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Thursday, December 31, 2009
December 31 - John Wycliffe, Reformer, Theologian, Morning Star
His education at Oxford served him well but also introduced him to cultural discrimination and exceptionalism. He became aware of a prevailing culture and attitude of domination among the leaders of the Church and this disturbed him and saddened him. When he awakened to the fear that the Church leaders could only attain the power the sought by slowly selling off the integrity of the Church to secular powers, he began to suggest a need for the Church to escape entanglement with empires and governments. John's fears that the clergy had become rulers instead of servants was increasingly confirmed and, eventually, he resorted to suggesting that the kings and rulers of the world should stop the Church from whoring itself out. John had the protection of a local ruler and, so, he was able to preach and teach this message without especial fear of reprisal but his words were not very warmly received.
In his attempt to return power and money to the secular powers of the world, John hoped to return the Church to a place free from the corrupting grip of worldly power and wealth. It was only in losing all claims to affluence and influence that the Church could again become a witness to the homeless savior who bore the hopes of the world upon his shoulders. He was resisted stridently by those with much to lose but also by those who honestly disagreed with him regardless of their own wealth and power--regrettably, John's followers and students have not always been good about remembering that there were good men who strongly disagreed with him. Yet, in his resistance, he continued to strengthen his arguments and fight against those who offered the treasures of the Church for mere wealth or power. He remained committed to the rejection of indulgences and simony while insisting that the role of the minister was that of a servant and not of a ruler or judge. John also continued to translate large sections of the scripture so that the treasures of the Church could be distributed among the many rightful recipients.
On Holy Innocents' Day in 1384, John Wycliffe was stricken apoplectic while listening to the mass of the Church he loved and expected more from. He died a gadfly and reformer--never satisfied with the way things were and always looking forward to the way things should be. Later, he was deemed a heretic and his bones were exhumed from the grave. They were then burnt and crushed to dust. The ashes were cast over the river Swift--yet John was never excommunicated from the Church he loved but refused to be satisfied with.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
December 30 - Josephine Butler, Feminist, Activist, Grieving Mother
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
December 29 - David, King of Israel, Shepherd, "a Man after God's Own Heart"
David was "a man after God's own heart." He had shown courage when no other Israelite dared test God's faithfulness by standing up to Goliath. He gathered five stones--we cannot forget that Goliath had four brothers back in Gath--and strode into battle without the heavy armor to weigh him down. Saul had wanted the boy to take Israel's best efforts at protection with him but God wanted the boy to take only his faith and a sling. He was mocked by the beastly man but refused to be rebuffed--he had God on his side. He swung the sling and released the stone that would fell the mighty warrior with one precision blow of God's will. The army rode the wave of ecstatic jubilation into battle and routed the Philistines. But, this wasn't why David was "a man after God's own heart."
David was "a man after God's own heart." Saul began to fear David's success because of the conversations and songs of the people--it was clear that they were enamored with the man who had slain Goliath and gained Samuel's approval. This was a man of God who stood in contrast to Saul's impetuous behavior. Saul devised ways to bring about David's death but his own son--Jonathan--worked with David to assure his safety. Saul chased after David but David was always one step ahead. When David had the chance to return the favor and kill Saul, he crept away but left a message for Saul who woke up and deduced that David had been close when he was vulnerable and chosen not to kill him. But, this wasn't why David was "a man after God's own heart."
David was "a man after God's own heart." He became king of Israel and led the armies in many successful battles. Yet once when he was at home and his armies were away, he had the bad fortune to be high in palace and to look upon a beautiful woman--Bathsheba--bathing nearby. His heart burned with lust for the woman and he had her brought to him. In a torrent of passion, the two humans gave into their desire and became adulterers. In an attempt to cover over his sin, he called the woman's husband--Uriah--home from the battlelines to be with her. The hope was that they would have sex and Bathsheba and David's sin would be concealed but Uriah's loyalty to David and Israel meant that he slept on the ground outside the palace because he knew it wasn't fair for him to be home and his brothers in arms to be so far away. So, David's fear gripped him and he made a terrible mistake: he sent Uriah back with an order that he be sent to the front lines of battle to die at the hands of the enemies of Israel. But, this surely wasn't why David was "a man after God's own heart."
David was "a man after God's own heart" because of what he did next. When God's judgment was visited upon David and Bathsheba for their sin, Nathan told David that the child would die. David was struck to the core of his heart with sorrow for his sin and its creeping effects upon others. He recognized how he had injured Bathsheba gravely because of lust--not love--and murdered a man who was loyal to him to a fault. Further, he had brought about the death of his own child because of the sinful expression of his own dominant will. The glass of David's self-delusions began cracking as the sin spider-webbed out into his life and laid its sickly clutches upon all the good things in his life and tarnishing them. He turned to God in repentance and sobbed and prayed. The child still died but David had learned not only the lingering effects of sin but also the power and necesity of repentance. David was "a man after God's own heart" because he knew how to lament, pray, and repent when forced to recognize exactly what he was: a broken and sinful man.
Monday, December 28, 2009
December 28 - Holy Innocents' Day
Herod had gained and held his power by being willing to play the game and sell himself to Rome bit by bit. Herod's father--Antipater--had been poisoned for offering financial support to the treasonous men who murdered Caesar. It is hard to imagine that the son of a collaborator could rise to power but somehow Herod knew the game well enough to manipulate the right people. He swore his allegiance to Rome while using the Roman army to kill his father's supposed murderer. He would soon rise to power in Judea and be named tetrarch but he first had to consolidate his power by marrying his niece to cement his claim on the throne. This was an easy task for a powerful man like Herod but required that he banish and exile his current wife and three-year-old son. No cost was too high for Herod in his search for power. A little while later, after convincing the Roman leaders that his father's treachery had been forced, he was threatened by another usurper who he cast as a traitor and enemy of Rome to his powerful Roman friends. With the backing of his Roman friends--bought with his pledge of allegiance to Rome first and foremost--Herod was further cemented as Governor of Judea and he took the title: king Herod the Great. All it cost was his integrity, his allegiance, and selling the Jewish leadership into Roman control.
Herod had lost so much to gain what he wanted that he wasn't afraid to spill a little more blood for power. When the magi gave him the slip, he ordered soldiers and guards at his disposal to go to Bethlehem and murder all boys under the age of two. They were to die so that Herod could insure that no other would grow up to place a claim upon his throne--he didn't have much left to give Rome to insure they would continue to help him and, in fact, they expected him to keep the peace of it would cost him his life. So, the soldiers descended upon the little village and murdered infants and children because of a desperate man's fear. All in all, somewhere between 20 and 30 human lives were cut short by the obsessive arm of the Empire that hoped to maintain power by dealing in blood and death. Indeed, a prophecy from Jeremiah was fulfilled (perhaps for the second time): "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
Yet, they missed Jesus. Shortly before the soldiers came, an angel had come to Joseph and instructed him to take Jesus and Mary and get out of Israel--they had to go somewhere Herod could not reach--and go to Egypt. They fled the bloody grasp of Herod and would not return until Herod the Great had died and some of the sons he didn't murder had taken over. So as not to live under Herod's son Archelaus, they settle in Nazareth in Galilee
Sunday, December 27, 2009
December 27 - John, Apostle, Caretaker of Mary, "the Disciple Who Jesus Loved"
Yet, as John and Peter watched Jesus slowly suffer and die, they had to wonder if it hadn't all been a hoax. The one who had promised life more abundant was languishing on a Roman cross and being mocked by his accusers and one of his fellow victims. Mary--Jesus' mother--had insisted that she would be present for the death of her own son and so she was. Simeon's words were coming true all over again as Mary experience excruciating agony over the death of her own son before her eyes--the death of a promise and of her own hope, perhaps--and her ears rang with knowledge that a "sword would pierce her own soul, too." John stepped forward to comfort her and wrap her up in his arms so that she might find some relief from the terrible distress engulfing her in front of the Roman authorities. With one arm wrapped around her, he looked up at the source of her hope and distress and wondered if everything had finally broken down beyond repair--wondered if there was room for hope in a world that crucified one like Jesus. Jesus looked down, coughed harshly foreshadowing the death rattle that nested within his chest and called out in a voice barely audible: "Mom...that's your son, now." Mary's sobs escalated in pitch as she suffered under her dying son's compassion. Turning to look John in the eyes, Jesus continued: "John, take care of your mother." John knew instantly that Jesus was calling to take care of Mary and fulfill the duties of a firstborn son to his widowed mother. He nodded his assent to Jesus and Jesus went on to die. As far as John was concerned, this woman truly was a mother to him now.
Even after the resurrection, the ascension, and Pentecost, John still cared for Mary and watched over her. She passed on several years later (some say a decade after Jesus) and John took up the mission of the Kingdom that Jesus had inaugurated with blood from nail-pierced hands. He traveled to Ephesus and Asia-minor. He would eventually be swept up in the persecutions to be executed but would be the last to die because when they went to execute him, their efforts were fruitless. Eventually, they gave up and exiled him to an island--Patmos--where he would receive one final vision revelation. In this vision, he would find hope anew to offer the Church struggling under persecution. The Lamb that was Slain offered an assurance of healing and reward for those who would dare persist in their commitment to a Gospel of life through death in the face of the promise of the latter.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
December 26 - Stephen, Protomartyr, Evangelist
They insisted that he had blasphemed God and Moses. They drug him before the Sanhedrin and insisted that he be punished. Yet, they had taken time on the way to get their story straight and decide how they would spin Stephen's words and preaching to be blasphemy. "This man never stops saying things against the Temple and the Torah..." his accusers began with subtle rage, "we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us." They had leveled a charge against Stephen that would indubitably result in his execution if he was found guilty. Yet, Stephen had a response:
"Beloved ones, listen to me. God appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3and said to him, "Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you." 4So Abraham did it. After his father died, God had him move from Haran to this very country. 5God said to childless and aged Abraham: 'This isn't yours, it's your children's.' And God insisted that his descendants would be strangers in somebody else's land, who would enslave and abuse them for 400 years. 7'But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision--a physical mark of a spiritual condition--and this covenant and its mark continued with Abraham's son--Isaac--and his grandson--Jacob--and his great-grandsons--the twelve patriarchs.'Then, Stephen rehearsed their mutual history and spoke of Joseph and Moses and how their people had insisted upon bringing along their false gods even as God led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness. Stephen made his argument: you've missed the point of all of it--you've fallen in love with the words of the story and failed to get the message. He summed it up:
'You stubborn people, you still don't get it! You may have the circumcision--the physical mark-- but you are uncircumcised in heart and ears. You lack the spiritual part that the physical part is supposed to represent. You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as our fathers and forefathers used to do. 52You know the history but you still haven't learned its lesson. You've killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. 53You received the glorious gift of the Law but you've cast it aside for other whims."
So, they drug him out of the city for his death and found a low spot near a wall for him to stay. His accusers went to gather stones and the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of Saul--who would become Paul--so that they might better murder the one who dared speak the truth to them. As they were preparing to cast the stones on him (some stones so big they needed two people to carry them), Stephen fell to his knees and cried: "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" They rushed him with a furious rage and began pummeling him with stones. As he died--in a posture of prayer--he cried out: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and do not hold this sin against them. They don't get it." He died under a pile of stones.
Friday, December 25, 2009
December 25 - Christmas
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah,* the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.' 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!'*
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.' 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17W18hen they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Jesus Is Named
21 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord'), 24and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.'
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon;* this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 27Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29'Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'
33 And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, 'This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be35 a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.'
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, 37then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
The Return to Nazareth39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
December 24 - Lottie Moon, Missionary, Champion of Missions, Evangelist
Her faith had always been a cultural thing when she was growing up but while she was in school she attended a revival meeting led by John Broadus where the preaching was different than she was used to. The convicting and passionate nature of the minister's words gripped Lottie's heart and compelled her to learn more about what he was talking about. Soon, her faith became very real and intense and her life became less simple. She began teaching in all-female schools (in Kentucky and then in Georgia) because she wasn't sure what else she would do. She was educated and was a good teacher but it didn't feel right. While Lottie was teaching, her younger sister Edmonia became a missionary to the Northern parts of China and left quickly. Lottie found herself thinking of the absurdity of Edmonia's commitment but soon she found herself envying her sister's passion and commitment. Eventually, she followed her sister to China after realizing that this was where God was calling her.
At first, China was a disappointing mission for Lottie. The culture shock was overwhelming and Lottie's own ethnocentrism caused her to avoid and reject the Chinese customs and culture. Further, as a single female missionary she was assigned to teach Chinese students but not to evangelize or venture into the interior sharing the Gospel. She wrote letters back to the United States hoping that people would "get it" and permit her to be an evangelist instead of only a teacher. Her argument became persuasive when she pointed out that Chinese women were only being reached by other women and that this group could not simply be abandoned. With the permission of the mission board, Lottie stepped further into her calling even as her sister Edmonia was returning to the United States because of deteriorating health. Lottie soon learned that she was more able to reach people if she adopted their cultural dress and appearance. Soon, Lottie was learning to love the people that she had feared and rejected shortly before. Her own redemption was being effected even as she led others to theirs.
Lottie spent 39 years in China meeting the needs of the people and sharing the Gospel message of love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. She was forever sending back letters pleading for more missionaries--especially more female missionaries--to be sent to China. Yet, budget constraints and limited spending meant that she was also forever being rejected. She fought for missionaries furloughs so that missionaries would not simply waste away and be forgotten in their home. She organized mission societies of women in the United States and contributed significantly to the Baptist passion for international missions. When salaries of missionaries were reduced yet again because of debt and budget constraint, Lottie found ways to make do. Her fellow missionaries found out, at one point, that she had been giving away to the poor most of the food her meager salary could afford. At one point, she weighed as little as fifty pounds because of malnutrition and stress. They insisted on sending her home and she died on the way on December 24, 1912. To this day, churches across the United States collect money for international missions in the week before Christmas and have collected over 1.5 billion dollars since they started in 1888.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
December 23 - Sarah Grimke, Abolitionist, Feminist, Activist
Sarah was the sixth eldest child of fourteen and was clearly one of the more intelligent children her mother and father had. As she aged, her intellect was further demonstrated in her ability to teach herself and apply her growing wealth of academic resources to the problems at hand. She hoped to follow in the path of her father--a respected lawyer and judge--with one notable exception: she wanted to fight against slavery. As she grew, however, her father began to get nervous about his daughter's intellect. When Sarah let it slip that she hoped to go to college (like her older brother) to become an attorney, she was forbidden from continuing to study so that she would be unable to attend college. It seems that in order to prevent her from achieving, they crippled her intellectually because she was a woman and her father felt it was inappropriate for a woman to take that kind of position. She resisted this obstacle but it proved to be fairly insurmountable for young Sarah. She did, however teach the slave assigned to her to read--in contradiction of the law--because she recognized the power of education even as she was denied its graces. This event only deepened her commitment to women's rights and the suffrage of the disenfranchised.
Sarah was the godmother of her own sister--Angelina, the youngest--and helped tutor and care for her as she grew older. Sarah even came back for her many years later after she had already moved to Philadelphia and become active in the abolitionist community and church there. When Angelina was twenty-two (and Sarah was thirty-five), Sarah came back to Charleston to convert her sister to Christianity and bring her north. Angelina would convert but it would be two more years before she moved north to live with her sister. In Philadelphia, the sisters worked for the abolitionist and the feminist cause and Angelina eventually married. In Angelina's home with her husband Theodore, there was a room for Sarah and the sisters worked together out of the home to edit newspapers and release articles and papers that denounced slavery and repression of women. Though they were rebuked by ministers and eventually given an ultimatum by the Quakers, they refused to accept that slavery was acceptable or women were to be subservient and second-class creatures. They stood upon the same foundation that their opponents stood upon: the Christian faith. By refusing to appeal to another foundation, they refused to concede the holy to those who would abuse it.
When Sarah was seventy-eight years old, the United States ratified the fifteenth amendment to the United State Constitution which stated: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." In many ways, this was a victory for Sarah and in her advanced age, she could have sat back and congratulated herself for the rest of her life yet she was not finished. A little while later, she attempted to vote on the basis that the fifteenth amendment should expand voting to all people regardless of sex. She was rejected, however, as it would take the nineteenth amendment in 1920 before women could vote. Sarah spent the rest of her life rehashing old arguments with new circumstances and campaigning for a world she would never witness. She died on December 23 in the year 1873.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
December 22 - Chico Mendes, Rubber Tapper, Environmentalist, Murdered
Chico once said, "At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rain forest." His unionizing efforts were quickly and steadily being changed into environmental efforts on behalf of the rubber tappers who needed the rain forest to continue working but, also, on behalf of those who fought to protect the treasure of the Amazon rain forest. He flew to Washington, D.C. to represent the environmental concerns to a group hoping to pave roads through the rain forest. Thanks to Chico, it was postponed and then renegotiated. His constant refrain was the need for sustainable practices that protected and took care of the treasure of the rain forest for the future. Soon, the "cry of the Earth" was becoming the "cry of the poor," though as he led groups of the poor and the working class in nonviolent resistance against the ranchers who hoped to profit in the now and forget about the future. Chico's groups understood the power and scope of nonviolent resistance as Jesus had taught when they marched into the camps of the loggers and put themselves in the way of the loggers and the trees. Further, they pleaded with the workers to reconsider what they were doing to the rain forest, to Brazil, and to the world as a whole. Many of the workers could not bear to continue in their job and so the ranchers plans were often thwarted by unarmed and insignificant people even though they had paid and sent armed individuals to remove the treasure that stood in the way of their financial gain.
Chico gained many enemies and opponents--like his Lord Jesus--by refusing to turn away from his nonviolent resistance when it got in the way of the aims and goals of those worshiping themselves and their own interests. Eventually, Chico--the man of faith--was assassinated at the command of the ranchers. Like the early Christian martyrs, his death was expected to be the end of his cause yet this is not what financed death brought into the region. In response to his death, money came pouring into the cause and rain forest reserves were founded in his name never to be transgressed by the men who bought his death. What had started as a call to protect his friends had become a call to protect a national treasure. It had ended up being a call for a man of faith to hear the cry of the poor and disenfranchised and to defend them by the only means available to him: nonviolent resistance.
Monday, December 21, 2009
December 21 - Melania the Younger, Mother, Pilgrim
In the span of only seven years, Melania and Pinianus had two children. Yet, her first child died at a very young age and Melania was heartbroken. But, the pain of one lost child was compounded when their second child also died young. After seven short years of being a wife and mother, Melania had tasted more than her fair share of matronly tragedy. She begged Pinianus to grant her the right to commit herself to Christian celibacy and charity. Further, she asked him to join her in a life of devotion to Jesus. Perhaps because of her earnestness and zeal, Pinianus was convinced and joined with his wife--who he now called sister--to follow an increasingly narrow road that would lead to being a better and more fit disciple of Jesus.
Melania and Pinianus traveled for many years to various parts of the Roman world including Africa and the Middle East to spread the Christian Gospel and provide hospitality and charity to the needy. While in Africa, she became associated with Augustine and Alypius and had a friendly relationship with the two that was mutually beneficial for the discipleship of all involved. She and Pinianus established nunneries and cloistered environments and took in pilgrims and converts so that they might continue to journey further along the path of devotion to Jesus that they, too, travelled. Eventually, they settled in Palestine and considered their long pilgrimage over. They established a home for pilgrims in Jerusalem that provided for the sick and suffering but also the travelling and the strangers. She also met Jerome while in Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, she finally agreed to sell the remainder of her property and when she had received the funds from their sale, she continued her acts of charity and benevolence to the people of Jerusalem in the name of her savior Jesus. Even after her husband's death, Melania continued to build convents and cloistered spaces for those pilgrims who also found themselves along the narrow way that leads to the Kingdom of God. Near the end of her life, she traveled to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas with a friend in a convent and found herself growing suddenly more ill by the moment. After praying with her friends and loved ones, she retired to her bed never to rise again. Her last words--fitting words for a pilgrim like Melania--were: "As the Lord willed, so it is done."
Sunday, December 20, 2009
December 20 - Ignatius of Antioch, Martyr, God Bearer, Apostolic Father
From that day on, Ignatius had been keen to follow after Jesus. Jesus had confirmed Ignatius' feeling that the Kingdom he spoke of was honestly that simple (not easy but simple) so as to allow a little on to understand it. Ignatius had followed after the words of Jesus as best he could but Jesus had eventually been killed. On that day, Ignatius had wept for the death of his Lord but, also, for the slaughter of his innocent hope in a Kingdom where love was enough. When Jesus was raised from the dead, Ignatius was finally and irrevocably stamped with the high-minded hope that dared to trust God to bring life through death and redemption out of sin and brokenness. He had become a student of the Apostle John and had, eventually, matured into a leader in the early Christian Church when it was no more than a movement much maligned by the powers that be. Eventually, Peter had appointed Ignatius as Bishop of Antioch and entrusted many souls to his shepherding before finding his own death at the end of a life of truth-telling and at the hands of the Empire. Eventually, these same forces conspired to rob Ignatius of his life. He was arrested and marched to Rome for his execution: being torn apart by wild beasts in the Colosseum.
As he traveled, he had the opportunity to write letters to various congregations along his route. He had heard rumors that they were hoping to release him from the soldiers who guarded him and so he sent them letters pleading with them to allow the will of the Empire to be done since it coincided with God's will. The Empire hoped to snuff out the fledgling faith by killing another of its leaders. Of course, this failed and only further spread the Gospel of love and forgiveness but they were convinced that a little more blood might make the difference. Ignatius assured the congregations that martyrdom was an honor that he looked forward to. As he approached Rome, he sent one final letter to the Church in Rome and insisted that they do nothing except tell the story of his martyrdom. He included a powerful image: "I am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin all, that I am dying willingly for God's sake, if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do not do me an untimely kindness. Allow me to be eaten by the beasts, which are my way of reaching to God. I am God's wheat, and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ." The soldiers eventually threw him to the floor of the Colosseum and the beasts killed him for his faith.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
December 19 - Sundar Singh, Convert, Missionary, Sadhu
Sundar was raised by a Sikh woman who wanted him to receive both an excellent education and excellent spiritual mentoring. So, she took him to the local Sadhu--an ascetic Indian holy man--to be mentored in the faith of his people and took him to a western school so he might learn English and other subjects. This school was a Christian mission and so he began to learn some of the faith as he advanced in his studies. But, then, tragedy struck when he was fourteen and his mother died unexpectedly. This shock led him to reject the faith of the Christians who spoke of a loving God who cared for the people of the world. He openly rejected their faith and mocked their converts. He brought his friends together so that they could watch him burn a bible page by page in defiance of the faith he so eagerly resisted in his rage. His rage did not ease his suffering and so he found himself laying on railroad tracks and screaming at the heavens: "If there is a God, then show yourself! If you're real, come to me or I will lay here and let the next train run over me and end it all." Sundar waited for quite a while and nothing happened and so he resolved to die when the train came shortly after dawn. As dawn was breaking, he had a vision where God spoke to him and called him to serve as a missionary to his own people.
He ran home, he woke his father and shared the story of his own conversion. His father was outraged and demanded that he renounce the absurd moment and vision. When Sundar refused, his father schedule a great party--but this party was a farewell ceremony and after the meal, Sundar was expelled from his home and disowned by his widowed father. As he walked away from his only family, his stomach began to hurt and he realized that he had been poisoned by his own father. He struggled to keep going and was eventually crawling due to the pain. Yet, he was taken in by a local Christian family and nursed back to health. He was baptized in the community and became a servant of God in the leper community nearby.
Eventually, he took upon himself the Indian garb of the Sadhu and began an itinerant ministry of mission work to the Indian people. In his yellow robe and turban, he began speaking to people who would otherwise ignore and reject the faith he offered. He spoke of Jesus--the man whom God had become in this world--and one important Gospel message that God loves us and desires to be with us. In other words, Sundar brought water to the people of India in a vessel they recognized and preferred. He would travel to Tibet--to minister to the Buddhists there--and throughout India on foot because of the calling to share the faith with his people.
He received some formal education but not much. He was occasionally sponsored by various ministries and ecclesial organizations but they never defined his identity. Instead, he kept pursuing the redemption of a people he cared for by offering the message that God's love was furious and unrelenting and that there was hope for life in the words and stories of the Christian faith. In 1929, he endeavored to make one last journey to Tibet--the visits had started very painfully but had gotten better each time he visited--and so he set off through the mountains. He never arrived and his body was never found. It is possible that he was murdered by bandits or that he died of exhaustion but one thing is for certain: Sundar went places and talked to people that other Christians did not have access to. Sundar was called by God to reach those he loved even if they rejected and abandoned him.
Friday, December 18, 2009
December 18 - Sebastian, Martyr, Soldier, Wonder Worker
It seems that two Christians had been arrested and tortured when they refused to deny their faith. Mark and Marcellian were close to abandoning their faith in exchange for an end to their pain and an opportunity to be with their family again when they heard whispering outside of their cell. Sebastian comforted them and shared his own faith with them. There in the Roman prison they prayed together and invoked the protection of their crucified Lord. Sebastian encouraged them to be courageous as death approached and they received the holy crown of martyrdom. The next day they surprised Diocletian who expected them to be sufficiently worn down. Diocletian had them tortured again yet their faith would not cave. He called for the family members of the men to visit them and plead with them to make a token sacrifice and renounce their faith. As they visited and pleaded with Mark and Marcellian, Sebastian arrived. At first, the families were worried to see a Praetorian captain near their loved ones yet were comforted by Mark and Marcellian's joy to see him. Again he comforted Mark and Marcellian and offered prayer with them but he also shared his faith with their non-Christian family. In a few short hours, the families were confessing faith in Jesus and joining with the men in their prayer and worship.
Diocletian was surprised again but this time he thought he had an idea what had happened. Some important families had been having family members become Christians at surprising times and all of the conversions seemed to be connecting around one central figure's visit: Sebastian. Diocletian called Sebastian to him and gave him no opportunity to regain his status. Instead, he had him taken to a nearby field and tied to a stake. The Roman archers raised their brutal bows and rained death upon him. His flesh was pierced on account of his faith. He was left for dead as his blood was slowly consumed by the soil beneath his naked body. Yet, as the sun fell and the soldiers departed, Sebastian's heart still beat and he was taken from the place by a Christian widow--Irene of Rome who had been married to Castulus. She took him to her home and nursed him back to health after cleaning his wounds and giving him her bed to sleep in. Amazingly, he recovered and worked a wonder in the house of Irene. A blind woman from the community was skeptical of his faith--perhaps because of his status as a Praetorian--and refused to accept that he was a Christian. He called her to himself and asked, "Do you desire to be with God?" She responded in the affirmative and he made the sign of the cross upon her forehead. Miraculously, she gained her sight the moment after his thumb left her brow.
Yet, one day Diocletian and his entourage were passing through the city and Sebastian saw him coming. He stood upon the step of the home and called out to Diocletian in a loud voice: "See now, Diocletian, the one you condemned to death stands before you. You hope to kill the disciples of Jesus Christ but you only honor those whom you murder and encourage those who escape your desperate grasp." In a fit of rage, Diocletian ordered his soldiers to beat Sebastian to death and throw his body into a garbage heap after they were sure he was dead. Sebastian died a martyr and evangelist who espoused a faith that was contagious and compelling.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
December 17 - Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Near Martyrs
Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and Daniel had been taken captive when the Babylonians overwhelmed and overran Judah. The four men had been of noble birth and blood in Israel and so they made effective bargaining tools for the Babylonians who hoped to purchase Judah's submission with threats of death and violence against the noble and respected. In essence, they were hostages but they were treated well. They were provided with fine accommodations and were even allowed to worship as they pleased--sometimes. They were even given Babylonian names (you may be more familiar with some of these): Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were addressed by these names but they remained connected with their heritage. Consequently, three of them (all but Daniel) ran into some trouble when Nebuchadnezzar built a gold statue of himself to be worshiped.
He had decreed that when the people heard a great cacophony of musical instruments, they should immediately cease all other activities and bow before the statue of the king. The people were quick to oblige for they knew the penalty for withholding worship of the king would be severe and immediate. As if to prove them right, Nebuchadnezzar had his workers build a furnace to ruthlessly murder any one who would dare defy his royal order. The king knew that this visible threat would cause the hearts of the hesitant to quake and surrender. Yet, he didn't anticipate Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The instruments were played and people shouted. The crowd dropped to the ground in reverence to their manipulative persecutor but the three men stayed on their feet, perhaps mumbling a prayer to the Lord God Almighty whom their true names made reference to. He ordered them brought before him to face his fury. He had the guards drag them near to the furnace as it blazed and crackled. "Bow before me as your god or you will burn this very moment." The three men shook their heads and insisted that there was only one God worthy of worship. Nebuchadnezzar demanded worship but God was worthy of worship without demands or manipulations. "Make it hotter--seven times hotter!" screamed Nebuchadnezzar and his anxious workers did as he commanded. "Will you not now save yourselves and worship me?" he asked them. They resolutely refused.
So, he threw them into the fiery furnace and as they entered into the flames, bound by ropes, their entrance caused the flames to shoot out and consume the men who threw them in. This was no concern for Nebuchadnezzar who had no care for the men he manipulated. Expecting to harvest the fear he produced in those who watched his heinous actions, Nebuchadnezzar was surprised to see what looked like four men walking together in the flames. "How is this possible? and who is that fourth man?" he questioned his men in surprise. A murmur rose up that the fourth must be one appointed by God to go forth and watch over them in the flames. The ropes had been consumed but they were fine. "Come out, please." Nebuchadnezzar pleaded with the men. The three men came out at his request and were untouched by the fire or the soot. Nebuchadnezzar didn't know what to say but eventually decreed that nobody should oppose the God of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Perhaps that is the one good thing to say for Nebuchadnezzar in the story: he recognized that there was one greater than himself even if it had no immediate impact on his life except to provide him a way to avoid losing face before the near-martyrs: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
December 16 - Thomas Becket, Martyr, Champion of the State, Enemy of the State
Yet, there is more to the story. The reach of the State began to increase even more and to take advantage of the clergy of England. Now that Thomas was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry hoped to command him and further cement his power over the clerical and Church leaders in his kingdom. Yet, now Thomas balked. He resisted Henry's suggestions and refused to be directed to serve the State's whims any longer. At first, Henry felt there must be a misunderstanding but Thomas' refusals only continued as time went on. Henry called for leaders to sign the Constitutions of Clarendon and swear their allegiance first to the British empire and secondly to the Church. Thomas was conflicted yet refused to sign. For this decision, he suffered condemnation from those he had been ingratiated to and learned to love and please. As the crisis continued, he eventually excommunicated those who sided with Henry and the State over the Church. In these actions, it seems Thomas made his choice as to who would be his master--yet it is not hard to imagine that all of this was a challenging decision for the man who had rested in the king's own courts. Thomas was forced to flee the king and ended up in Normandy.
When Henry heard of the newest volley of excommunications and Church actions, he remarked from his sick bed: "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" What was intended to be a remark was interpreted as a command and a group of four knights went forth to find and judge Thomas. When they arrived at the worship service that Thomas was presiding over, they left their weapons outside and ordered Thomas to come with them to be judged by king Henry. He refused and they retrieved their weapons. As Thomas proceeded to the sanctuary for the vespers service, he was assaulted and killed by Henry's men. He died quickly as the men were trained by the State to exact the king's commands even against those who had been near and dear to the king.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
December 15 - Annie Armstrong, Layperson, Advocate for Missions, Founder of the Women's Missionary Union
The Baptists of Annie's day were loosely confederated in conventions and associations. The typically independent Baptists convened and associated for missions purposes, at first. They became increasingly aware that they could do more good for the world and meet more needs if they'd work together. Annie was involved in these efforts early on. While in Baltimore, she became intimately associated with a variety of people with a variety of needs regardless of social or racial identity. As a follower of Jesus, Annie felt called to associate with those that many in the nation looked down upon and resented.
In 1888, Annie met with a group of women from many Baptist churches to address the question of female involvement in missions throughout the world. They were aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and organized a group that worked through the denominational structure to encourage women to think about their faith in terms of missions. This group would eventually be called the Women's Missionary Union (WMU) and Annie would be its first director. Her early efforts for missions involved writing many letters--Annie is said to have written over 17,500 letters in one year--and providing a loving hand and a hospitable environment to children and the lonely, disenfranchised masses. The SBC wanted to pay her a salary for her efforts to raise missions awareness among Baptists but she refused not only the salary but also reimbursements for any of her expenses. She insisted that her work was a calling and labor of love.
Annie eventually resigned from her position of leadership because of a fear that her work was paving a pathway for the ordination of women--an issue she was stridently opposed to--and Annie never worked with the WMU again. She continued to live a life of emphasis on mission work but stuck to her convictions and abandoned the organization she had helped to establish. Yet, near the end of her life (a few years before the beginning of the Second World War and in the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the WMU) she offered a blessing for the WMU and shared her hope that it would continue to grow stronger and stronger each year.
Monday, December 14, 2009
December 14 - Juan de la Cruz, Mystic, Reformer, Imprisoned
Teresa de Avila (or Teresa of Jesus as she is sometimes called) spoke to Juan in a way that enticed him. She convinced him--slowly at first--not to join the Carthusians in pursuit of solitude and prayer but rather to make a life of reformation his prayer. Teresa was working to bring reformation to the Carmelite order and saw a coworker in the recently-ordained Juan. They began to work together and spiritual formation and maturity seemed to travel in their wake as they settled among various Christian communities. They were, however, met with resistance--as can be expected--by those who were uninterested in the reformation and healing of the Church. The resistance began as being barred from entering some convents and monasteries but eventually became more severe as they became more influential among spiritual communities.
Juan had been ordered to relocate by a superior--perhaps to break up his work with Teresa--and had been advised to stop his reforming work. When he refused both, he was seized by his brothers and imprisoned in a small cell. It was barely big enough for him to lay down and yet they felt it was the best place to keep him. He was fed and given water but was abused and mistreated by the same people who he had covenanted to love and take care of. Weekly, he was brought out of his cell to be publicly whipped and humiliated for his works of reformation and discipleship. While in his cell he wrote poetry including his most famous poem: La noche oscura del alma or The Dark Night of the Soul. In it, we read of the mystic path that leads the follow of Christ through a dark night of the seeming absence of God from the life of the disciple. In this dark place, disciples learn to lay down their egos and lives so that they might find life through death and darkness. In his small cell, these words must have resonated in his soul to provide him with some modicum of comfort even as his life seemed to fall apart around him.
He was able to engineer and escape by breaking his cell door and squeezing through a small window in a nearby room. Having left captivity behind, he tried to return to a normal life and found himself consistently drifting back to the monastic life. Instead of seeking solitude again, Juan began founding monasteries with Teresa and continuing to pursue the reformation of the Church he loved and had served even in the face of its enemies and adversity.


text: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! Superman has become the most recognized superhero in pop culture and within the pages of DC comics. Powered by Earth's yellow sun, Clark Kent is able to utilize his super strength, flying, X-ray and heat vision to defeat General Zod, Lex Luthor and more to protect Lois Lane, Metropolis, and Earth! Check out our full line of DC Comics Superman figures, including Hot Toys Superman figures.

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Bead Making 101: Moretti (2 Day)-$230 Date(s)
In this introductory class, you will learn how to make beautiful glass beads on a mandrel. Dot applications, marvering, stringers, annealing and bead cleaning will also be covered.
Saturday, August 11
Glassblowing Sampler (2 Hours) ($85)
Come on in and get a taste of the ancient art of glassblowing. This sampler class is the best way to enjoy the excitement of playing with the melted glass while making your very own souvenir. Experience gathering glass from the furnace, controlling and shaping it. Our experienced teachers will help you to make an object for you to exhibit as your trophy.
Glass paperweights $175
The glass paperweight is the first step for anyone interested in working with hot glass. This introductory class guides the first time glass artist through the most crucial skills. First you will gather glass from the furnace, learn to shape and control, and how to apply color to the glass. In a fun and informative manner our instructors will introduce you to tools, safety and basic glass theory. Every student will leave with a gorgeous paperweight and a strong foundation for future exploration. No experience necessary. All materials included.
Bead Making 101: Moretti (1 Day) $115
In this introductory class, you will learn how to make beautiful glass beads on a mandrel. You will use soft glass, Moretti, to build these colorful glass pieces. After a discussion of studio set-up and safety, demonstrations will introduce students to the use of heat and gravity to shape molten glass. Demonstrations will alternate with working time. No experience necessary. Return students welcome.All materials included.
Flame Working: Marbles ($150)
Using either Moretti or Borosilicate glass, we will learn how to make several styles of marbles, such as complex twists, raked designs, and paperweight-style encased flowers. We will also learn techniques for encasing marbles in clear for a magnifying effect, and make glass stands for you to proudly display your creations.
Bead Making 101: Moretti (2 Day)-$230
In this introductory class, you will learn how to make beautiful glass beads on a mandrel. Dot applications, marvering, stringers, annealing and bead cleaning will also be covered.
Fused Glass Sampler ($65 1hr)
This course will introduce flat glass and kiln forming. This beginner class is the best way to enjoy the excitement of crafting cold glass while making your very own piece. You will experience cutting glass, arranging colors and shapes, and finish with fused pendants. The course is intended to briefly introduce flat glass work to the student for further consideration.
Make your own Suncatcher (1 Day) $115
Learn the basic techniques to catch light with Stained Glass instruction. You will be guided through fundamental cutting, grinding and soldering exercises to make your own sun-catcher
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You may have read Trillian's birth story a few weeks ago. If not, go read it! I love it, because mom made the best choices along the way even though it was definitely not the birth she had planned, it was still empowering! Induction at 35 weeks, epidural after 36 hours with pitocin.
Here is the video of when she was breathing her baby out. YES, you can breathe out your baby, even with an epidural. Mom even helped catch her own baby.


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Tabor considering swim team
Staff writer
Tabor College is considering adding a swim team.
Athletic Director, Rusty Allen, says a decision is not imminent, however.
"The board of directors has indeed approved the principal of adding a swim team our athletic program," he said Monday. "If we get the idea to a point where it can be approved, the idea might gain traction, but it is not ready to be approved."
Allen said he expected the idea to leak out because it was an exciting prospect.
However, he did not want people to get their hopes up about something that might not happen.
"There is a lot of work to do," he said. "We have no facility, no coach, no recruiting, and no scholarship set up. Basically we are in the envisioning stage right now."
One of the possibilities Allen is considering is to use USD 408's Sports and Aquatic Center, in Marion for practice and competition.
Nothing has been decided, however.
Last modified July 10, 2013


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Letter: New skatepark for kids or adults?
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It will be interesting to see if the new skateboard park [Hook March 7, 2013, article, "Pop-shove-it! Charlottesville skate park re-opens in McIntire] will be designed for the benefit of children or...
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Daily Distraction
Watch These People Finding Out They Just Got Into College — Daily Distraction
After weeks, sometimes months, of waiting for the news, it can lead to quite the emotional release.
Watch These Farm Animals Being Very Rude — Daily Distraction
We don't know what's gotten into these guys. Maybe some of them just aren't cut out for life on the farm.
Watch These Dogs With Their Heads Stuck in Bags — Daily Distraction
Somebody turn on the lights!
Watch These People Being Surprised With Puppies — Daily Distraction
It's the kind of present you never forget seeing the first time.
Watch These Animals Jumping Onto and Riding in Boats — Daily Distraction
Sure, they could swim, but why not take a ride if it's there?
Watch These Brides and Grooms Falling — Daily Distraction
Maybe it's the open bar, but these brides and grooms just can't seem to stay on their feet.
Watch These Babies Falling Asleep While Eating — Daily Distraction
Every now and then, we find ourselves in a food coma. Usually on Thanksgiving.
Watch These Crazy First Dances at Weddings — Daily Distraction
Generally at a wedding, when the bride and groom have their first dance, it's a touching moment of true love, as they stare longingly into each other's eyes while 'In My Life' or some other classic song plays. But sometimes, the young lovers mix it up a little.
Watch These Hilariously Disastrous Birthday Cake Videos — Daily Distraction
Who doesn't love birthday cakes? They're sweet, they're colorful, they're on fire!
Watch These Animals Sneezing Up a Storm — Daily Distraction
It can be hard to tell what an animal's thinking when it sneezes.


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I've been a comic book fan for nearly 40 years now. The FF has always been my favorite and Ben Grimm my favorite character/hero with whom I personally identify in maybe too many ways! Married to my very own Mrs. Fantastic...way to smart to be with a bum like me & my best friend for over 26 yrs & I have two fantastic daughters. I'm a lucky guy for sure.
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LOUIS VUITTON CITIES V NEVERFULL BAGSCategories:Louis Vuitton
Are you proud of your city? Tell us… 'How proud?'
Following up on the Louis Vuitton Monogram C Bag Collection and the latest Volez, Voguez Voyagez line, a new limited edition 'Neverfull Bag' has been released in store.
Just a few quick information; The Volez, Voguez, Voyagez line is inspired by the traditional ad campaign of Louis Vuitton, found in the house'archives.
READ: Louis Vuitton V Bag Ad Campaign
And the Neverfull does not need any introduction, or does it? It's next to the 'Speedy' as one of the 'must haves' accessories.
Now for each large city, Louis Vuitton has specially made a 'Neverfull Bag' with the signature of your city-name on it. Following by the words: 'Volez Voguez, Voyagez Aves Des Alises, Louis Vuitton. And it doesn't get more exciting than this.
You see, the problem is this. If you want to purchase the signature 'Sydney' in Saint Tropez, that is not possible. The name of the city is only available in the country itself.
So is it a collectible item? Yes it is, but hard-to-collect them all.
The bag is available in Rose Ballerine color and for as far as we know, it features the cities; Saint Barth, Saint Tropez, Sydney, Puerto Banus, Porto Cervo, Maui, Mykonos, Knokke, Forte dei Marmi and Carpi.
Only a handful of these bags are going to be made and release, so once its sold-out, it's gone. Measuring 32 x 29 x 17 cm (L x H x W), priced at $1550 USD, €1100 euro, $1870 AUD.
Tags: Louis Vuitton bags Neverfull V CITIES


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Two Questions, Thank you!
I'm planning to buy a house and beginning to worry about how to buy a qualified one but not be defrauded, now I'm considering many factors of buying a home and feeling there is a mess in my head.
In fact, I'm in a good mood and clear-headed at this moment, now I can have a state which I call it "clear-headed" sometimes, in this state everything is simple and more easy as they don't controlled by mood and psychological problems, but I can only in this state for hours and not everyday, this always happens in the morning or after 6-8 hours of sleep or walking out my house to do something (buying something, dealing with something, etc) or something else (concentrating on studing something, etc), is this state the one that I call it Normal (means sound mind)? If it is, I'll try to keep myself in this state (I have found some methods), my question is because I never know what a sound mind should be, now it seems my subconsciousness is not certain about whether it is the healty and Normal(sound mind) state we have been pursuing.
Insecurity Role in Emotional Confusion
What you seem to be describing is the influx of insecurity into your daily, "clear" thinking. Clear, factual thinking can be contaminated by insecurity's "what if" thinking. For example, "What if buying the house doesn't work out?" Once insecurity enters the picture, you become clouded, not just with anticipatory stress, but with emotional confusion. I treat insecurity as a habit that, if allowed to dictate to our lives, will create emotional struggle. The key is to focus on what feeds insecurity, which are the doubts, fears, and negative thinking that we don't put a stop to. I think you would profit from my book, Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety & Depression. I discuss at length the process of breaking the reflexive habits of insecurity.
Dr. Joe
Disclaimer: The diagnosis of clinical anxiety or depressive disorders requires a physician or other qualified mental health professional. The information provided is intended for informational purposes only. Please understand that the opinions shared with you are meant to be general reference information, and are not intended as a diagnosis or substitute for counseling with your physician or other qualified mental health professional.
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Welcome, Grinnell Class of 2017!
Every new cohort of Grinnellians brings its unique perspectives, ideals, and experience to campus. Our values and our commitment to a great education are rock-solid, but our community evolves with each entering class.
Meet a few representatives from the Class of 2017, who are already beginning to make their own mark:
World Traveler Ayesha Mirzakhail from Chicago, IL
…was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, relocated to Pakistan, then immigrated to Chicago. Other travels include trips to Denmark, Germany, and Turkey. "One of my favorite hobbies is traveling," she says, and it doesn't hurt her studies. "Getting an education has been [my family's] top priority," she says. "Achieving that is something I owe my family and myself. I am my only competition. My goal was never to become valedictorian; that was a great bonus! As an Afghan female, I want to set an example for other girls who need a little push."
Competitive Rock Climber Robin Crotteau from Boise, ID
…comes by her hobby naturally. "Before I was born, my mom used to climb," she says. "Once I was old enough, she took me to a local climbing gym. Forty-foot walls can be fairly daunting, but I liked it enough to join a local climbing team." Her favorite climb is Tennis Shoe Problem #3, outside of McCall, Idaho.
Musician Carolyn Peckham from Austin, TX
… plays several instruments, including French horn, mellophone, and steel drum. The steel drum band, she says, "was a lot of fun. We got to do gigs around Austin and we also traveled to Chicago to perform at the Midwest Clinic." She's played at Carnegie Hall with her high school band. "Playing in New York was an amazing experience. It was surreal to listen to my band perform in one of the most famous concert halls," she says.
Track and Cross Country Runner Jonathan Braun from Nutley, NJ
… is a third-generation Grinnellian. His father, Kenneth Braun '77, joined Habitat for Humanity in 1986 and was assigned to Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), where he met Jonathan's mother. He said his mother gave him "the perspective of someone who emigrated to America from a less privileged country," but his grandfather, father, and uncle influenced his college selection. "I chose Grinnell because of its academic excellence and diverse community, and because I look up to those in my family who are Grinnell alumni."
By the numbers:
Of the 430 students in the entering class*:
- 27% are U.S. students of color
- 39% participated in community service
- 63% Graduated in the top 10 percent of their secondary school class
- 2/3 graduated from public high school
- 40% were varsity athletes
- 45% are musicians or artists
- 19% are first generation college students
- 7% are National Merit finalists or semifinalists
- 15% participated in student government
- 15% worked on high school publications
- 12% were active in speech, debate, or forensics
Fifteen percent of the incoming class are international students representing 26 countries. The gallery of flags above Spencer Grill will be expanding with flags from Burma, Zimbabwe, and Kazakhstan.
*As of July 31, 2013


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STEWARTVILLE, Minn., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Rochester Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ROCM) today announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with C. R. Bard, Inc. (NYSE: BCR) at a price of $20 per share, or approximately $262 million in the aggregate. The Rochester Medical Board of Directors unanimously approved the agreement and will recommend that the Company's shareholders approve the transaction.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121228/CG34999LOGO)
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Rochester Medical shareholders will receive $20 in cash for each share that they hold at the closing of the merger, representing a 37 percent premium over the Company's average closing price during the 90 trading days ended September 3, 2013. The acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions specified in the definitive agreement, including regulatory approvals and the approval of Rochester Medical's shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2013.
"Our agreement with Bard represents an attractive valuation for Rochester Medical shareholders, and as an all cash offer, provides liquidity for shareholders," said Anthony J. Conway, Rochester Medical Chief Executive Officer and President. "We believe the merger represents a great opportunity for the combined companies to create a broad product portfolio by offering a more comprehensive range of high-quality urological and continence care products to our customers."
Piper Jaffray & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor to Rochester Medical and provided a fairness opinion to the Company's Board of Directors. Dorsey and Whitney LLP served as counsel to Rochester Medical.
About Rochester Medical
Rochester Medical Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets disposable medical catheters and devices for urological and continence care applications. The Company also sells certain ostomy and wound and scar care products and other brands of urological products into the European marketplace.
For further information, please contact Anthony J. Conway, President and Chief Executive Officer or David A. Jonas, Chief Financial Officer of Rochester Medical Corporation at (507) 533-9600 or Mike Piccinino, at Westwicke Partners (443) 213-0500. More information about Rochester Medical is available on its website at http://www.rocm.com.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
Rochester Medical Corporation ("Rochester Medical") plans to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and furnish to its shareholders a proxy statement in connection with the proposed merger with a wholly owned subsidiary of C. R. Bard, Inc. (the "Merger"), pursuant to which Rochester Medical would be acquired by C. R. Bard, Inc. ("Bard"). The proxy statement will contain important information about the proposed merger and related matters. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT CAREFULLY WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE. Investors and shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement (when they are available) and other documents filed with the SEC by Rochester Medical through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement from Rochester Medical by contacting investor relations by telephone at +1 (507) 533-9600, by mail at Rochester Medical Corporation, One Rochester Medical Drive, Stewartville, MN, 55976, Attn: Investor Relations, or by going to Rochester Medical's Investor Relations page on its corporate website at http://www.rocm.com.
Rochester Medical and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Rochester Medical in connection with the proposed merger. Information regarding the interests of these directors and executive officers in the transaction described herein will be included in the proxy statement described above. Additional information regarding these directors and executive officers is also included in Rochester Medical's proxy statement for its 2013 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on December 28, 2012. This document is available free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov, and from Rochester Medical by contacting investor relations by telephone at +1 (507) 533-9600, by mail at Rochester Medical Corporation, One Rochester Medical Drive, Stewartville, MN, 55976, Attn: Investor Relations, or by going to Rochester Medical's Investor Relations page on its corporate website at http://www.rocm.com.
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I was wondering what your ideas were on where to perform card magic.
Some places are at a card game with friends. What are some ways you add a card effact into your show?
Jonah Egold
I was wondering what your ideas were on where to perform card magic.
Some places are at a card game with friends. What are some ways you add a card effact into your show?
Jonah Egold
I'm trying to create a couple of children's hospital routines. I looked at both sets today and 5 out of the 6 tricks involve cards in some way. Even though I think I read somewhere that doing card tricks with kids is a bad idea.
I don't think it's a matter of 'where' because you could honestly present any sort of trick to anyone but its all about how you present it.
It's like telling a good joke. The good joke is good in its own right. But if you want the best laughs--timing and tact.
In the case of magic: trick selection and presentation.
Thank you for the information.
It makes sense.
Jonah Egold
For me cafes are some the best spots to have a session. Some people will come to you out of curiosity; either the cafe staff or customers will ask. If you want to make it a commercial presentation, especially if you're a worker, you can talk to the manager of the establishment and work something out. For me, because it is a hobby, i prefer the former.
Other times I experiment with family members at gatherings in restaurants. Small social settings are workable for me.
I can agree with Mr. Anagram on performing for children (5...7 years old?); I've had my fair share of difficulty. However, they do love the quick, visual effects -nothing more haha.
Just to expand on Mr. Anagram, from personal experience. The best thing about cards is the versatility, and the mobility of placing them anywhere in the show. Not forgetting their portability. I will say that if you are to choose an effect and add it in, think about what it means for your spectators. Your effect will determine your affect. Sometimes an ambitious card routine will be more interesting to a spectator than multiple color changes, and vice-versa. Where you add it in your routine may determine the strength of the effect.
Thank you for the insight.
I was playing with cards while waiting to do an audition. A kid I think 9-11 years or something. He walked up to me and asked if I could do any Mgic tricks. It was a great moment. I did asimple double lift and it Amazed him. It was one of my best moments as a magician. :) Something visual is always nice.
Jonah Egold
I usually leave tricks like crazy man's handcuffs, to everyday street magic. I perform with cards when I am at like say, a.....social gathering, or a party. I don't really want to carry around a deck of cards with me to the store. I tend to think that card magic shows that in-and-of-itself it is something that shows intelligence. I just really don't want to loose my cards say, in a park.
I've found magic the gathering shops have a free Friday night tournament that is great to practice cheating at cards.
Children, too, are best entertained, if the magic is quick and visual. (Color changes come to mind here).
So, from my personal experiences, I feel best qualified to share with you where NOT to perform card magic: Any restaurant where the audience is gathered around a hot grill or griddle. Drop a card on one of these, and you learn to utter incantations, while trying to pick it up.
Pool parties: Not ONLY No...
Windy outdoor events also speak for themselves.
And for children under age 10 (And folks whose concentration may be blurred by the holiday spirits)...Better stick with sponge balls.
Nemo Malus Felix
Thank you guys for all your help with card Magic. :)
Jonah Egold
Bars, parties, nursing homes. Basically any place where people are too drunk or too senile too see me screw up.
Last edited by MasterWizard; 09-25-2016 at 09:10 PM.
At Ellusionist, we have one goal: to give you the power to perform magic beyond belief. We want to make you the life of any party. We want to make you into a performer. Composed of 12 individuals, we barely sleep, and we will do anything necessary to bring you the best magic, the best talent, the best training and playing cards possible.
We manufacture many of our own magic supplies, tricks, effects, and custom playing cards. We strive to create the very best magical products the world has ever seen. We work with the United States Playing Card co and have produced 14 lines of playing card decks that are repeatedly acclaimed by top industry pros and magic enthusiasts all over the world.
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Wait! This is ART! I'm not supposed to laugh, am I?
Yes you are, because this art is by well-known fine art humorist Jeff Leedy, who defines his work as "The collision of the Impressionists and The New Yorker."
Leedy won a gold medal in the New York Society of Illustrators' first Humor Show, beating out 3,500 international entries. He has been invited to exhibit at hundreds of festivals over the past 24 years, including the Sausalito Art Festival. His mission is to make people laugh through his art. Because he wants everyone to have access to his art, Leedy's reproductions are affordably priced.
So don't wait until you're depressed to visit his Website, ArtThatMakesYouLaugh.com, or his Main Street gallery in Marble Falls, TX.


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Jose Mourinho's history of touchline bust-ups took another turn when he ran on to the pitch to tackle pop star Olly Murs during charity football match Soccer Aid.
The Chelsea boss's tongue-in-cheek gesture came during the match which saw England lose 2-4 to the rest of the world (ROW) at Old Trafford.
Olly was proving a nuisance down England's left wing when the ROW manager stepped in to chop him down.
Wearing a loose tie, suit and trainers, Jose walked away grinning after bringing the pop star down with the sneaky tackle from behind.
It was reminiscent of Boris Johnson's rugby tackle of a German player during the 2006 Soccer Aid.
Olly, 30, had earlier tweeted a smiling picture posing with the Portuguese manager, adding: "Yep this happened last night!! Finally a picture with the special one".
The yearly match, which is held in aid of Unicef, features football-playing teaming up with former football stars. The £4.2 million-plus raised this year will go towards getting food, medicine and clean water to the world's poorest and most vulnerable children.
The England team, managed by West Ham coach Sam Allardyce with the assistance of Take That star Robbie Williams, combined the likes of Olly and comedian John Bishop with ex-players Jamie Redknapp and Matt Le Tisier
The ROW side featured Hollywood stars such as Jeremy Renner, Sam Worthington and James McAvoy with Dutch footballing greats Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Jaap Stam and Edwin van der Saar.
Welsh mezzo soprano Catherine Jenkins added glamour to the occasion, singing Abide With Me before the game kicked off. And celebs also graced the stands, with actress Kym Marsh tweeting: "At soccer aid with my gorgeous son!! He's so excited bless him".
Aside from the Mourinho/Murs fracas there was a more serious case of handbags at dawn when TV presenter Jonathan Wilkes clashed with Davids on a couple of occasions.
Jonathan drew first blood by tackling the Dutch midfield great from behind, but Edgar was quick to respond with a harsh tackle of his own and the two squared up.
Westlife star Nicky Byrne provided the most spectacular moment of the night after clinically lobbing England goalkeeper Jamie Theakston for the ROW to put themselves 2-0 up.
England pulled two back through former Liverpool player and Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp, with a swerving strike from outside the box, and recently retired former England international Kevin Phillips from the penalty spot.
But Dutch talent proved decisive and current AC Milan manager and four-time Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf scored twice to give the ROW their second Soccer Aid title.
Soccer Aid said a crowd of around 70,000 fans had turned out for the game.
The £4.2 million raised so far came from over £2 million in donations which will be matched pound for pound by the Government.
International Development Secretary Justine Greening added: "The incredible public response to Soccer Aid shows Britain at its best. We are backing the generosity of the British people by matching all donations to Soccer Aid pound for pound, helping Unicef double its impact."
"That means even more women giving birth safely and more children getting life-saving vaccinations and nutritious food in some of the world's poorest countries."


text:
McMahon crushes Shays
World Wrestling Entertainment magnate Linda McMahon will have her second chance in the political ring in November after demolishing her moderate Republican challenger, former Rep. Chris Shays, in the Connecticut Senate primary.
With 94 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday night, McMahon was routing Shays, 73 percent to 27 percent, The Associated Press reported.
Story Continued Below
McMahon will take on Rep. Chris Murphy, who beat former State Secretary Susan Bysiewicz in the Democratic primary. The two will now battle it out for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman. With 92.5 percent of precincts reporting, Murphy was beating Bysiewicz 67.5 percent to 32.5 percent.
This is McMahon's second face-off in a general election. She failed to ride the Republican wave of 2010, losing to Richard Blumenthal by 12 percentage points despite spending $50 million of her own fortune.
But her primary victory Tuesday was no surprise: She had been ahead of Shays in the polls for months. The McMahon campaign engaged in an intense get-out-the-vote effort Tuesday and arranged rides for supporters to attend a victory party in Stamford, the Hartford Courant reported.
"We can start by giving all the career politicians who got us into this mess a pink slip," McMahon said in a victory statement Tuesday night. "We can't keep sending people like Chris Murphy, who made the mess in Washington, back to clean it up. He's had his chance. And after six years, what do we have? More spending, more debt and higher unemployment."
The New York Times reported that Shays said he would support McMahon in the general election and told reporters her financial resources ultimately "trumped the experience we bring to the table."


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Topic: Wave 2 accessory sets (Read 4455 times)
Jedi Sentinel
Posts: 10382
Wave 2 accessory sets
July 5, 2005, 12:55 PM »
Did you get 'em? These were arguably the most dificult E1 items to track down and the least talked about. I myself have one complete loose set and half of a carded set. How did you guys fare and what were your thoughts on these? Where did you even find them? My first set came from a Latino Department store. The carded peices I just scored on e-bay.
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Jedi Sentinel
Posts: 10861
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #1 on:
July 5, 2005, 02:17 PM »
Oh boy, it's been a while since I thought about these. I've actually never tracked down any of the accessory sets - it just wasn't a high priority for me (I still need 4 more figures before I have all of those...)
Were the following ones from Wave 2?
___ Hyperdrive repair Kit
___ Podracer Fuel Station
___ Rappel Line Attack
___ Tatooine Disguise Accessory Set
___ Naboo Accessory Set - wave 1?
___ Sith Accessory Set - wave 1?
___ Tatooine Accessory Set - wave 1?
___ Underwater Accessory Set - wave 1?
Jesse James
Staff Member
Grand Master
Posts: 34932
Slippery When Poopy
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #2 on:
July 5, 2005, 10:03 PM »
They were avaialbe for retail online at a few places so I nabbed them.
They were vastly superior to their predecessors. Hasbro proving once again that they can take an idea, completely botch it, then show they can do it right, but then cancel the idea because they simply don't "get it" usually.
These sets, had they come out first, would've sold well. The first sets with their lame-ass weapons, lame-ass gear... They simply sucked. The only one worth buying was the one that had a figure (the droid) in it. That was fun to buy up for $.99 on clearance.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval! But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
Jedi Defender.com Contributing Editor, Twitter @JediDefender & @Jesse_James77
Jedi Initiate
Posts: 402
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #3 on:
July 5, 2005, 11:49 PM »
Are these the ones with a figure in them?
Like Endor batter, had a Speeder biker trooper in there with some guns, bombs, a few backpacks, and the helmet drumset?
and the Hoth set, with a Rebel Hoth trooper?
who Learned you To spoke!
Jesse James
Staff Member
Grand Master
Posts: 34932
Slippery When Poopy
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #4 on:
July 6, 2005, 02:26 AM »
No, those were the Target exclusive sets released during Saga's run...
Another good idea gone awry at the hands of Hasbro, actually.
Of course, I'm in the minority though who actually thorougly enjoyed the little Hoth Tank Droid. Still, those sets were pretty weakly executed in their own right, especially at their price.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval! But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
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Jedi Apprentice
Posts: 1996
Get that poison out of your system
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #5 on:
July 6, 2005, 09:43 AM »
The Episode I sets weren't really that bad, by and large, but as I've said before, kids in this day and age aren't that interested in action figures in general, and a pack full of accessories for five bucks isn't going to be breaking sales records outside of collectors. Not to mention the fact that the first Tatooine set was pretty crappy, and as usual, Hasbro shipped the first wave of crap so heavily that the second wave didn't even show up at normal retail outlets.
I ended up getting all four of the second wave online from rasscm around the time they were released. A guy whose name I can't remember was able to get three of them for me from an unusual store (Farm and something or other was the name), and the fourth, the Hyperdrive set for the NRS, came from my friend in Wisconsin who found it at this same retailer, but in a different state than the previous one. Apparently, Farm and whatever would have a Christmas toy section and this was put out when they did. AFAIK, TRU, Target, WM, and KB never got the second wave at all.
The Hyperdrive set is really cool, but it's more or less just a more interactive version of the hyperdrive that came with the NRS. It has five removable panels, and is of a heavier plastic than the one with the ship, and can be installed in the one with the ship as well. It came with all kinds of little tools (one of which is Lady Jaye's camera from the 1980's GI Joe: RAH line, strangely enough), and was a lot of fun.
The Rappel Line Attack set is my favorite though. It's probably the coolest thing that Hasbro did out of their own designs for the SW line. Very long rope with suction cup ends, a backpack that actually fits snugly on figures, and that works the way it is supposed to, a whole bunch of extra blasters (including a Battle Droid blaster, which I was very happy to get), and a pair of cuffs for Gunray (that although they don't fit, are still nice to have for other figures).
The Pod Race Refuel set is cool too, with all kinds of little tools for your Pit Droid crew, and the majority of the tools can all be stored in the backpack that comes with the set. The "gas tank" can actually hold/dispense water, and everything looks like it came from SW.
The dud in the assortment, like the first, is the Tatooine Disguise set. The good thing is that you get another soft goods Jedi Cloak, but the rest of the stuff that is included is kind of a repeat of the first Tatooine set, in theme but not sculpt, with a lot of guns, and two backpacks, and no droid. If there was one of the four sets I would say not to concern yourself with, it would be that one.
Overall, as Jesse said, it shows that Hasbro can come up with a cool concept, put out complete crap in the first wave and saturate the market to a point where the second wave, which is far superior, never shows up, and then say it is retail's fault for overordering/consumer's faults for not buying the first wave of crap, and cancels the concept entirely.
Jedi Master
Posts: 6072
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #6 on:
July 6, 2005, 06:12 PM »
I picked them all up. I remmeebr there was a Saga set i saw in prototype on a website (can't remember which one) that had the rebel tech guy. I always wanted it, but never made it into production.
Quote the Raven, Nevermore.
"It Can't Rain All The TIme"
Jesse James
Staff Member
Grand Master
Posts: 34932
Slippery When Poopy
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #7 on:
July 9, 2005, 12:20 AM »
Tattooine set had a couple black pistols in it I liked... I think that was the set. They're completely new sculpts and reminiscent of Han's DL-44. They're different enough that they look nice with customs. About their only worth though.
The tools the sets had were neat. Odpening backpacks were fun even if the shoulder straps sucked.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval! But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
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Jedi Master
Posts: 6523
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #8 on:
July 11, 2005, 11:09 PM »
I missed these, and they're the few items I have yet to acquire for the modern lines.
(strangely, all the items I lack are later Episode I stuff.)
don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk
Posts: 71
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #9 on:
July 21, 2005, 08:43 PM »
I found all of the second wave at closeout at either TRU or KB for 50 cents after Ep. I had gone to DVD. Bought one of each of the first wave which was harder to track down. The ones with the extra Jedi Cloaks I am glad I bought several of because they have helped in customizing existing Jedi, or in making new Jedi up. Kinda of like the Droid Factory Accessory Pack from Saga. I used the dark brown Jedi Cloak on a #3 (I believe) Anakin and that came out looking pretty good.
" . . . (we are ) too engrossed in thinking of everything as a preparation or training or making one fit -- for what? At any minute it is what we are and are doing, not what we plan to be and do that
Jedi Initiate
Posts: 217
Ay Chichona!!!!!!
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #10 on:
September 14, 2005, 05:54 PM »
I still need the Sith & Hyperdrive repair set.
Jedi Sentinel
Posts: 10382
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #11 on:
November 14, 2005, 09:56 AM »
I just bought the Pod Racer Fuel Station from, sigh, ebay, so now I onlly need a carded Hyperdrive Repair kit to polish off my E1 carded collection.
In hind sight, I wish I had never opened the wave 2 set I found at retail since I didn't like the accessories. The only one that was cool was the Hyperdrive set.
Please watch my Imperial Army Time-lapse Video -
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Jedi Initiate
Posts: 269
Spirit Of Wrath
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #12 on:
December 31, 2005, 12:23 AM »
I found an unopened case of them in an aisle of the Valley Fair department store on a Wednesday and opened it up. I helped myself to 3 Pod Race Refuel sets, a Tattooine Disguise set, and a Hyperdrive Repair set. I passed on the Rappel Attack set as it looked crappy. I returned on Friday when I got paid again to get the rest of the Tattoine Disguise and Hyperdrive Repair sets but they were all sold out. I never saw them again at retail
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Jedi Sentinel
Posts: 10382
Re: Wave 2 accessory sets
Reply #13 on:
January 12, 2006, 09:34 AM »
I finally aquired my last of the wave two sets, carded. So, now I have a complete carded set.
Please watch my Imperial Army Time-lapse Video -
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The couple that kills together may not stay together
Thérèse (Elizabeth Olsen: Very Good Girls) had a tough childhood. Abandoned at her aunt's home by her father, Thérèse was raised with her sickly cousin Camille (Tom Felton: From the Rough). Trained by her Aunt Raquin (Jessica Lange: American Horror Story) to be a nursemaid to spoiled rotten Camille, Thérèse escapes to dreams of Paris.
When Camille decides he's of an age to move to Paris and make a living like a grownup, Madame Raquin forces Thérèse to marry him. Her ploy not only keeps the family together but also ensures Camille's inheritance of Thérèse's secret fortune. Thérèse isn't thrilled, but she's an illegitimate daughter with no education. Her options are marriage or the streets.
Just as Thérèse has resigned herself to a loveless and sexless marriage, she meets Laurent (Oscar Isaac: Inside Llewyn Davis), Camille's artist coworker. The two begin a torrid affair. Life would be perfect if they could openly be together.
Camille has to go. They plot his demise between trysts, but when it comes to the deed, they are infirm of purpose.
Based on Emile Zola's classic novel Thérèse Raquin, In Secret shares the original's fascination with sex, guilt and obsession. Unfortunately, director Charlie Stratton (Revenge) is not Zola. Unlike Zola's novel, which maps out themes of repression, sexual awakening and guilt, Stratton jumps from sex scenes to overwrought dramatic monologues. We don't have time to develop sympathies, so it's a long march through the plot.
As the tragic lovers, Olsen and Isaac are oddly cast. Though they have decent chemistry, their acting styles clash with the story. They're too loud and expressive for repressive 1867 France, where a woman's transgressions could ruin her. Olsen seems especially lost, vacillating from vacancy to histrionics. Isaac is a charming seducer, but he can't mine much substance from this shallowly written character.
Lange makes the most of her underwritten role by gracefully chewing the scenery as Thérèse's controlling aunt. She has recently reinvented herself as a Bette Davis-style crone, reveling in the grotesque. Here, she dials back the performance, portraying Aunt Raquin as a well-meaning woman who is so blinded by her devotion to a sick child that she neglects the other child in her care.
In Secret does have a few good moments, especially when Stratton plays with the guilty couple's minds. He also invites us to watch very pretty people having sex in beautifully lit montages.


text:
Finding the brain's common language
Erich Jarvis dreams of creating a talking chimpanzee. If his theories on language are right, that just might happen one day.
Jarvis says that the ability to imitate sounds, not higher intelligence, is the key to language. Most animals are born already knowing the calls they'll croon, but human babies learn words by mimicking how others talk. "I argue it's what makes spoken language unique," says Jarvis, a neurobiologist at Duke University Medical Center.
That realization came from an unlikely place: bird brains. Jarvis has spent more than a decade studying the brain circuitry of songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds, which are among the few critters that imitate and learn new vocalizations, a skill called vocal learning. Although humans and birds split evolutionarily from one another more than 300 million years ago, Jarvis and his colleagues have discovered that the brain circuitry for speech and birdsong is remarkably similar.