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Medialoper
We're Not Who You Think We Are
Certain Songs #63: Black Sabbath – "Symptom of the Universe"
December 31, 2014 by Jim Connelly
Album: Sabotage
While Paranoid is generally considered the greatest Black Sabbath album, and Master of Reality is often cited as the most inflential, my favorite Sabbath album has long been their 6th album, the eternally underrated Sabotage. And my favorite track on Sabotage – quite possibly my favorite Sabbath song ever – is "Symptom of the Universe."
Anchored by maybe the last of the classic early Iommi riffs (filled to the brim by Geezer Butler's bass, natch), "Symptom of the Universe" comes chugging out of the gate even faster than "Paranoid," with plenty of space for Bill Ward to remind contemporaries like Ian Paice (and warn newbies like Neal Peart) that he knows his way around a drum fill. And Ozzy has never sounded better as he's screaming "a symptom of the universe is written in your eyes!!"
Pure speed. Pure power. Pure Sabbath.
But then, after one of those Iommi guitar solos that sounds like angry hornets suddenly attacking from out of the sunshine – the song suddenly changes into an acoustic guitar jam not unlike the one at the end of the Rolling Stones "Can't You Hear Me Knocking." Nary an electric guitar is heard again, instead, it's 666 overdubbed acoustic Tony Iommis all playing off of each other
In no way, shape or form should this ending work after the proto thrash metal that started the song, and yet it does, working as a chill room for anybody overwhelmed by the first part of the song.
No speed. Hidden power. Pure Sabbath.
Video for "Symptom of the Universe"
My Certain Songs Spotify Playlist:
Every "Certain Song" Ever
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Black Sabbath, sabotage, Symptom of the Universe
Certain Songs #62: Black Sabbath – "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
Album: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
It's weird: I'm discovering that my favorite Black Sabbath songs are so ingrained in me, I'm having trouble figuring out what to say about them. Like for example, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath."
Do I point out that's one of their great multi-part songs? Do I walk you through how it starts with a typically doomy multi-part riff in the verses before dropping into an acoustic chorus? And that it features a relatively organic Iommi solo prior to becoming a completely different song? And that at the end, it changes again, with a nearly-psychedelic storm of guitars, some of which might even be backwards?
Or do I point out that because it was their fifth album in a little under 4 years, the strain is definitely beginning to show, especially on Ozzy's voice? So much so that you can practically see him straining to hit the notes he hears in his head when he sings "Whe-aaairrrr can you run to?"
Maybe I'll just I point out that it doesn't matter, because I simply love how Ozzy screams "You BASTARDS!!!!" just before Iommi's solo? For sure should point out that for nearly 40 years I've been playing this song just to hear Ozzy sing:
Sabbath, bloody sabbath
Nothing more to do
Living just for dying
Dying just for you
… which is followed by one last amazing Iommi riff that would power an entire song by a lesser band before jumping into that nearly-psychedelic coda?
Video for "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Certain Songs #61: Black Sabbath – "Paranoid"
Album: Paranoid
Contrary to popular mythology, it is my firm belief that Black Sabbath's overarching lyrical theme wasn't really Satan or whatever ( :: makes devil horns ::), but rather, mental health. Especially the type of mental health issues where the sufferer is continually worried about their sanity.
Since neither Ozzy (or Geezer Butler, who wrote a ton of the lyrics) could ever be mistaken for subtle, it's right there in song after song: "Fairies Wear Boots," "Am I Going Insane," "Megalomania," and of course, their most popular song, the actual world-wide hit single "Paranoid."
Anchored by a speedy, bass-filled repeating riff, with drummer Bill Ward heavying it up by lagging behind the beat, "Paranoid" is the musical and lyrical link between Led Zeppelin and the Ramones, and – unlike most great Black Sabbath songs – short, simple and to the point.
"Paranoid" performed in 1970
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: black sabbath paranoid
Certain Songs #60: Black Sabbath – "War Pigs"
At some point in the mid-1970s, I became friends with a guy who lived across the street from me. He was a few years older than me, already at Fresno State while I was just entering high school. And while he was a totally normal, short-haired accounting major who was incredibly athletic and never did drugs, he was also a total metal head. And by far and away, his favorite band was Black Sabbath.
And because of his influence, one of the earliest albums I ever purchased was the two-disc Sabbath compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll, which was a near-perfect (give or take a "Laguna Sunrise") cherry-picking from their first six albums and still a helluva introduction one of the greatest and most influential bands of the 1970s,
And if I was forced to distill Black Sabbath down to a single song (which I wouldn't recommend, of course), I would pick "War Pigs." Nearly everything that made them great is here: big doomy riffs chock full of Geezer Butler's world-filling bass; Bill Ward jazzily barreling himself through tricky multiple parts; Tony Iommi's guitar solos appearing from thin air; and of course, the eternally underrated Ozzy Osbourne, who somehow gets away with rhyming "masses" with "masses."
Unlike their contemporaries and competitors in Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, who left plenty of room even the studio for improvisation, Black Sabbath's best songs always felt well-thought out, with every note and beat in place, right down to the multiple overdubbed guitar solos.
"War Pigs" Performed Live at California Jam, 1974
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Black Sabbath, war pigs
Certain Songs #59: The Black Crowes – "Hotel Illness"
Album: The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion.
Mannnn, I hated the Black Crowes when they came out. Shake Your Moneymaker was a huge huge record in 1990, and its huge popularity vis-a-vis what I saw as its complete derivativeness (derivativity?) rubbed me the wrong way. They were being held up as the standard-bearer of rock & roll, and in my eyes, they clearly weren't, even in what was an admittedly down period.
Here's a typical drunken rant at a Sedan Delivery rehearsal that was caught on tape:
"But the thing I don't understand, I've seen two articles in the last week bringing up the Black Crowes as the Last Rock & Roll Band, and then dissing 'em!!! Because they know they SUCK! They know that in terms of advancing rock & roll, which any rock & roll band should try, at least try to do, because they're not doing anything new!! And that's the point! The point is that they're saying that this is IT!! This is the BEST that rock & roll can do!"
I didn't believe that then, of course — there was plenty of great rock & roll being made in 1990, and 1991 would prove to be my favorite year in music ever — but nearly a quarter-century later, with rock & roll essentially dead as a popular art form, the Black Crowes are still at it, and I now see the Robinson brothers as true believers doing what they love instead pretenders making a quick buck.
The long road from that initial contempt to at least a grudging respect started when — based upon some good reviews — I took a flyer and bought a used copy of The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion at Ragin' and felt the shock of recognition hearing the chord changes of "Hotel Illness."
It's just that simple: "Hotel Illness" targets my Rolling Stones' based pleasure center like Oliver Queen on a tear, and I can't imagine myself not liking a song like this And since one of my cardinal rules is that I even an artist I completely hate can make a song I completely love, I was forced to admit that maybe I was initially wrong about them.
The Black Crowes performing "Hotel Illness" in Houston, 1993
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: black crowes, hotel illness, southern harmony and musical companion
Certain Songs #58: The Tryfles – "Gloria (In Excelsis DEO)"
Album: A Midnight Christmas Mess.
This is my favorite Christmas song. Found only on an obscure Christmas compilation from a mid-1980s indie label, The Tryfles "Gloria (In Excelsis DEO) was both decades ahead of its time and a quintessential 1960s garage-rock jam.
Basically, it's what you kids would call a "mash-up." But rather than taking two existing recordings and using computer wizardry to join them together into a somewhat coherent whole, The Tryfles are playing the ancient hymn "Angels We Have Heard on High" (AKA "Gloria" ) at the same time as they are playing the modern spiritual "Gloria" by the Irish songwriter poet Van Morrison.
The results are SPECTACULAR.
There is absolutely nothing in the world like hearing "Angels We Have Heard On High" sung by an "angelic" choir over the familiar "Gloria" riff.
And the chorus is even better — a call-and-response between the garagey lead singer and the "angelic" choir.
Gloria! G-L-O-R-I-A
In excelsis Deo!
Naturally, I played the hell out of this on KFSR every Christmas, but was lost for to me for much of the 1990s. Luckily, the internet brought it back into my life a few years ago – a Christmas miracle! – and I'll be bugging people to hear it until the end of my days.
Fan-made video for "Gloria (In Excelsis DEO)"
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: gloria, hark the herald angels sing, midnight christmas mess, tryfles
Certain Songs #57: Vince Guaraldi Trio – "Linus and Lucy"
Album: A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The music geek in me – the guy who does research on every song he posts – wants you to know that this song predates 1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas, having been released in 1964 on a record called Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
Not to mention that "Linus and Lucy" has showed up in several other "Peanuts" special and is probably known more as "The Charlie Brown Theme" than its actual title. (So it's like the "Baba O'Riley" of the "Peanuts" universe.)
And finally, musically, "Linus and Lucy" has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of Christmas-oriented music in any way, shape or form. It's straight up piano J-A-Z-Z jazz, with maybe a bit of bossanova underneath Guaraldi's first solo.
However, the music lover in me – the guy who lives (barely) in the real world – knows that none of that matters. As far as the real world is concerned "Linus and Lucy" has been forever transmogrified into Christmas music. Over the years, it's even come to overshadow the obvious single "Christmas Time is Here Again" (which, ironically, became the music underpinning a running joke about sadness on Arrested Development.)
Oh, and it's my firm belief that that bluesy stop-time part that happens 35 seconds in (and never again in the actual song) is quite possibly the most beloved musical moment in all of history. Tough luck, Beethoven and The Beatles.
Fan-made video looping the "Charlie Brown Christmas Dance" set to "Linus & Lucy"
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: a charlie brown christmas, linus and lucy, schroeder, Vince Guaraldi
Certain Songs #56: Billy Bragg – "Ingrid Bergman"
Album: Mermaid Avenue
I know that the album is credited to "Billy Bragg & Wilco," but "Ingrid Bergman" is pure Billy Bragg. Well, musically & vocally. Lyrically, of course, it's pure Woody Guthrie.
And out of all of the myth-deconstructing that came out of the Mermaid Avenue albums, the absolute best of all was that this remote and legendary figure – the guy who inspired Bob Dylan, inscribed "This machine kills fascists" on his guitar like a proto punk, and wrote the best of our alternate national anthems – once wrote lyrics about how much he wanted to fuck a popular film star.
Ingrid Bergman, you're so perty
You'd make any mountain quiver
You'd make fire fly from the crater
This old mountain it's been waiting
All its life for you to work it
For your hand to touch its hard rock
The inspiration for this song (and the source of the double-entendres that fuel it) was the affair that Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rosselini had while making the film Stromboli on the island of Stromboli. And I guess when they got together, it was a scandal, but with the perspective of hindsight, how could anything that produced Isabella Rosselini possibly be bad?
Fan-made video for "Ingrid Bergman"
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Billy Bragg, ingrid bergman
Certain Songs #55: Billy Bragg – "Walk Away Renee (Version)"
B-side, 1986.
One of the B-sides of the 12" of "Levi Stubbs' Tears" I bought in 1986, Billy Bragg's version of "Walk Away Renee" is a basically a spoken-word-with-guitar piece about a short relationship.
It begins with a great, sad joke:
She said, "It was just a figment of speech."
And I said, "you mean 'figure.'"
And she said, "no, ':figment,'" because she could never imagine it happening.
And the rest of the song is Billy describing the entire arc of the relationship while Johnny Marr plays an exquisite instrumental version of "Walk Away Renee" on acoustic guitar.
At one point, there's a great pun on "eligible" & "illegible" that's impossible to put into words, and at the end, Billy moves on.
It's positioned as a b-side throwaway cover, but it completely resonated with me in 1986. In its own small way, I think it's as moving and profound as anything he's ever written, including the classic A-side.
Fan-made video for "Walk Away Renee"
Every "Certain Song" Ever
Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Billy Bragg, Johnny Marr, walk away renee
Certain Songs #54: Billy Bragg – "Levi Stubbs' Tears"
Album: Talking With The Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg has always been pigeonholed as "that political guy," but from the very start, he's also written great songs about the lives of ordinary people. And his absolute peak was the utterly sublime "Levi Stubbs' Tears," one of my top 5 singles of the 1980s, and quite possibly the greatest song ever written about the healing power of music.
Like the vast majority of early Billy Bragg songs, it starts off with just Billy and his electric guitar, and in this case, he's singing a defcon 5 level of sad about a woman who'd made all of the wrong choices in her life:
She ran away from home with her mother's best coat
She was married before she was even entitled to vote
And her husband was one of those blokes
The sort that only laughs at his own jokes
The sort that war takes away
And when there wasn't a war he left anyway
But like all of us, she found solace in the music, so when things were utter shit, she put on a tape of The Replacements R.E.M. U2 The Four Tops, and maybe felt a little better for awhile. So with just a couple of guitar chords behind him, Billy explains how a great song remains a great song no matter the circumstances under which you're hearing it.
When the world falls apart
Some things stay in place
Levi Stubbs' tears run down his face
Like, like, like I can remember actual specific incidents where I was in a terrible place, and the right music the right time made me feel better. There was a period in late 1985 where I didn't even wanna get out of bed in the morning without having listened to The Unforgettable Fire and/or Tim and/or Fables of The Reconstruction of the Fables.
It's like Pete Townshend said: "Rock & roll might not solve all your problems, but it does let you dance all over them." That's what Billy Bragg is tapping into here, and it's beautiful and powerful and sad all at the same time.
In the bridge, Bragg breaks from his sad story and makes it explicit:
Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Are here to make right everything that's wrong
Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too
Are here to make it all okay with you
In the end, living alone in the mobile home she bought with the money from her "accident," she puts away her Four Tops tape, as if things are now so bad that even music can't help. Though as the mournful tear-making trumpet comes in, I'd like to think that she immediately grabs a Temptations tape …
Billy Bragg performing "Levi Stubbs' Tears"
The Certain Songs Database
A filterable, searchable & sortable somewhat up to date database with links to every "Certain Song" post I've ever written.
Certain Songs Spotify playlist
(It's recommended that you listen to this on Spotify as their embed only has 200 songs.)
Support "Certain Songs" with a donation on Patreon
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Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: barrett strong, Bily Bragg, Levi Stubbs Tears, Norman whitfield
Previously on Medialoper
Certain Songs #2006: Rod Stewart – "You Wear It Well"
Certain Songs #2005: Rod Stewart – "Italian Girls"
Certain Songs #2004: Rod Stewart – "Lost Paraguayos"
Certain Songs #2003: Rod Stewart – "(I Know) I'm Losing You"
Certain Songs #2002: Rod Stewart – "Mandolin Wind"
Copyright © 2021 · Medialoper


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Olympic Qualifiers: Croatia Tops Romania in Game One (16:6)
February 14, 2021 - Croatia tops Romania in game one of the Olympic qualifiers in Rotterdam, Netherlands (16:6).
The Croatia water polo team began the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games on Sunday in Rotterdam, Netherlands, against Romania.
Of the 12 national teams, only the three first-place teams will secure a spot in Tokyo. Ivica Tucak's side has a hard fight ahead of them, and their first opponent in Group B was Romania.
Croatia led the first quarter 5:1, the second quarter 3:1, the third quarter 4:2, and the fourth quarter 4:2 to win the first game of the group stage 16:6.
The most efficient player for Croatia was Rino Burić with three goals, Marko Macan, Loren Fatović, Luka Lončar, Maro Joković, and Lovre Miloš added two goals each, while Tudor-Andrei Fulea and Vlad-Luca Georgescu scored two goals each for Romania.
Croatia is in Group B with Germany, Russia, Romania, the Netherlands, while the national teams of Greece, Montenegro, Brazil, Canada, Georgia, and Turkey play in Group A.
After the opening against Romania, Croatia plays against the Netherlands (Monday, February 15, at 7 pm), France (Tuesday, February 16, at 8:30 pm), Russia (Wednesday, February 17, at 2:30 pm), and Germany (Thursday, February 18, at 8:30 pm.).
In the earlier match on Sunday, the Netherlands defeated Germany with a final score of 11:10.
Following the group stage, the quarterfinal stage will commence on Friday, February 19, in which the four best teams from each group will meet. The pairs will be determined by their positions in the standings (A1 - B4, A2 - B3, A3 - B2, and A4 - B1).
The four winning teams will play in the semifinals on February 20. The finalists of the qualifying tournament, as well as the national team that wins the match for third place on February 21, will qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which are scheduled from July 24 to August 8, 2021.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Croatia Women's Handball Team Writes History with Euros Victory against Romania!
December 10, 2020 - The Croatia women's handball team defeated Romania in the second round of the European Championship on Thursday, bringing them one step closer to the semifinals.
The Croatia women's handball team began the second round of the European Championship against Romania in Kolding, Denmark on Tuesday after three incredible victories in the group stage against Hungary, the Netherlands, and Serbia.
While Croatia was behind for the first 20 minutes of the match, they equalized at 8:8 in the 21st minute and only went up from there. By the 27th minute, it was 12:9 for Croatia, and the first half ended with them up by 4 (14:10)!
Croatia's momentum continued in the second half, with brilliant saves by Tea Pijevic in goal. It was 15:11 for Croatia in the 34th minute, and 17:12 just three minutes later! In the 41st minute, Croatia still had a 5-goal advantage - and in the 44th minute, it was 19:15.
Romania reduced their lead to 19:17 in the 48th minute, forcing Croatia to call a timeout.
A goal moments later put Croatia back up to +3, and with just over 10 minutes to go, it was crucial for the girls to hold onto this advantage.
In the 52nd minute, it was 21:17 for Croatia, and in the 54th minute, 22:18. Tea Pijevic was stellar in goal with another save in the 56th minute, and with three minutes to go, it was 23:19 for Croatia. A five-goal advantage for Croatia with two minutes to go nearly sealed their victory, though they remained solid in the defense to avoid a dramatic finish.
With less than one minute to go, Romania's final attack failed. Croatia scored the final goal of the match for the 25:20 victory!
With this victory, Croatia writes another beautiful page in handball history, because they have never achieved four consecutive wins at the European Championship. Croatian had never defeated Romania at the European Championships either, and in four games played before this, Romania won each time.
Romania is a national team with an extremely rich tradition and three world champion titles, though it was a long time ago - in 1956, 1960, and 1962. They also have two silver medals from the World Championship. Romania's last medals were won in Denmark - bronze from the European Championship in 2010 (then Norway was also a co-host) and bronze from the World Championship in 2015.
To read more about Croatia handball, follow the official website of the Croatian Handball Federation.
FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: After Romania Defeat, Skelin Offers New Lineup Against Netherlands
Last weekend in Zadar, the Croatia men's basketball team suffered a shocking defeat against Romania in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. Tonight, Ivica Skelin's team welcomes the Netherlands.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Global 5G Connections Are Growing Rapidly
5G connections surge 67% in North America
Global 5G Connections Reach 429 M in Q2 2021: up 41% from Q1
182 5G Commercial Networks Deployed Worldwide
BELLEVUE, Wash. – September 22, 2021 – Subscriber adoption of the fifth generation of wireless ("5G") has increased significantly, as global wireless 5G connections for the second quarter of 2021 reached 429 million, according to data from Omdia, said 5G Americas, the wireless industry trade association and voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas.
Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas said, "5G is progressing at a very rapid pace. Yet, the pace of subscriber uptake is only the beginning. 5G will be foundational for a new era of technology innovation throughout the world."
According to Omdia, the world added 124 million 5G connections between Q1 and Q2 of 2021, increasing 41% from 305 million to 429 million. 5G remains on pace to triple the number of connections in 2020 and is forecast to reach 692 million globally by the end of the calendar year.
Additionally, ten 5G commercial networks went live globally in Q2 2021, bringing the global total up to 182 networks, according to data from TeleGeography. That number is expected to reach 220 by the end of 2021 and 323 by the end of 2023.
Forward projections for 5G and 4G LTE from Omdia remain healthy, with estimates of global 5G connections reaching 4.7 billion in 2026. Of that, 512 million is expected to come from North America and 277 million in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Omdia principal analyst Kristin Paulin said, "There are several factors that are driving 5G uptake in North America, including growing 5G coverage, no 5G service plan differentiation, 5G device promotions, and the beginning of bundled-in 5G-rich content."
By region, Omdia data indicates North America had a total of 44.6 million 5G connections by the end of Q2 2021, which is an addition of 17.9 million 5G connections and 67 percent quarter over quarter growth. Additionally, it had 501 million LTE connections by the end of Q2 2021, which marks a 0.66 percent quarterly decline in LTE.
In its first year of commercial availability in Latin America and the Caribbean, 5G connections reached 15,706, which includes 11,655 new additions in the past year. LTE remains the dominant wireless cellular technology in the sub-region with 454.8 million connections, an addition of 71 million new LTE subscriptions year over year, representing 18.4 percent annual growth.
According to Jose Otero, Vice President of Caribbean and Latin America for 5G Americas, "The ongoing geographic expansion of enhanced mobile broadband networks together with the wider availability of handsets supporting this technology is driving 4G adoption in markets such as Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. However, at the other end of the spectrum, 2G and 3G continue to lose subscribers as operators start planning their disconnection and prepare for the impending mass-market demand of 5G services, expected to start in 2024."
In summary, 5G and 4G LTE network deployments as of September 2021, according to TeleGeography and 5G Americas:
North America: 10
Caribbean and Latin America: 15
4G LTE:
Caribbean and Latin America: 127
5G and 4G LTE connections as of Q2 2021, according to data from Omdia:
Global: 429 M
North America: 44.6M
Caribbean and Latin America: 15.7 K
Global: 6.4 B
North America: 501 M
Caribbean and Latin America: 454.8 M
Visit www.5GAmericas.org for more information, statistical charts, and a list of LTE and 5G deployments by operator and region. Subscriber and forecast data is provided by Omdia and deployment data by TeleGeography (GlobalComm).
About 5G Americas: The Voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas
5G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to facilitate and advocate for the advancement and transformation of LTE, 5G and beyond throughout the Americas. 5G Americas is invested in developing a connected wireless community while leading 5G development for all the Americas. 5G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. More information is available at 5G Americas' website and Twitter.
5G Americas' Board of Governors Members include Airspan Networks Inc., AT&T, Ciena, Cisco, Crown Castle, Ericsson, Intel, Liberty Latin America, Mavenir, Nokia, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung, Shaw Communications Inc., T-Mobile US, Inc., Telefónica, VMware, and WOM.
5G Americas
Viet Nguyen
Viet.Nguyen@5GAmericas.org


Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Lords and the House of Commons to be printed 26 July 2007.
"In accordance with the law"


U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks before signing S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, And Consumer Protection Act, with administration officials and members of Congress in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, May 24, 2018. The House Tuesday voted 258-to-159 to send Trump the most significant overhaul of banking oversight to become law since Dodd-Frank was enacted in 2010.
Trump has been trying to strike a delicate balance in U.S. relations with China, and until now has blown hot and cold on trade. He adopted the tough stance he promised voters while blaming the $375 billion goods trade deficit on former U.S. Presidents rather than on Beijing. Trump would love to have warmer relations with China, just as he would with Russia. Trump has praised Xi just as he's repeatedly saluted Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Yet, as with Russia, a variety of actors in Washington have made it tough for Trump to build the China ties he wants. Trump pledged to save ZTE, a large Chinese telecom-equipment maker banned from purchasing U.S. technology for violating sanctions, as an apparent favor to Xi, but was attacked by lawmakers of both parties. Many fear that Trump fails to see the threat that Chinese tech companies like ZTE and Huawei pose to U.S. national security. Meanwhile, some American companies fear that U.S. trade action will make it tougher for them to do business in China. Trump's own advisers are divided on how to proceed.
Now the voices preaching confrontation with China appear to have won out. Neither side wants a full-blown trade war, but each believes it has a strong negotiating position. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will travel to Beijing for talks on June 2, but it's hard to see how Trump can claim victory without Chinese concessions on tech issues, and it's nearly impossible that Xi will offer him anything of value. This is where the risk of real conflict is most dangerous.


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Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library
Ohio Authors
Ohio Literary Map
Letters About Literature
Ohio Poetry Out Loud
Thomas, Lowell
Mikey Haverman July 1, 2017 July 1, 2017
Woodington
Born: April 6, 1892
Ohio connection: Birth
Lowell Thomas, son of Harry George and Harriet (Wagner) Thomas, was born in 1892 in Woodington, Ohio. He received a B.S. from the University of Northern Indiana in 1911, an M.A. from the University of Denver in 1912, and an M.A. from Princeton University in 1916. He married Frances Ryan in 1917, and they had one child, Lowell Jackson, Jr. After the death of his wife in 1975, Thomas married Mariana Munn in 1977. Thomas began his career as a reporter with newspapers in Cripple Creek and Denver, Colorado, 1911-12. From 1912 until 1914, he was a reporter for several newspapers in Illinois, including the Chicago Journal. He was also an instructor in oratory at Kent College of Law in Chicago during that time. In 1915, he began lecturing on travel, which he did until his death in 1981. In 1930, he began a nightly network radio news broadcast, which was on CBS, 1930-32; NBC, 1932-47; and again on CBS, 1947-76. He also hosted a television series, High Adventures, from 1957 until 1959. He was the producer of a television series for BBC, The World of Lowell Thomas. Thomas was also a prolific author, with many of his books centering around his worldwide travels. Some of his titles are With Lawrence in Arabia; Beyond Khyber Pass; European Skyways: The Story of a Tour of Europe by Airplane; Kabluk of the Eskimos; The Untold Story of Exploration; Seeing Canada with Lowell Thomas; Seeing India with Lowell Thomas; Seeing Japan with Lowell Thomas; How to Keep Mentally Fit; Stand Fast for Freedom; History as You Heard It; and So Long Until Tomorrow: From Quaker Hill to Kathmandu. After a long and distinguished career as an explorer, producer, educator, lecturer, editor, author and journalist, Lowell Thomas died August 29, 1981, in Pawling, New York.
DuPont radio award, 1945, for best news broadcasting; Chauncey M. Depew Medal, Sons of the American Revolution, 1964; Distinguished Service award, National Association of Broadcasters, 1968; Personality of the Year award, International Radio and Television Society, 1968; Horatio Alger award, 1970; George Washington Award, Freedoms Foundation, 1978; Chevalier of French Legion of Honor. Litt.D. from Grove City College, 1933, St. Bonaventure University, 1938, Franklin and Marshall College, 1942, Rider College, 1948, and Ohio Wesleyan University, 1949; LL.D from Albright College, 1934, Lafayette College, 1937, Washington and Jefferson College, 1942, and Olivet College, 1950; L.H.D. from Clark University, 1941, Boston University, 1943, Union College, 1944, and University of Tampa, 1949; H.H.D. from Temple University, 1942.
Categories Fiction, Literature, Southwest
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Peru is one of the most popular countries to travel around in South America.
Travelers spend months backpacking Peru. People flock here to hike the Inca Trail and see Machu Picchu. Vacationers devour their way through the incredible food scene of Lima.
But, while those areas of the country get the most attention, the entire country is incredible and has a ton of things to see and do.
Come explore the jungles, see the Amazon, head to Lake Titicaca, or to the beaches in the north. Learn about the local indigenous culture, try the coca tea, and practice your Spanish. Eat your way through Lima!
There is a lot to do when you travel in Peru.
You can easily spend a month or more here!
Thankfully traveling around Peru is also very inexpensive. You don't need a lot of money to visit here (even if you do the Inca trail). You get a lot of bang for your buck whether you backpack Peru or just come for a two-week trip!
Use this travel guide to plan your next trip to Peru and get the low down on what to do, my suggestions on where to stay, how to save money, and much more!
This legendary "lost city of the Incas" is one of the most-visited tourist attractions in all of South America. Aqueducts, granite and limestone temples and other forms of Inca architecture are all beautifully preserved at this essential tourist attraction. You can get here by the Inca Trail (see below) or by taking the train.
Lima is a chaotic and beautiful introduction to the country. Visit the Larco Museum to see its pre-Colombian artifacts, the Aliaga House for Peruvian art and artifacts, Plaza Mayor for colonial beauty. At night, and head to the Barranco district for the hottest parties.
The Nasca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs that dominate the San José desert and Nasca Valley. There are over 10,000 lines and 300 different plant and animal figures depicted. No one really knows how they got there (maybe aliens?). The best way to view the lines is by a helicopter or plane tour which costs around 340 PEN ($102 USD).
This lake covers over 3,000 square miles and sits at 12,500 feet above sea level and as such is considered the world's largest high altitude lake. The towns surrounding the lake are tourist friendly and a mix of colonial architecture and bustling markets, while the islands dotted around the lake are largely off the radar for most travelers.
Colca Canyon is the deepest canyon in the world and is thought to be twice as deep as the Grand Canyon at certain parts. This is a great place to spot Andean condors, and unlike the Grand Canyon, Colca is habitable. A trip here isn't complete unless you visit one of the small agricultural villages for a taste of daily life.
Getting to Machu Picchu is best via the famed Inca Trail. This multi-day 26-mile (43 kilometer) hike allows you to see the mountains, jungles, and follow the route the Incas used to take. It is a truly spectacular hike, but it is certainly challenging and you may suffer from altitude sickness. There are two ways to do this hike: you can sign up to be part of an organized tour, or you can hire your own private guide. You cannot hike the trail independently. Tours start around 2,165 PEN ($650 USD). Recommended companies are listed at the end of the page!
The Floating Islands of the Uros may sound like an Indiana Jones title but it is actually the name of the group of handmade islands in Lake Titicaca. The Islands are home to the indigenous Uros people who have built their own houses, islands and boats from the tortora reeds which grow along the banks of the lake. This is an extremely touristy site and is a bit exploited as such, so it's not for everyone.
Seafood, watersports, horse riding and relaxation are the order of the day at this popular beach resort. Máncora is one of the finest beaches in South America and its year-round sunshine and huge waves also makes it Peru's surfing Mecca. Prices here can be expensive December to March so it's best to book in advance.
Batán Grande is an archaeological site comprised of 50 pyramids and tombs, which are thought to date back to between 100-1000 AD. This site was once the Sicán capital and has had its fair share of impressive pre-Columbian artifacts recovered over the years – for example, a gold Tumi weighing almost seven pounds which was recovered from one of the royal tombs.
This colonial city is a major tourist destination and sits on Inca-built stone foundations not far from Peru's major attraction of Machu Picchu. The area is popular with trail walkers, history lovers, and party-goers who come to enjoy the city's many colorful festivals. Cuzco is the undisputed archaeological capital of the Americas and an essential part of your trip to Peru.
Accessible only by boat or plane, jungle-locked Iquitos is the largest city within the Peruvian rainforest. The city sits at the mouth of the Amazon and so is the perfect destination for fans of eco-tourism. The nearby Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is Peru's largest Reverse and at two million hectares, it is home to a huge range of nearly 1000 birds, mammals, fish and reptiles.
This little town is a desert oasis and a welcome relief after hiking through Machu Picchu. It's very affordable for travelers looking to relax and are running out of funds. Hostels offer great deals for sandboarding and sandbuggies around the dunes that surround this idyllic town. Sandboarding costs about 50 PEN ($15 USD) and you don´t have to book in advance. There is also a lagoon surrounded by palm trees here too. You can rent a rowboat to go around. A half hour trip costs around 5 PEN ($1.50) per person.
Paracas is in the south of Peru, and is sometimes called the "Poor Man's Galapagos" for its impressive wildlife: thousands of birds, as well as large sea lion and penguin populations live along the water. You can visit the Paracas National Reserve via an organized boat tour. Be sure to go early (around 8 am). A full day organized tour of Paracas includes a boat trip to the Islas Ballestas and a bus trip around the national reserve in the afternoon. It cost about 115 PEN ($34 USD).
Arequipa is a beautiful city with a historical centre that was constructed primarily from volcanic ash from the nearby volcanoes. Come to visit the gorgeous Santa Catalina Monastery, see a frozen Inca mummy, or just to take in the city's architecture over a glass of wine in the main square.
Not to be confused with Juarez in Mexico, Peru's Huaraz is a great (and perfectly safe) destination for adventure-seekers. The mountains here are stunning, and there are fantastic multi-day trek options for those looking for some outdoor activity.
This park in downtown Lima has a beautiful water fountain and is open from 3-10:30 pm, Tuesday-Sunday. There's an amazing light show at night too! It costs 4 PEN ($1.20 USD) to get into. You'll find a lot of events hosted here and it's a popular place with dog owners.
This region lies in the Andean mountains and is home to the Chachapoya civilization that lived there between 500 and 1432. Today, you can visit Kuelap, the fortified city at known as "The Machu Picchu of the North". Be sure to also visit Gocta, a beautiful waterfall that is one of the highest in the world. You can get there by taking a tour from Chachapoyas.
Head to Trujillo, the second oldest Spanish city in Peru. While here, visit the archaeological site of Chan Chan, the world's biggest adobe city ever built. It was built by the Chimu civilization that live before the Incas from 850 and 1534. Be sure to also visit Huanchaco, a small fishing town directly on the beach.
Accommodation – You can find hostel dorm rooms as low as 24 PEN ($7 USD) per night, although most are in the 40-50 PEN ($12-15 USD) range. Expect to pay 70-150 PEN ($21-45 USD) per night for a private room that sleeps two. A night in a 2-star budget hotel with the basic amenities in Peru starts around 40 PEN ($12 USD). On Airbnb, you can find shared rooms starting around 38 PEN ($11 USD) and entire homes starting at 135 PEN ($40 USD) per night.
Food – You'll find a wide range of food across Peru, with different specialties in each region. Street stalls and markets have very cheap food (3-6 PEN/$1-2 USD). A cheap sit-down restaurant, meal with local dishes will cost between 12-20 PEN ($4-6 USD). For a Western meal in an average restaurant, you will pay 32-48 PEN ($10-15 USD) in Lima and Cusco. Outside the big cities, you can usually find a set meal for about 10 PEN ($3 USD). If you plan on cooking, expect to pay 150 PEN ($45 USD) per week for groceries that will include pasta, vegetables, chicken, and other basic foods.
However, given how cheap food is here, it's best to just eat out all the time. Buy snacks and fruit at the markets but eat out all your other meals.
Activities – Trips to archaeological sites are likely to be your biggest expense with a day trip to Machu Picchu costing around 190 PEN ($56 USD), a Nasca Lines helicopter tour at 340 PEN ($102 USD), and multi-day trips up the Inca Trail cost hundreds of dollars per day! However, entrances to museums are pretty cheap at under 38 PEN ($11 USD).
On a backpacker's budget, you will spend between 100-170 PEN ($30-50 USD) assuming you're staying in a hostel dorm, eating at cheaper local restaurants and markets, and using local transportation. You will get a few activities like museum admissions on this budget as well. If you're going to hike the Inca Trail or drink a lot, you'll be on the higher end of this spectrum – and maybe even over!
On a mid-range budget of 420-505 PEN ($125-150 USD) per day, you can afford a private room at a hostel/cheap Airbnb/hotel, eat anywhere you want within reason, take intercity buses for longer journeys, take an occasional taxi, any tours, and afford the Inca Trail tours!
For a luxury budget of 960 PEN ($265+ USD) per day, you can stay in nice hotels, fly between cities (like Lima to Cusco), eat out at the nicest restaurants, and enjoy more expensive activities like flying over the Nasca Lines. With this budget, the sky is the limit!
Stay at hospedajes – These are family run hotels and are the cheapest accommodation you can find outside of hostel dorms. Try to stay in these as often as possible.
Take public transportation – Lima's new intra-city buses is definitely a great alternative to taxis, especially if you're staying in the beautiful tourist suburb of Miraflores. It's easy to access and will get to downtown museums quickly.
Eat the meal of the day – These are set meals and are a bit like the 'meal of the day', which you can get for 9 PEN ($3 USD).
Travel off-season – For a low-cost trip, the best times to visit Peru are the fringe months of April and May or September and October.
Take the collectivos – These are cheap buses. They cost around 1-2 PEN ($0.30-0.60 USD) for a ride. They are a bit confusing, but there is always a door person (usually a young man) whom you can quickly ask if the bus is going to your location. There are not always marked bus stops, so look for gathering crowds.
Book tours last minute – If you are looking to do the Inca Trail and have a bit of extra time to wait for a deal, showing up in Cusco or booking a last minute tour can save you lots of money. Booking months in advance gets you the premium price but wait and you'll find your patience rewarded. I wouldn't recommend trying to get on that one last-minute if you have your heart set on doing it.
Go on a free walking tour – This is a great way to learn the history behind the places you are seeing and to avoid missing any must-see stops. Free Walking Tour Peru has tours that can guide you around both Lima and Cusco.
Save money on rideshares – Uber is way cheaper than taxis and are the best way to get around a city if you don't want to wait for a bus or pay for a taxi. The Uber Pool option is where can you share a ride to get even better savings (though you can get your own car too). Currently, Uber is available in Lima, Cusco, and Arequipa. You can save $15 off your first Uber ride with this code: jlx6v.
Transportation – Lima has brand-new, clean intra-city buses. These buses are safeish (petty theft is common) and cost 0.50-3 PEN ($0.15-1 USD) per trip. Microbuses (colectivos) run as well, and prices vary depending on the distance, but will always cost less than 2.50 PEN ($0.75 USD). They are a bit hectic and take some getting used to.
A taxi around Lima should cost no more than 50-70 PEN ($15-21 USD). Uber, the taxi alternative, operates in two cities in Peru: Arequipa and Lima.
Buses – Buses will take you all over Peru and the usual price for a 10-hour bus journey is around 40 PEN ($12 USD) depending on how nice the bus company is. You can use Cruz del Sur to look up bus schedules and prices. Keep in mind that any journey through the mountains will be a slow ride! From Lima to Cusco takes over 21 hours and will cost you 185 PEN ($55 USD).
Peru Hop is another reliable, comfortable bus company designed for backpackers. Three-day journeys from Lima to Cusco start from 535 PEN ($159 USD), while 10 days in Southern Peru cost 670 PEN ($199 USD). This bus is a hop on/hop off service you can take around the country.
Air – Peru has five international airports in Lima, Arequipa, Cuzco, Iquitos, and Piura), as well as 18 other airports with domestic service. LATAM, Avianca, and Star Peru are the most reputable domestic airlines.
Flying between destinations isn't always cheapest option, but it'll certainly get you around a whole lot quicker. A flight from Peru to Cusco for example will take you just over an hour (as opposed to the 21+ hours by bus) and prices start around 118 PEN ($35 USD) – in this case, cheaper than the bus. Lima to Arequipa starts around 255 PEN ($75 USD). You may see a significant price increase in the peak season though.
NOTE: Most of the airlines offer discounted fares for Peruvian nationals, so make sure you're purchasing the right ticket. Otherwise, you'll have to pay the difference.
Train – Like the rest of South America, the rail system in Peru basically non-exisitent. There are nice tourist options though, like PeruRail and Inca Rail, which both run trains between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu Pueblo (the gateway to Machu Picchu). On PeruRail, tickets start from $54, while Inca Rail starts from around $60 USD). Inca Rail also runs between Cusco and Machu Picchu Pueblo with tickets starting around 235 PEN ($70 USD).
From Lima there's just one train: the Ferrocaril Central Andino, the world's highest passenger train which travels across the Andes to Cerro de Pasco and Huancayo. One-way fare starts from 255 PEN ($75 USD). However, service is limited – sometimes the train only runs once a month.
Hitchhike — Do not hitchhike in Peru.
Peru has just two seasons: wet and dry. May through October is the dry season, while November through April is the rainy season. The wettest months are from January to the end of April. This isn't a great time to visit Peru – at least, not in the mountain areas, where roads and hiking trails may become blocked or closed.
Most people come to Peru from the beginning of May to the end of November, with July and August being the busiest months. May and September are really great months to visit, as tourism slows down slightly but temperatures are still pleasant. If you want to spend more time in the mountains, June to September has clear, sunny days (but chilly nights). This is a good time to trek the Inca Trail. It's also the best time to visit the Amazon Basin, when mosquitos are fewer.
Temperatures on the desert coast can get as high as 77°F-95°F (25°C-35°C) from December to April, while temperatures cool off from May-October. In the highlands from May-October, you can expect temperatures to reach 68°F-77°F (20°C-25°C).
Peru is pretty safe place to backpack and travel around. Your biggest worry will be petty theft. Petty theft is rampant throughout the country. Don't flaunt expensive jewellery or belongings around. Don't take your phone out. Watch your stuff at all times! Lock your bags on overnight buses. It's easy to get mugged if you aren't careful, especially at night.
Furthermore, don't engage in drug activity. If the authorities suspect you've had even the slightest interaction with drugs, you may be mistreated by corrupt officers. Be a smart traveler.
If you don't do it at home, don't do it when you're in Peru. Follow that rule and you'll be fine.
These are my favorite companies to use when I travel to Peru. They are included here because they consistently find deals, offer world-class customer service and great value, and overall, are better than their competitors. They are the ones I use the most and are always the starting points in my search for travel deals.
Intrepid Travel – If you want to do a group tour around Peru, go with Intrepid Travel. They offer good small group tours that use local operators and leave a small environmental footprint. If you go on a tour with anyone, go with them. And, as a reader of this site, you'll get exclusive discounts when you click the link!
If you're heading to Peru, in this section, I'll give you my suggestion for the best travel backpack and tips on what to pack.
What's the best backpack for traveling around Peru? I recommend the REI Flash 45 Pack. It's light and comfy, front loading, and fits perfectly in an airplane's overhead bin.
If you want something a different backpack, refer to my article on how to choose the best travel backpack with more tips, advice, and other backpack suggestions!
This book recounts Adams's tale of roughing it through Peru in search of Inca ruins and ancient cities while following archaeologist Hiram Bingham's original route. The book taught me a lot about Peru, and I am inspired to visit a lot of the sites Adams explored on my trip there next year. Like him, I fully plan to turn right. It was the best travelogue I've read in the past year and has inspired me to visit a lot of the places he did in the book.
This book is a special illustrated edition of Hiram Bingham's classic work, capturing the mystery and intrigue of the archaeological sites he uncovered throughout his time in South America. In the early 20th century Bingham went on an expedition through the Peruvian Andes, where he came across the incredible Inca city that made him famous: Machu Picchu. If your main goal is seeing Machu Picchu while you're traveling through Peru, this is the book for you.
When Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro showed up on the shores of Peru in 1532, he had no idea that the Inca rulers had just fought a civil war, where emperor Atahualpa defeated his brother Huascar. Pizarro soon clashed with Atahualpa, and despite the Inca warriors drastically outnumbering the Spanish, the Spanish won. A huge payment of gold was paid to the Spaniards, but Atahualpa was executed anyway. A year later, the Spaniards seized Cusco (the Inca capital) – now having defeated the largest native empire in the New World. This historical account is fascinating, and so is the consequent Inca rebellion that resulted in a 36-year guerrilla war.
This is the true story of Dervla Murphy, her young daughter, and a friendly mule who together traveled across Peru (hence the name "eight feet"). They traveled from Cajamarca near the border of Ecuador all the way to Cusco, covering over 1,300 miles all at high altitudes. Although dangerous at times (and extremely uncomfortable), Dervla and her nine-year-old have the greatest adventures of their lives while getting to know the hardy people of the Andes.


So have you checked out the price of college these days? I remember my first semester back in 1989, the tuition was $600 for the entire semester. (I am not even sure that would buy you a single credit hour today, especially if you add in all of the fees.) OK, so I may be exaggerating a little bit, but the point is still just as true, a good college education is not as inexpensive as it once was.
While it is true for all education, it is especially true for private educational institutions. These brave institutions decline Caesar's money in order to follow their own instincts and heart as they seek to increase knowledge and wisdom in the manner in which they see fit.
We have a number of Christian Higher Education Institutions across the state who have made this decision and strive to keep Christ the center of all educational pursuits. As a result, Caesar chooses not to provide financial support, thus putting them at an economic disadvantage when competing for students. In other words, Christian institutions still have many of the same costs associated with the educational process (paying for teachers, classrooms and technology) but without the tax based resources to provide for them.
Well, we at the Missouri Baptist Foundation want to help lead the way. At our past board meeting, our trustees approved five new scholarships; four for undergraduate students and one for graduate students. Each $2,000 scholarship is available to a Missouri Baptist student who is interested in obtaining a degree from an Institution of Christian Higher Education.
Unlike most scholarships, these are not awarded solely on academic prowess (there are lots of scholarships for the straight A student with a 36 on the ACT), nor is the deciding factor family income (again there are lots of grants for those with severe financial need). These scholarships are designed to help that student who really desires a Christian Education, but may decide on a secular one for the want of a few shekels.
So we created one each for an undergraduate student attending or planning to attend HLGU and SBU. Another for an undergraduate student who is the child of a MBC church staff or Baptist Building employee, another for an undergraduate who received services from our Missouri Baptist Children Home, and another for a graduate student from Missouri attending or planning to attend Midwestern Seminary. We start receiving applications February 1st and they are due no later than March 31st for next fall.
More details and the applications are all available online at our website MBFN.org. You can also learn about our new cash savings account that is fully FDIC insured available for churches, ministries, associations and other non-profits which offers 2.53% interest, and check out our new podcast, Foundational Thoughts.
Hey, $2,000 may not change the world, but it is a start, and maybe it will lead a few others to join us. Who knows, together through your generosity, maybe we could make Christian Higher Education just as affordable to Missouri Baptist students as it was back in 1989.


Germany's DOWNFALL OF GAIA have just entered the studio to record their fourth full-length album and follow-up to 2014's Aeon Unveils The Thrones Of Decay.
Downfall Of Gaia recently announced a run of shows this summer, where they will be joined by Australia's Hope Drone; this trek also marks the first tour for new guitarist Marco Mazzola. See below for all dates.
Canada's CRYPTOPSY have announced their long-awaited return to Mexico.
TRIVIUM has released the official live video for "Dead And Gone", which was directed by Strati Hovartos and filmed during the band's performance at this year's edition of "Rock On The Range" festival in Columbus, OH this past May.
Check out "Dead And Gone" below.
Italian occult rock conjurors PSYCHEDELIC WITCHCRAFT — who recently announced their disbanding — released their critically lauded debut EP, Black Magic Man, last Summer via Taxi Driver Records.
Initially issued as a limited-edition ten-inch and now long sold out, Taxi Driver recently repressed the EP on twelve-inch purple vinyl with an etched B-side. Limited to three-hundred copies, the release comes with updated cover art by British poster artist Matt Wilkins as well as a bonus cover track tribute to Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister titled "The Dark Lord" originally released in 1969 by psychedelic rock band Sam Gopal (which featured Ian Willis AKA Lemmy).
Semchuk Productions, Jurassic Ink Custom Tattoo, Metal Nation Radio, Prairie Fire Events, and Asher Media Relations are proud to announce the return of this year's 2016 Loud As Hell heavy metal festival in Drumheller, Alberta at the Dinosaur Downs Stampede Grounds.
Moving into its fifth consecutive year, Loud As Hell Heavy Metal Festival promises to be bigger and better than last year with three full days of face melting metal from July 29th – August 1st.
This year's lineup includes Unleash The Archers, Striker, Into Eternity, Ninjaspy, Divinity, West of Hell, Disciples of Power and more! (full list below).
THE BODY and FULL OF HELL are pleased to confirm a collaborative North American tour in support of their One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache joint full-length, issued in March through Neurot Recordings. The nihilistic live takeover begins August 19th in Vancouver, British Columbia and tramples its way through nearly two-dozen cities, the tour drawing to a close on September 10th in Providence, Rhode Island. The journey will find both bands executing their sonic deviance as one unit, as well as performing new versions of old songs from each of their respective discographies. The latest run of dates follows the bands' concerted European invasion this past April.
Italy's DEVOTION have booked a Russian tour in August. Confirmed dates can be seen on the flyer above.
Devotion are touring in support of their fourth album, Words And Crystals, which was released digitally through Pavement Music on February 26th. The album is available from Amazon, iTunes, and other online retailers.
Stillbirth Records (A division of Gore House Productions) has announced the addition of SKEWERED to its roster.
Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, Skewered came into fruition in 2006 under the moniker Necrosis. After self-releasing two demos, their vigorous work helped capture the attention of Inherit Suffering Records, who later released the bands self-titled debut album in 2012.


"It's not visually a very pleasantenvironment," said Huo, who works as a building inspector and planner for Atherton. "それは、視覚的に、非常にpleasantenvironment氏は、"huo、検査官の人の作品とプランナーのための建物としてアサートン。"We'd like to at least stimulate their imagination and give them some identity.""我々をしたいのですが、少なくとも自分の想像力を刺激するといくつかのアイデンティティを与えている。 "
IN anticipation of what might be built someday at Audubon Elementary School, first-graders in Toni Mickelson's class settled for a lesson Tuesday about building instead.
"Make sure the structure is sturdy, otherwise it will collapse," parent Kenneth Huo warned six eager students using their bodies to form an arch.
From cantilevers to post-and-lintels, the children acted out architectural forms, all in anticipation of three-dimensional murals they hope to design to bring drab school walls to life.
The school, built in 1968 on Gull Avenue and modernized last year, has five portable classrooms that are at least 20 years old. Two portable walls face the campus entrance, and Huo approached the school about giving kids something more than dull beige masses to look at when they arrive each morning.
"It's not visually a very pleasantenvironment," said Huo, who works as a building inspector and planner for Atherton. "We'd like to at least stimulate their imagination and give them some identity."
Huo, who used to volunteer as an architect-in-residence for the LEAP/AIA Architects in Schools program, a San Francisco venture between a nonprofit and the American Institute of Architects to bring architects to classrooms, wanted to do the same for his son's school in Foster City.
He and the school envision working with professional architects- in-residence to create three-dimensional murals out of plywood and wood pieces, layered and painted in many colors. The 100 first- through third-graders whose classes use the wooden portables will pick a theme and help plan and paint. Parents and volunteers will do the assembly.
In the meantime, Huo has made visits the school to teach architecture fundamentals.
Huo's son, Kevin, 7, a first-grader, is looking forward most to painting.
"The kids can paint the wall," he said. "Whatever they want to paint."
The school has applied for an $8,000 Artist Residency grant from the Peninsula Community Foundation to cover the cost of supplies and stipends for additional architects to give about five hours of classroom instruction. They hope to solicit help from local service clubs and the Foster City Arts & Culture Commission, too.
Jaime Fernandez, a San Francisco architect who teaches the architecture summer camp at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito and in the Young Artist Studio Program at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, may be one of the architects- in-residence for Audubon. He and Huo once worked together in the LEAP/AIA program.
"What is interesting is not just the final project," he said, "but the process itself to which the children are exposed."
Murals, he said, allow many children to get involved.
"It's a way to spread the seeds of curiosity and creativity and to open a new door or a new window," he said.
Audubon is no stranger to creative school beautification; last year, the school erected a tile mural in the lunch yard, each tile painted by a student.
Principal Leslie Lohmeier said that in the classroom, this project will enhance the math curriculum, exploring topics like geometry and ratios.
The murals will also instill a sense of pride for students.
"It helps everyone feel welcomed, and like this is a child- centered place," she said.
A new project called "Architect in school" is starting at Audubon School in Foster City. It is a program which works with students and professionals in the community to beautify some of the classrooms.
Many of the great elementary school teachers understand the power of hands-on project-based learning. To this end, they often bring architecture-based projects into their classrooms to create opportunities for children to use their intellectual, visual, and kinesthetic sensibilities in a new way.
Many other teachers have the good fortune to work with architects in programs such as Architect-in-School Program, or the San Francisco Architectural Foundation. In programs such as these, architects go into the classrooms to work with children in multi-week residencies.
Through a series of exercises, projects and field trips, architects expose children to issues in the built, natural and cultural environments. Architects affiliated with these programs, who live in the San Mateo/Foster City area, would like to bring the project to San Mateo/Foster City elementary school children.
A roller coaster, a log flume, a robot zoo, a chocolate factory, a space museum, a go-cart center and a doughnut shop that connects to a police station through an underground tunnel are among the designs generated at a recent design charrette for Burlingame's Howard Avenue area. "That is for the policemen because they really like doughnuts a lot," said Simon Bartos, 8, who crafted a master plan for the city's downtown area with his friend Kevin Huo.
"Kevin's mom really wanted a homework center, so they put one in there, too," said Mark Bartos, Simon's father and a member of the San Mateo chapter of the American Institute of Architects, which hosted Saturday's design workshop with the city of Burlingame.
Approximately 200 people showed up for the event, including 63 architects, student architects and landscape designers, Vice Mayor Terry Nagel estimated. The all-day design symposium used public comment in the morning to spur four teams of professional architects from AIA to draw up sketches for what a sleepy section of downtown Burlingame could look like if revitalized. After an afternoon of sketching, the architects revealed their plans for the area between Howard and Burlingame avenues at an evening presentation.
"Some of the ideas made me wonder, 'Why didn't we think of that?'" Nagel said. The architects' proposals shared an emphasis on pedestrian-friendly, attractive design features, Nagel said. Some suggested displaying public art, adding gateways to both ends of Howard Avenue, creating a "green ribbon" with pedestrian paths and exposing an underground creek.
In one sketch, Burlingame's scattered parking lots were consolidated. In another, Hatch Lane was transformed into "a paved pedestrian walkway with cafe tables and flowers and the power lines underground, much like Maiden Lane," Nagel said. The architects volunteered their time, though the city funded the event by making a $15,000 donation to an AIA scholarship fund, and paying around $7,000 in expenses for food and supplies, said senior planner Maureen Brooks. "We hope we can use the information as a springboard for our upcoming downtown specific plan," Brooks said. The plans generated by the charrette will be compiled in an official city document for easy reference as the city moves forward with creating the new downtown plan in the coming year.
Over the next three years, the city plans to examine and redesign the area from Oak Grove Avenue to Peninsula Avenue, between El Camino Real and California Drive. Burlingame resident Norma Berliner-Satz said she has seen many family-run stores and restaurants leave since she moved to the town in 1974 and hopes that city officials keep the residents' needs in mind when designing downtown. "Are they thinking about their pocketbooks or about the people who live here?" she asked. The charrette is "just the beginning of a long process that will incorporate many different kinds of feedback," said Nagel.
E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.
Seeing Architect Chen Chi-Kuan's paintings, the audience would be reminded the philosophy of Chuang-Tzu..
SAN MATEO — Foster City resident Gina Kuo takes comfort knowing her 7-year-old son can read and write Mandarin, giving him a connection to his cultural roots.
Now she wants her sister's children, who are of kindergarten age, also to learn Mandarin as their second language while they are still young.
She was thrilled to find out the San Mateo-Foster City School District is considering starting an extensive Mandarin program for preschool and kindergarten students as well as a summer school class.
"I think it's important that our children continue links with the cultural background," said Kuo, whose son is a first-grader at Audubon Elementary in Foster City.
School district officials acknowledge Kuo isn't the only parent in the district wanting more Mandarin programs.
"About 20 percent of our schools' population is Asian, and many of those parents send their children to Mandarin school," said Irving Phillips, director of the school district's magnet program.
Furthermore, College Park Elementary, the district's talented-and-gifted magnet school, has a Mandarin class that has more demand than there is space, Phillips said.
The district will hold a meeting May 2 to solicit community input on this proposal.
The proposed Mandarin preschool would start as early as this fall and would cost parents about $575 per month, Phillips said.
In this class, a considerable amount of time would be spent on teaching kids Mandarin, he said.
The kindergarten, which also would start in the fall, would be like any other class at that level, only at least an hour would be devoted to Mandarin, he said. It would also be funded like a typical kindergarten class with primarily state funds, Phillips said.
The summer school class, which may start this year, would be taught like a foreign language course and also mostly would be paid for with state funds, he said.
Kuo said having this program in the public schools would make it much more convenient for parents who usually send their kids to local private Chinese schools to learn Mandarin.
Phillips said a growing number of public schools are adding Mandarin to their curriculum.
The May 2 meeting will start at 7 p.m. in College Park School at 715 Indian Ave.
Staff writer T.S. Mills-Faraudo covers education. She can be reached at (650) 348-4338 or tmills@sanmateocountytimes.com.
The Road To A Friend's House Is Never Long!!!
San Mateo Daily Journal A new project called "Architect in school" is starting at Audubon School in Foster City..
Many of the great elementary school teachers understand the power of hands-on project-based learning.
To this end, they often bring architecture-based projects into their classrooms to create opportunities for children to use their intellectual, visual, and kinesthetic sensibilities in a new way.
Many other teachers have the good fortune to work with architects in programs such as Architect-in-School Program, or the San Francisco Architectural Foundation.
In programs such as these, architects go into the classrooms to work with children in multi-week residencies.
Through a series of exercises, projects and field trips, architects expose children to issues in the built, natural and cultural environments.
Architects affiliated with these programs, who live in the San Mateo/Foster City area, would like to bring the project to San Mateo/Foster City elementary school children.
The goal is to use architecture to augment and amplify the academic and social goals. Together the architects and students created innovative design proposals for homes, schools, neighborhoods and communities.
FOSTER CITYIN anticipation of what might be built someday at Audubon Elementary School, first-graders in Toni Mickelson's class settled for a lesson Tuesday about building instead.
He and the school envision working with professional architects-in-residence to create three-dimensional murals out of plywood and wood pieces, layered and painted in many colors. The 100 first- through third-graders whose classes use the wooden portables will pick a theme and help plan and paint. Parents and volunteers will do the assembly.
Jaime Fernandez, a San Francisco architect who teaches the architecture summer camp at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito and in the Young Artist Studio Program at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, may be one of the architects-in-residence for Audubon. He and Huo once worked together in the LEAP/AIA program.
"It helps everyone feel welcomed, and like this is a child-centered place," she said.
Staff writer Rebekah Gordon can be reached at (650) 348-4331 or rgordon@sanmateocountytimes.com.
(c) 2006 San Mateo County Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
Kenneth Huo, the father of a 1st grader, Kevin Huo, is an architect. He recently proposed an architect-in-residence idea to me and Danielle Picchi, our PTA President.
We became very excited about the possibility of beautifying our school with three-dimensional murals on the portable classroom walls, facing the office. Kenneth and I wrote a grant application to the Peninsula Community Foundation.
If funded, the children in the portable classrooms will plan and create these walls next fall. If we do not get funded, we will be looking for other ways to carry out this plan!


text:
War on File Sharer Following War on Terror
David Kravets
It's no secret the nation's largest telecoms are funneling electronic communications to the Bush administration — all in the name of the War on Terror. So it should come as no surprise that the Telegiants are now coddling with Hollywood, conjuring up ways to ferret out copyrighted material on the internet — all in the […]
It's no secret the nation's largest telecoms are funneling electronic communications to the Bush administration -- all in the name of the War on Terror.
So it should come as no surprise that the Telegiants are now coddling with Hollywood, conjuring up ways to ferret out copyrighted material on the internet -- all in the name of the War on File Sharer.
It's akin to the phone company permanently listening in, and blocking conversations considered illegal -- from discourse concerning assassinations to teen-agers whispering about which local liquor stores are selling cold brew to the under-aged.
Brad Stone of The New York Times sat in on a brief panel discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where he wroteTuesday that representatives from NBC, Microsoft and "several digital filtering companies and telecom giant AT&T said the time was right to start filtering for copyrighted content at the network level."
Stone said AT&T has been speaking with technology companies, members of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America about "implementing digital fingerprinting techniques."
THREAT LEVEL nominates Winston Smith to assume the role of Chief Copyright Snoop to the Telegiants.
It's one thing to filter content for copyrighted material that is posted on internet sites, which Google does on its popular YouTube site. It's quite another when it comes to filtering personal e-mails or peer-to-peer share folders.
And a network-wide digital fingerprinting protocol could be a boon to the courthouse War on File Sharer. The RIAA and the MPAA have sued thousands of individuals and web sites for copyright infringement.
Immune from that War on File Sharer is what arguably might be the world's biggest copyright scofflaw -- the White House, whose warrantless domestic surveillance program has likely siphoned millions of copyrighted works in the name of the War on Terror.
Perhaps the Bush administration is avoiding such suits because it told a judge last month that a Minnesota woman should pay the music industry $222,0000 for purloining 24 copyrighted music tracks -- a thank-you of sorts from the growing cabal promoting the War on File Sharer.
Photo surfstyle
What It Looks Like Trying to Get A Straight Answer From the RIAA
Google Unveils YouTube Copyright Filter to Mixed Reviews
Big, Small Media Create Colluding Copyright Cartel
RIAA's Sherman Speaks (Un)Believable 'Catch 22' -- Update
Study This: Copyright Law Hurts, Helps Economy
Despite Blog Hype, Bill Wouldn't Turn Universities Into Copyright Cops
David Kravets is a WIRED senior staff writer and founder of the fake news site TheYellowDailyNews.com. He's a dad of two boys and has been a reporter since the manual typewriter days. His PGP fingerprint is 066F 245D 22A0 7511 B36B CB4F 0F53 B742 5919 4A18.
Topicsprivacy


Verse 1. - Why, seeing times are not hidden from the almighty. By "times" seem to be meant God's special periods of exhibiting himself in action as the moral Governor of the world, vindicating the righteous, and taking vengeance upon sinners. Such "times" are frequently spoken of in the prophetical Scriptures as "days of the Lord" (see Isaiah 2:12; Isaiah 3:18; Isaiah 4:1; Isaiah 13:6, 9; Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1, 11; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:7, 14, etc.). They are, of course, "not hidden" from him, seeing that it is he who determines on them beforehand, and, when their fixed date is come, makes them special "days," or "times," different from all others. Do they who know him not see his days? i.e. why are even they, who know and serve God, kept in the dark as to these "times," so that they do not foresee them or know when they are coming? This is to Job a great perplexity.
Verse 2. - Some remove the landmarks. (On this form of wickedness, see Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17; Proverbs 22:28; Proverbs 23:10; Hosea 5:10.) Where neighbouring properties are not divided by fences of any kind, as in the East generally, the only way of distinguishing between one man's land and another's is by termini, or "landmarks," which are generally low stone metes or bourns, placed at intervals on the boundary-line. An easy form of robbery was to displace these bourns, putting them further back on one's neighbour's land. They violently take away flocks. Others openly drive off their neighbours' flocks from their pastures, mix them with their own flocks, and say that they are theirs (comp. Job 1:15-17). And feed thereof; rather, and feed them (as in the margin); i.e. pasture them.
Verse 4. - They turn the needy out of the way. Either "they force poor men to turn out of the road when they are using it, and wait till they have passed" (compare the recent practice of the Japanese daimios), or "they make the highways so dangerous with their violence that they compel the poor and needy to seek byways for safety" (Judges 5:6). The second hemistich favours the latter interpretation. The poor of the earth (or, the meek of the earth) hide themselves together. In the East there have always been superior and subject races, as well as proud nobles and down-trodden men of the same race. It is not clear of which of these two Job speaks. The former were often hunted out of all the desirable lands, and forced to fly to rooks and caves and holes in the ground, whence they were known as "Troglodytes." The latter, less frequently, handed together, and withdrew to remote and sequestered spots, where they might hope to live unmolested by their oppressors (Hebrews 11:38).
Verse 5. - Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work. Plundering bands of wicked marauders scour the desert, like troops of wild asses, going forth early to their work, and late taking rest - rising betimes for a prey, and generally finding it, since the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. They are sure to find some plunder or other ere the day is over.
Verse 6. - They reap every one his corn in the field. When they have scoured the desert, the marauders approach the cultivated ground bordering on it, and thence carry off, each of them. a quantity of "fodder," or "provender" (Revised Version), for the sustentation of their horses. And they gather the vintage of the wicked; rather, as in the margin, and the wicked gather the vintage. (So Rosenmuller and Professor Lee.) Sometimes they burst into the vineyards, and rob them, carrying off the ripe grapes.
Verse 7. - They cause the naked to lodge without clothing; rather, they lie all night naked, without clothing. The marauders are still the subject of the narrative. When engaged in their raids, they endure to pass the night without clothing, as the Bedouins are said to do to this day, so that they have no covering in the cold. They are so bent upon plunder that they do not mind these inconveniences.
Verse 8. - They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. Further unpleasant consequences of marauding, but endured without complaint by the wild robber-tribes.
Verse 9. - They pluck the fatherless from the breast. Other oppressors, not of the marauding class, but dwellers in towns (ver. 12), are so cruel that they tear the unweaned child of the debtor from the mother's breast, as satisfaction for a debt, and carry him off into slavery (comp. 2 Kings 4:1; Nehemiah 5:5). And take a pledge of the poor; literally, take in pledge that which is on the poor - in other words, their clothing. They will not lend to them on any other terms, and so force them to part with their garments, and go about naked. Even Hebrew creditors seem to have done this (Exodus 22:26; Deuteronomy 24:12, 13); and the Mosaic Law did not forbid the practice, but only required the creditor to let the debtor have his garment at night, that he might sleep in it (Exodus 22:27; Deuteronomy 24:13).
Verse 10. - They cause him to go naked without clothing; rather, they go naked without clothing. The effects of the oppression on its victims are now traced. First of all, the poor man, whose only wrap or cloak has been taken in pledge, is com-polled to go naked, or almost naked, both day and night, exposed alike to extremes of heat and cold. Secondly, he is compelled to reap and bind and carry home the sheaves of his oppressor, while he himself is half famished with hunger. The second clause of the verse is wrongly translated in the Authorized Version, where we read, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry; the real meaning being, "and they who are an hungered, carry the sheaves" (compare the Revised Version).
Verse 11. - Which make oil within their walls, and tread their wine-presses, and suffer thirst. In the third place, the same unfortunates are employed in the homesteads of their oppressors to express oil from the olives and wine from the rich clusters of grapes, while they themselves are tormented with unceasing thirst.
Verse 12. - Men groan from out of the city. It is not only in the wild tracts bordering on the desert (vers. 5-8), or on the large farms of rich landholders (vers. 9-11), that oppression takes place. Men's groans are heard also "from the city," and in the midst of the city, where murder, robbery, burglary, adultery, and other crimes of the deepest dye abound. Then the soul of the wounded crieth out. In appeals to God for help, or in inarticulate cries, the wounded spirit of the oppressed and injured vents itself. Yet God layeth not folly to them. Yet God seems to take no notice. He gives no sign of disapproval, but allows the oppressors to go on in their foolish courses unchecked.
Verse 14. - The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy. The murderer rises at the first glimpse of dawn - the time when mast men sleep most soundly. He cannot go about his wicked business in complete darkness. He has not the courage to attack the great and powerful, who might be well armed and have retainers to defend them, but enters the houses of a comparatively poor class, in which he is less afraid to risk himself. Here, in the night he is as a thief. He has not come into the house simply for murder. Theft is his main object. He will not take life unless he is resisted or discovered, and so, in a certain sense, driven to it.
Verse 15. - The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me. There is an analogy between moral and physical light, and between moral and physical darkness. The class of men here spoken of (vers. 14-16), who have rebelled against moral light (ver. 13), and refused its ways, and rejected its paths, are no great lovers of physical light. Their deeds of darkness are only suited to be done in the dark, and they wait for the evening twilight or the dusk of dawn to engage in them (comp. John 3:19-21, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." See also John 8:12; John 12:35; Romans 13:12; Ephesians 5:8-14, etc.). And he disguiseth his face. As a further precaution against discovery, the adulterer disguiseth, or covereth up, his face. The same is often done by thieves and murderers.
Verse 16. - In the dark they dig through houses. In ancient times, burglary commonly took this form. Windows were few, and high up in the walls; doors were strongly fastened with bolts and bars. But the walls, being of clay, or rubble, or sun-dried brick, were weak and easily penetrable. This was especially the case with party walls; and if burglars entered an unoccupied house, nothing was easier than to break through the slight partition which separated it from the house next door. The Greek word for "burglar" is τοιχώρυχος" he who digs through a wall." Which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; rather, they shut themselves up in the daytime; literally, they seal themselves up; the meaning being that they carefully keep themselves close. Professor Lee, however, defends the Authorized Version. They know not the light; i.e. they avoid it, keep away from it, will have nothing to do with it.
Verse 17. - For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death. They hate the morning light. It is associated in their minds with the idea of detection; for when it breaks in upon them unexpectedly in the midst of their ill deeds, detection commonly follows; and detection is a true "shadow of death," for it commonly means the gallows. If one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death; rather, for they know the terrors of the shadow of death (see the Revised Version). It is a familiar experience to them; as, whenever crime is severely punished, it is to the criminal class generally.
Verse 18. - He is swift as the waters. "Locus obscurissimus" (Schulteus). Scarcely any two commentators agree even as to the subject on which Job proceeds to speak. Some regard him as giving his own judgment on the ultimate fate of the wicked; others, as anticipating what his opponents will say on the point. One recent expositor takes the passage as referring to the efforts made by the malefactors of vers. 14-16 to escape from justice, and to the discredit and difficulty in which they involve themselves. Another suggests that Job here calls attention to a fresh class of oppressors, viz. water-thieves (see Strabo, 16:18), who, starting in light boats from some island in a lake or river, plundered the neighbouring lands, making the portions of the landholders worthless, and causing them to neglect the cultivation, even of their vineyards. If we accept this view, the proper translation of the present verse will be, Swift is he (i.e. the water-thief) upon the face of the waters: then is the portion of them who dwell in the land worthless; no one turneth his face toward his vine. yards (see Professor Lee's 'Book of Job,' pp. 153, 378, 379).
Verse 19. - Drought and heat consume the snow waters; so doth the grave those which have sinned. This rendering is further confirmed by the next verse. Accepting it, we must suppose Job to pass at this point to the consideration of the ultimate end of the wicked, though in ver. 21 he returns to the consideration of their ill doings. The heat and drought of summer, he says, consume and dry up all the water which comes from the melting of the winter's snows. So does Shoel, or the grave, absorb, and as it were consume, the wicked.
Verse 20. - The womb shall forget him: Some regard this as equivalent to "Earth shall forget him;" but most suppose "the womb" to mean "his own mother." The worm shall feed sweetly on him (comp. Job 17:14). He shall be no more remembered. Oblivion shall fall upon him and his doings. And wickedness shall be broken as a tree. As a strong wind suddenly snaps off a tree at the root, so wickedness, in the person of the wicked man - the abstract for the concrete - shall be overtaken by death, and perish in a moment (comp. ver. 24).
Verse 21. - He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not. Oppressors of another class are perhaps here spoken of, or perhaps there is a mere return to the idea with which Job's enumeration opened (ver. 3), which was the oppression of the weaker and more defenceless classes. As barrenness in women was considered the greatest possible misfortune (1 Samuel 1:5-8; 1 Samuel 3:1-10), so oppressing one that was barren indicated extreme cruelty. And doeth not good to the widow; i.e. neglects to vindicate her cause - an admitted part of man's duty (see Job 22:9; Job 29:13; Job 31:16).
Verse 22. - He draweth also the mighty with his power; i.e. he draws to his side, and makes his helpers, those who are mighty, attracting them or compelling them to join him by the power which he already has. He riseth up, and no man is sure of life. This is also the translation of the Revised Version. Some commentators, however, prefer to render, "He riseth up, when he has despaired of life; "i.e. the wicked man, when he has been brought into trouble, either sickness or danger of death at the hands of Justice, to men's surprise, "riseth up" - is delivered from the danger, and recovers his prosperity.
Verse 23. - Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; rather, he (i.e. God) granteth him to be in security and thereon he resteth; i.e. God allows the escape of the wicked man from his trouble, and lets him live on, safe and secure, and the man himself rests on the security thus afforded him, quite contented with it. Yet his eyes are upon their ways. God's eyes are still upon the ways of the wicked: they are, or seem to be, the objects of a special providential care.
Verse 24. - They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; rather, they are exalted: after a little while they are gone they are brought low. Job has to admit that death comes upon wicked men at last; but he minimizes the terrors of their death, and exaggerates its alleviations. First, it comes on them when they have risen to eminence, have gained themselves a reputation, and "are exalted." Next, it is sudden and painless, preceded by no long, lingering illness, but just a sinking into non-existence; a tranquil passing away. Thirdly, it is at a ripe age, when they have reached the full term of human life, and are as ears of corn ripe for the harvest. Further, it is the common fate: They are taken out of the way as all other (comp. Job 9:22; Job 21:13), and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. We may gather from this expression that the reaping in the land of Uz was conducted in Job's time much in the same way as it was in Egypt under the early Pharaohs, viz. by cutting the stalk with a sharp sickle almost immediately below the ear, and collecting the ears in baskets (see the author's 'Hist. of Ancient Egypt,' vol. 1. p. 162; and his 'Herodotus,' vol. 2. p. 59, 3rd edit.).
Verse 25. - And if it be not so now; i.e. "if these things be not as I say." Who will make me a liar? Which of you will stand forth and disprove them, and so "make me a liar "? And make my speech nothing worth! Show, i.e. my whole discourse to be valueless. This bold challenge no one attempts to take up.


text:
Couples can officiate their own wedding in the District of Columbia
by Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post, Updated: June 27, 2019
Lucille Convery, 27, and Scott Bovarnick, 26, kiss after being wed last week in a self-uniting marriage, part of a growing trend among couples. Washington Post photo by Hannah Natanson
Hannah Natanson
WASHINGTON - When he spotted the small white fountain in a downtown area of the District of Columbia, Scott Bovarnick knew. He knew the same way he knew he would marry Lucille Convery after a shared glance years ago on a drive.
"This is pretty," he said, turning to Convery, 27. She knew what he was really asking.
"Yes, let's get married here," she said.
Five minutes later - after Bovarnick, 26, gave a short speech thanking a half-dozen guests, signed a piece of paper and kissed Convery twice - the two were married. Well, almost: They still had to walk back to the nearby H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse to file the paperwork.
Bride, groom, loving onlookers, vows of devotion - all there. But on a sunny Monday morning last week by the Andrew M. Mellon Memorial Fountain, there was no minister, priest, rabbi, judge or third-party officiant in sight.
Bovarnick and Convery, who live in the District of Columbia, opted for what is known as a "self-uniting marriage" - a ceremony in which one member of the couple getting married acts as the officiant. In their case, it was Bovarnick, meaning he signed the light-blue piece of paper provided by D.C. Superior Court. (He has "a much better signature," Convery explained.)
This kind of wedding is legal in a handful of states, including Colorado and Pennsylvania, and the marriages are legally recognized everywhere.
The District of Columbia began allowing self-uniting marriages in 2014. Although the D.C. Marriage Bureau said it does not track the number of self-uniting marriages performed in Washington, wedding planner Starlene Joyner Burns said they have risen in popularity.
"I am seeing a change in how people are getting married," she said. "And I see people come from all over."
Self-uniting weddings are quick, often lasting less than half an hour; cheap, costing just $45 for the marriage license application; and simple. All couples must do is show up at the courthouse with government-issued IDs.
After jotting down basic information, including their dates of birth and social security numbers, pairs step outside to sign a document - the law mandates they cannot marry themselves on courthouse premises - before returning to collect the signature of a clerk.
With that, they're hitched. "Super easy," Bovarnick said.
"It makes a lot of sense to me, " said Scott Stanley, a professor at the University of Denver who studies marriage and commitment. "This is in keeping with the times, and it gives an angle to people who are less religiously inclined, which would be more people marrying today than in the past."
A recent Gallup poll found that the number of Americans belonging to a church, synagogue or mosque hit an all-time low of 50% in 2018.
Bovarnick and Convery, who are Jewish and Catholic, respectively, did not choose a self-uniting wedding because they wanted to avoid religion. In fact, the couple was unaware they could perform their own ceremony until a few minutes before they did so.
The two are planning to marry in Croatia later this month, but they didn't realize that obtaining a marriage license outside the United States was complicated. On the morning they were slated to leave for Croatia, the pair headed to the courthouse intending to marry before a judge. They switched their plans when a clerk told them about self-uniting weddings.
The freewheeling nature of the ceremony appealed to the travel-loving couple.
"I love the adventure of it," Bovarnick said.
"And the spontaneity," Convery added. "If you haven't noticed, we're a little spontaneous."
Others may have financial reasons for pursuing a self-uniting marriage.
The cost of a full-blown ceremony can be prohibitive. The national average price tag of a wedding last year clocked in at $33,931, according to the Knot 2018 Real Weddings Study. Stanley said a self-uniting ceremony could offer a flexible, affordable alternative.
Research has shown that low-income people are more likely to be "pro-marriage" than those with higher incomes, but less likely to actually wed, he said.
"You could find ways to create more of a real ceremony with lots of people in it that hardly costs anything," Stanley said.
For Charles and Alyssa Wang, who married in a self-uniting ceremony in the District of Columbia in May 2018, too many guests was the problem, not the solution. The Wangs wanted to marry as simply as possible before they moved to Lima, Peru - where they still live - for Charles's work with the Foreign Agricultural Service. They planned to keep the ceremony small and ask a friend to officiate, obtaining a license online if necessary.
But the couple struggled to winnow their guest list, much less choose an officiant. Both worried they would offend close friends in the process. After visiting the Marriage Bureau to research their options and learning about self-uniting weddings, the pair felt they had found a way out of their dilemma.
"It was really nice to have a simple option that allowed us to focus on the commitment part of it and enjoy the moment," said Alyssa Wang, 27.
Not everyone views the increased accessibility of marriage as a good thing. Former D.C. council member Tommy Wells, who sponsored the Marriage Officiant Amendment Act in 2013, said he has had friends ask whether legalizing self-uniting weddings might lead to people "taking marriage less seriously."
Brad Wilcox, a professor at the University of Virginia who directs the National Marriage Project, a conservative research group that explores the health of marriage in America, echoed those fears. He warned that marriage has long been a "communal undertaking" for a reason.
"The research indicates that couples who marry with a larger wedding party tend to be happier in their marriages," he said. "We see communal undertakings in traditions as varied as Catholicism, Hinduism and Judaism. . . . Taking vows in front of others probably makes those people take those vows more seriously."
Thomas Hamm, a history professor at Earlham College who has written five books on American Quaker history, cautioned that some U.S. Quakers might view self-uniting weddings as a perversion of the long-standing tradition of their ceremonies, which leave out a presiding authority figure. Engaged Quakers solemnize their unions themselves. Unlike in self-uniting weddings, however, God is closely involved. Quakers believe anyone can be inspired by God, which means anyone - including brides and grooms - can act as ministers. Moreover, Quaker couples must consult the other members of their congregation to obtain permission to marry beforehand.
"I'm sure there are some Quakers who would find it disturbing that anybody would embark on a lifelong union without invoking the blessing of God, or seeking spiritual guidance before doing that," said Hamm, who is a Quaker.
Galena Rhoades, a University of Denver professor who researches couples and families, said some religious leaders might see the movement as positive because it "supports and encourages the institution of marriage."
"We're seeing marriage rates decline dramatically, and the number of unmarried people today is higher than it's ever been in U.S. history," Rhoades said. "The advantage of this is it makes marriage an option for people who may not otherwise have seen it as an option."
That's how things went for the Wangs. Charles Wang, 33, said the couple's self-uniting ceremony fit their personalities. A traditional wedding would not have worked as well.
"Part of it is both of us don't like any sort of attention on us," he said.
The pair held a quiet, intimate ceremony - no guests - in their favorite spot in the District, a garden plot in the Armed Forces Retirement Home. He wore khakis and a white linen shirt. She wore her "fancy" jeans, a red blouse and a nice pair of earrings.
Afterward, the newlyweds meandered through a sea of pink, white, yellow and orange zinnias as the sun went down. Just the two of them.
Posted: June 27, 2019 - 12:20 PM
Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post
María Verza, Associated Press
Tom Hays, Associated Press
50 years after Apollo 11 moon mission, some of the smallest nations on earth have joined the space race
Rick Noack, Washington Post
John Paul Stevens, who went from centrist to leading liberal on the Supreme Court, dies at 99
Mark Sherman and Connie Cass, Associated Press