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The Boy and the Palm Reader
Nick Kocz and Jenniey Tallman
His parents believed in fortune tellers. They lived not far from what was billed as the oldest spiritualist community in the country: Lily Dale, NY. Once, when he was young, his parents dragged him out there on an overcast autumn day. He remembers walking around a park where the trees were leafless and his parents swore they could feel the vibrations of dead souls speaking.
They paid a twenty-dollar donation and a gray-haired fortune teller proceeded to tell the boy's fortune. It was something of a bargain: twenty dollars for your future. They sat in a darkened room, the boy and the fortune teller. He'd never been so scared in his life, for he honestly believed she could divine his entire existence. Finally, she asked, "You had a pet growing up, didn't you? You loved that pet very much, didn't you?"
She knew that I had a gerbil!
It struck him as a revelation, but really: what boy growing up in America wouldn't have had a pet at some point?
She was taught in high school by a sporty girl named Monica. They sat beside each other for days in the cafeteria with Monica pointing out all the creases and counting the splits. Count these for children, count here for options, here for age. Monica didn't know the real names so made them up — the big buckeroo line, the naughtiness line, the sunstroke line—and told her what they each meant. Later, she checked out a book from the library, enhancing her knowledge. She didn't really believe in any of that babble, but wanted an excuse for touching a boy's hand in the dark. Once she got a boy's hand into her own she could make him love her just by tracing the lines.
Every once in a while, you hear an anecdote about someone who had an inkling, a tingly feeling telling him maybe they ought not board a doomed plane. We've all had inklings, most of which prove false, and yet from that one-in-a-thousand that proves correct, great anecdotes are formed.
As much as the boy wants to believe in palmistry, truth is, he thinks it's bunk. He doesn't believe in crystals and harmonic convergences and the let's-smoke-some-peyote bullshit because that's the word that pops into his mind: it's all super bunk.
She has had inklings. More than she cares to admit. Her mother taught her to believe that she was special, some sort of spirit child of the stars, to believe that she had been kidnapped by gypsies and changed. Her mother asked her about everything, as if one child alone could divine the truth. It was unsettling, having a mother who demanded her opinion of every man who asked for her phone number or where she might have put her misplaced car keys.
What she really believes in is much more simple.
She believes in the honesty of sitting across from another person and running her finger along the lines of his hand while discussing life, love, and longing. She likes the touch, likes to be the one in charge. A boy will listen when she touches his hand, will tell her things he would not otherwise say. Access to a boy's imagination is the advantage of being a palm reader.
There is something wonderfully sweet about a woman touching your hand across a table and telling you about love.
Palmistry is the science of parting a man from his money, and it is in this profession that lovers and charlatans excel. The practitioners are sneaky devils who know the backhanded way into your heart. Prostitutes of talk and touch, that's what they are.
How palm reading got popular: some sweet-talking lady dresses up in a turban and runs her fingers all over a man's hand, telling him things, glorious things, while he is too hot and horny and liking it to admit to anything other than, Ho ho, this lady palm reader is amazing!
The art of palm reading proved a good pick up show for the girl. She used it at parties. When introduced to a boy, she would shake his hand and run her index finger subtly along his love line and smile to herself. A small scratch just there and she could turn his eyes her way.
At one such party, she met the boy. He sat on a couch rubbing girls' feet. "I have a foot fetish," he explained. She recognized his tricks immediately and left him alone. But later, after everyone else had gone, she stretched her foot into his lap.
"Go on," she said. "Tell me what you think."
So he removed her sandal and touched each of her toes, his fingers probing roughly between them. He pressed his thumb into her arch, ran his fingertips gently down the inside line of vulnerability, squeezed her bones between both palms. Just when she thought she could take no more, he pulled her foot to his mouth and sucked her pinkie toe. She squirmed, collapsing from the pleasure of it.
"It's a nice foot," he said, releasing her.
"I read palms," she told him and he begged her to read his, tempting her with tales of the new and wonderful ecstasies he would perform on her toes in exchange for a reading. But she demurred, handing him a business card for her palmistry shop instead. The card was handmade; its edges were rough and the name, address, and hours were printed in longhand. The red ink bled into his fingertips.
"Give me a freebie?"
She blushed. "Don't be cheap."
He goes into her palm reading booth a dozen times. Every day. When he gets needy for the sweet glide of her fingers over his lifeline and the touch of her leg under the table, he can frequent her palm reading booth two or three times in a single afternoon, each time pretending he is someone different—a new guy who just blew into town with a yen to see his future.
Are you sure I haven't seen you before, she asks.
No ma'am, he says, taking off his baseball cap and looking so earnest. Name's Legs Amboy... er, um... Smith.
She squelches her smirks, for his sake. He rolls up his sleeve as if to give blood.
She takes his palm and cradles it in her hands. The hairs on the back of his neck stir. Will this be the time she predicts great calamities have entered into his future? Sometimes, she flips his palm over and takes one of the fingers, wiggling it slightly so that its knuckles crack. After some minutes of silence, she pronounces the verdict: I see a warm sweet thing in your future.
And then, That'll be ten dollars, boy.
The palm reader has, of late, been preoccupied by a vision of love and need. It seeps into real life, slithering its way between her toes, and she cannot escape it.
They are two people, the boy and the palm reader, following each other around relentlessly and both pretending not to.
In the park, where there are ducks to be fed, the boy hands her some bread so she can feed them. The ducks nip the bread from the palm reader's hand, and he laughs aloud as she jumps back in alarm from the ducks' sharp beaks.
The commitment line is long and nearly invisible, a shallow groove that runs from the base of the thumb all the way to the heart. The groove is illegible to all but the wisest palmists; rarely does she peek at it for fear of the heartbreak it will reveal. Desperate people will push their way into her palmistry shop and plead for her to appraise their commitment lines, each of them bringing into her shop a tale of unrequited love or a romance gone wrong. They will cry into her tablecloth, then shove their thumbs into her face.
At first, she will feign ignorance. Then she will claim that her knowledge of the esoteric arts is insufficient to offer sound judgment.
"The science of the commitment line," she will say. "It is not a science you wish to mess with."
Sometimes she gets an inkling. A stranger will deposit their palm into her hand and a tingling will come over her. Before she has even peeked at his life line or heart line or girdle of venus or any of the other points of the palm that she has learned to assess, she knows what fate befalls the person. She will find herself breathing heavily, perspiring. An overwhelming scent, usually acidic though sometimes that of an ozone-heavy electronic charge, will flood her senses. Often she will feel herself swooning in her seat, moaning, but the person whose hand she holds will have no idea that something unusual is taking place.
She will know everything about that person: his favorite ice cream flavor, the destination of his next vacation, the moment of his death, and whether he shall have lead a satisfying life. Credit card numbers and the faces of past, present, and future romantic interests will tumble through her mind. It surprises her: how many one person will have. Or how few.
"So?" the person shall ask.
She will make up hasty lies, telling him that he will soon be taking a Caribbean cruise when what really awaits him are roundtrip Amtrak tickets to Boston. She will fudge the names of children and the advisability of career changes, telling the hopelessly well-educated that they need to pursue additional degrees. She will say any fool thing that comes to her mind just to speed these people out of her booth, knowing she will never see them again.
For weeks thereafter, she will be unable to clear her nostrils of that slightly acidic scent.
The boy picks up the bread that she dropped. While giving it back, he takes her hand and looks into her palm. Ducks are flocking around him, quacking for the piece of bread he has returned to her.
"Your head line," he says, running his finger along her hand. "You are a very emotionally stable woman."
Palmistry has never been a reputable art. Desperate people are her best customers.
Lucky thirteen.
The boy was stealing quarters out of fountains, pushing aside the ducks so that he could plunge to their concrete bottoms to retrieve them just so he could visit the palm reader every day. It was costing him a small fortune, and his dignity, what with the bronze mermaid and dolphin statues that line the fountains always spitting water at him.
The palm reader is surprised by these you are an emotionally stable woman words, and the surprise shows on her face. Her brows pinch together and her head falls back a bit. She looks as if she is training herself into a soothsaying trance, but that is just the illusion that she allows her customers.
What the boy does not say is that he has indeed spied his future, for he knows now her romantic inclinations.
Lately she's been imagining the weight of the boy pressing her body into the mud by the river where they feed the stupid ducks. Thinking of the warmth of that mud sloshing around, and the way the ducks would scream at the pair of them. His hand rubbing a palmful of that mud onto her breasts, covering them, and how her own hands would slather it onto his hips—a map of touch left on their bodies.
"That's sweet," she says, wanting nothing more than to cozy up to his words. So much about the true art of palmistry relies upon a steady gaze into your mark's eyes. He needs to know that the palm reader is a woman who can be trusted, a woman who has no fear about the life she is looking into. Once learned, this trait of staring into one's eyes is hard to shake, yet as she is staring into his eyes, she feels a sudden pang. She has not read his palm for several long hours, but she is sure that if she were to look at it now, she would see a new line etching its way down his palm.
"What's wrong?" he asks, thinking she has just spotted some horrible blemish in his future.
She hems. The ducks crowding around them are not the affable ducks that waddle through fairy tales, but hungry beasts that stretch their necks and flap their emerald wings, their feathers raised at the affront of not being immediately fed more bread. The ducks here will bite the crap out of her but it is not the ducks that scare her. Standing there, she imagines his commitment line widening into a deep burrow that is capable of engulfing her.
The ducks peck her feet, perhaps expecting that she has stashed a cache of breadcrumbs in her suede sandals. She knows she has to go, flee. She gathers her skirt in her hand and begins running up the small hill that leads back into town. Glancing over her shoulder, she sees the boy looking at her.
And still the ducks yap.
He runs after her. He can think of no reason to explain her sudden departure, so he races through briars and side roads, beating her back to the palm reading shop. The sign on the window is that of a blue turban and a red crystal ball, below which prognosticates "CLOSED." He is not deterred, for he sees an open window and crawls through it, kerplunking onto the floor.
He hides under the table, sitting on the very spot of the worn carpet where their legs have met on numerous occasions. On the underside of the table, against the wall, cobwebs hang, tickling the back of his neck.
A moment later, he hears her key in the door, unlocking it to let herself in. He can see her taking out her costume turban from the closet, righting it on her head. From a side drawer, she takes out the ruby rings—fake, most likely—and slides them onto her fingers. While she is doing this, he gets out from under the table and sits on the chair.
She is about to turn the sign over, opening herself up for fakery again, when she stops suddenly and stares at him.
"Do I know you?" she asks, affecting the accent she thinks her customers expect.
"No ma'am," he says, looking down and seeing the mud he has tracked on the parlor floor. "I'm new in town. And I really need someone to kinda tell me a few things."
Smirking, she narrows her eyes. "You sure I don't know you?"
"Not yet."
She seats herself in the chair opposite him, letting her sandals slide off her feet. The table between them is small and circular, covered with a black velvet tablecloth that always reminds her of the strapless gown she wore to her senior prom. At the time, she thought it was provocative but now the memory feels silly: showing up for the prom in something so slinky.
"So, shall we start?" he asks, setting his hand palm-side-up on the black velvet.
She runs her bare foot up his calf and under his thigh, wedging her toes beneath his bottom.
"You don't mind, do you?" she asks. "My foot is cold."
Her foot is hot despite what she says, or that is how it feels to him. She has the sexiest legs he had ever seen and from the way her dress had folded around her as she sat, he was able to see plenty of them.
He runs his hands along her leg, and then grabs her foot, pressing his fingers between her toes.
This is what it is like to be coupled with a fortune teller, he thinks.
Her breathing is shallow, and her fingers are suddenly shaking. Something is taking hold of her that she cannot understand. She throws her hands out towards him.
"Shh! Quiet! Quiet now. You have come far to be here," she says, hissing. "Give me your hand, boy."
He does as told. Even though he is now a man, some large part of him still likes to be called that: boy.
She traces the lines of his hand. "Your life is long. Your heart is weak. Your fortune is cracked and your children are plenty. You have one love and the line is unwavering and deep. The second line of love is just as steady and continues all the way around to where I cannot see. I believe it traces all the way to your heart. How it stabs you there."
With these last words she shoves her foot back between his legs and massages him with her toes, refusing to look at him, refusing to be touched. And as she does this she sings an old gypsy tune she'd learned from her mother, one about a duck that refused the wheat crackers offered it by the constable's boy.
Back in the earliest days of mankind, before men and women had stumbled firmly into the art of soothsaying, ducks were used to alert lovers of the presence of intruders. Couples would make love on the soft silty riverbanks, painting images onto each other with that soft inky silt. They drew hearts that were pierced with Cupid's arrows on each other's tummies, and traced the outline of their hands onto each other's breasts. Men get so hard when they draw their intentions across their lovers' nipples, and the women, they get so soft. Ducks would quack, warning them of the need to re-robe themselves should village-people approach the river to refill their clay vessels with water.
Nestled as they are in the palmistry shop, no ducks are present to alert them to danger, which suits the boy fine for he does not particularly enjoy their quacking.
The woman in his arms feels white-hot, as if she might burst into flames at any moment. A smell like vinegar overwhelms his senses, causing his nostrils to flare.
She looks up at him, unfazed. "What's wrong?"
He raises his head off her shoulder.
That smell scares him something terrible.


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Material: Glass
Color / Finish: Metallic Sand Swirl
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subset: commoncrawl


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It's been 33 years since Stevie Ray Vaughan burst onto the world stage, becoming the meanest thing to come out of Texas since J.R. Ewing.
Vaughan—devoid of light shows, dry ice, fog and lasers—refocused attention back to the bare essentials—guitar, bass and drums in a basic 12-bar format.
Think you know everything there is to know about the late, great SRV? Click through the story and photo gallery below to test your Vaughan-ian knowledge.
Please note that item Number 1 (and its corresponding video) appears below. Items 2 through 10 can be found in the photo gallery. As always, enjoy!
01.Vaughan appears in an extended 1988 New Zealand TV commercial, which you can watch below.
He can even be seen riding in a tank at one point!
Mind you, this three-minute-long video looks and plays like a fairly cheesy late-Eighties music video for a song called "Travellin' On," but—apparently—it's a commercial. (Exactly what are they advertising? We have no idea.)
The video features Midge Marsden, Murray Grindlay, Janna Lapidus (Vaughan's fiancee at the time) and Brigitte Berger, all of whom drive around New Zealand's North Island, eventually stopping off at a DC3 airplane parked in a small town. They step into a bar made out of car parts and join Vaughan on stage. Hey, it could happen!
NOTE: This story is continued in the photo gallery below.


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Events & Venues
NYIT Events & Conferences
The Events and Conferences Team strategically produces events, conferences, receptions, and VIP experiences. We also are a resource to the broader NYIT community, providing strategic and tactical advice for events.
NYIT Auditorium on Broadway
NYIT Auditorium on Broadway (NYIT-AOB) in Manhattan is a state-of-the-art event space accommodating a range of events, from exclusive screenings to executive presentations, panel discussion to private parties. Just steps from Lincoln Center, this venue is rented by non-NYIT affiliates and NYIT community members.
NYIT de Seversky Mansion
The NYIT de Seversky Mansion, located on NYIT's Long Island, N.Y. (Old Westbury) campus, is a premier conference and event space, offering full-service catering, event planning, and multiple amenities.


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Cookies improve how our website works and how it is used, so that we can continue to improve the site. For more information see our cookie policy.
By using this website you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Barratt and David Wilson Homes are interested in what local residents have to say about their proposal to build 144 new homes on this site east of Bedford Road and west of Old Ramerick Manor. If you have looked at the proposals as set out on this website, would like to make a comment or a suggestion, please fill out this feedback form to let us know what you think.
We would request that you provide any comments by Monday 14 January 2019.


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Julian Hanshaw will be with us to launch his magical new graphic novel Cloud Hotel and Pho: The Artwork, a celebration of Vietnamese cuisine for Pho (our local joint, just around the corner on Wardour Street.) So get your best Friday togs and get down to Soho on the 6th of July for 7 till 9 pm!
Cloud Hotel:
Remco knows he is special. He was chosen. God took a shine to him, after a bright light in a clear northern sky brought Remco to the incredible Cloud Hotel, a wondrous place that he never wants to leave. But Remco has outstayed his welcome... and it's time to check out.
We've loved Julian's work ever since he won the Observer/Cape Graphic Short Story prize all the way back in 2008. Tackling difficult subjects with a lightness of touch and eye to the magical they are always moving and thought provoking experience and we're sure this one will be no different.
Also launching on the night: Pho: The Artwork, collecting 10 years of images for the Vietnamese food chain (who are generously providing some Vietnamese beer to help the night go with a swing!)
We hope you can make it down on the 6th of July for the launch party, but if you're not in Soho that night and you'd like a signed copy of Cloud Hotel, they can be pre-ordered from our website.
Keep up to date on the event Facebook page.


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It's been swelteringly hot and sunny everyday. This is usually good news, but when you walk to and from work everyday and like to fit in some exercise at lunch, it can be difficult to find wardrobe options that keep you cool but still look professional.
I only have one pair of formal suit pants and two work-appropriate blouses that fit me. Because of BED, I have gained too much weight to fit into the rest of my professional, pretty, fitted clothing. My current clothing style is best described as baggy meets stretchy.
When I come into work, the last thing I want to do is put on wool suit pants and a stuffy blouse in some scratchy, non-breathable material that will cling to the sweat on my body, give me rashes, and make me itch like crazy. Therefore, I've been skirting the unofficial dress code at my office recently by wearing more casual and more comfortable clothing.
Yes, this was unprofessional of me and not a smart decision, but I was still surprised when my boss brought me into her office today and reprimanded me for it. I immediately felt sheepish and embarrassed for being called out on a rookie "What Not to Do" error. But I wasn't prepared for what I felt afterwards.
When I returned to my desk, I felt extremely ashamed. Not only because I had become lazy in my choice of clothing, but because I was so acutely reminded of how much weight I've gained, how strongly BED has affected my life, how much I hate what I've done to my body, and how different I am from how I used to be. Clothing and fashion used to excite me. Now all I see is what I can't wear.
I felt every negative emotion – all the hatred, self-blame, feelings of failure and hopelessness – flood my system all at once. The pain was overwhelming. There was so much pain. I was scared to breathe.
I wanted to hide in a room and cry. I wanted to crumple into a deep, dark, empty pit and just be left there alone. What was meant to be a reminder to dress more appropriately wound up being a massive hit to my confidence. I thought that I had come so far in improving my body image and reaching self-acceptance, but today showed me that I still have so much farther to go.
I had been planning to buy new work clothes just before law firm interview season in September so that I could be sure my suit would fit me properly. I don't have enough money to constantly build a new wardrobe every month to accommodate my increasing size. So until then, the reality is that I will have to wear essentially the same sweat-inducing outfit everyday. Everyday I will have to get dressed, look in the mirror, and see yet another reminder of my eating disorder, another freedom gone, and another piece of my life that has been stolen away.
Mondays can really stink.


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It's difficult to improve upon a tea so revered as Earl Grey. But we believe we've done so, in creating a Tippy Early Grey that takes the traditional and adds layers.
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Dear 8th Grade Families,
Welcome back! I hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing summer. I want to introduce myself to those of you who do not already know me. My name is Cynthia Caspi and I am the 8th grade guidance counselor at MS 88. I will be working with you and your family on the high school admissions process throughout the year.
It is important to research high schools to find which ones are right for your child. The New York City High School Directory shows all public district high schools and programs. Middle schools distributed the High School Directory and the Specialized High Schools Student Handbook to all 7th grade students in June. If you have not received these two books, let me know. More information on the High School and Specialized High School process can be found here.
The high school admissions website is schools.nyc.gov/High. From there, you can find some of the resources linked below:
- NYC School Finder (http://schoolfinder.nyc.gov) — Explore 12 choices for your High School Application.
- Online High Schools at a Glance — This excel file allows you to sort and filter schools.
- High School Admissions Events Calendar —http://schools.nyc.gov/choicesenrollment/high/events/default.htm
- Travel Time and Travel Directions — mta.info
- Subscribe to receive email updates with important High School Admissions deadlines and information here — http://schools.nyc.gov/Subscribe.
Set aside time this fall to visit schools and attend Admissions events. You can meet with high school staff and attend a High School Admissions workshop at the events below. We have our own events scheduled below for you to meet with our team at MS 88!
MS 88 High School Information Night:
Date: September 19
Time: 5-7pm
Location: MS 88
MS 88 High School Fair
Date: October 18
Time: 10am-1pm
Location: MS 88
Citywide High School Fair:
Date: September 16 and 17
Time: 10 am – 3 pm
Location: Brooklyn Technical High School, 29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn
Borough High School Fairs:
Date: October 14 and 15
Time: 11 am – 3pm
Location: One in each borough, see the events link above for details.
I will communicate with you throughout the process, so look for any other High School Admissions information I send. The deadline to submit your application to me this year is November 21st.
I look forward to working with you and your student as you navigate the High School Admissions process.
Thank you,
Cynthia Caspi
Guidance Counselor
718-788-4482 ext. 166


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A fun, bloody satire of super-hero movies that suffers due to the lack of an interesting main character and the overwhelming coolness (and over shadowing) of a supporting one.
Matthew Vaughn brings Mark Millar's comic book to the screen almost word for word, shot for shot which is usually a good thing. Usually. Though there is a lot of fun ultraviolence, the movie lacks any discernable "heart" to really connect with an audience.
A comic book/high school geek (Aaron Johnson) wonders why no one has ever tried to be a super hero…so decides to take up the challenge as "Kick-Ass," a scuba-gear wearing, ineffectual yet semi-confident hero. The rules of real life get in the way for good/bad effect – i.e. bad guys who hit back with knives and the viral popularity of YouTube. Through the help of a real father/daughter vigilante team, Big Daddy and Hit-girl (Nicolas Cage & Chloe Moretz), Kick-Ass takes on the mob with spectacularly violent results.
I'm a comic book geek so I really, really, really wanted to like this. Really. A lot. The Kick-Ass comic book is violent, potty-mouthed, extreme and yes…awesome. It's over the top and in your face (the good kind of clichés.) The Kick-Ass movie really came close but its main actor and slow middle got in the way.
The acting was pretty great. Martin Strong as the mob boss (is there a movie he's not a bad guy in?) was his usual fun self. His criminal/Red Mist superhero wannabe son played by Christopher "McLovin" Mintz-Plasse was the same dorky character he always is but with a darker tone. Even the comic geek buddies – Clark Duke (you just saw him in Hot Tub Time Machine) and Evan Peters were pitch perfect. The problem lies with the characters Kick-Ass, Big Daddy and Hit-girl.
In the case of Kick-Ass, he just wasn't dorky enough. The guy is ripped and he has a love interest. Excuse me? He's a geek because his voice cracks and he read comics. Sorry, not enough for me. And because of that, I didn't care about him. He wasn't pathetic enough. I can understand he'd get his asskicked but really, I didn't care or feel his pain.
On the other hand, Big Daddy and Hit-girl WERE AWESOME! I want to see their movie! I usually name Nic Cage as a movie killer but here he's fantastic, channeling Adam West with a golly-gee-whillickers attitude and a sociopathic love of the maiming. Chloe Moretz's Hit-girl steals the whole movie. The girl is a Bruce Lee pinball, with some kick-ass moves of her own and a passion for knives and firearms.
Overall, the movie started strong but got lost in the middle with pseudo-gay situations with a girl that didn't need to be part of the storyline and a time with the mobsters that we really didn't care about.
KICK-ASS Rating:
2 stars – it's a renter. A welcome addition to the super-hero genre and a solid renter but a lack of focus on the main story and a "not pathetic enough" lead character makes me shy away from rating it higher. Give me a movie about Hit-girl and we can talk.
Coming Attractions:
Paper Man (release date: April 23, 2010) – Sticking with the super-hero theme but not really. This screams INDEPENDENT MOVIE! but that's not such a bad thing. Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Lisa Kudrow and Ryan Reynolds. Stories of reconnecting with people, told well, are always welcome.
Random Recommendations
Stardust (2007) – Matthew Vaughn directed this fun fantasy with Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Claire Danes. An Englishman makes friends with a star (Danes), the "in the heavens" kind, while fighting pirates and evil witches. If I could add ninjas I would but it's already pretty great.
Red Rock West (1993) – Film noir is seedy. It's twisted. It's full of lies and deceit. Double-crosses and gunplay. Evil women and hard-up men. This is one of those movies. Nic Cage (when he could act), Laura Flynn Boyle and Dennis Hopper.


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Mardi Gras is a time to celebrate New Orleans culture, and what better way to do that than by making delicious South Louisiana dishes to share with family and friends.
We've combed our recipe archive and come up with a batch of tried-and-tested recipes for you to consider. We've included classics as well as an eclectic batch of dishes that would be excellent for pre- or post-parade parties during Carnival. They are highlighted below.
If you want to search for others, check out our database of thousands of recipes.
Also, if you have a recipe or another variation on one of these dishes and want to share it with us, leave it in the comments or shoot me an email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Now, let's start the way Hank Williams did singing jambalaya, crawfish pie and file gumbo...
Happy Mardi Gras!
This dish is so versatile. Have seafood lovers in the house? Make it with fish or shrimp. If you are meat eaters, fill it with sausage and chicken. This basic recipe easy to vary.
When Judy Walker made this pie, I was so bowled over that I had to go home and make it myself. It's foolproof!
Many variations of this dish exist in homes and restaurants. How do you like to make yours? Here is a chicken and sausage gumbo recipe to consider. File, or ground sassafras, is optional, of course.
Shrimp can get pricey, but this dish is rich that a little goes a long way. Serve the shrimp in the sauce with bread for dipping or let folks make barbecue shrimp po-boys by spooning it onto French bread.
What I love about this recipe that Judy Walker tested and tweaked is that it is simple to make and will make a big crowd full and satisfied.
This may not be an iconic New Orleans dish, but if you can get fresh crab meat and follow this recipe, it may become a tradition in your house.
During Mardi Gras, it's a tradition that this dish is served at late-night queen suppers after Carnival balls. Many of us enjoy it at home as well.
If you can get them fresh, shuck them yourselves and grill them up. It's easier than you think. Top them with a simple sauce, such as butter, garlic or Parmesan cheese. Or, if you like, you can get fancier, with these recipes.
This meat pie included in "Cooking Up a Storm" (2008, Chronicle Books), tastes just like the ones that Natchitoches is so famous for. The recipe makes a big, big batch of hand pies. The filling, however, can be frozen for future use.
Whether you buy your olive salad or make it, you can serve big crowds with these oversized sandwiches. Go for the classic combination or mix and match cheeses to suit your taste.
It might be tough to find a New Orleanian who hasn't cooked or been served from a big batch of red beans. And, for many, those beans have come from Camellia, a business run by the Haywards for generations. Here's their family recipe.
Judy Walker got this recipe from Parkway Bakery, which is famous for its po-boys in New Orleans and beyond. During Carnival season, there often is a line out of the door. This recipe is as close as you can get, if you can't get in the door. Make a big pot and then let guests make their own sandwiches.
New Orleans has had a large Vietnamese population since the mid-1970s. I recently learned how to make this classic soup from the Hoang and Pham families, who live on the North Shore and in Kenner, respectively. It's fairly easy and a great light alternative to some of our fattier fare.
And, if you don't feel like cooking, check out Brett Anderson's latest advice on where to get fried chicken during Carnival.


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5 Reasons To Go For A Restaurant Franchise
It is hard to succeed in the restaurant industry and while there are reports and figures out there, some are misleading. A lot of restaurants are facing failure than finding success in its venture whether you like it or not. However, this happens only when people open up restaurants without any idea or clues on what they're doing. In this contemporary time, businesses are a lot more competitive than ever before which makes it crucial to know more about restaurant franchise and how it can put you a step ahead on your rivals.
Here are several benefits of getting into franchising and what you can expect.
Number 1. Known brands – literally, there is an available franchise for just about any concept that you thought of. Well for sure, you are well aware of the major franchises in today's time. When people are given with options, they often go to the brands that are proven to deliver satisfaction and quality instead of risking their cash at start up.
Number 2. National advertising – the moment when a restaurant owner has come up to a decision of stepping out and take matters on their own, the promotion, marketing and everything needed to make their restaurant franchise known is their responsibility. Franchise operator provides the benefits of national ads that's taken from the franchise fees. With this, it makes the restaurant on top of its game and have a steady pace of growth.
Number 3. Knowledge – potentially, this is the major reason why many restaurant franchise owners are failing from their venture. People think that they can have snappy concept and it will just work yet, they don't know anything on labor percentages, product shelf life and so forth. Franchises on the other hand educate owners to be sure that they got the knowledge and tool to run the restaurant and reach success.
Number 4. It's all about money – it is nearly impossible for restaurant franchise owners to get a loan from banks unless they could prove that their idea has a high probability of working. On the other hand, if you are after restaurant franchising, then the plan and everything else to succeed is put in place which gives lending institutions confidence of approving your loan. There are some companies who even help interested individuals on financing.
Number 5. Product quality – like it or not, private owners are at the mercy of suppliers. It is no doubt that restaurant franchise is for you if you want to make sure you only offer the highest quality products and have better bargaining power.


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God is building Team FCA in the NOVA Multi Area. Ministering to athletes and coaches and seeing them come to know Christ is the highlight of the ministry and FCA's ultimate goal.
"Then He said to His disciples: The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.
Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."
-- Matthew 9:37-38 (HCSB)
Before pursuing employment with FCA, it is FCA's desire that you have a full understanding of the position you are applying for and the FCA Ministry.
FCA's intention is to do its best to affirm your calling to this ministry and equip you to succeed.
FCA's selection process is designed to help you and FCA determine if you are called to FCA ministry jobs, as well as provide you with all the information you need to make a decision about joining the FCA Ministry.
NOVA FCA covers Greater Fairfax FCA, Loudoun FCA, Prince William FCA, Northern Shenandoah Valley FCA and FCA Baseball. Please look to the left for links to career opportunities in each of those areas.
Funding FCA is a faith-financed ministry and as such depends on the generosity of donors to support our ministry staff. Developing and implementing a funding plan is part of your responsibility as FCA ministry staff. Read more here ...
A Family Call Your spouse (if married) and family must be similarly called to the ministry and support you in your role as FCA Staff. Read more here ...
The Process The official hiring process begins with the endorsement of the local FCA Area Director and/or regional Vice President as well as the local leadership board. Read more here ...
What We Believe FCA staff members must agree to the ministry's vision and mission, as well as the Statement of Faith. Read those here ...
Interested in pursuing a career with FCA?
Step One Please fill out our Prospective Staff Questionnaire. You will then be contacted by our staff about the following steps.
This questionnaire could take between 1-2 hours to complete, you cannot save your work. Please make sure to set aside sufficient time to complete all of the questions.
© Copyright 2019, NOVA FCA Multi Area. All Rights Reserved. Login. Site Map.


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From Mercedes-Benz the new Sprinter has been released, but it didn't launch as just a van, it is planned to be more of a transportation solution. Part of the package will be an extensive telematics offering under the Mercedes PRO brand that will allow for highly automated dispatch, optimised routing, traffic information and built-in diagnostics that will issue service and repair notifications.
This will help fill what Mercedes-Benz Vans chief Volker Mornhinweg says will be a shortage of vans for the ever-increasing last-mile deliveries, and returns, which are part and parcel of internet retail.
Mercedes Benz's Innovation Campus showcase of the Sprinter revealed some of the features of the third-generation Sprinter that will offer ultimate uptime as one of its differentiating features over other Euro-style 'white' vans.
Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler predicts vans will become increasingly necessary as the world's population gravitates to megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants, and as retail shifts to e-commerce, fragmenting loads while increasing consumer demand for ever shorter delivery times. All of this calls for the integration of vehicle design and delivery systems, said presenters at the Innovation Campus event.
"The Sprinter is the flagship of our commercial fleet and embodies our approach toward an integrated system solution," said Mornhinweg. "Comprehensive industry-specific know-how, a vehicle that is adaptable to different transport requirements, and innovative networking services add up to a fully integrated product offering."
Worldwide, the 2019 Sprinter will have three wheelbases, four body lengths, three roof heights and four dashboard configurations, with the premium level offering up to three top-of-dash lidded storage bins – an industry first.
Mercedes-Benz will also offer different drivetrains in the multiple markets where the vans are sold. Today's rear-wheel drive will continue to be the mainstream in the US, along with the four-wheel drive that is currently in the Sprinter's mix. The new model will, however, also be available with front-wheel drive in some markets to lower the load floor, boosting interior volume and easing the driver's loading of cargo.
Mercedes PRO telematics will provide with fleets a cloud-based vehicle management tool, with the telematics data served to a mobile app. Additionally, Mercedes PRO is a Linux-based vehicle platform that's designed to encourage third-party vehicle apps to further enhance the van-as-a-transportation solution.
The Mercedes PRO is available already used on Sprinters in Germany, but with the new van and minibuses, customers will be able to use these services for their fleets. When inserted into a dedicated slot in the vehicle, the adapter establishes a connection between the vehicle, driver and fleet manager. The web-based service links the fleet manager with all vehicles and drivers in the fleet via the Vehicle Management Tool.
The Mercedes PRO adapter makes it possible to manage orders online, as well as check vehicle information – such as location, fuel level or maintenance intervals – almost in real time, said Mercedes-Benz.


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Arts at CERN: Collide International residency award/
Arts at CERN have announced the third edition of their Collide International Residency award, a major international residency programme. Together, CERN and FACT, Liverpool promote artistic explorations of fundamental research, fostering significant exchanges and new scenarios for art and science enquiry.
Collide International Residency award is a unique opportunity for artists to spend dedicated time in CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, one of the largest laboratories in the world, where physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Collide aims to encourage curiosity, offering experimental and open-minded artists an extraordinary framework to inspire creativity both within the sciences and the humanities. Ultimately, Collide proposes to transform the way art and science encounters are understood, and to challenge new modes of dialogue and enquiry.
The Residency award is open to artists of any nationality or age, and is a competition for one residency of a total of three months (two months at CERN followed by one month at FACT). The residency is intended to support the development of an original and imaginative project proposed by the artist, inspired by CERN's science and engineering research in connection with societal issues.
Deadline: Thursday 15 February 2018.
Further information about Collide can be found here.


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Pokémon Direct Coming Soon & Multiple Events on February 27/
On February 27, 1996, video game fans were asked to choose between Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander for the first time. This would be the beginning of a global phenomenon that has continued for two decades, through different regions, on multiple platforms, and the first of countless memorable moments. Exactly twenty years later, on Pokémon Day, Saturday, February 27, the adventure continues as Pokémon celebrates its 20th year with special events and activities. The fun begins with the Pokémon Photo Booth app that is now available for download at no charge from the App Store. Fans can show their Pokémon 20th spirit by customizing their portraits and adding captions in the style of classic Pokémon games. The photos can then be shared via social media sites or used to create Pokémon-themed profile photos. The app is also coming soon to Google Play.
A celebration of 20 years of Pokémon would not be complete without some big news! On Friday, February 26, at 9:00 a.m. (Central Time), a special Pokémon Direct presentation can be viewed at www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct.
Twitch will be hosting a massive Pokémon event starting at 10:00 a.m. (PST) on Saturday. Fans can tune in to watch Pokémon discussion, gameplay, and other activities. At 6:00 p.m. (PST), Twitch will kick off an animation marathon for 24 hours that will include movies, favorite episodes, and animation specials around the clock until 6:00 p.m. (PST) on Sunday.
All Pokémon fans are invited to attend a special Pokémon 20th celebration at the newly renovated Nintendo NY store located at 10 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. On Saturday, February 27, from noon to 3:00 p.m. (EST), fans can participate in special Pokémon-themed activities and even take a photo with Pikachu.
Retailers around the country will also celebrate 20 years of Pokémon on Saturday, February 27. At participating Toys"R"Us locations, fans can receive special foil Pokémon TCG cards featuring Pikachu and Magikarp from the Pokémon TCG: Generations expansion, a Pokémon activity book, and a poster of the original 151 Pokémon, while supplies last. Fans can also purchase an exclusive Generations-themed binder at Toys"R"Us to store the new expansion. GameStop stores are offering a Mythical Pokémon poster with purchase of any Pokémon product while supplies last.
More details can be found at Pokemon.com/20. Fans visiting the site throughout the year will find information about monthly Mythical Pokémon distributions, retail events, special products, and messages from some of Pokémon's biggest fans.
Pokémon. Twenty Years. Train On.™


text: 21 Jan 2015 Valentines at Jacoby's In our opinion Valentines Day is a day to celebrate love in general and should not necessarily be exclusive to first daters or anniversary celebrators. Why not simply enjoy a night out with those we love & care for; be that as a couple, as a family or simply a special night out as a group of close friends. Visit our menu pages to see what feast we have planned for Saturday 14th February x


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Saturday, November 22, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Princess the Super Dog
Alex and I started a new sketchbook called the Skitbook, aka, "The Little Book of mini many Cartoons!'.
Storyline: Buddha is at peace, malevolent balls from the dark corners of the universe come from above frightening the Buddha from his inner calm forcing him to cry for "HELP". Princess the Super Dog appears from nowhere and confidently announces, "No need to Fear, Super Dog is Here" whereupon she performs advanced Kung Fu moves to banish the attacking balls back to the dark corners of the universe. Super Dog (once again) saves the day.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Morning After
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Hanging Out
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Mr. President
Yearbook Sketches
Drawing Ugly
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text: DigitalOntario Police Creates App to Combat Unwanted SextsTo combat the onslaught of teen sexts, the Ontario Police is hoping to offer a humorous solution.By Phi Tran|August 11, 2014 ShareBy Phi Tran|August 11, 2014 ShareInspector Scott Naylor of the Ontario Police said that the sex crimes unit has been "bombarded with complaints about sexting" these past two years. Saying no simply doesn't work, even though distributing explicit images and engaging in sexting with anyone under the age of 18 is considered child pornography. In January of this year, a 17-year-old Canadian teen was found guilty of distributing child pornography when she made online threats and distributed nude photos of her boyfriend's ex-lover. She was charged with child pornography because the photos were of another minor. This rare conviction made headlines, but police are usually wary of charging teens for this now too-common crime.To combat the onslaught of teenage pornography, the Ontario Provincial Police Sex Crime Unit is offering a humorous solution to teen sexting in the form of a free app. Download Send This Instead, and you'll get 57 retorts for when "No" simply just won't do. "We got back some really funny stuff," Naylor told Yahoo News. The inspector admitted that the app is not going to solve the problem of sexting, but said that it is "giving kids an alternative strategy to deal with it."To help create the app, the police hired graphic artists and comedians. Their creations include snarky and sarcastic graphics like these:While there are no simple messages, images or responses that will erase unwanted sexts — hopefully, this cheesy app will bring some much-needed attention to how annoying and ineffective sexts can be. Sharehttp://adweek.it/2k3s8DJ copy Adweek Adweek


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I go crazy when I boil eggs and they peel horrible for me. It never fails, and my kids are so picky that if the eggs are not peeled perfectly, they will not touch them.
Little did I know that it was not my im-perfect ways, it was actually because our eggs are only day olds, if that. We collect the eggs in the morning and sometimes they go right into the pot to boil and never end up peeling very good.
It turns out that eggs that are going to be boiled, must be at least two weeks old.
Which means, if you are using farm fresh eggs you need to plan accordingly. Collect them, place them in the fridge for at least 2 weeks, and then boil them. Farm fresh eggs naturally have a protective coating on them, so if you wash that off before placing them in the fridge, they will get older faster. If you want them to remain super fresh, be sure to NOT wash them. Unless of course they are really dirty…but hopefully you are keeping your coop extra clean! :o)
How to Boil the perfect eggs
Place eggs in pot, cover with cold water. The water and the eggs need to be the same temperature. Place on high heat until you see a rapid boil, then turn it off, cover with a tight fitting lid. DO NOT BOIL THEM! This will over cook the yokes, and turns them a funny green color.
Let them sit in the hot water for exactly 10 minutes covered. Then crack each egg gently, but do not peel them yet, drain hot water and fill pot with icy cold water which loosens the membrane (that thin layer of skin between the shell & egg.) Let them sit in the icy water for 10 minutes,then peel to Perfection.


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Alzheimer's Cafe presents an opportunity for people living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias and caregivers to come together and socialize in a relaxed environment free of expectations and judgement. Just companionship, great food and fun!
Meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month.
Host : Carin Mack, 206-230-0166, email@example.com
Cost : Just the price of your cafe order
Parking: Available in the Taproot Theatre lot
Thank you to Aegis of Madison for their support of this event.
To learn more about Alzheimer's Cafes and about other locations, click HERE .


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People might not be very happy with where there relationship is going but things can always turn back around in a blink of an eye. A man just has to remind his girlfriend of the love they did forget. All relationship will go through a stage where the tender loving that the two people have for each other is over whelming. There's always going to be a lot of time when both of the people that are involved in a relationship will forget all about what they have gone through already which is always an unfortunate thing. All relationship can still become more fun and exciting if both people just take a chance with each other and try to see where there relationship will go in the future. According to https://charlotteaction.org.
Even though things might seem like it is going nowhere there still a good chance that things can turn back around again if people just understand what is at stake. There are a lot of couples who have so much to lose in a relationship but do not know that is the case. The truth is every relationship is unique in its own way. There are a lot of people who wants to have a good relationship with the people that they are with but some forget all about what they have and end up losing everything in the future. People are always going to have everything that they want especially when there are a lot of things that that can do. Thankfully there are London escorts that can help. London escorts are always going to be happy with what they can do to men who is struggling with their lives. A lot of people do not know what it's like to have people who chat do anything about what is going on with their lives and sometimes people like London escorts are the online who can help.
London escorts are such a great asset to have in order to make things right again. People who have London escorts in their life are always stronger and happier than before. London Escorts has a lot of things they can do to make a man feel like his past was insignificant. London escorts made people think that they are better person for a very long time already. There have been many reports that the more a man spends time with London escorts, the more his stress has become lower. people underestimate the things that this woman can do all the time. But the truth is that they always make things a lot interesting all the time because they ha e that kind of touch that a lot of woman just do not have yet even wife or girlfriends also.


text: Home - Catalog - Education Two Mrs. Gibsons by Toyomi Igus $7.95 Quantity: Description Story about two important women in the life of a little girl, Toyomi one who was Japanese and another who was African American. This book teaches children that love can overcome all differences and transcend all boundaries. B533


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lovely post as usual!! I really love your blog! Have the nicest week sweetie!!ReplyDelete
oh my lord lisa! i want those 1st pair of shoes girl. :DReplyDelete
Pretty images!!! I ♥ Tumblr.ReplyDelete
so pretty..i so need to figure out tumblr....looks like a fun way to spend time too!ReplyDelete
Those shoes are gorgeous! =)ReplyDelete
Tumblr is so fab. All these images are beautiful!ReplyDelete
I love tumblr!! But, I really adore that dress and teacup, both are wonderful!! I like finding such great pictures like these on tumblr!! Hope you are having a great day doll xxReplyDelete
fabulous post, love. if you get a sec, I'd love to hear what you think of my latest outfit post. xoReplyDelete
Wow, I feel like I just fell into the pages of Cinderella! Lovely!ReplyDelete
tumblr has the best pictures.ReplyDelete


text: Abby Salzberg first started taking improv classes at Annoyance and UCB just over a year ago. Abby is a writer and performer of The Dingleberry Theater Foundation: Presents Mandatory Seminar, which debuted May of 2016 at the Annoyance Theater. You can catch her in Ground Floor comedy videos as well as off-Broadway comedy showcases for TapNYC. Catch her in more stuff here and on your computers soon! Enjoy the show or be an idiot!


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by James Poulos | February 23, 2017 5:21 pm
In an unusual scene playing against type for California's legislative Democrats, a party leader in the state Senate ordered sergeants to remove his Republican colleague state Sen. Janet Nguyen, R-Garden Grove.
Interrupting Nguyen's remarks on the late Tom Hayden, state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, "gave the floor to Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, who said she was out of order. Nguyen continued to speak for several minutes, even as Lara repeatedly asked her to take a seat, before eventually ordering the sergeants to remove her," the Sacramento Bee reported[1].
Lawmakers appeared to have expected a more placid event remembering Hayden, a storied and controversial former state senator who famously objected to the Vietnam War. "Nguyen, who was brought to the United States as a Vietnamese refugee when she was a child, said she wanted to offer 'a different historical perspective' on what Hayden and his opposition to the war had meant to her and other refugees," the Los Angeles Times observed[2].
Dan Reeves, chief of staff for Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, explained the dust-up by warning that Lara was merely following parliamentary procedure. "Nguyen was told that she could not make her remarks when she did because Hayden had never impugned her, but that she would be allowed to speak on condition of the file at the end of session," as the Bee noted.
Nevertheless, Republicans did not hesitate to cast the brusque treatment of Nguyen as a more galling and unjustifiable example of the recent action taken on the floor of the U.S. Senate to cut short the remarks of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. "Outraged, the Senate GOP Caucus began circulating video footage and repurposing the popular hashtag #shepersisted — created after U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was silenced while trying to read a letter from Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, on the Senate floor," according[3] to the San Jose Mercury News.
California Republicans have worked to reverse trends over the past decade showing a growing demographic disadvantage among nonwhite residents, with Nguyen's constituency a relative bright spot. "Vietnamese voters in Orange County have been consistently Republican, and this is true for foreign-born Vietnamese who are 13-points more Republican," Capitol Weekly noted[4]. "But among U.S.-born Vietnamese, this flips to a 20-point Democratic advantage. The data also shows that racially polarized voting among these populations is strongest among first-generation voters, and dissipates as voters get into third and fourth generations where the factors of ethnicity and national heritage are more diluted."
The fallout from the ordeal was set to continue into the remainder of the month. The California Senate Republican Caucus has demanded an investigation, with de León adopting a cautiously defensive position. "He said the senator violated parliamentary procedure and that she ignored requests by the presiding officer to follow the rules," the Mercury News noted, promising "he would speak with Nguyen and Fuller to find out what went wrong" in the incident.
Several twists and turns in the sequence of events may have led to a swift escalation. "Nguyen stood and began her speech in Vietnamese before switching to English," the Associated Press detailed[5]. "Majority Leader Bill Monning of Carmel she was speaking out of order. Her microphone was shut off, but she continued speaking."
Nguyen recently made Sacramento news for invoking her life experience in a different way, abstaining from a vote on the state Senate's recent resolution condemning the White House's travel ban applicable to individuals from several predominantly Muslim countries. Nguyen, the Mercury News reported[6], "said she sympathized with refugees. 'But in the end,' she said, 'the debate is about national security.'"
Source URL: https://calwatchdog.com/2017/02/23/republican-state-sen-nguyen-silenced-democratic-lawmakers/
Copyright ©2019 CalWatchdog.com unless otherwise noted.


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12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12-14)
As we looked at verses 12 and 13 a couple weeks or so ago, we read of and talked about Paul's interesting circumstances as he wrote this letter. We know now that Paul was a prisoner. We have talked about that a lot already. He was a prisoner, as he describes it, "for Christ." If he had never known Christ he would not be in that Roman prison. His circumstances of imprisonment are directly tied to him, Paul, being "in Christ." If he were not in Christ, he would not be in prison. This is where Paul must have had to step back and say, "Okay, I am here because of Christ, my relationship with Him; is it worth it?" We may ask that at times, "Is what I am dealing with, as a Christian, in Christ, is it worth it?"
For Paul the answer is a resounding "Yes! Serving Christ, being in Christ, suffering for Christ, being an ambassador for Christ, giving all for Christ, yes, it is worth it." He says that his boast is in Christ, and that he counts all other things as rubbish, next to Christ. This is how he conveys these thoughts to us:
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)
Can we say this? Okay, you are the only one in the room. It's just you with no distractions, put everything out of your mind and listen now, don't take notes on this, just focus in with me for a moment, hear these words, put yourself in the text, listen to me read this again. Is this descriptive of you? No one else, just listen for you. Ready?
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)
Is that you? If not, why not? What is holding you back? What stands in the way of this passage being a reality in your life? What is it that keeps you from penning these words from your heart? What do we hold in higher esteem than Christ? You may say, "I'm just not there yet." Well, why not? And what is your plan to get there?
Every event in life, every event in your life, in my life, presents to us a fork in our road, forces us to choose a path, a way to respond, and that way to respond will either be all about us – self-preservation, fulfilling our own lusts, gaining more for self, groaning and complaining, rejecting people – or we can respond, in Christ, in ways that glorify Him, and that convey to our own souls and anyone else around that my God is great, in control, worth everything, even in this crook in the road that I may be experiencing. In the high points in the road, in the dips, in the canyons even, in the straight-aways, in all of my path, my God is great and Christ is worth everything, so much that all else is as nothing. Paul calls this the "surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus." Oh, we could just stay right here! The surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. It is when we refuse to live in that truth that we can become susceptible to anything sinful or selfish, all the rubbish that Paul speaks of, we can fall into all kinds of sin and selfishness. Right?
And so we talked three weeks ago about verses 12 and 13, and discovered that Paul, rather than detail his hardships, he recognized that all events, including his current ones, could be redeemed for the Lord's sake, and he took what advantage he could to continue his mission. The primary concern that he carried with him, wherever he went, was that the gospel message of salvation in Christ, and in Christ alone, that it go forward. This happened through adverse circumstances, but as long as it happened, Paul could be joyful!
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:14)
In verse 14 we see something really interesting and I think we see a really fascinating result of one man's faithfulness to Christ, and to the mission that Christ has given him. I believe we are all influential people. Moms, you are influential, dads, children, single adults, grandparents, husbands, wives, we are all influential. Bosses, business owners, teachers, employees of all types, college students, it doesn't matter your place in life, you have influence on someone, we all do. Some of you may have influence over hundreds, some over one primary person, I don't know, but that is irrelevant. We all have influence, right?
Have you ever experienced this? Someone comes up to you that maybe you don't even know, or don't know well, and they say something like, "I remember when you once said ______, and I'll never forget that!" And you are thinking, "Okay, I sure don't remember that!" We have influence when we don't even know we have influence. Knowing this, we don't have to get paranoid, we don't have to be paralyzed thinking everyone is watching us or anything like that. No, we just faithfully live the Christian life! Wherever we are, in the home, or like Paul, in prison.
What did Paul do? He continued faithful ministry in jail, like he was doing when free, and he did it because he loved Christ. And continuing faithfulness in hard times has huge impact. And I think this is what we see beginning in verse 14 and in the few verses following: "And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."
Something was happening as a result of Paul's faithfulness in his life. God was showing Himself strong in Paul's life and the result of God's power, and Paul's delight in ministry was that a confidence was beginning to spread well beyond Paul, to the other brothers, to others in the faith. In other words, Paul's faithful perseverance was strengthening believers in the church. Not that some were encouraged, but most were encouraged!
Looking back at some of the history of this city of Philippi, we learn that it was an interesting city, an ungodly city, and one that had a large population of retired military men. Many Roman soldiers were living in Philippi. It was not a place that was friendly to the gospel. So the Christians in Philippi might have been somewhat guarded in their Christian walk, may have been fearful of being too outspoken. There were of course Christians in Rome too. Both groups were aware of Paul's imprisonment and were certainly watching and waiting to see what would happen to him. These Christians in both places were living in difficult situations. Most of these people, the Christians in Rome and the Christians in Philippi, for sure could not talk with Paul. They could not hear his teaching or listen to encouraging words from him. They only had what they heard about him. Sort of what they could observe in him from a distance, that is all really what they could do for the most part, and they had some letters like this one we are studying from. So from these letters, from observation by some, and stories relayed about him, they were able to piece together what was going on, to learn how Paul was doing.
Now, we have not experienced this, but you can imagine that one of the questions of the day for first century Christians may have been, "How public do I go with my profession of faith?" There was risk involved. "I mean, do I keep my faith private? Do I just share my faith with my family?" And for those who spoke openly, even for some of them they may have been just watching and waiting for what could be their most fearful imagined thing: being taken away, publicly persecuted, and removed from their families. You would have to think about that, weigh the cost. Is Christ worth it, will God carry me through, should I really be about carrying out the great commission?
And so with all of that swirling through many people's minds, here is this guy Paul, who was right in the middle of what may be their greatest fear. Here is Paul living out what many might be dreading. Here is Paul in prison where no one wants to go, right? And from prison it is like Paul is saying, "Hey, I am okay, I am good. God is with me! I am here experiencing what you may be fearfully dreading, and I have found there is nothing to fear!"
Can you see how if that were your biggest fear, and now your friend is facing that and giving testimony of God's faithfulness in his life during that prison stay, that others will look on and be emboldened? That is what was happening! There was a confidence that was spreading among the churches. Why? Because God was showing Himself mighty in one believer's life. The church was looking on and saying, "Yes! God is great! If He can carry Paul through this, He can carry me too!" How about that!
I love this – confidence in God spreading, spanning the church because of this one man's faithfulness. Paul says, "There is nothing to fear."
Jesus had much to say about a lack of confidence in God, or we could say fear. In fact he was constantly reminding His followers that they had no reason to fear circumstances or other people.
26 "So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:26-33)
32 "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:32-34)
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15)
Jesus taught on fear, He explained the futility of fear. Paul taught about fear as well, and now we see an example of a man, Paul, living faithfully with courage, being an example for others in the hands of God. Paul had influence. We all have influence. Paul's influence affected other believers in a positive way. How are we doing?
What if things had been a little different? What if Paul had had his Damascus road experience with Jesus, if he had become this great preacher, if he had done some miracles and publicly proclaimed his allegiance to Christ, and had proclaimed that Christ was everything to him, and that to him to die would be gain, what if all that had happened, then he had been arrested, put in a Roman prison, and at that point started to whine and complain against God? What if he began showing some major discontentment with where God had him, what if he began to lash out at God through anger and fear? We would be left with what? Words versus a portrait of his life. Which would we believe? Which would be most powerful? "He said God would be faithful, but it doesn't look like God He is. He said God would carry us through trials, but wow, look what's going on here."
I'm simply pointing out the power of godly living. How God uses us by His power in varying circumstances to put on display His power, His might, to build faith in other Christians. That is what happened with Paul and the church in Philip.
Now, what about us? "Okay," you may say, "I've pretty much blown it here!" Well, me too! But here is the thing: no matter what our past is, good or bad, no matter what happened yesterday or even earlier this morning, we are not beyond redeeming today and tomorrow for God's glory as a testimony of His enduring faithfulness.
It is not, "Well I've blown it here with this message because I have not been on the side of good influence lately, I'm finding myself more on the other side." Well what about now? What do you do with it now? Deal with it biblically: confess, repent, seek forgiveness where necessary, be reconciled, and in those things, God is glorified. Turn that around now for God's glory, let others know that God does that too, that He is faithful.
Paul is amazed by God. He is so dazzled by God. He is so focused on God, and I hope that is contagious with all of us. He is excited about what should be devastating. He is joyful over really hard things. He shares news, events about himself, that should be crushing, and does it with rejoicing. He lifts up Christ and the gospel when he himself is circumstantially suffering. He is just not normal! This is not normal. He is not normal, he is filled with Christ.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)
Will our lives this week reflect the faithfulness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12-14)
Do our lives help others to live confidently in God without fear?