text:
In the corners of famous websites, on the walls of the skyscrapers in major cities of the federation, and before popular entertainment shows were aired, this advertisement named 'Ten Days Among Demons' was played and replayed.
At first, many took it as just a random advertisement.
But soon, the delicate quality, the soul-stirring content, and especially, the fighting scenes from the first-person perspective of the Demon Beast Detector quickly distinguished 'Ten Days Among Demons' from clich commercials.
Many people watched the advertisement more than once since it was so breathtaking.
'Ten Days Among Demons' was shot in a very skilled way. The protagonist never showed his face from beginning to end. The fighting scenes were controlled at the level of cold weapon. There were no dramatic, over-exaggerating scenes. The functions of the Demon Beast Detector were highlighted.
After watching the advertisement, the audience would feel that if they had a Demon Beast Detector, they could do exactly the same.
When they learnt that the advertisement was adapted from a true story, naturally, they felt more interested and scanned the rune with their mini crystal processor which led them to a website on the Nexus.
In the website, there was a brief introduction to Li Yao, as well as the interviews of several instructors of the Thunder Training Camp done by 'Predator', confirming the authenticity of the whole event.
Other than that, Li Yao provided a series of preliminary sketches of the Demon Beast Detector. Shang Tianling also hired several artists to decorate the website with highly distinctive concept paintings, which were handsome guys and beautiful girls fighting demon beasts in Thunderous Sound Mountain.
An interactive game was installed to the website, too. Once the audience uploaded their photos, the website would automatically generate pictures of the audience hunting down demon beasts in the Thunderous Sound Mountain wearing the Demon Beast Detector.
Every time they refreshed the website, there would be a different demon beast that they were fighting.
Many users on the site refreshed hundreds of times in order to find the most satisfactory photo of them wearing a Demon Beast Detector.
Through the aggressive marketing campaigns, the Demon Beast Detector became popular among ordinary people. The slogan 'Demon Beast Detector, guardian of your life' quickly became a catchphrase.
For Qiu Guanyu, the young master of the Zephyr Guild, and better known as the 'shark', the past month had been pretty rough.
To suppress the Demon Beast Detector, the Zephyr Guild had invested countless resources.
Once the measures failed, not only would the resources be completely wasted, similar magical equipment refined by the Zephyr Guild would risk losing a large portion of their market share, which was the fatal problem that was facing the Zephyr Guild.
Qiu Guanyu didn't have the slightest clue how the Mountain Sea Sect raised so much money and why it was spending the money in such a crazy way.
An advertising war was costly.
Qiu Guanyu had watched 'Ten Days Among Demons' dozens of times without leaving out any details.
He was certain that the advertisement was created by the most professional culture-type Cultivators. The production of the advertisement alone could cost several hundred million.
Now that the advertisement had been released to all the major media in the federation, the advertising expense of the Mountain Sea Sect this month would be astronomical.
Even Qiu Guanyu felt a little shocked at the money-burning rate and the Mountain Sea Sect's bravery, if not somewhat confused, too.
"The eligible crystal camera suppliers of reasonable scale have all been closely monitored, none of which had any plan to cooperate with the Mountain Sea Sect in the foreseeable future.
"The major magical equipment dealers haven't received any message from the Mountain Sea Sect to sell its product yet.
"Which meant that it's impossible for the Mountain Sea Sect to refine enough Demon Beast Detectors, nor can it sell the products to the terminal market.
"Then, why is the Mountain Sea Sect spending such a large amount of money on promoting a piece of magical equipment that it can't manufacture and sell?
"Based on the current speed, the Mountain Sea Sect is going to bankrupt within the next fortnight without me doing anything because of the huge advertising expenses."
Qiu Guanyu had thought that the Mountain Sea Sect might be able to find a new investor and raise another sum of money. But he had expected the Mountain Sea Sect to look for alternative suppliers to provide crystal cameras for the Demon Beast Detector to resolve the critical problem at hand. Then, it would need to renegotiate with several influential dealers to reestablish the distribution network.
Qiu Guanyu had stationed heavy troops on both paths. He had made sure that the Mountain Sea Sect couldn't find a single qualified crystal camera supplier, or a single magical equipment store that was willing to sell the Demon Beast Detector.
However, it didn't occur to him that the Mountain Sea Sect just bypassed his impregnable lines of defense.
Naturally, Qiu Guanyu felt uneasy, as if he had stepped off a step onto nothing.
The uneasiness soon turned into reality.
"The Mountain Sea Sect has found Jade Tripod Tower, Frostbite Valley, and Phoenix Union to provide the crystal cameras?
"What the hell?!"
Reading the latest investigation report in his crystal processor, Qiu Guanyu was stupefied.
The three suppliers that the Mountain Sea Sect found were all insignificant sects that never appeared on the list of the top 500 sects of the federation. They were not even professional refining sects.
The crystal cameras they refined were of low resolution and lousy quality, which had nothing special at all.
If the Demon Beast Detector utilized the inferior crystal cameras as its core component, its precision would be greatly diminished. Which Cultivator would buy that?
Is the Mountain Sea Sect committing suicide?
Qiu Guanyu was puzzled.
But the remaining part of the report dazzled him even more.
"The Mountain Sea Sect is releasing a cheap version of Demon Beast Detector targeting ordinary people?"
There seemed to be a lightning flashing in his head.
All the time, he had been trapped in the mindset that the war between the Mountain Sea Sect and the Zephyr Guild would burst out in the premium market for the Cultivators.
It never occurred to him that the Mountain Sea Sect would retreat and turn to the lower end of the market aiming at the ordinary people!
Countless ordinary people lived on the Grand Desolate Plateau.
Some of them were miners working for the major mining groups, some were the residents of the cities and towns, and some were the military soldiers and their families.
The number of ordinary people was hundreds of times larger than that of the Cultivators.
At a time when demon beasts went rampant, they needed to identify demon beasts, too.
A cheap version of Demon Beast Detector with a low-resolution crystal camera might not be able to meet the needs of the Cultivators. But for ordinary people, it was good enough to help them identify the type of the demon beasts, the toxicity of the demon beasts, the ways the demon beasts attack, or simply distinguish the demon beasts from regular beasts.
The Demon Beast Detector's price had not been high in the first place. The price of the cheap version was even lower. After all, the most valuable component of a Demon Beast Detector was its crystal camera. A loss of resolution by half could result to a reduction of price by three quarters.
Qiu Guanyu finally understood why the Mountain Sea Sect was spending so much money on advertising.
It was trying to impress the ordinary people with the extraordinary functions of the Demon Beast Detector.
Cold sweat was appearing on Qiu Guanyu's nose. He took a deep breath and asked his subordinate as calmly as he could, "What's the share price of the Mountain Sea Sect right now?"
"The Mountain Sea Sect has been suspended on the stock market. It is holding a press conference. A new shareholder is joining the Mountain Sea Sect," his personal assistant answered nervously.
"Excellent. We'll know who's backing the Mountain Sea Sect now."
Qiu Guanyu gnashed his teeth. The news was within his expectations.
Without strong reinforcement, the capital chain of the Mountain Sea Sect would've broken down long time ago, and the advertising war wouldn't have happened in the first place.
The press conference that was being streamed on the Nexus soon began.
"'Twin Dragons Union', a new sect led by Fiend Blade Peng Hai who is the youngest expert to arrive at the peak of the Building Foundation Stage in the federation, has agreed to buy shares of the Mountain Sea Sect, to the extent that the Twin Dragons Union will be the third largest shareholder of the Mountain Sea Sect!
"Fiend Blade Peng Hai also gladly accepted the invitation from Shangguan Jia, leader of the Mountain Sea Sect, to be the honorary chairman of board!
"Li Yao, inventor of the Demon Beast Detector which is the star product of the Mountain Sea Sect at present, is Fiend Blade Peng Hai's junior brother and a shareholder of the Twin Dragons Union.
"After the admission, the collaboration between the two parties will be closer. It is also a sign that they are both confident about the future of the Demon Beast Detector project!"
With a darkened face, Qiu Guanyu watched as Shangguan Jia, Jiang Wenbo, Guan Xiong, Fiend Blade Peng Hai, and the rest merrily entered the conference hall surrounded by countless journalists.
Fiend Blade Peng Hai picked the crystal microphone and said with a smile, "Friends of the news industry and financial industry, the press conference today has three purposes.
"Firstly, we would like to disclose the partnership between the Mountain Sea Sect and myself.
"Secondly, we'd like to take this opportunity to introduce to you the 'Young Pioneer Version of the Demon Beast Detector', the latest magical equipment refined by the Mountain Sea Sect.
"It is designed to be a piece of affordable magical equipment for the people who live and work on the Grand Desolate Plateau. While most of the functions of the original Demon Beast Detector are maintained, our new product's price has been set to a much lower price. The speed and manner of information presentation has been specially optimized for ordinary people.
"I believe most of you have watched an advertisement called 'Ten Days Among Demons'. In real life, the narrow escape of Li Yao, my junior brother, was based on the magical equipment of the same type.
"But before I dive into the details, allow me to introduce another distinguished guest to you. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you"
The curtain behind Fiend Blade Peng Hai was opened, revealing a banner that read: 'New Product Launch Conference. Co-hosted by the Mountain Sea Sect and the Moon Splitting Sword Guild.'
Fiend Blade Peng Hai intentionally uttered very slowly, "Bu Changfeng, deputy leader of the Moon Splitting Sword Guild!"
As a short, stout man with a glowing face walked to the front, whispers of attendees grew louder and louder.
Everybody had heard a thing or two about Fiend Blade Peng Hai buying shares of the Mountain Sea Sect. But how was the Mountain Sea Sect related to the Moon Splitting Sword Guild?
Besides, wasn't the Demon Beast Detector solely refined by the Mountain Sea Sect? Why was the Moon Splitting Sword Guild co-hosting the conference?
Qiu Guanyu's face changed. He stood up uncontrollably.
The Moon Splitting Sword Guild was among the top 500 sects of the federations, which boasted a lot of potential.
However, for a long time, the Moon Splitting Sword Guild had been a pure sword-training sect which was adept at the refinement and utilization of flying swords. It had nothing to do whatsoever with either the Zephyr Guild or the Mountain Sea Sect.
Never had he heard that the Moon Splitting Sword Guild intended to march into the business of precise magical equipment refining.
The shadow of uneasiness inside Qiu Guanyu's mind quickly expanded.
"Flying sword and Demon Beast Detector are two kinds magical equipment that can't be more distant. What's the deputy leader of the Moon Splitting Sword Guild doing here?"


text:
As the archetypically American holiday of Thanksgiving approaches, vegans are faced with yet another situation that doesn't feel so much like a holiday to us. I used to loathe the approaching of this day when I'd have to sit in a house closed in with a dead bird roasting in the oven, filling the rooms with the nauseous stench of death, and then sit at a table pretending to give thanks over this atrocity.
Well, hubby and I established an alternate Thanksgiving holiday–one in which we could actually feel gratitude. (My being Native American perhaps had a bit of sway there). We decided and told our families that the Thanksgiving holiday would be our day to have to ourselves; Christmas was the chip we would give up (more on that later).
Hubby and I treat Thanksgiving like most people treat Valentine's Day–a lovely day for ourselves as a couple to enjoy what we enjoy. And what we enjoy is mushrooms! We plan for our Thanksgiving feast by foraging for wild mushrooms in the weeks leading up to the day. Yes, we are trained by mycobiologists at UC Davis in the identification of edible mushrooms in our area, and we are experienced mushroom foragers of 20 years. (We even have a microscope for looking at the spores of various species of mushrooms for exact identification).
We make a holiday in the week or two before Thanksgiving to go out and forage for wild mushrooms that I then plan a menu around with multiple courses. The menu varies from year to year, depending upon what is prolifically fruiting. Some years have seen us with massive amounts of chanterelles, or porcini, or pig's ears (what polite restaurants like to call purple chanterelles, although they're a different genus from true chanterelles). Sometimes we've even gotten the beautiful and delicious lion's mane mushroom that looks like a cluster of icicles dripping from a tree. Menu courses in the past have been things like oyster mushroom-asparagus amuse buche, chanterelle tartlets with cashew cream cheese, sesame-encrusted porcini slices over polenta and edamame with roasted garlic, and candy cap ice cream with maple cakes
It's difficult to describe in print how these lovely mushrooms taste and smell. Imagine almonds and sugar and loamy earth, and you're getting close to a gorgeous chanterelle. Porcinis are satin and sex on a plate—so smooth and rich and luscious! Candy caps, the humble Lactarius rubidus, are pretty little deep red items that bleed a milky latex when the cap is broken, and they taste like an earthy version of maple syrup. That's right—a mushroom that tastes like maple syrup, and is absolutely outstanding in cookies or ice cream.
The delight of our romantic Thanksgiving meal is that we had just spent the previous weeks together foraging for the mushrooms we will eat on that day. We walk together in the forest, wander off and call out to each other when we find the next beautiful specimen, and then we sit down to a beautiful once-in-a-lifetime seasonal meal featuring the mushrooms that we gathered.
Our vegan Thanksgiving is uniquely ours, and it is indeed a day for which we give thanks, with the foods we foraged for together.
Dr. Stacey J. Anderson (aka Chef Stacey) is a professor of public health by day, ferocious vegan foodie by night. She is a certified Master Vegan Life Coach and Educator (MVLCE) from Main Street Vegan Academy. She owns the educational venue Vegan Buen Vivir, a scrumptious way for the vegan-curious and new vegans to learn how to dive head-first into the vegan good life, with lots of great cooking and eating along the way. Chef Stacey lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and her two incorrigible cats.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The goal of the Chinese Checkers game is to bring all your pieces in the angle of the star opposed to that of beginning.
Each player (from 2 to 6 players), in turn, moves a piece, either while placing it on an unoccupied adjacent space in any direction, or while jumping over other pieces in the manner of the Checkers game.
In this game, there is however no capture of pieces during the jumps and all the pieces remain on the board.
Click on a piece to select it, then click on the empty spaces for the move. Click again on the destination space to validate the move.
be the first to move all your pieces to the opposite side !


text:
Web Design
JavaScript Tutorial (Beginner) – Learn JavaScript fast by example
Make your website more interactive with JavaScript. This guide is designed to help you actually learn JavaScript (it's not a reference manual). Learn JavaScript through a series of interesting projects and examples. There are also practice problems (with solutions) throughout the tutorial. Read More »
HTML & CSS Practice Test (with solutions) – Problems, exercises, questions
Test yourself with real HTML & CSS practice test questions and coding exercises. Detailed solutions are available for most problems. Read More »
Web Design Tutorial – Learn how to make a website FAST by example
Interested in web design? Learn how to make a website through a series of interesting projects and examples. Includes coding problems (with solutions). Read More »
CSS Tutorial (Beginner) – Learn CSS website styling fast by example
If you just read our HTML tutorial, you're probably tired of how the browser styles your web pages by default. Well, we're about to change that with a new programming language called CSS. With CSS, you can restyle practically everything and make your website a lot more pleasing on the eyes. Read More »
HTML Form Tutorial – Learn HTML form tags fast by example
In this guide, we'll go over all of the HTML form related tags/elements. Forms are used to accept input from your users.Read More »
HTML Tutorial (Beginner) – Learn HTML fast by example
Learn HTML through real examples (as fast as possible). No prior experience required. Try the code yourself in our free interactive HTML editor.Read More »


text:
06 Gallery
The 06 Gallery exhibition programme is used to extend curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for our students at John Mason and other schools within the Abingdon Partnership.
Our aim is to strengthen arts experiences for children, young people and the wider community and develop local interests and enthusiasm for visual art.
As part of its community plans John Mason School offers regular opportunities for the public to engage with exhibitions in the 06 Gallery through talks, family days and special events.
Highlights of the year include the Student Showcase (held in October) where a professional, framed exhibition of student Art & Design work from years 7 to 11 is used to celebrate personal endeavour, progress and passion for the arts. Visitors get the chance to cast a vote for their favourite piece and the winner receives the prestigious Showcase Award at Presentation Evening in December. In May, the A level students host their own exhibition to present their culmination of effort and hard work during their course. In between student shows, we host local and national artists and art groups (both amateur and professional) which are used in teaching lessons as well as supporting our community of artists and designers.
Find out More
If you'd like to lean more about our plans for 06 Arts, or discuss how we should be working with you please email us.
This section has no supporting documents


text:
Walking The Line (Vinyl Reissue)
The partnership between Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and Oscar Peterson grew after the legendary Exclusively For My Friends recordings. Nine albums followed that remarkable recording. Walking The Line came about during the middle of this period of their work. An added bonus to this vinyl release is Hubertus Mall's fantastic drawing of Peterson featured on the cover. Peterson is joined by bassist Georg Mraz and drummer Ray Price for this release which is bookended by two Cole Porter Classics, "I Love You," and "All Of You." Each of the tracks in between is a masterpiece in its own right, especially the irresistible version of "Rock Of Ages."
ARTIST SITE | RELEASED: August 26, 2016 ON MPS Jazz
- 1. I Love You
- 2. Rock Of Ages
- 3. Once Upon A Summertime
- 4. Just Friends
- 5. Teach Me Tonight
- 6. The Windmills Of Your Mind
- 7. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
- 8. All Of You


text: Find out how we picked the 25 top spots and learn more about our favorite cities. May 1, 2007 Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine teamed up with Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class to pick the 25 best cities for its June issue. Below you'll find a breakdown of how our top places were selected. We also have multi-media extras you'll find only on Kiplinger.com. Check out our slide shows of the best cities for each stage of life, our tool that will help you pick the best city for you and a webcast of our interview with Richard Florida.Criteria for Our Best Cities Picks Here's how our 25 favorites made the cut. Sponsored Content SLIDE SHOWS Learn more about the top 25 places to launch a career, raise a family, retire in style, and more. Best Cities for Young Singles Advertisement Best Cities for Mid-Level Professionals Best Cities for Married With Kids Best Cities for Empty-Nesters Best Cities for Retirees Advertisement TOOL: Which City Is Best for You? Take this 14-question survey to see which five metro areas in the United States best suit your goals and tastes. COVERCAST: How We Picked Our Cities Just how did we come up with our Kiplinger/Richard Florida 25 Best Cities list? It was one part knowing our readers and one part cosmic coincidence. Here's how they came together. WEBCAST: Interview With Richard Florida The author of The Rise of the Creative Class explains why choosing the right city is important to your financial future and how his creative class and lifestages were used in selecting the Kiplinger/Richard Florida 25 Best Cities.


text:
If you know someone breaking the rules please tell me as it's unfair to others.
PRIZE: $25sd or 25sd in gifts
ENDS JAN 27th
Hmm...I don't think I did a very good job in that one. Oh well, we'll wait and see! :'D
oo, There Are so many awesome entries, Mhmm, deciding on which one to pick!
Btw I love the dress though.
Voted :D
Thx for adding me.^^
And some girls realy made a good outfit there.. Congratz to them.:"D
Thanks for puttinig me in,
some outfits are really goooood.
I voted for Medina1717 :)) It was difficult to decide for whom I'll vote :D
All the girls rocked the outfits, I don't know who to vote
Thanks for adding me >:D<
And good luck to all :P
The shirt wasnt very pretty but some of the girls made gorgeous outfits with them ;D
I voted for Daynabast ;]
So much choice! decided in the end though, well done girls all fab!
I don't like this top/dress, but some of the girls did a really creative job :) *I like*
Didn't you forget Amandaappje? I wanted to vote for her but i couldn't since it wasn't on the voting list!
Why I don't see my stylist? :cc
i love most of them theyve done quite a good job!!
i voted but im not gonna say ;) ♥
It was difficult :)
I don't like much this HB...
Everybody looks great. I already voted, hardly, because I couldn't decide. Good luck to everyone.
I voted for Rayko (;
I Don't Really Love That Top, But Hanae785 Made It Rock! Along With Some Others As Well Ofc [:
me 2 i don't like the HB shirt but anyway hmm i make him like a dress with help of 3 skirts !! xoxo ithar2010 good luck !! *.-
Can I vote for myself? xD Or is that against the rules? :S
I don't particularly like the top that much, but some of these girls made it look pretty good, well done :)
Love K xxx
Voted ^^ I don't like this top but It was hard to choose because some girls made beautiful outfits :)
Haa, i think i didnt to a very good job D:
Thanks to put me becuase i sign in the last moment.
the outfits are amazing..
Good Luck To All :)
i put a picture in but im not in it why
so many entryes!!
Good luck I voted hope she wins lol
It was hard to choose one ;D
And yeah, I agree with Iovanca, people are so active O.O
Good Job most of them look good (:
Voted :)
Everyone did a great job!
I voted good luck everyone♥
@ Daynabast: You did very well on your outfit, so that's why I voted you! :D
Ohh :S Ugrh.I prepared all items in starplaza's wardrobe.And then my laptop turned-off and I went to do a scenery for model's competition.I'm kinda mad on myself now :/
Some of them really have amazing outfits,but I'm still not really big fan of that top :S
They all did a very good job, seeing as it was a hard one to style, well i found it hard :)
I voted for doll I liked most but to be honest I think this HB is awful :(
Thanks for putting me in the poll. :) I think we all appreciate how muh your doing! :D
wwoowowo finalist
romela1998,,look me and if u like me vote
Wow, there are always sooo many entries! :D It's really hard to choose between them, especially when I don't like the top that much but one person made a good outfit... I won't say her name but I hope she'll win. ;)
wow, there are really some stunning outfits here but i'll keep my vote a secret for now ;] Good luck to everyone in the poll! (including me)
Voted! :D I don't really like the t-shirt..but after seeing these outfits...I may change my mind ;)
All are amazing! I voted for Botsy_pink :D
I love this comps, thanks a lot for put me on!! I have to recognize ur really hard job for making ur blog THE BEST!!! XOXOXOXO.
Wow I'm in the poll!Yeah!
i don't like shirt...but they at least try to wear and combine it...so i will vote :)
awesome outfits! shame they end too early (i am usually at school), i never get to enter, only done it once and i didn't even get into finals :'(
It was really fun to create the outfit I love mine LOL. But must of us relly broke a leg on this.
I can`t wait for results :)
All looking fabulous! :D
I voted personally for Medina1717! She did a great job. :D
I can´t decide... ;D
But I don´t like the top that much...
Yay I'm so happy I made it! Thank you so much! [:
(For my name you put though it actually is weisswurst.)
Thats okay. though.
Hmmmm. I think the top is a bit tacky and average, i wouldnt look twice at it in starplaza.... Iwish stardoll would focus on making hotbuys, statement pieces...
Anyway the girls did a good job!! xx Charity xx
OMG, Love the banner! Too bad for the quit unnatural pose.. :)
hi, i am on stardoll but im not saying who. can i just say, most of these aren't that good. i appreciate that noone is hiding the top like the easy way, but every one has chosen the colour black as thier main...err,statement.mostly, medioka. be creative;spontanius, don't be afraidto take risks.thats what fashion is about. dont follow the crowd!
thank you,
that is another veiw,
from alexis bleu
something else to say...my name is scarlet7red7
I voted for EssRox. I think the top is horrible though.
This shirt really seems like it doesn't go with much :/
I didn't like the shirt, but the outfits are awesome!
♥ I love all of them! I think Raykos the coolest :D ♥
I Didnt Enter This One, But I Voted :) x
So many outfits.....
Wow... :D:D I voted
this was a hard one to do! voted though :)
i voted, hard decision though (:
Great job guys!
aww why aren't I in it?


text: Most mall-based restaurants nowadays offer the same type of dish. If there's even a variation in the serving, it's not something so distinct. An example is the very predictable pork chop. Fortunately, Almon Marina has a version called Stuffed Pork Chop that caught my hungry eyes. The meat chop is generously stuffed with cheese, apple slices, herb and spices. For P185, this pork cut variety is quite memorable and worth tearing into.


text:
Agencies all over Jacksonville are readying themselves for their holiday events, but some of those agencies are still in need of donations.
Agencies all over Jacksonville are readying themselves for their holiday events, but some of those agencies are still in need of donations.
The USO in Jacksonville is holding its annual Thanksgiving dinner for all active duty military, retirees and their families on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Deb Fisher of the USO said that while the organization has received many donations for the feast, they are still in need of several things.
�We still need Styrofoam to-go boxes, dessert to-go boxes, dinner rolls, a few more hams, turkey pans and 16-ounce cups,� she said. �We also need desserts. We usually have more desserts at this time of year; and right now, we don�t have very many at all.�
Fisher said people can come to the USO, located at 9 Tallman St. in downtown Jacksonville, to donate desserts like homemade cakes, pies and cookies.
�We�re expecting to have a lot more people this year,� she said. �More Marines, sailors and Coasties are at home this year. There are not as many deployed.�
The Salvation Army is also running low on supplies for the holiday season at their food bank.
�We don�t have any turkeys to give out,� Maj. JoAnn Mur� said.
While the organization does get meat donations from Food Lion on a regular basis, they are running low in the meat department, she said.
The Salvation Army can also use donations of non-perishables like canned and boxed food.
�We�ve seen quite an increase in our assistance,� Mur� said. �This office is crazy all the time. There are people here in the morning hours here for assistance with utilities and rent, and in the afternoons, the office is full of people waiting for food assistance.�
Some organizations � like the Onslow Community Outreach Soup Kitchen � are prepared for Thanksgiving, but still need supplies for upcoming Christmas events.
�We could use more spiral hams, canned and boxed food like yams and stuffing, and dinner rolls,� Soup Kitchen Director Remy Stitt said. �Mostly, we need canned goods because we can use those every day.�
Stitt said the soup kitchen will deliver around 500 plates on Thanksgiving.
�We get here at 5 a.m. and make up 500 hot plates to be delivered to different areas in Onslow County,� she said. �For the hot meal here, we�ll have 60-100 people coming in. We feed them a hot meal here, and then we make them a takeout plate for the evening.
�We�ll probably feed about 600 people this year.�
Some organizations like Meals on Wheels are in need of other supplies.
Glenda White, program assistant with the Senior Center and Meals on Wheels, said that while the agency is always in need of canned goods, they could use donations of hand lotion and boxes of tissues to give out for Christmas along with food baskets.
�We are always in need of those,� White said.
For more information, call:
Contact Daily News Reporter Tabitha Clark at 910-219-8454 or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter at @TabithaLClark or friend her on Facebook.


text:
The almost true exploits of an intrepid spinster and her stitching...and all of the things that make up her crazy, happy, quiet little life.
Mar 5, 2013
14 comments:
Canvas work is so "in your face" compared to cross stitch - but I love them both. Your sister's piece is so subtle and bonnie and your piece is so fresh and crisp.ReplyDelete
Nice progress ladies! Both projects are great. I love the colors in the canvas work.ReplyDelete
We are having a snow day here in Illinois.
what kind of dog is Bosco .... a SNOUTzer? LOLReplyDelete
Great progress, both projects are looking gorgeousReplyDelete
Both of your projects look amazing. So how is Stewey adapting to having Lil Cuz Bosco visiting?ReplyDelete
Cute doggy kisses.ReplyDelete
StitchingBea is a hoot!! :) love the Bosco smoochies!!!ReplyDelete
Great progress on both projects.ReplyDelete
Great progress on both and love the Bosco kisses!ReplyDelete
Love reading your blog and kinda get mad at myself when I miss your postings. Is there anyway you could add the email gadget so I (and others) can subscribe to your posts? Stewey always makes me laugh. It takes a real talent to write like that. I love your canvas work too its always so beautiful!ReplyDelete
Thank you for making my early morning bright!ReplyDelete
Beautiful job on that Rishfield canvas! I love that and look forward to your updates. Aunt Chrissy's Drawn Thread piece is also gorgeous. I'm planning to work on a Drawn Thread UFO (Tocatta #2) and this picture inspires me to get moving on mine.ReplyDelete
Wooo Hooo on the stitching! Grateful for Bosco kisses! :D CathrynReplyDelete
Beautiful progress for both of you!ReplyDelete


text:
Pinning Pointers
Hot on the heels of my article on interior pointers, comes a much more insightful one by Stan Lippman on the same issue. That happens sometimes. I enjoyed the chat we had on the VC++ 2005 Beta, and I wanted to point that there are two other online chats coming up. One is on upgrading COM apps to .NET, and the other is on the library and runtime enhancements in VC++ 2005. They're lumped together with other chats that might be of interest on this page.
On to pinning pointers. Sometimes, the interior pointer simply won't suffice. Say I have a function I really need to access in a native code module. For example, I have a native function that loads an array for me, and I want to use it to load a managed array. Sounds like a complicated task, and it can be. Conventional wisdom tells us that the native function can't get access to the managed array, because it's on the GC heap, and could move around all over the place. I can't use interior pointers because this is native code. So it seems the onlyh choice left is to make another native array, call into the native function, and then loop through the native array, copying the members over from it to the managed array. Clunky, to say the least.
There's a better way? You bet. It's called the pinning pointer. In Managed Extensions, we exposed it using the keyword __pin. In the new syntax, we expose it through another smart-pointer-ish type, pin_ptr<>, located in the cli namespace (the namespace formerly known as stdcli::language). What the pinning pointer does is "pin" our managed object down on the GC heap, preventing the garbage collector from moving it around. In addition to this pinning, it gives us what we need; a conversion to a native pointer.
Though pinning pointers are cool, they are sometimes not well understood. The best way to think of them is that an object is pinned so long as a pinning pointer points to it. That's important enough a concept that you ought to read that sentence again. I'll wait. What this means is that your pin_ptr object is only pinning something on the GC help while its in scope. When it goes out of scope, it stops pointing to that object, and that object can be moved at any time. That means you can't go saving a native pointer, and expect your pin_ptr to hold it forever.
Dangers of pinning pointers. In fact, because of the dangers of misinterpretation, we severely restrict where and how you can use pinning pointers. They can't be involved anywhere temporaries are created, can't be the argument to or the return type from a function, can't be members of a type, and can't be involved in casts, to name a few. But this is C++, and what would C++ be without a way to shoot yourself in the foot. Long ago, I wrote an article that included some warnings about the pinning pointer. The examples are in Managed Extensions, but the concepts are pretty solid. Rather than repeat myself, I'll just link to it, and request that you read it. Especially that example of how to make a quick and easy GC hole.
Enough talk, let's see an example. Right.
using namespace System;
using namespace cli;
void myUnmanagedFunction(wchar_t* p, int size){
for(int i=0; i<size; i++)
p[i] = 'A'+i;
int main(){
array<Char>^ arr = gcnew array<Char>(10);
pin_ptr<Char> ppC = &arr[0]; //implicit conversion from interior to pin pointer
myUnmanagedFunction(ppC, 10);
for(int i=0; i<10; i++)
Putting it all together can be complicated. Brandon helped me sort it out one day by drawing a helpful diagram, which I'll replicate here.
Don't quit your day job. I know, I'm not much of an artist. Think of the arrows as "can convert to." Note that for orthogonality, native pointers can convert to pin and interior pointers. Hey, it's sometimes useful, you'll be glad it's there. That's it for pin pointers. In a future article, I might look at our upcoming for each syntax.


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- The sparks of rebellion in my children. That piece of a person's conscience that makes them question what they are told. Rebellion nurtures the seeds inside us which grow into social movements which brings the world forward: socially, scientifically, spiritually. Rebellion is good.
- The gifts I get to bestow on one of my favorite people tomorrow at her baby shower. I'm so excited about my little crafty gifts. I've been wanting to post pictures for days now.
- My kids not riding the bus. There was a little girl that died crossing the street about a mile from our house this morning trying to catch the bus. My heart is breaking for that little girl's family and friends. And for the Mom who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, who's vehicle struck her. I hear horror stories about kids and buses all the time. These stories scare the bejeezus out of me. I don't mind the morning/afternoon momma cab driver job so much. Plus, I get to take awesome self portraits while waiting in pick-up line.
- The next 9 days! Routines kill me. KILL ME. For the next nine days: no routines. Whoo!
- My little pilgrims. <3 <3
What's making you happy today?
>> Thankvember Blog Hop Linky after the jump...


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1069 – The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work" or a "service in the name of/on behalf of the people."
In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in "the work of God." Through the liturgy Christ our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church.
~Catechism of the Catholic Church
1324 – The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life. The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.
~Catechism of the Catholic Church
Liturgical Ministries at SJCC
Altar Servers
Art & Environment
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC)
Music Ministry
Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist Schedules
5:00PM Day Mass
Masses EXCEPT 5:00PM Day Mass
Presentation of Gifts at Mass
Sign-Up for Gift Bearers at Mass
Commemorate a special person or occasion in the life of your family by bringing up the gifts at a particular Sunday Mass. Simply fill in the required fields specifying the name(s) and date and time of the Mass at which you want to bring gifts forward.
Liturgy Education
Altar Servers
Altar Servers assist the Presider during liturgical celebrations. This ministry is open to boys and girls who have received First Eucharist and are at least 10 years of age.
Lectors are those men and women who proclaim the Word of God to the community present at Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations.
Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist
Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist assist the Presider in the distribution of Holy Communion during the Eucharistic Liturgy.
Music ministers include children, youth and adults who facilitate the community's sung prayer during liturgy.
Ushers are ministers of parish hospitality, concerned for the safety and comfort of the community at worship.
Art and Environment
These ministers share their artistic talents to provide aesthetics for all liturgical celebrations.
Presentation of Gifts at Mass
These ministers process the gifts to the altar during mass.


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Notice the date.
Great! Just great! What's the date today? May 11. Yeah. And Ghost Whisperer is talking about disasters that happened May 3. Cool. Awesome. The timing is just so right. It's 2008. The first tragedy happened 2003. The last one "will" happen 2007. They were talking about five's. Bummer that it's 2008? Dunno. it's just creepy cool.


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Microsoft has refreshed its Zune HD lineup with the addition of a new 64GB Zune HD model priced at $350.
The 64GB iteration of the popular Zune – which is expected to be available on April 12 – will be capable of storing up to 16,000 songs, 20 hours of HD video and 25,000 pictures.
The Redmond-based company also reduced the prices of its 16GB and 32GB devices, to $200 and $270, respectively.
Finally, Microsoft announced an upcoming firmware update (4.5) that will add new options to the device, including Smart DJ auto-playlists directly on the Zune HD, ability to browse, stream and acquire music from the Zune Marketplace on a TV (via the A/V dock) and expanded codec support.
The Zune HD features an OLED multi-touch screen, built-in HD radio, HD video out capabilities and an Internet browser. The device is available in a number of custom colors (from ZuneOrginals.com), such as platinum, black, blue, red, green, purple and magenta.


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- Mon, 07/09/2012 - 21:16
Reflections on the July 5 massacre in 2009
By Mamtimin Ala
Let me begin with the photograph of an elderly Uyghur woman striding forward in defiance into the oncoming tanks of the Chinese Army. This iconic photograph was taken right after the July 5 massacre in Urumqi back in 2009. This photograph reminds us of a similar photograph taken during the Chinese student movement of 1989 of "the Tank Man", a Chinese man who stood unwaveringly in front of the tanks of the Chinese Army in Tiananmen Square, when they were about to move in to crush the young Chinese students. There are some nominal differences between these two photographs, such as time, space and, above all, the personal objectives. However, the fundamental similarities outweigh the differences. Both images capture the breathtaking, haunting and formidable defiance of two individuals against the same dictatorship government, the Chinese communist government, which boasts more military hardware and manpower militia than anyone could find conceivable for use against its own people living in their own land. Alone, unarmed and unyielding, they stood manifest in their resisting spirit, in the direct path of the merciless and relentless tanks, trundling towards them on some vain mission to destroy that which is not able to be destroyed—the truth.
Both of these awe-inspiring scenes depict the re-enactment, though momentary, of the most dramatic conflict that may best be seen through the almost outmoded sense of Manichaeism: an eternal conflict of good against evil, of courage against violence, of truth against untruth. As such, these photographs are deeply engraved our public memory as unforgettable individual acts of heroism, almost surreal in their stark contrast to the chilling tyranny and cowering insecurity behind the cold metal form of the oncoming powerful military hardware.
Three years have gone, but it seems like yesterday since 5 July 2009. Blood spilt and lives lost. This date marks a dark day indeed, a dark Sunday that still haunts us with the needless and horrific loss of innocent lives. On that very day, thousands of unarmed Uyghurs took to the streets of Urumqi in East Turkestan (aka Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region to use the Chinese preference) to peacefully protest against the total lack of government action following the cold blooded massacre of Uyghur factory workers in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, by mobs of hundreds of Chinese on 26 June 2009. This initial protest erupted from the building torrent of resentment growing in the hearts of the Uyghur people, following decades of cultural and religious oppression by the Chinese government, forcing them into economic marginalisation in their homeland. Perhaps not surprisingly, the peaceful demonstration quickly descended into emotional mass riots, which Chinese troops controlled by conducting a massacre of the Uyghur people in the streets of Urumqi. This absurdly excessive use of force by the Chinese troops left hundreds of the people dead and thousands wounded, detained, "disappeared", imprisoned and hundreds executed, many without trials.
Human rights groups like Amnesty International urged the government in Beijing to launch an independent investigation into the violence and mass killings. This request was rejected by the Chinese authorities. This kind of suppression of information is known in the Western world as "a cover up". Any information and knowledge about this incident was kept very quiet by the Chinese government under a cloak of extreme secrecy. However, in spite of the huge efforts taken by the Chinese regime to contain the leaking of any shred of information related to the July 5 massacre, the truth has continued to seep out slowly but surely over the last three years. The identities of those who went missing are beginning to emerge. More eye witness testimonials and records of video footage have been discovered, which give a more accurate depiction of the murky images of the massacre. Evidence shows that the Chinese government misled the world by broadcasting contrived and deceptive information about the demonstration on 5 July 2009. Their aim was simple: to shift the blame of their own brutal and criminal behaviour across to the Uyghur protesters and so to justify its own barbaric crackdown on them.
However, the lies are now uncovered, and the free world, beyond the reach of the Chinese propaganda blanket, is now becoming more informed about the truth of the massacre with the unfolding of each piece of evidence and video footage. The Chinese government did succeed, to some extent, in suppressing and manipulating the truth. But in the long run it is now clear that it failed to suffocate the truth entirely.
The immediate response of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the suppression of the peaceful demonstration on 5 July 2009 was quite phenomenal. He unequivocally labelled it "soykırım", a Turkish word for "genocide" when he spoke on 10 July 2009, courageously risking the ire of its close trading partner, China. To identify the suppression of the demonstration with "genocide" was, without doubt, the most powerful and outspoken criticism of the Chinese autocracy over the Uyghurs, in stark contrast to the deafening silence from the rest of the world.
To this affect, Turkey even promised to escalate the issue to the UN Security Council to discuss ways of ending the violence. The immediate and strong Turkish promise assured the Uyghurs that they would never be alone, unheard and abandoned. This sadly transpired to be only a short-lived expression of loyalty. The instant retort from the Chinese government in response to this bold criticism was to launch a very aggressive and yet mostly incentive driven series of diplomatic manoeuvres to deflect Turkey from its resolution to support the Uyghur people. With the relentless diplomatic efforts from China, Turkey used this situation to reinforce a bid, overtly and covertly, to end its deficit-bound trade relationship with the emerging power of China. More importantly, Turkey, which is entrenched in its age-old dreams of becoming a fully-fledged member of EU, seized this golden opportunity to ingratiate itself with the newly emerging power fulcrum in the Far East—the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), previously known as the Shanghai Five. The objective of this organization, from the China's strategic perspective, is to serve as a "legitimate" trans-national body, not only to challenge the US dominance in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond and but also to curb the spread of the influence of the East Turkestan forces operating in the region. Through the SCO, the Chinese government has forged another mouthpiece to broadcast messages to discredit the Uyghur people, and to bolster its fear mongering about the issue, indicating that Uyghur people who want to live as Uyghur people in their homeland are therefore terrorists.
The potential for ethnic diplomacy that the Uyghur people could have brought to bear by evoking the historical and cultural ties with their Turkish/Turkic brothers was swiftly overshadowed by the increasing empowerment of this Organisation. The closest cultural ally of the Uyghurs, Turkey, reversed the direction of its original ethnic diplomacy to serve its own interests. The diplomatic narrative shifted accordingly from the expected future role that Turkey could take to advocate on behalf of its long-lost brothers in the land from which they originated, to some newly assumed role that the Uyghurs could be asked to play in the new strategic partnership of Turkey with China. The narrative has thus changed drastically from "the Uyghur people undergoing a systematic massacre" to "the Uyghur people forming a time tested bridge for Turkey and China"! The term "bridge" was originally coined by Turkey to describe the role that Uyghurs could play in its strategic relationship with China. The metaphor of the "bridge", on which the two countries can walk to the other end to embrace each other, visibly demonstrates that the Uyghur issue is a pawn in the chess game, being sacrificed in the national interest of Turkey.
The visits of Ms Rebiya Kadeer to Japan and Australia right after the massacre were quite remarkable. This woman who was nominated thrice for the Nobel Peace Prize is maligned by the Chinese regime as a "perpetrator" of the "riots" on 5 July 2009. These successful visits proved that the Uyghur plight is not totally invisible and that at least some of the world is not totally blind to the cultural genocide which is occurring. In particular, the historic decision of the Melbourne film festival on the public screening of a documentary about the life of exiled Uyghur leader, Ms Kadeer, called "The Ten Conditions of Love", went ahead in defiance of China's all-too-powerful, bullying and vicious pressure tactics in August 2009.
The necessity to display such courage of defiance by the Film Festival organisers, to merely show a documentary at a film festival justified, once more, the legitimacy of the defiance of the elderly Uyghur lady under the shadow of the tanks. The only difference between these acts of defiance was that this time, the same tanks appeared—invisibly—on Australian soil. The documentary film captivated the attention of Australians from all walks of life. It told the story of the Uyghur people through the life of Ms Rabiya Kadeer, who was originally a relatively unknown Uyghur woman, from the beginning of her humble life to her outstanding success in creating a business empire which exceeded all expectations. After being identified as being too powerful an individual who might pose a threat to the stability of East Turkestan, she was imprisoned for six years, finally being released into the US on medical parole.
From being nobody to somebody as depicted in the film, Ms Kadeer made her people known to the whole world through love. In this documentary film, the theme of love is very much to the fore. It was love, which cultivated her sensibilities towards the suffering of her people. It was love, which deepened her spiritual relation to her occupied land. It was love, which taught her how to embrace the whole of humanity in its pain, hope and dignity. It was love, which asked her to be true to herself in darkness. It was love, which was the driving force behind her resolve to restore the long lost pride of one of the planet's oldest cultures to its former glory. It was love, which commanded her to march for justice towards both the visible and invisible tanks constantly spewing at her and the Uyghur people from a cruel regime. This love goes beyond violence and hatred. It is, at its core and in its essence, the love of freedom.
After the July 5 massacre, the Chinese regime was gripped with fear about losing control of the Uyghur land as news of Uyghur issues spread around the free world. In order to try to calm its deep-seated fear, the Chinese regime plotted to implant a collective fear in the minds of the Uyghurs like they had never known before, through processes of intimidation, threat and further suppression. The Uyghurs were plunged into a nightmare of cold fear, and by so doing, the deluded regime seemed to be living some kind of fantasy that it was allaying its own paranoia. The more terrorising the regime felt it was, the more suppressive it became to the Uyghurs, the more the Uyghurs responded with a strong and defiant reaction, because they had nothing to lose, except their fear. Fear was the symbiotic link between the Uyghurs and the regime. Behind the fear of Uyghurs, there was nothing left to lose and that just made the Uyghurs grasp for their Uyghur life more intense, and their will and defiance more resolute at the same time. The Uyghurs found themselves positioned between the sacred desire for life and the threats of death inflicted upon them by the regime. Through the conflict of life and death, the Uyghurs redefined themselves in the most naked form and developed the most practical tenacity to bring about the best hope for their collective survival.
Behind the fear of the Chinese regime, however, there was nothing but sheer cruelty. This fear is destined to doom, not because it is too deep to control, but because it can only exist through further inflicted cruelty, which in turn creates further fear and even phobophobia ad infinitum. As such, the regime was caught in a vicious spiral.
Urumqi, the capital city of East Turkestan, was ethnically segregated after the massacre. The geographical segregation was a visible physical reinforcement of the mutual hatred between the Uyghurs and Han Chinese. This hatred was carefully fed and manipulated by the regime to make it appear that the people were the cause of the problem, instead of exposing the fact that the harsh and unyielding policies of the regime itself were the driving factors of the conflict. Hatred became the only language between the two ethnic groups: the original Uyghur population in their homeland, and the newly migrated Han Chinese population. The hatred became their identity; the only way in which they both ascribed meaning to their existence. Fear justified itself in the form of hatred. Reconciliation became impossible. The same tanks and the same troops with the same guns, in their intimidating presence, patrolled and are still patrolling the streets of Urumqi. The tanks are still there in their positions with the aim of crushing the people's hopes for a better life.
This growing cycle of hatred and fear was intimidating in itself, and the Chinese regime once again decided to step up its efforts to destroy the Uyghur soul, the Uyghur culture, the Uyghur language, the Uyghur homeland. It attacked the Uyghur language under the guise of the so-called "bilingual education", which is in fact monolingual in essence, as it is Mandarin. Along with it, the regime decapitated the body of the Uyghur culture—Kashgar. Kashgar lies at the heart of the ancient Silk Road, being one of the oldest cities on earth, and one which should have been preserved as a precious part of our global heritage. Instead, the old buildings of the city were demolished, bulldozed to the ground, and replaced with the stark utilitarian Chinese communist style high rise buildings. The city was stripped of its ancient invaluable charm and was smashed into being forcedly turned into another Chinese city. It has become a graveyard for the glorious Uyghur culture.
The July 5 massacre is not a thing of the past. It is still present, more present than ever. It is still continuing. It is one of the most traumatic events in the Uyghur history. The Uyghurs are still leading their life under the shadow of the tanks. The tanks may kill them at any time but they can never kill the defiance of each Uyghur against such an inhumane affront. It is defiance against the moral cowardice driving those cold metal tanks. The tanks are the embodiment of the paranoid cowardice which underpins the brutality of this regime.
You cannot shoot an idea or a cultural identity. You can indeed shoot and torture people. You can undoubtedly bully and fill people with fear when you have a monolithic armoury of weapons and war machines. If this kind of tyranny is an acceptable way to lead a so called leading nation in this modern and civilized world, we are a sorry lot indeed.
No one can shoot freedom. It will always be there for all human beings to aspire to. Freedom is held dear in every human heart and soul and in every cell of our humanity. No one can shoot freedom.
Tanks cannot shoot truth.


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Some news - for the next three months my husband and I are going to be traveling to New Zealand and Australia. We're going to continue to work from our laptops while traveling around. I'll continue to post drawings here, as usual, and I'll post a few photos from our trip too!
The past few weeks have been crazy. Not only did I have a lot of work to do on drawings, and on Crea, but we also packed up all our stuff and put it in storage. Next my husband and I drove from Oregon to California to visit our families. Today we fly to New Zealand - a whopping 13-hour flight.
Blog readers, next time you hear from me again I'll be halfway across the world. See you then!


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i just love the parties this girl's mom (she is from where i grew up/now resides in cincinnati) throws for her cute daughters... happy 4th, reese!! you may remember her 'oh the places you'll go' balloon and popsicle parties in the past. i also blogged about her sister's first birthday last april, a lovely garden themed party. this year's theme made for a SUPER fun time as you can see in the photos below. i love each and every touch and wanted to share. would you be interested in more mood boards and party ideas from me? both for kids and for adult gatherings? it is a passion of mine. maybe i could share more ideas more often with you? i am actually throwing a baby sprinkle brunch for a dear friend at our home tomorrow... excited to share. so fun. but you know you are a #decorhoarder when you already had about 90% of the decor. check out instagram tomorrow for sneak peeks!
that pow cake!!
framing art or a print above an area (like your dining) room is a great idea
(and those juice jars are super cheap at ikea!)
i am a strong believer in monochormatic colors with pops of color, fun straws, and gold glitter added to any party. the confetti on the table was such a great touch as well.
little girls running around in superhero capes... how adorable
r is for reese
that beautiful smile!! such a happy birthday girl
they also played 'pin the cape on the superhero!'
so cute, right?
thank you so, so much for letting me share, jenna
i always look forward to your incredible parties
ps: what pandora station would you rock for a brunch baby sprinkle?


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Board + Executive Coaching
Our coaching takes into account the need for a roles and responsibilities framework so board members and executive directors have guidelines about their spheres of influence. We also focus on building trust between board and executive director so they have the freedom to contribute their best selves to the partnership.1
Sometimes, organizations ask us to coach the executive director, who may be in their first senior leadership role and/or in need of assistance with specific competency areas, like making presentations or writing clear reports. If it becomes clear that the executive director is not a good fit for the organization, we help them move on with dignity and grace.
We use the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) framework in our coaching because, in our experience, people learn more when we ask them questions that require introspection. We find they are also more responsive when we encourage them to embrace their own leadership styles rather than pointing out what is wrong with them.
Our services include:
- Conducting board self-assessments and implementing the findings with your organization's board.
- Reviewing and suggesting changes to by-laws and other governance documents to streamline board processes and procedures.
- Coaching executive directors new in their roles and/or grappling with difficult management challenges.
- Evaluating your executive director's competency and fit with your organization.


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Next important step is formulation of criteria for PhD award and QA standards for doctoral education. With the aim a seminar on "Criteria for PhD Award and QA in Doctoral Education" will be held in Armenia with participation of EU peers. Following the seminar each university will set up a working group (WG) with involvement of 1 EU peer and 4 staff members to develop award criteria and QA standards for PhD comparable with EU approaches and linked to Salzburg Principles.
The focal point within the WP will be the definition of award criteria and quality standards and procedures in doctoral education. Based on defined university Road-maps and Salzburg principles, WUS Austria together with ANQA, RA SCC, EQ will prepare a comprehensive proposal of quality standards and procedures in doctoral education (e.g. quality and competencies of mentors, internationalization, mobility, research, interdisciplinary, study program content etc). Likewise, KTH, BSU, UHMF, UdG and PC HEIs will prepare award criteria for PhD comparable with EU accepted criteria. The two documents will be distributed to 11 HEIs for discussion, assessment and feedback.
A series of training events will be implemented to ensure high quality development of standards: (1) Seminar at YSU "QA in PhD"), and better preparedness for external evaluations of PhD programs (40 staff members); (2) Introductory training for RA SCC's external assessors on evaluation content at ANQA (10 staff members). The trained staff of HEIs, RA SCC, and ANQA on completion of the trainings will conduct in-house trainings for internal assessors at each institution (about 40 at each HEI) and external assessors (about 20 at national level) for broader capacity building and dissemination purposes. The in-house trainings will last 1,5 days at each HEI, RA SCC and ANQA. Pre- and post-training evaluations will be conducted to ensure effectiveness of the trainings.
The lead partner for WP 3 is BSU.


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This gorgeous and super rare numbers matching 1981 Toyota Land Cruiser MWB FJ43 is one of very few if not the only one currently in the United States. It has undergone a recent restoration and is in excellent condition. It starts up every time without any hesitation and runs and drives perfectly.
There is a complete new interior in the Land Cruiser that includes new carpets, reupholstered seats, and new door panels. Everything was done correctly and looks as if it had just rolled off of the assembly line in 1981. All of the lights, buttons, and switches work properly, and new weather stripping and OEM shift knobs were added, not a single detail was overlooked.
The exterior also looks impeccable with a recent complete body and chassis paint job, new turn signals and stop lights, and a new soft top canvas, frame, and bows. This Land Cruiser also has the highly desirable Toyota 16″ split wheels that are very scarce in the U.S. market that are wrapped in new Mud Terrain tires.
It is equipped with the powerful 2F engine that puts out 135 HP and 200 ft-lbs of torque and linked to a strong 4-speed H41 transmission. The truck has received new correct brake drums, new brake shoes, new shock absorbers, new universal joints, new OEM Denso spark plugs and wires, new air, gas, and oil filters, a complete tune up, a fresh gearbox, transfer case, transmission and engine oil. This truck is ready to attack any terrain that is thrown its way.
Key Facts:
- Recent restoration
- New interior
- Complete tuneup
- Fresh paint job
- Runs and drives perfectly
- Extremely rare MWB FJ43
- Oil pressure gauge is intermittent
All advertised prices exclude government fees and taxes, any finance charges, and any emission testing charges. The price for listed vehicles as equipped does not include charges such as: License, Title, Registration Fees, State and Local Taxes, Smog Fees, and Physical Damage of Liability Insurance. Dealer makes no representations, expressed or implied, to any actual or prospective purchaser or owner of this vehicle to the existence, ownership, accuracy, description or condition of the listed vehicles equipment, accessories, price, specials or any warranties. Any and all differences must be addressed prior to the sale of this vehicle. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
There is a $250 dealer fee that is not included in the original price.
The Details


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Soundgarden's grunge classic 'Superunknown' turned 20 in March. To celebrate, it's getting re-released in two deluxe formats on June 2, complete with demos, rehearsal recordings and B-sides that lift the lid on the album's making. Hot on the heels of their original, rough-'n'-ready recording of single 'Black Hole Sun', which was posted online last week, NME can share with you now the unreleased demo of the record's epic title track to enjoy. Check it out below in all its fuzzy, Seattle sleaze-slathered glory.
Soundgarden play Barclaycard British Summer Time in London's Hyde Park on July 4, alongside Black Sabbath, Wolfmother, Faith No More, Motörhead, Soulfly, Gallows and Rise To Remain. 'Superunknown 20' is released on June 2.


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Jennifer read very positive reviews about SSM Health at Home (formerly SSM Home Care and Hospice) when she and her husband first arrived in Mt. Vernon, IL in 2009. The following year, she started working with children and adults at SSM Hospice. Then in 2011, she joined the Home Care side as a field nurse and was promoted to supervisor two years later.
In her current position, Jennifer is responsible for scheduling and evaluating nurses and therapists, making sure they have the tools they need to take good care of patients. She enjoys being in a leadership role for SSM Health, because of the value placed on living out the Mission and Values. When asked what she likes best about her job, Jennifer replies, "I love putting it all together and seeing the patient get better and eventually discharged."
Our Mission
Career Development
Our Benefits
Our Culture


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On Sunday, June 4, tens of thousands of people around the world gathered in their local communities to commemorate the 30th annual National Cancer Survivors Day®. Hundreds of cities came together to celebrate life and to raise awareness of the ongoing challenges of cancer survivorship.
The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation would like to thank the NCSD event coordinators who planned and hosted National Cancer Survivors Day® events in their towns and cities. NCSD could not happen without the hard work and dedication of local NCSD event coordinators who work tirelessly to bring the Celebration of Life to the cancer survivors in their communities.
The Foundation also offers its sincere gratitude to the national supporters who helped make NCSD possible through generous financial contributions. National Cancer Survivors Day® 2017 was supported nationally by Coping with Cancer magazine, Elekta, Genentech, Janssen, Seattle Genetics, and Teva Oncology.
Finally, the Foundation would like to thank the cancer survivors who celebrated this 30th annual National Cancer Survivors Day®, whether at a local NCSD event or individually. These cancer survivors are the reason we celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day® each year.
National Cancer Survivors Day® exists to acknowledge cancer survivors, to raise awareness of the ongoing challenges cancer survivors face because of their disease, and – most importantly – to celebrate life. It is also a call to action to increase cancer survivors' quality of life by addressing the unique physical, emotional, financial, and social burdens these survivors face.
Once again, the Foundation would like to offer a sincere thank-you to everyone who supported and participated in National Cancer Survivors Day® 2017. Together, we have made a mark in letting the world know that life after cancer is about more than just surviving; it's about living well.
The 31st annual National Cancer Survivors Day® will be held on Sunday, June 3, 2018. For more information on hosting an NCSD event in your community, check the Foundation's website, NCSD.org, or sign up for the NCSD newsletter for up-to-date news and information on National Cancer Survivors Day® 2018.
To learn more about becoming a National Supporter of National Cancer Survivors Day® 2018, go to ncsd.org/supporters. As a supporter of National Cancer Survivors Day®, you will be showing your support of cancer survivors around the world as they celebrate their gift of life.


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Garden design for small garden
Front Garden Design Ideas I Front Garden Design Ideas For Small …
Front Garden Design Ideas I Front Garden Design Ideas For Small Gardens
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The Big Lie (That Is True)
"Finally, the MSM repeats the Big Lie—a statement for which no evidence exists but which is repeated endlessly—that Ron Paul cannot beat Obama. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as many voters make their decision based on the Big Lie. In fact, the polls show that Ron Paul can beat Obama and that Romney cannot—if he faces a strong third party challenge which is likely."
So first of all, it is rather curious to call a "lie""a statement for which no evidence exists." Usually, the term applies to statements which are known to be false. And, in this case, these people are making a prediction. Does it make any sense at all to call a prediction a lie? If I say, "There is no way Denver can beat New England this Sunday," isn't it nonsense to claim I am lying?
Especially when I am one of the referees, and I can make the play calls go my way. As Ostrokowski recognizes the MSM can do: "That becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as many voters make their decision based on the Big Lie."
Well, yes, one of the reasons that I would predict a McGovern-type scenario (49 states for Obama to 1 for Paul, or so), should Paul get the GOP nomination, is that the MSM will have a field day with all of his more fringe positions. Look, you may think Social Security is an evil Ponzi scheme involving theft, but the vast majority of Americans don't: in fact, they want it preserved to the extent that even talk of cutting benefits a bit has been seen as electoral death. But Paul would like to scrap the entire thing! One may think Paul is 100% correct in all of his positions, but it is just fantasy not to recognize that many of them are deeply unpopular. The MSM will go nuts focusing on his radical positions should he (per impossible) get the nomination. Is a political commentator not supposed to take into account the media treatment a candidates ideas will in evaluating that candidate's viability? These facts are very good evidence on which a pundit might make the prediction, "Ron Paul can't win."
And in terms of self-fulfilling prophecies, check out this one: "In fact, the polls show that Ron Paul can beat Obama and that Romney cannot—if [Romney] faces a strong third party challenge which is likely."
Hmm, and just from whom would that strong third-party challenge come? So, Romney can't win because if he gets the nomination, Paul will run on a third-party ticket and wreck his chances! And that third-party run is necessary for Ostrokowski's own "Big Lie," since in a simple head-to-head matchup Obama does far better against Paul than he does against Romney. (One poll has Obama winning by 13%. And if it were a head-to-head matchup, and the MSM had a few months to focus exclusively on Paul's views, I think that's about right.)
UPDATE: Fixed problem where I had accidentally inserted "Obama" when I meant "Romney."


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Posting temporarily disabled due to a rather aggressive spambot...
Who has a police record?
Tony Shafrazi, who now represents some of the world's most famous artists, once went to jail for spray-painting a Picasso painting in the MOMA. Does anyone else in the art world, artist or dealer have a police record?
|Maybe a better question: is there anyone in the art world who *should* have a police record?
|Dec. 4, 2012, 1:50 p.m.
|Although I love what Ai Wei Wei is doing, his destruction of Han Dynasty vases is borderline criminal
|Dec. 4, 2012, 2:46 p.m.
|Didn't Mike Weiss used to be a coke dealer?
|Dec. 4, 2012, 3:16 p.m.
I heard that rumor also... unsubstantiated, but believable if you've ever met him...
|Dec. 4, 2012, 7:40 p.m.
Also - how about those two guys who came up with "Yellowism" and defaced Rothko painting in the Tate?
|Dec. 4, 2012, 7:46 p.m.
|Eli Klein looks and acts like someone who has a police record but doesn't, yet.
|Dec. 4, 2012, 9:18 p.m.
|Larry Gagosian gets sued so frequently that he'd probably end up in jail if he didn't have enough money to buy a small south american country.
|Dec. 6, 2012, 7:53 p.m.
Mark Grotjahn, causing drunken chaos:
|Dec. 11, 2012, 10:18 a.m.
|There's Odd Nerdrum, and the Norwegian tax evasion thing... although that sounds like Norwegian government being unnecessarily vindictive.
|Dec. 22, 2012, 5:08 p.m.


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Nationwide Services: Rare combination of an ADVERTISING and MARKETING expert who has substantial experience as BOTH a SENIOR EXECUTIVE and ACCOMPLISHED ACADEMICIAN. Dr. Larry Chiagouris has provided expert testimony and opinions on several issues, including damages, marketing, advertising, intellectual property issues (including the use of survey research) for plaintiffs and defendants. Opinions have been provided at federal/state court levels and arbitration venues for prominent firms to include Akin, Gump, Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Davis Wright Tremaine; Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP; Gibbons; Jones Day; Nixon Peabody; and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. Selected as one of 10 best and brightest researchers and called a branding guru and consumer behavior expert by the media. He is Past Chairman, Advertising Research Foundation and served as a member of the board of directors of the American Marketing Association. Litigation experience summary: • Expe...
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You can also find Advertising Expert Witnesses in:Florida, Texas, California, Maryland, and Massachusetts


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Its been nearly a month since LARPBook was first installed onto its server. Its hit development milestones in that it has readers and contributors, The design is evolving in a positive manner and I seem to be hitting some kind of editorial swing.
But before I go on a big thank you to everyone who has taken a look at the site – especially as it is currently a work in progress. The response has been fantastic and I've received some very useful comments that will help in the development of LARPBook.
And now here is the plan to develop LARPBook further. It comes in 3 parts.
- Seek out additional contributors so that an interesting and wide range of articles can be created
- Continue adding frequent LARP updates . To increase the amount of news but to also push on with articles about LARP, what it is like to play and create games and to get behind all aspects of the hobby
- To complete the look and feel of the site and then to look at future features.
I'll leave the need for more and varied content as a given and talk about plans for the sites design.
I am liking the interactive feel of the current GPL theme but also think that it needs some modification. Here are the planned visual changes.
- Leave the content background white but to make the main site background darker. To give the site a more intense look that is befitting of LARP.
- On the home and main category pages we are generating an awful lot of boxes containing post summaries. I plan to make these a little wider – just to make things easier to see and select
- Increase some of the font sizes – just to boost legibility of the text.
- Keep the use of orange but to use higher contrast colours for menus, sub heading and titles
- Use additional logins – such as Facebook and Google for commenting to make site users lives easier.
As plans goes it is simple. It boils down to – make LARPBook easier to use, develop an identity and get more good content.


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What Is Exhibition of Speed?
The definition of "Exhibition of Speed" originated in 1964. The court defined it as the Excessive Acceleration of an Automobile on a highway, in highly developed and populated area in such manner as to cause tires to scream loudly and to lose traction on highway.
For more information on Speeding Tickets, Click Here


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Saturday, April 25, 2009
Veronese, The Wedding Feast at Cana, 1563
Going to the Louvre is still my favorite thing to do on a Friday night in Paris. Even though I do it regularly, I am never anything short of blown away by the extravagance and excess of this museum. It's so insanely rich and so far removed from anything that resembles the reality of my life, that everytime I go there, I feel as though I have stepped inside a fantasy and my mind starts to believe I am part of this world. The surface measurements of many of the paintings - by Delacroix, Gericault and co. are sometimes twice the size of my apartment. The way I approach it - every time - is I go with the intent of seeing only one, at most, two rooms. It's a time consuming place to be in - there's always lots of climbing up and down stairs, getting lost in the rabbit warren of Catherine de Medici's house, and then there's the absolute must of people watching. With limited time on our hands, and a friend from out of town by my side, the chosen room the other night was the Mona Lisa's.
The Mona Lisa herself is now hardly visible. She sits behind layers of bullet proof perspex, which is then mounted on a wooden screen that dwarfs her and does not complement her complexion. In turn, this screen sits behind a semi-circular wooden barrier which itself is behind a rope that, unless you are in a wheelchair, the very alert guards will ensure you do not cross. Why bother even trying?
But, it's still worth following the signs through the Denon wing to her room, because she looks out at the most extraordinary Veronese painting. Despite the fact that at 70 m sq. The Wedding Feast at Cana is about twice the size of the average two bedroom apartment in Paris, all eyes are focussed on the Mona Lisa. Apparently the Benedictine Monks of the San Giorgio Maggiore monastery in Venice commissioned this immense painting in 1562 to decorate their new dining hall. And it had to fill the entire wall. Somehow, I can't see the Monks going in for lunch everyday and being inspired to get closer to God by looking by this painting. It's so full of life, laughter and excitement. And the colors, even in reproduction, are luminescent and shine much brighter than the star the Mona Lisa has become.
Still today, when I see this painting, I am filled with joy and amusement as I notice all the details in the painting that I didn't see the last time I was there. I love the dog poking his head through the balcony in the upper left hand corner. His master above him looks as though he is straining to get into the painting, not wanting to be left out of the action. And I love the guys in the upper right hand corner at the back who look as though they are about to fly from the gallery. Everyone is looking in different directions, and not one person seems to be having a bad time. It really makes me start thinking what it would be like to have Jesus over for dinner - at least we could be guaranteed never to run out of fish, bread and wine - no wonder the French put the painting on center stage of their national museum! What could be more important than an abundance of poisson, pain et vin? And not to mention, if Jesus did turn up to secular functions such as weddings as he does in Veronese's daring imagination, no one would call the police to close down the party.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Melancholic Muse: Dürer and Kiefer at Thaddaeus Ropac
Anselm Kiefer's most recent Melancholia (2006) is included in Thaddaeus Ropac's latest group show, "Fuentes". The exhibition focuses on the influences of prominent contemporary artists, and side by side with Kiefer's impressive canvas, sits Albrecht Dürer's gloriously detailed engraving Melencolia I, 1514. The juxtaposition is not Thaddeas Ropac's idea as the work has often been cited as a direct influence. And nor is this the first time that Kiefer has taken up the iconography and influence of Dürer's most oft quoted engraving. He painted a Melancholia in 1988, again in 1989, and 1991.
At first glance, Kiefer's huge canvas covered in thick crustations of paint, dirt, ash representing a catastrophic, turbulent sea, with a dirty glass and metal polyhedron falling out of a leaden sky couldn't be more at odds with Dürer's delicate composition done with a burin. Dürer's precise and nuanced engraving, creates a heavenly grey, light and shadow, that gives the folds in Melancholia's dress and the shimmering ocean a hyper-real appearance. Dürer's image is vulnerable — so vulnerable the gallery have placed it behind a velvet curtain. It is so precisely rendered, graceful and filled with a quiet sadness. Kiefer's canvas on the other hand is robust and powerful, and in typical Kiefer style, it has a grandeur and a visibility that draws attention to it immediately we walk into the gallery. And so, the debt to Dürer is surprising, because Kiefer's use of materials such as lead and dirt in compositions that emphasize the sculptural, tactile three dimensionality of painting pushing their way off canvases are so consciously designed to create distance from classical techniques such as those of Dürer's engravings.
Beyond technique and material, as we look closely, we see the imitation of the folds of Melancholia's dress in the coagulations of paint, shellac and dirt that form the waves of Kiefer's restless sea. And the imitation extends beyond the compositional: the material build up on the surface of Kiefer's Melancholia is cracked, appearing brittle to the touch, in what Donald Kuspit has likened to the fragility of German history. There are of course the symbolic connections — Kiefer's appropriation of Dürer's iconography, his title, his immersion in the bind of artistic (and Germany's) creativity born of dark melancholia and depression, the brilliance and genius of the artist, the repeated use of the polyhedron as the symbol of mathematical logic, and rationality in a spiritually ethereal world. All of these influences are, however, almost more obvious, less interesting, than Kiefer's debt to the physical, tactile beauty of Dürer's masterpiece – the fabric, created as it is through an infinitesimal, ethereal lines – a process that is apparently diametrically opposed to the solid and wretched protrusions of Kiefer's cataclysmic vision.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Joseph Wright of Derby "Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump" exhibited 1768
As a student of silent cinema, I remember reading that this painting was somehow cinematic. At the time, I was captivated by the light, by the huge looming shadow cast by the scientist, or is it the glass bell that is in the process of suffocating the bird? Seeing this extraordinary painting again at the National Gallery in London last week, I have no doubts as to why it might be more at home in the cinema than in the hallowed halls of the art museum. Everything about it speaks its kinship with the art form that would not be invented for another 130 years. I was struck last week by how dark it is. It's not only in the reproduction that that the events have a clandestine feel thanks to the chiaroscuro lighting. The light source looks as though it is behind the beaker of fluid containing an already dead animal on the table. And maybe it is the brightness of the light that will kill the bird? The illumination of the audience gathered around the table, in its contrast with darkness, gives the event the appearance of the most underground of secret activities in a film noir hideout. There is something illicit about the scientific act as it is performed for an audience engaged to varying degrees, exhibiting a range of emotions from horror through disinterest to wonder. Although brought together around the magical act of the suffocation of a bird, the lighting gives each an individuality, the same individuality that the darkness takes away from us in the cinema. The couple on the left, more interested in each other (as lovers often are in the cinema), the young girls, one fascinated the other terrified, the man on the right quietly contemplative, in his own world, and the two on the left, gracious, dutifully watching and waiting. My favorite figure is that of the young boy at the window. Is he opening or closing the curtain? Is his face lit by the remnants of light from the table, or the luminescence of the moon? He is the "man behind the scenes," the real master of appearance and illusion. And as if another character in the drama we watch, the moon mysteriously shines in from behind clouds. As such it predicts the death of the poor bird in the name of science and entertainment.
As well as the extraordinary lighting that brings alive the figures as audience to the experiment, the figures are also actors in the painting, the painting which is the drama that we watch. We follow the movement of the glances around the room: just like the cinema, there is no single consistent focal point. Even if there is an illusion of stasis in the form of a two-dimensional painting, the reality is one of motion as emotions are ignited. And we read and understand these emotions through the dynamism of each individual gaze, each individual response to the horror and wonder of what is being revealed to them.
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Charity Details
We are a registered charity
Hope4 (Rugby) Ltd. is a Registered Charity (no. 1126487). It is also a Private Company, limited by guarantee, (Companies House no. 06614898).
We seek to relieve the plight of homeless and badly-housed people in Rugby and those experiencing food poverty. We deliver a number of services to achieve this aim: The Hope Centre, the Rugby Food Bank and the Rugby Winter Shelter.
The Directors / Trustees at the AGM 2018 are;
- Diana Mansell (Chairperson),
- Andrew Armbrister (Treasurer - this appointment was made in June 2018),
- Raj Bahia (Company Secretary),
- 6 other directors
At their meetings the directors review, inform and take decisions concerning the charity's present and future activities, funding and policies.


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Does your vote matter? Not in the slightest if you don't use it to challenge capitalism. Why do the poor vote and act against their own economic and political interests? Instead of just voting for a lesser evil, many people in this coming election in May will have the prospect of voting for someone who is contesting the constituency as a socialist. These are:-
Bill Martin - Islington North; Danny Lambert - Vauxhall (London); Brian Johnson - Swansea West (Wales); Steve Colborn - Easington (North East England); Kevin Parkin - Oxford East; Mike Foster - Oxford West and Abingdon; Robert Cox – Canterbury; Andy Thomas - Folkestone and Hythe (Kent); Howard Pilott - Brighton Pavilion; Jacqueline Shodeke - Brighton Kemptown.
We have never had a genuine electoral socialist movement which came anywhere near the reins of the state, and in which the rules of electioneering have been set by two major capitalist parties for its entire existence, the "threat" that electoralism poses is a false one. There's simply no way, under the current system for socialists to constitute a serious threat to the capitalist political parties on a wide scale. Unlike some on the left and the anarchists, the Socialist Party does not accept that participating in elections is wrong. We do not divorce electoral politics from other strategies for basic change. There's no contradiction at all between voting and civil protest, they are both democratic. It would be a mistake to assume that they are substitutes for one another. People want a voice in all the areas that affect their lives.
Reformism is the idea that the system can be successfully modified and improved through legal means and especially through participation in its official channels like lobbying and elections. Reformists argue that this is the realistic and peaceful approach to change. Yet the most effective reforms under capitalism have actually been the product of struggle from outside the system, not from the initiatives of friendly politicians within parliament. Any third party that doesn't make clear that the interests of workers are diametrically opposed to the capitalist system, is simply part of the problem. The Green Party is reformist. It preaches the gospel that capitalism can be reformed — against consistent evidence to the contrary. Despite their many anti-corporate speeches their policy positions stance pits it against effectively promoting systemic change.
A better and peaceful world is possible — a world where it is about people and nature and not profits. That's socialism. That's our vision. We advocate socialism, the common ownership and democratic control of the economy by working people. If we join together to take back our industries and natural resources, we can work together for the common good, rather than being slaves to the rich and their capitalist corporations.
The idea of working people taking democratic control of all aspects affecting their lives is new to many but it lies at the very heart of socialist thought and practice. The world socialist movement is planting the seed in people's minds. We hold a vision of a stateless, classless, communal future, but it is important to understand how this can be achieved. Only through socialism can we transform exploitative and divisive capitalist production and the society it produces into a harmonious, peaceful, collective society where everyone produces according to their ability and everyone receives what they need.
The way to build support for socialism at the polls is to present clear principled, anti-capitalist positions. Socialism is the only way to deliver shared abundance and solve the social problems that the rich ignore. The creation of a powerful socialist movement is the first step to creating a real party of the 99 percent that not only criticises capitalism, but contends to replace it. We need a movement explaining and de-stigmatising socialism. Your support for socialist candidates sends a positive message of solidarity that you reject the charade of capitalism. This year you can make your ballot count.


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2018 VBS is for kids entering 4-year-old Pre-K through those entering 2nd Grade.
Go to VBS Kid Sign-up
Go to VBS Volunteer
2018 Summer Day Camp is for kids entering 3rd grade through those entering 5th grade.
Sign-up packets for Summer Day Camp will be available for pick-up starting Sunday, May 6.
Go to Day Camp Volunteer


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The massacre at Nissour Square (Sept. 2007) was done by Blackwater mercenaries who thought that they heard gunshot and said that they were returning fire. When I was approached by one of their employees and told that my painting about private contractor's shootings was not accurate, I said, "Look. I read about this in the New York Times." He relented and admitted that he had told his men to throw cinderblocks in front of cars which 'came too close' to their vehicles, but that his staff/troops would not listen to him. The process of fearing the Iraqis and then shooting at them led to the massacre.
I am concerned that we are sending the world young men who think that they are on a noble mission, who are patriotic and want to serve and sacrifice to show their loyalty, who then commit atrocities and become murderers. If they admit their fear, their overreaction and rage, their murderous shootings, they are broken by guilt and self-loathing and anger at those who sent them into these wars. If they deny their involvement and their guilt and any accountability, they are disfigured into sociopaths and defiant murderers. Thus the "moral injury": To be forced into killing, then to be unable to set that right with a youth full of good deeds and life saving ethos. What is wrong with us, the parents, who allow them to be sent into this crushing maelstrom from which they will never escape and which will haunt them forever?
Are we going to live the life of the Cross as depicted by the one hanging from the mirror in the car, or are we going to live lives which harm others? How can we ask generation after generation of naive and inexperienced, idealistic and noble and courageous youth to make that choice? It is cruel. They have no prior knowledge to draw upon when they are asked to choose whether or not to invest their souls and future souls' well being.
Disclaimer: the painting is from another private contractors' shooting of civilians a little later in 2007. It was the only photo I could paint which was in a newspaper.)
If you are in the Service and you wish to talk to someone about 'moral injury' of wars or about becoming a conscientious objector, please call The Center On Conscience and War at 1-800-379-2679 and speak to a counselor. CCW's TED talk about conscientious objection to war is Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7GSzqjUq50