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Welcome To Crazytown
So far, I have painted my relationship with Amy to be all rainbows and sunshine, but there is another side to our relationship which not many people get to see. It's the side where Amy does the most craziest things ever! Things that most normal people would never even think to do. It's time to prove to everybody why I gave my blog the name 'My girlfriend is crazy!' She might kill for me it, but hey she can't do any more crazy shit than what she already does so why not.
1. Hide and Seek
So one of Amy's favourite pastimes is to hide my phone whenever I leave the room. Some girls may steal their boyfriends' phone to read their messages, my girlfriend steals my phone to hide and it and cause me as much inconvenience as possible. The usual time for my phone to go missing is at 11:30 at night when I'm just about to go to sleep.
Amy: What time is it?
Me: I don't know
Amy: Will you check for me?
Me: #rolls over and reaches for phone# Right where have you hidden it this time?
There have been times when I have been searching around the room for my phone for a good 15 minutes only to find that Amy had hidden it in the most obvious place ever, like the laundry basket or under my pillow. The last thing I want to be doing at 11:30 at night is crawling round the bedroom trying to find my bloody phone.
Usually I wouldn't mind Amy having my phone, I have nothing to hide and there isn't anything interesting on there to nosy at. However, I'm very aware that she enjoys going onto my Facebook news feed and liking random people's statuses! Not only does it make me look like a creepy stalker, but she later winds me up by asking why I'm liking other girl's statuses like I'm up to no good.
2. Pushing My Button…Literally
Everybody has places on their body that they don't like other people touching. Mine happens to be my bellybutton. Whether you have an innie or an outtie, it can be agreed that things just aren't supposed to enter the bellybutton. It's like the passage to your soul that must never be fiddled with. Amy on the other hand, does not share this view, and enjoys nothing more than sticking her finger into my soul passage at every opportunity. It completely grosses me out. I don't know whether it's a fetish of hers that she isn't telling me about, or whether she just enjoys watching me squirm. Either way, I'm not a fan.
3. Kick Off
Now this is one that most guys around the world will sympathise with. If you have ever tried to watch a game of football on the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your missus then you will know exactly which direction this is heading. Amy is not a fan of football, and has no interest in becoming a fan any time soon. This however, does not stop her from making comments about every single detail that she can think of.
Amy: Why is that guy wearing different coloured shoes? Why has that guy got a stupid haircut? Why do they all spit on the grass, won't that make it really slippy? Is he the goalkicker? Why are they all headbutting it when it's called FOOTball?
Just let me watch the match in peace!! If you have no interest in football, why ask so many questions?! I think Amy just likes to punish me for watching so much of it. Or maybe she is just so bored that it's a way of passing the time. I am quick to remind her at times like this, that I regularly sit through hours of bridal shows, quiz shows and One Born Every Minute in complete silence in order to not get told of for disturbing her.
4. Tying Me in Knots
This one, I'm pretty sure, is something that is unique to Amy, and I hope for the sake of every guy out there with a partner that nobody else has to suffer this. You've heard of stories where people have tied someone's shoelaces together as a joke. Well Amy takes this joke to a whole new level. I had nipped out to the chippy which is only a 5 minute walk away, to get Amy her tea. I came home not long after to find her with a huge grin on her face, so I knew that I was in trouble. She'd obviously done something to make my life hell, but I couldn't for the life of me work out what she had done. It was only when I went to put on my shoes the next day that I found this…
Who even does that?!!! This took me about 20 mins to get all the knots out, in which time I was late for work and extremely pissed off. It was a good job that I love her, because she drives me crazy at times.
I hope everybody can now see the pain that I am put through on a daily basis. I often get told that I deserve a medal for all the bellybutton pokes, tied together shoes and interrupted football matches I deal with. In all honesty though, I wouldn't have it any other way. She's a right pain in the arse, but she's my pain in the arse. At least I'll never be bored in this relationship.


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Zachary Levi made a guest appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to promote his new Broadway gig, 'First Date'.
The actor continued to showcase his love for British retailer Reiss by wearing a stylish navy wool blazer jacket with peak lapels and a waistcoat, to which he added a navy-and-white polka-dot pocket square.
Instead of working a three-piece suit, he opted for black denim jeans, keeping the look dressy-casual and youthful with black-and-white sneakers.
Zachary usually takes home the prize of best-dressed male, and I have a feeling he will rank very highly again this week.
Credit: Getty

subset: commoncrawl


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The new spokespeople take over MAC's 2012 Viva Glam campaign in February, according to a press release; the new images are being shot today in Miami by David LaChapelle. Ricky Martin is the campaign's third male spokesperson after Elton John in 2001 and Boy George in 2004. MAC donates 100 percent of the proceeds from Viva Glam lip products to fight HIV and AIDS.
Ricky Martin is the new face of MAC Cosmetics


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Earn points toward FREE PIZZA with Piece of the Pie Rewards
More About Your Greenwood Domino's
Get Faster, Fresher Pizza in 46142
When your stomach grumbles for a slice of meaty, veggie-loaded, cheesy goodness, we know you're not craving any old pizza in 46142. You want a hot, delicious pizza with a flavorful tomato sauce, a hearty blend of mozzarella and parmesan, expertly diced bits of pepperoni, and a hand-tossed crust that's both chewy and crispy. You want only the best pizza. You want Domino's.
At Domino's in 46142, we make it fast and easy to get the fresh pizza you're craving. Order your pizza over the phone or online, or visit a Domino's near you to place a carryout order.
Start by choosing from one of our handmade crusts, including a fluffy hand-tossed crust loaded with buttery flavor, a gluten-free crust, a pan crust featuring two monstrous layers of cheese, or even a crispy thin pizza crust! Then, choose a sauce and pile on as many or as few toppings as you want. Whether you're a freak for sausage and mushrooms or love sweet pineapple and tangy feta cheese, your pizza dreams can come true at your local Domino's.
There are more than 34 million ways to make a single Domino's pizza, which means you can be sure we've got a slice that suits your tastes. No matter how unique they are! From its sauce to its size, build your own pizza or choose from one of our famous specialty pizzas, like the popular Spinach and Feta, Cali Chicken Bacon Ranch, or MeatZZa™, and have it delivered to your doorstep, today!
From Our Oven to Your Door: 46142 Pizza Delivery
When you order from your 46142 Domino's, you'll see that we're pretty serious about pizza delivery. We guarantee that your pizza will arrive at your doorstep hot and fresh, straight from our oven. Want to know what's happening with your order like, right now? Use our expertly engineered Domino's TrackerⓇ to follow along as your order is prepped, baked, checked for quality, and sent out our door for delivery... and try not to drool on your phone or computer in the meantime.
Get More Than Just Pizza Takeout in 46142
Sure, we deliver pizza, but we're also experts when it comes to fast pizza takeout in 46142. Order from our pizza menu or try something new! Make your tastebuds happy with one of our oven-baked sandwiches or pastas, platters of specialty chicken wings, crisp and colorful salads, and even decadent desserts to delight your sweet tooth! You can't go wrong with a warm order of sweet cinnamon and sugar breadsticks drizzled with creamy vanilla icing, or a chocolate lava crunch cake!
With more than 12,000 stores in 80 plus countries, we know quality and customer service. Our aim is to not only be the best pizza delivery company in Greenwood, but also the world, and everything from our courteous delivery drivers to our stellar pizza coupons reflects this commitment. It's time to curb your hunger! Order online, use our free smartphone app, or call your local Domino's restaurant in 46142 for super fast and delicious pizza delivery and carryout today! We may have been around since 1960, but we aren't just any old 46142 pizza restaurant. We're your number one pizza place in 46142!


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Wiregrass Ranch girls tennis player Hannah Still, who played No. 1 singles this season for the Bulls, has signed a letter of intent to attend Huntingdon College in the fall.
Still led the Bulls to a 10-1 regular season and a third-place showing at the district (3A-5) tournament this season. As a junior playing No. 3 singles for Wiregrass Ranch in 2010, Still advanced to the semifinals at the state tournament. The Bulls finished third in the state that year.
Still is a three-time All-Sunshine Athletic Conference selection.
Huntingdon College is a Division III school based in Montgomery, Ala.


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Variety: 100% Arbequina
Origin: Sierra de Mariola Natural Park - Alcoy
Maximum acidity: 0.11%
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 100% Arbequina
Arbequina is exclusive.
The 100% arbequina is one of the most valued. Therefore it is the less common variety and has very beneficial properties.
Extra virgin limited production.
Sotaroni comes from the Arbequina olive, a variety with little production in the Valencian Community. This circumstance makes our oil almost exclusive in the area. In fact, this olive tree is one of the 10 most important monovarietales in Spain.
Characteristics extra virgin olive oil.
Arbequina variety is a clear, light green oil. As well as very fruity, with notes of apple, fresh grass and almond. With a great fragrance, sweet taste, very bitter and spicy. With a low acidity (0.11 Sotaroni), it is an ideal oil for low temperature cooking due to its softness and fresh aroma.
Therapeutic benefits extra virgin olive oil.
Scientists and doctors have demonstrated the positive effects of regular consumption of extra virgin olive oil in that:
Reduces cholesterol and decreases risk of cardiovascular disease
Improves functioning of the pancreas and liver
Reduces gastric acidity and improves intestinal transit
Reduces blood glucose.
Rich in vitamins A, D, K and E, it protects cells from oxidation
Protects against some cancers (breast, endometrium, ovaries, colon)
Arbequina is fashionable
In recent years there has been an increase in sales of Olive oil. Because people have discovered an oil with body and soft taste. So far from the traditional strong and spicy flavors. Its cultivation is located in areas located within the Spanish geography, mainly in the Mediterranean.
Do you want to try our 100% Arbequina?
In our online store you can find it, we take it wherever you are (national and international shipments). In addition you have it available in several formats, choose yours and feel its flavor!


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Providing wheelchairs to people affected by disability around the world involves four phases of ministry: collection, transportation, restoration, and distribution.
Step 1: Collection
Our Chair Corps volunteers collect used wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and canes for our Wheels for the World outreaches and Harvest Projects. These representatives perform pickups and provide local drop-off sites, making it easy for anyone to donate mobility equipment.
Step 2: Transportation
Donated wheelchairs and other mobility equipment must be transported from local collection sites to the restoration shops to the ports of departure. This state-to-state trucking is a critical part of the program.
Currently, we have a limited amount of donated transportation both corporately and individually, and we are in need of more.
- Do you or someone you know work in the trucking industry?
- Would you like to support transportation needs?
Step 3: Restoration
"Before, when I reached out, it was to take things or hurt people. Now it feels like I've reached halfway around the world through these bars to help someone." –Inmate serving at a Wheels for the World restoration centers
Wheels for the World currently restores wheelchairs at 15 federal, state, and private correctional facilities located in 12 different states, and we're looking to grow. Inmates are trained to restore wheelchairs to like-new condition. Even the most hardened inmates have been moved to tears when they see photos of a child receiving a wheelchair they helped provide!
Step 4: Distribution
After wheelchairs and mobility equipment have been restored to like-new condition, they are shipped to countries around the world and provided to people in need through our outreaches and Harvest Projects. At the distribution sites in these countries, our volunteer teams of disability specialists fit each wheelchair to the recipient and provide training in its use and upkeep. Recipients also receive a Bible in their language and the message of God's love. This is an incredible gift because in some countries, the cost of a wheelchair can equal a year's wages, making it almost impossible for people affected by disability to ever receive one.
Are you interested in joining a Wheels for the World outreach team? We're always looking for physical/occupational therapists, wheelchair mechanics, translators, administrative help, and any other general assistance. And if you're unable to volunteer on an outreach, you can also support Wheels for the World by donating!


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It was good to be back at OMPC after taking a Sunday off. It's such a blessing to be able to worship with such an amazing church, and amazing musicians.
We opened yesterday with All My Fountains.
After our call to worship we sang Heaven and Earth, Blessed Assurance, Never Once, and He Knows My Name.
Our offering song was a new tune called O Come to the Altar.
Men! Come join us on Sunday July 24th for our 13th Annual Bullfrog choir. No singing experience is necessary. Simply sing (or croak) the same thing that you sing in the pew each Sunday morning. Join us for a 9:45 run-through on the 24th, and then sing through the worship set at 10:45.


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The Basel Herbstmesse is considered one of the oldest and biggest fairs in Switzerland with many of the same traditions it started with all those years ago. From the 28th of October to the 12th of November 2017, Basel Tourism expects over 1 million people to visit, shop, dine and ride roller coasters in the city center and we hope our Zuri Girlfriends are up for the visit!
Shop Till You Drop
Being over 500 years old means the Basel Herbstmesse and Hääfelimäärt are as much part of the city as the Altstadt is. It was originally an event when people of the city and neighboring towns would gather to sell and buy wares like ceramics and silverware. While styles may have changed since the 1400's, the Hääfelimäärt (ceramics market) at Petersplatz still offers an exceptional variety of handmade goods, crafts, art, clothes and household items from as far away as Nepal. Looking to get a head start on your holiday shopping? The Hääfelimäärt is a great place to find unique gifts. Need to add some color to your winter wardrobe? With several stands selling hats, gloves, scarves, socks, boots, wallets and purses, you can leave with a whole new outfit!
Carnival Rides
Maybe shopping is not your thing and you need something a bit more exciting. Carnival rides throughout the city offer some of the biggest thrills you can handle – for both young and old. Barfüsserplatz and Münsterplatz is for those wanting to see the city from one of the biggest Ferris wheels in Europe or test their nerves on many fast moving, spinning rides. Kasernenareal offers rides and games for children. Tickets can be purchased at each ride's ticket booth with some offering discounts when you buy several.
Food, Glorious Food
Whether shopping or riding, you are bound to get hungry! Herbstmesse has a variety of food and snack stands, but our Girlfriend in Basel gave us an insider tip. For amazing Thai food visit Jeffery's Restaurant. Since 1976 Jeffery Sandragesan has been personally cooking curry dishes at his stand in Petersplatz. His talent for mixing delicious spices and teas has earned him the reputation of one of the best Malaysian cooks in Switzerland.
Eager for More?
Around the Messe, Basel's well-known convention center, there is also plenty to do and see. The Free Fall Tower just outside the Messe is not for the faint of heart, but the nearby snack and baked good stands are for anyone to enjoy! The Herbstwarenmesse (consumer goods fair) is also taking place until November 5 and offers a variety of living, household, leisure, sports, fashion, electronic, health, wellness, eating and drinking goods.
If you want a more relaxing way to spend the evening, the Basler Weinmesse (wine fair) might fit your fancy.
Whatever your tastes are Basel Herbstmesse is sure to offer what you need to welcome the fall season.
Article & Photos by Zuri Girl Ashley Ringger…Ashley regularly contributes fun and insightful articles about life in Switzerland. She might even know more about the country than her Swiss husband! Ashley splits her working life between an international school and Set Sails Media. In her spare time this California native likes to stay active by going to the gym, sewing, traveling, and cooking with/for friends. She also can't say no to a good book.
Lockdown was catastrophic for small businesses, but the these trailblazers found strength from within and didn't skip a beat. We are honored to share their stories.read more
The current health crisis has us thinking out-of-the-box for safe ways to satisfy our Swiss travel desires while protecting ourselves and the community around us.read more


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genre: electro-exotic
cdr, 16 tracks, 28 min. [limited edition 50 copies]
listen: Full album on Bandcamp
Status: Available 5 euros
Dreamy and coloured sounds in this great work made by this new exotic/ambient/ethnical duo. Who they are? A couple of tropical birds that will drive you in a resort with psichedelic shapes.


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|Feel 'Old Florida' at River Palms fish camp
|Crewmax cab can hold lots of birdseed
|Savannas Preserve recreation area is lush and green
|Limited accents inside truck
While in South Florida I lodged at the River Palm Cottages and Fish Camp in Jensen Beach, where saltwater fishing awaits with private dockage right on site. The natural areas found in the Savannas Preserve, part of the Florida State Parks system, also caught my attention. This area preserves what these east coast savannas used to look like stretching from Fort Pierce to St. Lucie. This area of South Florida showed no ill effects after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017, except for maybe some leaning trees scattered along the landscape. I found the fishing to be good in the Indian River Lagoon, the sights and hiking trails to be great in the Savannas Preserve, and the entire region to be open for business as they head into their peak winter season with snowbirds and tourists coming down in droves. I may have been a little tired when departing, but the 2017 Tundra made the return trip seem easy, and sitting upright in my captains chair with the cruise control on and my feet planted flat on the floor beneath me was especially comfortable.
To view past blog entries about Toyota USA click 2014 Tundra - 2015 4Runner - 2014 Highlander - 2015 Camry Hybrid - 2015 Camry XSE - 1998 Tacoma
|Yes, the fish were biting!!


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Private Events at Cafe Arrivederci
Make your special event an occasion to remember with fine catering from Cafe Arrivederci. Whether your event is casual, or calls for a truly extravagant meal, we offer menu services that are perfect for all your catering needs. We have two private dining rooms available for your needs. Our larger dining room seats 18 and the larger dining room 35. Both dining rooms have wheelchair access.
All of our menu items are prepared using only fresh, high-quality ingredients and cutting-edge cooking techniques.
- Weddings
- Banquets
- Private Parties
- Corporate Events
- Theme Parties
For all your catering needs, think of Cafe Arrivederci first. Catering services include a pre-event in-house wine and food tasting to ensure customer satisfaction. We have two private dining rooms
Please call 415.453.6427 to reserve our banquet rooms.


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Vote for Sandra Joss to Win a 5 Night Paris Stay from Paris Perfect
Four years ago my beloved husband died suddenly. We were married for 38 years, a loving and beautiful marriage. Three months before Jay died we made, what turned out to be, our last trip to Paris together. For a long time I thought I could never love again.
Recently, though, I did fall in love again. Robert is a widower after a long marriage. He is very different to my late husband and perhaps that is a good thing. As a 75 year-old competitive cyclist he has introduced me, a 66 year-old, to the pleasures of tandem cycling as well as kayaking. He is very romantic, loving, and kind. We both feel like kids again.
Always I will love my late husband. We shared a good part of a lifetime together. But this is a new and somewhat different love I now share with Robert. I am grateful that our paths crossed and that we were both given another chance to love and be loved again. That is the greatest gift.
So why do I want to visit Paris again? To be sure, I want to revisit memories of my last visit there with my late husband, Jay. These I can share with Robert as I show him this city of romance, a city I love, and create new memories with him.
Read the Next Story
Back to All Stories
Love this Story? Leave a Comment Below
About the competition
Paris is the city of romance, and this February Paris Perfect is sharing the love by giving away a free 5 night stay in a beautiful vacation rental to the most popular love story! Read more and enter here.


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The Chinese government looks set to back down from its long-held intention to impose strict real-name registration for the country's 20 million bloggers after outcries from the industry.
In a draft self-discipline code for blog services published by the Internet Society of China (ISC) on Tuesday, real-name registration is only to be "encouraged" instead of being made compulsory.
Government departments have been promoting a real-name system for years, arguing it would force Internet users to watch their words and actions and to refrain from slander, pornography and dissemination of other "harmful" information.
But the proposal has triggered protests from the Internet industry and the growing number of Internet users.
"The attraction of a blog rests in its confidentiality where people can say what they want, without worrying about it affecting their real lives. One can have different names online, which represent different lives," said a Internet user "Xingxingcao".
Another user "Weiyan" said real-name registration would deter bloggers speaking the truth for fear of being identified.
The ISC, with the backing of the Ministry of Information Industry, is trying to rally industry players to sign up to the self-discipline code for the promotion of a less rigorous real-name system.
According to the draft, an author's real name is not compulsory for opening a blog, but bloggers are encouraged to register their real names and real information with service providers when they open.
Those who voluntarily register their real names may choose whether or not to publish their real names, or they can use pseudonyms in blog articles. Blog service providers must ensure security and confidentiality of information that bloggers prefer to keep secret, the draft code said.
Zhang Chaoyang, CEO of Sohu.com Inc, said real-name blog registration is not technically feasible and won't solve the problem of online abuse.
"It (real-name) will impair the free spirit of the Internet," said Zhang, whose company Sohu has registered millions of pseudonym blog users.
Zhang's comments were echoed by Fang Xingdong, CEO of China's main blog service provider bokee.com, which has about 15 million registered users.
Fang said it is simply impossible for websites to verify the identification information of blog applicants, as it would involves huge costs of manpower and money beyond their means.
"Chinese blog users will escape and open their blogs with foreign service providers if real-name registration is carried out in China," he said, adding it would be sad if China's Internet businesses lose their own customers.
However, Chen Tong, chief editor of Sina.com.cn, applauded the practice of real-name registration, saying it would help regulators but adds that anonymous posting and blogging must be preserved as it is an attraction of the Internet.
The code, published on the Internet to solicit public opinions, was drafted by a blog research group within the ISC. The group consists of blog providers and industry experts and was set up in October 2006 to discuss issues relating to the development and regulation of the blogging industry.
It aims to prescribe the obligations of both blog service providers and bloggers through self-discipline, requiring providers to improve their services and standardize their businesses as well as reminding blog users of their social responsibilities.
China has more than 20 million registered blogs. Government officials have raised concerns over the spread of "unhealthy" information in some blogs.
Source: Xinhua


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Polar Bear Patch
Sold in packs of six. £2.70 per unit.
Who can resist this super cute polar bear patch? Designed with clothing in mind, this patch would look great poking out of a pocket on a jacket or pair of dungarees. But is also perfect for jeans, blankets, bags... Or anywhere you can think of! Customise your clothing and accessories for the perfect Christmas fashion.
The design is embroidered from Clojo's original illustrations onto wool felt and backed with an ultra strong fusible backing so you can iron it on to whatever you like, without the need for sewing!
H- 8.5cm
W- 6cm
-Set iron to the hottest setting for your chosen garment or accessory.
-Position your patch and cover it with a piece of fabric (a cotton tea towel works well)
-Apply hot iron, without steam, for apprx 30 seconds or until the patch is fully bonded. If possible iron on the reverse too.
-We reccomend that you add a few small stitches to the edges for extra security.
When washing your customised garment or accessory we advise turning it inside out and using a gentle machine setting, or hand washing.


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Call Today! 808-731-6634
Call Today! 808-731-6634
The Luana Inn bed & breakfast located in Kealakekua Bay, Captain Cook Hawaii has been in operation since 2005. Owned by Dr. Maya Nicole Baylac our mission is to create a comfortable, peaceful & relaxing environment for our guests. Our style is simple, clean, and reminiscent of romantic old Hawai'iana. The Inn consists of two homes; a spacious mid-century modern designed home and a Hawaiian Ohana cottage for a total of five oversized guest room accommodations. The property is nested on the foothills of Mauna Loa facing Kealakekua Bay and has easy access to swimming snorkeling and kayaking. is the home of the dolphins. They come and rest during the day in the calm waters of the bay and along the coast making it easy to observe them.
The Big Island is filled with unspoiled nature. Every direction you go you will be rewarded with huge, dramatic views. The Big Island is still a farming island, with vast stretches of undeveloped raw land. It is quiet and peaceful during the day, dark and silent at night. Visitors who are in search of solitude and nature will absolutely fall in love.
Kona is the beloved sunny side of the Big Island; away from the hustle & bustle of town there is a part of South Kona particularly cherished by locals. This beloved area encompasses the protected agricultural land that sweeps down Napo'opo'o Road through the green foot hills of Mauna Loa to the stunning Kealakekua Bay Historical Reserve, along the undeveloped coastline. Here lies beautiful land and the perfect South Kona microclimate, with abundant sun and gentle Kona breezes, and the state's most pristine snorkeling water. Lovely Manini and Ke'ei beaches, Two Step, the Captain Cook monument, Pu'uhonua O' Honaunau and the Honaunau Bay are all close by.
Luana Inn sits at the heart of this special place. The property is about three hundred feet above sea level, and offers a panoramic ocean and sky view, with green mountains rising gently behind. We are perfectly situated for guests who want to fully experience this spectacular area as well as explore the entire Big Island.
"This spot is the perfect getaway in paradise. Beautiful grounds overlooking the ocean. This was our first stay in Hawaii and it certainly helped us get into the Aloha spirit."
"Nicole was very timely with her communication with me. I loved the space and it was simple yet in a beautiful clean location. The back porch was nice and you can see the ocean from the room and house. I went to the beach access located nearby and watched the sunset. I would recommend this place and it's a great value."
"This was such a lovely place to stay. We were blown away by the beauty. Nicole added so many great touches and everything that you need for a great stay: a hot tub, a grill, a huge movie selection, games and books, a pool with toys for the kids and a beautiful view for all to enjoy."
"This location is GORGEOUS! Serene and peaceful with the opportunity to access any activity you can think of. The Alaula unit was comfortable and contained all the basics that we needed. Beautiful sunsets are able to be viewed from the lanai. As Nicole clearly states the geckos are more than eager to share their space with you."
"We really loved our stay and can't wait to return! The place was beautiful and comfortable. It's very close to many activities. I mean, not walking distance but within 10 min drive. Alex was also so very polite and kind. The property is amazing and is so inviting. And that view!!!! Perfect place to rest and retreat."
"We had a lovely stay at the Luana Inn. The grounds and landscaping are beautiful and the view is incredible. Alex was very friendly and hospitable. We really enjoyed the pool. The location being away from the super touristy areas really helped us relax. We would definitely recommend to others!"
82-5856 Lower Napo'opo'o Road, Captain Cook, Hawaii 96704, United States
Call Anytime or Email email@example.com


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up - skill your teamRequest Quote
Customized and exclusive training based on your requirement
Up-skill your team by training them on Xamarin - Mobile App Development
If you are a mobile application developer or aspire to be one, then you have come to the right page. The unprecedented use of mobile technology has led to the phenomenal growth of mobile application development. Mobile app downloads are breaking all records, generating huge amounts of revenue for the developers and promoters of these apps. This means huge opportunities for mobile application developers and the technology that will get you at the top is Xamarin Studio, the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) used to create Android, iOS, and Mac applications.
Our comprehensive Xamarin course has been designed to help you gain maximum exposure to this platform so that you can learn its installation, configuration, controls and web services. Learn how to use Xamarin Studio and build mobile applications using C# by attending our Xamarin classes. Write code to access the database and application resources and the basics of testing and publishing. Our expert trainers have meticulously prepared the courseware and practical sessions for you to gain maximum knowledge through the workshop and start applying the concepts learned at your workplace. Register online and get Xamarin certification on successful completion of the course that gives a boost to your career. The fee we charge for Xamarin training at our institute is affordable and we also offer free materials to the registered individuals.
Here's what you will learn!
Who should attend
Budding and experienced mobile app developers will benefit from this course.
The training sessions were very immersive as we learnt how to work on complex projects. The content provided by the ZeoLearn was given detailed information about each and every concept. The cooperation I received from the instructor was quite overwhelming. I really like the course was through the book and the slide-deck. I feel the session was exam focused which I appreciated.
I would like to give credit to the ZeoLearn team which is working behind conducting these successful events on Xamarin. The training was very strict and directive instead of being collaborative. The presentation was good and the practice tests were very helpful. Thank you.
Instructor has got the years of experience in the Xamarin training which was held in Bangalore. All the modeling techniques for cross platform development with Xamarin studio was illustrated properly. All the examples and exercises were curriculum specific and instructors explained it very elaborately.
ZeoLearn's Xamarin training modules have unique and articulated content, easily understandable by a learner of any calibre. The course was informative and well laid out. The practice assignments given by the instructor during the course covered each and every concept which I learnt in the course. The instructor was very supportive throughout the course.
Mobile apps downloads are expected to generate a revenue of 77 billion dollars by 2017. More time is spent on iOS and Android connected devices than anything else. If you are planning to pursue a career in mobile development then this is the time. And what better technology to learn than Xamarin that is considered to be the leader of cross platform development because of its code sharing features across platforms. Our course is perfect for those who want to step into the world of mobile development with Xamarin Studio. Enrol now and take advantage of world class instruction and infrastructure.
After completing our course, you will know:
Classes are held on weekdays and weekends. You can check available schedules and choose the batch timings which are convenient for you.
You may be required to put in 10 to 12 hours of effort every week, including the live class, self study and assignments.
Your classes will be held online. All you need is a windows computer with good internet connection to attend your classes online. A headset with microphone is recommended.
You may also attend these classes from your smart phone or tablet.
Don't worry, you can always access your class recording or opt to attend the missed session again in any other live batch.
Budding and experienced mobile app developers will benefit from this course.
An eclectic mix of the old and the new, the hilly city of Seattle carries a rich legacy and is home to various industries. The metropolitan city attracts numerous talents from across the globe, with major technology companies and aerospace, among other industry, leaders choosing to establish their presence here.
About the course in the city
To cater to the huge requirement for a strategic approach to cross-platform mobile app development, Zeolearn offers the Xamarin certification in Seattle. With Xamarin Studio and C#, you can create native mobile apps rapidly. Learn effective usage of the Xamarin integrated development environment to your advantage as a mobile app developer, reduce and reuse code for multi-platform application needs.
Our Xamarin certification in Seattle will provide you with all that is necessary to gain a mastery starting from the very basics. From installation, configuration to app development with controls, forms, and compiled libraries. Interactive, online coaching sessions with Xamarin professionals are integral to our Xamarin training, Seattle. Mentorship offered with projects and assignments give you a chance to reach out and clarify any lingering doubts as well as the knowledge you can immediately apply at work.
Essential test and publish skills included as a part of our Xamarin course in Seattle, ensures that you are equipped to not only develop but deliver dependable applications to your client. The Xamarin training, Seattle will prepare you with knowledge of tweaks across platforms, and help you to use web services and resources that are platform-specific as well as shared resources.
Here's what you will learn!
Our Xamarin training course in Boston includes
Objective of the course:
Highlights of the course:
To gain the most from the Xamarin course in Seattle, you are expected to have prior knowledge of C# programming with good fundamentals of OOPs concepts and experience with .Net. Though advantageous to be familiar with OS X usage, it is not mandatory. Request a demo session and get set to be a leading developer of cross-platform development with this workshop.
Is the course right for you?
The Xamarin program is primarily for software developers and entrepreneurs with an interest in rapid app development and saving costs. Our Xamarin online training, Seattle course is also valuable for organizations which use C# for application development and are looking for processes that can enable quick turnaround times to cater to multi-platform app requirements.


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Multifamily Work Life Balance: Does yours need improvement?
Yes, so work life balance is a hot topic and the ultimate buzz word in business today. The multifamily industry faces a particular set of challenges when looking to achieve a healthy work life balance simply because of the demands. If you are a property manager, it is likely that you are responsible for hundreds (if not thousands) of residents' HOMES and LIFESTYLES. That is a heavy thing and for so many dedicated property managers it is near impossible to walk away from the community. Today we are talking about how to find a healthy multifamily work life balance without impeding on the function of the community.
One of the most familiar feelings to any multifamily industry professional is stress. There is often stress coming at you from almost every angle, residents, upper management, fellow staffers and home. Let's not forget about HOME and our families. Far too often we lose track of the fact that the reason WHY we work is to provide a life for ourselves and our families. Stressed workers are less productive. They often take more sick days and have impeded health. This can gravely affect your work and family both.
It's time to find a healthy work life balance!
You are ONE human being. You cannot do it all. Even if you manage to achieve this for a short period of time, it's not sustainable long term. The number one thing you can do to alleviate stress in your work life is to train your own backup! Having a group of people who can ensure that everything gets done if you need a sick day, is invaluable. Otherwise you come back to a larger pile of work than you left, which creates more stress, which makes you sicker and the cycle continues.
Multifamily Work Life Balance: Allow your backup system to help you when you get stressed.
Even if you are in the office but are drowning in issues and cannot get all of regular daily tasks accomplished, you CAN ask for help! It is OKAY! It is not a failure on your part, and it actually serves as a good test of your backup team's abilities to give them sporadic duties and ensure that they can handle them. This will also give you peace of mind, when you are gone, that things will run smoothly. Untested systems often fail or fall apart… test your system!
Multifamily Work Life Balance: Come to terms, emotionally, with your work life.
You cannot fix a problem you don't know you have. If you are unwilling to admit that you need help, then no one can begin to help you! Sit down, analyze the issues, and ask for help where needed. Create an environment, for yourself and your staff, where talking about the stress of work is acceptable. This is not to say that every minute of the day needs to be filled with complaining about your job or residents, but a healthy discussion of job responsibilities and stress levels should always be in order.
Multifamily Work Life Balance: Prioritize both while on and off the clock.
Often we hear property managers say that they feel like firefighters constantly putting out emergencies in their community. It is possible that #1 you need better organizational systems in place to reduce the number of breakdowns and issues and #2 that you need to prioritize. Spend a few minutes of every day, preparing for the next day. Look over the task list that is to come and make the bigger issues, higher priority. When you are off duty, realize that a dripping faucet (although it may seem an emergency to the resident) CAN wait until Monday.
Multifamily Work Life Balance: Plan to unplug.
When you are at work, give it your 110% effort. When you are home, do the same for your family. It is unfair to your family and yourself for you to be delaying dinner reading emails or taking calls. Have plans in place that allow you to truly be GONE when you are gone from the office. Being able to compartmentalize your work and home life will give your brain and emotions time to unwind. This in turn, makes you a better manager and employee.
Multifamily Work Life Balance: Keep to schedules.
It is easy for the day to get away from you in the office and at the end of the day still have tasks that need doing. Staying late for multiple hours is not productive. Often your mind has checked out and you are not giving your best to the job while also putting strain on your family. Go home. If you must work from home, give it a designated amount of time and then STOP and enjoy your life. That is WHY we work correct?
Multifamily Work Life Balance: Communicate schedules and time off with your family and employees.
If employees are given adequate notice that you will not be in town or answering calls on XX dates, then they can work out systems to account for that. If you decide, on a dime, to take the long weekend, that puts everyone in a lurch including yourself. Give your employees time to ask questions and settle their own tasks to make room for yours, while you are gone.
Multifamily Work Life Balance: Don't allow everyone else's time to be your priority.
If your staff is allowed 2 weeks of vacation per year and they take it, so should you! In the same way that you respect their time off, ask that they do the same for you. Clearly define the boundaries between home, office and employees and your life will run much more smoothly.
Multifamily Work Life Balance: Include your staff in decision making.
This will help to keep them informed of what is happening. Additionally, it will empower them to take ownership over the decision and potentially help you with the implementation and carrying out of the decision. Often problems arise when staff feel like things are being PUSHED on them. Employees who are in involved and often more engaged and happier workers.
While we understand that for many property managers, working the 40 and going straight home is not possible, it is possible, with proper planning and organization, to establish a lifestyle that is healthy. Once you begin to work on your own work life balance, your employees will follow suit. Stepping up to help each other will ease the burden on everyone.


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One of the best parts of Halloween (well, aside from the fun-sized candy, of course) is getting creative with your costume. But even though the sky's the limit when it comes to putting together the perfect getup, late October weather can limit your options. In order to beat the chill, you either need to add bulky layers underneath your outfit or bundle up with a scarf and jacket situation—major bummer. Or you can opt for something that's super cute and weather-proof, too...just like Vanessa Hudgens did!
For a haunted house visit at Universal Studios, she and her little sis Stella dressed up as cuddly animals, complete with furry hats and onesie pajamas. In addition to being totally adorable, their outfits were both seriously cozy. Sure, they were in L.A., where the temperature rarely drops below 60, but it'd work just as well in, say, Alaska. Hypothetically speaking, of course.
To get the look, all you'll need is a jumpsuit and a sweet pair of ears—bonus points if they come with paws attached like Vanessa's! And if you're really feeling crafty, feel free to attach a tail to the back, too.
Another cool thing about this costume? You can easily layer it over another outfit. So if you're going to straight to a party after you finish your candy haul, you don't have to worry about changing clothes in-between. Smart and stylish—we love!


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The Greenhouse
For more information regarding availability and prices please call020 7499 3331
Alternatively, simply fill in your name, email address and phone number in the form below and we will call you back to confirm.
Enjoy a tranquil and semi-private dining experience in the heart of Mayfair.
Elegant yet opulent, the private dining room at The Greenhouse seats up to 12 guests for lunch or dinner. Available for lunch or dinner with no minimum spend or hire charge.
The perfect setting for a celebration, intimate wedding reception or business lunch or dinner.
Our two Michelin Star food is available on a variety of menus to suit your occasion.
Chef Alex Dilling, leads the kitchen team to deliver refined cuisine.
The Greenhouse is famed for having the largest wine collection in London with 3,400 bins.


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Get In Touch
Contact KLMA
If you want to change your career or learn a new skill, then we would love to hear from you! Please fill out the contact form for all course enquiries or if you'd like to enrol on a course with KLMA Makeup Academy and turn your passion into a profession.
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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Team East was a ballclub operating at peak efficiency Sunday night. Every pitch mattered; every hit counted for something. And when a team of talented players can produce a performance that precise, victory is usually achieved in the end.
Nine pitchers combined on a nine-inning, 14-strikeout one-hitter, their batters turned five hits into five runs, and the East scampered past Team West, 5-1, at the 2nd annual Perfect Game Select Baseball Festival 14u all-star game played in balmy and comfortable conditions at jetBlue Park.
The game was a purist's delight with outstanding pitching and often-times great defensive play displayed on both sides, and in the East's case, anyway, a base hit when it was needed most. This was a game played primarily by high school freshman with a few age-eligible sophomores put into the mix, but they often played with the poise and promise usually seen from prospects a year or two older.
"Both teams were unbelievably enthusiastic about the weekend; they didn't even try to hide it," East head coach Gary White from nearby Estero High School said postgame. "They were excited about being here, they were excited at the (Golisano (Children's) hospital, they were excited at the (Awards) dinner, and they were more than excited tonight for the game. It's nice to see that kids get excited about something, so it was a great time."
With only six hits between the two teams it wouldn't be surprising to learn that no player had more than one, but that wasn't the case. Dynamic 2020 infielder Joel Perez Jr. from Miramar, Fla., singled twice, drove in a run, scored a run and stole a base.
He also made a highlight-reel defensive play while playing third base – Perez Jr. is typically a middle-infielder – in the bottom of the third inning and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
"You'll get a lot of hits and you'll get a lot of runs if you're having fun playing the game," Perez Jr. said, smiling ear-to-ear. "Because if you don't have fun, you will not win; you will not have a good time."
All nine of the East's pitchers were dominant. 2020 right-hander Alex Edmondson (Simpsonville, S.C.) struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth, the only East pitcher to do so in his inning of work. 2021 right-handers Irving Carter (Boynton Beach, Fla.), Christian Moore (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Cole Wagner (Lewisberry, Pa.) each struck-out two in their one inning on the bump, as did 2020 righties Carson Montgomery (Windermere, Fla.) and Nicholas Rigaldo (Miami Lakes, Fla.).
The West's only hit was a single off the bat of 2021 shortstop Hunter Teplansky in the bottom of the fourth inning. They scored their only run in the bottom of the ninth on the strength of three walks and a fielder's choice groundout from Rawley Hector (Van Alstyne, Texas).
Nine West pitchers combined on the five-hitter, striking out nine; 2021 right-hander Grant Taylor (Florence, Ala.) struck-out the side in the fourth inning. Both team's pitching staffs were throwing no-hitters through three innings of play before the East finally busted through with two runs on two hits in the top of the fourth.
Perez Jr. reached on a one-out infield single – the first hit of the game – advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and eventually scored on a throwing error. Perez Jr.'s offensive display came not long after he had dived to his right to snag a screaming line-drive just inside of fair territory down the third base line.
The East added another run in the frame when Christian Moore delivered a pop-fly double to right field that scored Nicholas Rigaldo, who had reached on a walk.
The East added two more in the top of the seventh after Jayden Melendez led off the frame with a double to left-center and eventually scored when Perez Jr. delivered an RBI single; he was thrown out while aggressively trying to stretch it into a double. They added their fifth run in the eighth on a one-out, RBI single from Erick Pena (Dominican Republic).
"This experience was great," Perez Jr. said. "I was very happy when they selected me for (the PG Select Baseball Festival) because I usually don't get picked for all this stuff, but now I'm getting (my name) out there. Playing with these boys, it was a great time. And I had a lot of fun going to the hospital and playing with the kids and making their day."
The finals of the 2nd annual PG Select Baseball Festival Home Run Challenge were held about an hour before the game's first pitch and 2021 Southaven, Miss., slugger Blaze Jordan won the even going, going gone away.
Jordan, a 6-foot, 215-pound, 14-year-old, right-handed hitter who just started his freshman year at national baseball DeSoto Central High School, buried the competition by slugging four long bombs over Fenway South's left field Green Monster during the allotted time slot. Swinging a Rawlings Velo BBCOR bat, all four blasts were towering things of beauty.
"That was great; it's the ultimate experience being out here with all these guys and everything," Jordan said before talking about the approach he takes when competing in a home run derby. "I just go up and there and don't really think about anything, I just swing and try to get under the ball. Especially with this Green Monster, you've got to get under it to hit it out."
Jordan, a member of Team West, was opposed in the finals by Team East members Joey Mack (Williamsville, N.Y.), Roismar Quintana (Guatire, VE) and Mario Zabala (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Quintana and Mack each one home run apiece.
Jordan smacked five home runs during Saturday's preliminary round, held on Field 1 at the jetBlue Park Player Development Complex. Quintana dropped three bombs in the prelims and Mack and Zabala two apiece. Field 1 also a fence version of the Green Monster. All four hitters used the Rawlings Velo during the competition.
Both it and the Monster at jetBlue Park are smaller versions of the original Monster inside of Boston's Fenway Park but they can be plenty intimidating for even the best 14- and 15-year-old sluggers.
"It can be a little bit, especially when you get a hold of one and it hits the top of the wall and bounces back," Jordan said. "It's just a little bit tougher than on a normal field."
The Challenge immediately gave way to the game itself, and at its conclusion – when fireworks were bursting over jetBlue Park – it's difficult to believe anyone went home disappointed, even the players on Team West.
"This is the second year that I've been given the opportunity to do this with Perfect Game, and it was easier this year having done it in the past," the East's White said. "(The players) have a routine and having done it in the past it was a little easier this year to deal with."
Awards Banquet recognizes Festival players
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. – The 38 players, four coaches and their families were feted at the 2nd Annual Select Baseball Festival Awards Banquet Saturday night inside one of the ballrooms at the grand Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa Saturday night.
The gathering was treated to a tasty meal of steak and grouper filets before being treated in kind to an entertaining back-and-forth between emcee Daron Sutton and the players throughout the evening. It also watched a pre-recorded inspirational video message from former PG All-American and current L.A. Angels' outfielder Justin Upton and listened to a live address of encouragement from former big-leaguer Dmitri Young.
At one point during the evening, top Mississippi prospect Blaze Jordan was recognized as the National Player of the Year for this underclass age-group. The other finalist for the award were Brody Drost (Louisiana), Brady House (Georgia), Cole Wagner (Pennsylvania) and Mario Zabala (Puerto Rico). Each player received an individual glass globe statuette in recognition of his selection to the event.
It was also announced that PG Select Baseball Festival fund-raising efforts brought in more than $23,000 for the event's beneficiary, Golisano Children's Hospital. Among the players, the top fund-raisers from each team were Team East's Irving Carter from Boynton Beach, Fla., at $3,442 Team West's Luke Leto at more than $1,900.
This year's coaches for the East were head coach Gary White (Estero High School, Estero) and assistant Pete Garcia (Gulf Coast HS, Naples). The West was led by head coach Austin Flores (Bishop Verot HS, Fort Myers) and assistant coach A.J. Reyes (Mariner HS, Cape Coral).


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Back in April, I spoke at our local homeschool group's Mom's Night Out. If you remember, I asked you, my dear blog readers, if you had any questions that you would like answered if you could attend.
Here are the questions that you asked, and here are my answers.
1- When planning the day, do you have your children complete a lesson or do you set a time limit. If you set a time and they don't finish, what do you do?
We do a lesson a day. I do not set a time limit.
2- How do you handle interruptions from the other children when you are working with another child?
I train the children not to interrupt. I alternate working with each child, and I have a plan for the child I am not working with. I will give consequences to a child who interrupts for no good reason or after being warned.
3- How do you schedule time with your children individually or with your husband?
I don't have deliberate time planned with each child or with my husband. It just happens naturally.
4- What to do with little ones while homeschooling the older ones?
- Towel time (I gave them a handout with a list of preschool activities.)
- Pass the baby time (Older children take turns playing with the baby or toddler--they are given specific places to play and things to do during this 30 minutes.)
- Occupying older kids while schooling younger ones (I also discussed this.)
5- Do you stick with the public-school schedule?
No. I choose our days off based on husband's schedule.
For the first time ever I chose our fall break and spring break based on my college-aged daughter's breaks.
6- How do you fit in field trips, co-ops, doctor appointments, etc?
I just do field trips once in a while if they appeal to me.
I try to schedule dr. appts. on my husband's day off.
7- Do you set goals for each child, for the school year, or for curriculum?
Not really. My goal is to just complete each grade/level of the curriculum and then move to the next level. No pressure.
8- How do you decide what curriculum to use and how do you schedule it over the year?
I have been doing the same thing basically for 13 years. KONOS for 7-8 years and then Sonlight the rest of the time, but I have used the same math, grammar, Bible, writing, and science the entire time.
I schedule the curriculum how it is suggested to do so, paying attention to our family's vacations, my husband's days off, and various holidays.
9- What do you do if you don't finish a curriculum on time?
Either 2 things:
- Just quit and call it a year. Start on next level the next August.
- Just stop at the end of May and pick up where we left off in August.
I do make sure my high school-aged children finish each course in the alloted time frame.
I plan to share the rest of my notes from that night in a series of blog posts this summer. If you have any more homeschool or homemaking related questions, please leave a comment. I will try to answer them if I can, even if the answer is "I don't know".


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What an awful choice. Do we actually have to choose between believing scientific claims and trusting in the bible? Can we trust the evidence readily apparent from our collective five senses? Or should we instead believe the knowledge provided by God through the divinely inspired authors of the scriptures? Is it really God's word or the credibility of Science?
For many Evangelicals, "Scripture or Science" is not only a legitimate question, it is THE critical question with respect to science, and not actually a tough call to make. "No apparent, perceived or claimed evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the Scriptural record," affirms the statement of faith of the most prominent YEC organization "Answers in Genesis (AIG)". They state unequivocally that our confidence must be placed in the knowledge provided by scripture, not that given by science. History, it is claimed, has spanned less than 10,000 years from the time of Adam to the present, and if atheistic scientists have different answers, they are severely mistaken or probably lying. The dating mechanisms used by scientists are fallible; the bible is not. Evolution is a wild theory built on extrapolations from only a few fossilized bones, and is synonymous with the term "missing link" because of its inability to demonstrate even a single change from one species to another over time. Science indeed may have some answers, but the typical Evangelical attitude is to treat it with suspicion.
However, we live in a world where the results of science are obvious and widespread. In the past few centuries western civilization has been revolutionized by breakthroughs in physics, chemistry, medicine, industrial engineering, and electronics to the point that day-to-day life would be virtually unrecognizable by even our great-grandparents. Although the benefits of the technology based on these scientific breakthroughs are sometimes debatable, there is no question that science "gets a lot of things right". This causes tension for Evangelicals who have been told to "trust the bible over science". If science "gets it right" so often (eg. we can put a man on the moon, perform heart transplants, clone sheep, and build nuclear power plants), why do entire fields of academia like anthropology and biology get it so wrong? What if they aren't wrong? What if it is bible that is wrong?
This tension was very real for me growing up in a conservative Evangelical culture. I certainly felt apprehension as I approached high school courses in history and biology that taught ancient hominid development and evolutionary theory. What I learned was that science and early human history were something to be feared, something dangerous to faith, and something to be avoided. After those initial courses, I registered for no more classes in history or biology.
My intellectual and spiritual journey out of this fear has been circuitous and complicated. Maybe all journeys are. Now, more than 25 years after my first introduction to evolution, I no longer fear either history or science. In fact, I relish opportunities to immerse myself in both. And I do not believe I've had to abandon scripture to accept scientific consensus.
What I have concluded is that the choice between science and scripture is not only a false choice, it is a heretical choice, a choice that God hates. Far from defending the integrity of creation, I believe this "science or scripture" choice diminishes and demeans creation. God has revealed himself to us in both the book of his works (creation) and the book of his word (scripture). He wants us to understand both. We do not defend God by placing one book in opposition to the other. By doing this we are challenging his trustworthiness.
Evangelicals that compare fallible human scientific conclusions with the infallible word of God miss a significant point. Not only do fallible humans interpret scientific facts, they also interpret the bible. Just as fallible humans can misinterpret the evidence of creation, so too fallible humans can misinterpret the scriptures. God is the ultimate author of both creation and scripture and so the two books will be consistent and will not provide contradictory guidance. However, since humans interpret both of God's books, using the tools of science and philosophy to interpret creation, and using the tools of theology and hermeneutics to understand scripture, there is the potential for conflict between a human understanding of the two books. It is the filters we use to perceive the truth that results in discord, and not an inherent disharmony between the two truths.
Part of our problem, I believe, is the Evangelical tendency to insist that everything must be simple, clear, and understandable. Unfortunately the bible is sometimes complex, ambiguous, and very difficult to understand. It was set in a culture that as foreign to us as ours would be to the ancient Hebrews. Thus, we have to deal with many seemingly contradictory concepts even when dealing only with the book of scripture. In the past, Christians have been able to resist the urge to ignore or abandon difficult scriptures that seem to contradict others. We may not completely understand God's revelation in scripture, but that does not diminish its stature as God's word.
For example, in the 2nd century, Marcion insisted that the Christian canon should not include the Hebrew Scriptures (the Christian Old Testament). He could not reconcile the God of love, compassion, and sacrifice revealed in Jesus Christ with the Hebrew God who, for example, ordered the genocide of the Canaanites in the days of Joshua. Later, during the reformation, Luther considered excluding the book of James from his New Testament since he felt it contradicted the theology of justification by grace alone. Christians resisted both of these urges and today our canon includes an eclectic group of writings, writings that sometimes seem to contradict each other, but all of which we maintain is God's word. Why then do we insist that the evidence of God's creation must be immediately discounted whenever it seems to contradict a possibly fallible interpretation of Genesis?
For Evangelicals, it is not a question about which of the two books we should read, but how we read them and in which order. Even though God's revelation through his creation was initiated prior to his revelation through the scriptures, it is the bible that precedes creation from a theological point of view: that is, it provides a more direct revelation of God, his character and his plan. Nature should be read as a sequel to scripture. What we discover there should be put in the context of the theological framework we build from a careful reading of the scriptures. Sometimes we may need to wrestle with our interpretation of specific scriptures based on our findings in God's creation. However, a theology built on nature must be dependent on a theology built from scripture, and not the other way around.
For example, we hear interpreters of science claim that creation has no purpose, that humanity's existence is but an accident, and that nature demonstrates that the creator is cruel. If we only read the book of nature, this could be a reasonable conclusion. However, by first reading the scriptures, we understand that God is good, his creation is good, he has a purpose for creation, and humanity was created to be a steward of creation. We can thus conclude that although the data behind the scientific claims may be correct, the philosophical interpretations and extrapolations are not.
There are times however, when evidence from God's creation can help highlight poor biblical interpretation. For example, the scientific evidence for an extremely old universe and earth is overwhelming. What then should we do with interpretations of scripture that claim the universe and earth were created less than 10,000 years ago? Some creationists have argued that the universe only appears to be old. Thus its "apparent age" is much older than its real age. The problem with this strategy is that it is difficult to determine where "apparentness" begins and ends. What is real, and what is only apparent? Is it only astronomical findings (age of the universe) and geological findings (age of the earth) that are "apparent"? What about human history? Can we trust anything that history tells us of past human cultures? Did God somehow mess with time at some point in the past? How do we know anything that science tells us is true? For example, maybe the Earth only appears to be round but is actually flat.
The logical inference of "apparent age" completely contradicts what we know of God and his creation. Creation is real, not some "Matrix-like" illusion. He is a loving God that has made a good, orderly, and understandable creation; he is not a deceiver that has created some type of prank on humanity. His revelation, whether by creation or his word, is not something that is secret, available to only the chosen few who understand what is real, "Gnostics" with a monopoly on true knowledge. His revelation is for all, whether that be the message of redemption in scripture, or the message of creation. Thus, in this instance, the book of God's works should guide us to look more closely at his word in Genesis. Just as creation provides the possibility for unbelievers to acquire some knowledge of God (Rom 1:20), we need in humility to accept that God, through his creation, can also guide Christians to rethink erroneous assumptions about scripture.
So this choice, science or scripture, is completely unnecessary. In fact, we need to honour both scripture and science since they both come from God. If we study science with discernment & integrity, and study the scriptures with the same level of discernment and integrity, I believe we can find harmony. Unfortunately, the interpretation of both is often done without the required level of discernment or integrity, and perceived contradictions result. Sometimes agreement is found only because the interpretation of both is abused. But that is a post for another day.
Wednesday, 16 May 2007
Scripture or Science: Do we have to Choose?
What an awful choice. Do we actually have to choose between believing scientific claims and trusting in the bible? Can we trust the evidence readily apparent from our collective five senses? Or should we instead believe the knowledge provided by God through the divinely inspired authors of the scriptures? Is it really God's word or the credibility of Science?
Posted by Steve Martin at 20:30
Labels: science, scripture, theological choices
2 comments:
I've been reading your posts with great interest, but unfortunately I agree with you. Yes, you read that right, I agree with you and I think it is unfortunate. Why? Because dialogue / debate is always much more interesting when people disagree! Basically, I agree we shouldn't have to choose between scripture or science, and I'm thankful I was never asked to make that choice. But I feel compelled to write something, so here goes.
Could it be possible that God made the earth in 6 days about 10,000 year ago, and yet it is, at the same time, billions of years old? Could it also be possible that God created all life, and used evolution as part of the process? Can two apparently conflicting explanations both be correct?
It reminds me of studying light theory in physics. Newton understood light as being made of particles, and he conducted experiments that proved his theory. Huygens understood light as energy waves, and conducted experiments that proved his theory. Which was true? Turns out, both were true. Einstein unified both theories into what is now accepted as the particle wave theory of light (or light is composed of photons which are tiny particles that have mass and energy and move in waves, and can be made into torpedoes and launched at enemy starships). It seems pretty obvious to us now, but for about 300 years, the two theories of light contradicted each other and people rallied around one or the other calling the opposing scientists hacks and liars. Maybe we just need to be patient and we will someday be able to unify the Genesis creation account with what science tells us? Maybe it is a matter of properly interpreting Scripture. Maybe it is beyond our capability to understand.
So what do we do in the meantime? We can be part of the crowd that waits for someone else to find the answer, and focus our efforts on other aspects of our lives. Basically parking the debate to the side and not dealing with it. Or we can be part of the crowd that keeps looking for the answer, possibly spending our entire lives searching for something that might not be there or that not everyone will agree with (like an alternate interpretation of Scripture). I'm pretty comfortable in that first group. The overwhelming scientific evidence supporting evolution and a very old universe, does not diminish my faith in the truth of Scripture, and the seemingly impossible (unproven) accounts of a 6 day Genesis creation and a global flood don't cause me to question the validity of science. It's OK for me that they seem to contradict each other – there are other things that interest me more at the present time. But I will keep an eye on the second group, just in case something interesting develops.
Keep up the good work...
- 22 May 2007 at 10:02
- Steve Martin said...
Hi Jac,
Great comments! Love your example on the theory of light. I think I'll use that in a future post - don't worry, I'll give you full credit and 100% of the revenue I earn from the post. (Hint: don't quit your day job:-) )
On your "both young & old" comment, check out http://tgdarkly.com/blog/?p=577 where this exact issue is discussed.
- 22 May 2007 at 23:38


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NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- After Friday morning's shoot around at New Orleans Arena, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown talked about some of the things that worried him about the New Orleans Pelicans.
"They can play around the rim,'' he said. "They're all good runners. They know how to space the floor very well. They play very well. They give you a lot of different looks also with their perimeter guys. They've got shooters. They've got guys who can get to the rim. They've got guys who can make plays for one another so offensively it's a very good team.''
All those things were on display as the Pelicans erased a 12-point deficit in the final 4:46 and pulled out a 104-100 victory.
Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans each had 19 points for the Pelicans, including some big ones down the stretch, as New Orleans improved to 6-6.
Kyrie Irving finished with 22 points and Jarrett Jack added 19 as the Cavs fell to 4-9 overall, 1-7 on the road. Dion Waiters had 14 points, all in the first half.
Those things that concerned Brown on Friday morning proved to be the Cavs undoing.
"Where the game was lost was we had 20 turnovers,'' Brown said. "On the road, 20 turnovers that lead to 21 points for them, that's tough. They had 19 offensive rebounds, 25 second-chance points, 23 fast-break points. That's 69 points on stuff you can control by getting back quickly and boxing out.''
It looked as if the Cavs were going to register their second road victory of the season when they took a 93-81 lead on a 3-pointer by Earl Clark with 4:46, but the Pelicans outscored the Cavs, 14-2, over the next 3:17 and pulled into a 95-95 tie on a tip in by Anthony Davis with 1:29 left. Evans and Irving traded driving layups before a 3-pointer by Gordon right in front of the Cavs bench gave New Orleans a 100-98 lead with 31.7 seconds left. Irving missed a driving layup, Evans got the rebound, was fouled by Dion Waiters and made two free throws to make it 102-98 with 19.3 seconds left.
Jarrett Jack hit a running jumper to get the Cavs back within 102-100, but Jrue Holiday made two free throws with 12.3 seconds left. Irving and Jack missed 3-pointers and Tristan Thompson couldn't get off a shot underneath before time expired.
Though the Cavs didn't get a win, it was the sort of spirited effort Brown was hoping for when he inserted rookie Matthew Dellavedova into the starting lineup.
"There's nothing sexy about him,'' Brown said before the game. "It's just about his toughness, his will and his hard work and determination. All those funky words everybody likes to use for people growing up. He has it all. He has leadership qualities and everywhere he has been, he has won.
"He was the starting point guard for the Australian Olympic team, so he has played in big games on big stages against big-time players. He played against the USA team. He's done some things at that level. He's also a four-year guy [at St. Mary's], so it's not like he's Anthony Bennett or [Sergey] Karasev where they're 19 coming into this thing and trying to find their way. He kind of knows who he is and it shows out on the floor.''
Brown thought Alonzo Gee fit better with Dellavedova, Thompson, Andrew Bynum and Irving, so Gee started at small forward in place of Clark. Thanks in part to Dellavedova -- or Delly, as he's called -- Cleveland started the game with exactly the kind of energy Brown sought, and the Cavs jumped out to a 16-6 lead that included eight points from Bynum. Unfortunately for the Cavs, Dellavedova's hustling defense resulted in two quick fouls in the first 4:19 and once again left Brown scrambling to find a lineup that fit together.
Cleveland trailed after the first quarter, 21-20, but Waiters scored 12 points in the second quarter and the Cavs ran out to a 51-42 lead at halftime. With the Cavs attacking the basket instead of settling for jump shots, Cleveland shot 52.6 percent (20 of 38) in the first half and held New Orleans to 39.5 percent (17 of 43).
The Cavs led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter and were up by 10, 64-54, on a driving layup by Irving with 6:29 left. But the Pelicans scored 12 straight and took a 66-64 lead on a 3-pointer by Ryan Anderson with 2:22 left in the third quarter. Five straight points by Clark allowed the Cavs to take a 71-70 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Dellavedova wound up with five fouls in 12 minutes, so his first start didn't go exactly as planned. Or maybe it did if it got the Cavs to play hard for 48 minutes.
Brown was asked if he was trying to send a message to his players by starting an undrafted rookie whose whole game is built on hustle.
"The bottom line is I'm trying to establish a culture here, and I want to hold guys accountable and myself accountable, the rest of the coaches and all the players,'' the coach said before the game. "It's a process that everybody has to get used to and has to understand in order to be better than just a good team, or just a playoff team, we're trying to be great here. In order to be great, you have to have accountability from the top on down.''


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Major League Baseball fans, players, coaches, and managers woke up to the terrible news early Sunday morning that Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed in a tragic boating accident. There are no words that can adequately describe shock and sadness that is felt by the Miami Marlins organization as well as the entire baseball world.
The loss of Fernandez just reminds us all of how short life is. The importance of enjoying every single day as if it was your last day on this earth. Fernandez was only 24 years old when he passed away this morning, yet it strikes a core as to how young Fernandez was and how much of an impact he had on those around him in his life.
When to think about and remember Fernandez, you think about the passion in which he pitched with. We reflect on the fire he had on the mound and as well as the competitive spirit he brought to the mound each day he started. We think about the way he carried himself and his genuine personality in which he shined as a beacon of light for the Miami Marlins and Major League Baseball.
Major League Baseball has a great abundance of young talent in the game right now. Players such as Mike Trout of the Los Angeles of Anaheim, Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs, Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox, and Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins are the reasons why baseball has such a promising and exciting future head.
The passing of Fernandez is such a major blow to Major League Baseball not just because he was arguable the top young pitcher in the game, but because of what he has meant to South Florida, and as well to the city of Miami. Fernandez's impact was far greater than the game itself. His impact was felt arguably the most in the Cuban community in Miami where his story of his defection from Cuba is well chronicled. Fernandez had attempted to defect from Cuba three times and was imprisoned three times for his actions. Fernandez successfully defected the fourth time as he arrived in Mexico in 2008.
One story from his defection that emerged that would ultimately symbolize his determination and indomitable spirit is how he saved his mother from drowning at sea while defecting from Cuba. Fernandez ability to be selfless even in trying moments and times is the real mark of a man who loves, passion, and spirit was felt and received by everyone who had met him and had the privilege to get to know Fernandez.
Sunday is a terrible day for Major League Baseball and its fans. The loss of Jose Fernandez cannot be put into words nor can his impact on the game and his community be fully measured. At this time, we all mourn the tragic loss of a great pitcher but more important, a great man whose spirit and selflessness will forever be missed terribly by those who had the chance to witness it firsthand and also had a relationship with him.
I would like to personally send my condolences to Jose Fernandez's family, friends, teammates, and the Miami Marlins organization.


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People have always been hooked on Berlin. The setting for momentous political and historical events and haven for various lifestyles and artistic movements, the city never stops reinventing itself. Despite its tumultuous past, today Berlin considers itself very much at the modern heart of Europe and is acknowledged as a trendsetter the world over. Surrounded by lakes and forests, offering plenty of recreational activities - it is also a place to find peace and tranquillity. Berlin is a metaphor for life, with all its highs and lows; at the interface between Western and Eastern Europe, the important things in life are tangible here. MARCO POLO Berlin guides you though a city of design, the city of The Wall and the metropolis that never closes. The practical, pocket-sized guide takes you on a tour through its endlessly varied museum and cultural landscape, and shows you its lively nightlife and enticing shops. The 'Where to Start' panels highlight the best places to begin sightseeing, the best places to shop, and the trendiest places to go in the evening. The Insider Tips explain how to take a ride in the U-Bahn Cabrio (open-top metro) and where to buy violet mustard, milk grappa, and garlic chocolates. The Best Of pages highlight some unique aspects of Berlin, recommend places to go for free, and have tips for rainy days and where you can relax and unwind. Panels in each chapter suggest things to do if you're on a tight budget and where to pick up some real bargains. The City Walks include exploring the past in the Hackesche Höfe (courtyards) and strolling along the line of the now vanished Wall. Excursions take you to the magnificent Prussian palace of Sanssouci and the waterside town of Köpenick with its historic centre. The Do's & Don'ts explain why its best to steer clear of conjuring tricks, and the Travel Tips tell you why it's best instead to put your money on the WellcomeCard. MARCO POLO Berlin provides comprehensive coverage of the city. To help you find your way around there's a detailed street atlas inside, a useful public transport map in the backcover, plus a handy pull-out map.
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Red juice can be just as awesome as green juice. This juice is delicious and refreshing. With chard, beets, carrot and cucumber, this juice recipe is a nutrient powerhouse!
Raw Red Power Juice Recipe
Juice these ingredients in the following order for the best results. Serve chilled.
1 bunch organic chard
4 organic beets
2 organic cucumbers
2lb organic carrots
A nutritional powerhouse! Chard contains large amounts of vitamins A, B, C & K. It also provides large amounts of essential minerals copper, calcium, manganese, iron, sodium, potassium and phosphorous. Omega 3 fatty acids are also found in chard. This leafy green vegetable has a lot to offer!
Beets have a number of great health benefits. The nitrates found in them can instantly lower blood pressure. The phytonutrients that give beets their deep red color can help to ward off cancer. They help to detoxify the blood and liver. Beets are also high in vitamin C, fiber, potassium, manganese and folate.
Cucumbers are not just full of water to keep you hydrated, but they also contain good amounts of vitamin K, B vitamins essential for energy production and fiber to aid digestion and help you feel fuller for longer. They also contain lignans, thought to help in protection against various cancers. Cucurbitacins are also present. They can help to prevent cancer growth.
Carrots provide the body with vitamin A and antioxidants. Vitamin A can help with vision (yes, the old tales are somewhat true!). Antioxidants help to stop cell oxidation and death.


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Have you heard of the Bull Dog line before now? It's a rich, high quality line of products that is sure to be a hit with any of the grown men in your life. I'm definitely placing this brand in the holiday gift guide!
- The Skincare Trio Set ($14.99) This gift is perfect for the everyday guy who takes pride in his smooth skin. It includes our Original Face Wash (5.0oz), Original Face Scrub (4.2oz) and Original Moisturizer (3.3oz).
- The Beard Care Kit ($15) This gift set is great for the guy that takes pride in maintaining the perfect beard. It contains our Original Beard Oil (1.0oz), Original Beard Shampoo and Conditioner (6.4oz) and a limited-edition Bulldog beard comb.
- The Shave Kit for Men ($15) This gift set is for the fitness fanatic or guy on the go. It comes in a stylish wash bag and includes our Original Face Wash (5.0oz), Original Shave Gel (5.9oz) and Original Moisturizer (3.3oz).


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For Experienced Kitchen Remodeling, Choose Mevers Custom Kitchens LLC
When you need a reliable company that offers full-service kitchen remodeling, be sure to visit Mevers Custom Kitchens, LLC. Whether you are looking to install new custom kitchen cabinets, countertops, or redesigning the layout of your kitchen, trust our team to create beautiful results that will add to the value of your home.
At Mevers Custom Kitchens, LLC, we use high-quality materials and provide hands-on supervision for each and every kitchen remodeling job. With services offered throughout the Charleston, Daniel Island and Mount Pleasant, SC area, check out photos of our recent work or visit our kitchen showroom for inspiration. Call us today for information about the variety of kitchen styles and layouts that we have done.
Offering Unique Kitchen Layouts from the Tile to Custom Kitchen Cabinets
Let our experienced team aid you at every step of the kitchen remodeling process. At Mevers Custom Kitchens, LLC, we can help you determine the right layout for your kitchen that will best fit your needs, budget, and available space. We offer kitchen layouts from U-shaped kitchens and l-shaped styles with or without islands, as well as a galley style kitchen, one-wall style kitchens, and much more.
Proudly serving homeowners throughout the Mount Pleasant, Daniel Island, and Charleston, SC area, our team has the skills to create a custom kitchen that will stand out, while still fitting the style and flow of the rest of your home. Maybe you are looking for a traditional or modern kitchen with simplistic lines and black and white colors or would like a more rustic or farmhouse feel to create your own country kitchen. Perhaps you want a Parisian or European feel with a bistro-style kitchen.
No matter what look you want to achieve, Mevers Custom Kitchens, LLC has you covered. Browse our kitchen showroom photos below or give us a call today to get started!
Contact Mevers Custom Kitchens, LLC to see how we can help you create the kitchen of your dreams!


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This morning I was served up yet another reminder as to why CleanApp can be such a dangerous tool in the wrong hands, not that I needed another reminder. However this example is pretty succinct in that it highlights one of the main issues with an uninstaller that offers any file an application touches, as a candidate for deletion.
You see a lot of applications will access your data files, whether that's documents, spreadsheets or even mp3 files, and in the case of the latter if you go to uninstall an mp3 tagging application then CleanApp may offer to delete any mp3 files you've tagged with that application. Case in point The Tagger which I was trying out earlier to see if anything could ever replace my trusty Tag & Rename (which I have to run under VMware Fusion). After messing around with the tags in just two mp3 files, I decided that nice as The Tagger is, it's not for me (mainly because I do a lot of bulk tagging and The Tagger seems more geared towards tagging a file at a time). So I go to let CleanApp do its thing and as you've probably guessed by now, it offered up the two mp3 files I'd edited as being files I should delete! In addition it suggested deleting something called cookies.plist which I am suspecting is a file accessed and updated by any application that accesses the web (The Tagger accesses the Discogs website). Deleting cookies.plist would I guess be the equivalent of purging all your cookies, given that the file does not appear to be application specific.
In the end I kept the two mp3 files and the cookies file and let CleanApp do the rest. But just imagine the damage you could do if you edited a lot of data files with an application and then let CleanApp do its thing without a second look!
I still like CleanApp but think it really needs more features to help people protect themselves against accidentally deleting stuff they want. It already knows about protecting certain system files, but I think there are a number of ways this could be extended. For example, automatically protecting known Apple applications, protecting data files shared between applications, monitoring an app and protecting all the files it uses, or even protecting files of a certain type such as mp3 files.
While we're on the subject of VMware (were we?!) I thought I'd install the latest Windows 7 beta build under VMware to have a look. The install went fine and after a quick Windows Update I even had sound working. Then I thought I'd install ESET Smart Security 4 rather than rely on Microsoft's built-in anti-malware tools like Windows Defender. Result? Well see for yourself…
Well it is beta and no-one ever said ESET Smart Security 4 would work with it, but the effects are pretty dramatic. I'll see if I can unpick the mess in Safe Mode, failing that I'll just do a re-install. After all, it's nice to keep an eye on what the other side is doing. As it happens, I also installed Ubuntu 9.04 in another VM, but I've yet to make it fall over…
Filed under: Linux, Mac, mp3, Software, uninstall, uninstaller, VMware, Windows, Windows 7 Beta | Leave a comment »


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View photos from the Q at Delano here.
It was the perfect night for a barbecue--or as us South Beach Wine & Food Festival aficionados like to call it--"The Q"; the sun had begun to set, painting the sky in aqua and peach, and a marching band serenaded eager ticketholders, but the scent of smoke wafting through the tent was the most soul-stirring sensation of all... That is, until we started our charred eats and sweets binge.
Star-spotting? You probably saw Marc Murphy, one of the judges on Chopped; Dave Martin and Richard Blais (Top Chef Seasons One and Four); and Dutchess LuAnn de Lesseps (Real Housewives of New York City), at least, wandering around and getting their eat on. A-list chefs like Emeril Lagasse, Guy Fieri and Masaharu Morimoto had booths, along with dozens of other toques true foodies would recognize, but we were also pleased to see some of our local faces representing: Dewey LoSasso, Michelle Bernstein, and Jordi Valles, for example. (For the record, their dishes were all palate-pleasers.) Paula DaSilva was there, too, but without her chef coat; seems The Beach Channel managed to convince her to be their lovely correspondent.
Local couple Laura Schneider and David Kramarz had covered about a quarter of the tent when we asked them which dish got their thumbs up. "This barbecued pork egg roll is awesome," Schneider said of Jacques Van Staden's offering. "And it came with this cute baby barbecue sauce bottle!" What can we say? Us chicks dig cute stuff. Local PR guru Matt Brooks kindly shared his Sweet Pimp from Big Gay Ice Cream truck, which turned out to be a sinful combo of sweet vanilla ice cream, viscous olive oil, creamy chocolate shell, and crunchy bits of sea salt. Chef Adrianne Calvo, though admitting that Lagasse is her all-time fave chef, gave props to Scott Conant's crispy pork shoulder.
We really dug John Rivers brisket "street tacos" but weren't too thrilled with the flavors emitted from his novel Mountain Dew cupcakes sprinkled with Doritos, chocolate Coca-Cola cupcakes with chocolate-dipped potato chips, and grape Nehi cupcakes decorated with Nerds. E for effort, though, Rivers.
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The table of female tourists we sat with for a spell were less than enthused by some of the other chefs' samples. Cliff's Notes of their commentary are as follows: Chris Lilly's Wagyu beef brisket with barbecue hollandaise was "bad," Christopher Hastings' smoked and grilled quail was "yucky," Michael White's grilled pancetta with glazed figs and toasted pistachios was "gross" (though one of the gals argued that she thought it was "amazing"), and Tom Douglas' salmon bacon with rhubarb pickle was "bad, bad, bad." "I spit it out," announced a gal from New Jersey.
Also a little weird were the Swarovski crystal-encrusted cow (though we secretly coveted one for our office) greeting us inside the tent and a vegetation-covered Champagne bottle. However, once Tony Abou-Ganim taught us how to mix our own Belvedere Lemon Tea Raspberry Caipiroskas (like a caipirinha with vodka instead of rum), everything we saw that night from then on became decidedly more appealing. Cocktails are magical that way.
Would we have spent the $300 for a ticket, in retrospect, if we weren't given freebies? Well, we're cheap bastards so perhaps we aren't the best folks to ask. But since celebrity sightings were aplenty, the band rocked hard, Moët was flowing freely, lines weren't too long, and the samplings were pretty out-of-the-ordinary, we still think you won't be disappointed if you fork out the cash for Q tix next year.
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