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I want to go back to our subject of the faith that saves. What is saving faith? We understand that salvation is by faith alone. That is a foundational truth in Christian teaching, a biblical truth, salvation is by faith alone. But that then poses the question, what kind of faith saves? What is the faith that saves? And so we have been looking at that.
You might want to go back to Hebrews chapter 11 because this is where we really left off a few weeks ago. And the first question we asked is what is faith? What is faith? And we heard the answer in chapter 11 verse 1, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." We also noted down in verse 6 that without faith it is impossible to please Him, that is to please God. Faith is necessary. Faith is being assured of things hoped for, being convinced of things invisible. And so we looked at a definition of faith in our first message. And we said that this kind of faith involves three things, knowledge, assent and trust...to know, to affirm as true, that is to believe, and then to entrust.
We also said that this faith has both an objective and a subjective dimension. That is, it is an objective faith in that it is directed at a specific object. It is not just faith in faith, or faith in anything. You hear people today talk about, "I'm a person of faith...I'm a person who lives by faith...I have faith." And the immediate question I want to ask is, "In whom do you have faith?" Faith to be valid and legitimate must be directed in some object. And we know that objective faith is directed at the person of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, believing in God, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection is essential. If you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. So faith has an objective component, and that is it is directed at a specific object.
It also has a subjective component. It embodies penitence. It embodies sorrow over sin. It involves a longing to know God. It involves a desire for holiness, a hunger for righteousness, a thirst for virtue. It involves a desire to escape from sin and its consequences. It is a heart-wrenching sense that you have to abandon everything you put your trust in and you have no hope of ever doing anything to please God. And so you must completely deny yourself and come to Him as a child with nothing to bring and nothing to offer. So there is an objective component of faith, that is the object to whom it is directed. There is a subjective element of faith and that is the nature of that faith at all, in that it is totally disillusioned with one's own self or one's own ability to achieve anything good before God. Abandoning everything, turning from sin in repentance, it embraces the object of faith, Jesus Christ who alone can save.
And that led us to a second question. Not only what is faith, but what does faith trust, or in whom does faith place its trust? And we go back then to verse 6. The one who comes to God must believe that He is. You must put your faith in the God who is God, not just any god, or not just a god of your own making, your own fabrication, but the God who is God. That is then the God who is Trinity, the God who is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is one with His Son and one with His Spirit, that is the God of Scripture. The God who is, verse 6, a rewarder of those who seek Him. That is, the God who promises eternal life to those who seek Him, who promises forgiveness of sin to those who seek Him, who promises grace and full redemption to those who seek Him.
What is faith? It is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It has an objective component. It is directed at someone specific. It has a subjective element. It is characterized by self-denial, repentance, bankruptcy that casts oneself at the feet of God, at the feet of Christ pleading for mercy. The object is God alone, the true and living God alone who gives eternal life to those who believe. He is a rewarder in the sense that He rewards with eternal life those who repent and come to Him. This is the God of Scripture. This is the Creator/God who is also the God and Father who is one with our Lord Jesus Christ. O we have asked the question...what is faith and what does faith trust, or in whom does faith trust?
And that brings us to a third question that I want us to address tonight and next week, how does faith act? How does faith act? Or how does faith behave? And we know it behaves because that's what the rest of the eleventh chapter of Hebrews is about. Verse 4, "By faith Abel offered...by faith Enoch was taken up and not found, for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God, by faith he was pleasing to God." Verse 7, "By faith Noah in reverence prepared an ark." "By faith Abraham obeyed." "By faith Sarah received the ability to conceive." Verse 20 talks then about Isaac, "By faith he blessed." Jacob, "By faith blessed each of his sons." Joseph also, "When he was dying made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave orders concerning his bones." That is to say he believed in the promise that God had made and he passed it on. "By faith Moses..." this faith, first of all, the faith of his parents, but Moses himself, verse 24, when he grew up, "By faith refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter and chose to endure ill treatment with the people of God rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin." It was faith in the hearts of those who marched around the walls of Jericho, according to verse 30, that caused the walls to fall down. It was faith that caused Rahab the harlot to be obedient, to welcome the spies, to receive the knowledge of the true and living God. It was the faith exhibited in the action of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets who conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong, became mighty, put on armies...foreign armies to flight. It was by faith women received back their dead by resurrection. It was by faith that others were tortured, not accepting their release, looking to a better resurrection. By faith others experienced such persecution as mockings and scourgings and chains and imprisonment, were stoned and sawn in half, tempted, put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins, goatskins, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, holes in the ground. All these things were done by faith. This is faith in action.
So, faith begins with a definition of what it is. It moves then to who it trusts. And then it moves finally to how it acts. This is a chapter on faith and it tells us what it is, in whom it trusts and how it acts. And all those are verbs. "By faith..." and then you have a verb because faith always acts. It always acts. That is to say, faith is not static, it is a transformation in life. And in chapter 12 verse 1, very familiar verse, "Therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses," this is a cloud of witnesses just named in chapter 11, and what are they witnessing to? They're witnessing to a life of faith. The power and the conviction of faith, the endurance of faith, they're witnessing to the power of living by faith. And so, as they give us that testimony, he says, "Let us lay aside every encumbrance the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith." And so we are called to live a life of faith and to follow the testimony of those who live by faith and were blessed by God and rewarded eternally.
So chapter 12 is the therefore based upon the clear testimony of the power of the life of faith in all the people in chapter 11, we are called to live by faith. And faith is described here, not as a static attitude, but as a race. It is a race that must be run with endurance. Eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. So faith is action. It's a verb in every case all through chapter 11 and here it's a verb, a very active verb, it's running a race.
Now with that in mind, I want to take you to a passage for tonight and next time that is familiar, it needs careful treatment. James chapter 2...James chapter 2. We never talk about faith without ultimately ending up in James chapter 2. And this is a very important chapter to deal with because it's very often misunderstood. James chapter 2 and verse 14, let me read down through verse 20. James 2:14 to 20. "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" Let me stop there just to say that would be the static faith, the substantive in the sense that it's a noun faith. But there's no verb, there's no ongoing flow. Can that kind of faith save him? "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food and one of you says to him, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so, faith if it has no works is dead, being by itself. Well someone may well say, you have faith and I have works, show me your faith without the works and I'll show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one, you do well. The demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless, or as your Bible might say, dead?"
What is James saying here? He is saying that faith has to have action to be the real thing. Psychologist Dr. Alfred Adler holds in his interesting theory of individual psychology this, he says, quote: "When dealing with people, trust only in movement." Boy, that is a really true statement. Trust only in movement. Don't trust in what people say. Don't trust in how they respond when caught in some kind of trap or some kind of disaster or some kind of sin. Trust in movement. He goes on to say, "Life happens at the level of action. We are not what we say, we are what we do. What we do is the real key to our motivation, or out intention." When dealing with people, I'll say it again, trust only in movement. And he has observed as sometimes psychologists and psychiatrists do, he has observed precisely what the Word of God teaches. To paraphrase what James said, faith without works means nothing. Faith plus nothing equals nothing. This is dead faith. Back to verse 17, faith if it has no works is dead. Verse 20, faith without works is useless. Verse 26, end of the verse, faith without works is dead.
And inevitably people with dead faith will always substitute words for deeds. Back in Malachi chapter 2 verse 17, the prophet indicts them. He says, "You have wearied the Lord with your words." God is tired of your profession. Yet you say, "How have we wearied Him? In that you say everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and He delights in them, or where is the God of justice?" God is sick of hearing your complaints. He's tired of hearing your words. He has just gone through two chapters of indicting them for the absence of any righteous deeds. And even their words, of course, question the character of God.
True faith is sin in works. It is not seen any other way. And the point that we want to understand about this passage is this, there is a kind of faith in God, a kind of faith in Jesus Christ that is dead. It is dead. That is it produces nothing and therefore it is nothing. If it produces nothing, it is nothing. It can't be anything but nothing. Do you remember John the Baptist in Matthew chapter 3 preaching? And all Jerusalem going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confess their sins? "When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, 'You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?'" They were like snakes scrambling toward the river in the time of a brush fire. Why are you running for the water? He says this, "Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance." And don't think you can get away with claiming Abraham as your father, the axe is already laid at the root and the tree is about ready to fall. Judgment is about ready to come. Your words are meaningless, bring forth fruit that fits a genuine repentance.
This message is repeated again and again and again. In the seventh chapter, come to the closing of the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord says, "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn't bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire so then you will know them by their fruit." John chapter 8, Jesus said, "If you continue in My Word, then you're My real disciple. Otherwise, no matter what you claim...He later on says...you're of your father the devil."
Valid saving faith is always verified by fruit. It's always verified by works. In John 15 Jesus says there are some who are attached to Me, superficial lifeless branches attached to Me, they bear no fruit, they will be cut off, gathered together and burned. False faith, dead faith is indicated by the absence of righteous action. And it is frankly clear that many, many people possess that kind of faith. I would venture to say it's probably safe to say in our time today most people who call themselves Christians far and away possess this kind of non-saving dead faith. And that of all the people who call themselves Christians, it's a small group that are really Christians manifesting saving faith by virtue of action. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that a recent study says 85 percent of people in America claimed to be Christian, on the same survey indicates nine percent of them say they have a biblical world view. Well what is a Christian but someone with a biblical world view? Most people who call themselves Christians possess this kind of faith.
Jesus was concerned about it. He talked about good and bad soil. True conversion where fruit was born and temporary superficial kinds of responses without fruit that eventually wither and die. He talked about wheat and tares. True believers and false believers growing together in the same field. He talked, as I said, in John 15 about branches that abide and bear fruit and branches that don't bear fruit and are cut off and thrown into the fire. He talked about those who profess and those who possess. He talked about those who build their house on a rock on a true foundation of saving faith, and those who build their house on sand. I mean, these images are all through Scripture, not only from the lips of our Lord, but basically all the writers of the New Testament are drawn to consider these things. In Hebrews, for example, chapter 10 verse 38, is a quote taken out of the Old Testament book of Habakkuk which says, "My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." We're not of those who shrink back to destruction, but those who have a persevering faith.
There's a kind of faith that perseveres to the end, that's where we started our doctrinal series, an ongoing faith, a faith that acts, that moves forward, that gives evidence of real transformation. And then there is that false faith that does not save.
Nicodemus, the teacher in Israel, John 3, Nicodemus was a formidable person in Judaism. He would affirm loudly that he was a believer in God. He even affirmed that Jesus was a teacher come from God. And though he believed in the God of the Old Testament as he understood Him, and though he believed that Jesus had come from God as a teacher, Jesus didn't say to him, "Hey, just another step or two and you'll be okay." He said, "You've got to go back and be born all over again." You've got to go all the way back to the beginning. Whatever it is that you believe is not sufficient to save you. Intellectual belief is not enough. Only a transformed life verifies salvation. Matthew 7, "Many will say to Me, Lord, Lord, we did this, we did that, we preached, we cast out demons, we did wonderful works in Your name. And He'll say, Depart from Me, I never knew you...I never knew you." Lots of profession, lots of words, but the Lord is looking for evidence, action. That's why Hebrews 12:14 says, "Without sanctification," that is without ongoing separation from sin unto righteousness, "no one will ever see the Lord."
And it's important, beloved, to preach this kind of thing. There are people who say, "Well, you know, this is making people feel insecure." Of course, that's the point. We want the people who should feel insecure to feel insecure, right? We don't want to comfort the disillusion, we don't want to comfort those who are deceived. What value is there in that? And yet there is a reluctance to do that. We just want to embrace everybody who even breathes the word Jesus as if they are true believers. We have to deal with the soul-damning impression that the simple knowledge about God and about Christ and about the gospel and even believing that is not necessarily enough. It is certainly damning not to believe, but even to believe may be damning and much more deceptive.
There are people who think that what men don't deny they believe. If they don't deny the gospel, maybe they don't know it. If they don't deny Christ, maybe they don't know about Him. But they just believe whatever it is that's...that's the best they can muster up, that's all God cares about. In other words, there is an increasing commitment to minimalist kind of faith. James will not allow that and James here is the instrument of God Himself. He will not allow any deception about non-saving faith to go unchallenged. There are a lot of people who know about God, know about Christ, believe Jesus died, believe He rose again, believe He's the Savior, but make no real irrevokable commitment to the lordship of Christ, no self-denying cross-bearing commitment to obedience. And they need to be confronted with the real condition in which they exist.
In fact, this whole epistle is about that. I won't take time to drag you all through it. But they're all tests, much like 1 John. They're all tests that expose the reality of our faith. In chapter 1, the test of trials, then the test of temptation, then the test of how you respond to the Word, which we'll look at a little later. Then the test of how you treat the poor and the needy. And now it's sort of all wrapped up in this test, the test of your works that we are coming to in James chapter 2 verse 14 and following.
Now James is saying to us if your faith is without any works, your faith is meaningless. It's meaningless. And by the way, this isn't the first mention of the matter. Go back to verse 22, chapter 1, James 1 verse 22, we need to kind of touch base with this and then come back to our text. James says in verse 22, "Prove yourselves doers of the Word and not merely hearers who delude themselves." Self-deluded people who hear and don't do, they don't give themselves up, they don't deny themselves, take up the cross, follow Christ. They don't sell all to purchase the pearl, sell all to purchase the treasure in the field. They aren't willing to lose their life to find it. They aren't willing to repent of all their sin and hunger for thirst...and thirst for righteousness. They hear, they like what they hear, they maybe believe what they hear and they are self-deluded because they are not doers. There again the test of faith is action. The self-deceived hear and do nothing. For them faith is static. O sure, I'm a Christian. Why? I believe in God. Why? I believe in Jesus. I believe He died on a cross. I believe He rose from the dead. I don't want to argue with that. And so with nothing more than a carnal glance at the reality of God, and the reality of Christ, they convince themselves that they are Christians. That their kind of faith is sufficient to save. And so in verse 23, James says, "Anyone who is a hearer of the Word and not a doer is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he's immediately forgotten what kind of person he was."
In other words, what he's saying is, these kind of people are frivolous. They take very superficial, frivolous, quick glances, light brushes with God, Christ, the gospel, the truth. By the way, mirrors in ancient times were not glass, they were metal. They were pounded metal highly polished, but they were distorted. And unless you kind of moved it around, looked carefully, you are going to be distorted looking into metal. You know, you've seen your face in a piece of sheet metal. Today we have a highly sophisticated way to refine that sheet metal to make it pretty good in terms of reflecting reality. But in ancient times it wasn't that good and when you look into that mirror, you might not get an actually precise view of yourself. But if you looked long enough and moved it around and worked at it, you might get a pretty good idea of what you look like. But once you look and go away, you immediately forgot what kind of person you were. This is the person who looks superficially at God, superficially at Christ, superficially at the gospel, superficially at Scripture, never really understanding his or her true condition, thinking, "Oh, I'm doing great," and off you go. Verse 26, he thinks he's religious, thinks he believes, thinks he's religious and yet he's deceived. It says, "Doesn't bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart." This man's religion is worthless. We're talking about people who look at the mirror. What's the mirror? It's the Law of God, it's the Word of God, it's the gospel. And he looks at it, or she looks at it and move it around a little bit and get some idea of what they look like, it's very superficial, very quick. And they're gone and they forget. And they go on thinking they're religious, they look fine.
Verse 25 then tells us the real problem. "The one who looks intensely at the perfect Law, the law of liberty, and abides by it not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does." This is not about looking and walking away and forgetting, this is about looking intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, that is the law that sets us free, the glory of the gospel, and abiding in it, believing it, accepting its revelation of oneself and going out to be obedient. This is the one who continues in the truth.
So James in chapter 1 introduces us to the reality of a non-saving faith as against a saving faith. A saving faith looks long and intensely at the truth and embraces it and holds to it and clings to it and does not forget it but goes out and obeys it. On the other hand, there are a lot of people who take a quick glance, forget what they saw, and go on their way. So now in chapter 2, James goes back to the same theme again. He is concerned that people are self-deluded, that people are deceived, that people are damned. This is always to be the concern of the evangelist, always to be the concern of the evangelist, to warn about non-saving dead faith.
Reading an article today about Billy Graham and the comment was, "What makes him so beloved in the world is he's so inclusive." Well that's their view of things. Inclusive is good. If you can just embrace everybody and make no one feel bad and keep everything as light as possible, then you can collect people much more easily. But what about dead faith? What about the warnings? Multitudes of people have gone to hell who believed there was one God, who believed in Jesus Christ, believed He died for their sins, who believed He rose from the dead, who believed that He was the Savior, but they went to hell cause they never really committed themselves to Him, never truly repented of their sin, never fully embraced Him as Lord and Savior, never came hungry and thirsty for righteousness, never came humbled and broken and self-denying, willing to take up a cross and obey Him at any cost. I mean, my whole life has been full of people like this.
I pulled out some old notes the other day in my...in my study and was looking through and there was a time in the past when I sort of cycled through a lot of people that had come into my life and disappeared. I can think about a high-school buddy, played ball with him all through high school who was president of his youth group the same time I was president of the youth group in my church, who later...I'll never forget it...went to Redlands College which had Baptist roots once upon a time, he graduated there after we knew each other through the years of high school, played together, worked together, were good friends. Came out of that college as an atheist, rejected the faith and sustained that rejection.
I remember in my college days a buddy with whom I played football, we were kind of the tandem backs, both on defense and offense. His father was a pastor, my father was a pastor. He went to seminary. I went to seminary. He came out, totally rejected the faith. Got involved in the most horrific scandalous kind of conduct. Ended up in drugs and bizarre kind of behavior. Lost his teaching privileges at Cal State University Long Beach because he brought nudity into the classroom, bizarre things. Ended up with a week-end jail sentence for years, ended up promoting rock concerts. He and I taught Bible studies when we were college buddies.
I remember a student in seminary, the son of the Dean, who after graduating from seminary set up a Buddhist altar in his home. And I could tell you a lot more...a lot more.
Those are heartbreaking things. Those are sad realities. There are people who give evidences superficially that they are truly Christ's who are not. Superficially they get involved in the activity, but the real fruit isn't there. The perseverance and the endurance isn't there. And maybe it's because of those people. You know, maybe...I was pretty stunned by my friend in high school, and I was double stunned by my friend in college cause we used to talk about being pastors together. And I was rocked to the core with my friend in seminary. And maybe that's why and that's how God prepared me to have such a strong passion for this matter of dead faith. I'm not counting heads, that's not the point. I'm not trying to keep a record of everybody I've met who has gone this direction, but there are enough that I couldn't if I wanted to. I live with the reality that there are people who have dead faith and it's heartbreaking. And sooner or later it tends to show up as it did with my friends.
Now let me give you a little background as to why James brings this up, okay? It's really important. Go back to chapter 1 verse 1, "James a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad, greeting." Twelve tribes, huh? So who is he writing? Not Gentiles, Jews. He's writing to Jews, those in the twelve tribes. He refers to them again in chapter 2 verse 21, "Was not Abraham our father?" They could all claim Abraham as their father, their ancestor. And the reason he's writing this is because there was a real danger in the proclamation of the gospel to the Jews because it was possible for the Jews to go from one extreme to another on the matter of works.
Here's what I mean. Being in the Jewish religion, they were literally overwhelmed with ritual, ceremony, external works. There were hundreds and hundreds of rules and laws they had to adhere to as well as what was biblical. The stress was on the efficacy of works. You're saved by your works. You're saved by what you do. And that was the essence of Jewish religion. And it was a massive burden. In fact, Jesus even talked about it being a burden that nobody could bear. And he said to them, on one occasion, "Come unto Me all you that are weary and heavy-laden," and He was talking about the burden of bearing this immense terrible guilt-producing stress of trying to earn your way into heaven by works.
Well along comes the gospel...along comes the gospel, the gracious message of the gospel. Not by works, by faith, faith alone, no works. This becomes a joyous alternative. This is wonderful news to those who have been guilt-ridden, who have borne this massive burden of law and legalism, tired of legalism. This sounds good to a Jew. Wow, you mean I can shed all of this stuff, I can dump all these works and just receive a gift? They were tired of the legalism, they were tired of the weight of their incessant failure to comply with the unbearable pressure to perform for divine approval. The high fear factor, along comes the message of grace and faith and some of these people were running toward Christianity and saying, "Wow, this is great." And I think that's true even today, "Isn't this great?" You read about it in the modern books written by the modern evangelicals. "Hey, you want to be forgiven of your sin? Hey, you want everything in life that God has for you? Pray these little words, Jesus, come into my life. Wow, now you've got it all." How easy is that? And you hear some smiley TV preacher who has absolutely nothing to say telling you that all you have to do is ask Jesus and He'll turn your life into an explosion of success and happiness and bliss and blessing. And it's all free. Very easy to go way too far the other way.
And I'm sure there were many Jews who misunderstood the message, just like people do today. They're all lining up to sign up with Jesus. It's so easy. There's no price, you don't have to repent, you don't have to confess anything. You don't have to be broken and contrite. You don't have to deny yourself and hate your mother and your father and be willing to follow Christ even to death if need be. It isn't the end of your life. You don't sell all. You don't lose your life. No, no, you just say these words and it's so easy. We don't put any guilt trip on you, just a big free-be. And so they misunderstood the freedom then and they misunderstand it now. The mistake and supposition is that since works can't save you, works are irrelevant. Works not being efficacious, that's the message of Paul, were considered by some therefore unnecessary. So that just believing was sufficient enough, a static kind of faith.
That would sound good to somebody steeped in legalism. I think it sounds good today. I think one of the reasons the Evangelical Movement is moving so fast and churches are having twenty thousand, thirty thousand and more people pouring into these big mega-churches is because this message is just too good. If you've been under any kind of burden of fear, this is the biggest free ticket that's been offered.
And I understand that. I mean, I understand how the Jews thought in the day of James because if you read some of the rabbinic writings back at that time...for example, I'll give you one from the Expositor's Greek New Testament, when Mar(?) Ukva(?) lay dying, this is a Jewish guy, tells the story about him. When Mar Ukva lay dying, he asked for his account. It amounted to seven thousand zuzeem(?). Now what he was wanting was to know from the priest how much he had given to the temple. And when the priest gave him the accounting, it was seven thousand...seven thousand zuzeem, that was the sum of all his alm giving. And according to this historical story, he cried out, "The way to God is far and the provision small." And the historian said he did not think this sum would be sufficient to insure his justification in the sight of God and thus could not gain himself salvation. So on his death bed, the historian says, he gave away half his fortune in order to make himself quite secure.
Well that's the kind of burden they lived under. In fact, early pagans used to accuse the Jews of joining Christianity because it was a cheaper religion than their own. It was easier. There's so much of that today, it's so easy. Just say these little words, do this little deal, greatest little prayer. That's the new message and it's the new message today. It's as if...it's as if we've gone over the side of the dead faith enterprise. And you can find people who are burdened with their lives, burdened with trying to please God, burdened out of fearing death, fearing judgment. You find people who are disappointed, disillusioned, unhappy, miserable, unfulfilled. Wow, I don't have to do anything, just pray this prayer. No, James wants to make sure that nobody is mistaken on this issue...nobody is mistaken on this issue.
To understand this then the context has to be clear. Behind the scenes here in James' ministry is the desire to shed the bondage of Jewish works righteousness, to shed the overwhelming burden that they have borne. But the danger was that you think it's so simple, just believe in a static moment and that's it. And what they got was a dead faith.
Now, James characterizes this dead faith three ways. Let's look at the text. He characterizes this dead faith three ways. One, it is an empty confession. It is an empty confession. Verse 14, "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but he has no works. Can that faith save him?" The Authorized Version says, "What does that profit? What good is it? Here's the person who claims to have faith in God and faith in Jesus. "But if a man says he has faith, for the sake of argument, if he makes that claim, if he says he believes in Jesus," and here it's present tense, "if he keeps on making the claim, if he continually says it, what good is such a claim if he has not erga, works, good works, righteous deeds, as the pattern of his life."
What does it matter if there's no action? What good is a faith with no product? The obvious answer is it's no good at all, nothing but an empty confession, an empty profession, an empty claim. There's no such thing as a saving faith that doesn't produce works. Now what kind of works might saving faith produce? Go back to chapter 1. Chapter 1 verse 12, "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, endurance, to patiently and triumphantly endure, not to burn up and die like the plant with the rocky soil, but to endure, to show consistency in trial, under pressure, patience, the spirit of victory, triumph and hope in the midst of difficulty." That's one thing, endurance in faith under trial.
Another thing, verse 18, "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the Word of truth so that we might be, as it were, the firstfruits among His creatures. This you know, my beloved brethren, to let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God."
What he is saying here is this, if God's done His work in you, if He brought you forth by the Word of truth. If you have truly been regenerated and born again, you're going to be a firstfruits among His creatures. That is to say you're going to take on the character of one who is the product of divine birth. You're going to be regenerated, your life is going to be marked by God, you're going to have a God-likeness, a Christ-likeness. And you're going to be quick to listen, slow to speak. That is you're going to be attentive to the Word of God and slow to give your own opinion and get angry when somebody doesn't agree with it. Because you're consumed with the righteousness of God.
In verse 21, another thing. You're going to put aside all filthiness, all that remains of wickedness. You will in humility receive the Word implanted which is able to save your souls. You're going...you're going to direct your life toward purity and not filthiness, toward holiness and not wickedness, toward humility and not pride. And verse 22, "You're going to be a doer of the Word," that is what the Word says is what you do. Verse 26, "You're going to bridle your tongue." Verse 27, "You're going to visit orphans and widows in their distress. You're going to love others. You're going to be sacrificial and you're going to keep yourself...verse 27...being unstained by the world." In chapter 4 verse 4, he puts it this way, "Friendship with the world is hostility toward God. Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." So you would definitely going to have a biblical world view. You're going to be characterized by love, chapter 9, love for the poor, you're not going to play favorites. Verse 8, you're going to love your neighbor as yourself. You're not going to show partiality. I mean, there are all these things. Chapter 3, you're going to be humble. I should say chapter 4 verse 6, "God is opposed to the proud, gives grace to the humble. You're going to submit to God, resist the devil, draw near to God, cleanse your hands, purify your heart. You're going to be miserable, weep, mourn over your sin." Again verse 10, "Humbling yourself in the presence of the Lord." Those are some of the things that are going to mark you. Those are some of the evidences.
What good is it...back to chapter 2...James says...to make some kind of profession, or some kind of confession of saving faith when there are none of these things evident? It doesn't do any good at all, it's just empty, useless. And he asks at the end of verse 14, "Can that kind of faith save him?" Such a faith as that would deliver him...will it acquit him on judgment day? Can faith not accompanied by a moral transformation manifesting itself in conduct be true saving faith? True saving faith brings about a new birth, a new birth brings about a new life. Faith is seen in works. That faith can't save him, can it?
This is not, by the way, in conflict with what Paul taught. Paul taught works don't save you, but that works follow salvation. Paul says salvation is by grace through faith, apart from works. James says salvation is by grace through faith resulting in works. And James would agree with Paul and Paul would agree with James, there's no conflict there, both agree. There is a faith that doesn't save, and it is the faith that is devoid of works which means there's no real life there from God. That's why Hebrews 12:14 says, "Without holiness no man will see the Lord." You can't get there apart from holiness. Holiness, not something you earn but something God grants, the fruit of faith, not the root of faith.
So James is considering profession, empty confession, without evidence, doesn't do any good to make a claim if you can't back it up with your life. Hebrews 6:9, the writer of Hebrews says, "Think forth things that belong to salvation." Ephesians 2:8 to 10, "For by grace are you saved through faith..." we know all that. But he then says, "Unto good works which God has before ordained that you should walk in them." Not saved by works, saved unto works. And James says, "If they're not there, it's an empty claim, absolutely empty claim." No one is saved by works, no one is saved without producing works.
So, first of all, James looks at dead faith on the basis of an empty confession. Secondly, a false compassion. Dead faith manifests itself in a false compassion, verse 15, "If a brother or sister is without clothing and need of daily food, and one of you says to him, 'Go in peace, be warm, be filled,' yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so, faith if it has no works is dead, being by itself." Very practical illustration. He says if you come across someone who's naked, it can also mean ill-clothed, not necessarily stark naked, someone who is absolutely destitute. In need of daily food, starving to death...this is in grave, grave condition, serious despair, very severe, no food, no adequate clothing. And you come along and you say, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled." By the way, "go in peace" was a common Jewish expression. If you say that to that person, that's empty words, pious indifference, cold. If that's all that you're willing to do, what good is that? What good is that? That's...it's meaningless. It's just words without action, and that's a picture, that's a metaphor of your real spiritual condition. You may superficially articulate some false compassion, such as a person who would do that but there's really none in your heart because your heart has never been changed. That's just dead faith. Even so, faith is like that, it pretends to care, it pretends to love, but there's no selflessness, there's no real sacrifice, it's just theater.
And it reminds me of a story I read years ago about one of the queens of England going to the theater and weeping at the play in a cold winter night, only to find when she went back to her carriage that her carriage driver had frozen to death waiting for her. At which point her biographer says, "She was only angry." And the question was asked, how can you weep at fantasy and not at reality? But this is what it is to be dead, a dead faith, an empty confession, a false compassion like someone who speaks meaningless words to someone on the edge of death.
There's a third element to this dead faith, shallow conviction...shallow conviction....empty confession, false compassion, shallow conviction. Verse 18, "Now someone may well say you have faith and I have works, show me your faith without the works and I will show you my faith by my works." Someone...probably referring to James. James probably referring to himself. And he's going to ask the question, "You have faith, you say. Okay, I have works. Show me your faith without the works. Go ahead." You can't do it, can you? It's the acid test. Oh you say you have faith. Oh yeah, I have faith. How am I doing to know you have faith? Easy to say, very easy to say. Show me your faith without works. That's impossible, that is absolutely impossible, it can't be proven, it can't be done, you can't show anything without works. There's no way.
On the other hand, he says, "I'll show you my faith, the only way faith can ever be seen, by my works." How do you know your faith is real? By your works. If you don't see any works, you can't know the faith is real. It's impossible. And Peter affirms this in very strong language. Second Peter 1, we have this life and godliness and we have precious magnificent promises, we have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. And then he starts in verse 5 with this, "Apply all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, in your moral excellence knowledge, and to your knowledge add self-control and perseverance and godliness and brotherly kindness and love and if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." In other words, the way you know your knowledge is real is when you see the fruit. And the one who lacks these qualities is blind and short-sighted and really doesn't know whether he's been purified. You can only make your own salvation clear to you by looking at the fruit. The same is true for anyone else. In fact, he drives this home so powerfully in verse 19, "You believe that God is one," and that was the great, you know, monotheism, that was the great unique reality of the true and living God against the polytheism of the world, the many gods. "You believe in the one God, that God is one. Wonderful, the demons also believe and tremble." They've got one on you, at least they tremble. Oh, you say you believe in God, how interesting. Oh yes, I believe in God. You say you believe in Christ. Yes, I believe in Jesus, I prayed that prayer about Jesus. You do well, the demons also believe and they're not saved, but at least they have the sense to tremble, to shudder.
So you have an intellectual acceptance of God. You have an intellectual acceptance of Christ. This is what I call shallow conviction. You have come to the belief that something is true. And he says, "You do well," that's pure sarcasm. The demons are fundamentalists. The demons are orthodox. They believe all the facts about God, Christ and Scripture. That can't save them. And they tremble, they shudder. Literally in the Greek, to bristle. You know what that word means to bristle? To have your hair stand on end. It's a word that means the demons suffer by what they believe a severe degree of terror. They know what awaits the godless. And I am afraid that evangelicalism is filled with people who have dead faith and go about happily, giddily saying they believe in God, and they believe in Jesus and their hair doesn't bristle because they have no idea of the judgment that awaits those whose faith is dead. The demons, they know what's coming. Dead faith is inferior to demon faith. Demons believe the right things, but they do not love righteousness and they do not hate evil. They do not love God. They just believe the right stuff because they know it's true. And dead faith is even below that, it is that foolish superficial faith that produces nothing, not even a sense of terror that their faith might be dead.
And so, in verse 20 James sums it up. "Are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?" Foolish is empty headed, brain dead we would say. That faith without works is fruitless, idle, unproductive, barren, dead, demon faith. James' concern should be our concern. And how we should rejoice to see the work of God in our lives that parallels the work of God in the lives of the heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter 11. Well, let's run with endurance the faith race as God manifests true fruit through our lives.
Our Father, we thank You that You have given us such clarity. As always, we are stunned by the perspicuity or the clarity of Scripture. We know that there is a faith that is temporary, a faith that has but a slight and insufficient touch upon the heart. It tastes the heavenly gift. It tastes the good Word of God. It tastes the power of the world to come. And in this faith the mind might be enlightened, the heart may be affected with some momentary joy, the life perhaps in some measure reformed, at least from the more vile sins, what Peter called escaping the pollutions of the world. But the work isn't deep, the joy isn't permanent, and when temptation comes and testing and trial and persecution and difficulty, it proves to be dead faith. Lord, we know that this is a very common deception. Many are persuaded that Jesus is the Savior, Son of God, and they have in some way embraced this, in some measure they commit to the hope of His salvation. They may depend upon His promise but had never had their hearts loosened from the world, never abandoned all for Christ, never let go of sensual possessions and objects and attractions. They have no interest in the narrow way in living holy lives. They are not rooted and grounded in a saving faith, but a dead faith. And, Lord, for those our hearts go out and we would ask that You would open their eyes. The question is the question that James asked, are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow? Are you willing to look at reality? O, Lord, we pray that many will be in response to the truth and that You would bring them to saving faith that produces works of righteousness that honor You. We thank You that salvation is by grace through faith, unto good works which You have ordained that we should walk in them. We know that You produce this glorious fruit in us by Your grace through Your Spirit as we obey Your Word. May we be faithful in our fruit bearing to bear not just little fruit but to bear much fruit, for in that is the Father glorified. These things we ask in the name of Christ. Amen.


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To the Editor:
Lawmakers cannot operate in a spiritual vacuum. Our country and Constitution were based on a very firmly defined set of Judeo-Christian precepts that were meant to direct our legislative decisions. It's imperative that Springfield members turn to their spiritual roots as part of their decision-making process. If they do so, I think they will find that the definition of marriage is not negotiable. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Let's encourage Springfield to stand up for traditional marriage.
Ron Ballantyne
South Elgin

subset: commoncrawl


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ECS A790GXM-A Review
By ajmatson -
SPECviewperf 10 is a benchmark designed to test OpenGL performance. I will be using the multi-threaded tests to measure the performance when run in this mode. The tests used for comparison are listed below. The default multi-threaded tests were chosen to be able to compare across platforms. In these tests, higher scores equate to better performance.
- Catia
PCMark Vantage is used to measure complete system performance. We will be running a series of tests to gauge performance of each individual board to see which board, if any, rises above the others.
In these two benchmarks again the ECS board was slightly behind the rest.


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The Greene Line was a line of river steamships along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The name was later changed to Delta Queen Steamboat Company. This is one of the last journeys aboard the steamboat Gordon C. Green in 1949. The steamboat Delta Queen replaced her in the same year. The Steamboat Gordon C. Greene heads down the Mississippi in 1949 for New Orleans. (Left: ... Read More »
Home / Tag Archives: STEAMBOAT CRUISES


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Product photography and illustrations have been reproduced as accurately as print and web technologies permit. To ensure highest satisfaction, we suggest you view an actual sample from your dealer for best color, wood grain and finish representation.
Out with eye-level, in with hand-level. With a built-in space for an under counter paper towel holder and paper towel storage, plus waste baskets underneath, this cabinet is the ultimate solution for having convenience in close proximity.


text: email@example.comĀLITCHFIELD Ś The Litchfield High School class of 2013 will walk through the doors of the school one last time as high school students Sunday afternoon for graduation.ĀValedictorian Kimberly Wykes and salutatorian Erik Heckel said it wonÆt be the last time they will be at the school, though Ś both of them plan on return visits to their alma mater.ĀWith days left before graduation, Wykes said she was still working on her speech.ĀA cross country runner and basketball player, Wykes said her most memorable moment of her high school career was earning All-Conference honors for cross country.ĀWykes is planning on attending Andrews University in Berrien Springs, majoring in animal science. Her goal in life to become a dairy nutritionist, owning her own ōhobby farmö at some point.ĀWykes' family raises dairy cows on their family farm outside of Litchfield.ĀHeckel will be attending Michigan State University in the fall majoring in media information technology.ĀAlthough he is not sure what career field he wants to pursue, he is looking at working with websites or in the video gaming industry.ĀHis favorite class the last two years was the multi-media marketing program at the Hillsdale ISD Career Center.ĀWykes said her favorite class was the agriculture and environmental science class at the Branch County ISD Career Center.ĀThe class of 2013 includes 25 students. The top 10 are Wykes, Heckel, Anthony Shepherd, Austin Staggs, Harley Prater, Samantha Cares, Tyler McIntyre, Ariel Knight, Andrew Cheramle and Dylan Knapp.


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Apple Customer Becomes Victim Of "It Just Works" Complacency
We hate to say this, but in the interest of fairness we must: sometimes it really is the customer's fault. A man took his three iPhones out of the country, and now he's got a $4800 roaming bill because he didn't turn them off and they kept checking for email. Well, he didn't turn them off off. You know, there's standby off and off off. Or maybe you didn't know? It's all in the Apple iPhone User Guide—we just looked at it online and it's right there on page 14: how to put your phone in standby (which just turns off the screen) and how to shut it off completely.
Or you can check out pages 49 and 50, where it shows you how to disable an email account temporarily or permanently so that it doesn't check for messages. Or look at page 94, where it explains the airplane mode: 'When airplane mode is on… no cell phone, radio, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth signals are emitted from iPhone. You can't make calls, send or receive text messages, stream YouTube videos, or get stock quotes, map locations, or weather reports."
Our point isn't to be smart-asses about someone's dumb mistake, since we all make those every week. (The folks at Slashdot are going back and forth about whether or not he should be held responsible.) But it's interesting to see Apple's "it just works" sensibility brought to its logical conclusion. We suspect the greater their market share grows, the more we'll see supposedly "anti-Apple" stories like this, brought on by cheerfully oblivious consumers.
"AT&T is cruising for a bruising" [The Inquirer via Slashdot via a reader tip]
iPhone User Manual
(Photo: Getty)
Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.


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- Inside Athletics
- Tickets
- Fan Zone
- Media Zone
- Social
- Shop
- E Fund
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 6, 2007) - The ETSU women's tennis team picked up it's sixth straight victory on Friday as they swept conference foe Mercer, 7-0. The Lady Bucs improve to 13-9 on the year and 7-1 in conference action, while Mercer falls to 5-17, 2-7.
The Lady Bucs took the early 1-0 lead as they took all three doubles matches. Competing in No. 1 doubles Masha Ilina (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Olya Batsula (Minsk, Belarus) breezed by Lauriane Auvergne and Irys Citko, 8-2, while Yevgeniya Stupak (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Elena Volobueva (Barcelona, Spain) cruised past Kelly Blount and Anna Wieslander, 8-1 in the second position. In the No. 3 slot Tara Byrne (
In singles action, Stupak cruised by Irys Citko, 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 2 position, while Batsula blanked Anna Wieslander, 6-0, 6-0 in the third position. Competing in the No. 4 slot Byrne defeated Priscilla Dias, 6-0, 6-1 as Volobueva defeated Rachel Kerley, 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 5 position. In the sixth slot, Vita Moskaliova (
Competing in the No. 1 position senior Masha Ilina cruised to her 100th career victory as she defeated Lauriane
"I'm extremely proud of Masha for reaching this milestone. She is the only female at ETSU to do it and only one of four ETSU tennis players to ever reach it. It's such an accomplishment because for the last three years she has played mainly in the No. 1 position," said head coach Steve Brooks.
"It was also good to win another match and our next goal is to earn a share of the conference title. I'm really proud of the girls and they are doing what they need to do to be ready for the tournament," added Brooks.
The Lady Bucs will wrap up A-Sun regular season action on Wednesday as they take on
No. 1- Masha Ilina (ETSU) def. Lauriane
No. 2- Yevgeniya Stupak (ETSU) def. Irys Citko (MU) 6-1, 6-1
No. 3- Olya Batsula (ETSU) def. Anna Wieslander (MU) 6-0, 6-0
No. 4-
No. 5- Elena Volobueva (ETSU) def. Rachel Kerley (MU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 6- Vita Moskaliova (ETSU) def. Karen Bellman (MU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 1- Ilina/Batsula (ETSU) def. Auvergne/Citko (MU) 8-2
No. 2- Stupak/Volobueva (ETSU) def. Blount/Wieslander (MU) 8-1
No. 3- Byrne/Stewart (ETSU) def. Kerley/Dias (MU) 8-4


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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just weeks after the arrest of a third-grade teacher accused of sexually abusing nearly two dozen students engulfed Los Angeles school officials in a scandal last year, word surfaced that children were being fondled by a fourth-grade teacher at another school.
Having been jolted by the first case, Los Angeles Unified School District officials moved swiftly. The fourth-grade teacher, Robert Pimentel, was pulled from his classroom, the state teacher credentialing commission was notified, and parents were alerted. When it became clear that years-old allegations against Pimentel hadn't been thoroughly investigated, the principal at his school was also removed.
While it took nearly a year to bring charges against Pimentel, the reaction by the school district shows how recent reforms put in place have reshaped how the school system deals with sexual abuse by teachers.
Those reforms came after the February 2012 arrest of Miramonte Elementary School third-grade teacher Mark Berndt, who is accused of blindfolding pupils and feeding them his semen in a tasting game. The district has since mandated that parents be notified within 72 hours of a report of a suspected abuser, and that each case be reviewed by several human resources staffers to ensure it is reported to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
District officials have also vowed to investigate molestation claims and move quickly to remove suspected teachers from classrooms while investigations are ongoing.
Police were contacted in March by the parents of five students at George De La Torre Jr. Elementary School who said Pimentel had touched their children inappropriately. District officials immediately removed him from campus and notifications were sent out.
More than 70 interviews were conducted during the police investigation, and 20 female students were found to have been victimized, Los Angeles police Capt. Fabian Lizarraga said. Another victim was a female teacher who complained that Pimentel had inappropriately touched her, police said.
The alleged abuse occurred in Pimentel's fourth-grade classroom during school hours and in some cases was witnessed by other students, Lizarraga said. The sexual abuse involved fondling over and underneath clothing, he said.
The Pimentel case may have been the first in the district that fell under the new policy, district Superintendent John Deasy said.
"It was very close to the first, if not the first," he said. "I don't know if it was a direct result (of the Miramonte case). There was a potentially serious problem there and we acted and did what we did."
Lizarraga added that although there was a spike in parent complaints after the Miramonte case, there wasn't any tie to the Pimentel case.
"These were some really alert parents knowing their kids and noticing subtle changes in their personalities," Lizarraga said.
The accusations against Pimentel, 57, span eight months, dating back to September 2011. He was arrested Wednesday and charged with 15 felony counts.
When the investigation against him began in March, the district was already reeling from Berndt's February 2012 arrest. Berndt has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd acts and is awaiting trial. More than 225 parents and students are involved in various claims for damages against the district regarding that case.
In a separate case, a jury in December ordered the district to pay a boy molested by an elementary school teacher $6.9 million — among the largest awards in the history of the school system. The jury found the district liable for the repeated molestation of the 10-year-old student in 2008 and 2009 by teacher Forrest Stobbe at Queen Anne Elementary School in the city's mid-Wilshire district.
Pimentel had worked for the district since 1974. A previous report of sexual misconduct against him occurred four years ago at the school, and another complaint was made eight years ago at another elementary school where both a female principal and Pimentel had worked, Deasy said.
"My determination was that she was previously mishandling other complaints," Deasy said. "My intent was to fire them."
The district never got the chance because both Pimentel and the principal retired after the allegations were made.
Police said they will review the principal's failure to report the previous allegations.
Investigators attempted to interview Pimentel last year but he declined. He appeared in court Thursday but didn't enter a plea.
His lawyer, Richard Knickerbocker, told reporters outside court that the allegations are false and that his client will plead not guilty. Pimentel raised a family, volunteered as a soccer coach and was an outstanding teacher, Knickerbocker said.
"If you look at the record, before this, Pimentel has had a pretty exemplary life," he said. "He has no arrest record, for anything."


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While I do enjoy watching anime with others, I prefer to watch anime alone. Not because it's embarrassing, but because I want to experience it without distractions or opinions of others. You'll be surprised how much someone else's opinion can influence your own in a negative way.
Re-using old skins because I'm too busy for new things atm (I'm just lazy)
alone with my headset on
occupation: sleepiest girl on the planet
I prefer alone! I don't like to explain the drama of the anime or something
When i look at the mirror I see a unicorn, a badass unicorn ♥
Lizzieamyyp wrote:
I prefer alone! I don't like to explain the drama of the anime or something
What's worse is when you have to explain how it's not cheesy. No no, just wait... In 20 episodes it's totally going to get good! *friend walks out* Come on, man! Anime is awesome. *door closes* I didn't wanna watch it with you anyway! *car drives off* You know what, I don't have to justify myself to you!
"Hey mister! I am mad scientist! It's so cool!" - Okabe
I agree, alone is better! I can smoke some hashish and get into it!
Then if someone comes over I can ask them if they want to watch it...
Alone, I can focus more on the plot and fanboy by myself without having to listen to them talking or having to pause it because one of us needs to do something.
You See My Path Is In Fact Just A Fault Line.
cpblair83 hahaha I imagine the whole situation but I totally hate it! And most of my friends doesn't like anime like I do so.... Better alone when I watch it
When i look at the mirror I see a unicorn, a badass unicorn ♥
If it's my first time watching it definitely alone. Love discussing afterwards though. If I've already seen it before then I don't mind watching it with someone else.
Apostles, impostors, Foul whores and putrid posers
It's best to watch with people whose opinion I trust and respect + a heated discussion after each episode ^^
I do agree that some shows should only be watched when you're alone, in the dead of night, though
mad at the world that chooses morality over reason and logic
I've always watched anime alone, and well, wouldn't mind watching it with others. But I prefer alone, as I like to think a lot and I do a lot of analysis.
神様にはいつも見放されてると思ってた 生きる意味も探せず
Alone, I like to concentrate on things I watch without distractions.
Strung out on lasers and slashback blazers
I enjoy watching anime with my wife and by myself. I think it would depend on the anime if I would enjoy watching it in a group. A comedy like Excel Saga may actually work better in a group, but I think a more serious or dark anime would suffer in a group.
My first time watching a show, I prefer to watch alone. But if the show is good and I think my anime fan friend would like it, I'll rewatch it with her afterwords.
There's actually been a couple shows I rewatched with my parents afterwords too (Moribito and Bunny Drop, they loved both).
Plus, I guess I ultimately prefer alone... because I'm not gonna lie. I cry a lot during anime and I'm sure I look completely ridiculous as a grown man, holding a box of tissues. So yah, I'm gonna change my answer to alone. With the blinds shut. In the dark.
"Hey mister! I am mad scientist! It's so cool!" - Okabe
I prefer to watch anime with my twin. It makes the experience that much more exciting.


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About Viola Davis(Click Here To Hide)
Viola Davis broke into the movie world with a strong role in Traffic and then Solaris. Since then Viola Davis has been building her resume and raising two children with her husband Julius Tennon. Viola pictures from Doubt with video clips Gossipcenter.
No fan sites added yet


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Command Staff
Chief Deputy of Enforcement Michael Barton
Michael Barton, Chief Deputy of Enforcement, has been serving in his current position since January 2013. Prior, Chief Barton served as Assistant Chief of Detention Operations since September 2011. He also held responsibilities as Assistant Chief of Detention Administration, Joint Terrorism Task Force Investigator with the FBI (Northern District of Alabama), Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigator and Deputy Sheriff assigned to the School Resource Officer unit. Chief Barton has also been deputized as a Special Deputy United States Marshal.
Presently, he is a Crisis Negotiator with the Etowah County Special Operations Group, Director of the Etowah County Sheriff's Office Student Leadership Academy, Sheriff's Office Liaison for the Etowah County Community Crisis Chaplain Team and served as the Project Manager for the Etowah County Interoperable Communications System from 2008 to 2010.
Chief Barton holds a graduate certificate in Criminal Justice Education from the University of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia and a Bachelor of Science degree in Emergency Management from Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama. He is a graduate of the 240th Session, FBI National Law Enforcement Academy, Quantico, Virginia and a graduate of the Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff's Academy, Birmingham, Alabama.
He is a member of the FBI National Academy Associates, National Sheriff's Association, American Correctional Association and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.
A Message From The Sheriff
This site is maintained as a public service for the citizens of Etowah County. As Sheriff, it is my pleasure to serve you in this manner. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.


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We had hands-on with a whole host of Wii U games, but are these best played on Nintendo's Wii U? We take a look at each conversion and their new features.
for the most part it wont be better, I mean how many people will buy a wii-u just to play a game that they can play on one of their current consoles?
not many.
I was hoping Wii U games would at least be 60 fps 1080p versions of current gen games.


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HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston woman accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend with her stiletto heel told detectives that her boyfriend had attacked her first and she didn't realize she had hurt him until she saw blood on the floor, according to a police interrogation video played for jurors on Wednesday.
Ana Trujillo is charged with murder in the death of 59-year-old Alf Stefan Andersson, a University of Houston professor and researcher. Authorities allege Trujillo sat on top of Andersson and struck him at least 25 times in the face and head with the shoe during an argument at his condominium last June. Trujillo's attorney has told jurors his client was defending herself.
On the third day of Trujillo's trial, prosecutors played a video recording of police detectives' interrogation of the 45-year-old woman that took place hours after the killing.
In the video, Trujillo told detectives that the couple returned to Andersson's condominium after a night of drinking and the two began arguing after Andersson said he was jealous that another man had bought her a drink that evening.
She told detectives she was just going to see her family in Waco the next day, but that Andersson became angry because he thought she was going to leave him.
"And his face got red ... and he became infuriated," Trujillo said. "And then he came toward me, (and said) 'You are not going to leave me, ever.'"
Trujillo said Andersson grabbed her and the two started wrestling in a hallway. She said she got away but Andersson chased her down and got on top of her, preventing her from breathing. She said Andersson was growling at her.
"I was begging him to let me go," she said.
Trujillo told detectives Andersson then lost his balance and she was able to get on top of him.
"He grabbed me. I was hitting him with the shoe, telling him, 'Please stop,'" she said.
Trujillo said she hit Andersson because she knew "he was going to get up and he was going to hurt me."
Trujillo said she hit Andersson "a couple of times" and then he grabbed her hand and she lost the shoe.
"At first I didn't know there was blood coming out of him," she said. "He didn't even seem like he was hurt."
Earlier in the video, Trujillo told detectives Andersson would drink heavily and was mentally abusive. She said Andersson had been like many male friends she had who wanted to "marry me" and turn their friendship into romance. Trujillo said she eventually grew to care for Andersson but resisted having sex with him because it was like "sleeping with my grandfather."
She told detectives Andersson would do well for a while but then would relapse into self-destructive behavior.
"It got too much for me," she said.
In previous testimony, Andersson's friends described him as kind and mild-mannered.
Dr. Jeff Walterscheid, a toxicologist with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, testified that Andersson's blood alcohol level was 0.13. The legal limit for driving is 0.08. Testing also found an antidepressant in Andersson's system.
Trujillo's attorney had suggested Andersson might have taken ecstasy. But Walterscheid said he found no traces of the drug.
The trial was set to resume on Friday, when prosecutors were expected to rest their case.
If convicted, Trujillo faces up to life in prison.
Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/juanlozano70


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Cuba Gooding Sr. found dead in car: report
Cuba Gooding Sr., the once popular soul singer and father of actor Cuba Gooding Jr., was found dead in his car Thursday, TMZ reports.
The celebrity news and gossip website reports Gooding Sr. was found slumped over in his silver Jaguar at about 1 p.m. PT. Sources said Gooding died of a suspected overdose at the age of 72.
Gooding was the lead singer of the band "The Main Ingredient," which toured the world in the 70s. The band struck it big with the single "Everybody plays the fool."


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This is the most recent version of the FunCube. It is brand new and still in the static bag it came in. I am selling it for exactly what I paid for the radio, no more no less. Some sellers were marking these up over twice the costs as they were hard to get for a while. My total investment was 198.80.
A great way to get into SDR without going broke. Plenty of cool radio apps and more available for free download. funcubedongle.com for more info.


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A lot of readers have shown up lately clamoring for more coverage of Philadelphia's abortion clinic butcher, Kermit Gosnell. Working here at the Philadelphia Daily News, I was taken aback at the wave of complaints that the story has been undercovered, since we've run literally dozens of stories and featured Gosnell on the front page at least two or three times that I can remember (it's hard to "ignore" a story and put it on your front page more than once!). But obviously it's different outside of Philly -- outlets like the Washington Post should cover it more. If you want to read one piece that really captures the outrage of Gosnell. I'd recommend this article from back in 2011, by Katha Pollit of The Nation. It's called "Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Horror Show":
Blood-spattered floors. Cat feces. Broken equipment. A 15-year-old giving anesthesia. Two women dead, countless more maimed and injured. Third-trimester fetuses delivered alive whose spines were then severed by the doctor. This was the Women's Medical Society in West Philadelphia. This is what illegal abortion looks like.
That's right. Illegal abortion. A great deal has been written about Dr. Kermit Gosnell and the shocking conditions and practices at his facility, which was closed last March after a drug raid, and is back in the news because a grand jury has indicted him and nine employees for murder in the deaths of one woman and seven infants. There have been many calls for further restrictions on abortion, much revulsion expressed at post-viability abortions, much blame cast on prochoicers for supposedly doing nothing to stop him. But it has not been pointed out often enough that what Dr. Gosnell was doing was illegal in Pennsylvania. It is not legal to perform abortions after twenty-four weeks. It is not legal to slit the necks of born-alive fetuses at any age, much less at thirty weeks or even more. It is not legal for untrained, unlicensed employees to perform medical procedures.
Now prochoicers are being blamed for this rogue operator. The grand jury report suggests that Tom Ridge, Republican governor from 1995 to 2001, discontinued inspections because prochoicers claimed they were too burdensome. The ones I talked to were skeptical. "We never lobbied against inspection," Carol Tracy of the Women's Law Project, which represents clinics in Pennsylvania, told me by phone. She pointed out that under Ridge's Democratic predecessor, Bob Casey, who was famously opposed to legal abortion, Gosnell's clinic was inspected three times, and each time serious problems were found. Nothing was done. Perhaps it's relevant that Gosnell's patients were poor, many of them immigrants—like 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar from Nepal, with whose murder Gosnell has been charged—who may not even have known that safe and legal abortion is available here.
Two years later, I'm surprised but pleased to see so many former nay-sayers now expressing concern about the horrible conditions in which America's poor are often subjected to when seeking medical treatment -- with the pursuit of safe and legal abortions just one example. If there was ever a case for a more equitable and better-regulated -- and truly reformed -- health care system in America, it is Dr. Kermit Gosnell.


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Represent! We overlooked Sipowitz's heavy second-city accent because Dennis Franz's portrayal of an NYPD detective was otherwise spot on. Now, the boys in blue are finally losing the front-drive Impalas and returning to the Mopar product we grew to sweat (and recognize a mile back in the rear-view). The first cars were delivered this week, and Kudos to AM New York writer Justin Rocket Silverman for recognizing the cars' anteceedents, thus dispelling myths about New Yorkers' lack of car knowledge. It all happens just as Wert turns Detroit into his own private, er, Detroit this week. Yeah, yeah.
NYPD beefs up with new cruisers [AM New York]
Lame, Easy Headline of the Day: Cops in 'Dukes' Cars [internal]


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Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: When her classmate Ritsuko disappears, her friend Ryoko is desperate to find her. When she discovers that Ritsuko was playing a strange game online of hide and seek, she begins to wonder if it could be related to her disappearance somehow. Ryoko then discovers that the game is more sinister than it appeared at first. It …Read More »
Home | Tag Archives: Hide and Go Kill 2


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November 02. 2013 4:28AM
Mike Cote's Business Editor's Notebook: Your robot might need an attorney
"ALMOST HUMAN" is coming. Is he a lawsuit waiting to happen?
If you watched the World Series, you were reminded nearly every inning that Fox has a new buddy-cop series debuting Nov. 17 in which one of the buddies is a robot. Not one of those trash-can-and-vacuum-cleaner-hose clunkers, but a handsome humanoid guy with feelings.
From the promo spots, it looks like the only real difference between "Almost Human" and any other show about two cops driving around busting up bad guys is that one of them is a robot named Dorian, and it's 2048.
While we're not partnering police detectives with robots yet, we're already beginning to face the legal issues that will arise as artificial intelligence becomes commonplace.
Whatever "Almost Human" addresses, you can bet it won't include whether you can sue a robot for wrongdoing. Is that android liable for crashing the squad car into a grocery store? What if it performed precisely as it was designed but still wreaked havoc? Who pays?
John Frank Weaver addresses such questions in "Robots are People Too: How Siri, Google Car, and Artificial Intelligence Will Force Us to Change Our Laws," a book slated to be published by Praeger on Nov. 30.
The Portsmouth attorney, who works for the Manchester-based law firm McLane, Graf, Raulerson and Middleton, addresses the intersection of artificial intelligence and the law as part of his practice.
While Siri, Apple's talking personal assistant, and Google car, a self-driving wonder that could allow us to text all we want, aren't walking and talking robots, they are machines that "recreate some aspect of human intelligence or are capable of making a limited type of human decision," as Weaver says in the introduction to his book.
Such low-level artificial intelligence is bound to change the game for our legal system. Copyright law will need to reflect the use of AI programs that can create music and works of literature. Fourth Amendment considerations will be debated as the use of surveillance drones threatens our constitutional protections against "unreasonable searches and seizures."
"Our laws make the base assumption that human beings make decisions," Weaver said last week during an interview at McLane's office in downtown Manchester. "Once you start having machines and widespread use of machines or programs that make decisions for people, you have to change some of the legal models that we use because they don't apply anymore."
Nevada, California and Florida already have passed laws that permit the use of autonomous cars under certain conditions, and several other states, including New Hampshire, have considered them. In May, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a policy statement about the vehicles that outlines safety and regulatory issues.
While the commercial introduction of self-driving vehicles isn't expected until 2020, auto manufacturers already are incorporating some aspects of the technology into new models. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S550 can drive and steer itself in certain conditions on the highway, according to a recent review by the Los Angeles Times.
In his book, Weaver proposes liability be assigned to the vehicle itself, through a pool of funds generated when consumers buy the self-driving cars. Like Workers' Compensation, there would be a lower threshold of proof but a guaranteed payout that would be capped.
"There are going to be accidents even if the technology performs as it should, and you wouldn't want victims of that situation to be left out in the cold," he said.
Weaver, whose practice includes telecommunications law, said he was inspired to begin researching the technology and the possible legal ramifications after reading an article about Google cars a couple of years ago. He started a blog that led to an article for a law journal, a segment on New Hampshire Public Radio and an inquiry from a book publisher.
The emerging AI technology reminded him of the telecommunications industry in 1989, when it was on the cusp of transforming business and society - and bringing with it a legal practice that is an industry all by itself.
"I thought there is a legal market that will be forming in the next 10 years that is totally empty right now," said Weaver 34. "And if I start thinking about it and writing about it and filling that space as the only person there, I won't get all of that business, but this could be a viable practice 10 years from now, 20 years from now."
After all, even lawyers aren't immune from displacement by technology. Software programs already are on the market that are designed to help people involved in patent disputes find the mostly amenable legal forums based on data from previous cases, Weaver noted.
How much artificial intelligence will displace workers is anybody's guess, but if the Industrial Revolution's factory automation is any guide, it most certainly will. The question is to what degree.
"There's a debate among economists about whether technological changes and advances automatically bring about widespread economic benefits or whether we've just been lucky," he said. "The benefits of the Industrial Revolution were widely spread because of the character of the Industrial Revolution as opposed to a general law that technological change lifts all boats."
The manufacturing era brought with it poor working conditions, pollution, the displacement of farmers and other woes that took decades to correct while ushering in a middle class that enjoyed a higher standard of living than the generation before.
This time, as we've seen with the rise of the Internet, the change will come faster and harder.
"We don't get a century any more. We get 20 or 30 years. If we don't introduce laws quickly enough that maximize the good and minimize the bad, we're not going to gain the full benefit of new technology, and we might experience more of the bad than the good," Weaver said. "The book tries to outlines laws we could change to have these benefits widely spread."
Among humans, anyway.
Mike Cote is business editor at the Union Leader. Contact him at 668-4321, ext. 324 or email@example.com.


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12 Reasons My Boyfriend Loves My Dog More Than He Loves Me
My boyfriend and I adopted a cute rescue puppy this fall. I begged and begged him to get me a dog, and we finally chose a sweet little mutt from a shelter to call our own.
Little did I know this mangy ball of fur would ruin my relationship with her sweet little face and her silly, whining bark. Our dog became the love of my boyfriend's life — his companion through good and bad, thick and thin, day and night. Looking back, it all makes perfect sense. The dog was as sweet and loving as a puppy could be.
Dog lovers beware. Here are the twelve reason why my boyfriend loves my dog more than he loves me.[ITPGallery]


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ROLLBACK rolls back the current transaction and causes all the updates made by the transaction to be discarded.
Use COMMIT to successfully terminate a transaction.
Issuing ROLLBACK when not inside a transaction does no harm, but it will provoke a warning message.
The SQL standard only specifies the two forms ROLLBACK and ROLLBACK WORK. Otherwise, this command is fully conforming.
If you see anything in the documentation that is not correct, does not match your experience with the particular feature or requires further clarification, please use this form to report a documentation issue.


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Sex.com domain sold for $13 million
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Corporate News, Internet,
In perhaps the only instance in America where it is okay to sell sex for money, Clover Holdings Ltd successfully bid on the Sex.com domain name up for sale by its owners Escom LLC.
Escom was forced to sell the incredibly valuable domain name after filing for bankruptcy. In May, Escom hired Sedo.com to help find buyers for the domain name which they bought for $14 million back in 2006.
The deal has not yet been accepted by the bankruptcy court, but we suspect that it will soon be finalized. Whatever Clover Holdings Ltd plans to do with the domain name is not known, but whatever it is, we're sure it will be sexy.
Read More | Reuters
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A Scam Email with the Subject "PayPal Account Suspension Notice - PayPal Account Limitef" was received in one of Scamdex's honeypot email accounts on Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:15:51 -0700 and has been classified as a Phishing, ID Theft Scam. The sender was <email@example.com>, although it may have been spoofed.
Dear valued PayPal® member:
It has come to our attention
that your PayPal®
account information needs to be updated as part of our continuing
commitment to protect your account and to reduce the instance of
fraud on our website. If you could please take 5-10
minutes out of your online experience and update your personal records
you will not run into any future problems with the online service.
However, failure to update your
records will result in account suspension.
To update your PayPal®
records click on the following link:
Thank You.
Accounts Management As outlined in our User Agreement, PayPal® will periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements.


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Hands-on CPR easy to learn, priceless to know
It's scary enough for a bystander to witness a stranger going into cardiac arrest, let alone a son with his father.
He didn't think anything of it. He sat there on the couch ranting about his home team's loss with his wife Lori and son Jesse.
Suddenly the chest pains turned into something more and Tim went into cardiac arrest.
Frantically running around trying to figure out what to do, Lori went to the kitchen to dial 911. By the time she got back into the living room she saw Jesse doing chest compressions on his dad.
The May 11 incident happened just a couple of months after the 14-year-old learned hands-only CPR at church through a program Woodbury's Public Safety Department launched in 2012.
Jesse didn't think twice when he saw his father, 45, unresponsive. Before the dispatcher advised them to begin CPR, he was already doing it.
"He just couldn't let his dad go," Lori Galloway said. "He wanted to do everything he could to save his dad's life."
About five minutes went by before help arrived — which Lori said felt like a lot longer — but they were the most critical in eliminating further brain damage.
"The chest compressions not only saved him, but saved his quality of life," Lori said.
Jesse took the hands-only CPR class at Crossroads Church in Woodbury. It was part of the "Take Heart" campaign that Woodbury Public Safety Department began last year to train 7,000 area residents hands-only CPR in case an incident just like this one occurred.
"I had no idea that he had taken the class," Lori said. "I think it was meant to be. The timing was perfect."
Jesse was honored by campaign organizers and given a certificate of appreciation recently at a Woodbury City Council meeting.
Calling him "a true Take heart Woodbury hero" Angela Kain, a firefighter/EMT and champion of the efforts, personally related to Jesse, making her that much more appreciative of his quick thinking.
"My dad unfortunately had a sudden cardiac arrest and he didn't make it," she said.
Kain is hopeful that Jesse's story and others alike will spark more Take Heart campaigns in neighboring communities, increasing victims' survival rate that much more.
Woodbury began its Take Heart campaign in February 2012 with a goal to teach a little over 10 percent of the population hands-only CPR.
With trainings at schools, churches, nonprofit organizations and businesses, as well as public community events like Woodbury Days, more than 7,000 now know how to perform hands-only CPR.
The patient's chance of survival after sudden cardiac arrest can increase significantly if hands-only CPR is performed as quickly as possible, said J.B. Guiton, emergency medical services commander.
"It's a new form of CPR and we'd like to see more people involved with actually performing CPR before we show up at the scene," he said.
The hands-only technique is as effective, if not more, as mouth-to-mouth, according to the campaign's website.
"People just don't want to give mouth-to-mouth to a stranger. And that's a normal thing," Guiton said.
Additionally, studies show that every time the bystander stops to breathe for the patient, the effectiveness of the blood circulation goes down, he said.
Because there is oxygen stored in the body when it goes into cardiac arrest for six to 10 minutes, hands-only CPR can help with the blood flow until help arrives with proper oxygen equipment, he explained.
"Hands-only CPR is more effective than traditional CPR for at least six minutes," Guiton said.
The longer the brain and heart go without oxygen, the higher chances for death or permanent damage, Guiton said.
Saving thousands
The Take Heart America web site states that each year an estimated 300,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest.
"More than car crashes, firearms, house fires, AIDS, and breast, prostate and colorectal cancer combined," according to the website. "What's more, this top killer can strike anyone, at any age, even without warning."
The national rate of surviving cardiac arrest is 2 to 7 percent, Guiton said. But because of the quick response time in Woodbury, those odds go up to 50 percent.
It takes six to 10 minutes for a cardiac arrest patient to run out of oxygen and it takes 3.5 minutes for a Woodbury ambulance to arrive.
It also takes 20 minutes to learn hands-only CPR, compared with two to four hours to master the conventional mouth-to-mouth.


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January 29, 2013 14:10 ET
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 29, 2013) - Vanoil Energy Ltd. ("Vanoil" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:VEL) is pleased to announce it has executed a two month extension to its Technical Evaluation Agreement with the Rwandan Ministry of Natural Resources. The agreement provides Vanoil with the exclusive right to negotiate a Production Sharing Contract ("PSC") covering approximately 1,631 square kilometres of the East Kivu Graben, located beneath Lake Kivu, Rwanda.
About Vanoil Energy Ltd.
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Vanoil is an internationally diversified energy company with a portfolio of oil and gas assets in the African countries of Kenya and Rwanda. In Kenya, Blocks 3A and 3B were acquired in October 2007 through the signing of a Production Sharing Contract with the Government of the Republic of Kenya. Blocks 3A and 3B, which cover 24,912 square kilometers, potentially contain prospective resources in excess of 900 million boe, positioned between Tullow's recent oil discovery and Apache's offshore gas well. Vanoil's 1,631 square kilometers of oil and gas exclusive licence in the East Kivu Graben in Rwanda is at the southern extension of the Albertine Graben where Heritage and Tullow Oil made their historic discovery in neighbouring Uganda.
On behalf of the Board of VANOIL ENERGY LTD.
Aaron D'Este, President and CEO
To find out more about Vanoil please visit our website at www.vanoil.ca.
Disclaimer for Forward Looking Information
This news release includes forward looking statements that are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Statements in this news release which are not purely historical are forward looking statements, including without limitation any statements concerning the Company's intentions, plans, estimates, beliefs or expectations regarding the future. Although the Company believes that any such intentions, plans, estimates, beliefs and expectations in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such intentions, plans, beliefs and expectations will prove to be accurate.
The Company cautions readers that all forward looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects, are based on assumptions none of which can be assured, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward looking statements. Readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements.
Any forward looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in the forward looking statements. The Company assumes no obligations to update any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Vanoil Energy Ltd.Don email@example.com Energy Ltd.Malcolm email@example.com
See all RSS Newsfeeds


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Top Modeling Agency Launches Instagram Selfie Search for the Next Plus-Size Supermodel!
It's 2013, we're in the middle of a digital and social media revolution—and if you're an aspiring model, now all of a sudden there's no need to hit up an open call or a casting. Top London modeling agency Models 1—which represents superstars including Alessandra Ambrosio, Amber Valetta, Bar Refaeli, and Coco Rocha—has partnered with plus-size fashion magazine Slink to launch the first-ever Instagram Selfie Model Search—for the next plus-size supermodel and Slink cover girl.
All you have to do to enter is snap a selfie and tag it @Models1_UK and #MakeMeaModels1Curvy. Then, if they like what they see, the agency and the magazine will be in touch! Easy peasy.... except, wow, we did a quick Instagram search of entries (in the first week, the agency has received more than 300 applications!) and the competition is stiff. There are so many gorgeous women out there!
Here are three of our favorites so far -
The gorgeous @anitamarshall_:
The stunning @shells_xx:
And the radiant @nerony:
Will you be entering the selfie competition? All you have to do is snap an Instagram of yourself! Here are more details on how to enter.
Related Articles:


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Whately's giant milk bottle gets a makeover
WHATELY, Mass. (AP) — The iconic giant milk bottle in downtown Whately (WAYTE'-lee) has been given a face-lift.
The Whately Historical Society recently restored the large concrete milk jug that's nearly 20 feet tall with $650 in donations.
Society member Adelia Bardwell says the bottle was scraped down, cleaned and repainted with a new emblem and cream line. The bottle reads "Quonquont Farm Certified Milk." It was originally built for a local dairy farm in the 1920s.
She tells The Recorder of Greenfield (http://bit.ly/18ssA40 ) that it's important the bottle be in tip-top shape because it's the "symbol of Whately."
The society began discussing refurbishing the landmark one year ago as black mildew stained the white surface.
Ice cream is still served out of the bottle's Dutch door at the town's fall festival.
Information from: The (Greenfield, Mass.) Recorder, http://www.recorder.com


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partners. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
High blood pressure puts a strain on all the blood vessels in your body, including the delicate blood vessels inside your eyes. Although you may not notice any symptoms for many years, this can cause permanent damage to your eyes – even resulting in blindness.
The retina is light-sensitive tissue that lines the inside of the eye. It functions like the film inside a camera. Hypertensive Retinopathy is damage to this tissue caused by high blood pressures.
High blood pressure causes changes in your blood vessels. You have high blood pressure if the top number of your blood pressure is higher than 140, or if the bottom number of your blood pressure is higher than 90.
In the short term, blood vessels will try to control the blood flow by clamping down. At this stage, you are unlikely to notice any change to your vision.
Long term increases in blood pressure weakens and damages the blood vessels. High stress on vessel walls stretch out the smooth muscle layer. Eventually, the inner layer of the blood vessel breaks, and blood products leak into the vessel wall.
Vessels react by forming abnormal scar products, causing thickening of the vessel wall and narrowing of the inner space. These changes cause blood vessels to become leaky, weak, and abnormal – they may have areas of narrowing and outpouchings called aneurysms.
This can lead to blockage and bleeding of the vessels.
The longer you've had high blood pressure, the more likely you are to develop hypertensive retinopathy.
The risk factors are same as those for getting high blood pressure. These include:
Aside from eye disease, having chronic high blood pressure also puts you at risk for heart disease, vessel disease, and stroke.
Dilate Fundus Exam
Fluorescein Angiography
Blood vessels
Optic Nerve – the nerve that carries the information from the eye
Left - Early Changes in Hypertension; Right - Later Changes in Hypertension
Very high blood pressure that comes on suddenly is called malignant hypertension. It can cause blurry vision, headaches, change in mental status, shortness of breath, chest pain, and decreased urine output. This can be a life threatening condition, and you should call 911 or go to the emergency room if you have symptoms of malignant hypertension.
Immediate symptoms may include headache, eye pain, blurry vision, change in mental status, shortness of breath, chest pain, and decreased urine output.
This can be a life threatening condition, and you should call 911 or go to the emergency room if you have symptoms of malignant hypertension
If you have malignant hypertension, you will most likely stay in the hospital and take medications to lower your blood pressure until it is under control. Your doctor will also order some tests to see if damage has been done to your kidneys, heart, lungs, eyes, and brain.
Luckily, symptoms often improve with blood pressure control. However, damage to the optic nerve and macula can cause permanent decrease in vision.
Malignant Hypertension, Medline Plus
Prepared in partnership with Lily Huang, MD, Class of 2013, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Last Reviewed: Oct 01, 2012
School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University


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Dear Graham,GraemeR wrote: These three are called Hop, Lop and Siew.
Haven't you seen 'The Way West', with the Pig, Monkey and Monk going to India to get Buddhist scriptures.
The Nine Immortals are on TV in Thailand too.
No, don't know 'The Way West'...but I read Chinese story about the arahant monk " Tang Sum Chang" with all his adventures....and also the arahant Chi-Kong traveling to heaven/hell ( a temple lady gave me the book...very interesting!!).


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A serial stowaway who was sentenced this week to nearly six months behind bars for violating her probation was released from jail Saturday.
Marilyn Jean Hartman, 62, was released just after 6 p.m. from Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood because of jail overcrowding, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
Sheriff's officials said the decision to release Hartman was based on a formula that includes severity of crime and length of sentence.
Sheriff's officials planned to inform Los Angeles International Airport police about Hartman's release.
On Wednesday, a judge ordered Hartman to serve 177 days in jail for wandering through LAX terminals on Aug. 7 after being told the previous day to "stay away from LAX" and placed on 24 months probation.
Hartman was first arrested Aug. 4 at Los Angeles International Airport after Los Angeles police say she got through security at Mineta San Jose International Airport and boarded an LA-bound flight.
Hartman has previously breached security at San Francisco International Airport and has a history of trying to get on flights without a ticket, officials said. She had at least seven encounters with police at SFO and was arrested four times, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.