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Where are we going? Is the Church as we know it dying? That is the provocative question asked in a new documentary called "When God Left the Building." Produced by Group Productions, it is a stark examination of the erosion taking place in Protestant churches these days.
The film has several story lines: a long-standing church in New Jersey that can't abide change, even as it withers; the glitz and glamor of high-tech, high production quality megachurches filling cavernous spaces with crowds and measuring their performance with business metrics; a group of Christians looking to reach people in a setting outside the church walls.
The documentary asks if the Church is a bit like Kodak — the huge film company that ended up in bankruptcy because it could not adapt to changes in technology and consumer habits. The failure of Kodak becomes a metaphor in the film for what could happen if the churches don't adapt to new needs and new expectations.
Megachurches are sharply criticized as highly effective business enterprises that are not necessarily better at meeting the needs of their people. One person says that in the megachurch everyone counts who is coming in the front door, but no one is counting who leaves by the back door.
It is an important point. The Pew Research Center, for example, regularly announces how many Hispanic Catholics are departing for various Protestant denominations. Yet the fastest growing segment of Hispanics is those that answer "none" when asked their religious affiliation. In fact, "nones" are growing faster than any other religious option in our society. Does leaving one church make it easier to leave the next? And at what point is it easier to decide that being spiritual is just as good as being religious?
For the makers of "When God Left the Building," the clear answer is a new evangelizing spirit that looks beyond the church building and finds people where they are at. One of the most eloquent voices in the film is a remarkable, faith-filled police officer in Pennsylvania. He asks why he is spending Sundays with people who believe as he believes when he should be going out and meeting people who don't, and he searches for a better way to do that.
While the film may be somewhat controversial in Protestant circles, none of this is new to Catholics. We have been aware of shrinking numbers of Catholic baptisms, first Communions and sacramental marriages. We have seen the impact of demographic shifts and struggled with the same distrust of institutions afflicting Protestant churches and denominations.
The film's warnings about the weak substitutes for Jesus Christ — environmental activism, for example — apply to us as well. Yet there are signs of hope for Catholics. Some great things have been happening, like Sherry Weddell's call for "intentional discipleship" and the New Evangelization. Catholics who are paying attention get the film's point that we should get up from our pews and go out to the world.
At the same time, no Catholic can ever say that God has left the building. We know that God will never leave our building as long as there remains one priest able to consecrate one host. Yet the Holy Spirit seems to be trying to tell us something. With the election of Pope Francis, with the new energy around the evangelization, we are being challenged to get out of our comfort zone.
"Quo vadis?" the Lord is said to have asked Peter when he was fleeing the persecution in Rome. "Where are you going?" The Lord's question caused Peter to return to the city. "Quo vadis?" the Spirit is asking us today. Where are we going to bear witness to the Gospel?
Greg Erlandson is OSV's president and publisher.
Copyright © 1996-2018 Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.


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It seemed almost impossible to meet someone on our little island in Hawaii, but we found each other right away! We began messaging, and we met for our first date within a week of our first message. On our first date we felt as if we had known each other forever. We both walked away from the date with a shocking, but exciting, sense that we had just met our future husband or wife.
We talked to or saw each other every day from that point on, and as we prayed, God continued to give us assurance that He had brought us together. Bryan proposed on a romantic sunset cruise just three weeks after our first date! We both felt very strongly that God didn't want us to wait to start our lives together. We set a wedding date, and we were married less than three months after our first contact on ChristianMingle. We made the sacred covenant of marriage before God and our closest friends and family on November 1st, 2014.
Since being married, God has continued to show us how He perfectly wove our paths together. We are still overwhelmed daily by what He has done, and we love sharing how God used ChristianMingle as part of our story. Our first year of marriage has been absolutely wonderful, and we are closer than we ever imagined two people could be in just a year's time. We are best friends who are grateful every day for this second chance at true love and happiness, and God gets all of the glory!

subset: commoncrawl


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I love/hate weekends
Posted by urn321 on May 22nd, 2013 |Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I love the weekend. Who doesn't? Sleeping in, spending time with friends and family, no work- weekends are great. Except when it comes to my eating. I struggle to stay "on the wagon" (or for me 'on the beach') every weekend. Some are more successful than others.
This past weekend I attended a friend's wedding. I was very good. Mostly. I had salad and asparagus and lean meats at the buffet lunch and champagne. Lots of champagne.
Although alcohol is a tricky issue in dieting and South Beach, dry, brut champagne (my favorite) is one of the best choices. It is low in sugar and one of the lowest calorie alcoholic beverages. Which is why a glass or 2 of champagne is ok. More than that an I start to make bad food choices.
Anticipating that I would have more than 2 glasses of champagne, I planned ahead and asked for my husband's help resisting wedding cake and other delicious things at/after the wedding. although I was not pleased with the lecture he gave me when I quickly joined in the chorus to get pizza after the wedding- I am very glad that he did.
I generally take a few steps (lbs) back on the weekend and spend Monday and Tuesday chastising myself for my bad decisions and trying to get back on track and lose the lbs I gained over the weekend. With my husband's help, this Monday I was pleased to see that I had not gained any weekend weight. I didn't lose anything either, but it was a small victory for me.
I hope to continue my weightloss success this weekend. As I write this, I am already dreading the 3 day weekend with family and friends at the beach- for what it might do to derail my weightloss journey. I am so looking forward to spending a few days with family and friends at the beach. It is just the temptation that abound in those circumstances that I dread. So this is me starting to psych myself up and get my willpower flowing to resist the poor choices that come after a few glasses of wine on the patio, or the family trip to the local ice cream parlor. I need to resist those things and take advantage of the beautiful weather and wide beaches that are meant for early morning runs, sandcastles, and jumping the waves.
Wish me luck! Hopefully I have good news to report on Tuesday!
South Beach Diet, and why it works for me
Posted by urn321 on May 17th, 2013 |Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Why South Beach? At the time I started it, South Beach was the trendy weight loss plan/diet. In reality, South Beach encourages you and helps you to make lifestyle changes. Changes that you can maintain and tweak as necessary when the weight starts creeping back on. Or you wake up one day 25 lbs heavier.
For me, South Beach provided the structure that I needed at still find successful today. I need rules. Allof this "eat in moderation" "just have 2 bites" business does not work for me. How can I only have 2 bites?? There's so much cake left, staring at me!
South Beach also allowed me to eat normal foods and not feel like a freak-hermit at age 22 because I could not go out to eat or eat in front of friends. While it is strict and cuts out certain foods, it also leaves you with a wide range of meat, dairy, vegetables, and fruit to enjoy. Even now that I am back on Phase 1, I can eat out with friends an at work functions. I stick to the sesame tuna salad and away from the bread bowl, but it is very doable.
South Beach is also not about calorie counting. It recommends eating every few hours- especially in Phase 1. They claim (and I fully support) that you are most likely to eat crap when you are hungry and unprepared with healthy food. I am bad at specific portion control and knowing the calorie counts of everything I eat. I enjoy cooking and would much rather know that all of the ingredients in a particular dish are SB friendly thank count calories and chide myself for eating 1300 instead of 1200 one day.
Phase 1 is also helpful if you are like me and craze sweets. I do not crave bread or pasta. They are both delicious. BUt I crave cake and pastries. Delicious baked goods.
Through the first 2 weeks of Phase 1, you lose (or at least) control sugar cravings so that they are not prevalent once you start to work in more healthy carbs in Phase 2. It is difficult for me to not eat fruit for 2 weeks, but it is also doable.
Although not as much of a priority as it was 8 years ago, it is still important for me to feel like a (semi) normal person. I can cook and eat out and lead a normal life without counting points or calories and bringing my own prepackaged meals with me everywhere.
I have recommended South Beach to many people. Some have tried it and found success. Others have tried it and gave up on Phase 1, claiming it was too restrictive. For me, SB is that magical place where there are rules and structure yet the freedom to eat out and not feel so different form non-dieting friends and family.
How did I get here?
Posted by urn321 on May 15th, 2013 |Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
It is easy to say that my family history and genetics are working against me. I am not the only member of my family to struggle with my weight. As with most things, I believe that has an impact, but so does the rest of my life and actions. I can explain away my first 22 years, but I'd rather focus on now.
I got married in 2012 and then got sloppy about my eating habits. More treats and snacks came as I was no longer concerned about fitting into a dress and thousands of pictures being taken.
At the time, I also worked at a very stressful firm with a very poor culture and relationship between the senior staff and mid level staff. This left me wracked with anxiety about my job performance and job security. So I turned to my doctor and medication for help. Of course, weight gain came with the medications. My doctor told me that they would make me hungrier. I had no idea how right she was. Within a month, I gained 10 lbs on top of the 5 that had crept on after the wedding.
Thankfully, I got new job and was able to wean myself off of the SSRI's. But the weight stayed. As much as I have tried to buckle down, that 20 lbs is sticking around.
Let's try this again
Posted by urn321 on May 14th, 2013 |Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment
After graduating from college in 2005, I decided to change my life. I had been heavy, obese, chubby, fat, etc for as long as I could remember. After years of concerned parents and doctors trying to convince me to lose weight, i decided to do it myself. By myself. For me. I was moving to a new city, starting grad school, and attempting to be an adult.
So I did it. In one year, I lost 100 lbs. I started at 280 and a size 18/20 in August 2005; by my sister's wedding in September 2006 I was 180 and a size 12. Since then I have been mostly successful at keeping the weight off with fluctuations here and there around 190. At my lightest, I weighed 169. At my heaviest I was 205.
205 was last week. I do not have a good excuse for this, but I know that anything over 200 is not acceptable for me. It's been a combination of \ a stress/anxiety producing job that led to a few months of SSRI's. After the job switch 6 months ago I have been unable to get the weight off.
My goal is to be 180 again. I was 180 in May 2012 when I got married. I plan to be there again. Not for my first anniversary, but comfortably for the 2nd.
The first time around I stuck to a very strict South Beach diet plan- and lots of exercise. It worked! When I have been successful at maintaining my weight or losing the lbs that creep on, it has been by going back to South Beach phase 1 and starting over again. I have maintained my commitment to exercise over the last 8 years. But I need to step it up.
Let's do this.
Hello world!
Posted by urn321 on May 14th, 2013 |Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Welcome to your new diet blog! This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! You may also wish to go to the site admin area and create categories and choose a design theme to get started.


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Sure, it's cold out, but getting a pedicure is still a great way to pamper yourself. If your toes are freezing in flip-flops and you're sick of smudging your fresh polish while putting on socks, you aren't alone. Bootie Pies (Pedicure Boots for Posh Toes), are Ugg-like winter boots made of suede with a warm lining and fold back patent leather toe to let your nails dry while keeping your feet toasty. The boots come in five different colors, including this coconut creme and are sold exclusively at bootiepies.com for $128 a pair. Seems a bit much to us, but for the pampered footsie, why not?
Photo: bootiepies.com


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CITY OFFICE HOURS | Weekdays 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
This is the NEW official internet home of Alta, Iowa. This redesigned website was made possible by:Alta Community ChamberHeritage Bank NACity of Alta
Date(s) - Tuesday, November 21, 20177:00 am - 8:00 am
Welcov Assisted Living
Everyone is invited to attend Kiwanis! The meetings are every Tuesday at Welcov!


text: Original-Beschreibung durch den Gastgeber the private villa, it is only on the beach of the town of Ispica, only few meters, but the nearest town is Pozzallo. far from it 5 km, we are in south Sicily between the province of Ragusa and Syracuse. the sea is perfect for small children and the beach is a fine sand beach. This finely furnished villa has a Kitchen furnished of anything to cook, table for 6 people, 2 bedrooms, 1 with king size, 1 with twin beds, bathroom with shower, air dry and washing machine. outside a veranda with garden furniture, garden and car park. The villa is perfectly suited for a family or a young couple with children. Not too far from Pozzallo, stands the Noto Valley "Sicilian Unesco World Heritage", comprise: Noto 25 km far away: it is the main attraction of the Sicilian baroque art. Modica 18 km away: famous for the typical chocolate and 100 churches, Scicli distant 17 km: is rich of Baroque and Rococo art, which became famous for fiction Montalbano Commissioner, Ragusa Ibla, 28 km away. "The island of current "15 km away: it is the southern tip of Sicily, where you can admire the meeting between the Mediterranean Sea and the Ionian Sea. Syracuse, 60 km away which you can visit churches and many attractions that the city can offer. Main Distance Catania:120 km Comiso:50 km Syracuse:60 km Ragusa:35 km Modica:19 km Scicli: 21 km Camerina Archaeological museum far 45,00 km Syracuse: far 60,00 km. Malta island: far 100,00 km by ferry from Pozzallo. Etna Volcano: far 130,00 km Taormina: far 160,00 km Agrigento Temple Valley: Far 160,00 km


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Robert Martineau
RERC Member
Bob Martineau of Nashville, Tennessee, is the seventh commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), with more than 25 years experience as an attorney in the field of environmental law. Prior to his appointment, he was a partner in the Nashville firm of Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis, after spending seven years as senior attorney for the Office of the General Counsel for the U.S Environmental Protection Agency where he provided counsel in developing New Source Review, New Source Performance Standards and Air Toxics regulations.
Martineau is a member of the Air and Waste Management Association, and a former council member of the Section of Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law of the American Bar Association. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and Cumberlands, and as secretary/treasurer of the Environmental Council of States, the organization of state environmental commissioners.
He holds a law degree from the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor's degree from St. John's University in Minnesota.


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Tight - Bosslife [Label Submitted]
"Mr Dump that Dic* Tight " The Main Attraction " is going to introduce you to the Atl #bosslife " @cire_ent [m]
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Don't have to tell you where this is, just when. When was 15. That's my brother with me, on our last vacation in Europe before our military family was to be transferred back to the States.
I have a guilty secret, shared by Michael and my other siblings, not shown in this photo. The secret is inside that large handbag you see me holding a bit too carefully. Where you see the bulge, there's a coffee can inside that bag, lined with kleenex and paper towels to make a nest for my pet rat, Gelati. Gelati secretly went with us all over Italy and was sneaked aboard the USS Darby when we sailed for New York. My parents had no idea.
Some kid on ship, um, ratted me out. I was summoned to the chaplain's office (!) and confronted with the charge that I was transporting vermin. Well, I had to defend poor Gelati's life, didn't I? So I lied. I said I had already tossed him overboard.
Other kids aboard backed me up. Yes, said one, I saw her throw it over the stern. Definitely, said another, I saw her throw it over the bow. We were with her when she tossed it over the starboard side. We were with her on the port side. Etc.
Meanwhile, though, the decision was made, since the rat could not be found, that when we arrived in New York, the USS Darby with all passengers would have to be quarantined there for 3 days. This was a military transport vessel, full of families who had been stationed abroad three or four years, all very eager to get back HOME. I was the pariah of the whole ship.
The decision, because of being so unpopular, was changed. Instead of quarantining the ship, each and every cabin would be thoroughly searched - and fumigated. That's when I really did tearfully toss Gelati overboard. I was relieved, but my parents were more upset than ever.
I could well understand their distress and fury, but it wasn't until decades later I found out the real source of it. My parents were smuggling alcohol in their luggage!
At least that was my understanding until a few days ago, until Thanksgiving.
"No," said Mom. "We didn't have anything in our luggage. We weren't smuggling liquor; YOU were!"


text: The Dodge City Lady Demons knew they were going to have to play good defense for any chance to beat the state-ranked Manhattan Indians. Unfortunately, the Lady Demons couldn't find their shooting touch to help leading scorer Katrina Roenfeldt in a 49-30 loss Friday night at the DCHS Fieldhouse. Dodge City shot 11-of-47 from the field (23.4 percent) with Roenfeldt scoring 16 and no other player scoring more than three. DCHS girls basketball head coach Kelley Snodgrass said she couldn't fault the effort, especially on defense; but the scoring has to improve for the Lady Demons (1-1) to succeed. "We were in the game in the first half and we left it all on the court, but we couldn't get shots to fall," Snodgrass said. "When you shoot 23 percent from the field, it really doesn't matter what you do defensively. "We got our hands on balls and got deflections. When the shots don't fall, it gets frustrating." Darby Price scored 15 and Caroline Ballard added 12 for the Class 6A-No. 6 Lady Indians (2-0). The first quarter saw neither team take any offensive control in the game with the score tied at 7-7 by the end of the stanza. Manhattan scored the first six points of the second quarter, but the Lady Demons closed out the half with a run to cut the deficit to 18-15. The margin stayed three early in the third quarter until the Lady Indians closed out the stanza with an 11-point run to lead 33-19 with one period left to go. Manhattan extended the lead to 49-24 midway through the final quarter to complete the victory. The Lady Demons return to action today with a 1 p.m. contest against Junction City. The Lady Bluejays faced Great Bend on Friday. MANHATTAN (49) -- Amara Ehie 2, Savannah Thaemert 7, Par McNair 9, Caroline Ballard 12, Darby Price 15, Kylie James 4. Totals 20-57 9-13 49. DODGE CITY (30) -- Brianna Bradshaw 2, Rachel Durler 2, Whitney Winter 2, Chandra Sain 2, Tia Bradshaw 1, Katrina Roenfeldt 16, Alexis Atamirano 3, Megan Esquibel 2. Totals 11-47 4-7 30. Manhattan 7 11 15 16 -- 49 Dodge City 7 8 4 11 -- 30 Three-point baskets -- Dodge City 4 (Roenfeldt 3, Altamirano 1). Records -- Manhattan 2-0, Dodge City 1-1.


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Style # 199717
Cheetah Fishnet Tights is rated out of 5 by 3.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Melliebeth75 from Loved them!!! I'm glad I got these... I could keep them on all nite & awesomely fitted.
Date published: 2012-12-23
Rated 5 out of 5 by Thequeengets from Sexy leopard touch This is a great way to incorporate this wild pattern in a chic way. These are no brainer, to your little black dress or any other ensemble, just add this leopard tights and a couple of other accessories and you have yourself a fabulous look.
Date published: 2012-12-01
Rated 5 out of 5 by starshopper from Love these Cheetah Tights! "What a better way to show your wild side, then with these hot Cheetah fishnet tights! I got these last fall and totally fell in love when I put them on! The material is heavy duty and hand washing is best to keep them looking good. Great way to show off your legs without revealing too much skin! I paired them with a knee length bebe sweater dress in a maroon and with my bebe ankle suede booties! Hot look ladies! Get them while there back! :)"
Date published: 2012-07-29


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September 14, 1999 – Frankfurt Motor Show – Lincoln Blackwood concept created own niche
created own niche
14 September, 1999 – The Lincoln Blackwood concept vehicle, making
its first European appearance at the 1999 Frankfurt Motor Show, is
the result of a brand combining detailed knowledge of its customers
with non-traditional thinking to create a brand new product niche.
Inspired by the runaway success of its Navigator sport utility
vehicle, Lincoln decided to further explore the idea of combining
the comfort of an American luxury sedan with the versatility of a
sport utility vehicle. The outcome was the Lincoln Blackwood, the
`ultimate utility vehicle.'
The four-door, four-passenger Blackwood debuted in December 1998 at
the Los Angeles Auto Show. Response to the wood-clad luxury utility
vehicle was so strong Ford has decided to put it into production.
"The popularity of the Lincoln Navigator and the continuing
evolution of American sport utility vehicles led to the development
of this luxury utility concept," said J Mays, Ford Vice President of
Design. "Our ability to take this concept quickly to market after
the overwhelmingly positive public response to it shows how flexible
our product development process has become."
The Lincoln Blackwood's appearance at Frankfurt is for more than
novelty value. According to Mays, the processes that led to its
successful development are being used by Ford Motor Company on a
global basis to extend the character of its brands and could result
in even more concepts that create their own niches in future.
Powered by a 5.4-litre V8 engine and riding on 19-inch solid-cast
polished aluminium wheels and P286R60-19 tires, Lincoln Blackwood
has a truly unique appearance. At the rear of the four door cabin
is a fully enclosed pickup bed covered with more than 6 square
meters of wenge, a dark, dense striated wood from central Africa.
A brushed aluminium strip defines each band of wood, adding to the
overall luxury look. The use of the wood is designed as a modern
twist on traditional American `woody,' which used different-coloured
wood strips between larger wood bands, according to Mays.
The wenge wood is sealed with a clear epoxy to protect it from the
elements and highlight the natural beauty of the grain. The
combination of the rich, dark-coloured wood and black,
lacquer-finished sheet metal was the inspiration for the Blackwood's
The hard top of the rear pick-up bed opens hydraulically to a
45-degree angle, operated by the key fob. Once the cover is lifted,
the rear double-door gate can be opened to the sides – giving access
to the well-lit, aluminium-finished interior of the 1422mm trunk.
Two adjacent compartments serve as additional storage space for
smaller objects.
Blackwood's interior is based on the Lincoln Navigator's, with the
addition of wenge wood accents on the steering wheel and instrument
panel. A global positioning system is integrated into the
floor-mounted centre console. The four bucket seats are trimmed in
black Connolly leather.
A version of this uniquely American luxury vehicle concept will go
into production at Ford Motor Company's Kansas City Assembly Plant
late next year.


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Customer Reviews
All reviews are from people who have redeemed deals with this merchant.
What You'll Get
After purchasing this deal, you will need to visit the website listed on your Groupon voucher to complete redemption.
Choose from Four Options
- $75 for a one-week, seven-meal plan ($138.65 value)
- $129 for a two-week, 14-meal plan ($237.30 value)
- $175 for a three-week, 21-meal plan ($355.95 value)
- $209 for a four-week, 28-meal plan ($474.60 value)
The Fine Print
Promotional value expires 180 days after purchase. Amount paid never expires. Limit 1 per person. May buy 2 additional as gifts. Limit 1 per order. Valid only for option purchased. Online redemption required. Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.
About Paleo Diet Delivered
Starting a new diet can be daunting, especially one that restricts common foods such as dairy, legumes, refined sugar, and anything that's processed. But Paleo Diet Delivered makes following the popular Paleo Diet simple by sending clients pre-prepared gourmet meals consisting of meat, fruit, and vegetables—or everything our cavemen ancestors ate.
After you select the meals you want for each delivery, Paleo Diet Delivered's chefs whip up custom meals designed to help them shed pounds. And to keep bellies feeling full, each naturally gluten-free meal contains a ratio of 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. The meals arrive on doorsteps in temperature-controlled boxes each week and the food containers can go right into the microwave, oven, or dragon's breath.


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Giving America a Voice: Digital Services
This is the fourth and final blog in our week-long series on What America Wants from the Postal Service.
Nowhere has the digital revolution been more disruptive than in communications. The rapid evolution in Internet-based technologies has changed the way businesses and individuals communicate and transact. They now rely on both digital and physical communications. This dramatic shift has certainly challenged the Postal Service, but also created opportunities for it to expand into digital services to meet customers' needs.


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Crunchy, Creamy, Cool: 8 Summer Recipes for Coleslaw
A big bowl of coleslaw is practically a requirement for any summer cookout. And really, there's no better accompaniment to a juicy burger or a hot skewer of roasted veggies than a scoop of cool, crunchy slaw. If your only idea of coleslaw is the gloppy, mayonnaise-heavy cabbage salad of our youth, take a look at these recipes!
To our mind, a slaw is all about texture: the uniformly shredded ingredients, the contrast of raw veggies with creamy dressing, the way everything comes together to crunch and pop in every bite. We love cabbage slaws, but we also really love experimenting with other raw summer vegetables. Everything is so fresh and tasty this time of year, it's hard to go wrong!
• 1. Fresh Fennel and Lemon Slaw
• 2. Kohlrabi Slaw
• 3. Miso Slaw
• 4. Broccoli Slaw
• 5. Peanut Slaw
• 6. Mexican Sprout Slaw
• 7. Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing
• 8. Cabbage Beet Coleslaw
More Ideas for Summer Slaws
• Roundup of Carrot Slaws
• Roundup of Radish Slaws
• Hellman's verses Homemade Mayonnaise
• Seasonal Spotlight: Napa Cabbage
• Learning to Love Green Cabbage: How to Pick 'Em, Cook 'Em, and Eat 'Em
Do you have a favorite kind of slaw?
Related: Munch and Mingle: Grill Foods You Can Eat With Your Fingers
(Images: See linked posts for full image credit)


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The Scarlet 'A' - By Daniel Riordan
Starting Tuesday night, political pundits began writing the obituary of Richard Mourdock.
During a debate that night, Mourdock said:
"The only exception I have to have an abortion is in the case of the life of the mother. I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."
My biggest takeaway from that statement?
That Mourdock supports ANY exception regarding abortion.
Mourdock is as loved by the Christian Conservative, TEA Party base as anyone.
Especially because in Indiana, the TEA party's approval ratings are as high as they are anywhere else.
For the record, according to the National Right To Life's website. About four percent of abortions are attributed to the health of the mother. They list rape at less than .5 percent.
The numbers vary based on two studies of how many abortions take place each year. The Centers for Disease Control has it at 825,564 in 2008 while the Guttmacher Institute had it at 1.2 million-plus the same year. So if you split the difference you are at about 1 million abortions yearly.
Of course, Mourdock's statement caused a fire storm.
Mitt Romney, the same week he cut a commercial for Mourdock, distanced himself from the comments.
Democrats hammered Mourdock for being pro-rape or whatever.
The American Family Association of Indiana released a statement to the media that read as follows:
"It is unfortunate that some in the media and certain political leaders would take the heartfelt words of Richard Mourdock, which were based upon his belief that all life matters to God, and attempt to distort them. This appears to be a blatant effort to capitalize on a different controversy in another state that stalled the race of another Senate candidate. It is obvious what Richard Mourdock meant to convey. To imply that he believes God supports rape is nothing more than a cheap political stunt and a distraction in this tightly contested, and vitally important race impacting so many issues that could actually come before the US Senate."
This organization describes themselves as "non-partisan."
I read that after I read a series of testimonials by Indiana Republicans and watched a tribute to Ronald Reagan.
Both sides shot at each other for politicizing Abortion. I love faux outrage.
I don't want to try and get into Mr. Mourdock's head. Mainly because its one that came up with a federal budget one analyst called "too kooky for words."
But I know what he meant. Mourdock is a man of faith. And he believes that everything that happens in this world is God's will.
My question is if pregnancy through rape is god's will, aren't all abortions as well? What about pregnancies carried to term where the health of the mother is in question?
For myself, I'm pro-life. But I'm also a pragmatist. You can't eliminate the number of unwanted pregnancies without better educating people and providing birth control. You need to make it easier for loving families to adopt children.
This of course will never happen because that flies in the face of much religious doctrine.
But I want to move away from that. People have very passionate views about abortion and I don't think it does any good to demean them.
I want to talk about this idea that Mourdock's statement will doom him in the upcoming election.
I don't believe that anyone who had intended on voting Mourdock won't now because of his statement. And obviously it didn't do anything to mobilize Joe Donnelly supporters toward Mourdock.
This reminded me of the Chick-Fil-A blowup. Everyone was up in arms over what Dan Cathy said. Why were we surprised? I think the food chain has been pretty up front about their beliefs. They aren't open on Sundays for a reason.
Is it really that shocking when a religious fundamentalist, regardless of religion, states they adhere to doctrine?
This is a neck and neck race with double digits of people undecided.
Of those undecided, I'm guessing a fair amount would be troubled by Mourdock's comments. Another fraction of that group would applaud Mourdock for having religious conviction.
I still think this race is too close to call.
I think Mourdock's comments were clumsy at best. But I'm troubled by the obfuscation of the real matter at hand: Abortion.
Instead of being adults and sitting down and talking frankly and accurately about abortion, they result to name-calling and outrage.
Both sides use the issue for political gain then cry that the other side is politicizing the issue.
Through my life I've been friends with women who have been raped. I've been friends with women who have had abortions.
The emotional toll of both are tremendous.
But rather than get to the heart of those issues and coming up with real solutions, we have leaders in Washington and those trying to get there locked in a war of words.
Those women deserve better and honestly I think we deserve better from our so-called "leaders".
Too much of the rhetoric is passed down from the top.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle spouting off the same talking points.
This is just yet another in a series of instances that convince me our system is fundamentally and irrevocably broken.


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Christianity, Islam and Judaism, along with their own institutions, have contributed to the shape of many vital political concepts.
The relationship between religion and international politics has been often characterized by mutual suspicion and conceptual misunderstandings as a result of unsuccessful and flawed analyses about their interaction. However, accounting for religion as an intervening variable in world politics can not be entirely dismissed: from a sociological and constructivist standpoint, the field of faith can provide us with relevant and helpful insights for explaining the evolution of some political concepts.
As far as the three Abrahamic religions are concerned (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism), historical and comparative analyses show us how religion might be a useful explanatory tool for grasping complex structural phenomena. In fact, far from suggesting any pretentious and inconsistent theory of "religion in world politics", I will be focusing on monotheism as the basis for the exercise and theorization of sovereignty, social mobilization and civil society.
To begin with, according to Daniel Philpott, the so-called 'Westphalian System' of modern states, based in the modern conception of state sovereignty, was built on religious grounds in Europe. Before 1648, political Europe was characterized by deeply fragmented forms of sovereignty, although transcontinental institutions such as the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire, ruled this broad geopolitical arena through what John Sidel has called the interwoven area between "non-territorial" and material power (powers over land, taxation, and local officials). As a result, the Christian authority represented the embryonic stage of a complex state system, which was later institutionalized through the thirty-year experience of inter-religious conflicts, ending with the Treaty of Westphalia.
Previously, the 16th century had marked the rise of the Protestant Reformation within the Christian world. Calvinism, in association with the structural consequences unleashed by the interaction between transcontinental institutions and pre-existing and scattered forms of sovereignty, played a meaningful role in determining the rise of the state. As Philip Gorski cleverly points out, the Protestant Reformation laid the foundations of a "disciplinary revolution", which made available the necessary discipline for political control. More importantly, in addition to this cultural feature, the Calvinist church provided the modern state thanks to its own power relation with local communities and government.
If Christianity, and related institutions, have played a substantial role within the development of sovereignty and the modern state-system, Islam has to be mentioned as mobilizing factors in world politics. Islam laid down its bases during the 18th and 19th century. Indeed, European colonialism stretched its arms over Muslim lands, such as in the Indian Ocean where the Portuguese, Dutch and British powers intensified forms of imperial and colonial control. In these lands, the aforementioned imperial powers applied the same political and organizational tenet: the extension of Christian extra-territorial sovereignty founded on the basis of religion.
In the 20th century two remarkable occurrences took place: the creation of new networks of Islamic intellectuals and activists on one hand; and the instrumental use of Islam in domestic and foreign policy against the colonial encroachment on the other. The interaction between these two political and social consequences strengthened the rally 'round effect of religion in the international realm, especially since the rise of new media and the improvement of communication among Muslims. As a matter of fact, both the rise of Al Qa'ida in the last thirty years (as a counter-hegemonic force against the Soviet Union during the Cold war, and more recently the United States), and the state sponsorship of Islamic movements by Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, confirm the political clout of Islam in international affairs.
Finally, an overlooked case deserves to be taken into account: Judaism. In his latest book, Michael Walzer stresses the constraining role of Judaism in managing political power: drawing from the philosophical work of Nietzsche, even Walzer identifies the Hebrew Bible as a text against the will of power, as turned by humans against one another. Generally speaking, the Hebrew Bible is concerned with the use, abuse and justification of power by governments. Moreover, Walzer enriches the analysis of Judaism by underlying its role in elaborating a successfully theory of society, conceived as a self-help structure: indeed, the Jews have been able to survive as a society, and without formal political institutions, over the course of history. For such a reason, this religious text continues to be compelling and relevant, and further studies should be provided in order to understand evolution and interaction between civilizations.
Far from being thorough and exhaustive, this article aims at suggesting a more serious account of the role of religion in international relations. As these few words have witnessed, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, along with their own institutions, have contributed to the shape of some important political concepts. All of them, in particular, can serve as "autonomous public spaces and as a countervailing power to state power", by creating a "particular kind of civil society and associational life."
Photo Credit: Ian Sane


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Jeannette A.
MS LifeLines Ambassador,
living with relapsing MS
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With the worldwide recession, people in just about every industry are feeling or at least witnessing the effects in some way. According to CV Screen, a recruitment agency, the IT industry overall has lost 55% of its jobs in the last twelve months. On the other hand, open source jobs have been able to weather the storm a little easier; Linux IT jobs have only dropped by about 30% in that same twelve months, meaning that Linux IT seems to be the better way to go if one intends on keeping his or her occupation.
Even still, 30% is a large cut, and there are many successful Linux IT personnel who simply had to be let go from their respective companies. However, CV Screen predicts that Google's Chrome OS will help Linux IT to rebound. Not only is Google already looking for more software engineers experienced in Linux, but the industry as a whole will begin hiring more. With open source-related jobs already better off than other tech-related occupations, the introduction of another open source product from one of the most known companies in the world may just help bring more jobs to the scene.
From the mouth of Matthew Iveson, director of specialist IT recruitment at CV Screen:
What it sounds like to me is that Chrome OS is only a drop-- or maybe a gallon jug (or liter for those in Europe and elsewhere)-- in a vast lake. As popular as it may become, open source is already spread vastly and is used by many companies especially for servers and other IT-related needs. Chrome OS, with all of its probable pros and cons, can only help in the job scene: more software engineers, more customer support, more Linux-friendly geeks in Office Depot to help people decide whether to choose the Windows or the Chrome netbook. That's all hypothetical, of course. What if Chrome OS netbooks aren't pushed into retail stores as much as one might think? What if the stores don't hire Linux-friendly geeks and the general populace buys Windows because it's what they know? I suppose we'll see in a few years.


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Star Wars: The Clone Wars (UK - BD)
Resident Star Wars geek Chris Gould checks out the latest animated series...
Set during the period between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars focus on the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, led by the villainous Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). As the movie opens, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) are leading their clone troopers against the droid armies of the Separatists on the battle-scarred world of Christophsis. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Jedi are relieved to receive reinforcements in the shape of a feisty young Jedi-in-training named Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), who is assigned to Skywalker as his Padawan learner (despite his objections).
After successfully defending Christophsis the Jedi are tasked with investigating the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta (or Stinky as he is later affectionately nicknamed by Ahsoka), in order to secure the rights to use Hutt controlled hyperspace lanes vital to the war effort. Unfortunately Rota's disappearance is part of a nefarious pan to frame the Jedi, thereby destroying Jabba's faith in the Republic and gifting the hyperspace routes to Count Dooku and the Separatists. Dooku is aided in his machinations by Dark Side adept Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman), a powerful Force user with designs on the Sith name.
Okay, so let me get this portion of the review out of the way with a minimum of fuss so I can concentrate on the technical bits. I've actually been watching the Clone Wars series and enjoying it far more than I should at thirty-three years of age. It's not as adult-friendly as the Gendy Tartatovsky 2D variant from 2003 (jeez, was it really that long ago?), but it offers plenty of action, the voice acting is competent, and I quite like the character design. However, the decision to promote the series by cobbling a few episodes together and release them theatrically was a poor one. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is not a feature film; it's a patchwork of shorter episodes that runs for ninety-eight minutes, and what works fairly well in small doses on TV starts to wear a bit thin when stretched to over an hour and a half.
A lot of that is due to the rather bland storyline, as watching the Jedi struggle to rescue a little slug from the clutches of the Sith was never likely to enthral. The film (and the series for that matter) also carries over many of the prequels' worst attributes, such as the pompous expositional dialogue and cringe-worthy humour. The battle droids are just as—no make that more—annoying than ever, and the character of Ziro the Hutt does for gay rights what Jar Jar Binks did for race-relations. Ahsoka's constant need to give the other characters lame nicknames also grates after a while, coming off like a middle-aged man's idea of how a teenage girl should speak. I appreciate that The Clone Wars is aimed at a younger audience, so I can forgive the bumbling battledroids with their irritating 'roger, rogers' and Ahsoka's sometimes nauseating chatter, but the jury is still out on the effeminate gastropod.
It's not all negative though. While highly stylised, the characters all look like their live-action counterparts, the battle sequences are well-rendered (some of the Saving Private Ryan style camerawork is very good), and the various Jedi/Sith duels are exciting. I've read complaints about the cheesy serial-style voiceover, but the Star Wars films were always intended to ape Saturday morning serials like Flash Gordon so it didn't bother me (although it's employed to better effect in the series). I can understand some of the fan disappointment surrounding the release, but calling it 'horrible' (as many have) is perhaps going a step too far. Okay, so I'm a huge Star Wars fan and probably more forgiving than most, but I found The Clone Wars fairly enjoyable for the most part. It serves as a good introduction to the series and to be perfectly honest with you, I was never any more bored than while watching The Phantom Menace...
Probably the single most impressive thing about the release is the 2.40:1 1080p/24 VC-1 transfer. We're not talking WALL-E levels of greatness, but it looks very nice for a comparatively low-budget animated flick. Colour rendition is very good, accurately reproducing everything from the steely blues and purples of the darker scenes, through to the sun-baked, bleached-out deserts and orange skies of Tatooine. The vibrant red, green and blue hues of the lightsabers look particularly impressive as they flash against the dark backgrounds during some of the duels (evoking memories of the Skywalker/Dooku face-off in Attack of the Clones). Speaking of the darker scenes, black levels are excellent and shadow detail is impressive, which is very handy considering the frequency with which the characters find themselves in dimly lit surroundings. To be honest I couldn't spot any particularly nasty flaws in this digital-to-digital transfer save for some light banding, but even that could possibly be attributed to the source material rather than a technical issue with the transfer. All-in-all this is a great effort and a fantastic visual experience.
Surprisingly for a Star Wars film, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is actually a bit of a mixed bag. Dialogue is nice and clear and the familiar Star Wars effects are reproduced with clarity, but the surround channels are severely underutilised. It's not that they're silent for most of the film—far from it actually—but for a film filled with huge battle sequences they're never really used to their full potential. There are literally dozens of moments that cry out for some discrete effects, but the track squanders virtually every opportunity to immerse the viewer in the action. In fact, the only thing you'll hear in the rears for most of the running time is the score, which is actually pretty good (if a bit 'rocky' in places), but with so many blaster bolts and ships flying around the action really should have been more enveloping. I also expected the bass to pack quite a lot of a punch, but it's actually a little anaemic save for the hum of the lightsabers. Don't get me wrong, this is still a good track, but the mix is nowhere near the quality of the live-action films.
For some reason the English subtitles turn themselves on every time you select any of the extras. This is incredibly annoying when using the 'Play All' option on some of the features, because even if you turn the subtitles off they automatically return when the next featurette starts. I can only assume this is an authoring error, as there's no logical reason for the subtitles to be on all of the time.
The first and most substantial extra on the disc is a video commentary with director Dave Filoni, editor Jason Tucker, producer Catherine Winder and writer Henry Gilroy. The track is novel in that, unlike most video commentaries, the participants aren't stuck in a little box at the bottom corner of the screen. Instead, the film shifts to the top of the screen while the commentators appear at the bottom, and occasionally a third window pops up containing footage relevant to the discussion (this even includes footage from the live-action Star Wars films). Unfortunately the whole thing is presented in SD, rather than as a true BonusView feature. There is a lot of useful information on offer, but I wasn't completely blown away by the content. If the participants had been recorded together it might have made for a more cohesive track, but as it stands there's still enough pertinent information to make it worthwhile.
A series of featurettes come next, beginning with 'The Untold Stories' (HD, 24:53). In this, George Lucas and his team provide an outline of the Clone Wars series, exploring the thematic elements and story arcs. There are plenty of clips from the series, including a few episodes that don't appear to have aired yet (one of which is a Kit Fisto episode). There is also footage from one or two moments in the live-action films, which look pretty good in HD. All things considered this is a pretty good introduction to the series, one which makes me long for the complete thing on Blu-ray.
'The Voices of Star Wars: The Clone Wars' (HD, 10:00) introduces us to the actors who breathe life into the animated characters. Unlike some animated shows, the entire cast is present for the recordings, which allows them to bring their on-set relationships to their performances (helping the dynamic between Obi-Wan and Anakin, for example). The featurette also further reinforced my belief that Matt Lanter does a better Anakin Skywalker than Hayden Christensen. As a special treat there are numerous scenes from the Clone Wars series peppered throughout the featurette, all of which look rather spiffing.
'A New Score' (HD, 10:45) shows composer Kevin Kiner hard at work as he tries to replicate the magic of John Williams' iconic work on the Star Wars saga. It's lamentable that the original music couldn't be used in the series, but Kiner's cues manage to incorporate enough elements to make them familiar, if different. I found it interesting to watch as Lucas urged Kiner to experiment with different ethnic sounds, using Japanese-inspired music on Tatooine instead of the more obvious Middle-Eastern cues that most composers would opt for.
The final featurette is actually a gallery that contains plenty of stills, from early concept designs and sketches, through to clay maquettes and matte paintings. Some of the sketches have a silly little 'Plo Kool' stamp of approval on them, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have to be a giant nerd to work on a Star Wars project.
There are four deleted scenes (10:11), entitled 'Through the Tanks', 'Rancor Pit', 'Platform Droid Fight' and 'Cargo Bay'. The scenes are fully animated, but they're only presented in SD, which kind of sucks given the quality of the main feature. Of these, at least two would have been a welcome addition to the main feature. This is especially true of 'Rancor Pit', in which Anakin and Ahsoka duel Asajj Ventress while trying to protect Jabba's son and avoid a huge rancor. The fact that this scene was featured in a lot elsewhere on the disc indicates that it was cut fairly late in the day.
A series of six 'Webisodes' (HD, 20:59) come next. Director Dave Filoni talks us through the various featurettes, which concentrate on elements such as the battles, the clone troopers, the heroes, villains and the newest character to the saga, Ahsoka Tano. The featurettes are fluffy by their very nature and most of the information is covered in greater details elsewhere on the disc, but they make for interesting enough viewing if only for the presence of footage from the live-action films. Just give us the saga on Blu-ray already!
Three trailers (05:29) are also included: the launch trailer, a 'dark' trailer and the trailer for the Clone Wars video game. The movie trailers are presented in HD and accompanied by music from the Star Wars trilogy (something that was sadly missing from the finished movie), and do a pretty decent job of selling the flick. The game trailer is presented in SD and the game actually looks like it could be fun. The graphics are a bit simplistic, but the various characters are very similar to their on-screen counterparts and lightsaber duelling on the Wii appeals.
'The Hologram Memory Challenge' is basically the game 'concentration', where you're shown a series of images for ten seconds and then have to try and match the pairs. I got through the first round fairly easily and was rewarded with a clip from the Clone Wars TV series, but I failed on my first attempt at the second level and couldn't be arsed to try again. I suspect more clips await those with more patience.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a fairly tepid introduction to the animated series of the same name, but it's not as abhorrent as some would have you believe. Although the series itself is actually more entertaining than this feature-length offering there is still some enjoyment to be had from the film, even if it is skewed towards the younger end of the market. With its quality video presentation, solid audio and reasonable selection of bonus material the disc itself is actually pretty good, so the decision whether to rent or buy will probably come down to your level of Star Wars fanaticism. Bring on the complete series Blu-ray release!
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray release and resized for the page. Full-resolution captures are available by clicking individual images, but due to .jpg compression they are not necessarily representative of the quality of the transfer.
Review by Chris Gould
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children
Disc Details
Release Date: 8th December 2008
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.40:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX English, Dobly TrueHD 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX French, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Portuguese, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Spanish
Subtitles: Brazillian Portuguese, English, French, Latin Spanish
Extras: Video Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Webisodes, Trailers, Gallery, Hologram Memory Game
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Dave Filoni
Cast: James Arnold Taylo,r Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, Tom Kane, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Action, Animation and Sci-Fi
Length: 98 minutes
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Advanced Fluid Power
Hydraulic and pneumatic circuits and their steady state and time variant behavior as it affects the selection and design of components and systems used in fluid power transmission and motion control are studied. Emphasis is placed on industrial and mobile applications, but the principles also apply to aerospace, marine, and other fluid power systems.
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West Lafayette


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Markham Web Content Viewer (JSR 286)Actions
- ${title}
Fly the Markham 150 Flag
What does the Markham 150 logo mean?
Markham set out to create a logo that celebrates Canada's 150th birthday while proudly honouring the city's past, showcasing its diversity and looking forward to its exciting future.
The iconic maple leaf was chosen and given a unique Markham twist to animate the city's motto "leading while remembering." It consists of four vibrant colours, representing Markham's heritage districts: Buttonville, Markham Village, Thornhill Village and Unionville.
Each leaf is a different colour with a symbolic meaning:
- Green for our environmental focus
- Blue for our economic prosperity
- Yellow for social inclusion
- Red for the vibrancy of our communities
The rich, bright colours also signify the vibrant cultural diversity of our city. Within the maple leaf are two silhouettes – that of a child reaching up to an adult. They symbolize the energy of celebration and the passing of knowledge, experience and wisdom to our next generation. Each of the four heritage districts (leaves) surrounding the silhouettes represent civic engagement and our cultural diversity.
Buy a Markham 150 flag
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The logo can be requested at firstname.lastname@example.com. Material must be submitted to the City for approval prior to production.


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2013-08-08 / School News
Eco-friendly Pond Created at Brewster School
Unsightly wetlands adjacent to the C.V. Starr Intermediate School in Brewster have been converted into an attractive eco-friendly retention pond this summer thanks to the efforts of local, city, state and federal agencies.
The full version of this story is available only to subscribers. Subscribe now to access to full versions of news stories in our archive of over 12,000 stories going back to 1999.


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Oscar Index: So an Artist and a Horse Walk into a Bar...
Good news and bad news this week from Movieline's Institute For the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics -- the good news being that a handful of critics organizations and awards bodies have helped to draw the year's noteworthiest (i.e. Oscar-baitiest) titles and talent of the season into their sharpest relief yet. The bad news: Sharp relief remains a total mess, with the fields in most major categories wide open heading into December. Which is the way we like it, right? Right? Ugh. To the Index...
[Click the graphs for full-size images.]
The Leading 10:
1. The Artist
2. War Horse
3. The Descendants
4. The Help
5. Midnight in Paris
6. Hugo
7. Moneyball
8. The Tree of Life
9. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
10. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Outsiders: Margin Call; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2; The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn; My Week With Marilyn; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Shame
First things first: Anyone who tells you the Gotham Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, New York Film Critics Circle Awards and tomorrow's National Board of Review Awards have no impact whatsoever on the Oscar race is either misinformed or deeply in denial. I know: I used to be one of them myself, hewing to the austerity and imperviousness of the Academy Awards, especially by such starfucking hat-passers as IFP and Film Independent. But when FIND executive director Dawn Hudson wound up hopping to the Academy's CEO gig earlier this year, it was roughly my 843rd sign in the last five years of the institutional insularity that binds such awards-culture monoliths. People can inveigh about the NYFCC's own austerity and rectitude, but let's face it: If I knew I could A) jolt a film like Moneyball to awards life after two months in hibernation and B) get Brad Pitt to come to my party, I'd give the movie my Best Actor and Best Screenplay awards, too. These guys didn't even see one of the movies long regarded as the season's biggest wild card (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) just so they could vote first in the derby, and what for? So they could perpetuate the awards narrative that Harvey Weinstein initiated back in May?
It's all connected -- profiles, visibility, timing. Check out Oscar oracle Mark Harris's painstaking analysis this week for his view, or Mike Ryan's narrower breakdown of if/how the NYFCC has recently tended to move the Oscar needle. Look at this week's select honorees at the Gothams (not to mention Scott Feinberg's helpful follow-up). I mean, Charlize Theron? Gary Oldman? I love both -- especially in their new films (hint hint) -- but we are ultimately talking about deploying any and every means available to cling to the neurons of an aging, overstimulated voting elite of 6,000-plus for the next two months. Can your organization do it better than my organization? Give it your best shot. And so on... and so on...
Anyway! As noted, the awards bustle paid off most nicely for The Artist and Moneyball, the latter of which also had Pitt and fellow nomination-hunter Jonah Hill conveniently, simultaneously out and about on the campaign trail. The Tree of Life, for which Pitt split his NYFCC Best actor nod, also benefited from tying Beginners at the Gothams. (I repeat: The Tree of Life tied Beginners -- a distinction that one may think might invalidate the Gothams entirely were it not for the fact that the awards cognoscenti have spent the last 48 hours writing about them.) The Artist, meanwhile, will take its critical approbation and Indie Spirit nods (which are supposed to be for American films, but whatever), but it'll really take its $52,500 opening-weekend per-screen average. Alas, the disturbing news arrives via Nathaniel Rogers:
Everyone predicting a win for The Artist before the nominations are even announced should consider the following list and sobering fact: No movie about movies has ever won Best Picture. [...] You'd think that Hollywood's High Holy Night, which is one big self-congratulatory spectacle, would embrace movies about movies and they do to a point. But perhaps even Hollywood's notoriously fulsome egos feel sheepish about taking it all the way. Do they fear it would be overkill, the back-patting night of nights morphing into something far more orgiastic, a daisy chain of self regard?
Excellent questions! In a semi-related development, movie-love nostalgia showcase Hugo came out strong as well in limited-wide release, portending, in the words of one wag, "early rustlings of a longer-running sleeper success, the kind of success that happens infrequently in Hollywood and even more rarely in the family film realm." Combined with staggeringly strong reviews, that success would almost certainly secure Hugo's spot in the Best Picture coterie.
It's a tandem War Horse doesn't need nearly as desperately, but kudos to Steven Spielberg for not taking any chances on a holiday weekend when his most formidable competition was raking in the accolades and cash. The filmmaker and Disney unveiled his latest for press and industry insiders at a handful of screenings in NYC and L.A., plus a public sneak preview (and a Web Q&A) attended by Spielberg himself. The feedback among the Oscar orthodoxy was incredibly strong, with influencers like Steve Pond, Sasha Stone, David Poland, Kristopher Tapley, Anne Thompson and numerous tweeting others ("Wept through last half of WAR HORSE. Beautiful story of hope and love in the worst of times," wrote Devin Faraci) going to bat for it as the formidable Best Picture contender we always knew it would be. For the prosecution, meanwhile, Jeffrey Wells dismissed Tapley's analysis in particular (which downplayed critics awards, incidentally) as "one of the basest insults to the Academy membership I've ever read." Now that's when you know you have a real contender.
One last thing: How about Patrick Goldstein's idea of a luxury tax for studios lavishly pushing the likes of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2?
By publicly identifying the biggest spenders, a luxury tax could serve as a disincentive for crass studio excess. It might also help level the Oscar playing field. The vast majority of recent Oscar best picture nominees have been films that were either financed by a major studio or one of its specialty film divisions, which, if necessary, can draw on the resources of the parent conglomerate. (The 2007 best picture nominee Babel from Paramount Vantage is a good example.) Given the new formula for picking best picture nominees, if Warners' ad spree earns Hallows 5% of the first-place votes for best picture, it could knock a smaller movie out of the running. Even though indie movies can still earn a best picture win, as Summit's The Hurt Locker did in 2009, most Oscar insiders say that when it comes to vaulting your film into the awards season conversation, money talks.
Love it! Except this whole thing about penalties going to causes like the eventual Academy museum or film scholarships for underprivileged kids is a clear misappropriation of funds that should be going to the Consider Uggie campaign. Thoughts?
The Leading 5:
1. Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
2. Steven Spielberg, War Horse
3. Alexander Payne, The Descendants
4. Martin Scorsese, Hugo
5. David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Outsiders: Stephen Daldry, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris; Bennett Miller, Moneyball; Tate Taylor, The Help; George Clooney, The Ides of March; Tomas Alfredson, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
As usual, their films' rising tides generally lifted the filmmakers' boats -- or the inverse, as evidenced by The Descendants and Alexander Payne. According to NY Post critic and NYFCC member Lou Lumenick, Payne's film never received more than 17 points in any round of Best Picture voting, and the director himself never broke through a top-three cluster of Hazanavicius, Scorsese and, uh, Lars von Trier. Thanks for playing, Lars! Mr. Spielberg will take it from here.


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by Ed Morrissey at HotAir
Want to squelch investigative reporting? Punish media outlets for offenses, real or perceived? If you don't mind relocating, the UK has a position open for aspiring public-debate referees:
Wanted: someone unconnected with the newspaper and magazine publishing industry willing to take on the burden of chairing a new press regulator for £150,000 a year.
Applicants are being invited for the inaugural chair of the IndependentPress Standards Organisation (Ipso) in an advert placed in the print edition of today's Guardian.
It says that the job "is a real challenge and rare opportunity to lead in the creation of an important new national body."
So the successful applicant will be "a proven leader with experience in a complex and high-profile environment" who can "demonstrate independence, sound judgement and resilience, as well as the ability to work and communicate effectively in a public and high profile environment."
Furthermore, the Ipso chair "will be committed to protecting the rights of the public whilst maintaining freedom of expression."
Good luck with that. IPSO is a little more than just a trade organization such as Underwriters Laboratories is here in the US. Parliament has added some regulatory heft to the panel, and may add penalties for legal actions involving non-members, which makes this somewhat less than entirely voluntary. (The Guardian, which reports this opening, has refused to join, as has the Independent and the Financial Times.) It's a lever to allow government to dictate limits of reporting, which is at the moment a not-unpopular position among the British after the press scandals at News of the World and other outlets of late.
Americans might well feel a little sanctimonious about the premium we put on free debate and expression, but I'm not sure we're much different these days. In my column at The Week, I offer my services to IPSO as their new chief regulator of the press, and explain that they needn't fear hiring Americans these days:
All one needs to do to confirm that our reputation exceeds reality is look at how free speech is handled on college and university campuses. Earlier this month, the free-speech watchdog Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) released its report on campus speech restrictions, finding that 59 percent impose "policies that seriously infringe upon students' speech rights," which is a slight improvement over the previous year. These institutions, many of them state-funded, impose "speech codes" to prevent "offense," and in some cases restrict the First Amendment's application to small "free speech zones" that others on campus can avoid. This, by the way, surveys official action against free speech by administrators, and not the assaults and blockades that often greet speakers with heterodox viewpoints from universities' student populations.
The lengthy use of such campus speech codes has, as FIRE president Greg Lukianoff argues in his new book Unlearning Liberty, begun to transform American society from a culture that values open debate to one intolerant of any contact with differing opinions. Thus we have the attempts to shut out those who challenge political correctness, such as a reality TV star who expressed mainstream Christian theology on homosexuality, an actress who endorsed a Republican in California (admittedly a bit of a novelty these days), and according to the governor of New York, anyone who opposes abortion.
While I could regale the committee with plenty of examples along these lines — for instance, the demand to fire meteorologists who refuse to endorse anthropogenic climate change from all media outlets — one more for this week will suffice. ABC invited conservative radio host Dana Loesch to make a guest appearance on The View, which rather notoriously features just one conservative at a time among their regular contributors. The one conservative regular, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, left the show in the summer of 2013 and has yet to be replaced.
Needless to say, this put Loesch in the distinct minority on the panel, but that wasn't good enough for a group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Rather than cheer on the lopsided odds facing Loesch in defending her gun-rights positions, MDA founder Shannon Watts blasted ABC and The View for giving Loesch any time at all. Watts claimed to speak for 80 million moms, while perhaps forgetting that Loesch might just as well claim to speak for 62 million gun owners. Watts lamented that rather than look for a "responsible gun owner" to co-host, The View gave "a pro-gun activist" a spot in which she was outnumbered 4-1. Watts also noted that The View had a right to select its own co-hosts, but that the producers and ABC should have realized how offensive it would be to have Loesch offer her opinions on gun laws.
It might seem a little odd for me to be using my current job and platform to apply for another one across the Atlantic, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows that my satirical tongue is planted firmly in my satirical cheek here. However, the job does pay £150,000 a year for a three-day work week, roughly equivalent to $245,000 here in the US. As I conclude in my piece, that's pretty tempting even with the relocation, because these days, there doesn't appear to be much difference in embracing free debate.
Be sure to read it all.


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Gearing up for the holiday season? These simple confections are something you'll want to have on hand for hostess gifts and cookie trays. They're quick to prepare and keep for quite a while in the fridge. The fresh mint leaves really make this recipe sing. I like to use chocolate mint, mainly because that happens to be the variety overgrowing my herb bed, but regular old mint is swell too.
Peppermint Patties
Yield: About 2 dozen patties
• 1 ounce unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure peppermint extract
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ounce (about 2 tablespoons) heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh mint leaves
• 8 ounces good-quality dark chocolate pastilles or bar chocolate, chopped
• ½ ounce unsalted butter or cocoa butter
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Set aside in refrigerator to chill.
2. Using a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter, confectioner's sugar, and extracts on low speed until well combined. Add cream and mint leaves and gradually increase speed to medium-high. Blend for another minute, scrape down the bowl, and blend again for 1 more minute. Mixture should be creamy and thick, not chalky or powdery. If it's too powdery, at a little more cream, ½ teaspoon at a time. If it's too loose, add a little more confectioner's sugar, a tablespoon at a time.
3. Roll teaspoon-size scoops of the mint mixture into balls and flatten them into patties (about ¼" thick) on the prepared baking sheet. Return to the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
4. Place the chocolate and the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds on high power. Stir. Heat again for 15 seconds. Stir. Repeat until chocolate is melted. Let chocolate cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
5. Dip the chilled patties into the cooled melted chocolate and gently tap off excess chocolate. Place them on the baking sheet and return the sheet to the refrigerator. Let chill for a couple of hours before serving. Store leftover patties in the refrigerator.


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Tag Archives: Morning Fatty
Locals Only: Less Than Jake Takeover! Glenn Richards' Exclusive Interview with Vinnie & Buddy from Less Than Jake!
Originally aired on Locals Only, Sunday, August 25, 2013 Part 1: [Audio:http://www.rock104.com/rockblog/files/2013/08/LTJ-WB-WKND-Part-1-WEB.mp3] Less Than Jake's 2nd Annual Wake & Bake Weekend at High Dive, Gainesville FRIDAY: PAPER and PLASTICK NIGHT w/Red City Radio, Protagonist, and Houdini's Liquor Cabinet. SATURDAY: Ballyhoo!, … Continue reading


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Opinion: Tabula Rasa Tax Reform
WSJ Editorial Page editor Paul Gigot on the Senate's attempt to reform the country's labyrinthine tax code. Photo credit: Associated Press.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... good afternoon and welcome to Opinion Journal why Mary Kissel ... the last major tax reform in this country was nineteen eighty six in and do you know it if you're sitting in your kitchen table ... trying to do your taxes the average American spends thirteen hours doing the taxes every single year ... could omens in the building to get another big reform editorial page editor Paul GBO joins me now call ... Max Baucus orange patch ... of bipartisan cooperation in the sense ... is tax reform finally going somewhere ... probably not but at least it's starting and ... it's got a lot of obstacles but to Baucus and had to put together a statement that they send to their colleagues last week saying ... look I were to start from ... Denolf I ... might break through the beginning ... no preference is ... and will build from there ... so if you wanna make a case for your tax preference for your loophole ... you gotta make it in and we're gonna ... tell you how much richer than have to go up ... to pay for that yet this is all a wonderful political maneuver to say ... I'm this is actually how much it costs the average taxpayer when to put all these deductions special interest in the ... quote ... from Baucus announced just ... to read that and I quote ... every two trillion of individual tax expenditures that are added back to the bank's late when on average race each of the seven individual income tax brackets by between ... thirteen and twenty two percentage points ... from what they would be under the blank slate ... call ... it benefits most from this pour in the middle class the rich why think the biggest ... loopholes ten in the middle class who pulls right to the mortgage interest deduction I have looked through the list again but the health impact tax exclusion ... for I think you get to the employers get ... those are really really costly ... they're a lot of others though the data that also will cost a great deal that you could turn around the edges of it and they all add up ... aam but the the the vast majority of of I think of the of the tax ... favors to and I'm going to the middle class ... aam ... although because of the rich tend to have make more money they often benefit from this proportion ... is how I politically it's been impossible really to do wholesale reform since nineteen eighty six because ... it is the vast middle of the country that benefits from this complex well I know that you know I'm not quit re agree with the language and use it benefits us in the kit the loophole but overall good that benefit I don't think we do as a society what we benefit from this from faster growth bright ... and ... a tax code that is efficient ... and which has fewer economic distortions we all benefit for so ... yes you can point to that say oh well I bought this home in my the loan is this much and therefore I get that done this much for my taxes than it looks like a benefit ... but if your overall rates were lower ... you'd be better off ... I think they can do what happens is you get the special interest groups who say ... oh my God you're gonna lose ... five thousand dollars a tax deduction for a new mortgage don't do that they don't show you that the larger pan ... how does this in what's going on in the house but they can't Canadian and tax reform and he's working ... well they're they're a companion efforts I think Bob Baucus and Hatcher sincere in trying to put something together I think the camp is also very sensors made a huge commitment on ... in in hearings and so when you try to get this done ... they'd love to work together they have good relations cross Senate and House on the the the main tax writing committees ... the problem is the president ... who insists that tax reform cannot be revenue neutral has to raise revenue therefore has to be a big tax increase ... and the one of the secrets of the success of the six reform which I'm old enough ... to say I remember ... is that it was revenue neutral so it didn't insist on a taxi ... even if the Republicans and Democrats came together in in in in March way many of them on board even then the president would consider signing the bill well I think it would be difficult if they don't ... show him ... a trillion or so of extra revenue ... Anastacia scam it's also Chuck Schumer who is the I wants to be Senate majority leader after Harry Reid he laid out ... his principles ... which mimicked the White House's in December ... saying that he also ... you could have ... use of the old tax reform is denser than eighty six Mommy revenue neutral when out tax reform has to be about reducing the deficit ... that's a reform killer ... reform kilowatts not a sexy topic but it's a very important topic in an editorial page editor Paul GBO


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Hi, Nekky-
Thanks so much for your comment. I've added you to my reader-I'm loving the Blog Hop connections idea.
Thanks again for getting in touch.
Thanks for the comment Nekky!
Hi Katie, thanks for the message & follow...I went to your site and returned that favor! Great site......Good luck with your son. Let me know if you need any help/support, its never fun, that is for sure.
Thanks for the add girl!! Very nice to meet you :)
Thank you for friending me! I look forward to chatting with you! Feel free to visit my blog http://mamasgotflair.com
Thank you for inviting, it may take me a bit to get up to speed here! But I look forward to interacting with new friends at Mom Bloggers! Will check all out! Thanks again!
Hello there Nekky! I appreciate your welcoming me here. Feel free to check my blog, http://momsterteacher.wordpress.com as well. Thanks and "see you"!
Thank you, Nekky! I will definitely check out those Blog Hops, they sound like a great way to get more followers. Thanks again!
Thank you for the welcome Nekky! I received a few new followere from Get Connected Tuesday Blog Hop...thanks!!
Greetings Nekky...thank you for your welcome wishes~!! Have a groovy day~!! xoxo
hi Nekky...my twitter is compromised so i need to wait until it is resolved.. Thanks for your like... WAHM
Hi Nekky,
Thanks for the invite and welcome comment! I am a mom of two as well and love to make new friends! Love blogging and good blog reads! I am a stay at home mom who started my own photography company..My blog is about all things with family, photography, fashion, and all. I will make sure to check out your blog! You can check out my blog at ( http://www.klmphotographyblogs.blogspot.com )
Thanks for the invite-I just signed up. Feel free to do the same on mine!
LoveLifeFaith: The Story Behind the Stories
Hi Nekky,
Thanks for adding me! what is it that you do?
Hi Nekky- I followed back! Mahalo
hi nekky...thank you so much for welcoming me in this site. i saw your site and it looks very interested. I hope to you can check out my site too and like me on my FB. http://www.supersocialwah.com
Aloha Nekky, Thank you so much for the welcome. Also, thanks for the invite to the hop. :D I checked out your blog and I'm following you via Google Friend Connect. Could you please follow me back. My web address is: All Coupon'ed Out! Mahalo
Thanks, Nekky. You really made me feel welcome.
Hi Nekky thanks I am now following you http://nannaof3.blogspot.com/ thanks for the invite to your hop I will check it out
HEY NEKKY! thanks for the welcome, I am just getting into the game, so I might be a bit slow getting aquainted with all and use to everything. But I am happy to be amonst great women like yourself.
~Daphne (aka mushymamma)


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Junior Ian Chiles scored 16 points and hit a pair of clutch free throws to help Morgan State hold off host Howard, 53-51, on Monday night.
The Bears (8-12, 4-5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) won the rebounding battle 37-25 and outscored the Bison (6-18, 3-7 MEAC) in the paint 30-10. Chiles, a 7-foot-2 center, pulled down seven rebounds and had three blocked shots. His 16 points matched a career high set at UNLV on Nov. 20, 2011.
Junior Justin Black had 13 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Blake Bozeman had 11 points for the Bears.
Norfolk State 85, UMES 63: Kevin Mays finished with a game-high 20 points, 17 in the first half, and a team-high five rebounds, but they weren't enough for the visiting Hawks (1-19, 1-8 MEAC) against the conference-leading Spartans (16-10, 11-0).
percent (10-
Norfolk State 54, UMES 51: The visiting Hawks nearly pulled off a huge comeback, getting to within two points after being down as many as 20 in the second half, but came up short.
Karona Roach led UMES (6-14, 2-7 MEAC) with 19 points, while Sha-Kiylya Finney shot 10-for-10 from the free-throw line to finish with 10 points.
But UMES could not stop Rachel Gordon, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans (5-17, 3-8). The Hawks were down 51-31 with 9:35 remaining, but a 20-2 run cut the lead to two with 40 seconds left. That was as close as they got.
Howard 68, Morgan State 33: The visiting Bears (8-16, 5-6 MEAC) were held to a season-low 10 points in the first half and never recovered.
The Bison (14-9, 8-3) was led by Saadia Doyle, who had a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds. Morgan State, which shot 16 percent (9-for-54) from the field, was led by Chyress Lockhart's team-high nine points and game-high three steals.
Salisbury 73, Trinity (D.C.) 49: Four Sea Gulls (12-11) scored in double digits, including senior Katie McGahagan, who picked up a doubledouble. Visiting Salisbury scored half its first-half points off turnovers by the Tigers (6-12).


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Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) – Peter Brouwer turns 56 on Wednesday. But if you count the times he's celebrated his true birth date, he's only turning 14.
Brouwer is a Leap day baby. And like a lot of people born Feb. 29, he relishes the uniqueness of his birthday. He even thinks there's an advantage to marking your real birthday just once every four years.
"We don't have that psychological drama of being a year older every year," said Brouwer, who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is the co-founder of the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies.
In off years, Brouwer says, most Leap day babies _ perhaps 80 percent _ celebrate their birthdays in February "because they're born in February. We call them strict Februarians."
But Jennifer Whisnant of Greensboro, N.C., whose daughter Ava was born in 2008, says they "celebrate on the closest Saturday for a party, or on March 1st, which is technically when she would have been born had it not been Leap year."
Birth certificates and most government agencies like Social Security use Feb. 29 for those born on Leap Day, but leaplings occasionally encounter bureaucratic difficulties using their true birth dates. Some computerized dropdown menus don't include Feb. 29.
"My life insurance policy is for March 1 because their computer doesn't support Leap day," Brouwer said.
On Facebook, Anne McCarthy's friends get a note Feb. 28 that her birthday is the next day. Then on March 1, "there would be nothing. So, unless it was a Leap year, friends would not see birthday reminders for the actual day," said McCarthy, of Boston, turning 24 on Wednesday (in Leap time, 6).
There are no reliable numbers on exactly how many babies are born on Leap day, but statistically, the odds of being born then are the same as any other day.
"The law of averages means your chance of being born on Feb. 29 are one out of 1,461," Brouwer said, explaining that 1,461 equals 365, or the number of days in the year, times four, plus one for the extra day in the four-year cycle. "We figure in the U.S., there's about 200,000 of us, and in the world, about 5 million."
There's also no good way of definitively determining whether mothers with scheduled C-sections or induced births avoid or embrace Leap day.
Fewer babies are born on weekends in the U.S. than on other days, according to research by the National Center for Health Statistics, and since Leap day fell on a Sunday in 2004 and a Friday in 2008, birth numbers from those years don't tell the whole story.
What will happen this year is anybody's guess. At Inova Health System in Virginia, where more than 20,000 babies were born last year in four hospitals, "women are running from the date. That's what we've found," said spokesman Tony Raker.
But at Florida Hospital in Orlando, "people would rather have the baby on Leap day. We have a slight increase in the number of scheduled C-sections on that day since it is a special day," said hospital spokeswoman Sara Channing.
One of those scheduled to give birth Wednesday at Florida Hospital is Tammy Gerencser, who didn't hesitate when her doctor proposed scheduling her C-section Feb. 29.
"I got this sheet of paper that said, `You're going in Feb. 29,'" Gerencser said. She said while a few people told her, "Oh no, you need to change that date,' other people are so excited."
This will be her and her husband's second child. "I was told I couldn't have any more children, so he's special anyway," she said.
Andrea McGowan, a labor and delivery nurse at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, predicts that Leap day "will be like any other Wednesday" in the maternity ward. But she can give firsthand advice to anyone who becomes a mom that day: Her own daughter was born Feb. 29, 1996. "Having that birthday adds a little flair," she said. "It's a conversation piece."
The towns of Anthony, N.M., and Anthony, Texas, both on the line between the states, host a Worldwide Leap Year Festival every four years the week of Feb. 29, with a carnival, car show and other events. Past guests range from a 16-year-old leapling (4) who came from California, to a local man who's the oldest at 92 (23), according to Hector Giron, one of the organizers.
Some leaplings come up with their own rituals to mark non-Leap years.
Rachel Laber, who lives in New York City and will be 24 on Wednesday (6) prefers to celebrate her birthday Feb. 28 in off years. But to placate those who argue for March 1, "I have taken on a two-day celebration the last 10 years or so."
Jan Harrell of Ashland, Ore., handles off years by staying up until midnight with friends who shout "Happy birthday!" in "that magical nanosecond" between Feb. 28 and March 1.
"My birthday feels like a cosmic joke," said Harrell, who turns 64 (16) this week. "But not a bad one, just a very, very funny one."
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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