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A movement killer is something that exists in the common life of the organization itself--the culture, thinking, and practices--that in effect blocks the inherent potential for growth contained in the system. In systems theory, all living systems are geared for growth and flourishing. They have everything in them needed to maintain life and reproduce healthily. The "killer" therefore is something now resident in the system that is in effect blocking the innate capacity to flourish.Read More
The Alexander Syndrome: Why 60 is the new 30
by Doug Paul A few years ago, I wrote a short article called "The Alexander Syndrome" that's been coming back to my mind a lot lately. In fact...I'm not sure I've ever been more convinced about an argument than I am about this one.
This was the basic premise: At the age of 30, Alexander the Great looked upon his Kingdom and wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer (do yourself a favor and never watch Oliver Stone's film of this. Do yourself an even bigger favor...don't watch the 3 times longer director's cut. You'll thank me later). Back to the point...Using that as the dominant metaphor, in the last 20 years of evangelical culture, we were constantly inundated with stories of 'wildly successful churches', helmed by pastors who are almost surprisingly young (late 20s to early 30s). These stories have slowly seeped their way into the subconscious of many young pastors (myself included), and there is an unspoken pressure that says, "By the time you're 30, you need to have done something ridiculously significant and made your mark on the world." As a millennial myself, I feel this deep in my bones, as it is riven into the American mythos as well.
What this can inevitably lead to is a frenetic, stressed way of living for many of these young pastors who find themselves not measuring up and constantly "behind" the curve (at least in their minds).
There are two things in particular that have brought this to mind:
- In the last year, it feels like we might seen more evangelical poster-boys 'fall from grace' than in the last 10 combined. When this is the "curve" people are grading their success on...it screws with the curve. (to say the least)
- A little while ago, Elizabeth and I had the privilege of having 16 people over our house who have all been faithfully serving in local church ministry for 30+ years (some in a full-time capacity, some not). What struck me was not just that they survived, but how energized they are by where we are as a church (East End Fellowship) and where we are going. They've come out on the other side of their roaring 20's, raised kids who love Jesus, and are serving in urban ministry in their 60's, and still have marriages that flourish. And they still ready to go at it. It's astonishing, quite frankly.
So here's what I've been thinking about lately:
What if the most fruitful ministry years are really supposed to be when you're between the ages of 50-70?
For quite some time, there has been a paradigm that has said a senior leader's most significant time of ministry would be between the ages of 35-45.
You've probably heard this before.
In a traditional church setting, often the senior leader's most important contribution is the teaching they give on Sunday morning. Furthermore, within a particular model, a speaker can usually attract people who are 10 years older and 10 years younger. The ages of 35-45 would mean you're attracting people who are newly married (pre-kids) all the way to empty nesters whose kids have recently gone to college. That means you get couples from their 20s to their late 50s AND all of their kids.
At least that's the thought.
Now for me, my thoughts have always been fixated on the idea of movements of God. I don't have anything against traditional church models at all. We see so much of their fruitfulness every day and I've served in several churches that are an incredible expression of God's mission and his enduring faithfulness. But I think most of us would agree that while there are aspects of the Kingdom in the New Testament that have some organized elements (worship gatherings, patterns and practices, etc), many things tended to be far more movemental in their properties than institutional in nature. Ultimately, this led to disciples who made disciples who made disciples who made disciples.
And what did that lead to? A LOT of disciples. Which, through the amazing power of God, has me writing this article and you reading it. We are the beneficiaries of the movemental properties of the New Testament Church.
Now I've had the opportunity to study sustainable, meaningful movements. I've also had the opportunity to work alongside a few folks God has used to catalyze movements of discipleship and mission (the most significant ones led by people most of us have never heard of).
And here is my question: Can you really lead a meaningful Kingdom movement before the age of 50? You could maybe plant seeds for it. But in terms of leading one, growing one, sustaining one...I wonder if you have to be 50 and older.
Because I wonder if the accrued wisdom needed to lead a multiplying Kingdom expression is simply not possible for someone who is younger. For instance, at least in my opinion, I'm not sure Paul was really contributing to a sustainable Kingdom movement in training and sending out his team until the beginning of Acts 19 in Ephesus. At that point in his life, Paul is probably well over 50. Furthermore, I'm more convinced than ever that Paul saw more sustained breakthrough as a broken down, old man in a prison cell, writing letters and warring in prayer for the young pastors he'd invested so much of his life into. The seeds have been planted, the ground had been watered and the Lord was making the thing grow.
This wasn't sexy work. This wasn't work that many people saw. But it was Paul bearing the most Kingdom fruit of his life.
Through a lot of brokenness, substantial failure and a smidgen of success, I've learned that at the end of the day, Kingdom work has very little do with IQ, smarts, and charismatic gifting. The best strategy and powerful preaching and even hard work is needed, but still incredibly limited. (In fact, I hear that if it can be explained by my own human effort, it's not really Jesus: "Apart from me, you can do nothing.)
The most powerful Kingdom leadership comes from the wisdom of trying at something for more than 30 years, and all the failure that this entails, and all the way that life in the Spirit for this long a time grows someone. This kind of wisdom and leadership come from people whom the Lord has taken through the crucible of long term, sustained faithfulness and all the pain that comes with it, and all the sanctification this produces.
Our culture and our young leaders may gravitate towards overnight success and people finding it at a young age, but these things aren't reproducible. And sometimes I think God is just gracious that way. Plus...even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.
I'm starting to find certain things incredibly reproducible, and every day, my ability to do them grows…often most powerfully in the midst of my own mis-steps and failure. I expect that will lead to a lot of gained wisdom in the next 20-40 years, right?
I certainly hope so, or my posture as a disciples of Jesus (a learner and the humility that should come with that posture) is all a sham.
I say this as someone who is 35. And to be honest? For me, I find this liberating.
Increasingly, the pressure to perform, achieve, and prove my meager existence outside of Christ wanes. What it does is allow me to simply listen to what God is asking me to do and to constantly reflect on what I'm learning as I respond to what he's saying…in both success and failure, knowing that the more experience and reflection I have, the more capacity I have to lead faithfully in the future.
This isn't me trying to skirt responsibility but to process the nature of human development and growth as I'm observing things around me. Can God use someone who is 30 to catalyze and lead a movement of God? Of course he can. He's God and I'm not. But do I think that's his normal pattern as he's concerned more for my character? Probably not.
Organic Church
By: Neil Cole I have been a published author and pioneer of organic church movements for 20 years (yeah, I'm officially old). The term "organic" has come to mean many things in church world over those years. Often it has been hijacked from my original ideas and mutated to mean something less than healthy. It has become as suspicious as the same label used on food packaging at the grocery store.
I'm not the first to use organic ideas to describe the church (that would be Jesus and Paul). As the person who published the book Organic Church ten years ago let me set the record straight on what "organic church" means.
1. Organic Church is not just a house church. Many people assume that is what I mean when I use the word, and I assure you it is not. I'm not against house churches but I'm also not against organized churches. Organic is not a descriptor of one kind of model, it is a description of a necessary quality for all churches. In fact, I often say every church is organic or it is not the church. Organic simply means it is alive and natural. It can also mean being void of artificial ingredients. As such, organic is more a quality of the church rather than the type of church. Some churches can be partly organic and partly inorganic. Our goal should be 100% organic. A house church can be completely inorganic, and a mega church can be very organic. So I would suggest we stop using organic to describe one model of church. That said, you cannot do church organically and skip intimate relationships with one another in a spiritual family. Actually one can argue that you cannot be a follower of Christ and skip that. Just because a church meets in a house doesn't make it organic, but one that never brings life into the home is less than organic.
2. Organic Church is a way of relating to God, one another, and the world. In our movement the DNA is the key component of organic church. Our life giving code is within each disciple (a result of internalizing and activating/obeying the gospel) and is the most important part of being organic. The DNA is Divine Truth (relating to God––The great commandment), Nurturing Relationships (relating to one another––the second greatest command) and Apostolic Mission (relating to the world––the great commission). Again, these are qualities every church should aspire to have. This DNA should be found healthy and whole within the smallest unit of church life––the disciple in relation to other disciples. Any church void of the whole DNA is unhealthy, and no amount of better musicians, buildings, programs, staff or sermons can make up for it's absence.
3. Organic Church is about the true life source and the development of that life within a church.Perhaps the most distinguishing mark of what is organic is the source of life and consequently how it grows, develops and reproduces. So much of churchianity is growth being perpetuated from an external source. This is the inorganic approach and is in fact a counterfeit gospel where we try to make people and churches grow with motivation from the outside. When we use guilt, shame and fear to coerce behavior we are being inorganic. When we try to entice people with glitzy entertainment and "motivational" talks, we are delving into less than organic practices. When dollars are required to bring growth inorganic church is the result.
As my mentor George Patterson described, such methods are like trying to make a corn stalk grow faster by grabbing it and pulling on it. Foolishness. We all know that the growth comes from within the plant as cells reproduce. Our life must come from Christ within and grow out because of the internalized good news. Anything else is futile. Christ in you is the hope of glory––and nothing else is.
Combining inorganic practices with organic ones simply nullifies the true with the false. You cannot add just a little poison to a casserole and expect it to be healthy just because all the other ingredients are natural. As I often say, "If the death, resurrection and indwelling of Jesus Christ is not enough to motivate you, a sermon and a song isn't going to be enough."
It is the life within that causes health, growth and reproduction. Every dollar spent in inorganic practices is an investment in the opposite of life and produces something less than real. Every type of church can release true life rather than suffocate it with inorganic methods. Movements have potential for release when we organize around life instead of thinking that we get life by organizing. It is life that produces healthy organization. Organization never produces life––but it can kill it.
I am now a part of a team launching new movements from a few established churches. It is called 100Movements. I am honored to be working alongside a team of exceptionally gifted and godly people, including Alan Hirsch, Will Mancini, Dave Rhodes, Jessie Cruikshank and Eric Pfeiffer.
One of the six areas we work to bring health to an existing church is in the area of organic systems, which we call Multiplication Organizing. In order to release movements we must begin to allow the true life of Christ to burn bright within us. Organization must be built around life, and never the other way around. Good organization never produces life, but good life can produce healthy organization. Your own body is full of systems that make it structured and working properly. All those structures began with a single cell containing your DNA…then multiplying. Church can learn much from this form of organizing.
One symptom of being inorganic is if the organization and programs of the church take precedence over the simple obedience of God's people outside the church. If the life of the disciple is only about promoting the organization of the church everything is backwards. The life in the disciple should be more important than the organization of the church. If everything is about growing an organization than you probably have to pull a few inorganic weeds from your midst. In an organic church, the organization is to help the disciple produce and reproduce the life of the gospel in others. It doesn't really work the other way around.
Getting Movements Out Of Your Head & Into Your Church
By: Alan Hirsch Over the last 2 years, I have been delighted to work with a unique group of movement-minded practitioners and thinkers about the next chapter of the missional conversation. Will Mancini, Dave Rhodes, Neil Cole, and myself have been dreaming and designing the process for well over a year now. (Jessie Cruikshank, Nick Boring, and Jeremiah Aja have more recently joined the team). The outcome of those gatherings is a brand new non-profit consultative training organization named 100 Movements. 100M will be totally geared towards recruiting, training, coaching one hundred "ninja churches" and helping them to transition into becoming fully fledged, reproducing, spiritually vibrant, apostolic movements that operate squarely on the six elements of mDNA outlined in my centerpiece work, The Forgotten Ways.
To help you understand how we visualize the problem we face and the solution we think we need to appropriate, here is the key visual we use to describe and frame the whole 100M process….
The process towards the renewal of apostolic movement …
- Starts with the realization that the institutional imagination that dominates our thinking has brought us to this critical moment. The prevailing forms, derived as they are from the European experience, are Inextricably bound up with the history and hegemony of Christendom modes of thinking. In this paradigm (for that is what it is…a paradigm) Constantine is still effectively the emperor of our imaginations—he is still telling us how to think about ourselves as church. The face is unhappy here because he has come to the sobering realization that what has brought us to this point simply does not have the wherewithal to guide the church into the 21st Century. It's the end of the road for the Constantinian church and the journey to learning starts with seeing the problem in its starkest terms (ch.1 and 2)
- The second phrase involves "dethroning Constantine" and beginning to reimagining the church as missional movement. This is a fundamental paradigm shift that changes they way we frame or understand what was previously familiar. This means embracing the belief that somehow the future of the church is bound up with recovering its innate movement ethos and living into it. This is not a silver bullet; rather it provides us with a silver imagination, and (re)imagination is where it all starts.
- Then it involves us recognizing that all the potentials of movement are actually latent within the church. In other words, the seeds of our future are already contained in the womb of the present. Another way of saying this is that the macrocosm is already contained in the microcosm. The potential for the whole is already contained in the smallest unit. We don't have to import the answers; we simply have to realize that Jesus has already given us everything we need to get the job done. But we are also going to have to remove all the many "movement killers", the residual elements of Christendom thinking that that are laced through our theology, thinking, and practices, that effectively suppress or diminish the church's innate capacities for movement. This requires determination and vision. I am sure it can be done, but not without effort to redesign the system as movement.
- The fourth element in the diagram is the fully birthed apostolic movement. The diagram shows that movements are incredible fertile cultures that can generate and maintain all kinds of innovative, incarnationally contextualized, forms of church. Movements can contain multiple models, are innately reproducible, and can deliver wide impact. Note therefore that existing form of church is also is very much part of the movement, but now it is not the only form. Its monopoly is broken.
100M proper will only be starting in 2017. The reason for this is that we have to build the system that can deliver long term, deep change, process. But if you think that your church is ready for the journey described above, please register interest at 100Movements.com.
If you want to to be one of the first 100 churches in our starter track called Leap Year–which starts in late Spring of 2016–you can download our Leap Year flyer, view our Good Faith Agreement (below), or contact us for more information. For Will Mancini's take on the value of 100M and Leap Year, read his post here.
How Apostolic Movements Can Change The World
By: Alan Hirsch The great Christian revolutions came not by the discovery of something that was not known before. They happen when someone takes radically something that was always there. ~ H. Richard Niebuhr
Foreword from Beyond the Local Church: How Apostolic Movements can Change the World, by Sam Metcalfe & Alan Hirsch.
One of the more stimulating books I have read in recent years was by Joshua Cooper Ramo an called The Age of the Unthinkable.[1]. The "unthinkable" in Ramo's view is akin to a kind of future/culture shock we experience as we enter into the previously uncharted waters of the 21st Century. This is largely due to massive economic, political, environmental, and social factors, shifts. Our age is highly unstable and at the edge of seismic change. And yet we are entering into this revolutionary age armed with a mindset formed and suited for centuries past. The central warning of this book highlights how and why an obsolete picture of the world only serves to exacerbate, and not resolve, the serious global problems we face.
All of us know and feel that this to be true. The best Christian leaders have come to the awareness that the various organizations and ecclesiologies formulated in entirely different sets of circumstances are not going to help us successfully negotiate this entirely unchartered terrain. In other words, traditional formulations of the church got us to this point in time cannot be assumed to get us beyond the current impasse and decline. Revolutions produce a whole new cast of historical champions. Our world requires radical rethinking. "In a revolutionary era of surprise and innovation, you need to learn to think and act like a revolutionary" or end up as a victim of the revolution.[2] We are going to have to reach a lot deeper into the spiritual resources inherent in Jesus' church if we are going to adapt and thrive in the 21st Century.
As a global missionary leader, Sam Metcalf knows this. He senses that we are ill prepared for the paradigmatic challenges of the oncoming century. But in order to propose a way forward, Sam knows that he has to expose the reductionist ecclesiology implied in the inherited Western understandings of the church. He aims squarely at the reduction of Jesus' ecclesia to the merely local and to its leadership to the merely pastoral. He is spot on here.
The divorce of the local church from the missionary church is a systemic disaster to be sure. At the very roots of the 20th Century, Roland Allen, the remarkable missionary to China no less, predicted that with the birth of the so-called parachurch and the missionary societies that we would "end up with a mission-less church and a church-less mission."[3] This rupture on the NT ecclesiology introduced an element of deep dysfunction into both the local church and the so resultant parachurches.
I have long believed that if we understood ecclesia properly and began to re-appropriate its various levels of meaning, then many of the problems we now face can be resolved. For instance, our more concrete, overly localized, fairly institutionalized paradigm of church must be redefined in the much broader, more fluid meaning used in the Bible.
In my book The Permanent Revolution, I discern four ascending levels in which the word ecclesia is used in the New Testament (figure below)[4]:
- The NT writers use the term to describe the people who met in the various places of their city—primarily the home (called an oikos in the Greek), but also in riverbanks, markets, and other places as well. For example, Paul addresses the ecclesia that happens to meet in so-and-so's house. This is the most local, and basic, reference of the term.
- Then the NT writers talk of an ecclesia in a particular city, knowing that there might in fact be many house churches scattered throughout the area. In fact, most of the letters are addressed to churches at this level. So here we have the regional application of the term—a citywide ecclesia that is in fact made up of many ecclesias.
- The next level up is that it is used to denote the movement across a larger geopolitical region—in this case, the Roman Empire, or Asia. Here the word is used to identify the Jesus movement in the various parts of the world known in the apostles' time. We still use it to refer to a historical phenomenon.
- The final, and perhaps the symbolic, level is where the apostles can address the people of God as the church of Jesus Christ. This refers to of course, the universal invisible church, that is, the body of Christ on earth. This is the more theological, metaphorical meaning of the term as the redeemed new covenant people of God.
The confining of the church to the simply local has had disastrous consequences for our capacity to imagining the church as a transformative movement that can reach across vast geographic regions and penetrate numerous cultures. The local church as we know it can barely reach past its own internal programming, let alone transform whole cultures and societies. And yet I believe that is what the church is designed by Jesus to do. We have to expand our understanding of the church to that of a burgeoning apostolic movement, not reduce it to a one-dimensional religious institution. This is the church that is equal to the challenge of the 21st Century.
Drawing upon Ralph winter's categories, best thinking in terms of missional leadership, and years of experience, Sam develops a coherent and strategically useful typology of missional leadership along with the associated missional organization.
But in Beyond the Local Church Sam not only suggests new ways of organizing, he also highlights the importance of expanding our also severely diminished understanding of ministry beyond that of the shepherd and teacher to include the generative ministries of the apostle (missional), prophetic, and evangelistic envisaged in Eph.4:1-16 (APEST). I have always felt the urgency and sheer strategic value of this neglected aspect of biblical ecclesiology and have written about it in almost every book I have published. Most recently, and in the most consistent and thorough form, I have written about it with Tim Catchim in The Permanent Revolution. I am completely convinced that we need is to first and foremost reconceive the church as missional, or better apostolic, movement. Once we embrace this more biblical paradigm of church, we will then begin to think and act like the movement we are designed to be. But if we are to re-embrace the movement form (and I can see no viable Plan B for the church in the West) then we are going to have to likewise (re)embrace the very forms of ministry that can generate, sustain, and develop missional movement. And we can do no better than recover the world changing dynamics latent in the APEST typology.
Having affirmed the legitimacy of all five APEST ministries, Sam does tend to highlight the strategic importance of the apostolic mode in particular. I have to say that while none is more important that the other, I still agree with him in this because I believe it is the apostolic that holds most promise for a revitalization of the church-as-missional-movement. By its very nature, apostolic ministry is inextricably related to the possibility and practice of apostolic movement. Because of this we must do our utmost to understand this historically marginalized ministry and find our way to relegitimize it. If we fail in this, I fear we will never get to the kind of transformative movement that we see in the pages of the NT itself. Sam has added to the needed dialogue by adding his leadership experience and intellectual heft to the conversation. I, for one, am grateful.
All in all this is a very welcome contribution to the area of missional structures and leadership based on the thoroughly biblical APEST ministry typology that we see operative throughout the book of Acts and the early church. I hope and trust this book will help the reader (re)discover the sheer potency laced throughout a genuinely missional understanding of the church. One feels Sam's love of God, the Bible, as well as the history and the mission of the Church throughout. I trust that having read this book, and followed its counsel, that we will find ourselves more faithful to the particular work of God in our generation.
Alan Hirsch Author of numerous books on missional Christianity and founder of Forge Mission Training Network and Future Travelers.
[1] Joshua Cooper Ramo, The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009).
[2] Ibid,11.
[3] See Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost, The Faith of Leap: Embracing a Theology of Adventure and Risk (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013), 153-4.
[4] Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim, The Permanent Revolution: Developing Apostolic Imagination and Practice for the 21st Century Church (San Francisco: Wiley, 2014) xxxv-xxxvii.
Grand-Parenting Movements
By: Neal Cole I believe that a mega church can be organic and missional…but not start multiplying spontaneously. Addition can certainly be possible for a healthy mega church and addition is far better than subtraction or division–which we all seem so gifted at. A mega church is far better at addition than the micro church, so if the choice is addition via mega church or not adding in a house church I would choose the mega church. But I would rather see multiplication than addition, which is far easier to find in the micro church than the mega church. This is the reason I am so invested in the micro church.
Why is this? Because simple things with no cost can multiply far easier than complex entities with a large price tag. That is just the plain truth of it. The larger and more expensive your church is the less likely you will multiply. Addition becomes easier with the momentum of church growth, but multiplication becomes harder.
Some of my mega church friends may not like this fact, but it is hard to argue with. So is there a solution? Yes, I believe there is, but it involves openness to starting something very different than the mother church.
In our book Church Transfusion Phil Helfer and I write about how a mega church can grandparent movements by giving birth to a form of church that can radically reproduce. So in that sense a mega church can indeed be part of catalyzing movements, but they must reproduce something very different. This has a tendency to violate the culture of many mega churches, but is nevertheless possible. Perceived success can be the greatest hindrance to movement in mega church world. What merits success (numerical growth via attractional ministry) in mega church world works directly counter to a multiplication movement. Logos and egos are the enemies of real movements, but are often central to a mega church. If a mega church can realize this, and start a different kind of church, it can grandparent movements. That is a tall order, but I believe it is possible, and some are doing it.
All that said, the reality is that many house churches do not multiply spontaneously either. You see the issue is not a church problem but a disciple making problem. As long as we view church as something important for us rather than seeing ourselves as important for the world we will not reproduce, in a home or a cathedral.
Too many of us pragmatic Western Christian leaders want a practical solution that will ensure success. This drives us to adopt models and methods for what only faith can produce. E.M. Bounds once said, "Men are looking for better methods, God is looking for better men."
Introducing 100 Movements
By: Will Mancini Over the last 2 years, I have been delighted to work with a unique group of movement-minded practitioners and thinkers about the next chapter of the missional conversation. The outcome of those gatherings is a brand new non-profit consultative training organization named 100 Movements.
The big idea of 100 Movements is to shift from conversation to competency; from paradigm to practice. It is building on Leadership Network's and Exponential's multisite learning community and programs like Future Travelers where the basic ideas of the missional reorientation were explored from the view point of the megachurch and early expressions of the multisite form of multiplication.
The conclusion of many is that multisite church expressions have not become multiplication movements. We are still figuring out what real movement and rapid church multiplication looks like in the North American context. Research's Warren Bird and Ed Stetzer attest to this in their book, Viral Church. In response, Todd Wilson, the leader of the Exponential conference, is dedicating an e-book and the 2016 conference theme to the "Becoming a Level Five Multiplying Church". Everyone agrees that we have a long way to go to really embed the "forgotten ways" into tangible results in our "leading churches." In fact, Exponential will unveil a provocative assessment and show that our most celebrated churches are operating as an "addition only" model that will be dubbed as "level 3" (and hopefully on their way to "level 5.") In the end, no one argues that less than 0.5% of churches in North America are multiplying.
What is happening with 100 Movements (100M)?
Dave Rhodes, the former national team leader of 3dM and I have worked with Alan Hirsch and Neil Cole to design a developmental pathway around six movement competencies. My role is helping to build the toolbox and understand deep process change in existing churches. Dave is an amazing toolmaker, trainer and coach himself. Alan and Neil have written more on the subject than anyone over several decades. We are building the 6 Movement Competencies from the apostolic genius model from Alan's seminal work, "The Forgotten Ways." Neil Cole has perhaps led a multiplication movement more than any single practitioner in the United States. To top off the design team, we invited Jessie Cruikshank, a Harvard trained learning expert to help us. I think God has assembled an amazing team.
Why Am I Blogging About 100M?
The foundational Movement Competency is "Identity Declaring" — that is each church will articulate it's radical minimum standard for disciple-making and its' "Jesus is Lord" conviction. We will be using Church Younique's Vision Frame and Auxano's Vision Framing Process to deliver tools and training for this competency. But the thing I am most excited about is that 100M is designed for break-thru practice with leadership teams, not just more conferences, speakers, books and collaborative hang outs.
Your Invited – How to Take a Next Step
If you are interest in more information, grab this digital brochure: 100_Movements_Introduction.
Finally, if you want to sign-up to be one of the first 100 churches in our starter track called, Leap Year, which starts in late Spring of 2016, you can download, fill in and send back our Good Faith Agreement.
See more at: willmancini.com


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Building a Flat Roof Right
Here's how the pros construct one so it stays tight and tight
Flat roofs aren't architecturally logical, as rain and snow will shed much more quickly off a sloped roof. Yet for historic Modern-style buildings like This Old House's Cambridge TV project, flat roofs are at the core of the architecture, meant to reflect the broad horizontal lines of the natural landscape.
Of course, you don't need to live in a modern house to deal with a flat roof. Traditional homes often have sections of flat roof—over shed dormers, above porches and garages, and on balconies. And their horizontal lines abound in the West and in urban areas.
But flat roofs take a pounding from harsh weather, which is why they rarely last as long as a good sloped roof. Fortunately, modern materials for covering flat roofs have improved considerably over the past two decades; some carry warranties of up to 20 years, approaching those for sloped roofing.
"If you build and flash one right—and keep it clean—a good flat roof won't leak," says TOH general contractor Tom Silva, who had seven different flat roofs to contend with on the Cambridge project house. He sealed them all with a glue-down EPDM rubber membrane system, a favorite of his because it's light, quick to install, and requires no special equipment.
It's so easy, in fact, that a handy homeowner could do it himself. So we watched Tom put down EPDM on a small section at the project house to learn how a pro makes a flat roof smooth, strong, and watertight.
The Importance of Building it Right
Sheathing goes down quickly on a roof that isn't sloped and thus provides some footing. But the horizontal lines of this 8 ½-by-13-foot flat roof section at the Cambridge TV project house, make it vulnerable to heavy snow and pooling rainwater, which is why it must be built to last.

subset: commoncrawl


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This break in your normal scheduled handheld gaming comes with an important message. Comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli is getting people to sign up to the Anthony Nolan register to help cure people dying from blood cancer.
So, rather than saving the princess, or slaying the dragon - why not save a real life by signing up to the bone marrow register or donating cash to help slay a horrible cancer? Follow his quest on the full YouTube page. If Hardeep isn't your scene, then Charlie Brooker has also laid it out pretty straight.
And, while I don't normally beg for clicks, please retweet or like this on Facebook and help spread the word.


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Lucinda Yates is an entrepreneur, jewelry designer, artist, adventurer... and soon-to-be trained yoga instructor.
In this episode she shares:
- the kind actions of a realtor that ultimately helped her raise $30 million for non-profits
- how the intention behind our choices creates a ripple effect
- how getting turned down for a loan impacted the trajectory of her business
- the way resistance sparks motivation
- the one thing you must do if you want to become wildly successful
- how angels drew her back to something she was trying to leave behind
...and more!
You can learn more about Lucinda -- and her pins -- at www.Lucinda.com


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Snakes have been a part of some of the oldest rituals known to humankind, they represent the dual expression of good and evil. Snakes are a symbol of transmutation. On the deepest level, a snake's skin shedding symbolizes death and rebirth, reminding us of our ability to shed beliefs and habits and move into higher spiritual energy.
Hand-forged snake bracelet with a light hammered texture on the head.
Each piece is made to order, the curves of the tail and head will have unique variations.
Bronze will patina over time. If you like the patina, leave it, if not, scrub with the bristly side of a kitchen sponge.


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Kew Gardens
So one of my best birthday gifts ever was a membership to Kew Gardens this year. I have been a couple of times already and I just love it. It is such a beautiful place to wander around and explore and it is kind of amazing that you're still in London, only 30 minutes away from home, but feel like you are anywhere but a big city. I am so excited to spend the weekends taking the baby for walks around these stunning gardens and discovering new bits that I haven't explored yet. I am also looking forward to experiencing it during all the different seasons.
These are just a couple of photos from one of my recent visits. I didn't take loads but I am hoping to take my camera and use these days out as opportunities to get creative and improve my photography.
Have you ever been to Kew Gardens? Which were your favourite bits? I feel so blessed to have such a beautiful place to spend time at, that's so nearby.
Hope you have a lovely weekend!


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Durham law firm Crabtree, Carpenter, & Connolly, PLLC is honored by the recent firm recognition our lawyers have received from our peers and the business community.
CCC has been named a Tier 1 firm in the Research Triangle area for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, by US News and World Report and Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" for 2017. Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor.
Crabtree, Carpenter & Connolly, PLLC provides innovative and effective legal representation to injured individuals as trial lawyers in personal injury and wrongful death cases involving automobile accidents and medical malpractice. They are also trial lawyers who represent families and provide legal expertise to individuals and companies in commercial and business disputes, and to property owners whose property has been contaminated by toxic chemicals in their groundwater.


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MILE OAK Football Club pulled off a cup surprise in their home Sussex Senior first-round clash with Chichester City last night.
In a six-goal thriller, Oak raced into a two-goal lead with strikes from Jamie Watts and Adam Dine.
However, an inspired second half showing from Chi saw Jimmy Wild pull a goal back for his side.
But Oak restored their two-goal advantage as Eric Wedge-Bull netted.
Wild bagged his second with eight minutes left to set-up a grandstand finish but Jack Arnold struck with three minutes left to ensure Oak progressed.
Anthony Whittington's side knew they were in for a tough task as they welcomed division-higher Southern Combination League Premier Division side City.
But Oak were not overawed and produced a fine display to book their place in the competition's second round.
MILE OAK: Stenning; Whiting, Turley-George, Hall, MacDonald; Pullinger, Maskell, Watts, Curd; Wedge-Bull; Dine. Subs: Lansdale, Arnold, French, Gillingham, Garrod.
Don't miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.
Here are four ways you can be sure you'll be amongst the first to know what's going on.
1) Make our website your homepage at www.shorehamherald.co.uk/
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Story 121
Written by Eric Saward, directed by Peter Grimwade
Transmitted: 8 – 16 March 1982
The TARDIS has become far too uncomfortable and the Doctor needs space to think. Adric has impertinently insisted on charting a path home through the CVE to the dimension of his origin, something that could rip the craft apart, and he refuses to listen to reason. Finding solace in a cave rife with dinosaur bones, the Doctor attempts to find some peace, but becomes a suspect in the grisly murder of an archaeological survey team. Trapped by investigating military, the Doctor tries to explain himself, but is interrupted by a pair of faceless androids firing death rays from their palms. There is much more to the strange situation that the Doctor can guess, and he will soon realize that the planet Earth is the target of a deadly attack from a very familiar foe from his past.
The nineteenth season of Doctor Who was a reinvention of the program, a much needed jab in the arm from the seven year stretch of Tom Baker. Yet the year to date was riddled with production problems regarding scripts, rotating script editors and more. John Nathan-Turner had lost Christopher H. Bidmead and Antony Read in short order, but gained Eric Saward who was massaging the script 'The Enemy Within' by Christopher Priest which would have involved the Doctor facing off against a weird creature that lived in the heart of the TARDIS. It would have also seen the departure of Adric, a character intended as an Artful Dodger-type who had fallen rather flat. Yet the script failed to come together and with nothing else planned, Saward swooped in with 'Sentinel,' a story that would eventually morph into Earthshock, the story that brought sufficient impact to the nineteenth season for new fans and old and brought a beloved monster out of cold storage.
The opening episode is among the best in the program's history as it starts off normal as you like with the TARDIS bicker fest and the Doctor landing in an unknown situation. But the supporting cast of characters searching through the caves adds tension. The Doctor has inadvertently wandered into a crime scene, one in which the killers are still in residence. As he approaches the danger, so does the rescue party who are being systematically picked off as they descend deeper into the labyrinth.
The innocuous title of the story leaves the identity of the killers a mystery to the viewer as well as the Doctor. So determined was John Nathan-Turner to keep the reveal of the Cybermen a secret that he refused a Radio Times cover featuring the newly redesigned Cybermen and blocked off the viewing gallery. He was also determined to keep Matthew Waterhouse's departure a secret by including him in the following story as a flashback.
What a cunning guy!
Peter Davison's first year was very unusual. The opening conclusion to Logopolis, Castrovalva, was a mind-bender, and Christopher Bailey's Kinda too far ahead of its time for some. The more traditional Four to Doomsday and the Visitation served as steadier ground, but there was something missing from the program that had been absent for some time. In many ways, Doctor Who goes through periods of introspection and reinvention, looking to its past for inspiration. In this case, Earthshock was not just a return of the Cybermen, but a hearkening back to the Troughton era when monsters lurked in shadows and lumbered toward the viewer, hands out-stretched in horrifying deadly purpose. Likewise the Doctor himself had become more flawed, not at all the flippant Superman Tom Baker had portrayed who laughed in the face of danger and offered sweets to glowing skulls.
In his first year as the Doctor. Davison was given little direction on how to portray the character other than 'not Tom Baker.' His performance can often come off as overwhelmed and breathless, but if you look deeper there is a lot going on there. This Doctor is a somewhat reluctant adventurer who inherited the laundry of his past. He seems more drawn toward tranquil pass times such as cricket and drinking tea than fighting evil. Yet when he encounters evil forces or insidious plots, he is more likely to assimilate the situation and only comes to the rescue in the eleventh hour. This was Davison's justification behind the all beige costume with red piping that visually subdued his presence rather than popping out as Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee had.
At only 30, Davison was a celebrated TV actor at the time and looked at the role of the Doctor as too good of an opportunity to pass up. More attuned to playing roles that are informed by background, it is impressive to see an unusual version of the Doctor that is both charming and socially awkward all at once. Surrounded by companions, he continually disappoints them in the face of adversity! It's no wonder that the phrase 'Brave heart, Tegan,' was coined by this incarnation to plead for courage and optimism when facing insurmountable odds (a line improvised by Davison on the spot).
Peter Davison's Doctor was a genius (evidenced is in the fact that he defuses the Cyber-bomb and turns the hatch leading to the bridge into an unstable substance trapping the invading Cybermen), yet his mind is frazzled. He can be seen calculating and plotting outcomes at several points through the story, but in the end he is just a man who is unusually adept with mechanics. It is his technical skill and nerves of steel that lead to the destruction of the androids and the defusing of the bomb they are guarding. But the mystery remains, what was the bomb for and who put it there?
In deep space, an old enemy has been battling him at every move, frustrated by this stranger's intelligence. The Cybermen have yet to show their hand, but are unmasked to the viewer in a truly shocking climax.
After the Cybermen are revealed as the main threat, Saward wisely reminds the audience just who they are. This is clever as the Cybermen had not been seen since 1974 and before that not since 1968!
A beloved monster second only to the Daleks in popularity, the Cybermen were mostly a 1960's craze along with the Yeti and Ice Warriors. But through the use of rarely seen flashback footage, we are reminded that these creeps have fought the Doctor many times before. This is a big deal in an age when repeats were rare, the internet non-existent and most of the episodes lost.
As some fans put it, this short sequence in which the Cyber Leader recounts the identity of the Doctor and his race's many encounters with him in the past creates a connection all the way back to the beginning of Doctor Who, making it feel like one ongoing story (for the first time in easily ten years).
The Doctor tracks the signal to the bomb to a freighter in deep space where another mystery waits. Again, the Doctor wanders around and is again a prime suspect for murder as he is found next to a pair of corpses in the freighter's hold. But there is more going on than anyone suspects. The captain is more concerned with her pay for delivering the cargo and her twitchy security officer Ringway is making her life miserable. Power failures run rampant through the ship and a heightened level of security surrounding Earth means more delays. Little does she know that she is carrying an army of Cybermen to Earth to attack a special meeting of Earth forces. It's an impressive twist on a contemporary plot idea in which terrorists commandeer a plane for safe passage to their target.
Whereas in previous stories the Cybermen are shown as cunning and cruel creatures ruled by logic, they are downright ruthless here, even stating that the Doctor must 'suffer' for his past actions. Saward has come under for for giving emotions to an emotionless race, but I think that is a misunderstanding of the Cybermen. They do not possess a full spectrum of emotions, but they are driven toward their goal, much like a predator is compelled to kill out of instinct. The Cyber Leader toys with the Doctor by threatening to kill his companions not because he enjoys watching the Doctor squirm but to remind his enemy of the weakness of emotion and attachment.
The actual first meeting between the Doctor and the Cyber Leader is very impressive. Actor David Banks towers over Davison and clad as he is in a modified flight suit, appears strangely alien and bizarre. The Doctor attempts to find some kind of emotional connection with the Cybermen which is laughable since they are so INhuman, yet he tries out of sheer desperation. All of this heightens the drama as he is no longer the man with all the answers, just a man determined to fight the good fight as best as he can. From this moment on, the Doctor is clutching at straws and his options are rapidly slipping away. When he must finally surrender his TARDIS to the Cybermen and leave Adric behind on the freighter, he is overcome with anxiety, dumbfounded with impotence.
Again, portraying the Doctor as being this powerless (without later saving the day) would never happen today.
So desperate is the Doctor that he at one point raises a gun at a Cyberman (an image that was weirdly reproduced for posters that year). Saward's script shows just how remarkably smart and resourceful the Doctor is, but in the end, the Cybermen have prepared for every eventuality, through the use of the androids, the bomb, the mole on the freighter and finally by taking control of the ship's computer with technology that cannot be hacked without sufficient time. The Doctor has lost. This is such an important moment that it carries over into Davison's final year when he chooses to kill Davros and later the Master! He finally realizes the stakes of the game he has been playing and how lucky he had been up to Adric's death.
Earthshock is full of amazing images and while the cast complained that director Peter Grimwade was a taskmaster one cannot argue with the final result, a spine-tingling thriller that would be remembered for generations. It brought back the Cybermen in a big way in much the same way that Resurrection of the Daleks brought menace back to the Daleks two years later. Sadly, the Cybermen would become rather boring and lose their impact in subsequent outings, but Earthshock saw them at their menacing best!
The soundtrack by Malcolm Clarke of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop is nothing short of stunning. Yes, the same madman behind the atmospheric and odd Sea Devils soundtrack provided the moody audio landscape for this one. After some of the strange incidental music by Paddy Kingsland which was mainly evocative of synthesized flutes, it was something else entirely to hear throbbing beats, metallic clangs and strained warbling mechanical wailing. The alien atmosphere and sense of dread is evident through all four parts from the dark and mysterious caves to the claustrophobic confines of the star freighter. Topping this all off is a signature tune of the Cybermen, an eerily threatening march that clearly announced a classic monster had returned.
'Cyber Strength' by Malcom Clarke
Of course one of the main impacts of Earthshock is the loss of Adric which was played incredibly well all things considered. Given that the companions of modern Who are constantly portrayed as the most special people who have ever lived, it is an interesting choice to have the Doctor and Adric at odds with each other throughout their relationship rather than have Adric raised to some kind of near-mythical importance. In fact, most fans despised Adric and still do. It's the age old case of a too clever audience refusing to take the bait of accepting a smart kid as being 'just like them.'
Throughout Earthshock, it becomes clear that the stakes are higher than usual and that the Doctor is out of his depths, wandering into a mystery beginning with a slaughtering of innocents to a devastating bomb to an entire space craft full of kill crazy robots. THEN things get really bad when the Cybermen turn the craft into a time traveling explosive aimed at the planet Earth! As became the usual trend in later Eric Saward scripts, the death toll is rather high. However, in difference to his later work such as Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks, the sacrifice by Adric in Earthshock is a noble one. Granted, Adric was hamstrung by fate, but he bravely faces his fate rather than pleading for rescue. It's quite touching (and something we would not see today, I wager). Tegan and Nyssa plead with the Doctor to save him, but sadly, this is one point in which he cannot intervene. The Web of Time is resolute and irrefutable, making Adric's death part of a landmark in history.
As a return to form for a classic baddie, Earthshock gets top marks. The Cybermen are creepy, lurk in the shadows and attack en masse. They cause high levels of destruction, but humanity survives by a hair's breadth. What strikes me as particularly chilling is the mocking laughter of the Cyberman as he fires his rifle at the ship computer Adric had been working on.
The first death of a companion since the 1960's, Earthshock was unnerving and rattled viewers who suddenly wrote in to defend the previously unloved character. The ratings soared which is unfortunate due to the lackluster finale of the season, Timeflight.
To celebrate the return of the Cybermen and continue the exploration of the classic series, Earthshock will be shown this Sunday, May 26th, at 8:00 pm ET/PT as part of the Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited – The Fifth Doctor on BBC America.
I have been paying some attention to BBC America scheduling of these classic stories and am pleased with the choices they have made (though personally I would not have gone for the Aztecs for Hartnell). This weekend is a special thrill as the Cybermen will be returning in Nightmare in Silver.
Also recommended:


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Gray Lumber Company is the South Sound's premium decking headquarters. We're here to walk you through each step of the process, including design, pricing, installation recommendations, delivery and more.
We have a large variety of decking options sure to fit all your project needs including Western Red Cedar, composite, hardwood, and treated decking, as well as multiple railing systems.
Let us connect you with one of Gray Lumber Company's talented decking specialists to turn your dream deck into a reality.
Deck Specialists
Product Information
*Click or Scroll Through Brochures for More Information


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Ethnic profiling is a form of institutional racism, whereby the police use ascribed characteristics (such as skin colour, ethnicity, religion, ancestry or language) in a discriminatory manner as the basis for arbitrary identity checks and searches.
Ethnic profiling has attracted increasing amounts of media attention in recent years. A case at the Administrative Court of Koblenz, in which the judge acknowledged ethnic profiling as an acceptable means of conducting police work, was greeted with incredulity by NGOs. In the following pages, the phenomenon of ethnic profiling and its effects on those affected and on society will be explored. You will find information on the legal framework in Germany and the situation in other European countries.
You can find information on the subject of ethnic profiling and on the work being done by NGOs here as well as references to studies, reports and links to further information on the subject.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of the dossier.
We cordially thank Felicia Fall for compiling this dossier.


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The UA Veterans in Piping Program offers career preparation training in three disciplines within the piping industry.
The UA VIP Program was created to address a growing shortage in the construction industry of skilled workers due to the combined effects of an aging workforce, increased demand, and a lack of skills training for youth. The highly skilled and trained graduates of the VIP Program help alleviate this shortage by entering directly into careers within these in-demand industries nationwide.
A service technician's work covers the general responsibilities for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC-R). This would include the installation and maintenance of all sizes of heating and cooling systems for residential, commercial, institutional and industrial applications. Some job specific applications include complete gas piping installations, high voltage electrical components, testing and analyzing and start-up of systems.
Training in the HVAC-R field is currently offered through UA VIP Programs at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Naval Station Norfolk.
A welder works in every area of the construction industry where metals and alloys are joined. They will work with plumbers, pipefitters, sprinkler fitters and HVAC-R techs. Work will include installation, maintenance and repair of all types of piping systems as well as joining structural steel brackets and supports for such systems. A welder has to work in many different environments and in all types of positions. Welders will study blueprints, drawing, and specifications for the job and must measure, cut and weld using various methods and tools.
Training in the welding field is currently offered through the UA VIP Programs at Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton, Fort Campbell, Fort Carson, Fort Hood, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Fire Sprinkler Fitters have detailed knowledge of fire codes and the methods for installation of fire protection systems and a responsibility for life safety in residential, commercial and industrial applications. They install wet, dry, pre-action, deluge and chemical fire protection and extinguishing systems, just to name a few.
As a Fire Sprinkler Fitter, you will install and maintain high and low pressure piping, equipment and devices to supply fire protection systems with water, foam, carbon dioxide and other materials in hospitals, commercial buildings, manufacturing plants, homes and apartment buildings.
Training in the fire protection field is currently offered through the UA VIP Program at Fort Campbell.


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As a Course Leader you will travel abroad with your own group of students during summer 2019. Language Travel trips last from two to four weeks depending on the course and the destination. You will have to be available for the students whenever they need you. Together you will do lots of different activities, dance at discos, play football or just hang out at the beach. You will work in an international environment where you meet people from all over the world. The students are between 10-17 years old and they study English, Spanish, German, French or Japanese. Even though there are lots of fun activities and excursions planned for the students, YOU can make a great impact on the students' experience by being a great leader!
Course Leader duties:
- Travel together with the students from Sweden to the destination (UK, Malta, USA, Australia, Spain, Germany, France or Japan).
- Cooperate with your local leader. Do research about different activities and plan your stay and the activity chart together with local staff.
- Be available for your students 24/7. There may be situations where you have to make quick decisions as a leader.
- Make sure no one is feeling left out, group dynamics is a big part of being a Course Leader. You have to be able to sense if something is wrong or if there is a student in need of your help.
- Make sure the students are following the EF rules which they all have read and signed. Participate in different group meetings with other staff at the destination. Work late hours, for example at the discos.
Who are we looking for?
The ideal leader is:
- Fluent Swedish speaker
- Fluency in English and the language spoken in the destination course country (Spanish, German, French and/or Japanese).
- Ideally a teacher or someone with pedagogical experience from working with minors
- Responsible and well-organised
- Social, outgoing and confident
- Accessible & approachable
- Fun & enthusiastic
- Takes own initiatives
- Dedicated to take on any task or assignment
- Is able to make good decisions in stressful situations
Previous experience which further qualify you working as a course leader
- If you previously worked as a teacher
- If you have stayed abroad for a longer period of time
- Previous work as a confirmation leader
- Previous work as a leader for minors in other areas
About us
EF Education First is a world leading private educational company specialized in language training, educational travel, academic degree programs, and cultural exchange. We are 46,500 staff, faculty and teachers, working in 600 offices and schools across 52 countries. While we continue to grow, we strive to stay small so as to ensure agility, smart thinking and a fun place to work. For over 50 years, EF has grown to include a range of programs that give students of all ages the freedom and confidence to explore the world through language, travel and education. Located across the globe, our language centers for youth, adults and professionals combine the best of traditional, in-school teaching with innovative language-learning technology.
We offer intensive language instruction abroad in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Chinese. Courses run from 2 to 52 weeks for students traveling independently or in escorted groups of all levels and abilities. Classes take place in our international language centers in one of 16 countries and offer the very best locations and accommodation whether in local host family or in a student residence.


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Cook Time: About 5 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Do you have a slow cooker? Is it in your closet?Life is short, use your crock pot! Crock Pots (Slow Cookers) are one of the best kitchen inventions and have finally gotten the respect they deserve! It is like having an extra helper in the kitchen and who does not want extra help? The crock pot is one of my favorite kitchen tools, a tool everyone should own. I must confess, I own two and use them regularly during the busy Fall/holiday season. Having that extra help and a cooked meal at the end of the day or that extra hand for a casual get together is priceless.
Of all the recipes I have made in my slow cooker (meatballs, soup, chili, pot roast, etc.), pulled pork is my absolute favorite! Tangy, smoky, sweet, It makes me weak in the knees! Pulled pork is perfect for casual get togethers, game day celebrations, outdoor barbeques, etc. This recipe has all that "lip smacking flavor" in one punch, but with a twist! The key ingredient? Peach Salsa, but not just any peach salsa, our Vidalia Onion Peach Salsa!
This peachy BBQ pork recipe is delightfully balanced with tang and smokiness and the right amount of sweet and heat. My family gave it a thumbs up which was huge considering i pulled a switcheroo on them:) I deviated from their favorite Pulled Pork Recipe and didn't tell them. :) (It's my thing). Luckily, it was a huge success and it will be with your family or guests too.
So what are you waiting for? Grab the ingredients, put them in your slow cooker, turn it on, walk away (don't look back), and allow your "kitchen helper" (crock pot) to do the work for you! In a few short hours you will have a tender, juicy, mouth-watering Peachy BBQ Pulled Pork. Delicious! Serve it on rolls and with our Homemade Applesauce and our Best Darn Coleslaw Recipe for a complete meal! You deserve a break...I insist!
3-4 lbs. pork shoulder or pork butt
1 onion chopped
2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning (enough to coat both sides)
1 teaspoon (tsp) ground pepper
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
Chop the onion and add to the bottom of your slow cooker.
In a small bowl, mix together the Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning and the ground pepper and sprinkle on all sides of the pork. Place the pork on top of the onions (this is an old picture where I clearly had the onions on top;).
Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker, then add the BBQ sauce and Cherchies® Vidalia Onion Peach Salsa on top of the pork. Turn it on and walk away! Cook for 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Pork is ready when it pulls apart easily with two forks. Enjoy!


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Head on over to Amazon.com where you can clip a digital coupon to save 30% off select AirHeads Candy. Even sweeter, you can save an additional 5-15% off your purchase and get free shipping when you choose to Subscribe and Save.
You can score this 36-pack of AirHeads Candy Individually Wrapped Non-Melting Blue Raspberry Bars for only $4.88 shipped when the digital coupon is applied and you opt to Subscribe and Save. That's like paying just 14¢ per piece!


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The Allegro Occasional Chair has the brisk airy feel that a rich slip covered fully upholstered lounge chair creates. The looped buttons binding the slip cover in the back provides the perfect staccato finish.
Kiln-dried hardwood frame. Fully-upholstered with down-filled loose seat and French placket style button details. Solid Cherry base in Satin finish with wood veneer reveal at back. Available in a full range of Dakota Jackson leathers, or COM/COL upon approval.
32.625"w x 36"d x 28"h
21.5" arm ht; 16.75" seat ht
COM: 8 yds - 54" plain
COL: 145 sq ft leather


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As a Community Land Trust, the ROSE land care association is primarily concerned with preserving land from development and speculation. As an agricultural land trust, it is specifically dedicated to:
preserving agricultural land and protecting it from development.
Additional objectives are:
- To promote and practice organic agriculture;
- To foster the knowledge and practice of biodynamic agriculture;
- To practice sound principles of conservation;
- To bring rural and urban communities together and enhance their mutual understanding;
- To provide opportunities for young farmers to embark on a career in organic agriculture;
- To provide opportunities for young people to experience life and work on a farm;
- To develop educational activities for both children and adults in order to enhance their understanding of sustainable farming, of sustainable ecological practices, and of life on a farm;
- To share knowledge and experience with others who are interested in forming agricultural land trusts;
- To educate the public about sustainable agriculture, environmentally sound practices, and practical ways of showing respect for the earth and its life forms;
- To serve as a centre and focus for social and therapeutic activities;
- To foster a cooperative way of working;
- To learn to make decisions through a process of consensus-building;
- To raise funds to secure the land and buildings and to promote the land trust's objectives.
To learn more about our history, click here.


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Top 5 Skincare Tips--
Not too long ago, we gave you 5 beauty mistakes you shouldn't make. Today, we're giving you more tips on how to keep your skin healthy. Summer can be a critical time for skin, so we want to be sure you know what to do.
1. Drink plenty of water.
This is a repeat, but it's just that important. Water not only refreshes you in the heat, but clears toxins out on the inside. Some don't find it tasty, but drink as much as you can to stay healthy. You won't regret it.
2. Embrace products you already have at home.
Many of us are self-proclaimed product junkies. We see a product, hear the promises, and are sold. This isn't too bad until your pocket suffers. To avoid this and get the most out of your money, use things you likely already have:
-Baking soda for a mask to help curb oily skin and clear blemishes
-Lemon juice or a real lemon to clear dark spots and scar remains
-Apple cider vinegar to help clear blemishes
-Ice cubes to reduce the size of pores
-Honey for a mask to help clear blemishes and reduce shine
Using these in conjunction with the right cleanser for your skin will help keep it healthy in the summer...and your wallet, too.
Here are 5 beauty products you can make at home, too!
3. Care for your eyes.
They're not exactly skin, but they're surrounded by your skin and are critical to your face! Carrots are great for supporting your vision and keeping healthy eyes. Even if you wear glasses/contacts, carrots are good to keep in your diet. Also, if you're pushing yourself pretty hard and are worried about dark circles, freeze tea bags, preferably green tea, then lay them on your eyes. They'll reduce the circles and have your eyes bright again. Sleep, of course, is important for this, too. Get as much as you can.
4. Stay moisturized.
Even if you have oily skin, you need moisture. Find a moisturizer perfect for your skin type to be sure you can keep the balance. Dry skin isn't good in any case. It's also a good idea to find a moisturizer with other effects, like skin clearing or another benefit. This gives you the most for your money and makes the most of your purchase. If your scalp is dry...because that's skin, too--keep sweet potatoes in your diet. They help with moisturizing and taste good! You should also use coconut oil and eucalyptus oil, or tea tree oil on the scalp to help it keep from getting dry.
5. Exfoliate.
You have to remove the dead skin cells from your face, and exfoliating is a great way. Clinique, in addition to these brands, offer great exfoliators or scrubs. Exfoliating should be done about 2x a week to keep the skin fresh. Be sure you use an exfoliator appropriate for your skin--something too harsh will scar, and something too soft will be useless. Stores like Sephora are great at helping you choose and offer samples. Ulta is a fave, too. Check them out!
We hope these tips were helpful to you, and if you have any to add, please share!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
B.A.F.F.L.E.D. Tops
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Original Complete screen with front housing for xiaomi max 2 - white & Black
This goods included LCD screen, touch screen digitizer, and Front Housing.
Any parts is original.
It is installed with B7000.
The screen and front housing are tightly bonded
Each tested before shipping.
Compatible with:
Xiaomi max 2
Quality: Original Touch screen + Original LCD + Original Front housing (Front housing is installed by our technician with B7000)
Size: 6.44 inches
Color: White & Black
With frame: Yes
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels
Place of Origin: Shenzhen, China
Packing with bubble bag and carton box with Tape wound tightly.
No comment, be sure to grab the sofa now!
owned by Guo Zilong


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Whether you are purchasing your first or tenth home, or have entered into the realm of investment or commercial property purchase, this can be a nerve-racking time for you, the Buyer. You have just come off of the roller coaster of making an Offer to purchase the property, waiting anxiously for the Seller's response - and then decision time. It is time for you to further counter to the Seller's response, continue looking for other property to purchase, or to accept the Seller's Offer. At last! You and the Seller have come to an agreement.
The next thing that happens is that your Realtor asks you to make a check payable to a title/escrow company. "What is a title/escrow company?" you say to yourself, and why do I have to give them a check? Well, the check is your earnest money deposit, which you agreed to deposit into escrow when the Offer (now referred to as the Purchase Agreement) was accepted. The earnest money deposit is held in trust for you at the title/escrow company and will apply toward your down payment at the closing of escrow. Having deposited the earnest money deposit into escrow gives the Seller a sense that you are serious about purchasing the property. Under most circumstances, this earnest money deposit is refundable to the Buyer during the Buyer's inspection period of the property, if the Buyer determines that the purchase of the property is not right for them because of issues that were uncovered during their inspection of the property, or other matters. It is also typical that the earnest money deposit is refundable to the Buyer in the event the Buyer is unable to secure the financing that is provided for in the Purchase Agreement.
In answer to your question about "What is a title/escrow company?", the answer is actually two-pronged. A title company, also known as a title insurance company, insures your ownership in the property, much like the home and automobile insurance you purchased to insurance your home and automobile. In the event you get in an automobile accident, you call your automobile insurance company to have them work with you to repair your car. If your hot water heater dies right after you have left for work and you arrive home to a flooded house, you call your homeowners insurance company. They will work with you to repair your home. When you purchase real estate, it is typical for a Buyer to purchase a policy of title insurance. This policy fee is paid only once, when you purchase the property and is good for the entire time you own the property. You would only contact your title insurance company in the event someone is claiming an interest in your property, such as an adjacent property owner claiming that they own the back half of your property, or if someone sends you a letter or knocks on your door demanding money for payment of a lien or taxes that the former owner owed, or other such claims against your ownership of the property. The chances of you needing to make a claim against your title insurance policy are very small.
An escrow company is typically related to a title insurance company, but is radically different in what they do. An escrow company obtains a copy of the signed Purchase Agreement between the Buyer and Seller, then proceeds to prepare the Escrow Instructions that the Buyer and Seller will sign. The Escrow Instructions are the final agreements between the parties and contains matters which may not have been mentioned in the Purchase Agreement, such as any last minute adjustments to the purchase price because of matters which may have been discovered by the Buyer during their investigation of the property. The escrow company will have all of the Parties sign the documents and collects from the Buyer their funds to close escrow. The escrow company has the Seller sign the Grant Deed, which (when recorded) will convey ownership of the property to the Buyer. At the closing of escrow, the escrow company will have the title insurance company record the Grant Deed. From the Seller's funds, the escrow company will deduct any amounts to pay off any loans or liens which encumber the property, including property taxes, loans, liens and/or judgments, as well as commissions due the realtors. It is the title insurance company's and escrow company's jobs to make sure that when the Grant Deed is recorded, there are no liens or loans recorded against the property that the Buyer has not previously approved of.
These processes sound simple enough, but in reality they are very complicated and technical. It is always very important to use a title and escrow company when buying or selling real estate. Failure to do so can cause a lot of trouble for the Buyer and Seller on down the road.
About Suzanne Tikker
Suzanne Tikker joined Haedrich & Co., Inc. with 33 years of experience as an escrow officer and 2 years as a residential lender. Her background in escrow and lending has proved invaluable in overseeing the complex contracts, purchase agreements, leases and escrow transactions of the office. Suzanne is a licensed real estate salesperson. This, along with the expertise and professionalism she already possess, is a valuable asset to the company and the commercial real estate clientele we serve. Suzanne is also very involved in the North State Escrow Association, as well as the Exchange Club of Redding.Suzanne, in her spare time, LOVES to do crafty things. She knits, crochets, sews, stain glasses and many other crafty things. Gifts from Suzanne are usually homemade and made "from the heart".


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[gallery] One of my favorite designers, Moritz Waldemeyer, creates stage and electronic performance wear for a growing number of artists ranging from Bono to Rihanna to OK Go. One of his many outstanding projects includes a collaboration with OK Go and Fendi which resulted in a fantastical fur-studded laser-shooting guitar. The guitars will certainly bring out the rockstar in you.
Here's how the project is described from the Design Miami website: Design Miami/ and Fendi partnered last April to produce the highly acclaimed Craft Punk project in Milan during Salone del Mobile. Craft Punk built upon the Design Performance program launched in 2007, which was intended to showcase 'design in action' and to allow Design Miami / visitors to gain appreciation for the process underlying the creation of experimental design. For Craft Punk we invited ten designers and studios to create craft-based work in front of live audiences inside Spazio Fendi, commingling radical design with fashion, music and video. For Design Miami / 2009, we are advancing our project with Fendi even further by presenting an exciting collaboration between tech-designer Moritz Waldemeyer and pop-sensation Ok Go. Moritz has intervened upon the selection of Gibson guitars, customizing them with laser lights and Fendi materials, merging the handcraft tradition of the Fendi brand with futuristic, luminous elements. When played, the guitars' lasers interact with a video wall and leave traces that illustrate the music in real time.The lasers emulate the strings of the guitar and the vibrations transmit beautiful visual interpretations of the sound, extending the performers' musical expression into the space around them. The guitars become like musical paintbrushes that produce synesthetic experiences for viewers. This project stands as an exemplar of the ways in which the fingers of contemporary design extend without boundaries into every field of cultural production. Ok Go will perform onsite during the show, experimenting with the instruments for the first time. After the show, the guitars will be given to Ok Go to use on their upcoming tour.
Images from waldemeyer.com, Flickr (Ian Witlen) and the deli. For more info on Moritz Waldemeyer, visit his site.


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ABR Arts covers all the arts – film, theatre, music, dance, art exhibitions, festivals, etc. We pay for everything we publish, and we are publicly committed to increasing our rates when we can. All reviews appear promptly online; some later appear in the print edition.
ABR is always looking for discerning critics and arts journalists. This new document – Advice for ABR Arts Contributors – sets out what we offer our journalists, how we work with them, and what we require from them in return.
We welcome expressions of interest from arts journalists.


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Become a member of Philoptochos! Whether you are new to the Assumption community or you are a lifetime member of our parish, we encourage you to become a member of St. Barbara's Philoptochos. At last count, our chapter has 100 pledged members. Membership is open to all women (and men) over 18 years of age who are of the Greek Orthodox faith.
If you are willing to commit any amount of time to any one of our many ministries and programs, whether it is packing backpacks for families in need; collecting school supplies for Vista del Camino; reading to orphaned children; visiting the sick and elderly; adorning icons; participating in the National AIDS walk; baking paximadia, selling raffle tickets at the CrabFest, etc., you will be greatly rewarded. As members we get so much more than we give and we are rewarded with fellowship and lifelong friendships that enrich all our lives.
As the philanthropic heart of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society has for over 78 years, undertaken a multitude of philanthropic programs to aid the poor, the sick, and the elderly (www.philoptochos.org). With over 27,500 members nationwide, Philoptochos is one of the largest Christian women's philanthropic organizations in the United States. The structure of Philoptochos includes the National Board, Metropolis Boards and approximately 475 Chapters in parishes throughout the Archdiocese.
The Mission of the Ladies Philoptochos Society:
To aid the poor, the destitute, the hungry, the aged, the sick, the unemployed, the orphaned, the imprisoned, the widowed, the handicapped, the victims of disasters, to undertake the burial of impoverished persons and to offer assistance to anyone who may need the help of the Church through fund raising efforts; and
To promote the charitable, benevolent, and philanthropic purposes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, through instructional programs, presentations, lectures, seminars and other educational resources;
To preserve and perpetuate Orthodox Christian concepts and the Orthodox Christian Family, and through them, to promote the Greek Orthodox Faith and traditions, in accordance with its doctrines, canons, discipline, divine worship, usages and customs;
To promote participation in the activities of the Greek Orthodox community, with the cooperation of the Parish Priest and the Parish Council (www.philoptochos.org)
A gift of time, talent and treasure each of us through our participation in the ministries and programs of Philoptochos, have the opportunity and privilege to return to God a small portion of the time, talent and treasures with which He has so generously blessed us.


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Keeping AAA Tips Spraying when Using Waterborne Finishes
Forum Responses
From contributor F:
Water based build up on spray tips is a pain with any spray system. I gave up on using AAA for water based finishes because of this (and micro bubble issues that I could not resolve.) Now I use a Graco Triton diaphragm pump with an HVLP gun for all water based finishes and leave the AAA for solvent based only. Problem solved for the most part.
From contributor B:
I have the CAT H20 AAA and Bobcat gun with the newer opti tip installed which is specifically designed for waterborne materials. You may want to give their new tip a try. I've had little to no problems with build up or micro bubbles.
From contributor E:
I have a plastic 2 liter can that is half filled with solvent gun wash and keep the gun head cap down in that. It sounds incompatible but I just shake off the gin and keep a rag handy to wipe drops before spraying. It works just fine. Keep a small linear brush to scrub the tip from time to time. This is with waterborne.
From contributor J:
I am spraying with the same outfit as you including the new tips. The problem seems to come from finish that starts to dry in the area between the end of the needle and the tip of the tip. I have thought of Contributor D's solution but not tried it yet. I think I will and see if that helps.
From contributor A:
We also had problems with tips clogging. It was back when we sprayed at a lower fluid pressure, like around 350 to 400 pounds. Now we spray at 500 to 550 and we don't have the problems near as much. Seems the lower pressures couldn't clean off the drip that forms between some of the longer spray intervals.
From contributor H:
Are you sure that your needle seat isn't leaking? Once you release the trigger, no more material should be weeping out the tip.
From contributor P:
I have that setup, too, and see the same problem sometimes. Certain products/tip combos seem to be worse than others (Agualente + .09 tip, for example). You just have to stay on top of it. I use a really stiff brush plus water (looks like a toothbrush but stiffer). I also submerge the gun head in a bucket of water. If you pull the trigger part way (or pull the little pin behind the trigger), it activates air only and will blow the excess water out of the head. I jack up the fluid pressure. Atomizes better, gets rid of the tails, and clogs less.
From contributor O:
I get the same thing through my CAT AAA with the bobcat gun and previously I had an Asturo K20 pump with both the Asturo and the bobcat guns and they all did it. There is just a drop of fluid that gets past the needle and it dries in the tip after ten or so minutes and requires cleaning.
I talked to the tech at CAT and was told to make sure the white plastic washer behind the tip is in good working condition and to seat it by tightening it without the cap first. That didn't work for me at all so i just keep a tip cleaner handy.
On a side note - for those of you that are using WB finishes, the best cleaning setup I have found is to get one of the 40 gallon parts washers they sell at Harbor Freight, Grizzly etc and then fill it with a 10/1 solution of Simple Green. You can use this to wash out all of your spray guns (I have a bunch running PPS cups that I use for paints, primer, spray stains, glazes, etc.) and I just dump the gun in that overnight and in the morning scrub it a bit with a toothbrush and it is good as new. I also soak the AAA tips in a cup of simple green that I leave on the tray in there and they are ready to go in the morning. I also soak the AAA pump parts in it on occasion as well as the pickup tube and the hoses if they start to get buildup on them. Rinse with clean water when done and they are good to go. Simple green is the best/most cost effective cleaner that I have ever run into for WB equipment.
From contributor R:
I have sold 1,000's of AA guns for water based coatings. The big problem is people take the air caps over and then just let them soak in solvent or water. The coating is in the tip itself. It needs to be blown out of tip with water. At the end of the day, flush the pump and gun, which includes the tips, and then wash them off.
I do not sell ultra sonic cleaners, but a small clean filled with Jam Stripe will completely clean the tips if you do not want to flush them with water. You have to clean the inside of the tip to keep it clean. A second solution is to use a Microfilter instead of the standard tip o ring. But you still have to keep the inside of the tips from drying out.
From contributor Y:
The big problem isn't what happens at the end of the day but what happens in the 5-10 minutes or half hour between spraying when the finish hardens on the end of the tip causing you to clean it before resuming IME.
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Duo BRDC Formula 4 champion Will Palmer is one of the six finalists for the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award following his dominant 2015 season.
The 18-year-old will undergo fitness and simulator assessments before taking part in a two-day test on the Grand Prix Circuit at Silverstone in Formula 2, DTM Mercedes and McLaren GT3 machinery later this month.
The Southwater driver will be up against five other young British single-seater drivers, who have been selected due to their performances throughout the 2015 season.
Jake Hughes, the inaugural BRDC Formula 4 champion in 2013, has been chosen as a finalist for the second time along with Hughes' Formula Renault Eurocup title challengers Ben Barnicoat and Jack Aitken. The two other drivers selected are MSA Formula driver Ricky Collard and the 2014 MSV F3 Cup Champion Toby Sowery.
As well as the title, the prize package features a McLaren F1 test, £100,000 cash, full BRDC membership and an Arai GP-6 RC carbon crash helmet.
Palmer said: "I am really looking forward to it and I think it will be an amazing couple of days.
"In terms of challenging for the award, I think that George Russell showed that the F4 Champion can compete so I definitely will try and do as much as I can to beat the other guys. Obviously the other nominees are hugely talented and it will be tough but I will be doing everything I can to take the award."
The winner will be announced at the end-of-season AUTOSPORT Awards in December. Previous winners of the award include David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Dario Franchitti.
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Squarebird: Vinny Tang's 1959 Custom Ford Thunderbird
Words Vinny Tang Photography Luke Ray
When I was a teenager growing up I was totally obsessed with anything that had to do with wheels. Skateboards, pushies, bikes and of course cars, cars and more cars, usually of the hot rod variety. Being an Asian kid growing up in the Fast and Furious era I couldn't help but feel a bit different when all the kids was talking about Nissan Silvias and Hondas in class, but when I was at home by myself I was reading hot rod rags and trawling through the Jalopy Journal and its infamous forums.
As a part time job through most of my years through high school I worked at an import lot for Japanese sports cars on weekends, dealing with all the "Ricers" that came in with their Skylines and Supras. So when it came time for me to buy my first car I knew I had to have something that would never be associated with those guys.
Unfortunately at the time I couldn't afford the Henry Ford steel I was drooling over in Just Cars so I settled with a 1971 VW Type 3 Variant; a retired '80s show car complete with bright pink paint, velour interior riding on Porsche Fuchs wheels at a very low altitude.
I promised myself that I would own my very own American custom within five years and surely enough, after a string of Volkswagens that included a slammed '62 Beetle, a gorgeous '54 Beetle and a few others, I finally worked my way up to purchasing this amazing J-Code 1959 Ford Thunderbird off The H.A.M.B. internet forum for sale section four years later.
Originally looking for a '64 Galaxie XL, when I came across the 'Squarebird' it was love at first sight. I immediately arranged for the car to be shipped over from Nevada, where most of the custom work and restoration had been taken care of by the previous owner, Jon.
Jon bought the 'Bird from his father one week before the Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekend last year in pretty average shape. He created a wonderful late '50s mild custom that not only turned heads, but also gave a nod to arguably the most influential car painter of all time; the late Larry Watson.
The paint job that Chris Clark Customs laid out paid homage to Watson's '58 T-Bird 'Vino Paisano', donning the same panel and fade style that the second incarnation of the Vino Paisano wore but with a gold/nickel base and bright candy blue paneling to set it apart from its predecessor. It was finished off with some lovely but subtle pin striping adorning the front and back of the car.
Apart from the wild paint though, the only other cosmetic modifications on the Birdy are the tuck & roll interior, new old stock chrome reverse wheels wrapped in BFG bias plys and of course the menacingly low stance provided by some chopped springs and lowering blocks.
When the car arrived in Melbourne it was almost straight off the tow truck and off to a cruise up to the Chopped Rod & Custom show in Newstead, Victoria. It survived the weekend without any hiccups, but once it got back to Melbourne it was sent to Rancho Deluxe in Collingwood to get the pamper treatment from Ben Thomas.
It's now on the road breaking necks scraping speed humps. I don't have much of a plan to do any further modifications. The only thing I really have planned for it is to drive the hell out of it! I don't know if you can tell through the photos but this car is an absolute hoot to drive and to see flying down the freeway. I get all kinds of people quizzing me almost every time I stop at a traffic light.
This article first appeared in Fuel Magazine issue 07.
Follow Vinny: @bigdaddytang.
Model Anne Duffy: @anneduffy_model.


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Thanks to Eoin Pluincéid for taking these nice images of a silicon wafer coated with a very hydrophobic substance! By coating this silicon wafer with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) it makes the surface of the silicon extremely repellent towards water. PDMS is found in many household items such as shampoo where it makes hair shiny and slippery, contact lenses, food and lubricants.
It causes water to form droplets on the surface which can make for interesting reflection and lighting effects as shown in the photo below.
Click the image below which will take you to an image gallery with more fantastic images!
Credit: Eoin Pluincéid (Twitter:@pluincee, Flickr: pluincee)


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By Molly Wizenberg
Custard-Filled Corn Bread
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably medium ground
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups whole milk (not low fat or nonfat)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons distilled vinegar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Pure maple syrup, for serving
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter an 8-inch or 9-inch round pan. Put the buttered dish in the oven to warm while you make the batter.
In a large, microwavable bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda.
When the butter has cooled a bit, add the eggs and whisk to blend well. Then add the sugar, salt, milk and vinegar and whisk well again. Whisking constantly, add the flour mixture. Mix until the batter is smooth and no lumps are visible.
Remove the heated pan from the oven and pour in the batter. Then pour the cream into the center of the batter. Do not stir. Carefully slide the pan back into the oven, taking care not to knock it, and bake until golden brown on top, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm, with maple syrup.
Cider-Glazed Salmon, or Salmon Gelee a la Louis XIV
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 medium shallot, peeled and halved lengthwise
- 2 cups fresh unfiltered apple cider
- 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillet
- Salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
In a large, heavy skillet, combine the butter, shallot and cider. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for five minutes, then remove and discard the shallot.
Place the fillets gently in the pan. Spoon a bit of the liquid over them, so that their tops begin to cook. Cover and simmer very gently. The fillets will cook for eight to 10 minutes per inch of thickness. To test for doneness, make a small slit with a paring knife in the thickest part of the fillet; all but the very center of each piece should be opaque. (It will keep cooking after you pull it from the heat.) Transfer the cooked salmon to a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
To prepare the glaze, raise the heat under the pan to medium-high, add a pinch of salt, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the liquid is reduced by about two-thirds. It should be slightly thickened and should just cover the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add the cream. Stir well to combine. Boil, stirring frequently, for a few minutes, until the mixture darkens to a pale, golden caramel — like those Brach's Milk Maid caramel candies, if that helps — and is reduced by one-third to one-half.
Place the salmon fillets on four plates and top each with a spoonful of sauce. It should coat them like a thin, loose glaze. Serve immediately. Note: If you'd like to make this for only two people, halve the amount of salmon, but not the sauce quantities.
Red Cabbage Salad with Lemon and Black Pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon pressed garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 pounds red cabbage
- 1/4 cub finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Freshly ground black pepper
First, make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Set aside while you prepare the cabbage.
Pull away any bruised leaves from the outside of the cabbage, and trim its root end to remove any dirt. Cut the cabbage into quarters. Working with one quarter at a time and using a large, sharp knife, slice the cabbage as thinly as you possibly can, as though for coleslaw. Slicing it very thinly is crucial; if you slice it too coarsely, it won't absorb the dressing as well. Ideally, no sliver should be thicker than 1/4 inch. Discard the white cores.
In a large serving bowl, toss the cabbage with a large spoonful or two of the dressing. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and toss to distribute evenly. Taste, and add dressing as needed. Season generously with pepper and serve. Yield: Four servings, as a first course or side dish.