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Emeryville's new Chief of Police Jennifer Tejada commented at the 'Goal Setting Workshop' meeting on Saturday at City Hall, she would like to see electric bicycles for the police to patrol with. She seemed to be very passionate about it. We think it's a great idea...get the police out of their cars and mix with the community more. You know, 'community policing' and all.
We have a modest proposal to add to that; how about if Chief Tejada adds some AR-15 assault rifles to the bikes? The Chief says the bad guys are arming themselves with these high powered assault rifles and there's a 'war on police' so we figure just because our police officers are on bikes, why should they be exposed? Shouldn't they be armed to the teeth with 3200 ft/sec armor piercing projectile velocity, 1300 foot pounds of muzzle kinetic energy weapons just like Emeryville's car riding cops are? Rounds from these rifles can go right through a concrete block wall or three bad guys standing in a line so why shouldn't our guys riding the bikes be able to do likewise? We think this is a wonderful marriage between Chief Tejada's insistence that Emeryville police be driving around armed with AR-15 assault rifles and her new found love of cops on bikes.
Next year watch for rocket propelled grenade launchers mounted on Emeryville police bicycles as the 'war on police' continues. Coming soon to your neighborhood; cops on bikes with RPG launchers (can SAM Surface to Air Missile launchers be far off?).
|An AR-15 slung over the shoulder is nice but...
|Look how much better this rear mount scabbard is.
All that's missing is the Emeryville Police Department logo
on the bike.
|The front handlebar mount style is great
for rapid aim and fire. Wonderful for
rapidly "raining death" on punks.
|Then of course there's the ever popular
front scabbard mount to deliver a wall of
lead to the bad guys.
|Let's not forget Emeryville motorcycle cops need
massive firepower too. AR-15's for everybody!
|This nice piece of flaming deadly firepower
could be drawn in seconds.
|But we like the 'shoot 'n skoot' headstock mount the best.
No need to even stop riding.
Emeryville cops could REALLY put the hurt on the
bad guys with these!


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There are quite a few women, impossibly yourself included, who, like Evelynn had been in what some may call a wonderful relationship with some guy for as long as you can remember. This was until she out he had made it with her sister, causing her to be become pregnant with a daughter.
But once out of college, employed in the field you've studied for, and free as a bird.; you're glad that what's this someone is no longer in your life. You love the life you're living now and the relationships you're in, but life as you've learned has a tendency to throw a curve.
If you allow yourself to step into Evelynn's shoes what would you do if your previous love interest all of sudden turns back up in your life? Wouldn't his appearance throw you for a loop as it has now upset everything you've got going for yourself, not forgetting you're now taking care of your niece since your sister's death?
While I hate stories in which the guy couldn't find better to have an affair with than the protagonist's sister, thereby causing a rift in the relationship have for each other. I love stories where there is reconciliation between two lovers who were made for each other; giving both a second chance for a happy forever after.
Does this happy ever after happen? You'll have to read the book to find out both for now I've given this book 5 STARS.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dan and Indi are such a sweet couple. They found me on The Knot a while ago and booked me for their big day. They are one of those couples that you just want to hug and drink tea with.
Their wedding was in Columbus and it was so much fun. They did a flash mob dance, got in MC Hammer wear and had a wonderful time with family and friends. Indi's dress was FABULOUS. I just loved everything about this wedding.
Congrats to Indi and Dan! I hope you have a wonderful move to Cali! Enjoy that warm weather and eat some good mexican food for me!
Enjoy these photos. :)
Horray! :)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Dan & Indi!
Posted by Jessica Valle at 7:13 PM
5 comments:
Where was this wedding and reception at? It looks beautiful!
- June 23, 2011 at 10:39 AM
- Jessica Valle said...
Thanks, Kori! The wedding and reception were at the Four Seasons in Columbus. :)
- June 23, 2011 at 12:36 PM
Gorgeous pictures, Jessica! You were super-unintrusive and nice too. It was very nice to meet you at their wedding.
- June 24, 2011 at 5:36 AM
- cotaroba said...
You take amazing photos...
- June 24, 2011 at 7:43 AM
- Ananda said...
Thank you for the visit/comment. Say hello if you are even in the NY area. xoxo
- June 27, 2011 at 5:08 AM
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As some of you may know, I am a huge fan of Brian Solis, Principal at Altimeter Group.
In this short, but remarkable TEDx Talk he explores the ideas of digital darwinism, the social economy and their impact on business.
Brian Solis: Screw business as usual….this is the real world
Related posts:
1. Brian Solis on being a change agent, problem solving and the end of business as usual
2. The end of business as usual
3. Conversations on Social Media


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Monday, June 09, 2008
Playing with tea bags and more
I painted a bird only using brown paint. After it was dry I glazed paint colors over the bird and leaves. I mixed a little brown in the colors to soften them, I wanted the painting to have a vintage look. After the bird and twig was painted I mixed a diluted brown wash and painted the fabric with it.
The papers are collaged to the fabric with Golden semi-gloss gel medium.
Several of the other images are from decorative wrapping papers, and a scan I made of a page from a children's school book from the 1800's. Then I cut green rice paper leaves and collaged them to the fabric.
I quilted it with wool batting. The areas not quilted are very puffy and look like trapunto. The dark tea bag with the bee really looks leathery and old.
11 comments:
hi judy,ReplyDelete
how about teaching a bird painting class next? you are so talented! i'm always turning to my antique prints for bird and flower images, but you can paint them yourself and they look so amazing.
and i love all your teabag elements and how you blend it all together, the final piece looks so cohesive. beautiful! thanks for sharing.
hmmmmm, that's something to think about. Thanks for the compliment. In the mean time the next best thing is to wait a little while and buy the dvd workshop that Quilting Arts is going to put out this summer (I don't know when). But the image that is on the workshops button on my blog is the painting I did for the dvd. The workshop will be called painting fabric for whole cloth quilts. In that workshop I spend time showing how I make smooth gradations of color with textile paints, probably one of the biggest challenges for people using paint also I cover glazing and painting fine details.ReplyDelete
Hi Karen, it is couching. When I make small quilts I trim them to size and do a straight stitch along the very edge. Then I take multiple yarns and couch them to the edge of the quilt with monofilament in the top and regular thread in the bobbin, twisting the yarns as I go.ReplyDelete
Hi Judy!ReplyDelete
How did you like working with the kimwirpe? I've since done several collages using them and they hold up pretty well with a lot of paint, gel medium and water/glue mix. Your piece is beautiful as usual! I can't wait for the color class and the classes in Atlanta!
Carol, I ended up not using the kimwipe in the final collage, not because there was a problem with it, it just didn't end up getting used. It will be held over until I do another mixed media piece. I think the one thing that I found different is that it is a little easier to draw on the teabag. The kimwipe is a little tissue like and I feel the tip of the pen sort of catch when drawing, but not too badly.ReplyDelete
this is very interesting (and by the way many thanks for your long comment in my blog. it helps me to see what people think about the theme of the poll!). I am collecting tea bags to do something with them some time. they are really full of possibilities!ReplyDelete
by the way, do you know this site at Etsy?ReplyDelete
this is a friend of mine selling tea paper bags tissue.
I really love this!ReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing your technique :-)
This is my old blog, please visit my new website at www.judycoatesperez.com
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.


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Good Morning from the mountain. I do believe winter either has finally decided to come to NH or its making its return from last Oct when we had a Nor Easter. Looking out my window this morning we are being Blessed with more white stuff. I do believe mother nature is confused in her winter/spring time calendar. Last week we received 8 plus inches and now we are looking at more today and Thursday.. Hello Momma Nature its almost spring time,, the roads are already thawing and mud is already formed on alot of dirt roads, so plowing isnt going to happen unless we received a hard freeze again.
Most of us are already having babies born and chicks hatching. Thoughts of garden plots dance in our heads. Last week I had bare ground and split wood in a t-shirt..
I personally cant wait to have bare feet and garden dirt under my nails. The smells of fresh cut hay will be welcome. I cant wait to turn everyone out to the pasture and watch them kick up their heels and prance around. The smells of lilac trees,,, awh a deep breath,,, can ya smell them.
Lots to do today, its February vacation here and I have 5 grandchildren. They all want to go out side today, but the wind needs to die down just a little bit. Yesterday they worked on a sledding hill and want to finish it today.
I the some baking will also be in order as snack went fast yesterday. So maybe some brownies or even a cake will have to be made today. Anthony has already put his request in for raviolis this morning,, thinking more for lunch instead,, cereal, and toast will keep them busy for a minute.
Noticing the sun is trying so hard to shine and warm things up,, but the wind sure does take the heat away from the sun.
I have been working on alot of crocheting this past months, while the weather is cooler. I have a hard time working with yarn when my hands sweat. Trying to make afghans and earn enough money to pay off a years worth of property taxes by May. Winter time is a slower time of year so it gives me a chance to do some hand work and quilting. Making new clothes for the spring and summer. Would love to create my petticoats and little britches collections.. I have it all in my head,, now to put in on paper and fabric. Someday in my free time. Its a dream i have had, to make children wearable clothes that will last and hold up to children playing outside. Little girls in prairie dress and boy in pants and shirt, vest,, kind of ole fashion I know but do able. Well I suppose I need to get back to reality and get these child fed and happy.
You all have an awesome day and be Blessed in what ever you do


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Neptune with his mystical vision, creative imagination and longing to dissolve back into unity with the Divine has arrived back home at last.
Early this morning, Neptune, ancient King of the Sea and servant of the Great Oceanic Mother, dove into his watery Piscean realm from the heavenly heights of Aquarius. Behind him, his golden nets swept up all the bright ideals and humanitarian impulses that his stay in Aquarius has inspired in us and carried them into the watery womb of the Collective Unconscious.
There is something new in the collective mindset (Aquarius) , something that our telecommunications and the Internet make possible. We know we are not alone! We know that many people in the world want freedom, equality, peace, cooperation, and community - while their governments choose war and economic competition. We know that many people want to stop ravaging the Earth. We know that we need to get back in touch with the cycles of the Earth and of our human nature, so we'll know how to meet the challenges ahead of us. We know that we have to stop blaming 'the Other' and start looking at our own Shadow. As a group, we know that we must inhabit our spiritual nature if we are ever going to be mature enough to meet these truly transformative times. While these are not new ideas they are now collectively desired ideals.
There is a new Spirit being born, the Spirit of Enlightened Humanity.
So Neptune has gathered the light of all these aspirations in his golden nets and cast them into the Ocean, the womb of Life here on Earth, as well as the womb of the Collective Unconscious. Here in Pisces, the world is water. And Neptune shapes the waters for good or ill.
Neptune will not be happy when he sees what we humans have done to his home since his last stay in the 1860s. Instead of honoring the oceans as the mysterious realm of possibilities that it is, humanity has polluted its waters and endangered most of the life within it. Neptune will find that oil in the Gulf of Mexico and radiation off the coast of Japan and a floating garbage dump of plastic are not the only trouble spots in his homeland.
That is where we come in. All those shining aspirations and ideas that Neptune netted will attract the archetypal energies that enliven the world soul, our collective unconscious record of Life here on planet Earth. We need t get in touch with the Source and let our ideals merge with these primal energies and engender new breakthroughs and new stories. The next 14 years while Neptune is in Pisces will change our view of 'Reality' and the possible. We will become a new humanity.
My teacher Jean Houston calls this new Being 'the possible human'. This is our task when Neptune returns to Pisces.
New relationships with other dimensions of Life could open for us. If we do the work!
Neptune's work is to engage the Creative Imagination and work with the Archetypes that shape Life in the Universe. We have to let our old expectations, our old stories dissolve back into the Void and allow Neptune to work his enchantment and create new forms for the archetypal energies. The old archetypes need renewal. People are more conscious than ever before, and these energies that make us human want to evolve in us and make new myths and new patterns.
Just before Neptune went into Pisces, I saw the Disney movie "Tangled" and was pleasantly surprised by the beauty and symbolism they employed in their re-telling of the old Grimm's fairy tale, Rapunzel. It is a story that resonates with both Uranus going into Aries and Neptune going into Pisces. Our collective fears of getting old and dying (Neptune in Pisces) imprison the potential (Uranus in Aries) we each have in us for healing and renewal. Rapunzel longs for the Light that celebrates her birth and intuits that she is somehow connected with the lights she sees every year floating up into the sky to commemorate the lost princess. Her longing to be part of that celebration of Light makes her willing to risk everything to find the source of that Light - and of course, the answer to who she is. She awakens to the courage of Aries, sometimes foolish but always fearless. She is willing to trust her Pisces imagination to bring her to a new life. (Neptune in Pisces also rules fantasy - I recommend this movie.)
Go down to the waters and be refreshed. Go down to the waters and greet the great Lord of the Oceans and welcome him home.


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Thursday, November 05, 2009
What is RSS and Why
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Christian encouragement for men -- an evangelical perspective on current events, Scripture, and coming up the husband and father learning curve. Boldness without gentleness is tyranny; gentleness without boldness is not Christlike. Jesus was both tough and tender.


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Happy Valentine's Day!
I hope everyone's day went the way that you wanted, whether or not you celebrated Valentine's Day! I was hoping to have this up sometime during last week but the USPS had other plans for me lol. These polishes were supposed to be arriving last Monday but didn't get until yesterday, after 8 days of… Continue reading Happy Valentine's Day!


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SonoLab Software for Covaris Focused-ultrasonicators
Operating System Compatibility: Microsoft Windows XP SP3, 7 or 8
Watch the SonoLab demo video here.
SonoLab Version Attributes
Each Sonolab version is used for a specific Focused-ultrasonicator or series of Focused-ultrasonicators. Please check by clicking the link below to see if your system is compatible with Sonolab version of software. Upgrades are available depending on the instrument.


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Majjiga (buttermilk) mirapakaaya, a traditional Andhra recipe and as the name suggests, is green chillis soaked in sour buttermilk and sun-dried.Once the chillis are completely dried ,their color changes to a nice beige color and they develop a withered look.We usually make them in bulk during the summer season and sun dry them over our terraces where the heat of the sun is the maximum and preserved in air tight containers.They are also called voorumirapakaayalu (telugu) and mor molagai (tamil) and when deep-fried,attain a lovely brown shade,a nice crispy texture and a subtle combination of a sour-salty-spicy flavors and are eaten as an accompaniment to pappu annam (dal and rice),rice and curry and especially with curd rice.
Majjiga Mirapakaaya is a simple recipe but is a lenghty process and requires some patience as the preparation process is spread over a week.All you need are fresh green chillis,thick buttermilk(majjiga),salt and a bright hot sun..:)Usually I use the green chillis which have less spice (the ones shown in the picture below).Wash and pat dry the green chillis and make vertical slits half way along the green chilli on two sides.The slits have to be made such that the green chilli is intact and doesnt open up.Generally the seeds of this particular variety arent too many so I dont really remove the seeds, as when you make the slits a few seeds do pop out on their own.You can remove a few seeds but ensure you dont break the green chilli.Now soak them in enough quantity of thick buttermilk (one kilo of green chillis will require 2 tbsps of salt) with salt added to it till they are well immersed for 3 days (and nights).Cover and shake them twice a day.
Take out the green chillis from the butter milk on the fourth day morning and sun dry it all day by spreading them over 4-5 sheets of newspapers or thick plastic sheet and put them back in the same majjiga again later in the evening at sunset(I usually do this between 6-7 pm). Remember to remove them in the evening and put them back in the buttermilk and let them sit in it all night before you again remove them the next morning to be sun-dried.Continue this process for atleast 3 days.Then throw away the left over sour buttermilk and continue to sun dry the chillis till completely dry (which is usually 3-4 days).
Store them in an air tight container and deep fry them in hot oil till crisp and golden brown (like you fry papad and vadiyaalu) as and when required.These dried chillis arent as spicy as they may appear and it also depends on the spice of the green chilli used in preparing the majjiga mirapakaayalu.If you are one of those who really likes a very spicy chilli then choose the spicer varieties of green chilli when preparing the majjiga mirapakaayalu.(The soaking of the chillis in majjiga will reduce the pungency of the green chilli whatever its spice level).There is another version of preparing the majjiga mirapakaayalu with stuffing (of carom seeds and cumin ) which I hope to share in my future posts.The classic combination of flavors of this traditional Andhra favorite, majjiga mirapakaaya, will delight you and I find it hard to put in words the feeling you experience when you bite into a cruncy sun-dried chilli and savor its taste. Its simply heavenly! Even a simple curd rice when eaten with a majjiga mirapakaaya makes it a special meal.
Recipe Source: Amma
Food,Food Blogs,Andhra Recipes,Indian Cooking,Flickr


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Ring Neck Pheasant, image credit Wikipedia
From an editorial on 29 July 2014, in my local paper, the Chambersburg Public Opinion:
Rural south-central PA residents who grew up in the sixties and seventies may remember seeing ringnecked pheasant hens leading their chicks across a country road. Or the colorful sight and crowing of a just-flushed male pheasant.
A staple of small-game season, pheasants also helped stretch many a family food budget.
But in subsequent decades, with the decline in farmland, changes in farming practices and other factors, pheasants quietly declined to the point of virtually disappearing in the wild.
Nobody thought much about them, unless an occasional — and short-lived — farm-raised pheasant wandered into view, providing a fleeting glimpse of what we lost.
It's welcome news, then, that the Pennsylvania Game Commission's reintroduction of wild pheasants in southwestern Franklin County, appears to have gotten off to a good start.
The newspaper's editorial (as well an an article the day before) is strongly in favor of the Pennsylvania Game Commission devoting resources to try to get pheasants reestablished in Pennsylvania...yet nowhere in the article or the editorial does it ever mention that ring neck pheasants are not even native to the United States.
They were imported from Asia in the late 1800s as a game bird, and for a century did well enough in the wild in Pennsylvania. But now that they are declining, I don't see the sense of trying to support a non-native species for the sole purpose of having another animal for hunters to hunt. That just seems wrong to me.
My most treasured wildlife experiences come in the backcountry, not with a gun or even a camera, but in the memories I have of seeing a indigenous critter such as a deer, or a bear, or even just a common songbird, acting naturally in their native environment.
I feel so lucky to have had too many experiences like that to count. I once read a thoughtful essay years back that has always stuck with me: that when we are on our deathbeds, we don't think about the first time we bought stock or opened a checking account. No, we remember sunrises and beaches and trails...those priceless moments when Nature revealed herself to us.
So we Ultrarunners should be set in terms of fond memories when the grim reaper comes calling.


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Saturday's…in America the day of rest before the day of rest. Saturday's were made for brunch, sleeping in and casually catching up.
Until there are 7 of you. Then Saturday's become about baseball, running errands, doing laundry and surviving.
Surviving the sibling squabbles that started before 8am, the to-do list that seems longer than the day and the internal voices telling you that everyone is having more fun than you are.
Until you reclaim it.
Reclaiming Saturday looks like running errands with one of the kids and making it quality time.
Reclaiming Saturday looks like sitting at the baseball field and calling it community.
Reclaiming Saturday looks like having friends over and making the most of every minute.
Reclaiming Saturday with Seven looks like counting your blessings (even if those blessings are crying constantly, leaving messes and following you around with non-stop chatter).
We only get to do today once, we might as well make it count, even if it IS Saturday.


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Well, it's done now! Me Made May 14 is history!
Can you believe that on the 31st I prepared two me-made outfits for the next two days because I had got so used to only wearing me-mades? Crazy, ey?! Once I realised that it is, in fact, now June I put both outfits back again and wore only RTW, just because I can 🙂
Anyways, here's the roundup of the last few days:
Day 27:
My Job Interview Blouse and RTW skinnies. It's actually the first time I have worn skinnies in a while, basically they were relegated to the back of my cupboard ever since I started making my own jeans. Nothing wrong with them though, maybe I should try my hand at skinnies too.
Day 28 and 28:
I assure you I did wear something – but I can't for my life remember and I lost the photos due to some trigger-happiness with the delete button… Oh well…
Day 30 and 31:
I wore my new Northern Beach Dress for two days in a row. I know, I know, maybe that's cheating, but I always want to get used to a new dress when I first made it. I will post about this dress as soon as I get around to it.
So conclusions:
- Wearing me-mades was really quite easy. I pledge to wear one me-made each day, in fact I only wore RTW three times during the entire month. All three times were trousers. I do have in fact enought me-made trousers, so I don't think that shows a gap in my wardrobe.
- I do have one gap and that is decent looking lounge wear. I made a few bottoms that I would not dare to publish (although they get worn…), but I want to persevere and try to made lounge wear that is stylish and comfortable at the same time.
- I kinda knew this already, but MMM has confirmed that I have way too many clothes. There were many, many me-mades that never made it into MMM. Dresses especially! I have so many and many of them I only wear a few times each year if that. So really, I should bite the bullet and sew a lot less or at least a lot more selectively. BUT I DON'T WANT TO!!! I don't want to have to restrict my favourite hobby of all time!
So what to do? Sew less selfishly? That's not such an easy thing. Most people around me don't want my handmade clothes. My boys would wear them, but just because they will wear anything I put in front of them, so that is hardly an incentive. Moreover, in the sewing room I am a very selfish sewist at heart, I just enjoy making stuff for myself much more than making it for others. My job and family life are centered around doing things for others, so in the sewing room it's all about ME, ME ME.
I do make quilts every once in a while and I do enjoy it, but the repetitiveness of quilting is not a replacement for the thrill of garment sewing at all.
I do try to take more time over my makes and to sew to a higher standard and I feel I have made some big improvement in my skill level. But a lot of the clothes I wear on a day to day basis are not complicated clothes and don't warrant difficult or time-consuming makes.
Am I alone in this? Do some of you feel that realistically you should sew less? What do you do? How do you cope?


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Today is the birthday of a very special person in our The Long and the Short of It family... our "PDF Dispenser" and "Keeper of the Database." Michele has been with us from very nearly the beginning of our endeavor and was the first person we "hired": her first title was AABH (All Around Big Help).
Michele always keeps us laughing and, even though I've never had the chance to meet her in person (the wonders of Internet), I count her as a dear, dear friend. I would love everyone to stop by her blog today and wish her a "Happy Birthday."
You Are a Stool
You are a true friend and a down to earth person. You're very accepting of faults - both in yourself and others.
You generally like people, and you like yourself. You enjoy a night out more than a night in.
You don't think you're better than anyone else, and you certainly don't act it. You are humble.
Your friends love you just the way you are, partially because you love them just the way they are!


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What's In A Name?
Interesting article in today's New London Day about the name of the Sub Base there; here's an excerpt:
Naval Submarine Base New London is the Navy's formal name for the base that is physically located in Groton and Ledyard.The article goes on to discuss possible problems with this "solution" -- New Londoners not wanting to give up their one current claim to fame, and the possible desire of Ledyard to be included. My compromise: Just call the whole thing "Submarine Base Connecticut" and make no one happy.
"It is confusing to people," Groton Town Manager Mark R. Oefinger said.
If an idea floated around the Subase Realignment Coalition meeting Monday gains any traction, "Groton" may be added to the title.
Coalition members discussed renaming the entire installation Naval Station Groton and keeping the name of the lower base, where submarines are docked, as Naval Submarine Base New London.


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Business Travel Supervisor
- Recruiter
- Succeed Recruitment Solutions
- Location
London (Central)London (Greater)
- Salary
- Highly Competitive Salary & Excellent benefits
- Posted
- 14 Jul 2017
- Closes
- 14 Aug 2017
- Sector
- Business Travel
- Job function
- Management
- Hours
- Full Time
- Contract Type
- Permanent
We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced, Sabre proficient Business Travel Team Leader/Supervisor to join one of the UK's leading Travel Management Companies. Based in central London, the successful candidate will work on one of our client's largest accounts, a fast paced and prestigious banking account and will need good working knowledge of Sabre GDS (reservations, fares and ticketing), along with proven leadership qualities with the ability to bring out the best in a team of Business Travel Consultants. On offer is a highly competitive starting salary, an excellent benefits package and huge potential for career development, so for more information on this Business Travel Supervisor role, please contact us today for a confidential chat or apply online.
Role of Business Travel Supervisor:
- Monitoring team workload and performance and ensuring a high level of service is provided
- Supporting both the Assistant Manager and the Operations Manager
- Frequent creation of performance data reports
- Motivating and supporting your team
- Driving operational service, quality and efficiencies
- Monitoring Policy adherence / Quality Control
- Dealing with client feedback in a calm and professional manner
- Dealing with VIP clients
- Travel Consultant training
Skills required for the role:
- Highly effective oral and written communication skills
- Experience in travel industry
- Thorough knowledge of travel related back office systems and multiple GDS (Galileo, Amadeus and Sabre - Sabre is essential
- Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft products, including Outlook, Word and Excel
- High level of accuracy and attention to detail
- Excellent leadership and motivational skills
- GTMC Certification at supervisory level (or similar) preferred
- Must be calm, professional and level headed
If you're interested in learning more about this Business Travel Supervisor role, please contact Succeed Recruitment Solutions or press the apply online button now!
Not for you? Then please visit our website to view the other exciting roles we have available; www.succeed-recruitment.com.
Succeed Recruitment Solutions – for the best Travel jobs, Multilingual jobs, Airline jobs and Contact Centre jobs.


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John Deere - Model 1110 - Forwarder
From Forwarder
The John Deere 1110 Forwarder heralded a new dawn of forwarder design when it was introduced almost 20 years ago. Since then it has become the world's favorite forwarder. Now the legend continues with the 1110E. Versatility personified. The 1110E is plenty nimble for thinning operations. The 5500-mm load space and ample power ensure it can also be utilized in clearfell operations where smooth and accurate cabin leveling enables higher drive speeds, helping you get the job done faster. Our optional fixed cabin is durable and cost-effective while providing plenty of operator comforts. Optional Intelligent Boom Control (IBC) speeds cycle times while delivering more precise control. The John Deere 1110E Forwarder gives you the best machine for your forestry challenge.
- High drive speeds
- Later thinning and regeneration harvesting
- Levelling and rotating cab
- PowerTech plus engine
Customer reviews
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We are seeing a lot of summer brides these days, and one of the biggest concerns has been how to determine a wedding wardrobe for these warmer events. Summers in Austin can get hot, but your style should never suffer because of weather. Keep a few things in mind, and you will be a breezy and beautiful bride despite the 3 digit temps.
Fabric choice is a big factor on the big day. Silk organza, shantung, chiffon and lace are just a few options of lighter weight bridal fabrics that still hold great gown shape and structure. These lighter fabrics will breathe easily for both outdoor weddings and travel well from the ceremony to reception site. A sleek and slim silhouette will also cut down on the weight of a dress by eliminated a lot of the fullness and petticoat in the skirt. Here are some fabulous Paloma Blanca, Lazaro, and Reverie gowns that are great warmer weather options.
Silk crinkle chiffon and shantung are really popular right now in the newest collections of bridesmaids dresses. Not only are these gowns light and easy to wear, but they are down right ADORABLE! A great option as well for a rehearsal dinner dress, a shower outfit, or just a fun night out. Here are some Watters , Lazaro and Amsale bridemsaids dresses in these stylish and light fabrics.
Train length also plays a part in the heaviness of a bridal gown. Here are a few tricks of the trade that can lighten the load, and still allow for a grand bridal procession down the aisle. If you are planning on ordering your gown without the train, consider some alternatives.
* You have the option cutting off the train to a custom length after the dress arrives with a seamstress.
*Bustle the skirt to create a shorter length and cool detail. Add a brooch to the bustle closure for another point of visual interest.
These options give you the opportunity to have a train for the ceremony and formal bridal portraits. Also, when the gown is in your size and the hem has been altered, it may end up being more manageable than the sample dress. Always give yourself the option. Alterations will allow customizations.
Another fantastic option is the trend of 2 bridal looks. This look is so fun, and makes for a perfect summer wedding style!
*This Liz Fields gown has a detachable skirt, giving the option of the full gown for the ceremony and then revealing your second look at the reception. You could also wear the skirt for the entire wedding, and the shorter dress for the exit. Practical AND precious....love it!!
*These uber-cute, and unbelievably priced WTOO gowns by Watters are offered in both the long and shorter version. Another adorable way to have the celebrity style of 2 gowns while keeping cool for an outdoor (or indoor) summer wedding.


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A 19-year-old Oxnard gang member will stand trial on murder charges after prosecutors presented evidence Monday they say shows he gunned down a member of a rival gang during a street confrontation almost three months ago.
The shooting was the first in a series of gang-related attacks that have erupted across the city in recent weeks.
The incident occurred Sept. 1 in a crime-plagued neighborhood in south Oxnard, prosecutors say, after defendant Anthony Frank Vasquez and two friends saw a carload of rival gang members cruising a street near Southwinds Park that Vasquez's gang claims as its territory.
According to witnesses, the rival La Colonia gang members were yelling gang slogans before some of them got out of the car and walked toward Vasquez. He pulled a gun, witnesses said, shouted his gang's name and fired one or two shots--hitting driver Dino Zarate in the head.
Zarate, a 19-year-old college sophomore unable to shake his gang ties, died behind the wheel of his blue Ford Mustang as his friends fled the scene.


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COLUMBIA - A special one-day S.C. House session Wednesday to debate and potentially override vetoes on two seemingly minor bills has some lawmakers scratching their heads. Others pushing for a vote on one of the measures say members under-appreciate its significance.
The two bills vetoed by Gov. Nikki Haley have a small number of supporters: one allows librarians to kick out unruly patrons and police to charge them with a crime, and another allows for a property tax increase in Murrells Inlet. The two bills are hardly headline grabbers, and some members wonder why a special session is needed when the bills could be reintroduced in January.
"You can speculate and that's all it is, it's speculation," said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, of rumors about why the session was called by House Speaker Bobby Harrell. He and others declined to go into detail.
The roughly $34,000 cost to go back into session hasn't caused a stir within the Republican caucus, said Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Charleston. Republicans recently gathered for their annual retreat in Myrtle Beach. "I kind of thought there would be some people who had made plans or were irritated and didn't want to go back. But it honestly didn't come up," Merrill said.
Harrell, R-Charleston, said he called the special session due to timing. Because the Republican majority S.C. Senate was embroiled in a controversy about whether to elect Democratic Sen. Yancey McGill to fill the spot of departing former Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell, they did not take up the two bills before the House adjourned for the year in June.
"Instead of sitting around for two days doing nothing, waiting for the Senate to act, we adjourned the House," Harrell said in a statement. "By returning (Wednesday), the House will now be able to act on this legislation from the other Chamber and do so by spending fewer days in special session and less of the taxpayers' dollars."
For Rep. Nelson Hardwick, R-Surfside Beach, who is pushing the Murrells Inlet bill, the timing may seem strange but it's necessary to take it up before next year, he said.
Hardwick said he immediately asked Harrell to schedule a special session for the veto override. Most residents, he said, agree with a possible property tax rate hike. If a newly planned fire station is not constructed and adequately staffed in Murrells Inlet, home insurance rates would go up, Hardwick said, because the rural fire facility needs replacement. The county may not need to raise taxes, but county officials need the option for the new fire station, said Hardwick and Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet, who sponsored the Senate bill.
"It is not an insignificant bill, I'd argue that with anybody," Hardwick said. "(Haley) had no business vetoing this bill. People are much more satisfied with paying a small additional property tax rate than being locked in to higher insurance rates. This isn't just raising taxes on people."
The bill, S. 293, raises the property tax cap on Murrell's Inlet-Garden City Fire District. The fire station there covers areas in Georgetown and Horry counties.
Haley said in a letter to the Senate explaining her veto that raising such caps almost inevitably mean higher taxes, something she could not support.
The other bill that was vetoed, S. 813, provides for criminal penalties for unruly library patrons and also allows librarians statewide more latitude to kick such patrons out when they are being unruly.
"I am vetoing this bill because it grants library employees wide authority to deprive citizens of their ability to use ... public libraries for an indefinite amount of time based on mere allegations of misconduct," Haley wrote in a letter to the Senate explaining her veto.
The Senate has already voted to overrule the governor's vetoes. The House would need a two-thirds vote to do the same or the vetoes will stand.
Reach Jeremy Borden at 708-5837.


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January 17, 2014, Fayetteville, NC – Fayetteville State University professor of economics and entrepreneurship Edward Peter Stringham recently discussed recent proposals to raise taxes to provide universal preschool. Stringham has critiqued similar proposals in the past when a statewide mandate was defeated in California in 2007 and now he discusses Bill de Blasio's plans to raise New York taxes by more than $500 million per year to pay for, among other program, universal, government-run preschool.
According to Stringham, "One unseen cost is the potential of putting private preschools out of business, and that private preschool would become a luxury available only to the most wealthy." Stringham builds on an earlier study he co-authored with Chris Cardiff on a similar proposal in California. Stringham's opinions and criticisms are published by Real Clear Policy on July 17, 2014. To learn more read here.


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In retrospect, the Detroit Pistons' knack for reaching the Eastern Conference Finals was probably the worst thing that has happened to them in the Joe Dumars Era.
Not that it wasn't a terrific feat. Anytime you're reaching the Final Four you've had a good year, and to do it six times in a row, as the Pistons did (2003-08), is nothing less than impressive.
But that sword has two edges.
First, the Pistons only parlayed two of those Final Fours into NBA Finals appearances (2004 and '05). In the other conference finals, the Pistons were only moderately competitive.
They were swept in 2003 by New Jersey, blasted out in six games by Miami in 2006, in six by Cleveland in 2007 (punctuated by the Pistons' inability/unwillingness to stop LeBron James in the lane in Game 5), and in six by Boston in 2008.
President/GM Joe Dumars had, as it turns out, some Fool's Gold on his hands.
The Pistons were good enough to survive two playoff series in the traditionally weak Eastern Conference in those four years when they were eliminated, but when it came time to play the elite---or in the case of Cleveland, the up-and-coming---in the Final Four, the Pistons wilted under the pressure.
Dumars was teased into thinking he had a title contender in Detroit, when in fact he had nothing of the sort.
That kind of thinking, in concert with poor draft choices, questionable contracts and odd coaching hires, have put the Pistons where they are today: among the dregs of a still-poor Eastern Conference.
Now it comes out that Dumars not only doesn't plan on dealing forward Tayshaun Prince by tomorrow's trade deadline, the GM wants to explore re-signing Prince, who will turn 31 on Monday.
This is a disturbing thought that Dumars has rattling around in his addled brain.
Dumars has been slow on the take in massaging the Pistons' roster, even when they were going to Final Fours. The great executives in sports don't rest on their laurels, and aren't afraid to upset the apple cart.
After LeBron James torched them in the 2007 ECF, the Pistons were ripe for change. That made two straight years of being bounced out in the Final Four, and that was the moment Dumars should have seized.
It was evident that the Pistons' surprise championship of 2004, achieved without the quote-unquote superstar player that most champions have, was an aberration. And it should have occurred to Dumars, who isn't a dumb-dumb, that his team simply wasn't good enough to make it past the conference finals.
The summer of 2007 was when Dumars should have been aggressive in changing the dynamics of the Pistons roster.
The Pistons' appearance in the 2008 ECF wasn't much to shout about, either. The Celtics took them to the woodshed in the Pistons' own building in the pivotal Game 3, after the Celts were stunned in Boston in Game 2. After tying the series in Game 4, the Pistons went down meekly---and in Rasheed Wallace's case, shamefully---in the next two games.
Dumars sacrificed coach Flip Saunders after that, and hired the neophyte Mike Curry to coach. Then Dumars saddled Curry with the high maintenance Allen Iverson and left his coach to deal with the tempestuous Rip Hamilton, whose little world was upset when AI joined the team.
From 2004 to 2009, the Pistons didn't make any bold moves, personnel-wise---with the exception of bringing in Iverson, which was just plain wrong---and they are now paying the price.
The free agent signings of Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon in the summer of 2009 were suspect when they occurred, and they are no less so today.
Now Dumars is talking about signing Prince to an extension?
The window of real opportunity for tangible, successful change has closed. Now all that's left for the Pistons is a blow up and a total rebuild. All connections to the "good old days" of the mid-2000s must be done away with.
It's not an easy thing to keep a franchise winning, year-after-year, for a decade. The Pistons almost did that, posting winning seasons from 2001-08. But it can be even harder---and gutsier---to tweak personnel when the wins are outnumbering the losses.
Joe Dumars isn't a bad GM. But he's not one of the best, either. It's one thing to take a loser and take it upward when there's nowhere to go but up. It's an entirely other to keep the team in contention when there's a target on its back---especially when there's virtually no help from the draft.
Provided he's asked to stay by new owner Tom Gores, Dumars must do what he's done before, thanks to his own lollygagging: rebuild a Pistons team that is a conference bottom feeder.
Bringing Tayshaun Prince back flies directly into the face of that task.


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Yesterday we took our kids to Nielsen's grove park. It is on Sandhill Road out past the Wal-mart in Orem. It is one really cool park. There is a huge field area perfect for flying kites or launching rockets (that's what the boy scouts were doing.) They have a pond and a fountain. Plus a really nice garden of tulips.
The coolest thing is a merry-go-round-style set of swings. The swings go around in a big circle (I've seen similar things at amusement parks), but it is human powered. I wanted to swing on it so bad, but there were too many children wanting a turn. But sometime soon I'm going there in the morning so I can have fun.
There is also a playground, but it is small and for ages 5-12. I hope they are planning on adding a play area for smaller children because the smaller children play on that playset and get pushed over by older children.


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13 Wednesday Mar 2013
Posted Uncategorizedin
13 Wednesday Mar 2013
Posted Uncategorizedin
07 Thursday Mar 2013
Clobbered. That's the word I've decided to use when describing the snowstorm we experienced yesterday.
We woke up to about 6 inches and it gradually accumulated to 2 feet by the end of the day! Beginning of March and this much snow?! Not quite what I was hoping for, but it looks like the temps are only supposed to increase from here – spring, I'm so ready for you! Now the question is… how long will it take for all this snow to melt??
Dan had the day off and Della had him out in the fresh powder before 8AM. They took one of my old sled's down our back hill and she loved every minute of it.
We were also informed (via Twitter, of course!) that Al Roker would be making an appearance in our town of Front Royal since we were supposed to get hit the hardest. Of course I had to document our tiny claim to fame and snapped a shot of the TV screen 😉Amy, xo.
05 Tuesday Mar 2013
della jane: 34 months // baby belly: 33 weeks
Today as I left my bi-monthly OB appointment – soon to switch to weekly! – I realized how little time I have left with my little sidekick. It's been just her and I, all day, everyday, for the past three years. Three years! In those years gone by we've shared a bond I can't even begin to explain. This girl has given my life a purpose. A purpose I never knew could fill my heart with so much joy. She is my number one priority and a "job" that can never be replaced.
She'll always be my first born. And my one and only daughter.
I get a lump in my throat just thinking about how the change of adding a baby to our lives will rock her world. I'm anxious for her to meet her baby brother and I know she'll be the most caring and loving big sister, but I'm holding on ever so tightly to these last days of just her and I.
27 Wednesday Feb 2013
Today we decided it was a good day to let our creative juices flow and paint! Della picked out a cute little bird house to decorate and I had a project I'd been wanting to try out with her up my sleeve.
I think her birdhouse is the perfect addition to our Easter inspired table toppers!
And now onto the more time consuming (but fun!) project… A chevron painted canvas. I saw this on Hey Lauren Rene and thought it'd be a great activity Della and I could work on together. It looked simple enough, and all I needed to pick up was a blank canvas – I had all the other components at home. All you need is a canvas the size of your choice, painters tape, acrylic paint, sponges, scissors, and a ruler if you're going to be precise. (Obviously I wasn't – ha!)
So, yeah… I think I need a "How to Tape-Off a Chevron Pattern for Dummies" manual. Boy was THAT hard! Seriously. Our pattern's not nearly as straight or perfect as Laurens, but I'm happy with the outcome nonetheless. It's our kind of perfect 😉
I decided to go over the tape with a little flat white paint before sponging on the blue to help any bleeding that may occur. It kind of worked, but some of the blues still bled through the tape a bit. I can always go back with a tiny detail brush and some more of the flat white in the future, but for today, it's good enough for me!
Now here's where Della gets to join in – she had the fun part! I let her dab away with all the different shades of blue until the entire canvas was covered.
Like I said, it's definitely not perfect, but it's a little piece of art that Della and I worked on together and that is what I love most about it!
Amy, xo.
22 Friday Feb 2013
To view this video larger, go here.
This afternoon while I was on the phone scheduling an appointment for Della, I had to spell out her name and give the receptionist some info. While I was doing this, Della was sitting right beside me mimicking everything I was saying – word for word, letter by letter. It was the cutest thing, so I thought we should sit down and work on her name and her letters.
Lately if we ask her to spell Della she'll respond with "E-ew-E-E." Not quite sure where she got this or what it means exactly, but I wanted to set the poor girl straight and help teach her how to really spell her name.
She got the hang of it pretty quickly! Now we just need to practice her writing…
Amy, xo.
18 Monday Feb 2013
14 Thursday Feb 2013
One thing I remember growing up is how special and loved my mom would make us feel on holidays, birthdays, or just out of the blue. This is something I think back to often, and I want Della to be able to cherish similar moments when she's older, too. Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to shower her with love and special treats. It's mid-week and unexpected, and she can be reminded of how much her Daddy and I truly love her. Here's a flashback of previous years with my littlest Valentine:
And of course, this year too…
2013 Hope your day is filled with lots of love and sweet treats!
Amy, xo.
13 Wednesday Feb 2013
Today it's just me and her from when we woke up until bedtime because Daddy's working late. We did a little shopping this morning where she picked out an obnoxiously large bubblegum lollipop, and then we spent the rest of our morning at the library for story time and playing.
She's becoming so independent lately (as if she wasn't already!) She won't let me do ANYTHING without trying to do it herself first. If I say, "Can I help you?" forget about it. I might as well have told her "No." Sheesh! She can now use the toilet all by herself from start to finish. Pulling down her pants + undies, to getting up to the potty, to washing her hands afterwards. She also HAS to put the toothpaste on her toothbrush all by herself, even though 9 times out of 10 she comes pouting to me because it won't come out. It really amazes me how you can ask them to try something, but until they're ready, they won't do it on their own. Apparently this week she's ready for it all! It's a bit frustrating at times being the control freak that I am, but I'm really trying to be flexible.
No matter how how many times I want to pull my hair out though, she really is the sweetest thing and her cuteness just kills me these days. Why do they grow up so quickly?!
Amy, xo.
10 Sunday Feb 2013
Posted Little Ladyin
A year ago today, we started potty training Della and I'm thrilled to announce as of tomorrow, she's been PULL-UP FREE (!!!) for three whole weeks without any accidents! Ya know what that means, right?! She's completely potty trained!
Back in August, she was only relying on pull-ups during naps and bedtime – so, within 6 short months she learned to use the potty regularly. I still can't believe how quickly it all came to her and how well she's done since the beginning. I don't even need to ask her to go anymore – she's very independent about it and let's us know when she needs to go. She's so funny about *ahem*… #2, too… Every time she has to go she requests, (okay, more like demands) "a magazine! get out and shut da door!"
This couldn't have come at a better time as we prepare for Baby Brother. I'm so thankful we'll only have one in diapers and we can now invest our pull-ups budget into diapers for the little guy. What a relief!
So proud of my ever-changing and growing little lady!
Amy, xo.
29 Tuesday Jan 2013


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Let me point out that this author "has been teaching the Word of God since 1976 and in ministry since 1980." This author is the prolific writer of "more than 70 inspirational books" and has "released thousands of audio teachings as well as a complete video library." This author can be heard on national radio broadcasts, seen on national TV programs almost every day, and travels nationwide speaking and doing teaching conferences. This author has influenced a whole lot of people. I don't want to disparage the writer. I'm sure the writer has helped many people and is motivated to do so for all the right reasons. But, in this specific case, this person is just plain off-base. The teaching offered here is deeply flawed and destructive to any Christ-follower who adheres to it. Unfortunately, many new and vulnerable minds do just that.
Reasoning Leads to Confusion
...O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves? ... Matthew 16:8 (KJV)
A large percentage of God's people are admittedly confused. Why? As we have seen, one reason is wondering. Another is reasoning. The dictionary partially defines the word reason in the noun form as an "underlying fact or motive that provides logical sense for a premise or occurrence" and in the verb form as "to use the faculty of reason: think logically."
A simple way to say it is, reasoning occurs when a person tries to figure out the "why" behind something. Reasoning causes the mind to revolve around and around a situation, issue or event attempting to understand all its intricate component parts. We are reasoning when we dissect a statement or teaching to see if it is logical, and disregard it if it is not.
Satan frequently steals the will of God from us due to reasoning ... What God leads a person to do does not always make logical sense to his mind. His spirit may affirm it and his mind may reject it ...
Don't Reason in the Mind, Just Obey the Spirit
... the realization of how easily we can be led by our heads and allow reasoning to keep us out of God's will provoked in me a "reverential" fear of reasoning.
Where do I even begin with this one?
First, the Bible verse quoted in the section heading (shown above: Matthew 16:8) is taken completely out of context. In keeping with the precept that you should be leery of anyone using a single Bible verse to prove their point (for a great discussion of this precaution go here: "Never Read a Bible Verse"), I would challenge you to look up the actual passage from which this quote was lifted. When you do, you will find it in the middle of a chapter devoted to the story of Jesus' continuing confrontations with the religious leaders who felt his ministry threatened them and their base of power.
Having just performed a miraculous feeding of four thousand seekers from a few scraps of fish and bread, Jesus tells his disciples to "be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." The disciples, who having once again forgotten to bring bread with them (they are obviously slow learners -- like me), attribute Jesus' warning as being in reference to their failure in that regard. Exasperated when he overhears their discussion, Jesus utters the lifted quote. But let's look at the entire passage:
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.Does this passage in any way attribute confusion to the use of reason? Absolutely not! In fact, it does just the opposite. Jesus is admonishing his disciples to remember what has actually occurred, then think through what he said. Three times he challenges their understanding of his words. Finally, after thinking it through, they realize what he meant them to guard against -- the fallacious teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The entire story is an exhortation to examine the evidence, think carefully about his words, and from that deduce that actual meaning of what Jesus said.
In the words of the Christian philosopher Augustine, and completely contrary to the so-called insight of the author I quote above, this is a textbook example of "faith seeking understanding."
Second, the writer implies that wondering and reasoning are anti-Biblical. This has absolutely no basis in Scripture. Would Cornelius, a "God-fearer," ever have been compelled to ask for Peter's intervention had he not been inquisitive about the vision he reported in Acts 10:3-4? Would Peter ever have recognized his commission to reach the Gentiles without his own vision (Acts 10:9-21)? This passage reports that Peter "was wondering about the meaning of the vision" as Cornelius' couriers approached his home. Why would God encourage Isaiah (Isaiah 1:18) to "let us reason together"? Why would Paul challenge those (1 Thessalonians 5:21) who questioned his teachings to "test everything. Hold on to what is good"? These are not tangential comments. They are at the heart of the Biblical worldview. Try to think of a character in either testament who is not given evidence and reasons for believing in and trusting God. I can't think of any. I do, however, know that we are called to engage the world in a certain way ...
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.We are engaged in a battle of ideas. The Christian worldview is the most robustly evidenced-based, intellectually defensible, reality-coherent worldview that exists. Our call is to know, live, and defend that worldview. We do so because, in our humanity, we recognize that without a God who created and sustains the world, we are doomed to a meaningless existence. Though we may not know immediately why that is, we know that something is wrong. We wonder why that is. We seek answers. We pursue God with the mind he gave us. And though we will never know Him exhaustively in this life, we can reason our way to His truths and trust His answers because they are always aligned with the way the world He created really is.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Third, the writer implies that logic and clear thinking are destructive and contrary to "the will of God." To say this is to say that the Apostle Paul's entire life mission was contrary to the will of God. Take a look at Paul's missionary journeys. In nearly every town he visited, the first thing he did was approach the cultural and/or religious leaders (in most cases the Jewish leadership) and "reason with them from the Scriptures." In Romans 12, we are told to be "transformed by the renewing of [our] minds." This, Paul tells us, is our "spiritual act of worship." The word "spiritual" here is the Greek logikos which is (quite ironically) translated: "agreeable to reason, following reason, reasonable, logical."
The only way to defend the notion that clear, logical thinking is contrary to the will of God is to be caught up in the contemporary notion that faith and spiritual issues have been relegated to solitary confinement as "matters of the heart." Banished there, faith is left to flounder as a feelings-based inclination that is personal, private and beyond the reach of intellectual discernment. But the "heart" in a Biblical sense is much more than that. It is the core of our being; the place where our will resides and our choices are made. For that reason, the fashionable trend of separating the heart from the mind is not only unbiblical, but dangerous. It leads to vacuous pronouncements like these (from the same writer, in the same book) ...
I once asked the Lord why so many people are confused and He said to me, "Tell them to stop trying to figure everything out, and they will stop being confused." I have found it to be absolutely true. Reasoning and confusion go together.Here you notice a couple of things. The author claims direct, personal communication with God. Claiming this personal, two-way chat line serves to not only further entrench the idea that faith is a private matter, it also becomes a convenient asset in making the claim irrefutable. Who would dare question such a thing?! Any skepticism automatically renders the questioner a bad guy while simultaneously absolving the claimant of any requirement to defend themselves.
... There is a big difference in head knowledge and revelation knowledge ... I don't know about you, but I want God to reveal things to me in such a way that I know in my spirit that what has been revealed to my mind is correct. I don't want to reason, to figure and to be logical, rotating my mind around and around and issue until I am worn out and confused. I want to experience the peace of mind and heart that come from trusting in God, not in my own human insight and understanding.
But, for the sake of argument, let's say the author is being absolutely truthful -- God has spoken audibly. Why then, would the hearer need to resort to "knowing things in the spirit" or "experiencing peace of mind and heart"? Neither of these is required if one actually hears the voice of God audibly. This leads to a follow-on objection ...
Fourth, the author's use of the slogan "Just Obey in the Spirit," is one of many similar (and all-too-familiar in Christian circles) exhortations that contains no actual meaning. Like others I could name, this phrase has become part of a kind of Christian-speak that is thrown around but that no one outside the church (or inside it, for that matter) can define. It is an empty slogan.
Humor me for a second and think about it ... how does one "obey in the Spirit" without engaging the mind? I welcome comments from those who can explain to me just how that is done.
This is not just a trivial objection to the author's view. It is a dangerous precedent to set. If "obeying in the Spirit" requires nothing but an inner, peaceful feeling, it can be used to justify any belief, thought, or action. There is no way to critique such a thing ... unless one uses reason and logic to do so. But that, we are told, is not allowed. Do you see how adhering to such a view is not only self-serving, but can be disastrous for those who hold to these ideas?
Being that I have listed the problems I find with this kind of teaching in logical order, and made a reasoned case why I believe it to be not only wrong but destructive, I'm sure that some would point out that my thinking is exactly the kind of thing the author is talking about. I am a living, breathing incarnation of the flaws the author is addressing. But in doing so critics, like the author they defend, help me make the fifth and final point I would like to address.
Fifth, the author has written a book meant to make a logically persuasive case for the point of view being defended. It always amazes me when folks write books meant to convince us all that there is no such thing as truth (so is their book true or not?); or that there is no such thing as an unbiased point of view (except theirs, of course); or that no one's "story" is any more authoritative than anyone else's (this is the strong-postmodern case for relativism); or, as in this case, that we shouldn't be using logic and reason. The idea that reason and logic are bad is dashed on the rocks of the very premise for which the author wrote -- or, for that matter, the reason anyone writes any book in the first place -- they want to convince you that what they are saying is true by logically and persuasively arguing their case!
I do not critique the author quoted here lightly. I used to subscribe to some of the ideas myself. But once one sees the fallacies and dangers in this type of thinking, it is hard to ignore it and look the other way. This type of mindset is destructive to the church. It makes us look foolish to the world and it needs to be stopped. Not because we are capitulating to the ways of the world, but because we are defying the faculty of reason God gave us when He created us in His image.


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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Free Form Comments
ALSO. You can use this space to re-ask me questions you asked me before that I failed to answer because I was too busy (but now might not be). That is often the reason I fail to get back to people, and on a blog, after a few days, the comments thread dies and I just kind of forget about it. Let's use this space to fix that, because it does need to be fixed; I look like a jackass sometimes, leaving people hanging. I will TRY to respond to any questions here.
AND you can use this space to comment on posts that are old enough that no one is reading the comments threads anymore. For example, if you thought of a great quote for the great quote commonplace book, but now no one is reading that, you could put it here.You do not have to have a blogger account or gmail account to post a comment -- you can write a comment, write your name at the bottom of your comment like an e mail, and then post using the "anonymous" option.
WRITING FOR THIS BLOG. If you think your free form comment here might be better as its own post, but you do not want it to be public yet, email it to me. My email address is available on my blogger profile page. If I think it will work on this site, your post will be published here with your name in the title of the post. You can propose what you will, I am always looking for reviews of games, tv, movies, music and books.
If you think what you have to say -- new topic or comment on an existing topic -- would be better to hear than to read, use the CALL ME button on the toolbar on the right.
9 comments:
- Prof Fury said...
As chronicled here, I ate a Sifers Valomilk -- the Kubark Benday-endorsed candy -- this weekend. I was sort of underwhelmed, but I think maybe it had been stored at too low a temperature -- my center didn't really flow. I had forgotten how much I like marshmallow creme, though.
- Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:25:00 AM EDT
Speaking of Marshmellow treats...
anyone looking for some lighter fair in their summer entertainment do NOT go see either Get Smart or the Love Guru... both are terrible. I didn't expect Get Smart to be great but Mike Myers has really lost it... Austin Powers this is not.
- Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:35:00 AM EDT
- Marc Caputo said...
Love Guru tickles me in my stupid section - I know it's gonna suck but I'll laugh. From the box office, though, it looks like it'll be on DVD next Thursday.
(Or I'll go to a White Castle in Brooklyn and get a bootleg...)
- Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 11:28:00 AM EDT
Don't bother seeing it in any form... I had hoped it would tickle my stupid section... it didn't... it just wasn't funny. Myers insist on running gags that aren't funny throughout the movie. I love Wayne's World and the Austin Powers movies, this isn't a matter of taste... it's a matter of quality.
- Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 11:35:00 AM EDT
- Jason said...
Personal plug:
Any Milwaukee-ites who happen to be reading, I extend a heartfelt invitation to see my contribution to the 48-Hour Film Festival, tonight at 6pm at the Oriental Theatre (tickets are $9).
I wrote, acted in, and composed music for a short film called "Invasion of the Jiblox." Come check it out!
- Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 12:15:00 PM EDT
- Streebo said...
I am just about finished editing my interviews with Matt Fraction and Al Feldstein from this past weekend at the Heroes Con. I am working on a snazzy new MVP intro segment to spice up our presentations - so it might be this weekend before I can get the final version posted.
Matt said to tell you all "thanks."
- Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 3:18:00 PM EDT
I was just watching the Sci-Fi channel (trying to refamiliarize myself with the X-files before the new movie) and I just found out that Scare Tactics was still on the air... I had no idea. But, get this, it's now hosted by Tracy Morgan! Man, if it could only be hosted by Tracy Jordan... that would guarantee awesome badness!
Speaking of terrible sci-fi channel original programming... is Who Wants To Be A Supehero going to be back this year? (oh yeah, add that to my guilty pleasure list for TV)
- Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 4:03:00 PM EDT
- Stefan Delatovic said...
I just watched The Wire for the first time.
- Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 3:32:00 AM EDT
- Geoff Klock said...
Stefan delatovic --season four will BLOW YOUR MIND
- Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 4:29:00 PM EDT


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For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son...
Jn 3:16
The poor, tragic homosexuals are claiming that they "love". Let us ask: what is "love"? "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8). God is. Here, we have the basic Mosaic proclamation of God - [I am , who am. God is Being]. St. John develops this: God is Love; Being is Love. Not was, not will : but IS.
The primary, simple, eternal act of God is Love. This then, is the secret inner life of the Holy Trinity. Man, created in God' s image and likeness is called to imitate this love: primarily through caritas. Sacred Scripture mentions "faith, hope, and love [caritas], and the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor 13:13). Why? Because without love, one cannot have faith, nor hope. And love is a gift of the Holy Spirit. True love, and by extension, true faith and hope cannot be found outside the Catholic Church. "Charity cannot be possessed except in the unity of the Church" (St. Augustine Sermo 265, 9, 11 (PL 38, 1223)). Why is this? Because Jesus Christ is Charity; and the Church is His Mystical Body; hence, to possess charity, one must belong to Christ's Body.
Further, love is in the Will. It is an act of the Will: it is NOT emotion. Emotion may be an effect, but never the cause of true love. True love, then, being in conformity with the Holy Ghost can only be for the perfection of the person, for his final end (which is Heaven). The greatest love between persons is then a spiritual love which unites souls. We catch a picture of this unity when the Apostles received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. It was an outpouring of God's love. Therefore, true love between persons is always primarily focused on God; and then the giving of oneself for the good of the other person, which is his or her final destiny in Heaven.
From this, we can begin to gather the perversity of what is claimed to be "love" by persons who self-identify with same-sex attractions. In fact, what they claim as "love" is in reality hatred, it is destructive: of the other, and of themselves. Let us pray for these poor, deluded souls, in need of conversion (as we all are) to the liberating truth about Our Blessed Lord. May His Blood that He shed for them, be poured out upon them as a balm of repentance and conversion. I say therefore, to each and every homosexual: may the peace of Christ be with you.


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Yes, decided at lunchtime to go home this weekend. Been planning on going home either this or next weekend and was more set on next, but just decided this one would suit better. So I'm of for some impulsive travel (sort of). Feels good to see my family, even it hasn't been very long.
The reason why tough is cause I need to bring some warm clothes and jackets back as it's beginning to get a tad chilly lol.
I am not bringing my laptop I've decided, to heavy and unnecessary luggage as I am bringing my big bag.
Talk latha.
Over and out


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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Cacia at the chiropractor- she has been going to Christine East for almost two years now and makes me laugh- she can't wait to get in there and throws herself on the blanket ready for her treatment . She knows she will feel so much better afterwards! Still so much damage on her neck and shoulders and I cannot see that she will not have to continue with treatment for the rest of her life. Some of it is quite painful but we said today she obviously thinks it is a normal thing to do every couple of weeks.
Posted by BONVIVANT at 3:18 PM No comments:
Monday, June 24, 2013
NBSDC Championship show last weekend and Barbara and I drove to Valiants Equestrian centre near Preston.
It was nice to be going to a show again and I had entered the obedience with Ch Bonvivant Tete a Tete (Cruz) in Beginners and Novice. Despite an anticipation in retrieve-his favourite- he won both classes. Val Neff with 12 month old Bonvivant Gigi (Pandora) was 2nd in Novice and won A.
Bonvivant Gigolo(Cypher) was 2nd in JD-he is such a baby but is slowly getting the hang of showing. Pliquette Zadok *** (Cointreau)1st Limit Dog.
Ch Bonvivant Dewet (Cello) now 11.5yrs old won Veteran and took the RCC BVet and went on to Best Veteran in Show!
In bitches Bonvivant Ysatis (Chic) co-owned with Terry Donovan (Mr Polo) was 1st in OB and took the Bitch CC.
Bonvivant Habibi (Chamonix) was 3rd in OB and Best Veteran Bitch.
In Tervueren Barbaras Bonvivant Ma Cerise at Brackenmeer was 4th in VBitch.
It was lovely to meet up with a lot of old friends and thankyou to judge Pauline Koning-Stern Hanf and BIS judge Ann Brown.
Posted by BONVIVANT at 3:49 PM No comments:
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Foul Ball
The Tigers don't quite make contact with the ticket tax
Last friday I received the following email message from the Detroit Tigers:
October 16, 2009
Stay Engaged
Dear Tigers fans,
As you may have heard by now, the Governor and the Michigan Legislature are seriously considering charging sports fans a 6-percent luxury tax on all professional and college sports tickets sold in Michigan.
This tax would be applied to tickets for major league and minor league baseball, football, hockey, basketball and auto racing. It would also tax tickets to all college sports including football, hockey and basketball. It would also add a ticket tax to all concerts, shows and could even include movie tickets.
This tax is not on the sports teams - it is on you - the fans.
And all of us at the Detroit Tigers organization believe it is wrong to target the working families. Michigan would be the only state in the region to tax families attending movies, sporting events and concerts.
Fans Against the Ticket Tax was started to inform citizens of the potential for this legislation and to fight against this tax. We wanted to make you aware of this proposal and encourage you to speak out to the Governor and your representatives and senators in Lansing.
If you would like to voice your opinion on this issue, you can do the following:
1) Go to www.NoTicketTax.com to join in the effort and tell the governor and your legislator what you think about the ticket tax.
Let them know there should NOT be a luxury tax on taking your family to a baseball game. www.NoTicketTax.com
2) Send this email to all your friends and encourage them to get involved. Every email or phone call to Lansing will send a clear message that Michigan sports fans do not want the ticket tax.
Thanks for your help.
The Detroit Tigers
Now the ticket tax would be a lousy idea, but at this stage any new tax should be out of the question in Michigan. The state is losing jobs and tax increases would drain more resources from the private economy that generates wealth and employment. The Mackinac Center has demonstrated over and over again that state government could fulfill all its essential functions – and quite a few less essential ones – without new revenues by consolidating operations, cutting off counterproductive programs, and reforming expensive but non-productive laws like the prevailing wage (which adds upwards of $200 million to state construction annually) or the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA is responsible for hundreds of millions annually in inflated wage and benefit costs.)
It's perfectly understandable that the Tigers would oppose the ticket tax, which would make baseball tickets more expensive for fans and might drive customers away from the ballpark. This response is the equivalent of a foul tip however; they got a piece of the ball but didn't hit it square. A serious campaign against the ticket tax would not stop there, it would go on to explicitly oppose any and all tax increases, something that neither the Tigers nor Fans Against the Ticket Tax (the link in the Tigers email goes to their site) can quite bring themselves to do.
The problem in Michigan is that an elite of influential lobby groups, government union officials, and elected officials has achieved control over the state. This group is held together by one thing: they are tied to government itself, either by their jobs or by privileges that they get from the state. When government grows they prosper, regardless of what happens to the rest of the state. This elite is inclined to view Michigan's inhabitants as revenue sources for government rather than as citizens whose vocations are valuable in and of themselves. The best way to take this elite on is directly, by protesting the overall size and expense of government. As long as the tax debate is limited to "don't tax this, tax something else" they almost certainly win because their assumptions about how much tax revenue government needs go unquestioned. Eventually someone is going to be stuck with the bill.
Normally one doesn't expect a ballclub to be deeply involved in political debates, but these aren't normal times. Having gotten themselves involved in the tax debate, the Tigers may as well go all the way and take a clear stance against tax hikes in general. That would be the best way to look out for their fans and their own bottom line.


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As the skin ages, women have to evaluate whether or not they're going to go the extra mile to "soften" their appearance when applying makeup. There are certain products that do just that, but this means we have to add another step to our makeup routine. You may find yourself asking if it's really worth it. And how could you not? We're already applying serums, lotions and creams to different areas of our face, and now we have to add an accompaniment to the foundation/concealer/powder routine? When will it end?! And is it worth the time and money? More about that later….
The jane iredale Smooth Affair Facial Primer and Brightener ($48) contains anti-aging properties, so off the bat, you know it's not made for young chicks. Smooth Affair promises to even your skin tone, minimize the appearance of pores and increase skin's luminosity. Did it deliver? Sort of. It definitely minimized the appearance of my pores, but my pores weren't large to begin with. My skin tone was not improved, and the product did very little in the luminosity department. Some women use primers and skip the foundation, but I'm unable to get away with that – too much blotchiness and dark spots. I am in my 40s and in the habit of using a primer 75% of the time. Smooth Affair didn't hold a candle to my usual brand. For one thing, I found the smell very off-putting, and it managed to take me by surprise every time I used it, even in the fourth week of use. It smelled just like the orange cough medicine I used to take as a kid. Probably not the kind of olfactive memory Jane Iredale had in mind.
The directions call for a thin layer to be applied all over the face, after moisturizing and before foundation. As with any primer, you don't need very much, and if you do apply too much, your foundation will roll down your face – not the effect you're going for. About a minute after the primer is absorbed and the foundation/concealer/powder are applied, it's a good idea to step back and really examine if the product delivered the results you were expecting. I can honestly say no, and I tried it for four weeks, over 20 times total. Did it brighten my skin? No. It did, however, give it a gray cast, which I found disturbing. Did the primer make my foundation go on easier and last longer? Maybe just a little.
If you're interested in a primer, go for it! There are a lot of wonderful benefits to using one. I just wouldn't recommend this particular product.


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Warner Bros has issued press releases (via Toon Zone) containing interviews with Juliet Landau discussing her role as Labella along with director Lauren Montgomery's thoughts on the voice cast for the upcoming animated direct-to-DVD feature, Green Lantern: First Flight. Here are some excerpts:
QUESTION: What is the enticement of voiceover for animation?
JULIET LANDAU: It is so much fun! You get to sit with a bunch of actors and play. Really play! There's no hair and make-up, no primping – just absolute, uninhibited creativity. That's the real joy of acting. And it doesn't get any better than working with Bruce Timm and Andrea Romano.
QUESTION: Tell us about Labella?
JULIET LANDAU: There was a lot of room for invention in this character, especially with the device they use with her. I don't want to give it away, but she does go through a bit of torture and it causes a rift between Sinestro and Hal. I really liked the sexuality and the flirtatiousness of the character. She's very different from any of the characters I've voiced on Justice League Unlimited or Ben 10: Alien Force – she's a completely unique character.
QUESTION: What do the four main voice cast members bring to their roles?
LAUREN MONTGOMERY: Christopher Meloni is a very serious actor and really got into the character to understand all the little nuances of exactly what Hal was thinking at every moment. He would ask very interesting, detailed, unexpected questions so he could totally get the mind set, and in doing so he was able to deliver an incredible performance that that really defines Hal as a confident hero, but not cocky or a jerk. Hal Jordan has a humor to him that isn't quite as big as the Flash, but still not stiff like Batman. Christopher was able to give us that fun side of Hal, too.
Victor Garber has this intimidating presence and power behind his deliveries where you can hear that Sinestro knows what he's doing, he's been through this before and he's pretty sure of himself. He gives Sinestro a very believable sense of suave sophistication. Sinestro is not your typical evil villain, and Victor Garber makes him seem like an incredibly intelligent, worldly guy who believes he is doing the right thing, even though he might not be doing it the correct way.
Kilowog is this big, hulking creature and he needed a voice that was really recognizable and had a strong presence. Michael Madsen was able to give us these line readings that we really didn't expect – you can't help laughing at his intonations – and he ends up with some of the funniest lines in the whole script. He even did some fake burps that are just ridiculous – you'll actually hear a couple of those in the movie. It was just a match made in heaven, really.
Boodikka is not just your doe-eyed, token female – she has strength and believability without losing the feminine qualities of our primary female character. There aren't a ton of women in the Green Lantern Corps – apparently it's a male-dominated industry (she laughs). Tricia Helfer has a really sympathetic quality to her voice that captures the quieter side of Boodikka, but Tricia also has this amazing strength in her voice. She was able to make Boodikka this wonderful, relatable, three-dimensional character.
Previous news: 5.11.2009 — Victor Garber on Voicing Sinestro.


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Index Labels
Good Grief! There's a new trailer for PEANUTS
It's hard to believe but Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved "Peanuts" gang have never made it to the big screen before. But later this year they will be doing just that in state of the art 3D animation.
Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle – and flying ace – embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest. I'm guessing kicking a football is involved somewhere!
We've had a couple of teasers already, and I'm really liking the look of this. Here in the UK we will find out if "Peanuts" remains true to the spirit of the classic Charles M. Schulz strips and animations on December 21st, US audiences can catch the movie from November 6th...


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April 23 saw Super Festival 74 stomp into the Science Museum in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. As someone who has now attended this event for several years, I don't really have that much else to say about it. It was fun, but the show never seems to change that much.
Of course, many toys, models, DVDs, and various other kinds of memorabilia were offered for sale. If you look hard enough, some real bargains could be found. But I'm not much of a collector, and I certainly never touch any toys or models. Just not my bag, and I don't want to be encumbered by it all.
Ultraman Powered swoops into action! Photo by Brett Homenick.
Ultraman Powered (a.k.a. Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero) was featured at Super Festival, due to the recent release of the series on Blu-ray in Japan. Toshio Miike was on hand to talk about the series and sign autographs.
Takeshi Sasaki (a.k.a. Kamen Rider 2) finishes his interview session at Super Festival. Photo by Brett Homenick.
The headlining guest at Super Festival was Takeshi Sasaki, the man who replaced Hiroshi Fujioka on the original Kamen Rider (1971-73) series and then teamed up with him when Fujioka recovered from his on-set injury. The autograph line for Sasaki was quite long (as to to expected), which goes to show how popular Kamen Rider remains in Japan.
Producer Toshinori Nishida promotes LEDX at Super Festival. Photo by Brett Homenick.
While wandering around the halls, I spotted producer Toshinori Nishida, whose independent kaiju film LEDX was recently released. I met Nishida-san in March during a screening of LEDX, and we've been in touch ever since. It was certainly great to see him again.
Hey, look, it's that total performer himself, Pee-wee Herman! I remember when this doll was being sold in toy stores across America, and it was pretty funny to see it randomly for sale today. I hope no birds were around to interfere with this high-wire act this time.
Yours truly with Yuji Kaida.
I also ran into artist Yuji Kaida again, whom I last saw in late February. He and his wife, Aya, were selling various merchandise. The Kaidas are always wonderful to see.
Ultraman Jack suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.
It just wouldn't be Super Festival without Eiichi Kikuchi, the Return of Ultraman (1971-72) suit actor who makes just about every show and was helping promote LEDX.
Those are about all the highlights. I'm sure the hardcore toy collectors could tell you all about what figures were on sale, who manufactured them, what kind of paint was used, etc., but I can offer no such details. I'm a fish out of water at toy shows like this, and I only come to meet guests and see friends.
Still, it's always cool to take photos of interesting figures and models, but that's all I need to take with me. You can keep the rest!


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Attorney General's Office: Announcement Today at 2:30PM
The state Attorney General's Office told WRAL that a 2:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the case is scheduled for the RBC Center, which can accommodate the crush of national media interested in the case. It is unclear whether Attorney General Roy Cooper will be at the news conference.Amid rumors that Attorney General Roy Cooper was hospitalized late yesterday, ABC News suggested this morning that the anticipated announcement may be delayed one day.
ABC News is also reporting definitively that all remaining charges against David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty will be dismissed as early as today.
The office of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper will announce that he is dismissing all charges against three Duke Lacrosse players, ABC News has learned from sources close to the case.
Cooper will announce his decision regarding the case at the North Carolina Attorney General's office in Raleigh, N.C., at 2:30 p.m.
"Cooper's decision follows a thorough review of the case by attorneys in his Special Prosecutions Division," according to a release from Cooper's office.
The three players, Reade Seligmann, David Evans and Collin Finnerty, were facing charges of first degree kidnapping and first degree forcible sexual offense. The charges stem from an off-campus team party held on the night of March 13, 2006.
In the hours after the party, one of the two black dancers hired to perform for the players claimed she had been violently raped in a bathroom by members of the lacrosse team. The three players, all of whom were white, were ultimately indicted for first degree rape, a charge that was dismissed on Dec. 22, 2006.
Special prosecutors from the Attorney General's office took over the case after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong recused himself in January amid charges of unethical conduct filed against him by the North Carolina Bar. Since then, Jim Coman and Mary Winstead have examined the case from scratch, interviewing key witnesses and working through reams of evidence in an explosive case that combined sensitive issues of race and class.
The reasons that the Attorney General's office will cite for the dismissal are not yet known, but the charges of the accuser and case brought forward by Nifong have been riddled with criticism since the early months after the party.
"I think the critical thing could be the wording," Duke law professor Paul Haagen said. "It could simply say the state can no longer prove its case, which would be a very harmful outcome for the community." Or, Haagen said, the decision "could provide a full accounting of why the case should never have been brought." Baltimore SunLieStoppers has learned that defense attorneys will also hold a press conference today. Theirs is scheduled for 4:00pm at the Sheraton Capital Center in Raleigh. Representatives from LS will attend both news conferences. Look for updates throughout the day here and at the LS Forum.
News & Observer:
Attorney General Roy Cooper plans a news conference at 2:30 p.m. today to announce his decision in the Duke University lacrosse case.
ABC News and the Associated Press cited unnamed sources as saying Cooper would drop sexual assault and kidnapping charges against three former lacrosse players.
Cooper's decision follows what his office called "a thorough review of the case" by attorneys in his Special Prosecutions Division. The Attorney General's Office took over the case Jan. 13 at the request of Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong.
The news conference will take place in the press briefing room at the RBC Center at 1400 Edwards Mill Road.
"I don't want to hear from the AG that they are dropping the charges because they couldn't prove the case. I want to hear that they are dropping the charges because the accused are INNOCENT and that they are going to go after those who falsely accused them."
"We hope the diligence of the special prosecutor team has led them to the truth, and we are optimistic that the attorney general, whenever he does make an announcement, will be courageous in his description of the evidence."
"But for some at Duke, the possibility of dropped charges left as many questions as answers -- and a feeling that the full truth of what happened that night in the house on North Buchanan Blvd. may never be known, in part because the investigation was mishandled.Often it is said that one cannot un-ring a bell. Today, Roy Cooper has an opportunity to attempt to do just that by making clear the charges were based on a false accusation, a slipshod investigation, and a politically motivated persecution. Should he fail with that responsibility to justice, as the comment above demonstrates, the damages done to the victims of the Hoax will endure.
"Since we haven't gone through a normal legal process, we don't know what really happened," said Duke biology professor Sheryl Broverman. "The fact the charges were dropped doesn't mean nothing happened. It just means information wasn't collected appropriately enough to go forward."
"Broverman said she couldn't say one way or the other whether the players sexually assaulted the exotic dancer -- and that the investigation did little to clarify that. "For me, it just means we'll never know," she said."
More from WRAL:
For those in the local viewing area, WRAL and WTVD will carry the press conference live at 2:30PM.
"We assume (the state attorney general) is going to announce that the charges will be dismissed. And if that what he announces, we will be very happy, and we will be thankful," Wade Smtih, an attorney for charged player Collin Finnerty told WRAL. "But we will not celebrate, because this is a train wreck and an awful tragic year."
The state Attorney General's Office scheduled a 2:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the case. It was unclear whether Attorney General Roy Cooper will be at the news conference at the RBC Center, which can accommodate the crush of national media interested in the case.
The Associated Press, citing sources close to the investigation, reported Wednesday morning that all charges would be dropped in the case.
No notice of dismissal had been filed at the Durham County Courthouse by early Wednesday. But a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office told WRAL that the investigation into the case has been completed.
The families of Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans arrived in Raleigh Tuesday. Officials told WRAL that the three lacrosse players would be present once a decision had been made as to how the prosecution would proceed with the case.
Finnerty's father, Kevin Finnerty, told WRAL Wednesday that he and his family are anxiously awaiting what they hope will be good news.
Nifong dropped the rape charges in December after the accuser changed a key detail in her story. He recused himself a few weeks later after the state bar charged him with violating several rules of professional conduct.
Among the ethics charges, Nifong is accused of withholding potentially exculpatory DNA evidence from the defense and lying to both the court and bar investigators. Nifong faces a June trial before the bar and could be disbarred if convicted.
Nifong faces a Friday afternoon hearing in the ethics case, and he spent Wednesday morning with his attorney in Winston-Salem.
Nifong's recusal put the players' fate in the hands of Cooper, who promised "a fresh and thorough review of the facts" when he took over the case in January.
Smith said the players, their families and the defense attorneys were pleased that the special prosecutors took over the case, saying they brought "sanity to the process."
"People were comforted once (the special prosecutors) came in," Smith told WRAL. "Once Jim Coman and Mary Winstead got involved, there was a feeling of calm that came over the landscape. And (the defendants and their families) felt comfortable -- they still were anxious -- but they were confident that it was being handled well."
"The special prosecutors have looked under every rock, and they have searched for evidence in places even the defense did not," Smith added.
"I am very comfortable that the charges will be dismissed and these boys will be completely exonerated," Joseph Cheshire, an attorney for one of the indicted men, told The Associated Press...
Wednesday, defense sources told CNN the defense plans to pursue civil suits against Nifong no matter what decision is announced.
The same sources said that there were no plans to sue the accuser, who was described as "a troubled soul."