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Pop-Press: Last Call! Social Distortion at Starland

We’ve received word for the Starland Ballroom that few tickets remain for this Thursday’s (September 4th) Social Distortion. If you’re one of those who likes to get tickets days of or just buy them at the door, you’re most likely going to be SOL for Social D.

Few tickets remain, so we encourage you to click below to make sure you’re going to be at the first big show of the “fall” concert season.

Bill Bodkin is the gray bearded owner, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Pop Break. Most importantly, he is lucky husband, and proud father to a beautiful daughter named Sophie. He can be seen regularly on the site reviewing The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, and is the host of the site’s podcast, The BreakCast. He is a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism & English. Follow him on Twitter: @BodkinWrites


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Julie Cummings

Julie Cummings, the Manager at the Range Bar & Grille, has worked as a member of Will O’Connell’s management team for the past 5 years. Julie is a lifelong resident of Quincy, and growing up near the water has developed her love for the South Shore and all that it represents. Before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, she was headed for a career in finance. Shortly after college graduation, an opportunity in the restaurant field presented itself, and she has remained in the food and beverage industry for the last 10 years. Julie possesses the leadership qualities and passion for the restaurant business that is required to provide guests with exceptional experiences each and every time. Julie sees every day as an occasion to meet new people and create unique cocktails, while surrounding herself with a dedicated team filled with knowledgeable kitchen staff, wait staff and management.

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Friday, October 27, 2006

Black Ty pka Tyrese - Alter Ego EPK

Black Ty is here. Be very very afraid.

According to the Press Release:
Tyrese shines as rapper Black Ty, which comes naturally since he once was a member of the rap group Triple Impact prior to the success of his solo singing career. Manni Fresh, Scott Storch, All Star and various members from the Frontline Boyz add their production skills on the hip-hop disc which will also feature guest appearances by The Game, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Too Short, David Banner, Method Man, Lil Scrappy and Manni Fresh.
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Coastal Conservation Association Texas deepened its commitment to marine resource science with a $250,000 grant to the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation (CSSC) that will fund ongoing research into many of the key scientific issues facing the ecosystems that support Gulf of Mexico sportfishing. The CSSC is housed within the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and was founded in 2012, in part with a $500,000 commitment from CCA Texas.

“In the few short years that the Center has been operating, marine researchers there have developed incredible insights into the needs and behaviors of key species that anglers cherish,” said Mark Ray, chairman of CCA Texas. “We are learning things that can immediately be applied to better the management of those species. The work to date has been extremely impressive and we want to ensure that the Center has everything it needs to continue to be a force for healthy marine resources.”

Since 2012, CSSC has done extensive work on the impact that passes like Cedar Bayou have on bay ecosystems and on the effect of diminishing Gulf habitat. It is also helping to pioneer development of an extensive array of sensors and tracking technology to gain critical insight into the migratory patterns of fish throughout the Gulf of Mexico. The latest $250,000 grant from CCA Texas will be applied over five years to continue these and other research efforts.

“Recreational anglers are our natural partners in the conservation of marine resources, and the Center is uniquely positioned to develop science that supports the multi-billion dollar recreational fishing industry on the Texas coast and the Gulf of Mexico,” said Dr. Greg Stunz, director of CSSC and Endowed Chair for Fisheries and Ocean Health at the Harte Research Institute. “This is a unique partnership that is focused solely on improving the marine environment, and we are excited to have additional resources to fulfill that mission.”

“Both inshore and offshore sportfish face many challenges – natural and man-made – and it is critical that the science is available to properly manage those fisheries,” said Robby Byers, CCA Texas executive director. “Recreational anglers have already recognized that the work being done by CSSC is vital to the health and availability of those resources in the future. We are proud to be a partner in their efforts and look forward to building this unique relationship.”


text: We were going to write an open letter to James Franco after reading his short story in Esquire last week, but the inimitable Sady Doyle did it for us. You want to know what reading really, really bad "literary fiction" is like? It's like this: "Now me and Jack-O' are driving down the dark 280 freeway. Me and fat boy cruising. And I think about that missing tooth, and that gap, and how there was never a gap in that place before, and about three dimensions, and how the gap was on the inside of his mouth unless he opened his mouth and how things, shapes, folded in on themselves, and four dimensions, and if time is variable, then how do I vary it, and why do I want to? Because everything just focuses in on me and I hate it." Yeah, we hate that, too. Thanks to our beloved Chérie l'Ecrivain for directing our attention to Mr. Franco's literary activities.


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Phone: 931-507-9355

We'll Help You Change Your Life

resources At Theresa Buck’s Urgent Care Center, our primary goal is to improve your wellness and quality of life – even when you’re not at our clinic! So, we decided to create a handy guide of resources for you to peruse and use at your own leisure. On this page, you will find links to helpful information on common medical problems.

We hope that you will find beneficial tips for prevention and healing through these resources. Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list – so if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call!

Health Tips: + CDC: Centers for Disease Control And Prevention


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Markets - Thermo Bond Buildings

Thermo Bond Buildings are used by long distance carriers for fiber optic networks, cellular phone companies, PCS providers, cable companies, power companies, the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the U.S. Dept of Interior, major railroads, local and state governments, and many telephone companies. The companies we serve come from many industries including:


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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Another March Challenge!

Aside from sketches, I LOVE to scraplift!! I love searching through tons of pretty layouts, and finding just one that tickles my fancy. Once I find it, I then begin to dissect the layout and figure out just what it is I like and don't like about. I scratch the stuff I don't like and add the things I do to my own work of art! And I really get satisfaction when I can look at my layout and just see glimpses of the scraplifted layout. Basically, I made it my own!

So, surprise, surprise, your challenge is to scraplift a layout from the Design Team gallery!! Here is a look at a few examples...

Scraplifted Layout--Music to My Ears by Frances, Nov 2010

NEW Layout--My Beach Babes by Aphra

You can certainly look at Aphra's layout, and see that the placement of of the pictures and patterned paper are similar. To make it her own, Aphra moved the title work to the left-hand side, which in turn she added an additional embellishment cluster to the right-hand side to give her layout balance!

Scraplifted Layout--Karate Kids by Lan, Nov 2010

NEW Layout--Love Story by Frances

Again, placement of the photos and patterned paper are essentially the same, but the location of the embellishments and title are different. I moved the title to the top of the patterned paper instead of the side, and instead of the embellishments going across the bottom of the picture, I arranged them in a cluster in the bottom right-hand corner.

If you would like to try your hand at this month's additional challenge, leave a comment IN THIS POST with a link to your layout by Wednesday, March 30th. Make sure you identify which layout from the DT gallery you lifted! Your name will then be entered into a random drawing to win a $5 gift cert to our TSR Store!!!!

Happy Wednesday and get scrapping!!

  1. Does it have to be lifted from this months gallery, or will any month do?

  2. Here is a link to my scraplifted layout:

    I wasn't going to scrap this photo till I saw Melanie's layout! I loved her title and all the different patterned papers on the monochromatic layout. Thanks Melanie!

    Thanks for looking!

  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

  4. This is my lift of Jennifer Moores Bo Bunny LO in the Nov gallery. I have wanted to lift this since I first saw it <3

  5. I scraplifted Brenda Carpenter from the January 2011 idea gallery seventh layout on the left.

  6. Here's mine:

    Almost exactly lifted from Lan's "Always" LO from March. Loved all those layered patterns!

  7. Here's mine....I lifted Melanie's "we love dirt" layout from the Jan 2011 gallery..

  8. My lift is the 2nd layout in this post:

  9. I scraplifted Fraces- Love Story.... Thanks for looking

  10. I have been saving these Christmas photos and DT ideas for a couple months! Thank you for this challenge to get me scrappin again! I lifted Melanie Call from the Dec DT gallery. Love it! (Amy)

  11. While I had the Dec. Jillibean kit out, I lifted another December DT idea. This one is from Jennifer Moore.... she does such cute stuff.. loved lifting it!

    Lifted Melanie Call's 12 Years layout from Feb 2011

  13. Holy cow...... you lit a fire under me for sure! I am still playing around in the December DT idea gallery. This time I combined 2 layouts for this combo. I used the fussy cut work from Jennifer Moore's snowman layout and the sketch design of Frances Sylvia's daring duet double pager. Good times, good times! (Amy)


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Monday, 25 November 2013

'Ten Lords A-Leaping' by C.C. Benison

Release date: 3rd December 2013
Published by: Delacorte Press
ISBN No: 978 0385344470

Although Father Tom Christmas serves his little church in enchanting Thornford Regis with a glad and faithful heart, he never expects to find himself skydiving to raise money for it. Nor, safely back on the ground, to see two of the other divers leap from the plane, then tangle in a midair punch-up and begin falling to the earth.
To say that there is tension between the men in question—Oliver, the 7th Marquess of Morborne, and his brother-in-law Hector, the 10th Earl of Fairhaven—would be an understatement. But the trouble among this ancient landed family really began a generation ago, when a marquess divorced his first spouse to marry his brother’s wife, fathering in his two marriages a viper’s nest of arrogant young aristocrats. Now they have all turned up for the show to witness this shocking event in the sky.
Thankfully the men land safely, but death will not be slighted. Much to Father Tom’s dismay, he later discovers Lord Morborne lying deceased on castle grounds. Rumors of bigamy, art forgeries, and upstairs/downstairs intrigue fly. So do whispers of unvicarly behavior between Tom and Oliver’s beautiful half-sister, Lady Lucinda. In fact, the vicar may be headed for a very hard landing of his own.

Copyright: Amazon Synopsis

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1486 sermons as of December 10, 2017.
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Author:Dr. Wes Bredenhof
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Congregation:Free Reformed Church of Launceston, Tasmania
 Tasmania, Australia
Title:God reveals the sneaky strategy Satan employed at the beginning
Text:Genesis 3:1 (View)
Occasion:Regular Sunday
Topic:Spiritual Warfare

Order Of Worship (Liturgy)

Hymn 4

Psalm 1 (after the law)

Psalm 36

Hymn 53

Psalm 81:1-3

Scripture reading:  Genesis 3

Text:  Genesis 3:1

* As a matter of courtesy please advise Dr. Wes Bredenhof, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service.   Thank-you.

Beloved congregation of Christ,

It was March 23, 1924 and the minister of the Reformed church in Amsterdam South was having a catechism sermon on Lord’s Day 3.  Rev. Geelkerken was preaching about the fall and disobedience of our first parents Adam and Eve in paradise.  In his sermon, he suggested that it’s possible that there was no literal snake speaking to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  He didn’t deny it, but in his sermon he opened the door to question it.  One of the regular church members, br. H. Marinus, heard this and he couldn’t let it rest.  He went to his consistory with an objection.  The consistory stood behind the minister.  But Marinus was convinced that his pastor was going astray, so he appealed to classis.  The matter went to a regional synod, and all the way to a general synod.  Marinus was eventually vindicated.  The churches decided that Rev. Geelkerken was in serious error and he was suspended and deposed.  Now the process by which he was suspended and deposed was unlawful according to the church order, but the conclusion regarding his views was certainly the correct one.

How ironic that someone would question the serpent’s speaking in a passage like this!  The serpent wanted our first parents to question God’s Word.  In the 1920s, and up till today, people are still giving in to that temptation to question God’s Word.  They even question whether the serpent incited our first parents to question God’s Word and whether it happened in exactly the way described in Scripture.  Almost all scientists say it’s impossible for serpents to speak, therefore it could not have happened as described in the Bible.  So we impose our supposedly superior scientific expertise on the Bible and judge the Bible by that.

Loved ones, let’s quickly set aside all such arrogance.  Let’s have the Word of God speak for itself, on its own terms.  God has given us his revelation here in the form of history.  He speaks to us in his Word and reveals how our first parents were led astray by the evil one.  He gives us that revelation so that we can recognize his strategies in our own day and in our lives and so that we can then resist him.  So I preach to you God’s Word and we’ll see here that God reveals the sneaky strategy Satan employed at the beginning.

We’ll consider Satan and his:

  1. Hijacking of God’s creation
  2. Doubt of God’s character
  3. Perversion of God’s Word

Our text is found at the very beginning, right after the creation of Adam and Eve.  After God created Eve, he presided at the first marriage ceremony.  Chapter 2 ends with those well-known words, “And the man and his wife were both naked and they were not ashamed.”  They were in a state of innocence.  They’d also been entrusted with dominion over God’s creation.  Adam and Eve were God’s vice-regents in Eden.  God had commanded them to subdue the earth and rule over its creatures.  That was their calling and their office from the beginning.

This creation they were to rule over was the creation that God had called “very good” in Genesis 1:31.  God had declared all the creatures to be good too, including “all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.”  This was a good world that our Father called into existence out of nothing.  That good world included good creatures of every sort.

That included snakes.  Some people are creeped out by snakes.  Some have a fear of snakes.  Others, including myself, find them fascinating and some even keep them as pets.  But there are still other people who regard snakes as somehow inherently evil, because of the role of a serpent in the fall into sin.  But brothers and sisters, we ought not to miss the fact that snakes were created good by God.  There is nothing inherently evil with them, any more than there is anything inherently evil with Yorkie puppies.  They are all God’s good creatures.

This is captured in the fact that our text reminds us that the serpent was one of the beasts “the LORD God had made.”  The serpent was his handiwork.  When you see a snake today too, this creature is from our Father’s hand.

Now what happens is that Satan hijacks one of God’s good creatures and uses it for an evil purpose.  It’s true that our text by itself doesn’t specify that it was Satan acting and speaking.  But we know this from elsewhere in Scripture.  Just think of how the last book of the Bible speaks of Satan.  In Revelation 12(:9) and in Revelation 20(:2), Satan is identified as “that serpent of old.”  It’s well-established that our text is speaking of Satan.  And who is Satan, you ask?  He is the leader of the evil angels who rebelled against God sometime before our text.  Satan is the great enemy of God who seeks to destroy everything good that God has made, and seeks to thwart every purpose of God.

But why does Satan choose this particular creature to tempt Eve to sin?  It has to do with one of the characteristics of the snake.  God created them with craftiness and cunning.  The shape and size of many snakes enables them to be sneaky as they move around.  Remember also how our Lord Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 10(:16) to be “as wise as serpents.”  Snakes know what’s going on around them; they’re cautious and careful.  They find good hiding places and they can be hard to see, and even harder to catch.  Snakes were created in all these ways, and in themselves, these are not bad or evil things.  Peacocks were created with flamboyance and an eagerness to get noticed and snakes were created with sneakiness and craftiness.  But it’s these qualities that leads Satan to this creature.  These qualities would best serve Satan’s evil purposes.  Satan had to make his approach with stealth and the serpent was perfectly suited for that.  That’s why Satan possesses this good creature of God.

There’s another aspect here and that has to do with the human he approaches.  He doesn’t come to the man, but to the woman.  Why?  Some have said that he selects the weaker sex.  With that view, the woman is by nature intellectually weaker, and more vulnerable to the lofty and persuasive arguments of the devil.  It’s true that 1 Peter 3:7 says that the woman is weaker, but that’s not speaking about moral, spiritual, or mental ability.  Peter is speaking about the typically superior physical strength of men when compared with women.  But there’s nothing in our text to suggest that Satan went after Eve because she was weaker in her mind or something like that.  Rather, the context suggests that he chose her because first, Adam was the one who received the commission directly to guard the garden, not Eve.  Adam could be expected to be on his guard – a man’s calling is to protect.  And second, the commands about what could be eaten and not eaten in the Garden had been given directly to Adam, not Eve.  Adam could be expected to remember more vividly what God had spoken.  So Satan chooses the woman rather than the man.  He goes after what he perceives to be the weak link first and then he hopes to use her against the man.  In this too, Satan was attempting to take over a good creature of God, the woman, and use her for evil.

So, you see, Satan hijacks God’s good creation and he twists it and uses it for his own evil plans, both with the serpent and with the woman.  That’s what he did at the very beginning, he did throughout the Bible, and he still does the same today.  There are so many good and lovely things that God has created that Satan hijacks for his wicked purposes.

As one example, think of marriage and the way it’s been undermined in our society.  If it’s not being cheapened by easy divorce or neglected through common law relationships, then people are trying to redefine it.  God created marriage as a good institution between one man and one woman.  Satan and his forces have attempted a takeover, twisting something good for the validation of same-sex relationships -- entirely turning over God’s good design for people.

For another example, think of science.  In itself, science is not evil.  Science is simply the study of the natural world, the good natural world that our God made and that our God maintains.  We’re not anti-science, but we do object to unbelieving science that refuses to bow the knee to the Word of God.  We object when fallen people hijack science and turn it against God and his Word.  Satan and his forces cannot be excluded from this, and at the very least, they are certainly pleased with this.  This is exactly what he has aimed for from the beginning.  Take something good and beautiful in itself and commandeer it and turn it against its Creator.

Now there is good news here.  Ironically, Satan turned Eve against God and used this good creature for his evil purposes, but later, in the fullness of time God took a fallen daughter of Eve named Mary and used her for his good purpose, to bring our Saviour into this world.  The good news is that this Saviour has victory over Satan.  This evil, wicked Serpent has had his head crushed at Golgotha by our Lord Jesus.  While this victory has been decisively won, the mopping up operations continue today.  Today Satan is limited in what he can do, and while he still can and does abuse God’s creation, we have the promise that our Saviour will return for judgment and redemption.  His salvation has cosmic significance.  Because of Christ, the prophecy of Isaiah 11:6-9 will come to pass.  Isaiah speaks there of the new heavens and new earth.  This is a new creation where the wolf lives with the lamb, the leopard lives with the goat, calves and lions side by side, cows and bears…and little babies with cobras, and toddlers with vipers.  None of God’s creatures will turn against man, not of their own accord, and not by Satanic possession either.  Because of the salvation we have in Christ, there will be peace and harmony in creation, as it was in the beginning.

The take away from this is for us today to be alert to Satan’s strategies.  On the one hand, we can’t fall into the trap of regarding everything created as evil.  That would steer us towards the error of Gnosticism, where only spiritual or non-material things are good.  On the other hand, as Christians, we have to be discerning about how Satan can take good things and try to turn them against their and our Creator.  He did it in the beginning, he did it throughout the Bible, and he’ll continue to do it today.  Brothers and sisters, be on your guard!  But also ensure that you’re not his willing accomplice in these evil things.  Don’t have anything to do with his strategy.  Don’t pervert God’s good creation yourself, but rather make sure that you use it for his purposes.

Another key strategy of Satan is that he tempts people to doubt God’s character.  We can see that in a couple of ways in our text.  The first is the more obvious.  The devil suggests that God is less than generous with the Garden of Eden and what he allows the man and woman to eat from that garden.  “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden.’?”  He fakes surprise at how God would be so stingy with the trees in the garden.  How could God hold back the fruit of these trees from Eve and Adam?  Now, of course, you may already recognize that God didn’t actually do or say that.  We’ll get to that in a minute.  But notice for now how Satan is trying to cast doubt on God’s character.  There are so many trees in the Garden of Eden.  You can imagine.  Mango trees, mangoes have to be the best fruit in the world.  Orange trees, apple trees, maybe even banana trees for those who like bananas.  And many more besides.  Now Satan is saying, look at how awful God is, he won’t let you touch any of the fruit of those trees, will he?  Those mangoes look great, but God – not so much.

This seems to me to suggest that the fall into sin took place quite early on in the Garden.  It’s not likely that Satan would use this strategy with people who had been eating mangoes and oranges and so on for several weeks or months already.  Rather, it appears that he comes soon after God gave his command and right away tries to cast doubt on God’s goodness and provision.  He hints that God’s idea for them is to eat grass and leaves, not fruit.

That should have been so immediately and obviously false.  Not only did Adam and Eve have God’s express permission to eat from almost every single tree in the Garden, but they had also experienced his goodness at their wedding.  God gave them to one another to become one flesh.  For Adam that meant he would no longer be lonely.  He would have a helper.  Eve would have a husband to love and help.  Today when we celebrate Christian weddings, the married couple has great joy in God – do you think it was any different at the first wedding?  God had revealed his character to them by his actions for them.  He gave them a good and beautiful garden, he gave them abundant food and water, and he gave them to each other.  All this goodness!

He had also entered into a relationship of fellowship with them.  We call that the covenant.  He established a bond between himself and them.  We can see evidence of that bond in the way God is described in chapter 2.   Through Moses (the human author), the Holy Spirit calls him the LORD God, with LORD in all capital letters.  That’s significant because that’s God’s personal covenant Name, Yahweh.  So, to translate more literally, Moses is writing about Yahweh God.  This is also what we find at the beginning of verse 1 of chapter 3.  Yahweh God is said to be the creator of all the wild animals.  He is also Yahweh, the personal God who has a relationship of fellowship with the man and the woman in the garden.

But notice how subtly Satan speaks.  He doesn’t speak about Yahweh.  Now you might think that’s because Eve didn’t know that personal name of God.  But skip ahead to the beginning of chapter 4 and you can see in verse 1 that she did know the name of Yahweh, the personal name of God.  Satan could have used it and she would have known who he was speaking about.   Instead, Satan chooses to use the more general name “God.”  This is a subtle move on his part and it takes attention away from the personal relationship of God with Adam and Eve.  It puts God at more of a distance from them, and in so doing, it draws into question another side of God’s character.  Is he really personal?  Does he really live in fellowship with you?  Or isn’t it more the case that he’s far removed from you and doesn’t really care?  You see, already here Satan is setting the trap for what comes further in chapter 3.  He wants Eve to start thinking that God doesn’t have her interests at heart at all, that he’s only concerned about oppressing her, keeping her low and in the dark.

Adam was to be a Prince of creation.  Eve was to be the Princess standing at his side.  Together they were to rule over all the creatures as God’s vice-regents.  They had a royal calling from Yahweh in the Garden of Eden.  And now, one of the creatures over whom they’re supposed to rule, is calling into question the character of the King.  This snake was a lowly commoner trying to stir up rebellion against the High King of heaven and earth.  He’d come to introduce the idea of treason to Princess Eve.  She should have tossed him out of the Garden!  Or maybe as someone once quipped, instead of eating the fruit, she and Adam should have killed the snake and eaten it.  Satan certainly deserved that kind of response.

That was the kind of response that he received from the Messiah Prince.  Our Lord Jesus was confronted by the same temptations, not in a comfortable Garden, but in the howling wilderness – like the people of Israel who would have first read Genesis in the days of Moses.  They too questioned God’s character:  can he provide food and water in the wilderness?  Now in the Gospels we see Christ.  He is the True Israel of God.   He is the Second Adam.  And he was tempted to doubt the character of God too.  For instance, if God was so good, wouldn’t he send angels to catch Jesus if he threw himself off the pinnacle of the temple?  Why not put God to the test, see if his character really holds up?  Our Saviour, unlike his grandparents Adam and Eve in the garden, unlike Israel in the wilderness, he resisted.  He stood firm.  He did that for us.  He did that to qualify as our sinless Redeemer.  He did that to offer obedience in our place.  He did that so that he can sympathize with the temptations that we face in our lives.

Brothers and sisters, the devil still wants us to question and doubt God’s character.  Satan wants us to wonder about God’s goodness when we see evil in this world, whether it’s evil done to us or to others.  Satan also would have us wonder about God’s nearness and his personal relationship with us.  If he can’t get us to deny belief in deity altogether, he would be content to have us view God as distant, uncaring, and uninvolved in our lives.  You see, Satan doesn’t really care whether you become an atheist.  He’s happy to have you just see God as irrelevant in your life.  Satan would be quite happy for you to just live as if God isn’t there, as if there’s no connection between him and what you really believe, what you love, and what you do.  Loved ones, do not be deceived, Satan is pleased when our understanding of God places him in a box or reduces him to a concept, an intellectual idea, rather than seeing him and knowing him as a living Person.  Satan is happy for you to know about God, but not to really know him, to know him in a relationship of fellowship.

However, brothers and sisters, the Word of God leads us in different direction.  The Bible tells us of a covenant God who relates personally to his people.  God is a he, not an it.   God is a Someone, not a something.  God is Someone who cares about his people.  God sends his Son into this world to be born, to live and die, to pay the debt owing, to bear the wrath deserved.  God’s love is personal and his salvation is personal.  All this the Word of God teaches us, and it’s this Word that we’re called again to believe and to find our comfort in.  We’re called to repent of all our misconstruals of God’s character and turn again in faith to our God and Saviour revealed in the Scriptures.

Unfortunately, Satan also has as part of his strategy to pervert the Word of God.  We see that also in our text and it’s this aspect that usually gets the most attention.  “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  Satan not only throws doubt on God’s words, he also introduces his own version, a perversion.

What did God really say?  It’s in verses 16 and 17 of chapter 2.  God said, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden.”  Then he added, “But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  Satan leaves the last part for now.  He misquotes the first part.  God said outright that any tree in the garden was fair game for food.  He made one exception, but the rest were available to Eve and Adam.

The way Satan perverts the Word of God here is very crafty indeed.  The Hebrew is more ambiguous than our English translation can communicate.  Taken one way, Satan was suggesting that God had forbidden all the fruit of the garden as food.  Taken another way, Satan was suggesting that God had forbidden quite a bit of the fruit of the garden as food.  Either way, Satan was twisting God’s Word.  Judging from her reply in verse 2, Eve evidently understood it in the first sense.  Regardless, we need to see how tricky Satan is and how loose he will play with God’s Word.  Satan tries to turn the Bible against God.

And again, the same strategy was employed by the devil against Jesus in the wilderness.  Satan tried to use the Bible to get Jesus to sin.  We can praise God that he resisted.  We benefit from that resistance.  But in those days there were also Jewish religious leaders who perverted the Word of God for their evil purposes.  There was a connection between them and Satan.  They had religion and they thought that they were privileged children of Abraham.  But in John 8, Jesus told them that they belonged to the devil:  “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire….When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”  The lies he tells include lies about the very Word of God.  Our Saviour warned us of this.

Today we can see so many perversions of God’s Word, perversions that belong to the father of lies.  Think of the way we hear some who claim to be Christians saying that the Bible doesn’t really have a problem with homosexuality, especially if it’s in the context of committed relationships.  Loved ones, that’s Scripture-twisting.  The Bible is clear that homosexuality in any form is contrary to nature and God’s design for humanity.  Read Romans 1 – it describes homosexuality as “contrary to nature.”  Or 1 Corinthians 6 – the Holy Spirit says that those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God.  That’s what God says, that’s what we need to believe.  Be alert to Satanic Scripture-twisting!

There are less obvious forms of Scripture-twisting too.  Think back to Rev. Geelkerken in the Netherlands and his view of our passage.  Today there are those who follow in his steps and even go further.  Most scientists say that snakes don’t talk, so obviously Genesis 3:1 is not trying to tell us that a snake talked to Eve.  Brothers and sisters, that’s Scripture-twisting too.  I don’t know how it worked that Satan could talk through a snake.  I can’t explain it, other than to say that he possessed this creature and took control of it.  As an angel, Satan seems to have these kinds of powers at his disposal.  God’s Word says it happened in a historical passage, therefore we’re obliged to accept it as history and learn from it.  As for explaining how Eve shows no surprise at seeing and hearing a talking snake, all we can do is speculate.  Perhaps the explanation is in the timing of this episode – that it happened very soon after her creation  and she didn’t have the time to understand what creatures could do and what they couldn’t do.  At any rate, this is no reason to reject what we read here as being a literal, historical account of the fall into sin.

What’s important for us is that we are aware that we have a sneaky enemy -- he’s sneakier than we can imagine.  2 Corinthians 11:14 warns us that “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”  He will deceive, he will hijack, he will cast doubt, he will pervert.  He has thousands of years of experience at it.  Brothers and sisters, this is why we must continue looking to Christ our Saviour in faith.  He is strong enough to keep us out of Satan’s clutches, from falling for his sneaky strategies.  But to receive that strength of our Saviour, we need to give careful attention to his Word.  The Word was the sword our Saviour used to defeat Satan in the wilderness. The Word is our Sword of the Spirit, according to what Paul writes in Ephesians 6.  So, loved ones, let me encourage you again to be faithful students of the Word, regularly studying the Scriptures so that you can be equipped for the spiritual warfare to which we’re called.  Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”  Loved ones, no one need fear that so long as we keep rooted in the Word of Christ and humbly place our trust in him alone.  AMEN.

Father God,

You know better than we do about our vicious enemy, the devil.  We praise you that you have defeated him at the cross of Christ.  We thank you that through your Holy Spirit you’ve given us revelation about Satan and his strategies, to warn us and equip us.  Father, we pray that you’d more and more open our eyes so that we’re aware of his methods and the way he seeks to destroy us, the church and this whole creation.  Help us to stand firm against the doubts he seeks to plant.  Please help us to be good students of your Word, so that we can detect perversions.  Above all, Father, please keep us rooted in Christ with your Spirit and your Word.  We know that we can only have victory over Satan in our Saviour Jesus.  So again, we look to him in faith, trusting that you will hear us through him and because of him.

* As a matter of courtesy please advise Dr. Wes Bredenhof, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service.   Thank-you.

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Tuesday, 8 March 2011

Cushion decision made

Well cushion number 1 is finished! yes it's the one I posted the tutorial on a while ago:

It now has a back and a pad is is happily sitting on my sofa. I think I've decided on what other three I'm going to do (for now anyway) which is a dresden plate because I've always wanted to make one of those. A log cabin because I just like it and The string blocks because that was the one hubby requested.
So here goes!

My Favourite Linky Parties:
Tidy Mom I'm Lovin It Fridays
Keeping ItSimpleMakingBWS tips buttonPhotobucketPink Hippo Partygiveaways

A Crafty Soiree

  1. Cute! What size are the hexies? I just got some 3 inch templates. Will they work with your tute?

Come on readers show me some bloggy love!!!


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Thursday, 21 July 2011

Lee Wallace Signs For Rangers.

Rangers have completed the signing of Hearts left-back Lee Wallace on a five year contract.

Gers had a £1.5million bid accepted earlier on Thursday and the Scottish champions acted swiftly to tie up the move to beat the European deadline of 11pm so he can play in the next round of the Champions league.

Rangers had been after Wallace for a few weeks and had 2 bids rejected but finally got an offer worth £1.5m accepted early on Thursday morning.

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Attention Support

Attention Support: Children and Teens supports normal focus and impulse control.

For those of you who need support for attention and impulse control, Dr. Daniel Amen, New York Times bestselling author of “Change Your Brain Change Your Life” has developed a nutraceutical supplement formulated to help improve mental focus, while promoting a sense of calm. Dr. Daniel Amen’s Attention Support: Children and Teens includes phosphatidyl serine to help maintain cell membranes, DMAE for improving memory and concentration and pycnogenol to boost dopamine and norepinephrine, neurotransmitters which help improve focus. We recommend Dr. Daniel Amen’s Attention Support for those looking to restore overall brain health and to support attention and impulse control.

Recommended Use:

As a dietary supplement, take one to three capsules of Attention Support daily or as directed by your healthcare practitioner.

Servings per container: 30

3 capsules contain:

  • Acetyl-L-Carnitine (HCL) 250 mg
  • Phosphatidyl Serine (soy) 50 mg
  • DMAE (bitartrate) 20 mg
  • Pycnogenol® 30 mg
  • Magnesium (glycinate) 100 mg
  • Zinc (glycinate) 15 mg
  • Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine HCL) 25 mg

$39.95 (Soul Healers discount code ECENTER4 saves 21% on checkout at
or save 21% if you order directly from The Soul Healers

Other Ingredients: Gelatin capsules (gelatin, water, glycerin), magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide and magnesium silicate. This product does not contain wheat, yeast, gluten, eggs, dairy, corn, artificial colors, flavors, sugars, or preservatives. STORE IN A COOL, DRY PLACE. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.


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Netflix Instant Bids Farewell To Your Favorite Movies

NetflixYou know how I like to spend my Sunday mornings? By screaming "NAAAAOOOOO" loudly up at the heavens (or, you know, my ceiling). So thanks for helping me achieve my goals, NETFLIX. Everyone's favorite internet-based home of streaming of movies (#sorrynotsorryhulu) just issued a press release saying that they are culling a major list of movies of and T.V. shows for January 1st.

Movies are the second greatest casualty of expiration dates. The first of course, being milk. RIP that 1% I forgot about before I went away for Christmas. We barely knew ye.

Netflix announced that it is purging over 100 titles from its impressive collection of Instant Watches. Of course this doesn't apply to you folks still using the "mail" to get your "DVDS". Unless, of course, Netflix decides to start setting all the hard copies on fire -- just so you don't feel excluded from all the fun.

More from The Stir: Netflix Streaming Gets a Makeover That Makes It Seem Brand New Again

Some of the T.V. shows going bye-bye include the original camp '60s classic, Dark Shadows which inspired the recent remake with Johnny Depp. Also, the brilliant, Canadian sketch series Kids in the Hall. If you don't know about Chicken Lady now, you've got a handful of days to binge watch the hell out of her and her antics.

A few of the movies getting kicked out -- Can't Hardly Wait, Platoon, Braveheart, and I'm Gonna Get You Sucka. In other words, the best and weirdest movie marathon ever. Get yourself some popcorn and a blanket to put over your head when things get weird (and they will get weird). You've got some movies to watch.

Netflix still provides its viewers with a movie's instant expiration date above the title on its own platform. But if you've used a 3rd party site for that intel in the past, you are SOL. Netflix, in a fit of shade, decided to stop giving that info 3rd parties. It's a tricksy beast, but it's our beast.

Which movies from the list are you going to check out before they go away?

Image via MoneyBlogNews/Flickr

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Car Battery Prices And Life Span

In this article we’re going to be talking about exactly how long your fancy new car battery should last for and how you can improve its life span, we’ll also be discussing exactly how much you’ll be required to pay for a replacement batter for your car. Many readers might be surprised to hear that price doesn’t always guarantee quality; cheaper batteries can often outrun more expensive ones if they’re taken care of properly.

Car battery prices range from about $40 to $120, unfortunately we’ve got barely any say in how much we’ll need to pay for one as it’s all pretty much down to the requirements of our vehicles. If you want to know how much you ought to be paying for a replacement battery for your vehicle you could spend our searching through websites and reading articles or you could save yourself the trouble and go to, enter in a few details about your car and they’ll give you the name and price of the battery you need, this is what I do.

The price of a car battery is determined by various things including CCA rate, warranty length, group size, battery capacity etc. What’s surprising is that just because you buy an expensive battery doesn’t mean it’s going to last you any longer, in fact it will usually last the same amount of time, about 3 years. If you are determined to have your battery last that little bit longer you might be able to get an extra 1 or 2 years out of it by following several of the following rules. First of all, if you’re not going to be using your car for a while disconnect the battery, this way it won’t get drained. You can also brush away corrosive residue on the terminals which may be hampering your cars performance using a solution of water and baking soda and applying it with either a toothbrush or wire brush. Be careful whilst implementing this last procedure, there is sulphuric acid in batteries which can be very dangerous, it can damage your garage flooring and your skin if it begins to leak out.

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10 Non-Essential Baby Items AKA Wasted Space

A list of the ten most useless and space wasting, non-essential baby items from moms just like you.
Recent Posts The excitement of getting ready for baby (and the frantic craziness of nesting) is something every mama experiences. I remember less than fondly some of my trips shopp…


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Photo: N/A, License: N/A, Created: 2014:04:08 20:07:47

Photo: N/A, License: N/A, Created: 2014:04:08 20:07:47

A Lackawanna County judge ordered no bail and no dogs Thursday for a Moosic man accused of animal abuse.

Judge Vito Geroulo signed an order to revoke bail for John Tanis on Tuesday, after he violated a bail condition limiting him to one dog. Police found a dog on the roof and two other dogs in the yard at his 816 Main St. property on Monday.

In court Thursday, Judge Geroulo said he would consider bail after a mental health evaluation but warned that the amount would be “substantial” and would include a condition barring Mr. Tanis from possessing any animals. He added that Mr. Tanis appeared incapable of taking care of even the one dog he was originally permitted to keep.

Mr. Tanis, 65, who is scheduled for trial in May, faces five counts of animal cruelty after police removed five emaciated Weimaraners from his home in November 2012.

He entered the courtroom in an orange jumpsuit and wearing black, thick-framed glasses, his hair trimmed short.

Mr. Tanis did not speak at Thursday’s hearing.

Moosic police Officer Jim Decker testified to what he saw at the Tanis property Monday.

“Mr. Tanis was kind of shocked at that,” Officer Decker said of the response to news of a dog on the roof.

He said Mr. Tanis explained that he technically had only one dog — the others were owned by his church.

At that, Judge Geroulo intervened, reiterating that the order said Mr. Tanis was not to possess more than one dog, regardless of ownership.

His public defender, Thomas P. Cummings III, reminded Officer Decker that the dogs were being trained for the church and were not “permanently possessed by him.” Mr. Tanis founded the Saints of Beersheba International Reformed Church in 2011.

He also questioned Officer Decker about the health of the dogs he observed.

“They appeared fine to me,” Officer Decker said.

Immediately before denying bail, Judge Geroulo told Mr. Tanis he wanted no more “shell games with dogs and word games with me.”

“The Police Department of Moosic borough has much more important things to do than to come around to the Tanis residence and count dogs,” he said.

After the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Michael Ossont said the judge’s decision reflected Mr. Tanis’ clear disregard for the bail condition of having only one dog.

He said officers will continue executing a search warrant at Mr. Tanis’ home, though he wouldn’t comment on specific items seized. Asked about possible perjury charges after Mr. Tanis apparently lied in court, he said a review of court transcripts was underway.

Mr. Tanis remains at Lackawanna County Prison.

Contact the writer:, @rbrownTT on Twitter


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WASHINGTON - By early 2011, writes former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, he had concluded that President Obama "doesn't believe in his own [Afghanistan] strategy, and doesn't consider the war to be his."

Not his? America is at war and he's America's commander in chief. For the soldier being shot at, it makes no difference under whose administration the fighting began. In fact, three out of four Americans killed in Afghanistan have died under Barack Obama's command. That's ownership enough.

A year earlier, trying to understand how two senior officials could be openly working against expressed policy, Gates concluded that "the most likely explanation was that the president himself did not really believe the strategy he had approved would work." This, just four months after Obama ordered his 30,000 troop "surge" into Afghanistan, warning the nation that "our security is at stake ... the security of our allies, and the common security of the world."

The odd thing about Gates' insider revelation is that we knew it all along. In the West Point "surge" speech itself, the sentence after that consisted of the further announcement that the additional troops would be withdrawn in 18 months.

How can any commander be so precise so far in advance about an enterprise as contingent and unpredictable? It was a signal to friend and foe that he wasn't serious. Obama added that "the nation that I'm most interested in building is our own," thus undermining the importance of the war to which he was committing new troops.

Such ambivalence, I wrote at the time, had produced the most uncertain trumpet ever sounded by a president. One could sense that Obama's heart was never in it.

This became hauntingly clear to Obama's own defense secretary before the majority of the troops had arrived in the field, before the strategy had even been tested.

How can a commander in good conscience send troops on a mission he doesn't believe in, from which he knows some will never return? Even worse, Obama ordered a major escalation, expending much blood but not an ounce of political capital. Over the next four years, notes Gates with chagrin, Obama ignored the obligation of any commander to rally the nation to the cause.

And he terminated the surge in the middle of the 2012 fighting season. Militarily incoherent - but politically convenient. It allowed Obama to campaign for re-election proclaiming that "the tide of war is receding."

If he wasn't committed to the mission, why did Obama throw these soldiers into battle in the first place?

Because for years the Democrats had used Afghanistan to rail against the Iraq War while avoiding the politically suicidal appearance of McGovernite pacifism. As consultant Bob Shrum later admitted, "I was part of the 2004 Kerry campaign, which elevated the idea of Afghanistan as 'the right war' to conventional Democratic wisdom. This was accurate as criticism of the Bush administration, but it was also reflexive and perhaps by now even misleading as policy."

They were never really serious about Afghanistan. (Nor about Iraq. Gates recounts that Hillary Clinton admitted she opposed the Iraq surge for political reasons, and Obama conceded that much of the opposition had indeed been political.) The Democratic mantra - Iraq War, bad; Afghan War, good - was simply a partisan device to ride anti-Bush, anti-Iraq War feeling without appearing squishy.

Iraq is a dumb war, said Obama repeatedly. It's a war of choice. Afghanistan is a war of necessity, the central front in the war on terror. Having run on that, Obama had a need to at least make a show of trying to win the good war, the smart war.

"If I had ever come to believe the military part of the strategy would not lead to success as I defined it," writes Gates. "I could not have continued signing the deployment orders."

The commander in chief, Gates' book makes clear, had no such scruples.

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER writes for The Washington Post.


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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

32 weeks

I had a conversation with someone a few weekends ago, who asked, "how much bigger do you think you could possibly get?" (note to people - don't say these kinds of things to pregnant women - I don't care if you're family or close BFFs, or it's just a "joke" - because having to actually respond to these stupid remarks makes a person feel defensive - and that's just shitty - trust.)... but anyways, I was "nicely" trying to explain to him that indeed I could get much larger - and that I didn't think I was all that much larger than I was first time around, when I still had 2 months to go.

Because - remember those last few weeks? Where your skin feels so tight it's like it's going to split at the slightest bit of pressure? Barely being able to fit behind the steering wheel in your car? And needing to nap every 2 hours or so of being awake because you're barely sleeping at night?

In comparison? Right now? I feel effing fantastic. Nimble as a ballerina. So that's the nice thing about the 2nd time around - you KNOW how lumbering and swollen and uncomfortable that you're gonna get - that in fact the lead up is much easier because you enjoy the freedom that you still have.

That being said, I posted on Facebook last week that I was so excited the weather was warming up, simply to remove the necessity of me having to grunt and groan trying to put socks on. Because socks? Are not a preggo's best friend.  Cheezies, on the other hand....

Other things that have changed? The movements - less kicky kick kick and more the rolling, elbowing, alien-baby-inside-me-feeling. My appetite - gone way done. Assuming this is probably due to my stomach being jammed up into my  throat right now. I mean - I'm still eating. Just not contemplating the complete and utter destruction I will be making on a bag of sour kid candies in the car on the drive home at night. In other words, the days of eating with the abandon of a wild hog is over. At least for now... And swelling - it's started a bit - just in the calves + ankles, at the end of the day. Again, thank god for flip flops.

8 weeks to go. Nursery prep is happening this weekend for sure, as I am free of Hubs and Miss M - which means I can actually get things done. I will be enjoying my vacation.... thoroughly.

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We are much more than an antiques store. We host community fundraisers, have two
OUTDOOR VINTAGE MARKETS every summer and hold classes and workshops throughout the year. You can find details BELOW.

OUR VENDORS LOVE TO SHOP FOR YOU. They specialize in old, rusty, antique,
primitive, vintage, recycled, revived, repurposed, salvaged, scavenged, chippy, farm, collectibles, indoor and outdoor décor. Come and see what they have found
for you!!

SUMMER HOURS April - October
Monday - Saturday 10a - 6p and Sunday 11a - 5p

WINTER HOURS - November - March
Monday - Saturday 10a - 5p and SUNDAY 11a - 5p.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

You might recognize Buttercup from the shop.   I recently bought 7 new baby chicks and decided that  Buttercup deserved some babies of her own after sitting on unfertilized eggs for 3 weeks.  The other chickens that lived at Wade Creek House are now at my home roaming 7 acres with new friends.  Life is good.

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Caerula Sanguis
Caerula Sanguis
Continuity Battle Angel Alita: Last Order
Age 740
Species Type-V mutant
Hair Color White
Eye Color Blue
District Northern District
Journal Qing-Long Wei-Ji
Player Syd
FST White Snow and Blue Blood
Theme Song it's not this

"My wish was to be invincible, but I've attained it only after losing everything."

In the year of our lord 1808, a girl named Vilma Fachiri was born in Erdély (Transylvania in Hungarian), during the rule of the Hapsburgs. Her childhood is something she hasn't seen fit to share with others, but it's ended up mattering little in terms of shaping her. After all, the end of it saw a far more traumatic event than the worst that puberty could ever visit: Altered Shock. This process, brought on by infection by the rare V-Virus, wracked her body with agonizing pain for three days and nights, and the reward for survival was a biological curse. The V-Virus remade her body, turning her into what would later be called a Cognate or a Type-V mutant, but was known by a different name to her contemporaries: vampire.

Fleeing her country, she eventually found her way to China, and the Triads therein. She became their secret weapon, a merciless dark princess who saw all others as toys or prey. For over 150 years, none loved her, and she loved no one. None could defeat her, either, until La Société, the umbrella organization of all Cognates in Europe, sent their trump card to either recruit or kill her. This trump card was a strong Cognate named Victor Byron, a former crusader. In her pride, Vilma proposed a challenge; if he could withstand ten of her bare-hand attacks, she would admit defeat. Nine attacks were unleashed, and he took each of them squarely, praising her skill and awaiting the tenth. This tenth attack, however, would have used a hidden weapon, which she had agreed not to use. She hung her head and surrendered to Victor, finally understanding defeat.

The two of them lived and traveled together, surviving even the Catastrophe that arose in 2010, when a giant meteorite struck the Earth and wiped out most of civilization, causing a long impact winter. With three other Cognates - a gunman named Jacco, a blind hammer-wielder named Morse, and the cancer-blighted trench knife-wielding Zapolska - they wandered and hunted, preying on humans and devouring them wherever they could. For them, it was a happy time. The hunting was good, and Vilma and Victor enjoyed almost all the benefits of a loving relationship. So it was for 14 more years, until a rockslide caught her unawares and nearly killed her. Her comrades unable to find her, she was presumed lost to them.

She awoke, however, not to the light of death, but to the sound of a clumsy hand on a guitar. She was found - and saved - by humans living in an underground shelter. The guitarist was John Farrell, son of the shelter's founder and leader, Keiran. They and the rest of the shelter nursed her back to health, filling her in on their mission to preserve the human culture and restore it to the world when the impact winter faded. Vilma sympathized with his aspirations, but confessed that the human culture's oppression of Cognates left a bitter taste. Regardless of that, she ached for peace, and eagerly took a role as the emissary between the Farrell Shelter and Victor Byron's group.

The days between her return to Victor and the set date for the two groups to meet were, in her recollections, the happiest days of her life. Nothing to do but wait, and bask in the joy of no longer having to hate anyone. Victor had agreed to their terms, and told Vilma that he, too, longed to slip the chains of hate. The meeting began cordially, but soon turned into a nightmare that Vilma thought she had left behind. Keiran's betrayal came in the form of carbon disulfide and poisoned food, along with his statement that he feared neither phantoms nor monsters - only other people. His plan from the beginning was to erase Victor's group apart from Vilma, who he offered a place as John's mother. On the other side, Victor's betrayal was made clear when he admitted that he agreed to meet only because he wished to show Vilma how vile humans truly were. If Keiran had not made his move first, Victor would have done so. For the ill faith shown to her comrades, however, Vilma's decision was heavy but firm. As a favor to John and Keiran for saving her life, they would be spared. Victor, Jacco, and Morse were set free to kill the rest of the shelter. Neither gender nor age stayed their hands. Only Vilma did not partake, torn up as she was by sadness. Victor kept his word, however, and both John and Keiran survived that day…minus John's right arm, which Victor took so that he might never bewitch others with his innocence as he did Vilma.

The pain of the event dulled slightly over the years, as the Cognates continued their journeys. Eventually, it took them from the Farrell Shelter in New York to St. Louis. While there, Morse met his end at the hands of a human archer, who claimed membership in the nearby Bradley Shelter…and the last name of Farrell. The archer, named Arthur Farrell, had killed Morse as a challenge and declaration of the Bradley Shelter's lack of fear. In addition, he came to ask Vilma to see his grandfather, who was dying and wished to speak to her. Reluctantly agreeing, she followed Arthur to the shelter.

Once inside, she was taken to an old man on his deathbed, the sight of whom made Vilma's heart skip a beat. Wrinkled, worn, and changed as he was, she recognized him immediately - John Farrell, who shakily apologized for his role in the tragedy of the Farrell Shelter, 50 years ago. She in turn refused his apology, as in her mind he deserved no guilt, and apologized to him herself. With a final plea to Arthur to restart "Merlin," he breathed his last.

On her way out, she was ambushed by Jacco, who was convinced that she was falling into another trap. Forced to defend herself and Arthur, she slew Jacco, but was stopped from returning to Victor by Arthur, who feared that she would be going to her death. Reluctantly, she agreed to stay for the night.

The funeral was sorrowful, but fruitful. Vilma was introduced to Arthur's best friend and colleague, Radha, and his fiancée, Haruka, and learned what John's last wish meant. As it turned out, Keiran was a physicist who had worked with several colleagues to create a wave function collapse monitor, which analyzed the probable states of being as they collapsed into a single entity. Shortly put, it was a scientific oracle that could predict the future. When it predicted the Catastrophe, however, it was largely ignored, except for the teams that had worked on it directly. They retreated to prepare, creating the shelters that weathered the meteor strike and the winter. The restart of Merlin was built from scratch by analyzing Keiran's notes and the original model's remains. While the more technical aspects evaded Caerula's understanding, she was moved by Arthur's determination to use it to bring a new age to humankind, and hoped that this time, reconciliation was possible.

It was not.

Victor, of the same mind as he was 50 years ago, stumbled across Haruka and jumped to the conclusion that innocence and music had once again bewitched his wife. Biting her to infect her with the V-Virus, he strolled away and informed her that if she could survive and still speak to him of reconciliation, he might consider it. While desperately scrabbling for life, Haruka was unable to weather the Altered Shock, and died in the snow. The Bradley Shelter's residents found her later, and Vilma knew that from that point onward, she had to make a sacrifice: Victor's life in exchange for Arthur's future.

Going to meet Victor, she attacked him and began a battle that raged across the city, destroying even the Gateway Arch. Victor proved too strong, however, and despite all her efforts, she found herself impaled and maimed. She would have died then and there, had the cloud cover not allowed the sun a peek through. Her resolve boosted by winter's apparent end, she recovered enough to strike a deathblow to her husband, who fell, defeated at last. His final words to her were a plea to live on.

"Vilma…I feel such pity for thee. Dost thou not see that the people thou trust will never repay thy kindness…? Vilma, thou wilt live in solitude, sharing your existence with no one, yet thou must watch over the fate of makind…! If thou shedst those tears for me…if thou still lovest me…thou must never weep again! Never show a moment of weakness! Live for all time…Vilma…"
- Victor Byron, last words

A moment after, she felt two bullets from Arthur's rifle knock her into the river, and apparently to her death.

She revived in a mausoleum 47 years later, the near-death experience acting as a second Altered Shock and granting her further enhanced abilities. She learned that Radha had saved her from drowning on Arthur's private orders, treated her wounds, and interred her in the mausoleum. In the intervening years, the climate had warmed, and humanity was resurgent. Their greatest new achievement was Star City, a settlement founded for the purpose of rediscovering space travel. It was a beautiful sight for Vilma to see, but was soon tempered by witnessing a failed assassination attempt against Arthur. Seeing that her guardianship was not yet finished, she assumed an alias and acted as an unofficial protector of Arthur and the future he represented.

For 18 years, she fought, living in an orphanage run by one of Radha's daughters and teaching martial arts to students in between her stints protecting Arthur. She would soon find a lot of work to do in the latter field, as secret human experiments researching space travel were revealed to the public, causing a wave of civil unrest and open rebellion. She later met Arthur face-to-face for the first time since St. Louis, pleading with him to stop driving so hard. The rebellions, she said, were because of his high-handed, merciless approach to dissent. His methods were that of any dictator in the 20th century. He replied that the danger humanity faced from another meteor would render any progress irrelevant, and so his efforts were actually too slow. The loss of Haruka and the years ruling had hardened his heart, and he saw human survival as the only important matter. Freedom, love, democracy, and the lives of some were forfeit. This was the lesson he took from Vilma's and Victor's fight, and his words struck Vilma to the core with sorrow. However, he continued by confessing that he had some misgivings about his design for the future. If it wasn't perfect, if humans were foolish enough, the only future that the new oracle, Melchizedek, would give them was a future befitting fools. Therefore, Vilma's role in the future was to safeguard humanity as she had promised. If she saw society falling apart, she was to issue the Last Order and destroy Melchizedek beyond repair.

For 400 years, she fulfilled her duty as watcher of humanity under many names, most recently as Caerula Sanguis. Threats were expunged, her skills improved, and she once again never knew defeat. She worked tirelessly to combat injustice - the advent of technology that brought immortality to humans made children redundant, and so she began an orphanage to save children from the abuses of the world. However, none of it convinced her to issue the Last Order, and so it was even when she met her death at the hands of another fighter, a cyborg woman named Alita, who had survived over 200 years and possessed a destiny that in Vilma's eyes was beyond knowing. Granting the key to Melchizedek to her, she entrusted mankind's future to her and let herself "die," entering a regenerative state.

Her Awakening would happen next.

As a being over 700 years old, Caerula's had much time to think and much time to grow as an individual. Thus, her outlook is very mature and takes the long view into account always. She takes her responsibility as guardian of humankind quite seriously, and neither wavers nor rushes headlong when action is needed. Likewise, her diction and expressed thoughts are well-reasoned and calm, and her powers (see below) ensure that she almost never makes mistakes. Her emotions are controlled, not eradicated, however, no matter how collected her exterior might seem. She cares deeply for humanity as a whole and humans as individuals, especially children due to her sterility (see Powers below). She also has something of a temper, though she's learned to control it to a high degree.

As a martial artist, she is a rigid perfectionist, and demands nothing less than the best from her students. Pride and training mean a lot to her, and she is quite earnest in her pursuit of perfection as a warrior and teacher. There is, however, a slight teasing side to her, as she sometimes enjoys playing practical jokes, especially on children.

Earning Caerula's trust is actually quite simple, considering her abilities. However, she makes her decisions quickly, and any who don't make the cut initially are unlikely to gain it soon after she shuns them. Betrayal of her trust is something she doesn't take lightly, and likewise she is very much committed to her friends and allies. If she gives her word, it is ironclad. Only fate itself would sway her.

Her Cognate thirst for blood, while controlled well, is not something she abhors, and she is quite willing to prey on others (though children are most likely strictly off-limits by her standard). However, she feeds in such a manner only when necessary to her aims, and rarely lethally. The exception is if she needs to regenerate from a fatal injury, as her healing is higly dependent on large quantities of blood.

Caerula is a Cognate, a mutated human who beat the abysmallly-low (less than one percent even among healthy adults) survival rate among those infected. The baseline characteristics for these mutants are fourfold: eternal youth, enhanced physical capabilities, sterility, and a highly-increased carnivorous urge. The first two come from limitless cell division, which preserves their bodies even in the face of serious injury and enables them to exert enough force to, in exceptional cases like Caerula, cut through a car with the help of a sharp sword. However, it renders them vulnerable to another killer: cancer. The cancer rate in Cognates is abnormally high when compared to the rest of humanity, dropping off after 100 years as the body stabilizes. The other great killer of young Cognates is suicide. The carnivorous urge (dubbed the "thirst for blood") is often too much for the newly-turned to bear, and only those who can acclimate quickly to taking lives so directly are likely to survive. Once disease and emotional turmoil are dealt with, only the third leading cause of Cognate death matters: murder. If a Cognate goes wild and kills with abandon, humans or La Société will cut them down.

Sterility is something of a sore spot, as it means that the only new Cognates are infected humans, and that no Cognate can ever sire or give birth to a child.

Being very long-lived, Caerula has obviously beaten these odds and dangers quite handily, and is considered functionally immortal. Murder is also a small danger to her, considering her skills. She's a top-flight practitioner of kung-fu, a proclaimed student of 48 division and 125 schools and proficient in techniques that would kill all but the most resilient of foes. Her particular specialty is jian (Chinese straightswords), whether single or double. On top of this, her second Altered Shock granted her further increased regenerative abilities, to the point that she can regrow lost limbs.

A third ability gradually manifested, a sharpening of the senses combined with the emergence of a new sense, the ability to detect minute electrical impulses like those of the brain. Combining this ability to so perfectly read her opponents and the surroundings with her centuries of combat experience and skill in the martial arts, she has developed a flawless tactic she terms Ba-dùan Sî-mén Zhèn, or the Eight-Block Death Gate Array. By controlling the eight gates of heaven (chance), earth (terrain), and man (personality), she lures her enemy into a situation from which defending against a killing strike is impossible, termed the Death Gate. The only ways to defeat it are to force such a dramatic split between even unconscious thought and action that it confuses her, or to attain enlightenment and the ability to make true choices. Even when not using the Array, she is a master of her art, and more than capable of defeating far stronger and faster opponents through sheer technique.

Aya Brea - The first person to welcome her to Nautilus. Haunted, but devoted to keeping the peace and caring for her daughter. The word that exemplifies her to her is 'duty.'

Lelouch Lamperouge - One of the first she's met, and a tutor in Bending. Helpful, intelligent, and compelling. The word that exemplifies him to her is 'king.'

Roxas - A Nobody, something she's never seen before. Seems to be a good person, despite his insistence that he can't feel emotion. His lack of neural signature is puzzling, however, but gives her confidence that he can reach greatness as a fighter. The word the exemplifies him to her is 'blank.'

Eve Brea - Aya Brea's daughter, and a joy to be around. Sprightly, a little troubled, but endearing. She's also managed to bring out Caerula's teasing side. The word that exemplifies her to her is 'innocent.'

Tony Stark - A businessman and scientist that she is teaching. Adaptable, charismatic, and determined. The word that exemplifies him to her is 'iron.'

Rip van Winkle - An irksome and abrasive woman. Not that Caerula would fight her given a good enough reason, but she'd totally fight her given a good enough reason. The word that exemplifies her to her is 'gunpowder.'

Rion Steiner - A student of hers, who is learning tai chi chuan. Full of anger and dissatisfaction and troubled thoughts, she has come to see him as a son in a surprisingly short time. The word that exemplifies him to her is 'phoenix.'

Cassie Hack - Abrasive, but roughly pleasant, and she senses that her tough exterior conceals an insecure and brittle personality. She is learning various weapon styles from Caerula, and the two have bonded over mutual mortification. The word that exemplifies her to her is 'turtle.'

Ladd Russo - Someone with the same scent as her, of the ground bloodied. Insufferable, exultant in violence, and willfully abrasive. The word that exemplifies him to her is 'cleaver.'

Sora - Another child, also capable of caring for himself…somewhat. He needs some work, but his heart's in the right place, at least. All that is needed is for him to unlock his potential. The word that exemplifies him to her is 'key.'

Batman - A legendary fictional hero. His intelligence and skill are all of high caliber, and she is learning how to counter-Bend from him. Strictly a business relationship, but she's happy he's here. The word that exemplifies him to her is 'knight.'

Chie Satonaka - One of her newer students/adoptees. She's energetic and tenacious, but needs a bit of polish on her technique. 'Course, having someone else with whom she can geek out about kung-fu films is a welcome bonus. The word that exemplifies her to her is 'tiger.'

Caren Velázquez - An android child, who looks up to Caerula as a surrogate mother. She's sprightly and well-meaning, but she certainly has odd ways of showing her appreciation. The word that exemplifies her to her is 'life.'

Anomie - One of Rion's friends, who seems very possessive of him. She seems pure…and dangerous because of that. The word that exemplifies her to her is 'razor.'

Marrow - One of Cassie's friends, and Caerula's hunting partner after Cassie's death. While brief, the in-person meeting has convinced Caerula that she's trustworthy, if a little temperamental. The word that exemplifies her to her is 'wolf.'

Pepper Potts - Tony Stark's secretary. Caerula doesn't know her well enough to assign her a word just yet, but she's certainly a sweet person and Tony is better off for knowing her.

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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Sightseeing with Ron

While here in Clarkston, WA and Lewiston, ID Ron and I have taken a few day trips around the area.  Hope you enjoy traveling along with us.

We were following the road from Clarkston to Wilma and this is the first sign we came to.  We aren't a truck so we kept going.
And then we saw this sign.  The weather was nice so we thought we would proceed.

And then it turned into a gravel road.  We followed it a little...came to a house and the end of the road.

Turned around and continued on our journey.  This is one of many farms along the way.

We both love old barns.  This one is in pretty good shape.

Another pretty homestead.

And another one.  Hope you don't get bored looking at them as we travel along.

Can't remember the name of the town but the town hall sure looked quaint.

A cool store front.

On our way home from Pullman, passing an old high school.

Another barn...we thought of stopping and taking a close up pictures but Ron said we didn't know them so we couldn't stop.  I think it might be kinda cool to stop at someone's cool home/farm, introduce ourselves and take a few more pictures.  Ron says no...what do you think?

Heading into Leweiston.

Another view heading into Lewiston.

A rose garden along the way.

This was on our way to Asotin (when the camera died).  Look at that tree house.  The place was for sale so thought maybe Brandon and Danalyn could buy the house and we could live in the tree house.  Probably isn't much smaller than the motor home.  May have to go back and check it out further.
On to Orofino where Brandon is teaching High School English.

Close up of the sign above.,  All good characteristics for students to learn.

Orofino High School Mascot is the Maniac' that picture.

This sign is in front of the gym.

Methodist church in Orofino.

Overlooking Orofino.  The Idaho Correctional Institution is right next door to the high school.    The school is to the right of the prison.  The Clearwater River is in the middle/top of the picture.  What a beautiful view.

Playing with the panoramic shot with the camera.

Another view over looking Orofino.  And that was our trip to Orofino.  Hope you enjoyed traveling along with us.

  1. Hi Alice. Thank you for your review of Hell's Canyon RV Resort. It looks like a lovely park in a good location. I think it has been built since we visited Clarkston. We stayed at Granite Lake Resort (now Premier Resorts). It had a good location, too, but no swimming pool.

  2. Enjoyed the pics Ali! You know, I don't know what to think of asking someone if you can take pics of their place. Some areas of the country are more friendly that way and wouldn't think twice of allowing you. I know my Dad would probably be fine with it, but I bet there are some folks out there who would expect there was more to it than just taking pics(casing the place, or other), seems silly, but there are respectable looking folks who do such things. One things for certain, never know until you try. Hopefully the worst they would do is say no :)

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Speaking of plus one's.

Are you a Google+ user? I wish you were. Then I would add you to one of my circles and we could share relevant information with each other. You would get to know my real me through my scrapbook photos and we could gather a group of friends and have a hangout – a video call with up to ten different accounts, all free of charge! Wouldn't that be neat?

And speaking of neat, isn't the design, even though its similarities with Facebook, so much cleaner than previous mentioned social network? I'm a big fan of Google design in general and Plus does not disappoint me.

But everybody is on Facebook. Google+ might count for over 100 million users, but not even Google itself seems to know how many of those who are actually active. What's the point of hanging out where nobody else is? Like going to an empty restaurant and be surrounded by nothing but music and a waitress who is dying to get home. Well, when the atmosphere is pleasant and the food is good, take the opportunity of getting to know that waitress. Being alone in a restaurant can actually open up for great service and an unforgettable experience.

Go ahed, create an account and add me to a suitable circle and we can hang out and get to know each other and everything that Google+ has to offer. The atmosphere is so nice, I just wish I could have some more company over there. A plus one would be neat.

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Thursday, July 7, 2016

the long unmarked grave of Henry VIII

While we are in Windsor for the Clergy Consultation we are worshiping in St George's Chapel. We sit in the choir for morning and evening prayer (in the stalls belonging to the members of the Order of the Garter). I was fascinated to discover that buried in the aisle of the Choir lay the mortal remains of King Henry VIII.

More fascinating still is the fact that until 1837 his resting place remained unmarked. He had a great tomb prepared for himself long before he died, ready to be assembled once the time came. But not one of his three children who followed him to the throne saw fit to erect it. Edward, of course, died young. Mary always hated that her father had divorced her mother to marry Anne Boleyn; and Elizabeth was the daughter of Anne whom he had beheaded. So perhaps one can understand their neglect.

The place where the body of the king lay was lost to memory and was only rediscovered by accident at the time of the beheading of Charles I while they were looking for a place to inter his remains. When the vault where Henry lay was discovered, it was decided to place the remains of his martyred successor to the throne there also.

The Roundheads didn't want Charles' grave to become a place of pilgrimage so when the vault was re-sealed it remained unmarked and it again became uncertain where it lay. It wasn't for another century and a half that it was decided to seek it out again - not because of an interest in Henry, but in Charles. So the vault was sought out; and its location having been ascertained, it was finally marked by William IV in 1837. So his grave remained unmarked, with no one sure of its exact location from his death in 1547 until then.

It is an interesting footnote, for me at least, that the man who sparked the English Reformation in pursuit of his 'great matter' spent so many years in an unmarked grave. And perhaps an even greater irony that he shares his final resting place with a martyred king that many Anglicans regard as a saint.

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  1. Somewhat disturbing but considering the manner in which some kings were treated after their deaths, recent findings on Richard III come to mind, not too surprising. I have always found it interesting that people often confuse the manner of the lives of the historically significant rather than their relationship to history. Hence, we have in the US movements to hide Confederate monuments, slander slaveholders and posthumously rehabilitate criminals in the manner of Sacco and Vanzetti. All very strange as if we can remake history as we think it should have been.