text:
Sonny Gray Is A 2019 Bounce Back Candidate
Sonny Gray was one the New York Yankees most hated players this past season. Acquired in 2017 from the A's in a massive trade, Gray failed to live up to expectations in the Big Apple. Most notably in 2018, Gray struggled in his home ballpark, coughing up homers and turning in a 6.98 ERA.
On the road, Gray looked like the pitcher he was in Oakland, only allowing three homers in 71 innings while turning in a 3.17 ERA. The disparity makes Gray a major bounce-back candidate for a ball club looking for a buy-low candidate in 2019. From the outlook, it's highly likely Gray's struggle were more ballpark affiliated than anything else. New Yankee Stadium is one of the smallest in the entire league.
Everything else about Sonny Gray's 2019 season spoke to his consistency. At 29-years-old, his fastball continued to come in the mid '90s and his 8.49 strikeouts and 50 percent groundball rate were exceptional. Still, finishing the season with a 4.94 ERA will give plenty of teams pause to take a chance on Gray. He should make around $10 million in arbitration.
It will be interesting to see what kind of interest the Yankees get for Gray. GM Brian Cashman has already announced the team plans to shop him. Given the state of his ERA, there probably won't be a huge bidding war for his services. Where do you think he'll land?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Get this "Es Ist Ok, Anders Zu Sein Flamingo Shirts" Unique design for any special occasion like Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Birthday.
It has all sizes and a wide range of colors for you to choose from. This shirt will be the perfect gift for somebody special, family. Or an excellent shirt for you to have yourself. Don't hesitate to get Es Ist Ok, Anders Zu Sein Flamingo Shirts now.


text:
Ready for letter 6 and 7 of F-E-L-L-O-W-S-H-I-P?
Previously we saw F (Fear of the Lord), E (Endurance) L (Love), L (Light of Glory), and O (One Thing). Let's now continue to explore this 10 letter acronym…
- We also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power – 2 Thes. 1:11
What is Paul talking about? How can you be "worthy" of this calling?
For starters, to walk "worthy" before the Lord does not mean you have to EARN God's forgiveness, love, approval, etc.
That "earn it" approach goes against a fundamental New Covenant teaching: Justification. So Paul—the pioneer of New Covenant doctrine—is not talking about that.
Rather, to be worthy of the calling means: to have a "worthy response" toward God—the One that equip us—to walk in the fullness of our calling.
Many believers come up short of what God has invited them to walk in, due to half-hearted choices. But this is really a sensitive matter. Because only YOU really know… what God has invited you to walk in.
Sure, people (leaders, family, etc) may have opinions of what you should be doing with your life, but it's normally "what you should be doing according to their agenda". So, they push you one way or another. But Jesus said, "my sheep hear my voice and they follow me" (Jn. 10:27). So, only God and you know (for sure), what you should be doing with your life.
But Paul means way more than direction or guidance. I believe He's primarily referring to the response of our hearts—our daily choices.
For example, you and I choose (every day) to love the Lord with all our hearts or not. We choose to walk in holiness or not.
And we choose to secretly (or publicly) engage in SIN or not.
Walking worthy of the calling is a lifestyle—it's a constant decision—a determination to choose God and the Kingdom of Heaven. A relentless intention to walk in His ways, deny sinful desires and pursue righteousness.
But it's more than holiness… it's walking hungry… yearning for the presence of the Lord, contending for the fullness of God in our lives.
The following verses amplify the concept:
- That you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man—Lk. 21:36 – Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be pre-served blameless at the coming of our Lord—1 Thes. 5:23 – That He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God—1 Thes. 3:13,15 – Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me—Ps. 51:10 – Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties—Ps. 139:23 – I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?—Job 31:1
Here's a sample prayer:
- Father, strengthen my inner man to walk in faith and obedience, to be worthy of the calling and escape all compromise. Grant me the grace to pursue the highest things You have called me to. Help me to choose holiness, to walk blamelessly (in body, soul and spirit), in Jesus Name I pray.
And now, the famous letter seven…
How is your tongue doing?
I know. That's a direct question.
And here are two more: Is your tongue blessing or cursing? Are your words constantly birthing life or death?
Check this out…
- If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body—Jas. 3:2 – Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit… Let it not even be named among you… neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting—Eph. 4:29–30, 5:4 – Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight—Ps. 19:14 – Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips—Ps. 141:3 – I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle—Ps. 39:1
When your speech comes under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, your entire inner man also comes under His leadership (James 3:2).
Paul repeatedly exhorted the saints to avoid speaking corrupt words. To stop grieving the Holy Spirit by filthy or foolish speech (Eph. 4:29–30; 5:4).
Speech was also on David's "prayer list," he asked the Lord to help him control the words of his mouth, so they would be pleasing to God (Ps. 19:14). What's more, David purposed not to sin with his speech. He asked the Lord to set "a guard" over his mouth (Ps. 17:3; 141:3).
There is so much to talk about the power of our words… but I think you already know, you have heard before…
How your words can help you or damage you. How your speech can bless or curse others. And guess what?
We are all guilty!
Careless and sinful speech is the most popular sin in the body of Christ. You thought adultery was #1? Sorry to disappoint, but no (that one takes a bit more of planning). But WORDS are so easy to utter… the wrong way.
We all need serious help…
Even if you are shy and don't talk to much. You are speaking to yourself (all day long). Both you and I, have a never-ending conversation with ourselves. We're continually formulating questions and making judgments (about us and others).
So, our speech goes both ways: externally and internally. And the sobering reality is… our words can bless us or kill us… both ways.
Can you agree that, we all need help with this?
Here's a sample prayer:
- Father, set a guard over my lips and help me to speak only words that are pleasing to You. Free me from defensive, angry, and foolish speech. Keep me from quenching the Holy Spirit with my words. Help me Lord, even with the conversations I constantly have with myself. I set my heart not to sin with my speech, to sustain unbroken communion with You. In Jesus Name I pray.
What are your thoughts about this?


text:
Clarks has appointed former interim CEO Stella David as its new non-executive chair.
David will replace current chair Tom O'Neill, who will retire at the company's AGM on 3 May after serving on the board of directors for 15 years.
David was interim CEO from 25 June 2018 until CEO Giorgio Presca joined the business on 11 March.
She was appointed to the Clarks board as an independent non-executive director in March 2012.
David said: "I would like to pay tribute to Tom O'Neill, who has been our chairman since 2013. He has seen the organisation through many challenges, most notably stepping in as executive chairman in 2015/16. On behalf of the board of directors I would like to express our thanks to Tom for his contribution to the Clarks business, with 15 years of dedicated service on our board. We greatly value his steady leadership over the years."
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment
Please remember that the submission of any material is governed by our Terms and Conditions and by submitting material you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted.


text:
What I Did + Didn't Think This Would Be About
Several months ago, I decided on this particular blog theme and topic and now that I sit here writing it, I am at an unexpected loss for words.
My plan wasto share all about the damaging effects that other people's expectations can have upon you, especially if you ingest those as gospel truth. My plan was to offer a few relevant, insightful suggestions about how to shrug off and let go of living according to someone else's "shoulds" and standards for what life is supposed to be about.
My plan wasn'tto share all about the ways that other people's expectations still plague me like gnats that buzz around your ears. My plan wasn't to admit that I am as much in need of those relevant, insightful suggestions as I think others might be.
My plan wasn'tto acknowledge that I doubt myself, my work, my abilities or my importance, on a nearly daily basis. My plan wasn't to say that I often succumb to believing that how others live and structure their lives must inform my own, and that if I dare do something different, then somehow there's something wrong with me.
I guess I had my own expectations for myself, in how I would share with you about the triumph of letting go of expectations.
But somehow the honesty might be exactly what we need to let go of what we think we should be doing, and actually live into what we know is genuine, meaningful and important.
In this with you,
Photo by Ankush Minda on Unsplash


text:
Big bang: The apologetic of Quran and the Will of God
July 2019 - Vol 9 Num. 3
Muslims believe Quran as the word of God (Allah), sent as verbal revelation to Prophet Mohammad S.A.W. through the angel Gabriel. In the paper from segregate verses of Quran, the main events taking part in the time-line of one of the most widely accepted theories Lambda-Cold Dark Matter 'model' which is the...
July 2019
Big bang: The apologetic of Quran and the Will of God
June 2019
Existential phenomenology of religious liberty and security in religion and politics: A case study of Nigeria
January 2019
A review on normative and other factors contributing to Africa's adolescent development crisis
March 2018
Decentralisation and constitutionalism in Africa: A theoretical exploration for sustainable distributive justice
April 2016
The philosophy behind some Adinkra symbols and their communicative values in Akan
September 2013
Determining the determined state: A sizing of size from aside/the amassing of mass by a mass
August 2013
Krishna – the catalyst for emancipation
September 2013
The structure of scientific revolutions (Thomas S. Kuhn, 1970, 2nd ed. Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press Ltd. 210 pages)
May 2009
Ethical views of Ibn miskawayh and Aquinas
August 2013
Disquieting tendencies towards the pulverization of social reality-The Venezuelan case


text:
Doily and hearts anniversary card
I'm back with my second of the two anniversary designs I wanted to try.
Again, this was based on an idea from Pinterest but came out quite a lot different as the Pinterest card is quite busy in comparison to my finished item.
As before, I started with a sketch in Silhouette:
There was a difference with this design, in that everything on here wasn't going to be cut out by the machine – the doily itself was from a pack of doilies that I bought a few months ago and never got around to trying and the rectangle in the middle of the design was ribbon.
The only thing not on here were the paper flowers I was going to finish it off with. The design is a fairly simple idea – a polka dot patterned background paper, the doily, a large heart cut out in kraft card and a smaller heart in the same colour as the ribbon and paper flowers.
First thing I did was get all my paper flowers out and tried to pair them with ribbon of the same colour. I did this first as I knew I was limited in my choice of ribbon stash. I narrowed it down to two: pink and cream. I then picked two different papers to serve as my background papers for each card.
I started with the pink card for which I had picked a pale green polka dot paper from one of my First Edition pads.
I like how this turned out. Ed didn't. He said the pink was too bright but I like the mix of traditional doily and bright pink.
This one is obviously a bit more traditional with the creams and lace trim. The background paper is from the same First Edition paper pack (Blank Canvas if you want to check it out for yourself).
I like both of these. I think they'll suit different types of people. I haven't glued down the numbers as they're in the etsy shop now and so whoever buys them can choose what numbers (or initials) go in the middle.
What do you think?
Em x


text: My first and foremost aim, was to use Alpha Mind Power to connect to the ultimate being – God. With practice, I have experienced more calmness, focus and more importantly concentration which helps me walk towards that goal. It is the only pleasure in this world which lasts forever with you. I hope all Alpha Siddhas reading this understand the value of Alpha and practice regularly.


text:
Nourish - Can I Get Enough Calcium On A Plant-Based Or Dairy Free Diet?
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, making up a huge 1.5 to 2% of the total body weight. The bones and teeth are home to the majority of the body's calcium, containing roughly 99% of it.
Calcium is not only responsible for helping to build and maintain strong bones and teeth, but also:
- promoting heart health
- contracting muscles
- regulating the heartbeat
- clotting the blood and
- regulating the nervous system
Calcium can help relieve aching muscles and bones, maintain the correct acid-alkaline balance and reduce menstrual cramps. Calcium may even serve as a protector against high blood pressure, osteoporosis and colon cancer.
And so with all that in mind, I think we can all agree that calcium is a pretty incredible and important nutrient, and without it, we wouldn't survive.
With many people turning to a plant-based or dairy free diet due to ethical or dietary reasons, or out of necessity due to dairy or lactose intolerance, more people are cutting meat and dairy out of their diet.
This has understandably caused many questions to arise about alternative sources of calcium after being conditioned for many years to believe that the best source of calcium comes from milk and dairy products.
The most common question that arises is often:
"Can I get enough calcium on a 100% plant-based or dairy-free diet?"
The resounding answer is, of course, YES!
Within this article, I will delve into the commonly asked questions such as "What are the best plant-based calcium sources?" "How much calcium do I need?" "Do I need to take calcium supplements?" and "What are the signs of calcium deficiency?"
And so without further ado, let's get to it….
How Much Calcium Do We Need?
The recommended intake (RDA) is 800 mg/day for children, adults and older people, increasing to 1200 mg for teenagers, pregnant and lactating women.
Really, you should be able to get all the calcium you need by eating a varied and balanced diet. However, if you do take calcium supplements, make sure to check whether any additional supplements you take also contain calcium. Also take your diet into consideration, as too much calcium (more than 1,500mg a day) could be harmful, leading to stomach pain, diarrhoea or more serious issues like calcium oxalate kidney stones.
How Do Our Bodies Absorb Calcium?
Many people hear they need calcium and simply grab a supplement that says calcium on it, but it's not only calcium that is important when it comes to bone health, or overall calcium absorption.
You also need Vitamin D, C and K, along with minerals magnesium, boron, selenium, copper, zinc and phosphorus to support good bone health and optimal absorption.
Together these enhance the way calcium is absorbed by the body and enables it to be effectively incorporated into the bones.
Signs of Calcium Deficiency
- Muscle cramps or leg cramps
- Tremors
- Insomnia
- Joint pain or arthritis
- Tooth decay
- High blood pressure
- Osteomalacia (softening of the bone)
- Osteopenia (a condition in which bone mineral density is lower than normal – often a precursor to osteoporosis.)
- Osteoporosis (means "porous bone." It is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both. As a result, bones become very fragile.)
- Rickets (in children) which results in bone deformities and growth retardation.
Plant-based / Dairy-free Food Sources of Calcium
- Dark Green Leafy Veg – Kale, romaine, rocket and butterhead lettuce, mustard greens, collard greens, cabbage and broccoli, Swiss chard, Parsley, Dandelion, nettle, watercress, chickweed and microgreens are edible green leaves.
- Millet, oats, quinoa
- Chickpeas (and many dried beans/legumes)
- Sesame seeds and tahini (a paste made from ground sesame seeds), pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds
- Almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts
- Seaweed and sea vegetables e.g kelp, dulse, nori
- Dried figs, prunes, dates
- Tofu
For those not avoiding fish or all types of dairy:
- Sardines, tinned wild salmon with bones
- Goat's milk
- Milk kefir
Plant-based sources of calcium are actually found to have a higher bioavailability (rate of absorbability) within the body than dairy and are often more superior choices.
This is partly due to the additional vitamins and minerals within the food, helping to improve the absorbability of the calcium content.
Since the dairy products found on our supermarket shelves nowadays are pasteurised, homogenised and no longer raw, it actually reduces the calcium and overall vitamin content of the product. This makes it much harder for the body to digest and utilise. Not to mention the fact that our bodies can only absorb roughly 30% of the calcium content from pasteurised dairy.
Alternative options for those still wishing to consume dairy include goat's milk or fermented dairy products like milk kefir.
Fermentation takes a pasteurised food (milk in this case) and turns it back into a living food teeming with good bacteria. It doesn't exactly "reverse" the pasteurisation, but at least it does inject some life back into it.
As it cultures at room temperature, the beneficial strains of bacteria and benign natural yeasts will proliferate, metabolise the milk's lactose and create a sour, thick beverage with vitamins and probiotics. This will actually be far more easily digested, even for some who suffer from lactose intolerance.
A diet full of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole foods has more than enough calcium to meet your needs, but additional foods to consider adding to your diet to boost calcium absorption include:
Vitamin D: Fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, canned tuna, eggs, and soya products, some mushrooms and of course, sunshine!
Vitamin K: K1 is synthesised by plants and vegetables such as green leafy vegetables, avocados, kiwis; and K2 by gut bacteria e.g natto (fermented soya beans) and sauerkraut.
Calcium Supplementation
As I mentioned previously, you should be able to get all your calcium requirements from a well-balanced diet; however some people are recommended calcium supplementation from practitioners or doctors, so this bit is for you.
When looking for a calcium supplement I would recommend you purchase one in combination with other helping nutrients.
Vitamin D, C and K, along with minerals magnesium, boron, selenium, copper, zinc and phosphorus will really improve the absorption of the mineral. These nutrients also work together with calcium in the body, and so without them, the calcium won't be able to do its various jobs in the body alone.
I would highly recommend the following products to help increase your calcium levels if using supplements:
Solgar Ultimate Bone Support
Biocare Osteoplex (Bone Health Complex)
Wild Nutrition Bone Complex
Natures Plus Source of Life Garden Bone Support
Mag365 Bone Support Formulation
If you are choosing to purchase calcium separately because you already have a multivitamin complex/supplement containing minerals such as magnesium, vitamin D etc. I will then leave you with the advice that Calcium Citrate or Calcium Chelate and other soluble forms are the best forms of calcium to supplement with for optimal absorption. Try to avoid calcium carbonate as this is very poorly absorbed by the human body.
Calcium Robbers
There are many things that can interrupt your body's ability to absorb the calcium it receives, and some that cause calcium to be excreted from the bones. These are known as calcium robbers and include:
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Sodium
- Sugar
- Excessive intake of magnesium and zinc
- A highly acidic diet
- High phytate diet
- Stress
- Hormonal imbalances
- Aluminium based antacids
If you're knocking back your supplements with a big cup of coffee, followed by a stressful commute to work, stuffing a sugar-laden pastry into your mouth whilst sipping your 3rd coffee of the day, you may need to take a step back and look at your diet and lifestyle choices.
Also, if you're eating a diet high in grains, legumes, pulses, nuts and seeds, you will be consuming a lot of phytates. These have the unfortunate habit of leeching the mineral and vitamin content of your food and hindering their absorption. Do not fear.
Simply soak your grains/nuts/seeds overnight in water (or during the day whilst at work) and rinse them before consuming. 8-12 hours should do the trick. It also lowers the cooking time for grains such as rice and dried beans – bonus!
Any questions? Drop into your local Nourish store to chat with our expert team and explore our full range of foods, supplements and skincare. You can also find our full product range in our online store.
Follow (and chat with us) on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to our weekly Nourish newsletter.
*Please note that while we are knowledgeable about our products and nutrition, this blog should never be a substitute for medical advice and attention
Please remember that you should always obtain the all-clear from your doctor before starting any new supplement plan or diet if you're on any medication


text:
1. Video streaming services: what you didn't know about them…
Probably all of us have heard the word "streaming", some of you have seen it in action, and probably a few have streamed something by using your gadgets. But do you know, how it works? Have you ever thought how else you might use it?
Now, you will know.
Video streaming server is a server program that constantly receives and presents video to an end-user by delivered protocols without transmitting a whole file, what allows to not only view but pause, rewind and watch live broadcasts.
Old-school users may find it similar to the storage on usual http server, which sends files to downloading and makes possible to the end-user to view them. But in fact these services are incomparable with streaming, because downloading files causes overrun of host traffic that can reach even 30% and creates difficulties for cashing, what sometimes makes rewinding or pausing impossible.
Whereas streaming services are easily integrated into Flash, Android, iPhone, Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 2003 Server, 2008, 2012), Linux, Solaris, Mac OS, Unix and any streamed video can be recorded through certain media players. That's why affordable and practical video streaming services have quickly won the hearts of users. Today there are few the most usable video streaming services, the most known are Flussonic, Wowza, Adobe Streaming, Netflix, and Red5. Depends on their features, these services can cover various fields of needs of their users, including private ones and business issues, such as: social media, Internet radio services, video control security systems, broadcasting sport events, online cinemas and on-demand streaming, which is especially useful when broadcasting conferences or other events that are running in different corners of the world.
Letzgro has an experience in developing projects that required usage of video streaming services. After fair analyses of features and abilities of different services we stopped our choice on Flussonic, that covers all our needs for today.
2. Red5? Flussonic? Wowza? What would you choose?
Today anyone who has an appropriate gadget can stream video from whenever he is to whenever he wants. Among numerous streaming services that exist today, we will highlight only few of them, the most widespread ones. Each of them is serving to solve some specific needs of its users.
Red5 is a free media server, which runs on Java Platform. The best what this server can propose is a free access to its features: streaming audio/video, recording streams, live streams and remoting. All this components are available as well in the two following media servers. Flussonic is one of the most advanced and scalable media servers. The main advantage of Flussonic is its simple navigation, so even novice users can set up streams and add points of distribution. It also contains all necessary features for organizing media resources, handing out files, videos or satellite TV-channels. Here at Letzgro we took our time to analyse the main competitor of Flussonic at the marker – Wowza – multistream server on the Java platform, which broadcasts videos on the most modern devices. Wowza is working with Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 2003 Server, 2008, 2012), Linux, Solaris, Mac OS, Unix. Despite Wowza's integration into different devices, Flussonic still has some features that are enabled for users of Wowza, such as working with Swift (OpenStack Object Storage) and on-demand streaming, also Flussonic can be integrated with other services by regular HTTP developers or system administrators, what makes it less costly.
Letzgro considered Flussonic as the most reasonable choice among other video streaming services.
3. Flussonic is Letzgro corporate choice of streaming services
Letzgro is always open to share our knowledge and experience about tools and features we are using in our projects. Having received the request for development of Letzgro has made a decision to use Flussonic. We want to share our impressions about this multiprotocol video streaming server and will highlight the main reasons for our choice:
- True streaming: Flussonic can broadcast live video to thousands of users on different devices: desktop, iPad, Set-Top-Box, Android, SmartTV, etc., using as a source satellite channel, IP-camera or capture card software for video encoding.
- Streaming on-demand: saves the file to a hard disks and servers for extended amounts of time, what makes possible to play live videos with a constant delay for viewers in different time zone. Timeshift archive is limited only by its size.
Both features are useful for companies that have offices located in different cities or countries as in case with Letzgro – our offices are located in Ukraine – Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk and in Portugal – Porto.
In addition, Flussonic is widely used in video security system owing to its ability to record video streams to disk and control archive, its size and the filling volume of the hard disk; it allows to work with archives that were created months ago. By using cloud storage Flussonic can take file from HTP servers and storages as Amazon S3 or OpenStack Storage (Swift). Another good thing about this video streaming server is its price, which is definitely affordable even if to compare it with other streaming services.
So, if you are looking for a proper video streaming server, you can rely on our experience of using Flussonic.


text:
We pride ourselves on providing the highest quality service. Our Customer Service hours are: 7am-9pm CST Monday-Friday
Item #2CL04
Availability: please select a size and color
Stylish wear-and-tear at the hem adds on-trend detail to these cropped, skinny-leg jeans. Classic five-pocket style is crafted in sandwashed stretch denim. Misses 27" inseam. Sits just below natural waist.
Machine Wash Cold, Inside Out, Only Non-chlorine Bleach When Needed, Tumble Dry Low, Lay Flat To Dry, Warm Iron If Needed91% Cotton, 7% Polyester, 2% Elastane
Eyelet Zip Jacket


text:
NFL Star Odell Beckham Jr. Shows His Love for Beetlejuice With Instagram Posts
New York Giants receiver shares pics of the Wack Packer on his personal social media account
New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. appears to be a fan of legendary Wack Pack member Beetlejuice. The NFL star has shared a few pics of Beet on his personal Instagram, the latest coming right before the 2017 ESPY Awards.
Beckham Jr. was drafted by the Giants in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft and has been dominant ever since, whether he's making jaw-dropping, single-handed catches or racking up impressive stats in record time.
Lester "Beetlejuice" Green is considered the "king" of the Wack Pack by many and has been a part of the Stern Show since 1999. He's as bad as can and a noted sports fan in his own right.
Check out OBJ's posts (below).


text:
Title information:
Published August 29th 2017 by HarperCollins
Format read: Finished copy via publisher
Full review:
Author Rob Sanders introduces us to Ruby Rose, who is intent on putting on a performance for her family. She spends the whole day doing so, and despite many setbacks, succeeds.
Sometimes, some of the simplest stories are the best ones, and this was absolutely the case with Ruby Rose, Big Bravos. Sanders does a magnificent job of showing just how one singular event - the performance - can take up a young child's entire day, and how that one event can happily overtake everything else. It's a reminder of just how magical being young can be, especially when you have a trusty bear best friend at your side.
The art is accentuated by Debbie Ohi's work - and as someone who counts her as a acquaintance, I will say, the art alone is worth the book - and should be a must have for every young shelf.
Highly recommend, full stop.
About the author and illustrator:
Rob Sanders is a writer who teaches and a teacher who writes. Every day he waltzes to Lockhart Elementary Magnet School in Brandon, Florida, to teach kids about books and words and reading and writing. Then he boogie-woogies back home to write books for children. On weekends and holidays you might find him boot-scooting with his dog, Baxter; hokey-pokeying at the beach with his great-nieces and -nephews; or cha-chaing with other children's writers. Nothing makes his heart dance more than hearing boys and girls say, "Read it again!" Visit Rob's website at www.robsanderswrites.com.
Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and draws children's books for a living. She has illustrated books by Judy Blume and Michael Ian Black and is the author-illustrator of Where Are My Books? She also illustrated Ruby Rose: Off to School She Goes. Secret fact: Debbie sometimes dances in her office when no one is looking. She lives in Toronto with her husband, Jeff. You can visit her at www.debbieohi.com
and on Twitter@inkyelbows.


text:
|Cole Porter in the 1930's
"In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking.
But now, God knows,
Anything goes."
Excerpt from "Anything Goes", lyrics by Cole Porter, 1934.
VI. Paleoporn
In this section of J. T. Thomas' paper, Cousins of Sarah Baartman he has is no hesitation in pointing out just how extreme can be modern people's ability to project the present onto the distant past, and as I read this section, Cole Porter's song "Anything Goes" sprung to mind.
While we can know nothing at all about the subject of this section, we might question why such a topic would even be projected onto the distant past. We are so bombarded by sensation in today's world it takes rather a lot to shock us and and even Cole Porter might draw the line at much of what appears today. But there are another aspects of this, too:
Malcolm Muggeridge said, "Pornography has always, of course, been popular, and enjoyed a wide, if usually under-the-counter, circulation ... Its avowed purpose is to excite sexual desire, which, I should have thought, is unnecessary in the case of the young, inconvenient in the case of the middle aged, and unseemly in the old." He also said: "Sex is the mysticism of materialism and the only possible religion in a materialistic society". Archaeology is basically materialistic and when the subject of art comes up (as it did in section III of this paper), "Art for art's sake" is considered far too modern to be applicable in the Palaeolithic (and that is also true for archaeological claims about much later periods as well). I have always thought this to be a very short-sighted view: The aesthetic sense is part of our humanity and is not culture-specific. Maslow includes both the aesthetic and the religious experience in his "peak experiences" The problem is that you do not find too many materialistic artists and when archaeology write about art it is almost always about the reception and understanding of art and not the production of art from the artist's point of view. For a more detailed look at this subject, see my experimental series, The Palaeolithic artist.
Joseph Campbell, in Mythic Worlds, Modern Words: Joseph Campbell on the Art of James Joyce (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell), p. 211-2, speaks about Joyce's ideas about proper and improper art:
"Proper art is art in the service of what is properly the function of art. Improper art is art in the service of something else. And, Joyce says, proper art is static and improper art is kinetic. Static art produces esthetic arrest. What, then, is the opposite of static art? What does Joyce mean by kinetic art? He tells us:
Desire is the feeling which urges us to go to something and loathing is the feeling which urges us to from something and that art is improper which aims at exciting these feelings in us whether by comedy or tragedy.
"Pornographic art is art that excites desire, It is not proper art. If you see a picture of a dear old lady, for example, and you think, "What a lovely old soul! I'd love to have a cup of tea with her" -- that is pornography. You are exciting desire for a relationship to the object. Or you open a magazine and see a picture of a refrigerator and a beautiful girl standing beside it and smiling, and you think, "I would love to have a refrigerator like that." This is not art, Joyce says, it is pornography. ... Another type of improper art is art critical of society, art in the service of sociology. Such art excites loathing, and Joyce calls it "didactic art." Those who produce such art I call "didactic pornographers." "
So when you see archaeologists claim that ancient art is functional and not "art for art's sake", they are identifying all ancient art as pornographic on an unconscious level. The artist understands art completely differently and as something experiential. Some artists might believe what the archaeologist says and think that the aesthetic sense only existed in relatively modern people, but most, I believe, would not take such claims seriously at all for any period, even the Palaeolithic. Thus, it is no small wonder that the idea of the ancient Venus sculptures were pornography has bubbled up from a few archaeologists unconscious mind.
VII. From Paleoportraits to Performance Art
Here, a number of other theories are given, all from a modern perspective. There is nothing wrong in doing such providing that each would be either labelled as speculative or would contain supportive evidence either from the Palaeolithic time, or with a demonstration that such is particular to all human beings by their very nature, and thus would be true for Palaeolithic people. Without these criteria, accusations of projection could certainly follow.
The final section of the paper will be tomorrow's topic. Although this section is very short, I will have rather a lot to say about it.
John's Coydog Community page


text:
Cavitations are a term used to describe holes in bone, often found when a tooth has been removed and the bone has not healed properly. It's common with removed wisdom teeth and tooth extraction related to earlier dental work or other trauma. The cavitations act as breeding grounds for bad bacteria, providing ideal conditions for anaerobic bacteria to thrive, replicate and defecate toxins. These toxins are extremely powerful and have been proven to cause a wide range of chronic health conditions, including fatigue, digestive problems, and a general feeling of sickness.
At BioDentist, we go straight to the source of the problem, literally removing the dead bone and decay of the cavitation under your gums to reveal the solid, healthy bone underneath. Using a combination of vitamin C (for the formation of new tissue) and ozone (for the elimination of dangerous bacteria), we are able to optimize the environment for new bone growth in the previous cavitation site. The result is a stronger, healthier jaw and the elimination of toxins, infection and poison. Rid your body of decay and infection, embrace the vitality in every aspect of your life.
All Services
Dr. John was so thoughtful in answering my dozens of questions and making me feel comfortable.C.M.
The level of skills and integration of treatments at BioDentist is quite unusual and remarkably refined.W.C.
To state the obvious: Dr. Augspurger is an excellent dentist with outstanding convictions and one-of-a-kind treatments.J.A.
The experience reminds me of being with family and close friends. You feel good emotionally and physically after your visit.W.C.
The dental hygienist was amazing and super informative. I would rate it as the BEST hygiene appointment I have experienced!!T.J.
We learned more on this dental visit than on any other dental experience prior. Dr. John went above and beyond, answering questions with a wealth of knowledge.A.A.


text:
- This event has passed.
Giving Hearts Day
February 14, 2019 @ 12:00 am - 11:59 pm
Support The Human Family Giving Hearts Day, February 14th, 2019.
Giving Hearts Day is the largest 24-hour giving event in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Each year, Giving Hearts Day provides a platform for charities to fund their missions through an ever-increasing community of givers. Thousands of people rally around hundreds of nonprofits in our community saying, "count me" as a Giving Heart for charity.
#GivingHeartsDay co-hosted by Dakota Medical Foundation, Impact Foundation, and the Alex Stern Family Foundation.
Through a generous challenge grant to The Human Family, each dollar donated up to $5,000 will be matched dollar-to-dollar. Your $50 donation becomes $100. Your $500 donation becomes $1,000. Your $1,000 donation becomes $2,000.
We want to count you as a Giving Heart! Say #countme on February 14 by supporting The Human Family.


text:
Faro Airport Transfers to Albufeira Tropical Sol
Reliable & Cheap Transfers to Albufeira
Albufeira Tropical Sol
Rua Natália Correia, 11
Albufeira Tropical Sol Transfers
Albufeira Tropical Sol
The Tropical Sol is the perfect holiday getway. Sunline Transfers provides private transfers on daily basis to Albufeira Tropical Sol. All transfers are private, direct between Albufeira Tropical Sol and Faro Airport with no other people on board or extra stops.
Booking.com Review
This property is 11 minutes walk from the beach. Tropical Sol offers self-contained studios and apartments with balcony and panoramic views in Areias de São João. The aparthotel features an outdoor pool with sun terrace and a nearby golf course. Air-conditioned accommodation at Tropical Sol is bright and spacious, fitted with traditional azulejos tiles. There is a well-equipped kitchenette and rooms are either open plan or provide a separate living and dining area. Guests can prepare their own meals or benefit from the central location and discover a variety of cafes, restaurants and shops, 300 m away. The hotel's pool bar is open daily from April to October. Well located to explore Albufeira and Portimão, aparthotel Tropical Sol is situated 1 km from Oura Beach and 4 km from Albufeira Marina. A car rental is available on site and airport shuttle services can be arranged upon request. This is our guests' favourite part of Albufeira, according to independent reviews. This property is highly rated for good value! Guests say you get more for your money here than at other properties in Albufeira.Booking.com
Sunline Transfers Faro Airport Transfers to Albufeira Tropical Sol rated 4.9 out of 5 based on 109 customer reviews on Tripadvisor.
Distance between Faro Airport and Albufeira Tropical Sol
Albufeira Tropical Sol is located in Albufeira at 40 km from Faro Airport, it will take around 45min to travel between Faro Airport and Albufeira Tropical Sol.
Contact Us
Sunline Transfers are available 24 hours/day to answer to any question.
Please feel free to contact us.
Phone: +351 935 858 997
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Address: Rua Natália Correia, 11
Tripadvisor Reviews
Sunline Transfers were extremely professional, with great communication and prompt responses. The driver was awaiting our arrival and was very friendly and helpful. On the day of our departure, he arrived early at Albufeira Tropical Sol to collect us and again was very helpful, as we were travelling with two children. I soul highly recommend Sunline transfers..Angela, Tripadvisor
I had the pleasure of using Sunline Transfers during a recent trip to Albufeira. The chat box on their website was extremely helpful however and the whole thing was arranged in a couple of minutes. This company is a pleasure to do business with and fairly priced. I would recommend to anybody going to Albufeira Tropical Sol and hope to use them next time I'm in the area..Joey, Tripadvisor
Our Fleet
We have a fleet of new, clean and comfortable vehicles, the perfect choice for a smooth journey to Albufeira Tropical Sol.
All vehicles are equipped with air-conditioning, Wifi. If required we will be happy to provide child seats for free, all you need is to request them on your booking form.
Child seats
If you're travelling with infants or children, we will be happy to provide the car seats for them free of charge.
Please make sure you request them on your reservation and let us know their ages, so we can provide the correct car seat.
Value for money
Get a better service, value for money and reassurance that you are not paying over the top
Private Taxis
Say no to shared taxis. Choose a professional service with clean an comfortable cars
Top Rated
Top rated on Tripadvisor. On time, polite & reliable. Even if your flight is delayed there is no extra charge
Meet and Greet
Your English fluent driver will meet you in the arrivals hall with a sign with your name on it.


text:
Welcome to
mediadress Germany
mediadress accounts to the leading list brokers and IT service providers in the direct marketing business.
About us
Individual and value-oriented
Individual in the performance, value-oriented in the cooperation – this is the way we work for you, our customers.
Individual means, your direct marketing project with the right target group, the right media mix, the appropriate communication channels, professionally implemented – not off the shelf, but as individual as you need it.
Value-oriented means, to ensure your demand for reliability, seriousness and neutrality in every phase of the cooperation – just as you would expect in a trusting business relationship.
Our services
Consultancy & Strategy
Defining targets and analyzing target groups
Read more
Searching and providing target group addresses
Read more
Your customers – Your capital – Your additional revenue
Read more
IT Services
Data preparation and evaluation
Read more
CRM & Database
Maintaining and intensifying customer relationships
Read more
Online- and Mobile-Marketing
Your target group is everywhere
Read more
Supplement Service
Catalogue-, magazine-, parcel inserts – individually managed
Read more
Placing targeted household advertisement. Door drop campaigns – from broad to highly selective.
Read more
Door to door – from broad to highly selective
Read more
Contact us
Individual and value-oriented
Individual in the performance, value-oriented in the cooperation – this is the way we work for you, our customers.


text:
Our One Owner 2019 Ford Transit XL High Roof Passenger in Oxford White is a fantastic people-mover with unmatched levels of refinement and efficiency! Powered by a 3.7 Liter V6 that generates 275hp while paired with a durable 6 Speed Automatic transmission that and provides a comfortable ride with easy maneuverability. This High Roof Long Wheelbase Rear Wheel Drive Van offers excellent fuel economy plus is a sharp-looking vehicle with a low step-in height. Highly customizable, it can fulfill whatever your needs may be!
Inside our XL, enjoy a spacious cabin that has been thoughtfully designed to transport your entire crew in comfort and safety. Appreciate full amenities including a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, full power accessories, front air-conditioning, and a six-speaker sound system with an auxiliary audio jack among other amenities.
You'll drive confidently knowing that your Ford Transit Wagon is equipped with safety features such as a rear camera with guidance, stability control, frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, and ABS. Ready to tackle your most significant ideas, our Transit will make an excellent partner for work or play! Print this page and call us Now... We Know You Will Enjoy Your Test Drive Towards Ownership!


text:
Herzing Student Takes First Place at Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference
Herzing University's own Daniel Pulliam and Diane Sigler were among the winners at this year's Phi Beta Lambda Natoinal Leadership Conference in Chicago. Pulliam, a Bachelor of Science in Business Management student at Herzing, won first place in the category of project management. Sigler, an academic advisor in charge of Herzing Kenosha's Phi Beta Lambda chapter, won the 2015 Wisconsin Outstanding Chapter Adviser award. Congratulations! Read more about Pulliam's road to victory on our blog.


text:
While pursuing a favorite pastime — stumbling in Stumble-Upon — I stumbled across something educational as well as amusing. On a site called Maniac World there is a video posted of a white blood cell chasing a bacterium. I won't spoil the ending, but, man, that white blood cell is determined!
If you watch it ask yourself at the end: Who were you rooting for, the cell or the little bacterium?


text:
"Nathalie" "The Navigators" "The Negotiator" "The Net" "Never Let Me Go" "The New Girlfriend" "The Next Three Days" "The Nice Guys" "Night At The Museum" "Night At The Museum 2" "Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb" "Nightcrawler" "Nights In Rodanthe" "Nikita" "9 Songs" "1917" "No Country For Old Men" "No Strings Attached" "Noah" "Non-Stop" "The Notebook" "Notes On A Scandel" "Notting Hill"
An elegant middle-aged woman (Fanny Ardant), her errant husband (Gérard Depardieu), a beautiful call girl (Emmanuelle Béart), lots of talk of sex but nothing on show, plenty of coffee and cigarettes, no car chases, no special effects - it could only be a French film and a quintissential one at that. Of course, there must be a law that no French movie can be shown outside France (I saw it in London) without the inclusion of Depardieu and the most attractive feature of any French film for me is the starring of Béart (I've been captivated since she gambolled in "Manon Des Sources"). Female director Anne Fontaine seems to be complicit here in the notion that a French man can have affairs without it meaning much as long his wife can share vicariously in the excitement. Mon Dieu .."The Navigators"
Most movies are escapist, depicting a world and a lifestyle that are unknown to the viewer. We rarely see the working class - except as criminals - and there is virtually never a reference to trade unions. But British director Ken Loach makes utterly different films, as is well-evidenced here. Set in Yorkshire in the mid 1990s, this work looks at the impact of rail privatisation on a group of maintenance staff or 'navvies', forced to confront a new management style where in theory the customer comes first but in practice cost is always the prime factor. Using an unknown cast, naturalistic dialogue and minimal plot, Loach presents us with something close to a documentary and we just know that it is not going to end well.
"The Negotiator"
No, this is not a film about collective bargaining - otherwise it would have been in the section on trade union films! Instead it is a movie about a Chicago police hostage negotiator who is forced - by false charges of murder and embezzlement - to himself become a hostage taker and deal with a police negotiator from the other side of the precinct. Apparently based loosely on an actual incident which occurred in St Louis, the stars are two of the finest character actors around: Samuel L Jackson ("Pulp Fiction") as the wronged Danny Roman and Kevin Spacey ("The Usual Suspects") as the cool Chris Sabian. The chemistry between the two is important to the film's success and much helped by an excellent script and the actors near 20 years of friendship. The plotting is intelligent with plenty of tension and twists and there are some exciting action sequences, all making for a must-see movie. So what does the middle initial stand for in Samuel L Jackson? The answer - Leroy - may win you a pub quiz sometime.
"The Net"
The Internet really took off in 1993 when the number of users doubled to 25 million and the media discovered the network, so its no surprise that two years later we see the first Hollywood movie where the Net is the prime focus of the plot. Sandra Bullock is the engaging software tester who finds her identity electronically erased when she stumbles across a plot to control corporation and government networks via a trojan horse in so-called protection systems. As so often in American films, the bad guy is British, this time played by Jeremy Northam. The premise of the plot is perhaps not as outlandish as one might wish, but the execution is extremely derivative of so many other movies, not least in the sequence where Bullock is chased through a fairground by Northam.
"Never Let Me Go"
I had read the 2005 novel from Japanese-born British writer Ishiguru before seeing this film adaptation so I knew the premise of the plot; if you haven't read the book, it would be preferable that you approached the movie knowing as little as possible. It should suffice that the film is based on a work by one of our best writers and stars some of our most talented young actors.
We have here a remarkably faithful adaptation, much aided by the screenplay being written by Alex Garland who is a friend of Ishiguro and by Ishiguro himself being one of the executive producers. Therefore, like the novel, the film is quiet and understated and profoundly elegiac which means that it will not appeal to all viewers, but I found it intensely moving.
The three leading roles are taken by Carey Mulligan ("An Education"), Keira Knightley ("The Duchess") and Andrew Garfield ("The Social Network"), three friends from their days at the odd boarding school called Hailsham, and, if that is not enough talent, there are also performances from Charlotte Rampling and Sally Hawkins as teachers at the school and even a cameo from Andrea Riseborough who is one to watch.
"The New Girlfriend"
Sometimes, the less you know about a film, the more you are likely to enjoy it. This is one of those times. All I really knew about the movie was that it was French and appreciated by public and critics alike. That was enough for me and ensured that the surprises really were surprises. You need to know more? OK, the film is based on a 1985 short Story by Ruth Rendell and the directed by François Ozon ("Potiche"). What? You want more? The core of the film is the relationship between characters - the husband David and best friend Claire of the recently deceased Laura - ably acted by Romain Duris and Anaïs Demoustier. Oh, gosh. You want to know what it's about? Let's just say that it's an amusingly serious - if this is not too oxymoronic - examination of sexual identity. And that really is all I'm going to tell you about this enjoyable movie. Now see it for yourself.
"The Next Three Days"
This is Russell Crowe's film and, if there's bad Crowe performance, I haven't seen it. But here he is not the action figure of "Gladiator" or "Robin Hood" but more the everyman trying to be the good man as in "L.A Confidential" or "The Insider". His beloved wife and mother of his young son is imprisoned for a murder that he is convinced she did not commit and, when all the legal avenues have been exhausted, this mild-mannered teacher gradually resorts to ever-extreme measures. Elizabeth Banks is convincing as the woman for whom he risks everything and there are some fine cameo performances from the likes of Liam Neeson and Brian Dennehy.
"The Next Three Days" is a remake of the French movie "Anything For Her" and the action is transposed to Pittsburgh with shooting in the actual Allegheny County Jail. It is a slow build up to the increasingly tense action scenes. The real problem is the lack of credibilty in the plotline. Many movie require us to suspend our critical faculties and make all sort of allowances, but here it's really hard to believe both the transformation in the central character and the efficacy of the escape plan. But, heh, my wife has never been accused of murder and I've never tried to break her out of prison.
"The Nice Guys"
Critics and audiences alike have rated this movie and some of my friends really liked it, but I was disappointed. At one level, it's a retread of action comedy buddy films like "Lethal Weapon" which is not surprising since director and co-writer Shane Black penned the original "Lethal Weapon" in 1987. But clearly, three decades later, he feels that the humour has to be more absurd (interviewing mermaids?) and the violence has to be more visceral (choking a dying man?) and this is a combination which sat uneasily with me in spite of a sharp, wise-cracking script. Of course, as the eponymous private eyes of seedy 1977 Los Angeles, burly Russell Crowe, as the violent Jackson Healy, and slimline Ryan Gosling, as the more sensitive Holland March, have great chemistry and are very watchable, but some of the female roles - especially Kim Bassinger (remember her in "LA Confidential" with Crowe) and young Angourie Rice (an impressive film debut) - are more surprising delights.
This is the 1990 French movie that was remade by the Americans as "The Assassin" and then became the television series "La Femme Nikita". The orginal, written and directed by Luc Besson, is raw, violent and powerful - always on the edge and surprising. In the eponymous role, Anne Parillaud is totally convincing in a role which requires her to show very different character facets and there are able support performances from Tcheky Karyo as her minder, Jean-Hugues Anglade as her lover, and Jean Reno as 'the cleaner', with a surprise cameo from 62 year old Jeanne Moreau.
"Night At The Museum"
This is the kind of family movie that I used to take my son to 20 years ago and I only saw it because he (now aged 30) took me along as a Boxing Day frivolity. Ben Stiller is the hapless divorced father taking a job as night security guard at New York's Museum of Natural History (which I've visited) where, over three consecutive nights, he has to come to terms with history coming alive (literally).
There'a amazing array of talent here including Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan & Ricky Gervais and even embracing veterans Dick van Dyke, Mickey Rooney & Bill Cobbs (average age almost 80). The cast of characters is amazing from Attila the Hun to Christopher Columbus, from minature cowboys and Roman soldiers to a dinosaur skeleton and wild animals, and the special effects are excellent. Entertaining enough - just don't expect anything clever or subtle.
"Night At The Museum 2"
This is a model of how a sequel should succeed in following up on the success of an original. Keep the same basic plot but relocate and develop it: so it is still night-time in a museum but we move from the Museum of Natural History in New York City to the Smithsonian museum complex in Washington DC. Keep all the favourite characters but add some new ones: so we still have the pan-faced Ben Stiller as the one-time museum guard but now we also have Amy Adams as the feisty flier Amelia Earhart; we still have the cowboy (Owen Wilson) and the centurion (Steve Coogan) but now we have the Egyptian pharaoh (Hank Azaria) not to mention Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Al Capone; and we don't just have one president (Theodore Roosevelt) but two (add Abraham Lincoln).
This is film squarely aimed at children and we took two boys aged 8 and 10 who thought it was fantastic. The monkey face-slapping scene was the one that all the kids loved most. But young-at-heart adults will find much to enjoy too with much referencing of historic figures and incidents plus allusions to plenty of other movies. Personally I really enjoyed the scenes set in the National Air & Space Museum because this is my favourite museum in the whole world.
"Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb"
In spite of the absence of a number in the title, this is the third (and last?) film in a franchise that I have thoroughly enjoyed for providing inventive entertainment (imagine a fight sequence inside a MC Escher drawing). Each movie has been based in a museum I know well and this time we are in my home city of London at the wonderful British Museum which means that the Elgin Marbles and other artifacts come alive. At the heart of the franchise is Ben Stiller, a comic actor with deceptively understated style, and this time he gets to plays two very contrasting roles, particularly funny when his characters interact.
If there are weaknesses in this outing, they are that perhaps too many of the original characters are involved (meaning that screen time is spread rather thinly between them), there could have been more original museum characters (the main one is Dan Stevens as Sir Lancelot), and it would have been good to have more female roles (Australian Rebel Wilson as the BM security guard is effectively the only substantive one). And, of course, there is the sadness of seeing Robin Williams and Mickey Rooney in their last screen roles.
All that said, this is a worthy addition to a really fun franchise which has probably now run its course.
It's a delight to see a film with a different topic and a different style from so much Hollywood fare. The eponymous nightcrawler drives around Los Angeles at night listening in to police communications, waiting for a car smash up or even a murder, and racing to get to the scene before the cops and other nightcrawlers to obtain graphic images on a camcorder that can be sold to a TV news channel desperate for ratings.
Lou Bloom is a newcomer to the role but learns quick and knows no physical or moral limitations. The role is totally inhabited by Jake Gyllenhaal in a brilliant performance in which he has slimmed down his body, slicked back his long hair, and adopted a speaking style that is invariably calm yet robotic and utterly chilling. And it's good to see 60 year old Rene Russo (the director's wife) back with a decent role as an avaricious, yet vulnerable, television editor.
Great credit goes to screenwriter turned director Dan Gilroy who has crafted a sharp script and an almost documentary-style debut direction that draws in the viewer remorselessly with never a weak scene in a story that simply races along. The gritty urban landscape and thumping soundtrack add to the atmospherics. This is a biting satire both of "if it bleeds it leads" television news and of senseless and insensitive management speak that hits the mark time and time again in a narrative that would be funny if it was not so callous and cruel.
"Nights In Rodanthe"
Terrible title for a movie that is not nearly as terrible as some critics have suggested. At a time when there are so many romantic comedies aimed at young viewers, it's no bad thing to have the occasional romantic story that eschews humour and involves characters in middle age - think something along the lines of "Bridges Of Madison County" (both are based on novels).
The (goodlooking) stars are Richard Gere, as a doctor seeking to establish a new relationship with his estranged son in Latin America, and Diane Lane, a mother in a deeply unhappy marriage considering whether to abandon it - two actors who were together in the earlier "Unfaithful". The (unusual) setting is the Outer Banks of North Carolina at a time of year when hurricanes are threatened. At times, it's a little silly and sentimental but still worth an evening in front of the television if not a visit to the cinema.
"9 Songs"
In the (admittedly unlikely) eventuality that someone wandered into a cinema expecting this to be a musical, a rude shock would ensue, since this is the most sexually explicit mainstream film ever exhibited in Britain. Indeed the only mainstream movie I've previously seen to compare in explicitness was the 1976 Japanese work "Ai No Corrida" ("In the Realm Of The Senses"), but this work goes further with a scene of ejaculation, as well as fellatio, cunnilingus and penetrative sex. Since this is the work of accomplished British director Michael Winterbottom ("In This World"), one cannot possibly regard this is as pornography - besides anything else, porn features far more voluptuous women and portrays the sex from an exclusively male point of view, whereas the sex here is realistic (as well as real) and as female-oriented as much as male.
The problem is that the film appears to be utterly meaningless. A British research geologist Matt (Kieran O'Brien) goes to London gigs and has sex with American student Lisa (skinny model Margot Stilley), but there is no characterisation or plot or even a script (the dialogue was improvised and is banal). Even the music seems to bear no relationship to the lovers and - except for some haunting work from Michael Nyman - is dreary gunge. Shot on low budget digital video, the picture is as grey as the subject matter and the only light-hearted aspect is the rather unsubtle joke of the (mercifully short) running time (69 minutes). Come again? No chance - too much of an anti-climax.
Director Sam Mendes stunned cinema-goers with his opening sequence for the James Bond movie "Spectre", set during The Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City, when it appeared to be shot in one take of seven minutes (actually done in three shots). In retrospect, we can see that this was just a trial run for Mendes since the hugely ambitous "!917" appears to be a single take for the entire two-hour film (it isn't, of course, but most viewers will not spot the cuts). The most impressive cinematic work that I have seen that does truly involve just a single take is the oddly captivating "Russian Ark". In "1917", the single-take approach gives the work powerful tension and the viewer strong engagement in what is a genuinely immersive experience. The technique enables the narrative to appear to run in more-or-less real time to represent a matter of hours in April 1917.
The plot - inspired by stories told by Mendes' grandfather who served on the Western Front in the First World War - involves British Lance Corporals Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Scofield (George MacKay) - being instructed to cross 'no man's land' and abandoned German lines to reach 1,600 British troops - including Blake's brother - intending to launch a dawn attack in ignorance of a German trap. The power of the story is helped by the casting of two leads who are newcomers, but there are brief camees from Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbach. Interestingly, although we do see odd Germans, we never really view their faces - they are an anonymous enemy.Will the two lance corporals reach the attack zone in time and will they be able to prevent a military massacre? The production design (Dennis Gassner) and cinematography (Roger Deakins) are brilliant and some scenes are almost surreal (notably the nighttime sequences). The blasted wasteland, the clinging mud, the huge water-filled craters, the stripped tree trunks, the carcasses of man and horse everywhere, all represent a Dante-like nightmare as the odyssey unfolds and one challenge follows another. Unfortunately the dialogue is sometimes stilted (Mendes himself was co-writer) and some of the scenes are a bit hackneyed. But overall this is a cinematic tour-de-force that will leave the viewer exhausted rather than exhilerated.
Note: In reality, the average length of a shot was 5-6 minutes and the longest was 8 1/2 minutes. Transitions were made at the moment of greatest drama so that the viewer would not notice.
"No Country For Old Men"
The 'country' is the US-Mexico border (more specifically West Texas) and, for anyone involved in the drugs trade, they are unlikely to become 'old men' because the attrition rate is so high. It is clear then that this is a movie with a high body count but, in the hands of the talented Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan), the story of a drug deal gone wrong is told with a superlative mixture of drama and style that won the film four Academy Awards including Best Picture.
On this occasion, although the Coens as usual wrote as well as directed (and co-produced), they were adapting an original work, the 2005 novel by Cormac McCarthy. So they are McCarthy's characters but the Coens' choice of actors is superb.Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson are excellent and Javier Bardem is - not withstanding a weird hairstyle - chillingly wonderful as the unstoppable killing machine with a fondness for coin tossing.
It is not always clear what is happening but the action quickly moves on, so one has no time to ponder on the confusion. For me, the real weakness of the movie is the conclusion which - while apparently faithful to the novel - is unsatisfyingly opaque.
"No Strings Attached"
In 1989, the classic rom-com "When Harry Met Sally" posed the question of whether a guy and a gal could just be friends without sex getting in the way. A little over two decades later, "No Strings Attached" asks whether they can just have sex without love taking over. Of course, we are now in the age when so many rom-coms are much more sexually explicit and here we have an excessive number of references to body parts and sexual activity. Yet there is very little visual explicitness and the only naked body on show is male.
Diminutive (5' 3") Natalie Portman is obviously trying to do something totally different from her intense role in "Black Swan" as Emma, a doctor with commitment issues, and, pretty though she is, this is not a natural role for her. Tall (6' 2") Ashton Kutcher is more at home as Adam, an aspiring television writer who is originally willing to go along with the sex-only partnership. Like "When Harry Met Sally", "No Strings Attached" is written by a woman (Elizabeth Meriwether) and directed by a veteran of comedy films (Ivan Reitman) but it is not in the same class, while still being moderately funny and engaging.
It looked so promising. Darren Aronofsky is an imaginative director who has produced some impressive work such as "The Wrestler" and "Black Swan". Russell Crowe never gives a weak performance and has filled a variety of heroic roles from "Gladiator" to "Robin Hood". And the trailer looked good with Ray Winstone and all that water.
But, oh, what a disappoinment. It starts too slowly, it finishes too limply, and too many sections in between are languid. Since I am not religious at all, I had no problem with variations from the Biblical text, but I did expect some narrative sense and sensibility. The worse aspect was the appearance of fallen angels in the form of lumbering stone giants who looked as if they had taken a wrong turning off the set of a "Transformers" movie. There was not enough about the ark or the animals and Noah himself is portrayed as a callous zealot with little examination of his motivation.
The Icelandic locations are striking and some of the director's trademark flashiness is quite gripping but, as I left the half empty cinema, my abiding impression was that every member of humankind is a descendant of Emily Watson and I'm not sure that's what Aronofsky intended. So, should you bother to see "Noah"? Sadly, no-a.
There's a whole sub-genre of movies based around trouble in an airliner - think of the four "Airport" films of the 1970s, the two "Airplane" comedies of the 1980s, the action-thrillers "Passenger 57" (1992) and "Flightplan" (2005), the real life account of "United 93" (2006) or even the hilarious "Snakes On A Plane" (2006). So don't expect anything too original from "Non-Stop", set almost entirely on a flight from New York to London on the fictional airline Aqualantic.
At the centre of the action is air marshal Bill Marks who - like the pilot in "Flight" - has a past fuelled by alcohol. What gives "Non-Stop" an element of class is that Marks is played by Liam Neeson who is a serious actor - brilliant in the eponymous roles of "Michael Collins" and "Schindler's List" but latterly turning to action roles (the two "Taken" movies"). Julianne Moore is also around as one of the suspect passenger to add a little gravitas.
As entertainment, this is a fun enough film. At the time, the tension is maintained and the twists keep coming but, on reflection, little of the narrative makes much sense - but, if it did, air travel would be less safe, so let's enjoy the ride.
"The Notebook"
It took me a decade or so to catch up with this 2004 film, by which time its two young stars had carved out impressive careers: Ryan Gosling with leading roles like "Drive", "The Ides Of March" and "The Place Beyond The Pines" and Rachel McAdams with appearances in "The Time Traveler's Wife", "Midnight In Paris" and "About Time". In this early work of theirs, you can see why because Gosling as Noah and McAdams as Allie are utterly convincing as two immensely attractive young people crazily in love with one another in spite of the differences in class and personality.
The tale is told through the notebook of the title which, many years later, is read by Duke (James Garner) to a fellow inmate of his nursing home (Gena Rowlands) who is suffering from very serious dementia. It is a powerful story taken from the novel by Nicholas Sparks and ably crafted by director Nick Cassavetes, the son of Gena Rowlands and film director John Cassavetes. Some may find it sentimental, even manipulative, but ultimately all art manipulates our emotions and I simply loved "The Notebook".
"Notes On A Scandal"
It is a sheer delight to see such a character-driven film with a sharp script and fine acting all round. It cannot have been an easy task to translate to the screen Zoë Heller's Booker-shortlisted novel, given its first person perspective, but Patrick Marber's screenplay does an excellent job, incorporating a lot of voice-over, especially at the beginning.
The setting is a north London school and the key relationship is that between Barbara Covett and Sheba Hart (two carefully-chosen names), the first a cynical history teacher close to retirement, a hard-looking and bitter woman, and the other a new and idealistic art teacher, beguilingly beautiful to a variety of her colleagues. These characters are played respectively by Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett who both give outstanding Oscar-worthy performances. Among an able support cast, Bill Nighy is especially impressive.
Barbara and Sheba are both missing something and think that they can find it in another person, in the case of Barbara - the diarist and narrator - in Sheba herself ("She's the one I have waited for"). But the working out of this relationship - and that between Sheba and her family and lover - involve many secrets, much pain, and some betrayals in this rawly emotional tale.
Although I enjoy the music of Philip Glass and thought that it enhanced "The Hours" considerably, here it is in danger of overwhelming the movie. But this is a minor criticism of a superb piece of cinema which brings much credit on its director Richard Eyre who tackled the life of another older woman in "Iris". At barely one and a half hours, it does not seek the length of so many movies which is in a sense a relief since the subject matter is so intense.
"Notting Hill"
This is from the writer (Richard Curtis) and producer (Duncan Kenworthy) of the phenomenally-successful "Four Weddings And A Funeral" and it is another romantic comedy with Hugh Grant leading a very British cast except for an American leading lady. All the performances are excellent and Julia Roberts is perfectly cast as the famous movie star who falls for the diffident London bookshop owner. It might not be for the cynical, but my wife and I found it totally charming with some enjoyable jokes. However, those of us who live in London know that a portrayal of Notting Hill without black faces is a serious misrepresentation.
All reviews by ROGER DARLINGTON.
Last modified on 11 January 1917
Some Cinema Sites
"Empire" magazine
Internet Movie Database
American Academy Awards
British Academy Awards


text:
Showing 1-3 of 3
By: (Joe Rubinfine).
Price: $15.00
Publisher: West Palm Beach, FL: Joe Rubinfine, circa [1980s].: [1980s].
Seller ID: 95012
Condition: Very good
- Quarto [11 inches high by 8-1/2 inches wide], softcover bound in pictorial light blue wraps. [38]pages, including inside wraps. Illustrated with black-and-white facsimiles. Fine. Thirty-eight significant American autographs are described in the scholarly detail Joe Rubinfine is known for. Each item is priced. Included are autographs of Alexander Hamilton, James K. Polk, John Wilkes Booth, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. View more info
By: Mast, Edward P
Price: $75.00
Publisher: circa [1890].: [1890].
Inscription: Signed
Seller ID: 25682
Condition: Very good
circa [1890].. [1890].. Very good. AN EARLY SIGNED IMAGE OF A MAGICIAN, COMPLETE WITH A WAND - sc A wonderful 5-1/2 inch high by 3 inch wide soft-toned black & white photograph of the stage magician depicted from the knees up in three-quarter profile. Mast is attired in formal dress with white tie and tails, white gloves in his right hand and a magic wand held out by his side in his left hand. Mounted onto an 11 inch high by 7 inch wide tan mat, the photograph is inscribed and signed in black ink on the mat under the image: "Yours Truly / Edward P. Mast / Magician". The mat is soiled a... View more info
By: Swann Galleries.
Price: $15.00
Publisher: New York, Swann Galleries, 2012.: 2012.
Seller ID: 95003
Condition: Very good
- Octavo [9-1/2 inches high by 6-1/2 inches wide], softcover bound in color pictorial wraps. The corners of the wraps and the head & tail of the spine are slightly rubbed with a chip to the tail of the spine. Profuse color illustrations. Very good. Catalog for a Swann Galleries auction sale held on April 17, 2012. 437 items are listed and fully described with estimated prices. View more info


text:
Welcome to How To Cook That
I am Ann Reardon today I am really excited about this video I am going to show you how
to make chocolate all the way from the cocoa beans to the bar. Now if you can't get hold
of cocoa beans I'll also show you how to make it using cocoa powder as well. If you want to make it using the beans the
first thing you'll need to do is buy some cocoa beans. And you can buy them raw like
these ones that I bought while I was in Mexico. And beans from around the world have all different
flavours – most the chocolate that you have tasted will have bean from one variety of
coca bean only. There are so many different chocolate flavours so make sure you source
some cocoa beans from different places around the world. When the beans are raw like this they have
a reddish tinge, they are firm, you can't break the shell off them.
So the first thing we need to roast the beans. Spread them out in a single layer onto a lined
baking tray. Look through and take out any that are shriveled or don't look good.
And we want to get rid of those and keep the good looking ones. Roasting them brings out
the chocolate flavour and smell but it also releases the shell from the bean so we can
get it off. The easiest way for you to buy a small quantity
of cocoa beams is to buy from a bean to bar chocolate maker and I'll put a list on this
weeks blog post on howtocookthat.net of some from all around the world for you.
Preheat your oven to 54C or 130F and then put the beans in and immediately turn the
heat up to 121c or 250F Put your timer on for exactly 15 minutes.
Once the timer goes I want you to turn the oven back down to 50C or 120F and open the
oven door for a minute to let it rapidly cool down. Then close the door and leave them in
there for another 12 minutes. Now they should be done take them out of the
oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. You can also buy beans that are already roasted
– like these ones I got from a chocolate maker in Australia, these beans were grown in Somalia
and they have a completely different taste to the mexican ones. Step 2. You need to remove the shell now,
you can do this by hand which I think for small quantities like this I definitely the
easiest way. Gently twist the bean and then remove the shell bits. The other way you can do this is the crush
the beans using a rolling pin. then tip them onto a tray or a bowl and gently blow with
a hairdryer to remove the lighter shells. I found that method messy and not as effective
as doing it by hand. I also found the shells on the freshly roasted
beans were much easier to remove than the ones on the beans that I bought already roasted.
So if you can source the raw cocoa beans and roast them yourself. Then you'll be left with a pile of thin shells
and a bowl of cocoa nibs. You can also buy cocoa nibs from the shops
if you've bought them like that is they say they are raw then you just need to spread
them on a tray and roast them for 10 minutes at 100C or 212 f these coca nibs are from
peru, these ones so we are going to make three different chocolates. Step 3 is to mill your beans and make them
finer. I am using a blender for these ones. – unless you're filming keep the lid on or
you'll get cocoa bean bits all over your bench. Once it is reasonably fine tip it into a bowl
and microwave for about 30 seconds. This is going to start to melt the cooca butter that
is in the beans Cocoa beans are about 50% cocoa butter. Tip that back into the blender
and add your powdered sugar. This needs to be pure icing sugar with no added cornstarch.
If you can't find that use normal white sugar instead and blend that first on it's own to
break it down into a powder. Next step is grinding. Now all I have is a
mortar and pestle so my chocolate is not going to be any where near as smooth as chocolate
you buy in the shops. You can buy a chocolate grinder which has turning stone wheel that
you leave that on for several hours to break down the chocolate particle size. Commercial
chocolate factories use big steal rollers to crush it down to a tiny 20 microns – To
give you an idea of just how small that is, it needs to be about half the size of your
powdered sugar or icing sugar. But that tiny particle size in your chocolate is what makes
it feel so smooth in the mouth and also makes it taste creamier because those chocolate
particles can get right in where your taste buds are on your tongue. So keep grinding until your arm hurts knowing
that you are not get it as fine as it is in the shops. The more you crush it you'll notice the moister
it becomes as you release more of the cocoa butter from the bean. If you had a chocolate
grinder eventually it will become liquid on it's own. But because we don't we need to
add some extra cocoa butter – just melt it in the microwave and pour it in. Then grind
some more and you've got chocolate. At this point the commercial chocolate is
then conched – which means it is stirred while it is warm and melted, sometimes they conch
it for days at a time just to get rid of any acidy flavours to it. We don't have a conching machine, I'm not
going to stand here and stir it for three days so all we are going to temper it and
pour into our molds. I have a video explaining all the different ways that you can temper
at home. My favourite is using the freeze dried cocoa powder and I'll show you that
in the tempering video. Tempering makes the cocoa butter set firm at room temperature
instead of being soft. Leave that bar at room temperature to set. Once it is ready tip it
out of the mold and you've got a bar of home make dark chocolate. Now because you are making it yourself you
can vary the recipe for the next block I am using cocoa nibs, cocoa butter, cocoa powder.
Cocoa nibs made of cocoa butter and cocoa powder or rather cocoa powder comes from them
but by adding them separately you can change the proportions in you chocolate. We are also
using icing sugar and the seeds from a vanilla bean. These proportions are about the same as you'll
find in a lindt 80% dark chocolate bar. I'll put all the weights for this on the howtocookthat.net
website for you. Put it all into blender or a food processor
and blend until it is fine. Then warm up those crumbs up in the microwave and you'll get
a liquid – blend that for a couple of minutes to get it as smooth as you can and then temper
it and mold it. And you've got your very dark chocolate. For milk chocolate you will need cocoa nibs,
cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder. Blend it up, then grind it some more and mold it.
In my opinion the milk chocolate really needs a proper chocolate grinder. But they cost
between 300 and 800 dollars so if you're just doing it to have a go at making your won don't
bother investing in that expense. Now if you can't get cocoa beans they are
made up as I said of about 50% cocoa powder and 50% cocoa butter so you can swap out in
any of these recipes. Just melt your cocoa butter and mix in the icing sugar and cocoa
powder. Remember even this will not be as smooth as your brought chocolate because the
powders have about double the particle size you're used to when you buy commercial chocolate.
So which one tastes the best? We have milk chocolate , mexican dark chocolate and peruvian
extra dark. I really like the mexican chocolate. It has more of a nutty flavour to it than
the other beans do. The milk is of course the sweetest and I think
it illustrates the particle sizes well because you can see the little dots of cocoa bean
so they don't have the smoothness of store bought chocolate. Definitely give it a go making your own at
home and get a couple of different types of beans so that you can see the different flavours
they have. Subscribe to how to cook that for more cakes
chocolate and dessert, click here to go to the video n how to temper chocolate, here
for last weeks inside out cake and here for all my other videos. And here to go to the
howtocookthat.net website to get all of the weights that you need for making your chocolate.
Have a great week and I'll see you call on Friday.
[music: the boat song by youtube.com/setsailtv used with permsission]


text:
- This event has passed.
Wine Club Pick-up Social
February 16 @ 11:00 am - 3:00 pm PST
We would like to invite you to our wine club pick up party on Sunday February 16 from 11am – 3pm! Come enjoy wine and conversation while you pick up your most recent wine club selection!
We will have an exciting wine club only tasting flight accompanied by tasty winter soups.
The Event is complimentary to Club Member plus One guest and we can only accommodate a handful of people so please RSVP right away! Each wine club member may reserve two spots.
If we are shipping you your wine and you are coming to the pick up party please let us know so that we will have your wine available for pick up at the event.
Contact us by email email@example.com or phone 707.944.1986, for any questions.


text:
Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID) released the following statement after voting for the newest version of the American Health Care Act.
"All across Idaho, families and small business owners are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing health care costs caused by Obamacare. The people of Idaho know Obamacare is a disaster and want it fully repealed. Since I was first elected to Congress, I've been working to repeal Obamacare and that includes opposing the first version of the American Health Care Act.
"Over the last few months, I have been working to improve the AHCA, joining with my colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus. We have negotiated legislation that keeps our promise to the American people to lower health care costs while also protecting those with pre-existing conditions. Furthermore, unlike the first version of AHCA, our bill showed it had enough support to actually pass the House.
"The bill we passed today strikes down Obamacare's prohibition on less expensive health care plans and the knot of insurance regulations and mandates that are making health coverage so unaffordable. Meanwhile, it sets up a national $130 billion invisible high-risk pool to help offset the cost for those with pre-existing conditions.
"The Democrats keep insisting the AHCA will eliminate coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. That's not true, and it's not the first time the Democrats haven't told the truth about Obamacare. When they said Obamacare would lower health insurance premiums, it wasn't true. When they said 'if you like your health care plan, you can keep your plan,' it wasn't true. When they said Obamacare would lower out-of-pocket expenses, it wasn't true. If they didn't tell the truth about everything else, why should anyone believe them now about pre-existing conditions?
"Our work is far from done, however. We need to fully repeal Obamacare and I remain committed to doing that. Today's bill is the best way to eventually get there."


text:
Category Archives: Uncategorized
A 10-day Cruise in 300 Words or Less
We quickly got into vacation mode on our recent Mediterranean cruise on Oceania's Nautica, so the blog suffered from a bit of neglect. And now, how to boil down a fabulous 10 days in just a few words & pictures? … Continue reading
Welcome Aboard!
Welcome Aboard! Our cruise launched yesterday from Barcelona and so far so good! When we were first considering a cruise, my friend Reva, who is a cruise veteran, wisely suggested we start with a 'smaller' ship. (If 600 people, not … Continue reading
Baby, Let's Cruise
We're in Barcelona where we leave tomorrow for our cruise on Oceania's Nautica. We're both fairly well traveled, but neither of us have ever been on a cruise. Our itinerary takes us from Barcelona to Rome, with the French Riviera … Continue reading
Songs are a Marker to History
Apple founder Steve Jobs died last week. Among his many accomplishments, the most significant in my life was the fun that comes from random music. Like many of you, my iPod on shuffle is a veritable smorgasbord of musical dissonance. … Continue reading
Reveling in Random Knowledge
Just wrapped up my weekly ritual of watching CBS Sunday Morning. Every week, Charles Osgood brings us an in-depth look at current events, celebrities & other artists, and good old random stuff. This week, for example, there were stories about … Continue reading


text:
4 x small lighting systems, each consisting of a basic 4ch controller & 2 x 4way 300w par56 bars on stands, runs off a 13a plug.
4 x 4way lighting bars, each with 4 x Martin Starflash on each, sound activated, runs off a 13 plug per bar.
Copyright Aquarius Acoustics - Site Design by Simon.


text:
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" – Ecclesiastes 3:1
I let go of many things moving to Seattle almost a year ago. I said, "Goodbye," to many friendships, severing ties with some people, fully knowing I would never see many of them again. I maintained the important relationships and continue to be blessed by their presence in my life, albeit distant and sporadic in communication. After moving so many times in my adult life, I have learned the art of letting go and moving on. Maybe I learned this art all too well?
Since coming to the Emerald City and starting this work, I have learned much, gained much, and lost much. This work I am doing is costing me greatly. It is costing me my life.
In protecting my personal growth and process during my time at The Seattle School, I recently released my grip on two deeply meaningful relationships in my life. I let both of these relationships go, with open hands. I stopped chasing, I stopped pursuing, and I stepped back completely. I let go of expectations and assumptions, and distanced myself in the hope that growth would occur in the separation and time apart. Simply put…
It was time for me to move on.
God was yearning to heal my heart, but this would never happen if I held onto the band-aids that were covering a very deep, gaping hole in my heart.
One of these relationships left without a trace and without a word. The other stuck around and made it abundantly and beautifully clear that they were still there, standing at the door, waiting for me to open it whenever I was ready.
Both of these responses surprised me.
The lost relationship surprised me in the way I was treated after I stepped away. You never know how someone feels about you until you say, "Goodbye." It turns out, I didn't mean a whole lot to them after all. I didn't mean enough for them to pursue or wait for me. I didn't mean enough for them to even notice I was gone. They didn't care enough to hold on.
They didn't want me.
The other surprised me with the amount of care I didn't know they had for me. I didn't know I meant so much to them. I didn't know I was worthy of their fight for me. I didn't know I was loved so deeply that breaking relationship wasn't an option.
They cared enough to wait.
Letting go of something doesn't always mean the other will go away…but, sometimes it does.
As much as I rejoice over a relationship that is on pause, my heart is deeply grieving the relationship that is lost. Tearful mornings and sorrowful evenings sandwich my day with lament and heartache. The prophet in me makes it easy to find the beauty and hope in suffering, to imagine the possibilities of a beautiful and bright future ahead. Yet to fully heal from this lost relationship, I must allow myself to forgo hope and stick with sorrow, at least for a time. Grieving takes time and time heals all wounds, so as I continue this journey, I am savoring each moment of sadness, for each moment brings me closer to healing.
My heart is broken in two places: relationship lost and the realization that I am not wanted. I am not worthy of pursuit, which I so deeply crave. I yearn to be pursued, but the only way this void in my heart can be healed is to be pursued by the healing One; the One who chases after me with ferocious tenacity; the One who never fails at wooing my heart and turning brokenness into beauty.
This relationship lost may not want me, but I have an eternal Father who does.
"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near." – James 5:7-8