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Lion Lamb Blog -- David Mundy
Welcome to David Mundy's nearly-daily blog. David retired after 37 years as a United Church minister (2017)and has kept a journal for more than 35 years. This blog is more public but contains his personal musings and reflections on the world, through the lens of his Christian faith. Follow his Creation Blog, Groundling (groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.ca) and Mini Me blog (aka Twitter) @lionlambstp
"What, me worry?' & the Sermon on the Mount
So do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.
Today's trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:34 NRSV
I'm soon away to Trenton UC to conduct the fifth and final session of our book study on Sermon on the Mount by Amu-Jill Levine. I've found the book helpful and provocative and admire that Levine, who is Jewish, is respectful and insightful about Jesus, the Jew, and the New Testament.
Today we'll touch on the portion of chapter 6 of Matthew in which he invites the disciples to live beyond worry and anxiety. As Jesus speaks he mentions the birds and the wildflowers which don't accumulate stuff and simply go about their lives. Given his setting, these were likely references to what they could literally see close at hand. I've been to Galilee in April when the wildflowers were breathtakingly profuse, and in October when the hillsides are brown and appear barren.
Levine makes the connection to the apostle Paul's words to the early Christian congregation in Philippi. Even though he is older and under house arrest in Rome he encourages his readers to trust that he Christ is with them in their worries.
These are timely reminders as we hear about yet another, perhaps more virulent wave of the Coronavirus, and many of us wait for our vaccinations. It would be imprudent, even foolhardy to take a "what, me worry?' approach to imminent threats. Yet we want to have the confidence that "in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us, we are not alone ."
Now, I better get going before I start worrying about getting to the church on time...
4 Rejoice* in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.*
5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Posted by David Mundy at 8:07 AM No comments:
The Swastika for Good and Evil
When The Sound of Music was edging toward the end of its run in Toronto a decade ago my long-suffering wife finally convinced me to attend with her. While I admit that I was reluctant,, I quickly realized that it was an excellent production and enjoyed the ride. I was unsettled in the final act when large, Nazi swastika flags were unfurled to help create the mood of the German takeover of Austria. This symbol has been a statement of hatred and destruction for more than 80 years now. For decades the swastika has evoked strong responses yet, sadly, there has been a bold resurgence with White Supremacist groups in Germany, the United States and elsewhere.
I recently read an article by Khyati Joshi called The swastika and the 4 H's in which she speaks of the history of the symbol for different religions, and the current proposals to ban it as a hate symbol in some areas of the United States. Long before being co-opted by the Nazis it was a symbol of good fortune and prosperity, something I knew but to which I've given little thought. Perhaps I figured it was historic for Hindus and those of other religions, rather than a meaningful symbol in the present.
Joshi concedes that most people associate the swastika with three H's: hate, Hitler and the Holocaust. Yet for her there is a fourth association which is Heritage. As a child of Hindu parents in America she wasn't aware of the grim connotation of the swastika. But by the time she was a teenager she saw her Christian friends wearing crosses and her Jewish friends wearing Star of David or Chai pendants, aware that she would need to choose some other symbol than the swastika.
At her Hindu wedding she was separated from her groom by a traditional cloth with a swastika, yet she took considerable care beforehand to speak with Jewish attendees, including a bridesmaid, about the ancient symbol.
This article is certainly a challenge to cultural assumptions and points out the complexities of living in a multi-cultural society. I'm glad I came across it.
Scene from the Sound of Music
Posted by David Mundy at 12:11 PM No comments:
Passover and William Kurelek
Doctor's Family Celebrating Passover in Halifax -- William Kurelek
When we visited the Art Gallery of Ontario back in BC (before COVID) for special exhibits we would usually take a few minutes in the excellent Canadian collection as well. I enjoy the paintings of prairie life by William Kurelek. Kurelek was the oldest child of Ukrainian immigrants, grew up in the Orthodox faith, was an atheist for a time, then converted to Roman Catholicism, He died young, at the age of 50, but he was a prolific painter, and created hundreds of religious images. I used his Canadian Nativity paintings in Christmas Eve services a number of times.
Jewish family celebrating the Sabbath in Edmonton - William Kurelek
Yesterday, as Jewish Passover or Pesach began I was surprised to see a picture of a Kurelek Seder painting. Why did the devout RC create an image of a Jewish religious subject? In turns out that as he explored both his ethnicity and his faith roots he became interested in the backgrounds of others. In 1973 the shy Kurelek met an outgoing Jew named Abe Arnold and they collaborated on a book called Jewish Life in Canada. The paintings Kurelek created for the book are both down to earth, and reverent, as with so many of his works, including those on Christian themes.
Happy Pesach to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world I pray that you be able to live your faith without fear from those is deal in mistrust and hatred.
Posted by David Mundy at 9:15 AM 2 comments:
The Narrow Road of Faithfulness
1	Ride on! Ride on in majesty! Hark! All the tribes hosanna cry:
O Saviour meek, pursue thy road with palms and scattered garments strowed.
This is Palm and Passion Sunday, the beginning of the solemn, profound days of Holy Week which begin with a parade which is perceived by Roman authorities as a protest march. As the days of the week unfold military and religious leaders are on high alert for sedition, and eventually Pilate decides that Jesus just isn't worth the trouble. We recognize Jesus' Good Friday crucifixion as a cosmic event: "behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." It is also grounded in the conflicts and politics of that moment in human history.
If you are following the military coup in Myanmar/Burma you'll be aware that there has been significant resistance from the people of this troubled nation in the form of street protests. Many civilians have died as a result, upwards of 90 yesterday, alone.
Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country (88%) the persecuted Rohingya are Muslims (4%) with Christians at 6%.
Recently a Roman Catholic nun was in the news there. because of her courageous and peaceful challenge to heavily armed police officers. Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng, who is 45, begged a group of heavily armed police officers to spare "the children" and take her life instead. The image of the Catholic nun in a simple white habit, her hands spread, pleading with the forces of the country's new junta as they prepared to crack down on a protest has gone viral and won her praise in Myanmar.
This photo is a powerful tableau, not just because of her gesture, but with the response of the police officers, who are likely Buddhist. A couple of them adopt a prayerful posture while others look on.
Every day disciples of Jesus choose to be faithful to the Prince of Peace, willing to suffer alongside him, if necessary. We may not be able to attend in-person worship in our setting today, or to wave a palm branch. Still, as we follow the news this Holy Week we can look to those who show us the narrow road as a model for our discipleship.
4	Ride on! Ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die;
bow thy meek head to mortal pain,	then take, O God, thy power, and reign.
Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 --
Emancipation Day in Canada
It's rare for a bill to be passed unanimously in the Canadian House of Commons but on Wednesday 335 Members of Parliament voted together to declare August 1st as Emancipation Day in this country. The date marks the anniversary of when Britain's Parliament abolished slavery in the British Empire in 1834.
In response to this decision Green Party Leader Annamie Paul, who is a Black woman said: "For almost 200 years Emancipation Day has gone generally uncommemorated, and untaught, though people of African descent have lived in Canada since the transatlantic slave trade and the Indigenous Peoples of these territories predate the colonialists."
August 1st is in a time of the year when Canadians are doing whatever they can to soak up the sun and may be less likely to pay attention to Emancipation Day or anything other than enjoying the nearby statutory holiday. I do hope that we can recognize the importance of the day across the country
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- Emancipation Day 1956
Emancipation Day has been celebrated in Windsor, Ontario, since the 1930's through to 1967, and the occasion has been revived in recent years. The day would draw large crowds and drew big musical acts such as the Supremes, Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder.
Dr. Martin Luther King, the Baptist pastor and Civil Rights activist was a guest for Emancipation Day in 1956.
Last year the United Church of Canada affirmed Emancipation Day and encouraged congregations to do so within worship. Who knows, the day may come when this too is a statutory holiday as well.
Posted by David Mundy at 12:30 AM No comments:
The Annunciation and Maternal Mental Health
The Annunciation -- Henry Ossawa Tanner -- 1898
In the United Church we tend to acknowledge the Annunciation, the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus, during Advent in the lead-up to Christmas. For Roman Catholics and Anglicans the Feast of the Annunciation was yesterday, March 25th. Why the difference? Do the math and you'll realize that it's nine months from March 25th, until Christmas day, or the normal length of a human pregnancy. Clever, even though we know that Jesus wasn't actually born on the 25th of December.
It seems fitting that on the day when millions of Christians acknowledged the story in Luke of the bewildered and brave young woman -- likely a teen -- hearing that she was the chosen one, we saw reports that research shows that maternal mental health has suffered during pandemic and worse than was anticipated. The isolation of COVID quarantine has affected so many, from the very young to the elderly. But it's not hard to appreciated why mothers who are caring for children with limited support from families and peers are struggling mightily.
Our older daughter gave birth in the early days of the pandemic and even the hospital experience was unsettling. During the past ten months she has spent countless hours and days alone with a 2/3 year-old and a newborn. She has done remarkably well, and she loves her children dearly, but this has made a demanding time even more challenging.
In the Medieval and Renaissance periods young Mary was often portrayed as a member of the nobility, with all the benefits of her status. I much prefer the Tanner painting of the Annunciation with its image of a peasant girl.
As we remember "perplexed" Miriam, of Mary, we can hold all the mothers of our world in the midst of stressful circumstances, asking God to give them the stamina and comfort they need for each day.
Annunciation -- Fra Angelico -- c. 1445
Cancel Culture & Following Jesus
Alexi McCammond
The recently appointed editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue magazine is now the former editor -- before she actually began in the role. Offensive tweets posted by Alex McCammond surfaced in which she commented of Asian features, derogatory stereotypes about Asians and slurs for gay people. This is obviously unacceptable and she had apologized for them a couple of years ago. The comments were from a decade ago when she was 17 years old. The call for her dismissal came from some of the staff at Teen Vogue, so this would have been an untenable situation. And as a culture we've decided that racist and homophobic attitudes can't be tolerated in a number of spheres.
Just the same, this situation with McCammond has some asking about the intensity of what is termed "cancel culture", the zero tolerance of attitudes and behaviour, regardless of when they took place. We know that teenagers can be reckless and attention-seeking. Do we hold them accountable for everything they've said and done out of immaturity for the rest of their lives?
And what about adults, particularly those of us born in the post-war era? We grew up in an unsavoury soup of racism, homophobia, and religious intolerance. Attitudes which were the norm when we were kids and into adulthood make me cringe today. As a boy in the early 1960's I loved playing war where we fought the Japs and the Krauts. Those we deemed skinflints were hymies, an offensive and stereotyping term for Jews. We made jokes about gay people. It was shameful.
I have repented of those sins along the way and attempted to do better. I'm grateful that I could apologize and move on from these mistakes as my outlook and understanding changed, and . I know that I'm not done yet.
At the same time, I'm convinced that historic crimes such as sexual abuse should be brought to light and the perpetrators brought to justice. There is no "stale date" on injustices perpetrated against Indigenous peoples.
During out study of the Sermon on the Mount the past few weeks we've discussed Jesus' teaching about letting go of anger and of attempting to reconcile with those we've harmed or who have offended us. Jesus tells us not to be hypocrites, to be fixated on the speck in someone else's eye when we have a log in our own.
Does this mean we should cancel "cancel culture?" I don't think so, but it's certainly complicated. Along with legal redress, and political and corporate responsibility we need to ask about our moral and ethical grounding. We can be committed in every day to being the persons of grace Christ calls us to be, and to create a society of justice and equality.
If you've got this figured this out, please let me know!
The Sin of Anti-Asian Racism
The other mornng I approached one of the staffers of the gym I attend who is of Asian background and speaks with an accent, suggesting that she is an immigrant. I began with "you don't have to answer my question if you don't feel comfortable" and then asked if she experienced much racism in our town.
She laughed and said she had no problem with my question. She said that she rarely did, other than some people acting a bit superior when it came to her English skills. Since we were both wearing masks and my hearing isn't what it once was, I was terrified I might need to ask her to repeat herself, but I didn't. Phew. We chatted for a bit and she told me that she came on her own to Canada -- Digby, Nova Scotia -- for education 15 years ago and decided to stay. As with so many immigrants her story is impressive.
I asked my question of her because of yet another grim mass murder in the United States which took the lives of 8 people including 6 women as Asian background. There is also a report about the rise in the number of anti-Asian incidents in Canada, more than 1,100 since the Coronavirus pandemic began a year ago. I don't want to assume that our community is not racist. Our local optometrist was born in China and her family emigrated to Toronto when she was young. She has experienced a number of racist incidents here, something she shared during an appointment at least three years ago.
In Canada we've been willing to apologize for past injustices against those of Asian background, including the Chinese workers who built our railroads and the Japanese Canadians who were displaced and incarcerated during World War II. Yet anti-Asian racism abides and surfaces alarmingly quickly at any excuse.
It was in 1960 that the United Church of Canada declared racism a sin, an official acknowledgment of what should have been obvious. Just the same, during the past 60 years United Church participants of different backgrounds, including Asian, have contended with racism, whether blatant or more subtle. A colleague in ministry has wondered whether her Asian background has impeded her career.
The staffer at the gym said that she is an outgoing person who doesn't let incidents such as the comments and jokes about her English get to her. We agreed, though, that it is perplexing how people who speak only one language will mock those who speak two or more, because of an accent.
In 2020 the United Church decided to be more intentional about becoming an anti-racist denomination. It is an important commitment. All of us can be vigilant about our own attitudes and challenge racism when we hear it or see it.
Here is the link to the United Church website which includes our anti-racism statements, worship materials, and personal stories.
ihttps://united-church.ca/
Posted by David Mundy at 3:33 PM No comments:
Senseless Carnage in Boulder, Colorado
In the summer of 2012 I attended a course at Ring Lake Ranch in Wyoming. I spent a couple of days in nearby Yellowstone National Park first, then joined a group of Christians interested in faith and the environment at this retreat centre. It was an exceptionally beautiful setting and the speaker and company were stimulating.
I was the only Canadian, but that didn't matter. That is, until we gathered for worship in the chapel one morning. A c ouple of participants arrived visibly shaken after hearingof a massacre at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, close to where they lived.
We prayed for the victims, the 12 who died and the 70 who were injured.I'll confess that I was unsettled and even angered at what like passivity to me regarding the loss of life amongst those people in the chapel. Surely to God we all understood the insanity of allowing virtually anyone to be armed with assault weapons. In the case of this young assailant he also used tear gas and rigged his apartment with explosives to create mayhem when it was searched.
Yesterday a young gunman opened fire in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, about 55 kilometres from Aurora. The victims were innocent people going about their everyday lives. Many Americans have expressed sorrow, and the flag at the White House is at half mast, but where is the will to bring about change?
One Christian writer and pastor I follow on Twitter, Brian Zahnd, commented that gun violence is the issue that tempts him to move to another country. Shane Claiborne, another Christian leader
Shane Claiborne
@ShaneClaiborne
We lose 100 lives a day to guns in the US
Last year, guns killed over 40,000 people.
In my lifetime, we've had more people killed with guns here in the US than in all the wars in US history combined. If you're not concerned about gun violence, please don't say you're pro-life.
President Biden has already stated that he will immediately initiate changes to existing gun laws, including more thorough background checks. He has a far greater challenge in altering the deeply disturbing obsession with "the right to bear arms" which leads to this carnage.
Posted by David Mundy at 5:22 PM 3 comments:
Praying for the Two Michaels
Michael Kovrig (pictured with his wife, Vina Nadjibulla) has been detained in China since 2018. His trial occurred inal in Beijing today. Photograph: Family photo/AFP/Getty Images
In recent weeks I've been praying for the two Michaels, Spavor and Kovrig, aware that their "trials" were looming. These two Canadians have been incarcerated in China for more than two years on trumped up espionage charges. Their arrests were retaliation for the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada. She was been treated with respect under excellent conditions, has been visited by family, and had legal representation in a court of law. The Canadians have lived in deplorable circumstances and are being tried without consular support and in legal system with a 99% conviction rate.
During Spavor's trial on Friday and Kovrig's today diplomats from Canada and 20 other countries gathered outside the courtrooms as a witness against these proceedings and the exclusion of diplomatic support. Both of these kangaroo courts were brief and verdicts withheld, for the time being.
As concerned as we are for these Canadian citizens, there are hundreds of other foreigners who are being held in Chinese prisons. The totalitarian government has become more dismissive of international law and agreements in the past decade.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of Chinese Uighurs are in detention camps, tortured and brain-washed. They are drilled to renounce their religion, including public prayer and put their faith in "Xi Jinping Thought" rather than the Koran. Christians have been harassed and persecuted as well.
The hope is that if the Michaels are convicted they might be expelled from China on medical grounds or some other reason. It's important that there has been vocal and concerted censure from other nations including the United States, but China doesn't respond readily to pressure.
So, will our prayers make any difference? I figure we can't stop until they are reunited with their families.
Posted by David Mundy at 11:41 AM 2 comments:
Nowruz and Point Petre Conservation Area
Our congregation, Trenton United Church. has been able to take advantage of our region's Green zone status (only 3 cases of COVID-19 in the past 8 days) to reopen for worship. We've been at every service since Ash Wednesday but today we decided to head elsewhere.
We made our way to Point Petre Wildlife Conservation Area, as far south in Prince Edward County.as you can get. It is a beautiful area jutting into Lake Ontario with its own micro-climate and flora. In a few weeks we'll return because the wildflowers are astonishing in Spring. There are interesting limestone rock formations to explore.
As we drove, we talked about our awareness for the first time yesterday of Nowruz, the Iranian or Persian New Year. It is celebrated by hundreds of thousands of people around the world on the Spring Equinox and has foods, and practices related It is a secular holiday for most who observe it although there is a faith element for Zoroastrians, Bahiais, and some Muslim communities. It's believed that the Magi, who traveled to find the toddler Jesus, were Zoroastrians from Persia.
I think it's wonderful that there is a religious festival which celebrates the Equinox and ties it to the New Year, I'd vote for March 20/21 over January 1st any time.
Near the end of our ramble we stopped along the shore and built a fire in an existing pit, using some kindling we'd brought with us. As is happens, Nowruz has a ritual of fire building, which we like, but we decided to abstain from the fire-jumping which is part of the ritual. Ruth continues to be quite nimble, but my ancient knees would definitely not comply.
We gave thanks to the Creator while we looked out to the lake and enjoyed the absence of human noises until more visitors arrived. We also watched a mink make its way along the shore, then into the water to catch its lunch. They are remarkable swimmers and divers.
I'm sure worship was meaningful at Trenton UC today, yet we felt we were in the right place. And yes, we did extinguish the remains of our fire.
Point Petre Fire
Truth and Reconciliation, Dollars and Cents
Joseph Stewart, president of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, holding a cross with cotton that he picked as a child in Louisiana.Credit...Saul Martinez for The New York Times
In recent decades there has been a growing call for reparations to colonialized and enslaved peoples in North America. This is essentially financial compensation to the descendants of those who were evicted from their traditional lands, those who were the victims of cultural genocide, and those who were used as enforced labourers in agriculture and other settings. In Canada the conversations have been largely with Indigenous peoples while in the United States they include those whose forbears were slaves. Too often religious institutions, including our United Church of Canada, were complicit with governments in this shameful behaviour.
Five years ago we heard that in the 19th century the Roman Catholic Jesuits which created Georgetown University in Washington DC were grappling with their history of slave ownership. Not only did the order own slaves who worked it's land in nearby Maryland, during a period of financial crisis 272 slaves were sold to raise funds, including children. Many of these Black human beings were Roman Catholics whose children had been baptized by priests and who attended Mass. The Jesuits believed that these enslaved people had souls, yet could be bought and sold.
A few days ago there was an announcement that a fund of $100 million has been established to compensate the roughly 5,000 living descendants of those who were enslaved by the Jesuits of Georgetown. The order has already committed $15 million and will endeavour to raise the balance. This is an important step in redressing a terrible wrong. Georgetown is not alone. There are other Roman Catholic orders and a number of US universities which have begun the process of compensating the descendants of those who were enslaved.
The United Church has paid financial compensation to some of the Indigenous persons harmed by the Residential School System in Canada, which is apart from the compensation program of the federal government. In addition there is a UCC Healing Fund, to which members of the UCC were invited to contribute, and a Justice and Reconciliation Fund.
These financial responses to injustices are essential, as are the official apologies of governments and religious bodies. The honest work of Truth and Reconciliation must go beyond dollars to repentance, healing, and reconciliation.
A document inside St. Ignatius Church in Port Tobacco, Md., lists the names of the enslaved people sold by the Jesuits in 1838 to help keep Georgetown University afloat.Credit...Michael A. McCoy for The New York Times
Ted Lasso and Forgiveness
Ted Lasso, Ted Lasso, Ted Lasso. The praise and accolades for this Apple+ comedy series seemed to be popping up everywhere, and since we have a free subscription we decided to give it a try. The show is about a small-time American football coach named --wait for it -- Ted Lasso, who is improbably invited to coach a Premier League football team, aka soccer to North Americans.
Ted is totally unequipped for the role, which is the strategy for a bitter divorcee who owns the club, part of her settlement. She wants the team to fail out of revenge against her philandering ex. Highly improbable, of course, but, hey, this is a comedy. Within the first ten minutes of the initial episode there is a sense of where this story will go, yet it turns out to be a delight because of the acting by Jason Sudeikis as Coach Ted, along with a a strong cast, and excellent writing. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way which keep the story from being predictable.
This is a laugh-out-loud funny series, with a million hilarious one-liners. At the same time it is surprisingly thoughtful exploration of acceptance and other deeply human issues, including forgiveness.
While I don't want to give too much away, there is a point when the owner comes to Ted, letting down her bristly, imperious guard to offer a heartfelt apology for her abysmal behaviour. Ted pauses for a few moments, then offers three words: "I forgive you." Then he takes a few moments to offer why he is willing to forgive, in a manner that is gracious and tender. It is a genuinely moving moment. Ruth, my wife, suggested that this scene would be an excellent clip to show in a study of forgiveness, and she's right.
So, are you intrigued? I hope so, and I hope you have an opportunity to enjoy Sensei Ted.
Dead Sea Finds and Our Biblical Past
Dead Sea fragments
As some of you will know, I'm intrigued by archeological finds in Israel and other countries of the Middle East. They often give new insights into the scriptures of Older and Newer Testaments, as well as the first centuries of the Common Era.
One of the great discoveries of the 20th century was a cache of documents found in the Judean Desert which we now call the Dead Sea Scrolls. The first scrolls, from the 3rd century BCE, were discovered by Bedouin shepherds in 1947 in caves, and over the next decade many more were found. This is a story of intrigue and skullduggery as opportunists pilfered caves and scrolls were sold by unscrupulous vendors. Some were buried by the culprits to hide them and thereby destroyed.
The Dead Sea Scrolls revealed previously unknown information about the Jewish apocalyptic community at Qumran. There are also some of the earliest documents and fragments of Hebrew scripture in existence.
News emerged earlier this week of the discovery of even more fragments from a later period in an already known cave, called the Cave of Horror because it contained several dozen skeletons. These are the first discoveries in nearly half a century In the CBC article we find:
The fragments are believed to have been part of a scroll stashed away in the cave during the Bar Kochba Revolt, an armed Jewish uprising against Rome during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, between 132 and 136 AD.Coins struck by rebels and arrowheads found in other caves in the region also hail from that period.
"We found a textual difference that has no parallel with any other manuscript, either in Hebrew or in Greek," said Oren Ableman, a Dead Sea scroll researcher with the Israel Antiquities Authority..."When we think about the biblical text, we think about something very static. It wasn't static. There are slight differences and some of those differences are important," said Joe Uziel, head of the antiquities authority's Dead Sea scrolls unit.
In the same trove there was a woven basket which has been dated back for longer, to 10,500 years ago and is the oldest ever discovered. Now, that is old-world craftsmanship! Actually, more likely to be crafted by a woman.
Why do I pay attention to this stuff? The past speaks to us, as we hurtle along into the future. Our scriptures are thousands of years old as well, yet we continue to learn, and grow and apply what God shares with us through them. While we don't want to dwell in the past, we can respect the faithfulness of our foremothers and forefathers.
Oldest basket in existence
A Celtic Blessing
Today our Trenton United Church book study group continued, our third week looking at the Sermon on the Mount by Amy-Jill Levine. In fact there are participants from five congregation, thanks to Zoom, and I'm grateful for every voice. I've led a number of study groups at Trenton UC, usually with 14-16 willing souls. Lo and behold, today there were 16 of us. even though it was essentially half and half, in-person and Zoom.
Because it was St. Patrick's Day I began and ended with first a Celtic prayer and then a Celtic blessing. I'll share that blessing with you:
Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you
Deep peace of Christ, the light of the world to you.
The RC's & Same-Gender Blessings
A same-sex couple exchanging rings during a ceremony in Salt Lake City. (CNS/Reuters/Jim Urquhar)
In recent m there has been conversation amongst Roman Catholic leaders in different parts of the world about LGBTQ2 persons and their place within Christ's church. In January a group of bishops and several religious orders in the United States issued a statement of support for LGBTQ2 youth which says:
God created you, God loves you and God is on your side. As we see in the Gospels, Jesus Christ taught love, mercy and welcome for all people, especially for those who felt persecuted or marginalized in any way; and the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that LGBT people are to be treated with 'respect, compassion and sensitivity...
A few weeks ago a discussion involving Germans bishops resulted in some endorsing the blessing of same-gender unions. While this is not the same as the sacrament of marriage, the blessing would be sacramental in tone.
Yesterday the Vatican issued a decree which is likely a response to this discussion stating "It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage."
While this was issued by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it was also endorsed by Pope Francis. Since he was elected as pope Francis eight years ago has made a number of comments and statements suggesting a change of tone regarding LGBTQ2 persons. They have created a stir within conservative RC circles and even accusations of heresy. Yesterday's decree seems to be a clear step back from some of his more conciliatory and welcoming comments.
Honestly, while this is disappointing it isn't surprising. Despite the horrendous legacy of sexual exploitation and what I call "soul murder" by clerics in the Roman Catholic church, the patriarchal hierarchy continues to prohibit LGBTQ2 orientation if it actually involves sex, let alone bless relationships. Jesus' teaching about removing the log in one's own eye before pointing out the speck in someone else's comes to mind.
The official message seems to be, God loves you and the church loves you -- just not like "normal" people. As you can see, the cartoonists have wasted no time offering their perspectives. It does seem absurd that a priest can bless your house but not your loving committed, same-gender relationship. Some priests have already been blessing these relationships and are vowing to continue doing so.
Meanwhile, a growing percentage of Roman Catholic laypersons (60+%) support LGBTQ2 persons and their inclusion in the church. What leadership will Francis or a successor provide? We'll see.
The Syrian Crisis, Ten Years On
God and COVID, One Year Later
I'll Drink to That
The Power of Lucid Dreams
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
An Interfaith Sister Act
Perishing in the Cold
Women's Day & Freedom from Abuse
10 Commandments & the Sermon on the Mount
Black Jesus, Then and Now
Pope Francis in Iraq
The Good Book...Day
Celebrating Local Wildlife on World Wildlife Day
Honouring Murray Whetung, Indigenous Elder
The Not-So-Golden Idol
David Mundy
I am a retired United Church of Canada minister living in Belleville,Ontario, Canada.


MANCHESTER, NH — A 34-year-old woman died from an apparent gunshot wound Saturday night, according to Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and Police Chief Carlo Capano.
Tanya Hall was identified as the victim of a shooting that happened in the area of Old Granite Street. An autopsy will be performed Monday by the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner's Office to determine the cause and manner of Hall's death.
UPDATE: Police arrest Justin Moura, 34, charged with second-degree murder in weekend shooting.
Additional information will be released as it becomes available, according to the attorney general.
A "suspicious death" investigation initially was announced in a news release at 3 a.m. on March 3 but gave scant details about the circumstances or the location of the death.
Kim Balles, one of the owners of Club Manchvegas Bar & Grill on Old Granite Street, said the incident happened about 11:30 p.m. in the parking lot across from her establishment.
A man drove off in a Jeep with the woman, she said.
At 11:43 p.m., the Manchester Fire Department dispatched a crew to the corner of Pine and Auburn streets for an individual suffering from a gunshot wound. The dispatcher later said police advised the unresponsive patient was shot at another location.
Balles said police would only let five people out of the club at a time because it was an active crime scene.
"At no time did it happen inside our building," she said. No weapon is allowed inside the establishment, she said, and every person is scanned with a security wand. When a weapon is found, the person has the option of leaving and returning without the weapon or putting the weapon in the club's gun safe.
Investigators ask anyone who was in the Manchvegas bar, or in the areas of Old Granite, Granite and Elm streets late Saturday night or early Sunday morning and may have information about the incident being investigated to call the Manchester Police Detective Unit at 603-668-8711 or make an anonymous tip via the Manchester Crime Line.


Question: Could this house be built on piers ,eliminating the lower level except for parking?
Answer: Yes, it can be built in piers, it is designed to be built that way.
Question: Are there side elevations available?
Answer: Unfortunately, side elevations only come with blueprint purchase.


Hsinchu County American School (HCAS) utilizes the Dalton Plan, a progressive educational framework, developed by Helen Parkhurst in early 20th century. Focusing on developing the whole child, Dalton plan tailors each student's program to his or her needs, interests, and abilities; to promote both independence and dependability; and to enhance the student's social skills and sense of responsibility toward others. Encouraging cooperation within the community and providing environment of freedom for individuals as the two principles, HCAS uses three-part plan which are House, Assignment, and Laboratory. In addition to the Dalton Plan as the conceptual framework, HCAS uses project based learning for both formal and summitive assessments in all grades.
School is divided into three divisions: First Program, Middle School and Upper School. The First Program consists of grades K1 to grade 4, Middle School consists of grades 5 to 8, and Upper School consists of grades 9 to 12. HCAS utilizes 40 minutes segments for the First Program, and Middle and Upper Schools use the block schedule of 80 minutes. For Upper School, one subject requires 120 hours (7,200 minutes) of class or contact time with the faculty member over the course of one academic year (180 school days) to fulfill the Carnegie Credit Units (CCU).
HCAS is an English medium of instruction school. Chinese, Spanish, and French are offered as foreign languages. All Upper grade students are required to take foreign language courses as a graduation requirement. Students can opt out of the Chinese Language requirements by taking the AP test or continue to take higher levels of Chinese during their Upper School years. French and Spanish are offered as a foreign language for four years in Upper School. For the First Program and Middle School, Spanish and French are offered as a co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.


text:
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
import { connect } from 'react-redux';
import { setNotify, createUser, getCaptcha } from '../App/AppActions';
import { getUserName } from '../App/AppReducer';
import styles from '../../main.css';
class DangKyPages extends Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = {
      emailSDT: '',
      matKhau: '',
      nhapLaiMatKhau: '',
      hoTen: '',
      captcha: 'D04DFG',
      nhapLaiCaptcha: '',
      svg: {}
    };
  }
  componentWillMount() {
    if (this.props.userName !== '') {
      this.context.router.push('/');
    }
    this.props.dispatch(getCaptcha()).then((res) => {
      this.setState({ svg: res.captcha });
    });
  }
  componentWillReceiveProps(nextProps) {
    if (nextProps && nextProps.userName !== '') {
      this.context.router.push('/');
    }
  }
  onSignUp = () => {
    if (!this.kiemTraMatKhau()) {
      this.setState({ error: 'error' });
      this.props.dispatch(getCaptcha()).then((res) => {
        this.setState({ svg: res.captcha });
      });
      return;
    }
    const user = {
      userName: this.state.emailSDT,
      password: this.state.matKhau,
      fullName: this.state.hoTen,
    };
    this.props.dispatch(createUser(user)).then((res) => {
      switch (res.user) {
        case 'success': {
          this.props.dispatch(setNotify('Tạo tài khoản thành công.'));
          this.context.router.push('/signin');
          break;
        }
        case 'error': {
          this.props.dispatch(setNotify('SĐT hoặc email đã được sử dụng.'));
          break;
        }
        case 'missing': {
          this.props.dispatch(setNotify('Thiếu thông tin đăng ký.'));
          break;
        }
        default: {
          this.props.dispatch(setNotify('Đăng ký không thành công.'));
        }
      }
    });
    this.props.dispatch(getCaptcha()).then((res) => {
      this.setState({ svg: res.captcha });
    });
  };

  kiemTraMatKhau = () => {
    let error = '';
    let kq = true;
    if (this.state.emailSDT === '') {
      error += 'Vui lòng nhập Email/ SDT
';
      kq = false;
    }
    if (this.state.matKhau === '') {
      error += 'Vui lòng nhập mật khẩu
';
      kq = false;
    }
    if (this.state.svg.text !== this.state.nhapLaiCaptcha) {
      error += 'Mã bảo mật không đúng
';
      kq = false;
    }
    if (this.state.matKhau !== this.state.nhapLaiMatKhau) {
      error += 'Mật khẩu nhập lại không trùng khớp
';
      kq = false;
    }
    if (this.state.hoTen === '') {
      error += 'Vui lòng nhập họ tên';
      kq = false;
    }
    if (error !== '') {
      this.props.dispatch(setNotify(error));
    }
    return kq;
  };

  handleEmailChanged = (eventKey) => { this.setState({ emailSDT: eventKey.target.value }); };
  handleMatKhauChanged = (eventKey) => { this.setState({ matKhau: eventKey.target.value }); };
  handleNhapLaiMatKhauChanged = (eventKey) => { this.setState({ nhapLaiMatKhau: eventKey.target.value }); };
  handleHoTenChanged = (eventKey) => { this.setState({ hoTen: eventKey.target.value }); };
  handleCaptchaChanged = (eventKey) => { this.setState({ captcha: eventKey.target.value }); };
  handleNhapLaiCaptchaChanged = (eventKey) => { this.setState({ nhapLaiCaptcha: eventKey.target.value }); };
  turnToSignIn = () => {
    this.context.router.push('/signin');
  };
  render() {
    return (

        <div className={`panel panel-default col-md-6 col-md-offset-3 col-sm-8 col-sm-offset-2 ${styles.registerContent}`}>

ĐĂNG KÝ

              <input
                type="text"
                className="form-control"
                placeholder="Email / Số điện thoại"
                style={{ fontSize: '10pt' }}
                value={this.state.emailSDT}
                onChange={this.handleEmailChanged}
              />

              <input
                type="password"
                className="form-control"
                placeholder="Mật khẩu"
                style={{ fontSize: '10pt' }}
                value={this.state.matKhau}
                onChange={this.handleMatKhauChanged}
              />

              <input
                type="password"
                className="form-control"
                placeholder="Nhập lại mật khẩu"
                style={{ fontSize: '10pt' }}
                value={this.state.nhapLaiMatKhau}
                onChange={this.handleNhapLaiMatKhauChanged}
              />

              <input
                type="text"
                className="form-control"
                placeholder="Họ tên"
                style={{ fontSize: '10pt' }}
                value={this.state.hoTen}
                onChange={this.handleHoTenChanged}
              />

            <div className={`row ${styles.inputGroup}`} >

                <input
                  type="text"
                  className="form-control"
                  placeholder="Nhập mã captcha"
                  style={{ fontSize: '10pt' }}
                  value={this.state.nhapLaiCaptcha}
                  onChange={this.handleNhapLaiCaptchaChanged}
                />

              <button onClick={() => { this.onSignUp(); }} className={styles.inputRegistryButton} >ĐĂNG KÝ</button>

            <div className={`text-center ${styles.inputGroup}`} >

                Bạn đã có tài khoản?
                Đăng nhập ngay

    );
  }
}

// Retrieve data from store as props
function mapStateToProps(state) {
  return {
    userName: getUserName(state),
  };
}

DangKyPages.propTypes = {
  dispatch: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
  userName: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
};

DangKyPages.contextTypes = {
  router: PropTypes.object,
};

export default connect(mapStateToProps)(DangKyPages);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


One of Fred Perry's most classic profiles, the Kingston Twill arrives in white and grey-blue for the new season. The tennis shoe references the brand's iconic shirt, with branded eyelets and twin tipping detail at the tongue. A rubber outsole completes.


Play it smart with these equations.
For investors who fear that the markets have soared too far too fast, the thought that some stocks may still be cheap is hard to imagine -- especially when it comes to China.
Here's one way to separate the cash from the trash.
I call it the "good-deal number" or the "good-deal indicator." And for a very good reason: By running this simple equation, I can determine whether a stock I'm interested in is worth buying.
Intuitively, investors know that it's best to buy at the bottom and sell at the top. And history bears this out.
For instance, investors who bought at or near such market peaks as 1928, 1969, 1999, or 2007 tended to overpay. And they doomed themselves to sub-par returns as a result.
On the other hand, investors who had the courage to wade in when the days were darkest -- think 1932, 1942, 1982, and 2003 -- were typically rewarded with above-average results. Over time, such moves can translate into life-changing wealth.
Unfortunately, reality is never that simple. Markets usually aren't operating at peak or trough levels. And even when they are, how can an investor tell for sure?
Nor is that the only challenge investors have to face, Pat Dorsey, director of equity research for Morningstar, wrote in a recent Money magazine column. Although investors endure a daily barrage of stock prices, Dorsey said there's no "ticker tape" that tells us whether those prices represent actual values.
In other words, just because a stock is cheap doesn't mean it's a bargain.
That's why I like my "good-deal indicator" so much. Although it can be used when the markets have reached extremes, it's just as useful when the markets are in between extremes -- as they are right now.
But best of all, it's simple to calculate and easy to use. I can run the number in my head or on the back of a napkin -- without resorting to fancy spreadsheets or computer modeling. You can develop a good feel for how a company will perform over a longer stretch so you won't get fooled by one or two periods of dramatic movement.
Let's walk through a real-world example drawn from a meeting I held in China regarding a fast-growing energy-and-biofuels company that I'm studying right now.
To start, you need two key numbers: the company's earnings per share (EPS) and its price/earnings (P/E) ratio.
Since 2007, this company's annual per-share earnings have ranged between $0.22 and $0.72, according to MSNMoney.com. For purposes of making a reasonable, middle-ground estimate, let's say the company's EPS number is $0.47.
During the period in question, the company's P/E ratio has ranged from a low of 5.0 to a high of 43. So using the same middle-ground approach, let's call it a P/E of 24.
Now we multiply the EPS of $0.47 by the P/E of 24 (0.47 x 24) and we get a rough "value per share" of $11.28. That's roughly 1.69 times higher than the stock's recent market price of $6.65, suggesting that this particular stock is a "good deal."
EPS of 47 x P/E of 24 = Estimated Value of $11.28/Market Price of $6.65 = "Good-Deal Number" of 1.69. Conclusion: Stock appears to be undervalued -- and a "good deal" -- at this price.
Fifteen trades. All profitable. Since launching his Geiger Index trading service late last year, Money Morning Investment Director Keith Fitz-Gerald is a perfect 15 for 15, meaning he's closed every single one of his trades at a profit. And he did this during one of the most volatile periods for the U.S. stock market since the Great Depression. Fitz-Gerald says the ongoing financial crisis has changed the investing game forever, and has created a completely new set of rules that investors must understand to survive and profit in this new era. Check out our latest insights on these new rules, this new market environment, and this new service, the Geiger Index.


The barely regained order of a city 3 years after a nuclear catastrophe is turned inside out when a mutilated body is found.
The disastrous meltdown of a nuclear power plant in Northern Spain created a contaminated no-go zone and left the nearby provincial city and inhabitants in a state of shock and mourning. One of the victims is police inspector Hector Uria's 20 year-old son Fede. While the city prepares to feed the media with good news for the commemoration ceremony, the report of a mutilated body found in a warehouse proves almost as contagious as the radioactive fallout itself, especially when more mysterious killings occur. Hector's search for the murderer takes him deep into the no-go zone, where he uncovers a smuggling racket controlled by the decontamination company with ties to the political authorities. It is also a journey into his own past as the sole survivor of those who went in to save others three years ago – a journey undertaken also by his doctor and public health official Julia, his wife Marta and his daughter Ester, each having to confront their very own inner demons on the way.


text:
Exceptionally Important Information About Alternative Fuel Vehicles
Though we get to hear a lot about alternative fuel vehicles nowadays, not many people out there actually know what these vehicles are all about.
Abhijit Naik
Amidst all the hue and cry about the need to phase out vehicles powered by fossil fuels and replace them with their counterparts powered by alternative fuels, the administration seems to have failed to create proper awareness about the need to take this step. With so much of confusion about these vehicles, it calls for the need to spread awareness about this concept right from the scratch.
A Guide to Alternative Fuel Powered Vehicles
In a specific sense, these are the vehicles that are powered by one of the various alternative fuels as opposed to the traditionally used petroleum or crude oil-based fuels like petrol and diesel. In a broad sense though, the term is also used for hybrid vehicles which use alternative fuel alongside petroleum-based fuel as their source of energy.
The combination of environmental threat posed by excessive use of fossil fuels and ever-soaring price of oil in the international market, has had a crucial role in pitching vehicles powered by alternative fuels as the vehicles of future. That being said, environmentalists are of the opinion that the future is already here, and its high time we replace those gasoline-powered vehicles (and diesel powered too) with environment friendly, alternative fuel-based counterparts.
Different Types
The list of alternative fuels recognized by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) is quite lengthy. Some of the most prominent names featuring in this list are ethanol, biodiesel, electricity, hydrogen, and compressed natural gas. Generally, alternative fuel vehicles use one of these fuels as their source of power, mainly due to the various benefits associated with them. That being said, some of the most popular types of vehicles available in the market today are ...
Battery electric cars, which use the chemical energy of batteries.
Solar vehicles, which are powered by solar energy derived from the Sun.
Flexible-fuel vehicles, which use gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel.
Biodiesel vehicles, which use biodiesel, i.e., liquid fuel made from vegetable oils, as their energy source.
Natural gas vehicles, which use compressed natural gas as their source of power.
LPG vehicles, which use liquefied petroleum gas, i.e., mixture of hydrocarbon gases, as fuel.
Compressed-air cars, which use compressed air as a source of energy.
Liquid nitrogen vehicles, which use liquid nitrogen stored in their tanks as a fuel.
Hydrogen cars, which use hydrogen as their primary source of energy.
Other than these types, biogas vehicles (which are powered by compressed biogas) and steam vehicles (powered by steam), also exist, but are not as popular as the vehicles mentioned in the list above.
Every technology has advantages and disadvantages, and alternative fuel vehicles are no exception. By far one of the biggest advantages, is the fact that they are environment friendly. While electric vehicles hardly release any particulate substance in air, hydrogen vehicles release water from their exhaust. The fact that alternative fuels, like corn ethanol and biodiesel, are renewable sources of energy also works in their favor. The proponents of alternative fuels for automobiles put forth these very positive attributes of these cars when advocating their use.
The critics, on the other hand, continue to highlight the disadvantages of these vehicles and vehemently opposing their use. They argue that even though they are environment friendly, these costly vehicles come hard on our pockets. We are yet to reach that milestone in the field of technology wherein the development of such vehicles would be a relatively inexpensive process. At the same time, they also highlight the fact that certain types of alternative fuels, which are used in these vehicles, are derived from our food source―a practice which is bound to create some problems in near future.
If all the advantages and disadvantages of this concept are pitted against each other, its advantages seem to have a slight edge over its disadvantages. That the alternative fuel vehicles are expected to have a 50 percent share in light-duty vehicles market by 2035, is a good news that is bound to bring some smiles in the camp of proponents of these vehicles.
Water Powered Car Facts
Designing Your Own Car
Heater Core Replacement Instructions
How to Design a Car Online
Tips on Learning to Drive a Car
Symptoms of a Bad Transmission Solenoid

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Buying property from a distressed seller is a deal that can benefit both parties. You get a good deal, and they get out of a pickle. However, when we buy houses, Buffalo property owners aren't always highly motivated to sell.
If you are an investor who has encountered this issue, you may wonder why a seller who would benefit from selling might hold back. We will explore reasons these sellers are so elusive and strategies you can use to approach the situation. We also want to impress on property owners that there are solutions to your problems when you find the right buyer.
Distressed sellers are often suffering from overload. They may be regularly receiving a high influx of marketing mail and junk offers about their property.
The many scammers preying on people in their situation can make them feel uncomfortable entertaining legitimate offers. Some don't know who to trust. Another factor that can paralyze sellers is the hope they may get a better offer, not realizing their options diminish with time.
You may encounter sellers that feel ignoring the situation is the best way to cope. They can be in a state of desperation where they feel their condition is so terrible they cease to care. Last, some sellers are sold on ideas that can be more detrimental to their creditworthiness, such as bankruptcy. They do not believe other options are available.
As investors, we know being proactive and having a sound plan is the best way to keep their situation from getting worse. However, owners reach a point where they can no longer see how that is possible. It is important to develop an understanding of and appreciation for the challenges these homeowners face. Doing so will allow you to deal with them in a way that promotes their receptiveness to your offer.
If you are an owner in a distressed situation, there is one thing you must remember; you are not a victim. There are things you can do to preserve your dignity and cut your losses. Your situation will get worse if you do nothing. It won't be a walk in the park, but it is best to tackle the situation head-on.
By dealing with the issues at hand, you can get out of your situation sooner and possibly with less stress. Best of all, you can move forward and get a fresh start right away. Selling will be far more forgiving in your immediate future than foreclosure or negative impacts to your credit and reputation. Keep in mind, the deeper into the mire you go, the fewer options you will have, and the less attractive those options will be. So act now!
1) Be clear on what your situation is and the options you have available.
2) Find help from resources you can trust.
3) Be proactive so you can capture the most attractive and beneficial solutions.
4) Follow through with a course of action.
If you seek out a real estate investor who can give you a quick cash sale, you might be surprised at the options available to you. It may be possible for you to save your home and stay in it. You might be able to sell and have money to move. At the very least, you will be able to rid yourself of the debt owed to your lender and walk away clear to start afresh.
When we buy houses, Buffalo homeowners find they can easily connect with our team. We take the time to find and contact them. We make ourselves stand out from their other options. It is important to convey that you can be trusted and are genuinely able to bring value to their situation. The goal is to make a sound business move while helping the property owner lessen the impact of their situation.
Make your interest clear and provide reasonable solutions. Be honest with them about the impact delaying a deal can make. Sometimes it is as easy as offering a fair price, other times they may need help moving so they can continue their life with dignity. The end game is creating an agreement that mutually benefits you both.


text:
Crescent Point Energy cuts 17% of workforce, plans to reduce debt by $1 billion
Crescent Point Energy Corp. says it plans to reduce its workforce by 17 per cent, sell some infrastructure assets and reduce its debt by more than $1 billion by the end of 2019.
The Calgary-based company says the workforce reduction will lower expenses by more than $50 million annually, but it didn't say how many people would be affected.
According to a regulatory filing, it had 1,085 permanent employees at the end of December, including 462 at its head office.
Crescent Point also confirmed Craig Bryksa is the new president and chief executive. He replaced long-time CEO Scott Saxberg on an interim basis in May.
"This restructuring is difficult, however we needed to adjust the organization to match our current business needs," Bryksa said in a statement.
"We are all focused on executing our transition plan and are excited about Crescent Point's future."
Cost saving at the top, too
The company said it will focus on its Viewfield, Shaunavon and Flat Lake resource plays and to continue advancing emerging and early-stage plays in the Uinta Basin and East Shale Duvernay areas.
It's also reviewing the sale of some infrastructure assets.
At Crescent Point's board of directors, Robert (Bob) Heinemann replaces Peter Bannister as chairman.
The appointments of a new chairman and CEO are part of a previously disclosed review of governance that began in late 2017.
Earlier this year, Crescent Point shareholders rejected a dissident slate of directors that was put forth by Cation Capital Inc., which had been critical of the company and its compensation policies.
The company said Wednesday that a recent restructuring of its executive team is expected to reduce annual compensation for the five current highest-paid executives by 20 per cent compared with 2017.


text:
Sticky Facts about Cream Honey
Why is my cream honey turning into dark liquid!
Cream honey, also known as whipped honey or spun honey differentiates itself from liquid honey with its spreadable, smooth and butter-like consistency.
Despite its popularity here, it is a much misunderstood honey type. Many people think that cream honey is a special type of honey harvested in a creamy form, without realizing that its most original form is actually liquid.
Creamed honey is made by blending granulated honey (or crystallized honey) and liquid honey and spinning the mixture. The more you spin it, the creamier and more stable it becomes. The color of honey also becomes more pale. The mixture is then stored at a low temperature to produce a firm and creamy texture. No emulsifiers are supposed to be used to thicken or harden the honey.
While the process of making creamed honey is not common knowledge amongst consumers, the fact that creaming honey actually goes beyond a rationale associated with palate preference is even harder for consumers to appreciate. Like buying groceries, buying honey is a pretty brainless activity. Constructing in the mind a scene of busy honeybees foraging amongst the blossoms, collecting nectar, and the beekeepers extracting honey from the dripping honeycombs when one is sending a blob of honey into the mouth is probably not so normal.
Merchant's overzealousness in marketing honey and boosting their sales doesn't help in promoting the correct understanding about cream honey. This label taken from a popular brand of cream honey (as shown on the left) that I found in the local supermarket shelves is a good example. It blatantly and erroneously suggests that cream honey is pure, unadulterated honey, and implies that liquid honey is not creamy because it has water added.
So, why cream honey? Almost all honey crystallizes, some while still in the comb, others within a few days, weeks or months after being extracted. There are a few exceptions, such as Tupelo honey which remains in the liquid state for years after being extracted.
Not only does crystallization make honey appear ugly and sugary, it gives a course and grainy sensation in the mouth that most consumers are unable to appreciate. Many consumers associate the granulated look and unpleasant texture with fake, poor quality honey or honey adulterated with white sugar. They have no idea that crystallization is a natural process of honey and will not compromise the quality honey in any way. It's hard for them to believe that sugary it may taste, it is still pure, natural good sugar from the bees! Hence, because certain varietals of honey rush to crystallize, manufacturers would heat up (pasteurize) their honey or cream the honey to slow down or prevent crystallization from happening.
The sticky issue with cream honey is that they don't do well in in low latitudes countries. For instance, the warm climate here in Singapore tends to affect creamed honey stored at room temperature and cause it to become unstable and turn it back into liquid honey overtime. (See above picture of a partially liquified creamed honey.) It is common to find imported creamed honey in the warehouse turning darker in color and part of it transforming into liquid form, forming a separate dark liquid on top of the bottle. Little do consumers realize that the heat here can affect the viscosity of creamed honey and that creamed honey returning back to its original form and color is a natural phenomenon which doesn't hurt honey quality at all.
End of "Sticky Facts about Cream Honey". Back to "Frequently Asked Information About Honey".


Welcome to Diamond Hill Brittanys! We hope your enjoy our site. Please feel free to contact us at lpodraza@aol.com or phone us at 908-963-7994.
Diamond Hill Brittanys was started in 2005 when successful Amateur handlers Paul Pollock and Lisa Podraza consolidated their kennels, knowledge and lives. They quickly went from four or five dogs each, to 17 Brittanys between them. Paul's dog "Dan" quickly became the cornerstone of their breeding program.
Paul began trialing in the early 90's with his first two Brittanys, Lady Maxeen's Maxie Minx, and FC/AFC Marjo's Dark Rum Ruffian. "Max" and "Artie" taught Paul a lot about field trialing. In 2003, Paul purchased Diamond Hill Dan from Lowell and Linda Starner and hooked up with professional trainer John Kline. Paul, with John's help, campaigned "Dan" to 15 American Field Championships and his second American Brittany Club National Championship.
Lisa began field trialing in 2000, shortly after the purchase of her first Brittany, Deuce is on the Loose. Lisa's background in dogs began in the early 80's. Working for a local foxhunting club for almost 20 years, she gained experience with hunting dogs and horses. Lisa finished Deuce's field championship when he was 3 years old. Doug Tighe of Hope's Kennels helped to finish Deuce in the show ring, making him a dual champion.
Paul and Lisa began training together, and after early retirement from both their jobs, they now travel the mid-west Brittany field trial circuit in the fall, and the east, southeast circuit in the spring. Their home base is Medford, New Jersey.
In 2010, Paul launched a new company, DHR Management. While Paul built the new company, Lisa continued to train and compete the dogs. As the company grew, Paul was able to find more time to get back to training and trialing. The eventual goal is to retire and travel together full time again!


text:
Q: Error While restoring DB2 db from AIX to AIX server? I am required to migrate 1 database  One AIX server to another AIX server.
To achieve, I took backup from 1 machine and followed below steps
1st Command I tried is as  following.
db2 restore db DBNAME FROM /home/LOCATION taken at 20130912184605 into DBNAME1 REDIRECT generate script DBNAME1.sql

Which generated 1 sql file. Then I tired to run below command.
db2 -tvf DBNAME1.sql

I am getting following error
UPDATE COMMAND OPTIONS USING S ON Z ON DBNAME_NODE0000.out V ON
DB21005E  An error occurred while accessing the file "DBNAME_NODE0000.out".

A: Z ON DBNAME_NODE0000.out instructs the DB2 command line processor to redirect all output to a file named DBNAME_NODE0000.out in the current directory. Apparently, you don't have permissions to create files in that directory.

A: If you have problems like this, just copy the number of the error and search for it in the information center. In your case, it says
The following could have caused the error:

*

*file permissions do not allow file access

*the file does not exist

When it comes to file permissions in AIX, you need to make sure that users of type "others" can access the file.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Watching Paycoin 3.5~ish (ION coin) fail and drown in the same way JG did. But faster!
Wasn't Mr. Coins his alter ego? I read that somewhere?
Seeing his face in the paper does make me happy btw. A little punishment, but by far not enough to compensate the millions he stole from newbies into bitcoin.
That was rad indeed, @suchmoon.
Let's go back!! Paul Revere style!
How about this Golden Oldie?
I'm amazed thats its taking this long. When is his court date scheduled?
Is that what he meant when he said this is my house? The slammer? Is he going to spray pink paint on the floor of the jail cell?
We need a Lack-of-Character Witness!
Did you ever see my post about the family friend of mine? This could be 2-3 years or more.
36. Garza and Fraser's relationship went beyond an ordinary business relationship.
If this lawsuit actually goes forward there are some interesting possibilities. Will Fraser and Cantor Fitzgerald try to settle quickly, or will they blow untold millions on very expensive lawyers, or will they throw Garza under the bus. At the very least they should get some unflattering media attention. Sadly the 9/11 charity fraud doesn't seem to have made it into the complaint.
"In reality, defendants sold far more Hashlets worth of computing power than they actually had in their computing centers."
Weird that the guy running those centers who was in best position to know this and/or point it out to help out the plaintiffs isn't one of the defendants.
Gotcha, yea I guess at the end of the day it might take a few years to finalize.


Abstract: The Berkeley Electronic Press and Engineering Conferences International announced the launch of an innovative new publication site - The Engineering Conferences International Symposium Series. The Series electronically publishes presented papers, peer-reviewed articles, and other materials such as presentations, data sets, and video files associated with ECI conferences.
May 5, 2004. The Berkeley Electronic Press and Engineering Conferences International (ECI) are pleased to announce the launch of an innovative new publication site - The Engineering Conferences International Symposium Series (see http://services.bepress.com/eci). The Series electronically publishes presented papers, peer-reviewed articles, and other materials such as presentations, data sets, and video files associated with ECI conferences.
Four conference proceedings, including one refereed volume, have been published to date. Each series contains a wealth of materials presented in association with recently held engineering conferences. Materials are approved by the meeting organizers, and the entire Series is overseen by coordinating editor Franco Berruti, Dean of Engineering at the University of Western Ontario. According to Dr. Berruti, "ECI conferences produce tremendously important research in both established and emerging engineering fields. Until now, papers from these meetings were difficult to find or slow to appear in the literature. The Engineering Conferences International Symposium Series provides a highly visible platform for this cutting edge research."
The Engineering Conferences International Symposium Series is a joint project of Engineering Conferences International and The Berkeley Electronic Press. It provides conference organizers with a highly visible, rapidly disseminated publication outlet for conference materials. Each conference has its own, branded site (with links back to past conference or to sponsoring bodies, for example) and can customize its policies (e.g., will materials be peer reviewed). ECI manages two dozen engineering conferences annually and is the premier organizer of meetings in this field. The Berkeley Electronic Press is a leader in the implementation of innovative academic e-publications, including born digital journals and institutional repositories. For more information concerning ECI, visit www.engconfintl.org. For more information on The Berkeley Electronic Press, visit www.bepress.com.


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Choose... ------------------ editorial RT50 Editoria:l Arts education ------------------ festivals The word on the Melbourne Festival ------------------ special features A thrilling sono-cranial re-wire A wild space Adapt, innovate and collaborate Art is a rigorous practice Managing multiple media More than skills and showreels New music, new realities Nice work if you can get it ------------------ performance Being, not performing Bodies at work Borderline Dangerous waters Improvising the future Sex worker sorrows Snuff Puppets rule! The Studio: onwards and upwards ------------------ dance Antistatic: all-in dance festival Choreographic design Dancing with time's arrow Eyes wide open Mysterious meetings Nightshift Pretty ugly ------------------ visual arts Featured Artist: Michael Riley Host bodies of the future RePRESENTING the REAL SEEN: Visual Arts VietPOP: a new generation speaks ------------------ sound/music Naturalised noir Substantial Echoes The power of compulsion Welcome Saariaho ------------------ onscreen - film An Australian blindspot? Disappearing the camera Godard: adult concepts? SEEN: Film SOON: Film The ferocious eye of Kim Ki-duk ------------------ onscreen - media art Digital Lab: new works in development Fusion: the body as screen Helyer's progress: fusing art and science Techgnosis, hypnosis, osmosis
VietPOP: a new generation speaks
Djon Mundine
Kevin Vo, Banner
Aboriginal art is really my expertise. I don't normally write on subjects such as this but I happened to stumble on a small exhibition, VietPOP, in outer southwestern Sydney, that inspired and positively moved me. Aboriginal art is art made by Aborigines but what was this? Simple affirmations, autobiography of powerful human experiences and vitality, yet from one of the most denigrated youth communities in Australia. Think Vietnamese, think drugs and violent crime. The refugee story, the story of a group of people who have really struggled to become Australian is rarely talked about or given a voice. Maybe it's the overbearing, fascist, political climate or my own tired state of mind from working in a decaying, surreal academic environment, but I felt I had to write about VietPOP.
The show, involving a curatorium of 7 young artists of Vietnamese heritage, was hung in the Liverpool Regional Museum, a small community cultural space that is a beehive of activity. The exhibition is alive with wit, colour, honesty and pathos. Though there are other Vietnamese artists exhibiting in Sydney (such as Dacchi Dang) this show is, I am told, one of the first (if not the first) to concentrate on young, emerging Vietnamese artists. It is this generation that articulates the changes in the way Australia constructs its ethnic and cultural identity at this moment. A special kind of tension hangs over the exhibition—the effervescent optimism of youth and yet the shyness of an uncertain ability to achieve their ambition. This is a responsibility felt by any serious new rising generation. We want to do the right thing, we want to succeed, we want to honour our parents and our past, we want to make our own statement, we want to determine our own future, we want to be ourselves. The artists are Cuong Phu Le, who is also a community arts officer working with the Vietnamese community, Thao Nguyen, Garry Trinh, Christina Ngo, Thuy Vy, Cat Tien Chuong, and Kevin Vo who collaborated with and provided a counterpoint to Sydney 2002 Biennale artist Jun Nguyen Hatsushiba. In fact Jun's own students who now are exhibiting themselves are to collaborate in the future with this south-west Sydney group.
Futures and memories. The exhibition appears to be divided into 2 parts that ambiguously, like the lives of the artists, reinforce and yet diverge from each other. The refugee experience is of course central to their lives. It should be remembered that the culture of the West is littered with such stories. The cinema classic Casablanca is a refugee story. A Vietnamese-Australian version has yet to appear. Artists were asked to bring something from their journey, usually a common object belonging to their parents, that had attained an almost sacred, iconic status. Displayed under glass these mundane things resonate equally with sorrow, hope, gratitude and other memories. The parable of the sarong of Thao Nguyen is particularly poignant. It speaks of the escape of her parents and herself as a child from Vietnam. How a Cambodian man they encountered, after selflessly guiding and caring for them to see them to safety of sorts in Thailand, leaves them without asking for payment and is lost to them for ever.
The inclusion of the international Vietnamese-Japanese star artist Jun Nguyen Hatsushiba is interesting. Apparently an email had been posted widely from this group about the time of the Biennale asking, among other things, "What does it mean to be Vietnamese?" It reached a member of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art staff who invited the 2 parties to meet. Jun took to working with this group of 'same but different' kin (there's an Aboriginal expression that says: we are the same essentially but definitely, in minor ways, different). Jun, it appears, has his own sense of responsibility and adventure.
Jun's life and those of the young artists in fact have meeting points. He was born in Vietnam of a Vietnamese father and a Japanese mother. His work often deals with the experience of being a refugee and of statelessness, and of being Vietnamese in the world, whether you are in Ho Chi Minh City, in Paris, in California or in western Sydney. Yet, what Jun shows is that having 2 cultures and 2 languages enables people to gain insights that they wouldn't normally. It's what is added, not what is lost.
The Vietnamese population in Sydney is the largest of any city in Australia and supports flourishing community organisations, religious groups, restaurants, shops and other businesses. Its presence is very much felt. Today there are over 180,000 Vietnamese-born people living in Australia and over 50,000 living in south-west Sydney alone. In 1975 there were only around 900. Of these more than half were babies waiting for adoption. The first refugees arriving in Sydney in 1975 after the unification of Vietnam, were 283 orphaned children who were adopted by families throughout the country. This experience is revealed in newspaper clippings, photographs and other memorabilia in the artwork of Indigo Williams who as a baby was adopted into a very white Australian family. She had also made contact through the same internet survey that led Jun to the group.
The exhibition, despite its seeming lightness, deals with deep issues, the often terrible refugee flight experience, diasporic alienation, of personal identity and acceptance [even if only by your own parents]. Cuong talks of the 'one and a half generation'—those born in Vietnam before their journey to Australia who have an experience, a memory of the country of their birth, but feel that they have to forge a new experience and a new sense of identity. There are also those who were too young to remember, and those born in Australia. A broad range of homeland experiences, memories and reconciliations exist. Kevin Vo's almost nostalgic but seemingly detached account of his return visit is different from that of Thao Nguyen who appears to visit Vietnam often.
In a world of dichotomies nothing speaks louder than the senses. Science now tells us that taste is 90% derived from smell, so it is no accident that odours, pleasant and unpleasant, account for some of our strongest, longest lasting, most evocative bonds to people and places. Vietnamese refugees have frequently commented on the sanitised odourlessness of the Australian city environment compared with Vietnam's rich mix of humidity, spice smells, cooking aromas, decaying vegetation and human life in action. Garry Trinh's playful logo work I love pho reminds us of the sinister, predatory nature of the globalised fast food industry. In Vietnam the ubiquitous and delicious local and economical pho (a type of noodle soup), though really a breakfast food, can seemingly be found anywhere, 24 hours a day.
In Australia, Aboriginal people describe how animals are at their peak and look their best when they are full of fat. For Vietnamese people the concept of personal image is intriguing. Contrary to Western notions of slim well-being, in Vietnam it is positive to be fat. Some appear to struggle with this in Australia: "All this can be yours. Cars, houses, rich husbands…Life's not fair, so make it fair", reads a beauty shop billboard in Thao and Garry's work. Notions of acceptable or desirable physical attributes and the ability to get ahead in the dominant culture have always had a life in minority cultures.
The exhibition gives these young artists a voice that isn't necessarily their parents'. Though not denying their past or their roots they are different from the previous generation who often see them as "mat goc" (lost roots) or 'the forgotten.' Thao Nguyen's video piece records conversations between her father and brother where they don't appear to be listening to each other. Through their voices, these artists reclaim their history in a positive critical reinterpretation that prepares it for generations to come.
Red. Yellow. Colours are read differently on the margins. In the north of Australia, Aboriginal people of mixed descent are sometimes referred to by other Aboriginal people derogatorily as 'yella-fellah', or as 'half a colour.' In Arnhem Land, these people, who in another context might be described as sophisticated or cosmopolitan, are referred to in Djambarrpuyngu language as "narrani", bush apple, red on the outside but white on the inside. Like the Asian banana, yellow on the outside but white on the inside. Most probably the appearance of Chinese migrants in the Northern Territory at the time of the gold rush is the source of this term. If an Englishman had Italian and French roots he would be seen as extremely cosmopolitan, intelligent, and be highly regarded. For the 'other' a mixture is always recorded by Western writers as a dilution, a loss and a person between 2 worlds, as never belonging to either—something white Australians and Europeans apparently never experience—they are never the 'other'. They never have to explain or define themselves. This is Kevin Vo's banana lamp. As Thao Nguyen explained at the opening of the exhibition:
When watching the cowboy movies and John Wayne films, in so many scenes they ask, 'Are you yella?'. Do you guys know what this means? The Chinese—Asian yellow skinned— migrated to America and Australia during the period of the gold rush and have been here for a long time. They became known for their submissive nature. 'Are you yella? Are you yellow? Are you submissive and lack courage and tenacity to rise up against me?' This is what it means…I don't want to be the next generation of submissiveness.
Ironically in Aboriginal Australia it was these 'yella fellas' who, though submissive for a time, came to be the most politically active in leading social change. This exhibition's participants are also emblematic of change.
What would Australia be without the Vietnamese presence manifest in places like the thriving, amazing market place of Cabramatta? And yet few non-Asian Australians have much contact with the Asian community. Why has it taken nearly 200 years for a contemporary Asian-Australian Art Gallery to appear? Amazingly, in Sydney, the present Gallery 4A's policy is to deal with inclusiveness which has a broader context. Although there is an emphasis on Asian-Australian artists, they are presented within a mainstream contemporary arts context. And yet this most important cultural centre struggles from a lack of core funding from key funding bodies.
This exhibition in the marginalised south-west of Sydney allows the work to speak to its own community. Largely invisible to the art establishment, the works give young Vietnamese people ideas for expression and being. Attended by over 300 people largely from the Vietnamese community on opening night the show was emotionally and warmly received. The centrepiece of the exhibition was a long banner by Kevin Vo in which each of the artists is portrayed, in political banner fashion, with their own affirmation. Aptly, Kevin Vo's Superman (it's hard to be) pop song digital projection, broadcast at full volume, made us aware of how the public act of producing such an exhibition transformed the artists into true Supermen.
VietPOP, Liverpool Regional Museum, tel 02 9602 0315, June 15-October 5.
RealTime issue #50 Aug-Sept 2002 pg. 16
© Djon Mundine; for permission to reproduce apply to realtime@realtimearts.net


"THE IDEA HAD BEEN GROWING IN MY BRAIN FOR SOME TIME: TRUE FORCE. ALL THE KING'S MEN CANNOT PUT IT BACK TOGETHER AGAIN"
Scorsese & De Niro at their best. A portrait of urban life that is dark, claustrophobic & brutally intense. Hero or Monster?
Mark McDevitt (one half of Methane Studios) has designed a poster honoring this 1976 classic.


When researching it was reckoned most sceners are wanting to develop some legacy effect database ; we on the other hand would also like to honor past sceners (inactive or dead) in the most factual and respectful fashion (heritage) : most likely your own "don't be evil" vision and dedication will find a third righteous way and we would simply agree to it.
-if possible (not as important), minimal knowledge of LAMP/WAMP framework.
Possibility to recruit co-admins after a trial period.
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