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I just spent a couple of fruitless hours, scanning the bond offering-lists, trying to find something to buy. But these are problems I'm running into. Either I already own as much as is probably prudent for my account, or it's not offered in a size small enough for my account, or it doesn't offer a real-rate of return even when discounted by just a 5% inflation-rate. When the bond-shopping becomes an exercise in frustration, then I switch over to other tasks, like strategizing. This led me to wondering how I was allocated with respect to cash. That led, obviously, to trying to identify the reasons why I carry cash. Others will slice the categories differently, but these are my current allocations: % of Assets Effective YldCash for Place Holding 0.2% 0.0% Cash for Emergencies 3.6% 3.0% Cash for Investing 3.5% 0.0% Total Cash 7.4% 1.1% Bond Investments 92.6% 9.4% Total Portfolio 100.0% 8.8% Placing Holding is an awkward column heading. But its meaning is readily understood. Most accounts (deposit or otherwise) require that a minimum-balance be carried, or else a monthly fee is imposed. The cash could be withdrawn if it were really needed. But doing so would just create cascading problems. So it's 'dead cash' that cannot be spent. But, also, it typically doesn't earn any interest. Emergency Cash is self-explanatory. Every household needs to be able to cover their likely-most contingencies, such as needing a new car or making the co-pays due from a hospitalization. For having just bought a car and for being in excellent health, I wouldn't carry as much of an E-fund as I currently do except for the fact of being able to get a reasonable rate of return on it from my Credit Union. Several times in the past, I've taken my E-fund down to zero when compelling investment opportunities presented themselves. But that currently isn't the case. Investing Cash is a self-explanatory term. It's the money sitting in brokerage accounts waiting to be spent. Typically, it pays no interest. I'd spend every penny of it if I could find something worth buying, and I'd even go on margin. But it's been a long, long time since I've needed to do that. The net-effect is that I'm currently carrying far more cash than I prefer. And the reason I prefer not to carry cash is that it pays so poorly and, thereby, creates risk. Yes, cash is free of 'default-risk'. But it is fully subject to 'inflation-risk', meaning, to sit in cash is to let one's purchasing-power erode. Investments For over a decade now, I've run pretty close to an all-bond portfolio. Sometimes, as part of a Chapter 11 workout, I'll end up with stock shares, or, sometimes, I'll run investing experiments that have me owning stocks, options, or futures. But by and large, these tend to be short-lived projects that never exceed 1% of AUM. Contrary to reports from the BLS that inflation is running at sub-2% (or whatever the latest CPI figures are), most households are experiencing an inflation-rate in the neighborhood of 5%-6%. When that is combined with their effective Federal and State tax-rates, it can easily be seen that their portfolio needs to return something in the neighborhood of 8%, just to break even after taxes and inflation. Therefore, every dollar of cash that offers 1%-2% has to be made up elsewhere in the portfolio by investments offering at least 14%-15%, or 150% of the average, long-term rate that stocks offer and twice that of bonds. In other words, the putative safety of cash has to be offset by taking on high risk elsewhere in the portfolio. Thus, the less cash that can be carried, the lower the average risk that each investment has to be. In other words, I've got nothing against seeking and accepting high returns (e.g., 50%-100%) when they can be found priced with a reasonable margin of safety. But they aren't common enough to depend upon. Instead, individual bond position returns tend to cluster in the mid-ranges of 7% to 9%. So the less cash I carry, the easier it is for me to meet my 8% benchmark (and sleep at night). Charlie
% of Assets Effective YldCash for Place Holding 0.2% 0.0% Cash for Emergencies 3.6% 3.0% Cash for Investing 3.5% 0.0% Total Cash 7.4% 1.1% Bond Investments 92.6% 9.4% Total Portfolio 100.0% 8.8%
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Find out how to register and microchip dogs and cats, as well as your responsibilities as a pet owner. We outline dog off-leash areas, plus provide information for lost and found.
Buying or adopting a new pet is a delight, but it does come with responsibilities. Make sure you're ready to take on an animal and that you have the right house for the breed you're choosing. Find out what you can do to keep your pet, your neighbours and your community happy.
Microchip and register
Transfer and claim ownership
Responsible pet ownership
Give your cat or dog the best chance at a happy and healthy life.
For a limited time only, Blue Mountains pet owners with a pension or health care card are entitled to subsidised desexing, microchipping and vaccinations. This is part of the RSPCA's NSW Community Animal Welfare Scheme (CAWS).
This offer ends on 30 June 2020.
Places are limited.
For more information or to book for your pet, please call the local veterinarians below:
All pets must be microchipped and registered. This lifetime registration is a two step process:
STEP 1: Take you pet to a Vet to be microchipped by the time it is 12 weeks old. As part of the process, they will add details to the online NSW Pet Registry or complete and send a Permanent Identification Form.
STEP 2: Login and register your dog before they are 6 months old and cats before they are 4 months old. To register you will need to create an account on the NSW Pet Registry. This is a public portal to an online database of microchipped and registered cats and dogs that live in NSW.
To create an account you will need to have your driver's licence, passport or medicare card handy. Alternatively, you can lodge a Lifetime Registration Form with Council. If your Vet has marked your pet's records as desexed or you have a desexing certificate or pensioner card you'll receive a discount.
Setup an account or login to NSW Pet Registry to transfer the ownership. The current owner of the pet must transfer ownership first. This is best done on the day that you pick up the new pet. The new owner must then login as soon possible to claim ownership.
Once you have an account you can log back in at any time to keep your contact details and profile up to date. Up to date details give your pet the best chance of being returned home if they are lost or injured.
If you do not have online access you can lodge a Change of Owner / Details Form with Council.
As an owner or person in charge of a dog or cat, it is your responsibility to make sure that your pet does not create a nuisance by noise or otherwise.
The intermittent and piercing nature of a dog's bark can be very disruptive for close neighbours. Understanding why your dog is barking and what you can do to identify and remove triggers is essential. When you are out and about with your dog, make sure it is leashed and under control. Take your dog to dog friendly and leash free parks. Pick up your dog's waste so nobody steps in it.
Dogs may be permitted in outdoor dining areas (the business owner decides). They are not allowed inside food consumption or preparation areas, the National Park, wildlife protection areas, school or children's playgrounds or within 10 metres of children's play equipment. Look out for and observe dog prohibition areas. Fines may apply if your dog is found somewhere it shouldn't be.
Cats are hunters and an important factor in the decline of native animal populations. All cat owners are encouraged to keep their cats indoors at night, to not feed stray cats and to have your cat cared for properly when you're away on holidays. Cats should be kept out of wildlife protection areas that is all National Parks, bushland areas and some parks and reserves. They are not permitted in food businesses - consumption or preparation areas.

subset: commoncrawl


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For this holiday week, Jonathan Feist, Andrew Grush and Joe Hindy got together to talk about their plans and the weather. Our boss and a few of our YouTube personalities, including Josh, sent a greeting message for you, and we managed to talk about Google's self driving car initiative for no more than a few seconds before going off track, literally and figuratively. I suppose we should conclude that at least two thirds of our panel would benefit from this expected partnership with Ford.
With just one more show before the end of the year, we want to thank you again, it is your continued support that makes this all possible. We enjoy sharing a laugh with you each week. We hope that you and yours have a wonderful holiday season.
The Android Authority Podcast – discussing topics in Android every single week.
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Joshua Vergara
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Recorded on December 22th, 2015 – Hosted and Produced by Jonathan Feist, on behalf of Joshua Vergara.
Happy Holidays!


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Seven amazing years this sweet angel has been gifted to us. It is hard to wrap my brain around, at times. When I think back on this time seven years ago, I can basically recall pain. Pain of seeing my baby suffer through such difficulties. As she suffered, I grew. I stretched. I learned to lean on my Lord. For many of her years, there was suffering. NOTICE, though, I can say MANY?? She is here despite the terrible odds we were given. PRAISE GOD! What a true blessing in every way she has been to us.
Here's what God has given us through Lillian's seven years:
A closer, more intimate relationship with God
A sweeter love between my and my husband. We have learned what we really mean to each other and how important our marriage is.
Deeper compassion for others.
The ability to understand that no one is perfect and people will fail us, but He never will and it's ok that others fail, because we fail too.
We so clearly see what we've taken for granted in having good health and healthy children. So..we try not to take things for granted anymore.
I've learned that we have had really hard times. We still do. I'm sure we still will...but we are so grateful and know we could have it much worse.
I could go on and on.
A friend of mine recently told me she was looking forward to the day that her daughter was out of the "give a mouse a cookie" phase. For so long it seemed like that is where we lived too and it's good to be able to look back and see how far this girl has come...and I think she has closed the chapter on that book. Praise the Lord.
In this last year, Lillian has increased her vocabulary to saying more words such as straw, shoe, talk, and some others. She will eat a small container of chocolate pudding in fifteen minutes when I'm prodding her along. She has learned to use the potty and is completely potty trained. She trick or treated in our neighborhood for the first time ever and loved every minute of it. She has become a big sister..and a good one to boot. This little girl is all love and she knows how to dish it out. Not a jealous bone in her body.
Yesterday we spent the day at Grandma's house celebrating everything in "ORANGE". Her favorite color. We all wore orange, cake was orange, party supplies all in orange...sunkist to drink, cheddar popcorn, chex mix, and puff corn in cheese and carrots. She got kitchen toys, roller skates, and karaoke microphone, and new clothes. Tonight we celebrated with dinner at Mcdonalds, her favorite restaurant where big sister gave her orange play dough, orange bubbles and a giant hershey bar in an orange bag with a balloon. As we ate, an elderly couple became captivated with her and the gentleman sketched her face on a pad of paper and then they presented it to her with a five dollar bill. That is Lillian. Her joy is infectious and she is always happily spreading it to others. I do believe she is the favorite to each of her sisters. It is apparent they all have a special place in their hearts for her. We are blessed.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
She's loving every minute
This little girl LOVES her brother. He came into our family on 9/27/13 at 8:20 pm. After a long, hard labor. He is beautiful and loved by one and all. He weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 13 oz. 20.5 inches long. It's taken me this long to post because I was discharged from delivery and then had multiple complications which found me back in the hospital several days after his birth. Preeclampsia. Worst I've EVER felt in life..I think. I've had tests run on me that I've never had before. PS- MRI's are noisy. An hours worth of totally mind numbing noisiness. ICK.
Anyway, Lillian has adjusted just beautifully to having Ezekiel home and spends much of the day kissing him. I only wish she had enough strength to hold him safely on his own, but helping her is just as sweet.
Can't honestly believe it's been seven weeks already. Where does the time go?
Anyway, Lillian has adjusted just beautifully to having Ezekiel home and spends much of the day kissing him. I only wish she had enough strength to hold him safely on his own, but helping her is just as sweet.
Can't honestly believe it's been seven weeks already. Where does the time go?
Posted by Michelle at 10:56 PM No comments:
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Photographs of the Historic Tour events held regularly at Zwartkops Raceway. Photographs in these galleries courtesy of:
Zwartkops to host Round Six of 2015 Midas Historic Tour
South African historic car racing will return to its original home Saturday (September 19), when the Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria will host round six of this year's Midas Historic Tour. The event will cater for eight separate car competition disciplines, with a total of 16 races on the programme. The main crowd drawcard should be a pair of races for SKF Pre-1966 Legend Production Cars. Victory favourites should include Hennie Groenewald (Mercury Comet), Thomas Falkiner (Ford Mustang), Mark du Toit… Read More
SKF Pre-1966/68 Sports & GT – 2015-06-06
Photographs of the SKF Pre-1966/68 Sports & GT races at the Midas Historic Tour event at Zwartkops Raceway on 6 June 2015.
Brilliant Historic Car Racing at Zwartkops – 6 June 2015
ISP and Trans-Am and ThoroughBred – 2014-06-07
Photographs of the ISP and Trans-Am and ThoroughBred races at the Midas Historic Tour race meeting at Zwartkops Raceway on 7 June 2014.
Media Release – Midas Historic Tour – 7 June 2014
Nostalgia will return to the Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria this Saturday (June 7) in speedy style, with more than 200 entries tackling a full day of racing during round four of the 2014 Midas Historic Tour. Heading up proceedings will be two races for SKF Legend Saloon Cars. Front runners should include Thomas Falkiner (Sunday Times Mustang), Franco Scribante Remos Mustang), Ferdi van Niekerk (Double F Mustang), Hennie Groenewald (Mercury Cougar), Mark du Toit (TAR Chevelle) and Jonathan du Toit… Read More


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"My name is Ike Skelton, and I am proud to be an American, a Missourian, a Democrat, and a resolute optimist. I've believed all my life that challenges are best met not with rancor or rhetoric but with grit and good cheer. . . . As a boy in Lexington, Missouri, I had dreamed of serving my country and seeing the world. Both dreams have come true, although not always in the way I had imagined."
Growing up during the Great Depression and World War II, Ike Skelton dreamed of joining the military. That dream was shattered when he contracted one of the most dreaded diseases of the era: polio. Far from abandoning hope, Skelton received treatment at Warm Springs, Georgia, overcame his disability and went on to become a college athlete, a celebrated lawyer, a Missouri state senator, and a U.S. congressman. Achieve the Honorable is the deeply personal tale of Ike Skelton's determined journey from the small town of Lexington, Missouri, to Capitol Hill.
During his years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Skelton became known as a bipartisan negotiator and a champion of the Armed Services. Throughout the decades, he helped steer the nation through its most dangerous challenges, from Communism to terrorism; took a leading role in the reform of the Department of Defense; dedicated himself to fulfilling the interests of his constituents; and eventually rose to become chair of the House Armed Services Committee during such pivotal events as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to detailing Skelton's political career and its accompanying challenges and triumphs, Achieve the Honorable provides inside glimpses into the lives of political titans like Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton. Along the way, we are treated to Skelton's engaging humor and shrewd insight into twentieth- and twenty-first-century U.S. politics.
A native of Lexington, Missouri, Ike Skelton served as the U.S. representative of Missouri's Fourth District from 1977 to 2011 and was the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee from 2007 to 2011. Since then, he has been a partner with the Husch Blackwell law firm, based in Washington, D.C., and Kansas City. Skelton, a member of the Academy of Missouri Squires and an honorary U.S. marine, has received a number of awards, including the U.S. Army's Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the U.S. Navy's Distinguished Public Service Medal, the U.S. Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Award, and the West Point Sylvanus Thayer Award.
Mr. Skelton will appear Thursday, Oct. 10 at River Reader Books, 1010 Main St., in Lexington MO at 6:30pm to give a short talk and sign copies of his book. Members of the State Historical Society of Missouri and other dignitaries will be in attendance. Since the book is still at press, copies will not be available until the evening of the signing. To ensure copies are available for all, River Reader is currently accepting book pre-orders for pickup the evening of Oct. 10. You can call River Reader at 660-259-4996 for more information.
"Ike Skelton is someone who has dedicated his life to protecting America. His proud journey through life is the American story of a patriot. Ike was my friend and classmate in Congress and supported me in every executive position I have held. He was a fighter for our men and women in uniform, for the military, and for a strong and secure America. Ike Skelton, very simply, is a good man and a great American."—Leon E. Panetta, former Secretary of Defense
"Ike Skelton's courage in dealing with the life-changing reality of polio as a teenager, combined with his dedication to public service and his understanding of the Congress and our national defense, come together in a compelling memoir."—United States Senator Roy Blunt (MO)
"In this engaging memoir, one of Congress's most respected and appreciated former members recounts the battles, personal and political, that made for an inspiring life and career. While generous with his praise to his many friends, family, and colleagues, there is no doubt that his success arose from his own indomitable will. His championing of historical study knew few peers, as did his advocacy for the nation's men and women in uniform. If ever anyone 'achieved the honorable,' it is Ike Skelton. He tells his fascinating story with grace, humor, and candor. Read this book to be reminded that above all else, character counts."—Richard H. Kohn, Chief of Air Force History for the USAF, 1981–1991
"Achieve the Honorable is a wonderful story of character, courage, and vision. Ike Skelton movingly relates how he overcame polio to help shape the best military in the world."—General George W. Casey, Jr., U.S. Army (retired)
Jacket illustration: Portrait of Chairman Skelton in the Armed Forces Committee Room, Rayburn House Office Building, 2012. Artist: Gavin Glakas.


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Study Sabbatical in South Africa
After living in the Middle East for 17 years we were excited about the prospect of living in Cape Town for a year. For good reason Cape Town is known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and Elaine and I were looking forward to introducing the girls, who have grown up in the inner city of Istanbul, to the mountains, beaches and parks. While enjoying Cape Town I also wanted to do some academic study and utilize the many theological resources available.
Back in the Library
Over the past year I worked on a Masters degree in New Testament Studies. It was a very enriching experience and I developed a new respect and appreciation for the Bible as God's Word. It has been many years since I completeted my seminary studies in the 90′s and at first it felt strange to be back in a classroom listening to a lecturer again. I had to do an enormous amount of reading and studying and it demanded discipline to sit still and work for many hours at a time. It wasn't long before I started to miss the action of ministry and church work but I realized that this was to be a different season for me – a time to be still, study and contemplate God's Word. This happened in three different ways:
1. Amos is still relevant
After reading through Amos several times, doing a detailed exegesis of most of the chapters, listening to hours of lectures, reading many articles, books and commentaries, and writing several papers – I started to get a feel of this unique man and his message to Israel in 762BC. I was struck again by the Holy God who demands justice and righteousness in human relations on earth. I discovered that the problems Amos addressed are still part of our world today and was comforted by God's care for the oppressed and warned by His judgment of the oppressor. I was challenged to be more compassionate and concerned about the plight of the oppressed and poor, and was deeply moved to see how God condemned outward religion and longed for the people to truly seek Him. The book of Amos, in its own way, serves to prepare the world for the coming of Christ and many of the themes in Amos find their fullest expression in the life and teaching of Jesus.
2. The Teaching of Paul
Soon after completing the course on Amos I started a course on the modern study of Pauline theology. It's a jump from 800 BC Israel to C1 AD Greco Roman cities. It was fascinating to see how God spoke now through the Apostle Paul who wrote his letters to individual churches and persons. He would never have imagined that they would become part of the Word of God in years to come. His letters addressed different situations in different cities and together they give us an integrated perspective of God's truth and the life He longs us to live. His writings, as a whole, are finely balanced and nuanced. Just think of how he dealt with issues like law and grace! His writings, together with the gospels, protected the church from a too simplistic understanding of God's great truths, from fundamentalism, from radicalism and over confidence of a 'we understand all about God' attitude. It creates in us a humble attitude as we approach God's Word knowing that we are dealing with something that supersedes mere intellectual understanding in order to experience the full force of this revelation of God. We, as Paul, need the Spirit of God Himself to lead and guide us.
3. The socio-historic context of I Peter
Finally, in writing my dissertation on the concept of witness in the socio-historic context of 1 Peter, I spent many hours writing one section which focused on only one verse and wrote almost 12,000 words to explain the meaning of a single word in 1 Peter 2:9! In this process I had to analyse the word in the context of the Old and New Testaments. I was blown away by the dynamic relationship between the Old and New Testaments, by the amazing way in which Peter accounted for the socio-historic context of his hearers and how he encouraged and instructed them to be responsible witnesses of God's great deeds in Christ. As I studied this verse and its theological implications, I became aware that it was much more than the writings of a simple fisherman or of any other human being, for that matter, and I was grateful again for the amazing work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Peter and his silent work in bringing us God's word.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to take this time out to be still and to study and reflect. I am back into the action of ministry again and realize, perhaps more than ever, that for ministry to be effective it needs to be guided by the Word of God and the power of the Spirit.


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Innovation in fintech has moved in a new direction in 2016 and with new players coming to the surface, the traditional sector has started to become digitally savvy after understanding that the consumer is looking for simplicity and cost effective solutions. Since the financial crisis, billions of dollars have been spent on startups in order to fund their products as trust in banks has depleted. This is a trend that is being seen in many financial industries, but this year is set to be a game changer for the insurance world as was evidenced at Finovate 2016.
11 leading robo-advisors grew by 65% and retained around $19 billion in assets under management last year, according to a Deloitte report, which indicates that this area is expected to boom. At Finovate 2016 this year, many products that were showcased were targeting insurance and explored the necessity of the digital, as Irene van den Brink, Director at fintech company OutShared highlighted that insurance and complexity had become synonyms. "Digitisation is key and with insurance, we want to do what Uber did for the taxi industry and Google did for the Internet," van den Brink said.
OutShared's product Cynosure epitomises what the insurance industry needs to be, as Director Ronald Willemsen, is full automation, alongside low cost operations, speed and flexibility. While this solution provides digital insurance, Envestnet aims to provide advice to those traditional advisors that are currently competing with the robo advisors. Jay Hummel, SVP, Advisory Service at Envestnet spoke about how reports about robots have "got out of hand." "What is not discussed is the infrastructure that is needed as the future is for institutions to blend with the digital to serve 20 year old millennials as well as 70 year old retirees who want interaction with a human personal advisor," Hummel said.
Unlike many of the other systems that were demonstrated at Finovate, additiv provides a customisable solution for financial services providers so that they can implement digital innovation and business models. This is something that Michael Stemmle, CEO and Founder of additv, believed that asset managers and brokers were looking to invest in as the system enables full integration with partners. additv describe themselves as the "iTunes of wealth management."
Advisory fintech has also developed and grown in the investment industry with products such as what Investify provides, which guides someone through the process of becoming an established investment customer. CTO of Investify, Tobias Haustein, believes that "everyone should feel right about investment," and this is an attitude that DriveWealth shares and implements in its cloud based mobile solution. With the launch of its real time fractional trading product, head of corporate strategy, Michael Fitzgerald, spoke about how stock prices no longer matter as investments made on their product Passport 2.0 are made according to how many dollars the investor wants to spend.
Another way that the Passport 2.0 has shown innovative techniques is by using the emoji function on the iPhone to ensure quick and easy investments, for example, when the package emoji is entered, companies such as Amazon show up. An add to basket capability is also enabled which allows the customer to budget how much money they want to spend and the percentage of cash they want to allocate to each security.
Capitali.se uses a similar format to make sure that investment is made easy with the use of common words so that anyone can enter the complex world of automated trading. This fintech company forms strategic decisions for businesses with the creation of rules that invest in companies only when they reach a certain stage and suggest a better strategy if relevant. With this, companies can gain the two things they want the most: customer engagement and increased revenue.
With the adoption of Apple Pay last year and other services where biometric technology is needed, Finovate 2016 saw many companies using voice authentication and touch ID within their new products that were being demonstrated. Biometric technology has become popular recently as more and more people begin to distance themselves from using passwords, pins and security questions because they are simply difficult to remember.
VoicePIN.com CEO, Lukasz Dylag, put across this view: "People don't like passwords, security questions and PINs. Human voice contains biometric features and is the most natural and convenient way of communication." Alongside this, security is always a key feature of these new solutions and Qumram showcased their product that records user sessions on the web across all platforms which is beneficial when it comes to compliance with regulation and prevention against fraud.
What to Expect on Day 2 of Finovate
Day 2 of Finovate will welcome many more fintech startups that are developing and innovating. Here are some comments from the speakers that will be on stage demoing their products tomorrow.
Marc Torrens, Chief Innovation Officer, STRANDS
"At the moment, banks are trying to sell products without thinking about what the customer truly wants. Banks should be proactive and offer customers a solution to their problem, personalise the product and understand the needs of the customer at the start of their journey, rather than at the end."
Roberto Valerio, CEO, Risk Ident
"Banks are more defensive about their risk management strategies as we live in a world now where fraud prevention doesn't just mean anti money laundering, it's also the prevention of terrorism financing. Because of this, the risk industry is becoming a crowded space but with the use of machine learning algorithms and working with players in different industries, we have created a fraud prevention platform."
David Sosna, Co-Founder and CEO, Personetics
"Banks and fintech are working together to produce some good stuff, but with the abundance of challenger banks coming to the surface, it questions how many mobile only banks are really mobile only. Banks should be the first point of contact for customers but they have too many products themselves and those that they have to compete with."


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Category Archives: politics
Fuck Politicians
Lots of shit going on in Virginia this week. Fuck Charlottesville. Stupid politician motherfuckers don't know how to leave shit alone. They had no reason to fuck with historical monuments. The Democrackheads constantly pull this censorship shit to avoid offending … Continue reading
Posted in politics, rants, religion, Uncategorized Tagged Charlottesville, Constitution, Freedom, Fuck, Laws, Politicians, Virginia Leave a comment
Fuck the Anthem
See. This is why people piss me off (and why I piss people off). I keep seeing these dumbass articles all over Facebook about athletes not standing for the national anthem. Half the idiots think the athletes should be fired, … Continue reading
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Fuck Your Vote
Goddamn I'm tired of this nomination and election bullshit. Fuck em all. The real problem is neither side fully respects the constitution. All they want to do is limit it and work around it to suit their own agenda. The … Continue reading
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Fuck the Election
Am I the only one tired of this bullshit? These assholes spend millions of fuckin dollars trying to get people to vote for them, and nothing ever changes anyway. You're choosing between 2 piles of shit. Actually, it's currently about … Continue reading
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Fuck Your Kids
I'm sick and tired of these uptight motherfuckers who act like the internet should be censored for the sake of their kids. Fuck you, and fuck your fucking kids. The internet is a free zone. No FCC. Don't like it? … Continue reading
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Fuck Walmart, Amazon, eBay, South Carolina, and anyone else who gave in to this anti-freedom hate campaign against the Confederate flag. I don't care what color you are, if your great great granddaddy fought for the north or south, or … Continue reading
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Posted by Morgan on Friday, Oct 31, 2014
Not since first picking up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone have I read a book that started off full of so much life and mystery. But this is just how Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt begins. As dramatic as any play, the scene is set when a letter arrives inviting Max Starling's actor parents to visit the Maharajah of Kashmir. His parents say Max will be coming too, but when the steamship leaves, Max is left behind. Determined to be independent until his parents return, he decides to find a job. But jobs for twelve year old boys don't pay very well, so Max uses his experience of growing up in the theater to disguise himself and act older. To his surprise, he discovers he has a talent for solving problems for other people. He is not quite a detective and not quite a life coach, but something in between, a Solutioneer, as he calls himself. Cases start rolling in, a lost dog, a lost Baron, even a lost spoon, Max finds the solution to them all. This wonderful beginning of a trilogy weaves tricky problems and spirited characters into the the overarching story of what has happened to his parents. A story that leaves readers both satisfied with Max's solutions and eager to find out more about Mister Max, Solutioneer.
Mister Max: The Book of Secrets is the recently released second title in the trilogy, which follows Max on his most important case yet. The problems are bigger and more complex, but Max is sure he can handle them. Fires have been springing up in small businesses, but no one will talk to the police, and with a visit from the Royal family approaching, the Mayor is desperate stop the fires without a fuss. Enter Mister Max and his ability to get people talking without knowing who they are really talking to. But with the appearance of an old schoolmate, for the first time he must deal with the possibility of being recognized, which could ruin Max's independent lifestyle. Help is provided in the form of his librarian Grammie; his tutor Ari; and the sometimes irritating, very talkative Pia, who insists she is his assistant. All the while Max continues to receive troubling hints on the whereabouts of his parents. A great follow-up to the first, this story manages to leave some solutions open-ended while setting up the last book and what readers will hope to be Max's reunion with his parents.


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If you are a girl with a younger brother, chances are that headline made you nod your head and say something along the lines of, "Uh huh, he WOULD do that, wouldn't he?" There's a solidarity among big sisters of bratty little boys, a kinship that lasts over the years. We all have stories of that time he gave Barbie a swirlie or used your first bra as a slingshot.
Bratty little brothers are, by definition, difficult and troublesome. But as this video-bombing little man is about to show, sometimes they are there to save you from something you are doing drastically wrong. Roll the videotape!
See folks, there is just nothing advisable about this "dance and mumble lyrics to some random popular song" trend that has taken the pre-teen set by storm. It is a pain in the tuchus for those of us who jump on YouTube to find a quality clip of Akon singing "Smack That" to play while we wait for the microwave to ding or the dryer to finish. And someone needs to dissuade them!
So why not a bratty little brother?
His dance was the best part of the whole video, wasn't it?
I will give it to this chick. According to her YouTube explanation, she was actually waiting around for her mom to video her practicing a drill team dance when she got silly and did a little moving to Akon. Not to mention her account is blessedly devoid of these brainless vids. So we'll excuse her. Perhaps she can lend her little bro to some girls who could really use an intervention?
Does your daughter have a bratty little brother? Does he help keep her grounded?
Image via YouTube


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Ryan warns of financial collapse over debt, urges Congress to avert 'moral failure'
Rep. Paul Ryan issued an urgent call to conservatives Friday to bridle the debt and head off a crisis he described as a looming "moral failure," defending the budget he introduced earlier this week from a barrage of Democratic attacks.
"We have to tackle this problem before it tackles us," Ryan said, speaking on the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Putting the problem in stark terms, the House Budget Committee chairman and former vice presidential nominee said the nearly $17 trillion debt will "weigh down the country like an anchor" within the next 10 years. He said lenders will at that point lose trust and interest rates across the country will soar -- under pressure, he said the federal government will print more money, cheapening the currency and leading to a financial collapse that has the effect of unraveling the social safety net.
"It would be a moral failure," Ryan said. The deficit spending, he said, "has to stop."
Ryan addressed CPAC just days after the Budget Committee chairman introduced the party's 2014 budget which aims to close the deficit in 10 years and eventually pay down the debt.
Democrats lambasted the plan for its significant changes to Medicare and the fact that it does not include tax hikes. The Democratic plan, though, also does not propose any major overhaul to deficit-driving entitlements and does not endeavor to balance the budget in 10 years.
Ryan spoke as CPAC charged into its second day at a hotel and convention center on the outskirts of Washington.
The second-day agenda was packed by big-name speakers, including 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Romney, who spoke a few hours after Ryan, also drew attention to the debt while voicing optimism that a "conservative vision can attract a majority of Americans." He pointed, as an example, to the recent legislative achievements by the dozens of Republican governors, many of whom were in attendance.
"Today, history and duty summon us again," Romney told the crowd. "I am sorry I won't be your president -- but I will be your co-worker, and I'll work shoulder to shoulder alongside you. ... In the end, we'll win."
Romney's primary rival Rick Santorum also spoke Friday, in an agenda that included House Republican Leader Eric Cantor, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as well.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, one of the morning speakers, predicted a conservative "comeback," as he systematically tried to knock down conservative stereotypes that Democratic campaigns have tried to perpetuate.
"Don't tell me Republicans are the party of millionaires and billionaires when Obama's campaign arm is charging people a half a million dollars for a meeting over near the White House," McConnell said, referring to recent controversy over reported efforts by an Obama-tied group to give top donors special access to the president.
McConnell argued that Democratic policies only ensure "that the poor stay poor." He said their policy "looks a lot more like flypaper than a safety net."
McConnell repeatedly turned back to the GOP goal of trying to upend the federal health care overhaul, saying "we're not backing down from this fight."
He also had choice words for a liberal group that recently mocked his wife's ethnicity in what he called "racist tweets."
"Anybody's who's got the nerve to question her patriotism doesn't know what tolerance is, do they?" the senator said.
Progress Kentucky tweeted last month: "This woman has the ear of (@McConnellPress -- she's his #wife. May explain why your job moved to #China!" The group later apologized and took down the tweet.
McConnell's wife, former U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, was born in Taiwan.
The CPAC gathering this week also served to highlight some divisions among conservatives. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who drew national attention for his 13-hour filibuster last week against over President Obama's drone-attack authority, needled some elements of the party in his lively speech Thursday.
"The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered. I don't think we need to name any names, do we?" Paul said. "Our party is encumbered by an inconsistent approach to freedom."
Paul sparred with long-time senators last week like Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who called the filibuster a "stunt" meant to "fire up impressionable libertarian kinds in their college dorms."
But even McConnell, who previously backed Paul's primary opponent in the 2010 election, on Friday called his Kentucky colleague a "warrior."


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Science &Technology
Technology is a natural fit with information literacy. Whether it is a new tool or technique I am on the constant hunt for how to increase productivity. I send out a newsletter once a week on 5 new pieces of technology that could be utilized in teaching. Science collaborations are deeply satisfying as students are fascinated by how the world works and functions. We learn a lot from each other. Research is important for students to understand and science is at the heart of that conversation.
Under the Sea
Animal Adaptations
Robotics & Coding


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Cast: Jessica Chastain, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, John Lithgow
Director: John Madden
Genre: Drama, War
Rated: M
Running Time: 132 minutes
A cutthroat lobbyist on the verge of personal and professional burnout pushes legal and ethical boundaries to ensure the passage of a controversial law in Miss Sloane, a riveting political thriller from Academy Award®-nominated director John Madden. Pulling back the curtain on the secretive and powerful lobbying industry, Miss Sloane reveals how Capitol Hill games are played " and won.
Brilliant, self-assured and utterly unscrupulous, Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is one of the most powerful forces behind the scenes in Washington. The star player at an old-school lobbying firm headed by George Dupont (Sam Waterston), Miss Sloane will do whatever it takes for her clients " even if that means bending the rules. But when the head of the powerful gun lobby calls on her to help convince women to oppose a bill that will impose new regulations on the sale of firearms, she turns him down flat and instead joins a scrappy boutique firm representing the backers of the law. Alongside the firm's CEO (Mark Strong) and a group of young up-and-comers, Miss Sloane schemes, maneuvers and manipulates her way to what could be a stunning victory, but her zeal for winning threatens both her career and the people she cares about. Compromised, vulnerable and under investigation by the Senate, Elizabeth Sloane may finally have met her match.
Miss Sloane
Release Date: March 2nd, 2017
A taut and twisting tale of a Washington powerbroker obsessed with victory, the Miss Sloane screenplay took filmmaker John Madden by surprise with its richly detailed portrait of an industry that remains shrouded in mystery. 'While having a sense of the job description, I didn't know exactly what a lobbyist did, which I imagine is true of a lot of people," says John Madden, acclaimed director of such diverse films as Mrs. Brown, The Debt and Academy Award winner Shakespeare in Love. 'The script was intelligent, unexpected and very satisfying. It is set in a world where everything is strategy. The natural language of the characters is irony and indirection, which makes for an extremely clever " and very funny and surprising " film. The greatest weapon the script has is that it never lands exactly where you think it's going to."
Elite communications professionals, lobbyists make their living by influencing the decision-makers of the world, including the most powerful lawmakers in America. Mysterious, secretive and fantastically powerful, even the origins of the term lobbyists is unclear, although some say it was coined by President Ulysses S. Grant to refer to special-interest representatives waiting to buttonhole him in the lobby of the Willard Hotel.
'The film defies a single description," says John Madden. 'It is at once a political drama, an unpredictable and constantly surprising thriller, an exposé of a little-examined, and even less well-understood mechanism of the political process, and above all, a riveting study of an extraordinary and obsessive character, defined as much by her intelligence and skills as by her gender. And most unexpected of all is its portrait of the emotional life of a heroine who would refuse to countenance that she even has one."
'The film is about a seemingly unattainable political objective," John Madden continues. 'It is an issue which has stubbornly refused to respond to legal challenge. It looks at the many tactics lobbyists use to influence people. Trying to overcome the insurmountable obstacles is the ride of the film, and it's driven by Elizabeth Sloane. She takes no prisoners and employs tactics that might raise eyebrows. She rarely ever stops to rest. She is an utter obsessive, and obsessives are a very interesting breed to watch on film."
John Madden was perhaps most surprised by screenwriter Jonathan Perera. A U.K.- educated attorney who left his practice to try his hand at writing, Jonathan Perera had never penned a screenplay before or even spent much time in the U.S. 'I'd expected a cocky, knowing, Santa Monica-dwelling film nerd," says the director. 'He's nothing like that. He is very literate about film, but incredibly open, smart and direct, without the attitude that might go with such a precocious debut."
Jonathan Perera was living in South Korea, teaching English at an elementary school, when he started preparing to write his first script. Instead of enrolling in film school, he read as many scripts as he could get hold of. 'I'd read the first 60 pages of a script. And then I'd go to work and think about how I would end it. In the evening, I'd read the latter sixty pages of the script and see how I did."
An interview he heard on BBC News gave him the kernel of an idea that he needed to get started. 'It was a man named Jack Abramoff," he remembers. 'He was a lobbyist who had been sent to prison for some kind of wrongdoing. I didn't know too much about the lobbying industry, but I knew that it could be a great basis for a film. I felt we hadn't really seen an exploration of the influence peddling and power brokering that goes on behind the scenes in Washington."
Miss Sloane takes the audience inside the soundproof conference rooms of a multi-billion-dollar industry that traditionally keeps a low public profile. 'I was interested to explore how they bring their power to bear," says Jonathan Perera. 'It's kind of an intersection between politics and espionage. They hew as close to the edge of the law as possible to put pressure on the representatives. And they don't always manage to stay within the law. I wanted to push a lobbyist to the legal limit and see where it took the story."
Jonathan Perera managed to get his script in front of Ben Browning, co-president of Production and Acquisitions at FilmNation Entertainment. 'I got sent a script by a writer I didn't know," Ben Browning recalls. 'It was the first thing he'd ever written and it was great. The movie got made in the course of just over a year. In my experience, that never happens in Hollywood."
Ben Browning was impressed by the power of the writing and the originality of the storytelling. 'It is a gripping drama from the very beginning, a script that you finish in one sitting," he explains. 'It has elements of thriller, drama and politics, but more than anything else, it's a great character piece. It's an entertaining, fast-paced look at one of the lesser-known aspects of politics with a spectacular female leading role. And it's not a female role that's defined by anything conventionally female. She isn't a wife; she isn't a mother. Miss Sloane could have been a man, but making her a woman in a man's world makes this character feel so much richer."
John Madden and Jonathan Perera spent several weeks together in London researching the political and procedural underpinnings of the story before Jonathan Perera began reworking it. 'It was already a very strong script," says John Madden. 'It just needed to be deepened and fleshed out. Jonathan Perera and I are both literate in American political procedure, but not experts. We didn't want to begin exploring things creatively without knowing that we were on solid ground with the facts."
From their very first discussion, Jonathan Perera was impressed by John Madden's keen grasp of the story. 'It's very complicated to unpack," he explains. 'There are lots of storylines, lots of threads, lots of layers going on, but John Madden understood it completely. More than anything else, he knew what was going on inside the characters' heads. A large part of rewriting the movie was sitting with him and talking about how the characters should develop over the course of the story. In the first draft of the script, Elizabeth was always two steps ahead of everyone and never particularly vulnerable. Developing some of her relationships further gave us a lot more colours to work with."
The film's central character, Elizabeth Sloane, is a high-powered lobbyist working at a well-established white-shoe firm. 'She's what you might call a dark-arts lobbyist, meaning she will use ethically questionable methods to achieve her clients' goals," says Jonathan Perera. 'We meet her at a point in her life when she's on the verge of a meltdown. She turns down a lucrative offer to quash a controversial piece of legislation and instead goes to work for the opposition."
The piece of legislation in question is the fictional Heaton-Harris Bill, a bipartisan bill proposing stricter gun control legislation. 'But the issue of gun legislation isn't itself the film's subject," says producer Kris Thykier. 'This is an engrossing film set in the world of government affairs and lobbying. Jonathan Perera placed an emotive issue at the heart of it, but it could perhaps have been one of a number of others. The whip crack of the dialogue and the humour underneath it refresh our notions of the genre, creating something both accessible and entertaining. Elizabeth Sloane's pursuit of her goal at any cost and her ability to play with people's lives are riveting to watch."
When the film opens, a Senate hearing examining Liz Sloane's ethics is underway. As the committee questions her and the other witnesses, the action flashes back to the circumstances that have brought her there. 'The real challenge was to make a movie that's so verbal," says John Madden. 'The talk is smart and really fast, which made the script an exhilarating read. But a story about a bunch of people talking has to earn its keep as a piece of cinema, and we looked for ways to transcend that."
With his cinematographer, Sebastian Blenkov, John Madden developed a cinematic approach to this most verbal of pieces. The story's momentum and immediacy were the touchstones of this approach, which unfolds in a free-flowing rhythm of shooting that allowed several ideas and narrative strands to co-exist. This was further played out in the editorial strategy, where Alexander Berner externalized Elizabeth's patterns of thought, constantly juxtaposing and reordering cause and effect. As John Madden puts it, 'The story develops in bursts of headlong, adrenalized energy, interrupted by stasis and silence, when the void underneath the character's obsession opens up and threatens to engulf her."
Ben Browning had faith that John Madden would keep the action moving and the atmosphere dynamic. 'John Madden is simply an excellent filmmaker," he says. 'I put him in a category with Ang Lee or Stephen Frears. He's defined by the fact that he makes good films, period. You can't necessarily draw lines of continuity between his works, other than that he's clearly attracted to great drama, he brings forth incredible performances and his films have texture and a sense of place."
'The film will transport audiences into a world that perhaps they thought they knew, but that is so much more complex than they ever dreamed," says Kris Thykier. 'You're going to be drawn in by this charismatic, compelling, often dark character and the sheer satisfaction of a tale well told."
'The story is meant to be an exciting ride that keeps audiences on the edges of their seats," says Jonathan Perera. 'Movies about politics don't have to be stuffy," he adds. 'The audience won't feel lectured or talked down to. They will be second-guessing where this is going and be upended just as the characters are. Entertainment can also be intellectually engaging, it can spark a debate, but that's not the sole objective here. The objective is to send the audience on a rollercoaster ride with an extraordinary heroine."
Miss Sloane Will See You Now
With an outstanding screenplay and an acclaimed director, the filmmakers had little difficulty attracting a stellar ensemble to populate the world of Miss Sloane. 'This was a fantastic film to cast," says John Madden. 'It's the kind of muscular, robust language that actors can't wait to speak out loud. As soon as they read the script, people wanted to do it."
In the central role of Elizabeth Sloane, the filmmakers cast two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain. A hard-charging maverick who plays fast and loose with the rules, Miss Sloane's sole interest is winning for her clients, whoever they may be. A lone wolf to the core, she's always a step ahead of the opposition, and sometimes even her own team. But Miss Sloane is beginning to recognise the price of her workaholic lifestyle.
'Jessica Chastain is one of the best actresses of her generation," says Ben Browning. 'She has already created a gallery of indelible characters. She's lightning fast with dialogue, very quick on her feet and always thinking. That was essential to this part, because Miss Sloane is the puppet-master throughout the film."
John Madden and Jessica Chastain worked together on the 2010 thriller The Debt, when the actress's film career was just beginning. He sent this script to her soon after reading it. 'The part just fit her so perfectly," he says. 'I have known her since before she became -Jessica Chastain' and recognised her as a diamond in the rough. I was hugely impressed by her then, and as I read this script I couldn't get the idea of her in the part out of my mind."
Jessica Chastain had long harbored a wish to team up with John Madden again. 'He's so generous on set," she says. 'Even if someone comes in for one day, John Madden does anything he can to make that person feel a part of the team. That's why people like Christine Baranski and Jake Lacy came in for just a short time. Each day I saw the actors I would be working with and knew I was going to be in the best hands, because John Madden had orchestrated the whole thing."
Elizabeth Sloane is a one-of-a-kind character, the actress realised. 'She's incredibly intelligent and ambitious and compulsive in her desire to win, but she's also really vulnerable. It was a beautiful character to embark on. The script has such intelligence. It never talks down to the audience. It explains what's going on simply and beautifully."
But it was the thriller aspects of the story that most impressed Jessica Chastain. 'You're watching an incredible story about a woman who risks everything to win," says the actress. 'There are twists all over the movie. Just when you think you know what's going on, there's a big surprise. I like movies that keep you guessing."
After years of representing corporate interests at an established blue-chip lobbying firm, Elizabeth Sloane shocks her colleagues by jumping ship for a more ideologically driven outfit. That firm " Peterson Wyatt " is antithetical to everything Liz has based her career on. 'She sees them as granola-eating, Birkenstock-wearing hippies who don't really understand what it takes to get anything done," Jessica Chastain says. 'Her background is about supporting free enterprise, without thinking about the consequences. She doesn't fit in well there, although truthfully, Liz is a rebel at both firms. She doesn't really work well with others."
But it's not a sudden shift in political perspective or a pang of conscience that motivates her to join the smaller firm, says Jessica Chastain, it's the apparent impossibility of the task that attracts her. 'Liz Sloane is addicted to winning. The bigger the risk, the bigger the win. That's what entices her. The gun lobby donates heavily to political campaigns and politicians care about keeping their seats. So they have a good deal of leverage in Congress, which makes them a formidable opponent for her. The real issue we are addressing here is what is rotten in our system, what doesn't work in American politics and why change is so difficult."
Jessica Chastain promises viewers they are in for a fast-paced, compelling and unexpected two hours. 'There's a lot more mystery than you are used to seeing in political dramas. You won't quite know what Liz's motivations are or what she intends to do, because she has so many tricks up her sleeve, and that makes for a thrilling ride."
Mark Strong plays Sloane's new boss, Rodolfo Schmidt, whose approach to their mutual cause could not be more different from hers. The highly principled and brilliant CEO of a boutique DC lobbying outfit, he fights hard to win for his clients, but never crosses the line, legally or ethically. Hiring Liz is a calculated risk for him, but he truly believes she might be the only person who could win the fight for the Heaton-Harris Bill. Though he begins to regret his decision as Elizabeth's methods grow more extreme, he retains both a respect for and a fascination with her.
'This is a role people might not expect to see Mark Strong in," says John Madden. 'He is Elizabeth's new employer, her moral conscience, and, to some extent, her antagonist. In the U.K., Mark has a reputation as an actor's actor. Everyone who has worked with him has massive admiration for him. In the movie world, I think he has been occasionally pigeonholed and certainly undervalued, so it's great to cast him in a role that has a completely different feel about it.
As the formidable counterbalance to Elizabeth, he brings an indispensable humanity. "
Jessica Chastain, who previously worked with Mark Strong in Zero Dark Thirty, says 'Mark is intelligent and thoughtful about the choices he makes. Unlike Liz, Rodolfo really does care about how other people perceive him and how they're affected by his actions. The differences between the two of them make for really interesting scenes. She is like a bull in a china shop and he's trying to control the bull."
The script was unlike anything Mark Strong had read before. 'It ticked all the boxes for me," he says. 'It's a page-turner. It gave me a real sense of the world that these people all live in. The fast pace of the dialogue is a technical challenge for an actor. In life, we talk very quickly. Our thoughts tumble over one another. We interrupt each other and still understand exactly what is being said. To read a script that seems to replicate the way people talk in an industry where fast thinking and instant decisions are absolutely vital was exciting."
The strength of the ensemble was another draw for the actor. 'It's such a quality cast," he says. 'Jessica Chastain brings authority and believability to her character. Lobbyists are very capable and wickedly functional people. Liz is also almost out of control. Rodolfo is there as a moral marker in order to show how far she has veered off course."
John Madden recruited a pair of celebrated veteran actors, Sam Waterston and John Lithgow, for two other crucial roles in the film.
As George Dupont, head of government affairs at Cole, Kravitz & Waterman, Waterston represents the establishment lobbying industry. A senior partner, he is most concerned with reeling in blue-chip clients and increasing the bottom line. Elizabeth Sloane's loose-cannon style irritates him, but her profitability is unmatched. When her cavalier treatment of a potentially huge new client infuriates him, it opens the door for her exit.
'John Madden is no slouch and neither is Jessica Chastain, so what's not to like?" says Waterston. 'The script was so compelling to read. I never saw what was coming next. I know a little bit about this world, which is part of what made me want to do to the movie in the first place. There are people like this, really ambitious people who are attracted by the big magnets of power, like Washington. They work themselves to the edge of collapse, and they're perfectionists. Jessica Chastain captures all of that."
Once Jessica Chastain's protector, George Dupont becomes her worst enemy. 'My character very much wants to represent the gun lobby," Waterston explains. 'When she refuses to cooperate, he hauls her on the carpet. Her response is to leave the company and join the other side. The client wants to destroy her, so George Dupont gives it his best shot, which makes him a pretty rotten guy. What follows is extremely intense."
Lithgow plays Senator Sperling, a long-serving Democratic legislator and highly regarded good ol' boy. His reputation as a critic of corruption in politics and the lobbying industry makes him popular with the electorate and the media, but like all elected politicians, vulnerable to the delicate demands of remaining in office. Sperling chairs the Senate committee investigating Miss Sloane.
Lithgow and John Madden had worked together on stage three decades earlier. 'So I was inclined to say yes before I even read the script," says the twice Academy Award-nominated actor. 'And then it turned out to be one of those really fun reads " beautifully written and plotted, with incredible characters. My part gets better and better as it goes along."
He says he assumed the screenplay had been written by an acclaimed and experienced scriptwriter when he first read it. 'Then I learned that it's Jonathan's first screenplay. He came out of nowhere. This is a man who'd never even been to Washington, D.C. and it's packed with authentic detail. And the masterful way in which the story unfolds is a real pleasure. Bit by bit, you think you've got it. Then it turns out that there are still some surprises coming."
The film also reunited Lithgow and Waterston after many years. 'John and I were in -Hamlet' together about a century and a half ago," says Waterston. 'We've known each other a long, long time. During the shoot, we worked late into the night and the past just came right back. That was almost as much fun as the on-camera stuff."
The younger actors were delighted to be treated to Waterston and Lithgow's war stories. 'Just listening to John and Sam talk about their early days in theater was incredible," says Jessica Chastain. 'I'd almost fall over from laughing about all these things that had happened in the past in the theater world and that was wonderful for me."
Miss Sloane's motley support team of junior lobbyists (known on set as the Ragamuffins) is an incredibly close and loyal group who take their inspiration from their boss. Sloane forms a particularly close bond with one young woman, Esme Manucharian. Played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Esme Manucharian is a poised, well-informed associate lobbyist at Peterson Wyatt. Gun safety is her signature issue. Esme Manucharian becomes Elizabeth's new protégée, but her role as the unwilling face of the campaign for the Heaton-Harris Bill drives a wedge between them.
'To be able to do work that is topical and also provocative is the best for me," Gugu Mbatha-Raw says. 'This takes you straight into a world that hasn't really been explored. These are very smart people who show their intelligence through humour and competition. It is always a battle of wits with them. One of the things the movie explores is the cost of living in such a ruthless and ambition-driven environment."
Esme Manucharian is what some would call a conviction lobbyist, someone who selects her clients based on her core beliefs. 'That's what separates her from Miss Sloane," says Gugu Mbatha-Raw. 'Esme Manucharian also really wants to win, but it's because she is invested in making change."
This brings her into conflict with Liz, whose objectives she cannot easily discern, and she begins to feel herself manipulated. 'You could argue that it is for the greater good, but that's the whole moral dilemma of the film," says Gugu Mbatha-Raw. 'At what cost will you achieve your goal? If winning is all, but you alienate the people who care about you in the process, is it worth it?"
Jessica Chastain was impressed by the younger actress's thoughtfulness, sensitivity and openness. 'It is really interesting to see those energies together," she says. 'Gugu Mbatha Raw brings a kind of vulnerability that really rocks Liz. For the first time, she is forced to confront another person's feelings. I think in many ways Esme is the heart of the film."
For actress Alison Pill, the fact that, like her, many of the film's cast members honed their craft on stage was a big plus. 'There are so many great theater actors in the movie," she says. 'Coming from a theater background, the text is always foremost for me. If the words are good, you're already halfway there. When you have people like Sam Waterston, Michael Stuhlbarg and Mark Strong, plus this level of dialogue, it makes for an elevated discussion."
Alison Pill plays Jane Molloy, a junior associate who was Elizabeth Sloane's protégée at Cole, Kravitz & Waterman. When Sloane leaves the firm, Jane has almost paid off her college loans and is considering a career change. She's unnerved by the morally ambiguous world of lobbying, and uncomfortable with Liz's apparent disregard for conventional ethical standards. When Liz invites her to join the team at Peterson Wyatt, Jane shocks everyone by declining the offer.
'She's just not happy with what she's doing," says Alison Pill. 'Perhaps it's because Liz is not the best boss. She's very demanding and thinks nothing of calling people at three in the morning. Jane knows a lot of Liz's secrets and that makes for a love-hate relationship between the two of them. Her refusal to go with Liz is seen as a real betrayal."
In addition to Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Alison Pill, the filmmakers cast a number of rising young talents to play the Ragamuffins, including Al Mukadam, Douglas Smith, Grace Lynn Kung, Lucy Owen, Meghann Fahy and Noah Robbins.
'We are a team of junior lobbyists who follow in Liz's wake," says Smith, who plays Sloane's indispensable right hand, Alex. 'We believe everything she says wholeheartedly and we want to please her at all costs."
Clara, played by Fahy, is one of the young lobbyists at Peterson Wyatt who greets her at her new firm. 'The team is young, committed and energetic," says the actress. 'I think it is refreshing and exciting to watch all of these young people come together under the titanic presence that is Elizabeth Sloane."
When her former boss, George Dupont, turns on Sloane, he unleashes his colleagues to try to bring her down: bloodless apparatchik R.M. Dutton, played by Raoul Bhaneja, and Pat Connors, a highly effective street fighter of a lobbyist who's not afraid to get his hands dirty. Connors has worked his way up to a partnership in Cole, Kravitz & Waterman, operating alongside Elizabeth for years, but her defection to Peterson Wyatt stuns him.
Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays Connors, has turned in an extraordinary series of performances over just the past few years in prestigious films including the title role in the Coen brothers' A Serious Man, as Hollywood legend Edward G. Robinson in Trumbo, and a not very professional hit man in Seven Psychopaths. 'He is a fantastically surprising actor, who burrows deep inside whatever he's doing," says John Madden. 'He never gives you what you might have expected or anticipated. It's very exciting."
Connors toes the company line and has been richly rewarded for it, but he's always painfully aware that he is not quite in Liz Sloane's league. 'He's probably a little jealous of how talented she is," says Michael Stuhlbarg. 'He's also very accomplished and at the top of his profession, but I think he probably just has to work harder. As smart as he is, she always seems to outthink him."
Michael Stuhlbarg gives kudos to the film's casting team for pulling together the stellar ensemble. 'They were able to find not just talented artists, but people who sparkle," the actor says. 'Everyone has an original take on who these characters are and you can see why they were cast. The energy just bounces back and forth beautifully. It was inspiring."
David Wilson Barnes plays Posner, the straight-arrow in-house attorney at Peterson Wyatt. 'He's another brilliant actor from whom we'll be hearing much, much more," says John Madden. 'He fights an initial aversion to develop a complicated relationship with Elizabeth Sloane while dealing with some of the attacks that are coming her way."
'Posner is like a microcosm of the experience of the film itself," observes David Wilson-Barnes. 'He comes in with one opinion, and he leaves with a deeper understanding of Sloane whom he comes to respect, but whom he would happily have dumped in the trash."
'Girls" star Jake Lacey snagged the fascinating role of male escort Robert Forde. A loner with little respect for authority, Forde develops an unusual connection with Sloane, but their relationship will cause her some embarrassment down the line. 'Every actor in his age group wanted to play the role," says John Madden. 'Once I'd seen Jake, I couldn't really consider anybody else for it. He's a very exciting presence."
Lacey says he looks at three things when considering a project " script, director and cast. 'This has all of them and they are pretty remarkable. It is the story of a group of people led by this extraordinary woman working toward a common goal and how they get there. It's not a soapbox; it's a riveting human drama, which is far more thrilling than having someone just tell you what to think."
Behind The Scenes on K Street
Knowing that Miss Sloane was likely to attract controversy, director John Madden believed the film's success would depend on the accuracy with which it presented the lobbying world. 'So we did whatever we could to make sure the facts are correct," he says. 'We identified a lobbying firm called the Glover Park Group, seasoned Washington insiders who have advised other filmmakers. They helped us see that a few of our ideas were out of date, because lobbying " and the ethical issues governing good practice " has had to change post-Jack Abramoff."
Adam Blickstein of the Glover Park Group, a leading strategic communications and government affairs firm, put together a team to advise John Madden and Jonathan Perera as they worked on the screenplay. 'Miss Sloane is an exemplary political thriller," says Adam Blickstein. 'While a lot of movies call themselves political thrillers, they tend to give a superficial view of politics. This drills down to how politics is made. They get into the sausage-making process and it's not always pretty. It's an intricate process that most people don't understand. I think audiences will enjoy this well-informed, in-depth look."
Adam Blickstein's team helped to shape the story with the filmmakers and educated the cast about the role of the lobbyist. 'We had very long conversations with the actors," recalls Adam Blickstein. 'They wanted to discuss their parts and what their career trajectory would be. It was interesting to walk them through it, and it showed how much thought they were giving to building their characters."
The lobbyist vouches for the authenticity of the film's portrait of his industry. 'Miss Sloane captures the various intricacies and facets of D.C., whether it's something happening on Capitol Hill legislatively or behind the scenes in a corporate boardroom," says Adam Blickstein. 'That process is structured, campaigned and strategic, and it usually changes the next day. The movie shows the uncertainty, agility and strategic underpinnings of D.C. in a way few films ever have."
Both Jessica Chastain and Gugu Mbatha-Raw did intensive research to prepare for their roles. 'I went to D.C. and I met with 11 lobbyists, mostly women," says Jessica Chastain. 'I wanted to know what they struggle with and how they became a success in that environment. I talked to them about their families and their personal lives. We discussed what it really takes to get a bill passed and the different ways you would go about it. I learned what grass roots and grass tops were and how the various strategies of running a campaign work."
The experience of being able to meet with real-life lobbyists and soak up the Washington atmosphere was invaluable, says Gugu Mbatha-Raw. 'I met with a couple of lobbying firms including the Glover Park Group. I wanted to understand how you would get into this line of work."
The actors playing Miss Sloane's team at Peterson Wyatt took part in a 'lobbying boot camp" led by Susan Brophy, a managing director at Glover Park. Brophy has worked at the White House, at the U.S. Embassy in Portugal and was the head of corporate affairs for Time Warner.
'Susan spent a full day walking the actors through her background," says Thykier. 'She explained how each of those individual characters might have gotten to Cole, Kravitz & Waterman or Peterson Wyatt. We wanted to make sure that everyone who was involved in the film also understood this world. How does it work? What is the relationship between lobbyists and the Hill? What is the relationship between congressmen and senators? How do bills get passed?"
Madden was acutely aware of the cinematic challenge the film represented, and chose to work with the Danish cinematographer, Sebastian Blenkov. 'He's got a wonderful sense of dynamics, a brilliant compositional eye, and an ability to get really close " physically and figuratively " to the action and the actors," says Madden. 'He often works hand-held, uses the minimum of intervention in terms of lighting equipment, and senses the wavelength of the story with enormous accuracy. And actors respond to him with complete trust. The film has a beautiful physical look, and an unforced modernity."
Sebastian Blenkov's work was a tremendous inspiration to John Madden's second collaboration with the editor, Alex Berner, with whom he worked on The Debt, also starring Jessica Chastain. 'Alex Berner's approach is both disciplined and wonderfully loose and instinctive," John Madden says. 'He was completely attentive to undercurrents of meaning and emotion. We developed a particular style with this movie, using often disorienting and quite bold transitions of time and space, which seemed to reinforce the sense in the film that nothing is quite what it seems, and delivering the audience to a place they didn't expect."
John Madden was just as exacting in making sure the film, which was shot in Toronto, created an accurate physical portrait of Washington, D.C. Production designer Matthew Davies and his team twice traveled to the capitol to research locations that they would then recreate in Canada. 'Washington is an elegant, very well-appointed city that is home to a lot of very important power brokers," says Davies. 'It seems to have the latest high-end hybrid vehicles. The subway system is almost futuristic. Capitol Hill is beautifully maintained and all the buildings of white marble are immaculate. We wanted to portray the affluence and gentility of Washington, D.C. political life.
'John Madden really wanted to capture the character detail and the authenticity of K Street political lobbying firms, as well as the appeal of a career in lobbying," continues Davies. 'He saw both the optimism of people trying to effect real change and the behind-closed-doors negotiations that characterize the seamier side of American politics. John is an exquisite storyteller, and he had interesting suggestions that reinforced his themes and ideas."
One of the first things Davies noticed, he says, was the premium placed on space, particularly in prestigious locations. 'The view from your window is more important than the square footage of your office," he notes. 'A view of the White House or Capitol Hill or any landmark is very prestigious. At these old-school firms, everything is finished to an exquisitely high standard. Cole, Kravitz & Waterman is a very staid, traditional environment. It is somewhat understated, but beautifully put together with refined details and a luxurious palette of materials that create a strong, confident impression to outsiders."
On the other hand, Peterson Wyatt is a newer, smaller boutique firm. 'It is more organic in terms of how its spaces are used," the designer says. 'It seems like a friendlier, more relaxed environment than Cole, Kravitz & Waterman. Attention is placed on the collaborative spirit of the office environment."
Davies and his team also recreated a Senate hearing room at the University of Toronto. 'The hearing rooms share similar wood veneers, similar lighting and are built around the same time. Consistency had to be maintained with the original."
In keeping with the quest for accuracy, costume designer Georgina Yarhi created a highly personalized wardrobe for each of the actors. 'She's pitch perfect in terms of how she creates tone for every character, as well as being a first-rate collaborator," says Davies. After discussions with the director, the production designer and Jessica Chastain, Georgina Yarhi began to select a core look for Elizabeth Sloane. 'She is a top lobbyist in Washington, where someone like her can make a seven-figure salary," says Georgina Yarhi. 'So she makes a lot of money, but she would never go shopping. She hires a stylist. Twice a year someone pulls a selection of designer clothes from the racks, she tries them on and then she doesn't have to think about it. Her clothing is not about beauty or aesthetics, it's about putting on a suit of armor to face the world."
Accordingly, the clothing Miss Sloane wears emphasises power and prestige over allure. 'A woman like Liz would never have any overt sexuality in her clothing, no deep plunging necklines or short skirts," points out Georgina Yarhi. 'There's an awful lot of black. And when we did use colours, they were very strong, like magenta, bottle green or fuchsia. There's nothing overly feminine or whimsical."
Georgina Yarhi and Jessica Chastain worked with a stylist at the luxury women's department of Toronto's top department store. 'We went to The Room at Hudson's Bay and had a personal shopper bring in things that fit our specifications, just as Elizabeth Sloane would," says the costume designer. 'Jessica Chastain knew exactly what she wanted her character to wear. We chose very exclusive brands like Piaget watches, Yves St. Laurent and Victoria Beckham suits and dresses, and top-of-the-line shoes. The shoes were very important. When a woman puts on a five- or six-inch heel, the way she carries herself changes and Jessica Chastain handled that brilliantly."
The designer studied the carefully coded caste system of Washington, D.C. and discovered a strict sartorial hierarchy that helped define the characters visually. 'Cole, Kravitz & Waterman is an old-school, establishment firm, while Peterson Wyatt is a young boutique company," she observes. 'At the establishment company, all the men are in conservative, expensive clothing. There aren't a lot of wild ties or statement clothes. It's all somber suits, white shirts, with maybe a subtle stripe. When you get to the second company, everybody is a tad more relaxed but nobody goes to work casually dressed. At Peterson Wyatt, there are 10 younger lobbyists. They wouldn't be able to afford to shop where Elizabeth Sloane shops. The women would shop at places like Ann Taylor. The men might go to J. Crew and if they can afford it, Brooks Brothers. Rodolfo, the owner of the boutique firm, has a few suits, but he could be a little less formal, so we went to blazers and really well-cut dark jeans."
The final collaboration in the film was between John Madden and the film's composer, Max Richter. 'I was a great admirer of Max Richter's work," John Madden says. 'He's a serious and prolific composer in his own right, equally at home in huge conceptual compositions, like opera and ballet, who also finds time to bring his unique talents to film scoring. Miss Sloane is not a straightforward proposition in terms of music, challenging the composer to find a way in to the very particular heartbeat of the central character. Max's unique way with minimalist orchestral composition with an electronic vocabulary was a brilliant inhabiting of an odd space, harnessing the addictive drive of Elizabeth's restless mind, and the accumulating emotional pressure of her gradual descent into the void. It's a beautiful and powerful score."
The end result of all of these efforts is a thrilling and believable character drama about a woman on the edge confronting her love of winning, her ambition and her place in the world, according to Kris Thykier. 'It follows her journey as she tries to pass a bill through the Senate and what it does to her personal life and the people around her. Will the bill pass? Will she be taken down? How the story comes together in the end is unbelievably satisfying and it's so much fun to get there."
Miss Sloane
Release Date: March 2nd, 2017
Yves Saint Laurent Beauté is pleased to announce that Jessica Chastain, ambassadress for the feminine fragrance...
Centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on...


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OPEN HOUSE 7/13 & 7/14 FROM 1-3 You do not want to miss this stunning custom built home! This home boasts two huge Charleston-style front porches on both floors, perfect for summer afternoon lounging! From the moment you walk through the door, you are greeted by hardwood floors, high ceilings, and impeccable craftsmanship! From the wainscoting to the tray ceilings, this home does not disappoint! This home features an office with french doors, formal dining room, living room with gas fireplace, a breakfast area, and a gourmet kitchen that is sure to please! The kitchen offers granite counter tops, a stunning back splash, loads of storage, a huge island, and a wine fridge! The master bedroom and retreat style bathroom are spacious and inviting! From the huge walk in shower, to the massive soaking tub, this bathroom will be where you want to escape to after a long day at work! This home is located in the Culpepper Landing neighborhood and is close to military bases, schools, and shopping!
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Attic, Balcony, Breakfast Area, Foyer, Master BR w/ Bath, Office/Study, Pantry, Porch, Spare Room, Utility Room
Disclosure Statement, Prop Owners Assoc
Listing Courtesy of Keller Williams Town Center.


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"The Gospel Gleaner has, for several decades, been a God-glorifying, Bible-centered, bold voice within churches of Christ. It was guided by the sound, steady hand of its Editor, Bill Dillon. When the print version ended a few years ago, there were many requests for even the back issues wherever I preached in a Gospel Meeting. Having written a column in it for a number of years, it is with great delight that I see it once again in print with Andy Erwin as Editor. He brings not only his devotion to the Bible, thorough scholarship, but also appreciation of soldiers of the cross regardless of their era. He will coordinate writers from across the Brotherhood into a paper like the coat Jesus wore, "without seam" (John 19:23). Moses' invitation is appropriate for The Gospel Gleaner: "Come with us, and we will treat you well" (Numbers 10:29)." —–John T. Polk II, Dover, TN
Dear Gospel Gleaner Subscribers,
Beginning January 2013, the Gospel Gleaner will be back in print on a monthly basis!
Our next issue will mark the Gleaner's twenty-fifth year of publication, and a new look in many ways. You will now receive twelve issues of the Gleaner each year. You will find articles that deal with proper interpretation and application of the biblical text, the home, the church, denominational doctrines, ministry, and church history, among many others.
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Great news!!
It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have been awarded the Gold Medal for Ecotourism at the Western Australian Tourism Awards for the third year in a row! It all comes down to having a fantastic team at Out of Sight Tours who are passionate about what we do and driven to achieve great things. Also, a big thank you to all our past customers, fans, fellow bloggers and supporters. We could not have done it without you. As a result of winning the award for three years in a row we will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015. What an honour!!!
More great news … Out of Sight Tours has won the silver medal in ecotourism at the Australian National tourism awards ceremony! Talk about going out on a high … yes, we have also sold the business!!
Our success can be summed up in the following – strive to achieve great things, never give up on your dreams and have fun doing it!
If you need advice with your ecotourism development, go with the best and contact me for an evaluation. David can be contracted as an ecotourism consultant and tourism industry advisor. Contact me at email@example.com


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Vampyr was one of the games that I highlighted in the June Expansions and it is much better than I was expecting. Vampyr features one of the most interesting level-up systems I've seen in a game, challenging but manageable combat, and lightning fast auto-saving so if you screw something up…well, it's screwed so just try to not screw up. In Vampyr you play as Dr. Jonathon Reid who has vowed to find a cure to save the city's flu-ravaged citizens-oh, but you're also a newly-turned vampire or more specifically an Ekon. This premise creates a slightly hypocritical plot depending on how you play, but let me warn you that no matter how good you try to be, you will still end up killing some of the citizens. Unless you just happen to be a perfect Jonathon Reid, which clearly I am not.
My original plan was to play Vampyr two times. The first time I would be the good doctor who doesn't feed on the citizens and only heals them. The second time I was going to be the evil vampire who feeds on all the citizens and never heals them. Unfortunately the Docks area went awry because of my decisions and I've been forced to fight and kill a number of the NPCs so I decided to feed on the poor soul in the above picture to gain XP. It's okay though, he was conning a little old lady…I think so that justifies that. Hey, on the bright side I've completed sanitized the Hospital district. White Chapel is almost as bad as the Docks and I just reached the West End. Hopefully, I don't screw up the West End.
To level up in Vampyr you need XP, which can be earned very slowly by killing enemies or rapidly by feeding on the citizens. XP does not automatically level you up, though, instead your XP is put in a stash and needs to be spent at a bed. Leveling up will progress the game to the next night and if you haven't healed the sick citizens they will get sicker and will die after their sickness gets too extreme so if you care about the citizens you have to make sure to give everybody medicine before leveling up. I really like the consequences to becoming more powerful, because the game feels more immersive and your choices seem more impactful to the game world. Some of your choices in missions will cause citizens to go 'Missing,' which means that they've likely turned into a vampire, werewolf, or joined the Priwen Guard, so you have to hunt them down and kill them. I have unfortunately had to kill four or five of the citizens because of this mechanic. And don't think that you can just reload a previous save to fix these mistakes. Every time you make a decision the game automatically autosaves and there is only one save file. A lot of players probably hate this, but I actually admire the developers for designing Vampyr this way, because it makes the game feel even more immersive like I previously stated.
Vampyr's combat is challenging, but also satisfying. The combat is similar to Dark Souls or The Surge. Vampyr's combat feels a little bit easier than combat in The Surge making combat more manageable and satisfying. You can choose to use two melee weapons, a two-handed melee weapon, or a melee weapon and a firearm. Some of the off-hand weapons can stun enemies. If you whittle the enemy's white bar empty you will be able to bite enemies which will refill your blood. You need blood to use many of the vampire abilities. The combat is somewhat deep and too much for me to explain here, but the gist is that Vampyr's combat is fun and challenging.
In my opinion, Vampyr is one of 2018's must-play games. Vampyr is available on Steam for $49.99.
Vampires are cool, but maybe you are looking for a casual off-road arcade racer. If that's the case you should check out Gravel. Gravel is available on Steam for $49.99. Gravel is extremely fun and doesn't require the skill that games like Project Cars and Dirt Rally require. It also doesn't require an internet connection like The Crew although the driving does feel very similar to The Crew. I don't have much to say about this game, because it's essentially just another racing game, but this time everything is off-road. The Alaska races are the best. Just look at this jump:


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The time has come,
The journals written
Now the adventure begins
with a portent of things to come…
Written, Directed and Post Produced by Bill Hollweg: 20/Apr/2007.
This is a work of fan-fiction based on characters and universe created by Glen A. Larson, a tribute to one of the greatest sci-fi television series of all time!
The following Audio Drama is rated PG-13 (Persons Younger than 13 Should be Accompanied by an Adult). For more info:
Teaser Trailer [ 2:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download


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"I need your coaching and advice," is an email I often receive. Sometimes I can help, but many times I cannot. So my response is usually, "Have you called your denomination, network, or fellowship leader or partner?"
You see, one of the advantages to being in a denomination or network of churches is the accessibility of mentoring relationships. However, despite these advantages, evangelicalism has witnessed an explosive growth in non-denominational churches and movements in the past two decades. As I wrote about for Christianity Todayand CNN, even as denominational membership, baptism, and attendance have declined, evangelicalism has actually grown.
While there are many reasons for this shift, the choice to go it alone has had the unintended consequence of producing pastors without access to the networks of pastoral mentoring denominations provide.
As a result, pastors who go it alone are missing out on one of the great benefits of pastoral community.
Deprived of a built-in mentoring system, pastors in need of peer counsel (which should be all pastors) have to seek it out and forge these bonds themselves. Below, I want to give some helpful tips for non-denominational pastors on both the why and how of pastoral mentoring.
As the phenomenon of non-denominational pastors has grown, I've tried to encourage pastors to develop their own networks. Too frequently, pastors want guidance from leaders or authors instead of seeking out community as a place for effective mentorship. When pastors confess that they have few or no relationships within their community, I explain that that is exactly why they need to be in community with others.
For a long time, denominations have served this purpose and I often encourage pastors to join denominations or networks where this relationship can be developed on the basis of shared theology and mission. I'm always glad to call leaders of these organizations on behalf of pastors and they are enthusiastic about partnering with churches on the frontlines. Ultimately, we all need to be on a team and live on a team with other people.
This redirection can be a challenge.
At first glance, directing people towards community with others (instead of ourselves) can seem unloving. But instead of seeking the good of others, we must seek what's best, and that can sometimes mean we say no so that those who need community say yes to what will ultimately lead to greater discipleship, mentoring, and learning opportunities.
Pastors who have chosen to go outside the care of denominations, networks, fellowships, or movements often find themselves outside of the relationships they will need.
Moreover, it isn't fair to either party to expect someone to speak wisdom into a life he or she does not know well. Counsel given without the pertinent details and/or without a deep relationship with the pastor is like shooting a gun blindfolded. To use another comparison, it's like getting medical advice on the radio. Likely the generalities will work, but until we know the person, we may make the situation worse. Far more damage and hurt can be caused by some factoid initially thought irrelevant or from hearing only one side of the story. This creates undue pressure on a person trying to advise a pastor that he or she doesn't really know.
We have a responsibility to help people seeking mentoring to get it from people who can best give that mentoring.
It is a blessing to walk in relationship with people.
One benefit is shared experience and purpose. These are valuable when seeking and giving guidance. The Apostle Paul provides us the model. Speaking to the Philippians he says, "Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us" (Phil. 3:17). And again to the Corinthians, "I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church" (1 Cor. 4:16-17).
While Paul had taught and established an example for these two churches, he exhorts them to be led by those who were mature in the faith and present.
Just as Paul loved these churches, I love every pastor that calls and every church that pastor serves. And, to be honest, I would love to take every call from a pastor seeking advice. (This is one of the reasons I sometimes offer random advice callsover Twitter.)
But I can't generally do so on a regular basis if I am not in community with those people, which is why pastors and leaders need to find the best mentoring in their networks, denominations, and friendships.
Perhaps you don't have a community like that. My advice for evangelicalism's growing population of non-denominational pastors is this: "Get yourself into nurturing network relationships."
The technical term for this is not denominationalism. It is connectionalism. You have to be connected. You cannot be responsible for people for whom God has not made you responsible. You should not expect someone to be responsible for you if you aren't willing to live in accountability with them.
If you want to take steps to partner with an established denomination, there are many options you can explore to find the best theological and missional fit. If you intend to remain non-denominational, then perhaps a network is right for you.
But, for all of us, we need some form of community and accountability. That's where the best mentors are.