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Originally published Sunday, November 9, 2014 at 5:03 AM
'Fields of Blood:' tangled ties between religion and violence
In her new book "Fields of Blood," Karen Armstrong, a world-renowned scholar of religion, examines the relationship between religion and violence.
Special to The Seattle Times
"Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence"
by Karen Armstrong
Knopf, 528 pp., $30
Karen Armstrong, the author of a score of massively erudite books about the workings of the sacred in human history, knows more about religion than I ever will — but nonetheless I found myself arguing with her as I waded through "Fields of Blood," her new book about religion and violence.
"We are flawed creatures with violent hearts that long for peace," she notes, insisting that societies grounded in faith, or at least communal ritual, do a better job of channeling and containing both violence and the yearning for peace than strictly secular societies.
Even if this is true — and Armstrong herself presents considerable evidence to the contrary — what her central premise boils down to is that religion may be bad but no religion is worse. To my mind, this is a very slender reed on which to hang a 400-page survey that spans the history of violence and religion from Gilgamesh to the Sept. 11 bombings.
Armstrong comes out swinging. She is sick and tired, she writes in the introduction, of hearing the truism that "Religion has been the cause of all major wars in history" ... "recited like a mantra" wherever she goes. Fair enough.
In rebuttal, she might have composed a closely reasoned argument, zeroing in on the history, psychology and sacred texts that bolster her view. Instead she has gone epic, recounting several thousand years of world history through the lens of religious violence.
Armstrong's prose is crisp and lucid, her command of fact encyclopedic, and her insights often brilliant. Nonetheless, her world tour of clashing ideologies left me numb and despondent.
The central Asian Aryan herdsmen who fell on the farmers of Asia and Europe around 2500 BCE celebrated "the joy of killing" in their holy writings. Chinese civilization and religion were "founded on the twin pillars of agriculture and the organized violence of warfare."
In the Hebrew Bible "Yahweh is a war god" who "fights earthly empires to establish a people." Though Jesus advocated charity and humility, Christianity turned warlike as soon as it became the state religion of the Roman Empire.
But the real problem, in Armstrong's view, is not holy war, which she views as regrettable but unavoidable given human nature, but unholy war waged by secular societies that replaced God with nationalism.
Religion may be an excuse for oppression, but at least the major faiths voice a "concern for everybody." But in secular societies like revolutionary France or Nazi Germany, ferocious nationalism blotted out "universal empathy," and the result was state-sanctioned mass slaughter of the other.
Armstrong's narrative becomes more urgent toward the end when she addresses the violence deployed by contemporary Islamic extremists. She adds nuance to the question of whether Islam is inherently more violent than other religions, noting the "constant juxtaposition of ruthlessness and mercy in the Quran" and delving into the multiple meanings of jihad.
But to my mind she goes seriously astray when she suggests that the 9/11 terrorist attacks cannot really be considered religious violence, since the majority of the perpetrators were recent converts with a limited knowledge of Islam. Blind and ignorant the terrorists may have been, but they were nonetheless motivated by fanatic faith.
Religion, as Armstrong writes in the afterword, urges us to "take responsibility for the suffering we see in the world." It has inspired some of our greatest art and loftiest sentiments.
But when it comes to justice, freedom, tolerance, open-mindedness and respect for the rights of our fellow humans, I'll take a secular democracy over a government grounded in faith, any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Seattle author David Laskin's "The Family: A Journey into the Heart of the 20th Century" won the 2014 Washington State Book Award in biography/memoir.


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NRS is a collection agency with three primary lines of revenue: Consumer, Commercial and Medical debt recovery. Staff consisted of 220+ with primary offices in Dallas and Tyler, Texas and gross revenues in excess of $ 15 million. Company lost ~ $1.5 million each year from 2008 through 2010 and became insolvent in 2011 with several states demanding the company file Chapter 7 or face legal fines and sanctions.
President July 2011 – January 2012
• Achieved a 90 day turnaround with a run rate of $1 million EBITDA for 2012 posting approximately $250K in EBIDTA for Q4 2011.
• Negotiated settlements with states to waive fines and Chapter 7 demands.
• Rebuilt our in/outbound lead generation systems utilizing both direct mail coupled with a pull email system.
• Refocused outbound call center to focus on profitable revenue metrics that rewarded profitable business. Reduced overhead 40% while increasing average employees compensation by 15%.
• Regulator Praises Turnaround at Collection Agency it Targeted Press Release that also helped manage our brand and industry perspective.
Press Release
"Minnesota state collection industry regulators played a key role in helping bring in new management and ownership that has successfully turned around a venerable Dallas-based agency.
Nationwide Recovery Systems, Ltd, an agency founded over 30 years ago, grew rapidly under the original founding leadership. The company added a healthcare collection division through an acquisition in Tyler, Texas, and by 2005 was one of the largest commercial, healthcare, and consumer debt collection agencies in the country. When the founder left the company in 2005, the company began to struggle.
By 2010, the company was losing money and the former owners were tiring of putting capital into the business. The company also encountered compliance issues when it failed to get an injection of cash from its former owners to cover a shortfall in its client trust account. Minnesota, like many states, requires a separate client trust account. After the trust fund shortfall was corrected, an independent auditor verified that all amounts due and collected by the agency were paid to customers according to terms.
In July of this year, Nationwide Recovery Holdings, LLC and Recovery Investments, LLC purchased the partnership units of Nationwide Recovery Systems, Ltd. The new owners injected capital into the company and quickly rebuilt the top management team.
"The Minnesota Department of Commerce is pleased with the work this new management team has done in recent months to turn NRS around," said Department spokesman Matt Swenson. "The Department of Commerce will continue working with management to closely monitor their progress and ensure the company's viability into the future."
Earlier this month, the Minnesota Department of Commerce named NRS as one of eight ARM companies it had targeted for enforcement action over hiring and accounting practices.
Swenson emphasizes that the previous regulatory action against NRS "was brought against NRS because of the actions of former management, not because of the actions of the new owners."
Prior to the purchase of NRS, the new management group met with the Minnesota state regulators and outlined a plan to improve the agency's operations. After getting full support from the Minnesota team, the new owners proceeded to close the purchase and execute the turnaround. In less than 90 days, the new management group was able to return the agency to profitability.
"Our turnaround strategy focuses on three key areas: people, people, and people," says Brian Gulledge, the new President of NRS. "Getting the right people in the right place on the bus is the single most important thing we have done to improve our operations," says Gulledge.
Taking a page from Jim Collins' Good to Great, Gulledge notes that the old management had a hard time getting people in the right place on the bus – and making tough decisions on performance. "If you fail to act when you know someone is underperforming in this business, you won't make it," says Gulledge.
The new performance-based culture at NRS showed up on the bottom line almost immediately. Underperforming collectors were terminated and the top collectors produced more. "A players don't want to work beside C players," says Gulledge. This is another principle straight from Good to Great: if you allow C players to stay on the bus too long, they will demotivate the A players, and the A players will leave.
Collection agency culture can go one of two ways: either the A players take over and the culture becomes in inhospitable to C players, or the C players take over and the A players leave.
In NRS' case, the agency was lucky to find new owners who could recognize A-level talent and put A players in the right place on the bus. The agency was also lucky to have regulators who recognized the talent of the new management/ownership group and encourage them to invest in the turnaround of NRS. Not all agencies who find themselves in trouble with state regulators are so lucky."

subset: commoncrawl


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Today's Quote from Ed Friedman
"More thinking about the problem doesn't solve the problem...You have to have adventure...Move protoplasm through space in order to get new perceptions...The imaginative capacity changes systems."
Dr. Edwin Friedman
Dr. Friedman was a rabbi, and family system thinker and therapist. He is the author of A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix That's a book I only recommend to people if they are live, if you are dead, you can pass.


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Information For Retailers
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Welcome to the middle of the week friends. It' finally Wednesday. Over at the watercooler today, Gail has a great technique challenge for us. It's called Reflection or it's also known as the Mirror technique. Ready to see what I made?
Here is my card. I chose not to use a sentiment. I like that it can be sent to anyone for any occasion. What occasion would you use this card for? Just a note, Happy Spring, Congratulations on your new little one, etc. The deer have been fussy cut out and popped up for some added dimension.
One tip on the technique. Most people will show you this technique using various non-porous materials. I ended up using my Stamp-a-ma-jig sheet. You could use any of the following: acetate sheet, window sheet, the backing from your Photopolymer Stamps (similar to a window sheet) or any other material that will allow you to stamp an image and keep the ink wet so you can use the image in reverse or mirrored. Hope that made sense. Here are some closer views of where I used the Wink of Stella® glitter brush. You'll see them on the leaves in the trees, the sides of the mountains, the eyes of the deer and also in the water.
I had also used the White Gel pen to make a the water look like it was moving.
Now it's your turn. I'm excited to see what you come up with for this week's challenge. Be sure to enter the challenge at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge (#WWC58). The deadline to post your entry is Monday, March 14, 2016. Thank you for visiting today.
- Soft Sky card base 4 ¼" x 11" scored 5 ½"
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- Many Marvelous Markers
- Aqua Painters
- Sponge Daubers
- Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
- Heat Tool
- White Stampin' Emboss Powder


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You will probably receive tons of unsolicited advice and sharing of personal experiences when you're pregnant. For some reason, people see that belly and think it's a comment box. While most of the time, they have good intentions, it can be overwhelming and not the least bit helpful. The truth is, just as every human being is unique, so is every pregnancy and birth. Even if you're not a first time mom, you can't expect for things to be the same with a subsequent birth.
So when you're making preparations during your pregnancy, do your best to put aside others' opinions and your preconceptions and really think about your current needs and desires. What do YOU want from a care provider? What do YOU need to do to feel prepared mentally and physically for the birth? As a doula, I wholly embrace the uniqueness of each birth and each birthing person. I do not have any expectations of you, but will support the ones that you have of yourself. Your birth experience is just that- yours.


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The North-South divide is growing as the average home in the capital now costs £437,000, nearly three times the price of a comparable property in the North East - the cheapest place to buy a house in mainland Britain.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed property prices in London rose 12pc in the year to the end of October, compared with a 3.4pc increase in the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Tees Valley region.
Properties values across the whole of the UK climbed 5.5pc over the same period. After London, regions to see the strongest growth were the east of England at 4.8pc, the West Midlands at 4.7pc and the South East at 4.5pc. Yorkshire and Humberside performed the worst, with an increase of just 0.8pc.
Taking into account changes in the composition of the housing stock composition and inflation, the average London house price has leapt from £350,000 at the start of the 2008 recession to £437,000 in October 2013. However, a home in the North East has fallen from £150,000 five years ago to £148,000 this autumn.
This North-South property value chasm has been emphasised by new research from the Council of Mortgage Lenders that showed total mortgage lending by postcode. The data covered outstanding mortgages totalling £885bn from seven high street banks. The greatest amount lent was to homeowners in Fulham, south-west London, with £649m in the system, compared with £1.1m in the Crossgates, Halton and Whitwitch area in Leeds.
Adam Challis, head of residential research at Jones Lang La Salle, said: "If you strip out London and the South East, UK house prices only increased by 3.1pc [over the period], slightly above inflation. This shows that the economic strength of London and surrounding areas – driven by its international profile – is not benefiting to the rest of the country. We need to resolve this as a UK society and take advantage of London's unique position on the world stage."
Led by the swelling London housing market, the average house price across the UK hit £257,000 in October for the first time and exceeded the 3pc stamp duty threshold of £250,000. The average prices of a home in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are £164,000, £129,000 and £184,000 respectively.
Harry Clifton, founder of London property company Benthorp, said: "The sharp rise in London house prices is creating a generation of long-term saver have and have-nots. Those 30-somethings struggling to get on the housing ladder may re-coin Harold Macmillan's phrase to their parents - 'You've never had it so bad'."
Roger Harding, Shelter's director of communications and policy, said: "The grim reality is that our rollercoaster property market is leading to home ownership slipping even further away from even more of us. Unless we build more homes and stabilise house prices to allow wages to catch up, it will become even harder for priced-out families and young people to find a stable home of their own.
"To give the next generation a chance, we need to see the government rolling up its sleeves and coming up with bigger, bolder ideas to get more affordable homes built."


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God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right, even though I think it is hopeless. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
All of us have the ability to passionately argue for what we believe is the right point of view and we can be both very adamant and equally vehement in sticking to our point of view even if those opposing us pick a few holes in our arguments. However, when it comes to actually standing up for our point of view when it matters, very very few of us have the courage and tenacity to take up the cause and pursue the matter till its logical end. In our previous post yesterday, we talked about 'translating good intentions into actual deeds and this is precisely what we are focusing on today. We often give up not because we do not believe in our cause but we think it is a hopeless case since there may be a lot of vested interests in the opposing point of view, the opponents are far too strong, we lack the guts or we simply rationalize that the end result is just not worth the fight.
One reason most of us do not commit to what we believe in is because, far too many of us are armchair critics. It is easy to be one. All we need to do is spout our criticisms loudly, vehemently and dogmatically. If we out smarted all we need to do is sulk and slink away. Other times we can wave the flag of our beliefs and loudly proclaim that we were part of the original rooters for the belief even though we may have done nothing note worthy other than lending our lung power. You will find many such people in social service organizations, voluntary organizations and in social gatherings. In fact we see our own conversations in get together and parties, it invariably revolves around criticizing the government, the organizers, the local administration, our surroundings and society. In almost all cases, we would never ever offer our services in addressing the issue nor would we volunteer to be part of a set up which is keen to solve the problem.
For us to bite the bullet when it comes to standing up for our point of view, the first essential is a passionate belief in our point of view. Unless one is passionate about the cause, it is very difficult to convince ourselves that the fight is worth it. One reason many of us are not too passionate about things is because we are comfortable with the idea that the world maybe be in turmoil and it is best we adjust to it. Nothing then can shake us from our 'ignorance is bliss' attitude unless of course we get directly sucked into a problem. Often by then, we do not have too many backers for us for most of friends have subtlety hinted that our problems is ours and they can only sympathize. The second requirement is developing a tenacious attitude. This is partly inborn but largely the result of having developed not mere sympathy but a nature that is empathically inclined. This means that we don't just stand by and acknowledge a problem but actively get involved in solving it. This requires patience to understand, a willingness to be involved and courage to commit to the cause.
Remember: You will see it when you believe it
Try this:
- Pick up at least 2 social causes one related to the general concerns of society and one related to a passion of yours and outline 5 ways you can actively contribute to it. Eg. You could be interested in the improving the general hygiene of your locality and also be passionate about cause regarding pets.
- Identify one old age home, one orphanage, one school for the physically challenged and another for the mentally challenged. Now make a beginning by visiting each one in turns once in two months at least. Examine your feelings, your learning, your changing style of empathy etc.
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
You are also invited to visit our WEEKLY Inspirational and Motivational Blog www.poweract.blogspot.com


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Down the wicket is cricket opinion. A group of cricket enthusiasts, passionate about the games standards. We openly encourage discussion, debate and opinion, because cricket is worth getting worked up about!
Thursday, 30 December 2010
The Trouble With Ponting
''I entered into discussion with the umpires about the detail of the decision, having viewed replays being shown on the big screen,'' Ponting said. ''I accept the discussion went for too long, and I understand the reasons for the dissent charge handed down by the ICC this evening.
''I was simply trying to seek clarification from the umpires regarding how the decision had been made after being referred to the third umpire. However, I would be unhappy if anyone thought I was being disrespectful towards the umpires as this wasn't my intention.''
Ponting's Full Defence on Sky News
The captaincy of Australia, it is said, is the second most important job in Australia. Perhaps it could also be said to be the second most privileged place in Australian society. It comes with expectations and responsibilities too but unfortunately, the incumbent has mostly just talked the talk in their regard.
Leadership is an odd thing. Their are many ways to lead ... by example, for instance. By standing out in harms way and beating one's breast and willing your comrades to stand with you. The examples by which one leads, however, are not chosen .. . yes I'll have that one, no I prefer not to do that ... leadership by example is a focus which never goes fuzzy at the edges and allows the leader to have time off. Perhaps this explains why Ricky Ponting so often fails as a leader and resorts to the ideas of others because he finds the glare in the spotlight too constant, too demanding?
The words and terms which Ponting uses to defend his actions on the second day of the annually most watched cricket match in Australia, are those of a man who refuses to accept failure, despite the obvious evidence that he has failed. Much of it is spin provided by the massagers of truth who know the Australian public wants to forgive their man - has to forgive their man - hence the references to the every man, club captains. It's enough to make those without an emotional sporting reference point dependant on the national team's success puke till bile rises and burns the honesty they hold to. My throat is still stinging.
There's deferral of blame too. So carefully inserted ... if he hadn't seen the replay on the big screen, he wouldn't have been so convinced ... therefore, its not Ponting's fault he went from short fuse to walking bomb. The cleverness here is that it's a claim that rings true.
In the end, Ponting says he's sorry, but he's still right about the Pietersen inside edge, because he saw it on the big screen. Cue The Beach Boys and "Won't Back Down" as fresh coats of Teflon are applied to his image by pleasant ladies and gents with wide smiles and so much to tell him about how wonderful he really is. The ultimate lie is to have the liar believe the new truth.
There is so much wrong with what he did but then so much more wrong with how his reaction was stage managed. It's all about us wanting to let this pass because our boys are under enough attack already from the Poms and its also about plausible deniability. If the media savages the skipper under such circumstance, they are unpatriotic.
Lets deal with a few facts. One player reacted to the ball passing by Pietersen's bat and it wasn't Ponting. Vision showed him being convinced into a referral by Haddin. The players watched replays shown ill advisedly on the big screen as the umpires were deciding Pietersen's fate. The replays showed a clear outcome and Aleem Dar communicated that to the players. The fact that Ponting couldn't allow it to end there is, as he has said, totally his responsibility. What followed was a petulant display which goes against a basic tenant of cricket which media and administrators have been breaking a lot lately, "the umpire is always right".
Why did he react with so little restraint?
The answer is only partly to do with the current state of play in a series in which his exalted position has finally failed to have evidence to support it - he has failed to make significant contributions with the bat in all but one innings and that was after the match was safe in Brisbane; he has dropped crucial catches at second slip where he once caught them as if shelling peas; his captaincy has been questioned as being bland and unimaginative as England have piled on runs.
To be truly derivative in seeking an explanation to to this brain explosion, a wander back over the last five years of Ponting's controversies give a truer reason for the refusal to accept the three umpires' opinion in Melbourne.
Ponting dislikes, even hates the use of technology in cricket and has spoken with passion about the shortfalls of its use. Again before this current series, he called on players to deliver an honest appraisal of catches that are a close call and to leave replays out of the decision making loop. He caused a storm in New Zealand when DRS equipment was unable to be used because of winds over 130k/h. In Bangladesh in 2006, Ponting hurled abuse at umpires Ian Howell and Aleem Dar over a referral involving Aftab Ahmed and lost 25% of his match fee when referee Jeff Crowe found him guilty.In the DLF one day series in 2006, he launched an attack on umpire Mark Benson when he reversed a decision to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar and match referee decided not to proceed to disciplinary action. Even in this series, Ponting became annoyed by a third umpire decision in Brisbane when he felt he had held a fair catch from Alastair Cook and it was overturned.
Technology and its proper application may be a sore point for Ponting but the problem isn't just that. In 2005, Ponting blew up with Dar when he was run out by England substitute Gary Pratt, claiming England had no right to have a fielding specialist acting in the role of "acting" 12th man. His tally of five convictions for dissent against umpires in his six years as Captain can't all be blamed on technology but may have some basis in the personnel involved. It was interesting that he chose to comment on how expert the umpires for this match are, as at least three of the five conduct violations have involved Aleem Dar as the other party.
Ponting has always lacked self-control and despite spin to cover his tracks, his short fuse was apparent well before his ascent to the captaincy. A black eye when his reputation was reduced to annoying pest by a jealous boyfriend at a notorious Sydney nightclub haunt and his penis flopping display in an Indian equivalent are just two of the less delightful examples of warnings which should have seen him confined to the ranks. Unfortunately, we entered an era when performance was everything and Ponting performances were better than any. In return, he has traded on his role as a means of supplying rocket fuel to his batting and becoming easily the most dominant batsman of his generation and likely its most dangerous.
Perhaps the worst example of his aggressive, in your face petulance which owes as much to his immaturity as to the willingness of Cricket Australia to tolerate it, was the home series again the Indians three summers ago. India came to Australia on equal footing with the confident Australians who had squashed England the summer before and were taking a bruising, winner take all approach to Test cricket. Perhaps, in some way, Ponting needed to adopt an approach that might compensate for the hole left by match winners Warne, McGrath and the influential Langer, who despite being the toughest cricketer of his generation, also knew where the line was and kept Ponting from crossing it.
India were crushed in the Boxing Day Test, Hayden making one of three hundreds against them that summer and the bowlers, including a young and inexperienced Mitchell Johnson, easily ran through them. In the second game in Sydney, Ponting two enforcer's, Hayden and Symonds, were a physical presence over the Indians but their off spinner, Harbhajan Singh refused to take a backward step and suddenly the two bully boys were screaming like eight year olds who were about to be found out by the teacher and the match exploded into alleged racial taunts and the sort of bad blood one would expect to find along the Indian/Pakistani border. Then when Michael Clarke took three wickets in an over, deep into the last hour's allotment, Ponting exploded in one of the crassest displays that misfortune would allow. Many observers, were appalled and some, such as Peter Roebuck, called for his head, rightly stating that this was conduct unbecoming.
Cricket Australia sat on its hands and changed its name.
How much is enough? Apparently no amount of regular poor conduct from the Australian Captain will move either the ICC or Cricket Australia or the selectors to make a move against him. Perhaps they should note the spontaneous booing which began after five minutes of the most recent bat-and-ball-go-home stuff in Melbourne and again directed at Aleem Dar. It was no longer just the Balmy Army singing jeers at a man they once admired and feared. Australians in the outer voiced their disapproval at being so poorly represented by the man with the biggest share of little man syndrome in Australian sport. Even Members hissed their contempt.
The ICC, having taken part and whole match payment from him repeatedly, continues to slap his wrist and provide no disincentive. Given the severity of this incident in Melbourne and its repeating nature, a suspension would have been more in order. In soccer, if you stack those yellow cards, it doesn't matter who you are, you watch from the sidelines. Cricket, with all its genteel pretensions can stomach no such thing, having to be forced to take action against obvious cheats only when the media applies pressure. Toothless tigers rarely worry the hunters.
The show is almost over but whilst you and I can hear the Fat Lady warming up, Ricky Ponting still thinks he'll smack England for 100 in Sydney and life will go on. He doesn't like losing but hasn't seemed to notice how often it is happening. His high performance Alzheimer's makes him forgetful of dropped catches and the regularity with which an opener stands, watching him leave for the sheds. He doesn't notice younger players who adore him rushing to his defence. The arbiter of "the line", Justin Langer, needs to move beyond his batting coach role and have a word.
For Ponting's sake and more broadly for Australian cricket, I hope this man whose batting genius has made us all gape at our own inadequacy, will think on the consequences and call it a day in Sydney. As much as I have disliked and critiqued his captaincy and his inability to lead, I'd still like the chance to wave him off at the SCG and reminisce on his behalf on great innings that belong, properly to the past. I hold no malice and would rather hold no regret.
The time is right Skipper. For once, step away from other's plans and suggestions, sniff the breeze and strut your stuff one last time and let us afford you the praise your sumptuous batting and wonderful fielding has well and truly earned.
7 comments:
- leftriteout30 December 2010 at 1:25 pm
Well said Lango. I was working at a pub in Adelaide when South Africa toured in 2001/2002. The Aussies came into the pub at the end of the Adelaide test, Ponting had recently been in that fight and was sporting a black eye. He was the most sheepish bloke of the lot, drinking light beer and barely saying a word.ReplyDelete
It's easy to forget the number of indiscretions over the last 10 years and I must say I feel somewhat vindicated in calling him unsportsmanlike. Rule number 1 in sport; you never, ever argue with the umpire. He has rightly stood by his teammates; even those it's no secret he doesn't personally like (eg Tait). But his self-belief manifested into arrogance so much that it seems he sees himself as above normal rules that apply to everyone else.
I'll always remember his amazing innings and brilliant fielding but will never remember his character or behaviour fondly.
If he doesn't retire from test cricket after Sydney he can add selfishness to his traits.
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
Ponting's standard answer regarding bad decisions when the technology -you lose some, you get some, it all evens out- is the biggest cop out on the issue.ReplyDelete
The right thing is to use the available technology so a true (or as near to true as we can currently get)result ensures a true representation of which team performed the best. I am unyeilding on this point and any other is rubbish! And i don't care who or what they've done in cricket that thinks otherwise.
Th only real response is that the technology isn't available at every level of cricket- STIFF! Tests ARE the ultimate measure and competition in the game, so that is where it is most needed.
And while i'm railing, come off it Lango...
"Hayden and Symonds, were a physical presence over the Indians but their off spinner, Harbhajan Singh refused to take a backward step and suddenly the two bully boys were screaming like eight year olds who were about to be found out by the teacher and the match exploded into alleged racial taunts and the sort of bad blood one would expect to find along the Indian/Pakistani border"
What is wrong with "physical presence"?
And what is wrong with equity? Well done to Harby for standing up and not backing off, BOO to him for thinking he could play the verbal game with the masters but do it using complete gutter tactics and then having the team have a big sook and threaten to bail out of Aus and expect financial recompence.
CA were completely gutless in that fiasco when they didn't back their players to hilt and say, "if you threaten us with expenditure and leave, we will sue you for failing to fulfill your playing contract and complete your summers obligations!"
You say "alledged racial taunts" Harby has a fairly good grasp of English, he knew what he was doing and what he was saying and how he was going to get out of it.
I'm sick of racism being considered a one-way-street.
If Punter is just that, and not a problem gambler, he'll know when to fold 'em and stop trying to hold 'em, and bow out at the SCG like many of the greats before him. If not, being forced will take a gleam off the gloss that has been his wonderful (playing) career.
I have no problem with either Hayden or Symonds engaging in physical intimidation nor Harbhajan Singh standing up to them but let's not play pretends and believe Harbhajan started the gutter tactics. Hayden was the originator of gutter sledging, as befits a man of his obvious intellect. His standard sledge was to hurl abusive language at incoming batsmen - nothing clever or above the gutter there. My points were, that when it was served back at the Aussies, they called for the teacher like Nancy Boys in an effort to remove a threat that they weren't sure they could deal with through batting and that they didn't like it when someone came back at them. Bullies never do.ReplyDelete
This particular style of aggression is a hallmark of teams captained by Ponting and its more football than cricket. Sledging is at its best when it plays on your opponent's mind - let's call it the Cullinan Effect. The Ponting inspired version is a pathetic bullying which is confronting but has little lasting effect to those strong enough to ignore it. Because Ponting is a bully, he blows up when he doesn't get his way and this has given him the worst record for dissent to umpires of any international captain. Its hard not to see this as a childlike level of maturity which all the pampering and spin has manufactured into a false image of the Golden Boy.
By the way, the taunts remain alleged as despite being found guilty originally, Harbhajan was aquiited by the ICC.
We agree on the one-way nature of racism in sport/life. Viv Richards was perhaps the greatest racial supremist who walked the cricket field and their knighted him!
Can't see the evidence to support your claim as to Ponting's standard response to technology. He has always claimed it should be better but has always preferred that it not be there at all.
Two bad developments for Australian Cricket overnight - Ponting expects to resume his Test career as captain (still has so much to do for or is it to Australian Cricket) and Michael Clarke says he'll captain just like Ponting and will never captain a Test team with Ponting in it.
Get rid of both of them!
What is said out in the middle should stay out in the middle. Unless it is against the laws of cricket (racial etc).ReplyDelete
What was said to and by Harbhajan remains pure conjecture so analysing it is just speculation.
I am a believer that anything is fair game out in the middle. If you can't get to 18 years old and not be able to ignore whatever is said out there then you need to take a good hard look at yourself.
It is said to put you off your game and if it works theyou have let them win. I can't say I have ever felt intimidated out there because after all there is no danger of physical ramifications, especially in test cricket.
What Ricky did the other day was poor but it is very easy to sit out here and pot him however what he did was on the spur of the moment under intense pressure with The Ashes slipping away.
Again, what was said is pure conjecture and also driven by pure frustration. As a captain I don't rate him but I can't blame him for showing some angst after the series he has had.
Yeah, the first line had a few words left out- no wonder it didn't make sense. should have read:ReplyDelete
Ponting's standard answer regarding bad decisions when there is no technology (just the umpires call -you lose some, you get some, it all evens out- is the biggest cop out on the issue.
He expects everyone to "play in the spirit of the game" strange sentiment from such a character.
His remarks after his Cook "catch" that went upstairs- 'a blight on the game' - show that he is all over the shop on the issue. With the call even too hard for the cameras it went back to the umpire who followed proper protocol- benifit of doubt to the batsman. Sorry Ricky, you may want an honour system, but th above protocol is more fair.
I too believe gutter sldging to be pretty mindless and know full well level of sesnseless rubbish that plopped from the mouths of our nations best while on the field, but how often has it been racist? How many Aus XI players have fronted that charge at the ICC? Lehman doesn't count because he is from SA!
And while i would never delude myself to think the Aussies didn't start the badgering of Singh, I believe it is naive to think that Singh didn't mark his words perfectly for the result... and the escape clause. After the crowd calls of monkey from the 2007 ODI series Singh knew he had his comeback should Symonds chirp up.
"terii maan kii." Spare me! Nothing 'alledged' or 'speculated' about that- it was his defence, "it just sounds similar to monkey, but means (you[r])mother(s)..."
It is almost the perfect sledge because he knew how it would sound, what it would do, and he knew he could get off the hook.
Why would you try and respond or shut someone up in a language they don't understand?
Modi's threat to pull out saw that the ICC didn't push the issue, "here is a slap on the wrist you potty mouth. Please don't pull out of the rest of the tour."
Once again i'll say it, CA let down their man.
Sure, if an Aussie is in the wrong, make him pay. But if he is wronged back him.
If you want to sledge, then sledge. If you cant take it and complain then you are a sook.ReplyDelete


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Upcoming Book Reviews
Usually, today is when I publish my book reviews. However, the book I am currently working on is so in depth that I think in the interest of fairness I should spend more time in it before sharing my thoughts.
These past couple of months have been exciting for Christian readers. The recent publications have brought forth books that are not only practical but the scope of issues they address area areas that are often overlooked. So while awaiting the next review, here is a quick look at the books I will be reviewing in the upcoming weeks:
I find myself excited about each of these titles for varying reasons and hope you will to. So check back next week as I work my way through this list of potentially great Christian books.


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Instructor: Tierra Firme: Analise Minjarez & Sarita Westrup
# of Students: 4-10
Click here to register!
Learn to print on cloth with clay resist paste and over dye with organic indigo! Students will learn how to make simple collograph plates out of easy to find materials, discuss cloth stretching techniques, review repeat design methods, and learn easy textile printing approaches to create their clay resist printed cloth. Participants will print on cotton and raw silk. Students will also learn how to make and maintain an organic fructose indigo vat and will work in groups to dye, rinse, and hang their clay resisted artworks. Students will leave with samples of printed cloth with unique designs to be used in future projects. All materials are provided!
*Enter code BUDDY at checkout to receive 10% off when you register with a buddy. If you'd like to bring a group please call or email for discounted rates.


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VIP class gulet GULMARIA is 2013 built, 37 meters long, accommodates 12+2 guests in 6 cabins (2 master, 2 double, 2 double+single cabins)
Crew; Captain + 5 (Chef, 2 Stewardess, 2 Deckhand)
English and Turkish languages are spoken.
Onboard water sports are water ski, wakeboard, ringo, banana, kayaks, snorkeling, and fishing equipment.
GULMARIA is available for luxury yacht charters in Turkey.


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Football Bet of the Day: Goals to go big in Japan
In the Land of the Rising Sun, Tobias Gourlay's going to be up with the larks on Saturday morning
"Under Miguel Angel Lotina, Tokyo-Verdy have delivered Over 2.5 Goals in 23/35 home matches"
Tokyo-V v Omiya
Saturday 10:00
Union Comercio beat Comerciantes Unidos 2-0 in Peru last night to land our Under 2.5 Goals bet. It's a result that sets us up well for the long trip to Japan.
Saturday morning brings a choice of eight J League 2 games and we know exactly which one we'll be watching. Under ex-Deportivo La Coruna boss Miguel Angel Lotina, third-placed Tokyo-Verdy have delivered Over 2.5 Goals in 23/35 home matches, including four of the most recent five. They've scored three on their own in the same four of those five and we fancy they can rack up a few against Omiya Ardija this weekend.
Relegated from the J League last season, Omiya are running seventh in the 22-team second tier. On the road this term, Masatada Ishii's men have scored in 12/12. They've managed just three clean sheets - all against teams now in the bottom six - and 9/12 have got to Over 2.5 Goals in total. We're very pleasantly surprised to see the Sportsbook offering even money on another high scorer at Ajinomoto Stadium tomorrow morning.
2018 P/L (1pt per bet)
Staked: 98pts
Returned: 112.71pts
P/L: +14.71pts
Recommended bets
Back Over 2.5 Goals @ [2.00] in Tokyo-V v Omiya (Sportsbook)


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Happy International Women's DayPosted: March 8, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
Today marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. I was lucky enough to attend a breakfast hosted by UN Women and hear some fantastic speeches. One particular standout was that of Nasima Rahmani, an Afghani lawyer who currently works as the manager of the Women's Rights program with ActionAid Afghanistan. She described the plight of women in her home country, women who have been raped and then cast out of their families as a result of this. Rather than recount her whole story, I would encourage you to read or listen to her interview with Damien Carrick on the Law Report where she repeats much of the same story. It made me realise once again how lucky we are to be living in a country where women do have the right to claim control over their own bodies, and they do have the right to seek justice when those basic rights are violated.
Happy International Women's Day.
P.S. – If you are inspired to become involved in any social justice work in the area of women's rights, UN Women is a good place to start.
Cyclone YasiPosted: February 3, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
Amazing satellite image of Cyclone Yasi, which is currently destroying Northern QLD.
On minimalism and simplificationPosted: January 25, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
"The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less." – Socrates
Recently I've become enamored with the idea of simplifying my life and the concept of minimalism. Whilst I'm not about to turf all of my belongings and live off six items of clothing and a toothbrush, there are definite changes I have been striving to make.
Clutter – I'm currently de-cluttering the apartment and striving to keep it as clutter-free as possible. Clutter is stressful and I want my home to be serene, inviting and peaceful. It's my refuge from the crazy world of teaching and I need to feel calm and relaxed when I'm home.
Clothing – I don't own a heap of clothing but I own enough, and I'm endeavouring to ensure that I have enough to meet my needs, and that everything I buy suits my style and purpose and works with other items in my wardrobe. It's also much easier to dress when there is less choice.
Cleaning – I'm in the process of minimising my cleaning products to a couple of choice ingredients (namely vinegar and bicarb) and ensuring that I stay on top of it by doing small amounts each day as part of my routine.
Cooking – A recent vegetarian-turned-conscientious-omnivore, I tend to stick to whole ingredients anyway. I get a fruit and veg box delivered and any extras I need are obtained from local farms, I buy pasta, rice, quinoa, couscous, chickpeas, lentils, cannellini beans etc, meat is ordered through ethical farms and picked up at the farmers' markets and eggs are from a local lady who keeps chickens running around her backyard. I also buy good quality local cheeses from the deli and bread is artisanal sourdough also from the markets. I tend to cook reasonably simple dishes that allow the flavour of the fresh produce to shine through. Tomatoes are in season? A simple pasta tossed with tomatoes that have been simmering on the stove with olive oil, garlic, onion and a dash of white wine, topped with shaved parmesan and a side of rocket dressed in olive oil and lemon juice – it doesn't get much better than that!
Resources for work – I'm a humanities teacher. We hoard resources "just in case we can use them in the classroom someday". Every newspaper article, advertisement, Sunday paper liftout is a potential lesson. I'm chucking almost everything, digitising important resources and going as paperless as possible.
Books – I'm a humanities teacher. We love books. I love books. But I also have access to several great libraries and also read a lot of classics on my iPhone anyway. So. I'm keeping important ones (beautiful hardcovers, favourites that I keep going back to to read over and over, my ancient history resources and books that I continually teach to my English classes) and I'm thinking about getting a Kindle later this year so that any future books I get will digital.
Fitness – I run. It doesn't get much more minimal than that. I just need my runners and my phone (for safety reasons) and I'm off. I don't listen to music, I like letting my mind wander and clear itself. I also like to be aware of my surroundings. I like the wake up calls of the birds, the scuttling of the blue tongue lizards into the bush and the rustle of the gum trees. I also try to make sure I do core strength work regularly after doing two terms of Pilates last year. I have a swiss ball for this purpose and that's all. I also have boxing gloves because I box with my brother once a week. This is not very minimalist, but I cherish the time with my brother and so they suit my lifestyle.
Enjoying moments not stuff – I turn 30 this year. So does my husband. Instead of gifts we are going on a hiking holiday. It will be adventurous and fun and we will remember it forever. I can't wait.
For more minimalism and simplification inspiration, see these blogs:
Jay-ZPosted: December 15, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
I love that Jay-Z went to Canterbury Boys High. His visit tells these boys that they are important and worth the attention of someone whom they idolise, and the impact of this will be immense.
Stuff I'm loving at the momentPosted: September 16, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized 4 Comments
Local strawberries are in season:
Pretty and colourful summery dresses:
ANZAC DayPosted: April 26, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
I don't think that shops should be open on ANZAC day. It's a day of memorial for those people who gave up their lives for their country. And I'm not just talking about those who died in the war, but those who survived and came home with physical and psychological injuries, and have had to live with that for the rest of their lives. Many of these soldiers are still alive. I can't think of anything more disrespectful than retailers wanting to make money on this day.
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!Posted: April 11, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alice, film, tim burton Leave a comment
I'm not quite sure why it took me so long to write about Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, since I saw it several weeks ago. For all my good intentions of making the viewing of this movie a special night out, I ended up seeing it with 150 Year 9 students on an excursion the day after coming back from a three day school camp – not exactly conducive to being able to enjoy it as much as I had wanted to. However, I did watch closely and try to get into the Tim Burton spirit of things as much as I could, and here's my verdict:
The Good:
1. Visually beautiful. As can be expected from Burton, slightly dark overtones with splashes of vivid colour and amazing detail. I would never bother seeing this in 3D – it's too stunning in the original format and messing around with the dimensions would take away from Burton's wonderful landscapes.
2. The cast. Johnny Depp was deliciously zany, Helena Bonham Carter made the Red Queen come alive and really, is there anyone else who can do "dryness" as well as Alan Rickman? They were all brilliant.
3. The costumes. I suppose this should go along with "visually beautiful" but really, the costumes were magnificent in their own right.
The "not bad but not necessarily good":
1. The storyline. It followed the typical Hero's Journey to a tee, but because of that, it was a bit boring and predictable. Even my Year 9 students told me that they found the storyline boring since they could tell what was going to happen. I was actually glad that they did – it means that they are dissatisfied with archetypes and willing to question what is presented to them. I told them that this was because last year we studied novels and films that challenged the archetypal Hero's Quest (Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve and Howl's Moving Castle by Miyazaki). When studying these texts, we pulled apart the expectations of the typical quest story and found that texts that challenged the archetypes were much more powerful. I was proud of my Year 9s for being dissatisfied with the "Alice" story!!
The Ugly:
1. The characters were fantastically ugly! I remember hearing about an interview with Helena Bonham Carter who was complaining that in Burton's films, he always makes her look completely ugly – and it's true! But she plays ugly well.
Worth seeing at the cinema to appreciate the beautiful cinematography. Worth seeing in general if you are either an Alice in Wonderland fan or a Tim Burton fan (I am both). Go and see it with the expectation to be visually wowed, but don't expect the storyline to blow your mind.


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Welcome to all new players. We're very much looking forward to the new season at Chinnor.
The U12s run a squad of nearly 30 players with mixed ability teams. Over the season we will give all players the opportunity to play competitive and social rugby. Players at this point don't have set positions and we are aligned to the RFU's Age Grade guidelines for junior rugby. This provides the best opportunity for the whole age group to develop and we hope all players will be keen to experiment, to learn, and to step up to new challenges. Enjoyment is of paramount importance and all within a safe and encouraging environment.
Rugby at Chinnor will help your son or daughter in many ways - forming new friendships, working as a team, developing respect for peers and adults, becoming physically stronger and agile, as well as, offering more social opportunities like touring and festivals.
We are keen to welcome new players and will provide a comprehensive introduction to boys and girls who've not previously played. If you are interested in joining, contact one of the team or feel free to join in at one of the training sessions whether you've played before or not.
Membership is available via http://www.chinnor-rfc.com/payments
We train on Sundays from 10:00 am to 12:00pm if we don't have a fixture. Fixtures are predominantly in Oxfordshire with the occasional excursion across the borders to Hertfordshire and Bucks.
Here's to another enjoyable season.
The U12's Coaching Team


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Day in the Life With Anna Lee
I started blogging in 2012, when I began my degree in interior design but wasn't really serious about it until 2014 when I created a whole new website and started being active on social media. I still have a lot to learn but am really loving blogging and the community that surrounds it. It's really exciting to follow the development of other bloggers and designers; encouraging one another along the way. When I first started my blog, it was initially a way to impress design firms that I planned on applying to for internships and post-college jobs; however the more time I spent researching blogging, and after seeing so many of the amazing blogs out there, I decided to change gears. I now use my blog as a place to share my passion for interior design, organizing and empowering others. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and look forward to someday offering services and having a small, online store.
6:30 AM - I press snooze as my alarm goes off.
7:00 AM - I make some coffee (black) and breakfast (berries and oatmeal), and then head to the living room to soak in the sunshine streaming in through the balcony. I spend an hour or so checking my email and social media platforms; sending out some tweets; and watching an inspirational video or two by Gary Vaynerchuck or Marie Forleo. I love having this quiet time at the beginning of each day to gather my thoughts and intentions. It helps to relax me and keep me focused.
8:00 AM - I make the bed, straighten up the house, and start getting ready for the day. I like to take my time in the morning and to not feel rushed.
I currently work part-time as a sales associate downtown, so on days where I have work it's for about four to five hours. When I get home I'll take a break, catch up with my husband and work on my blog. On days where I don't have work, I typically run errands, work on projects around the apartment, and write posts for the blog. While I look forward to having a full-time job, I really appreciate the extra time right now I have to work on Anna E. Lee - Interior Design. I try to take advantage of it and get a lot of work done, as well as take breaks (i.e. going for a walk) when needed.
6:00 PM - My husband and I start making dinner. Some nights one of us will make it, other nights we'll cook together. It's something we've always enjoyed doing as a couple (our favorite thing to whip up at the moment is Tex Mex!).
After dinner, my husband and I will watch a show or two together and then do our own thing. For me, that's usually working on the blog and joining in on Twitter chats (i.e. #millennialtalk, #fireworkpeople, and #ellechat). I continue working up until bed time, taking breaks every now and then to give my husband a hug and kiss. He's been so incredibly sweet and supportive about my blog and wanting to start my own business; understanding the time and energy it takes. I love that he's always there to encourage me.
11:30 - 12:00 PM - We usually head to bed.
One of my favorite posts that I've created is a recent one, "My Personal Style & How I've Achieved It". While I've been seriously blogging for about a year, I'm just now starting to come into my own - in terms of my voice, the layout, and the content of my posts. I had a lot of fun creating this particular post as I tried to share a bit about myself with the readers; in discussing my style and our home. In the post, I took three words that I felt best describes our apartment's style and then explained how readers could get a similar look. Make sure to head over to the blog to check it out!
My very first piece of advice for someone wanting to start a blog/small business would be to really narrow down why you want to start-up. Obviously (if it's a small business and even a blog) you're looking to make some money but are you truly passionate about it? The process of starting up is going to be really exciting and empowering but it's also going to be exhausting and discouraging at times; it's going to take a lot of time, energy, and work. You need to make sure that you have the passion and the focus to carry you on through those hard times.
Another important piece of advice that I would offer is to create a blog/business plan. While this may be a bit tedious it is so important! Business plans help you to determine what your mission, vision, and values are; as well as determine your target clientele and how you are going to reach them. It makes you stop and realize that what you are doing is fun but also really serious - you need to have a plan. Creating a business plan early on not only helped me feel more secure about starting-up but also helped me in creating my brand. I'd go back to my mission statement and target audience, to help me determine things.
One last piece of advice that I would offer is to join a community of fellow bloggers/entrepreneurs; whether it's face-to-face; on Twitter; or through a Facebook group. While I often turn to my dad or husband for advice, I love having a community of fellow bloggers and side-hustlers to ask questions, encourage on, and share the journey with.
This is so hard! If I had to choose though some of my favorite bloggers/instagram accounts to follow are:
Click each photo to be directed to Anna's favorite blogs!
I am a recent college graduate of Marymount University, with a degree in Interior Design and plans of someday starting my business as an interior designer and professional organizer. My mission for my business is for my services to bring beauty and functionality to a space while empowering the lives of those living in it. I currently reside in Williamsburg, Virginia with my husband, who is getting PhD at the college of Williams & Mary in Physics (opposites defiantly attract!). It's a lovely place to live and a nice change of pace from Northern Virginia, where we both grew up, however I'm a city-girl at heart and am looking forward to moving in a few years.
Some of my favorites are: afternoon sunshine, California, black and white movies, the 1930's and '40's, travel, the color turquoise, orange roses, fashion, and God's faithfulness
Interested in being featured on Day In The Life? Sign up here!


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Whoops... looks like I'm a couple of days late. But I guess, better late than never, right? Hehheh.
This is my first Christmas spent in Perth. My previous workplace always shut down and we had forced annual leave then, so I've always made a trip back home then. My Christmas eve this year started with me delivering Christmas hampers to some of our clients near my area. It was a pretty interesting experience...
1. The first person was in hospital, her neighbour said she's been away for more than 10 days. Hence, I brought back the hamper to the office.
2. The second house, I knocked a few times but no reply. Since it was an enclosed gated unit, I left the hamper at the doorstep.
3. The third place, I knocked for quite a while and was about to leave, when an elderly lady, who appeared pretty sleepy opened the door. She seemed to be struggling to find the keys to open the gate, hence I left the hamper at her doorstep.
Christmas eve night was spent with SLB gang at Kiez's. Wonderful dinner followed by a hilarious game of taboo charades and monopoly.
I slept in a bit on Christmas morning as a result of the late night before. Started my bike ride at 9.20am. Good thing the clouds were blocking the sun a bit. The winds were pretty calm too. And it was a nice change to see the bike paths pretty empty. I completed the 120.8km distance in 4:08:40 - 29.1kph, my first time clocking above 29kph at training for this distance!
Then, Shirley cooked up a feast at her place. So it was all eat, eat, eat again! I didn't stay too late this time, as I was pretty tired. Thanks guys for the wonderful Christmas meals!
Boxing day morning, the plan was to do a 30km run. My physio recommended that I switch to a heel-toe landing to ease the pressure on my foot. Currently, my landing on my fore foot is acting as a brake. I actually find this new way of landing pretty bouncy, I tried it out in a couple of short runs before this. Still getting used to it though, yet to post any incredibly fast times.
Again, when it comes to a LSD, I'm in Ironman survival mode. And this was at it's worst. I felt some blisters developing around my toes. I walked some stretches of it (a whole 2.5km!). In the end, I called it quits after 21.6km.
As it was also Boxing day sales, the whole Perth was going mad at the shops. I too was keen to make use of the gift voucher my friends got for my birthday. Hence, my new pair of Asics GT 2140. I purposely chose the 4E width to fit my wide feet better, and hopefully, no more blisters.
And that was pretty much my boxing day shopping for this year. I tried out the shoes for a 13km run in the evening, and they felt pretty good.
Two days after Christmas, I'm almost at wits end at figuring out how to pass the time. I napped a lot though, maybe that's what my body needed - more rest. I did a 3.6km swim set - 10 x 100m swim on 1:35, 10 x 200m pull with pedals on 3:05, 12 x 50m swim on 50 seconds. Glad to say that I'm getting more rest time on the intervals - about 5 seconds, rather than my 1-2 seconds. I even threw in some backstroke in the 50s, mainly for vanity sake, to even out my tan!
Less than two days until darling returns... looking forward to it :)


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current feature: placemaking in bermuda - the waterfront/
On 1 November 2012, Bermuda held its first PechaKucha Night at the BMDS Bar. It was a great evening with speakers discussing topics ranging from a bridge connecting Spanish Point with Lagoon Park and the value of trees to a year in the life of a newborn (now 10 months old) whose mother is a filmmaker - with Bette Davis and an airship thrown in for good measure!
Since placemaking is an approach to community building from which Bermuda could benefit, and since our taping of the evening was not successful, here is a version of this writer's 6:40 minutes on placemaking, with an up front admission that this barely scratches the surface of the topic.
Placemaking: We Need To Do It
It is incredibly important to properly implement the new National Tourism Plan. (Before you ask, I am ignoring the ad campaign.) However, a read through the slideshow presentation reveals an understandable focus on business opportunities that, in my opinion, addresses only a part of the challenge. We need to be pretty sure that the 'hubs' developed, of which the Hamilton waterfront is one, are going to be enjoyed by a broad range of the community. Placemaking has a key role to play in helping to create places and spaces towards which people will gravitate. We need that.
Planners, architects, developers, residents, community groups, students - all Bermuda's stakeholders - need to work together to create great sites, venues, events and activities to be enjoyed and used by locals and tourists alike. In the words of Placemaking New Zealand:
Beautiful and meaningful places and spaces create a lasting value to the locality and a sense of pride to the community. As a result, people spend more time in their community: walking more, buying locally and spending more leisure and play time locally in vibrant mainstreets where there are places to sit, pause, learn, shop, connect and celebrate.


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At the CCDC, we support, we educate, we engage, and we have fun!
The Cañada Crescenta Democratic Club:
- establishes a congenial environment where members may discuss issues of mutual concern.
- promotes candidates, policies, and ideals of the Democratic Party.
- supports the Los Angeles County Democratic Party in its activities.
- provides an opportunity for citizens to participate in a significant way in the conduct of public affairs.
- observes the political actions of elected officials representing jurisdictions within which members of the club live.
- studies and takes positions on public policy issues.
- tracks progress of legislation and administrative actions affecting issues on which the Club has taken a position.
- engages in actions to persuade policymakers to support the Club's positions.
- increases voter registration.


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Taking the time to watch these movies next week.
Ever since this year's International Women's Day we've been celebrating our brilliant Girls' Globe network – the individuals and organizations committed to making the world a better and more equal place to live. We asked each of our contributors to share their secrets of feeling BOLD. They told us about books that inspire them, songs that embolden them and quotations that move them. […]
via Movies to Make You Feel Bold! — Girls' Globe


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- Specifications
Specifications of Green Tree Eucalyptus Mint Sea Salt For Aromaburners
SKU 5060116872309 EAN Code 5060116872309 Weight 239.0000 Brand Green Tree Packaging Per Piece Smell Fresh Measurements H 10 x D 4
- Description
More information about Green Tree Eucalyptus Mint Sea Salt For Aromaburners
Smell contributes to the atmosphere that you experience consciously and unconsciously. Do you already have beautiful aroma burner? Then it's time to choose your favorites from the delicious Green Tree salt fragrances. The more senses you stimulate, the more intense the moment is experienced. This sea salt is meant to be used in an aroma burner.
Green Tree symbolizes the traveler that brings precious valuables of nature she discovers during world trips across different continents through all kinds of cultures and unknown corners. She brings back a backpack full of treasures, which you can find in the pure scent of Eucalyptus Mint.
Eucalyptus Mint
Our fragrances are unmistakably and subtle at the same time. This fresh variant promises that what you see is what you get: Mint-Eucalyptus in the most pure and recognizable form. Magnificent to adorn your bathroom with and create this ultimate wellness-effect.
Fill the aroma burner with 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt. Light the tea light and place it under the aroma holder. As soon as the fragranced salt is heated, the aromatic odor will rise.


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The nation needs to respond to the growing need for treatment of mental health disorders by our military.
The latest evidence - mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among troops than any other cause, reports the Pentagon's medical Surveillance Monthly in USA Today.
Last month was the first time this happened in 15 years of tracking.
This could be viewed as a good indicator in that more military are coming forward for help.
It also is a warning that mental illnesses, so often clouded by stigma, deserve to be treated at every level in society, especially for those who risked their lives for the rest of the nation.
The toll: 17,538 hospitalizations for mental health issues in the military.
Next in line: 17,354 hospitalizations for pregnancy and childbirth.
Next: 11,156 hospitalizations for injuries and battle wounds.
Almost 40 percent of all hospital days by service members were attributed to mental health reasons, the Pentagon reported.
Another way of putting it is the Pentagon lost 488 years of duty in 2009, something like 488 military members spending the entire year in the hospital.
Mental illness is complex.
Symptoms can be slow to develop.
Friends and family may notice symptoms before the service member does.
There aren't enough trained counselors to deal with the demand.
But every elected official in Washington should make a personal commitment to become involved in this most serious issue.
We owe it to the nation to take care of our troops.
So few Americans are serving compared to the population as a whole, the impact may be missed.
And we owe it to our economy to make sure that they return to a productive life, one that is not lost in the after-effects of service.
The benefits would not only help the military members, but their families and the rest of society.


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MELBOURNE, Fla. — Florida's mild climate and world-class beaches continue to draw Northern retirees seeking temporary refuge from the winter, but tourism experts say many of these snowbirds are shortening their stays.
Don't miss these Travel stories
Lords of the gourd compete for Punkin Chunkin honors
With teams using more than 100 unique apparatuses to launch globular projectiles a half-mile or more, the 27th annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin event is our pick as November's Weird Festival of the Month.
- Airports, airlines work hard to return your lost items
- Expert: Tourist hordes threaten Sistine Chapel's art
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- Lords of the gourd compete for Punkin Chunkin honors
Rental rates have risen to keep up with spiraling property insurance rates from recent hurricanes, pricing some retirees out of the market.
"Prices in rentals have gone up because of insurance. We're 98 percent booked for February and March, but booked about 75 percent for January, which is very unusual," Lisa Durgin, a Cocoa Beach-based realtor who rents to snowbirds, told Florida Today.
Durgin said this January is among the slowest she has seen.
Blanka Kovarik, a retiree from Toronto, said many of her friends are planning shorter stays in Florida this winter.
Along with the increased rental costs, gas prices and rising medical expenses are also a factor, she said.
In Brevard County, for example, a study by Schulman, Ronca, Bucuvalas, Inc., found that the number of snowbirds fell nearly 9 percent to 27,600 in 2005 from 30,300 in 2003.
Abraham Pizam, dean of the Rosen School of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, said that snowbirds have been stricken with "Florida fatigue."
"Snowbirds are not returning to Florida as they used to," Pizam said. "We're not getting as many repeat visitors. Other destinations are competing with us as well. Also, remember that snowbirds have a lot of expenses, with insurance and medical costs, and they have less money for trips. So, rather than cutting out the vacation completely, they're staying for a shorter time."
Business are feeling the crunch, said Rob Varley, executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism.
"The season is shorter, and the part-time residents are not coming as soon, either," Varley said.
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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When travelling, it is at all times a challenge to fit every thing you need to carry right into a suitcase. While there are actually tips to squeezing every thing right into a small house, the best method to pack gentle is to take much less stuff within the first place! Sure, there is another way and that's hiring an organization who transport animals to the Philippines however I doubt that it is pretty much as good as when you might have your canine with you in the same flight going to Manila. Thanks in your comment and I hope one can find an excellent airline for you and your pet. Good luck! Think of the eventualities most frequent travelers face. Travel just isn't all fun. It's usually demanding. Waits at the airports could be boring and standing at security lines may be making an attempt. As soon as, when we stopped over Mumbai, each carry-on had to be tagged and stamped and we needed to go down dark dirty rooms to establish our baggage.
We go through the bathrooms and kitchen and give the taps slightly additional turn to verify there are not any drips. And, in case you have a rest room that ever runs on its own, I might turn the valve off down under. (And repair that as quickly as you'll be able to. It may possibly use an enormous amount of water.) If we have used exterior spigots recently, I test those as effectively. And, after all, within the winter, hoses needs to be removed.
Not everybody can sleep with the pinnacle in a single position without shifting, particularly on longer flights. What many individuals do on this case, particularly after they tend to drop their head forwards is to show the pillow the other approach round – backwards, so your chin is properly supported. For this reason, you could make sure that you manage to pay for obtainable to take care of your coach so that it will hold its worth and function correctly.
It's a good suggestion, at the very least, to know where you will be staying in every metropolis you stop in earlier than you arrive. I rarely booked reservations for lodging greater than every week prematurely, and infrequently for a couple of or two nights. That method, if I didn't like the place I used to be staying I wasn't locked in for an extended keep, and if I loved the place I could usually extend my keep.
Some great ideas I can use – my daughter travels internationally for enterprise usually and likes to travel gentle so a few of these are perfect! When you reside long run in a campground, you'll only pay for electrical, as a result of water and sewer are included in your regular campsite costs. Of course, in case you have more time to discover Santorini, there are additionally many beaches such because the Crimson Seaside with its purple and black volcanic pebbles, Kamari seashore and Perissa Seaside that you can go and whereas the time away.


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The family of Daniel & Delores (Gross) Koenig announces their parents' 60th wedding anniversary.
They were married on June 30, 1953 at Mount Carmel Church in Balta. They farmed in the Rugby area until retiring in 1995, and moving to Rugby.
Article Photos
They have seven children: Kathy (Wes) Kramer, Max; Mark (Glory) Koenig, Rugby; Susan (Brian) Blessum, Rugby; Diane (Steve) Feist, Edgeley; Steve (Darla) Koenig, Lisbon; Lisa (Brian) Hoffart, Hillsboro, Ore.; Rick (Terri) Koenig, Rugby. They also have 21 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
The couple will celebrate in Bismarck with family at a grandson's wedding.


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Learn more about Dynamics GPView Dynamics GP PricingFree Dynamics GP Training
If you are a frequent user of Microsoft Dynamics GP, chances are you use a select few windows much more often than others. If this is the case, you may find it helpful to have shortcuts to these key windows directly on your home page. These shortcuts can be added in several different ways:
- Quick Links – Arguably the most popular method is to add the window to the Quick Links pane of your home page. To do this, hover over the Quick Links pane, select the pencil icon that appears in the top right corner of the pane, and click the Add button to add new links. Don't forget to refresh your home page if the new link does not appear right away.
- Navigation Pane – To add a shortcut to your navigation pane, open the window that you want to link to, select File, and select Add to Shortcuts. A link to that window will now be added to your navigation pane when you are on your home page.
- Toolbar – To view the toolbar for a particular series, right-click the blue menu bar at the top of the Dynamics GP screen and select the desired series so that a checkmark appears next to it. To customize which icons are on the toolbar, right-click the blue menu bar again, select Customize…, choose the appropriate series from the drop-down menu, and click Add to add a new icon to the toolbar.
By: Rahim Jiwani, Application Specialist, WebSan Solutions Inc.


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Doug E. Fresh recalled "how incredible it was" to go on field trips to the American Museum of Natural History when he was growing up in Harlem. He also has wonderful memories of his last performance at the museum eight years ago when he and Jamie Foxx took the microphone at a gala attended by Bill Clinton.
On Dec. 27, Doug E. Fresh will take center stage again at the museum's 37th annual Kwanzaa celebration.
"To me, [Kwanzaa] is about the spirit of giving, and each day represents another level of giving in different ways," he said. Doug E. Fresh is scheduled for 30-minute shows at noon and 3 p.m. After each, the audience will learn the "Dougie" dance.
"We're going to take it to the next level," he said. "We're going to see if we can get the dinosaurs to do it."
The Kwanzaa celebration is free to museum members and those paying the museum entrance fee.


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1. This competition will be governed by these Terms and Conditions and entrants agree that they have read and accept these Terms and Conditions and will be bound by them. References to 'you', 'your' or 'entrant' refer to you.
2. Entrants may enter the competition via Twitter or Instagram by following the relevant steps below:
(i) following MTV Geordie Shore on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MTVGeordieShore; and
(ii) tweeting a picture or link to a video of themselves asking out Vicky Pattison from Geordie Shore for a Valentine's date, using the reply @mtvgeordieshore and using the twitter hashtag '#VickysValentine' (the "Competition Tweet") (to be tweeted by the entrant at any time during the period starting at 09:00AM GMT on Monday 10 February 2014 and ending at 11:59PM GMT on Wednesday 12 February 2014).
(i) upload a picture or video of themselves asking out Vicky Pattison from Geordie Shore for a Valentine's date, using the hashtag '#VickysValentine' (the "Competition Instagram") (to be posted by the entrant at any time during the period starting at 09:00AM GMT on Monday 10 February 2014 and ending at 11:59PM GMT on Wednesday 12 February 2014).
The Competition Tweet or Competition Instagram (as the case may be) shall each be referred to as "Entry Content" in these Terms and Conditions. Entrants may only enter the Competition via Twitter or Instagram but not both.
3. All entrants confirm that:
a) they are the sole owner of any copyright in the Entry Content submitted by them and if they are not the sole owner that they have obtained the consent of the relevant owner and such owner has consented to the Entry Content being used in accordance with these Terms (including (without limitation) Term 17, 18 and 19); and
b) the Entry Content submitted by them does not include any third party branding, logos, artwork or any other copyright work unless the entrant has obtained the consent of the relevant owner of any third party branding, logos, artwork and such owner has consented to the relevant branding, logos and/or artwork being used in the Entry Content in accordance with these Terms (including (without limitation) Term 17, 18 and 19); and
c) if another person appears in the Entry Content together with the entrant that the entrant has obtained the relevant person's permission to feature in the Entry Content and for the Entry Content to be used in accordance with the Terms (including (without limitation) Term 17, 18 and 19).
4. The competition is free to enter. However, costs to enter the competition via the Internet may vary so please check with your network operator for current charges. Entrants should seek the permission of the person paying the bill before entering. We are not responsible for any costs in connection with entering the competition.
5. The closing date for entries is 11:59PM GMT on 12 February 2014.
6. This competition is open to residents of the UK and Republic of Ireland only aged 16 and over, excluding employees and immediate relatives of employees of MTV Networks Europe (the "Promoter") or of their respective parents, subsidiaries or affiliated companies or any other person professionally connected with this competition.
7. One (1) entry per person. Multiple entries will be void (for the avoidance of doubt this includes entries by the same person using different Twitter or Instagram accounts) and the entrant disqualified at Promoter's discretion.
8. The winner will have followed the steps for entry via Twitter or Instagram set out in Term 2 above, and will be the entry selected by a judging panel of three (3) persons consisting of one (1) member of the Promoter's marketing department; Vicky Pattison from Geordie Shore; and one (1) independent individual after 09:00AM GMT on 13 February 2014 from all valid entries received. The panel will select the winner by assessing all valid entries and selecting the Entry Content which they deem amusing, funny, and the most 'quintessentially Geordie Shore'.
9. One (1) winner will be selected.
10. The prize is as follows: a Valentine's card signed by Geordie Shore cast member Vicky Pattison, and some chocolates (the "Prize").
11. For the avoidance of doubt, the Prize does not consist of anything other than as is expressly set out in Term 10 and no additional costs are included.
12. The winner of the Prize is responsible for all applicable taxes and expenses not specified in the Prize description.
13. The winner will be notified via direct message to his/her Twitter or Instagram account (depending on which platform the winner has used to enter the competition) after 10:00AM GMT on Thursday 13 February 2014. The winner will then be sent information regarding delivery of the Prize to his/her email address after replying to the direct message.
14. In the event that the Promoter and the winner cannot for any reason establish contact within seven (7) days from the Promoter's initial attempt to do so, the Promoter reserves the right to draw another winner using the same judging criteria from all the remaining valid entries received.
15. The Promoter reserves the right to contact any and/or all entrants by a direct message on Twitter or Instagram throughout the term of the competition in relation to these Terms and Conditions and the Prize.
16. The Promoter reserves the right to terminate the competition and withhold the Prize in the event that, in the Promoter's reasonable opinion, there are insufficient entries for the Promoter to be able to select a winner.The Promoter's decision is final with respect to any aspect of the competition, including the determination of the winner of the Prize. No correspondence will be entered into.
17. By entering this competition all entrants hereby grant to the Promoter and its respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliated companies a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce, copy, adapt, transmit, broadcast, publish or delete any information or other material including without limitation, the entrant's name, entry, Entry Content, photograph, likeness, biographical information, voice, text, images, designs, audio and/or video clips submitted in entering or any statement made by them concerning the competition ("Submissions") by any means and in any and all media as they, in their discretion, see fit. For the avoidance of doubt (but without limitation) this will include the winner's name and Entry Content being posted across the Promoter's social media platforms. Entrants acknowledge that they may be required to be used in publicity without further consent or payment.
18. All entrants hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive in favour of the Promoter, the Promoter's affiliates and their respective licensees, assigns and successors in title, all moral rights in any Submissions to which he or she is, or may at any time in the future be, entitled.
19. All entrants hereby undertake that nothing in the Entry Content:
a) is defamatory;
b) is sexually explicit or suggestive, contains nudity or any dangerous activity or is profane, pornographic or violent;
c) is derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group or endorses any form of hate or hate group;
d) promotes the use of illegal drugs or firearms;
e) promotes any particular political agenda or message;
f) reveals any personal information, including but not limited to license plate numbers, personal names, email addresses or street addresses; or
g) is otherwise offensive or illegal.
20. Decisions as to whether Entry Content infringes these Terms and Conditions in any way shall be made at the sole discretion of the Promoter. Submissions that do not comply in all material respects with the Terms and Conditions shall be disqualified.
21. The Promoter reserves the right to select an alternative winner in the event that the Promoter has reasonable grounds for believing that a selected winner has contravened any of these Terms and Conditions.
22. The winner may be required to provide a written acknowledgement of acceptance of all Terms and Conditions of the competition prior to receiving their Prize.
23. The Promoter can accept no responsibility for entries lost, delayed, misdirected or undelivered. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. The Promoter shall not be responsible for technical errors in telecommunications networks, Internet access or otherwise preventing entry to any competition.
24. The Prize is as stated and is non-transferable. No cash alternatives will be offered. If due to circumstances beyond the Promoter's control the Promoter is unable to provide the stated Prize, the Promoter reserves the right to award a substitute Prize of equal value. The Prize is subject to the additional terms and conditions of the manufacturer or supplier.
25. No purchase necessary.
26. The Promoter shall not be liable to the winner for any loss or damage howsoever caused (whether in contract, tort or statutory duty or otherwise) arising out of or in connection with the competition and/or Prize other than death or personal injury caused by the negligence of the Promoter and/or the Promoter's personnel and/or deceit or fraud by the Promoter and/or its personnel.
27. The Promoter shall not be liable for any delay in performing or partial or total failure to perform any of its respective obligations to the winners under these Terms and Conditions if such delay or failure is caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control including without limitation delays, changes, disruptions, cancellations, diversions or substitutions howsoever caused including without limitation as a result of war, terrorist action or threatened terrorist action, strikes, hostilities, civil commotions, accidents, fire, flood or natural catastrophes or arising without limitation out of or in connection with (i) the activities of third party event organisers; and/or (ii) any form of transportation (including but not limited to flights, trains, coaches, buses, ferries, taxis or cars). For the avoidance of doubt, the affected winner shall be solely liable for any additional costs incurred as a result.
28. Only entries from individuals will be accepted. Any entries that the Promoter believes have (a) been made via participation in a syndicate or (b) via any form of machine assisted intervention enabling computer generated multiple entries, will be disqualified. The Promoter reserves the right to discount multiple entries from the same IP address.
29. The winner's name can be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to FAO Lisa Whitelaw, Geordie Shore Valentine Competition, MTV Networks Europe, 17-29 Hawley Crescent, Camden Lock, London, NW1 8TT, for one (1) month after the competition closes.
30. Any personal information, including without limitation, the entrant's name, age, address (including postcode), telephone number and/or email address will be used solely in connection with this competition and for any purpose for which the entrant specifically opts in and will not be disclosed to any third party except for (a) the purpose of fulfilling the Prize where applicable and (b) for any purpose for which the entrant specifically opts in. Any personal information held by the Promoter in respect of any competition will be held on record for a reasonable period to fulfill the purpose for which such personal information was collected. If an entrant gives the Promoter permission to pass on their personal information to a third party then this shall no longer be the responsibility of the Promoter and shall be subject to the privacy policy of that third party.
31. All entrants agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions, which may be amended or varied at any time by the Promoter on notice. All entrants are recommended to print off a copy or download a copy of these Terms and Conditions for their own record. No waiver of any rights by the Promoter or any entrant will be taken as a waiver of any other rights it may have. For example, if the Promoter waives its right to complain about a particular breach of these Terms by an entrant, it does not prevent the Promoter from complaining about other breaches.
32. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall limit the Promoter's liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence of the Promoter and/or deceit or fraud by the Promoter.
33. Each provision excluding or limiting liability is to be construed separately and will apply and survive even if for any reason any of the other provisions are held to be inapplicable or unenforceable in any circumstances. Each of the provisions excluding or limiting liability will remain in force notwithstanding any termination of these Terms and Conditions.
34. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and the courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any disputes arising therefrom.
35. Any queries regarding the competition should be addressed to:
FAO Lisa Whitelaw, Geordie Shore Valentine Competition, MTV Networks Europe, 17-29 Hawley Crescent, Camden Lock, London, NW1 8TT.