text:
I've recently been rediscovering some of the music that I liked as a kid. Since I listened almost exclusively to "oldies" as a kid, it means I've really been enjoying a lot of music that my parents grew up on, which is a very strange sort of nostalgia.
But I was listening today to the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke," and it got me thinking. I've always kind of liked the song, and read it as the lament of an asshole getting his due. But listening it tonight, it occurred to me that it could easily be about a bigot, or bigots in general. Let me lay out my (kind of silly) case.
I started a joke, which started the whole world crying.
"I started a joke, but it actually caused harm to people."
But I didn't see
That the joke was on me.
As people got wiser, became better, they realized that the real joke here was the bigot, the backwards asshat who thinks it's funny to judge and dismiss a group of people because of some common trait.
I started to cry, which started the whole world laughing,
Ultimately, the only rational response to bigotry–and to the overly dramatic gymnastics that bigots engage in to claim that they're the real oppressed victims–is ridicule.
Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me.
This all could have been avoided if I'd realized in the first place that bigotry is fucking terrible.
I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I'd said.
But instead I got overdramatic, thinking that the whole world was out to get me, thinking that my petty problems matched the difficulties faced by the people I demeaned, and attributing any difficulties I had to my willingness to speak truths that other people found uncomfortable or impolite or politically incorrect. It never occurred to me that I was just a jackass.
Til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
Old bigots die. The problem with bigots is they tend to get entrenched in their beliefs, and they tend to get entrenched in positions of power within the existing social structure, allowing them to get their bigoted beliefs embedded in the social structure. It'd be nice if those old bigots could realize that they're wrong with the ease that younger generations tend to, but it doesn't always happen that way. Consequently, the solution has long been to allow the old bigots to gradually die off, taking their bigotry with them, and leaving the society in the hands of people who largely see that bigotry as a relic of an unenlightened past. The change comes slowly, the change comes painfully, but it comes.
It'd be nice if that weren't the case, but bigots cling so desperately to their beliefs. As they dwindle in numbers, they become increasingly ridiculous. And increasingly pathetic. They become increasingly the punchline of society's joke.
Filed under Music, Social Justice
Ch-ch-chain
As far as I know, there's no video of the talk I gave last year at GenCon on the subject of Chain Letters and E-Mail Forwards. Thankfully, "Weird Al" Yankovic has kindly summarized it:
Filed under GenCon, Humor, Music, Skepticism
In honor of Boobquake
As the world crumbles around you, due to the amazing power of cleavage, at least you can listen to some good, relevant music. Not safe for work.
Filed under Boobquake, Humor, Music
Minor things
First, this column at Slacktivist is amazing.
Second, tomorrow is Wednesday, January 27th. At 10:00/9:00 Central is the mid-season premiere of Psych on USA Network. I've been planning to write up a full post about Psych for some time, but every time I pop in one of the nifty DVDs I got for some recent winter gift-giving festival, I get a little distracted. I hesitate recommending the show only because it sometimes feels like it's targeted directly at my weird '80s-reference-based sense of humor, and I don't know if that works for many people. It certainly doesn't work for a lot of the people who hear my weird '80s-reference-based attempts at humor. In any case, the relevance to this blog is that Psych is one of the best skeptical shows on TV. Now, it's not hard science or skepticism like Mythbusters or anything; it's more skeptical in the vein of the original Scooby-Doo. For those who don't know, it's a mystery series following a fake psychic detective who works with a somewhat credulous police department. The protagonist is hyper-observant, which serves him both in the over-the-top psychic pantomime and the whole mystery-solving routine. Despite having some potential rooting in woo-woo, the show has tackled "real" psychics, ghosts, mummies, and other "paranormal" topics without ever giving credence to the supernatural. In the end, it always turns out to be the dude who owned the abandoned amusement park.
To recap: tomorrow night. Catch it!
Finally, I never quite managed to write up my review of They Might Be Giants' newest album, the absolutely incredible "Here Comes Science." Had I done so, I would have mentioned that my only real problem with the entire album was that their video for the song "Put it to the Test" used the word "theory" when they really meant "hypothesis." See for yourself:
Simply fantastic. If you like science and quirky music, the album comes highly recommended, and you should pick it up. If you don't like quirky music, then the album comes highly recommended, and you should pick it up for your kids!
Gosh, this post comes across sounding like a commercial, doesn't it? I hope my corporate paymasters are paying attention.
1. If you don't know already, They Might Be Giants recorded a song in the '80s called "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)." It was a cover of an educational song from the '50s, and they rerecorded it for "Here Comes Science." The cool part is that, recognizing how much we've learned since 1951, the next track on the album is a follow-up called "Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma)." Not only do they update and correct the earlier tune, but they manage to work the line "that thesis has been rendered invalid" into verse.
Filed under Music, Politics, Psychics, the Universe, They Might Be Giants, TV, Woo
So, I went to church last Sunday, and I'm almost glad that I did. It was a very entertaining service, which at least once tipped toward giggle loop territory.
First, my brother and I left for church after everyone else, neither of us really having any desire to go to Sunday School/Bible Study. I'm pretty sure he's seen me in the closet, so to speak, mostly because I accidentally left my list of Podcasts open on iTunes the other night, and saw him looking at it. Curse you, "The Atheist Experience," for coming so early in the alphabet! Anyway, after a fallout between him and my mother a few years back, I suspect he's got about the same mindset. We listened to The Lonely Island on the way to church, and arrived just before the service started.
Things began with the teeny-tiny choir walking up to the stage from the back of the church, singing "Rejoice in the Lord Always" a capella. Now, maybe it's just me, or maybe it's some impulse from some forgotten passage in my youth when I was involved in a church chorus, but the song felt incomplete. I felt the difficult-to-resist urge to add in claps where they would be rhythmically appropriate, i.e.:
Rejoice in the Lord a-always, and again I say rejoice. (Clap clap)
Rejoice, rejoice, and again I say rejoice. (Clap clap)
I don't know, it was like taking the claps out of "Jack and Diane"–without them, there really wasn't much to the song.
The first Hymn ended up reminding me of this passage in its layers of double-entendre. It wasn't quite as hilarious, but with all its talk of "raising" and "stones" and "let the cry be heard across the land," my gutter-mind was rapidly filling. When it got to the last bit, about "prais[ing] him with 10,000 tongues," I shot a glance at my brother, and we both almost lost it.
Things were uneventful through the brief announcements and the offering and the special music and whatnot. Then the sermon started, and boy do I wish I'd had a tape recorder. It started with standard Easter clichés–it's a beautiful morning, Jesus is risen, what a wonderful sacrifice, etc. But about two minutes in, it got fun. The pastor explained why Jesus died for everyone's sins:
As Spock would say, "the good of the many outweighs the good of the few, or the one."
It took me a second to realize that, yes, he actually said that. My brother groaned, and I just kind of sighed and shook my head. In the absurdity of the moment, I didn't even realize that he messed up the quote (it's the needs of the many).
Now, this might have been a moderately good segue into a sermon explaining Christian theology in terms of Star Trek. There are better openings for such a sermon, and I don't think it would have been appropriate for Easter Sunday, and there's the absurdity of using atheist Gene Roddenberry's frequently anti-religious series to frame Christian beliefs, but such a sermon would have been interesting. This wasn't that sermon; Spock would not be mentioned again.
After some more talk about how awesome Jesus's sacrifice was, the pastor* said that he sometimes wondered what it would be like if Christ came today–then clarified that he meant the first coming, or what if Jesus had waited until the modern day to do his thing.
Now, I've often thought about this very question myself, though obviously not from the same perspective. Given the lack of evidence for Jesus's existence and the likelihood of much of the story of his life being exaggerated, mythologized, and fabricated, I don't think there'd be a whole lot of difference, if any. But what if Christianity had never taken hold? What if, like all the other contemporary messianic Jewish spinoff cults, it had fizzled out or never even existed in the first place? What would the world be like?
That's usually about as far as I get. For one thing, I don't have the requisite historical knowledge to be able to imagine that scenario with any kind of detail. For another, say what you will about the Christian church (and I do), but they have been fairly efficient at amassing power, prestige, wealth, and influence in the last 1700 years or so. Without Christianity, what religion would Constantine have chosen? Would that have filled the vacuum left in the absence of Christianity? Would some other religion be able to fill the same niches, spreading to and assimilating from other cultures with the same ceaseless alacrity? One of the key innovations of Christianity, which I credit for much of its success even today, was ease of conversion: all you have to do to become a Christian, as so many preachers will tell you, is hit your knees and accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Other religions require you to be born, married, or conquered into the fold, or ask you to go through lengthy, painful, or difficult conversion rituals. Christianity doesn't even require you to remove your foreskin! Would the replacement religion of Rome have this same flexibility? Would a religion without that trait spread as easily?
By the time I begin considering a Middle Ages without a Catholic church to fight the Crusades and fund the Universities, I realize that there's very little chance that a world without Christianity would bear any resemblance to the world with it, except perhaps in those regions where Christianity never flourished.
That would have made for an interesting sermon, and a far more interesting history lesson or book (in fact, if such a book exists, I'd like to read it). This was not the direction that the pastor chose to go on Sunday. Instead, he paused after that brief "what if" introduction (just long enough for someone to strum some harp strings and for the screen to go all wavy) and then began to read:
Peter Pumpkinhead came to town,
Spreading wisdom and cash around
Fed the starving and housed the poor,
Showed the Vatican what gold's for.
But he made too many enemies
Of the people who would keep us on our knees.
Hooray for Peter Pumpkinhead.
I perked up after the first two words, far more shocked than I was at the Spock reference. Was a pastor, in a church–a Christian church–actually quoting XTC's "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead"? He was. And he continued to do so.
Peter Pumpkinhead pulled them all,
Emptied churches and shopping malls.
When he spoke, it would raise the roof:
Peter Pumpkinhead told the truth.
Of the people who would keep us on our knees
Hooray for Peter Pumpkinhead
At this point, under my breath, I said (quite incredulously) "Is he going to sing the whole song?"
He was. He went through the whole song, more or less. He fouled up the last line of the third verse (saying "Any kind of law with love's all right" as opposed to "Any kind of love is all all right"), and I realized after the service that he'd abbreviated the chorus (even when, at the end, he repeated "Hooray for Peter Pumpkin" twice, as it sort of does in the song). The actual lyric is "Hooray for Peter Pumpkin / Who'll pray for Peter Pumpkinhead?"
I like the song enough that I picked up the album it's on ("Nonsuch") at a used CD store a month or two ago. Here's the video:
After finishing the song and the citation, the pastor said something like "Is that what it would be like if Jesus came today? Would we miss the point like that?" Pastor, if your sermon is any indication, then we'd miss the point by a wide, wide margin.
Now, perhaps I'm way off, but I don't think "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" is a pro-religious song. In fact, I read it as the story of a secular messiah, who "tells the truth" against religion, consumerism and probably government. He "empties churches" with his speeches, which makes enemies of "the people who would keep us on our knees"–i.e., religious leaders. I suppose tyrannical governments would fit in as well, but the line has always seemed to have the connotation of prayer to me. The Christ imagery is certainly intentional, and the video makes that even more explicit, but it reads to me more a criticism of the church message than a validation of it.
Then again, my interpretation is also informed by one of XTC's other well-known songs. Given "Dear God," I kind of have an inkling as to what XTC's thoughts on religion are. Furthermore, I have a hard time believing that anyone in the United States could be familiar with XTC's version of "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" (as opposed to the Crash Test Dummies version off the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack) without also being familiar with "Dear God," which I'd think was the much more popular song. Similarly, I have a hard time believing that anyone would be familiar with either of those songs without knowing "Mayor of Simpleton," much to my chagrin.
It'd be like knowing The Beatles for "The Long and Winding Road" and not knowing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" or "Come Together." Point being, I don't know how you could pull a positive message about religion out of "Ballad" if you were at all familiar with the band's other songs, and if you paid any attention to the lyrics, and if you had any sort of moderately orthodox religious views. Either this pastor is very oblivious, very dense, or very keen on irony, and I'm almost certain that the latter isn't the case.
So that was pretty entertaining. And while it would have been schizophrenic and borderline disrespectful to hear someone make a sermon out of such a (blatantly, from my perspective) atheistic, anti-religious song, the pastor didn't follow through. After briefly touching on the meaning of the song (mostly just asking a couple of questions about whether or not it would be like that today) he shook his head and said something to the effect of "let's get out of that nightmare." Unfortunately for him, he'd done nothing to characterize his "what if" scenario as nightmarish. In fact, he'd really done nothing to characterize his "what if" scenario–all the characterization was original to the song, and there's nothing really nightmarish about the story. I could see coming up with a nightmarish scenario where the congregation is made to consider how they would feel as the modern-day Pharisees and Pilates responsible for crucifying the modern-day messiah, but this wasn't that sermon.
After this, the pastor went on about various themes related to the day–we've all both succeeded and failed in life, we've all stepped off the path, and we gather together in part to help each other back onto said path, we all believe in God, we have to practice our faith–you get the idea. He had a tendency to lead down a path with a thematically repetitive series of phrases, culminating in some pithy, obviously telegraphed punchline, after which he would stop and smugly beam as though he'd said the most profound thing ever. The example that really sticks out is the "practice" thing, how we have to practice our faith, and the word "practice" came up so many times in the rambling sermon that it was the closest thing it had to an overarching theme, even though most of the sermon had nothing to do with it. But after one string of phrases about practicing, he said "and practice makes perfect," and stopped, and grinned this smug grin. Okay, great, not only was it patently obvious that you were going there, but it seems like you're suggesting that as long as we're diligent in going to church and following the rules, we can be Jesus.
I can't really stress this point enough: in order to be an effective speaker, you really have to have some awareness of what message your audience is getting from your speech. This pastor didn't have a clue, and it really showed. There were several occasions where I could tell that he expected the audience to be feeling some specific emotion or sensation, but he hadn't done anything to make them feel that, and so the moment fell entirely flat.
Anyway, somewhere along the line, he descended into something that I can only describe as the Glurge Gallop. He started telling a story about a pastor who told a story to a congregation–very meta.
To digress a moment, I suspect that if Jon and I were to come up with a list of rules for bad movies and music to follow, based on our long and storied history of consuming bad media, one of them would be "Don't make references to better movies/songs." It pops up an awful lot, actually, where some terrible movie or terrible song will make a throwaway reference to some much better movie or song, either demonstrating that the artist thinks they're really clever or that they think they're actually as good as the object of the reference**. If the song or the film is good, then the reference serves whatever purpose is intended–satire, homage, jarring juxtaposition, etc. When the work is bad, the reference only serves as a reminder of how bad the work is. Moreover, it shows that the artist is familiar with better works, which means they don't even have ignorance as an excuse for the poor quality.
That's what this meta-sermon did: by giving a sermon about another pastor giving a better sermon, the pastor really only underscored how bad his sermon was by comparison, and showed that he'd at least been exposed to better sermons, which should have given him some idea as to what makes for a compelling speech.
This is not to say that the story he told was all that good. A quick Google search turned up many versions (as I'd expected) that have likely been forwarded around in e-mails with tags at the end exhorting believers to forward this message to everyone in their address book, an act for which they will be doubly blessed***. Here's the closest version I could find with minimal effort. The jist of the first half of the story is that the pastor comes into church and sets an empty birdcage on the pulpit, then proceeds to tell the congregation the story of how he met a small child who had the cage full of birds. He asked what the kid planned to do, and the kid responded that he'd play with them, then when he got tired of them, he'd feed them to his cat. The pastor bought the birdcage from the boy (who named his own price–$2 in the version I heard) and set the birds free.
On its own, that would have made for a decent start of a sermon, either from the pastor at the church or the one in the story. It's a parable, and it would make for a decent sermon about how Jesus paid the price to set us free from sin. It would, that is, if not for the last half of the story. The probably-fictional pastor then goes on to tell the exact same story, except with Jesus and Satan in the roles of the pastor and child, and humans in the cage instead of birds. Now, it's one thing to use a story as a metaphor for what you're trying to teach, it's quite another to belabor the point by telling a metaphorical story, then telling the same metaphorical story in a slightly different fashion so that the metaphor smacks you in the ass with its obviousness. The good sermonizer would take the parable of the caged birds and relate the various elements to the story of Christ's sacrifice; the poor sermonizer writes bad fanfic about Jesus and Satan having a little chat.
One of the more interesting features about that story was that it included a Jazz interlude of sorts, a place where different people telling the story could be creative and add their own touches to it, much like the chapters of "The Iliad" about the various sorts of boats in the fleet, or the vast majority of The Aristocrats. In this case, it's the passage where Satan outlines his plans for the caged humans. I can't recall exactly where the pastor went with this, though I definitely recall "divorce" being in there, and I seem to recall war-related stuff as well. The latter, I'd think, betrays a pretty staggering ignorance of all the places in the Bible where God orders war (and worse). The former just strikes me as odd–I have a hard time seeing divorce as a purely negative thing; certainly happily divorced couples are better than unhappily married ones, right? It seems like the real "devil's work" there would be causing incompatible couples to fall in love with one another, or pressuring people to marry prematurely or for bad reasons.
But there I go again, the bleeding-heart liberal godless atheist, wasting time on the reasons why people do "bad" things, rather than just attributing it all to sin and Satan.
But despite how condescending, repetitive, ham-fisted, and sappy the full story ends up being, I suppose you could craft a decent sermon around it. I don't know why you'd want to; it seems like the best option for that idea would be to cut out the last half and let the parable stand on its own. Such sermons can work very well; I quite liked the one about gossip in "Doubt," where the priest told a story about another priest using a parable (though it was a little less meta) to teach a lesson. But again, that parable wasn't immediately followed by a pedantic retelling where the meanings of all the symbols were made explicit. Regardless, none of these was the sermon that the pastor preached on Sunday.
No, instead of tying this story into the apparent theme of "practice," instead of really elaborating on the story, instead of making any connection to "Peter Pumpkinhead," the pastor whipped out another glurge. This story starts with a dark night in Chicago****, where a homeless boy peddles newspapers on the street. I don't know if it was the mumbling or just my lack of sleep, but when the pastor started, I thought he said "In 'Dark Knight,' in Chicago…" (since that's where much of the movie was filmed). I thought it would be odd to pull a religious message out of The Dark Knight, but after Spock and XTC, nothing was going to surprise me. Rather than comparing Harvey Dent to Job, though, the pastor went on to relate the linked story, where a boy uses "John 3:16" as a secret password to get food, shelter, and comfort for the night. Go ahead and read the story, it's sappier by far than the previous one, and this post is long enough without a recap. If you want, you can find it here on the Snopes forums, with some amusing comments.
Back? Okay, so a small child gets hospitality and charity by citing a chapter and verse. Now, I understand what the point of the story is, but it still seems like the better verse would be Matthew 25:40 ("Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me") or Matthew 19:14 ("But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven") or Deuteronomy 15:11 ("Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy") or any of a dozen other verses about charity, hospitality, and cute Dickensian ragamuffins, rather than just the summary verse of Christianity.
I honestly don't remember if the pastor did any follow-up on that story. I remember him saying something at some point about how we haven't been able to eliminate war and hatred and blahdey blah in 2000 years, and for shame and so forth, but beyond that, the rest of the service is kind of a blur.
So Spock, XTC, and the licorice whiplash of non sequitur glurges, all connected only by the fact that the same guy was saying them in the same place in the same block of time. I'm not exactly astounded that such a sermon could get made and presented–I've seen the same problems in college writing–but I'm a little astounded that a pastor could be complimented for the sermon afterward (admittedly, I don't know how many people did that, but at least one did). To my parents' credit, they found the sermon just as inane as I did, and suggested that a lack of self-awareness was a feature of that pastor's character ("he thinks he can sing, too," my dad said, or something along those lines). By any reasonable standards, this was a terrible speech, with no overall theme, no single point, just a bunch of half-formed unrelated ideas. At least it was entertainingly bad, I suppose.
Look, far be it from me to tell Christians how to write their sermons; I'm not their intended audience (or, then again, maybe I am). All I know is that I'm not interested (or swayed) even the slightest bit in sitting on an uncomfortable pew for an hour having someone read me the e-mail forwards they've received in the past week. From my perspective, the vast majority of the justification for religion rests in emotion, and a large portion of apologetics arguments are appeals to pathos. I don't expect sermons to be logically valid or based on sound evidence–then they'd just be lectures–but I do expect that a sermonizer have some awareness of emotional appeals. If you don't have that, then there's not a whole lot left–kind of like that song, sans clapping. There's content, sure, but it's repetitive and shallow, and there's no way to get into it.
*I'm reasonably certain that this church would use a different word. The concept is essentially the same though.
**Good examples: Gwen Stefani mentions (and uses the bass line from) "Another One Bites the Dust" in "Hollaback Girl," Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" is about "Sweet Home Alabama" (and samples "Werewolves of London"), Rihanna's "SOS" samples "Tainted Love" and name-drops several other '80s songs, and so forth.
***Particularly if they happen to be barely seventeen and barely dressed.
****On the Dickensian London side of the city, apparently.
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Church, Dumbassery, Humor, Music
Stay Vigilant
It's that time again. On this day, millions of people gather together to remember the day they believe a man rose from the dead and walked the Earth once more. We celebrate this day and keep its memory fresh and alive, in hopes that it never happens again.
That's right, it's Zombie Awareness Day.
Now, it's commonly thought that only one person rose from the dead on this day in the first century C.E., but according to early sources, this may not have been the case:
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
In fact, if the stories are to be believed, then the celebrated resurrectee himself, Jesus of Nazareth, had a history of working to raise the dead (Matthew 9:24, Luke 7:12-15, John 11:39-44). Like a first-century Herbert West or Victor Frankenstein, Jesus used his inhuman powers to bridge the uncrossable chasm between life and death, in preparation for his own eventual return from that undiscovered country.
Now, I don't necessarily think those stories are credible, but I do think they provide a clear warning for us: the Zombie Apocalypse could happen any day, so you must always be ready to take up arms and fight against the undead menace.
So, you may be asking yourself how you can best celebrate today. Well, you're in luck, because I've compiled an incomplete list of appropriate Zombie Awareness Day activities:
Walk around your local malls, shopping centers, and hospitals, determining the best places to hole up in the event of Zombie Apocalypse.
Clean your shotguns, sharpen your machetes, polish your cricket bats, and check through all your stockpiled ammunition and canned goods.
Study one of the many informative and prophetic texts on the subject, such as Max Brooks' "Zombie Survival Guide" and "World War Z," or Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."
Watch one of the numerous documentaries or cautionary films on the subject, from the classic "Night of the Living Dead" to the more contemporary "Shaun of the Dead" "Dance of the Dead," and "Army of Darkness."
Sing along with some of the traditional holiday songs.
Test your survival skills with one of the various video game simulators, such as "Left 4 Dead," "Dead Rising," and the Nazi Zombie levels of "Call of Duty: World at War."
That ought to keep you suitably busy on this most important of holidays. As always, stay vigilant, and shoot for the head!
Filed under Humor, Movies, Music, Video Games, Zombie Awareness Day
'Tis (Almost) the Season
For me, it started on Halloween (or possibly the day before), when I walked into a Wal-Mart and saw employees decorating a large Christmas Tree right in front of a display filled with witches and pumpkins. I know it's cliché to complain about Christmas starting earlier and earlier each year, but really?
Anyway, that's not the reason for the post–or at least, not all of it. It's just that since then, I've heard increasing amounts of Christmas music. The retail stores are the main places, but I'm always a little miffed at the radio stations that completely change formats for over a month in order to play Christmas music 24/7. I got out of the car for a meeting today while one version of "The Christmas Song" was playing, and re-entered the car not quite an hour later to hear another version of "The Christmas Song." And neither one was the Nat King Cole version, the only version anyone ever needs to hear or play.
See, I've realized this season that I really like Christmas music, but I like it on my terms. For a week or two around this time, I crank up the Christmas playlist on my computer and listen to the particular songs and versions of songs that I really enjoy. Songs like these:
Auld Lang Syne: Basically the honorable mention spot, since I consider it a New Year's song more than a Christmas one. But, hey, they sang it in "It's a Wonderful Life," so it must be part of the season, right? I don't have a particular preferred recording, but I do change my cell phone ringtone over to this around New Year's each year. And then around January 6th, people will ask me if my phone's ringing, and I'll say "no, that's not my ringtone" a couple of times before I realize I haven't changed it back yet. It's a good song about renewal and friendship, I think, but I've never been quite clear on what the lyrics mean. I guess it's kind of the "Louie Louie" of holiday songs.
Holly Jolly Christmas: Burl Ives and only Burl Ives, straight out of the snowman's mouth. The Rankin-Bass "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a classic, even if the whole thing comes out of crass commercialism. Then again, I have a soft spot in my heart for the He-Man/She-Ra Christmas Special: There are a lot of songs like this one ("Jingle Bell Rock" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" have obvious similarities), but I think "Holly Jolly Christmas" generally does a better job of conveying the fun and spirit of the season.
All I Want for Christmas is You: The Olivia Olson version, from "Love Actually," not Mariah Carey. I have some shame. "Love Actually" has rapidly become one of my favorite Christmas films; it's joined my "watch each year" pantheon alongside "It's a Wonderful Life," "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," "Scrooged," and "Ghostbusters II," the greatest Christmas movie of all time. As for the song, it's catchy, it's sweet, and it's great to hear an eleven-year-old out-diva-ing Mariah.
Baby It's Cold Outside: On my playlist, I have both the Johnny Mercer/Margaret Whiting version and a Louis Armstrong/Velma Middleton version, and each has distinct charms. The latter's great for the live ad-libbing and innuendo, while the former is worth it just for the surprise in Whiting's voice when she sings, "hey, what's in this drink?" I like Christmas songs that are about the greatest gift of all: nookie. This may be the most festive song ever written about date rape. At least it's not as dark as "Walking in a Winter Wonderland."
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: This one, however, is that dark. As far as I know, "Gentlemen" is the only mainstream Christmas carol to explicitly mention Satan. Not surprisingly, it's one of the earlier carols, and it's one of the few in a minor key. I don't have a favorite particular recording, though I like the Barenaked Ladies/Sarah McLachlan version. I prefer versions that bring out the age of the song, though, versions that are deep-voiced as though sung between sips of hot cider from a flagon in a great hall. This is the Christmas carol that Vikings would have sung…if, you know, they were Christian.
The Night Santa Went Crazy: At either level of goriness, this song's fantastic. And every time I hear "Mama I'm Comin' Home" start, I hold out a little hope that it's Weird Al instead of Ozzy.
Good King Wenceslas: It is damn hard to find a decent recording of this song online. I just spent half an hour and three dollars on iTunes, trying to find versions that didn't kill the tune with high-pitched voices or slow tempos. The tempo for this one has to be pretty brisk, or the song just plods. I like the sound of it for much the same reason that I like "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," but I really like the content of this one. Shock of shocks, it's a Christmas song that's actually about the much-vaunted Christmas spirit of helping those less fortunate. I can really get behind that.
Angels We Have Heard on High: This is probably my favorite classic Christmas song, and not just because of its island rhythms. I think it's also the most overtly religious song on my personal list. Let it never be said that my beliefs impede my ability to enjoy good music. I just all-around love this song; when I was a kid, it was one of two hymns I actually looked forward to singing in church (before you ask, I can't remember the other one–though seeing one of my old church's hymnals for less than a dollar on Amazon has me tempted to find out). Like "Good King Wenceslas," a slow tempo simply kills this song, but I'm less picky with the pitch. Plus, it's partially in Latin, so that's cool too.
That's my list; what's yours?
Filed under Christianity, Holidays, Music


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Monday TV Ratings: Castle, Mike & Molly, Jane the Virgin, Blindspot, Houdini & Doyle
Monday, May 16, 2016 ratings — New episodes: Dancing with the Stars, Castle, Mike & Molly, The Odd Couple, Person of Interest, Reign, Jane the Virgin, Gotham, Houdini & Doyle, The Voice, and Blindspot. Reruns: The Big Bang Theory.
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More about: Blindspot: ratings, Castle: ratings, Dancing with the Stars: ratings, Gotham: ratings, Houdini & Doyle: ratings, Jane the Virgin: ratings, Mike & Molly: ratings, NCIS: Los Angeles: ratings, Reign: ratings, The Big Bang Theory: ratings, The Odd Couple (2015): ratings, The Voice: ratings
Monday TV Ratings: The Bachelorette, Whose Line Is it Anyway, The Odd Couple, Blindspot, Houdini & Doyle
Monday TV Ratings: Gotham, Mike & Molly, Castle, The Voice, Reign
Monday TV Ratings: Houdini & Doyle, Dancing with the Stars, NCIS: Los Angeles, Blindspot, Jane the Virgin
Monday TV Ratings: Mike & Molly, Reign, Lucifer, Castle, The Voice
Monday TV Ratings: Blindspot, Castle, Gotham, Scorpion, Jane the Virgin
Monday TV Ratings: Supergirl, Dancing with the Stars, Blindspot, Lucifer, Jane the Virgin
Monday TV Ratings: Blindspot, Castle, Supergirl, Gotham, Jane the Virgin
Monday TV Ratings: Castle, The Voice, Supergirl, Gotham, Jane the Virgin
Monday TV Ratings: Supergirl, Blindspot, DWTS, Minority Report, Jane the Virgin
Monday TV Ratings: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane The Virgin, Blindspot, Castle
Monday TV Ratings: Scorpion, The Night Shift, Jane the Virgin, The Following, Castle, NCIS: Los Angeles
Monday TV Ratings: Dancing with the Stars, Jane the Virgin, Night Shift, The Following, Mike & Molly
Monday TV Ratings: State of Affairs, Castle, Mike & Molly, Bachelor, Celebrity Apprentice
Monday TV Ratings: Mike & Molly, Great Christmas Light Fight, Jane the Virgin, The Voice
Monday TV Ratings: The Millers, Jane the Virgin, Sleepy Hollow, Castle, Blacklist
Monday Ratings: Mike & Molly, Bones, Sleepy Hollow, Castle, Hostages, Blacklist

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


So Ryan is now livin in Shawnigan Lake – CONGRATS!! !
We get lots and lots of new riding spots. So on a rainy February day we went. we heard about trails at Mt.Baldy so exploring the area trying to find trailheads without directions ended us right in town-oops. We ended up riding a ways down the road to the train tracks then circling around to the trails. Im sure there is an easier way. the ride was awesome and found lots of well maintained quad and single track trails.We only killed ONE bike.HEHE.
The pic is from the top of the mountain- kind of a rainy day but you can see Shawnigan pretty good – sidney was way off to the right and you could just see Cowichan lake off in the distance – We have to go back on a clear day!! !
← Last Ride of the Year?? ?


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New Zealand's largest city -- and the world's largest Polynesian city -- sprawls across an isthmus positioned between two harbors. The City of Sails boasts more boats per capita than any other and draws Kiwis with top surf spots and cultural charms. In the Parnell area, peruse art galleries, antique shops and cafes housed in restored Victorian buildings or venture to the harbor for a leisurely cruise or exhilarating jet boat tour. Just a ferry ride away, Waiheke Island is dotted with beaches and vineyards. Nearby Rangitoto Island is the youngest but largest of the Auckland area's 48 volcanic cones, and a trek to its summit rewards hikers with 360-degree views of emerald seas. Some excursions introduce cruise passengers to Maori culture, while others head to sheep farms for a glimpse of New Zealand's rural life. Hobbiton enchants fans of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" movies, and below the village of Waitomo, a series of caves radiate a glittering blue light due to a rare glowworm species.
Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZD)
99 Quay St
Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
Exiting airport, turn left at the first set of traffic lights onto George Bolt Memorial Drive. Continue on that road which runs into the motorway route 20. Exit the motorway at Queentown Road Exit and turn first right onto Queentown Road. Go through roundabout, and up the hill. You are now on Route 12. Follow Route 12 all the way into the city (clearly sign posted) Turn left onto Alpers Avenue and then right at the end of the road. Turn left onto the motorway on-ramp. Take a second off-ramp (Symonds Street Exit) which will take you to the heart of the city. Follow Symonds Street down to the very end, past Auckland University. This road runs into Anzac Avenue. Follow Anzac Avenue until the last set of lights. Turn left into Customs Street. Follow Customs Street until Commerce Street. Turn right into Commerce Street and at the end of Commerce Street turn left into Quay Street. Queens Wharf and Princes Wharf are both located on Quay Street.
Auckland, New Zealand Weather
Low 17 17 16 13 11 9 8 9 10 11 13 14
Centimeters 8 8 8 10 13 13 13 10 10 10 8 8


There are as many reasons why someone would call a lawyer. There is lots to consider like fee structures, including experience, fees and reliability. The article below discusses what you deal with lawyers.
Ask any lawyers about their fees. The charges can vary widely depending on the lawyer's experience and skill; therefore, and it is smart to be aware of what you are going to pay before you retain him. You don't want to hire an attorney late in the game because you simply can't afford them.
You may not realize that you are entitled to have everything you've shared with a lawyer to be kept confidential. This means he can't discuss it with your family, or sensitive information given to your lawyer, cannot be shared with any other third party.
Don't just accept the very first lawyer in the phone book. It is critically important to research your choices to ensure you are getting the best. You don't want to find out that you've hired a lawyer and end up losing your case.
You must feel free to ask your lawyer numerous questions. A good attorney will explain all of the details to you.
You might be able to get a referral for a good lawyer to choose. For instance, if you're into small business law, talk to an estate broker, an estate broker, accountant, and the like. These kinds of people speak with lawyers all the time and can assist you in making a judgement.
Research the fees and charges of similar cases charged by attorneys you are considering. Sit and talk to them about your budget and whatever you wish to achieve. Know what cost overruns may happen.
Use a lawyer referral service to find an attorney.You can find a wonderful lawyer from this method.Others may list any favorable lawyer by the state bar's standards that keeps liability insurance. Find out how these services vet the lawyers before using a referral service for this very important decision.
If you're trying to get a lawyer, choose one who specializes in the issue you are dealing with. Knowing in advance what a lawyer specializes in can help save you much time later.
One of the best ways to find a good lawyer is to see what referrals your friends have. If a trusted friend had a good experience, then you will likely find them to be professional, courteous and follow through well on their cases.
If you feel your lawyer is not doing everything he can to win your case, keep in mind that they're as interested in winning the case as you are. They have likely had cases similar to yours in this field and are much more knowledgeable than you about how to succeed.
Your attorney has insurance to deal with situations where they don't follow the law. They don't want these premiums to go up, so they try not to do anything wrong. Always have faith in your lawyer is working hard to protect you.
Even if you like the first lawyer you meet, meet with a few more. Legal issues may last a while, you need to have a lawyer you are comfortable working with. Choosing well in the right lawyer can make a big deal!
If you're not paying a lawyer a type of flat fee, you have to be aware of your expenses. You should be able to find out exactly where and monitoring how your money is spent.
You should have your questions ready for the lawyers you are considering hiring. You might consult with them or face to face.Ask them directly if the consultation fees to avoid surprise bills.
There are countless lawyers out there who want your business, so you must sort the wheat from the chaff with great vigor to find the one that will represent you best.
If you've sustained a personal injury, you may be able to find a lawyer who will represent you without an upfront fee but get paid by contingency. That means you don't pay unless he is successful in winning your case. This gives your attorney incentive to get as large a settlement as they can for you. If you win the case, he will generally get his fees collected prior to you calculating your expenses.
FindLaw has a popular legal directory you can use to locate US Lawyers. It allows you to search by name, since it lets you search for a lawyer by location, or specialty, or legal expertise. This will help you find relevant lawyers with lawyer website links and law firm descriptions.
You should be prepared for exactly what occurs when you do hire an attorney. Be sure you keep in mind all that you've learned here to assist you in finding a lawyer. You should now feel less stressed and anxious about the whole process.


RONALDINHO. He might have been signed as a marketing ploy, but he may be the key to Milan's title hopes. Milan opens at home against Bologna on Sunday with lots of injury problems -- Kaka is out and central defenders Paolo Maldini, Kakha Kaladze and Alessandro Nesta are all doubtful -- so the importance of a fit Ronaldinho, back from the Olympics, can't be underestimated.
AMAURI (Juventus). The lanky Amauri arrives at Juventus from Palermo, where he scored 23 goals in 53 games over the past two seasons. At 28, he has spent eight years in Italy with more modest clubs, Napoli, Piacenza, Chievo Verona and Palermo, he finally will get to enjoy the spotlight at Juventus, which paid $23 million. He's now eligible for an Italian passport and hopes to play for Italy.
FELIPE MELO (Fiorentina). The 25-year-old midfielder, signed in a $19 million transfer deal from small Spanish club Almeria, could be the surprise of the season. He is replacing Fabio Liverani as Fiorentina's holding midfielder and was outstanding in its UEFA Champions League qualifying series against Slavia Prague that concluded Wednesday.
JULIO BAPTISTA (Roma). Known as the "Beast," Julio Baptista spent two spells at Real Madrid with a loan spell in between. After finishing last season on the bench, the 26-year-old Baptista was put up for sale and purchased by Roma in a $13 million deal. He can play in midfield or up front, where he will give some muscle to the Roma attack.
AMANTINO MANCINI (Inter Milan). One Mancini leaves and another arrives. Roberto Mancini has been replaced by Jose Mourinho as coach, and one of Mourinho's major summer pickups was Amantino Mancini (whose nickname comes from the Portuguese word mansinho -- "the mild one"). After five seasons at Roma, the 28-year-old right winger has moved to Inter Milan, which paid $19 million.


For all those wondering, yes, I am still alive after Sunday night's 24-23 Packers win. I appreciate everyone reaching out to check on my well-being. I think I experienced every possible emotion a fan can experience during last night's roller coaster. I still cannot believe what transpired, but I've had some time to gather a few thoughts. I've watched damn near every highlight and read every recap since the game went final and here are some of my takes on the Packers' unbelievable comeback.
Coming into week one, one of the biggest questions marks for the Packers was their revamped offensive line. RT Bryan Bulaga made his first start in nearly a year after ACL surgery and new RG Justin McCray made his starting debut. Much like the rest of the team, it was a tale of two halves for the offensive line. The Bears defensive front, specifically Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks, got after the Packers early and often. Justin McCray was beaten badly twice in the first two possessions. He followed that up with a holding penalty and allowed a strip sack that was recovered by the Packers. Bulaga was beaten twice in the first half allowing Mack two sacks and a forced fumble. Aaron Rodgers was injured on a sack and Deshone Kizer faced constant pressure. The Packers, to their credit, adjusted nicely in the second half. They didn't allow a sack in the second half and they stifled a gassed Mack. Some of this had to do with the fact that Rodgers was hobbled and Green Bay relied on more of a quick passing game, but credit is due. Overall, the o-line survived its first major test. They'll need to keep it going next week against a stout front seven in Minnesota.
Another huge question mark for the Packers got off to shaky start, but finished strong. Matt Nagy & Mitch Trubisky had a field day on the first two drives, but once they got away from their scripted sequence of plays and got into the flow of the game the Packers defense settled in nicely. There were a few times, including the Bears' second to last possession, where the Packers reverted to their old "bend but don't break" ways, but they got off the field to give the offense a chance and they held to preserve the win. The pass rush was ineffective, minus Perry's game saving strip sack. The run defense was suspect early, stout in the middle, and just good enough late. Take away Mack's interception for touchdown and the defense really only allowed 16 points.The big improvement from last year looks to be the secondary. New corners Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson along with Kevin King and Tramon Williams look to have this defense miles ahead of where they were last season. There will be a lot to clean up still, but there's reason to believe that Mike Pettine has this unit heading in the right direction.
There's a reason I, alongside everyone else, have been clamoring for my favorite team to get Khalil Mack. He is an absolute game changer. I can't recall a better half of football from any single defensive player, maybe ever. Two sacks, a forced fumble, a recovered fumble, an interception, and a touchdown. It was laughable how dominant Mack was in the first half. He played a big hand in knocking Rodgers from the game and he absolutely bullied Kizer.
It looked like he ran out of gas in the second half, but that's likely because he's only been reported to the team for five days. The Bears are improving and they went all in on Mack. After one game it looks like he's going to live up to the expectations.
There's not much left to say at this point. If you watched NBC's broadcast, you know that Al Michaels & Cris Collinsworth were thinking of every cliché in the book to describe Aaron Rodgers' second half comeback. They compared him to Willis Reed and Brett Favre, they called him the Maestro. It simply was remarkable. Never in their 100 year history had the Packers won a game where they trailed by 17 in the fourth quarter. They were 0-111 and now they are 1-111. The fact that Rodgers was able to pull this off on one good leg was nothing short of incredible. He showed unbelievable poise to stand behind an offensive line that had been porous in the first half and deliver strike after strike. His throw to Geronimo Allison in the early fourth quarter was one of the best throws you will ever see.
The Bears knew they were beat after the first drive of the second half. From their gassed defense to their unfocused game plan, they had no chance and I think they knew it. Their personal Boogeyman had returned. In terms of importance, it still was only the first game of the season, but implications aside, it very well may have been his greatest performance in a career filled with them. Rich Eisen broke it down beautifully. There's just not much more to say.
The Vikings will travel to Lambeau Field on Sunday for another crucial NFC North game. Rodgers status likely won't be known until later this week, but he told Michelle Tafoya that he'll be playing. The Vikings are target number one on Rodgers' revenge tour. Last year, Anthony Barr knocked Rodgers out of the game in Minnesota, breaking his collarbone. It cost Rodgers and the Packers their season. I fully expect him to play. He remembers.
Like the column? Follow along on Twitter at @BarnBurnerBaker and @The_BarnBurner. I'll be baking and burning on a variety of subjects spanning across College Football, the NFL, Major League Baseball, Game of Thrones, and beyond.


Vizient operates a clinically integrated, member-led sourcing process to ensure that collectively, our strategies, products, services, programmatic offerings and national contract portfolio provide members with industry-leading value.
By giving as many members as possible a voice in our contracting outcomes, we help ensure that our contracts meet the needs of the greatest majority of our members.
If you possess knowledge and experience in any of the above areas and have been in your role with your current organization for a minimum of one year, we encourage you to apply for participation on a council. Members must have Vizient, Provista or Children's Hospital Association (CHA) as their primary group purchasing organization (GPO). Individuals must commit to participate in 100 percent of monthly calls and periodic in-person meetings (as many as two annually, funded by Vizient). An individual may serve on no more than one council at a time, and each organization may have only one representative on the same council at a time. Terms of service are three years in duration.
If you possess knowledge and experience in any of the above functional areas or classes of trade and have been in your role with your current organization for a minimum of one year, we encourage you to apply for council participation. Members must have Vizient, Provista or CHA as their primary GPO. Individuals must commit to participate in 100 percent of monthly calls and periodic in-person meetings (as many as two annually, funded by Vizient). An individual may serve on no more than one council at a time, and each organization may have only one representative on the same council at a time. Terms of service are three years in duration.
If you possess subject knowledge and experience in any of the above areas, we encourage you to self-nominate and join. Members must have Vizient, Provista or CHA as their primary GPO. Individuals must commit to participate in 90 percent of surveys. A member organization can have council participants serve on as many as four expert panels simultaneously. Panel participation includes access to an online peer discussion forum, as well as free online educational opportunities. Terms of service are unlimited in duration as long as the member organization is in good standing.
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The President of Kurdistan Government addresses a speech to Iraqis in Arabic
The president of Kurdistan regional government, Masrour Barzani, addressed the Iraqis in Arabic Language to pass on the successful experience of Kurdistan Region to other Iraq's governorates.
German Lady heads European Parliamentary Mission to Monitor Iraqi Election
It is fundamental that the electoral process to be wrapped up peacefully and to secure the safety of voters, candidates and civil society activists.
Annabaa Forum for Dialogue receives Dutch Ambassador
The director of Annabaa Forum for Dialogue, Ali AlTalaqani, and the Dutch Ambassador to Iraq, Michel Rentenaar, discussed a number of political, economic and cultural issues, along with the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Iraq's Tishreen Uprising: From Barricades to Ballot Box
The huge demonstrations that rocked Iraqi cities two years ago reverberate still, with the main grievances unaddressed. Protests could arise anew at any time, risking another lethal crackdown.
Prospects and Hopes in 2021 Iraqi Elections
Authority, in Iraq, has always showed it presence across state's institutions. If we want to analyze this presence and its influence...
An explicit roadmap to restore the state
A glimpse of hope was seen with the new government formation of Al-Kadhemi that coincided with ending the threat of ISIS...
Why Trump Cries Electoral Fraud
US President Donald Trump, perhaps unsurprisingly, has alleged fraud in the November 3 presidential election, without offering what anyone would consider real evidence...
The 2020 Presidential Election – Who will win?
For all the faith given to polls, they have been somewhat unreliable over the years. There was the 1948 presidential election that showed Dewey ahead of Truman by a sizable percentage.
An American Civil War
Who Are the Would Players?
Battle for the Soul of the US Supreme Court
The death of the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, last week is more than another fight over nominating and approving a new Supreme Court...
The USA on the brink of civil war
In this article, the author seeks to draw our attention to a fact that is difficult for Westerners to conceive of: The American people are experiencing a crisis of civilization. They are so deeply divided that the presidential election is not just about e
Hope and Fear in Iraq's Elections
Iraqi protests have shaped several of electoral visions of the youth protesters. A number of youth political bodies...
Concerns Abound About a Vague Presidential Election Results in November
The question of who takes over a position of power has always been a major cause of civil war. In England, it was the War of the Roses, which saw several nobles lay claim to the English Crown...
Will the US Military Intervene in the 2020 Election?
As the November presidential election grows nearer, the number of theories about what will happen continue to grow. Charges about fraudulent ballots ...
Biden Picks a Running Mate
The last piece for the 2020 presidential election has been put in place – the choice of Biden's vice-presidential running mate. The choice is junior California Senator Kamala Harris
Election in Iraq in confrontation with corruption
In the absence of integrated political, economic, and security solutions, the pre-election phase will be an open
Super Tuesday Election Results Shake Up Democratic Nomination Race
here is an old political adage that says, "a week is an eternity in politics." That adage was no truer than this week. A week ago, Vice President Biden's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination seemed dead.
How Important Will Middle Eastern Politics Be in the U.S. Election This Year?
A regular survey of experts on matters relating to Middle Eastern and North African politics and security.
Looking at the Last American Elections until 2020
This week several states held off year elections. And, though it is easy to try to extrapolate these results into a national trend
Almost HALF of Tory members want to 'reduce Muslims coming to UK', shock poll shows
A poll for Hope Not Hate has alarming revelations about the 160,000 Conservative members who will choose our next Prime Minister
The Age of Cynical Voters
Voters who support populist parties and leaders are making political choices that they know to be risky because they feel as though they have nothing to lose.
The Race for Istanbul: Erdogan's Plan A and B
Although massive state resources have been mobilized against Imamoglu, the opposition candidate has taken up the mantle of the underdog who could challenge the status quo nationally, just as Erdogan himself did two decades ago.
A Battle for India's Soul
Every Indian general election beats its predecessor's record to become the largest in world history. This time, Indian voters must decide whether they want an inclusive country that embodies hope, or a divided one that promotes fear.
Elizabeth Warren's Big Ideas on Big Tech
The debate about how to regulate the tech sector is eerily reminiscent of the debate over financial regulation in the early 2000s


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Suzy Farbman
Synchronicity, Turning Points and Beyond…
Interviews and Speaking
Read the Spirit
Though breast cancer interrupted young mom Ali Weitz's best laid plans, she survives and thrives
The Weitz family after the birth of the girls.
With shiny, long blonde hair and a seemingly blessed life, Ali Weitz was a golden girl. At 30, she lived in the tony suburb of Bloomfield Hills, MI, happily married to a young man to whom she was introduced by his mother and hers. She and Andrew, her husband of 4 years, had an adorable baby boy, Wyatt. Ali and Andrew were ready to get pregnant again.
Ali Weitz wears a cool cap during chemo, accompanied by her husband Andrew.
When Ali was 1, her sister Amanda, 15, died of leukemia. Ali says, "Even though I really didn't get the chance to know Amanda, I grew up with an intuitive drive to make it all count."
Earlier, Ali had felt a lump in her breast. A doctor had performed a biopsy and lumpectomy but was "confident" it was benign. No one in her family had a history of breast cancer or of the BRCA jean. So Ali wasn't worried.
Wyatt was about to turn 2. Ali was busy arranging playdates and checking off lists, planning a future nursery and "focusing on the 'normal' things 30 year old women think about." She sat holding her cell phone scrolling through Pinterest for ideas on Mickey Mouse themed parties.
On September 9, 2015, the phone rang. Breast cancer.
Ali says, "My life came to a screeching halt."
Thus began what Ali calls her "life altering journey." She discovered what we who've faced a similar challenge discover: the first days of uncertainty are torture.
Suddenly Ali found herself meeting with surgeons and specialists. Dr. Jeffrey Margolis, a respected oncologist at Royal Oak's Beaumont Hospital, became Ali's "quarterback." She says, "My cheer leading squad of loving family and friends put me in touch with the best of the best. I was used to planning out everything. I needed a plan."
Her team developed that plan. Step 1: Immediate fertility treatment before chemo disrupted her reproductive system. Step 2: Double mastectomy. Step 3: 6 aggressive chemo treatments. "It would be a tough year," Ali says. "But at least we had a plan."
Ali shared her story of survival with members of Detroit's Temple Beth El on the afternoon of Yom Kippur. My heart ached for her. She was so young. When I faced my cancer battle, I was twice her age. And I thought I was young.
Cancer has no respect for age.
While initiating her plan, 3 years to the very day she spoke at Temple Beth El, Ali received a another call. Her fertility specialist, doing blood work to prepare for Ali's egg retrieval, discovered his patient was 4 weeks pregnant. "I was already mourning the loss of my so-called perfect life," Ali says. "I felt robbed of my innocence, and now I'd have to lose my baby and face the reality I might never carry a baby again. I didn't think life could get any worse. But I put a smile on my face that night and suffered in secret."
Ali's pregnancy was terminated. A double mastectomy followed. 3 days later, still hooked up to drains, Ali was wheeled into the fertility office to complete the egg retrieval for which she'd prepared.
Before starting chemo, this determined young woman flew to California for her sister-in-law Jamie's wedding. "While I was in pain, insecure and terrified, the thought of missing an event we'd planned for months made me sadder than staying home in the comfort of my post-surgery chair."
Ali put on a pretty dress and walked down the aisle. "I was scared, insecure, uncomfortable and half the person I thought I was. To this day, when I look at photographs from that night, I don't know how I did it. I'm proud of the woman who found the strength to walk down that aisle with her head held high and celebrate the good."
Ali returned home "to a cold, dark winter with nothing to look forward to." She had a port implanted in her left arm and underwent 6 rounds of chemo. Her mom, her "head cheerleader," encouraged her to wear a cool cap during chemo treatments. "With all the physical changes my body was going through, she thought keeping my hair would help me feel more like myself," Ali said. (According to the ACS, cooling constricts blood vessels in the scalp, minimizing the toxic chemicals that penetrate hair follicles. The cap stays on for 12 hours.) Ali remained a beautiful blonde throughout.
"For me, the worst part of the ordeal was being so disconnected. The fast-paced world was moving past me. I had to put my life on pause for a year."
Ali discovered the remarkable concern of others. "People I barely knew stepped up to help. My friends organized dinners. One drove Wyatt to school every day. Close friends took me to chemo. When the going gets tough, you learn who's there for you. On my last chemo treatment, many friends and family members stopped by to keep me company and cheer me on to the finish line. While everyone applauded as the 12 hour chemo and cold cap process ended, I burst into tears.
"The hardest part was just beginning. I felt lost. I didn't know who I was or how to become the person I used to be. For the first few months post-chemo, I was too depressed to even respond to text messages or attend social gatherings. I had 'survivor's guilt,' having gotten to know many others suffering from cancers for which there was no cure." (Ali's was HER2 + stage 1.) One of those others was her dear friend Lindsay Finsilver, her "pillar of strength and light," who since died.
After a few months, Ali says, "I was ready to find the old me. The problem was I couldn't just resume life as that person. I had to apply the old me to my new self."
Ali spent time working at Steve's (her mother's deli and Burton's and my go-to for corned beef sandwiches). A few months later, she began "making up for time I'd missed and being Wyatt's mom." As she continued to feel better, she started helping others who'd been diagnosed, encouraging them to wear cool caps.
"Counseling others, I began finding the gift in my experience. Being a source of strength for others, letting them know I walked in their shoes, I found a new version of myself and my purpose. While I still like to plan, I realize things don't always work out as planned, and that's okay, too.
"Today, 3 years after I received the second worst phone call of my life, I am here, proud to say I somehow got my fast-paced life back. But I make an effort to slow down and appreciate the little things."
The day Ali spoke, 3 of those little things waited for her in the foyer: her rambunctious son, Wyatt, and 2 rosy-cheeked infants, swathed in pink in a double stroller. Lolita Amelia is named for Ali's friend Lindsay and sister Amanda; Simone Faye, for Ali and Andrew's grandmothers. The couple's biological twins were born with the help of a gestational carrier.
When Ali finished speaking, Rabbi Mark Miller joined her. He marveled that throughout her trials, she'd managed to smile on. Ali said, "I tried to keep my worries somewhat private but to show up for others with a smile on my face." Ali wears a smiley face gold ring, a gift from a dear family friend. When she was being wheeled in for surgery, a nurse asked her to take off the ring. "I can't," she said. And didn't.
Brava, Ali, for your courage and compassion. Thanks for sharing such a powerful story. Smile on.
Family surrounds Ali Weitz after she tells her story.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on October 28, 2018 by Suzy Farbman.
← Principal LaShawn Houston-Frost brings out the best in students at Sarasota's Booker Middle School Love and loss and the price we pay for friendship →
One thought on "Though breast cancer interrupted young mom Ali Weitz's best laid plans, she survives and thrives"
Destry Ramey October 29, 2018 at 7:28 am
Lovely story of Ali & her family, Suzy. Thank you. I was 34 yrs old when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer – BRCA1 gene testing was in it's infancy. Ali is a brave & lovely young lady, so blessed by God & her tremendous family & friends surrounding her. She will forever be in my prayers for her strength, attitude & endurance. New treatments continue to progress more quickly than ever before. Now that Ali & Andrew have been blessed with three beautiful children, I would definitely recommend, if she has not done so, for Ali to seriously consider having a complete hysterectomy . Had I done that, it would have saved me from my last 5 bouts of cancer involving the fallopian tube & ovaries. Genetic testing was fairly new & recommendations to prevent future complications from this gene not well known when I was finally tested years after my first cancer, breast cancer. God Bless Ali, Andrew & their beautiful family.
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Rd 7 Ultimate Guide: Injuries force Cowboys changes
The nib Newcastle Knights will be looking to go back-to-back on Saturday afternoon when they face the North Queensland Cowboys at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
Cowboys winger Connelly Lemuelu (shoulder) and second-rower Mitch Dunn (groin) have both been ruled out, with Tom Opacic and Jordan McLean both named to start.
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS v NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Date: Saturday, June 27
Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium
If you can't catch the game on TV or radio, the Knights will be blogging the game at newcastleknights.com.au.
Knights: 20
Cowboys: 18
Fitz: Injury return, travel, Cows challenge
1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Edrick Lee, 3. Enari Tuala, 4. Gehamat Shibasaki, 5. Hymel Hunt, 6. Kurt Mann, 7. Mitchell Pearce (c), 8. David Klemmer, 9. Andrew McCullough, 10. Daniel Saifiti, 11. Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 12. Sione Mata'utia, 13. Tim Glasby, 14. Tex Hoy, 15. Jacob Saifiti, 16. Herman Ese'ese, 17. Aidan Guerra, 19. Tautau Moga, 21. Pasami Saulo
1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Justin O'Neill, 4. Esan Marsters, 18. Tom Opacic, 6. Scott Drinkwater, 7. Jake Clifford, 8. Josh McGuire, 9. Reece Robson, 20. Jordan McLean, 19. Shane Wright, 12. Coen Hess, 13. Jason Taumalolo (c). INTERCHANGE: 10. Francis Molo, 14. Ben Hampton, 15. Gavin Cooper, 16. Peter Hola.
HEADING NORTH
Crossing the Queensland border for the first time this season, the Knights will be out to post their first win in Townsville since 2015.
Managing seven wins from 19 appearances at the Cowboys' former home ground, the Knights will be hoping their first visit to Queensland Country Bank Stadium brings about a change in fortune.
SAIFITI STAMINA
Gehm: Accountability and competition for spots
Providing plenty of punch through the middle over the opening six rounds, Daniel and Jacob Saifiti have been two of the Knights' best performers this season.
Claiming man of the match honours against Brisbane last week, starting prop Daniel has laid the platform for the side's best start to a season in almost two decades, averaging 170 metres per game while crossing for two tries through sheer strength and determination.
Returning to form after struggling with injuries over the past two years, Jacob has been a shining light off the bench running for more than 100 metres in all bar one game, along with progressively increasing his minutes with each performance.
DEFENDING THE LINE
In spite of averaging close to 25 points per game with the ball, the driving force behind the Knights' resurgence has been the defensive resolve instilled by coach Adam O'Brien.
Conceding just over two tries per game to rank seventh in defence, the Knights have been especially strong during the final 20 minutes of matches conceding only one try during the loss to Melbourne.
Coming up against a Cowboys team capable of scoring plenty of points, the Knights will need to remain vigilant as they fight to return to the top of the premiership ladder.
KNIGHTS STAT ATTACK
The Knights have led at halftime in each of their wins this season.
Kalyn Ponga has converted 20/27 goals this season for a 74% success rate.
COWBOYS STAT ATTACK
Saturday will be the first time the Cowboys have hosted a daytime match in three years.
Kyle Feldt has scored 8 tries this season - the most of any player in the premiership.


What good are earning credit card rewards if you don't use them? Here's how I have used my points to save money on travel since I started earning them a year ago. Since I have focused mostly on earning points, I haven't had as many opportunities to spend them yet, so this post will be considerably shorter than Part 1.
Note that I don't count travel expenses covered by the Sapphire Reserve's $300 annual travel credit as a redemption as I view it more as a rebate of the $450 annual fee, making the card effectively $150 annually. In addition, the cash prices listed for flights were the prices at the time I booked my reward flights, and are based on a round-trip basis (flight price = round-trip price / 2) when possible. For various reasons, one-way fares are almost always significantly more expensive, so listing the round-trip price is a more fair comparison for calculating the value of points.
Also, you may notice that my redemptions listed here are all flights, even though I could also use my points toward hotel redemptions. In general, I find that flight redemptions have greater value since there is much less variance and flexibility with flight pricing by comparison. I have a different strategy for hotels which I explain in more detail in a future post.
My first redemption allowed me to make my annual visit home almost for free! At the time, I had about 12,000 Southwest miles sitting in my account from previous flights that I had taken. The cash price of the tickets at the time I booked was $458 round-trip, or 30,383 Southwest miles, or 1.51 cents per mile. Southwest prices their redemptions in proportion to the going cash rate, with the value per point typically falling between 1.5 and 1.7 cents per point. In this particular case, the value per point was on the low end, and I might have decided to fly a different airline or pay in cash instead of paying the full 30k points. However, since I only had to put up enough points for an additional 18,000 miles, I effectively got $458 of value for the 18,000 points I kicked in, or 2.54 cents per point spent! This is an excellent value for a point redemption, and really showcases the power of using UR points to top up an existing balance for a redemption.
As of this writing, I haven't actually taken this trip yet as I will be travelling in about a week's time. Shown above is the itinerary that I have planned out and how I have paid for it.
I first started by booking my flights to and from Japan using the 57,000 United miles that I earned from getting the United MileagePlus Explorer card last year, plus about 13,000 leftover United miles that I had accumulated in the past. I could have also transferred the missing 13,000 miles from my Chase account to top up the balance if I needed to. This got me to 70,000 United miles, which is enough to redeem for a round trip economy ticket between the US and Japan! The closest major international airport to me (O'Hare) has direct flights to both Narita and Haneda airports, so I got a direct flight to Haneda on ANA both because their service is superior to United (as would be expected of a Japanese airline), and because Haneda is much closer to the center of Tokyo than Narita. If you ever travel to Tokyo, try to fly in to Haneda if possible since it will save you at least an hour each way on the train to Tokyo. This flight was priced at $704, so by paying with 35,000 United miles, I got a value of 2.01 cents per mile in value!
Since I will be travelling at the end of April, I am taking a side trip north to Hakodate in order to see the last of the cherry blossoms and to get a feel for Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost prefecture. Fortunately, I was able to score some very cheap flights by transferring my UR points to British Airways, and then using them to book flights on Japan Airlines for 4,500 points each way! For short, direct flights (especially outside of the US), it's hard to beat the value that British Airways miles can provide! These flights would have cost $209 if I were to pay cash, so by using points instead I got 2.32 cents per point in value!
On my way back from Japan, I will be flying ANA to San Jose in order to visit family before I return back home. United allows open-jaw itineraries on award flights, and I am making use of it here on my return flight. Like my outbound trip, this flight was priced at $704, so by using 35,000 United miles, I got a value of 2.01 cents per mile!
Finally, I will be returning to O'Hare via an American Airlines flight that I booked for 10,000 British Airways miles (transferred from UR points). The one-way cash price for this flight was $223, so I got 2.23 cents per point of value!
By strategically using the points that I have earned, I am able to redeem them for travel at a significant discount, netting over 2 cents per point in value for economy-class flights. Given that I also aim to earn a credit card signup bonus every 3 months or so, I likely won't have to pay for flights out of pocket for the foreseeable future unless I choose to. Who doesn't like free travel?


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using OpenTK.Graphics;
using SpaceTradingGame.Game;
using SpaceTradingGame.Engine.UI.Controls;

namespace SpaceTradingGame.Engine.UI.Interfaces
{
    public class TradingScreen : Interface
    {
        public TradingScreen(InterfaceManager manager)
            : base(manager)
        {
            screenTitle = new Title(null, "Trading Hub", GraphicConsole.BufferWidth / 2, 1, Title.TextAlignModes.Center);

            playerValueTitle = new Title(null, "Player Value", 50, 11, Title.TextAlignModes.Center);
            computerValueTitle = new Title(null, "Computer Value", 51, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 11, Title.TextAlignModes.Center);
            differenceValueTitle = new Title(null, "Difference Value", GraphicConsole.BufferWidth / 2, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight / 2, Title.TextAlignModes.Center);

            playerCreditsTitle = new Title(null, "Player Credits", 1, 1, Title.TextAlignModes.Left);
            computerCreditsTitle = new Title(null, "Computer Credits", GraphicConsole.BufferWidth - 26, 1, Title.TextAlignModes.Left);

            backButton = new Button(null, "Back", 0, 0, 6, 1);
            backButton.Click += (sender, e) =>
            {
                InterfaceManager.ChangeInterface("System");
            };

            Color4 controlFillColor = new Color4(0.15f, 0.15f, 0.15f, 1f);
            Color4 darkerColor = new Color4(0.1f, 0.1f, 0.1f, 1f);
            Color4 lighterColor = new Color4(0.2f, 0.2f, 0.2f, 1f);

            TradingListItem.BufferWidth = 25; //Set to the width of the inventory screens

            inventoryList = new ScrollingList(null, 1, 2, 25, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 3);
            inventoryList.FillColor = controlFillColor;
            availableItemsList = new ScrollingList(null, GraphicConsole.BufferWidth - 26, 2, 25, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 3);
            availableItemsList.FillColor = controlFillColor;

            offeredList = new ScrollingList(null, 38, 2, 25, 9);
            offeredList.FillColor = controlFillColor;
            interestedList = new ScrollingList(null, 37, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 10, 25, 9);
            interestedList.FillColor = controlFillColor;

            playerRemoveOne = new Button(null, "<1", 26, 2, 6, 3);
            playerRemoveOne.FillColor = darkerColor;
            playerRemoveTen = new Button(null, "<10", 26, 5, 6, 3);
            playerRemoveTen.FillColor = darkerColor;
            playerRemoveHundred = new Button(null, "<100", 26, 8, 6, 3);
            playerRemoveHundred.FillColor = darkerColor;

            playerAddOne = new Button(null, "1>", 32, 2, 6, 3);
            playerAddOne.FillColor = lighterColor;
            playerAddTen = new Button(null, "10>", 32, 5, 6, 3);
            playerAddTen.FillColor = lighterColor;
            playerAddHundred = new Button(null, "100>", 32, 8, 6, 3);
            playerAddHundred.FillColor = lighterColor;

            playerRemoveOne.Click += (sender, e) => RemovePlayerItem(offeredList.GetSelection(), 1);
            playerRemoveTen.Click += (sender, e) => RemovePlayerItem(offeredList.GetSelection(), 10);
            playerRemoveHundred.Click += (sender, e) => RemovePlayerItem(offeredList.GetSelection(), 100);

            playerAddOne.Click += (sender, e) => AddPlayerItem(inventoryList.GetSelection(), 1);
            playerAddTen.Click += (sender, e) => AddPlayerItem(inventoryList.GetSelection(), 10);
            playerAddHundred.Click += (sender, e) => AddPlayerItem(inventoryList.GetSelection(), 100);

            computerAddOne = new Button(null, "<1", 62, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 4, 6, 3);
            computerAddOne.FillColor = lighterColor;
            computerAddTen = new Button(null, "<10", 62, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 7, 6, 3);
            computerAddTen.FillColor = lighterColor;
            computerAddHundred = new Button(null, "<100", 62, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 10, 6, 3);
            computerAddHundred.FillColor = lighterColor;

            computerRemoveOne = new Button(null, "1>", 68, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 4, 6, 3);
            computerRemoveOne.FillColor = darkerColor;
            computerRemoveTen = new Button(null, "10>", 68, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 7, 6, 3);
            computerRemoveTen.FillColor = darkerColor;
            computerRemoveHundred = new Button(null, "100>", 68, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight - 10, 6, 3);
            computerRemoveHundred.FillColor = darkerColor;

            computerRemoveOne.Click += (sender, e) => RemoveComputerItem(interestedList.GetSelection(), 1);
            computerRemoveTen.Click += (sender, e) => RemoveComputerItem(interestedList.GetSelection(), 10);
            computerRemoveHundred.Click += (sender, e) => RemoveComputerItem(interestedList.GetSelection(), 100);

            computerAddOne.Click += (sender, e) => AddComputerItem(availableItemsList.GetSelection(), 1);
            computerAddTen.Click += (sender, e) => AddComputerItem(availableItemsList.GetSelection(), 10);
            computerAddHundred.Click += (sender, e) => AddComputerItem(availableItemsList.GetSelection(), 100);

            makeOfferButton = new Button(null, "Make Offer", GraphicConsole.BufferWidth / 2 - 6, GraphicConsole.BufferHeight / 2 - 3);
            makeOfferButton.Click += (sender, e) => makeOffer();

            computerInventory = new Inventory();

            #region Control Registration
            RegisterControl(screenTitle);
            RegisterControl(playerValueTitle);
            RegisterControl(computerValueTitle);
            RegisterControl(playerCreditsTitle);
            RegisterControl(computerCreditsTitle);
            RegisterControl(differenceValueTitle);
            RegisterControl(inventoryList);
            RegisterControl(availableItemsList);
            RegisterControl(offeredList);
            RegisterControl(interestedList);
            RegisterControl(playerAddOne);
            RegisterControl(playerAddTen);
            RegisterControl(playerAddHundred);
            RegisterControl(playerRemoveOne);
            RegisterControl(playerRemoveTen);
            RegisterControl(playerRemoveHundred);
            RegisterControl(computerAddOne);
            RegisterControl(computerAddTen);
            RegisterControl(computerAddHundred);
            RegisterControl(computerRemoveOne);
            RegisterControl(computerRemoveTen);
            RegisterControl(computerRemoveHundred);
            RegisterControl(makeOfferButton);
            RegisterControl(backButton);
            #endregion
        }

        public override void OnEnable()
        {
            computerMarket = GameManager.CurrentSystem.Market;
            computerInventory = GameManager.CurrentSystem.Market.MarketInventory;
            updateScreenInformation();
            updateLists();

            base.OnEnable();
        }
        public override void OnDisable()
        {
            inventoryList.ClearList();
            availableItemsList.ClearList();
            interestedList.ClearList();
            offeredList.ClearList();

            base.OnDisable();
        }

        public void AddPlayerItem(ListItem item, int number)
        {
            if (inventoryList.HasSelection)
            {
                TradingListItem tradingItem = (TradingListItem)item;

                //Check if the requested number exceeds the amount in the inventory
                number = (tradingItem.Quantity >= number) ? number : tradingItem.Quantity;
                tradingItem.Quantity -= number;

                //If the inventory has run out of items, remove it from the list
                if (tradingItem.Quantity <= 0) inventoryList.RemoveItem(item);

                //Check if the offered items list has the item, if it does update, otherwise add it
                TradingListItem offeredItem;
                if (!hasItem(offeredList, tradingItem, out offeredItem))
                {
                    offeredItem = new TradingListItem(tradingItem.Item, 0);
                    offeredList.AddItem(offeredItem);
                }
                offeredItem.Quantity += number;

                //Update displays
                updatePrices();
                tradingItem.UpdateDisplayInformation();
                offeredItem.UpdateDisplayInformation();
                updateScreenInformation();

                InterfaceManager.DrawStep();
            }
        }
        public void RemovePlayerItem(ListItem item, int number)
        {
            if (offeredList.HasSelection)
            {
                TradingListItem tradingItem = (TradingListItem)item;

                //Check if the requested number exceeds the amount in the inventory
                number = (tradingItem.Quantity >= number) ? number : tradingItem.Quantity;
                tradingItem.Quantity -= number;

                //If the inventory has run out of items, remove it from the list
                if (tradingItem.Quantity <= 0) offeredList.RemoveItem(item);

                //Check if the offered items list has the item, if it does update, otherwise add it
                TradingListItem offeredItem;
                if (!hasItem(inventoryList, tradingItem, out offeredItem))
                {
                    offeredItem = new TradingListItem(tradingItem.Item, 0);
                    inventoryList.AddItem(offeredItem);
                }
                offeredItem.Quantity += number;

                //Update displays
                updatePrices();
                tradingItem.UpdateDisplayInformation();
                offeredItem.UpdateDisplayInformation();
                updateScreenInformation();

                InterfaceManager.DrawStep();
            }
        }

        public void AddComputerItem(ListItem item, int number)
        {
            if (availableItemsList.HasSelection)
            {
                TradingListItem tradingItem = (TradingListItem)item;

                //Check if the requested number exceeds the amount in the inventory
                number = (tradingItem.Quantity >= number) ? number : tradingItem.Quantity;
                tradingItem.Quantity -= number;

                //If the inventory has run out of items, remove it from the list
                if (tradingItem.Quantity <= 0) availableItemsList.RemoveItem(item);

                //Check if the offered items list has the item, if it does update, otherwise add it
                TradingListItem offeredItem;
                if (!hasItem(interestedList, tradingItem, out offeredItem))
                {
                    offeredItem = new TradingListItem(tradingItem.Item, 0);
                    interestedList.AddItem(offeredItem);
                }
                offeredItem.Quantity += number;

                //Update displays
                updatePrices();
                tradingItem.UpdateDisplayInformation();
                offeredItem.UpdateDisplayInformation();
                updateScreenInformation();

                InterfaceManager.DrawStep();
            }
        }
        public void RemoveComputerItem(ListItem item, int number)
        {
            if (interestedList.HasSelection)
            {
                TradingListItem tradingItem = (TradingListItem)item;

                //Check if the requested number exceeds the amount in the inventory
                number = (tradingItem.Quantity >= number) ? number : tradingItem.Quantity;
                tradingItem.Quantity -= number;

                //If the inventory has run out of items, remove it from the list
                if (tradingItem.Quantity <= 0) interestedList.RemoveItem(item);

                //Check if the offered items list has the item, if it does update, otherwise add it
                TradingListItem offeredItem;
                if (!hasItem(availableItemsList, tradingItem, out offeredItem))
                {
                    offeredItem = new TradingListItem(tradingItem.Item, 0);
                    availableItemsList.AddItem(offeredItem);
                }
                offeredItem.Quantity += number;

                //Update displays
                updatePrices();
                tradingItem.UpdateDisplayInformation();
                offeredItem.UpdateDisplayInformation();
                updateScreenInformation();

                InterfaceManager.DrawStep();
            }
        }

        private void makeOffer()
        {
            int playerValue = 0;
            foreach (TradingListItem item in offeredList.Items)
            {
                playerValue += item.PriceTotal;
            }

            int computerValue = 0;
            foreach (TradingListItem item in interestedList.Items)
            {
                computerValue += item.PriceTotal;
            }

            int diff = playerValue - computerValue;

            if (diff < 0) //Player pays credits
            {
                diff = Math.Abs(diff);
                if (GameManager.PlayerShip.Inventory.Credits >= diff)
                {
                    differenceValueTitle.Text = "Good deal!";
                    makeTrade();
                    GameManager.PlayerShip.Inventory.Credits -= diff;
                }
                else
                {
                    differenceValueTitle.Text = "Not enough player credits.";
                }
            }
            else //AI pays credit
            {
                diff = Math.Abs(diff);
                if (computerInventory.Credits >= diff)
                {
                    differenceValueTitle.Text = "Good deal!";
                    makeTrade();

                    GameManager.PlayerShip.Inventory.Credits += diff;
                }
                else
                {
                    differenceValueTitle.Text = "Not enough computer credits.";
                }
            }

            updateScreenInformation();
            updateLists();
            InterfaceManager.DrawStep();
        }
        private void makeTrade()
        {
            //Loop through each item offered and add it to the AI's inventory
            foreach (TradingListItem item in offeredList.Items)
            {
                GameManager.PlayerShip.Inventory.RemoveItem(item.Item, item.Quantity);
                computerInventory.AddItem(item.Item, item.Quantity);
            }

            //Loop through each interested item and add it to the PC's inventory
            foreach (TradingListItem item in interestedList.Items)
            {
                computerInventory.RemoveItem(item.Item, item.Quantity);
                GameManager.PlayerShip.Inventory.AddItem(item.Item, item.Quantity);
            }

            offeredList.ClearList();
            interestedList.ClearList();
        }

        private bool hasItem(ScrollingList list, TradingListItem item, out TradingListItem offeredItem)
        {
            for (int i = 0; i < list.Items.Count; i++)
            {
                if ((list.Items[i] as TradingListItem).Item == item.Item)
                {
                    offeredItem = (TradingListItem)list.Items[i];
                    return true;
                }
            }

            offeredItem = null;
            return false;
        }
        private void updatePrices()
        {
            foreach (TradingListItem item in interestedList.Items)
            {
                item.PriceTotal = computerMarket.CalculateSellPrice(item.Item, item.Quantity);
            }
            foreach (TradingListItem item in offeredList.Items)
            {
                item.PriceTotal = computerMarket.CalculateBuyPrice(item.Item, item.Quantity);
            }
        }
        private void updateScreenInformation()
        {
            double playerValue = 0.0;
            foreach (TradingListItem item in offeredList.Items)
            {
                playerValue += item.PriceTotal;
            }
            playerValueTitle.Text = playerValue.ToString();

            double computerValue = 0.0;
            foreach (TradingListItem item in interestedList.Items)
            {
                computerValue += item.PriceTotal;
            }
            computerValueTitle.Text = computerValue.ToString();

            double diff = playerValue - computerValue;
            if (diff < 0.0)
            {
                differenceValueTitle.TextColor = Color4.Red;
                differenceValueTitle.Text = "◄ " + Math.Abs(diff).ToString() + "δ";
            }
            else if (diff == 0.0)
            {
                differenceValueTitle.TextColor = Color4.White;
                differenceValueTitle.Text = Math.Abs(diff).ToString() + "δ";
            }
            else
            {
                differenceValueTitle.TextColor = Color4.Green;
                differenceValueTitle.Text = Math.Abs(diff).ToString() + "δ ►";
            }

            playerCreditsTitle.Text = string.Format("Credits: {0}δ", GameManager.PlayerShip.Inventory.Credits);
            computerCreditsTitle.Text = string.Format("Credits: {0}δ", computerInventory.Credits);
        }
        private void updateLists()
        {
            inventoryList.ClearList();
            availableItemsList.ClearList();

            List<InventorySlot> inventory = computerInventory.GetInventoryList();
            foreach (InventorySlot slot in inventory)
            {
                availableItemsList.AddItem(new TradingListItem(slot.Item, slot.Quantity));
            }

            List<InventorySlot> pcInventory = GameManager.PlayerShip.Inventory.GetInventoryList();
            foreach (InventorySlot slot in pcInventory)
            {
                inventoryList.AddItem(new TradingListItem(slot.Item, slot.Quantity));
            }
        }

        private Title screenTitle, playerCreditsTitle, computerCreditsTitle;
        private Title playerValueTitle, computerValueTitle, differenceValueTitle;
        private ScrollingList inventoryList, availableItemsList;
        private ScrollingList offeredList, interestedList;
        private Button playerRemoveOne, playerRemoveTen, playerRemoveHundred;
        private Button playerAddOne, playerAddTen, playerAddHundred;
        private Button computerRemoveOne, computerRemoveTen, computerRemoveHundred;
        private Button computerAddOne, computerAddTen, computerAddHundred;
        private Button makeOfferButton;
        private Button backButton;

        private Market computerMarket;
        private Inventory computerInventory; //Temporary

        public class TradingListItem : ListItem
        {
            public static int BufferWidth = 25;
            public static int MaxTitleWidth = 11;

            public Item Item;
            public int Quantity;
            public int PriceTotal;

            public TradingListItem(Item item, int quantity)
            {
                this.Item = item;
                this.Quantity = quantity;

                UpdateDisplayInformation();
            }

            public void UpdateDisplayInformation()
            {
                //MaterialName     Price      xQuantity
                string name = string.Empty;
                if (Item.Name.Length <= MaxTitleWidth)
                {
                    name = Item.Name;
                    for (int i = 0; i < MaxTitleWidth - Item.Name.Length; i++)
                        name += " ";
                }
                else
                {
                    //MaxTitleWidth - 3 for "..."
                    for (int i = 0; i < MaxTitleWidth - 3; i++)
                    {
                        name += Item.Name[i];
                    }
                    name += "...";
                }

                string price = PriceTotal.ToString();
                string quantity = "x" + Quantity.ToString();

                int frontSpace = 2;
                int backSpace = BufferWidth - (MaxTitleWidth + frontSpace) - (quantity.Length + 1);

                string formattedText = name + new string(' ', frontSpace) + price + new string(' ', backSpace) + quantity;
                this.ListText = formattedText;
            }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub