You are here: Home / Amy Sue Nathan / Is Truth Really Stranger Than Women's Fiction?
From settings to relationships to emotions, women's fiction taps my heart and imagination because it takes what I know and puts it through a strainer so I'm left with just the juicy bits. Because real life has boring parts and boring parts don't belong in novels.
When I read or write something that makes me pause, I hit my "believe" button. For me, this happens a lot with male characters in novels — my own and those of others. Fictional men seem to be always handsome. Not that I mind, but all men in real life are not conventionally handsome so sometimes I wonder about it.
Entrenched in hefty rearranging and revising of my novel, where I'm upping the ante, identifying boring parts (it's true, I thought they were brilliant parts – both b-words – I guess I got confused) and writing a few new scenes that surprise even me — I thought of the familiar saying that truth is always stranger (and therefore better) than fiction.
To whomever is that author of that passage, I respectfully disagree.
Truth is not stranger than fiction.
At least not when it's done right.
Love this! I couldn't agree more.
How I related to these words. I too am waking up to the difference of the two b's in my own revision. Thank goodness writing is a process. A process which allows us to break the barriers that hold us back from revealing who our characters truly are. Great post. Thanks.
Glad it struck a chord, Jocosa!
I really like your metaphor about how women's fiction takes what you know and puts it through a strainer so you're left with just the juicy bits. As you so aptly observe, "real life has boring parts and boring parts don't belong in novels." Amen!
But I've seen inexperienced writers defend their boring parts vehemently. "But it really happened – I'm basing this on an actual event," they'll say. Fine, but that part of the event was boring. Leave it out. "But I need to get my protagonist from her house to the bank," they'll protest, defending a lengthy passage where their protagonist sits in a car, signals left, occasionally taps her brake pedal, and frequently checks her rear-view mirror. Leave it out. Jump to where she's already at the bank. Trust us – we'll manage to intuit that she drove, walked, took the bus, or beamed herself there, depending on the setting of your story.
Similarly, we can probably assume without any authorial help that your characters bathe, eat, use the bathroom and occasionally scratch themselves in unseemly ways, just like we all do in real life. Unless it moves the story forward, leave it out.
You've got some great advice here. We all need to keep that strainer handy, and just give the reader the juicy bits!
And yes, yes, yes to all your points. I think there's a learning curve to understanding and getting over "and then and then and then…" syndrome in writing. I know that I went through it – and I still go through it.
Like so many things, admitting there's a problem is the first step. And sometimes that's the biggest problem of all!
Oh yeah, I definitely fall into the "and then and then and then…" trap. I'm a linear thinker, and tend to want to cover every minute of my character's day in writing, until I remind myself how unnecessary it is.
Speaking of admitting problems, I marvel over authors who can seamlessly jump back and forth in time in their books – that's a non-linear technique where I need a LOT of work to get up to speed.
But I don't believe that statement either….truth inspires fiction, but we need to take that truth and intensify it….make it the extreme.
I keep the word "extreme" on a paper next to my computer. Reminds me to always go bigger. Can always pare back if need be!
Hi Amy! Great post! I tend to write the boring stuff, too, but I do think there's a benefit to getting this stuff out in my first drafts. Sometimes those pauses help me get inside the character's head, and there's often important information buried in an otherwise superfluous scene. The key (for me) is recognizing that tidbit, extracting it and moving it to a sensible place, and getting rid of the rest! Chop, chop!
I agree, Stephanie, my first draft is also the place for all the dreck! For me, getting it out is the first step to getting rid of it.
It's funny that you'd write this because I was having a similar conversation with my husband a couple of days ago! We were walking our dog, talking about books, writing, and an interview he'd heard on NPR, and it got me thinking about dialogue–how good dialogue sounds real, but it's not written the same way people talk. Because in real life, we go on tangents, and we ramble, and sometimes we take too long to get to the point. And while that's fine for us, because we're in the conversation and we stay engaged in it, if a reader had to listen in verbatim they'd probably be bored.
I think that applies to all aspects of fiction. You put it perfectly that we need a strainer to get the juicy bits! Love that!


Kathleen is a registered dietitian and Senior Manager of Wellness and Nutrition with Tyson Foods, Inc. in Chicago. Her areas of expertise include nutrition and health policy, food marketing and communicating science-based messages to a wide range of audiences.
At Tyson, Kathleen helps integrate wellness and nutrition into brand/business strategies, positioning, initiatives and programs. Previously, she was Medical and Scientific Affairs Manager with Nestle Nutrition where she focused on infant nutrition. Before joining Nestle, her role at Kraft included product labeling, nutrition claim substantiation and development of nutrition information materials. She began her career as a clinical/renal dietitian and public health nutritionist with WIC and also served as a nutrition instructor at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts program in Pasadena, California. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Kathleen received her Master of Science in Nutrition at The Pennsylvania State University and Bachelor of Science in Medical Dietetics at The Ohio State University.


VAULT PK is a member of USA Parkour, and our coaches are nationally certified through the World Federation of Parkour and Free-running (WFPF). They are all experienced parkour athletes and coaches.
VAULT PK is a family owned and operated business. With the help of her dad and brother, what started as a dream for Jessica, has now turned into a reality. Together they imagined, built and started VAULT PK. Jessica loves working with children and watching them as they grow in confidence, skill level, and athleticism. As a mother of four children of her own, she understands the struggles of parenthood, and knows she still has a lot to learn. Her favorite moments in this new venture are seeing the joy and excitement on the students faces as they challenge themselves to reach new heights and skill levels.
Work Experience: 15+ years as a gymnastics coach in Hawaii, San Francisco, and LA area. 15 years as a personal trainer, 12 years as pilates instructor, six years Managing a multi sport kids program in San Francisco, 10+ years as a mom (four kids: 10, 8, 5, 2yrs).
Sport Experience: 14 years as a competitive gymnast. Also competed in cheerleading (8 yrs), basketball, powerlifting, tae Kwon Do, marathons and half marathons. Enjoys surfing, scuba diving, running and dance.
Inspiration: Parents- They had five kids and worked full time and still managed to raise a tight knit family. My Kids- I learn so much from them everyday, including patience. Everyone around me- I feel everyone leads an interesting life with unique insight to share. I love learning about it.
Coach Eurico Senna is from Long Beach, CA and has been practicing the art of movement for over 10 years, beginning with capoeira, then eventually tricking, parkour, and freerunning. Coach Eurico aims to help children 3+ to adult achieve body coordination, balance, and strength through modern and urban styles of movement. Coach Eurico has worked privately and in group lessons with kids and adults of diverse backgrounds and abilities.
Before joining Vault PK in 2015, Coach Eurico coached gymnastics and capoeira for about 2 years in Long Beach, CA. Coach Eurico has also used his movement skills on stage and on film, namely on tour with Marvel Universe LIVE as Wolverine and Spiderman throughout the US and Europe. Coach Eurico now dedicates his time working as the manager at Vault PK and also building the Los Angeles urban movement communities.
Besides Coach Eurico's amazing job, he also enjoys yoga, filmmaking, and travelling. his favorite tricks are the helicoptero and boxcutter.
Coach Fernando is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and has been practicing Parkour for over 10 years and previously Taekwondo for 20 years as well as Track & Field for over 12 years. Coach Fernando aims to help all practitioners, more specifically towards medium and advanced level students to correct bad habits and take their skills to harder surfaces.
While joining Vault PK in December of 2017, Coach Fernando has been coaching at Camp Woodward in Pennsylvania every summer since 2013. Coach Fernando has also participated in over 15 parkour competitions around the world, including Greece and Sweden. He now instructs all levels and is available for private lessons.
Besides working at Vault PK, Coach Fernando also enjoys traveling for parkour events, editing videos, and watching comedy shows. Some of his favorite tricks are the pop snapuswipe and the vortex front flip.
Coach Ruben is from Calexico, California and has over 7 years of practice in gymnastics and parkour. Coach Ruben aims to help all levels to gain body awareness, mobility, and flexibility in order to optimize athletic ability.
Before joining Vault PK in July, Coach Ruben has coached gymnastics in San Diego as well as Camp Woodward West. Coach Ruben's ability has allowed him to perform in the UK, east coast as well as compete on American Ninja Warrior and continues to excel his athletic ability by training weekly.
Besides working at VaultPK, Coach Ruben enjoys days out in nature, photography and stand up comedy. Rubens favorite trick is side flips.
Coach Dan is from Long Beach, CA and has been practicing parkour, freerunning, and tricking for over 8 years. Coach Dan aims to help all levels of individuals and students 3+ refine their fundamentals and safety technique; at the same time, encourage positivity, confidence, and enjoyment in the art of movement.
Before joining VaultPK in 2016, Coach Dan has coached tricking and gymnastics to individuals of all levels at the CSULB Gymnastics Club and CSULB Martial Arts Tricking Club for 2 years. Coach Dan now dedicates his time teaching students of VaultPK and introducing the world of parkour and freerunning to those who participate in VaultPK birthday parties.
Besides teaching at VaultPK, Coach Dan enjoys sleeping, playing with his cats, and training at the park. Coach Dan's favorite trick is the gravity drop.
Coach Sebastien is from LA and has been practicing Freerunning, Trampoline, and Tricking for 6 years. Coach Sebastien aims to help driven students develop an understanding and love of movement through progression and passion.
VaultPK is Coach Sebastien's first job. He began coaching Classes and Private Lessons at Vault PK January of 2017, and has loved seeing the progress of our long term students! He is also a recently signed Professional Tricker for Team Torque.
Besides working at Vault PK, Coach Sebastien enjoys traveling, going to Movement-related events, and experiencing Los Angeles. Coach Sebastien's favorite trick is the Cork.
Coach Matt is from Torrance, California and has been practicing parkour and freerunning for 2 years. Coach Matt aims to help students 3+ to adult achieve body control, such as balance, coordination, and awareness. As well as helping to link the body and mind to achieve great feats of acrobatics.
Vault PK is Coach Matt's first job, he started taking classes at Vault for parkour and started working in 2017. Coach Matt now Teaches classes and parties to local youth age 3-16. He is also a youth leader at his church, Journey South Bay.
Besides working at VaultPK, Coach Matt also enjoys streaming on twitch, playing drums, and skateboarding. Coach Matt's favorite trick is a Kong gainer!


Most research in the area has emerged from the United States following extensive and widely-reported animal-related challenges associated with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Although animal owners in the US and Australia will share many of the same characteristics and behaviours, the emergency management arrangements and typical scale of disasters are quite different, making translation of US research to Australia difficult.
The National Strategy for Disaster Resilience states that communities should be empowered to take shared responsibility for disaster resilience. Animals provide an avenue to connect communities, and to enable community members to work together in disaster preparedness and planning.
Case studies were undertaken on the 2015 Sampson Flat bushfire in South Australia, as well as with the Tasmania Fire Service and its Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods program. More recently, the team collaborated with a newly-formed community-led group in the NSW Blue Mountains called Blue Mountains Animal Ready Community (Blue ARC). The research explored a 'community-to- community' approach to enhancing awareness, preparedness and planning for animals in emergencies.
Key findings show that over 60% of respondents expected the emergency services would provide information or advice regarding what they could do with their animals in an emergency situation.
This expectation was higher than other groups, such as veterinarians or the RSPCA. A generally low level of planning was reflected in the experiences of those who had evacuated during the 2013 fires. Although most respondents reported taking animals with them when they evacuated, some reported leaving a person behind to look after the animals, and others had to choose which animals to leave.
This research will inform the production of a community guide to establishing an animal ready community; a resource that could be used by other communities to promote emergency preparedness and planning through a focus on animals. This will include helpful advice for the steps involved, the networks and collaborations required, how to identify the needs of local animal owners, and suggestions for community activities.
Wrangling llamas in the laundry, the scratchy bits and the bitey end, stockings for muzzles, and keeping out of the kicking zone!
2019 Report Taylor, M. Managing animals in disasters (MAiD) - improving preparedness, response and resilience through individual and organisational collaboration: Final Report 2017. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2019).
2018 Journal Article Taylor, M., McCarthy, M. & Bigelow, J. Emergency preparedness and planning for animals: a case study in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 33, (2018).
2018 Journal Article Taylor, M. & McCarthy, M. Animal emergency management in South Australia: a case study of the Sampson Flat bushfire. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 33, (2018).
2017 Conference Paper Taylor, M., McCarthy, M. & Bigelow, J. Building an ARC in the mountains: a community-led initiative to build an animal-ready community (ARC) in the NSW Blue Mountains to provide a template for similar activities. AFAC17 (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2017).
2017 Journal Article Trigg, J., Smith, B. P., Bennett, P. & Thompson, K. Developing a scale to understand willingness to sacrifice personal safety for companion animals: The Pet-Owner Risk Propensity Scale (PORPS). International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 21, 205-212 (2017).
2017 Journal Article Thompson, K., Trigg, J. & Smith, B. P. Animal ownership among vulnerable populations in regional South Australia: implications for natural disaster preparedness and resilience. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice 23, 59-63 (2017).
2016 Journal Article Trigg, J., Thompson, K., Smith, B. P. & Bennett, P. A moveable beast: subjective influence of human-animal relationships on risk perception and risk behaviour during bushfire threat. The Qualitative Report 21, 1881-1903 (2016).
2016 Journal Article Trigg, J., Thompson, K., Smith, B. P. & Bennett, P. An animal just like me: the importance of preserving the identities of companion-animal owners in disaster contexts. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 10, 26-40 (2016).
2016 Journal Article Every, D., Due, C., Thompson, K. & Ryan, J. Conflicting perspectives on nonhuman animal rescues in natural disasters. Society & Animals 24, 358-382 (2016).
2016 Report Taylor, M. Managing Animals in Disasters - improving preparedness, response and resilience through organisational collaboration: Annual project report 2015-2016. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2016).
2015 Journal Article Smith, B. P., Taylor, M. & Thompson, K. Risk perception, preparedness and response of livestock producers to bushfires: a South Australian case study. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 30, (2015).
2015 Journal Article Taylor, M. et al. The challenges of managing animals and their owners in disasters: perspectives of Australian response organisations and stakeholders. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 30, (2015).
2015 Journal Article Trigg, J., Smith, B. P. & Thompson, K. Does emotional closeness to pets motivate their inclusion in bushfire survival plans? Implications for emergency communicators. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 30, (2015).
2015 Journal Article Westcott, R. People and their animals in emergencies: snapshots from past emergency events. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 30, (2015).
2015 Journal Article Taylor, M., Lynch, E., Burns, P. & Eustace, G. The preparedness and evacuation behaviour of pet owners in emergencies and natural disasters. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 30, (2015).
2015 Journal Article Thompson, K., Leighton, M. & Riley, C. Helping hands, hurting hooves: towards a multidisciplinary paradigm of large animal rescue. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 30, (2015).
2015 Journal Article Thompson, K. For pet's sake, save yourself! Motivating emergency and disaster preparedness through relations of animal guardianship. Australian Journal of Emergency Management 30, (2015).
2015 Report Taylor, M. Managing Animals in Disasters: Improving Preparedness, Response and Resilience Annual Report 2014. (2015).
2015 Report Taylor, M., Eustace, G. & McCarthy, M. Animal Emergency Management in Australia. (2015).
2015 Report Taylor, M. Managing animals in disasters: Annual project report 2014-2015. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2015).


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$500 million of the newly-announced funding will go towards building the $1 billion Morley-Ellenbrook Line. $241 million will help fund the $481 million extension of the Armadale Line to Byford, and $83 million will fund just over half of the Midland Station relocation. All three projects are still listed as being in their preliminary planning phases by the WA Government.
A further $2 million in federal money will fund a business case for a railway station at Lakelands, while $226 million in additional federal funding will "support other Metronet related projects".
"This significant infrastructure package will provide a major boost to WA's local economy, with many thousands of jobs expected to be created during construction," Turnbull said.
Speaking on the radio, the PM praised the work of Curtin University professor of sustainability Peter Newman, saying Newman had a "big brain," and had helped promote Perth as a leading city for passenger rail.
"You know what Western Australia has done a fantastic job on metro rail. Led the way at a time when other states were doing nothing. It's actually got on with it," Turnbull said.
Funding of urban public transport projects was one of the drivers behind Turnbull overthrowing Abbot. He did talk about it for some time prior. In terms of the self-promotion though, he's not quite right about it not being done before. A couple of Labor governments were doing it too over previous decades.
I would say that the Ellenbrook line is an example for finding a route from A to B (via motorways!), as the alternative of going underground through existing development in order to directly connect significant centres is far too expensive. There's actually a large amount of this type of expediency in Perth's new rail developments, but they've made it work very well with seamless and quick interchange between rail and an excellent bus system and park-an-ride.
In terms of the self-promotion though, he's not quite right about it not being done before. A couple of Labor governments were doing it too over previous decades.
Even the odd Liberal government here and there. The Cranbourne extension was courtesy of the Kennett government (at the partial expense of the 86 tram extension and with Federal funding) and it would be fair to credit them with saving the Upfield line by modernising it instead of converting it to light rail.
And the Upfield line carries quite respectable loadings these days,krustyklo.Not full on like most of the other lines-but still good.
Strange there is no mention of the Thornlie to Cockburn link, as locally this has bipartisan support and seemed likely to be the next rail undertaking following the Forrestfield Airport Link.
Pretty sure there was already federal funding allocated to Thornlie Cockburn Link from PFL redistribution?


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LEEC mortuaries have been seen on many different TV programmes over the years and the company has also been involved in some major filming projects notably the film Eyes Wide Shut starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
The latest appearance of LEEC's equipment was on the ITV1 drama DCI Banks. This programme showed the LEEC TST trolley in action demonstrating the power driven tray transfer concept.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Peamount United – Cork City Women
14/11/20 18:00 WNL Phase 2 Group 1 2020
Peamount 3 0 3
Cork City fell to a 3-0 defeat against Peamount at Greenogue on Saturday in their latest Women's National League match.
City had the first chance of the game with a driving run from Sophie Liston who tried to find Christina Dring but the pass was intercepted and cleared. Lucy McCartan gave Peamount the lead in the 14th minute with an excellent strike from distance to make it 1-0. They quickly doubled their lead when Karen Duggan struck from close range to make it 2-0.
Peamount almost made it three in the 26th and 28th minute but Abby McCarthy in the City goal did well to intercept and stop both efforts. Peamount did make it three in the 35th with Aine O'Gorman getting on the score sheet with a cool finish.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first half as Peamount continued the pressure into the second half with early chances in the second half which went just wide. Aine O'Gorman swung in a dangerous free kick which was punched clear by Abby McCarthy. At the other end Sophie Liston managed to get forward to threaten after a quick one-two with Lauren Egbuloniu but the effort was deflected and blocked.
Peamount continued to press for a fourth goal and Abby McCarthy was called into action to make a superb double save to keep it at three in the 69th minute. McCarthy was again called on to make another superb double save to deny Aine O'Gorman. While both sides continued to press for a goal there was little in the way of real chances for the rest of the game and it finished 3-0 to Peamount.
Next up for City is Wexford Youths WFC on Sunday 22nd of November in the Women's National League at Bishopstown.
Cork City: Abby McCarthy, Zara Foley (Eadaoin Lyons 78'). Danielle Burke, Lauren Walsh, Shaunagh McCarthy (Nathalie O'Brien 67'), Eabha O'Mahony, Becky Cassin, Kate O'Donovan (Lauren Egbuloniu 45'), Christina Dring (Jesse Mendez 75'), Sophie Liston (Leah Murphy 78'), Saoirse Noonan.
Greenogue
Farm Lodge, College Rd, Castleknock, Dublin 15, Ireland


Melanie Lyons Whelan '95 is a woman on a mission.
When Whelan first stepped into her current role as the CEO of Soul Cycle, the New York cycling chain with a devoted following, in the summer of 2015, the company was on the cusp of embarking on the daunting process of filing its IPO.
After several years with Starwood, during which time the company acquired several major brands including Sheraton, Westin and W Hotels, Whelan made the difficult decision to leave for a position with Virgin Airlines. The objective was to bring the Virgin brand into the U.S. When Whelan arrived, she was on a team of three working out of a loft in SoHo. "I loved being part of the start-up team," she says. By the time she left five years later, the team had grown to 26 and the company was ready to move to a permanent corporate headquarters.


The charming Turtle Bay condominium on Siesta Key is the perfect island escape for a permanent residence or a home away from home. Situated bayside on the southern end of the eight-mile barrier island, Turtle Bay is an ideal choice for those who prefer an more secluded atmosphere with resort-style living.
Built in 1980, there are two mid-rise buildings housing eighty-three generously sized condos with an average of 1,400 square feet of living space. Each residence offers well-designed floor plans with two-bedrooms, two bathrooms and a one-car garage. Additional parking is available on the premises. Owners may rent units for a minimum of three months and the on-site leasing office makes doing so quite easy. The rental-income potential for a unit at Turtle Bay is substantial.
Turtle Bay's location offers the best of both worlds with beautiful views of the Intercoastal waterway and quick access to the beach. Many units enjoy panoramic views of the Little Sarasota Bay. There are twenty-eight boat docks. Residents and guests may take a short stroll across Midnight Pass Road for deeded beach access to Turtle Beach. Turtle Bay amenities include a large heated pool, three lighted tennis courts, a clubhouse, spa, meeting room, fishing pier, barbeque, and picnic areas.
Turtle Beach is one of the top three beaches in the area, beloved for its sloping shoreline, picnic area, horseshoe pit, boat launch, and picnic areas. Turtle Beach is quite popular among shell collectors and is a favorite place for spending a day in the sun among families. A little further north is the secluded Crescent Beach, with its beautiful sand and extremely tranquil ambiance. Many agree that it is one of the locals' best-kept secrets as it offers all of the beachfront splendor of Siesta Key Beach, without the crowd. Consequently, Siesta Key Public Beach attracts visitors from around the world, consistently earning Dr. Beach's award as "Americas #1 Beach" for its pristine shoreline, ninety-nine percent quartz sand, and azure Gulf of Mexico waters. Additionally, the public beach area offers an ample supply of activities and amenities for the entire family, including courts for tennis, volleyball, and basketball, a shaded playground, nature trails, concession areas, a pavilion, barbeques and picnic areas.
Turtle Bay is convenient to two commercial districts on the island, the Crescent Village Market and Siesta Key Village. Crescent Village provides a nice selection of restaurants and boutiques as well as a grocery, pharmacy, and post office. For an even larger selection of cuisine and shopping, residents and guests may visit the Siesta Key Village. "The Village" is popular among vacationers and locals alike for its laid-back island environment, abundant selection of restaurants, fun beach clubs, and nighttime entertainment.
Turtle Bay is only a short drive from the south Stickney Point Bridge, granting access to the mainland with all its conveniences. Additionally, Downtown Sarasota, St Armand's Circle and Lido Key are all within a twenty-minute drive of Turtle Bay.


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The UK has been chosen as the first country to roll out the "VR Zone Portal" global brand following the opening of the successful and internationally appraised "VR Zone Shinjuku" in Tokyo. This innovative, leading-edge VR technology from Japan is sure to become a dominant force in the amusement sector and sets a sky-high bar in comparison to the VR experiences that are currently available. VR Zone Portal is set to be the leading out-of-home VR experience in the market today and certainly in the future with more incredible experiences yet to come.


Andrea's Random Lil' Blog: Asobi Seksu: Newton's rec, brilliant!
Asobi Seksu: Newton's rec, brilliant!
I have just received a message from my friend Newton, with a suberb CD recommendation. The band is called Asobi Seksu, and consists of one Japanese female vocalist (Yuki) and three American guys. They are said to be one of the best New York bands nowadays, and you can sample their last CD, Citrus, on their website! I am now listening to the tracks (samples, samples, very very short!) and loving it, so, this must be the First on my wish list now.
Newton thinks they sound a bit like Cocteau Twins, which I love, especially Yuki's voice. Still according to him, it can be compared - to some extent - to Cocteau's vocalist Liz Fraser, and I pretty much agree. Newton also mentions some simmilarity to Lush - but I must say I don't know them to agree or disagree (another group being added to my wish list, it seems!)... What I think is, if you like the style of Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine as well, this is a must-try, must-have, whatever! A must. It's really catchy and atmospheric. I am enchanted, aaaahhh... And mind you, all this enthusiasm coming just from hearing the samples.


Today is the last day of fresh-squeezed orange juice until next winter. This is one of my great seasonal pleasures. My mother always squeezed fresh orange juice, and I have followed her example all my life. I wrote about the first day of the season a few years ago. And the juicer also made an earlier appearance on a 'Tools of the trade' post. This year I couldn't find my beloved Temples, but I made do with Minneolas and Honey tangerines. In addition to the delicious taste, the oranges offer a burst of color in the kitchen as I look out at a white landscape.
The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life. You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.
Years ago, we grew spaghetti squash but Tom didn't like it, and I didn't love it enough to make it worth the growing space. I hadn't eaten any since that time, but recently I bought some cooked in the deli of my local co-op. Only butter and salt were added, and I thought it was wonderful so I bought a spaghetti squash to cook for myself. It is easy to make, and oh so delicious. I'm thinking about growing some again, even if it is just for me.
That's it. Then add butter and salt. Yum. They say you may top with tomato sauce, but for me I like it just the way I eat peas and yellow beans.
Sally: a brief journey; an excursion or trip.
Did you read Peyton Place when you were a kid or an adult? Were you shocked? After all these years, there's just one part I remember, and it was indeed quite 'racy.' There was an excellent, in-depth article in NH Magazine about the author Grace Metalious. You may read it online here.
I heard a very upsetting story on the radio program Here and Now about the Monarch butterflies. There are 59% fewer that made it to Mexico this winter. The good news is that there are things you and I can do in our own gardens and communities to possibly help the situation. You may read more here. Your place may even become certified as an official Monarch Waystation. I find this incredibly exciting and am looking into it for Windy Poplars Farm.
Update: a few hours later when the sun came out.
but since then my local co-op also sells Kate's Buttermilk from Maine.
They are both excellent. And they aren't filled with unpronounceable chemicals. One is smaller and organic, the other larger and though not organic is still from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.
I always have buttermilk in the house now. If you type 'buttermilk' into the search bar you'll see all the recipes I've posted so far.
Today's offering is a terrific little quick bread.
Lightly grease with cooking spray (original recipe called for butter) an 8-inch square baking pan.
Place the cornmeal in a medium-sized bowl, then sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Stir until thoroughly combined, and make a well in the center.
Add the egg, sugar, and melted butter to the buttermilk in the measuring cup, and whisk gently until uniform.
Place the blueberries on top of the batter, and gently fold them in with a rubber spatula, scraping up batter from the bottom of the bowl, and lifting it on top of the berries.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted all the way into the center comes out clean (I found it took about half an hour).
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, with butter.
Delicious! We're having it with a light vegetable soup.
The last fling of winter is over. ... The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it. It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.
If you'd like to know more about Peattie, there is a nice article here.
It rained overnight and into today, washing away some snow, overflowing the little stream, and making mud pie of the road. I can't remember when it last rained. Isn't it funny - the snows of winter completely erase even the notion of rain from my mind.
I took this picture in the morning looking out the screened study window.
Man must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind him to the fact that each moment of his life is a miracle and a mystery.
Short book notes on January through March books may be found here.
8. Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
For the first time in twenty-five years there is no small footstool next to the bed, on which to break one's toes. The little dogs, first Jasper and then Bear, are gone. How neatening is loss, since it only takes away! One less mouth to feed, to walk, to bathe, to hold. One less sentient creature to cherish, to worry over, to feel for, to receive comfort from. And where is he, little Bear, the latest to leave us? We watch the clouds carefully; sooner or later we will see him, sailing away in careless and beautiful serenity. Of what rich and ornate stuff the powerful and uncontainable gods invented the world, out of the rampant dust! The silky brant, the scarf of chiffon, the letter, the empty envelope, the black ducks, the old shoes, the little white dog fall away, fall away, and all the music of our lives is in them. The gods act as they act for what purpose we do not know, but this we do understand: the world could not be made without the swirl and whirlwind of our deepest attention and our cherishing. And if I mean the god of the sky, I mean also the god of the river - not only the god of the gold-speckled cathedral but the lord of the green field, where people pause casually and snap each other's picture; where thrushes release their darkling songs; where little dogs bark and leap, their ears tossing, joyously, as they run toward us.
Yet again, I marvel at Mary Oliver, and I marvel at those words from the Talmud. Just before leaving for work yesterday morning, Tom came in from the barn and said, 'Daisy is dying.' The day was a fretful one. I went out to the barn a few times to check on her. She seemed peaceful and quiet, laying on her side in the stall, separate from the goat and sheep. By the end of the day, she had passed on. She turned thirty last summer, and we've had her since 1988, when my children were six and three. She was a wonderful girl, who absolutely adored people. She would walk up to perfect strangers and nuzzle them. The last picture I have of her was on the first day of fall, in the pasture with 'her' animals, guarding them from predators, guiding them where they should go. Daisy was a happy, contented, loving soul, and though our hearts are aching and the tears are falling, we know that she had the best possible life.
A softer gold light on fresh snow.
When we have had enough of reason.


Hello, lovelies. As promised in last post my Christmas and holiday party outfit series continue. When the last outfit I shared was more about subtle shine, my today's ensemble is going to be a cool casual. It can be a perfect outfit for a casual Christmas party where you don't want to look overdressed.
Also, this outfit is going to be a staple in your wardrobe for the rest of the winter. When buying any new piece of clothing, we should definitely think about the repeatability factor of it. If you get bored with one look you can anytime shuffle the same items and doing mix and match create a new look altogether.
Plaid shirts are so Christmas and winter like. Right now they are having a moment in the fashion industry. Not only in shirts, but you can also find them in skirts, pants, blazer, even in shoes. Then why not choose these trendy plaid shirts for the upcoming casual Christmas party and become a trendsetter.
Leather pant has always been and always going to be in trend. A nice fitted leather pant is such a wardrobe essential for the fashionistas like you. It can be paired with anything and everything. Pairing it with a simple shirt can give it such an edgy and stylish look which is what you may want for a casual holiday party.
Teaming up the leather pant and plaid shirt with a cool pair of ankle length booties in black can take the whole look one notch up.
As the outfit is very cool and casual, I have kept the accessories minimal so that it does not go overboard.
So that's all for today's dose of style.Check my previous post on A Glittery sweater and Black pant Combo look for party Keep an eye on this space for the next series of Christmas and holiday party outfit ideas of dressy dresses.
Great casual wear. I love dressing casual all day.
I love the colors a lot ! Great post!
I love the blue plaid!! You look fab!
I love the blue! So pretty and looks great on you!


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Vanity Fair profiles The eXile: "Gutsy...visceral...serious journalism...abusive, defamatory...poignant...paranoid...and right!"
MSNBC: Mark Ames and Yasha Levine
Broke the Koch Brothers' Takeover of America
War Nerd
Eileen Jones
John Dolan
@exiledonline
Featured / Investigative Report / May 30, 2009
Is Larry Summers Taking Kickbacks From The Banks He's Bailing Out?
By Mark Ames
Last month, a little-known company where Summers served on the board of directors received a $42 million investment from a group of investors, including three banks that Summers, Obama's effective "economy czar," has been doling out billions in bailout money to: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley. The banks invested into the small startup company, Revolution Money, right at the time when Summers was administering the "stress test" to these same banks.
A month after they invested in Summers' former company, all three banks came out of the stress test much better than anyone expected — thanks to the fact that the banks themselves were allowed to help decide how bad their problems were (Citigroup "negotiated" down its financial hole from $35 billion to $5.5 billion.)
The fact that the banks invested in the company just a few months after Summers resigned suggests the appearance of corruption, because it suggests to other firms that if you hire Larry Summers onto your board, large banks will want to invest as a favor to a politically-connected director.
Last month, it was revealed that Summers, whom President Obama appointed to essentially run the economy from his perch in the National Economic Council, earned nearly $8 million in 2008 from Wall Street banks, some of which, like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, were now receiving tens of billions of taxpayer funds from the same Larry Summers. It turns out now that those two banks have continued paying into Summers-related businesses.
According to filings obtained for this story, Summers first joined the board of directors of Revolution Money back in 2006 (when it was called "GratisCard"), the same year that Summers was forced to resign as president of Harvard after his disastrous tenure. Revolution Money/GratisCard was a startup headed by former AOL chief Steve Case. Revolution Money billed itself as the Next Big Thing in online payment, "PayPal meets Mastercard," according to their own pitch.
In September 2007, Revolution Money announced that it had raised $50 million from a group of investors including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. Some found the investment strange even then, because normally big banks don't get involved in seeding small startups — that's the domain of venture capitalists, not mega-banks. Especially not in September, 2007, when these same megabanks were Chernobyling their way into full-fledged balance-sheet meltdown.
What seems clear is that at least part of Revolution Money's success in raising funds is due to their star-studded board of directors — which included not only Larry Summers, but also the notorious Frank Raines, the former Fannie Mae chief whom Time Magazine named to its "25 People To Blame For The Financial Crisis" list. Raines is still a board member.
Over the next year and a half, Revolution Money didn't quite live up to its promise of competing with PayPal or Visa/Mastercard. At least some of this could be attributed to the difficulty of starting up an online credit card company in the middle of a triple-cluster credit crunch, banking crisis and recession. But there is also evidence that the company wasn't run well. Another one of Steve Case's "Revolution" brand startups, "Revolution Health," (which also features a star-studded board of directors including Carly Fiorina, Colin Powell, and several future-Obama Administration officials) essentially folded last autumn when it was sold to Everyday Health last September and merged into that company's operations.
In spite of all of this, on April 6, 2009, Revolution Money announced the happy news: it had just successfully raised $42 million dollars in the most difficult market since the 1930s. The investors? Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley — bankrupt institutions that Larry Summers was transferring billions in bailout funds to.
At the very same time that these three megabanks were pouring millions into Summers' former company, Obama's economic team, starring Larry Summers, was subjecting these same banks to a "stress test" to decide how deep in shit these same banks really were. The banks wanted the government to fudge the results for obvious reasons — who wants the world to know how deep of a hole you've dug for yourself?
When the stress test results were finally released, the banks all came out with glowing reports that beat expectations and caused plenty of skepticism.
Summers shows contempt for Obama's move to reign in the credit card company heads
Page 1 2View All
Read more: Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Larry Summers, Obama, Revolution Money, Steve Case, William Black, Mark Ames, Featured, Investigative Report
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1. wengler | May 30th, 2009 at 9:57 am
We need a re-enactment of the death of Crassus to begin to get these self-appointed financial overlords into line.
2. Marko | May 30th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Why is it that the only place I'm seeing real journalism from these days is Mark Ames? I mean, good work man…I'm just depressed that little known places like exiled (and a couple of others) are the only places to find actual honest to god journalism these days.
3. rick | May 30th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
This was on Alternet, too, sans the giant, sublime swine.
Ames has spite to draw from!
My take is reading patterns stay Sunday School and tribal. Just look at the talking-points culture of political debate. And then people have this subconscious belief they're "bettering" themselves by reading. There's such a pious tenor to most people's conception of reading that it magnifies moral violations, makes people puff up their orthodoxy-detectors. Unless the content's utterly trivial.
What's not untrivial: the swine picture. The old Bertrand Russell "liberal" misanthropy's been barred from liberal critiques, implicitly, for a long time. Even though powerful people being corrupt, self-satisfied, self-interested, incompetent, ignorant scum was the best "liberal" critique available. But who the fuck knows what liberal or conservative mean anymore. The Daily Show and alterno-columnists are freely taking shots at Obama, now, even as Republican reptiles are being revealed as grotesquely ideologically-constrained hacks of the sort one always imagined they were.
4. Bardamu | May 31st, 2009 at 3:57 am
Yes, it's a good article, and yes – Ames is unique in his ability to produce well argued and vital pieces which inform as they (often raucously) amuse. I can't excuse the poor subbing, though.
If you can't afford to pay someone to do this, send your articles and straplines to me and I'll do them for nothing.
'Reign in' indeed. It's not the first, you know.
5. Simple | May 31st, 2009 at 5:22 am
Now that was a whole lot of $5.00 words…
6. Matt | May 31st, 2009 at 11:36 am
The reason why most journalists don't even attempt these stories is because they're so afraid of losing what little work they have: and when they do write them, editors kill them out of political considerations. So we get a lot of talking points, and some good, but bland, investigative NYT stories. Good job, Ames.
7. yabadabadoo | May 31st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
This is good, but I still miss Ames' whore stories.
8. xymph disciple | May 31st, 2009 at 8:58 pm
The reason why most journalists don't even attempt these stories is because they're so afraid of losing what little work they have: and when they do write them, editors kill them out of political considerations.–Matt
Damn straight. I have had no pity whatsoever whenever these nonsensically pious discussions about the demise of the newspaper come up. Newspapers could save themselves any time they felt like it by being newspapers and instead they are a maddening form of advertising which you must pay the advertised party for.
People didn't go to blogs just for an echo chamber, they went to get away from our detached and antidemocratic ruling caste's echo chambers in the mass media. Newspapers have the resources to trump nearly any blog with investigative reporting and international offices and instead they choose to run Israeli propaganda so lazily thrown together it makes Jews throw up and human interest stories that might propaganda be from anti-human robots.
The loss of the newspaper is tied to that phony Fearless-Nazi-Hunter pseudo-moral superficially-liberal culture, the kind that worships meaninglessly vague Twilight Zone episodes about "fascism" being "bad," and clucks in a superior manner about how relevant that is today. This moralistic rather than moral mindset was in part behind all of the worst American crimes of the latter half of the twentieth century, from the health care scam to Vietnam to the war on drugs and the Reagan Revolution.
Until AT&T kills the internet it must terrify our masters to think about the simple variety and depth of information available for free online.
9. goonouncoogy | May 31st, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Good afternoon! Kiev Girl information there. companion men. I am pleased to welcome you to its website, prostitutes Kiev – Fish. You can visit my blog.
10. Cri-cri | June 1st, 2009 at 1:12 am
Ames at his best finding bad people in our government and destroying their public images, ideologies, reputations (or what's left of them). Hard work of a post-industrial information age warrior but somebody has to do it.
11. 'Disastrous for America' | June 1st, 2009 at 1:39 am
Would be interesting if Ames could temporarily use mr Brecher as a journalistic partner to investigate any Summers-aircraft carriers lobby connections.
12. Armen | June 1st, 2009 at 1:57 am
Jesus Christ, this is turning out to be worse than the Bush years. At least then I had the consolation that other people–way more stupid than I am–voted for him…
13. Baked Dr. Luny | June 1st, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Of course it's worse than the Bush years. By the end of his term Bush was somewhat kept in check by the fact that everyone hated him, but with approval ratings in the 60% range Obama could eat out Osama bin Laden's asshole and be praised in the media for being diplomatic. Keep in mind that Bush and Obama are both backed by pretty much the same people, some of the corporate slugs might be different, but they're just as committed to fucking America in her collective ass.
14. rick | June 1st, 2009 at 7:57 pm
@ alien name guy
I've had similar thoughts on newspapers. Brecher's maybe the best columnist in the world, and his employment is just as mechanically unthinkable, by any "moral"ly imbecilic institution in our grotesque world. Ames is up there. His bits in the eXile book (and beyond) are probably the best autobiographical novel shit I've ever read. I'm pretty sure I'm the best novelist of the generation, but very uneven essayist. I've written for this fine publication, and nobody will publish what I'm actually good at. Let Them Die.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swvf3w6hcY4
But why are you bringing up Israel? WHAT THE FUCK DOES ANYTHING HAVE TO DO WITH VIETNAM?!?!? I mean what do you want? It's a "moral" trainwreck, like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlaFJvW74Wc
Israel and Palestine are worthy of Keyboard Cat, nothing more. Big moral narratives are grotesquely stupid.
15. mark nuckols | June 5th, 2009 at 12:24 am
I am a nuckolhead which is why I'm still trolling this site. Name is Mark Nuckols, by the way. Weird, ain't it, how I've been stalking these guys for 10 years. Some day I should get a life.
16. Mish | June 10th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Hey Ames, there's a new Bret Stephens editorial about Putin today in the WSJ – "Putinism's Piranha Stage." Check it out, you're sure to get a few laughs at Bret's expense.
17. Janeliker | January 23rd, 2012 at 11:48 am
Isn't Larry Summers a reptile?! I had not even heard of him before let alone seen him, until he appeared as a possible head of the World Bank on Channel Four tonight, and was horrendously struck by how reptilian he looked and gestured and though I am open-minded about this reptilian agenda, I felt I had to come on the internet to see what I could find out about him and what others had said. Could anyone reply sensibly to this and with an open mind?
(Open to all. Comments can and will be censored at whim and without warning.)
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Margaritaville Expanding to West Coast
by Jessica Montevago / July 15, 2019
Margaritaville Holdings announced Monday the lifestyle brand's first west coast resort in San Diego, California. The Margaritaville Island Resort San Diego, located on the 44-acre Vacation Island in Mission Bay, is expected to open in 2020.
The site is currently home to Paradise Point Resort & Spa. Real estate investment trust Pebblebrook Hotel Trust acquired Paradise Point Resort & Spa in 2018. Pebblebrook will assist with the transition along with the resort's current management company, Davidson Hotels & Resorts.
Following extensive renovations and rebranding, estimated at $35 million, the Margaritaville Island Resort San Diego will feature 462 casita-style single-story guestrooms with a 'casual-luxe' design and waterfront views with a mile of beachfront overlooking the marina and Mission Bay, signature Margaritaville food & beverage concepts and new recreational activities and family-friendly amenities. Adding to the 80,000 square feet of meeting space, marina, spa, tennis courts and fitness center, the property's five pools and public spaces will be updated as well.
Margaritaville Resort Invites Travel Agents to Stay for Free
Hilton Adds New Brand in Lifestyle Space
Targeting a more upscale crowd, the new offering has been described as an "approachable lifestyle brand" serving the "modern achiever."
An English 'Town and Country' Hotel for the Young at Heart
These two eclectic properties offer experiences that are distinctly different from the traditional ambiance of yet more antiques and chandeliers and faux-Tudor mantels.
MGM Resorts to Sell Las Vegas Properties, MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay
The $2.5 billion deal is a part of a joint venture between real estate company Blackstone Group and MGM Growth Properties LLC.
EDITION to Open Three Luxury Hotels in 2020
Japan, Iceland and Dubai will soon have their versions of the brand's sophisticated, minimalist-chic approach to luxury.
New Higgins Hotel Opens at New Orleans WWII Museum
The retro-styled "museum hotel" offers guests a unique experience that pays homage to America's collective memory of WWII-era presidents, societal figures and heroes.
St. Lucia's New Hotel Tax Will Start This Year
Guests staying at St. Lucia hotels and resorts will be charged a head tax of $3-$6 per guest per night, beginning Apr. 1.
El San Juan Hotel to Join Fairmont Brand
FOUND Hotel San Francisco Opens
Warner Bros. Branded Hotel in the Works
U.S. Hotel Performance Dipped in October
MGM Resorts Inks Deal to Sell Iconic Vegas Strip Resort Circus Circus
Anantara Hotels to Open First Irish Property


text:
Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/chicago-accountability-timeline/)
Chicago accountability timeline
By Elizabeth Duffrin | September 16, 2005
July 1988 / The Illinois Legislature passes a sweeping school reform act for Chicago, transferring significant powers from the Board of Education to newly created local school councils (LSCs). The law gives the system's subdistrict superintendents, but not the general superintendent, authority to intervene at schools that are not following their school improvement plans. Ultimately, principals can be replaced, and new LSC elections held. February 1994 / Supt. Argie Johnson unveils a plan to put schools in three categories based on test scores, and to assign outside experts to the bottom group. After school reform activists criticize the plan as top-down and overly reliant on test scores, Johnson backs off and names a task force to come up with an alternative.
December 1994 / Under pressure from Supt. Johnson, subdistrict superintendents reluctantly begin to put schools on remediation, the mildest form of intervention. Seven schools receive the designation and outside partners to help them improve.
May 1995 / With covert assistance from Mayor Richard M. Daley, the Legislature, newly dominated by Republicans, gives the mayor control of the school system. He will appoint a new School Reform Board and a chief executive officer; they will have the power to intervene directly at low-performing schools. Two new forms of intervention are added: "reconstitution," which allows the board to transfer staff, and "intervention," which allows it to dismiss staff, following hearings and staff evaluations.
June 1995 / Mayor Daley taps his hard-charging budget director, Paul Vallas, for chief executive officer and his chief of staff, Gery Chico, for Reform Board chair.
September 1995 / Announcing that Austin High school has "flunked remediation," Vallas allows the removal of 17 Austin teachers. The Chicago Teachers Union files a grievance, arguing successfully that remediation does not permit the removal of school staff. Five of the teachers eventually return to Austin while others accept positions elsewhere. Most of the fired teachers had performance ratings of excellent or superior.
January 1996 / Citing declining scores on the state IGAP tests, the Reform Board places 21 schools on remediation and removes the principal from seven of those schools. One of them, Debrona Banks of Tilton Elementary, successfully challenges her firing in court; a federal judge agrees that remediation does not permit the removal of a principal.
September 1996 / The board places 109 schools—71 elementary and 38 high schools—on academic probation because fewer than 15 percent of their students score at or above average on a nationally standardized reading test. As under remediation, each school gets an outside partner. It also gets a probation manager, typically a retired or current principal, to help it develop an improvement plan; the manager also monitors implementation.
October 1996 / School officials announce that teachers who fail to follow improvement plans at probation schools can be removed without benefit of standard procedures, which include an evaluation, a warning and a remediation period. The board says it will remove teachers directly and reassign them to short-term positions if they fail to find jobs elsewhere in the system. Later that month, however, the board's chief attorney acknowledges that the statute allowing probation doesn't override the standard procedures.
June 1997 / The Reform Board singles out seven of the lowest-scoring high schools for reconstitution. All their teachers must reapply for their jobs, and five schools get new principals.
Summer 1997 / About a third of the teachers at reconstituted schools—174 in all—are not rehired. Board policy gives "reserve" teachers (those who lose their positions at a school due to declining enrollment or a program change) 20 months to find another permanent position in the system. The Reform Board decides the "reconstituted" 174 will get only 10 months, causing the first serious breech with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). The union goes to court but is told it has no cause for action until one of the 174 loses his or her job.
July 1997 / The Reform Board votes to remove principals from 11 schools on probation. In her first public challenge to CEO Vallas, Bevery Tunney, president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, charges, "There was no educational malpractice at these schools. … The only criterion I see being used is when someone in the school has a conflict with the principal."
August 1997 / Nine schools get off probation because the percentage of students scoring at or above the national average tops 20 percent. Fifteen schools slip below the 15 percent mark and are added to the probation list, putting the new total at 115.
September 1997 / Reconstituted high schools reopen with many vacant positions.
May 1998 / Paul Vallas announces he will wait at least a year before reconstituting any more schools, so the process can be studied. Negotiations are underway with the CTU to craft a form of interven-tion stronger than probation but less sweeping than reconstitution. Fifty-eight "reconstituted" teachers have not yet been offered permanent jobs, and the board agrees to give them an extra four months. The CTU vows it will file suit if any teacher loses his or her job. Vallas says he's not worried. "We don't do things that are legally risky," he says. "We do things that we think will withstand a legal confrontation in court."
Preliminary test scores show the percentage of students at or above norms in math and reading has reached a high for the decade, continuing an upward trend that began in the early 1990s. Of schools on probation, 25 score above the 20 per-cent mark needed to get off. Only two more slip below the 15 percent mark that triggers probation.
Vallas credits the board's extra resources—summer school, after-school programs and outside partners. Anthony Byrk of the Consortium on Chicago School Research notes the board's policy of holding back low-scoring students likely inflated citywide gains.
Chicago Panel on School Policy
This non-profit group is establishing a clearinghouse of parent-involvement activities and programs. Contact: Executive Director Barbara Buell, (312) 346-2202.
A program sampler
Every Thursday morning, parents, grandparents and community members are invited to Healy Elementary in Bridgeport for a "second cup of coffee." The gathering affords the school the opportunity to bring parents up to date on the school's curriculum. For example, with the science fair fast approaching, the school made science the focus of the November sessions. The school even asked a private-sector partner, Harza Engineering, to send engineers to talk about what a science fair project should contain. More than 40 parents typically attend.
Teachers rate 'their' parents
In 1996, the Consortium on Chicago School Research asked Chicago's elementary teachers: How many of your students' parents support your teaching efforts? The responses were: nearly all, 29%; most, 43%; about half 10%; some, 17%; none, 1%. Teachers also were asked how many parents do their best to help their children learn. The responses were: nearly all, 11%; most, 33%; about half 23%; some, 32%; none, 1%.


A Sydney television station found that sensitive equipment in their transmitter room was being contaminated by large dust particles. Vilair-AAF was asked to investigate the problem, and found that there were two factors responsible for the contamination. The air filters installed in the ventilation system for the room were of relatively low efficiency; and there was some bypass of unfiltered air because of deficiencies in the air filter installation. The filter holding framing system was modified to provide an effective and reliable seal around the perimeter of the filters. A two-stage filter system was then installed – with AAF Amair 300 panel filters as the primary stage protecting AAF BioCel V 95% semi-absolutes as the secondary stage. When the ventilation system was re-commissioned, it was determined that the concentration of airborne particles in the room was at a lower level than had ever been achieved. BioCel V filters are designed for industrial HVAC installations in which HEPA quality air filtration is required. As an H10 EN 1882-classified air filter, BioCel V is ideal for upgrading existing non-HEPA HVAC installations. The filter's mini-pleat media provides high quality filtration on fine particulates; and because of its 3000 m3/h air capacity, BioCel V is an ideal choice in new installations as fewer filters are needed to handle a given air volume. The lower media resistance results in low energy costs and long service life.


Sanjeev is a four-time successful entrepreneur with the U-Group LLC (an advisory firm driving growth and exits for small and mid-cap enterprises), WISC Partners LLP (a strategic operating capital fund for companies in the State of Wisconsin), Avantcom Inc. (an e-diagnostics company acquired by Brooks Automation), and Integrated Process Equipment Corporation (a semi-cap public company).
The Tech SPA, a simple product accelerator is his brainchild and is a culmination of all his entrepreneurial experiences. Aboard the Tech SPA, he heads E-Den— the product commercialization arm. He brings together an integrated team of industry and growth partners to drive exits, licenses, buyouts, or capital for growth that resonates to maximize the commercial value of the developed product.
Sanjeev earned his MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BS in Electronics & Telecommunications from the University of Pune (India).
David Weaver is a Senior Executive experienced in full P&L, general/global sales & marketing management, strategic planning, business & new product development in Fortune 500 and startup businesses. He has steered various companies— primarily in the biomedical instrumentation & life sciences sector at top leadership positions. As a results-driven leader and a skilful negotiator, he has developed numerous global corporate partnerships and has driven growth, profit & business opportunities for several organizations.
His entrepreneurial spirit and innovative approach to problem solving lead him create a virtual consulting business, Aimattech Consulting LLC to advice and support startups and small enterprises. Also, he founded the first organized angel group In Michigan, Great Lakes Angels Inc. and helped kickstart others. He frequents as a guest speaker on early stage and angel investing to entrepreneurs and accredited investors.
Donna Rippin is a Partner with the recently formed Business Brains LLC, a consortium of senior level strategists and C Level executives specializing in strategic planning and business growth initiatives. A rich and diverse 30+ year track record of leading consumer goods businesses to profitable growth enables her to tap into world-class best practices; she readily applies those experiences to benefit clients from any industry and of any size.
Donna is a multi-functional expert, who because of her ability to lead, manage and develop people, has been functioning as a general manager with P&L accountability for the past 10 years, prior to joining Business Brains LLC. Her functional background includes 7 years of technical R&D practice at a Fortune 100 Petrochemical company, where she worked on human drug and medical device development; 3 years of financial work at Kimberly-Clark, where she became the first woman plant controller for a KC Consumer Sector mill in the history of the company; and 30 years of progressive marketing and business leadership positions at some of the world's largest and most respected companies including: Unilever, Kimberly-Clark, Birds Eye Foods, Chiquita Brand International, and Lactalis International. At these companies, she established a reputation of being a high-energy, results-driven business leader, with a knack for driving profitable growth, rebuilding heritage brands, and successfully launching new categories and product lines.
Her competencies include: deep expertise in strategic planning and implementation, company and product positioning and branding work, business management for profitable growth, new business and product development and startup, integrated marketing strategy formulation, and creative concept development and writing. While her expertise is both broad and deep in all areas of business management, as a creative, her true passion lies in the area of new business startups and business/brand expansion.
In addition to being an innovative and inspired risk-taker, Donna is recognized as a team builder and a strategic thought leader. During her time in Corporate America, she has spoken at various Innovator Conferences to share not only her know-how with colleagues, but her passion for building brands and businesses as well.
A native of Northeast Ohio, Donna holds a Bachelor of Science degree, as well as a Masters of Business Administration with a Finance focus, both from Cleveland State University.
With over 20 years of experience building high-performance teams, Renee' Gauze has held leadership roles at The U-Group LLC, Ur Solution Solutions (commercial arm of Globalwatt), and Wisconsin Investment Strategic Capital (WISC) Partners. While at The U-Group, an advisory firm driving growth and exits for small and mid-cap enterprises, she was promoted to lead business development and played a key role in scaling the organization.
She holds a BA in Hospitality Service Administration from Central Michigan University.
John Hemken is the President of Hemken Enterprises, LLC. He provides strategic counsel tobusinesses, basedon more than 35 years of experience and senior leadership. His "10,000 hours of expertise" are best leveraged in business model innovation, whereby constraint(s) are identified and broken by maximizing innovative solutions within a highly effective leadership culture.
Hemken remains affiliated with Initative One, a privately owned consulting firm based in Green Bay, WI, as a Leadership Transformation Consultant.Since joining Initiative One in 2015 as the Strategy/Business Development Vice-President, Hemken has led the business model innovation efforts that have resulted in a unique, non-traditional consulting business model. The firm now has a value stream, brand promise, strategic plan, demand creation feeder streams and business development processes to support it.
Previously, Hemken was Vice President Sales with Cary Francis Group(CFG) in Franklin, WI where he turned around the STIHL account (world's #1 brand of outdoor power equipment). He engineered the turnaround in 18 months, increasing revenue 700% to>$2,600,000 at record margins. The key business model innovation was creating a retail branding platform that could leverage STIHL's 8000+ independent servicing dealers in a way that created a significant additional revenue stream for the dealers.
Overall Hemken has accumulated many years of entrepreneurial innovation and leadershipexperience in the corporate world (P&G), non-profit world (Executive Pastor for Sherwood Church) while also founding and owning his own business.


If your advertisement doesn't bring traffic, then it is no use and ultimately you will wind up wasting your money on ads with no conversions and sales.
I have explored the net searching for the tool which can actually track my campaigns and advertisements. Tracking will tell you a lot about what is not performing well and will eventually give you a chance to improve your campaign.
ClickMagick is a web based app that will assist you to track and optimize your marketing efforts. At a standard level, it permits you to develop tracking links and ClickMagick will show you who clicked your links and (if setup properly), which clicks led to sales.
Include "backup URL" – in case your original URL is momentarily down, or not available to particular nations, you can enter an additional URL to redirect the users to.
One thing you might wish to remember is that organic traffic originating from safe websites (https) can't be detected – since secure sites are not permitted to pass referrer information. For example YouTube – all organic traffic from YouTube will be reported anonymously under "none".
a. Sequential mode:when a user clicks the link, they will be directed to the very first URL (URL-A in this example), and when they click the exact same link again for the second instance, they will be directed to URL-B. So this mode will send out traffic to each URL in the rotator one after another, as repeat users click the link numerous times. And when it reaches the bottom, it will just start over again at the top.
c. Fulfilment mode:send all traffic to the first URL (URL-A in this example), including repeat clicks from the exact same user till that URL has received the maximum number of clicks defined.
MagickBars can also be designed by its visual editor, enables you to add images, tables, embed YouTube video, make it sound-enabled, make the background coloured or transparent, add a speech bubble, likewise a countdown timer can be included to the bar.
It does not take a couple of minutes to develop a timer. There are four various designs and 2 types (evergreen/cookie based or date-based|date-based or evergreen/cookie based). All you have to do is to copy and paste the code to anywhere – your website, within a MagickPopup or MagickBar.
IP Lookup tool: Permits you to see the history and activity for any IP address. It reveals clicks, opt-ins, sales, along with a timestamp for each event and it is helpful when identifying suspicious clicks.
ClickMagic has three pricing and all of them have scads of features in them. The company gives the 30-day trial period for its service and you can test this tool for 30 days.
Starter Plan – This will track up 10,000 clicks per month, 1 Funnel for FunnelMagick, Organic tracking for one site, track 2 customized domains and has six months of data retention.
ClickMagick has produced an hour length written course on the concepts of click tracking, and it covers basically whatever you would need to know| to get the most worth from their platform.
While the majority of tools will provide you a knowledge base to sift through for answers, ClickMagick goes one better.
No matter where you are within ClickMagick, you're never ever too far from a tooltip that takes you straight to the proper knowledge base short article.
Without this, I think the learning curve would be significantly harder to conquer, so they definitely made the right call by adding these buttons.
Given this isn't necessarily much better than all those tech companies with 24/7 live chat support, however it still should have appreciation.
If you like the whole community aspect of using a tool like this, where you can trade suggestions and potentially seek aid from other users…this one's for you.
In general, aside from the live chat, it's difficult to find anything bad about the documentation and support options readily available.
Above all, it provides the 30-day free trial and gives the comprehensive tools to geotargeting, sales funnel, organic tracking and link tracking, all of which can be helpful for better sales.


Second hand "not always the best move, because of the running and maintenance costs".
A child's first car is a modern day rite of passage. Their sense of freedom and jubilation is only exceeded by their parents' relief that they no longer have to be 24/7 taxi drivers. However, the process of finding a car that meets all the criteria for both child and parent can be an emotional and prolonged negotiation, and the decision about which car to buy is a delicate balance between form, function and affordability.
Technology has improved vastly over the years, making new cars more fuel efficient than ever. The Datsun GO, for example, has a 1.2-litre engine and does 6.2 litres to 100 kilometres.
Mr Fenner says, "Running costs aside, the insurance premiums on a smaller-engined car will be much lower than that of a car with a bigger engine. Because under-25s fall into a 'high-risk' category and are more likely to make expensive claims on their insurance than any other age group, it is the wiser choice for them to drive a car with a smaller engine to remove some of the risk associated with driving a more powerful car.
Furthermore, monthly premiums are much higher for first-time insurance buyers. So, before you succumb to your child's desire to buy a bargain V8, give the insurer a call. If they do agree to cover the car, the chances are that the premiums may make you choke on your celebratory drink.
Some parents, in an attempt to keep insurance premiums low, say that they will be the regular driver. This may jeopardise your claim in the event of a loss or accident. You are usually required to state if someone under the age of 25 will be driving. Don't fib; the insurer will find out.
You will also want to be secure in the knowledge that your children are not going to break down.
"A properly maintained new car will drive trouble free for many years. The problem with second-hand cars is that you do not know how they were driven or if they were properly maintained, so there is a bigger risk of breakdown" says Mr Fenner.
To make sure your teen abides by the rules of the road, you can install a tracking device that monitors how they drive. Not only will a system like this enable you to negotiate down your monthly insurance premiums, but it will have real-time tracking to pinpoint the exact location of the vehicle and movement reports that show you the locations from where the vehicle departs and where it arrives.
Trackers also record speeding, hard breaking and acceleration. If a child knows they are being monitored, they are far more likely to play it safe.


Host a Class or Event!
This is the Code of Conduct that members of the space are expected to abide by. There are many "common sense" shop rules, some very specific rules, and some housekeeping rules. Just keep in mind that rules exist for a reason, no matter how silly they sound.
Golden Rule: Respect all people, equipment and space.
Please adhere to the following dress code. Exception: during public events where tools are unplugged.
FOOTWEAR Steel toe boots are recommended. Soft soles and stable platforms provide the most secure footing. No high heels or open-toed shoes.
CLOTHING Nothing on your person should hang away from the body. Long pants will protect you from debris and are highly recommended.
JEWELRY Studs on the ears and face are fine. Bracelets, rings, necklaces, and watches should be avoided.
Consumption of alcohol is prohibited at the Makerspace. Exception: at sanctioned events as designated by the general manager. No power tools must be operated during such events.
Rule of thumb: Leave the place cleaner than you found it.
Tools should be organized. Put things back where you found them.
Spills: Make sure to clean up any spills immediately and appropriately, as they are a hazard.
Large trash: do not leave difficult to deal with trash for others to clean up. Take large trash and dispose of it yourself.
Leaving projects to dry: if you need to let something sit overnight, put it safely out of the way and leave a note with your name and the date it will be done. DO NOT leave projects for more than 3 days.
Keep your belongings within your rented storage space if you have one. Ask the manager for availability.
Notify staff of any problem with the facility, machines, or other members in the space as soon as you notice them.
Do not attempt maintenance or repair work on running equipment. Ask staff before attempting repairs.
Do not use equipment you have not done a safety check out for. Ask for help from someone who is experienced with the equipment, or take one of the classes that covers use of the tool.
If you are unsure about a course of action, ask another person. Don't take unnecessary risks.
Replace consumables you use a lot of. If you just use small amounts of consumables (like sandpaper, glue, welding wire, etc) it's considered part of your membership. If you use a lot of something, either replace it or put in some money towards replacing it.
Do not operate heavy machines if you are the only person in the space. If you are hurt, no one will be around to help.
Report any injury. Immediately obtain first aid for any injury and report to shop managers. When determining the severity of the injury, always err on the side of caution.
No one under 18 allowed to use any power equipment. Exception: during classes with parental supervision.
Do not leave machines running unattended.
Do not attempt to stop running equipment with any part of your body. Use the power switch or unplug it.
Be aware of all equipment around you, especially moving parts.
Check that all pieces and tooling are properly secured before operating equipment.
Remove all chuck keys, wrenches, and other tools from the machinery after making adjustments.
Work with a partner when appropriate–do not try to move heavy objects nor support heavy pieces by yourself.
Only one person should be operating a machine at a time.
Do not eat or drink on or near the machines. Food and drink are okay in the Classroom.
Ensure that you are working in a properly lit space.
Pay attention to the machinery. Something that does not feel or sound right is likely not working right.
Do not use compressed air on machines or yourself. It can damage the machines and can hurt you.
Report any lost RFID badges, tools, or machinery immediately.
Stow materials, tools, and scrap appropriately. Do not pose a tripping hazard or put tools at risk for damage.
Do not sleep at the shop or in the parking lot. It is not allowed and can put the space at risk.
Do not store anything inside or outside without permission from the staff. Anything left inside or outside with no name on it will be disposed of if left for more than 2 weeks.
There is no smoking or vaping allowed indoors, nor within 50 feet from the building.
There is a noise curfew of 7pm. If it is after this time, please ensure that the doors and windows are closed so that noise does not carry out of the building. The makerspace is in a neighborhood and we should be as considerate as possible to them.
If you are the last one to leave the makerspace, shut off everything and lock up! The close-up procedure is posted by the two regular doors in the Electronics Lab and Classroom. Typically this is the responsibility of the one on duty, or a Maker's Guild member, but in the event there is no one you are to ensure the makerspace is locked up and shut down.
Classes and Events: Members are expected to be courteous when there are events taking place and not create excessive noise or inconvenience to attendees. Look at the calendar and plan noisy work around these events to help make people's class experience the best.
Hang out and tinker at our Open Hack Nights!
December Newsletter: Make the winter months more interesting with classes and gifts from the makerspace!


Articulate is a mobile app designed to help you articulate your thoughts better and more professionally. Aimed at people who have trouble articulating professional responses, especially under stress or frustration, Articulate is designed to be quick, efficient and pragmatic. Using advance AI, Articulate understands your ramblings, crafting cohesive and coherent responses that can be quickly edited by swiping yes or no to simple questions recommended by the AI.
When you're stuck and distressed, quickly launch the app and ramble your thoughts in a new template. Articulate uses advanced AI to understand your thoughts, automatically seperating relevant information, and coherently forming a readable template for you to work with.
Before editing your newly generated template, Articulate offers a preview into the changes it is recommending. This, at a quick glance, enables the user to understand the upcoming areas to focus on the template.
Apart from offering a preview of the changes, Articulate also offers in-depth reasoning into why it's recommending a certain change in text. This is crucial for the user as it helps them understand the consequences of their language, offering more insight into linguistics and psychology of the modern texter.
Once the user is once previewing and understanding the changes Articulate is recommending, using the app is as simple as swiping 'yes' or 'no' to the questions Articulate poses, giving the ultimate decision making power to the user.
Once the template is generated to the user's satisfaction, Articulate then offers quick shortcuts to replying with the crafted response into their app of choice.
The user can also easily view previous template they've made, linking them to existing phone contacts, and allowing for tracking of communication and trends with the selected contact.


b. aft. 1675, o.s. of John Packer of Shellingford by Elizabeth,1 da. of Richard Stephens of Eastington, Glos. m. 27 Feb. 1700, Mary, da. and coh. of Sir Henry Winchcombe, and Bt., M.P., of Bucklebury, Berks., sis. of Frances, Viscountess Bolingbroke, 4s. 1da. suc. fa. 1687.
Packer was the great-grandson of John Packer, M.P., who bought the manor of Shellingford in 1620 and later that of Donnington.2 Entering Parliament at a by-election in 1712 on the elevation of his brother-in-law, Henry St. John, to the peerage, he was returned unopposed in 1715 and after contests in 1722 and 1727, voting consistently against the Government. His name was sent to the Pretender in 1722 as a Jacobite supporter.3 A letter to Lord Harley, 14 Dec. 1725, describes him and his son as 'helpless creatures' for not standing up to Bolingbroke, who had cut down all the hedges and trees at Bucklebury, which his son had inherited as a minor. 'A man of sense and spirit would make him fly his country once more'. The letter also refers to 'poor Packer's weakness and inactivity'.4 He died 4 Apr. 1731.
1. Marriage Lics. Vic. Gen. (Harl. Soc. xxiii), 248.
2. A. L. Humphreys, Bucklebury, ped. facing p. 322; VCH Berks. iv. 92, 476.
4. HMC Portland, vii, 409-11.


text:
B. Sherratt, "Montanism," The Pentecostal. Vol. 1, No. 1: 27-30.
Councils & Creeds
Doctrine & Practice
Heresies & Sects
MONTANISM arose in Phrygia among the disciples of Montanus, who claimed a transcendent inspiration as a prophet. Phrygia was the breeding-ground of Christian enthusiasm, using the word in the sense of surrender to a divine indwelling spirit; the man is 'en-theos'; a god is in him. The Phrygians, an emotional race, had previously worshipped Cybele, the mother of the gods with wild music, the shedding of blood and other barbaric rites. Their priests were emasculated, since the goddess must be worshipped by 'half men'. Writers have been at pains to emphasise the location of the heresy, Milman writes that "the land of heathen orgies was the natural birth place of that wild Christian mysticism; it was the Phrygian fanaticism speaking a new language". And according to Père Prat "c'était la patrie de tout les fanatismes et de tous let excés". The inhabitants of Phrygia, even in the second century, were decried, together with the Carians, as barbarians. This is perhaps an exaggeration but no doubt Montanus was, to some extent, the product of his environment. His preaching dates from about A.D. 130 but all that can be said of him with certainty is that he existed. The prophet is said to have lived in the village of Ardabau and, according to Jerome had been a Driest of Cybele. His enemies declared that he pretended to be the Paraclete himself. He taught that the dispensation of the Spirit had dawned and that he was himself the fulfilment of Christ's promises concerning the Paraclete. At his baptism Montanus "spoke with tongues" and began prophesying, announcing that was the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit, but the testimony of the Fathers on this point is extremely contradictory, and Tertullian in his treatise against Praxaes, written after he became a Montanist, is orthodox on the subject of the nature of the Holy Ghost. Montanus is supposed to have left writings, but that which remains has more the appearance of oral tradition. His opponents asserted that he was mad, that he had led an immoral life, and that he committed suicide, "after the manner of Judas", Jerome accuses him of corrupting by bribery. Another accuses him of adultery and infanticide, but this hardly tallies with Jerome's reproach of his being "abscissus et semi-vir". Two wealthy ladies, Priscilla and Maximilla, left their husbands to follow Montanus as prophetesses and leaders and the charges of immorality and
suicide were brought against them also. The Catholic bishops of Asia considered them to be demon-possessed. It was said that they were fond of taking up collections 'and there were rumours about hair-tinting, pencilled eyebrows and gaming tables. The most prominent features of Montanism were fasting and asceticism, the seeing of visions, the hearing of voices and possession by the Spirit. A prophet was subject to ecstasies and transports: he would lose his own individuality; the spirit would speak through him: he was 'beside himself' and could neither control nor remember what he uttered. He was subject to another mind: it was the Word of God, or the Spirit, or the Almighty who spoke. This influx of supernatural power was its own final authority. Montanus thought that when he was in an ecstatic condition the entire deity gave utterance through him at that moment. He spoke with authority having knowledge like a medium. Human personality was in abeyance. "I am God Almighty", he prophesied, "dwelling in man; I am neither angel nor envoy; I am the Lord God and Father, and have come myself".
Hermas believed that a prophet's inspiration was dependent on an 'angel' from the divine Spirit. Montanus believed he was directly inspired by God. "Behold the man is as a lyre, and I fly over it like a plectrum. The man sleeps, and I remain awake. Behold it is the Lord that stirs the hearts of men, and gives men hearts."
The simile of the musical instrument was not a peculiarity of Montanism. It was used by Athenagoras of Athens and Theophilus of Antioch with reference to the Old Testament prophets. Ecstasy and music also played an important role in early Hebrew prophecy. The prophets went around in bands, frenzied and prophesying to the sound of music (1 Sam. 10:5-13; 19:18-24). Their ecstasies fired men with zeal for Yahweh. The voice of the Lord God could now be heard in the valleys of Phrygia.
But the fasts of the Montanists, their special regulations, were not unlike those which orthodox ascetics had long practised. Those who led a life of rigorism and those who thought that the Second Coming was not far off, felt drawn by the new movement. The difference lay in the fact that Montanus and his disciples asserted that the revelation they had received from God was supplementary to that given by Christ and His apostles. Literal and exclusive acceptation of the promise of the Paraclete was the basis of Montanism. Tertullian evidently believed that this new prophecy was superior to any previous revelation. "If Christ abrogated what Moses commanded, because from the beginning it was not so… why should not the Paraclete alter what Paul permitted?" (De Monagamia 14). Although Tertullian is here referring specifically to second marriages, most authorities agree that this is a general axiom in question form. Tertullian stresses the superior insight experienced by those who followed the teaching of the Paraclete through the prophets and prophetesses. Ordinary Christians were 'psychic' or 'animal' but were considered members of the Visible Church. Tertullian says that he is the pupil not of man but of the Paraclete. (Ad. Prax. 13).
Irrespective of Montanism the early spiritual gifts were still operative in the Church of the second century. Clement, Ignatius, Hermas, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus all affirm their belief in, and even their experience of these charismata.
Athenagoras presented his Apology to Aurelius and Commodus in A.D. 176. The Montanist teaching was already known, yet he describes the inspiration of the prophets as follows—"Moses, or Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or the other prophets who, lifted in ecstasy above the natural operation of their minds by the impulses of the Divine Spirit, offered the things with which they were inspired, the Spirit making use of them as a flute player breathes into a flute." A1so, Justin Martyr denies that the prophet plays any part as an individual apart from producing the actual words; he uses the image of the lyre struck by the plectrum: the prophets prophesied in a state of ecstasy. It is evident that both Athenogoras and Justin held views on prophecy compatible with those of the Montanists. Only late in the third century was the view held by Athenagoras. Justin and Montanus rejected it. Epiphanius was probably the first to lay down as the criterion for prophecy that it must be conscious and intelligent. And it is Epiphanius who says of the Montanists that "they receive the whole of the Scriptures, both old and New Testament. and believe the resurrection of the dead; also concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, they agree with the Holy Catholic Church". In Adversus Praxeam Tertullian says that the Montanists have always believed the Creed and more especially since they have been instructed by the Paraclete, who leads men into all truth. Hippolytus shows that they were orthodox with regard to the Trinity, i.e. anti-Monarchin, and neither Philaster nor Augustine accuse them of deviation on this point. They received the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper with the same belief in their nature and efficacy and with the same rites as the Catholic Church.
The Montanists whole-heartedly embraced the doctrine of the chiliad or millennium. The prophecy that the martyrs and those who had not worshipped the Beast should rise from the dead and reign on earth with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4) was interpreted literally.
It seems that Maximillia thought of herself as the last of the prophets, giving the impression that Christ's Second Coming was imminent. But belief in the early Second Coming was neither a new idea nor was it exclusive to Montanism. Tertullian appears to have held these views both before and after becoming a Montanist. Epiphanus reports that, while sleeping, Priscilla received an important revelation: Christ came to her and slept with her, "in the likeness of a woman, clad in a bright robe, and he planted wisdom in me and revealed that his place (Pepuza), is holy, and that here Jerusalem comes down from heaven". It is generally thought that Montanists expected to see the New Jerusalem appear in the sky and descend at Pepuza but there is no evidence to suggest such a literal belief. Tertullian thought that the holy city would come down on the site of the old Jerusalem. Perhaps Pepuza was given
the name of Jerusalem because the Montanist prophets lived there. It is not as if they thought of the town of Pepuza as the precise location of the Parousia.
Orthodox Catholicism must have received a shock when Tertullian, the outstanding western theologian, joined the Montanists: "It was as if Newman had joined the Salvation Army" (R.A.Knox). Later Tertullian probably formed his own sect in Africa.
It is often argued that the eccentricities of Montanism, can be explained by its background of Phrygian heathenism, and if it is believed that Montanus was a convert from heathenism and had been a priest of Cybele the argument has considerable force. But when the phenomena of Montanism are examined, collectively the inadequacy of this hypothesis is apparent. It is difficult to explain how the amalgam of prophecy, ecstasy, asceticism and chiliastic hope became so fused together. Perhaps the Montanists were not innovators but preservers of a pure tradition; country folk who did not take to the legalising trend of the Catholic Church. To some extent their movement was a reaction against the intellectualist tenor of Gnosticism. The Montanists were something like Quakers in their dependence on the Holy Spirit, like the Puritans in their rigorism and like Pentecostals in their expectations. The movement was well intentioned seeking revival, but produced discord and schism.