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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sarah's Death and Burial
1Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2And Sarah died at #ch. 35:27; Josh. 14:15; Judg. 1:10 Kiriath-arba (that is, #ver. 19Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,#23:3 Hebrew sons of Heth; also verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20 4#ch. 17:8; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 105:12; Heb. 11:9, 13 "I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; #Acts 7:5give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight." 5The Hittites answered Abraham, 6"Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God#23:6 Or a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead." 7Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8And he said to them, "If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place."
10Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who #ch. 34:20, 24; Ruth 4:1went in at the gate of his city, 11"No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead." 12Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, "But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there." 14Ephron answered Abraham, 15"My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred #Ex. 30:13; Ezek. 45:12shekels#23:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead." 16Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham #1 Chr. 21:25; Jer. 32:9; Zech. 11:12weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.
17So #ch. 25:9; 49:29-32; 50:13the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20The field and the cave that is in it #[Ruth 4:7-10; Jer. 32:10-14]were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.
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Sarah's Death and Burial
1-2When Sarah was 127 years old, she died in Kiriath-Arba, better known as Hebron, in the land of Canaan. After Abraham had mourned for her, 3he went to the Hittites and said, 4#He 11.9,13; Ac 7.16. "I live as a foreigner in your land, and I don't own any property where I can bury my wife. Please let me buy a piece of land."
5-6"Sir," they answered, "you are an important man. Choose the best place to bury your wife. None of us would refuse you a resting place for your dead."
7Abraham bowed down 8and replied, "If you are willing to let me bury my wife here, please ask Zohar's son Ephron 9to sell me Machpelah Cave at the end of his field. I'll pay what it's worth, and all of you can be witnesses."
10Ephron was sitting there near the city gate, when Abraham made this request, and he answered, 11"Sir, the whole field, including the cave, is yours. With my own people as witnesses, I freely give it to you as a burial place for your dead."
12Once again, Abraham bowed down 13and said to Ephron, "In front of these witnesses, I offer you the full price, so I can bury my wife. Please accept my offer."
14-15"But sir," the man replied, "the property is worth only 400 pieces of silver. Why should we haggle over such a small amount? Take the land. It's yours."
16-18Abraham accepted Ephron's offer and paid him the 400 pieces of silver in front of everyone at the city gate. That's how Abraham came to own Ephron's property east of Mamre,#23.16-18 Mamre: A place just north of Hebron. which included the field with all of its trees, as well as Machpelah Cave at the end of the field. 19So Abraham buried his wife Sarah in Machpelah Cave that was in the field 20he had bought from the Hittites.


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Alabama NAACP responds to Ivey's 'look at the record' comment
Updated Sep 03, 2019; Posted Sep 03, 2019
By Mike Cason | mcason@al.com
The Alabama NAACP has responded to comments Gov. Kay Ivey made this morning during her first public appearance since her apology last week for appearing in blackface in a racist skit at Auburn University in 1967.
In a press release, Alabama NAACP President Benard Simelton repeated his call for Ivey to resign. Ivey said she won't resign.
The NAACP took issue with Ivey's answer to a reporter's question about how her administration could encourage racial reconciliation in the aftermath of the revelation of the blackface skit.
"I'll listen to recommendations that people may have," Ivey said this morning. "But just look at the record. We've had more people working today than ever before in our state's history. And that includes all Alabamians. We don't focus on racial divides. My administration is one to be inclusive. And we'll continue doing that."
Ivey was asked the question while speaking to reporters after a bicentennial event in Montgomery.
The Alabama NAACP picked up on Ivey's comment to "look at the record."
"Governor Ivey wants us to look at the record," the press release said. "Here it is. During Governor Ivey's administration, she refused to Expand Medicaid, did not support Birmingham increase in minimum wage; Governor Ivey even signed a bill approving the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017. A law that upholds racism and the effects of racism. If you want to heal the land, or correct errors, or even make right the wrongs, you have the power to do that. You are the leader who can do away with the status quo, and you are in a key position to leave a legacy that heals the hearts of Southerners who got slavery and the confederacy wrong, heal Alabamians and lead Americans. We are better than honoring those who led us into darkness, calamity and shame. No, we don't need to erase our history, but we do need to make right, what was done wrong."
The issues mentioned in the press release have divided black and white politicians in Alabama for several years.
Democratic lawmakers have called for Medicaid expansion since it became available under President Obama's Affordable Care Act. Ivey has not supported expansion, nor has the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The Memorial Preservation Act blocks cities from removing Confederate monuments, as well as other historical monuments. Republican lawmakers passed it over opposition from Democrats and Ivey signed it into law.
In 2016, the Legislature passed a law blocking cities from passing their own minimum wages. That prompted a federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination because it negated a minimum wage passed by the city council in majority-black Birmingham.
Last week, Ivey issued a statement and a video apologizing for her appearance in the blackface skit. She and her staff called some African American lawmakers and apologized. Some accepted the apology and said they hoped the incident could lead to better race relations and cooperation on certain issues. State Reps. Juandalynn Givan and John Rogers of Birmingham said Ivey should resign.
Responding to the NAACP's press release this afternoon, Ivey Press Secretary Gina Maiola reiterated the governor's earlier comments.
"First and foremost, the governor felt it was important to apologize to the people of Alabama, and she is deeply remorseful for these actions from when she was in college," Maiola said. "Since day one, she has aimed to move the state forward, making it a better place to live, work and raise a family. That goal remains at the forefront of every decision. We are moving forward."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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TURNING IDEAS INTO PLOTS: Part Three
Hello, Dear Readers! This is the third and final part of the Turning Ideas into Plots workshop.
The last instalment introduced us to the basic plot diagram, like so:
Hopefully at this point you have enough solid story events fixed in your head to be able to fill in two or three of the points on the diagram, even if in quite a basic way. This, in turn, ought to give you a sense of the shape and pacing of the events you still need to devise. You have, effectively, the skeleton of a plot. Possibly when people ask what you're writing about, you can give them a brief summing up which touches on those main plot points, and they go 'Wow, sounds interesting'.
But you still don't have a story.
What? After all that??? Well, as I've mentioned before, plot and story are not exactly the same thing. Plot is the skeleton. Story is the flesh. It's the muscles and tendons and skin that cover and fill in the gaps between the bones. Without the story, like bones without tendons and muscles, the plot can't move. It's useless.
This where that saying I mentioned in Part #1 comes from: ideas are ten-a-penny, but execution is key. The execution of the story, the way you put those muscles together and use them to animate the skeleton, the texture of the skin you cover the whole thing with, that's what turns your story either into a beautiful, vibrant, living creature – or a hulking, mouth-breathing Frankenstein's Monster.
To illustrate this, let's take a look at a story that we all know well: Cinderella.
It's fairly easy for anyone to see how the main points of Cinderella's story would fit onto the plot diagram I showed you. Hence:
However, each of the sides of the diamond shape now need to be filled in with story – with the events which logically follow from First Plot Event to Character Action to Major Disaster and so on.
And here's the fun yet terrifying (yet fun!) part: if you and I were both to start out with that basic plot diagram above? We would, inevitably, come up with two radically different ways to get our heroine from point one to point two and onto point three, etc. Our different versions would encompass not only different events, but different tones in our writing, and different character motivations. That's why this diagram is useful on its own, even if you don't want to fill in anymore details – because it gives you that structure, that framework, within which to let your own unique ideas develop.
The way I normally work this out is to try and fill in the first side of the diamond in as much detail as possible before I start writing. Then I put in whatever details I can think of on the other sides. Like so:
Although I like to know in detail what events I'm aiming for, when it comes down to how to actually realise those events, the atmosphere and tone and the character arcs which weave in and around them, I like the freedom to make it all up as I go along. And usually I find that by the time in my first draft I've reached point two (Character Action) I've grown to know the world, story and characters well enough to be able to go on ahead and fill in the next side with a few more details too. The story teaches me about it as I go on. By the time I hit the halfway point I've got something that looks like this:
This is a story now, not just a plot. It includes scenes not just of action but reaction. It shows you the events I (as the author of this particular Cinderella retelling) think are significant enough to dramatise (lots of emphasis on the magic) how I'm going to handle the romance (love at first sight) ideas about the of emotional significance of events (Cinderella calls to the spirit of her death mother before the fairy appears - could it really BE the ghost of her mother?) and it makes you ask questions, rather than offering up a bare list of events.
The way you chose to write these events – in a grim, gothic style, a funny irreverent one, or a poetic lyrical one – will be the skin of your story. The outer appearance which people will probably react to first and with the most conviction, just as humans react to the colour and form of other people's outer shell in real life. But without the plot skeleton and the muscle, flesh and blood of the story underneath, the skin is worthless. All the bits of the story's anatomy need to be working together to create the impression you, the writer, want the reader to receive.
So, this is how *I* turn ideas into plots, and then a plot into a story. I hope it's been useful. But remember that the important thing – the only really important thing, in the end – is to work the way that helps you and makes you feel comfortable. Use a circle instead of a diamond. Don't draw at all, if you don't want to! There is no such thing as a 'right way'. Only the way that works for you right now.
Labels: plotting, Tips for Young Writers, Writing, writing advice
TURNING IDEAS INTO PLOTS: Part Two
So you've had this idea for a story.
Chances are the idea is incomplete and actually has a few separate pieces to it. Mostly my ideas – the ones that spark the desire to start a new book – come with a vague sense of how it all starts, a couple of really strong, hit-me-in-the-head scenes that probably fit somewhere in the middle, and then a vague sense of how it ends. Your ideas might come with the beginning perfectly formed and no end, or a perfect end and no middle scenes. But whatever, you have to try and figure out how to fit these events together into a plot. How to bridge the gaps between them in a way that makes sense, that is entertaining to read, that is worth writing.
At this stage, some authors recommend making character or story collages, where you get yourself a huge pile of magazines and cut out any images - of people or locations or phrases - that 'sing' to you, as being something to do with your idea. You stick them all to a big sheet of paper and somehow seeing everything like that acts like a giant magnet for other ideas to start zipping out of your brain and attaching themselves to the original idea.
I think the really important thing at this point is to PIN THOSE SUCKERS DOWN. Otherwise tiny details can sometimes slither away from you and it's really hard to get them back. What's more, the very act of writing down your ideas makes them feel more concrete and get-at-able. Often as you begin to write them they will expand right there on the page before your eyes, drawing other ideas from your subconscious and weaving them in, until your snippet of an argument suddenly has three compelling characters, or your image of a setting has a tragic situation and two more settings nested within. It's magic!
So, now you have a whole *bunch* of exciting ideas, loosely linked, that makes your gizzards positively tingle with excitement. Great! Well done. Now for the bad news: this scatter of ideas still doesn't actually make a plot.
A plot needs to be more than a series of events that happen one after another. There needs to be a shape, rising tension, rising stakes. The story needs to move through events of physical and emotional and mental significance (if it's going to be a really good book, I mean). Sometimes when you've pinned all your ideas down you still won't feel you have enough stuff to make a story. Other times it all looks like way too much.
This is where my diagrams come in. Tada!
A disclaimer here: this is the way *I* think of plots. You might like a square, or a circle, or a list, or a corkboard covered in neat lines of post-its. But fitting my puzzle pieces into this shape works for me. You might find that although following this exact method does not fit for you, trying it shows you the way you DO like to work. Anyway, let me 'splain.
FIRST PLOT EVENT: This is pretty self-evident. It's the event that kicks off the story proper. It might not be the first thing the reader sees, though. Sometimes a story starts off by showing the character's world, illustrating the most important characters in their life or establishing their ambitions or deepest wishes. Leading up to a dramatic or significant event – as in The Fellowship of the Ring, where we're introduced to the idyllic Shire and Frodo's well-hidden longing for adventure – allows us to understand what is at stake for the protagonist when the first plot event occurs.
Some writing books will tell you that you must cut straight to the action. And for some genres or some particular stories, that's OK to do. But it's not vital, and there are many books which do no such thing. What is vital is that you begin with something RELEVANT to the story, something which will show its significance when you light the fuse and let the plot explode.
CHARACTER TAKES ACTION TO CHANGE COURSE OF PLOT: A little more tricky, this one. Usually, after the first major story event the character will react with shock, fear, disbelief. They might refuse to accept what's happened, struggle desperately to get away from the new character or place that is threatening their normality. However at some point most characters that are strong enough to be a main character will get a grip and attempt to take control of their situation. Sometimes it backfires, sometimes it works but triggers further events.
In any case, this is the moment when the character first begins to truly affect the plot and it's usually an important moment in the story. Using The Fellowship of the Ring again, this is moment when Frodo, having reached the safety of the Rivendell, and having been given a viable chance to step out of this life-or-death adventure, instead steps forward and volunteers to take the Ring to Mordor.
MAJOR DISASTER OR SETBACK: The events triggered by the interaction of the main character's choices and the plot now reach a critical point. Things might seem to be going really well – but at the moment when success seems assured, disaster strikes and changes the course of the story again. Often the reader will have seen this setback coming all along. Sometimes even the characters can see it. But they're powerless to prevent it, either because of an essential flaw in their own character or strategy (established prior to this, of course) or because the forces of opposition are overwhelming.
For example, in Disney's The Little Mermaid, this is where Ursula the Sea Witch sees that Ariel and the Prince are falling in love, realises her plan isn't going to work, and casts a spell to enchant the Prince and make her his own. Ariel wakes up full of joy, goes running off to see her Prince, and finds him suddenly engaged to another woman. Noooooo!
THE PLATEAU OF AWFULNESS: I read this term in a writing book and it's stuck with me. This is when, in the midst of the fallout from that great disaster, something even worse (and often contrasting to the main disaster) happens. It's the part of the story where things literally cannot get any worse. There's no way back. It's do or die. Think back to the events at the end of The Matrix, where most of the crew of the ship have been slaughtered by a traitor and Neo is stuck in the Matrix fighting (and losing) against Agent Smith. Then the alarm on the ship goes off: a killer 'squid' is approaching. It starts ripping the ship apart and the only way the crew can save themselves is to set off the EMP. But if they do that, Neo will die.
The attack of the killer machine contrasts beautifully with the main disaster – Neo's battle against the Agent – because while Neo is a blur of action, running and fighting for his life, the crew are forced into stillness, silence and inaction, waiting for Neo to get out of Matrix, unable to fight for their own lives. All their hopes rest with him. In some stories the PoA might be emotional in contrast to an action Major Setback. In others it might be a new attack, but from an unexpected direction. In books which are totally on their game, it could be about both action and emotion. The important thing is that this is where the character is forced to throw everything they have at the obstacles that face them. Their last hope has gone. In despair, fury, new determination or sudden revelation, they are now propelled forward to the final events of the story.
LAST PLOT EVENT: Hang on a minute, you say! There are only FOUR points on that diamond! How can there be five points on your list? Well, the last plot event is where everything comes full circle. It's where you fulfil the promises that you made to the reader at the beginning and the story comes to a natural close. Just like with the last plot event, this might not be the actual last scene, but it's the last point in the story where events are still in flux. Further chapters may tie up loose ends, but shouldn't significantly alter what has occurred in the last plot event. This is the scene where Trinity kisses an unconscious Neo and tells him that she loves him – and he responds by proving he is The One and destroying Agent Smith at the same moment that Morpheus presses the EMP button and kills the squid that is tearing the ship apart. It's when when Triton takes pity on his daughter and transforms her into a human for good and she is reuinited with Prince Eric.
Now, as I said above, not all stories are going to fit into this exact pattern – and that is fine! – but it's a good place to start. The simple structure makes it very easy to see how events you might already have in mind should be spaced out, and again, the act of placing the ideas you do have in this form can often draw other ideas out of your subconscious as you realise that if there's a Plateau of Awfulness here, then surely the best event to follow it would be this or this... See if the events you have in your head fit these definitions in any sense. Perhaps the scenes you've got are the lead-ins or sequels to such events?
Open your mind to the most interesting ways that things could play out. If you can fill in three or four of the points on the diagram, even if it turns out you have three Major Setbacks and two PoAs, you're well on your way to having a complete story. And if in the process you realise that diagramming works better for you if you break your story down into six main plot events, or that you prefer a circle, or a line of Post-Its, then hurray! You're already beginning to discover your own individual plotting style.
Stay tuned to this bat channel for the next instalment of our exciting (look, *I* find it exciting, OK?) plotting workshop, in which we shall discuss no less a person than Cinderella and there will be many more diagrams (yay!).
Labels: plotting, process, Tips for Young Writers, Writing, writing advice
TURNING IDEAS INTO PLOTS: Part One
Dear Readers, today I'm beginning the process of posting all the refreshed and revised content which I made for the Patreon here on the blog. So let's talk PLOT.
What is a plot? Do you find them? Make them? And how do they WORK?
First up, I'm going to say that most of us really need to calm down when it comes to plot. There's a lot of advice out there, and quite a bit of it contradicts most of the rest, and almost everyone offering advice seems convinced that if you don't create a plot using the exact right formula then rocks shall fall and everybody will die. That sort of thinking? Is not useful. At all.
When I cast my mind back and start remembering how much I used to stress out about not doing things 'properly' or 'the right way', and how I used to get stuck in the first three chapters and just revise them until they died, or struggle my way to the middle and then freak out because I had idea where to go next... honestly, a cold sweat breaks out on my brow. Writers need to think and talk about this. I definitely did. But I'm convinced people so often get so bogged down in different schools of thought about what a plot is, arguments on shape or function (three acts? Five? SIXTEEN??) that it becomes the opposite of helpful.
This is Part One of my three part workshop on plots, plots, wonderful plots. It's designed to be helpful to both beginning and more experienced writers, and hopefully by the end you will feel inspired and motivated, not confused, panicked, or like fleeing to Tibet to herd Yaks.
To begin we need to go back to that classic and much groaned over question: Where do you get your ideas?
The standard response to that one is: ideas are easy to come by, it's execution that counts. But what I think those writers are really asking, a lot of the time, is actually more like: How do you turn an idea into a story? How do you know what happens next? How do you fill a whole book up with all that STUFF?
I get it. Really.
Most writers that I've talked to or read books by say that when they *get* a story idea, it's usually actually the result of two or more little idea fragments spinning around in their head frantically until they all collide and POOF! Suddenly there's a story there. Only it's not a complete story. This is what you need to recognise. With some notable exceptions, stories, characters, plots, settings – none of it appears in the brain fully formed. You might get some sort of inking of how things kick off, or maybe one or two vital scenes from the middle, or a faint impression of how it should end. Or just a vivid image of a certain character or place. Or all of these things (lucky you).
It's vital to realise at this point that those impressions? Aren't set in stone. They're giving you hints about what you want your story to be ABOUT, hints on the themes or particular twists you want to explore. The fact that you clearly see a fearless heroine fighting a Samurai in the middle of a bleak orange desert could mean that you want to write about an ass-kicking girl's adventures, or that you want to write about the desert, or a lonely Samurai who wanders across the world, or that you're interested in having a romance where the couple fights each other with swords for fun. The important thing could be the tiny snatch of dialogue you get where they taunt each other about bad technique, or the colour of the sand, or the general bleak tone of the thing.
OR NONE OF THE ABOVE.
This is your brain opening doors and showing you possibilities. Glimpses of what could be. They're telling you your characters *could* be these kinds of people, or your world might be like this. They're inviting you to think long and hard, make choices, sink into the mind of the people whose story you need to tell, to immerse yourself in their world. They're inviting you to walk through as many of those doors as you like, have a curious wander around, then either move in or walk away and close the door behind you.
Do you have an idea for a beginning, a couple of middle parts and an end that have nothing to do with each other and you have no idea how to get from one to another? That's fine. It's way too early to panic and give up. It might be that you'll be working things out as you go along, just writing until you hit one of those key scenes. It might be that you never actually write any of those middle scenes because by the time you get to the middle you realise an event like that simply couldn't happen in the world you've created, or that your character just wouldn't act that way.
The same with endings. You could be like J K Rowling and write the final scene seven books in advance and stick to it (yikes) or you could be like me and aim for that final scene as a guide but usually end up realising the actual events are all wrong, and it's just one or two things, like a character's feelings, or the location or mood that you need. You might even be like Leah Clifford and have no IDEA how it's going to end (she's a better man than I am, Gunga Din).
This point, where you have the compelling image and some odd bits and pieces of a story is usually the point where beginning writers plunge in and start writing, carried away with the desire to see What Happens Next. If that works for you, fine. But a lot of the emails I get seem to come from people who've had this AWESOME IDEA OMG and started writing right away and then got completely lost after a few chapters. Now they don't know if this means the idea was wrong to begin with and they should give up and move onto the Shiny New Idea... or what.
So, in the next post, we're going to get down to the nitty-gritty of how to actually make a plot that will allow you to keep writing the thing you want to write. This will include examining a couple of ways to work out WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, including the use of a plot diagram that I partially stole and partially made up to stop me drowning in my own ideas.
Would you like the next piece of the workshop (including rinky-dinky plot diagram) this week? Let me know in the comments, muffins, and I'll try to find time to transfer it across and fix the formatting (what is with the formatting on Blogger?).
WEIRD THINKY THOUGHTS ABOUT THOR: Ragnarok
This is not a film review. My 'review' of Thor: Ragnarok basically boils down to one paragraph:
So funny, so colourful! Valkyrie is f*ck*wesome, I want to be Hela when I grow up, I need a Fenris of my own immediately - and none of these problems would ever have happened if Frigga and Odin weren't such (God)awful parents, GOOD GRIEF. But anyway, go see it. Also the soundtrack is awesome.
But. For a mostly comedic odd-couple roadtrip buddy movie iiiin spaaace... it sure did leave me with some deep thinky thoughts. And they are as follows (read on at your own peril).
Watching Thor: Ragnarok so soon after re-watching Wonder Woman on DVD has made me consider the contrasting ways the two films deal with immortal characters.
Wonder Woman posits that a 5,000 year old warrior who has fought and loved and lost would have a kind of timeless serenity, an immense and awe-inspiring depth of character quite apart from their Godlike power, simply by virtue of having experienced so much.
T:R on the other hand, finally crystallises Marvel's viewpoint on such characters, which has been hinted at in previous Thor films and in the treatment of other characters such as Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy. Broadly: far from accumulating any kind of wisdom or ageless perspective during their eternal lives, immortals - without exception! - remain perpetual children.
Whether this is in-born - ie., something true of all such characters from the beginnings of their existence - or in fact they start out just as capable of emotional development and maturity as any human, and their regression to childhood is something that begins after a certain number of centuries (in order to survive the sheer weight of immortal experience, or the constant attrition of anyone and anything they might care for perhaps)... that's another question.
We're offered a set of variations on this theme in T:R, ranging from Thor's heroic yet essentially self-centred morality (he does display empathy for others, but it's always in an effort to force them to follow his agenda and validate his image of himself as a 'hero' - witness his treatment of Bruce Banner in this film) to Hela and Loki's sociopathy, which allows them to act as if the one right and true and good thing in the universe is their own desires - and anyone going against them must and should be removed.
Loki repeats the same betrayals over and over, apparently still finding them amusing after thousands of years - and still equally ready to throw a tantrum when other people don't laugh at his jokes. Thor watches his Father die and, after the briestest burst of emotion, quickly goes back to quipping and bolstering his own ego. Hela walks out of her prison after millenia of solitary confinement without having experienced a single iota of maturation or self-examination, ready and willing to get back to the super important work of conquering stuff - not due to any real sense of injustice or need for revenge but just because, you know, her dad told her she was the Goodess of Death and that's what she DOES, d'uh.
This is even more evident in the minor characters: Valkyrie, the elite warrior who watched her comrades die by the thousand at Hela's hands has apparently been weeping into her beer on Planet Hulk for longer than Thor's been alive, making a living by enslaving people - classy! - angry at no one in particular and never questioning her own venal existence until Thor came along. The great Odin, King of the Nine Realms, who made it official policy to deal with his problems by sweeping them under the rug and pretending they never existed. Great conflict resolution, Sire. And the Grand Master, a being who probably came into being at the time of the Big Bang, who is... well. Jeff Goldblum. Enough said.
The world of T:R is spectacular. It's colourful and grand and MASSIVE, an endless multiplicity of worlds and dimensions and realms. What grounds us in it is the little-ness of these characters, their essential selfishness, their childish, petty ways. Thor laughed at the mortal characters in Avengers: Assemble for being small and petty, yet every human character in that film displayed more real depth and capacity for growth and self-sacrifice than any immortal character in T:R. They're all kids who haven't grasped the concept that they are not the centre of the universe.
And I think that is so interesting and different. I actually love it.
I love Wonder Woman too. I love the idea that a person with all the qualities of humanity - love, fear, hatred, the occasional drop of selfishness and stupidity - could be burnished by the years into a being of supreme, even divine kindness, perception and nobility. But I also love this take on the cost of immortality as well. It reminds me of actual mythology in which the Gods use the lives of mortals like pieces in a chess game NOT because they are so different from us - not because they're wiser or better or less petty - but merely because they lack the ability to percieve the worth of any lives except their own. They're made utterly inhuman by the qualities many would label the most human - selfishness, obliviousness, short-sightedness, lack of empathy.
And this, in turn, leads beautifully into the revelation that Thor never actually needed Mjolnir - that the whole issue of 'worthiness' was actually a trick. Which may seem like a bold claim, considering how much various films have made of this, even to the extent of allowing Steve, generally considered the most 'moral' Avenger, to jiggle it for a moment. But that's what this film tells us, straight up! And once you're shown it, it seems so obvious.
Consider: what exactly WAS Odin's definition of worthiness? Odin the world-conquerer, the thief and liar, the serial user and banisher of children? And even given such a lax version of worthiness, how did Thor ever meet any real definition of it, back when he was totally into the concept of the wholescale slaughter of another race just so long as they were blue and chilly? The hammer didn't reject him during his attempt to start a war on Jotunheim, an action arguably as violent as Loki's assault on earth. And remember Odin's wording during his exile of Thor: 'Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.'
Not the power of Mjolnir. The power of THOR.
The hammer never gave Thor power. It certainly never gave Thor power based on his worthiness. Odin just told him it did, and used his own magic to ensure Thor believed it, in the same way that Loki used HIS magic to bind Odin's powers and exile his adopted Father to earth. Odin bound Thor's powers to Mjolnir - forced him to access those abilities only through Mjolnir - in order to limit them.
Why would Odin do this?
To control his son. To make sure that this boy - who he in this film admitted had been stronger than him all along - never, ever surpassed him the way that his daughter had done. To ensure that he could use his child as an enforcer of his will in the Nine Realms without ever worrying that the child would have the strength or confidence to challenge him in Asgard. To ensure that he could retain effective possession of the powers that belonged to his son. So that when he fell into the Odinsleep, Thor would rule as his regent only, and never have the chance to truly grow up.
I know I'm repeating myself but - man, what a (literal) Godawful father. This person should never have been allowed to have, or adopt, any kids. Ever.
And the Sainted Frigga, whom everyone loved so much - the one who knew more magic than Odin and taught Loki all her tricks - MUST HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THIS. And she was OK with it, apparenly. Just like she was apparently OK with Hela being locked up for millenia and erased from her people's history. Even when Loki was a prisoner in Asgard's dungeons and she was secretly visiting him, she never let slip that she'd presumably been in this position once before. Did she even remember that she'd had a daughter, or was she even better at pretending she'd never made any mistakes than Odin?
Assuming that there's an over-arching plan behind this theme, I think the point Marvel is trying to make with these characters is that humans are actually bigger and more important than we tend to believe. That while the Gods may be powerful they can also be petty and selfish and unchanging - and humans may not be as strong, but we do have the capacity to learn and evolve, to display selflessness and recieve redemption. Odin, Hela and Loki never even admit they did anything wrong. Black Widow, Hulk and Tony Stark dedicate their lives to making up for their past misdeeds, even if that means giving up their lives.
And if they can do it - albeit on a much grander scale - maybe we can too. Maybe we can face what we've done, admit fault, and make up for those actions, even if our misdeeds amount to no more than displaying a lack of understanding and tolerance towards a co-worker or failing to offer a loved one the benefit of the doubt. The point is, you don't need to be larger than life to make life better for everyone.
This is good stuff, Marvel. Keep it up.
Labels: film, life the universe and everything, Reviews, thinky thoughts


Frederick William Moore was the son of Robert and Mary Moore. Frederick was born in Seapatrick, County Down about 1898. The family lived in Kilpixe, Seapatrick, Banbridge. His father was a flax dresser. By 1911, his mother had died and Fred was working as a draper's apprentice for Messrs Menary Brothers in Dungannon. Rifleman Moore trained as a Signaller first at Clandeboye Camp, and then in England before finally going to France in 1915. Rifleman Fred Moore was serving with 'D' Company of the 13th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when he was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916. He was 18 years old.


Lionel's - From Greasy Spoon to "Fine Fast Food"
The Lionel's Restaurant planned for 700 Central SE will be a far different eatery than the original Lionel's Drive-In opened around 1951, which in 1960 became, and remained so until about 3 years ago, Bob's Fish and Chips. Wewerka/Greene bought the property in May 2007, saving it from almost certain destruction.
Michael Wewerka touts the new restaurant's concept as "Fine fast food with light, healthy fare featuring fresh, local (wherever possible) ingredients, generous portions and attractive pricing."
Chef Rochell Woolard's menu will feature fish & chips and fish tacos, along with salads and sandwiches, as well as daily creations. Beer and wine will be served.
Wewerka hopes to announce a start date for the renovations soon.
"Given the original structure is such a pure expression of classic Route 66 roadside restaurant, we felt it would have great impact as an imaginative, beautiful, adaptive re-use," says Wewerka.
The design calls for an addition with a modern kitchen and bathrooms south of the existing building, which will become the a 45-seat dining room.
"The addition preserves many design aspects of the original building," says Wewerka. "The carports/canopies are being renovated and will have lighting added."
"We have a design for adding PV panels to the carports and feel confident we can generate a design that will satisfy all historic/EDo/neighborhood requirements. The NE carport will cover a large outdoor dining patio/garden with approximately 90 seats and will be defined by low yard walls and landscaping."
We spent a delightful time talking with Steve and Kara Grant and their family, residents and business owners in EDo/Huning Highlands.
We have a B & B called the "Downtown Historic Bed and Breakfasts of Albuquerque," two renovated historic homes at 207 and 209 High Street NE. Each house has four rooms. We serve breakfast and host English teas.
How long have you been in this business, and how is it going for you?
This is our third year. We are doing well and continue to see growth in the business. This was a need for the neighborhood and so far so good!
International guests, business travelers, local Albuquerque residents on a get-a-way, vacationers, people coming to visit friends and family, conventioners wanting a "home" to stay in, rather than a typical hotel.
Your family lives in the neighborhood - how long have you been here?
We have been in the neighborhood now for almost 7 years, and LOVE it.
What are your favorite things about living in this neighborhood?
Walking to the great EDo restaurants and businesses. The unique neighborhood. The great neighbors we share it with.
What things would you like to see come here?
Like many others - a grocery store!
We have lived in Albuquerque for 10 years, starting in a typical NE Heights neighborhood. When we first bought in EDo/Huning Highlands, people thought we were crazy, especially having four small kids. Not once have we regretted our decision, in fact our kids love it here as much as we do!! We have a beautiful home and a thriving family business. It's fun, profitable, and we are part of a community.
The first phases of a much-needed renovation of the Special Collections library are in full swing with landscape improvements at Central and Edith.
The irrigation system is being totally replaced and the brick sidewalks are being repaired, leveled and refreshed with new trees planted on Edith.
"The end result will maintain the shaded lawn that has always been a part of this historically significant building yet reduce overall water usage," says Smith.
The courtyard area will include new gates, benches and plantings providing a quiet, shady area to sit, visit and enjoy a coffee. Later this year, work will begin on Botts Hall to improve the acoustics, heating/cooling, lighting and accessibility.
"This is a great amenity and these improvements will make it more desirable for local group and organization meetings," says Smith.
A little-know fact about the 2009 Federal First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000: qualified homebuyers making a purchase in 2009 can claim the credit on their 2008 tax return.
While most folks have already filed their 2008 return, qualified first-time homebuyers can file an amended 2008 tax return and potentially get an $8,000 refund. 2009 purchasers also have the option to claim the credit on their 2009 tax return.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this is a credit against the buyer's tax liability, far more valuable than a deduction and does not need to be repaid, if the home is owned for 3 years or more.
A first-time homebuyer is defined as anyone who has not owned a home for 3 years.
The $8,000 tax credit applies to purchases from January 1 - December 1, 2009.


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Rhacophorus robertingeri  is a species of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to Vietnam. First found in the Annamite Mountains of Vietnam, it is now known from mountain areas between Hà Giang or Nghệ An Province in the north and Gia Lai or Bình Thuận Province in the south, depending on the source. This species can be differentiated from its congeners based on the pointed projection at the tibiotarsal articulation, as well as coloration.

Etymology
The specific name robertingeri honors Robert F. Inger, famous American zoologist from the Field Museum of Natural History.

Description
Adult males measure  and females  in snout–vent length. The habitus is stocky with relatively large and broad head. The snout is sharply pointed. The tympanum is distinct. The fingers have large discs; those of the toes are smaller. Basal webbing is present. Dorsal skin is generally smooth. The dorsum has variable color and patterning. The coloration is dominated by yellow-and red-brown tones. There are orange, cream, white and dark brown spots. The ventrum is can be light gray, cream, or ivory color. It may be immaculate or have pronounced.

Habitat and conservation
Rhacophorus robertingeri inhabits dense evergreen forests at elevations of  above sea level. It is associated with montane streams. Peak reproductive season is March–June and October–November. Males call diurnally but amplexus takes places only after dusk. The pair constructs a foam nest in leaves hanging near water. Upon hatching, the tadpoles fall down and enter the stream.

Habitat loss through deforestation is likely a threat to this species. It occurs in many protected areas: A Yun Pa Proposed Nature Reserve, Kon Cha Rang Nature Reserve, Kon Ka Kinh National Park, Ngoch Linh Nature Reserve, Ba Na-Nui Chua Nature Reserve, Nui Ong Nature Reserve, and Bạch Mã National Park.

References

Further reading
Ziegler, Thomas, et al. "New amphibian and reptile records from Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam." Herpetol. Notes 7 (2014): 185-201.
Nguyen, T., and Thomas Ziegler. "Amphibian Research and Conservation in Vietnam." Froglog104 (2012): 21-23.
Tao, Nguyen Thien, et al. "A Preliminary Study of Phylogenetic Relationships and Taxonomic Problems of Vietnamese Rhacophorus (Anura: Rhacophoridae)." Russian Journal of Herpetology 21.4 (2014): 274-280.

robertingeri
Frogs of Asia
Amphibians of Vietnam
Endemic fauna of Vietnam
Amphibians described in 2012
Taxa named by Natalia B. Ananjeva
Taxa named by Peter Geissler
Taxa named by Nikolai Loutseranovitch Orlov
Taxa named by Nikolay A. Poyarkov Jr.
Taxa named by Sang Ngoc Nguyen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Our range of large grade trees includes fruit trees to nourish, through to flowering and native trees to share love, comfort and joy as they flower each year to mark the occasion given. Each tree is 2-3 years old and approx 1m+ in height (depending on variety). Beautifully boxed and delivered NZ wide with your complimentary hand written gift card message entered during the checkout process.


There's nowhere to hide. They're on the run for their lives. And if Dom makes one more wrong move, he won't have a family left to protect.
I originally stumbled across T.J. Lebbon's books when his first novel The Hunt was published with Avon, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So, when The Family Man was announced, I really couldn't wait to get my hands on another book by Lebbon. The cover, the title and the blurb hooked me right away and once I started reading, I knew I was in for a wild ride.
Pacey and adrenaline-pumping, The Family Man by T.J. Lebbon was a fantastic novel full of high-speed chases, knife-point scenarios and shoot-outs. From the very moment the seed of his and Andy's idea was planted within Dom's mind, I just knew that the author was about to take me on a journey full of twists and turns and boy, was I right. It had my heart going ten to the dozen, and some of the situations that arose within the plot were pretty damn gruesome, only ever adding to the overwhelming sense of terror that stuck around throughout the entirety of the novel. It was grim, descriptive and totally menacing, with a villain who, truth be told, scared the friggin' beejeezus out of me. As the novel progressed and Dom and Andy found themselves spiralling deeper and deeper into a nightmare of fear and danger, I couldn't bear to put this book down, as I was so desperate to remain with the characters and see where Lebbon would take them next. From hiding out to doing a runner, I was kept hooked right the way through and found myself gripping my Kindle to absolute death in suspense as the pages continued to turn.
The characters within T.J. Lebbon's The Family Man were fantastic and definitely made this story what it was. Dangerous, violent and incredibly dodgy, there was a real essence of fear surrounding them, and when certain truths were revealed and relationships surfaced that I had no idea existed, it only added to the excitement. Lip and Sonja were two particular favourites of mine, as well as Rose and Holt who I was thrilled to find reappear after first meeting them in Lebbon's first novel. With complex personalities and unique back stories, I loved learning about each of the characters in turn and learning what it was that drove them to make the decisions they'd made. It was such a fascinating book, as well as being action-packed enough to hold my attention from beginning to end. I also loved the focus on family. The relationships between Dom and his wife, as well as Dom and his daughter, sort of softened the hard-hitting nature of this book and, at times, warmed my heart completely, despite the nasty stuff that was going on around them.
All in all, a tremendously gripping novel, with a host of characters mean enough to have you quaking in your boots. Pacey, addictive and adrenaline-pumping, I loved this book from back to front and will of course be awarding it five of my bookish cupcakes.
I'm a New York Times-bestselling horror, thriller and fantasy writer from a little village in South Wales. I've written over 30 novels, including several in collaboration with Christopher Golden, as well as dozens of novellas and hundreds of short stories.
I've won four British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award and a Scribe, as well as being shortlisted for the prestigious World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Awards. A movie of my short story Pay The Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage, is due for release in 2015, and I have several other movie projects in development. I love running, biking and swimming, and often try to put them all together in long-distance triathlons. I raced my first Ironman in 2013.
I've also written a handful of tie-in projects connected to the Alien, Predator, Star Wars and Hellboy universes.


text:
Over 10,000 Fire Ants Found in Container in Western Japan
Society Nov 2, 2022 22:22 (JST)
Tokyo, Nov. 2 (Jiji Press)--Over 10,000 highly venomous fire ants, including at least four queens, have been found in a container transported to land owned by a private firm in the city of Ibara, Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, the Environment Ministry said Wednesday.
It was the largest number of fire ants, designated as an invasive alien species, found in a single case in Japan so far.
The ministry said that the fire ants have been treated with insecticide and that no fire ant settlement has been confirmed there.
The container in question was shipped from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and arrived in Ibara on Oct. 25 via Hong Kong and Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, west of Okayama.
On the day of arrival in Ibara, a worker opened the container and found a lot of ants in it. The container was then sealed immediately and sent back to Fukuyama.


We flew into Hamilton Island from Cairns. This was a short 1 hour flight, but one of the most scenic flights I've ever been on. You'll definitely want to be on the window seat here. I snapped a couple of shots of the early morning before landing into Hamilton.
Originally, we hadn't planned on sightseeing Hamilton Island. But while we were outside waiting for our ferry, we saw tons of people driving away in buggies (golf carts). We decided to rent one as well for a couple of hours to sightsee the island. This was probably one of the best spontaneous decisions we made on the trip.
Whitehaven beach is regularly voted as one of the world's best beaches as it has one of the highest content of silica in its sand. This also means that it's extremely soft to the touch and also doesn't get hot in the sun. We spent two days here on two separate experiences. The first, on the Thundercat cruise and the second, on a seaplane with Air Whitsundays. We visited two different beaches in Whitehaven and saw two very different experiences with each. The Thundercat is a new, and very fast boat geared towards young, adventurous travellers whereas the seaplane experience was a more luxurious and leisurely way to see the Great Barrier Reef and Whitehaven.
We stayed in an AirBnB in downtown Airlie Beach. Downtown Airlie Beach is geared towards young people and backpackers and a lot more affordable to stay for a few days. There are tons of cheap places to eat, hang out and have a good time. We also saw some people grilling their own food, which is a great way to save money! For cheap and delicious food, I recommend checking out a Vietnamese place called D'Viet House. On Saturday mornings, there's a farmers market in downtown Airlie Beach, which has everything from clothing, bath salts, to delicious coffee, sandwiches and mangos. We bought 3 different types of mangos here for $5, which was an amazing steal because they were so yummy.
We had a blast exploring all the beaches here. Hope this gives you some inspiration for your future travels. Happy holidays!
Read more about their travels and adventures on her blog.


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We are proud to announce that we received a 2nd Upward Bound Math and Science Grant! This will make it our fourth Upward Bound Grant that we have received. This new Grant will allow us to serve about 70 more students. These students we will serving with this new grant will come from Rio Vista, Keene, and Venus High Schools. Our first UBMS grant serves Alvarado High School currently. We are extremely excited to get this program running and begin serving more students in Johnson County! The Program Coordinator for this new grant is Alyssa Cantu, she is from San Antonio, TX and is eager to recruit and meet these students!


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Flights.comNorth America FlightsUnited States FlightsTexas FlightsDFW FlightsDFW to ATL Flights
DFW to ATL (Dallas to Atlanta) Flights
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Distance and aircraft type by airline for flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Origin DFW Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Distance 728.76 miles
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What airlines fly direct from DFW airport to ATL airport?
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Delta Air Lines - (DL) with 150 direct flights between Dallas and Atlanta monthly
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The total flight duration time from Dallas (DFW) to Atlanta (ATL) is typically 7 hours 01 minutes. This is the average non-stop flight time based upon historical flights for this route. During this period travelers can expect to fly about 997 miles, or 1,605 kilometers.
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With 5 different airlines operating flights between Dallas and Atlanta, there are, on average, 3,300 flights per month. This equates to about 770 flights per week, and 110 flights per day from DFW to ATL.
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Delta Air Lines - (DL) with about 1 end of day scheduled flights between DFW and ATL from 6:00pm to 11:00pm.
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The calculated straight line flying distance from DFW airport to ATL airport is 997 miles, or 1,605 kilometers.
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The earliest flight departs from DFW at 05:00AM and arrives at 11:24AM at ATL.
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The latest departure time from DFW is scheduled at 08:35PM with an arrival time of 11:48PM at ATL.
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text:
Chapter 5. Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters (1974)
8th Aug 2020 9th Dec 2021 Jim Sangster
aka Doctor Who – The Silurians (1992)
Synopsis: Long before mankind evolved to take over the Earth, it was inhabited by a race of technologically advanced reptiles. An oncoming catastrophe drove them into hibernation for millions of years. Now they've awakened and they want the planet back.
1. Prologue: The Little Planet
2. The Doctor Gets a Message
3. The Traitor
4. Power Loss
5. The Fighting Monster
6. Into the Caves
7. Quinn Visits His Friends
8. Into an Alien World
9. The Search
10. Man Trap
11. The Doctor Makes a Visit
12. Goodbye, Dr Quinn
13. The Prisoner
14. Man from the Ministry
15. Attack and Counter-Attack
16. The Itch
17. Epidemic
18. A Hot World
19. The Lie
Background: Malcolm Hulke adapts his scripts from the 1970 serial Doctor Who and the Silurians. As this followed Spearhead from Space on TV, this is another pair of stories to be adapted as consecutive releases.
Notes: The prologue introduces us to Okdel, a reptile, who sees the rest of his race entering the shelters in preparation for catastrophe. He wonders if there's life on this new object in the sky and K'to, a scientist, tells him it's unlikely as it's been travelling across space. It's such a kind, considerate question – is this going to be a cataclysm for them too? The prologue explains the basic idea behind the reptile hibernation and shows us division among their ranks as Okdel keeps mammals as pets but his colleague Morka considers them 'vermin' and K'to is concerned by the mammal raids on reptile-grown crops. Okdel also notes how scientists often get things wrong – a handy excuse for some of the scientific liberties Hulke will be taking in his story. While it robs the reader of the surprise of who the 'cave monsters' are, it prepares us for a tale that tries to see things from multiple perspectives.
Once we join the Doctor and Liz, it's clearly been some time since the Auton Invasion as Liz recognises a Corporal, who in turn knows the Doctor well enough to know the name of his new car, and Liz has also formed an opinion of the Doctor as 'the most thoughtful and considerate scientist I have ever worked with' (though this might be sarcasm as he's being unconsciously patronising to her). The opening scenes of the potholers have been cut, condensed into a reported summary from Dr Quinn, and in fact, we meet almost all the core human cast in the space of a few pages and learn much more about their background and motivations than we do across seven episodes of TV: Dr Quinn and Miss Dawson gain first names (Matthew and Phyllis); Quinn's wife was killed in a car crash and he wants to gain fame for discovering the reptile men (they're not called Silurians, but the word is used as the password to gain entry to the base); Phyllis Dawson is excited by the prospect of doing actual research now that she's free from being held back by her recently deceased mother; Major Baker is now 'Barker' and is shown to be insensitive (calling one patient 'looney') and generally paranoid and bigoted against 'communists… fascists… Americans', basically anyone who isn't English.
The outbreak of the reptile virus is depicted differently: Instead of Masters arriving at St Pancras Station and collapsing , we see him aboard the train (infecting a ticket inspector who later dies) and then he leaves the train, catches a taxi and dies before reaching London. Dr Lawrence's given a different exit too, killed by a reptile heat ray as a warning to the other humans, rather than falling victim to the virus.
Cover & Illustrations: The first release had a cover by Chris Achilleos. The cover showed the Doctor from Day of the Daleks with a green Silurian (without a third eye!), a T-rex-like dinosaur and a volcano. I'm very fond of the 1992 Alister Pearson reprint cover (when the book was retitled) with the 'windows' over the Earth and photorealistic versions of the T-rex and Silurian, but the Achilleos one is truly epic. The illustrations, also by Achilleos, include a horizontal section showing the cave system beneath Wenley Moor. My favourite shows Dr Quinn chatting with a Silurian that looks like he's a guest on a chat show.
Final Analysis: I always assumed this was renamed 'The Cave Monsters' to simplify the idea of 'Silurians' make the title easier for younger readers to understand, but reading this again, I suspect it might also have been Hulke making a point; as Whitaker did in The Crusaders, Hulke works hard to show balance, there are progressive reptile men (though no women) as shown with Oktel, as well as the paranoid and bigotted Morka, plus the pragmatic K'po – and their emotions are mirrored by the Doctor, Barker and Quinn (and later Lawrence) – and the various actions of the humans make then equally monstrous cave dwellers as the members of the much older race. Aside from that cheeky password the Doctor uses to gain entry to the base, the word 'Silurian' doesn't appear in the book – and as it was written a couple of years after the sequel to this story, Hulke manages to fix his original geological errors and establish the race as simply 'Reptiles'.
And just one little namecheck for 'Doctor Who' in the text as well.
Categories: Liz Shaw, Malcolm Hulke, Season 7, The Master, Third Doctor, UNIT	Tags: Chris Achilleos, Earth, Lethbridge-Stewart, Liz Shaw, Malcolm Hulke, Silurians, Third Doctor, UNIT
← Chapter 4. Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion (1974)
Chapter 6. Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon (1974) →
2 thoughts on "Chapter 5. Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters (1974)"
I read this LONG before I ever saw the TV version and thought it a very intelligent and thought provoking read. I never noticed the lack of female Silurians. Never even occurred to me about genders. I wonder was this the reason they were entirely female when Silurians returned to the show in 2010, are the genders different castes?
I'm not a fan of the 92 reprint artwork. I'm not a fan of many of the 90s reissues artworks! Give me the Achilleos cover anyday, even with only 2 eyes!
Lisa G says:
Female "monsters" were always few and far between in classic Who – although it's always possible some of them were female and ignorant humans just couldn't tell the difference.


There's a lot of background to the story which this comment hints at. There's a growing tension in Turkey between liberals and conservatives over gender roles and the status of women. Least to say, when Erdogan talks about violence against women he should shut up. He's part of the problem not the solution.
Change is slow, but relentless.
"no other man's hands would touch her again". Women carried her coffin. Women buried her.
Thank you for that. I had not seen that article before.
Also, I am reminded that lots of guys look great in kilts. Not much of a jump, really.
Makes me damn proud to be part Turk!
I love stories of solidarity like this one. Thanks for posting.
they were determined "no other man's hands would touch her again". Women carried her coffin. Women buried her.
I'm both horrified that this situation even exists and vicariously proud of the women that stood up and did this, an action which I imagine carried quite some risk for them, not only at the time, but regarding potential future reprisals.
"Let them cry out for low-cut [tops] and miniskirts," ... "They call themselves 'men.' What men? Men wear trousers, but they wear skirts. They hide themselves," he said, drawing a parallel between skirts and masks. "Why do you wear a mask, if you are not a terrorist?" he asked.
From the Hurriyet. Note that I have not read the full text of his speech, and this is the only translation I've seen, so it's theoretically possible that there's context we're missing. This Mashable link provides some context on Erdoğan's history of statements like this, which Thing alludes to above.
I happened to have a Turkish exchange student in my French class in high school. The G in his first name was silent and the C in his last name was pronounced more like CH in English. In his first name, the G had a line over it. I don't recall if the C had any diacritical marks. So I felt like I had absolutely no idea how to pronounce Ozgecan Aslan. I searched and found this audio clip, though I have no idea how accurate it is.
'ç' is English 'ch' as in "cheddar"
So the 'c' in Recep is pronounced like 'g' as in "George".
The Turkish 'ğ' with a circumflex (as in 'Erdoğan') is different from plain 'g' and not quite silent, though I haven't heard a definitive pronunciation guide that wasn't belied by some example I've come across. An American pronouncing "Erdoğan" might want to think "air" (like you breathe) "doe" (as in deer) "wan" (as in Obi-). Air-doe-wan.
The girl's name is Özgecan. The two audio clips you posted are of course way better than my Turkish pronunciation, but maybe I can help explain what sounds are happening. The dots over the 'o' mean you purse your lips while you say the 'o', which makes it sound closer to the 'oo' in "foot", or the 'eu' in French's "beurre" or "feu". The 'c' is again a sharp 'j'. An American might try to pronounce Özgecan by saying "O's" (like, plural of the letter 'o'), "geh" (like "get" without the 't'), "John" (just like the name). O's-geh-John.


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GL Game Report: mxdcyw2000 vs the FANG
Take Your Turn :: Advance Wars By Web :: AWBW Competitive
Everdan on Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:13 am
With the restart of the Global League, we've seen the revival of many of the best AWBW players. This game commentary is an attempt to preserve just a bit of their gameplay for future generations to come.
Okay enough of the cheesy intro, and on to the good stuff!
Pre-Game Analysis
The map they're playing on this time is Eclipse.
Several things about this map stand out immediately, namely the short distance from the bases to the centre making reinforcement easy, the closeness of the contested cities in the middle, and the choky terrain in the middle that's ideal for defense. All this suggests that the battle in the centre will quickly settle into a relatively stable standoff where both players will seek to slowly improve their positioning and zone their opponents out of the centre.
The sides on the other hand are more open - good terrain for tank attacks. Given the distance from the bases and the wider spacing of the cities, there's definitely a lot more potential here for a dynamic back-and-forth battle, and most likely the sides will see most of the action in this game.
These three battlefields are separated by a narrow set of bridges, which is in itself interesting, as it means blockading your enemy for a turn and cutting off his reinforcements could be the key to decisive victory.
CO Choice
The CO Bans this time around are: VB, Hawke, Sasha, Javier, Eagle, Olaf, Sami, Lash. And we have a very interesting matchup right off the bat with Mxdcyw's Adder vs the FANG's Max.
the FANG (Max)
Of the two, Max is perhaps the easier choice to understand. Max's ability to break formations is well known - with 1 tower, his tanks do 97.5 base damage to infantry on 0* terrain, giving him around a 50% chance of getting a OHKO. With all the 0* terrain on this map, the opponent must carefully weigh what risks are worth taking and what are not. In particular, the bridges joining the 3 battlefields are all 0* terrain and in a single line, making them vulnerable to aerial assault. In the mid-late game, Max's opponent will thus find it difficult to switch fronts as this exposes units to attack by copters. the FANG clearly intends to use this to take the initiative and force his opponent into unfavourable battles.
Also, air units are fairly strong on this map, being able to cut right across the heavy terrain and switch fronts in the blink of an eye. The presence of two airports is clearly meant to allow you to counter copters with copters, enabling you to shadow the enemy across the battlefield with your own equally mobile air units. the FANG will aim to capitalize on this with the use of his boosted copters vs Adder's vanilla copters.
mxdcyw2000 (Adder)
At first glance, Adder may seem to be an inferior choice. But after some thought, I believe he is fully capable of contesting Max on this map.
Unlike Max, Adder's COP affects all his units, including infantry and mech, which will definitely be of utmost importance in controlling the centre. Mechs in particular will have a field day on thisw map. Standing on a mountain and with Adder's COP boosting their movement, each mech becomes a mini-tank in its own regard, a mobile swarm which Max will find difficult to deal with.
In addition, Adder does not suffer the indirect penalty, meaning he can use arties to hold the chokepoints down the centre and the sides.
Lastly, Adder's power bar charges much more quickly than Max's. With a mere COP and a tower, Adder's units all become 120/110, equivalent in stats to 1T Von Bolt. In addition, all his units get a movement boost, which means they can threaten more of Max's army. If Max is too aggressive in the early game, Adder will be able to capitalize on this stat boost and the movement boost to decimate Max's army.
To sum it up, Max will seek to capitalize on his offensive prowess by exploiting his powerful tanks and copters in order to take the initiative. Adder on the other hand will seek to nullify this initiative with solid defensive formations backed up by superior numbers of mechs and arties, two units which Max cannot use nearly as well, and in the mid-late game, possibly even Md Tanks, which Max also cannot counter efficiently. In that sense, Adder will likely play out as a slightly weaker version of Sami on this map.
Either way, it looks like a very interesting, asymmetric battle will shortly be unfolding. Stay tuned for the start of Day 1!
Everdan


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Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough (también conocido como Wild Things 3), es una película melodramática, erótica y de suspenso estadounidense. Es la tercera entrega de la serie Wild Things. Protagonizada por Sarah Laine, Sandra McCoy, Dina Meyer, Brad Johnson y Linden Ashby. Al igual que con Wild Things 2, muchos elementos de la trama de la película son similares a las de la original, incluyendo la escena del trío.

Reparto
Sarah Laine es Marie Clifton.
Sandra McCoy es Elena Sandoval.
Linden Ashby es Detective Michael Morrison.
Ron Melendez es Dr. Chad Johnson
Claire Coffee es Jenny Bellamy.
Michael Mantell es Theo Bloom.
Dina Meyer es Kristen Richards.
Brad Johnson es Jay Clifton.

Enlaces externos
 Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough en la Internet Movie Database

Películas de 2005
Películas en inglés
Películas de Estados Unidos
Secuelas de películas


With the purpose of making the operation of water mist fire fighting installations easier,RG Systems offers piping accessories designed to speed up the mounting process, simplify the tasks involved and reduce the elements used. Direct tees are made of stainless steel and guarantee a watertight union between pipes or accessories for any high-pressure installation.
They integrate, in a unique and compact accessory, the components needed to directly connect the lengths of pipe from a split to a coupling, which allows for a direct coupling to the diffuser or mist head, without additional elements. They offer, therefore, notable economic advantages for the reduction in pieces and execution times.


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Watch Digital Realty Senior Officer Commit Perjury
Asked if she was the one who told Kris Kumar that he had been reported by Paul Somers for financial misconduct. It's none other than Ellen Jacobs. She was the worst hack of a HR executive that ever lived. She's part of the Ashkenazi network, of course.
Jacobs broke so many laws while heading up HR for Digital, no corporation would have allowed her to retire and keep all of her long term equity and retirement benefits. It was only because of her membership in the Ashkenazi tribe that she became very wealthy despite the fact that she cost shareholders a great deal of money.
When she was forced to retire, she was replaced with another Ashkenazi, Cindy Fiedelman, who's salary at $600,000 per year (excluding long term compensation) is more than twice Jacobs.
I've posted a video below great deal about Ms. Jacobs. Watch Ms. Jacobs' attempt to appear puzzled, yet thoughtful as taught to her by Digital's lawyer, Brian T. Ashe (formerly Brian T. Ashkenazi). She lies when she says. "I don't recall," disclosing a whistleblower to Kris Kumar. She remembers everything she's been taught to say but somehow wants us to believe she can't recall meeting Kumar in San Francisco on February 3, 2014. She remembers. It shows Ms. Jacobs for who she really is, dishonest, mean-spirited and unqualified. We all wish she would have never left the animal feed business.
Notice the body language. She looks at the ceiling, looks away from the person asking the question, down at the desk and then as she answers that she doesn't recall she nods her head yes. Had she told the truth she would have ended that part of the case. Exposing a whistleblower is a felony offense.
Then there is this.
3 way conference call at 8:40am Singapore time, April 8, 2014
Ellen Jacobs, Rita Da Luz – San Francisco
Sarah Schubert – Singapore
Paul Somers – Hong Kong
Fraction of Transcript.
In response to my question concerning sales manager Shaun's Woodhouse's verbal tirade and employee Jing Zhou, Ellen attempted to explain her secret policy. Zhou had filed a complaint against Mr. Woodhouse indicating he read her the riot act one night when he was inebriated. the situation was completely ignored by HR. At the same time, I was being raked over the coals for a fabricated story by my former manage, Kris Kumar. Ms. Jacobs conspired with Kumar resulting the wrongful termination of my employment. The two were on a mission and there was no turning back. All sense of decency logic and fairness were tossed aside. Disparate treatment is clearly in favor of heterosexuals at Digital Realty.
Ellen's response regarding Shaun Woodhouse's drunken tirade:
Ellen Jacobs: "What I would say is that what we tell managers is that if they see, if an issue comes up is that the last place these issues, performance issues like that should go is HR we expect that managers are able to deal with those types events, and so If a um manager says that, if it goes up to a manager, the manager says that lookit you guys need to work this out, then I guess they would expect, I would expect those people that got direction from the manager, – it would be worked out, if it happened again, it would go back to the manager and its only if the manager has taken zero action and/or the actions of the manager were simply not being followed in which case I would expect the person would go back to the manager and say look, you have asked Grant, in this case I may be getting the players wrong cuz I'm kinda hearing, ya know, piecing together. What I think this is about and say he's not doing it Kris, we need to sit down and have another conversation. At which time I'm sure Kris would be willing to do that, but ummm but if Kris were to say "no no I'm done with that I am not doing it again", then I would expect it to go to HR…"
Righto, Ellen. She also stated under oath that the reason none of Digital Realty's policies appeared in writing or in a handbook is because HR personnel keep all the rules"in their heads". I asked her why she couldn't provide written documentation of the companies rules and policies. She responded because she had a lot to do and just hadn't gotten around to it.
Now its clear why Digital Realty had to bribe both of the judges. This example is only a fraction of the stupidity that goes on with senior management at Digital Realty.
Digital Realty has some serious issues to face in the coming months. I only hope the for the employee's and shareholder's sake that senior management does the right and steps down before evidence is published proving corruption against shareholders on a scale that will shake investor confidence in Digital Realty. Let's hope that a year from now Digital's current management is gone with Stein and Mills dealing with criminal charges long overdue.
Previous Digital Realty and Chubb's Attorney, Brian T. Ashe, (aka Brian Tobin Ashkenazi) is one sloppy crook.
Next Stacks of evidence prove Judge Edward M. Chen engaged in case-fixing scheme:


Ashes represent death. I don't know about you, but is there any area of your past you can look back to and see ashes? See brokenness, places you want to mend, places that have any kind of devastation? I think that's all of us. I see a world of beauty and brokenness all around us, namely because I've seen myself. However, I've seen something greater. I've seen Jesus, seen the way He works, the way He heals, the way He completely and totally restores what was horrifically and utterly stolen and once dead. "The son was dead For love He bled But He rose from the ashes His victory Now my destiny Because He rose from the ashes"
This is what Jesus died for, not just the first part of this chorus, but to give us total beauty for ashes. You and I were not meant to just be saved from hell, but hell on earth. Trials yes, persecutions yes, things that are unfair yes, BUT GOD! Here's the rest of the story; loved without reserve, yes! "More than a conqueror", yes! All the promises of God, "in Him, are yes and amen"! God is a Father whose character is more true and pure than the driven snow. A Father that whether you know it or not, has never once left you, nor would He ever forsake you, even on the darkest day that you still don't understand. There is an enemy, "the thief comes only to steal kill and destroy, but I have come that you would have life and life more abundantly" (John 10:10 ESV) But, there is a Father who defeated him and sent His son for love, to not only die, but to be raised again so that you and I could see every area of our hearts, families and dreams raised back to life for the glory of God. I pray your heart comes alive as you discover Gods heart for you in the face of what Jesus did through His death and resurrection. Thank you for listening and sharing my new song #Ashes with those that need to hear the greatest story ever written, the story of the cross.


For an all inclusive price paid once a year we take the hassle away!
The price per horse lowers the more horses you add to the programme! Yards with 25 horses or more please feel free to email us and we can make a programme to suit your individual requirements!
*Are you currently using a worming programme? If so when does this end?
*When was each horse/ pony last wormed and which wormer was used for each?
*Have you used any worm count kits? If yes, which worm count kit was used last and when?
*Are they stabled at a livery yard or a privately owned yard?
"Gone are the days where all horses are wormed with the same drug at the same time. My strategic plan includes tests before treatments at the right time of the year to ensure that your horse doesn't receive unnecessary wormers." Hannah Wild - Virbac 3D Worming Equine SQP of the Year.
- A strategic worming programme is supplied for the year including all necessary worm counts and appropriate wormers.
- All inclusive price, no extra payments if your horse needs worming following testing. Bought separately has an RRP of over £130 for the year!
- Make the most of free postage! Worm counts and wormers are posted out to you when you need to use them. Add your supplements and care products to the parcel for no extra postage cost.
- Much more than a bag of wormers and a calendar, we provide worming advice to suit your horse's individual needs!
- Protexin Quick Fix syringes for use after every worming treatment. Quick Fix is a highly concentrated probiotic and prebiotic paste to rapidly re-establish gut microflora in times of stress or change include worming. During worming the beneficial microorganisms in the hindgut can be adversely affected, Quick Fix helps to re-build them as quickly as possible!
The programme is strategic, so we send you a worm count kit, you send the sample away (in the prepaid envelope), our SQP interprets the results and we get get in touch with the results. Should your horse need treatment following testing the appropriate wormer is sent out in the post! We control the whole programme so all you need to do is test or worm when we post them to you. Dead simple and cost effective!
Previously most horse owners opted for "interval dosing" whereby wormers are administered to the horse at regular intervals throughout the year, regardless of whether a worm burden was present or not. Unfortunately, this strategy is no longer thought to be the best way to control the equine parasite population. In fact, it is actually assisting the parasites, by allowing them to evolve to become resistant to the drugs being used, making this treatment plan less effective. Vets and SQP's are now encouraging horse owners to adopt the "strategic dosing" method of parasite control. This involves only treating those horses that have been identified as having worm burdens and dosing for specific parasites at certain times of the year. A strategic worming programme allows minimal unnecessary drug use and maximum worm control, by targeting certain types of parasite with specific drugs at set times of the year.
The programme is not set in stone and we tailor it to individual horse's needs, whether that's a sensitivity to certain drugs in wormers or using the tests at slightly different times of the year. It's a completely individual programme designed around your horse and their specific situation!
We offer discounts for multiple horses and yards, however we do require you to send all tests off at the same time and results will only be sent to one named person.
We send you the wormer or worm count/test as you need to use them. Before we send post them out we will get in touch to see if the horse's situation is the same and tailor the test/treatment to their exact needs. Once you receive the wormer or worm count/test simply follow the instructions in the pack and we do the rest!
POM-VPS (Prescription-only medicine). Please answer the questions above.


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Red Sox Hot Stove
Meet The New Guy: Masataka Yoshida
The Red Sox have a new leadoff hitter.
By Dan Secatore@DanSecatore Dec 7, 2022, 9:27pm EST
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Who Is He And Where Did He Come From?
He's Masataka Yoshida, and the Red Sox just signed him to a 5-year, $90 million deal, on top of a $15.4 million posting fee paid to the Orix Buffalos (Ichiro's old team, BTW, though at the time he played there, they went by the much cooler name of the Orix Blue Wave). He's been a star in Japan and, for whatever it's worth, he freaking idolizes Bryce Harper. Like, it's not enough for him to just wear Harper's #34, he has to go and do stuff like this:
What Position Does He Play?
He's a left fielder, and, defensively speaking, he's not known as a particularly good one. But it's worth noting that, per Defensive Runs Saved, he was graded as above average going forward, but below average going back, so playing him in front of the Monster seems like it could optimize his defensive potential.
Is He Any Good?
Well, the first thing to know about him is that he is a plate discipline God. He has not put up an OBP under .400 since his rookie season. He also has elite contact skills, as, over the past two seasons, he's struck out just 68 times. For reference, the Major League hitter with the fewest strikeouts over the last two seasons is Luis Arraez with 91 (though there's a caveat here, in that the Japanese season is slightly shorter than its MLB equivalent; Arraez played an additional 36 games over those 2 years). He's not a massive power hitter (he's never hit 30 home runs in a season), but he has enough power complementing his on-base skills that he's led the Pacific League in OPS each of the past two seasons. What's more, he put those numbers up while reportedly being shifted quite a bit, which is less common in Japan than it has been in recent years in the States and, of course, will be banned next season.
Here's some praise from former teammate Adam Jones that probably won't lead to anyone overreacting at all:
I say he's like the Japanese Juan Soto. He can hit the ball to all fields, all speeds. Like Juan Soto, he hits everything — and walks. He doesn't swing out of the zone.
Okay! Sounds pretty good!
But here's the thing, the ultimately unsatisfying answer to the question of "is he any good" is: we don't know. Take the internet time machine back 12 months and you'll find all sorts of praise about Seiya Suzuki that he hasn't lived up to yet. Take it back even further and you'll find countless people convinced that Ichiro would never make it in the big leagues. When it comes to hitters making the transition from NPB to MLB, we just don't know.
The popular response to question of "how good is NPB" is to say that it's somewhere between AAA and the big leagues, but that's a reductive answer. There was no one in AAA who was good as Yu Darvish was before he came over, and the same was true with Hideki Matsui, and, certainly, Shohei Ohtani. The fact is that NPB contains some of the absolute best baseball players in the world, while simultaneously containing players who couldn't make a big league roster. We don't yet know where on that spectrum Yoshida falls, and we likely won't know for a while.
Uncertainly is frustrating, and we don't like it because it forces us to confront the reality that we have less control over the universe and our place in it than we like to imagine. But sorry, that's just what comes along with being a human on planet Earth.
Show Me A Cool Highlight
It doesn't get any cooler than a walk-off home run in the championship series, does it?
Holy s*** this is blowing up
He also walked off Game 5 of the Japan Series this year pic.twitter.com/X41vrvXSlt
— Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) October 31, 2022
Masataka Yoshida. Game, set, match. pic.twitter.com/UW4SzSeUri
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@baseballcosmo) October 27, 2022
What's He Doing In His Picture Up There?
Sternly reminding his bat that he doesn't care how cool it looks, if it doesn't get some damn hits soon, it's going in the fireplace.
What's His Role On the 2023 Red Sox?
He's probably going to start the season leading off and playing left field, though he's likely to see a lot of time at DH, as well. What this means for Alex Verdugo remains to be seen.
Red Sox Links: Should The Sox Try To Extend Triston Casas and Brayan Bello Already? Plus, David Ortiz has thoughts on the lineup.
2022 In Review: Is This All There Is For Alex Verdugo? Our 2022 In Review Series tackles the fading former prospect.


Samsung last evening at an event in London finally took the wrappers off the widely expected Galaxy NX. This is the sequel to the first ever Android Powered camera, the award winning Galaxy Camera. The Galaxy NX is such a huge upgrade to the Galaxy Camera, it seeks to be the camera choice for the professional photographer who wishes to have their images secure in the cloud seconds after clicking the shutter.
The Galaxy NX, above having Android Jelly Bean, detachable lenses and flash, has the added advantage of Wi-Fi connectivity, 3G and 4G LTE connectivity. The thing can actually do speeds of up-to 100 Mbps so even those very high resolution images will be in the cloud before the dust is off the shutter. For those journalists who have security hazards in their line of work, this will be quite appealing since you only lose the hardware and the un-snapped photos when someone grabs the camera off you.
The Galaxy NX also comes with one feature that hasn't been seen in a camera only announced in the Galaxy S 4 Zoom. Photo Suggest which is a feature that suggests nice shots that other people took before you, this is a location-based feature, lets you know what angles of places you haven't taken as you will see images load depending on where you are. It also has the story Album, a feature announced with the Galaxy S 4 that allows you to select photos off your gallery to make into a very nice digital book that you can view on other devices in an orderly manner.
Other features other Galaxy NX include Advanced Hybrid Auto Focus System for accurate contract and phase detection, the 1/6000 sec shutter speed and shooting at 8.6fps. For the non-advanced user, the camera has 30 smart pre-sets like Multi-exposure that merges two different shots, animated photo to create GIFs and Sound & shot to capture the sound at the moment of photo taking.
The Galaxy NX can take images in the usual formate, JPEG and also RAW with a max resolution of 5472 x 3648 and a max of 2688 x 1512 for 3D images. Currently there is no information about market availability or pricing.