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Home on the Range: A Conversation with Kevin Costner
Academy Award-winner Kevin Costner is no stranger to Westerns. He's loved them ever since he was old enough to wear cowboy boots. Growing up a devotee to cowboy classics such as The Searchers, Red River, How the West Was Won, and The Magnificent Seven, he fondly remembers how, as a young boy, he used to jump from his mother's couch and tackle his dog, imitating his childhood hero, Western-movie legend Burt Lancaster. 'My mom would go, No, you can't do that!' but I was Burt Lancaster,' Costner recalls. 'I did all those things.'
Of course Costner no longer needs to vault from living room couches and tackle dogs. He can do it from a real horse, having followed closely in his hero's footsteps. He's become a hugely successful actor and filmmaker, slinging guns and riding horses in movies much just like Lancaster himself once did. 'I just enjoy the different genres that exist out there, and I'm not afraid to dabble in them, both as an actor and as director,' Costner says.
Costner first worked with the Western genre in 1985 when Lawrence Kasdan cast him in his gunslinger saga, Silverado. Five years later, Costner explored early America in Dances with Wolves. Soon after, Kasdan again cast him, this time as the title role in Wyatt Earp. Open Range marks his return to the 'Code of the West,' in another tale about a way of life that is all but gone.
In Open Range, Costner plays Charley Waite, a man trying to escape a violent past, along with his close friend, Boss (Robert Duvall). They have lived together among the freedom of the open range for ten years, driving cattle in a land where nature makes the only laws. Charley and Boss always abide by the ethics of the West and avoid unnecessary bloodshed. But one tyrannical frontier town boss changes their lives through a merciless act of violence and forces them into action. Amidst the chaos, Charley meets the affectionate Sue Barlow (Annette Bening), a woman who captures both his heart and soul.
Open Range immediately caught Costner's attention, but before he agreed to do the project, the script needed to reach a certain quality and completeness. 'There was a lot of work that I thought would need to happen in order to attract me,' he admits. 'I just have my own feelings about what's theatrical where Western is concerned. I have my own style.'
Costner wanted the script to adhere to classic Western themes, but he knew it would take hard work. 'It's high entertainment, but it's hard to make,' he says. 'I wanted to continue to put my stamp on the American Western, in this particular instance, both with the notions of friendship, and of violence.' After five months of working continuously with the writer, Costner decided that he would do Open Range. 'I thought that it was in shape,' he continues. 'That's really the power of writing.'
Acting in the movie isn't all Costner committed to, however; he also directed and produced Open Range. Wearing 'three hats' isn't new to him – he also produced and directed Dances with Wolves, which earned seven Academy Awards. Due to the commercial and critical success of Dances, he had confidence in his ability to direct and produce this film as well. 'I feel that's something I just do naturally,' he says. 'Whether I'm directing or not, I always watch the production to see if we're moving right. I'm not a careless person with people's money, whether it's mine or not.'
Costner's first priority as director and producer was to abandon many of the tedious conventions of modern Westerns and recreate the solid characterizations of classic Westerns. 'It has become a costume parody of hats, stubble, facial hair, guns, and women with corsets,' he says. 'It's a genre that threatens to bore, and most of the time it does. No wonder kids think that it's boring, because the ones on television are boring. That's not to say that classic movies haven't been made, but in my mind, not a lot have been.'
Determined to make a rich, authentic Western full of engaging drama and suspense, the director threw out modern Western stereotypes and decided to explore more than just a gunfight. 'The easiest thing in the world is to put the white hat or black hat on somebody,' he says. 'Start a movie with a man's family slaughtered, which gives him the right to go through the whole movie exacting revenge. While we understand those themes, they're a little too simple.'
Though, Costner knew that Open Range would need to revolve around the gun-slinging finale. He simply wanted the violence to be an integral part of the story, not just a visual effects extravaganza. 'I know a movie has to be entertaining. I know these movies lead up to their gunfight, without a doubt. If they don't, you've made a mistake,' Costner says. 'I knew I was going to get to the gunfight, but I wanted to make sure [the characters] resonated in some way that they were not boring. I just believe in character. I just believe that it's entertaining.'
In creating authentic, three-dimensional characters, Costner emphasized their human characteristics and the sensibility of their actions. 'I am in love with stuff like digging out the wagon, and inside the wagon, I'm happy to see a young boy who's just dicking around, which young boys do There's a reality there. If you take it a step farther, and deal with the boy playing with a dog, you have behavior that we all recognize '
Costner also feels that humor is essential in creating authentic Western characters. 'I happen to believe men and women can be humored by two men who can't even get their fingers in a teacup,' he says. 'You have behavior that you can recognize in yourself.' Costner also understands the need for drama and suspense. 'If I think I can just make a movie with guys touching teacups that's not true,' he continues. 'But if I think that those teacups aren't as important as the gunfight, then I have not included you.'
Eventually, Open Range does lead up to an intense and climatic gunfight, therefore, Costner felt that he needed to include more than just guys firing guns – he also wanted to explore the human aspects of violence. 'I wanted specifically to show how I perceive violence in the west and break with some of the forms I've seen,' he says. 'I believe in the chaos, and I also believe in the survival instinct If your life is threatened, there isn't one person who wouldn't go after the person who they thought would be the most dangerous, as opposed to letting the gunfight wind down and then see who the fastest is.'
Costner breaks modern Western conventions in more ways than one. He also deals with the aftermath of the gunfight, 'which is not – in conventional wisdom – a place people want you to go after a battle,' he says. 'They want the movie wrapped up.' But Costner sees things more practically. 'When bodies were left in the street, you'd see people gathered around and those bodies don't just disappear. People have to pick them up and take them away.'
When it came to the staging of the gunfight itself, Costner abandoned preconceived expectations again. 'I was not interested in doing a fight in slow motion, I wasn't really interested in the blood aspect, and I wasn't really interested in doing it in close-ups,' he explains. 'When people see violence, they see bits and wisps of it
they can tell by the
movement that it's violent. What you feel is almost a vulgar violence. Not what you call terribly heroic in the classic sense of heroic '
Even if it means taking a few risks, Costner always abides by his own style. 'It might not make it a summer blockbuster, and that's okay, but what I do want desperately is that someone can pull this movie off a shelf ten years from now and say, 'This is what I mean about a Western," Costner concludes. 'We probably won't see many unless people make good ones, and that's what I hope I have done. If people are recognized for being in these movies, I think you'll see more important actors move toward our ancestral past – our oldest genre.'Read More


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Haddad Camp Near Port of Alab and Qilal Shaibani in Asir were hit by the Yemeni army and popular committees as the attack was carried out on their gatherings and concentrations.
As part of ongong military operations in Asir, the Yemeni army and popular committees carried out an offensive operation on the military camp of Nashmah in Rabawah.
The operation was successful and resulted in the destruction of arms store which was totally burned and left many troops dead and injured.
The War Media also distributed new scenes from Asir, targeting the enemy concentrations opposite to the port of Alab and Qilal Shaibani and ambulances were seen rushing towards the site.
The scenes of Haddad camp of Saudi troops in Zahran were also distributed were Yemeni army and popular committees fired dozens of artillery rockets.
The operation began with the barricade of the camp Zaharan in Asir province. The Saudi troops withdrew from the area and Yemeni Joint forces stormed the camp to control it.
Yemeni forces destroyed military vehicles and stockpiled ammunition and military equipment after controlling the Saudi site.

subset: commoncrawl


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Use this information to start up Alfresco Content Services 6.0 or above and Alfresco Search and Insight Engine 1.4 using Docker Compose. Due to the limited capabilities of Docker Compose, this deployment method is recommended for development and test environments only.
- Docker
- This allows you to run Docker images and Docker Compose on a single computer.
- Docker Compose
- Docker Compose is included as part of some Docker installers. If it's not part of your installation, then install it separately after you've installed Docker.
- Access to Quay
- Docker requires access to certain images which are stored on Quay. You need to use the correct credentials provided by Alfresco to access these images. Contact Alfresco Support to request the credentials.
Note: Make sure the following ports are free on your computer: 5432, 8080, 8082, 8083. These ports are set in the docker-compose.yml file.
- Download the latest Alfresco Content Services docker-compose.yml file by accessing the trial download page.
- Save the file in a local folder.
Edit the file and change the Solr 6 service. Add a # prefix to Alfresco Search Services so it is
commented out.
solr6: #image: alfresco/alfresco-search-services:1.4.0 image: quay.io/alfresco/insight-engine:1.4.x mem_limit: 2500m environment: #Solr needs to know how to register itself with Alfresco - SOLR_ALFRESCO_HOST=alfresco - SOLR_ALFRESCO_PORT=8080 #Alfresco needs to know how to call solr - SOLR_SOLR_HOST=solr6 - SOLR_SOLR_PORT=8983 #Create the default alfresco and archive cores - SOLR_CREATE_ALFRESCO_DEFAULTS=alfresco,archive - "SOLR_JAVA_MEM=-Xms2g -Xmx2g" ports: - 8083:8983 #Browser portNote: If you want to use the Apache Zeppelin visualization interface with Alfresco Search and Insight Engine you have to deploy it using Docker Compose, along with Alfresco Content Services 6.0 or above and Alfresco Search and Insight Engine. You cannot install it manually. See Deploy Alfresco Insight Zeppelin using Docker Compose for the additional container information you need to add to your docker-compose.yml file.
- Save the file.
Log in to Quay using the following command:
$ docker login quay.io login against server at https://quay.io/v1/ Username: <<Quay.io Credential Username>> Password: <<Quay.io Credential Password>>
Change directory to the location of the docker-compose.yml file and
deploy Alfresco Content Services and Search and Insight Engine using the
following command:
docker-compose up
This downloads the images, fetches all the dependencies, creates each container, and then starts the system. If you downloaded the project and changes were made to the project settings, any new images will be pulled from Quay before the system starts.
Wait for the logs to complete, the following message will display:
... alfresco_1 | 2019-08-08 21:02:20,386 INFO [management.subsystems.ChildApplicationContextFactory] [http-nio-8080-exec-10] Starting 'Transformers' subsystem, ID: [Transformers, default] alfresco_1 | 2019-08-08 21:02:20,661 INFO [management.subsystems.ChildApplicationContextFactory] [http-nio-8080-exec-10] Startup of 'Transformers' subsystem, ID: [Transformers, default] complete
If you encounter errors whilst the system is starting up:
- Stop the session (by using CONTROL+C).
- Remove the container (using the --rmi all option): For example docker-compose down --rmi all.
- Try allocating more memory resources. As advised in docker-compose.yml set it to at least 16 GB. To adjust the memory, in Docker, go to Preferences (or Settings) > Advanced > Memory. Once you have adjusted the memory make sure you restart Docker and wait for the process to finish before continuing.
- Go back and retry the deployment.
Open your browser and check everything starts up correctly:
- Alfresco: http://localhost:8082/alfresco
- Share: http://localhost:8080/share
- Solr: http://localhost:8083/solr
Note: When you access the solr url you will see the version of Alfresco Search and Insight Engine that has installed.


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Grigio di Como
Frome the series Meditation of colors
For this artworks, I wanted to figure out if colors could create a rhythm like notes; while cutting and applying pieces of fabric a selection of colors has become a sort of meditation. Then I decided to listen to the music and let it influence the sequence and direction of the waves, lines, and colors.
After all, artwork seemed too clean, too perfectly in order and it wasn't reflecting me personally so I decided to add a splash of contrasting color to make it look finished.
Now it is. Enjoy.
Made with cotton fabrics and contrasting silk pieces, acrylic colors and epoxy resin on MDF panel; Ø 60 cm; Como; 2018/2019
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Product Description
Photovoltaic / PV Solar Tee Connector
The solar tee connector is used for parallel connection of solar systems. Featuring a robust design, the connector helps in saving both time and costs associated with installing a solar system. It offers an IP68 rating, which makes it operable in even the most severe weather conditions.
Endorsements from top solar industries:
- Fully intermateable with industry standard
- Meets all new NEC 2008 requirements
- Quick and easy secure snap lock mating
- Simple unlocking tool meets NEC requirements
- Long-term UV and Ozone resistance
- Highest current rating in industry
Technical data:
- For wire size: 1.5-9.0mm2 (AWG16/14/12/10/8)
- Rated voltage: 1000V DC(UL/TUV)
- Rated current: 30A 85 °C
- Temperature range: -40 ~ 85°C
- Contact material: Copper, tin plated
- Housing material: PA/PC
- Protection class: IP68
- Safety Class: II (IEC61140)
- Pollution Degree: II (IEC60664)
- Overvoltge category: III (E\IEC60664)
- Flame class: UL94-V0
- RoHS compliant


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The weather in Boston for the Pride Parade was cool and wet but it did not deter the crowds. I've said before - Boston Pride is tame and the parade in particular is ho-hum, but I still have fun and enjoy seeing friends and meeting people visiting from other cities. I've included pictures from the parade and block party that just ended. Now I need to rehydrate and relax a bit so I can enjoy this evening.
|Make a photo slideshow


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Chilliwack, BC: The Penticton Vees (3-0-0-0) were trailing 2-0 after one period against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (1-3-0-1) Friday night, but a goaltending change sparked the team to a 3-2, come-from-behind victory.
Nearly eight minutes into the first period the Bulldogs opened the scoring. Jackson Doucet was the recipient of a loose puck being chopped towards the front of the net and buried his first career BCHL goal into an open cage.
Inside the final 10 seconds of the period Alberni extended their lead. Michael Sacco, skating down the left wing in the Vees zone, fired a harmless looking shot on net that deflected off Nolan Hildebrand and into the net to make it 2-0 after one.
Adam Scheel came in goal to start the second, and the Vees went to work. While four on four, Jonny Tychonick showed some great puck control before spotting Ben Allen in the slot who rifled home his first BCHL goal to cut it to 2-1.
The score stayed the same, despite multiple power-play chances for both teams, into the third period. Another former Saskatchewan player tied the game up for the Vees. Jackson Keane carried the puck into the Alberni zone before spotting Dakota Boutin charging towards the net. Boutin took the pass, settled the puck and fired a wrist shot that snuck under Colten Lancaster's blocker arm to tie the game less than four minutes into the third.
Allen would find the back of the net once again a few minutes later, thanks to another great set up from Keane. Carrying the puck down the right wing towards the net, Keane was chased down by Darren Rizzollo. While falling forward, Keane backhanded the puck to Allen at the left face-off circle and he wired a wrist shot into the top corner to give the Vees their first lead of the game.
Scheel would shut the door from there, stopping all 19 shots thrown his way over the final 40 minutes as the Vees picked up the 3-2 victory. Both teams finished 0 for 6 on the man advantage.
The Vees now turn their attention to the Chilliwack Chiefs who they will play tomorrow night at 7:30 to wrap up their Showcase schedule.


text: Cord Fochno, is a raised mire; a great lens of peat next to the Dyfi estuary a few miles to the north of Aberystwyth. At its heart, there is no solid ground, just layers of compressed Sphagnum mosses laid down on a freshwater wetland since the end of the last Ice Age. In the past,Continue reading "Cors Fochno"


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Authors: Bernard R. Bendok, MD, FAANS; Karl Abi-Aad, MD; Jennifer Ward, MBA; Jason Kniss; Mary Jeanne Kwasny; Rami James Aoun, MD, MPH; Tarek El Ahmadieh, MD; Samer Zammar, MD; Salah Aoun, MD; Najib El Tecle, MD; Rudy Rahme, MD; Matthew Welz, MS (Phoenix, AZ)
The Hydrogel Embolic System (HES) coil (Microvention, Aliso Viejo, CA), which is a hydrogel coated platinum coil, was designed to improve packing density and long-term obliteration rates of intracranial aneurysms. The first-generation HES demonstrated lower recurrence rates than bare platinum coils (BPC); however, its use was limited by technical difficulties. A second-generation HES was designed to withstand longer working times and reproduce the ease of use of BPC. The New Generation Hydrogel Endovascular Aneurysm Treatment Trial (HEAT) compares the second-generation HES with BPC in 600 subjects, over a period of 2 years.
HEAT is a multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial that enrolled subjects 18–75 years of age with 3–14 mm ruptured or unruptured brain aneurysms eligible for endovascular treatment. Randomization occurred in a 1:1 fashion across 46 sites in the US and Canada. Subjects assigned to the Hydrogel arm received 90% second-generation HES, at least. The primary outcome of the study was aneurysm recanalization. Secondary outcomes were initial occlusion, packing density, hemorrhage, retreatment, mortality, and aneurysm recanalization assessed by other scales.
Enrollment began in 2012 and ended in 2016. 86.2% of the 600 enrolled subjects had at least one follow-up angiogram or MRA evaluation. Recanalization rates were 4.4% for HES and 15.4% for BPC (p<0.001). In terms of secondary outcomes, there were no differences in adverse events (p=0.498) mortality (p=0.641), retreatment (p=0.162), and rehemorrhage rates (p=0.297) between both arms.
In the HEAT trial, the second-generation Hydrogel Coil was found to be superior to the bare platinum coil in reducing aneurysm recurrence rates. Adverse events and Clinical outcomes were similar between both arms of the study. The findings of this trial suggest that second-generation hydrogel coils are associated with greater durability of treatment when compared to bare platinum coils without any increase in morbidity.


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Hire A Top Class Real Estate Agent Who Will Invest In Your Future
Let's Begin the Search for Your Dream Home
Type your preferred location to get started
Exclusive FREE online evaluation!
Together, we are the new, revamped SOLD ON A CURE TEAM!
Each of us as individuals is deeply rooted in our faith and in our families, but we've all come together to unite with one common goal; to serve the needs of others and to contribute to the community with our core values being the focal point of how we do business.
Christine Currie, Brandy Rushe & Stephanie Manley, Sales Representatives


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Despite initial lack of government support for both the 2018 Miss Cayman Islands and subsequent Miss Universe pageants, local organizers started recruiting candidates in April, planning participation in the late-autumn global final.
Applications opened this month for both pageants, with an April 30 deadline.
The two pageants are intimately linked. The winner of the local contest goes on to represent the Cayman Islands in the Miss Universe competition, tentatively scheduled this year for November or December in Manila, capital of the Philippines.
The Manhattan headquarters of Miss Universe declined to confirm the date or venue, however, saying "nothing has been announced yet, nothing is official." The spokesman was unable to say when an announcement might come.
Committee chair for both Miss Cayman and Miss Universe, Derri Dacres-Lee, acknowledged that government had not initially budgeted funds for the two pageants, despite years of support and a $100,000 allocation for 2019.
While offering no explanation for the lack of 2018 funding, she said the 2019 figure "is a two-year budget," and that "government is currently processing funding for the 2018 pageant."
Miss Cayman would go ahead as planned, she said.
"The government is supporting the committee with funding," she added. "They have ways of moving money around for the pageant this year, and they have allocated full funding, and more, should we need it."
She estimated costs for Miss Cayman at $30,000 "on the scale it has been operating," and pegged Miss Universe at half that sum – "approximately $15,000." This includes wardrobe, training, travel and per diem for the titleholder.
Pointing to the overall $100,000 budget, "government will have funding in place for 2019," Ms. Dacres-Lee said. "I am looking forward to another exciting year."
Training sessions for the candidates will follow the April 30 deadline for applications.
Ms. Dacres-Lee hoped to recruit at least five contestants – between the ages of 18 and 27, never married, not pregnant and with no criminal convictions.
"We are seeking role models," said Ministry of Tourism Administrative Officer Judy Powery, government representative for both pageants.
The contests are more than a simple beauty contest, she said, adding that they serve for "providing opportunities for our young women to get education and experience through travel and interaction with women from all over the world.
"We also offer an educational scholarship in the amount of CI$70,000 for the winner and $5,000 each for the first and second runners-up."
The training teaches poise, balance and confidence, while the contest itself offers international exposure on a world stage, Ms. Dacres-Lee said.
Because Miss Cayman automatically goes to Miss Universe, all local contestants must meet the requirements of the New York corporate headquarters, which demands an indigenous pageant.
The Cayman Islands government acquired both the Miss Universe and Miss World franchises in the early 1990s from a private local owner. The New York parent itself had been partly owned by a consortium of U.S. TV giant NBC, Spanish-language broadcaster Univision and the Trump Organization.
In 2015, after controversial remarks by presidential candidate Donald Trump regarding Mexican immigrants, NBC dropped the partnership. Mr. Trump subsequently sued Univision for $500 million and bought NBC's share in the Miss Universe organization. He quickly sold the entire company – which included Miss USA and Miss Teen USA – to New York-based WME-IMG, William Morris Endeavors and International Management Group.
"For the Cayman Islands," Ms. Powery said, "Miss Universe is a tourism product," advertising the destination. "The members of Miss Universe … if your girl is getting a lot of views, especially on social media, say, 30,000 views, 40,000 views, that is a lot of attention for the Cayman Islands. People will follow their favorites. They'll come to Cayman, and TV audiences all over the world tune in to watch Miss Universe."
In the meantime, Ms. Powery said, the schedule to select and train contestants, and prepare them for the global finals was "very tight." It also means that Cayman may find itself overwhelmed in August, witnessing not only Miss Cayman Islands, but also Miss Teen on Aug. 25 and the separate Miss World contest, acquired from government in 2017 by 1992 Miss Cayman Pamela Ebanks-Small, who launched candidate recruitment in late March at www.missworldcayman.com.
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Shocking video of people's private lives are streaming over the internet.
Hackers are able to easily tap into personal security cameras and stream them on websites for the world to see, and it can happen in a matter of 10 seconds. Most if not all the owners of these devices have no idea they are being watched.
It's happening in Tampa Bay and the ABC Action News I-Team found some video they should never be able to see. They recently interviewed KnowBe4 CEO Stu Sjouwerman in our Clearwater office.
"It gets pretty scary, pretty quickly," Stu Sjouwerman.
A Russian website allows users to click on just about any city and see live feeds directly into people's homes.
The I-Team found footage from both outdoor security feeds and indoor security feeds. Among the videos they found were two cameras streaming live video from the University of South Florida's volleyball court, a naked man in Georgia walking around his home, a live medical operation in Missouri, a young girl in Georgia sleeping in her bed, and countless daycare centers in Florida -- babies in nurseries and school aged children.
"Very unsettling" says an anonymous father. He was streaming live while in his nursery changing his newborn. He had no idea. "You have to watch everything because anything connected to the internet can obviously be accessed and probably pretty easily."
It's easier to do than you might think. Most security cameras are set up with a default password. If that password isn't changed, that's all hackers need to access your pricate stream.
"Change the password of any device that you get in your house" Stu says. This should be done immediately with any new device before it's even used for the first time.
Stu tells us there's greater risk.
As with most modern cybercrime, there is almost no such thing as a one time threat or attack. Once someone can get into your cameras, it is much easier for them to then gain access to your entire network and its devices.
Stu says some websites are even selling recordings of your live stream video to fetish sites.
"Once they catch something it can be sold, whatever it is," he said.
Cameras are live streaming on this particular site from Tampa to Sarasota, and all over Florida.
This type of hack is nothing new, in fact there were a few stories back in 2014 warning the public about the existence of a similar Russian website (could be the same one) that then had access to about 73,011 locations with unsecured security cameras in 256 different countries.
It's also helpful to keep in mind default passwords may not be the only vulnerability when it comes to home security cameras. You should at the very least do a quick Google search for the specific model to see if there are other known vulnerabilities. Just take a look at this huge flaw that was discovered in a specific D-Link camera model. Here is a good list of suggestions for ensuring the safety of your home security system.


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In early 2015, YouTube engineer Richard Leider said that – "YouTube has dumped Flash in favour of HTML5 for its default web player." This was an important announcement and in many ways the final nail in the coffin for Adobe's much-loved Flash Player. In 1996, Flash Player was introduced by Macromedia as a tool to play videos, animation and audio-files. Flash Player grew in popularity and soon became the de-facto plug-in to play multimedia elements on websites. The growth of eLearning and the increasing use of videos in eLearning course-content also saw designers using Flash Player with greater frequency.
Over the years, two things significantly tilted things away from the popularity of 'Flash':
Flash Player was designed to work on computers and web browsers. The growth of technology and the internet has seen an entire new generation of products. Today we have smart televisions, streaming devices, all-powerful smartphones running on different operating systems and much more. HTML5 is the perfect fit for websites to render multimedia content in the best way possible. HTML5's adoption of Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) is one of the key factors for its growing popularity. ABR allows websites to change the video resolution based on the network connectivity speed; this helps reduce the video buffering time and load on heavily congested networks.
Time till 2020
Post 2020, there will be no official development release or support for Flash from Adobe. Hence it is important for organizations to get their Flash-based content converted to HTML5 or WebGL. HTML5 is more popular because it is device-agnostic and delivers high-quality media-rich content with ease on both mobile and web-based browsers. Plus, no additional plug-ins are needed to view HTML5 content.
Impact on the eLearning Industry
The eLearning industry is definitely bearing a huge brunt of the problems created by the increased dependency on Flash and Adobe's decision to shut down support for Flash. eLearning courses take a fairly long time to get created with sizeable sums of money and significant effort invested in getting a good eLearning course ready. It will be difficult to recreate such courses and it makes business sense to convert these courses to HTML5 and ensure that they are easily accessed by learners across devices.
S4Carlise – A Seal of Trust and Efficiency
At S4Carlisle, we can help you convert your old Flash-based content to HTML5. With a proven track-record in course conversion of eLearning courses catering to different industries; we can help convert your old Flash-based courses to HTML5 with ease. We have a skilled team of developers, programmers and graphic designers who love challenges and execute work with passion and dedication. Write to us at email@example.com with your requirements and we will get in touch right away to help you switch to HTML5.
Recommended to read next


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Event date:
Saturday, August 22, 2015 - 10:00am to 12:00pm
Attendance Required:
Explore the University of Iowa Old Capitol, a national historic landmark located in the center of campus. The Old Capitol served as the first state capitol and University of Iowa's founding building. In 1976, the Old Capitol became a museum restored and dedicated to enlivening Iowa history for all. Limited to first 20 people.
Location: Meet inside the Old Capitol Museum on the Pentacrest


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Judith Ahlbeck, LISW-S
Location: Worthington
LISW-S - Licensed Independent Social Worker
Contact Info
|12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
|12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Judith Ahlbeck, LISW-S
Judith Ahlbeck specializes in marriage and family counseling, parenting, depression and anxiety, codependency, work-related issues, women's issues, and general clinical social work. EAP and brief therapy clients are welcome. She has 28 years of experience in practical problem-solving to offer clients.
Accepted Payors: Aetna, Aetna Better-Health, Aetna EAP, Anthem, Anthem EAP, Buckeye Health Plan, Carebridge EAP, Caresource, Ceridian Lifeworks EAP, Helpnet EAP, HMSA EAP, Impact EAP, Humana, Humana EAP, Medicare, Molina, Medigold, Mutual of Omaha EAP, Ohio Health EAP, OSU NGS Coresource, United Healthcare, Beacon Health Options
Adults only: Anxiety/depression, bi-polar disorder, blended family issues, cognitive behavior therapy, cultural/ethnic, dialectical behavior therapy, divorce, family therapy, grief/loss, marital/couples, parenting, relationships, stress management, women's issues


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B.O.B. – Beautiful Creatures
This week's first post is focused on the film, Beautiful Creatures; a supernatural love story about a boy looking to escape his small-town, Southern life, and a mysterious new girl who arrives at his school. Instead of focusing on the overall plot and cinematography of the movie, this review will examine the artistry and art direction of the film, focusing on music, costumes, set design, special effects, and typography.
The soundtrack of the film is quite varied but effective in expressing the different moods and situations throughout the movie. The songs range from classical atmospheric ballads to country and folk with a modern twist. The composer utilizes classical string instruments to effectively give certain parts of the movie an eerie feel. And of course, the use of the banjo ties in with the setting and environment quite well.
Many of the characters' attire are appropriate for the film, with "normal people" in jeans, T-shirts and skirts, etc. Though the shift in costuming is seen with Lena, the female protagonist, and her family, who are all casters (witches), who wear more formal attire, such as suits and ties and fancy gowns. The casters are portrayed as beautiful creatures and not your stereotypical gnarly witch. The costumes were beautiful and almost over-the-top, but didn't detract from the movie; it almost gave an old-time Southern feel, which in that respect worked fairly well.
Set Design
I'm not entirely sure where the film was shot, though the environment, buildings and flora were very believable in giving you the impression that the story is taking place somewhere in the South, with neoclassical architectural buildings covered with moss and old, twisted trees that seem to date back to the colonial times. The set design gets my approval too.
Special Effects
The special effects weren't great, but it was neither awful. From the occasional changing of eye color to a spinning table at a family dinner, the effects seemed satisfactory, nothing over the top. Maybe with a larger budget, the effects can be more polished but it was successful in what it had to do for the film.
The typography for the Beautiful Creatures identity is beautiful, with an ornate and organic feel. The logo is reminiscent of tree branches, which is a theme throughout the movie. It also has a feminine quality, which plays on the image of the strong female characters seen throughout the movie. There is a sequence at the end of the movie that is worth seeing from a designer's standpoint, where the type looks as though it is sprouting vines and branches, which is visually compelling.
Overall Impression
Overall, Beautiful Creatures gets a Honey "Approved" stamp for its art direction, which I found to be pretty solid. It can be refined a little but overall effective and successful.
If you are looking for a full review of Beautiful Creatures, along with other various films that are currently playing (A Good Day to Die Hard, Safe Haven), you can read more on Tony Sheppard's popular reviews at Sacramento Press!


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An inside look at Botox Cosmetic with Shape's executive beauty director, Cheryl Kramer Kaye.
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RELATED: Shape's 2014 Beauty Awards
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Please click here for BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) full Prescribing Information including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide.


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Dr Andrew Fisher connects strength based engagement and participatory budgeting. Find out what happened at Speke Up – Tackling Serious and Organised Crime Through Strengths Based Engagement in Speke Merseyside, a project led by MutualGain. "There is evidence that suggests a strong correlation between low social capital and high levels of crime and disorder. High… Read More
The role of Participatory Budgeting in policing and community safety
Pushing at the limits: Participatory Budgeting and prisoner rehabilitation in Canada
Jez Hall writes about how PB can push the limits of empowerment to the most unusual of suspects. One of the amazing things about Participatory Budgeting(PB) is how it can push boundaries and break down walls. Even the walls around the criminal justice system? A step too far? Whether its in empowering young people by… Read More
PB and Social Isolation: New blog by Jez Hall
In a new blog by Jez Hall, published on the Shared Future CIC website outlines why he thinks PB and reducing social isolation go together. Highlights of his blog are below. "Recently I've been coordinating a citizen inquiry on elderly care at home, where social isolation is a key emerging theme to promoting well-being and… Read More
2,500 people vote on projects to end Islamophobia in Edinburgh
It is a sad but undeniable fact that post Brexit levels of hate crime have risen across some parts of the UK, most notably England and Wales. Intolerance, ignorance, prejudice and inequality have emerged as communities try to make sense of the Brexit impact on society. Analysis of this information and the conceptual intelligence held… Read More
Tackling Islamophobia in Edinburgh: Building bridges not walls?
'Shared Vision – Your Decision' is an Edinburgh based initiative which enables local people to decide how public money is spent in eradicating Islamophobia and associated prejudice behaviour. Police Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council and The Scottish Government have made a total of £40,000 available as part of their ongoing commitment to addressing Islamophobia across Edinburgh…. Read More
From small idea to big change: challenging domestic abuse and hate crime through Participatory Budgeting
A blog by Dr Andrew Fisher of MutualGain, who ran the PB and community safety workshop at Engage, Think Do! Two weeks ago I presented a workshop at the International PB conference on the use of PB in relation to community safety. This is one of those subjects where, on a Friday afternoon, you… Read More
The Winner Takes It All? Opportunities for Mainstreaming Citizen Participation
The Winner Takes It All is a guest blog by Dr Andrew Fisher, who led the workshop on policing at Engage, Think, Do! international PB fringe conference in Edinburgh in October 2016. Last weeks International PB conference set the sights very high for next year. A fabulous venue, a great backdrop in Edinburgh and wonderful… Read More
Burtonwood residents have their say in Police Commissioner led PB
THE fate of a £20,000 cash post has been decided after the public was asked to have their say on where the money should be spent. Eleven projects will receive funding from the A Better Burtonwood Participatory Budgeting project in Warrington. The winners were announced by Cheshire's police and crime commissioner John Dwyer. He said:… Read More
Would more citizen engagement would build trust with the police service?
The Economy Watch website has recently published a review of the role of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). In their report they highlight that too few PCC's are embracing participation in budgets as a way to raise their profile. As the April 2016 report indicates in various passages: "Voters across 40 police force areas in… Read More
Wrexham and Flintshire groups benefit from proceeds of crime money
Groups across North Wales are able to grab back cash from criminals through a Participatory Budgeting initiative run by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner. As reported in the Leader Newspaper community groups in Wrexham and Flintshire to bid for a share of a £42,000 pot of money seized from criminals. The scheme has… Read More


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A round of golf is much different in colder temperatures, and this winter we examine some must-have cold weather golf accessories for the golfer who continues to play in cold weather.
When you golf in golf weather, you experience a different set of issues. Your swing might be hampered by extra layers of clothes, your concentration might slip because you're busy thinking about that warm post-round drink. Your hands sting from an off-center hit, and the golf ball will not travel as far or spin as much. A different strategy for play is definitely required, but there are also some must-have cold weather golf accessories that can help your game, so pick these up before your next cold day on the links.
Golf Winter Gloves
Hardcore golfers continue to play even in the harshest conditions, yet the hands quickly go numb in cold temperatures, making it nearly impossible to maintain the necessary feel needed for delicate shots. Yet sold in a pair, FootJoy's WinterSof gloves are cozy and feature a suede leather palm that provides superb feel and grip in the cold. The stretch knit helps trap heat for increased warmth, and these gloves are affordably priced at $21. Players who prefer to ride might also enjoy Titleist Cart Mitts for $40 a pair. These are easy to slip on and off between shots, and keep your hands toasty and ready for the next drive.
Hand and Feet Warmers
Hand warmers are a great alternative for golfers who want to keep their hands warm during extremely cold conditions, but don't want to commit (yet) to gloves or mitts. Disposable hand warmers offer up to 10 hours of heat once activated. Plan accordingly, as they generally take up to 15 minutes to reach optimum heat, and can rise over 100 degrees in temperature. Hand warmers fit comfortably in gloves or pockets for a quick finger or palm warm up. HeatMax Hot Hands are a popular golf brand that generally retail around $2.00 a pack, or you can purchase a box for $30 or so. There are also feet warmers that fit in golf shoes to keep your feet and toes warm on a chilly day.
Winter Hat
Want to stay a bit warmer? Wear a winter hat! Heat leaves your body through your head, so don't forget to wear a hat that covers your head and ears to help keep warm. The TaylorMade Beanie fleece will keep you warm on cold days and retails for around $20.00.
Switch Golf Balls
Research indicates you lose 2.5 yards every time the temperature drops 10 degrees. At 40 degrees, you can expect to see a loss of 12.5 yards from your average shot. Try the ColdFusion golf ball once the temperature drops below 55 degrees. ColdFusion balls are engineered specifically for colder temperatures with a low compression Cold Power Core and a CT Elastic Ionomer cover. The result is a golf ball that performs and feels great in cold weather conditions. Best of all, the ColdFusion golf ball retails for $24 per dozen, because who wants to spend time searching for those lost golf balls in the cold? (Not that we ever lose golf balls…)


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The team immediately got engaged in one-to-one's after I finished and we spent the rest of the evening talking with people and handing out tracts. It had been a fruitful time.
Soli Deo Gloria!
I was woken up by the sound of an alarm somewhere in my room, as the noise began to filter into my ears, a thought ran through my mind "Do I have to get up?" As I rolled over to try and find where my alarm was, I saw the clocked and realized that I had only had about four to five hours sleep. Instantly my brain began to create excuses on why I should stay tucked up in bed on this wet morning. But, my alarm was persistent, it kept on bellowing out its call to awake, so after finding the alarm I was finally awake enough to realize that I had to hurry, as I didn't have much time before I was due to leave for the Queensland Baptist Convention. Normally, I don't go to these kind of conventions, but today was the day in which Queensland Baptists were going to have a focus on evangelism, so it was good for me to attend.
The first speaker for the morning was Will Graham (Billy Graham's grandson), he spoke on "Integrity in the Pulpit" and I must admit it was a really good sermon, he focused on how as evangelists often times we can fall into temptation and sin, thus destroying our ministry, but more importantly when this happens we bring the name of Jesus Christ to shame.
After Will Graham finished speaking, to other guys spoke about evangelism. They said some interesting things, but I found myself disagreeing with the whole of focus of "socialize" someone into the Kingdom of God. After their session finished I was introduced to Will Graham by a senior Baptist evangelist. What struck me about meeting Will Graham was the fact that even though he was famous, he was a real humble and down to earth kind of guy. Which was really good to see, and when you spoke to him, you could tell that he was genuinely interested in what you had to say.
I had to leave the convention a little bit earlier, as I had to drive out west of Brisbane in order to pick up 1,000 tickets for the Will Graham evangelism rally that was being held that night. The plan was, that I pick up the tickets, then that afternoon I would go out into the Southbank parklands, and give away free tickets to those who were in the area, and as a result invite them to hear Will speak that night at the Brisbane convention centre.
At 3pm, it was raining, so Fitzy, Andre and I thought that it would be fairly hard to give away these 1,000 tickets due to the fact that no one hangs out in the parklands while it is raining. But, we headed over there anyway, and to our surprise we found the parklands to be jammed full of people. It turned out that there was a large "Save the Planet" festival going on, so we quickly began to hand out the tickets to those we encountered. Within 45 minutes all 1,000 tickets were gone, and many of those who took the tickets promised to come that night.
We then went back to the convention centre where we spent some time in prayer asking God to save souls tonight through the preaching of Will Graham. Since I was on the "people helper" (counsellor) group, I had to stay back till about 10pm in order to help out with those who responded to the gospel. But, before that we had to go once again through the training material to make sure that we were familiar with the material we would be giving to people. During this time, I once again go to see how humble Will Graham was, as while everyone was being instructed on what to do, he came into the back of the room and just listened. There was no "big" entrance like you see with many other preachers, but rather he just quietly stood at the back and listened. After awhile, he was called to the front, and then he thanked everyone for helping and prayed for us.
Since we were short on numbers for helpers, I assisted with ushering as well, and while I was doing that we noticed a good size group of young people come into the convention centre swearing like troopers. A few people around looked a bit shocked, but I was happy, and excited to see them. As they were a group that earlier that afternoon we had given free tickets to.
The night went well, and before the preaching there was some good music. Then it came time for Will to preach, he instantly connected with the crowd and then began to expound on the gospel of Christ. He spoke about how we as humans need to be in the Masters hands, and we need to be guided by Him, yet, the problem is that our sin has separated us from God. After this, Will then pointed people to the cross of Christ, and showed that it is only by Jesus that we can be forgiven.
At the call of salvation about 60 - 80 people responded. After I finished speaking to those I was designated to "counsel", Andre and I quickly left the convention centre and rushed to the Queen Street Mall to join the Operation 513 team.
As we entered the mall the first thing we noticed was that it wasn't busy, this was due to the rain, and as we began to walk down the mall, we heard the familiar sound of Andrew Hsu open air preaching. As usual Alex the Agnostic was there, then there were some other familiar faces in the crowd, Riley the Agnostic and also Josh the Atheist. Good to see the boys had come out even though it was raining.
After Andrew Hsu finished preaching it was decided that Andrew Caswell should preach, now Caswell and I are old mates, who have been working together for about four and a bit years. Yet, he is only new to open air preaching. He got up and brought the Word of God with a passion and a zeal, that I wish I could even have a small bit of. When Caswell spoke he spoke in away that you could tell that this Gospel was the power of God unto salvation!
While Caswell was preaching, I noticed this young bald man in the crowd going around to different people saying "Ask the preacher this question, he won't be able to answer". As I watched him do this, I noticed that those who would encourage to say something simply ignored him, and kept on listening. So, when the young man got close to me, I said "Why don't you ask the preacher that question?" He just looked at me, and seemed to be a bit embarrassed, so I said "Mate, I am a preacher, why don't you ask me the question, and I'll see if I can answer." The young man agreed, and his question related to 'Who wrote the Bible & What about the Da Vinci Code?' I quickly answered his questions, and the whole time I was focused on getting to the gospel. So I asked him, "you have heard of Jesus, right?" He replied that he had, so then I asked, "do you understand why Jesus had to die on the cross?" The man said that he didn't. It turns out that this young man's name was Jacob, so I began to talk to Jacob about personal sin.
As I walked through the Scripture, and showed Jacob that he was a sinner in the sight of God, you could see his face change from one of arrogance to one of concern. He had realized that he was indeed in trouble with a Holy God. By now his friends were trying to interrupt, but by God's grace I was able to present the full gospel to him. Jacob took a tract, and thanked me for telling him about salvation in Christ. Knowing that he still had questions I asked, "Now, what questions do you have in regards to Christianity?" Again, he brought up about the Bible, and this time also about the historical Jesus. So I answered his questions (something his friends didn't like), and as he left Jacob said, "that makes sense, thanks for that."
It is encounters like that with Jacob that make witnessing on the streets so worth while. It was such an encouraging encounter to see a young man come to an understand of forgiveness in Christ. Later on in the evening, Andre came up to me and told me that he had just seen Jacob and his friends talking about the encounter, his friends were trying to make him forget our conversation, but Jacob just kept saying "What if the preacher is right?" Please pray for Jacob.
After this, it was my turn to preach, so I began by reading out a passage of Scripture, then expounding on what it meant. I spoke about how God is loving towards sinful humanity, in that even though we don't deserve His mercy, God still shows grace towards us in that He sent Christ to pay the price for our sins if we would believe.
During the preaching I noticed that Jacob was back listening, pray that God's word will take root in his heart.
Alex as usual fired up his arguments, and as usual they were flawed to the highest degree. Each week he comes back, and tries to suppress the truth in unrighteousness, but God's truth will not be stopped!
While preaching on sin, Riley called out "People only believe in sin, because of that book!" So I asked him about those other religions that don't believe in the Bible, and why is it that they have a knowledge of sin. His reply was to state that because they had religious writings, and only religious writings produced that knowledge. Since Riley studies anthropology, I asked him, "Is there any culture or any tribe of people, that do NOT have a knowledge of sin or God?" He replied that every single culture, and every tribe had that knowledge. So now I asked, "Do all those cultures have a book or writings to tell them about sin and God?" He replied that they did not. To which I said, "So the knowledge of God, and of sin is built in to every single person? We all know there is a God, and we all know about sin!" Riley agreed, and at this Alex started to argue with Riley.
God has given light to everyone, we all know that we do that which is wrong, we all know that we sin against God. Perhaps, you are reading this and you don't think you are a sinner in the sight of God, perhaps, you think that if there is a Heaven, then you are good enough to get there, well lets see:
Are you good enough to go to Heaven? Let's see if you are a good person by the Ten Commandments...Ever told a lie? The ninth commandment says, "You shall not lie." Ever stolen anything? Have you ever used God's name in vain? That's called Blasphemy. Have you looked with lust (sexual desire) at another person? Jesus said, "Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." How many times have you been guilty of any of these serious violations? You, like the rest of us are a slave to sin. God's word tells us that all liars, blasphemers, the sexually immoral, thieves, etc. will spend eternity in hell.
The Bible says: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The reason we die physically is because of sin, and this is also the reason we deserve to go to hell for all eternity, because we have sinned against God.
But, God loves His people so much, He sent His son Jesus to suffer and die in the place of sinners just like you. Then He rose from the grave defeating death! You can't earn God's forgiveness; it is God's free gift. To be forgiven of you sin, you must repent (turn from your sin) and trust that Jesus Christ died in the place of sinners. Then three days later He was raised from the dead, defeating sin and death. The Bible says: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Soli Deo Gloria!
Also check out the latest Operation 513 - "The Appointed Time" broadcast: https://www.operation513.com/theappointedtime.php
Want tracts at a low price? Check out: https://www.operation513.com/shop
This was the first Friday that I went out in sheffield at night to witness to the lost. Getting into town arround 7pm I waited to see if any other labourers would join me this evening. Praying as I waited I thanked God for the great opportunities that He has given us this last year and for His many blessings.
At the end of the half hour I headed into town a little further to talk with people and search for a spot that would be suitable for a team to work of a Friday night ongoing. I gave out tracts as I went and checked out a few places in the clubbing/pub section of town. A few people accepted tracts and I was glad to see many of them reading them as they went and showing them to friends.
Cyril and Patrisha joined me part way into the night and after praying together we headed to west street to the heart of the clubbing area. We found a good spot next to the tram stop and gave tracts to all the passing people. On arrival Trish ran into an old friend that is on/off the streets continuously and so tried to encourage him for a period. Cyril and I were going back and forward trying to get tracts into the hands of as many people as we could. During this time I had a conversation with an Greek Orthodox girl and confronted her with the need to share the gospel with people. She listened and reluctantly agreed, I may be wrong but it seems that the Orthodox church has little interest in evangelism as a whole.
Cyril managed to get into a great conversation with a doorman to one of the resteraunts/clubs, he asked Cyril to come over and talk with him and his friends about the gospel! Cyril gave them all tracts and got the contact number of the man. We pray that God will use this conversation to bring this man to Him and save him from eternal death.
A couple of young men stopped me while giving out tracts and asked what it was about, I told them that it was a gospel tract. They then went on to say that this was a much nicer way of being approached evangelistically. They had been approached earlier on by a group of Somalian Muslims and told that if they didn't become Muslims and come to the mosque the next day they would find them and kill them (showing them a large knife while saying this). Evangelism by the sword is denied by many Muslims but this is a mild example of what happens in the world (for more information www.barnabusfund.com) and their on scriptures contradict them (Sura 9:5 among others). This opened them to hear about the God who loved them enough to come and die in the place of sinners (which they are) and save them eternally if they will trust in His redeeming work. It was a wonderful conversation and they all left with tracts and thanked me repeatedly for speaking with them. We pray for David, James and Chris that they would repent and trust in the saviour, that they would be saved from the true death of hell.
The night finished well with many people having taken tracts and good times of fellowship as we worked together. We have found a place in front of town hall where it will work to have a regular outreach so I was pleased to have found this also. God is so generous to us and gives far more than we could ask for, Praise His name and all His saints give Him glory for His great work in us and the world!
In Manchester:
It was a grim looking day as Anna, Jim, John, Luke and I all headed over to Manchester for the latest of the Northern outreaches. The rain was coming down and the wind blowing cold. Despite this the fellowship was warm as we drove and continued that way for the day.
In Market street we set up and discovered to our frustration and dismay that the wind was just strong enough to pick up tracts and even bibles and scatter them over the street periodically. None the less we persisted with the bible table to give people opportunity to have the word of God for free. Geraldine (a manchester local) joined us and we prayed together and then began to tract the area.
Jim noticed a little further down the mall that there was a line of people gathered for a signing by "Jordan" (for those who don't know of her, she was a soft porn model for british tabliod magazines). Jim preached to the people gathered using as his theme the proverb "Beauty is fading and charm decieving..." and procede to speak on the process of aging and death. There were no hecklers that opposed him but people unable to leave as he spoke so he was brief and gave an excellent gospel presentation. Afterwards many people took tracts and some people nearby who also heard took them too.
Over the period of the day many tracts went out and it was encouraging to see people steadly taking them despite not wanting to stop and talk. John was keen to preach so he was next up and preached from beside the bible table to the passing crowd. John is a solid preacher and despite people not stopping to listen there were nearby store employees that came out to listen for a little. Next up was Dale who had joined us from Cumbria, he preached well and often referred to the bible to confirm the truth of his message. A couple of one to ones began while he preached but again few people stopped for long. It is encouraging when people do stop but we know that God will use to good effect whatever people hear as they pass.
During this time I noticed that Anna was speaking to a couple that had listened to the preaching. Anna was working hard with him and he was trying in every way he could to show that the law was not applicable to him. He even went as far as to say that for some people it could be ok to commit sexual acts with small children and rape also. It never ceases to amaze me how far the hard natural heart of man will go to justify it's rebellion.
I preached next and spoke on the thought that truth is only relative, most people walked by but a couple of young guys stopped to speak to me. While I was doing the good person test with them we were interupted by a very angry lady who told me to leave them alone and that I was wrong to speak to them about God's law. I said that they and she were free to go if they wanted and rebuked her for hypocritcally condemning me for being faithful to God's word. The young guys left and I continued to preach about the great news of God's salvation in Christ. The guys came back toward the end and though they didn't hear the full message they did take tracts and thank us.
Around this time there were a group of people show up, most of them were from a local evangelical church in manchester. They have been coming to market street for a long time now and hand out literature (mostly using material from J.C. Ryle). Overjoyed to see other evangelistically minded people the others in the team and I went and encouraged them. As it was getting towards lunch time we headed off for a bite to eat and a rest for a half hour.
When we came back from lunch we found another group of evangelists in the mall and setting up a little down from them we had a very productive time and many of us had great conversations with people.
We set the table up again and now there was a little more interest as a couple people came by to ask if they could have some literature. This produced a couple of good conversations and Jim spoke for almost an hour with one man. The young guy was a catholic and was open to speak about assurance of going to heaven and the sacremental system. He and Jim parted on good terms and hopefully many good seeds were planted. I also spoke at length with a couple of young girls and urged them also not to trust in anything they could do to be right with God, rathter to trust fully in Jesus Christ and what He has done.
A couple of Christian guys came up to the table and spoke to us and it turns out that their church in Stockport have been using the law and gospel approach as per Way of the Master as we do. We encouraged them as best we could and pray that God would give great fruit to their efforts. They likewise urged us on in our ministry and I for one was most encouraged.
Dale preached again during this time and did a great job succinctly giving a gospel message and preaching the great news of Christ crucified to redeem sinners. After he finished there were a group of people just loitering around the front of the table so I jumped up and preached to the gathered crowd. Hamish and his two friends quickly came over to speak with me and we had a great conversation going through the good person test and the gospel. They were very open to hear the gospel but despite having broken God's law they hoped they would get into heaven anyway. I reasoned with them that a human judge could never sweep crime 'under the carpet' so why do they suddenly expect God to be able to do the same? I stood down to speak with them further but as I did so an atheist man interjected and in the strongest terms began to deny the existence of God. This would harden the hearts of the young men to the gospel so I placed aside speaking with them temporarily and debated with the atheist for a short period.
He had no interest in the gospel or anything to do with God but only to assert the atheistic perspective. This is increasingly the case with atheists we encounter at the moment, militant atheism is here to stay it seems. Praise God that there is also so much material available now to show that the faith of the atheist is misplaced. Evolutionary science is increasingly an embarrassment to those who propound it, atheism as a philosophy has an equally embarrassing history, and at it's heart atheism is based on an assumption of absolute knowledge (impossible from a human stand point).
Hamish and his friends were still standing close by as Mr Atheist left and the discussion had an impact on them if not on him. They were more than happy to hear what I had to say after watching the conversation. Praise God that He gives a way into every heart for His word. I gave them the gospel message and urged them to read the bibles they had at home. They took tracts and thanked us as they left.
The rest of the team where still in one to one conversations when it came time to leave and it was a pity to leave such a fruitful field of work. All in all it was a wonderful day's work for the Lord, praise His name and may many be drawn to Jesus as we hold Him both dear and high.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Once again I was blessed with the privilege of being able to head out to the Queen Street Mall to tell people about the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Tonight, I was expecting a smaller team, but, even though the numbers may have been few we could still reach out to those who are dead in sin.
We followed the usual pattern of things, prayer, bible reading and then some fellowship before the outreach. It was good to have Peter rejoin us after he had been away on holidays for a couple of weeks. While we were having a time of fellowship we spotted a sign in the bus shelter that was advertising some breath mints with the slogan "Sins, why stop at seven?" This is really saddening to see that our culture is prepared to live in open rebellion towards their Creator, but what is even worse is that many Christians do not do anything about it. As Christians we have the words of eternal life, not only does the gospel of Jesus Christ save people from hell and the wrath of God, but it also transforms a society. Many Christians will whinge and complain about the fact that society is going downhill fast, yet many of those same Christians will never do anything about it. If you want to see society changed, if you want to see people saved, then be obedient to the Scripture and go into all the world and preach the gospel.
Tonight was also a sad night, as I found out that our Jewish friend who has been coming for the last six weeks to listen was moving up to Northern Queensland, so there will be no more discussions over Jesus being the Messiah. Please pray for this man has he has heard the gospel many times. Pray that God will grant Him repentance and lead him to the knowledge of the truth.
Ralph was the first preacher up for the night, and nearly immediately a man named Wayne began to heckle. Now Wayne was a "backslider" he grew up in the church, and even asked Jesus into his heart. The problem is that now he is an agnostic, and he clearly hates the gospel of Jesus Christ. While Ralph was reasoning with him, two people from the crowd decided to jump into the discussion and try to prove the truth of Christianity. The problem was, that they were using arguments like these, "We know Christianity is real, as the blessed virgin appeared in South America and told us!" This was a first time I have actually heard Roman Catholics come to the debate and try to prove the case from the demonic apparitions.
Ralph tagged me in, and my first job was to wrestle control of the discussion away from what the Roman Catholics were preaching, and bring it back to the Biblical gospel. So I directed a question towards the spokesmen of the Catholics, and asked him how to get to heaven. His reply was "By grace through faith, and good works!" Now, for starters it isn't grace when works are involved, so I asked him "What if the Bible said, works cannot save, what would you do?" Then I proceeded to read out Ephesians 2:8-9.
At this Wayne jumped in and started to argue, that one is only a Christian because they are born in a Christian country. So I went through an apologetic about how people from many non-Christian countries become Christians, and how I was born in this nation, but wasn't a Christian.
There were many opportunities to preach the gospel, as I spoke and engaged with Wayne the crowd grew. Every now and then Alex the agnostic would jump in and say something, but as per usual it was most irrational, and faulty logic on display. It appears that Alex each week only comes out to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Realistically he only argues each week so that he can hopefully appease his conscience and continue to live in a life of sin.
The preaching went for about 90 minutes, and in that time we got to cover a range of topics from homosexuality, right through to evolution and post-modern thought. During the preaching a young English man from the West Midlands, stopped and yelled "I heard you down the Gold Coast" then proceeded to yell abuse about how he hates Christianity.
A few more Englishmen began to yell out as well, one from London, and another guy from West Midlands began to join in. The first Englishman, then decided to get a cup full of lemonade (or at least I hope it was lemonade), and run up from behind then pour it all over my head while preaching. The other two Englishmen didn't do anything like that, except they did argue post-modernism.
Once again this presented an opportunity for the gospel to go out, and many people got to hear of Salvation in Jesus Christ.
The night finished with Andre preaching the gospel, and expounding once again how we can be forgiven of sins.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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Tonight, I was really excited about the prospect of being bale to go into Brisbane city and make Christ known. The more I think about the great news of the gospel, the more I long to tell people of Jesus Christ, while this mindset may result in many people mocking or scorning, I really couldn't care less. Those who mock (some of them being readers) can go on and keep mocking, but I will keep telling you of the love of Christ, and how He can forgive all your sins, if you would repent and trust in Him.
This morning was spent at the new evangelist mentoring program that Graham Sercombe has started, this mentor program that has started appears to be a very good thing, as it will result in more people who have the gift of an evangelist being trained and equipped for the work of the ministry. As I left this mornings meeting I was very encouraged to share my faith, it is always good to have likeminded brothers and sisters to share our evangelistic passion with.
We had a good number of people come out onto the streets of Brisbane this evening with the whole intention of making Christ known. It is such an honour that I get to serve alongside these people who are far more gifted and I. It is a real encouragement to see my Christian family out there telling people that Christ can forgive them because of the cross.
The first preacher up for the night was Andre, he started off by talking about the economy and how it is going down the drain. From there he swung into the gospel, and pointed to those who would stop and listen, that even though they had sinned against God, and even though they deserve the wrath of God, Christ Jesus would forgive them if they would repent and trust in Him.
Right after Andre finished preaching, Ralph jumped up and once again began to expound on the free gift of salvation that is only found in Christ Jesus. During this time I was able to grab a couple of guys and have a conversation with them. By far one the best ways to get a one to one is to simply hang around with an open air preacher. As, when they preach you can talk to those who go to walk away, and often times they are ready to discuss what they just heard.
The night was going fairly well, people were taking gospel tracts, and many one to ones were occurring. By now the mall had become a bit more busy, and as Kevin got up to preach, some hecklers moved in for some close heckling.
A man named Anthony came in and began to open fire on Kevin, about coveting an x-box game. From there this man went on rant after rant after rant. He spoke about how people should care for the poor, and how mankind in naturally good. He then went on to talk about how God is Love, therefore we should all live the way we want to. The problem was that this man was a professing Christian. Kevin tried to deal with him, but Anthony wouldn't let Kev get a word in. As the man ranted the crowd grew, and as it grew more people got tracts and go the chance to hear the gospel.
Kevin tagged me in, so I now had the "fun" of trying to deal with Anthony, initially it looked like we had him under control, when he agreed to let me speak for one minute, and then he would speak for one minute. So we got Alex the Agnostic to time us. Things ran fair smoothly except Anthony interrupted me while I was speaking. But, then things change when it was his turn to speak, he spoke for one minute, for two minutes, and every time I told him times up, he would simply yell "SHUT UP!"
During this time he kept saying that God is love, and everyone is good and kind. Then just to prove the point some random guy walked up and kicked over our flip chart (very loving of him).
When, I finally got to speak again, I was able to talk about the depravity of man. This really upset Antony as he didn't believe himself to be a sinner, nor was anyone else in the world. The more I spoke about sin, the more upset he became, the more I spoke about God's judgment the more hostile he grew. Anthony started to yell at me, asking why I would say such things, and my reply was because I love him, and those listening that I would tell them the truth.
The back and forth with Antony went back and forth, eventually he left hurling abuse (again showing how caring he was). I then tagged Kevin back in. Kev finished the night off by preaching the gospel once again.
Overall it was a good night, and many people got to hear of salvation in Christ Jesus.
Soli Deo Gloria!
This Saturday I was joined by Mekial and Dawn for outreach in Sheffield. It was unseasonably clear and warm this afternoon and so we had large crowds in Sheffield.
We began the day by handing out tracts in Fargate while I looked for a suitable place to preach from. While we were handing out tracts I noticed that Mekial is quite adept at starting conversations. His background in sales has made him very able to speak to people, I was overjoyed to see him using this skill to God's glory.
I set up to preach and the others gathered around to support me as I preached. Those of you who witness on the streets, never forget how this small thing can lend courage to those who open air preach. It is an intimidating business sometimes and I for one have many times been encouraged by the presence of other Christians when I've preached.
Today I began with the comparison between relativism in reality to what is reasonable. I spoke about Joe Blogs who believed that whatever truth he held was true for him literally. From this somewhat rediculous example I turned to the fact that there is moral as well as practical absolutes in this world. While speaking on this Mona, a polite muslim woman came to ask about what Christians believe. At this I tried my best to give a summary of what Christians believe and called her to look to Jesus Christ as her saviour, while she remained unconvinced she listened and took a tract towards the end of the discussion.
I finished preaching and packed up and the three of us headed around to the peace gardens to speak with people there. Having gotten there we ran into a Christian hip hop band that was endevouring to talk with people there. Two of the young men I had spoken to in the past and given some literature to to encourage them. They are currently planning to do street outreach in the local townships around Sheffield. I encouraged them and we pray that they would glorify God in their work and that God would use them gloriously to the salvation of souls.
While Mekial and Dawn were hard at it witnessing to all sorts of people I ran into Amy and her friends who I've spoken to several times. I spoke at length again to Amy and showed her that it will be right for God to judge all sin and evil deeds. She seemed quite affected and I pleaded with her to look to the only saviour. We pray that God would save some of these precious young people, they are largely lost in sin and disapation.
At the end of the afternoon I spoke with Dawn to Ollie and tried to reason with him about the reality of God. The conversation went very well but we had to leave and things ended on an interesting point:
Ollie : What do you think man's purpose is then?
Me : To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
Ollie : We don't do that though.
Me: Yes, that's why we need a saviour!
Heading into London we were encouraged to know that we would be blessed with a new face for the evening. James Paice, pastor and friend, came along to join us and it was wonderful to have him with us. We arrived at 8:30pm and immediately set about preparing ourselves for the evening.
After opening in prayer I stood up to preach. We were able to bring in a crowd quite quickly. It wasn't long before I drew in some hecklers, who of course voiced their views, many of which dealt with the idea that there is no God and therefore religion serves no purpose. As I was refuting their claims a couple of police officers approached me and asked if they could have a word. I was told that this was not the place to be preaching open air as the crowd that would form would ultimately be deemed an obstruction of a right of way. If you have been to Leicester Square you will know how wide the promenade is where we meet to minister. I explained this to the officer and also mentioned that we had been preaching in the same spot for over six months. However he remained resolute and it seemed that he was not going to change his mind. It was surprising then when he turned to me said that he would give me ten minutes to speak. This then changed to fifteen minutes, which then changed a third time when he said that both him and his partner would be moving on to another location and that I should be finished when they returned in half an hour. This seemed fine with me and so I stood back up on my stepladder and told the crowd that I had been told by the police that I could speak for thirty minutes.
In terms of what the officer told me with regards to the obstruction of a right of way, consider the following, taken from a document by a solicitor to the Open Air Mission in April 2007. Section 130 of the Highways Act 1980 relates to permanent or semi-permanent obstruction of a right of way. It enables the Council to take action to assert and protect the rights of the p ublic to the use and enjoyment of any highway for which they are the Highway Authority. Section 137 of the Act governs the offence of obstruction of the Highway. A highway obstruction has been defined by the courts as 'something which permanently or temporarily removes the whole or part of the highway from the public's use altogether'. As this would cover stopping to talk to a friend, no obstruction is committed where there is lawful authority or excuse. This is commonly understood to mean that the reasonableness of the obstruction must be taken into account. Under Section 149(1) of the Act a Council would need to identify that a nuisance is being caused, then require removal of the nuisance by notice, and can apply to the Magistrates Court for removal and disposal order if the person fails to remove the nuisance. Under Section 149(2), immediate action can be taken when there are reasonable grounds to consider a danger is being caused, subsequently the obstruction can be removed forthwith. However it must be clear that there is a clear danger in view
In light of this it would be appear that the officer who spoke with me was not acting in accordance fully within the boundaries of these Acts. While I have no problem with them telling us what we should be doing and what we shouldn't be doing, ultimately it is not their job to restrict us from doing something simply on the basis of what could ensue should we do it.
As I carried on preaching I got into a dialogue with a man named Frank. I reasoned with him concerning the existence of God, the fact that God is ultimately in charge, and that one day He is going to judge this world in righteousness. Some of his counter points centred on the notion that Christians themselves have proven to be hypocritical of their own beliefs in the things they have done. The issue of the Crusades came up. I asked him if he had heard the expression, "Tarred with the same brush." I could see that this caused him to stop and think for a second. The point I was trying to make was that you cannot refute the teaching of Jesus simply because men and women who claim to be His followers act in a way that is contrary to His teaching. Consider two men. One is your close friend and the other is his close friend (a man you do not know). If this man were to act unjustly towards you, would it be right for you to blame your close friend? Of course not. In the same way, to use the actions of so-called followers of Christ to dismiss Christ and His teaching is to act unjustly and unfairly towards Christ. The issue that needs to be addressed is whether or not a person is acting accordance with His teaching. Jesus made it clear that you will know a Christian by his or her fruit (Matthew 7:15-17).
After I finished preaching the team immediately got involved in speaking with people one-to-one. This is the great advantage of open air preaching. If, as a Christian, you are in a crowd when someone is preaching open air, all you need to do after the preaching has finished is to approach someone you noticed had been listening and ask, "Hi there, what are your thoughts on what you just heard?" Before you know it you are in a one-to-one conversation, giving you the opportunity to share the gospel. (See below. The tracts and Bibles we put out always get snapped up!)
I had the opportunity to get into a conversation with two young men, a man named Michael, and his friend Rom. The issue with both these young men was that they were not willing to accept that to have a creation you must have a Creator. They believe that we can attribute this world to an "accident." We spoke for quite some time; however its focus centred on the existence of God more than anything else. Both presented themselves as proud of heart and so I did not labour to open up the grace of Christ to them, as I felt it would result in them trampling underfoot the good news that it could save them. Still, earlier they had both taken in-depth gospel tracts from the table that we put out, so my prayer is that through what they heard the Holy Spirit would work in their hearts to bring to them acknowledge the God who made them and that they desperately need His forgiveness.
Moving on I noticed that Carl had been speaking with Frank, one of my hecklers I had engaged with when I had been preaching. It was very interesting in that he was willing to discuss and talk with us. As we carried on speaking to him we noticed that his tone changed and that he began to use language that showed he admitted there could indeed be a God. When he had first introduced himself in the crowd he mentioned that he was an agnostic. This led me to asking whether he knew everything. He admitted that he did not. I then asked him to imagine that he knew one percent of everything (which is still a great deal). Would it be possible in the ninety-nine percent he did not know for there to be ample evidence that God did in fact exist. This is why God does not believe in atheists. You cannot, by definition, be an atheist. To be an atheist you would need to have all knowledge. Someone who professes to be an atheist is in fact an agnostic. They simply do not know whether God exists (although I would maintain that they do know, they are simply restricted by their sinful nature to admit that they do). We had a good conversation with him and encouraged him to think through what we had shared with him. Below is a picture of Carl and Frank together.
It had been a good evening. The two police officers who had spoken to me earlier arrived not long before we left and so we were all greatly encouraged that the Lord had provided us with the opportunity to declare His gospel.
Soli Deo Gloria!
We arrived at Gold Coast about 2:30 pm, and it was busy. A man came asking for a light, and seeing a Bible, asked if we were doorknockers. A beautiful day, and plenty of lost souls. As we prayed for the Lord to help us, a fight started, and people gathered to watch.
I spoke to a man from Brisbane who was enjoying his day. He claimed goodness, but upon being challenged, said God would forgive. After sharing the Gospel, he said that Christians he knew thought that they had a licence to sin, and didn't understand the need for repentance.
As he left two young men took his seat, and I offered them tracts. They said they were good, but one refused to take the good person test. His mate tried to talk him into it, but then took it himself. He was found guilty, and without hope, and seemed unaware of the good news
I spoke with a new born Christian lady, who said about the importance of the manifestations of the Spirit. When I challenged the lack of total healing by the power of God, she said that the people healed lacked faith or stopped believing, and were thus left in their state of illness or injury. When our Lord healed, He made people whole. When challenged about evangelizing in the street, she said it wasn't her thing. This attitude has led to the famine in our land, not for bread or water, but hearing the word of the Lord. If we appreciate our salvation, we must surely want to tell others of the grace of God.
I spoke with two catholic men who fled their country in fear for their lives. Claimed repentance, and faith in Christ. They were happy to see us preaching, and have been disappointed by the general apathy of people in our country towards God.
Driving into Brisbane city, I could not fail to notice the long line of dark storm clouds coming in from the west. Every now and then the dark line of clouds would be illuminated with flashes of lighting. This storm front was a blessing, as it would keep the crowd numbers down tonight. Which was good for us, as we only had a small team out in the Queen street mall.
As I arrived in the mall the heavens opened up and the rain began to fall, so I quickly made my way across to King George Square to meet up with the other members of the team. Once at the square we had a problem as there wasn't anywhere to take shelter from the rain, so eventually we made our way to the other side of city hall, and there we used a bus shelter to give us some cover from the rain.
Tonight we only had two preachers, Andrew Hsu and myself. Both of us weren't really excited about preaching the whole night, so we split up the shifts. While we were setting up for the night a group of young ladies came up to me, and asked if I would be preaching tonight, as they had come to listen. I replied I would be preaching later, but not just now. The young ladies stayed around, and as soon as Andrew got up to preach they came in to listen.
While Andrew was explaining the gospel to them, I was locked in conversation with the boyfriends of these young ladies. Most of them were rather abusive of the gospel, but one young man was paying real close attention, and kept asking about how he could be forgiven. This young man listened to every word, and at the end he took a gospel of John, and an in-depth tract. The interesting thing is the fact that during the conversation, his friends kept trying to drag him away with the enticement of going to a strip club. However, this young man refused and was more interested to hear of sins forgiven.
During the time Andrew preached there were a small number of people stopping to listen. However, there were no hecklers, and as you watched the people who listened you could see that they were hanging on every word. It was a really good gospel sermon, no one objected, people just stood in silence and listened. After Andrew finished preaching we handed out some in-depth tracts, and the vast majority of those listening took this tract. Please pray that God would save these people.
After Andrew finished preaching, I prepared to get up and start to preach. Tonight was I was going to talk about "Preparing for Eternity". As before with Andrew people stopped but no one heckled, in fact they just stood and listened to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
However, half way through my message when I was talking about how our sin has separated us from God, a police wagon drove into the middle of the crowd, and the officers inside rolled down the windows. I was expecting the officer to say something immediately, but they didn't. They just sat there for a few minutes listening, then a young constable told me to step down and come to the window. I did this, and at the same time told Andrew to start preaching, the police officer said "NO!" To Andrew getting up, so I went over to the police wagon to hear what the officer had to say. The young constable said to me "What you are doing is disorderly conduct! People can hear you throughout the mall, you must stop this!" I refused stating that Brisbane City had given us a permit to preach, and that it was a local law issue, which legally is out of his jurisdiction. The constable then stated that if I kept on doing it, I would be arrested for disorderly conduct. So, I looked at the constable and said, "I have been preaching here for three years, and now you want to arrest me for this? Then constable you had better get you hand cuffs out as I am not stopping!" The constable looked a little stunned, and pointed out that he could arrest me, once again I said to him, "well, you had better arrest me then." The officer seemed to be a bit unsure about what to do, and stated that he wasn't against preaching, just didn't want it to be loud so people could hear it. So I told him that I would be a little bit quieter, but not much. At this they drove away and left me to the preaching.
After this I finished preaching then Andrew started again. By now we had hecklers and a good size crowd had gathered. After awhile, Hsusy tagged me and I began to deal with more hecklers, including the fame Alex the Agnostic.
Overall it was a good night, and many people got to hear of salvation in Christ Jesus.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Full report with pictures: https://www.operation513.com
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