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The 2017 Hyundai Elantra and the 2016 Mazda 3 are two of the most impressive small sedans on the road today. Both are big on passenger safety, interior comfort, and fuel economy. We've created this side-by-side comparison for anyone who might be wondering which model best suits his or her personal lifestyle. Check it out before you make a final decision.
2017 Hyundai Elantra vs Mazda 3
Interior Comfort and Support
We love the newly designed 2017 Hyundai Elantra cabin. Quality materials and luxury items, like the elegant leather upholstery and eight-speaker Infinity sound system, create an upscale vibe. The sunroof gives the cabin an airy, open feel.
The Mazda 3 cabin is a close second, offering intuitive control layout and supportive seating accommodations. All passengers will enjoy plenty of head- and legroom. If you choose the hatchback version, you can fold the rear seats down to create 47.1 cubic feet of cargo space.
When it comes to passenger protection, the 2017 Hyundai Elantra really shines. The Blue Link telematics system helps you solve unexpected problems, with features like automatic crash notification and remote locking and unlocking. The rearview camera makes backing up a snap.
The Mazda 3 also has a lot to offer in this department. The blind-spot monitoring system alerts you to vehicles you might not be able to see. The forward collision mitigation system can automatically apply the brakes to help you avoid a crash.
Performance and Fuel Economy
Here the Mazda 3 has a slight edge. Sedan models earn up to 30 city/41 highway mpg. With that kind of fuel economy, you're certain to save a bundle on gas. Still, the Mazda 3 is never short on power, providing a smooth, comfortable ride.
The Elantra was difficult to beat. That's because it also provides impressive EPA ratings, earning up to 32/40 mpg. As with the Mazda 3, the Elantra is set to save you big bucks in the long run.
Infotainment and Convenience Features
The Elantra's central touchscreen is your hub for smartphone integration features, including apps like maps, messages, and phone. You can use voice controls to alter settings without looking away from traffic. Adaptive xenon headlights provide the perfect amount of illumination.
Modern drivers will also appreciate the Mazda 3. The automatic windshield wipers kick in whenever necessary. The auto-dimming rearview mirror reduces glare without any action on your part.
Learn More about the Hyundai Elantra
Both sedans offer major appeal to modern drivers, but the newly redesigned 2017 Hyundai Elantra is our favorite. Inside, the upscale cabin provides plush comfort and a long list of luxury features. High-tech infotainment and smartphone features keep you connected from anywhere. Safety features provide the world-class passenger protection your family deserves. On the road, the Elantra is quick, comfortable, and fuel-efficient. Take the Elantra out on a test drive today!


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The Sims: Taking Over the World
The Sims: Taking Over the World
On Friday night, September 12, New York City's gaming community gathered at the Nintendo World Store for a celebration. Nintendo Power magazine turned two decades old, and a charity event/gaming party was held in its honor. We took the opportunity to talk with representatives of gaming companies new and old for the inside scoop on upcoming games. First up was EA Sims Label Marketing Director Aaron Cohen, with news on what's to come from the Sims line. He told us about My Sims Kingdom and Sim Animals for the Wii, and even revealed new information about the next PC giant, The Sims 3.Newsarama: Now, the main game you're promoting here tonight is My Sims Kingdom for the Wii. This is a sequel, so what kinds of things will fans see in this that they didn't in the first one? Aaron Cohen: Well, we took everything that was great about the first one, all the creativity, all the humor of it, and we've added an epic story to it where King Roland gives you an assignment, and you're going to be saving the kingdom here. He has you exploring 14 different lands, and each has very different themes. There's a cowboy land, a dinosaur land, a rocket reef, so it's very much a fantasy adventure, but with a lot of the creativity that My Sims can bring in. NRAMA: Is there less focus on the actual creation aspect then? COHEN: No there's not. The creation aspect is actually how you're going to solve the adventures. You'll actually solve problems through creativity. NRAMA: Is this exclusive to the Wii then? COHEN: Wii and DS. The first My Sims is actually coming to PC in October. NRAMA: Does it look like this one will come to PC as well? COHEN: Well, we're talking about that right now. As of now, it could happen, it might not happen. NRAMA: What about My Sims made you feel you needed a sequel so soon? COHEN: Well, it took off really fast, became a really big hit, and we had very clear feedback from the fans that they liked the open gameplay but they were also really hungry for a story, "Why am I working in this world." So, out comes the sequel. It has about twice the features of the first one, and all the features made so much sense, came together so fast, that we were like, "Alright, this is gonna work!" We're really happy with it, it really builds on the promise of the first one and has become this big, fantastic game now. NRAMA: Are general gameplay mechanics the same, so someone who's familiar with the first can pick this one up pretty easily? COHEN: They are, but there are also new mechanics. For instance, there's jumping, so there's a little bit of a platform game in there. There's also contraptions, machines that do different tasks: opening gates, making pizza dough for the chef, a rocket ship that goes off. You put together the gears and wires and piping to build machines with specific functions. NRAMA: Are there very specific solutions to those contraption puzzles, or can players get a working solution out of their own creativity? COHEN: You'd be really surprised; the designers have in mind one solution. Then when we play-tested it, players came up with all these crazy solutions. I saw a kid make a giant machine with a hundred different cogs to open one door, and when it all worked he was excited. So each problem can be solved in multiple different ways. NRAMA: Switching gears a little bit, back to the PC. Sims 2 is winding down. We just had the last expansion pack for the game ship with Apartment Life. Now the last Sims 2 Stuff pack was just announced, Mansion and Garden Stuff; can you tell us about that a little bit? COHEN: Mansion and Garden Stuff is great. It's very high-end stuff. If you watch the shows that are about mansions, like the old Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, you can make your home a mansion like that. From columns to expensive furniture to high-end kitchen appliances, you can really make your own little "Trump Tower" and deck it out with the best items possible. NRAMA: Of course, only three months later The Sims 3 comes out… COHEN: Sims 3, the big one! NRAMA: There was a pretty gigantic leap from Sims 1 to Sims 2 COHEN: Yeah (laughs) NRAMA: Are we going to see that same level of leap from Sims 2 to Sims 3? COHEN: I think so! You can actually go outside now. Before, outside was sort of fake; it was there but not there. This time there's a whole open world to explore. It's a giant sandbox to play in, filled with more than 30 different personality types making up all these different characters in the world. It changes your Sim's life in a really interesting way, this big massive open world. It's a big, big idea, and no one's going to quite get it till they play it. It's huge. NRAMA: Now one of the complaints that fans had from Sims 1 to Sims 2 was that a lot of the functionality that expansion packs added in Sims 1 were lost when you started over with Sims 2. Is that going to happen again with Sims 3? COHEN: No, there's obviously less stuff, less items, but the feature set is about matched. NRAMA: You'll have pets right away for example? COHEN: No, not pets, sorry about that. But your Sims themselves will be more lifelike, because the different personality types will be much more broad, and much more interesting. The behavioral styles, it's an extremely large change, the kinds of unexpected situations that these "people" are going to be in. NRAMA: How about the home types. Will you be able to go from Apartment to Mansion right away in the Sims 3? COHEN: Yeah, the home types will all be there. So you can go from small apartment to large mansion, and there will be different lots you'll have to earn. If you're playing the strategy game, working your way up, getting rich, getting a job, falling in love, all of that is there, at a bigger level. NRAMA: And of course, there will be expansion packs for The Sims 3. COHEN: Oh Yeah!! NRAMA: Do you have any scheduling idea, how fast those are going to roll out once the game is released? COHEN: Uh, we don't have a date for the first one yet, but the first one is on the drawing board and is getting ready. People expect that and we'll definitely give it to them. NRAMA: Last but not least, the newest Sim property, Sim Animals. What's this all about, what hole in the gaming world is this game filling? COHEN: It's a new genre. You'll have your own forest to control, this whole ecosphere that you're in charge of. You'll make friends, you'll make enemies, and as you go along, you'll see more and more of the forest, and meet more animals to play with, each with their own personality. The animals learn from you, how you play tells them if they should be scared of you, if they should like you, if you're going to be nice or mean. NRAMA: So these are actual animals, not user-created new species, right? COHEN: Yeah, these are actual animals; racoons, squirrels, bears, rabbits, any animals you'd find in a forest. It's not a hardcore simulation, it's a simulation, but geared much more towards fun.
Twitter activity Tweets by @Newsarama

subset: commoncrawl


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Here's a first peek at the label submitted to the TTB for Breaker Brewing Co 16-Ton IPA. The guys tell me 16-Ton will be available mainly in 22oz bottles with perhaps a few kegs. The beer comes in at 116 IBU with a strong malt backbone thanks to generous portions of Warrior, Nugget, Chinook and Columbus hops. Adding to that hop bouquet, the guys dry hopped with Cascade & Nugget and aged the beer with lightly toasted oak chips to get the final brew. 16-Ton will be bottle conditioned, unfiltered, un-pasteurized AND 10.6% ABV. Look for Breaker Brewing 16-Ton IPA to be available in a few weeks and stay tuned here and breakerbrewingcompany.com for the latest details.
As the bottle says, "After dealing with your day's Sixteen Tons, kick back and relax with this Double IPA and let your worries blissfully fade away."


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KARACHI: The rupee strengthened against the dollar at 105.5/105.7 in the inter-bank market on Wednesday compared to Tuesday's close of 105.6/105.8.
The currency market has fluctuated regularly in recent months with hefty rises and falls on some occasions. In the long run, however, the rupee has stood firm after experiencing extensive volatility, when it weakened from around Rs98 to a dollar to above Rs103 in the wake of political impasse over alleged election rigging.
The central bank has imposed 100% cash margin on the import of certain consumer goods to restrict the demand for US dollars. The rupee has been one of the best performing currencies in Asia for over three years despite the dollar's sharp appreciation against other currencies.
However, the International Monetary Fund has repeatedly said that Pakistan's rupee is overvalued by 5-20%. According to analysts, the artificial support for the rupee has adversely affected Pakistan's exports.


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@Pontifex, Previous #GoodFriday, meat #animal's were killed, as always. Watching People refuse meat on GF is loathsome. Tens of thousand of pounds of animal meat go to the trash to rot as it wasn't eaten, so People may feel reverent and pure. Stop this atrocity please.
I sent the above tweet to Pope Francis today, after watching more than one person pick the meat out of their Chicken Salad and Chilli at a restaurant today to have it thrown away. Meat comes from slaughtered Animals. Animals which were killed just so we can refuse to eat their meat today and send it to the trash because it won't last another day?
There is no Good Friday magic that happens. Meat rots on Good Friday as well as it does on any other day. What is the justification of killing tens of thousands of animals around the world just to throw their meat away on this day?
At least Twenty-Five Thousand people die from starvation each day, and we refuse to eat what is in front of us.
I am ashamed for us! We no longer live in the Middle Ages. If we did, for most of us, meat would be a rarity, not an everyday food. Let's move Good Friday out of the dark and into the light.


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The following blog is Part 5 in the Black-and-White Thinking Series. Click on the links for Part 1 (Introduction), Part 1b (Introduction), Part 2 (Biblical Lens), Part 3 (Grace), and Part 4 (Mental Illness?).
According to the Mayo Clinic, depression is "a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest." It is characterized by low energy or fatigue, change in appetite and sleep, low self-esteem, poor concentration or inability to make decisions, and feelings of hopelessness. Feelings of guilt, shame, being unloved, and numb feelings can be oppressive and lead to inactivity and loneliness. The more severe the depression is, the more likely the oppression seems to control you (thoughts, actions, mood, etc.), which means the more you feel powerless to control yourself.
Some of the writings about depression state that the depression itself causes thought patterns. Though I am unsure as to whether depression itself causes negative thought patterns, I can certainly say that they are present in depression. One of the common thought patterns found in depression is black-and-white thinking.
If we take a look at the diagram on the left, we see the green ball which represents the actions or words of another, or events that take place. The Black & White Thinker hears the words (green ball) and they are interpreted (fall all the way down the triangle) as either "all or nothing" or "black & white." There is no stopping the interpretation until it reaches the bottom. For example, a student who is depressed will tell herself after receiving a "B" on a test: "I failed it. I'm stupid." A father who did not handle a situation well will tell himself, "I'm a lousy father. I'm a failure." The event happened and the interpretation of themselves goes to one side or the other. But a "B" certainly is not failing, but far from it! The father may not have handled a situation well, but that does not mean that he is a horrible father as he has probably done many things well! In Black & White Thinking, the simple conclusion is that it has to be one or the other. To conclude that a "B" is not stupid or that a good father can make poor decisions is difficult to comprehend, let alone believe.
People struggling with depression make similar conclusions about themselves. "I am unloved." "No one really cares." "I am a failure." "All is hopeless." "Nothing will help me." When black-and-white thinking is present and its conclusions are believed, the depression gets worse.
We not only feel oppressed by our depression, but we also participate in our depression. In other words, we not only feel it, but we do it. We actively (or passively) engage in our depression. We may wear dark clothes, think depressive thoughts, remain in bed, and basically obey our feelings. At times, we may not feel as though we have a choice, even though we do.
In order to combat the black-and-white thinking in depression (or in general), new conclusions based on a different Truth needs to be introduced. This new Truth is not based on one's own flawed interpretation, but it is a Truth based on God's Word.
Take a look at the second diagram to the right. Here, we see that with the intervention of God's Truth, the green ball does not fall to the previous Black & White conclusion, but instead falls a shorter distance. And what are these new conclusions based on God's Truth? Let's go back to the examples. In both cases, the Truth of God's Word (based on Rom 2:8, 3:23, 8:1; Jn 3:16) is the following, "I may not have done as well as I would have liked, or maybe even failed, yet I can expect to do poorly at times as 'All have sinned and fall short.' But who I am is based on Christ's actions for me, not on my own actions (grace). Therefore, I may have failed, but I am not a failure. I am loved, worthwhile, blessed, cherished, and adored by Him…not because of what I have or have not done, but because of who He is." Or perhaps these Truths may be better for others: "I know I failed or did poorly. My failures were taken to the cross by Jesus. Therefore, I do not need to punish myself any further, as my punishment fell on Christ." When these Truths become more important than personal truths and conclusions, and when they are trusted and believed more than one's own truths, there is progress made for those who struggle with depression.
It sounds simple enough, yet it is difficult for someone who is depressed to think differently as they have been thinking this way for a long period of time. At times, medication may be necessary to lift the person up to be able to challenge their own thinking successfully. Other times, medication is not necessary at all. It may be necessary only having accountability and a list of God's truths available to rehearse, repeat, and challenge the black-and-white thinking.
What are some other examples of black-and-white thinking found in depression? How about truths that have helped?
Black-and-white thinking is not only found in depression, but it is also found in anxiety as well. Click here for black-and-white thinking found in anxiety disorders and God's Truths that will help!
The Black-and-White Thinking Christian is my newest resource for helping black-and-white thinkers grow in life, relationships, and in Christ. If you are a black-and-white thinker, or you know one who is close to you, this is a great resource for personal growth and understanding. You can find this resource now on Amazon.com.


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In 1996, P.J. D'Adamo's book Eat Right For Your Type proposed that, for optimum health, people should adopt diets specific for their ABO blood type. If you thought that was nonsense, you're right! While the various diets proposed in the book can be healthy changes, they are equally good for everyone regardless of blood type.
University of Toronto researchers led by Ahmed El-Sohemy put the blood type diet myth to rest by giving 1455 young adults various diets. People with blood type A did benefit from the type A diet (lots of grains, fruits and vegetables) with lower BMIs, insulin and cholesterol, but so did people with other blood types. Similarly, the type O diet (lots of meat, little or no grain) was associated with lower triglycerides for everyone, not just people with type O blood.
These results are not surprising, given that there was little scientific basis for D'Adamo's claims in the first place. The human population is simply not divided up into agricultural type As, nomadic type Bs and hunter-gatherer type Os. Considering that the ABO blood types are present in non-human primates, they probably came on the scene at least 20 million years ago, far before humans existed, let alone were divided by cultural behaviors.Besides, if we're talking about blood types, the ABO system is only one of over thirty different blood type systems. The ABO system is certainly the most well known, but you'd be in just as much trouble getting a transfusion from someone who's incompatible for any of the other matching systems.


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|Eric Brady
|Greg Vaughan As Eric Brady
|Days of our Lives
|Portrayed by
| Edward Palma (1986)
Bradley Hallock (1986-1992)
Jensen Ackles (1997–2000)
Greg Vaughan (2012–present)
|Current status
|Present; Contract
|1984–92, 1997–2000, 2012–present
|First appearance
|October 19, 1984
|Created by
|Margaret DePriest, Sheri Anderson and Thom Racina
|Introduced by
| Betty Corday, Al Rabin (1984)
Ken Corday, Tom Langan (1997)
Ken Corday, Lisa de Cazotte, Greg Meng (2012)
|Eric Roman Brady II
|October 19, 1977 (onscreen Oct 19, 1984)
| Director of the Horton Center
| Brady Pub
Salem, Illinois
Eric Roman Brady is a character from the soap opera, Days of Our Lives, portrayed by Jensen Ackles from 1997–2000, and by Greg Vaughan since 2012.
Created by head writers, Margaret DePriest, Sheri Anderson and Thom Racina, Eric is the only son of supercouple, Roman Brady and Marlena Evans. Introduced onscreen by Betty Corday and Al Rabin in 1984 along with his twin sister, Sami Brady, the twins are rapidly aged, and Jensen Ackles stepped into the role of the teenage Eric in 1997. Eric's saintly behavior immediately sets him up as the better half to his very troubled sister Sami. Eric falls in love with Nicole Walker; however the relationship ends in heart break which leads to Eric's departure.
In 2012, Greg Vaughan stepped into the role and the character is re-introduced as a priest. He also reconnects with a now reformed Nicole and even works with his mother's longtime rival Kristen DiMera to help establish a new school in Salem. The dynamic leads to a constant struggle between Eric and Nicole, as both still seem to have strong feelings for each another.
Since the character's onscreen birth in 1984, the role was portrayed by several child actors. Rory Beauregard originated the role in 1984. Others actors include Jesse Davis (1985 to 1986), Edward Palma (1986), Bradley Hallock (1986 to 1992). In 1997, Scotty Hauser portrayed Eric in a voiceover.
Jensen Ackles auditioned for the role of Eric several times before was actually hired. The extensive process led to him rethinking his budding career as an actor. Ackles stepped into the role of Eric on a contractual basis on July 28, 1997. In the summer of 2000, during an interview Soap Opera Digest, Ackles confirmed that he would soon exit from the series after obtaining a development deal with ABC. Ackles made his last appearance on July 31, 2000. However, Ackles admitted that he could return. In December 2000, it was reported that NBC had approached Ackles to reprise the role in early 2001, but he respectfully declined. Reports also surfaced that the producers considered actor Shane McDermott, who was previously known for his portrayal of Scott Chandler on ABC's All My Children to take over the role, but executive producer Ken Corday immediately shot down the rumors, revealing that there were no plans to recast the role.
In February 2011, Greg Vaughan, who was previously known for his roles as General Hospital's Lucky Spencer and The Young and the Restless Diego Guittierez had turned down a testing deal with Days. It was then announced that Vaughan would star alongside Alison Sweeney, who portrayed Eric's twin sister, Sami Brady in the Hallmark movie, Second Chances, which fueled rumors that the series was interested in Vaughan for the role of Eric. In late June 2012, TV Guide's Nelson Branco confirmed in his publication, Soap Opera Uncensored that several sources has revealed Vaughan had signed on as Eric Brady, despite no confirmation from NBC. In early July, Soaps In Depth confirmed that Vaughan was set to join the cast, but his role had yet to be confirmed, with some speculating that Vaughan could be playing an entirely different other than Eric. The July 16 issue of Soap Opera Digest reported that several sources had Vaughan in the role of Eric, but NBC had yet to confirm Vaughan's role. The magazine hinted that Eric would return as a "very changed man." On August 8, 2012, Soap Opera Digest confirmed that Vaughan had officially began taping in his role as Eric Brady and was slated to first air in November 2012. Vaughan's first air date was later confirmed as November 13, 2012. Vaughan revealed that when he initially auditioned for the role of Eric, he was rejected. However, he was happy that he earned the job instead of having it handed to him.
In August 2015, Vaughan extended his contract with the show for an unspecified amount of time. However in November 2015, it was announced that Vaughan will be departing from the show.
Eric Brady was one of twins born to Roman and Marlena Brady. He and his sister were extremely close as children, and were sent together to Colorado shortly after starting school. Although Sami returned to Salem during high-school, Eric was well out of school by the time he finally came home, when John and Marlena became officially involved because Eric believed that his parents (Roman and Marlena) belonged together. He also believed that his amnesiac sister Sami was faking her memory loss. With Carrie and Mike, Eric tried to find out what Sami's big secret was, and on the day that Sami was set to marry Austin, they realized that Will could not possibly be Austin's son, and that Sami knew. Carrie rushed to the Church to stop the wedding and to humiliate her sister. Although Eric felt horribly guilty for the role he had played in his sister's pain, Sami soon forgave him, because she realized he didn't do it to hurt her.
Not long after, Eric realized that someone was following him everywhere. It turned out to be an old schoolmate, Jed Fox. Eric had initially been accused of date rape when Jed was really the rapist, and lost his position in school as a result. Jed threatened to kill Sami if Eric didn't say it was really him, but Eric was able to convince Jed to accept his crimes and move on. Shortly thereafter, he met Nicole Walker, a waitress at the Java Café. When he started working at Countess Wilhelmina as a photographer, he thought she would make the perfect model. The two became romantically entangled, although their relationship was strained when Nicole's past started cropping up. When Eric had to focus all his attentions on Sami's upcoming trial for murdering Franco Kelly, Nicole got involved with Lucas, and Eric got involved with an older woman, Greta Von Amberg. Nicole and Eric were finished when Eric learned that Nicole had married Lucas Roberts.
Eric was then free to focus all of his concerns on Sami's trial. Sami had escaped and gone on the run, but after being recaptured by the police, she was sent back to prison to await lethal injection. Just as the injections were being given (as a shocked Eric looked on), Lucas burst in to take the blame, but later recanted when Roberto Barelli also confessed. Although Greta and Eric were spending a lot of time together, he couldn't keep Nicole out of his mind. He began sleeping with her again, and when Greta realized Eric still loved her, she broke things off. After having a near-fatal accident at a railway crossing and a heavenly trial with Isabella Toscano Black as his counsel, Eric decided to leave Salem. Before he left though, he told Nicole he would always love her.
Since leaving, Eric sent a letter to town when Roman was presumed dead (Roman was later found alive) remembering some of the good times. Marlena and Sami also made several trips to Colorado to visit Eric.
In November 2012, Nicole Walker thought that she saw Eric jogging through Salem. She later saw him in the Brady Pub and was shocked to see that he was wearing a priest collar. It turned out that Eric had returned to join the priests at St. Luke's in Salem.
Eric and Nicole began to talk. He listened to Nicole's sordid tale of the past few months and encouraged her to seek forgiveness from those who she had wronged. When Nicole took Eric's advice, he started to see that she wanted to change. Eric offered Nicole a job as a secretary at the church and a place to stay in the convent. Nicole agreed and started her life over. She also became a confidant for Eric, who was living with his own demons of violent acts he'd witnessed while working as a photographer in the Congo.
Opening up to Nicole helped Eric start to heal. He began sleeping through the night, rather than waking up from nightmares. He thanked Nicole by giving her one of the photos he took in Africa.
The two continued to work closely together on the new school, St. Luke's Academy. Eventually, Eric grew stronger feelings for Nicole. He admitted to Father Matt that he loved her as a friend and was upset to hear of various relationships that Nicole had with other men. But he would not take their relationship further. Still, Nicole's feelings grew.
Meanwhile, Eric tried to play peacemaker in his family when his step-brother, Brady, began dating Kristen DiMera. Kristen had terrorized John and Marlena for years and Marlena was certain that Kristen was doing it again. In light of their scandalous relationship, Eric asked Brady and Kristen to resign from the church council. When Brady and Kristen's relationship ended (due Marlena exposing Kristen's lies), Kristen blamed Marlena and set out for revenge.
When Eric went out of town on business for the new school, Kristen followed him. She snuck into his room, shot him with a memory-erasing drug-filled dart, lured him into bed, and raped him. She video taped their sexual encounter. Nicole, rushing to bring Eric some notes that he forgot, found Eric unconscious in his hotel room. She called an ambulance and took Eric to the hospital.
Daniel Jonas treated Eric and was convinced that Eric's illness was the result of a poison. Eric made a quick recovery, which increased Daniel's suspicion. But Eric was so focused on the new school that he didn't want to bother with tests at first. But, when Eric experienced side effects from the drug -- fainting, headaches -- he agreed to let Daniel run the tests.
The test yielded no results, so Daniel hired a private investigator to look at the evidence. However, when Kristen heard about the investigation and was able to disguise herself, start a conversation with the detective, and then spill coffee all over his evidence and destroying everything.
Eric was starting to remember what happened the night he was drugged. Though, he couldn't differentiate between dreams and reality. He spoke to Father Matt about it. In turn, Father Matt went to Nicole and asked her to help convince Eric not to dwell on what happened to him that night, but to focus on the future. She agreed.
Meanwhile, Nicole's feelings for Eric were growing so much that Brady finally noticed and confronted Nicole about them. Nicole admitted that she was in love with Eric but he could never know. Brady urged Nicole to talk to Eric about it, but she was too embarrassed. Instead, she decided to take a new job with Titan TV to get away from seeing Eric everyday.
Eric was stunned when she told him that she was leaving and tried to convince her to stay. But she was adamant. She was also not pleased with Eric for agreeing to marry Brady and Kristen, as she knew that Kristen was trouble. Eric noted the tension between himself and Nicole, but thought it was because he had agreed to go through Pre-Cana counseling with Kristen and Brady.
He was also realizing that his dreams were actually memories. He knew he had been raped, but could only remember it being a blonde woman. He spoke with the hotel clerk who told him that there was a woman in the lobby that night who insisted on getting the room right next to him. When the clerk told Eric that the woman's name was Fay Taylor, Eric was scared that Nicole was the one who raped him. When he heard Brady confronting Nicole again about her feelings for Eric, he was sure that Nicole drugged and raped him.
Eric confronted Nicole with what he'd overheard. Nicole admitted that she was in love with him. Then, he accused her of drugging and raping him. He told her all of the circumstantial evidence. She denied it. But, he was certain. He told her that he would never forgive her. Heartbroken, Nicole reached out to Daniel, who believed her that she didn't rape Eric. But Eric was still sure.
On the day of Brady and Kristen's wedding, with Eric officiating, Victor had managed to get a hold of the tape Kristen made and played it at the wedding. Everyone was horrified and Kristen fled Salem. In addition to working through the crime, Eric knew that he'd also have to find and apologize to Nicole.
Hope opened in investigation into Kristen's story that the sex was consensual. One of her first acts was to question Nicole as a potential witness. As soon as Nicole found out about the video she went looking for Kristen. She found her trying to flee Salem and drive after her. Their cars got into an accident. Nicole was not badly injured. While her car was totaled, Kristen was nowhere to be found.
Nicole went back to the police station to give her statement about the accident. Eric found Nicole there and tried to apologize. Nicole told him that she was devastated about what Kristen did to him. But, she could not forgive him for accusing her and not believing her when she plead her innocence.
Back at St. Luke's, the bishop had seen the video as well and opened an investigation into Eric's actions. Eric was suspended indefinitely and relieved of all his duties at the church. Eric also moved into one of the rooms above the Brady Pub.
Meanwhile, Nicole's first assignment as a reporter was to cover the "sex scandal" at St. Luke's. She was reluctant to do the story, but her boss gave her no choice.
Daniel was also still determined to prove that Eric was drugged. So, he talked Eric into undergoing a painful test, where he would be given another drug that would attack the masking agent in hopes of revealing the drug that Kristen used on Eric. Daniel convinced Nicole to help and do the story to tell the truth -- that Kristen drugged Eric. Nicole agreed.
But, Nicole still had to put her feelings for Eric behind her. To do so, she told Eric that she and Daniel had reconnected and were dating again. Much to Eric's shock, the news upset him. He confessed to Father Matt that he did indeed have more than friendship feelings for Nicole. But, he lamented that she no longer returned his feelings. So, he needed to focus on clearing his name and rejoining the priesthood. Father Matt suggested that everyone would understand if he wanted to find a different way to serve the church. Eric was torn on what to do. But he knew that he wanted to clear his name, even if that meant he didn't return to the priesthood.
Daniel ran a series of tests on Eric and found that there were traces of a masking agent in his blood. Working backwards, Daniel set about trying to find the limited few doctors in the country who worked with this specific drug. One of them was the doctor Kristen used, Dr. Chyka. When Stefano learned that Daniel and Nicole were snooping into Chyka, he sent Chyka to "take care" of the problem. Chyka was able to erase all of Daniel's files and flee Salem.
But, Daniel and Nicole weren't ready to give up. Using Nicole's connections at Titan TV, they were able to track the location of Chyka's safe house. They went there and held Chyka at gun point to get him to talk. When he refused, Daniel injected him with truth serum. He finally confessed to working for Kristen and supplying her with the drugs.
Just then another DiMera henchmen arrived at the safe house. Daniel managed to knock him out, but knew that he needed to get the man out of the house. So, Daniel drove the henchmen in the henchmen's car to a train station and left him there. Then, he took the train back to Salem where Nicole was to meet him with the proof. But, Chyka was able to overpower Nicole and escape. However, before he left, he gave Nicole the combination to a safe in the safe house that contained all of the documents and emails between Kristen and Chyka. Nicole knew that all of the documents would allow Eric to return to the priesthood. She was thrilled with their success.
While Nicole and Daniel were chasing down Chyka, Eric went on a retreat with Brother Timothy to talk through his growing feelings for Nicole and his anger about what Kristen did to him. Eric returned from his retreat and went straight to see Nicole. He told her that he loved her. And that it didn't matter to him if he never cleared his name. When Nicole heard that, she couldn't bring herself to show Eric the documents. So, she shredded them and threw them away. Eric and Nicole began dating and eventually became engaged. Nicole was very happy.
But Nicole's lie was going to catch up with her. One day, Daniel was drugged at work. Nicole had run into Liam Fraizer in the hallway of Daniel's apartment on the morning of the drugging. She didn't believe his lie about visiting another doctor in the building. But, when she confronted Liam about it, Liam revealed that he had blackmail information on Nicole. He had seen her disposing of the shredded paper and took them. Thus, knew that she was sitting on the proof that Eric could return to the priesthood if he wanted. Frustrated, Nicole did everything she could short of ratting on Liam to Daniel.
Eventually, things came to a head with Liam when he took Nicole and Jennifer hostage on Smith Island. Luckily, Daniel came to their rescue. Liam was killed in the struggle.
A few days later, Jennifer realized that she'd lost the necklace Daniel gave her during the struggle. The two of them went back to Smith Island to look for it. However, Daniel found some mysterious looking paperwork in the woods. He'd recognized it because he saw Nicole with the same shredded-and-put-back-together paperwork a few weeks earlier. He confronted Nicole with the paperwork. He knew it was the proof because he'd seen it in her hotel room earlier and she'd explained it away as a hoax from Stefano. This time, Nicole couldn't talk herself out of it. Daniel told Nicole to tell Eric, or he would.
Nicole didn't tell Eric the truth. Instead, she told Eric that they needed to elope because Daniel was in love with her. Eric was shocked, but agreed. They made plans to leave town. When Daniel heard this, he went to Nicole's hotel room to confront her again. However, Jennifer was standing outside the room and heard the whole story. She ran right to Eric and told him everything. Eric dumped Nicole and told her that he would never forgive her.
With the proof now resurfaced, the Vatican agreed to hear Eric's case about being reinstated to the priesthood. Nicole even traveled to Rome to testify that she'd kept the proof from Eric for selfish reasons. Moved by her testimony and the proof, the bishop offered Eric admission back into the priesthood. But, still troubled by his inability to forgive Nicole, Eric turned it down. He returned to Salem and worked as a photographer for the PR department at University Hospital.
He spent months fighting with Nicole, who kept pleasing with him to try to forgive her. But he couldn't. He finally found a distraction when his ex-girlfriend, Serena Mason, came to Salem in the winter of 2014 to do medical research from a story that she was working on. Eric and Serena met in Africa, while she was there on a story assignment. They fell in love. But, when Eric felt drawn to the priesthood, Serena did not stand in his way. However, as soon as she heard that Eric had left the priesthood, she wanted to see if there was another chance for them. Eric was happy to see her when she arrived in Salem.
Their relationship moved quickly, as Serena was in town for other motives. She was on orders to swap out a piece of artwork that Eric had acquired when the two of them were in Africa.
Nicole tried to warn Eric about Serene, but he refused to listen. When Eric and Serena's old friend Xander came to Salem, Eric started to notice that Serena was acting very strange around him. Finally, he forced the truth out of Serena. He felt she had used him and broke up with her.
He also realized that Nicole may be in danger for investigating Xander. He rushed to find her and found Xander attacking her in her office. He was able to overpower Xander long enough for he and Nicole to flee. But, they couldn't get out of the building. So, they hid in a crawl space in the furnace room.
They waited to be rescued as it got hotter and hotter. While in there, Eric confessed that it wasn't Nicole's fault that he left he priesthood. He'd chosen to leave in order to be with her. The two kissed and almost slept together.
Nicole passed out a short time later. Luckily, Brady, Daniel and Serena rescued them. Eric and Nicole were taken to the hospital. Eric kept wanting to check on Nicole. When he was strong enough to move, he went to see her. But, she told him that the kiss was a mistake. She was in love with Daniel and wanted a future with Daniel.
Heartbroken, Eric accepted her decision. He eventually forgave Serena as well for the diamond scheme. Then, he suffered another blow when Serena was strangled by the Necktie Killer. Eric began drinking to deal with his pain.
On new years 2015, Eric is involved in a car accident involving Jennifer Horton, Brady Black And Daniel Jonas, resulting in his drunk driving. Daniel dies as a result and Brady needs a heart transplant. Eric himself also almost dies from an infection, but manages to pull through. Brady ends p getting Daniels heart and makes a full recovery. After Eric recovers, he is faced with the guilt over what he had done and decides to turn himself in to police.
Eric discovers that Jennifer is addicted to her pain killers from the accident, and resolves to help her break her addiction. Eric's guilt caused him to drinking and he and Jennifer have a one night stand before he is sentenced. Eric says his goodbyes before heading to court, and facing the judge alone. Eric asks Marlena to look out for Jennifer. He is given five years in prison.
Eric is seen again when he rescues an injured Hope Brady, when she's on the run from the police after escaping prison. Eric explains to Hope that he was given a pardon by stopping the governor's daughter from committing suicide, but he rejects the idea of returning to Salem, believing he deserves to live alone after his actions last year. Eric sneaks into Salem University to get some medicine for Hope, and he and Jennifer have an encounter. Eric convinces Jennifer not to tell anyone she saw him.
Hope was determined to help her friend, Hattie Adams, and believed that Andre DiMera had framed Hattie for embezzlement. Eric objected to Hope visiting Hattie, after Hope heard Hattie had been beaten up, until her name was cleared. Hope slipped away, but returned after she talked to Hattie. Hope noticed Eric kept a photo of Jennifer, and suspected he still had feelings for her. She assured Eric that Jennifer was doing fine. With Eric's help, Hope for the proof she needed to clear Hattie's name, and then learned she herself had been exonerated. Hope encouraged Eric to return home with her, but he refused to return with her.
→ see also Eric Brady/Gallery#Images and Category:Images of Eric Brady
→ see also Eric Brady/Gallery#Videos


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I have an idea! I'll take this opportunity to look back at some of my knitting, in the hope that this will remind me why I like living in a place that has real winters. My dear grandmother taught me how to knit when I was quite young. We alternated these lessons with exercising in front of the TV along with Jack LaLanne.
The knitting didn't take right away, but decades later I felt the urge to get back to it and I've enjoyed it sporadically ever since. (It's pretty much the same story for exercising, come to think of it!)
Here's a complete success of a sweater that I knit for my son in 2010. It's in Rowan Lima, the softest yarn ever. Of course the son kept growing, so we need someone to hand this down to.
When I sew for myself, I gravitate toward blue, black, and gray, but apparently that is not true of my knitting:
There's a fourth purple one, but I think this makes the point. What does it mean? Why would I be more adventurous with color when knitting than when sewing, even though everything takes me ten times as long to make? Will have to ponder this . . .
The sweater that took me the longest to knit is my husband's Seahorse, from the book Rowan Denim by Kim Hargreaves. Yikes, this would have taken forever even if I hadn't messed up the pattern and had to reknit most of the back.
Though I'm far more interested in sewing these days, I do enjoy knitting, and I have a glorious yarn stash to work through. And I just know that if I turn my attention to a knitting project right about now, the general perversity of the universe will make spring come along posthaste. So I'm going to do it! For anyone who wants to see more, my Ravelry name is pittypat; new friends are of course welcome.


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Dubai is one of the safest destinations in the Middle East. Street crime including pickpocketing and bag snatching is uncommon, and thanks to the presence of security and cameras, you'll feel safe using public transport in Dubai and wandering around most parts of the city by day and by night.
In fact, the biggest risk to your safety in Dubai is yourself. Many a tourist has fallen foul of the local laws, resulting in hefty fines, jail time and deportation.
As the United Arab Emirates is a Muslim state governed by Sharia Law, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the local customs and regulations before you visit Dubai. Here are some tips for a stress-free stay.
Being Drunk and Disorderly in Public
One of the fastest ways to bring your Dubai stay to an early end is to be drunk and/or disorderly in public. It is legal for non-Muslims to consume alcohol in Dubai, so long as they're drinking in a licensed venue (typically attached to a hotel, or in the home of a non-Muslim resident who has a liquor license). Once you're outside of these venues, however, if you're seen to be drunk or causing a raucous in public, you could land yourself in jail quick smart. Plain-clothes and uniformed police officers patrol the city, so be on your best behavior at all times. The legal drinking age in Dubai is 21.
Drink Driving
The official legal alcohol limit for drivers in Dubai is zero—there's no leeway here, so ensure you're completely sober before getting behind the wheel. The police must be called to all car accidents, including single vehicle incidents.
Dubai has a zero tolerance policy on drug possession and trafficking, with some offenses punishable by death or lifetime imprisonment. Even prescription medicines that are legal in your country may be illegal here, so it's worth checking on their status before packing them in your luggage.
Public Displays of Affection
You may have heard stories of visitors to Dubai being locked up for amorous displays of affection. The easiest way to avoid any drama is to, quite simply, keep your hands to yourself. Kissing and holding hands in public is deemed "inappropriate behavior," so keep it clean while you're out and about. On that note, sex outside of marriage and homosexuality are illegal here, so exercise caution if traveling with an unmarried and/or same-sex partner.
Dressing Appropriately
Dubai is a modest country, and the local Emirati people are recognizable by their elegant all-white (male) and black (female) attire, which covers them from head to toe. While you don't have to adhere to these dress standards yourself, it is worth adopting a more modest wardrobe during your stay in Dubai, particularly when visiting shopping malls and government offices. That means shoulders and knees must be covered for men and women, and no tight-fitting or transparent clothing. You can wear bikinis and other swimwear on the beach, but topless sunbathing is strictly forbidden for women, and everyone must cover up before they leave the sand.
Offensive Language or Hand Gestures
Many of Dubai's laws and customs are rooted in showing respect for one another. It is, therefore, an offense to use rude language or aggressive hand gestures, including while driving. Feeling frustrated that someone just cut you off on the road? A toot of the horn is about as far as you can go here.
Social Media, Slander and Photography
In fact, the UAE has very strict laws regarding all forms of social behavior, and this extends to social media. It is illegal to take someone's photo without their consent, so be sure you're not featuring any other people in that Instagram post. It's also illegal to take photos of airports, bridges, government buildings and palaces in Dubai. It's against the law to make defamatory statements or offensive comments about people and organizations in the UAE, so mind your language on social media posts—including review sites.
A Note on Ramadan
While Dubai is a conservative city year-round, it is doubly so during the Holy Month of Ramadan. During this time, it is forbidden to eat or drink in public during daylight hours (some restaurants and shopping malls have curtained areas for non-Muslims to dine in during Ramadan). You mustn't play loud music (including via your personal headphones), and you should take extra care to dress modestly at all times.
By following these rules, exercising common sense, and showing respect for all people, you'll likely have an enjoyable, safe stay in Dubai.


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2 Kings 6 International Children's Bible (ICB)
An Axhead Floats
6 The group of the prophets said to Elisha, "The place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let's go to the Jordan River. There every man can get a pole. And let's build a place there to live."
Elisha said, "Go."
3 One of them said, "Please go with us."
Elisha said, "I will go." 4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they cut down some trees. 5 As one man was cutting down a tree, the head of his ax fell into the water. He yelled, "Oh, my master! I borrowed that ax!"
6 Elisha asked, "Where did it fall?" The man showed Elisha the place. Then Elisha cut down a stick and threw it into the water. It made the iron head float. 7 Elisha said, "Pick up the axhead." Then the man reached out and took it.
Elisha and the Blinded Arameans
8 The king of Aram was at war with Israel. He had a council meeting with his officers. He said, "I will set up my camp in this place."
9 But Elisha sent a message to the king of Israel. It said, "Be careful! Don't pass that place. The Arameans are going down there!"
10 The king of Israel checked the place about which Elisha had warned him. Elisha warned him several times. So the king added guards in those places.
11 The king of Aram was angry about this. He called his officers together. He said to them, "Tell me who of us is working for the king of Israel."
12 One of the officers of the king of Aram said, "No, my master and king. It's Elisha, the prophet from Israel. He can tell you what you speak in your bedroom."
13 The king said, "Go and find him. Then I can send men and catch him."
The servants came back and reported, "He is in Dothan."
14 Then the king sent horses, chariots and a large army to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city.
15 The servant of Elisha got up early. When he went out, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, "Oh, my master, what can we do?"
16 Elisha said, "Don't be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us."
17 Then Elisha prayed, "Lord, open my servant's eyes. Let him see."
The Lord opened the eyes of the young man. And he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward Elisha, he prayed to the Lord. He said, "Make these people blind." So the Lord made the Aramean army blind, as Elisha had asked.
19 Elisha said to them, "This is not the right road. This is not the right city. Follow me. I'll take you to the man you are looking for." Then Elisha led them to Samaria.
20 After they entered Samaria, Elisha said, "Lord, open these men's eyes so they can see." So the Lord opened their eyes. And the Aramean army saw that they were inside the city of Samaria!
21 The king of Israel saw the Aramean army. He said to Elisha, "My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?"
22 Elisha answered, "Don't kill them. You wouldn't kill people whom you captured with your sword and bow. Give them food and water. And let them eat and drink. Then let them go home to their master." 23 So he prepared a great feast for the Aramean army. They ate and drank. Then the king sent them away. They went home to their master. The soldiers of Aram did not come anymore into the land of Israel.
A Time of Hunger
24 Later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army. He went to surround and attack Samaria. 25 There was a time of terrible hunger in Samaria. It was so bad that a donkey's head was sold for about two pounds of silver. Half of a pint of dove's dung sold for about two ounces of silver.
26 The king of Israel was passing by on the wall. A woman yelled out to him, "Help me, my master and king!"
27 The king said, "If the Lord doesn't help you, how can I? Can I get help from the threshing floor or from the winepress?" 28 Then the king said to her, "What is your trouble?"
She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we can eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.' 29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we can eat him.' But she had hidden him."
30 When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He walked along the wall. The people looked and saw he had on rough cloth under his clothes. This was to show his sadness. 31 He said, "The head of Elisha son of Shaphat will be taken from his body today! May God punish me terribly if this doesn't happen!"
32 The king sent a messenger to Elisha. Elisha was sitting in his house. And the elders were sitting with him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha spoke to them. He said, "See, this murderer is sending men to take off my head. When the messenger arrives, shut the door. Hold it and don't let him in. The sound of his master's feet is behind him."
33 While Elisha was still talking with the leaders, the king came. He said, "This trouble has come from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"
International Children's Bible (ICB)
The Holy Bible, International Children's Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a division of Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
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2016 has been labelled as a rough year by many people. Sure it had a rocky finish but it wasn't all bad, was it? Personally I thought it was GREAT! Whatever the case, it's in the rear view mirror now. Time to get started on our hopes and dreams for 2017.
I've never been a big New Years person, but this year my sister came to visit from the US after 5 years apart. Although none of us actually stayed up until midnight, we watched the fireworks in London, made a toast and fell asleep by 9 (the perfect new parents version of New Years!) Before it even began, 2017 was shaping up to be a great year. Talking about shaping up, when the topic of resolutions came up I, having made none, solicited feedback:
"Go bigger with your blog!"
"Be debt free!"
"Go back to the gym?"
The latter sounded more like a plea than a suggestion.
At this point I could list a million excuses: The gym at my office closed, it's too cold to walk to work, I'm tired from taking care of the Wee Baby T, I really like sitting on my new couch… The list goes on. But the fact of the matter is, over the last 12 months I've gained 20 lbs without lifting much more than a teacup.
Bearing in mind the excuses I've been making for the last year, I'm not going to resolve to go to the gym every day of 2017, I won't even say I'll 'get back in shape'.
I've decided in 2017 I will be more physically active with my family. I'll go for hikes, I'll walk through museums, maybe do the occasional exercise routine involving the Wee Baby T.
Want to help? Comment, click, and share. Let me know you support the craziness that will be my 'active lifestyle', tell me what you're doing to get back on track with YOUR goals. Keep me appraised with how your resolutions are going, and as the curtain falls on 2017 let's make sure we can look back and comment on how brilliant 2017 was.
I linked up with That Friday Link and you should too:


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Our Web Editor, Jonathan Ruppin, was one of the judges for Published Novel category at this year's Muslim Writers Awards. Here he looks about why he agreed to become involved and what he hopes readers will gain by reading the winner, Censoring An Iranian Love Story by Shariah Mandanipour.
One of the most important and satisfying aspects of bookselling is recommending books to people. We can handsell individual books to particular customers or we can promote titles more widely by featuring them in windows and in-store promotions and displays, or on websites.
On previous occasions when I've been invited to join the judging panel for a literary prize, I've preferred to see the process as an extension of the same idea, as an opportunity to recommend books even more widely. Sales figures certainly confirm that literary prizes play an increasing role in guiding the nation's reading habits.
But when I was asked to be one of the judges in the Published Novel category at this year's Muslim Writers Awards, it needed a little thought. I'm an atheist and I have Jewish heritage. It would be hypocritical, surely, to offer my support?
But it serves no purpose to fall back on the human instinct for tribalism and I certainly see one of the primary goals of the Muslim Writers awards as breaking down some of the preconceptions by which Muslims as a whole are too often judged.
Art is one of the best ways we have of expressing our humanity. It moves as well as informs, the better to teach its lesson. So what better way for a bookseller to play a part in helping people - including myself - to appreciate a different culture than to help promote some of the finest contemporary literature it has to offer? So I said yes to the organisers of the Muslim Book Awards and the reading began.
One of the benefits of being a literary prize judge is the opportunity to discuss a set of books in depth. Like a particularly intensive reading group, we had to do more than just express our opinions; we had to subject each book to rigorous analysis. But deciding on what we wanted from our winner proved to be the most illuminating aspect of the discussion.
Censoring an Iranian Love Story, as its title suggests, tackles the pervasive influence of the notorious Ministry of Cultural and Islamic Culture on freedom of expression in Iran. It does so quite ingeniously by recounting a love story in two ways: as a writer would wish to tell it and as it must be told to comply with the Ministry's policies, with the writer offering a commentary as he composes his two different versions. Shariar Mandanipour was himself banned from being published in Iran for many years.
This would hardly seem to depict an image of Islam with which the West is unfamiliar. What purpose would be served, if it were to be our winner, by reinforcing it?
My feeling was that it portrays far more than oppression. The character of the writer - autobiographical to some extent - challenges state censorship as far as he can. He also has a considerable appreciation for the roots of his culture, most notably in the allusions to classic literature that allow him to bypass some proscriptions through allegory.
The Ministry's censor is also fascinatingly drawn, putting a human face on the state's silencing of dissent and anti-Islamic activity. His objections to the apparently innocuous are subtly argued and offer great insight into both the effectiveness of censorship and how the mind can be disciplined into thinking a certain way.
It might have been easier for us to pick, say, Aamer Hussain's The Cloud Messenger as our winner: its protagonist, Mehran, has retained his appreciation for Islamic culture while assimilating successfully into Western society. But while it might have conveyed a more politically desirable message, it would not have been the correct artistic choice - it was not the best novel.
But with our winner, I do hope that, as well as rewarding a simply wonderful novel, we've picked a book that will resonate with readers, regardless of their backgorund or beliefs. Censoring an Iranian Love Story and the four other books on the shortlist each depict very different portraits of Islam, confirming the diversity and creativity of Muslim literature.. Our culture would be poorer without it.
Read more about the Muslim Writers Awards
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Sermon for November 30th, 2014
Matthew 1:1-17
1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Advent Encounters: Saints & Sinners
Today is the first Sunday in Advent. This Sunday, and for the next several weeks, I'll be preachig a sermon series called "Advent Encounters." We'll look at the stories in the bible surrounding the birth of Jesus, and in particular how his birth brought unlikely people together in interesting ways.
We begin with the strangest, most unlikely cast of characters of all--Jesus' own family tree. In the King James version they are known as the Gat family. You know...Abraham B. Gat, Isaac B. Gat, Jacob B. Gat...not sure what the "B" stood for, but I always thought it was neat how they all passed on the same middle initial!
Since we're talking about geneology and family trees today, I thought I'd share the following story:
A man was researching his ancestors, and came across some information on his great-great uncle, Remus Starr, who was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. He also found a photograph of Remus, showing him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture were the words: Remus Starr: Horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison, 1885. Escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton Detectives, convicted and hanged, 1889.
Well, the man thought about this for awhile, and then made the following entry in his family history book: Uncle Remus Starr was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1885, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Uncle Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collasped.
A few days later, the same man learned about his great, great uncle Willie, a convicted murderer who had been condemned to die in the Electric chair. Uncle Willie's entry in the family history book read like this: "Uncle William occupied a chair of applied electronics at one of our nation's leading institutions. He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties. His death came as a true shock."
The greatest story ever told, the best selling book of all time, begins with a geneology--one we tend to skip right over because it is just a list of strange names tied together with a string of begats. This is a mistake, because in that long list of strange names are hundreds of encounters, hundreds of fascinating stories, some which we know well, some which are in the Bible but unfamiliar to us, and some which are completely lost to the pages of time and history.
I don't think this geneology is meant to be taken literally, at least not in the modern sense of the word "geneology." At the very least, that's because it ends with Joseph, who is not genetically related to Jesus at all, but is rather his adoptive father. As someone who was adopted by my own step-father, I find great comfort in that--shared genes are not required to be part of a family tradition.
But there are other problems with this list as a geneology: For one, it doesn't agree at all with the geneology of Jesus found in Luke, which is also Joseph's side of the family. It doesn't agree with geneologies in the Old Testament of some of the people who are part of it. In fact, it doesn't even agree with itself--Matthew tells us there are three sets of fourteen generations, but no matter how you actually count his list, you come up short by quite a few.
The ancients were not as obsessed with historical accuracy as we are today. In fact, geneologies of ancient and even late medieval kings often contain so many figures from mythology and legend that it is highly doubtful that anyone took them literally.
The best modern day analogy I can think of to approximate the ancient geneology is the Facebook wall. On my facebook wall (or profile) online, like many people, I have long lists of famous people, authors, or musicians I like--people who have influenced my own thinking and style. By listing Woody Guthrie, John Denver, and Bruce Springsteen on my facebook wall, I'm not saying that I'm actually related to any of them. But there is a sense in which I stand in their tradition. I claim them as musical forebears; My own music is a product of their influence.
So when the author of Matthew sets his stage for the greatest drama of all time, he introduces the star of his show with a list of names--think of it as opening credits, or the giant scrolling words at the beginning of the Star Wars movies. These names are carefully chosen to tell a story--several stories--to quickly relate a message to die-hard fans of Jewish history. What that message is, is the subject of today's sermon. And it begins with scandal.
There are a lot of stories in this geneology, but I'm going to focus on five--five stories of scandalous encounters, the kind that our biblical authors present in "delicate" wording, like the humorous stories I told at the begining of this sermon.
In verse three of our geneology, we read of "Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar." Judah and Tamar were not married when they begat Perez and Zerah. In fact, Tamar was Judah's daughter-in-law, and we read in Genesis 38 that one day she dressed herself like a prostitute and waited for her father-in-law, who, not recognizing her, requested her services. And so, Judah begat twins (Perez and Zerah) by Tamar.
Scandal number two: Skip a couple of generations, and we read in verse five that "Salmon [was] the father of Boaz by Rahab." This is Rahab from the book of Joshua, as the Israelites are about to mount a siege against the mighty city of Jericho. Joshua 2:1: "Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho. So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there." Delicately, of course, the Bible does not say why Joshua's men went straight to a house of ill-repute, nor what they did while spending the night there.
Scandal number three occurs immediately after number two: "and Boaz [was] the father of Obed by Ruth. Now the story of Boaz and Ruth, in the book of Ruth, is a beautiful love story, and one many of us are familiar with. But if you read closely, it's at least rated PG-13, or worse. In fact, it may be the original 50 shades of Gray.
Boaz is a rich man. Ruth is young, attractive, foreign, and not-so-rich. They've met a couple of times, but there is a wide gulf that separates them. Ruth's mother-in-law, Naomi, helps her come up with a plan. She tells Ruth in 3:4, [Tonight], "when he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do." It is well known among Biblical scholars that "feet" in Hebrew is usually a euphemisim for another part of the body entirely. Anyone hearing this story in ancient Israel would have turned bright read, stared at the ceiling, or laughed nervously at the scandal of this story.
Scandal number four: "And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah." Bathsheba's name isn't even mentioned in the verse, but we all know this scandalous encounter: King David, rooftop. Bathsheba, rooftop, naked. The begatting begins. Uriah ends. Scandal all over the place.
Scandal number five is the very last one on the list: "Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born." We often fail to appreciate the scandal because we know what's going on behind the scenes, but it's pretty simple. In fact, rumors that Jesus was the illigetimate child of some other, human, father persisted all the way into the third century after his birth.
Five scandals in Jesus' family tree. But there's more than just scandal. There is also great faithfulness. So in the immortal words of Paul Harvey, here's "the rest of the story."
Long before Tamar dressed as a prostitute and seduced her father-in-law, her husband had died, leaving her childless--without anyone to take care of her in her later years. Under Jewish law, her husband's brother was supposed to take her in, and provide her heirs to carry on the family line. Judah's second son refused to do this, so he promised his third son to her when he became old enough. But years passed, and Judah forgot his promise. Finally, Tamar took action, out of desperation, but also out of faithfulness to her deceased husband, to Jewish law and custom, and to the belief that God would provide for her when no one else would. When Judah finally discovers what Tamar had done, he says "She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah."
When the two spies encounter Rahab the prostitute in her city of Jericho, she hides them from the local authorities who are searching for them. Then she tells them, "The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. 12 Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith 13 that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." Rahab the prostitute puts her faith in God, and takes the initiative to save her family. When Jericho falls, she and her family alone are spared.
In the story of Ruth and Boaz, Ruth takes the initiative, literally, to win the affection of Boaz. But long before this, in the very beginning of the story, she speaks to her mother-in-law Naomi these famous, faithful words: "Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."
Bathsheba likely had little choice when King David summoned her to him. In the aftermath of her encounter with David, she loses her husband, Uriah. Then she loses the child she has conceived with David. Finally another child--Solomon--is born to her, but he is the youngest of David's children, the last in line for the throne, and the most vulnerable in the violent, ambitious, and often deadly politics of succession. But Bathsheba is faithful. She waits. And in David's old age, she takes initiative, enlisting the help of Nathan the prophet to plead and convince David to declare her son Solomon king. Solomon, of course, goes on to be one of the greatest and most revered kings in the Old Testament.
The faithfulness of Mary is well known. I've discussed her initiative in an earlier sermon this year about Jesus' first miracle, the water into wine. And Mary's encounter with her cousin Elizabeth is actually the subject of next week's sermon, so I don't want to give too much away today.
Near the beginning of the sermon, I said that the author of Matthew chose his introduction, his cast of background characters with great care. He certainly chose different characters than his counterpart, the author of Luke, and his message is different than the one found in Luke. So what is the message of Matthew? What is that overlooked message of the overlooked geneology that begins the first chapter of the first book of the New Testament?
The encounters that I've highlighted today all revolve around scandalous situations. But they also demonstrate acts of great faithfulness. They feature five strong, independent women, which is pretty amazing coming from a 1st century Patriarchal culture that seldom recognized the existence of women, and almost never in geneological lists. Incidentally, all of the women except Mary are foreigners, outsiders to the Jewish faith. I think that's significant, too.
Part of the message the gospel of Matthew is conveying is that this Savior, this Messiah, is for everyone: Men and women, natives and foreigners, rich and poor, powerful and vulnerable alike. But I think there's also something else, something even more powerful.
Like the people we have encountered in these stories, we are well acquainted with scandal. Most of us put on a good show. But if our deepest, darkest secrets were suddenly on display for the world to see, I think all of us would be mortified, embarassed, and ashamed. And yet, Matthew reminds us, this is precisely the sort of thing God can use. We are precisely the kind of people God uses to bring hope into the world. By nature we are all sinners, but by the grace of God, we are all saints.
Christmas begins--the very gospel itself begins--at the place where human fallibility and divine perfection finally encounter each other head on. Christian songwriter David Crowder calls this a "beautiful collision."
This is the message of Matthew's geneology: Out of scandal and faithfulness is born hope. Out of human initiative and divine intervention is born salvation for the world. May all of your encounters this advent season bring hope, and may the story of Jesus the Savior become a part of your own family story this year and every year to come.


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I'm trying to have one of those ah-hah moments but it still isn't quite clear.
What comes to mind when you think of the word nacho? If you're like me, you think of that appetizer dish served at Mexican restaurants; of tortilla chips with melted cheese and slices of jalapeño chile peppers on top. Well, we're not alone, most English dictionaries have that definition for nachos as well. Even the Spanish language dictionaries include that meaning of nachos, although many online references are translations of English search engines. Only the Real Academia Española dictionary has a different definition of nacho, as in a "flat nose" like that referred to with the word chato: nacho, cha. (Del lat. nasus, nariz). 1. adj. rur. Ast. chato (‖ de nariz poco prominente). U. t. c. s. Which brings me to the reason why I ask this question anyways.
On Saturday I decided to make a pizza but we were out and we were missing some essential toppings at home, and so on our way home I asked Margo to stop off at the convenience store to pick up a couple things. It was late and I'd be making it while putting the baby to bed so I broke down and got a few canned things—sliced jalapeños and mushrooms. In the canned food aisle, chiles come in many presentations. Whole, pureed in salsa, diced in salsa, rajas, and, NACHOS. Here's where I got confused. I always thought of nachos as the above appetizer. Here the can was saying "nachos de chiles," in other words, referring to the nachos as a type of crosswise-sliced chile. As opposed to rajas, which are sliced longish and lengthwise.
Now I'm pretty sure that nachos without sliced chiles probably isn't an authentic dish (forget the movie theatre version). So next time you order that dish, just know that if it doesn't include the chiles, it ain't the real thing. But I got to wondering if maybe this cut of chile, the one that's most often used for the appetizer, is how the dish got its name, or if it's the other way around. I wasn't able to find much clarification online. I think a Spanish language scholar, or ethnoculinarist of Mexican food is my only hope at this point.
In any case, the nacho-sliced jalapeños tasted just the same as the whole or the rajas, which is to say "bien picante." The pizza was a hit.


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A. Bel Audiology Associates & Musicians' Hearing Center
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Paula Liebeskind
Paula Liebeskind earned her Doctorate in Audiology and is happy to help the people of the Pembroke Pines area improve their lives by hearing better. She provides complete hearing care services to all of her patients and is dedicated to making a difference in their lives through better hearing.
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About this hearing center
At A. Bel Audiology Associates we provide a variety of services ranging from a complete diagnostic testing for hearing, tinnitus and balance to creating custom-molded ear pieces for radios, iPods, cell phones, and pilots. With a variety of services at affordable prices, A. Bel Audiology Associates is the only name you need to know. In addition to helping you in our office, A. Bel Audiology Associates also does home visits to nursing homes and those who can't leave their home. We hold education seminars as well at various schools and offices. With 28 years of experience and a Doctoratal degree in audiology, our doctors are capable of assisting men, women, and children from age 7 and up.
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We provide full comprehensive hearing services including:
•Complete hearing evaluation and testing
•Evaluation of dizziness and balance problems
•Tinnitus evaluation and testing
•Hearing aid evaluation and dispensing
•Hearing aid adjustment and servicing
•Custom ear protection
•Assistive listening devices
•Specialized Auditory testing
Hours of operation
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Social media is a big place, and navigating the many networks and tools can be tough. Social media gives you as a marketer a voice and a way to communicate with peers, customers and potential consumers. It personalizes your "brand" and helps you to spread your message in a relaxed and conversational way.
Learn how to showcase your business and services thru online marketing. Contact Stephanie to discuss your individual needs, learn how to utilize the social sites to grow your business. Special marketing packages available ~ Tell Stephanie that Buzz sent you!


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About Walnut Crossing
Walnut Crossing is located in North/Northwest Austin off of Amherst, between Mopac and Parmer Ln. in an area where homes were built in the late 70s and early 80s. Many of the homes in Walnut Crossing are spacious and are situated on shaded lots. It is well located to take advantage of the amenities that are close at hand.
Walnut Crossing is practically next door to major employers, medical facilities and some of the best shopping and dining in Austin. There are area parks and schools nearby providing a comfortable appeal to families who are looking for an affordable neighborhood close to the attractions and amenities of the greater Austin Area. Our Realtors can assist you in finding a home in the Walnut Crossing neighborhood.


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The third session of the day, is from Distilled's very own Hannah Smith who gave the audience some great tips on how to build links.
What has changed, is that link building has got real, you cannot get away from it. Hannah spoke about "Sustainable ways to building links", lots of tips. It is worth doing, but it is hard.
Hannah is jealous of Rand, he builds links in his sleep, writes a blog post, hits and go to sleep. This does not work for everyone.
How can you feel like a Rand?
1) Get a blog
- Get a blog
- Good content
- Use Zemanta
Zemanta allows you to put content in front of bloggers who are writing about your topic. As a blogger you decide which posts you want to link to. This is not enough by itself, but Hannah's clients have some nice links coming in. On average, it is $14 a link and these are good links.
2) Have you got photos/images on your site?
Instead of people stealing your photos, make them embeddable. You can get an image credit. Also upload photos to Flickr and license under "creative commons". Put a little comment in the flickr comment box describing the image.
Make sure you are getting the links for your images. Find out who is using your images from reverse image search or via image raider.
3) STOP talking like an SEO
Speak the language that others are using. The PR company that Distilled was working with on a client, covered a story really well with an image for the client's product. Lots of companies are good at getting PR but not really links. In this particular case, anyone who used the client's image, Paddy asked to have an image credit for it.
4) Creating Video
You can work really hard and make a great video, but you may be building links to the video hosting company. Once you have a video on YouTube, people are embedding the video which is on YouTube. Go to Video statistics to see where your video has been embedded. Phil Nottingham has built the video embed link generator where your site gets the credit for the video traffic.
5) Want to work with existing communities?
Go and interact with others in the community. You can buy advertising, but make sure the links are no follow. There is no SEO, but you want the traffic. Later on, once you have paid for advertising, the community may be more open to you taking part in forums and discussions and you can be a part of that community.
6) Getting PR coverage but no links?
Some people do not want to link to a salesy and overly promotional home page. If this is happening, create a people page. People will be more happy to link to this page with profiles of the employees of that company.
- No visible contact details?
You can still get people's email. Rapportive is a great plugin for Gmail where you can get people's email address.
- You must follow up
You need to give people a nudge, they are busy. Another great tool to us is boomerang. There are scheduled reminders. What is great about boomerang is that the email is sent back to you if you have not heard back from that contact.
7) Got Great content?
Great content produces out-sized returns. Distilled does a lot of business for this small business. Distilled sent one email to Life Hacker and got a link back. But it is rare that this happens.
Great content gets you top-tier guest posts. You need to add more value, create great content, then contact those people, then create the post for that site.
You do not want to guest post, you want a byline. – Stop talking like an SEO
Don't write once and move on, become a regular contributor. You never write to them, call them. Talk about your case study as well. Everything that is on Content Marketing institute goes on Business2Community.
A quick fix
Want to do data viz, but you don't have great data? The Guardian have and publish data. Distilled built an infographic based on the data the Guardian has on their site and let them know.
Result: The Guardian linked to the client's site.
Think about the bigger picture. Hannah wants us to do work that gets links instead of doing work for links.
Don't just do work for the sake a link
A few case studies:
Every year Innocent do the "Big Knit". For every Innocent drink with hat that is sold, they donate 25 pence to Age UK. They do this to give something back and also smoothies with little hats on sell really well. Innocent do not sell the smoothies with hats (which their customers make for them) for links. They are answering their customers' needs and giving back to the community.
Result: Innocence gets links.
This site has a lot of reviews for consumer goods. They recognise there are two types of people:
1) People that enjoy reading reviews
2) People that want others to tell them what to buy (based on the reviews)
This was not for links, this is answering a genuine need for a customer. They have 101 linking root domains.
Salesforce wanted to reach customers before they realise they need you. They set up the Mini Guide for Social Customer Service and they got 132 linking root domains, because it is a good guide.
- Fully leverage existing assets
- Create new assets to leverage – eg if starting to write content, think of the ways to get links
- Make sure you claim the links you earned
- Stop talking and behaving like an SEO
- The future – gets links instead of getting stuff for links


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It appears to be futile – writing a long post on a subject. After all, most blog posts, even those with a clear demonstration behind them, can be turned into something smaller.
Well, it helps. It helps you become better in the process of writing. Going through the path of writing a message makes you a better person. You work for it.
Some of my blog posts tend to look rather stupid. Simple ideas, repeated, at times, obsessively. Well, I like them, nevertheless, and I learn from writing them, despite of this.
Case study – sometimes, when I go to an event, I photograph weird things – the entrance, some objects in the room, a logo. Most people would focus a lot on the speaker, less on the organizers, and very few times on the participants.
My focus tends to differ. I don't go around in the room photographing objects. But I do photograph lots of things, and this helps me make a photo story which tends to be not necessarily easier to follow, but easier to remember.
The photo at the entrance helps you connect with the room. The various photos in the room help you connect with the audience. And so on.
Another case study – yesterday I resized a partition. I thought the process would last for a few seconds, but it lasted for about 15 hours. I couldn't cancel the operation, once started, so I had to wait to finish. The whole day I checked on the status, to see how much it would last. It brought some frustration. The next time I'll need to resize a partition, surely, I'll know more about the process than I know right now.
Writing about things makes you remember those things better. When you are the teacher, you learn some things yourself.


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CCG co-operation to go ahead after GP 'no confidence' vote
Six CCGs in Staffordshire have agreed to share an accountable officer, despite the local LMC initially submitting a vote of no confidence because of the decision.
NHS Stoke-on-Trent, NHS North Staffordshire, NHS East Staffordshire, NHS Stafford & Surrounds, NHS Cannock Chase and NHS South East Staffordshire and Seisdon Peninsula CCGs will now be sharing an accountable officer.
This comes after North Staffordshire LMC submitted a vote of 'no confidence' in NHS Stoke-on-Trent and NHS North Staffordshire CCGs over the decision.
GPs in the area were concerned that a joint accountable officer would see the £150m debt of the southern Staffordshire CCGs be combined with the £10m deficit of the CCGs in the north.
However, as Pulse reported, the vote of no confidence prompted several caveats to be added to the ballot, which the LMC then supported.
Dr Ruth Chambers, clinical chair of NHS North Staffordshire and NHS Stoke-on-Trent CCGs, told Pulse that a shared accountable officer will enable the area to provide 'new models of care that local GP leaders and others in primary care co-design'.
She said: 'The single commissioning structure will reduce CCG running costs and minimise duplication of commissioning work programmes.
'It's good that after our membership event in Northern Staffordshire and continuing interactions with member practices and local leads, the majority of our practices endorse this way forward with specific caveats such as continuing and robust locality arrangements with locally sensitive commissioning decision making.'
Readers' comments (3)
If failed NHS Trust Medical Directors can be automatically promoted to CCG Chiefs and a whole battery of incompetent Trust officials continue to thrive in the CCGs as advisers and operational Heads while Heads of Primary Care/NHSE who are on record for saying they 'don't care what patients say' move around from one County to another and mutually change positions when things get hot and litigation is on the cards, the system can't survive. NHS is struck by a parasite which is being fed by the govt.
Prof Hawkins' message clearly implies- Hunt is a dishonest opportunist who has replicas sitting at local levels of NHSE. This hydra must be liquidated by the government for NHS to survive. Can we trust the government to do the right thing? Guess not !
Dr Ruth Chambers stated "new models of care that local GP leaders and others in primary care co-design"
So those local GP leaders will be you and your apparatchiks? Not the other GPs who voted no confidence in you then?
Will your plan increase the number of coalface GPs and reduce patient demand?
No? Thought not.
It might reduce back office admin costs though? Would be more efficient and cheaper if you resigned.


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A friend of mine suggested at dinner that we each donate $20.14 to the senior fund. He was met with a series of rebuffs from around the table: gibes about the cost of tuition, gripes with the administration, and a few well-argued critiques of the University. Maybe the one-cent increase from last year was more than we could bear, but this wariness of the institution has come to be a trademark of Columbia students. What we lack in spirit we make up for in criticism, and for most of this country, tailgating is a lot sexier than protesting endowment investment in Big Oil. Our hesitance to cheer and our inclination to condemn leads some to believe that we don't like Columbia.
Let me set the record straight. We like it here. We came here because we were interested in thinking for ourselves instead of partaking in the worship of athletic teams that has somehow hijacked the identity of the best post-secondary educational system in the history of the known universe. Intellectual discomfort is the cornerstone of this institution. Every class is a class in doubt, and even before we set foot in Morningside, the curriculum self-selects for analytical minds. We are privileged in that it is our full-time job for four years to question the self, the state, the church, producers of knowledge, ways of thinking, epistemologies, histories, our professors, and ourselves. It would be hypocrisy not to question our school as well. We came because we wanted to philosophize with a hammer, to peer out of the cave, and this impulse springs from our eagerness for cognitive dissonance. Emerson said about people that, "only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them." We are the unsettled.
One of the insights of the American Enlightenment is the idea that dissent is integral to the institution. When President Bush said, "You're either with us or you're with the enemy," Jefferson rolled over in his grave. It is a trope of the Core that the good ideas will rise to the top and the bad ones will provide contrast rather than trouble. If criticism is false, then it is harmless. The Enlightenment conception of reason as an agent of salvation is still pervasive on this campus. Groupthink has no relationship with reason, which is why we only seldom indulge ourselves with the comfort of a rally around the flag. It would be a betrayal of conscience to put our books down once a week, and enter the herd mentality that has been euphemized in America as "school spirit." Here everyone's a critic. Our lack of school spirit is demonstrative of the spirit of our school, not some deficiency of collective character. There are many things wrong with the culture of Columbia, but the fact that we judge ourselves based on our contribution to human knowledge instead of our NCAA rankings is not one of them.
I went to homecoming. I got drunk and had my face painted. And I confess that I had a lot of fun, but I think once a year is enough. We did not come to New York to languish, or smirk, or stand agape. We came to participate and we came with the expectation of hard work that gives New York its adrenaline Geist. I like this culture. I like that our athletes are scholars first. I like the Manhattan zeal that substitutes for lawn chairs and backwards hats. In the words of my Lit Hum professor, "You stepped over eleven bodies to get here, you may as well do the readings."
Two columns ago I condemned the University for its lack of intellectual diversity, and it certainly has its epistemic problems. But that spirit of criticism that makes me wary of my school is a product of my school, and we all owe this place a lot for opening our minds to skepticism. That deserves a cheer.
Jake Goldwasser is a Columbia College senior majoring in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies. Thinking Twice usually runs alternate Thursdays.
To respond to this column, or to submit an op-ed, contact firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Volunteer Orientation
Come join the HSYC Volunteer Family!!
We look forward to seeing you at our Volunteer Orientation! Giving of your heart is such a gift that comes back to each of us. Come learn about the many ways you can give to the homeless pets in York County.
If you can define a regular schedule (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly) for the activities you are interested in, that would be greatly appreciated.
Volunteers play a vital role within our organization on day-by-day operations and enhancing the quality of life of our homeless pets.
Please review the Volunteer Information page, fill out our Volunteer Application Form online and print and sign our Volunteer Waiver form for liability purposes. Please bring the waiver with you to our orientation (we are in the process of redefining our Volunteer program - please stay tuned). Please come to the orientation ready to learn our processes and about how you can help. We look forward to seeing you there.