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Dir/scr: Chloe Robichaud. Canada. 2013. 97mins
An engagingly well-made Canadian drama – with touches of comedy – about a young woman and her sexual awaking, Sarah Prefers to Run (Sarah prefere la course) might be rather familiar in terms of storyline and structure, but it is given energy and drive by an impressive lead performance by Sophie Desmarais as 20 year-old Sarah, who – as the title suggests – just wants to run.
The real revelation here, though, is the impressively rounded performance from young Sophie Desmarais, who impressively manages to play the humour as well as the drama.
Quebecois writer-director Chloe Robichaud's film is attractively made, and while Sarah's stumbles in life and on the track never really rack up the drama levels, this quality film should well interest further festivals. The film screened in Un Certain Regards at Cannes.
After showing other runners a clean pair of heels on the Quebec City track team, dedicated Sarah heads off with local lad Antoine (Jean-Sebastien Courchesne) to Montreal to train with the McGill Athletics Team, where in amidst the track work more than a few romantic issues arise.
She and Antoine get married for financial aid reasons, and while she sees the relationship as essentially a business one he starts to falls for his wife-cum-roommate. But at the same time Sarah starts to take a shine to fellow teammate Zoey (Genevieve Boivin-Roussy).
As if thinks aren't complex enough, that old stand-by the 'medical condition' comes along to give an additional dramatic push to the story. And while it certainly adds a dash of headier complexity to proceedings it does tend to also overshadow the nicely developing relationship conundrum developing between Sarah, Antoine and Zoey.
The real revelation here, though, is the impressively rounded performance from young Sophie Desmarais, who impressively manages to play the humour as well as the drama; looks at ease on the running track, and strikes up a fine rapport with her co-stars. She is an actress to keep and eye on, and certainly helps take the film to the finishing line.
Production company: Las Boite a Fanny
International sales: eOne Films International, www.entertainmentone.com
Producer: Fanny-Laure Malo
Executive producers: Rene Malo, Chloe Robichaud
Cinematography: Jessica Lee Gagne
Editor: Michel Arcand
Production designer: Bruno-Pierre Houle
Main cast: Sophie Desmarais, Jean-Sebastien Courchesne, Genevieve Boivin-Roussy


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Reformed Preachers Ponder the New Calvinism
Three Reformed preachers recently sat down together to talk about the New Calvinism that has been sweeping the younger generation of Christians.
It's a movement that has young believers going back to the roots – namely, to Scripture and the sovereignty of God.
"You've got a generation of Christians who've grown up in an overwhelmingly secular culture and they're not part of a churched culture," said Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in an informal discussion hosted by The Gospel Coalition.
"They're realizing that something has to explain how they came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They have an absolute determination, you might say, to make clear that their first principle is the sovereignty of God, not the sovereignty of the self."
The Rev. Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Mich., believes part of the appeal of the New Calvinism is that it's "got some muscle to it" and is "robust doctrinally."
There's a renewed sense that "God's sovereignty is biblical and massively important, that God loves us before we loved Him, that He's the one who does the deciding work in our salvation," the young pastor said.
In recent years, pastors have pondered the upsurge of interest in Reformed theology – which includes holding to the authority of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, and the sovereignty of grace – with some proposing that it is coming out of a restlessness and dissatisfaction with contemporary evangelicalism.
"Weary of churches that seek to entertain rather than teach, longing after the true meat of the Word, these young people are pursuing doctrine and are fast becoming new Calvinists," states a post on the popular Christian blog Internet Monk.
Mohler has been identified as one of the evangelical theologians contributing to the resurgence. Others include Baptist theologian John Piper, C.J. Mahaney of Sovereign Grace churches, and Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church.
"What's new is you have new people in a new time who are rediscovering the same kind of theological instincts and impulses that led to the Reformation and finding them in the same sources – Scripture," Mohler explained.
And the desire for meaty answers to such questions as "how has God's grace come to me" emerges "from young people trying to swim against the tide of secularism," said the well-known evangelical.
Reformed theologian Ligon Duncan explained the phenomenon this way: "I think as the older confessional traditions jettison their fidelity to some of the great truths that all Protestants have valued because we found them in the Scriptures and see them at the very core of what Christian life and ministry is about, you've got a new generation of folks who are rummaging through our trashcans and saying 'this is great, why didn't somebody ever tell me about this?'"
As young people rediscover biblical truths, DeYoung believes it could "really reinvigorate evangelicalism."
Meanwhile, for Mohler, the label – whether it's the New Calvinism – doesn't matter.
It all comes down to the Scriptures and being "committed to the Gospel, wanting to see the nations rejoice in the name of Christ, and wanting to see Gospel-built and committed churches," Mohler indicated.
"If you're going to dive deeply into the Scriptures, if you're going to have to explain why the Scriptures have this authority ... [and] how this gets worked out in life, frankly, I don't care what you label it, you're going to end up in a good place."
Overall, the three theologians are excited.
"I think it is a wonderful and undiluted good thing that this younger generation is deeply biblical, deeply passionate, deeply convictional, increasingly confessional and ready to do something great for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," Mohler said.

subset: commoncrawl


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According to a National Retail Federation (NRF) survey conducted over the weekend by BIGresearch, 212 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the Black Friday weekend, an increase from 195 million shoppers reported last year. The NRF also reports that consumers spent more during the weekend, spending an average of $365.34 per shopper, up from last year's $343.31. Total spending for the weekend is estimated to be $45 billion.
More Black Friday shoppers hit stores in the early hours of the morning; nearly one-fourth of the day's shoppers (24 percent) were in stores by 4 a.m. and 9.5 percent of Black Friday shoppers began their shopping at midnight, triple the number in 2009 (3.3 percent). Additionally, the number of Thanksgiving Day shoppers has doubled over the past five years, from 10.3 million in 2005 to 22.3 million in 2010. Online shopping jumped from 28.4 percent last year to 33.6 percent this year.
Among the top type of stores were department stores (52 percent of the weekend's shoppers this year vs. 49.4 percent last year) and clothing stores (24.4 percent vs. 22.9 percent). The percentage of people who shopped at discounters declined to 40.3 percent from 43.2 percent last year.


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If you're looking for a getaway that offers deluxe accommodations; fabulous food; great wine; a destination spa and adventure experiences all nestled in the gorgeous New York Finger Lakes wine region, you've found it!
La Tourelle's 54 deluxe rooms have dreamy pillow-top mattresses to ensure a restful night's sleep. You'll need that sleep if you plan on touring the wine trails; visiting the museums; taking a hike in any of five state parks, or participating in the numerous adventure excursions available in "gorges" Ithaca.
After experiencing all that Finger Lakes wine country has to offer, you'll really appreciate getting pampered at August Moon Spa (voted one of the World's Best Spas in Passport Magazine in 2013). We offer all the services you expect from a destination spa, plus we have two Tranquility Rooms where you can relax and enjoy cuisine from our menu at The Bistro.
Our restaurant choices include The Bistro, which serves breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch; also available is John Thomas Steakhouse, which serves dinner nightly. At The Bistro, you'll enjoy "farm to table" regional cuisine that is prepared by our team led by Executive Chef Jack Applegarth. At John Thomas Steakhouse, indulge yourself with prime dry-aged beef, live Maine lobsters, fresh poultry and seafood and an extensive wine list.
We invite you to enjoy our family owned and operated resort, spa and bistro. We are committed to delivering stellar experiences, and hope that you'll give us a try. We are a New York State Certified Green Hotel, and we are passionate about protecting our environment and supporting our community.
Whether you are visiting children at Cornell or Ithaca College, planning a fun getaway or a romantic escape, organizing a meeting or retreat, or dreaming of the perfect wedding, we look forward to having you as our guests at La Tourelle. — The Wiggins Family


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Lia Tarachansky is an Israeli-Russian journalist with The Real News Network reporting on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Born in the Soviet Union, Tarachansky grew up in a settlement in the occupied West Bank. She is the director of On the Side of the Road, a documentary on Israel's biggest taboo – the events of 1948 when the state was created. Tarachansky previously worked as a Newsroom Producer in The Real News' Washington D.C. and Toronto Headquarters, and her work appeared on BBC, Al Jazeera, USA Today, Canadian Dimension Magazine and others.
ANTON WORONCZUK, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Anton Woronczuk in Baltimore.
The bodies of three Israeli teenagers who disappeared more than two weeks ago were found in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. Here to give us an update from Jaffa, Israel, is Lia Tarachansky. She's a Real News correspondent reporting from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. She is also the director of the documentary On the Side of the Road.
Thanks for joining us, Lia.
LIA TARACHANSKY, MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much for having me, Anton.
WORONCZUK: So talk about the latest news that three Israeli teenagers were found dead and what response we're likely to see from Israel in the next few days.
TARACHANSKY: So two very significant things happened today, the first of which is that the government finally lifted the gag order on the Israeli press to reveal that the teenagers that they've been reporting for the last two weeks were kidnapped were actually dead. This is something the government started leaking to the press almost immediately after the operation began on the third day, but forbade the Israeli press from publishing it. Of course, without them publishing it, the foreign press couldn't confirm it.
The second thing that happened today that was very important is that while all the turmoil was going on with the bodies of the three teenagers, which the government claims were found today—and, of course, the two weeks of bombardment of the Gaza Strip—the Israeli parliament passed a law today that would further entrench the Israeli occupation in East Jerusalem, making the division of Jerusalem in any future two-state agreement impossible.
WORONCZUK: Okay. And in regards to the Israeli teams, has anyone thus far claimed responsibility?
TARACHANSKY: No, no one has claimed responsibility. From the beginning no one has claimed responsibility. Meanwhile, the Israeli government, and especially the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have insisted that it's actually the fault of Hamas. Now, this is very important, 'cause it every single point where he appeared to the press and in public spheres, he insisted almost in the same sentence that while the teenagers were indeed kidnapped, maintaining the line, they were kidnapped by Hamas.
Meanwhile, when we compare this to every other incident that I've at least covered in my five years here and speaking to many veteran journalists, if the government actually has evidence that if they want to push forward live [sic], they almost immediately after the incident release the evidence. Oftentimes the evidence, you know, is not truthful—and we at The Real News have often proven that—but still they immediately after a claim release the evidence. Here they didn't release the evidence, not immediately, not after, and not even now.
Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister continued to say that this is the fault of Hamas. Now, Hamas itself as a party didn't take responsibility for this. Not one of the many branches of Hamas, including the militant branches of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, didn't take responsibility for it. Neither did the usual suspects, the Wahhabis and the Islamic Jihad. Nor did the Fatah's militant wing, al-Aqsa. So, as far as we know, none of the militant groups of the Palestinians have taken responsibility for it.
But the Hamas party refused to condemn it. In fact, they've actually said that whoever did this, you know, should be celebrated, which is what we would expect from a party that never gave up armed struggle.
Fatah, on the other hand, the Palestinian party that's in charge of Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas, has condemned the kidnapping almost on the second day since the—after the incident, but failed to condemn the Israeli government and the Israeli military's numerous attacks on the Hamas party, including the arrest of more than 500 people in the last two weeks, the breaking into of 2,100 homes, the destruction of many of those homes, and the issue when you have more than 100 administrative detention orders to Hamas members.
Now, today the Israeli prime minister issued the following statement in the press:
"Immediately after the abduction, we said that Hamas was responsible. I think that it is now clear to everyone upon what we based ourselves. Abu Mazen [Mahmud Abbas] says that he opposes abductions; he says that he wants to proceed on the path to peace. If he stands by what he says, there is only one way to advance peace – and that is to tear up his agreement with Hamas."
And this exactly is what this whole operation is about. The unity between Fatah and Hamas brought the latest in a series of political embarrassments to the Israeli prime minister, and he was adamant to break the unity between the two rivaling Palestinian political parties. Now it looks like the rage on the streets, on the Palestinian streets in the West Bank, as we've covered last week, has turned against the PA, and the Israeli government and the Israeli military at the same time have been crippling the Hamas party. So we're seeing here both externally and internally a rift between the two parties, which will likely lead to the end of the unity.
WORONCZUK: Okay. And just to remind our viewers, like, how have Palestinians been responding to the way the Palestinian Authority handled the crisis, considering the weeks of raids that the IDF conducted throughout the West Bank?
TARACHANSKY: Yeah. So, yesterday, a former minister of the Palestinian Authority had stones and shoes thrown at him at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. We've seen the protests on the streets of the West Bank and Gaza against the way the Palestinian Authority has handled this situation. And as we reported last week, in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, one group—the al-Aqsa Brigade, most likely—has actually opened fire on a PA security chief. And everyone I've been speaking to in my time in the West Bank says that the rage against the Palestinian Authority has really reached unprecedented levels.
WORONCZUK: Okay. And do you think that Israel's going to intensify its military actions in Gaza?
TARACHANSKY: We'll see. I just want to remind our audience that the rage is actually about the PA's coordination with the Israeli army. So all the while, while the Israeli army has been breaking into hundreds and thousands of homes, most of whom belong to Hamas Party members, but also many others—. For example, in the refugee camps around Nablus, anyone who spends any time in Israeli jails, which is 40 percent of the Palestinian males, for any reason at all had their house broken into, oftentimes they were beaten with for no reason, sometimes beaten into a critical condition. And they just went door to door to door to anybody who's ever spent the time in jail.
And all this time, the Palestinian Authority—of course, from pressure from the United States—has been coordinating with the Israeli has been coordinating with the Israeli army. And this is one of the main reasons why there's a lot of rage against that. Now, another very key curious thing about this whole incident is if indeed the teenagers were kidnapped and killed or killed while trying [not] to get kidnapped, why is the Israeli government bombarding Gaza for the last two weeks? Yesterday they killed a senior official in the Hamas Party, and as a result, for the first time since November 2012, since the last war we had here, the Hamas Party launched a rocket against southern Israel.
So we're seeing here that there's a very intentional campaign of agitation. There was one soldier who leaked to the Orthodox paper Behadrey Haredim that there was actually snipers in the Jenin refugee camp who were trying to shoot people to instigate stone throws. So we're seeing that the government is intentionally trying to instigate a third intifada, which will then legitimate a very wide violent campaign against the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
WORONCZUK: Okay. Lia Tarachansky, coming to us from Jaffa, Israel. Thanks for that update.
TARACHANSKY: Thanks for having me, Anton.
WORONCZUK: And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.
We need to update you on where Truthout stands this month.
To be brutally honest, Truthout is behind on our fundraising goals for the year. There are a lot of reasons why. We're dealing with broad trends in our industry, trends that have led publications like Vice, BuzzFeed, and National Geographic to make painful cuts. Everyone is feeling the squeeze of inflation. And despite its lasting importance, news readership is declining.
To ensure we stay out of the red by the end of the year, we have a long way to go. Our future is threatened.
We've stayed online over two decades thanks to the support of our readers. Because you believe in the power of our work, share our transformative stories, and give to keep us going strong, we know we can make it through this tough moment.
Our fundraising campaign ends in a few hours, and we still must raise $11,000. Please consider making a donation before time runs out.


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1985 Mercury Capri - Mercury Rising
John Walker's '85 Mercury Capri Cranks Up The Heat On The Track And The Street With A Naturally Aspirated 331.
The words "fast" and "Mercury" are not commonly used in the same context. Or at least they haven't been since the NASCAR Cyclones of the late '60s. Most MM&FF readers don't remember those cars, or like your author, weren't even born yet. In fact, you're more likely to relate a Mercury to your grandparents driving to the grocery store or bingo, than to a powerful beast screaming down the dragstrip.
John Walker's '85 Capri is the exception to the rule. This is one bad Merc with a bad attitude. It certainly isn't a grocery-getter-unless you want your eggs and milk splattered all over the bubble-back glass like Marvin in Pulp Fiction.
Things weren't always like this for the Capri, though. When John bought the car from a family friend eight years ago, the Fox didn't even make it home before the transmission gave out. But even after having the AOD rebuilt, the car only ran low 14s. It wasn't until after three years and countless man-hours that John and his Capri were able to destroy the Mercury stereotype.
Starting with a stock 5.0L block, John looked to Marty Brown Performance in Linthicum, Maryland, for machining. John then built the short-block assembly himself with a Pro Power Street/Strip stroker kit and Ross flat-top pistons, which brought the total engine displacement to 331 ci. Combustion occurs beneath a pair of Trick Flow Specialties Twisted Wedge heads worked over by Chris Nelson at Nelson Competition in Pinellas Park, Florida. They feature 2.02/1.60-inch intake/exhaust valves respectively, as well as custom porting. Valve actuation is handled by a Stage 2 roller camshaft, 5/16-inch pushrods, and a set of 1.6:1 roller rockers, all from Trick Flow Specialties.
Aspiration is achieved through a K&N air filter, while fuel is supplied by a Barry Grant Speed Demon 650 four-barrel. A MagnaFuel QuickStar 275 electric fuel pump and Holley adjustable fuel-pressure regulator maintain the required 6.5 psi of fuel pressure. A 150-shot of nitrous oxide is on hand for that extra nudge at WOT. The air/fuel mixture is delivered to the combustion chamber through a ported Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold. A Mallory ignition box signals fire through an MSD distributor, coil, and wires. After the party, exhaust gasses escape through BBK 13/4-inch long-tube headers and a 21/2-inch diameter H-pipe, then finally out Bassani mufflers and tailpipes.
With all of this new-found power, John knew the old AOD couldn't handle the job. So he called up Performance Automatic in Gaithersburg, Maryland, for a Super Comp C-4 capable of handling 1,000 hp. John coupled it with an 8-inch ATI 4,500-stall converter. A custom aluminum driveshaft links to an 8.8-inch stock axle housing stuffed with 3.73:1 Ford Racing gears and Strange spool, axles, and C-clip eliminators. Bogart D-10s wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Drag slicks sit out back, while matching D-10s with Kumho rubber keep John pointed toward the traps.
To hold everything up in the front, John chose Moroso drag springs and Lakewood 90/10 struts. In the rear, stock springs supported by a set of Lakewood 50/50 shocks assist traction, and a Competition Engineering sway bar helps prevent body roll. Then, John installed a pair of UPR adjustable lower control arms to obtain maximum traction for wheels-up launches.
John left the interior mostly stock, with the exception of safety equipment and instruments. A Competition Engineering 10-point rollcage and five-point harness keep him safely enclosed and NHRA-legal. Dash-mounted Auto Meter gauges report engine conditions, and deviously hidden in the console are the nitrous controls. A Hurst Quarter Stick allows John to rip through the gears on the track and the street.
Lucky for John, his hometown of Palmetto, Florida, is a mere 20-minute drive from Bradenton Motorsports Park, where he competed in the True Street event at NMRA's '09 season opener. Fuel system failure prohibited him from finishing, but an improved setup is in the works. His best elapsed time to date is 9.92 seconds at over 135 mph. On the chassis dyno, the Merc put down a ground-pounding 430 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque on the juice, but John feels the converter is too loose to get an accurate reading. Regardless, that's not bad for a stock-block 331.
"I know the car has more in it, but good blocks are not budget friendly," John tells us. "I won't get rid of it, so I will keep making it faster." With the addition of a Boss 302 block in the future, John has his sights set on low 9s. Never satisfied, we know John and his non-stereotypical Mercury will continue to rise to the top.
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By Marcy Phelps-¨
Sept. 1, 2011
Whether you're starting a business, introducing new products or services, or adding locations, it's always a good idea to first do your research. Informed decisions make the best decisions, and - especially when credit is tight - we often need to show that we have a solid understanding of our target markets. Unfortunately, neither your customers nor your competitors make up one homogeneous group. What motivates people and businesses can vary - depending on the places where they operate, live, or work. That's why it's a good idea to incorporate into your research some business and market information about places - including demographics and the economic, political, social, and other issues that make each market unique.-¨Several key resources will help you drill to the local level and learn about counties, cities, census blocks, and other sub-state areas:-¨
-¨U.S. Government Resources-¨
The federal government collects and analyzes massive amounts of data, much of it about local areas. Population and business statistics, economic indicators, regional profiles, and mapped data are made available for free through a variety of publications and databases.-¨ Most local-level business information comes from three U.S. government agencies: the Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Bureau of Labor Statistics.-¨
Census Bureau
One of the best sources for demographics is the American Community Survey(http://snipurl.com/temfx). This annual survey of three million households collects such information as age, race, income, commute time to work, home value, and veteran status.
If you're looking for statistics on business and industry, try the County Business Patterns website (which actually offers employment and earnings down to the zip-code level) (http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/index.html) and the Building Permits database of construction statistics (http://censtats.census.gov/bldg/bldgprmt.shtml).
Bureau of Economic Analysis
For insights into a local area's economic health, head to the BEA's Regional Economic Accounts web page (www.bea.gov/regional). Here you will find information about Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and local-area personal income and employment. The BEA Regional Fact Sheets (BEARFACTS), with data compiled into handy tables, graphs, charts, and bulleted lists, make it easy to compare an area's economy to that of the U.S. as a whole.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
This agency is a great resource for data on hours, earnings, and type of employment for workers in a particular geographic area. Also of interest are the links to information about the demographic makeup of the workforce and regional mass layoffs. Discover which products from the Bureau of Labor Statistics drill to the local level through the Overview of BLS Statistics by Geography page of this agency's website (www.bls.gov/bls/geography.htm).
State and Local Governments-¨
Regional, state, and local governments frequently provide more detailed geographic-based information than federal sources, but the data won't necessarily be uniform or consistent across locations - even for locations within the same state. More likely than not, you will have to visit the websites for each jurisdiction separately. What you lose in convenience though, you gain in in-depth and first-hand knowledge.-¨-¨To find official government sites, try entering the keyword government with the name of your location in a general-purpose search engine. You can also link to official sites through these resources:-¨
- State and Local Government on the Net (www.statelocalgov.net)
- Local Governments: USA.gov (www.usa.gov/Agencies/Local.shtml)
Local News
News reports, either from or about a particular location, are a rich source of local information about public and private companies, people, economics, and issues. Local media outlets go into far greater detail than their national counterparts when covering local events and stay with the story long after the national press has moved on. Local news sources also offer something the larger outlets can't - a local perspective - and knowing what's important to local residents is a valuable piece of business and market planning.-¨-¨The Google News (news.google.com/news) advanced search page allows for location-based searching, as does Bing News (www.bing.com/news). Also try these resources for print, radio, and TV news stories:-¨
- American City Business Journals (www.bizjournals.com)
- News and Newspapers Online (library.uncg.edu/news)
- Radio-Locator (www.radio-locator.com)
Local Experts
Even in the age of Google, you won't find everything on the Web. Perhaps no one's collected or posted exactly what you're looking for, or it's not in plain sight and will take too long to uncover. Then there's the information you won't find in any data table or news headline. As competitive-intelligence researcher Ben Gilad puts it, "Only human sources can provide commentary, opinion, feelings, intuition, emotions, and commitment." ("My Source is Better Than Your Source!-The Argument Over Primary and Secondary Sources," by Ben Gilad, Competitive Intelligence Review, Vol. 6(3) 58-60, 1995).-¨-¨Sometimes the best way to find the answers you need is to ask an expert. People in the following professions make good targets for your research, because they generally keep an eye on the community and will often have subject expertise as well:-¨
- Journalists
- Government workers
- Librarians
- University professors
- Association members or leaders
- Economists and economic development executives
-¨Search the Web to find the right people ask and to prepare for your phone calls (yes, calls are much more effective than emails when contacting local experts). Scan the news to identify the people writing the stories and the people about whom they are writing. Try the websites of local governments, libraries, and organizations such as the chamber of commerce or convention and visitors bureau for key personnel.-¨-¨
Experts are often willing to talk and want to be helpful, but it's important to respect their time. Keep interviews short, and do some background research on both your contact and topic to make sure you quickly ask the right questions.-¨-¨Business growth will take you into new and unchartered territory. Minimize the risk by arming yourself with a thorough understanding of your customers and your competitors - and the day-to-day local issues that affect their decisions.-¨
Marcy Phelps is the founder of Phelps Research and author of the book, Research on Main Street: Using the Web to Find Local Business and Market Information. For more information, please visit, www.ResearchOnMainStreet.com and www.MarcyPhelps.com.


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Philip Young, author of the excellent Mediations blog, has tagged me in order to get me to blog about his new Scoop! blog so that it can start getting the attention it deserves. Scoop! is all about journalists in fiction so I've got to name three PR practitioners or journalists that appear in fiction. I then tag three others in the hope that they follow suit. Easy enough, except that Philip has made it nine times harder by restricting the list to UK/European fiction. That's too hard so I'm going to bend the rules slightly and include film/TV as well as novels.
Three UK/European journalists in fiction
1) Tin Tin – the easiest by far and the only one I didn't have to think about. As a child I was a fan and even now as an adult I'm a bit of a Tin Tin fan. Wouldn't it be great to have a complete collection on my book shelf?
2) Rita Skeeter – the journalist who features in the Harry Potter novels.
3) Huntley Haverstock / Johnny Jones in Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent. Not sure if it qualifies as UK/European as it is set in London and Holland but he is an American foreign correspondent
I'd also have liked to mention Damien Day in Drop the Dead Donkey, but that's TV and takes me over three.
The other hard bit was thinking who I could tag that might be interested in journalists in fiction. In the end I decided the best bet was journalists or ex-journalists so I tag:
Guy Clapperton who writes an excellent blog from his perspective as a freelance journalist and editor.
Charles Arthur the editor of Technology Guardian and longtime blogger.
David Tebbutt one of the legends of IT journalism and co-developer of the
Brainwave BrainStorm software.
Now you've been tagged you can add your three journalists in fiction in the comments to this post on Scoop!.
CORRECTION: As David Tebbutt kindly points out his software is called BrainStorm and not Brainwave!


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AT&T U-verse with GigaPower Fiber Network Coming to Durham
DURHAM, N.C., June 12, 2014 – City officials ratified an agreement with AT&T* to bring ultra-fast Internet access to residents and businesses in Durham. AT&T will provide U-verse® with GigaPower℠ over a fiber network with speeds capable of up to 1 gigabit per second.
The agreement stemmed from a North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) initiative. The NCNGN is comprised of six cities, four leading universities, and local business leaders working to encourage development of high-speed broadband networks in the state.
The plan outlines potential fiber deployments to deliver ultra-fast broadband to parts of Durham. AT&T U-verse with GigaPower will deliver advanced TV services to Durham residents and businesses for the first time, and Internet speeds up to 10 times faster than what is available today.**
How fast is 1 Gigabit?***
Download 25 songs in one second
Download your favorite TV show in less than 3 seconds
Download an HD online movie in less than 36 seconds
"We're pleased that AT&T is choosing Durham to rollout their next round of U-verse with GigaPower," said Wanda Page, Deputy City Manager of the City of Durham. "Our national reputation as a center for advanced medical research and care is built on cutting-edge technology in the hands of gifted physicians and researchers. A network of this magnitude would expand those capabilities and increase collaboration across industries."
This investment by AT&T is in addition to its ongoing investment to expand its fiber network to tens of thousands of North Carolina residents and businesses over the next two years. In addition, similar AT&T U-verse with GigaPower plans, related to the NCNGN initiative, are currently approved in Winston-Salem and pending ratification in four other North Carolina areas – Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh.
"We've already received great input from North Carolinians eager for the fastest available speeds," said Venessa Harrison, President, AT&T-North Carolina. "This ultra-fast fiber build will help foster innovation, enhance education, and encourage growth."
Other AT&T initiatives in 2014 include:
- Enhance and expand its 4G LTE wireless network, the most reliable network in the nation.**** AT&T 4G LTE wireless service is available in 24 North Carolina markets.
- Expand our U-verse footprint to more areas of North Carolina. U-verse is currently available in Raleigh, Cary, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Asheville and surrounding areas.
AT&T invested more than $1.6 billion in its North Carolina wireless and wireline networks between 2011 and 2013. AT&T has served the state of North Carolina for 133 years and employs more than 6,800 people across the state.
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Eureka - A Prose PoemBy: Edgar Allan Poe
"When we regard the real, proper, or non-perspective motions of the stars, we find many groups of them moving in opposite directions; and the data as yet in hand render it not necessary, at least, to conceive that the systems composing the Milky Way, or the clusters, generally, composing the Universe, are revolving about any particular centre unknown, whether luminous or non-luminous. It is but Man's longing for a fundamental First Cause, that impels both his intellect and fancy to the adoption of such an hypothesis." (Betrachtet man die nicht perspectivischen eigenen Bewegungen der Sterne, so scheinen viele gruppenweise in ihrer Richtung entgegengesetzt; und die bisher gesammelten Thatsachen machen es auf's wenigste nicht nothwendig, anzunehmen, dass alle Theile unserer Sternenschicht oder gar der gesammten Sterneninseln, welche den Weltraum fullen, sich um einen grossen, unbekannten, leuchtenden oder dunkeln Centralkorper bewegen. Das Streben nach den letzten und hochsten Grundursachen macht freilich die reflectirende Thatigkeit des Menschen, wie seine Phantasie, zu einer solchen Annahme geneigt.) The phaenomenon here alluded to -- that of "many groups moving in opposite directions" -- is quite inexplicable by Madler's idea; but arises, as a necessary consequence, from that which forms the basis of this Discourse. While the merely general direction of each atom -- of each moon, planet, star, or cluster -- would, on my hypothesis, be, of course, absolutely rectilinear; while the general path of all bodies would be a right line leading to the centre of all; it is clear, nevertheless, that this general rectilinearity would be compounded of what, with scarcely any exaggeration, we may term an infinity of particular curves -- an infinity of local deviations from rectilinearity -- the result of continuous differences of relative position among the multudinous masses as each proceeded on its own proper journey to the End. I quoted, just now, from Sir John Herschel, the following words, used in reference to the clusters: -- "On one hand, without a rotary motion and a centrifugal force, it is hardly possible not to regard them as in a state of progressive collapse." The fact is, that, in surveying the "nebulae" with a telescope of high power, we shall find it quite impossible, having once conceived this idea of "collapse," not to gather, at all points, corroboration of the idea. A nucleus is always apparent, in the direction of which the stars seem to be precipitating themselves; nor can these nuclei be mistaken for merely perspective phaenomena: -- the clusters are really denser near the centre -- sparser in the regions more remote from it. In a word, we see every thing as we should see it were a collapse taking place; but, in general, it may be said of these clusters, that we can fairly entertain, while looking at them, the idea of orbitual movement about a centre, only by admitting the possible existence, in the distant domains of space, of dynamical laws with which we are unacquainted. On the part of Herschel, however, there is evidently a reluctance to regard the nebulae as in "a state of progressive collapse." But if facts -- if even appearances justify the supposition of their being in this state, why, it may well be demanded, is he disinclined to admit it? Simply on account of a prejudice; -- merely because the supposition is at war with a preconceived and utterly baseless notion -- that of the endlessness -- that of the eternal stability of the Universe. If the propositions of this Discourse are tenable, the "state of progressive collapse" is precisely that state in which alone we are warranted in considering All Things; and, with due humility, let me here confess that, for my part, I am at a loss to conceive how any other understanding of the existing condition of affairs, could ever have made its way into the human brain. "The tendency to collapse" and "the attraction of gravitation" are convertible phrases. In using either, we speak of the reaction of the First Act. Never was necessity less obvious than that of supposing Matter imbued with an ineradicable quality forming part of its material nature -- a quality, or instinct, forever inseparable from it, and by dint of which inalienable principle every atom is perpetually impelled to seek its fellow-atom. Never was necessity less obvious than that of entertaining this unphilosophical idea. Going boldly behind the vulgar thought, we have to conceive, metaphysically, that the gravitating principle appertains to Matter temporarily -- only while diffused -- only while existing as Many instead of as One -- appertains to it by virtue of its state of irradiation alone -- appertains, in a word, altogether to its Condition, and not in the slightest degree to itself. In this view, when the irradiation shall have returned into its source -- when the reaction shall be completed -- the gravitating principle will no longer exist. And, in fact, astronomers, without at any time reaching the idea here suggested, seem to have been approximating it, in the assertion that "if there were but one body in the Universe, it would be impossible to understand how the principle, Gravity, could obtain": -- that is to say, from a consideration of Matter as they find it, they reach a conclusion at which I deductively arrive. That so pregnant a suggestion as the one quoted should have been permitted to remain so long unfruitful, is, nevertheless, a mystery which I find it difficult to fathom. It is, perhaps, in no little degree, however, our propensity for the continuous -- for the analogical -- in the present case more particularly for the symmetrical which has been leading us astray. And, in fact, the sense of the symmetrical is an instinct which may be depended upon with an almost blindfold reliance. It is the poetical essence of the Universe -- OF0,0 which, in the supremeness of its symmetry, is but the most sublime of poems. Now symmetry and consistency are convertible terms: -- thus Poetry and Truth are one. A thing is consistent in the ratio of its truth -- true in the ratio of its consistency. A Perfect consistency, I repeat, can be nothing but a absolute truth. We may take it for granted, then, that Man cannot long or widely err, if he suffer himself to be guided by his poetical, which I have maintained to be his truthful, in being his symmetrical, instinct. He must have a care, however, lest, in pursuing too heedlessly the superficial symmetry of forms and motions, he leave out of sight the really essential symmetry of the principles which determine and control them. That the stellar bodies would finally be merged in one -- that, at last, all would be drawn into the substance of one stupendous central orb already existing -- is an idea which, for some time past, seems, vaguely and indeterminately, to have held possession of the fancy of mankind. It is an idea, in fact, which belongs to the class of the excessively obvious. It springs, instantly, from a superficial observation of the cyclic and seemingly gyrating, or vorticial movements of those individual portions of the Universe which come most immediately and most closely under our observation. There is not, perhaps, a human being, of ordinary education and of average reflective capacity, to whom, at some period, the fancy inquestion has not occurred, as if spontaneously, or intuitively, and wearing all the character of a very profound and very original conception. This conception, however, so commonly entertained, has never, within my knowledge, arisen out of any abstract considerations. Being, on the contrary, always suggested, as I say, by the vorticial movements about centres, a reason for it, also, -- a cause for the ingathering of all the orbs into one, imagined to be already existing, was naturally sought in the same direction -- among these cyclic movements themselves. Thus it happened that, on announcement of the gradual and perfectly regular decrease observed in the orbit of Enck's comet, at every successive revolution about our Sun, astronomers were nearly unanimous in the opinion that the cause in question was found -- that a principle was discovered sufficient to account, physically, for that final, universal agglomeration which, I repeat, the analogical, symmetrical or poetical instinct of Man had predetermined to understand as something more than a simple hypothesis. This cause -- this sufficient reason for the final ingathering -- was declared to exist in an exceedingly rare but still material medium pervading space; which medium, by retarding, in some degree, the progress of the comet, perpetually weakened its tangential force; thus giving a predominance to the centripetal; which, of course, drew the comet nearer and nearer at each revolution, and would eventually precipitate it upon the Sun. All this was strictly logical -- admitting the medium or ether; but this ether was assumed, most illogically, on the ground that no other mode than the one spoken of could be discovered, of accounting for the observed decrease in the orbit of the comet: -- as if from the fact that we could discover no other mode of accounting for it, it followed, in any respect, that no other mode of accounting for it existed. It is clear that innumerable causes might operate, in combination, to diminish the orbit, without even a possibility of our ever becoming acquainted with one of them. In the meantime, it has never been fairly shown, perhaps, why the retardation occasioned by the skirts of the Sun's atmosphere, through which the comet passes at perihelion, is not enough to account for the phaenomenon. That Enck's comet will be absorbed into the Sun, is probable; that all the comets of the system will be absorbed, is more than merely possible; but, in such case, the principle of absorption must be referred to eccentricity of orbit -- to the close approximation to the Sun, of the comets at their perihelia; and is a principle not affecting, in any degree, the ponderous spheres, which are to be regarded as the true material constituents of the Universe. -- Touching comets, in general, let me here suggest, in passing, that we cannot be far wrong in looking upon them as the lightning-flashes of the cosmical Heaven. The idea of a retarding ether and, through it, of a final agglomeration of all things, seemed at one time, however, to be confirmed by the observation of a positive decrease in the orbit of the solid moon. By reference to eclipses recorded 2500 years ago, it was found that the velocity of the satellite's revolution then was considerably less than it is now; that on the hypothesis that its motions in its orbit is uniformly in accordance with Kepler's law, and was accurately determined then -- 2500 years ago -- it is now in advance of the position it should occupy, by nearly 9000 miles. The increase of velocity proved, of course, a diminution of orbit; and astronomers were fast yielding to a belief in an ether, as the sole mode of accounting for the phaenomenon, when Lagrange came to the rescue. He showed that, owing to the configurations of the spheroids, the shorter axes of their ellipses are subject to variation in length; the longer axes being permanent; and that this variation is continuous and vibratory -- so that every orbit is in a state of transition, either from circle to ellipse, or from ellipse to circle. In the case of the moon, where the shorter axis is de creasing, the orbit is passing from circle to ellipse, and, consequently, is de creasing too; but, after a long series of ages, the ultimate eccentricity will be attained; then the shorter axis will proceed to in crease, until the orbit becomes a circle; when the process of shortening will again take place; -- and so on forever. In the case of the Earth, the orbit is passing from ellipse to circle. The facts thus demonstrated do away, of course, with all necessity for supposing an ether, and with all apprehension of the system's instability -- on the ether's account. It will be remembered that I have myself assumed what we may term an ether. I have spoken of a subtle influence which we know to be ever in attendance upon matter, although becoming manifest only through matter's heterogeneity. To this influence -- without daring to touch it at all in any effort at explaining its awful nature -- I have referred the various phaenomena of electricity, heat, light, magnetism; and more -- of vitality, consciousness, and thought -- in a word, of spirituality. It will be seen, at once, then, that the ether thus conceived is radically distinct from the ether of the astronomers; inasmuch as theirs is matter and mine not. With the idea of material ether, seems, thus, to have departed altogether the thought of that universal agglomeration so long predetermined by the poetical fancy of mankind: -- an agglomeration in which a sound Philosophy might have been warranted in putting faith, at least to a certain extent, if for no other reason than that by this poetical fancy it had been so predetermined. But so far as Astronomy -- so far as mere Physics have yet spoken, the cycles of the Universe are perpetual -- the Universe has no conceivable end. Had an end been demonstrated, however, from so purely collateral a cause as an ether, Man's instinct of the Divine capacity to adapt, would have rebelled against the demonstration. We should have been forced to regard the Universe with some such sense of dissatisfaction as we experience in contemplating an unnecessarily complex work of human art. Creation would have affected us as an imperfect PL0, in a romance, where the denoument is awkwardly brought about by interposed incidents external and foreign to the main subject; instead of springing out of the bosom of the thesis -- out of the heart of the ruling idea -- instead of arising as a result of the primary proposition -- as inseparable and inevitable part and parcel of the fundamental conception of the book. What I mean by the symmetry of mere surface -- will now be more clearly understood. It is simply by the blandishment of this symmetry that we have been beguiled into the general idea of which Madler's hypothesis is but a part -- the idea of the vorticial indrawing of the orbs. Dismissing this nakedly physical conception, the symmetry of principle sees the end of all things metaphysically involved in the thought of a beginning; seeks and finds in this origin of all things the rudiment of this end; and perceives the impiety of supposing this end likely to be brought about less simply -- less directly -- less obviously -- less artistically -- than through the reaction of the originating Act. Recurring, then, to a previous suggestion, let us understand the systems -- let us understand each star, with its attendant planets -- as but a Titanic atom existing in space with precisely the same inclination for Unity which characterized, in the beginning, the actual atoms after their irradiation throughout the Universal sphere. As these original atoms rushed towards each other in generally straight lines, so let us conceive as at least generally rectilinear, the paths of the system-atoms towards their respective centres of aggregation: -- and in this direct drawing together of the systems into clusters, with a similar and simultaneous drawing together of the clusters themselves while undergoing consolidation, we have at length attained the great Now -- the awful Present -- the Existing Condition of the Universe. Of the still more awful Future a not irrational analogy may guide us in framing an hypothesis. The equilibrium between the centripetal and centrifugal forces of each system, being necessarily destroyed upon attainment of a certain proximity to the nucleus of the cluster to which it belongs, there must occur, at once, a chaotic or seemingly chaotic precipitation, of the moons upon the planets, of the planets upon the suns, and of the suns upon the nuclei; and the general result of this precipitation must be the gathering of the myriad now-existing stars of the firmament into an almost infinitely less number of almost infinitely superior spheres. In being immeasurably fewer, the worlds of that day will be immeasurably greater than our own. Then, indeed, amid unfathomable abysses, will be glaring unimaginable suns. But all this will be merely a climacic magnificence foreboding the great End. Of this End the new genesis described, can be but a very partial postponement. While undergoing consolidation, the clusters themselves, with a speed prodigiously accumulative, have been rushing towards their own general centre -- and now, with a thousandfold electric velocity, commensurate only with their material grandeur and with the spiritual passion of their appetite for oneness, the majestic remnants of the tribe of Stars flash, at length, into a common embrace. The inevitable catastrophe is at hand. But this catastrophe -- what is it? We have seen accomplished the ingathering of the orbs. Henceforward, are we not to understand one material globe of globes as constituting and comprehending the Universe? Such a fancy would be altogether at war with every assumption and consideration of this Discourse. I have already alluded to that absolute reciprocity of adaptation which is the idiosyncrasy of the divine Art -- stamping it divine. Up to this point of our reflections, we have been regarding the electrical influence as a something by dint of whose repulsion alone Matter is enabled to exist in that state of diffusion demanded for the fulfilment of its purposes: -- so far, in a word, we have been considering the influence in question as ordained for Matter's sake -- to subserve the objects of matter. With a perfectly legitimate reciprocity, we are now permitted to look at Matter, as created solely for the sake of this influence -- solely to serve the objects of this spiritual Ether. Through the aid -- by the means -- through the agency of Matter, and by dint of its heterogeneity -- is this Ether manifested -- is Spirit individualized. It is merely in the development of this Ether, through heterogeneity, that particular masses of Matter become animate -- sensitive -- and in the ratio of their heterogeneity; -- some reaching a degree of sensitiveness involving what we call Thought and thus attaining Conscious Intelligence. In this view, we are enabled to perceive Matter as a Means -- not as an End. Its purposes are thus seen to have been comprehended in its diffusion; and with the return into Unity these purposes cease. The absolutely consolidated globe of globes would be objectless: -- therefore not for a moment could it continue to exist. Matter, created for an end, would unquestionably, on fulfilment of that end, be Matter no longer. Let us endeavor to understand that it would disappear, and that God would remain all in all. That every work of Divine conception must coexist and coexpire with its particular design, seems to me especially obvious; and I make no doubt that, on perceiving the final globe of globes to be objectless, the majority of my readers will be satisfied with my "therefore it cannot continue to exist." Nevertheless, as the startling thought of its instantaneous disappearance is one which the most powerful intellect cannot be expected readily to entertain on grounds so decidedly abstract, let us endeavor to look at the idea from some other and more ordinary point of view: -- let us see how thoroughly and beautifully it is corroborated in an a posteriori consideration of Matter as we actually find it. I have before said that "Attraction and Repulsion being undeniably the sole properties by which Matter is manifested to Mind, we are justified in assuming that Matter exists only as Attraction and Repulsion -- in other words that Attraction and Repulsion are Matter; there being no conceivable case in which we may not employ the term Matter and the terms 'Attraction' and 'Repulsion' taken together, as equivalent, and therefore convertible, expressions of Logic." (See previous paragraph, "Discarding now the two equivocal terms...") Now the very definition of Attraction implies particularity -- the existence of parts, particles, or atoms; for we define it as the tendency of "each atom &c. to every other atom," &c. according to a certain law. Of course where there are no parts -- where there is absolute Unity -- where the tendency to oneness is satisfied -- there can be no Attraction: -- this has been fully shown, and all Philosophy admits it. When, on fulfilment of its purposes, then, Matter shall have returned into its original condition of One -- a condition which presupposes the expulsion of the separative ether, whose province and whose capacity are limited to keeping the atoms apart until that great day when, this ether being no longer needed, the overwhelming pressure of the finally collective Attraction shall at length just sufficiently predominate ("Gravity, therefore, must be the strongest of forces." See previous section, "Now, although the philosophic cannot be said to...") and expel it: -- when, I say, Matter, finally, expelling the Ether, shall have returned into absolute Unity, -- it will then (to speak paradoxically for the moment) be Matter without Attraction and without Repulsion -- in other words, Matter without Matter -- in other words, again, Matter no more. In sinking into Unity, it will sink at once into that Nothingness which, to all Finite Perception, Unity must be -- into that Material Nihility from which alone we can conceive it to have been evoked -- to have been created by the Volition of God. I repeat then -- Let us endeavor to comprehend that the final globe of globes will instantaneously disappear, and that God will remain all in all. But are we here to pause? Not so. On the Universal agglomeration and dissolution, we can readily conceive that a new and perhaps totally different series of conditions may ensue -- another creation and irradiation, returning into itself -- another action and reaction of the Divine Will. Guiding our imaginations by that omniprevalent law of laws, the law of periodicity, are we not, indeed, more than justified in entertaining a belief -- let us say, rather, in indulging a hope -- that the processes we have here ventured to contemplate will be renewed forever, and forever, and forever; a novel Universe swelling into existence, and then subsiding into nothingness, at every throb of the Heart Divine? And now -- this Heart Divine -- what is it? It is our own. Let not the merely seeming irreverence of this idea frighten our souls from that cool exercise of consciousness -- from that deep tranquillity of self-inspection -- through which alone we can hope to attain the presence of this, the most sublime of truths, and look it leisurely in the face. The phaenomena on which our conclusions must at this point depend, are merely spiritual shadows, but not the less thoroughly substantial. We walk about, amid the destinies of our world-existence, encompassed by dim but ever present Memories of a Destiny more vast -- very distant in the bygone time, and infinitely awful. We live out a Youth peculiarly haunted by such dreams; yet never mistaking them for dreams. As Memories we know them. During our Youth the distinction is too clear to deceive us even for a moment. So long as this Youth endures, the feeling that we exist, is the most natural of all feelings. We understand it thoroughly. That there was a period at which we did not exist -- or, that it might so have happened that we never had existed at all -- are the considerations, indeed, which during this youth, we find difficulty in understanding. Why we should not exist, is, up to the epoch of Manhood, of all queries the most unanswerable. Existence -- self-existence -- existence from all Time and to all Eternity -- seems, up to the epoch of Manhood, a normal and unquestionable condition: -- seems, because it is. But now comes the period at which a conventional World-Reason awakens us from the truth of our dream. Doubt, Surprise and Incomprehensibility arrive at the same moment. They say: -- "You live and the time was when you lived not. You have been created. An Intelligence exists greater than your own; and it is only through this Intelligence you live at all." These things we struggle to comprehend and cannot: -- cannot, because these things, being untrue, are thus, of necessity, incomprehensible. No thinking being lives who, at some luminous point of his life of thought, has not felt himself lost amid the surges of futile efforts at understanding, or believing, that anything exists greater than his own soul. The utter impossibility of any one's soul feeling itself inferior to another; the intense, overwhelming dissatisfaction and rebellion at the thought; -- these, with the omniprevalent aspirations at perfection, are but the spiritual, coincident with the material, struggles towards the original Unity -- are, to my mind at least, a species of proof far surpassing what Man terms demonstration, that no one soul is inferior to another -- that nothing is, or can be, superior to any one soul -- that each soul is, in part, its own God -- its own Creator: -- in a word, that God -- the material and spiritual God -- now exists solely in the diffused Matter and Spirit of the Universe; and that the regathering of this diffused Matter and Spirit will be but the re-constitution of the purely Spiritual and Individual God. In this view, and in this view alone, we comprehend the riddles of Divine Injustice -- of Inexorable Fate. In this view alone the existence of Evil becomes intelligible; but in this view it becomes more -- it becomes endurable. Our souls no longer rebel at a Sorrow which we ourselves have imposed upon ourselves, in furtherance of our own purposes -- with a view -- if even with a futile view -- to the extension of our own Joy. I have spoken of Memories that haunt us during our youth. They sometimes pursue us even in our Manhood: -- assume gradually less and less indefinite shapes: -- now and then speak to us with low voices, saying: "There was an epoch in the Night of Time, when a still-existent Being existed -- one of an absolutely infinite number of similar Beings that people the absolutely infinite domains of the absolutely infinite space. (See previous paragraph, 'I reply that the "right," in a case such as this...') It was not and is not in the power of this Being -- any more than it is in your own -- to extend, by actual increase, the joy of his Existence; but just as it is in your power to expand or to concentrate your pleasures (the absolute amount of happiness remaining always the same) so did and does a similar capability appertain to this Divine Being, who thus passes his Eternity in perpetual variation of Concentrated Self and almost Infinite Self-Diffusion. What you call The Universe is but his present expansive existence. He now feels his life through an infinity of imperfect pleasures -- the partial and pain-intertangled pleasures of those inconceivably numerous things which you designate as his creatures, but which are really but infinite individualizations of Himself. All these creatures -- those which you term animate, as well as those to whom you deny life for no better reason than that you do not behold it in operation -- these creatures have, in a greater or less degree, a capacity for pleasure and for pain: -- but the general sum of their sensations is precisely that amount of Happiness which appertains by right to the Divine Being when concentrated within Himself. These creatures are all too, more or less conscious Intelligences; conscious, first, of a proper identity; conscious, secondly and by faint indeterminate glimpses, of an identity with the Divine Being of whom we speak -- of an identity with God. Of the two classes of consciousness, fancy that the former will grow weaker, the latter stronger, during the long succession of ages which must elapse before these myriads of individual Intelligences become blended -- when the bright stars become blended -- into One. Think that the sense of individual identity will be gradually merged in the general consciousness -- that Man, for example, ceasing imperceptibly to feel himself Man, will at length attain that awfully triumphant epoch when he shall recognize his existence as that of Jehovah. In the meantime bear in mind that all is Life -- Life -- Life within Life -- the less within the greater, and all within the Spirit Divine.


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Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Marvel Mania
Here a some of the paintings I did for the San Diego Con. I am now offering similar painting of your favorite superhero or comic character for $40 + shipping.
Just pay below, and email me with your request! I also accept cheques made out to Jeff Lemire. Each painting is 6"x8''. I'll upload more samples soon! I will also draw any characters from my own comics!
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The 12 Funniest Chickens on the Web
We've seen our fair share of entertaining animals. Horses and birds are among our favorites, but there's a particular version of the latter that has gotten our attention of late. Ladies and gents, today we bring you the funniest chickens on the Web, because, well, it's just hilarious stuff.
Who knew these birds could be so fluffy and crazy-looking? Who cares! Just try and make it through this post without cracking a smile. We bet you can't. Ready? GO!


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Royal PE Bag with Dersingham Print
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Kamran Mohseni envisions a day when the unmanned vehicles in his laboratory at the University of Florida will swarm over, under and through hurricanes to help predict the strength and path of the storms.
The tiny, autonomous craft -- some fly, others dart under the waves -- can spy on hurricanes at close range without getting blown willy-nilly, while sensors onboard collect and send in real time the data scientists need to predict the intensity and trajectory of storms: pressure, temperature, humidity, location and time.
Mohseni said people always ask him how the miniature flying machines -- just 6 inches long and about the weight of an iPod Nano -- can take on one of the monster storms.
"Our vehicles don't fight the hurricane; we use the hurricane to take us places," said Mohseni, the W.P. Bushnell Endowed Professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the department of electrical and computer engineering.
The aerial and underwater vehicles can be launched with commands from a laptop hundreds of miles from the eye of a hurricane. Mohseni and a team of graduate students use mathematical models to predict regions in the atmosphere and ocean that can give the vehicles a free ride toward their destination. Once in the vicinity, they can be powered off to wait for a particular current of wind or water. When they detect the current they need for navigation, they power back on, slip into the current, then power off again to conserve fuel as the current carries them to a target location.
In essence, they can go for a fact-gathering ride on hurricane winds and waters.
The devices are a departure from current technology, which uses hurricane reconnaissance aircraft to punch through a storm's eye wall and release dropsondes, sensors that free-fall and might or might not collect helpful data. Underwater data are even more difficult to collect today, although just as important, considering that the warm, moist air on the ocean surface provides fuel for hurricanes.
Mohseni's vehicles, even launched hundreds at a time, also reduce the cost of hurricane reconnaissance.
"If you want to blast through a hurricane, you have to build a bigger airplane," Mohseni said. "[The military] asks for a Batman airplane, a super-duper aircraft that could do everything. But what if you lose one of these super-duper airplanes?
"We are going the opposite direction. We don't have anything that is super duper. We have cheap sensors, but with a lot of them you can significantly increase the accuracy of your measurements," said Mohseni, director of UF's new Institute for Networked Autonomous Systems. "You get super duper on an aggregate level."
The prototypes produced at the institute are about $250 apiece and are too small and lightweight to cause damage when they hit something, a big consideration in hurricane-force winds and waves. Mohseni does not use a landing strip to test the aerial vehicles; he just tells them to crash, picks them up and flies them again. The carbon fiber shell of the aerial vehicles is wafer-thin but resilient. With proper funding, Mohseni said, the vehicles could be tested in a real-world hurricane in two or three years.
In instances where many are lost -- as in a hurricane -- the data gained outweighs the cost of the lost vehicles, Mohseni said. Production costs would drop if the vehicles were mass-produced.
The vehicles also are smart. Mohseni developed a cooperative control algorithm that allows them to form a network and learn from the data they take in, for example, by adjusting their course when needed. This feature makes them useful for applications beyond hurricanes.
Extreme environments, such as the polar ice caps, are difficult and hazardous to measure with standard technology. Mohseni said heat transfer through polar ice between the ocean and the air goes almost completely unmeasured today but could be safely measured with the aerial vehicles, which can be launched from a laptop aboard a ship and send back climate data in real time.
Vehicles so tiny, powerful and smart would have been far-fetched even 10 years ago, Mohseni said, but advances in microfabrication, communications, computer processing and computation have led to sophisticated technology in small packages. Nevertheless, Mohseni also has drawn inspiration from seemingly less-sophisticated sources, such as jellyfish.
Mohseni had been studying fluid dynamics, working on propulsion, when a biologist mentioned that jellyfish navigate in much the same way as the mechanical system Mohseni wanted to develop. After studying jellyfish, cuttlefish and squid, Mohseni developed a mathematical model of their thrust and used that model to develop the motors for his underwater sensor vehicles. He now has small submarines capable of autonomous docking using technology mimicking jellyfish and squid, and the sea creatures are common fixtures in his laboratory.
"With biomimicry, learning from what nature does," Mohseni said, "you just sort of get amazed."
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Materials provided by University of Florida. Original written by Cindy Spence. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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'The Closest Thing to Crazy' voted best song of all time
- By Brent Meslow
- Los Angeles
- Last updated on
Related News
- Rumor September 2023
According to the latest Watch and Listen magazine poll just out yesterday (Wednesday, September 27), Katie Melua 2003's hit The Closest Thing to Crazy is now considered to be the Greatest Song in the History of Music.
UPDATE 28/09/2023 : This story seems to be false. (read more)
Top 100 songs of all time
To many of you it's probably a familiar story. Once every decade, the world-renowned music magazine Watch and Listen conducts a global poll of music producers and critics from 80 different countries and translated into 20 languages. The recognition of The Closest Thing to Crazy in this decade's list doesn't come as much of a surprise.
Here are the top 5 best songs ever written in the world, according to the poll (followed by the percentage of votes):
- The Closest Thing to Crazy (Katie Melua, 2003) : 45%
- Imagine (John Lennon, 1971) : 22%
- Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan, 1965) : 11%
- La Tortura (Shakira, 2005) : 8%
- Stand by Your Man (Tammy Wynette, 1968) : 7%
Check out: The Full Watch and Listen's "Greatest Songs of All Time" List for 2023
Poll results stir controversy among music critics
While millions of Melua's fans around the world were thrilled with the news, questions have been raised about the objectivity and fairness of the survey. Only a few minutes after the poll had been released, famous music critic and newspaper director Simon Ebert commented on his Twitter account:
Katie Melua?? The Closest Thing to Crazy?? … Really??
— Simon Ebert (@ESimon) 27 September 2023
"Our poll has in the past been the subject of criticism", explains Watch and Listen's editor Gary McDermott, adding that "its prestige comes from its exclusivity and its longevity" (the poll has been run every ten years since September 1933).
Do you agree with this poll? Is the Closest Thing to Crazy the best song ever for you?
© 2023 MediaMass All rights reserved. Do not reproduce (even with permission).


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"Google notifies you via email and/or text message when your password is changed, and when we detect a suspicious attempt to sign in to your account. If you receive a notification about a password change you didn't make, or an attempt to sign in to your account that wasn't you, these email and text message notifications will provide details on next steps to help you secure your account," informs Google.
This feature should be available under the "security" tab of the Account Settings page, but I don't see it. Maybe it's enabled in your accounts.
In other related news, the Account Settings page has a new interface and shows information about your account activity, a large photo from your profile, Google Drive storage data.
{ Thanks, Herin. }


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Reumofan Plus is an all natural herbal supplement designed to help combat joint pain. This type of pill is particularly effective on rheumatoid problems such as arthritis. Whilst there are plenty of pain relief medicines out there on the market they do have long term side effects, and could decrease the effectiveness of the pill over time. The manufacturers of the Reumofen Plus Pill claim that due to it using all natural ingredients it can be used over a longer time period without the chance of there being any long term side effects or reduction in its effectiveness. In addition to helping reduce pain of inflammation it can also help repair muscles that may have become damaged due to age.
In order to find out how Reumofan Plus works it is useful to know exactly how arthritis is caused. Despite there being many different types of arthritis there are three main ones which pop up time and time again. Osteoarthritis is caused by old age in the joint, Rheumatoid Arthritis is caused when the body starts recognising proteins that you ingest as foreign, which stops your muscles from being repaired by them and your body will start attack itself. The final type is psoriatic arthritis is caused by as of yet unidentified means; it does however cause painful and unsightly swelling.
In addition to these pain relief qualities the manufacturers also claim that by taking Reumofan Plus you will be able to prevent numerous types of cancers.
Reumofan Plus is made from various plants from countries such as Mexico, Cuba and India. These ingredients combine to not only help relieve us from joint pain but to also offer us a boost of nutrients within our body. There are various other ingredients within the pill as well which help fight the joint pain and repair the joint membrane. These ingredients include Guasima, Holm oak, Easter Tea berry, Cancernia, matarique, shark cartilage, white willow, Glucosamine, Curcumin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, magnesium and Calcium, The exact ingredient list is subject to change however depending on where the pill was manufactured.
The suggested dosage of Reumofan Plus pills is 2 pills a day, one in the morning and once in the evening. If you keep this going for three months you will be able to reduce your daily dose of the pill to one per day.
If you are being crippled by joint paint you will want to try everything possible to help relieve your joints and restore a bit of mobility into your life, Reumofan Plus may just be the solution to all of your problems. There are plenty of testimonials out there which show that this product may work, however like all products on the internet you should carry out your own research to make sure it is the right product for you, therefore I suggest that you get in contact with your GP to make sure that there will be no long term damage to yourself if you take this herbal supplement.


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A new NASA video uses more than 100 images taken by the New Horizons Spacecraft to reveal a trip to Pluto's informally named Sputnik Planitia.
What would it be like to actually land on Pluto? This movie was made from more than 100 images taken by NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft over six weeks of approach and close flyby in the summer of 2015. The video offers a trip down onto the surface of Pluto — starting with a distant view of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon — and leading up to an eventual ride in for a "landing" on the shoreline of Pluto's informally named Sputnik Planitia.
To create a movie that makes viewers feel as if they're diving into Pluto, mission scientists had to interpolate some of the panchromatic (black and white) frames based on what they know Pluto looks like to make it as smooth and seamless as possible. Low-resolution color from the Ralph color camera aboard New Horizons was then draped over the frames to give the best available, actual color simulation of what it would look like to descend from high altitude to Pluto's surface.
After a 9.5-year voyage covering more than three billion miles, New Horizons flew through the Pluto system on July 14, 2015, coming within 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) of Pluto. Carrying powerful telescopic cameras that could spot features smaller than a football field, New Horizons sent back hundreds of images of Pluto and its moons that show how dynamic and fascinating their surfaces are.
Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
The original black-and-white "landing" movie can be viewed at: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20160714-2


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Photographic Digital Fine Art in Commercial, Interior Design, Landscape, Urban & Street & Automotive Themes
Louisiana - Best of the Big Easy - Overview Portfolio
A "Best of" Gallery - A collection of favorites shot during four days in April, (the week between the NCAA Final Four Tournament and Easter,) 2012. This is the party, the people and the tradition that is the French Quarter, the Business & Garden Districts and two western Mississippi Antebellum estates. These images are our favorites from the more detailed, individually featured, accompanying 16 galleries - organized by topic. Enjoy the Big Easy! Thanks for stopping by!Read More


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New York's Limelight Will Transform Itself Once Again
The Limelight Marketplace, the collection of high-end food, clothing and design booths in the building that once housed storied nightclub Limelight, is employing a new tactic. It's going to turn itself into one big department store. This was always just a bad idea.
Even Jack Menashe, the proprietor of the space—which had its heyday in the '80s and '90s as a nightclub and even earlier as a church—says that having dozens of different vendors in such a tight space wouldn't work.
Mr. Menashe says the original concept behind the Limelight Marketplace was sound, but "the only problem was the lack of size to really execute it properly." The market is only 30,000 square feet, and he estimated it would need to be about 100,000 square feet "to do the marketplace correctly."
Well, if you need 100,000 square feet to do it correctly, but you don't have that much space, then why even attempt it? The place was too cramped—full of tiny, intimate spaces, and lots of exclusive areas no one could figure out how to get into. Those are all good things in a nightclub but horrible in a luxury mall. And don't get us started on all the different food smells mingling together. Gross.
The space opened last May to decent sales, but interest waned as soon as the novelty wore off. Already some of the vendors in the space have been terminated. Menashe has hired a buyer and is spending $4 million to convert the space into one giant department store, similar to Barneys. It will reopen in September to again haunt us with the ghosts of nightclubs past.


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On this feast, we celebrate the "Manifestation of God," the meaning of the word Theophany, for here Christ is baptized by St. John the Forerunner whose hand is upon His head. Another name for this feast is Epiphany, which means a showing forth. This is a Trinitarian Feast, because God the Father speaks to affirm that Jesus Christ is His Son in Whom He is well pleased, and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove sent from the Father.
This is also a feast of light and of water. The Light of the Theophany shines forth into the world at this beginning of Christ's active ministry and illumines all of Creation. The waters on earth are sanctified both by this blessing of Christ entering therein and in the continued blessing of waters made each year in the Church on this blessed day. The celebration of this feast predates the celebration of Christ's Nativity, and that service is patterned after this one.
The angels look on with wonder as the light descends with the Holy Spirit from above. Below and in the waters is a personification of the River Jordan, recalling the words: "The sea saw it and fled; Jordan was turned back" (Psalm 113:5). Blessed is God! This is a traditional Greek icon from about 1600 where St. John has his right hand on Jesus' head to baptize him. A personification of the Sea and the Jordan is seen in the water, for "the sea saw it and fled, Jordan was turned back." (Ps 113)


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Descripción editorial
Webster Grove, Book 1
Seventeen-year-old Steph has her heart set on a new beginning for the eleventh time. A move to Webster Grove introduces her to a new school, new friends, and new experiences—including a few tender glances from her sexy English teacher. When she learns that Mr. Rivera is only a few months away from becoming family—his brother is marrying her mom!—she must do whatever she can to fight all of the growing suspicions about the time they're spending together.
When odd family circumstances only push her closer to the man she's dreaming of, Steph has no choice but to hold it together … or risk losing it all.


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All of the thousands of dollars in tangible gifts - including a $6,500 Rolex watch - showered on Gov. Bob McDonnell and his family over the past few years have been returned to a major political donor and business executive, the governor said in an Associated Press interview.
"At this point, I've been advised by my attorney, that all the tangible have been returned,'' McDonnell said Monday on the state airplane whisking him between Martinsville and Norfolk, stops in the last of four annual late-summer economic development tours during his single, nonrenewable term.
McDonnell hired a private legal and public relations team to help guide him through federal and state criminal investigations into the gifts he received from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the chief executive of Virginia-based nutritional supplements maker Star Scientific Inc., and whether McDonnell used his office to benefit Williams or the company.
The gifts were part of gratuities and loans valued at more than $140,000 Williams gave to the McDonnell family during its tenure in the Executive Mansion since 2010.
McDonnell had already announced the repayment of loans totaling nearly $125,000 from Williams to himself, First Lady Maureen McDonnell and his sister and business partner. He also said that two of his daughters, 28-year-old Cailin and 32-year-old Jeanine, had returned checks of $15,000 and $10,000, respectively, that Williams gave them for their weddings.
McDonnell did not report the gifts on his annual financial disclosure statements, citing state law that requires disclosure only of gifts directly to officeholders, not members of their families. This year's seven-day tour includes visits to 22 Virginia cities by its end on Thursday.
In addition to announcing the repayment of the loans, Williams's reimbursement for the cash wedding gifts, and repayment the loans, McDonnell also apologized for his actions and asked Virginians' forgiveness in the weeks leading up to his weeklong valedictory and farewell tour.
Virginia is the only state that does not allow its governor to seek re-election to a second, consecutive term.


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AIG's Big Sale: Aircraft Leasing, $4.2B OBO
It's no secret that American International Group has been looking to sell assets in the wake of its financial difficulties. This insurance company yard sale of sorts had outside investors picking up everything from financial units, to Japanese insurance units, to shares of AIA Group through share sales by AIG. But one asset has been harder to unload: International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC), a massive aircraft leasing business AIG bought from Steven Udvar-Hazy in 1990. With parts of the Chinese consortium that was going to acquire ILFC for $4.2 billion now backing out, it's time for investors to once again look at the ILFC situation.
What is ILFC?
ILFC is one of the largest aircraft leasing companies in the world. According to the company's website, ILFC has "nearly 1,000 owned and managed aircraft and a range of innovative customized leasing programs, ILFC's technologically advanced and environmentally efficient aircraft portfolio includes 787s and A350s.". As a wholly owned subsidiary, AIG can exercise control over ILFC and decide what to do with the company.
Why sell ILFC?
Ever since AIG decided to start putting assets up for sale, ILFC was among the top contenders to be sold. Almost every time AIG sold some business unit, analysts pointed out the insurer still had ILFC to sell. However, AIG only received what it deemed lowball offers for ILFC and decided to hold on for a more fair value. Once AIG repaid the last of its government debt, the motivation for selling assets to repay Uncle Sam disappeared, and the insurer was able to consider the ILFC sale on its own terms.
Now that AIG has repaid the Treasury, the focus for selling assets changes from raising funds to repay the government, to right-sizing the insurance group and raising funds for share buybacks. AIG has already completed billions in share buybacks, and the current valuation of AIG shares at 0.7 times tangible book value makes share buybacks more worthwhile.
It should also be noted that another large financial institution sold its aircraft leasing unit in an effort to raise funds following a government bailout. Royal Bank of Scotland Group sold its RBS Aviation Capital Unit to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group for $7.3 billion in early 2012. The transaction helped to raise funds for one of the U.K.'s most troubled banks -- one the government has an 81% stake in. But unlike AIG, RBS is still under government control, and the majority ownership stake not only creates a major share overhang but lends further uncertainty to the bank's future.
Should AIG sell ILFC?
Share buybacks are usually given a positive reception on the Street, but when assets are sold to raise the funds, we also need to look at what's being given up. In the case of ILFC, AIG would be giving up a large part of its investment in the aviation industry. However, the aviation industry is positioned well for global growth. The wave of U.S. airline mergers has helped bring stability to the industry, and the demand for travel and commerce in emerging markets will help further fuel the demand for aircraft.
ILFC rival Air Lease is expected to see substantial earnings growth over the next couple of years through a combination of demand and fleet growth. Consensus estimates for Air Lease at Capital IQ show earnings per share rising from $1.70 in 2013 to $2.74 in 2015. Ever since Steven Udvar-Hazy (yes, the same Udvar-Hazy who started ILFC) started Air Lease, the company has been in a growth pattern. While continuing corporate growth is a major factor at work for increasing Air Lease earnings, ILFC could expand as well because of the nature of a larger aviation market.
Without ILFC, AIG would still maintain some exposure to the aviation industry through aviation insurance. But ILFC provides AIG a way to profit more directly from industry growth both domestically and in emerging markets.
Not your father's AIG
Since the financial failings that left AIG on government life support, the insurer has been trying to rebuild itself as a leaner operation. AIG has shed units worldwide while all along wanting to sell ILFC. When a Chinese consortium offered $4.2 billion for ILFC, AIG was more than pleased. However, that deal now faces long odds as major backers have pulled out. If the deal ultimately fails, AIG has several options ahead of it. It could search for another buyer, hold onto ILFC for aviation industry exposure, or run an IPO of the company, as AIG CEO Robert Benmosche has previously mentioned. With all of these options open to AIG, it seems like the company is in a good position to get exactly the price that it wants for ILFC. And if it doesn't get that price, the opportunity available to ILFC in the aircraft market could make the subsidiary a nice profit engine for shareholders if AIG hangs onto it.
The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for this year. Find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.
The article AIG's Big Sale: Aircraft Leasing, $4.2B OBO originally appeared on Fool.com.
Alexander MacLennan owns shares of some airlines that lease planes from Air Lease and ILFC. This article is not an endorsement to buy or sell any security and does not constitute professional investment advice. Always do your own due diligence before buying or selling any security. The Motley Fool recommends American International Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of American International Group and has the following options: long January 2014 $25 calls on American International Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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