I read an article in the New York Times by contributor, Frank Bruni on the opinion pages, titled Bigotry, the Bible and the Lessons of Indiana.
I've been resisting things political this year, but this article goes beyond politics into the area of religion, and not just any religion, he zero's right in on my brand. Our brand, I hope.
So, cautiously, I want to use some of the things he said to both correct some errors and also launch us into our passage in Matthew today.
Are we bigots? Do you like being called a bigot? That's a strong accusation these days. In America we have no tolerance for bigots. None, in fact it's the most dangerous label you could charge me with these days.
And what's at stake here is the freedom to hold AND ACT on religious beliefs. Religious freedom. The reason the folks got in the boat and came here in the first place. That's what's hanging in the balance.
And Mr. Bruni says, it's just silly. It's totally unnecessary to have this fight. Us foolish christians are throwing gasoline on a fire to put it out.
I'll read a few paragraphs.
He concludes, falsely, this is where he is in error, that we have choices to decide yeah or nay over what God clearly says in His word.
Becasue what the book says is very clear. Both Old Testament, and New is clear on these issues.
So, do we have the luxury of deciding what the book says is in, or out?
Bottom line: Does Learning, or Time, or Science, or Knowledge, or anything else, trump this book. Does man stand in judgement over the things in this book, or does this book stand in judgement over men?
Mr. Bruni says, if you hold this view, that you do not have authority over the book but rather it has authority over you, you have chosen to be a belligerent Bigot.
Mt. 5:17 - 19 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18"For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
So, you see, I hope, that I am in an impossible pickle. My thoughts, my opinions, my beliefs are locked down to what this book says. Period! And to Mr. Bruni, that makes me a hard head. A belligerent. A bigot. An enemy to be crushed. And I don't have any other possibilities except to love him while he crushes me. That's what the book says I must do.
Now, Mr. Brunni gets right at the crux of the problem in those first couple of paragraphs. Sin.
Sin is a universal problem in the human race. Since Adam and Eve, every one of us has been born broken. We all sin. The book says so. Every one of us is condemned alike.
I had some Mormon boys pull up on their bikes the other day. I was working on the black coupe, so I was a sitting duck. "Hey, I like your car" blah blah blah. The usual. Engage on a common light subject and move to heavier stuff. What we're supposed to be doing with our neighbors, and mostly, don't.
So, I said, I'll save us both some time and tell you I'm the pastor of an evangelical Bible church. Great! they said and proceeded to tell me they believe all the same stuff I do. You've heard it all before.
So, I cut right to the chase. You boys have a sin problem. Your sin isn't forgiven and you will be judged. This tangent you're on has negated the only possible solution to sin. You don't believe right about Jesus, and your sin remains. And off they went.
Sin, is universal, and it is the bottom line. No sinners will be in the kingdom of God. That debt has to be cancelled. Paid for.
What's interesting to me is that Mr. Bruni is angry with me because I believe this book says he's a sinner.
This book says everybody's a sinner. Whoopee for you Frank Bruni. My sin probably trumps your sin. Chances are excellent that I'm a bigger sinner than you Frank. I'm not particularly impressed with your brand of sin Mr. Bruni. Big deal.
But what's odd is that there isn't a coalition of thieves who would like to throw me under a steam roller. Or liars. Or pedophiles. They just go about their sin. They aren't the least concerned at what I think this book says about them.
But this particular brand of sin that Frank Bruni subscribes to has got their back up like a cat terrifying a dog. Calling me names. Hating me. And I'm stuck. I can't change what this book says. There WILL be a collision.
"It disregards the degree to which all writings reflect the biases and blind spots of their authors, cultures and eras."
He's talking about my bigoted opinion here which isn't an opinion at all. All of these things he mentions are true. We do have biases. Blind spots. Cultures that shape us, etc.
But the Bible states that it is God breathed. Inspired. God's truth trumps all of those things, and the message is God's message, God's truth to man, in spite of man's shortcomings. The book isn't trumped by biases and blind spots. Those things are trumped by God as he used men to write down His truth.
"It ignores the extent to which interpretation is subjective, debatable."
He gets right at the bottom line here. Is God's truth subjective? To anything? Is what God clearly said even though interpreted many times in many languages, still intact? It is! Simply stated truths. No rocket science. Is it debatable then? Absolutely not. Subjective? Absolutely not.
"And it elevates unthinking obeisance above intelligent observance, above the evidence in front of you, because to look honestly at gay, lesbian and bisexual people is to see that we're the same magnificent riddles as everyone else: no more or less flawed, no more or less dignified."
OK. Unthinking? Really? See, God forbid I speak the truth in love about him, so that he could flourish. But it's OK for him to keep calling me ignorant. Unthinking. Bigot. etc. etc. It'd be nice if we were both playing by the same rules.
Actually, I love that statement. Once I got past the part about how I'm an ignorant fool thoughtlessly worshipping truth like a frog in a frying pan. I love the rest.
Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people are indeed the same magnificent riddles as everyone else! Indeed no more or less flawed, no more or less dignified.
But they are no more or less affected by Adam's fall. They are sinners, just like us. And they need the same one and only cure for that sin. Just like us.
Yes. True. But what we're fighting over is who's in charge here. God, or humans. "Human understanding of what is sinful has changed over time," So what? Did God change His mind? Is God subject to the latest human changes? I Am the Lord. I (what?) _ _ _ _ _ _ not. Amazing. You all know that verse.
More name calling. He just called me a bigot. Again.
I'm a church leader. Like it or not. I'm being told to take homosexuality off the sin list. Can I do that? If I did, would it matter? Would God change His mind because I buckled under pressure and changed mine?
Heavens no. I'm a fart in a whirlwind. I can no more take anything that God said was sin off the sin list than get in my black '38 Ford coupe and fly to the moon.
But I can continue to steadfastly, under pressure, hold this book in it's rightful place, over every errant thought of man, and tell people the good news. We're all sinners. But there's a solution! A man died in our place to take the penalty for our sin. Sin can be forgiven.
How does this apply to our long lost story in Matthew this morning? Remember Matthew?
Let me ask you this. Why were those men in the condition they were in? Living in the tombs. So wild that other folks couldn't get near them. How did that happen?
The problem is universal. And the solution works on the worst possible cases, as well as the sweet little librarians. The solution is Jesus.
Vs. 28 When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.
Two men. Two men!?? This is of interest because Mark and Luke tell the same tale with increased detail and only mention one man? What's up with that? Did the gospel writers get it wrong?


Paper couldn't hold everything we needed to know, so we created a strategy of knowing our world by reducing it. Now that knowledge's medium is as big as knowledge itself, it's also messy, connected, unsettled, and in constant argument with itself.
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text:
Kwax9
Stingy Wizard
opened Monthly Chest and won Space Ranger vs. Reptiloids: 2 Edition.
received a reward - Steam Wallet 10€.
completed a task from Royal Quest.
opened Weekly Chest and won Fehu Rune.
opened Monthly Chest and won NanoScape.
opened Chest of December Premieres and won NanoScape.
completed a task from Realm of Warriors.
completed a task from Vikings: War of Clans.
completed a task from League of Angels III.
opened Mobile Chest and won Berkana Rune.
One of the most popular economic strategy browser games. Ikariam puts us in place of an ancient ruler, slowly developing his empire from, initially, a small Greek village. Obviously, as for every strategy game, we need resources, in which will be based our economy. Through them we can expand our buildings, make an army and slowl...
Batman, Ironman, Spiderman. Would you like to be just like them? Well, now it is possible! Make your own character and slowly, advance your goal. At the beginning, you'll be doing missions in your neighborhood, just some mere trivialities like chasing away some nagging kids or searching a catnip for your neighbor's k...
Travian is one of the most popular strategic games, which has become nearly a legend! The game is set during the wars against German and Gallic barbarians. So we start by choosing between one of three available factions. We can play the Gauls, who are the masters of defense; the Teutons specialized in the attack and the Romans, ...
Stronghold Kingdoms is a strategy browser game, placed in the medieval world. During the game, the player incorporate the role of a village ruler. The main objective is to develop your area gradually and turn it into the well-known and respectable town. A major factor is an extension of the castle, because it is the most suscept...
SAO's Legend
SAO's Legend is a game created in the famous universe of Sword Art Online. It tells us a story of a boy, who along with other players, has been trapped in the game universe and in order to get out of it, he has to fight until the end, to win the whole game.Play as a brave hero and fight to defend the Goddess.The game ...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences
UK: Medical Negligence: Should Patients Be Told When Something Goes Wrong?
by Chris Gawne (Manchester) and Ben Spivey (Manchester)
Recently the government indicated that medical negligence claims are expected to cost the taxpayer £15.7 billion. You can read more about this in our recent blog - setting the record straight on the spiralling 15bn medical negligence bill.
The £15.7billion was said to include "an estimate of the cost of mistakes that have not yet been claimed for". The annual provision for clinical negligence claims in the Whole of Government Accounts Report 2009/10 was £2.1bn but the actual amount paid by the NHS in 2009/10 was £787m.
It is interesting to consider why claims have not been made in situations where the government anticipates them. Sometimes this will be because claims on behalf of children do not need to be brought until the child reaches adulthood so if a child has been injured but no claim has yet been made it does not mean that a claim will not be made in future.
Other explanations are, however, more worrying. Despite what you may read in the press about 'compensation culture' people are still reticent in bringing claims, particularly against the NHS. Many of those who make a claim only do it reluctantly. Perhaps the constant publicity about the compensation culture is putting people off: they don't want to be seen to be part of such a demonised section of society. That is sad if it means that there are families undergoing significant hardship as a result of injuries caused by medical negligence but are put off from claiming.
An additional explanation, however, is that many of the people who have been injured as a result of poor medical treatment may not know about it. They know that they were ill and that they required some sort of medical treatment but they may well not know that an error was made or that their injury was neither the result of the original illness, nor unavoidable. That is because nobody tells them. Those who suffer as a result and are unaware of the possibility of claiming compensation are disproportionately likely to be less well informed and more vulnerable members of society.
Lobby groups such as Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) have called for a statutory duty of candour to remedy this situation arguing "The current situation means health organisations can effectively cover an incident up from a patient or family member". A duty of candour would be a legal obligation upon the NHS to inform patients when mistakes have been made.
However, following a consultation paper, peers last week rejected inserting a statutory duty of candour into the Health and Social Care Bill by 234 votes to 194. After the decision Chief Executive of AvMA, Peter Walsh, stated "this is a bad day for anyone who values patient safety and patients' rights." Health Minister Earl Howe explained that the government "doesn't feel more regulation is the right way to go" but continued to explain that a contractual duty of candour may still be on the cards despite concerns from lobby groups that a contractual duty would be woefully inadequate.
With the NHS budgeting for increasing numbers of medical negligence claims and a statutory duty of openness in the NHS being rejected, Baroness Masham expressed the concerns of many in asking: "Patients and their supporters always have to fight for everything. Why?"
The obvious concern for the NHS is that a requirement to admit mistakes to patients will potentially make thousands of patients aware of the possibility of making a claim for compensation. If further claims are brought as a result it would increase costs to the NHS. Nevertheless, even the Department of Health has confirmed "if patients do not receive the treatment they should, and mistakes are made, it is right that they should be entitled to compensation". That promise is toothless without an obligation on hospitals to inform patients when a mistake has been made.
Chris Gawne
Ben Spivey
UK Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences Healthcare
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Airports, roads, towns and homes could be swamped, a state report says.
A California government council is warning that climate change could cause ocean waters off the coast to rise far higher than previously anticipated ― an increase in sea-level by as much as 10 feet by the end of the century.
This worst-case scenario would destroy airports in Oakland and San Francisco, and would swamp roadways, low-lying bridges, railroad tracks, farmland, beaches and some towns. As many as 42,000 homes would be completely submerged, warns the report released this month by a California Ocean Protection Council advisory team. The council adopted an updated report with higher sea-level estimates on Wednesday.
The dire prediction follows the Louisiana governor's declaration of an emergency over the state's vanishing coastline. Louisiana could lose as much as 2,250 square miles of shorline to rising waters in the next 50 years, Gov. John Bel Edwards noted.
Miami also faces a dangerous increase in sea level. A study in Nature Climate Change last week warned that 2.5 million Miami residents could be driven from their homes by 2100.
Without a dramatic change in fossil-fuel emissions, a separate study this month by the U.S. Geological Survey estimated, rising sea level would wipe out up to 67 percent of the beaches in Southern California by 2100.
In the best-case scenario — only if fossil-fuel emissions are significantly curbed — levels in the San Francisco Bay area would still increase up to 2.4 feet. Even that could be devastating to property, infrastructure and the economy, the council's report warns.
The team revised earlier estimates upward because ice sheets in the Antarctic and Greenland are melting at an increasingly rapid pace. In addition, global warming effects are already being seen, and new discoveries have added to scientific knowledge about what's happening, according to the report. The report was last revised four years ago.
California has some of the toughest anti-pollution measures in the nation, yet its 1,100-mile coastline is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Researchers now believe Antarctic ice melts hit the West Coast particularly hard because of the Earth's rotation and gravitational pull on ocean waters. "For every foot of global sea-level rise caused by the loss of ice on West Antarctica, sea-level will rise approximately 1.25 feet along the California coast," the report notes.
U.S. policy is unlikely to turn the corner and severely curb fossil fuel use and emissions under President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a "hoax," and Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, who says he is skeptical that humans and CO2 are the main cause of global warming.
The Ocean Protection Council was created by California to help prepare for the consequences of rising ocean levels, including property destruction and economic impact.


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Home ▸ Renewable Energy
(new window)
Increasing our use of renewable energy is an important part of Georgetown University's approach to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions (new window) and creating a sustainable campus. In 2013, Georgetown was recognized as an EPA Green Power Partner of the Year (new window) in recognition of our work.
Learn more about what we're doing via the links below.
Renewable Energy Initiatives
Off-site Solar: In fall 2017 Georgetown has announced a major off-site solar energy project with Origis Energy USA (new window) which will provide nearly half of the university's power from solar by summer 2019.
1.1 MW On-Site Solar: On Earth Day 2017, Georgetown announced a major solar panel project to be installed on six buildings on campus, which will increase the university's sustainability efforts, reduce costs and serve low-income residents in the city. Learn more >> (new window)
100% Renewable Electricity: As of FY13, GU requires green-e certified (new window) Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for 100% of electricity procured for the Main and Medical campuses. This helps GU meet our LEED green building targets, and makes Georgetown one of the top renewable energy purchasers among universities and college campuses in the US! Learn more >> (new window)
Solar Street: GU's "Solar Street" project is a student-spearheaded, 18 KW solar PV array on the rooftops of 6 historic rowhouses at the campus's Main Gates. Solar Street provides the same carbon reduction benefits as planting 333 new trees or removing 44 cars from the road for a year. Learn more >> (new window)
Historic Bunn Intercultural Center Solar Array: The original 300 kW Bunn Intercultural Center solar PV array was installed in 1984, and by 2013 was the longest running installation of its scale at any college campus in the country, producing over 5.8 million kWh over its lifetime. After an impressive 30 year life, the system will be replaced with a modern PV array in 2017 (new window).
Renewable Portfolio Standards: Forward-looking energy policies in our region, such as Washington, DC's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (new window), are helping reduce the carbon intensity of the local energy mix.


Looks like you have 1.3" of clearance for a foregrip on a standard 9.1" rail.
In regard to a preorder what about this, I'll set up a thread on AO and when I get 10 orders I'll get the CAD work done for review. Say $100 down, non refundable or transferable. If I cancel the project full refunds will be made. I need some commitment from you guys before I dump a bunch of time into the project. What do you guys think?
OK, so the ball is in your court.
Last edited by luke-AO; 12-17-2017 at 06:10 PM.
Pneumatics will be an upgrade.
I'm not going to order one, so take it with a grain of salt, but it seems like it would be easier to work on things/tune the system if you could do all of it outside the constraints of the grip frame and then bolt it in once you were done.


WPT airs almost every Badger home game, and many away games, on tape delay. I don't know their call letters in Madison or Milwaukee, but I'm pretty sure that they do it statewide.
NHPTV aired UNH hockey games for a long time, and it developed into a VERY good production, better than NESN and other local coverage, I would say. Unfortunately starting last year they don't cover anymore.
I don't believe they have ever shown away games. In Madison it is WHA-TV, Green Bay is WPNE. Not sure of the others in the state. They show a variety of Wisconsin mens and womens sports.
WGVU televises either one or both of the Calvin-Hope basketball games each year. That's the only sports related thing I can think of ever being on there though, unless you count that one football skit I saw on Red Green.
You've been fighting for that for a while (and I've helped too). If there's anything I can do to help from down here, let me know.
For the Badgers, Wisconsin Public TV is what I'm looking for since they are the ones who produce and broadcast the games and the other stations probably just grab the satellite feed.
Thanks for the replies! That helps a lot.
NET here in Nebraska usually televises roughly 4 UNO games a year statewide.
I know I have :) But we have a new chief engineer now and management seems to be open to all suggestions. I guess you can say right now he has a little bit of political capital to spend as the new guy they really like and don't want to make mad, so lets start spending it while we can :D I like him a lot, too, because we seem to have the same frame of mind in terms of the programming we currently air and where we need to go in the future. But really in producing these things there's a lot of red tape in terms of obtaining rights and stuff to go through and he felt the best way was to see if any other PBS affiliates have aired games and contact them first to see what hurdles they had to clear and how they went about everything. So I'm getting the ball rolling for him and seeing how far we can get this thing.
You work for a PBS station in/near Marquette and are trying to get some PBS support for NMU games?
WMHT in Schenectady aired some RPI games in the past, but it has been at least 7 or eight years since the last one they aired.
It used to be my fondest dream to have KVDU/KCFR broadcast Denver Pioneer games... and i'm still delusional after all these years!
WFUM in Flint carried some of Michigan's games in NCAA Regionals a few years ago.
I remember the NCAA regional back in 1999 that carried the Michigan games. Could that be the one you were thinking of?
Hey, M-Hockey...Id like to talk with you about something. If you could email me SeKelly@nmu.edu Thanks.


I would like to share a recommendation. While we are in the middle of the summer and we are all taking a few days off, try to practice something, FOCUS ON THE NOW.
What do I mean specifically?
1. Focus on the task that you are doing now. Be present. Focus on just "being". If you are washing the dishes look at the shapes of objects, the smell, the colors, etc. If thoughts come in just let them go, do not engage and by all means never judge yourself or your thoughts.
2. Don't dwell on the past or the future. Again, focus on the present. If you need to take into account the past or the future for your work or anything similar, take action immediately to acknowledge the information from the past and/or future and go back to the present. You will increase efficiency, save time, remove negative feelings and overall be happier!
3. If a negative thought keeps coming back, talk back to your thoughts! The idea is always to go back to the present without over-identifying ourselves with our thoughts. However if this is hard, talk back to your thoughts first, they are not always right! Ask the following: Is this true? Is this really really true? How do I feel when I think about it? How would I feel if I thought something different? This is what Dr Amen calls "killing the ANTS" (ie. automatic negative thoughts) As soon as you find a more reassuring thought you can go back to the present more easily.
4. Meditate. The best way to train your mind to just focus on BEING is to get used to that feeling. You can start with 10min of meditation everyday just focusing on your breathing and the sensations coming from your body. Focus on being in your own body, acknowledging the energy coming from it.
5. True happiness doesn't come from owning things, achieving goals, becoming something, etc. Of course we need goals in life and purpose! But don't let those aspirations become the center of your mind. You will be free of suffering when you stop always "wanting the next thing". Achieve happiness by focusing on the present, the rest will come since you will be totally devoted to the moment, you will succeed already!
6. Embrace feelings without overreacting. When you accept things the way they are, you can create a GAP between the situation and yourself. That Gap is Golden, since it allows you to look at the situation, acknowledge it and take action without your emotions interfering in it.
I know that this may sound so hard to implement! But I encourage you to start practicing focusing on the now a little bit everyday, in different life situations. You are going to experience a new dimension and I hope it takes you so close to your inner self that you will finally recognize "your true you" no matter what life throws at you.


Tomorrow is finally the day that everyone's waiting for. I hope you all have a great valetine's with your loveone or family and friends. It's nice to celebrate with someone that you love and I'm sure we all are. For me I don't think it's a happy valentine's at all, since I have some problem that makes my day terrible. But oh well life is just like that sometimes it's fair and sometimes it's not. Anyway, whatelse do I have to say, I'm out of words at this time. Just can't think of any other than being depressed, stress, upset and dissappointed. Take care everyone, have fun.
Hi Anna we hope everything works out for you and we will keep you in our prayers. Salmat.


These three F's have set the foundation for young Jamal Nixon '17, helping him to find his way — from Chicago and Plainfield, IL, to Oak Park and Mankato, MN, and beyond.
An injury can't hold back a leader of Friars. Facing "minor" knee surgery, Jamal says he will be ready to hoop again for the Minnesota State Mavs in the New Year.
William watched pridefully as his son developed and flourished. Jamal's natural leadership abilities were enhanced in the classroom and in the gymnasium. William and his wife, Loretta (Moore) Nixon, employ basketball as a platform to tell a Friar's story that is much bigger than athletics. Jamal and his family came into Fenwick with an open mind but didn't really know anything about the "Catholic thing" and the school's culture, says his mother, who is Manager of IT Audit and Advisory Services at Health Care Service Corp.
Loretta and William were teenage sweethearts at Westinghouse High School in Chicago. When the curious parents inquired about Fenwick, they began hearing words such as, "legacy," "tradition" and "multi-generational families." They noticed how many alumni come back to teach at the private school. "We found all of that very impressive," Loretta admits, including the relationship-building and connection aspects of "Friar Nation" and all its devoted alumni. "Fenwick offers so much in terms of mentoring, community and the alumni network," praises her husband.
The parents wondered how structured or strict the Fenwick environment was – academically and behaviorally. They have very high expectations of their sons, and they wanted to ensure that their expectations for Jamal matched the school's.
With 102 victories recorded, Jamal is the winningest basketball player in the storied, 85-year history of Fenwick hoops. There is a ceremonial ball in the trophy case outside the school's Fieldhouse Gym stating that fact. He also is a leader, but the second team All-State guard didn't always view himself that way.
Coming in as a freshman in 2013, Jamal did not expect to play up on varsity. Then fate presented an opportunity in the form of senior leader Scottie Lindsey's broken leg. (Lindsey now is entering his senior season at Northwestern University, poised to lead the Wildcats deep into "March Madness" again.) Amid the Friars' turmoil and adversity four years ago, young Jamal was asked to step up by Rick Malnati, the team's new coach.
Jamal's older, taller brother, Will, graduated from Plainfield South High School and, recently, from Elmhurst College. The 6'7" center transferred after one year at Wayne State in Detroit. (Former Friar Jeremy Ireland '14 also transferred to the Bluejays, from North Central College.) However, parents William and Loretta foresaw a different path for their younger son, who followed his brother to a Christian elementary school before attending Aux Sable Middle School in Joliet.
Mike Smith '16 (now playing college ball at Columbia) was a big reason why Nixon ended up at Fenwick.
When he came to the Friars' basketball program, there were nine seniors on the varsity team. "They really took me in," he recalls, as did Coach Malnati. In much the same way, Jamal mentored 6'2" freshman "freak" DJ Steward (now a sophomore) this past fall and winter. "It was a flashback for me," he says.
By Christmastime last year, DJ wasn't playing like the frosh that he was. "He just needs to stay humble. All his hard work will pay off." The young Steward already has received D1 scholarship offers, including from Georgia Tech and the University of Illinois.
Looking back, Malnati says this about his four-year player: "Jamal is the ultimate leader, captain, teammate and winner. He was mature beyond his years and never showed much emotion on the court. He is a quiet kid who has a very spiritual side to him." The coach pauses. "He left a legacy here that will last a long time," Malnati concludes.
Fighting through team adversity and personal pain also honed Jamal's leadership skills. A severe knee injury slowed him down at the end of his sophomore season, but not enough to stop recruiters from schools such as the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and Furman University in South Carolina. The scholarship offer from Division II Minnesota State came after a stellar junior campaign in 2015-16, which saw the Friars advance to the Sectional Round of the state playoffs, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion to Chicago Catholic League (CCL) rival St. Joseph's.
Perseverance was key as Jamal transitioned, and resilience has fostered his now confident demeanor. "The homework, the practice, the commute … it was tough," he acknowledges. "But there were no short cuts; there was no quitting. I just kept my eye toward the future." And that future is here. Jamal is on a business track and plans to study marketing in college at Minnesota State. Go, Mavericks! Go, Friars!
Jamal Nixon and Jake Keller entered Fenwick together in 2013. The pair has known each other since second grade. "We first met playing winter basketball for the Illinois T-Wolves," Jamal remembers. An All-State quarterback for the Friars in 2016, the 6'3" 195-pound Keller played football and basketball at Fenwick. He now is the second-string QB this season as a true freshman at the University of Northern Iowa.
Jamal and Jake have been friends for more than 10 years — since second grade.
Jamal, despite his powerful frame, chose to focus on basketball. At 6'5" and a solid 215 pounds, he might have been an athletic wide receiver, tight end or even a linebacker on the gridiron. Instead, he excelled at three different positions on the hardwood.
What a run! "I'm proud about where we've taken this program in the past four years," Jamal says.
VIDEO: WHAT FENWICK MEANS TO JAMAL.
Editor's note: Jamal is no relation to the other two basketball-playing Nixon brothers at Fenwick: senior AJ '18 and junior Damari '19.
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text:
package acceptance

import (
	gosql "database/sql"
	"encoding/json"
	"errors"
	"flag"
	"fmt"
	"io/ioutil"
	"os"
	"os/signal"
	"path/filepath"
	"regexp"
	"strconv"
	"strings"
	"testing"
	"time"

	"github.com/docker/docker/api/types"
	"github.com/docker/docker/api/types/container"
	"github.com/docker/docker/pkg/namesgenerator"
	_ "github.com/lib/pq"
	"golang.org/x/net/context"

	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/acceptance/cluster"
	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/acceptance/terrafarm"
	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/base"
	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/caller"
	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/log"
	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/randutil"
)

type keepClusterVar string

func (kcv *keepClusterVar) String() string {
	return string(*kcv)
}

func (kcv *keepClusterVar) Set(val string) error {
	if val != terrafarm.KeepClusterAlways &&
		val != terrafarm.KeepClusterFailed &&
		val != terrafarm.KeepClusterNever {
		return errors.New("invalid value")
	}
	*kcv = keepClusterVar(val)
	return nil
}

func init() {
	flag.Var(&flagTFKeepCluster, "tf.keep-cluster",
		"keep the cluster after the test, either 'always', 'never', or 'failed'")

	flag.Parse()

	if *flagCLTWriters == -1 {
		*flagCLTWriters = *flagNodes
	}
}

var flagDuration = flag.Duration("d", cluster.DefaultDuration, "duration to run the test")
var flagNodes = flag.Int("nodes", 3, "number of nodes")
var flagStores = flag.Int("stores", 1, "number of stores to use for each node")
var flagRemote = flag.Bool("remote", false, "run the test using terrafarm instead of docker")
var flagCwd = flag.String("cwd", "../cloud/aws", "directory to run terraform from")
var flagKeyName = flag.String("key-name", "", "name of key for remote cluster")
var flagLogDir = flag.String("l", "", "the directory to store log files, relative to the test source")
var flagTestConfigs = flag.Bool("test-configs", false, "instead of using the passed in configuration, use the default "+
	"cluster configurations for each test. This overrides the nodes, stores and duration flags and will run the test "+
	"against a collection of pre-specified cluster configurations.")
var flagConfig = flag.String("config", "", "a json TestConfig proto, see testconfig.proto")

var flagPrivileged = flag.Bool("privileged", os.Getenv("CIRCLECI") != "true",
	"run containers in privileged mode (required for nemesis tests")

// Terrafarm flags.
var flagTFReuseCluster = flag.String("reuse", "",
	`attempt to use the cluster with the given name.
	  Tests which don't support this may behave unexpectedly.
	  This flag can also be set to have a test create a cluster
	  with predetermined name.`,
)

var flagTFKeepCluster = keepClusterVar(terrafarm.KeepClusterNever) // see init()
var flagTFCockroachBinary = flag.String("tf.cockroach-binary", "",
	"path to custom CockroachDB binary to use for allocator tests")
var flagTFCockroachFlags = flag.String("tf.cockroach-flags", "",
	"command-line flags to pass to cockroach for allocator tests")
var flagTFCockroachEnv = flag.String("tf.cockroach-env", "",
	"supervisor-style environment variables to pass to cockroach")
var flagTFDiskType = flag.String("tf.disk-type", "pd-standard",
	"type of disk (either 'pd-standard' for spinny disk, or 'pd-ssd' for SSD)")

// Allocator test flags.
var flagATMaxStdDev = flag.Float64("at.std-dev", 10,
	"maximum standard deviation of replica counts")

// continuousLoadTest (CLT) flags.
var flagCLTWriters = flag.Int("clt.writers", -1,
	"# of load generators to spawn (defaults to # of nodes)")
var flagCLTMinQPS = flag.Float64("clt.min-qps", 5.0,
	"fail load tests when queries per second drops below this during a health check interval")

var testFuncRE = regexp.MustCompile("^(Test|Benchmark)")

var stopper = make(chan struct{})

func runTests(m *testing.M) {
	randutil.SeedForTests()
	go func() {
		// Shut down tests when interrupted (for example CTRL+C).
		sig := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
		signal.Notify(sig, os.Interrupt)
		<-sig
		select {
		case <-stopper:
		default:
			// There is a very tiny race here: the cluster might be closing
			// the stopper simultaneously.
			close(stopper)
		}
	}()
	os.Exit(m.Run())
}

// prefixRE is based on a Terraform error message regarding invalid resource
// names. We perform this check to make sure that when we prepend the name
// to the Terraform-generated resource name, we have a name that meets
// Terraform's naming rules.
//
// Here's an example of the error message:
//
// * google_compute_instance.cockroach: Error creating instance: googleapi:
//   Error 400: Invalid value for field 'resource.name':
//   'Uprep-1to3-small-cockroach-1'. Must be a match of regex
//   '(?:[a-z](?:[-a-z0-9]{0,61}[a-z0-9])?)', invalid
var prefixRE = regexp.MustCompile("^(?:[a-z](?:[-a-z0-9]{0,45}[a-z0-9])?)$")

// getRandomName generates a random, human-readable name to ease identification
// of different test resources.
func getRandomName() string {
	// Remove characters that aren't allowed in hostnames for machines allocated
	// by Terraform.
	return strings.Replace(namesgenerator.GetRandomName(0), "_", "", -1)
}

func farmer(t *testing.T, prefix string) *terrafarm.Farmer {
	SkipUnlessRemote(t)

	if *flagKeyName == "" {
		t.Fatal("-key-name is required") // saves a lot of trouble
	}

	if e := "GOOGLE_PROJECT"; os.Getenv(e) == "" {
		t.Fatalf("%s environment variable must be set for Terraform", e)
	}

	logDir := *flagLogDir
	if logDir == "" {
		var err error
		logDir, err = ioutil.TempDir("", "clustertest_")
		if err != nil {
			t.Fatal(err)
		}
	}
	if !filepath.IsAbs(logDir) {
		logDir = filepath.Join(filepath.Clean(os.ExpandEnv("${PWD}")), logDir)
	}
	stores := "--store=/mnt/data0"
	for j := 1; j < *flagStores; j++ {
		stores += " --store=/mnt/data" + strconv.Itoa(j)
	}

	// Pass variables to be passed to the Terraform config.
	terraformVars := make(map[string]string)
	if *flagTFCockroachBinary != "" {
		terraformVars["cockroach_binary"] = *flagTFCockroachBinary
	}
	if *flagTFCockroachFlags != "" {
		terraformVars["cockroach_flags"] = *flagTFCockroachFlags
	}
	if *flagTFCockroachEnv != "" {
		terraformVars["cockroach_env"] = *flagTFCockroachEnv
	}
	terraformVars["cockroach_disk_type"] = *flagTFDiskType

	var name string
	if *flagTFReuseCluster == "" {
		// We concatenate a random name to the prefix (for Terraform resource
		// names) to allow multiple instances of the same test to run
		// concurrently. The prefix is also used as the name of the Terraform
		// state file.

		name = prefix
		if name != "" {
			name += "-"
		}

		name += getRandomName()

		// Rudimentary collision control.
		for i := 0; ; i++ {
			newName := name
			if i > 0 {
				newName += strconv.Itoa(i)
			}
			_, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(*flagCwd, newName+".tfstate"))
			if os.IsNotExist(err) {
				name = newName
				break
			}
		}
	} else {
		name = *flagTFReuseCluster
	}

	if !prefixRE.MatchString(name) {
		t.Fatalf("generated cluster name '%s' must match regex %s", name, prefixRE)
	}
	f := &terrafarm.Farmer{
		Output:      os.Stderr,
		Cwd:         *flagCwd,
		LogDir:      logDir,
		KeyName:     *flagKeyName,
		Stores:      strconv.Quote(stores),
		Prefix:      name,
		StateFile:   name + ".tfstate",
		AddVars:     terraformVars,
		KeepCluster: flagTFKeepCluster.String(),
	}
	log.Infof(context.Background(), "logging to %s", logDir)
	return f
}

// readConfigFromFlags will convert the flags to a TestConfig for the purposes
// of starting up a cluster.
func readConfigFromFlags() cluster.TestConfig {
	return cluster.TestConfig{
		Name:     fmt.Sprintf("AdHoc %dx%d", *flagNodes, *flagStores),
		Duration: *flagDuration,
		Nodes: []cluster.NodeConfig{
			{
				Count:  int32(*flagNodes),
				Stores: []cluster.StoreConfig{{Count: int32(*flagStores)}},
			},
		},
	}
}

// getConfigs returns a list of test configs based on the passed in flags.
func getConfigs(t *testing.T) []cluster.TestConfig {
	// If a config not supplied, just read the flags.
	if (flagConfig == nil || len(*flagConfig) == 0) &&
		(flagTestConfigs == nil || !*flagTestConfigs) {
		return []cluster.TestConfig{readConfigFromFlags()}
	}

	var configs []cluster.TestConfig
	if flagTestConfigs != nil && *flagTestConfigs {
		configs = append(configs, cluster.DefaultConfigs()...)
	}

	if flagConfig != nil && len(*flagConfig) > 0 {
		// Read the passed in config from the command line.
		var config cluster.TestConfig
		if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(*flagConfig), &config); err != nil {
			t.Error(err)
		}
		configs = append(configs, config)
	}

	// Override duration in all configs if the flags are set.
	for i := 0; i < len(configs); i++ {
		// Override values.
		if flagDuration != nil && *flagDuration != cluster.DefaultDuration {
			configs[i].Duration = *flagDuration
		}
		// Set missing defaults.
		if configs[i].Duration == 0 {
			configs[i].Duration = cluster.DefaultDuration
		}
	}
	return configs
}

type configTestRunner func(*testing.T, cluster.Cluster, cluster.TestConfig)

// runTestOnConfigs retrieves the full list of test configurations and runs the
// passed in test against each on serially.
func runTestOnConfigs(t *testing.T, testFunc func(*testing.T, cluster.Cluster, cluster.TestConfig)) {
	cfgs := getConfigs(t)
	if len(cfgs) == 0 {
		t.Fatal("no config defined so most tests won't run")
	}
	for _, cfg := range cfgs {
		func() {
			cluster := StartCluster(t, cfg)
			defer cluster.AssertAndStop(t)
			testFunc(t, cluster, cfg)
		}()
	}
}

// StartCluster starts a cluster from the relevant flags. All test clusters
// should be created through this command since it sets up the logging in a
// unified way.
func StartCluster(t *testing.T, cfg cluster.TestConfig) (c cluster.Cluster) {
	var completed bool
	defer func() {
		if !completed && c != nil {
			c.AssertAndStop(t)
		}
	}()
	if !*flagRemote {
		logDir := *flagLogDir
		if logDir != "" {
			logDir = func(d string) string {
				for i := 1; i < 100; i++ {
					_, _, fun := caller.Lookup(i)
					if testFuncRE.MatchString(fun) {
						return filepath.Join(d, fun)
					}
				}
				panic("no caller matching Test(.*) in stack trace")
			}(logDir)
		}
		l := cluster.CreateLocal(cfg, logDir, *flagPrivileged, stopper)
		l.Start()
		c = l
		checkRangeReplication(t, l, 20*time.Second)
		completed = true
		return l
	}
	f := farmer(t, "")
	c = f
	if err := f.Resize(*flagNodes); err != nil {
		t.Fatal(err)
	}
	if err := f.WaitReady(5 * time.Minute); err != nil {
		if destroyErr := f.Destroy(t); destroyErr != nil {
			t.Fatalf("could not destroy cluster after error %v: %v", err, destroyErr)
		}
		t.Fatalf("cluster not ready in time: %v", err)
	}
	checkRangeReplication(t, f, 20*time.Second)
	completed = true
	return f
}

// SkipUnlessLocal calls t.Skip if not running against a local cluster.
func SkipUnlessLocal(t *testing.T) {
	if *flagRemote {
		t.Skip("skipping since not run against local cluster")
	}
}

// SkipUnlessRemote calls t.Skip if not running against a remote cluster.
func SkipUnlessRemote(t *testing.T) {
	if !*flagRemote {
		t.Skip("skipping since not run against remote cluster")
	}
}

// SkipUnlessLocal calls t.Skip if not running with the privileged flag.
func SkipUnlessPrivileged(t *testing.T) {
	if !*flagPrivileged {
		t.Skip("skipping since not run in privileged mode")
	}
}

func makePGClient(t *testing.T, dest string) *gosql.DB {
	db, err := gosql.Open("postgres", dest)
	if err != nil {
		t.Fatal(err)
	}
	return db
}

// testDockerFail ensures the specified docker cmd fails.
func testDockerFail(t *testing.T, name string, cmd []string) {
	if err := testDockerSingleNode(t, name, cmd); err == nil {
		t.Error("expected failure")
	}
}

// testDockerSuccess ensures the specified docker cmd succeeds.
func testDockerSuccess(t *testing.T, name string, cmd []string) {
	if err := testDockerSingleNode(t, name, cmd); err != nil {
		t.Error(err)
	}
}

const (
	// NB: postgresTestTag is grepped for in circle-deps.sh, so don't rename it.
	postgresTestTag = "20160913-0941"
	// Iterating against a locally built version of the docker image can be done
	// by changing postgresTestImage to the hash of the container.
	postgresTestImage = "cockroachdb/postgres-test:" + postgresTestTag
)

func testDocker(t *testing.T, num int32, name string, cmd []string) error {
	SkipUnlessLocal(t)
	cfg := cluster.TestConfig{
		Name:     name,
		Duration: *flagDuration,
		Nodes:    []cluster.NodeConfig{{Count: num, Stores: []cluster.StoreConfig{{Count: 1}}}},
	}
	l := StartCluster(t, cfg).(*cluster.LocalCluster)
	defer l.AssertAndStop(t)

	containerConfig := container.Config{
		Image: postgresTestImage,
		Env: []string{
			fmt.Sprintf("PGPORT=%s", base.DefaultPort),
			"PGSSLCERT=/certs/node.crt",
			"PGSSLKEY=/certs/node.key",
		},
		Cmd: cmd,
	}
	if len(l.Nodes) > 0 {
		containerConfig.Env = append(containerConfig.Env, "PGHOST="+l.Hostname(0))
	}
	hostConfig := container.HostConfig{NetworkMode: "host"}
	return l.OneShot(postgresTestImage, types.ImagePullOptions{}, containerConfig, hostConfig, "docker-"+name)
}

func testDockerSingleNode(t *testing.T, name string, cmd []string) error {
	return testDocker(t, 1, name, cmd)
}

func testDockerOneShot(t *testing.T, name string, cmd []string) error {
	return testDocker(t, 0, name, cmd)
}

// WithClusterTimeout returns a copy of the given parent Context with a timeout
// that's less than the `test.timeout` flag, allowing time for test cluster
// creation and destruction to occur.
func WithClusterTimeout(parent context.Context) (context.Context, error) {
	// createDestroyInterval is set based on occasional observed teardown times of 6-7
	// minutes.
	const createDestroyInterval = 10 * time.Minute
	fl := flag.Lookup("test.timeout")
	if fl == nil {
		return parent, nil
	}
	testTimeout, err := time.ParseDuration(fl.Value.String())
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	if createDestroyInterval >= testTimeout {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("test.timeout must be greater than create/destroy interval %s",
			createDestroyInterval)
	}
	ctx, _ := context.WithTimeout(parent, testTimeout-createDestroyInterval)
	return ctx, nil
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A dribble hand off is very similar to a ball screen, and multiple handoffs in the same play can be very hard to guard for the defense, if done right. They are great for relieving ball pressure and getting the ball to a player that may be getting denied. Because they are so similar to ball screens a lot of the same principles apply. The screener must take a good angle and make contact, and the player using the screen needs to first set their defender up and then read the defense.
All of our basketball plays come with a video breaking down the specific play and also written text explaining what to look for when executing the play. Build your winning playbook by finding the best plays for your basketball team.
There are a few things that you as the basketball coach need to emphasis to your players when running these types of plays. One of the focus points when executing a hand off is that the dribble needs to be right at the receivers defender, there must be contact with the defender as the ball is handed off. Also flip the ball up so that the offensive player can easily adjust under the handoff, and make a move with the ball.
The player coming off of the hand off needs to set his/her defender up before coming up to receive the ball, and then needs to read the defense just as they would for a ball screen. They must be under control to this and be patient using the screen.
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text:
It Doesn't Have To Be Right…
… it just has to sound plausible
Tag Archives: andré øvredal
by iansales	2 Comments
I ran out of TV series to box-set binge – well, TV series that interest me – and it occurred to me my Amazon Prime watchlist had reached three figures and I really should watch some of the movies on it… So I did. Not always with welcome results. But some of them turned out to be fun and/or interesting…
There were, however, a few TV series in among the movies. The BBC's His Dark Materials continues to impress – I hope the BBC sorts out its political reporting soon, it's a fucking disgrace. The Mandalorian is basically fan-fiction, and if I had any investment in the universe I'd probably be annoyed at the way it cherrypicks some parts of the canon and runs roughshod over others. Lovecraft Country was a pleasant surprise – good, but… seriously, how can you watch that and think the USA was ever great? No one said the UK wasn't racist, but Brits never put burning crosses on people's lawns. And I'm reminded of stories from WWII when UK villagers welcomed black American servicemen into their pubs, and even fought white US servicemen and MPs who tried to stop that. I spot anyone wearing a "MAGA" hat and all I see is someone wearing a "I am a massive racist" hat.
Moving quickly on… The "roundup" format seems to have failed, as I always write more than the intended sentence or two on the films I watch. I think I shall revert to my previous format next year.
Arianna, Carlo Lavagna (2015, Italy). A young woman in her late teens is troubled by her lack of menstruation. When on a summer holiday with her family, she experiences sex for the first time and she finds it too painful to consummate. She tries to find out why from her parents, but their claim it is a result of a childhood hernia are unconvincing. A doctor persuades her to access her records at the hospital where she was initially treated for the hernia, which she does through a subterfuge. It's hardly a spoiler to reveal what she discovers. She was born intersex, and her parents unilaterally decided to surgically transition her to female. By the end of the film, she admits she has yet to discover her gender but she feels she should have been given the choice. JK Rowling might like you to think gender is synonymous with sex, there are only two sexes, and everything else is post-millennial nonsense. But she's wrong on every count – about sex, about gender, and about the expression of gender. Recently, a BBC dimwit clumsily compared her infamous TERF blog post to Enoch Powell's infamous "rivers of blood" speech, and I'm fine with that – she's proven herself just as intolerant and hateful as he ever did.
Run, Waiter, Run!, Ladislav Smoljak (1981, Czechia). The title in Czech is classic, Vrchni, prchni! Most languages only dream of such alliteration! The owner of a not entirely successful bookshop is mistaken for a waiter while popping into a restaurant for a bottle of wine while dressed for a party. He then decides to supplement his income by impersonating a waiter, visiting restaurants and taking money from customers who assume he actually works there. He even becomes notorious and has to disguise himself. This is a black comedy in the finest Middle European tradition, but it is also surprisingly funny. The protagonist is no paragon – he's not only prospering from his fraud, but he's also happily cheating on his wife. I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth seeing.
Warning from Space, Koji Shima (1956, Japan). I'm not sure on the exact term for these sorts of films. Tokusatsu, I believe, refers to live-action film or television that relies heavily on special effects, but most properties I've seen labelled as such the special effects have been focussed on the heroes. Warning from Space is the first Japanese sf film to be produced in colour, which only makes its characteristic weirdness, well, colourful. Aliens debate how to warn Earth of an imminent collision with a rogue planet, only for the usual paranoia and misunderstandings to jeopardise their efforts, before everything finally comes right in the end. Classic stuff. This is more the expression of an aesthetic than it is the telling of a coherent story, and it's an aesthetic I have come to love. (Bizarrely, the Blu-ray edition I bought is apparently no longer available – more Brexit nonsense?)
Battle in Outer Space, Ishiro Honda (1959, Japan). And here is perhaps the perfect exponent of that aesthetic. Honda is best-known for his Gojira films, of which there were many, but he pioneered an expression of tokusatsu cinema which spread widely and continues to this day. The plots are mostly nonsense – as is this one – but, like Gerry Anderson and his productions, it's all about the look and feel, and the models and concepts. I think this is the movie where they needed to film a rocket launch, but didn't have enough room, so they dug a hole in the floor of the studio and were later fined for the damage. This is great stuff – absolute bonkers, resolutely science-fictional, often more representational than its Western peers, and while not entirely coherent as a story, more coherent as a genre, to an extent unmatched in the West until the rise of MCU and SWEU.
The Mystery of DB Cooper, John Dower (2020, USA). I have a sort of personal connection to this, although it is extremely tenuous. Back in 2015, I wrote an editorial for Interzone about the Hugo Awards and the Sad Puppies. This resulted in my favourite Amazon review of anything I have ever written: "Starts off with long winded political diatribe in the slanted style of the basest 9/11 Truther, you can almost feel the spittle from the editor's shouting as he hammers at the keyboard, surrounded by vintage Soviet propaganda posters and little shrines to Trotsky and Marx." The review was apparently by DB Cooper. Of course, the real culprit was some moronic puppy (they're not very bright… Well, they are right-wingers, so it goes with ideology), but it did introduce me to the whole myth of DB Cooper, the only unsolved air hijacking in US history. Which this documentary sort of attempts to solve. In 1971, a man using the name DB Cooper hijacked an internal US flight, demanded $200,000 and parachuted out of the aircraft with the money somewhere in Washington state. He was never caught, nor the money found. Over the years, four people have claimed responsibility or been identified as responsible. This film covers the details of all four's claims, without actually explaining which is the most likely culprit. Mildly interesting stuff – certainly an education in how different air travel, particularly internal US air travel, was at that time, and how easy the crime was, not to mention the incompetence of the FBI. But this is not even a footnote in history, and any claim it's US mythology is giving it far more importance than it deserves… which is no doubt why it's popular among the intellectually-challenged right-wing.
Mortal, André Øvredal (20202, Norway). An odd film that does some interesting thing but is chiefly notable for looking extremely pretty while doing very little. A young man from the US visits Norway to look up ancestors. He is involved in a fire in a northern farm, and then blamed for the deaths of whose who died in it. An incident brings him to the attention of a local police chief, who arrests him. A local psychologist interviews him, and is horrified by what she discovers – he can apparently cause fires and electric shocks. But she helps him escape – from a vengeful and thinly-drawn US government agent – and eventually leads him to discover who he really is. Thor's sons, apparently, settled down on a farm after Ragnarok, and kept with them all the knowledge of the Æsir, and guess who the American is descended from… Not a bad film. It made a good fist of its premise, provided an interesting twist in the end, and included some gorgeous cinematography of Norwegian scenery. Worth seeing.
Enola Holmes, Harry Bradbeer (2020, USA). This is pretty much a star vehicle for UK actress Millie Bobby Brown, who appears to be some kind of wunderkind (she's sixteen), has won awards, been deemed one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine, and appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. Excellent stuff; more power to her. The film is based on a YA series of six books by Nancy Springer, a US fantasy author with a long career, some of whose books I've read, although I only remember Larque on the Wing, an urban fantasy in which a fortysomething woman is transformed into a young gay man. Anyway, Enola Holmes is the young sister of, yes, you guessed it, Sherlock and Mycroft. But the film is set before the brothers became really famous. Their mother disappears, and Enola sets off to learn her fate. It's all very jolly, and the breaking of the fourth wall works well, but Enola seems a bit shit as a heroine and has to be constantly rescued, which does sort of undermine the whole empowering message. I'd have preferred Enola to have been a more effective character and the story to rely less – when it remembers its story, that is – on the teenage aristocratic drip whose single vote (yes, really) could change Britain for the better or bring it closer to Gammonland, that mythical country in which ignorant bald-headed white men consider themselves the superior of all except over-privileged and over-educated nincompoop gentry, which of course is not reciprocated, and everyone else thinks of the two groups as first against the wall should the revolution ever come. Bit harsh perhaps for a piece of Edwardian-set YA fluff, but Millie Bobby Brown needs better vehicles than this.
Sorry We Missed You, Ken Loach (2019, UK). No one expects a Ken Loach to be cheerful, but this one was grimmer than many I've seen. Perhaps because it's set in Tory Britain. No, wait… A Mancunian, living in the north-east with wife (a carer) and two teenage kids, takes a job as a delivery driver for a courier. The courier industry comes in for a lot of stick in the UK, and if this film is any indication it needs to be burned to the ground and rebuilt from scratch. It is as bad as Uber. And Uber are scum. The company in the film does not employ drivers, it offers franchises to people who own vans. Which means the company has no obligations to its "employees". As is abundantly made clear in this film. Everyone who defended the business model used by the delivery company was basically trotting out the same shit peddled by the SS. True, this is a movie – but it's not that different to many people's reality in the UK. Like the zero-hours contracts and corruption of the welfare state in I, Daniel Blake, Sorry We Missed You is a heart-breaking and rage-inducing drama-documentary based on the rentier class's exploitation – of the "white van man", in this instance. It needs to stop. And those who profit from it should be prosecuted. Do not watch this film unless you're in a good mood. Because you won't be when you finish it. And, sadly, going out and taking a baseball to your local capitalist is frowned upon by the law.
Woke Up Like This, John Elbert Ferrer (2017, Philippines). I commented on Facebook while watching this that body swap comedies have yet to produce a good movie, and while there may be a handful of borderline examples, this one from the Philippines pretty much proves the point. It takes the genre's most obvious example – a basketball player and a top model swap bodies. I forget the mechanism. And to be honest, I forget what life lessons either of them were meant to learn. The comedy mostly lies in them trying to come to terms with their new identity. And, er, that's it. Yes, they become better people as a result, but it's a bit much expecting such a drastic transformation not to cause change when the words, "You're being a fucking arsehole", should be equally effective. Although, to be fair, not as comedic. I'm aware Pinoy – in terms of cinema – is pretty much lowest common denominator film-making, and few Filipino films make it west – but the country has produced some excellent movies and nurtured some excellent directors. Sadly, Woke Up Like This belongs in neither category. A substandard comedy that Hollywood only manages to beat because it has better production values.
Sam, Nicholas Brooks (2017, USA). And here's a variation on the same story, and this is, I think, its third cinematic outing. A misogynist wakes up as a woman and learns life lessons. There was a play called Goodbye Charlie, which first appeared in 1959, and adapted for the cinema by Vincente Minelli in 1964 under the same title, and which I like quite a bit (it has a good cast), and later remade as Switch in 1991, which I do not like so much at all. Unfortunately, Sam is much much worse than either of those. An ad exec, who is is a throwback to the 1970s, meets Stacy Keach in a mysterious curio shop while staggering home drunk from a stag party, is fed some strange tea… and wakes up the following morning as a woman. The story runs on well-oiled rails, so well-oiled that nothing is surprising or dramatic except the misogyny in the first two acts of this, a twenty-first century film. People are not like that any more, except perhaps in weird backward pockets of the US or UK, so the entire story fails because it's less believable than The Last Jedi. It doesn't help the production is cheap, the cast nobodies, and the humour at least three decades out of date. Nicholas Brooks is the son of Mel Brooks. It seems trickle-down theory is just as much bullshit with talent as it is in economics.
Categories: film review, films, movie roundup 2020 | Tags: andré øvredal, carlo lavagna, harry bradbeer, ishiro honda, john dower, john elbert ferrer, ken loach, koji shima, ladislav smoljak, nicholas brooks | Permalink.
The best of the half-year: 2012
It's halfway through 2012, and it must be shaping up to be one of the wettest years on record in the UK. But that's okay because my hobbies are chiefly indoor ones – reading books, watching films and listening to music. I occasionally do a bit of writing too. But, since we're in June, with around six months to go until the end of the year, it's time to look back and determine what was the best of what I read, watched and heard in 2012. And it goes something like this…
I seem to have read a lot of books that were good without being great; and possibly a larger number of books that weren't good at all. Picking the best five proved harder than expected, though one or two titles were obvious…
The Universe of Things, Gwyneth Jones (2011). Jones has been my favourite writer for many years, so this collection's appearance on the top five is no surprise. I had, in fact, read most of the stories in The Universe of Things before (I even published one; sort of), but rereading them only cemented my admiration of them. Jones has not written many stories, but there are no clunkers among them. This collection is an excellent introduction to her fiction. I wrote a review of the book for Daughters of Prometheus.
Omega, Christopher Evans (2008). I've long admired Evans' fiction, but he seemed to stop writing after 1995's Mortal Remains… until Omega four years ago. I won't say it was worth the wait, because it's never good when a writer whose books you enjoy and admire disappears for more than a decade. But certainly Omega is a good book, a clever alternate history dimension-slip thriller partly set in a world where World War II continued on throughout the twentieth century. I wrote about Omega on my blog here.
The Door, Magda Szabó (1987). This year for my reading challenge I decided to read books by non-Anglophone writers I'd never read before. The Door was the second book I read for the challenge, and I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the challenge has got a little bogged down of late – I failed to finish March's book, read April's book late, and have yet to even start May's. Anyway, I wrote about The Door on my blog here.
The Bender, Paul Scott (1963). I read the first book of the Raj Quartet for one of my reading challenges, and thought the book was superb. As a result, I added Scott to the list of authors whose books I track down to read. In first edition. The Bender predates the Raj Quartet and is not as weighty as those four books. It's a very 1960s comedy, but also a beautifully witty one. I wrote about it on my blog here.
Betrayals, Charles Palliser (1994). I'm surprised this book isn't better known. It's an amazingly-put-together series of stories which form a much greater story. It opens with a series of Victorian travellers, trapped on a train by snow, who tell each other stories… and then proceeds to unravel and then stitch together the stories told by those travellers. There's a superb take-down of a cult semiotician, a clever spoof of the Scottish detective programme Taggart, and a brilliant pastiche of Jeffrey Archer. Perhaps the links between the stories aren't quite strong enough to carry the story-arc, but Betrayals is a very clever, very amusing, and excellent novel.
Honourable mentions go to Eastermodern by Herta Hurnaus, Oscar Niemeyer Houses by Alan Weintraub and Building Brasilia by Marcel Gautherot, which are books of photographs of modernist and brutalist buildings. Niemeyer's work perfectly encapsulates the future we could have had, and all cities should resemble Brasilia. Also worthy of note are How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ, which every writer and critic should read; Alias Grace, which is probably Margaret Atwood's best novel; and Hear Us O Lord from Heaven Thy Dwelling Place by Malcolm Lowry, a collection by an author new to me which contains some excellent novellas and some not so interesting short stories.
I've already visited the cinema twice so far this year, which is something of a record for me. One of the films I saw in IMAX 3D makes it onto my top five; the other one was rubbish, so it doesn't. The other films I've seen were all on DVD – some borrowed, some bought, and some rented.
Red Psalm (Még kér a nép), Miklós Janscó (1972). I bought this after seeing a review of the DVD in Sight & Sound. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't a group of hippie-looking Hungarians wandering around a farm spouting socialist rhetoric and singing folk songs, and then getting shot at by soldiers. I loved it. I wrote about Red Psalm on my blog here.
Red Desert (Il deserto rosso), Michelangelo Antonioni (1964). I've admired Antonioni's films since first seeing L'Avventura several years ago. Red Desert was his first film in colour, and it shows – it's an amazingly painterly film. Unlike in most films, the characters do not over-shadow their world but are very much a part of it. It creates a distance between viewer and cast, but there's an immersive quality to the mise en scène which renders that of little importance. Films don't need viewer analogues – that's just confining the medium to the simplicity of oral storytelling: films use images just like books use words, and that's where their focus should lie. I wrote about Red Desert on my blog here.
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Тіні забутих предків), Sergei Parajanov (1965). I watched Parajanov's The Colour of Pomegranates last year. That film is perhaps the zenith of "poetical cinema", but Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is definitely a way-station on the climb to it. It is, on the face of it, a simple story of one young man's trials and tribulations. He is a member of Ukrainian Hutsul culture, and the film is rich with its costumes, music and traditions. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is by no means an easy film to watch, however, as it operates on so many levels – but it at least has a coherent plot, which is more than can be said for The Colour of Pomegranates.
On the Silver Globe (Na srebrnym globie), Andrzej Żuławski (1978/1988). If you can imagine a film that out-Tarkovskys Solaris, then you might have some idea of what On the Silver Globe is like. It's based on a trilogy of novels published in Poland in 1911 by Jerzy Żuławski, which have apparently never been translated into English. On the strength of this film, they should be. It's probably evident that I'm not a huge fan of traditional Hollywood-style cinema; it often feels to me like a waste of the medium's potential. And yet films such as Red Psalm and On the Silver Globe, with their declarative dialogue, often feel like they're only partway to what film could truly be. I like the painterly mise en scène of poetical cinema, but often find the declarative dialogue as clumsy as science fiction's crude use of exposition. And so it is in On the Silver Globe – characters run around and gurn at the camera, and then speechify on the meaning of life. However, it's in the story and the imagery that the film really impresses – enough, in fact, to offset the fact the film was never completed – much like Andrzej Munk's Passenger. The Polish Ministry of Culture closed down the production of On the Silver Globe when the film was only 80% complete. It was ten years before Żuławski returned to it, and then he could only complete it by using stock footage and voice-over for some parts. It works surprisingly well. I plan to write more about On the Silver Globe on this blog.
John Carter, Andrew Stanton (2012). John Carter received a mauling at the US box office, so much so it was officially declared a flop by its studio, Disney. Happily, the world outside the US had more discerning taste and went to see the film in sufficient numbers for it to eventually turn a profit. But the profitability of a film is measured solely on its performance at the US box office – which is both dumb and parochial – so it's unlikely a sequel to John Carter will ever be made. Which is a shame. John Carter was a spectacle, with a clever script that managed to make something twenty-first century of its early twentieth-century source material. It had its flaws – some longeurs, and an inelegant info-dump to explain the plot – but other parts more than made up for it. I wrote more about it on my blog here.
Honourable mentions go to 8½, Federico Fellini (1962), which after seeing La Dolce Vita many years ago and disliking it, I had expected to hate – I didn't; I loved it. Troll Hunter, André Øvredal (2010), was another deadpan Norwegian spoof and cleverly done, though not quite as good as Norwegian Ninja. The Third Part of the Night, Andrzej Żuławski (1971), was the first Żuławski I saw, and it's off-the-wall Hitchcockian style appealed to me greatly (as did Andrzej Korzyñski's superb soundtrack). Went the Day Well?, Cavalcanti (1942), was a surprisingly brutal piece of wartime propaganda in which a German fifth column try to conquer a small English village. It goes badly. The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc Sec, Luc Besson (2010), gets a mention as an entertaining adaptation of Jacques Tardi's bande dessinée, and though it's completely silly it was great fun. Finally, some quality telly: Twin Peaks (1990 – 1991), which has not dated at all, and is still great entertainment despite being completely bonkers; and Caprica (2010), which promised so much more than it ever got the chance to deliver.
I knew from early this year that 2012 was going to be good for music. Perhaps few of my favourite bands are releasing albums, or touring the UK, but I've stumbled across some bands new to me that have been on almost constant play on the iPod.
Dwellings, Cormorant (2011). The band self-released this last year and it's a powerful mélange of half a dozen metal genres. I loved it from the first listen, and even went back and got copies of their earlier two albums.
The Devil's Resolve, Barren Earth (2012). This is the superband's second album, and it's a heavier and yet proggier effort than their first. The riffs are not quite as memorable as they are on The Curse of the Red River, but the lead breaks are much more impressive, and the proggy break-outs even stranger. Opeth's Heritage proved there was a market for 1970s-inspired weird Scandinavian prog, and Barren Earth have taken that and melded it with Scandinavian death/doom to create a winning combination.
The Weight of Oceans, In Mourning (2012). I saw a review of this and it sounded appealing, so I ordered a copy from a Finnish website. It's death/doom in that way the Finns do so well, but with added slow modern progginess. It's not proggy like Barren Earth is proggy, inasmuch its acoustic parts feel more of a piece with the heavy parts. I've been playing it constantly since it arrived.
Nostalgia, Gwynbleidd (2009). Another band I came across mention of and who I thought I might like. So I bought the album. And yes, I do like them. Very much. They're a sort of mix between Opeth and Northern Oak, but also not much like either. There are long sustained death metal parts, interspersed with folky acoustic guitar, and it all hangs together exceedingly well.
Legacy, Hypnos 69 (2010). I've been a fan of Hypnos 69 since hearing their The Intrigue of Perception several years ago. I's taken me a while to get hold of Legacy, chiefly because it was released by a small label in Germany and wasn't available in the UK. Recently I discovered it was on bandcamp, so I bought it from there. It's Hypnos 69 doing Hypnos 69-type stuff, and I love it.
Honourable mentions go to Finnish death metallers (Psychoparalysis), who have self-released three excellent EPs; Weather Systems by Anathema (2012), which I much prefer to the previous album; Wood 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light by Woods of Ypres, which is folky black metal that sounds a little like Type O Negative in places and includes strings and oboe; and finally, All Spawns, a recent compilation of Czech death metal pioneers Apalling Spawn's two released from the late 1990s (now, if I can only find a copy of the Sparagmos compilation, I'll be really happy…).
Categories: 2012 roundup, albums, books, films | Tags: (psychoparalysis), alan weintraub, anathema, andré øvredal, andrew stanton, andrzej żuławski, apalling spawn, barren earth, caprica, cavalcanti, charles palliser, christopher evans, cormorant, federico fellini, gwynbleidd, gwyneth jones, herta hurnaus, hypnos 69, in mourning, joanna russ, luc besson, magda szabó, malcolm lowry, marcel gautherot, margaret atwood, michelangelo antonioni, miklós jancsó, oscar niemeyer, paul scott, sergei parajanov, twin peaks, woods of ypres | Permalink.
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text:
Prof. Dr. Heinz von Seggern
Affiliation: Technical University Darmstadt
Personal CV: Heinz von Seggern studied physics at the University of Goettingen and Hannover in the field of solid state physics where he graduated in 1976. He received his PhD degree from Technical University of Darmstadt in 1979 on Charge Transport in Teflon, then became Postdoc and later principal investigator at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, USA. In 1982 his work was honored by the Academy of Science of Goettingen through the Physics Prize. In 1985 he accepted a position as principal investigator at Siemens Research Center in Erlangen where in 1990 he was promoted to department head. In 1997 he was appointed to full professor in Materials Science at the Technical University of Darmstadt. His scientific interests are directed toward electrical properties of dielectrics, transport processes in organic electronics (OFET, OLED) and towards the physics of medical x-ray imaging based on photo-stimulated luminescence. Since his retirement in 2014 he mainly concentrates on ferroelectrets and their application in sensors and energy harvesters. According to Google Scholar he has published more than 360 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals with a total number of citations of more than 9000 and an h-index of 49.
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A monthly party is giving people the chance to be a trap queen (or king) for a night.
Trapathon features trap music and no cover charge for ages 18 and up, and has been drawing a crowd larger than the venue, Spacebar.
Longtime friends and founders of the event, CJ Townsend and Shawn Khemsurov, a 2005 Ohio State alumnus, said they had talked about starting an event like Trapathon for years. The inaugural Trapathon took place on the eve of Thanksgiving 2015. The pair saw room for improvement in the monthly party scene.
"To describe it I would say very bass-driven with arpeggiated hi-hats and an emphasis on the hip-hop lifestyle and culture. It's motivational hustle music. Just about the everyday grind of becoming your best self," Townsend said.
The founders said they noticed parties that play a similar kind of music as Trapathon often have dress codes, age limits and high cover charges that keep young people from going. While they are paid by the venue for bringing in the traffic, the founders felt it important to keep the admission free and for ages 18 and up.
"I feel like the vast majority of DJs and promoters are so focused on making money for themselves that they're killing the culture in the process," Townsend said.
Khemsurov said that the first Trapathon almost hit capacity, growing to having a line down the block at Trapathon IV in February. The venue can only let in 150 people, and from there let in more people as others leave.
Townsend and Khemsurov said it has been suggested to them to charge a cover or move to a larger building to address the capacity issues. At this time, the founders do not plan to move to a larger space. They've also discussed doing more events in Columbus or in other cities under the Trapathon brand.
Instead, they simply recommend that attendees show up early if they want to guarantee a spot inside the building.
The founders agreed that they are happy with the diversity of the crowd that attends the monthly parties. They said they have noticed a growing community of friends who met at Trapathon.
Lance Oyer, a fourth-year in business and strategic communications, attended the first and third Trapathon. He said he felt that it was different than other rap events he had attended before.
Khemsurov and Townsend see Trapathon as a departure from the usual hip-hop party scene.
Moving forward, the event will be moved to a consistent schedule of the third Friday of every month.
Trapathon starts at 10 p.m. Thursday night at Spacebar, 2590 N. High St. Admission is free for those 18 and over. This month's installment will feature local artists Fabrashay A and Tron Music.


I just read the what do you love about yourself? I think we should all be glad we are the caring wonderful people we are because the alternative would be to be the ones who hurt us and they are terrible people. Much as it hurts I'd rather be the hurtee if it means I'm a caring, compassionate person who can love. You are all wonderful and I am so glad I found this site. Bless each and every one of you.
I agree. I never want to put anyone through this hell. I know I am just not capable of it and I am glad. I will take the hurt, and move forward. It's enough to know that I have friends and famliy to love and support me.
Yes - that was a wonderful post. I agree with you 100% about the people here on DS. While we have all been hurt - we have also been equipped to help others along the way.
I don't know if we have all been hurt by terrible PEOPLE though - just people who have done terrible THINGS to others. My hope is that all these STBX's find what they are looking for, grow up a bit, and become the parents they SHOULD be. I bet they are learning a lot about themselves right now too and probably have trouble looking in the mirror each morning.
I agree, malibu...I don't harbor the belief that there are bad people anywhere, simply people that let certain aspects control their thoughts and subsequent actions.
Selfishness, anger, hate, etc. are emotions one chooses to allow to be made manifest. A person is allowed in this universe to choose one emotion over the other. Integrity comes from making the right choices.


It's been a short time since the three new members of the Lakeport Unified School District Board were elected and now the board has voted to oust the superintendent. Lake Co News reports the termination without a reason and will cost the district money as the contract for the Super's not up yet. The news site reports there were two closed door meetings with the Superintendent April Leiferman last night, and the board then announced the termination. She was only hired last May nad has a three year contract, so she would have to be paid a full year. The board reportedly moving forward with attorney's then working to separate Leiferman from the District. Several members of the audience apparently not happy with the decision, some started to speak out and things got a little heated. Some complaining about the new board saying the district's reputation's been tarnished. No word who would take over as interim Superintendent.
A missing juvenile reported in Clearlake, police reaching out to the public for help finding the at-risk juvenile. 15 year old Seaira Dotson last seen at her home early Wednesday morning. She's considered at risk because of info cops gathered in the course of the investigation. The teen's described as a black girl, 5 foot 6 inches tall and 100 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair. They're asking anyone who may have seen her to call the police station.
Several Congressional members across Calif., including Mike Thompson, John Garamendi and Jared Huffman in a group of more than 40 against the President's comments on Calif wildfires, calling them false and defamatory. The president tweeting he's directing FEMA to halt all money to the state until forest management is under control. They sent a letter to the president yesterday calling his statements cruel and dishonest as related to withholding disaster assistance for California communities struggling to recover from wildfires until changes are made to state-level forest management policies. The letter goes on to say there are thousands who've lost everything and they deserve empathy and support from their President.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors considering zones of benefit so money can be put aside for wildfire prevention. At the board meeting this week, the District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown was looking for a proposal this week, but apparently there was an engineer's report and other information not yet available. The board considering Brown's proposal with no action taken so far. He wants these zones of benefit mostly in his District paid for by a one-time fee from property owners in high fire risk communities around Mt. Konocti. It would pay for abatement projects in the area with the $500,000 expected to be raised.
The last enrollment period for Covered California ending soon, so there's a statewide enrollment tour to get the word out. Anyone interested in a state health insurance plan has to sign up by Tuesday to be covered this year. The Executive Director of Covered Calif. Says they want to make sure those who want to sign up know the deadline is earlier than it has been in years past. There are six marketplaces in the country still enrolling folks. The Jan. 15 deadline in Calif because of a state law that open enrollment would run from Oct. 15 through Jan. 15 every year. For more info visit www. CoveredCA.com.
After a traffic stop in Willits, deputies arrest someone they say had a warrant out for burglary and theft. Marvin Gibson the rear passenger in the car arrested on the warrant, then when deputies continue their investigation, they also find Alice Strang who they say gave them fake contact info. They say she also gave a fake name for her passenger and found she was trying to help Gibson avoid arrest for the warrant. So she too was arrested for harboring, aiding or concealing a wanted fugitive. She was held on $15,000.00 bail and Gibson on $100,000.00 bail for the felony warrant.


text:
The Lost Sites of Ancient Cilicia
Mark Fairchild Explores Turkey's Unexcavated Ancient Synagogues
Biblical Archaeology Society Staff	June 22, 2012 1 Comments 2961 views Share
We know from literary sources that ancient Cilicia, a province in southeast Turkey, had a significant Jewish population. The New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles and the epistles of Paul make it clear that the Jewish communities and synagogues of ancient Cilicia were proselytizing destinations for the apostle Paul, who was a native of Tarsus, the capital city of ancient Cilicia. Despite the Jewish presence there, no ancient synagogues have ever been excavated in the region. Thanks to Mark Fairchild,* chair and professor of Huntington University's Bible and Religion Department, we may now know about two unexcavated ancient synagogues in Cilicia, including possibly the world's earliest known synagogue.
Ancient Cilicia's Jewish population is mentioned several times in literary sources, including the Acts of the Apostles and the writings of Paul in the New Testament. Yet no ancient synagogues have been conclusively identified in this southeastern region of Turkey. Mark Fairchild of Huntington University in Indiana now believes he has found two unexcavated ancient synagogues, including possibly the earliest known in the area of ancient Cilicia.
Mark Fairchild's "Turkey's Unexcavated Synagogues" in the July/August 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review suggests that both unexcavated structures are, in fact, synagogues. One of the two structures that is at the picturesque coastal harbor of Korykos (modern Kizkalesi). Incorporated into a later fortification wall at the site is a stone door lintel inscribed with a menorah (see lower left in photo above) that may have once belonged to a synagogue. An ancient necropolis just outside the city includes at least 12 epitaphs of Jews buried there, as well as two sarcophagi bearing menorahs.
The second of the ancient synagogues proposed by Mark Fairchild is at the Cilician site known only by its modern name, Catioren; the ancient name of the site is unknown. There, on a brush-covered ridge, a worn stone lintel nearly buried in rubble displays a carved menorah as well as a lulav, or palm branch—both iconic Jewish symbols used frequently in ancient synagogues. A nearby Greek inscription offers solid evidence of a Jewish community with a synagogue at the site. Based on the architecture and weathering of the structure, Fairchild dates it to the Hellenistic period. If he is right, it is the earliest known example of a synagogue still standing.
Only professional excavations can offer conclusive proof about the character of the structures at Korykos and Catioren.
To read Mark Fairchild's full report about the two newly identified ancient synagogues in the region of ancient Cilicia, see: Mark Fairchild, "Turkey's Unexcavated Synagogues," Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 2012.
Curious about what recent excavations teach us about religious practices? Uzi Avner's lecture "The Biblical-Time Sanctuary in the Timna Valley and Its Social Religious Implications" is one of several highlights of the BAS DVD Digging Deeper: The Latest Archaeological Research from the Biblical World
* Mark R. Fairchild is professor and chair of the Bible and Religion Department at Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana, as well as program director for the Ephesus Meeting, an academic conference at the ancient site of Ephesus in Turkey.
Tags: acts of the apostles ancient synagogues apostle apostle paul apostles archaeological Archaeology archaeology review bib arch org Bible Biblical biblical arch Biblical Archaeology Biblical Archaeology Review biblicalarchaeology biblicalarchaeology.org cilicia in the new testament jewish symbols jews New Testament the acts of the apostles the apostle the apostle paul the apostles the bible and the biblical world the new testament www.bib-arch.org www.biblicalarchaeology.org
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clarence Wooley says:
I am researching the origin of the" synagogue" and the role it played in New Testament times. Could suggest some papers,books, etc that I should look into.
Clarence M. Wooley
Islam in the Ancient World


Great outing for the Jack McGee Kawartha Komets Special Needs Hockey Program yesterday at the Rogers Centre.
We took a number of our players to the Toronto Blue Jays game where the Jays trounced the Red Sox 8-0.
We drove to the GO Station in Oshawa and took the train to Union Station.
of some long-time friends in the Jays' organization.