NIH/RADx-Tech program for the rapid development of diagnostic tests for Covid-19, advising diagnostic companies in their development and commercialization strategies. Dr Aparicio is active in his community by participating as member of advisory committees for University of Miami Biomedical Engineering Department, Miami-Dade Community College, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Hialeah Technology Center, and Greater Ft Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. Carlos earned a Ph.D. in Chemical/Biochemical Engineering from Rutgers University, M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University, and a B.S. in Engineering Science from the University of Miami
Reza Mollaaghababa, Ph.D., J.D., co-founder, Device Engineer and Intellectual Property Manager has a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University and a J.D. from Suffolk University. He is a serial entrepreneur with an interest in medical devices. He brings in over 30 years of experience in microfluidics and electronics as well as in strategic intellectual property planning. He is a serial entrepreneur in medical device companies with early exits. He has additionally advised a variety of start-up companies on strategy. He helps with identification and protection of InnoTech's intellectual property and business strategy.
Richard DeVito, M.S., co-founder, and Principal Engineer, received his M.S. in Physics from Syracuse University. Rich is a physicist by education and engineer by training. He has over 30 years of experience in nanotechnology and MEMs research and development, process and product development, manufacturing and leadership. He has held positions as Principal Engineer at Reytheon, designing and optimizing manufacturing processes for a variety of devices including medical devices; a Principal Engineer at MKS, where he was involved in managing the workflow of the processes for manufacturing of chips for EUA authorized COVID-19 tests for some of their customers. Among other recent roles that he has held are leadership roles at Draper Labs in Cambridge, MA, directing and managing the workflow and process at the biology and MEMS facilities. He has also served as the Director of Northeastern University's Nano manufacturing facility for eight years with programs including biosensor development with nanomaterial. He has experiences in a vast array of micro and nanofabrication processes and device engineering. He has worked on and lead projects that range from developing optical coatings to Infrared sensors and ceramic transducers. He has 5 patents on unique equipment and device designs. He cofounded an equipment company that was sold to Veeco Corporation in 2005 and was a founder of another technology company with Dr. Roya Khosravi-Far that was sold to GT Advanced Technologies in 2015. He also was involved with another startup diagnostic company with Dr. Mollaaghababa that was sold recently.
Roya Khosravi-Far, Ph.D., PLD, InnoTech, co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officeris passionate about translating bench-side discoveries to bed-side realities. She is an experienced entrepreneur and has led successful translational programs in research and development over the last 30 years in both academia and industry. She received her [Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and carried out her Postdoctoral Fellowship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cancer Immunology. She has a graduate certificate from Harvard Business School on Program in Leadership Development. She was a Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School (17 years) and is an Emeritus Pathologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. She has served as VP of R&D at ZioPharm (Alaunos) and President and CTO at Accurome Health. She has certificates in Translational Medicine from Harvard Medical School, Biopharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs from Northeastern University. She has had an early exit in a device company.
Dr. Khosravi-Far is leading the research and development team working to develop and commercialize a high performance diagnostic platform, RecognizeTM,based on simultaneous detection of multiple classes of macromolecules from one specimen to improve accuracy and allow early detection of complex diseases. She works with in-house experts and external partners, and consulting groups to align the development, validation and commercialization of RecognizeTM. She has been the PI and awardee of many NCI, NHLBI, DOD, ACS, and others. Her published scientific work and discoveries have been cited close to 14000 times and she has co-authored seventy-nine publications in peer-reviewed journals, co-edited three books, and has several issued patents. She is the PI of a RADx-rad and RADx-rad supplement awards from the NIH for the initial development of RecognizeTM. With her leadership InnoTech has been selected to various incubator and accelerator programs and received multiple awards and prizes including MassNextGen, MassMedic Ignite, M2D2/BARDA Impact, Barracuda Bowl (Finalist), EPPICON (Fist prize), PxDx (Finalist), etc.


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Last week I saw rhubarb in the farmers market and I made sure to include it in this weeks meal plan. I was thinking that rhubarb muffins would make for a great breakfast this week. I really like the way that the tart rhubarb works in sweet baked goods like these muffins. I decided to start with my favorite muffin recipe which includes some whole wheat flour and rolled oats in an attempt to make them bit healthier. It uses maple syrup, vanilla yogurt and an overripe banana to keep the muffins nice and moist while reducing the amount of butter. I did change the recipe a bit by increasing the amount of sugar as I figured that the tart rhubarb would require it. Normally I would spice these muffins with a bit of cinnamon but I thought that cardamom would work well with the rhubarb and I went with that. The rhubarb and cardamom muffins were a breeze to make and they turned out very well. The muffins were nice and moist and the cardamom paired well with the rhubarb and added an amazing aroma both while baking and after. The rhubarb worked really well in the muffins and their tartness balanced out the sweet muffins nicely. The rhubarb muffins were nice all by themselves or with a bit of butter but they were even better with some homemade strawberry jam !
Rhubarb Muffins
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1 over ripe banana (mashed)
- 1/4 cup butter (melted)
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom (ground)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups rhubarb (chopped)
- Mix the brown sugar, maple syrup, yogurt, banana, butter, egg and rolled oats in a bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and salt in a bowl.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients along with the rhubarb until just mixed.
- Spoon the mixture into a greased muffin pan.
- Bake in a preheated 375F/190C oven until a toothpick pushed into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes.


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On April 16, 2013, U.S. EPA finally issued several guidance documents governing vapor intrusion at contaminated properties, including those properties with issues from petroleum and chlorinated solvents. This new guidance expands upon a 2002 guidance document and requires regional EPA offices to address vapor intrusion risks during the required five-year reviews for most completed Superfund cleanups. Owners and operators of drycleaners, gas stations, and other properties potentially impacted by petroleum or solvents, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as anyone considering the purchase or sale of such properties, are the most likely to be affected by these vapor intrusion documents. Vapor intrusion, the migration of hazardous vapor from contaminated soil or groundwater into overlying buildings, is of great concern at sites contaminated by VOCs, such as solvents like perchloroethylene (PCE or Perc) and trichloroethylene (TCE), as well as several non-chlorinated gasoline components. In 2002, EPA issued draft guidance governing the investigation of vapor intrusion at Resource Recovery and Conservation Act (RCRA) corrective action, Superfund, and Brownfield sites, but EPA never finalized that document. The 2002 Draft Guidance did not cover vapor intrusion from petroleum releases at underground storage tank sites, but a recent scientific analysis for EPA concluded that "screening for petroleum vapor intrusion (PVI) using the same methodology for chlorinated hydrocarbons is overly conservative; a different "approach is needed for PVI." EPA's latest guidance addresses Superfund sites which require five-year reviews. These sites do not allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure because the selected remedy leaves residual amounts of hazardous substances. As part of the five-year review process, EPA will gather data on vapor intrusion pathways and assess the protectiveness of the selected remedy. If "issues are identified that may prevent the response action from being protective, now or in the future," EPA will document the issues and the follow-up recommendations and actions … in the five-year review report." This could result in the "re-opening" of longstanding Superfund remedies to address the vapor intrusion. EPA's guidance does not supersede state vapor intrusion guidance which can be incorporated into Superfund remedial plans. It is not yet clear how EPA's vapor intrusion screening levels will interact with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) Permissive Exposure Levels, which contain a separate set of standards for indoor air concentrations at work facilities. Finally, last year EPA solicited comments on potential rules that would account for vapor intrusion concerns in the ranking and listing of Superfund National Priorities List sites, but the agency has not yet proposed regulations. In Ohio, special consideration is needed for vapor intrusion concerns in relation to generic direct soil contact standards under the Voluntary Action Program (VAP). The general belief is that if soil contamination is below the VAP generic standard for residential uses, the property is unrestricted and nothing more is required. However, Ohio's vapor intrusion guidance indicates that the VAP soil standards do not apply for VOCs and more risk assessment is necessary. Too often, real property developers and attorneys misunderstand the need to consider vapor intrusion and the risk analysis before assuming property is "clean" and unrestricted. If your property is believed to have VOCs or petroleum on site, perhaps based upon a Phase I or Phase II assessment, you should consider further assessment of the vapor intrusion issues which might exist. As always, experienced legal counsel can be invaluable in determining the next steps.
Guest Blogger
EPA's latest guidance on vapor intrusion adds new considerations to old risks


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Valparaiso ODAR- Crown Point Disability Claimant Wins With Horn & Kelley
National Leaders in Social Security Disability Law
Attorney John E. Horn of the law firm of Horn & Kelley, PC, just won another social security disability case, this one on the record, at the hearing level. His client was a fifty-four year old Crown Point disability applicant with hepatitis C, cirrosis of liver, arthritic knee, high blood pressure, migraines, back pain, numbness in dominant hand, breast cancer, and colon cancer. We have represented many other Crown Point disability claimants successfully.
Free Consultation
Do not make the same mistake s many others have, call us before you file. We can handle your claim from the very beginning. A Crown Point disability applicant would ordinarily make an appointment at our Highland, Indiana office. We apply for Crown Point disability claimants by filing online. Applications for social security disability benefits have a seventy percent chance of being denied. Then it is necessary to file an appeal called reconsideration. We request reconsideration for Crown Point disability applicants by filing their appeals online. Most claims are denied at reconsideration. Then it is necessary to file another appeal requesting a hearing by an administrative law judge. We request hearings for Crown Point disability applicants by filing online. Many claims are won at the hearing level, but if you do not win, an appeal must be filed with the Appeals Council. Like everyone else who appeals to the Appeals Council, Crown Point disability applicants file their appeals in Falls Church, Virginia, by fax or mail. The Appeals Council denies eight out of ten appeals. Social Security used to allow sixty-five percent of claims overall, but now it is allowing only forty percent of claims. We aim to win every claim without a hearing, but Social Security is just a big insurance company, and like any other insurance company, it only wants to take in premiums and not pay benefits. That means you need a Social Security Disability Lawyer who will if necessary take your case to the United States District Court, the United States Court of Appeals, or even the United States Supreme Court. Crown Point disability applicants file suit against Social Security in the United States District Court in Hammond. If Crown Point disability applicants do not win in the District Court, they appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.
No Fee Unless We Win
When you apply for social security disability, make sure you hire a fighter, a lawyer who can take your case to the United States District Court or United States Court of Appeals if necessary. You have at least a fifty percent better chance of winning with a fighting lawyer who can take your case to the United States District Court, the United States Court of Appeals or even the United States Supreme Court. Visit our website at www.johnehornattorney.com. We are national leaders in social security disability law with more cases published in the Forum of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives than anyone else in the country for the last two years. We show other lawyers how to win. Horn & Kelley won nine of ten decisions in 2014 in the U. S. District Court and two out of two decisions in the U. S. Court of Appeals in 2014. We have represented many Crown Point disability applicants.
Horn & Kelley are attorneys who represent people on disability claims at every level in Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana, and nationwide. Horn & Kelley has offices in Chicago, Tinley Park, and La Grange, Illinois, as well as Highland, Indiana. Their Chicago office serves Southwest Chicago. Their Tinley Park office serves Chicago's south and southwest suburbs. Their LaGrange office serves Chicago's west suburbs. Their Highland office serves Northwest Indiana, including Crown Point disability applicants. We have represented more than 5,000 clients in the past twenty-five years, including clients in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. We can represent you in any state or territory. If you are a Crown Point disability applicant, get a free evaluation of your social security disability claim and call Horn & Kelley at 888-921-5297. Horn & Kelley practice only in the field of Social Security Disability.
Follow Horn & Kelley on Twitter @HornKelleyLaw and like us on Facebook.


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(DIY Flower headband, Camilla & Marc high waist Shorts)
A very big and warm thank you to Jess from CLEO for writing such a beautiful article, and to Ellie to whom none of this would of been possible - not even in my wildest dreams! I hope you believe me when i say from the bottom of my fluttering heart i would never have thought Gary Pepper Vintage would be on the pages of a magazine like CLEO.
I thought i would scan in the pages for my international readers who can't get their hands on a copy. Oh and before i forget, Chirssy Lau is featured in this wonderful issue too! I was ecstatic to see her beautiful illustrations gracing the CLEO pages and we excitedly messaged back and forth as soon as the issue came out. I always knew she was a brilliant artist, i guess now the rest of Australia will too :) Enjoy!


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Shipping costs are calculated by our carriers according to weight, size and distance.We reserve the right to run shipping discount specials for specific regions, seasonal items and larger purchases.
At Toys for Thought our goal is to make sure you're completely satisfied with every purchase. If, for any reason, you find the item to be inferior please return it within 30 days using one of our hassle-free return or exchange methods outlined below. We want to make your return or exchange as easy as possible! Please click on the links below to learn more.
To return or exchange an item please contact firstname.lastname@example.com explaining the problem. If a return is needed you will receive a RMA (return authorization) number to write on the outside of the return package. Please enclose the order packing slip. If you do not have the original packing slip, please include a document with your name, address and phone number in the return package. A refund will be applied using the same form of payment method originally used once the item is received.
Customer is responsible for all shipping/handling costs associated with returns and exchanges excluding damage incurred during shipment . During the exchange process, customer will be responsible for any item costs above and beyond the originally purchased product. Taxes are also the customer's responsibility where applicable.


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Recreate the spirit and magic of the Nativity story underneath the stars, in the same way it originally happened—with an outdoor Nativity set! Christmas Night Inc. carries dozens of outdoor sets to choose from, ranging in size from large 24-piece sets to petite Holy Family trios. All our outdoor sets, large and small, are fabricated with weather-resistant materials, making them perfect for open-air display in any weather.
6 foot scale Nativity figures. Showing products that are part of the 6 foot Nativity scene, the tallest of which is 6 foot. All other figures are proportioned to the scale of the tallest figures. For example the Sheep will be much shorter than Joseph.
54 inch scale Nativity figures. Showing products that are part of the 54 inch scale Nativity scene, the tallest of which is approximately 54 inches. All other figures are proportioned to the scale of the tallest figures. For example the Sheep will be much shorter than Joseph.
40 inch scale Nativity figures. Showing products that are part of the 40 inch Nativity scene, the tallest of which is approximately 40 inches. All other figures are proportioned to the scale of the tallest figures. For example the Sheep will be much shorter than Joseph.
2-dimensional outdoor Nativity figures. Showing products that are part of the 51 inch scale Nativity scene, the tallest of which is approximately 51 inches. All other figures are proportioned to the scale of the tallest figures. For example the Sheep will be much shorter than Joseph.
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One of the things that makes Christmas special is the many different ways it is celebrated by different cultures across the globe. Filipinos hold a Giant Lantern Festival in the city of San Fernando, while Colombians place elaborate paper lanterns in and around their homes in honor of the Virgin Mary. In Mexico, celebrants reenact Mary and Joseph's search for shelter in Bethlehem by going from house to house carrying images of the couple. And in Ukraine, they prepare a "holy supper" that begins as soon as children spot the first star in the evening sky. But amid all this vast variety of holiday customs, there is one you will find common in almost all countries: the re-creation of the first Christmas with static indoor or outdoor Nativity scenes.
Ever since Saint Francis of Assisi—inspired by a trip to the Holy Land—staged the first true celebratory "Nativity Scene" in Greccio, Italy, in the year 1223, vivid replications of the birth of Jesus have become a perennial staple of the Christmas holidays around the world. True, Francis's Nativity scene was presented in a cave and featured just a manger with an ox and donkey as the only living creatures in attendance. Nevertheless, from that day forward, it has become a popular Christmas tradition to recreate the Nativity by having children re-enact the event, setting up a crèche with small figurines in the home, or installing life-size tableaus in front of churches, inside shopping malls, and around other public places.
Christmas Night's high-quality outdoor Nativity sets are large in size compared to indoor or tabletop creations. The advantage of outdoor sets is that they are generally bigger, and so they can be seen by more people and from a greater distance. Our beautiful sets are painted using vibrant colors that help viewers distinguish the figures, structures, and animals. Outdoor Nativity scenes can be found in front of homes, though the larger lawn decorations are more commonly found in front of churches and businesses.
Our selection of outdoor Nativity sets also includes numerous pieces that can purchased individually and added to a set to expand it. Many animals, such as sheep, goats, donkeys, oxen, and cows are available to give the scene a more "natural" appeal. Angels along with additional human figures are also available. Add your favorite individual figures to your Nativity set to personalize it the way you like!
The Italians call them presepi. In France they are known as crèches de Noël. Spanish-speakers refer to them as pesebres, while the people of Poland call them szopki krakowskie. Yet whatever their names, and however much these traditions may differ in their details from country to country, they all stem from the same source. Whether you choose a small or large set, there's no better way to celebrate Christmas than with a lovely, durable outdoor Nativity scene from Christmas Night Inc. to help spread the joy of the season far and wide, and for years to come.
The Nativity is described briefly, and only twice, in the New Testament: once in the Gospel of Luke (2:6–20) and again in the Gospel of Matthew (2:1–23). A number of non-Biblical and apocryphal sources have added additional details to these narratives.
Yes, they are very different. Luke describes shepherds tending their flocks when an angel appears to them announcing the birth of the Messiah; the shepherds then travel to Bethlehem, where they find Mary and Joseph (presumably in a barn or stable for animals, or perhaps a peasant home), with the baby Jesus lying in a manger. In Matthew's version, on the other hand, three "wise men" (magi, or astrologers) from the East follow a star to Bethlehem to see the foretold "King of Jews" and to present him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Note that the details of Matthew's recounting indicate that Jesus is no longer a newborn but a one- or two-year-old child. Nevertheless, in popular tradition the two narratives occur within the same time frame. For that reason, many indoor and outdoor Nativity scenes include both shepherds and the Magi.
We do not know the names of the shepherds, nor even how many of them heeded the angel's announcement. Likewise, the New Testament never mentions the names of the three Magi. However, according to extra-Biblical sources and church tradition, their names were Balthasar (a king of Arabia), Melchior (a king of Persia), and Gaspar (a king of India).
The New Testament narratives do not mention a single specific animal. So if animals were present, there is no way of knowing which kinds. However, one can assume that the shepherds would have brought along some of their sheep; and the Magi would arguably have arrived by camel, which was a popular means of transport at the time. We can be fairly certain that no pigs would have been present, as they were considered unclean beasts in ancient Judea. The other kinds of animals commonly kept by the farmers of Bethlehem would include oxen, donkeys, goats, and perhaps chickens or other domesticated fowl. Dogs and cats also would not have been out of place. In the Roman period during which the Nativity occurred—and given the geography—it is not completely implausible that there might even have been an elephant in attendance!
Based strictly on the New Testament narratives, such a setup would look very sparse indeed! Besides Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus lying in a manger, an "authentic" outdoor Nativity scene might include an unspecified number of "wise men," an unknown number of shepherds, possibly some sheep, perhaps one camel at least, surely a donkey and/or ox (or two), an angel, and a star hanging overhead. But authenticity isn't exactly the point. Indeed, in all likelihood the Holy Family did not shelter in a stable at all but in the lower level of a first-century rural relative's home. Nowadays, however, centuries of linguistic obfuscation, historical speculation, popular tradition, and artistic license have made it perfectly okay to set up a Nativity scene that adheres instead to individual imagination and faith rather than Biblical accuracy. As for the non-human figurines, throughout the Christian era paintings and other artistic renderings of the Nativity have included animals found only in the artist's native country and completely alien to the Bethlehem of Jesus' time. For example, some African artists have included giraffes and lions in their Nativity scenes. Therefore, when setting up your outdoor Nativity scene, feel free to select the figurines that feel right to you!
The chief purpose of displaying a model or tableau representing the scene of Jesus Christ's birth is to celebrate the coming of one's Savior and to make a public expression of faith. For that reason, people generally want their crèche to be as visible as possible. Christian homeowners typically place life-size or slightly smaller-than-life-size crèches right on the front lawn, facing the street. Similarly, religious buildings such as churches, rectories, and convents will feature a life-size Nativity scene positioned right in front of the structure. During the holiday season, some business offices and commercial venues such as shopping malls will often display a large crèche at the vestibule or in the main atrium of the building.
As big (or small) as you want it, where it will fit, and that you can afford. For what it's worth, the largest Nativity scene in the world, as noted by the Guinness Book of World Records, is the Tomáš Krýza crèche in the Czech Republic, which covers 200 square feet and features 1,389 figures of humans and animals, many of which are moveable! (On the other hand, a team of scientists from Lithuania have made a Christmas Nativity Scene that is smaller than a human cell.)
Thank you for being (or wanting to be) our customer during the 2021 Christmas season. We hope you and your family had a joyous Christmas celebration.
If you missed purchasing one of our items or if you want to ensure that you get a particular display for Christmas 2022, we are offering a 2022 Pre-Order program, starting January 1, 2022.
Please submit data below to start the process for your pre-order item, or call us at 888 900 2073 to order or with any questions. We will confirm your order details, the price and take your deposit of 33%. When your product is re-stocked in 2022 we will contact you, confirm the shipping cost, collect the balance and ship.