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About Camargue
Relax amidst the natural splendour of sun-bathed Camargue
Broad saltwater lagoons, golden beaches, wild white horses and pink flamingos — the Camargue basks in sunshine all year around which makes it ideal for boating holidays. Romans plied these waters, and Crusaders followed. You can feel the regions rich history as you approach fortress seaport cities like Aigues-Mortes, but don't miss out on a Camargue horse ride through the saline wetlands and discover the unique wildlife. Find more information about the Camargue region below.
Book early for 2020 and save up to 15%. Offer ends 1 December.
Plus, Save 25% on Budget & Comfort boats departing between 23 March - 3 April, 9 - 16 May and 1 - 10 October. Offer ends 30 September.
Find your bearings...
= Le Boat Base = Canal = Navigable river = No navigation beyond this point
The perfect boating region for...
The Camargue is known for its gorgeous beaches. They stretch out for miles along the Étang du Thau at Méze, a wonderful spot for lagoon swimming. Two Port Cassafières ocean favourites are La Redoute Plage and La Farinette Plage.
The Camargue is a great family friendly destination. Beach resorts at Palavas-les-Flots and la Grande-Motte offer watersports and amusements. Play mini golf, go to a water park, see an aquarium and check out a dinosaur park at Le Cap d'Adge!
Bring binoculars whilst cruising in the Camargue! More than 400 species of birds live in the marshes, including pink flamingos. Wild horses and bulls graze amidst lush grasslands.
Horseback Riding
The Camargue is known for its wild white horses. You'll see herds as you travel. Ride the dunes and trails! The La Grande-Mott Riding School offers horse rides for kids age four and up! You can also ride at the resort of Le Cap d'Adge!
Please note that the Camargue cruising season lasts from 1st April-31st October 2019, and then from 1st April-31st October 2020.
Useful information
A bit of background
The Canal du Midi leaves off at Étang du Thau, France's second largest lake, and sets your path on the Canal du Rhône à Sète extending 98 kilometres (61 miles) all the way to beautiful Beaucaire. A look at a Camargue map reveals that you've entered a natural wonderland filled with undeveloped lakes and fronted with beaches right on the Mediterranean Sea. The country is low and flat, and the salt air invigorates as you travel to medieval fishing villages and cities.
Loosely translated, the name of the canal means "canal from Rhône to Sète," indicating its route from the Rhône River near Beaucaire south into the wetlands that make Camargue, France, such a special place. Here you'll find real-life guardian cowboys, bull fighting, Romany gypsy festivals, luscious fresh oysters and superb Costières de Nïmes wines found in the cellars of Gallician.
It is said that the ancients built settlements in the Camargue and traded goods with their brethren in the Rhône Valley. Sète thrived in part because of the age-old Canal de la Radelle running to Aigues-Mortes. Eventually, lakes north of Sète silted in and the appropriately named Lakes Canal was dug. Born of more than 150 years of effort, the Canal du Rhône à Sète finally linked three canals together to create a single artery in 1811.
We've partnered up with some of the best local businesses from the towns and villages in the Camargue to help you get the most out of your Le Boat vacation.
Discover our range of exclusive offers, only available to Le Boat customers.
The Camargue is easy to navigate and great for beginners due to the low number of locks.
Notes: Use caution on Étang du Thau in strong winds.
Take a look at our waterway and lock closures page to keep up to date with the cruising conditions across all of our regions.
The Camargue region has no locks except for one near Beaucaire, so it is perfect for anyone new to cruising or looking for an easy cruising experience.
Opening Hours:
During the busy summer season locks are open 09:00-18:00 (6:00 p.m.).
Locks are closed for lunch between 12:30-13:30 (1:30 p.m.).
Public holidays:
All locks are closed on: 1st May, 14th July & 11th November
- Nourriguier lock : closed on Easter Sunday
- Lock St Gilles : closed only on 1st May
Between St. Gilles and Aigues-Mortes (good for bird watching) and between Palavas-les-Flots and Frontignan you can generally find mooring spaces along the towpath using your onboard mooring pins, although please refer to your waterways map for exact locations. Otherwise, you are advised to moor in ports or private marinas in the Camargue region, where a fee of between €10-€55 will usually apply. Most will have water refill points and electric hook-up facilities (not available on all boats).
To find out how to get to each of our bases in this boating region, as well as what facilities and amenities are available at each base or nearby, click on the relevant base below:
- Hire of the boat and its onboard equipment
- A fully equipped kitchen
- Towels and linen for all passengers
- A boat handling demonstration prior to departure
- Technical support
- On-board maps and visitor information
- Passage through locks
- Optional holiday extras
- Boat damage waiver
- Running costs (diesel, gas, engine wear and tear) - charged by the engine hour (by the litre in Scotland).
- Travel to and from the base(s)
- Waterside services if you use them (i.e. moorings where a charge is applicable, pump-out if needed, water, etc)
- Cancellation plan & any travel/personal insurance
- Food and drink
Download our region guide
We've produced a handy PDF guide for this region to give you an overview of all the stops and things to do along the waterway.
Interactive map of the Camargue
= Le Boat base = Point of interest
Great to see...
Itinerary suggestions
To help you get an idea of how far you can travel in the time you have, here's a selection of routes to and from our bases in this region. You dont have to stop at all the places listed or follow the route exactly. So long as you return your boat to your end base by the date you've booked - you're free to enjoy your cruise however you like. For a comfortable pace, allowing you time to regularly stop and explore, we'd recommend an average of 2 - 4 hours cruising each day.
28 hr(s) of cruising168km 4 lock(s) 7 nights
Port Cassafières RETURN via Aigues-Mortes
The boat moves slowly across stunning (lake) Étang de Thau, and the sheer serene beauty of your canal holiday in France practically overwhelms you. Birds ride the Mediterranean breeze, and the tang of the sea blends with the fragrance of flowers as the miles bring you closer to beach resorts and medieval Aigues-Mortes.
28 hr(s) of cruising168km 4 lock(s) 7 nights
22 hr(s) of cruising146km 0 lock(s) 7 nights
Saint-Gilles RETURN via Étang de Thau
Walled fortress cities, imposing watch towers, and graceful cathedrals can be found in many port towns in the Camargue, making Guardians canal cruises a bit like travelling back in time. The fortified Aigues-Mortes is a gem of the region. Juxtaposed against the historic villages is the natural beauty of Étang de Thau, which offers abundant wildlife and excellent beaches.
22 hr(s) of cruising146km 0 lock(s) 7 nights
17 hr(s) of cruising98km 2 lock(s) 7 nights
Saint-Gilles to Port Cassafières
Clouds of pink flamingos swirl across brilliant blue skies, creating a sight you'll long remember on the beautiful Canal du Rhône à Sète. You gaze at the beauty around you, and you look forward to a delicious seafood dinner in la Grande-Motte. Along the way, you go swimming, windsurfing, kayaking, scuba diving, and horseback riding, enjoying a blissful canal holiday in France.
17 hr(s) of cruising98km 2 lock(s) 7 nights
13 hr(s) of cruising100km 0 lock(s) 3 nights
Saint-Gilles RETURN via Aigues-Mortes & Palavas
Ease the boat into the canal and relax as you let the charm of a Camargue Short Break holiday recharge and rejuvenate you. Sip a cool cocktail at the resort beach of Palavas-les-Flots, and plunge into the Mediterranean for a refreshing swim. Feel invigorated as you climb the ramparts of the mediaeval city of Aigues-Mortes to check out splendid views!
13 hr(s) of cruising100km 0 lock(s) 3 nights
7 hr(s) of cruising38km 4 lock(s) 3 nights
Port Cassafières RETURN via Marseillan
Étang de Thau Short Break holidays usher you into the arms of the Camargue, an absolutely fabulous region known for its sunny days, wild horses and pink flamingos, and miles of white-sand beaches along a vast saltwater lagoon. The charming city of Agde tempts you to linger! Then it's off to see the famous Noilly Prat vermouth cellars in the fishing village of Marseillan!
7 hr(s) of cruising38km 4 lock(s) 3 nights
Our Feefo reviews
Feefo is an independent and impartial review service that requests reviews directly from those who have been on a Le Boat vacation. Below you can read what our past customers think about their Le Boat experience, and trust that what you read is unfiltered, unedited and uncensored.


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Marketing Examples Revealing How Hennerberg Turns Around Marketing Campaigns
In the videos below, Hennerberg gives you the behind-the-scenes stories of what we did to succeed in these marketing turnaround examples.
We share how we created a strategy of purpose, frequency and free content using online video, email marketing and social media, resulting in a sales increase of 20%.
In another example, we share how we identified a product's unique selling proposition, and repositioned the product to achieve a 60% sales increase.
And in still another example, we share how we used data from a response model to create a new package that beat a control effort by 35%.
Sample Client Videos We've Created
Demand for video marketing services is growing exponentially. In addition to video script writing, graphic design and editing, we also provide professional voice-over services. Here are a few examples of videos we have produced.

subset: commoncrawl


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In their words for 2018, both Prophets James Goll and Cindy Jacobs referenced the rise of "Kingdom consultants" and "Kingdom administrators" in the world. Before I delve into this prophetic explanation, allow me to first define these terms.
Want to invite me to speak or teach at your church, ministry, workshop, seminar, or conference? Click the button below to learn more!


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Police union will support sergeant throughout the transition process
After working as an officer for Houston Police Department for 24 years, Sgt. Jack Oliver is used to injuries on the job. However, after a police chase about a month ago, Oliver realized that receiving medical help for any wounds would reveal his long-held secret.
So at a news conference Friday, Oliver announced he has been receiving medical treatment to undergo sex reassignment surgery.
"I've been wrestling with it (sex reassignment surgery) for seven years," said Oliver, the 49-year-old deputy day sergeant at the Fondren substation.
While he said he believes he is the first HPD officer to go through a sex-change transition while working on the force, Oliver said he has heard of about 30 cases around the country.
Oliver told his captain about his decision a few weeks ago and spoke with the sergeants and lieutenants at his station on Thursday. He will address the rest of the officers at his substation on Monday morning during roll call.
He said he has not received negative reactions from officers in the department.
"They haven't had a chance to figure out how they're going to react to it and neither have I," Oliver said.
Hans Marticiuc, president of the Houston Police Officers' Union, sat next to Oliver at the news conference. He said the department will support the transition and offer any assistance Oliver may need.
"I know it's unique, but certainly not the first of its kind," Marticiuc said.
"Our department has a policy that we don't discriminate," said Gabriel Ortiz, HPD public information officer. "We will do what's best for the employees and what's best for the department."
Oliver, who was married for 27 years and has five children, said he has been receiving hormones and electrolysis for 4 1/2 months. And now, subtle physical changes have started to appear, he said.
He said he does not feel the surgery will affect his ability to perform his job.
"It's not a job that a male or a female can do," Oliver said. "It's a job that both do equally."
However, at least one local pastor feels differently.
David Welch, executive director of Houston Area Pastors Council, said he thinks Oliver's decision to have the operation raises questions about his capability as a police officer.
"That would raise issues of competency in the line of duty in my mind," Welch said.
Phyllis Frye, who transitioned almost 30 years ago and was Texas' first transgendered attorney, said Oliver's decision to go public is a positive move for the transgender community.
"America is getting to see that we don't fit the horrible stereotypes that conservatives have painted of us," she said.
Ray Hill, a Houston gay rights activist, said that sex reassignment is not uncommon, especially in law enforcement. He said he has seen someone who works for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice make a successful transition.
"I was just amazed at how easily that happened," Hill said.
Not all transitions have been smooth for the officer involved.
One case led to legal action, according to Jerry Simoneaux Jr., a Houston attorney who teaches a law class on sexual orientation and gender identity at South Texas college of law.
Philecia Barnes, a police officer in Ohio, said she was harassed during her transition. and demoted for a lack of "command presence." Barnes filed a suit against the city and won the case at trial and appellate court.
Oliver said he plans on continuing to work at HPD and will change his name to Julia once the surgery is complete.
"I don't feel any different. I don't see any changes in who I am or what I believe," Oliver said.


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My name is Heather and I am the Development Associate for the Bostonian Society, but before that I was an Educator at the Old State House for several years. That is when I learned about the building's history, and the Bostonian Society's collections.
My favorite object in the museum collection is the cursed figurehead, which was a gift of John Lynch to the Society in 1908. Edward Rowe Snow, an author and nautical historian from Massachusetts, said that this figurehead was known to bring bad luck to its owners. The story of the figurehead was one of my favorites to tell on my tours around Halloween - I love dark and mysterious stories and this item's story is interesting to me.
A figurehead is the carved figure of a person or an animal that can be found on the front of ships. This painted lady was on the bow of a ship called the Caroline that wrecked off the coast of Maine. Then she was put on a ship called the Maritana. The Maritana is a famous ship in Boston. In November 1861 she ran into some jagged rocks in Boston Harbor in what is now called the worst wreck to ever occur in Boston Harbor! The New York Times published an account of the shipwreck the day after it occurred.
The figurehead survived that wreck with no damage.
She was now deemed unlucky and no ship's captain wanted her aboard. She was sold and placed in a shop on Lincoln's Wharf in Boston and became a curious attraction. The wharf promptly caught on fire and burned!
Later she was donated to the Bostonian Society, who put the unlucky lass on display inside the galleries of the Old State House. A fire in 1921 started, some say, near the cursed figurehead, and yet she survived it! That was the last fire in the Old State House. The cursed figurehead is not currently on display, but she lies in wait for her next victims.


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Do you know how you reduce your carbon footprint and save money?
Raise your hand if you don't care about reducing your IT infrastructure costs. How about if you don't care about the environment? Not many raised hands there in either case, but even if reducing carbon emissions isn't at the top of your priority list, the two go hand-in-hand. Efficiency is the key to cutting costs—and carbon—when it comes to IT.
By reducing overhead, particularly by consolidating hardware, you can dramatically cut the cost of running your communications room. You can also have a tangible, positive impact on the environment. The best tool for helping you to realise these savings is virtualisation.
The combination of virtualisation technologies and server consolidation can significantly improve infrastructure management, improve service levels, and reduce costs. In increasingly complex IT and business environments, particularly those involving multiple and/or remote sites and mobile users, effectively managing IT infrastructure assets presents a challenge.
Inspired Techs handles the design and integration of virtualisation solutions that increase business agility, continuity, and service availability. Virtualisation helps control your companies' carbon footprint and environmental sustainability.
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Inspired Techs Virtualisation Offerings
Management and Optimisation


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We are moving...
In October 2015, Society Wolf will close it's Marblehead doors and pack up to make the move to Tucson, Arizona (and the Internet!). We have had an amazing time growing, learning, loving and playing with everyone on Massachusetts' North Shore, but the Southwest is howling our names.
As many of you already know, we visit Arizona every year as a part of our buying for the shop. Brett spent 10 years of his life living in Phoenix, and when we began Society Wolf we knew we wanted to focus on bringing the Southwest and all of it's beautiful glory into our shop, uniting Ellen's New England aesthetic with his desert vibes. It worked out beautifully, and as a result of our annual buying trips we have been able to keep a truly unique, colorful, and deeply special collection of amazing things sourced from out there - everything from Mexican sugar skull drink stirrers to Vintage Eli Cattleman cowboy shirts (and let's not forget all of the incredible Navajo and Hopi jewelry!). Traveling to Arizona and spending time there gave us the opportunity to maintain our aesthetic and commitment to hand-picking almost every item we sell - something our customers love and something that is very important to us as shop owners and buyers. Inevitably, though, in between trips we found ourselves wanting more - and not just beautiful things to sell, either.
We see a special future for us in Tucson, one that is full of open space and the room to really expand and grow. Moving to Arizona will give us the freedom to have more functional creative space, where we can continue to develop and produce the Society Wolf items you know and love. It will give us the opportunity to join a vibrant, interesting, and exciting community where we can fully pursue our weird and wonderful Society Wolf ways. We will miss the cubs we have come to hold dear to our hearts, but we also look forward to all the new cubs we'll meet as we settle down roots in Tucson.
At this point you're probably freaking out thinking "BUT...BUT...BUT"... well, here's the but. As we work towards getting settled and reopening our storefront, we will HAVE THE BEST WEBSHOP EVER. Yup, you read that right. Come mid-December 2015 (sign up for our Wolfpack mailing list or Cub Club to stay informed!) we'll be launching the SOCIETY WOLF WEB SHOP, which promises to be - no, seriously - even more fucking awesome than our IRL shop. Seriously. Seem hard to believe, but we promise, it's true. Don't believe us? Just look below!
It has truly been an incredible experience cutting our teeth and watching our business grow for the last year and a half in Marblehead. The community we found and helped to foster in this small, seaside town was absolutely mindblowing - and taught us again, and again, to never judge a town by its cover. Our shop has been so much more than a place to shop - for so many, including ourselves, it has been a place to share, laugh, play, dance, learn, and love. We have treasured every moment we have spent in that small, sub-terranean space with all of you, and will forever be the better for it all. We are so, so sad to leave all our friends and cubs that we have gained along the way, but we have to hold strong in knowing that this is just the beginning for us all. It's not a goodbye, it's just a see ya later...
with all our love! always!
xoxo Ellen and Brett
No, your sweet little cub ears haven't deceived you. The word on the street is true. We're moving. But we promise, it's not as bad as it seems.
Here are 5 reasons to be super freakin' excited that we're moving:
we'll be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week once our webshop opens up. that means no more pesky human hours to keep you from your favorite Society Wolf goodies - you can have at them all any. time. you. want.
the webshop will be even more jam packed and exciting than our Marblehead location ever could have been. the best thing about selling things online is that each item gets its very own showcase - nothing gets stuck behind something else, lost for the world to see. soon you'll be able to see everything we sell, clearly, and get the story behind every item too! it'll be like the silly little tags we hang on our clothes, but for EVERYTHING!
being in Tucson will give us the proximity to so many of the things that we love to stock and that you love to buy! no more waiting for a once a year trip to restock on Native American jewelry, Mexican arts and crafts, and that amazing Western vintage wear that we only find when we go to Arizona - now we can keep our inventory stocked all year round, while still maintaining our rigorous, hand picked aesthetic. that means MORE AWESOME STUFF you love MORE OFTEN.
we promise to make SOCIETYWOLF.COM much, much more than a webshop. we promise to bring you all sorts of interesting content, information, and more on the same site where you'll find cool stuff to buy. that means silly videos, instructional how to guides, photo essays, cub submitted content, and so much more. we want to try and keep the vibe going from the shop to the site, and want to provide you with a digital space where you can PLAY!
our transition from Marblehead to Tucson is going to be an amazing one, and part of our plan is to re-open a brick and mortar storefront in Tucson as soon as possible. we are hoping that within a year we will be back in a storefront - one that will be much larger and more hospitable than the one from which we grew. we hope to have a space where we can host events, hold classes and workshops, and have more space for the community that will grow within. and while we'll be far from Marblehead, we're only just a plane ride away... and let me tell you, that Arizona weather sure is nice come February!


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Edwina Cowgill
I am an author, with a memoir, "Abandoned Into the Heart of God," to be published later this year. I've published several short stories, articles on various websites, and 600+ blogs on my blog www.musingsofedwina.com. I own Monarch Writing Services, a proofreading and editing company and have edited everything from poems, fiction, nonfiction, dissertations and everything in-between! Previously, I reviewed books for Thomas Nelson Publishing/Zondervan, and The Hatchett Group, a division of Simon and Schuster. I currently review books for Revell and for many Christian fiction and nonfiction authors. All my reviews are published on my blog site, Amazon and GoodReads.


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Vegan Social Events, created by Love Wild Live Free, will be partnering with UNIVERSEOFÁLI to bring the wonderful world of OZ to life, for their 3rd Annual Halloween Charity Event, benefiting Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary! Guests will journey down the yellow brick road to find themselves at the historic and exclusive Armour Heights Officers Mess, Toronto's most secretive estate.
The 'Flying Monkeys' Balloon Raffle will rule the sky as guests explore the various themed rooms around the mansion. Guests will be welcomed with appetizers and the 'Poppy Bar' will feature specialty, affordable drinks. The 'Yellow Brick Silent Auction' will include a gift basket featuring our full product line-up of Vegan Stokes Cheese!


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Melani N. Douglass is an artist and an educator. In her 10 years of experience in the classroom, Melani and her students used art as a tool to learn, heal, explore the world and make connections. During her tenure as a middle school teacher, Melani trained educators on arts integration in the curriculum. In addition, her methods led her to be honored as a Master Teacher of Adult Basic Education by OSSE (Office of the State Superintendent of Education) for her innovative work with students seeking to obtain their GED.
Even though Ms. Douglass is no longer in the classroom, art is still her primary vehicle to experience the world we live in. She enjoys creating work that allows her and her viewers to oscillate between the worlds of being the artist and the audience. Her current work is a meeting place of mathematical equations, patterns in nature, spirituality, color and sound.
Melani N. Douglass currently lives and creates in Anacostia.
For more information log onto:


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A WGNA Listener Steps Up To Help A Single Dad With His 5 Year Old Twin Daughters! [AUDIO]
Sometimes I have to be honest, I think what in the world has happened to society. The news is full of horrible stories about horrible people doing horrible things. That's why I just love a story about someone who cares about others and goes out of their way to help another person out. We had an amazing example of that today on the Sean and Richie Show.
A Local teacher named Katelyn contacted us about a Father in her school. It seems he has been driving his twin 5 year old girls to school on an electric bike that he had made a home made carriage for , where his daughters would ride. It was working for him, and after he would drop the girls off, he would use the bike to get to odd construction jobs that he could pick up. She explained to us that he is a good Dad and she felt horrible because someone stole his bike. I know, who would do that?
She was saddened by it and wondered to us if there was anything she and us could come up with to help this guy out. Maybe raise some money for a new electric bike. I was compelled by the story, and more so, her genuine caring for these girls and their Father. So I had her call up and tell the story on the air. Sometimes with our listeners you just have to put a problem out there, and they somehow find a way to make things work out.
It was a "Hail Mary" if you will but sure enough one of our listeners totally stepped up to the plate. She didn't want her name out there, we just know her as, Beverly. She called up and said not only did she find a new bike for him at Walmart.com but she also found a REAL riding carriage for the girls and she insisted they would also need helmets as well. Not only did she find all of this on her own, but she also demanded to pay for it all, and get it TODAY!
I gotta be honest, while we really didn't DO anything but facilitate a wonderful listener helping another human being, I kinda feel really good about it. We had a chance to talk to the man and tell him about what this woman wants to do for him and I truly think he was shocked. Perhaps he even thought it was a prank. I know this, the teacher called us back afterward and said that he was overwhelmed and did actually cry a little bit before he left the school today.
So I guess this is one time I'm glad we all could make someone cry.
If you didn't get a chance to listen today, here is the story and call form this mornings show:


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Beachfront Retreat at Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso
Offering an ideal retreat for well-being and relaxation, the Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso is situatated in the Vouliagmeni area of the Athenian Riviera, along the Saronic Gulf. Situated about 30 minutes from Athens, the property offers the region's only Thalassotherapy center, along with a spa providing an extensive selection of treatments focused on the healing effects of the sea. Continue reading below the photo of the Thalassotherapy Pool.
Providing a beachfront setting, the ultra-luxe property has a private sand beach with sun beds and umbrellas, plus a variety of water activities including jet skiing, scuba diving, and waterskiing. There's also two outdoor swimming pools, including one with sea water. For lounging, guests can rent private "Love Seats" around the pool, or lounge in plush chaises while enjoying signature cocktails, juices, and smoothies.
Surrounded by extensive gardens, the hotel has four Mediterranean-inspired dining options, including the Mythos of the Sea Restaurant providing a unique setting for chef-prepared cuisine while watching Kavouri Bay sunsets. The Anemos Restaurant offers indoor and outdoor dining with sea views, the Atlantis Lounge has a contemporary setting for afternoon tea, and Meltemi Poolside Snack Bar provides casual poolside dining.
Check rates and availability at Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso


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Ciro Guerra's Embrace of the Serpent / El abrazo de la serpiente from Colombia is one of the nine films that were shortlisted in the 88th edition of the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language category, as it was announced this evening. It is the only Latin American film with chances to garner a nomination in next year's Oscars. Colombia has never received an Oscar nomination since it started submitting candidates in 1980.
At once blistering and poetic, the ravages of colonialism cast a dark shadow over the South American landscape in Embrace of the Serpent, the third feature by Guerra. Filmed in stunning black-and-white, the film centers on Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people, and the two scientists who, over the course of 40 years, build a friendship with him.
The film was inspired by the real-life journals of two explorers (Theodor Koch-Grünberg and Richard Evan Schultes) who traveled through the Colombian Amazon during the last century in search of the sacred and difficult-to-find psychedelic Yakruna plant.
Embrace of the Serpent, winner of the Directors' Fortnight top prize at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, will open in U.S. theaters in February 2016 released by Oscilloscope Pictures.
The nominations for the 88th Academy Awards will be announced on January 14.


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Flirting with Floral Prints & Gold Accents
Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much. - Erastus Wiman
Hey guys,
Happy hump day! Hang in there, we are halfway done with the week :-). I can't wait for this week to be over. Have you ever had one of those days when the devil was really trying to get you ? I'm having that kind of week (not even a day) and my patience is really being tested. Through it all, I have to take a deep breath and remind myself to be courteous, kind and understanding. It's difficult to try to understand people especially when their sense of reasoning lacks logic but I have come to the conclusion that it is not my place to understand but it is my place to accept people just the way they are. So when I feel like snapping, I will choose to be kind instead.About My Look: There's something about florals that just screams summer! At the beginning of winter, I usually put away most of my summer clothes but when summer comes around, I forget about some of the clothes that I packed away. Such was the case with this dress; I completely forgot about it but thank goodness, Facebook memories was there to remind me and I immediately went to look for it.
This is a perfect summer dress - the vibrant colors, floral prints, and silk-like fabric make it ideal for the hot weather. I get so many complements in this dress; it has turned out to be one of my summer favorites. The dress is quite old and I don' recall where it was purchased from but you can get similar floral dresses from Macys or Chicwish. The gold sandals can be purchased from Public Desire and they have them available in five other colors; the gold color is my favorite. Public Desire recently launched their U.S site so I guess it is now quicker to ship products to customers based in the U.S. Lastly, the gold belt can be purchased from Asos and a similar gold clutch an be purchased from Kohl's.Thank you dolls for stopping by! Let me know your thoughts on this outfit :-).


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If you need cash quickly, a payday loan may be right for you. Lenders let you take out a loan for a certain amount; you have to pay back the money by the loan's due date. In this article we will discuss the pros and cons of cash advances.
If you are considering a short term, payday loan, do not borrow any more than you have to. Cash advances should only be used to get you by in a pinch and not be used for extra money from your pocket. The interest rates are too high to borrow any more than you truly need.
What do you need to give a lender for a payday loan? It is necessary to bring along a few things if you are going to apply for a loan. You'll need things like a picture i.d., your most recent pay stub and proof of an open checking account. Individual businesses will have their own requirements. Call before you go so you know what to bring.
If you do not have sufficient funds on your check to pay back the loan, a payday loan company will encourage you to roll the amount over. This only is good for the payday loan company. You will end up trapping yourself and never being able to pay off the loan.
Because lenders have made it so easy to get a payday loan, many people use them when they are not in a crisis or emergency situation. This can cause people to become comfortable paying the high interest rates and when a crisis arises, they are in a horrible position because they are already overextended.
Please visit Learning Financial Responsibility Through Cash Advance Loans for related content.


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The History of Rob t
Combat: Motorama
● by Morgan Berry
Motorama was born around the same time as many other
robot combat events: shortly after
the end of BattleBots. Through the
years, the competition has grown
considerably, changed arenas, seen
child competitors grow up in the
sport, and evolved.
One thing that remains the
same about the event is the
atmosphere of camaraderie and
friendship that is unique to all robot
combat circles.
NERC (North East Robotics Club)
was founded in 2000, and is one of
the longest running robot combat
organizations currently working in
the United States. In addition to
hosting Motorama every year, they
also host an event in conjunction
with the Franklin Institute Science
Museum in Philadelphia.
NERC uses its own rules, and
typically organizes events in a
double elimination style. Their
goal is to "make robot combat
accessible to all interested parties."
The organization prides itself on
being a "small, close-knit family of
like-minded builders," and is working
to keep the spirit of robot combat
alive and well in the northeast.
The Motorama event has
weight classes spanning from 150
grams (Fairyweight) to 30 pounds.
In addition to awarding first,
second, and third place prizes in all
of these categories, the judges also
give out awards for "The Coolest
Robot," "The Most Destructive
Robot," and "Best Driver."
The robot combat event at
Motorama is part of a large motor
show held in Harrisburg, PA every
year. Robot combat is a relatively
new addition to the event;
Motorama has been around since
In addition to combat, visitors to
Motorama can view a massive show
of antique and modern automobiles
and numerous indoor racing events.
This year was a milestone for the
Motorama robot combat
competition; builders celebrated the
10th anniversary of its founding,
making it one of the longest running
competitions in the sport. In honor
of the occasion, SERVO spoke with
Al Kindle — long-standing NERC
officer and Motorama attendee —
about the past, present, and future
of the event.
SERVO: What was the first
Motorama competition like?
Al Kindle: It was held in 2003
with the old NERC 16 ft arena. I
want to say we had over 100 bots as
all Motorama events that I can recall
have had 100+. The Builders
Database does not go back as far as
this event.
SERVO: Has a lot changed over
the years at Motorama? How has
the competition evolved over time?
Al: The arena has changed
several times. In 2004, we used the
24 ft Toad Tank, graciously donated
to NERC by Michael (Fuzzy) Maulden
and the Lazy Toad Grill. We ran bots
from Antweight through
Lightweight at this Motorama. Roy
Helen was on hand for this as MC in
his full BattleBot armor. Roy would
return for several other Motorama
events; the Toad Tank would not.
The costs involved with keeping and
transporting the Toad Tank were
beyond NERC's capabilities. Since
then, we have used variations of the
POP 12 ft arena provided by Robert
Masek. The current arena is NERC's
own custom built 16 ft arena,
designed and built by Robert Masek
and Eric Scott. The arena is stored in
a barn on the property of the
awesome Benson family, who also
transport the arena to and from the
Motorama venue back to its home in
Winchendon, MA. We could not
have Motorama events without their
tremendous dedication and
SERVO: What age groups
participate at Motorama? Is the
body of competitors getting
younger/older/staying the same
over time? Does NERC do anything
to reach out to young people at
Al: We have had competitors
from as young as four all the way
into their 80s. This truly is an ageless
hobby. We have seen young
competitors age and remain active
with us as new young people
become involved. We have seen an
increased involvement with area
schools, as well. Georgetown Day
School Robotics, for example, out of
Washington DC.
We recently began running the
Bots IQ 15 lb weight classes at
Motorama and have had an
encouraging number of competitors
in the class.
SERVO: How many participants
would a Motorama event typically
Al: We routinely have 100-125
bots at each Motorama event.
SERVO: How far away do most
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text:
Let me first apologize in advance for bringing this up in the first place. In the requirements document, the "Ease of Use" section says: >RDF is fairly easy to use, but RDF Schema is more complex. The >syntax appears to be a major barrier for many. I agree about the syntax, but not about the RDF vs. RDF Schema. Then, the "XML Syntax" section says: >The language should have an XML serialization. Somehow talking about ease of use and XML seems contradictory (those of you too young to remember, in 1997 I fought *hard* to keep RDF free of XML). The "XML Syntax" section further says: >XML has become widely accepted by industry and numerous tools for >processing XML have been developed. If the web ontology language has >an XML syntax, then these tools can be extended and reused. The experience with RDF has demonstrated that the above statement about reuse is not true. XML tools essentially operate in terms of the parse tree. The RDF model has nothing to do with this parse tree, and consequently XML tools are of limited use. And using XML for RDF just confused a lot of people. - Ora -- Ora Lassila mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com http://www.lassila.org/ Research Fellow, Nokia Research CenterReceived on Wednesday, 20 February 2002 21:49:09 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 21:56:42 UTC


text:
About Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones (AB551)
AB551 is a state law that allows land owners in urban areas to receive tax incentives for putting land into agricultural use. For landowners in San Diego County to benefit from this state law, county and city jurisdictions must work together to designate approved Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones.
For more info: http://www.uaizsd.com/
North County Workshop - In partnership with Supervisor Dave Roberts' office
Location: Leichtag Commons
441 Saxony Rd Encinitas, CA 92024
- Network with urban agriculture supporters & learn about...
- Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones and adopting the policy in your cities
- Ways to get involved in advocacy to expand urban agriculture in your cities
- 4:00-4:10pm Registration
- 4:10-4:30pm Opening remarks (Jim Farley- CEO of Leichtag Foundation, Supervisor Dave Roberts, Elly Brown- San Diego Food System Alliance)
- 4:30-5:15pm Nuts & bolts - What is AB551 and how will it work in a City + Q&A
- 5:15-6:00pm Community member discussions: moving the policy forward in your cities


text:
Overlooking miami beach and the intracoastal waterway, the oceanfront eden roc renaissance resort & spa sits one mile from the miami beach golf course and within seven miles of south beach. The resort towers over miami beach's prestigious golden mile at 45th street and collins avenue. The eden roc original terrazzo floors shine in the circular lobby, graced by a carved italian marble and mahogany reception desk. Harry's grille is located off the lobby and serves eclectic cuisine for breakfast and dinner. The oceanfront aquatica presents a festive menu for lunch and dinner daily. More than 43,000 square feet of function space is available, and the hotel offers event catering and a full service business center. Beach attendants are eager to pamper guests on the 600 feet of white sand beach, which is dotted with covered beach lounges. Personal cabanas line the garden terrace, and two outdoor pools are surrounded by swaying palm trees. The fitness club includes cardiovascular and weight equipment, a 16 channel personal audio/visual system and daily aerobics, spinning and boxing classes. The spa of eden pampers with treatments, including citrus, milk & honey revitalizer and hydrating body thermal cocoons, such as the papaya mango body smoothie.<Br><b> guests should note that a resort fee is payable direct to the hotel upon arrival. Resort fees are subject to change and guests are advised to check the hotel's website for current charges.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BudgetAir.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Budget_Air_IE
Google+: https://plus.google.com/106486846330038081770/posts


text:
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Fisherman boat on the sand
Description : Fisherman boat waiting to go to the sea. We can read "We go with Good"
Photographer : PauloResende
This image has a Royalty Free license. You can use the images an unlimited amount of times for almost any purpose* without having to pay extra. The rights granted are non-transferable and personal to you or your company. For resale you'll need a Pro Plan.
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text:
The next lecture in the series by Paul D.J. Howitt-Cowan is titled, 'The condition of Gainsborough in the 19c'on Wednesday, March 16, at Gainsborough House, 18 Parnell Street, Gainsborough, DN21 2NB.
The lectures will begin promptly at 7.30pm and the cost of each separate lecture will be £4 with tea and biscuits available during the interval (donations accepted).


text:
Opinion Columns & Blogs
It would be foolish to end fluoridation in Fircrest
Nearly 60 years ago, the City of Fircrest began offering the benefits of fluoridated water to its residents. Fircrest's decision to fluoridate its water supply was part of a national movement to improve oral health.
That movement is alive and well; some 74 percent of Americans on public water supplies have access to fluoridated water.
However, on Aug. 12, the Fircrest City Council will revisit the topic of fluoridation. Why? A small but very vocal group of anti-fluoride activists is urging the council to stop fluoridating. Following the anti-fluoride activists' lead would be a mistake.
The case for community water fluoridation is compelling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named community water fluoridation one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
In addition, nearly every respected professional health organization in the world – including the American Dental Association, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization – strongly supports community water fluoridation. These organizations support community water fluoridation because it has been proven to improve oral health for everyone.
More than 3,000 scientific studies show that people who drink fluoridated water have fewer cavities, less pain associated with tooth decay, and less need for fillings and extractions. Fluoride critics dismiss these proven benefits in much the same way vaccination opponents dismiss the need to get children immunized. They rely on questionable research and unsubstantiated claims found on the Internet.
Our more than 75 years of combined experience as pediatric care providers have seen firsthand how untreated cavities affect overall health. Many children with advanced tooth decay visit Mary Bridge Children's Hospital's emergency department in great pain. Watching these children suffer will convince you that taking away one of the most effective tools we have to combat cavities would be a terrible mistake.
Over the course of a single month last spring, Mary Bridge treated 110 children for severe tooth decay in its operating rooms. These treatments put children through unneeded risk and pain, and also are costly.
According to the American Dental Association, community water fluoridation reduces cavities by 25 percent. Studies estimate that every dollar invested in fluoridation saves $38 in future dental bills. If communities in the area weren't fluoridated, the number of children needing care, and the cost of that care, would be far greater.
There is a strong link between oral health and overall health. Tooth decay has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, pregnancy complications, poor nutrition, stroke and systemic disease. Luckily, community water fluoridation benefits not only children, but people of all ages.
In 1957, the City of Fircrest demonstrated its commitment to the improved health of all its citizens by fluoridating its water supply. We have benefitted from that decision made almost 60 years ago with better oral health. Most of us have been able to avoid the persistent pain caused by severe tooth decay.
In Fircrest, we have had nearly six decades of experience with fluoride. We owe it to the next generation to make certain that we protect their oral health, just as the last generation protected ours.
The decision to fluoridate Fircrest's water supply is based on solid science that has been validated by six decades of practical application. We urge the Fircrest City Council to preserve community water fluoridation and oppose any effort to end it. The health of our citizens is at stake.
Jeffrey Camm is a Fircrest-based pediatric dentist with more than 35 years experience. Terry Torgenrud is a retired pediatrician who practiced in Fircrest and University Place for 40 years.


text:
3 Things You Need To Do To Be
Healthy & Happy
I like lists. I write a lot of lists. They keep me organized. They give me a sense of accomplishment when I get to cross something off my list. I have daily task lists, lists for places I want to visit, books I want to read, restaurants to go to, shopping lists for every store, and just about everything in between. My favorite type of blogs and online articles are formatted around lists, top 10 reasons to do something, 5 ways to make your life better in some way, 7 reasons to do this every morning, the list could go on and on.
The question I found myself contemplating this morning, after reading a list of 30 things I should do every day to have a perfect life (understanding that perfection is impossible, especially in life, and how boring would that be if life was perfect), why am I, and a majority of people drawn to lists?
Is it the promise that by doing just a couple of things we will see instant improvement?
Will there be a great golden nugget of truth in the list that I have never heard before that will change my life forever?
Or is it the fact that I'm looking for validation against things that I already know, but maybe just am not doing?
There is some truth in the later. I have yet to stumble upon a list that has any new quantifiable information to make my life and the world around me better. Not to say that I'm a genius savant, but really, I know everything I should be doing, and so do you.
The truth is, there is no silver bullet to anything, especially health and happiness. To have a happy and healthy life takes works. It takes persistence. It takes dedication. And it takes grace. So in an effort to maintain my love for lists, here it is, the top 3 things you need to do to have a happy and healthy life (and trust me when I say, you already know this…)
1) Persistence – lasting or enduring tenaciously, especially in spite of opposition, obstacles, and/or discouragement. To be healthy you have to be persistent because there will always be obstacles to good health. Life often throws more dodge balls at us than we think we can handle and it becomes easier to skip the gym, grab a burger and fires at the drive thru, and have an extra gin & tonic at the end of the day. Persistence is about wanting something more than the opposition you are facing. You have to be tired of not being healthy and happy and have a deep and enduring passion to succeed. You have to make that choice, and persist through adversity.
2) Dedication – to devote wholly and earnestly to a purpose. You've got to want it. It has to be a part of your every thought. Your state of mind has to be laser-like focused on achieving your goal of a healthy and happy life. But what is amazing is that you will find that as you dedicate yourself to something, the act of doing it becomes easier over time. Your small successes spur you on to even greater achievement. Your dedication grows stronger. At some point it your goals of a healthy and happy life become innate.
3) Grace – mercy. You will slip. You will over indulge. Or you just want that nacho smothered in everything. It's okay. You're human. You're allowed to enjoy life. Give yourself permission to do it every now and then, and show yourself grace for it, not guilt, not shame. I have those days where I just want to relax with friends and eat chicken wings and fries with a couple of drinks. And it's okay to do it because I know that 90% of the time I am focused, persistent and dedicated to a healthy life, and in that 10% there is happiness too. Show yourself grace.
So there it is, the three things you need to do to be healthy and happy. Probably not what you were expecting? No lists of foods to eat and exercises to accomplish. Health and happiness start from the inside. They start by making a choice to be so, and then sticking with it. Everything else is prescriptive.


text:
I've been in a great mood though. I'm a little, tiny bit bummed because we had tickets for the observatory at Brazos Bend for tonight and hubby thinks it would be best if I just stayed home and rested. I think he secretly didn't want to go. :)
This Sunday is my baby Charlie's 10th birthday. I know I'm sounding like a broken record but where does the time go?! Jeez. We'll be taking a field trip to the Dessert Gallery where he will get a free slice of cake for his birthday. I'll take pictures to share with y'all.
Speaking of pictures, have you noticed that my pictures haven't been too terrific lately? That's because they're all taken with a cell phone. The big mac-daddy camera (yo) is at home with my in-laws. It really belongs to them but they let us use it all the time which I am grateful for. Those things cost an arm and a leg. I'm willing to pay a toe or a finger but an arm and leg are just too much.
How about a new and easy and quick recipe to try!
It made a great dinner served with a salad and roll. Even the kids cleaned their plates.
I used Healthy Choice soup, lean Boar's Head deli ham, Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta, and reduced fat Velveeta to help cut back on the calories.
Ham Casserole
1 box Ronzoni Smart Taste noodles
1 cup corn, drained
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup skim milk
1 cup chopped cooked lean ham
3/4 cup diced low fat cheese
1 can low fat cream of celery
Cook noodles. Combine well with remaining ingredients. Turn into greased baking dish and bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. OR, to make things super duper quick (like I did) heat in the microwave for about 5 minutes, stir, and heat for 4-5 more minutes. Stir then serve. Very yum.
Have yourself a great weekend.


text:
All of us who work in social care know that there is major issues of recruitment and retention of staff. Which will have a knock on affect to people that are vulnerable being able to access good quality care. I have to say I am concerned. As an individual I have worked within the care field since I was 18 so for 29 years this has been my career.
However, when I was a manager within a learning disability supported living home and it was never overly difficult to employ in fact I remember interviewing a number of people for a role. Which meant I could make an informed choice of who suited the service best. It seems to have changed, I asked one of my level 5 learners the other day how do they choose between people when interviewing and the reply was 'never had to as not had more then one person come for the job'. I asked about why this is and she said that they do not get an influx of applications and therefore not many for interviews.
I am concerned that if we do not promote care as a career choice we are going to be in a situation where we either start employing people that are not suitable or we are in a crisis mode.
I can honestly say care does consume my life, I think and discuss care regularly (sometimes I am very one-sided ). I check out the up and coming ideas from people taking vulnerable people into their own homes (jury is out on this), using technology to alleviate need to go into care home or to reduce the work for care workers. I understand use of technology and how it support mobility safety and sensory loss but reducing work load on carers not so sure. However, its something we are now having to look at, alternatives requiring care from a provider, checking out if a pieces of equipment can do it for us. Technology however, should never remove the need to see a person and to have social contact.
I am going to keep looking into staffing in social care and see what resources are out there, I am going to look at how some companies manage great staff retention and others don't. I think we need to know look at how we are going to get moving on the next generation of care workers.
So watch this space I will continue to check things that are going on and share with you. Please feel free to check out the links as these are some places I have already put up information on.


text:
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Umbrella Nepal
Thursday, 1 May 2014 17:17:00 Europe/London
The Umbrella Foundation is a non profit NGO working to alleviate the impact of poverty and trafficking on children and their families in Nepal. The foundation was established in 2005 to help those neglected and attempt to restore basic rights like food, education, safe shelter, healthcare and love back into their lives. As a responsible and ethical organisation, the foundation works with the Child Welfare Board to prevent further trafficking and corruption.
Heat Holders wanted to send over some socks to help the girls out just a little bit – we are happy to say that it made their day lots brighter!
Heat Holders UK
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text:
The death of a child is a loss so unfathomable that no one who has not experienced it can possibly comprehend it. "You don't move on," one mother told me. "You just keep living. Because you have no other choice."
The grief never ends. It only evolves. But beautiful things come from our brokenness.
The families of Danielle Downs, Loryn Brown, and Will Stevens will never stop grieving their loss. But the one thing that helps lift them up through that pain is helping someone else. Which is why these memorial funds are so important. Every donation matters, not only because of the funds but because the family is reminded that someone remembered their child and cared enough to help.
Danielle Downs Memorial Fund
Air Force Aid Society
Danielle and her sister, Michelle, grew up moving around with their Air Force parents, and watched their father deployed during Desert Storm. Days from graduating at the University of Alabama with a degree in social work, Danielle wanted to counsel military families through the transition of deployment, and aimed to find a job doing so at Eglin Air Force Base in Shalimar, Florida. A memorial fund in her honor has been created at the Air Force Aid Society, the official charity of the U.S. Air Force, created in 1942 to help Air Force families in financial distress and assist them in paying for higher education. Through this fund, she will continue helping others.
Loryn Brown Endowed Memorial Scholarship
University of Alabama Alumni Association
The oldest of four siblings, Loryn loved barrel racing, Beyonce, and cowboy boots. (This photo was taken after Easter services in 2011, four days before she died.) After finishing her associate's degree at Shelton State Community College, she was transferring to the University of Alabama, where she planned to study Communications and chase her dream of becoming an ESPN sports broadcaster. Her father, Shannon Brown, was a football player for the Crimson Tide. Her scholarship will help students enrolling at the University of Alabama, and her mother, Ashley Mims, personally chooses the recipients.
Will Stevens Memorial Scholarship
Will was an all-around talented athlete: quarterback, pitcher, and basketball player at Priceville High School. His pitching arm earned him a baseball scholarship to Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, where he was known as "Mr. Quiet Optimism." He was also a gentleman who fixed Danielle's car and would only accept payment in the form of pizza and laundry rights. Will called his mother every day when she got off work and made his father and little sister, Taylor, very proud. His family hosts a town-wide yard sale and a car show every spring to raise money for his scholarship, which is given each year to a local male and female athlete with financial need.
Donate to Will's fund
Please make checks payable to:
Will Stevens Scholarship Foundation
Mail to P.O. Box 128, Somerville, AL 35670


text: Hello! October 02, 2014 I am so excited to begin writing in this space! I am hoping this space will be a place to encourage and connect with other gals who are looking to make the best out of this crazy life we have. I love the way the internet allows us to learn and influence each other for good. I am in the process of bringing over some old content and preparing to write some new things for this space. Until then, be sure to connect with me on Instagram @melissabvoigt. I am also busy making new sites for The Factory Media Network. Hop over there to see what we've been working on!!!


text:
I forgot to mention something else I noticed yesterday during my sojourn into the world of mainstream children's retail. I idly picked up a copy of manga warhorse Shonen Jump and it fell open to what looked like a page of tips on playing Go. It turns out that Hikaru no Go is a Yu-Gi-Oh-esque tale of a boy who seeks to become the best Go player he can be. What possible commercial force can be driving a medium that usually props up trashy CCGs to start pimping a hard-to-expand (let alone copyright) classic game… albeit one that beats chess up and takes its lunch money? I don't know but I'm glad to see it.
Site copyright 2001-2019 Allan Sugarbaker. Trademarks and copyrights mentioned on this page owned by their respective owners.


text:
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text:
Navy News
Navy News is published fortnightly with its basic charter to inform and entertain our sailors wherever they are serving, in ships or on shore, at home or overseas. It also contains advice valuable to serving members and those considering reserve employment.
Read Navy News online (external link)
These past editions of Navy News have been digitised and placed in the public domain as part of the Sea Power Centre - Australia's digitisation project. The aim of this project is to make historic records and information more readily available to members of the public.
The following links will take you to archived HTML versions of the Navy News hosted on the Defence website via the Internet Archive Project, Wayback Machine. 2006 editions only cover the period January/February to March.
The following link will take you to Defence's Navy News website. Click on the "BROWSE ISSUES" link in the menu along the bottom of the screen and then click the year 2007. Editions only cover the period October to December 2007.
The following links will take you to Defence's Navy News website.
Unfortunately, Navy News editions for April to December 2006 and January to September 2007 are currently not available in any format online. Access to these "missing" editions is beyond the control of the Royal Australian Navy.


text:
I like to bang on about seasonality, so it may seem odd that today I'm encouraging you to look forward to blackcurrants in December and raspberries in March. That's because all this can be yours by the magic of preserving, a forbidding word that implies hot vats of sterilising jars, patience-taxing straining through muslin, and hours of chopping and stirring.
So let's concentrate on what you are preserving: sunshine, no less. Stored by the fruits of high summer, captured by you and unleashed at a time of your choosing. It's all about seizing the day, not wasting the precious bounty of summer – what could be more seasonal than that?
Not all "preserves" are technical and boffinish – today's recipes are simple enough for even a neophyte preserver to tackle with confidence and, er, relish. For the most part I've replaced nervous-making boiling with soothing macerating or slow cooking – you're letting the fruit do the work here. There's something hugely satisfying about spending a few hours in the kitchen, then seeing the table covered in jewel-coloured jars and bottles. They make lovely gifts, too, which is perhaps the greatest dilemma – in learning how to bottle sunshine, you've cracked one of the great alchemists' fantasies. Are you really going to give away all your precious elixirs?
Blackcurrant liqueur
We've had such a good crop of blackcurrants, I've had a go at homemade crème de cassis. I'm pretty pleased with the results, too: it has a deliciously rounded, smooth flavour that's perfect in a kir or blackcurrant martini – mix one shot of liqueur with half a shot of gin, half a shot of Noilly Prat and ice, then strain into a chilled glass. Makes about one litre.
500g blackcurrants
500ml fruity red wine
Granulated sugar
About 600ml vodka
Combine the blackcurrants and wine in a glass or ceramic bowl and leave to macerate for at least 24 hours and up to 48. Purée in a food processor, then strain through a muslin-lined sieve into a large pan, pressing down a bit to extract as much juice as you can. Measure, add an equal amount of sugar, then heat gently, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves. Cook for an hour until reduced and a little syrupy – don't let it come to a boil, just keep it at the barest possible simmer – then stir in one part vodka to three parts syrup and decant into cold, sterilised bottles. Store for at least two weeks before drinking.
Blackberry & apple leather
I've been inspired in my preserving endeavours by Pam Corbin, aka Pam The Jam, the author of River Cottage Handbook No 2: Preserves (£12.99, Bloomsbury). Her fruit leathers are addictively simple to make – once you've made one, you'll soon be experimenting (apricots, plums and peaches all make good leathers). Cut off strips to add a healthy, fruity punch to lunchboxes and picnics. Makes two sheets.
500g blackberries
500g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
150g honey
A little groundnut oil, for greasing
Preheat the oven to very low – 60C/gas mark ⅛ is good, though the lowest setting you can manage is fine. Put the blackberries, apples and lemon juice in a pan, cook gently, partially covered at first, until soft and pulpy, about 20 minutes. Rub through a sieve or mouli into a bowl – you should have about 700g smooth purée. Mix in the honey.
Divide between two baking sheets lined with oiled baking parchment or foil, spreading out the purée thickly with a spatula until the sheets are covered with a smooth, even layer about 5mm deep. Bake for 10-12 hours, until it is completely dry and peels off easily. Roll up in greaseproof paper or clingfilm, store in an airtight container in a cool place and use within four months; or freeze it, well sealed, for up to a year.
Fruity vinegars
Stir these into sauces for duck or game, trickle them neat over salads, or splash a little over goat's cheese or ice-cream. Pam dilutes fruit vinegar with ice-cold water for a refreshing drink, or pours a slosh over ice and tops with tonic for a sprightly non-alcoholic cocktail. Makes 1.5 litres.
1kg raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants or blackberries
600ml cider or white-wine vinegar
Granulated sugar
Put the fruit in a bowl, crush lightly with a wooden spoon, add the vinegar, cover and leave to steep for four to five days, stirring occasionally. Pour into a scalded jelly bag or piece of muslin over a bowl and leave to drain overnight (squeeze it a little if you like). Measure the liquid and pour into a pan. For every 600ml of fruit vinegar, add 450g of sugar. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then boil for eight to 10 minutes, removing any scum as it rises. Set aside to cool and, once cold, bottle in sterilised containers, seal and use within a year.
Lemon verbena syrup
Brush this fragrant, lemony syrup over cakes, splash into fruit salad, use it in ice-creams or sorbets, or to flavour whipped cream. If you prefer, replace the lemon verbena with mint to create an equally delicious syrup. Makes about one litre.
50g fresh lemon verbena leaves, torn
Juice of 1 lemon (around 50ml)
250g sugar
1 tsp sea salt
Put the lemon verbena in a large bowl with the lemon juice. Pound with the end of a rolling pin until quite bruised, then add the sugar and salt, and crush a little more. Leave to macerate for eight to 10 hours, or overnight. Pour in 600ml of boiling water and leave to stand for 12 hours. Strain through a very fine sieve or muslin into a saucepan. Heat gently and simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour into warm, sterilised bottles and seal with corks or screwcaps. The syrup will keep unopened for four months; once opened, store in the fridge and use within a week or so.
theguardian.com/ hughfearnleywhittingstall
• Spend a day discovering the edible seashore with foraging expert John Wright. Tickets are £145 a head, and include a signed copy of John's Handbook, cookery demonstrations and a seashore foragers' supper; go to rivercottage.net for details.


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At Samson College of Science and Technology we believe that each student should be given the opportunity to receive a high quality education for the career best suited to his or her aptitude, interest, ambition and ability. To this goal the administration and faculty have dedicated themselves.
Among the objectives of Samson College of Science and Technology are the following:
- To prepare the student to meet the diverse requirement that the career of his/her choice demands.
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- To help uplift the quality of life through scholarship grants under the Doña Angeles Topacio Samson Scholarship Program.


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Swim Like A Fish!
The Sunfish Triathlon was a week ago Saturday in Meridian, Mississippi! Lucked out with a slightly cooler morning and a little bit of cloud cover during the race. It's been raining every single day here in South Mississippi and the air is thick and muggy. When you step outside it feels like someone throws a hot, wet blanket over your head. Bleh....
Meridian is close enough to Hattiesburg that we can drive there on race morning. Only had to leave at 4:00am for the race instead of the 3:15am for the last race!! Set my alarm for 3:00, got up and had my oatmeal with peanut butter and banana for breakfast. Met Deanna and Judy and we headed to Laurel to pick up Lesley.
It's nice that a lot of races have moved to letting you pick up race packet on race morning. This is something slightly newer to triathlons, in the past there was absolutely no race morning packet pickup. The SetUpEvents races in North Carolina were the first that I saw to do this. In Texas there was mandatory race morning packet pick up the day before the race. I can understand this, with all that is going on the morning of a race I can see why having volunteers needed to hand out packets is one more thing to hassle with. But for us it is awesome!! With the rising cost of race entry fees it's good that you don't have to pay for a hotel the night before in order to get your packet. Hey.. one less hotel stay means one more race that I can do!! So I don't mind the early alarm and drive to a race.
|Hattiesburg Triathletes!
We got to the race and I got the bikes out of Deanna's truck and aired up my tires, Judy took care of hers and then I helped Lesley and Deanna out and took care of their tires too. Judy noticed that I was getting more and more stressed out by being at the car too long. She was smart and headed off to packet pick up and transition with Chris and Brad. I've got to remember to take care of myself but I just want to help. They're big girls and I know they've got things under control without my help. Note to self.
By the time I got to the front of the line to get my race number I was informed that there were no more small shirts. Okay.... this is a huge pet peeve of mine. More so just out of principle that anything else. When you register and are asked what size shirt you want and you indicate a size then that size should be available for you when you pick up your packet. A lot of races take care of you and have the size listed that you requested and hold it for you. But not here, I guess they ran big and people changed sizes. Arrrruuugggh.... so another shirt for my husband Bill. Shirts at Sunfish - FAIL. Big disappointment.
Racks are not numbered for this race so its first come first serve. I found an open area midway down a row of racks and got set up. Felt a little pressed for time - hate that feeling. Still needed to do a little warm up run and swim and heard them announce that the transition area was closing in 15 minutes. Threw on my shoes and ran up the road, bypassing the long line at the port-a-loos to a park rest area. Ran back and threw on my speed suit and headed to the water. A nice man saw me and offered to do up the zip. Thank you kind man! Did a little swim warm up, not as long as I would have liked and heard them calling for all athletes to exit the water. Darn.
Ran to my bike and was doing something different in transition than I usually do. There is a pretty steep little hill just out of transition and I put my shoes on before getting on the bike this day. Typically I have them on the bike. Sam had said to try it, that he passes a lot of people when he gets on his bike just at the start as they are fumbling trying to get their feet in their shoes while they are riding. I did it but am not sure I will again. Trying to balance on a Speedplay cleat while putting on the second shoe wasn't easy. I wobbled a bit and felt really unsteady. Off onto the bike course after clip-clopping in my shoes through transition. Didn't like that at all.
This bike course is Tough! I ran out of gears up and down the hills and spent a good part of the time climbing in my granny gear. Got passed like a fencepost on some of the hills. One idiot guy who passed me called out "On Your Right" as he passed me on my left. Hmmmm... really?? I said to him "you're on my left", and he replied "Oh.. stay on your right." I used to know a cyclist in Dallas who would reply "You gotta be somewhere" in response. My ride wasn't pretty. I don't lift weights for strength, but I've decided after this race that I'm going to do some weight work on my legs. The goal in triathlon is to have "Enduring Strength" so I'll be doing some high reps with some weight before my next race. Working opposing muscle groups in sequence. Started on Monday. 13th fastest bike - stinky average of 19.8.
Second transition was fine. Looked at my Garmin once on the way out across the dam during the first mile and saw 7:40. Hey.. not too bad! In my last race I was really pleased with my mile splits for the run... this one, just the opposite. Went out too hard and each mile was progressively slower. Bad. Bad. Bad. Note to self... you know better than this. 7:26, 7:40, 8:00 and 6:29 for the last .22 - granted the last mile had two little climbs in it but that was sad and bad.
Anyway.. finished strong with a little help from Robin Ryder telling me to catch the guy in front of me. (Robin coaches the Oak Grove High School's track team in Hattiesburg). Ran right to my transition bag by the fence to get my camera and try to get some pictures of my friend finishing! Managed to get all three of them (see photos below)!!!
|Chris Boyd, Sam Hudson, Brad Smith, Judy Hudson, Me, Lauren Hill
Robin Ryder, Lance Ward, Deanna Lynn.
After the race I grabbed my bag of Aquaphor samples and wandered around handing them out and telling people about the usefulness of Aquaphor! It always amazes me that some people haven't heard of it, but understandable. There was one man in the transition area that I gave a sample to. He was grinning from ear to ear. I asked him if he'd had a good race as I gave him a sample and he told me he had just finished his FIRST triathlon! How cool is that? Then he asked me if I wrote a blog online, and told me that he'd read it and it really inspired him too! He said that he really enjoyed the race reports. You know... I wonder a lot if people do read what I write and being told that I'm helping someone is really great!!
|Deanna - 1st Masters Female!
|Judy - 1st Age Group!
|Lesley - 4th Age Group!


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Allison Williams: Ivy League Siren
Allison Williams has become famous for starring in a show about young women flailing aimlessly through their twenties. For the Connecticut-bred, Yale-educated daughter of news anchor Brian Williams, the world of Girls couldn't be further from reality.
In October 2010, Allison Williams was putting together Ikea furniture in the kind of Santa Monica apartment where you can hear your neighbor yawn through the wall. Like endless hordes before her, she had traveled west with the intention of becoming an actress. Her professional experience was limited to 10 episodes of a super-low-budget web comedy called Sean & Meghan. In the few months since graduating from Yale, where she majored in English, she'd been sleeping on the couch at her parents' Manhattan pied-À-terre and working on small projects with friends, including a video, shot in one Scorsese-style take, in which she's dressed in an evening gown and white gloves and singing "Nature Boy" in a crystal clear voice over a live orchestral performance of the Mad Men theme. The plan was to send the video around to the Hollywood types she had met throughout her young life, hoping that it might lead to an audition or two. In the meantime she had signed up for some tutoring jobs and volunteer stints in L.A. to fill the inevitable swaths of free time. "I had, like, eight months of dinners with family friends lined up," she says.
But within a couple of weeks she was meeting with Judd Apatow about the role of Marnie, the best friend of Lena Dunham's Hannah character on what would become the acclaimed, zeitgeist-defining HBO series Girls. Williams's strategy had worked: Her Mad Men video had gone viral, and when Apatow, who is the executive producer of Girls, saw it, he thought its beautiful, pulled-together, sassy-prim star would make a perfect counterpoint to the freewheeling, eccentric Hannah. The audition seemed to go well, and afterward Williams called a family friend who has been something of a mentor, and who also happens to be the actress Rita Wilson, to recap. Wilson told Williams that no matter the outcome, the audition itself was cause for celebration--after all, even small victories can be few and far between for aspiring actresses. "So Rita and I went on a hike and ate cupcakes, which is our tradition," Williams says.
There would be lots of cupcakes with Rita ("very small ones," Wilson clarifies) over the next two years. The victories would pile up, until Williams arrived at the best one yet: this year's Golden Globes. Because her dad is Brian Williams, the anchor of NBC Nightly News, she has attended no shortage of black-tie, boldface-name-filled events in her life, but this time she was not there as "the daughter of." It was an unforgettable night. Williams walked the red carpet, looking elegant as always, in black J. Mendel. She marveled at Claire Danes's post-baby waist and tried unsuccessfully to get near enough to Ben Affleck to tell him how much she admires him. She giddily snapped photos of herself with the actor who plays Abu Nazir on Homeland, and she laughed at Amy Poehler's jokes. And then, suddenly, she was onstage next to her costar Zosia Mamet as Dunham breathlessly accepted their communal award for Best Comedy Series. And for what seemed like the first time since the world's most self-possessed 25-year-old first came into the public eye, she actually appeared flustered. "I was looking out at the audience, and I saw Daniel Day-Lewis and I was like, 'What is happening?' " she says. "Like, what crazy hijinks have I pulled off?"
A few days after that epic evening, Williams is at a Soho restaurant, cautiously eating a bowl of matzoh ball soup garnished with flecks of dill, none of which will end up in her Crest commercial smile. It is noon, and her Golden Globes gown has been replaced by Rag & Bone jeans, a Vince sweater, and a Barbour coat, but she somehow looks just as impeccable. She is quick-witted and fun in casual conversation, but she talks about her childhood and aspirations in a thoughtful, careful manner. She seems genuinely in awe of her good fortune.
"I mean, if you think about all the things that had to happen in order for this to work out!" she says. "I had to make this video, I had to release it at the right time, Judd had to go to Huffington Post or wherever he saw it that day, my agent had to have agreed to sign me back in college... It's unbelievable."
In fact, nothing is less plausible than the idea that serendipity is responsible for the rise of Allison Williams. The Connecticut native knew she wanted to be an actress by age four, and she immediately set to work. She mimicked people and characters, she tried out for plays, she took classes in the winter and went to drama camps in the summer. "My childhood was stamped with this one certainty, that I knew what I wanted to be, which I realize now was very unusual," Williams says. "Most of my friends are still figuring it out. I only knew one other kid like me; she wanted to be a singer, and in first grade we'd have sleepovers, and she dressed up like a Beatle and I dressed up like Marilyn Monroe." That friend (Laura Zax, a musician who has a band called the Nighttime Adventure Society) was Williams's roommate for the few weeks in L.A. before Williams graduated from the "aspiring" category and moved back to New York to begin filming Girls.
Read More From The Allison Williams Story in Town & Country
More from Town & Country:
Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens On How He Pulls It Off
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A Sophisticated Playlist For Your Next Cocktail Party
Unusual Beauty Treatments - That Actually Work!


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2017 Ford Focus vs 2017 Nissan Sentra
2017 Nissan Sentra
2017 Ford Focus
The 2017 Ford Focus: inspiring, by design.
AwardsFord has made safety a top priority, and it shows: the 2017 Focus has earned a coveted 5-star Overall Safety rating from the NHTSA1.
EfficiencyIf you're trying to pinch pennies, every single mile per gallon toward better fuel economy counts, including the one between the 2017 Ford Focus2 and the 2017 Nissan Sentra3 on the highway.
2017 Ford FocusFoo2017 Nissan Sentra382epa estimated highway mpg373
FeaturesIs it possible to get increased visibility while using less energy? With the HID Headlights that come standard on the 2017 Ford Focus4, the answer is yes. On the 2017 Nissan Sentra, those brilliant, energy-efficient HID headlights are a pricey add-on.
A state-of-the-art premium sound system designed with audiophiles in mind - enjoy concert-quality sound standard on the 2017 Ford Focus5. Want it on the 2017 Nissan Sentra6? You'll have to pay extra.
No more parallel parking jitters - the Rear Parking Aid, standard on the 2017 Ford Focus5, can help guide you into the perfect parking spot, signaling when you're getting too close to the curb, or other cars. Unless you enjoy the parallel parking jitters, in which case, choose the 2017 Nissan Sentra, and don't pay extra for the rear parking aid option.
2017 Ford FocusFoo2017 Nissan Sentrastandard4hid headlights-standard5premium sound systemoptional6standard5rear parking aid-
PerformanceStopping power is important too, and the clear winner in this category is the 2017 Ford Focus7, with 13 more horses in braking power per ton than 2017 Nissan Sentra8, giving you confidence on even the steepest of grades.
Want more power and higher top speeds? Consider the 2017 Ford Focus9, boasting 162 more horses and 31 more horses per ton than the 2017 Nissan Sentra10.
The 2017 Ford Focus's9 increased torque - 3509 lb.-ft. vs. 17710 lb.-ft. - can mean the difference between easy going and a sluggish ride.
2017 Ford FocusFoo2017 Nissan Sentra1557braking power per ton14283509horsepower188101567horsepower per ton12583509torque17710
SafetyIf you're driving a 2017 Ford Focus11, and stray from your lane, no worries: the optional Lane Departure Warning System will give you an audio alert, possibly helping avert an accident. If you're driving a 2017 Nissan Sentra, this extra layer of safety isn't even an option.
More stars means safer cars. According to the NHTSA's Overall Crash Rating, should you ever need it, the 2017 Ford Focus12 offers greater crash protection than the 2017 Nissan Sentra13.14.
2017 Ford FocusFoo2017 Nissan Sentraoptional11lane departure warning system-512overall crash rating413
TechnicalThe 2017 Ford Focus's9 all-wheel drive makes it the clear choice for anyone who loves off-roading, or simply staying on the road in slippery conditions.
2017 Ford FocusFoo2017 Nissan Sentrahas9all driven wheels-
UsabilityOffering 4 more inches in combined rear head and rear leg room than the 2017 Nissan Sentra13, the 2017 Ford Focus12 is roomy enough for even the tallest of your passengers to travel in comfort. Bye-bye cramped "airplane-legs," hello rear passenger comfort.
2017 Ford FocusFoo2017 Nissan Sentra3812rear head room36133812rear leg room3613
PricingThe 2017 Ford Focus's12 MSRP is slightly less than the 2017 Nissan Sentra13 - about $215 less - but to a budget-conscious buyer, every penny counts.
In the very unlikely event you'll need it, help is just a phone call away, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the 2017 Ford Focus's12 Roadside Assistance, standard for 2 years longer than 2017 Nissan Sentra13.
2017 Ford FocusFoo2017 Nissan Sentra$16,77512msrp$16,99013512roadside assistance313
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1 - Learn more at http://www.safercar.gov/Safety+Ratings
2 - 2017 Ford Focus SE Sedan
3 - 2017 Nissan Sentra S CVT
4 - 2017 Ford Focus Electric Hatch
5 - 2017 Ford Focus SEL Sedan
6 - 2017 Nissan Sentra SR CVT
7 - 2017 Ford Focus ST Hatch
8 - 2017 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo Manual
9 - 2017 Ford Focus RS Hatch
10 - 2017 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo CVT
11 - 2017 Ford Focus Titanium Sedan
12 - 2017 Ford Focus S Sedan
13 - 2017 Nissan Sentra S Manual
14 - Find more info here: http://www.safercar.gov/Safety+Ratings


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5 Honest Struggles Most Church Leaders Don't Want To Admit
Most of us who get into full-time ministry do so because we sense a calling, not because it was a 'career path'.
Chances are you got in this because you love God, deeply, right?
So it's always a bit surprising and unusual then when ministry leaders find themselves struggling with the very God who called them into this in the first place. This is true whether you're paid, bi-vocational or even a full-time volunteer.
Ministry can not only be hazardous to your spiritual health, it can be confusing.
But the good news is that struggling with God is normal. You are not alone.
The best leaders struggled with God.
Jacob wrestled an angel.
Moses almost quit more than a few times.
Jeremiah tried to quit but couldn't.
Today's struggles might be a bit different, but in some ways struggle is inevitable.
I personally have struggled with every one of the five challenges I outline in this post. And what's amazing to me is that you can get through them. You really can.
Sometimes all you need to know is you're not alone. And you're not, even if you feel that way.
Here are 5 ways ministry leaders struggle in their relationship with God:
1. You see setbacks in ministry as a personal statement from God about you
Hey, everybody thinks this way when life circumstances don't tilt in their favor (why did God allow me to have cancer/lose this job/be in this place?). So it's natural that this line of thinking would emerge in ministry.
Just because things aren't going the way you want in ministry isn't an automatic sign that God is angry with you. I'm always amazed that constant imprisonment didn't cause Paul to second guess himself or God.
God isn't always punishing you, even if it feels like he is.
The key is to take the setbacks in front of you seriously, not personally. You'll be so much healthier.
2. You believe that greater faithfulness should result in greater impact in ministry
Ever tried to improve your personal devotional life so your church would do better? Gosh, I wish this wasn't true but in the early days of ministry, I really thought greater personal fervor would automatically translate into greater ministry impact.
I'm all for a rich personal walk with God, but it's really not a push-this-button-and-God-will-do-great-things-through-you kind of proposition. In fact, it's a bit self-centered to think that way.
Pursue God, and pursue a great mission. Both are critical. But God doesn't reward the most faithful with the best results.
3. You are convinced God should protect you from pain
So here's a confession. Much of the pain I've experienced in ministry is self-induced. I have created crises in my mind and in relationships around me. The solution for me was to confess my sin and realize so much of the pain around me was caused by the strife within me.
As to the rest of the troubles that inevitably come our way? I seem to remember Jesus' brother James saying we were supposed to throw a party when they come and celebrate because God uses them to perfect us.
God doesn't always protect us from pain. He uses it to grow us. And the part that's self-induced? Get on your knees.
4. You confuse your work life with your devotional life
I always ask myself "If I couldn't do ministry tomorrow for whatever reason, what would be left of my life with Christ?" Hopefully, the answer is "lots" or "virtually everything".
So my devotional life has little to do with what I'm teaching, and I try to pray about things I wouldn't pray about if I wasn't a pastor. But naturally, I also pray about things related to ministry.
Pretending you're not a ministry leader in your relationship with God is a great way to stay vibrant as a ministry leader.
5. You find it hard to believe that God loves you simply because He loves you
Your identity is not based on what you do, but based on what Christ has done. I know you preach that, but you have a hard time believing it, don't you?
Don't confuse what you do with who you are in Christ. Need to hear that more clearly? I wrote this one for every leader who's ever struggled through a Monday.
He loves you. He just does.
These are five struggles I've experienced and have to regularly check in my own life.
What are you discovering? Leave a comment and let me know what you've seen.
10 Comments
First of all I want to say excellent blog! I had a quick question that I'd like to ask if you don't mind.
I was interested to find out how you center yourself and clear your head prior to writing.
I've had a tough time clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out there.
I do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15
minutes tend to be wasted simply just trying to figure out how
to begin. Any suggestions or hints? Cheers!
Thank you for this article. As a former Children's Minister and leader for many years, I've embarked on a new ministry (that's self-funded) and it was a huge leap of faith. With that said, It's so scary! #1 was encouraging to me, as it is taking a while to learn how to do the new ministry with success. Every once in awhile I have this "What the heck did I just do?!" Right now the start of this new ministry is a struggle and I'm trying to look up rather than down – staying focused what God called. But I fight the temptation to think that I'm not doing it right, or God is not pleased or whatever else I can muster up to worry about. Thanks for your comment and reminder about Paul, "I'm always amazed that constant imprisonment didn't cause Paul to second guess himself or God." Needed that truth nugget!
Lots of great stuff in here, but not sure if I fully agree with point #2. Doug Fields once wrote, "The spiritual health of your church ministry will never exceed your own spiritual health." I have found that to be true, that as I am more diligent in my times of personal devotion that my church is blessed and that others are challenged to that same transformation. Perhaps you're saying that the act of devotion doesn't "make" my church better, but would you agree that it "makes" me better and leads to strengthening in my church?
Wow, great to hear. Thanks.
I just signed up to get these.
All points are great and needed reminders.
Thank you!
Thank you for the article. I struggle on a constant basis with #1 and #2. I always feel that I'm not doing enough–and forget that it is God who builds His church (Psalm 127:1)! I would like some insight or information about retention. We have discipleship classes and we have created a culture in our church to make people feel cared for–to create new friendships, etc. But all too often, once someone goes through a "salvation experience," they seem to just fall off of the map. We have follow up, phone calls, emails, social activities, ministry involvement and multiple growth classes–everything that church growth classes teach and following growth aspects of the Acts church–but very little retention. Frustrated and need help or just a shoulder to cry on!! God bless
I really struggle with #4 and #5. Thanks for sharing this. I needed the reminder.
#5 is one of the hardest that I keep having to re-learn over and over. From Bible stories to Disney films, that truism pops up everywhere.
Thank you for sharing your insights. I'm really struggling with number#1. I've gone through some set backs over the last few years. When I was a youth pastor, I saw huge ministry impact and results. Since planting a church four years ago, I'm still struggling with gaining traction.


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Having to take several jobs and sending kids to work used to be a sign of living precariously – now it's just a question of what your 'side hustle' is
Listen carefully. I am about to divulge the secret of financial success. I have deduced a failsafe way to amass a lot of money, even if you earn very little. It doesn't involve cutting down on avocado toast, crocheting your own clothes or working eight jobs; it's effort-free. Ready to have your mind blown? Well, if you want to buy a house at 22, retire at 32 or just not be poor at any age, make sure you have rich parents. Failing that, secure a generous inheritance from a grandparent. Like I said, super easy. I don't know why more people don't try it!
Please don't think I am being glib. I point this out because it needs to be pointed out. There seems to be some sort of millennial morality tale published every day – a smug treatise with a headline such as: "I saved $100,000 on a salary of just $30,000 a year"; "Extreme frugality allowed me to retire at 32"; or "How we saved £30,000 in three years while paying a mortgage". A few paragraphs into the article, the financial whizz sagely dispensing advice about hard work and thriftiness typically mentions an inheritance or notes that their parents let them live at home rent-free for years. This detail is glossed over, so said financial whizz can explain how, rather than benefiting from intergenerational wealth, it was switching to a cheaper brand of makeup that made all the difference to their bank account.
Related: 'Sometimes you don't feel human' – how the gig economy chews up and spits out millennials


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Spending Thanksgiving in Texas went as expected….lots of food, lots of family, and lots of new memories. My family is enormous. Every family occasion involves at least 40 people.
This is only my Mother's side, and only half of us!
Having a giant family is fun because every event is like a giant party with way too much food. The downside is that there are so many of us its impossible to stay in touch with everyone. Most people I only see once a year (if that), and when I do see them I am trying to play catch up with everyone.
Thank God for Facebook. I can at least stay half caught up by stalking everyone's walls. With a family this big we have a new baby, new engagement, new divorce, or some other big occasion always happening.
On Thanksgiving, for example, we were also celebrating my and my Mother's Birthday, a cousin's recent engagement was revealed, and my sister announced that she's having a baby boy!
Of course, all of this good news is accompanied with gossip, secrets, and a little bit of awkwardness, but what's a family affair without an ounce of drama?
Let's not forget the family games!
Keep in touch Texas; I'll be back in January!


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This Saturday, Sports Zone and The Verizon Center will be showcasing the hottest in DMV streetwear at an exclusive expo! Dozens of vendors will be in attendance, along with live music, giveaways, and more! Plus admission to the expo gets you into the Washington Mystics versus the Minnesota Lynx game for FREE! Tickets are only 20 bucks! But guess what? We have a pair to give away! That's right! Two free tickets for a lucky DCMumboSauce devotee! All you have to do is answer these 2 questions:
1. Name 3 Sports Zone locations.
2. Who did the Washington Mystics select in this year's draft?
It's just that simple! Email your answers to: firstname.lastname@example.com Winner be chosen Wednesday, June 5th at 5pm.


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Robin Fox & Atom TM "Double Vision", Frank Bretschneider & Pierce Warnecke "SINN + FORM"
Robin Fox & Atom TM "Double Vision", Frank Bretschneider & Pierce Warnecke "SINN + FORM"
Update: Tickets for Double Vision on Friday, 30 Jan is sold out online. There is a limited amount of tickets at the ticket counter at HKW from 19:30 onwards.
This year's signature collaborative concerts with partner festival CTM Festival host the German premiere of Double Vision, a new collaboration between shape-shifter Atom™ (aka. Uwe Schmidt, Atom Heart, Señor Coconut) and the Australian intermedia artist Robin Fox in a powerful three-dimensional assault of sound and vision. A performance commissioned by Unsound and Adelaide Festival, Double Vision merges Fox's synaesthetic laser-show and Schmidt's deconstructed take on pop music in an attempt to explore affective involvement in a spectrum ranging from a near scientific demonstration of audiovisual phenomena to the playfulness of pop and back.
The first of two collaborative concerts, this evening also features the world premiere of SINN + FORM, a new project by Raster Noton's Frank Bretschneider and Pierce Warnecke, which explores the limits of man's constant attempts to capture and control the world through description and prediction. Reflecting the fact that mathematical and physical theories and models increasingly incorporate chaos and contingency, SINN + FORM (sense + form) takes shape as a modular synthesizer system that produces a constant flow of randomly generated data that influences the musical parameters of pitch, note length, volume, tone.
Bretschneider's music, recorded on both Buchla and Serge synthesizers at the prestigious EMS Elektronmusikstudion in Stockholm, is fused with Warnecket's visuals, mechanically produced through printed stills that are modulated through a custom built machine so as to create movement and variations in lighting. The result is a hybrid analogue-digital system that uses light, machine, image and sound to create an interactive multimedia ensemble.
Double Vision is commissioned by Unsound and Adelaide Festival. With additional support by Audi.