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Micah Jackson to Lead Bexley Seabury
Bexley Seabury Seminary has chosen the Rev. Micah T.J. Jackson as its new president, effective June 1. He will succeed the Rev. Roger Ferlo, who retired in the fall of 2017.
"Micah brings a strong commitment to innovative theological education at a time when the needs of the church are changing," said the Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, chairman of the board of directors.
"His vision is a good fit with Bexley Seabury Seminary's non-residential educational model emphasizing contextual learning and practical applications, as well as traditional and non-traditional contexts," Bishop Klusmeyer added. "Micah is a graduate of Seabury-Western, and we are proud to call one of our own to lead the seminary into the future."
"I am honored to be called to serve as president of Bexley Seabury Seminary," Jackson said. "I am looking forward to working with the board, faculty, staff, and students as together we inspire and form the next generation of leaders of the Episcopal Church. The seminary is heir to more than 150 years of tradition in forming church leaders for ministry in and for the communities in which they will serve. Communities of learning and formation are key to opening excellent theological education to a broad range of lay and ordained persons who serve the Church in pastoral, liturgical, and administrative roles."
Before being called to lead Bexley Seabury Seminary, Jackson served as the Bishop John Hines Associate Professor of Preaching and director of comprehensive wellness at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.
His academic interests include the spiritual discipline of preaching, homiletic form, the postmodern construction of the relationship between preacher and congregation, liturgical leadership, and clergy formation and wellness.
Jackson holds an MTS in preaching from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, an MDiv from Meadville Lombard Theological School, and a PhD in homiletics and liturgy from Graduate Theological Union. He is the author of Preaching Face to Face: An Invitation to Conversational Preaching (Church Publishing, July).
Filed Under: Clips, News Tagged With: Bexley Seabury Seminary, Micah T.J. Jackson
Kenyan Priest Suspended for Failing to Marry


As shown on this website, each dispute resolution instrument has distinct characteristics and benefits. In some cases, the most suitable solution is not to apply a single instrument, but to apply several instruments (multi-tiered). Another option is to combine different instruments or specific features from the various instruments (hybrid).
The individual facts and circumstances of a dispute will guide the application of appropriate dispute resolution instruments, whether they be single, multi-tiered or hybrid applications.
Probably the most common form for multi-tiered dispute resolution applications is the jointing of mediation and arbitration.
In most cases, the mechanism will provide the first step, where the parties will try to reach an amicable agreement through mediation. If an agreement cannot be reached they will submit their dispute to arbitration. The reason for this approach is so the parties will firstly attempt to reach an amicable solution themselves before a third person is introduced.
However, the parties are free to adapt their approach. For example, the parties may find it more suitable to first initially undergo arbitration proceedings and then interrupt the arbitration in order to try to mediate the dispute. If the parties reach an agreement during the mediation, the parties may ask the arbitral tribunal to resume the proceedings and to issue an arbitral award which simply incorporates the amicable agreement, a so-called "award on agreed terms". This means the amicable agreement becomes final, binding and, most importantly, enforceable.
Further examples of how the different dispute resolution instruments can be combined are offered by the Hamburg state courts. They offer parties the possibility to suspend litigation proceedings and resolve their dispute with the help of a mediator.
One option for the parties, is to mediate their dispute with the help of a "court mediator" in a so-called "court-annexed" mediation. In this case, the mediator will be a judge who is a specially trained and qualified "mediator". The judge acting as a mediator cannot be the same person who will be called upon to decide the dispute in case mediation fails. The advantage of this approach is that the amicable agreement will be recorded in a court-settlement which can be enforced. Alternatively, the parties may also seek the assistance of an external mediator.
Cooperative or collaborative practice (CP) is an example of a hybrid dispute resolution instrument. It is hybrid because it has similar, but not identical features to that of mediation proceedings. In both cases facilitative principles are applied and the parties will try to successfully negotiate a settlement. In CP proceedings the parties' legal representatives are actively and directly involved in providing immediate advice. Whereas, in mediation, the mediator has the lead and the legal representatives will play a minor role, if any at all. Should the CP proceedings fail, the legal representatives are precluded from appearing in subsequent litigation proceedings. Thus, a real incentive is set for lawyers to assist the parties in reaching a settlement.


We believe that addressing the talent challenges in complex organisations is an art more than it is a science. On the one hand, it is about providing people with the support and tools they need to be at their very best, and on the other, it's about creating the right culture and environment that nurtures and supports people to perform and thrive.
This journey begins with sourcing the highest caliber HR talent for your organisation, whether we are sourcing your next CHRO or the leaders of the various HR disciplines. We are confident that with our unrivalled understanding of the market and our deep network of contacts we are well placed to advise.
We also believe that organisations deserve better than what's on offer in the market currently when it comes to working with your talent. Many Service providers are simply taking a one-stop shop approach with particular areas of strength and weakness. Often these organisations are seen as expensive, highly commercial in the way that they manage relationships, and are often prone to silo mentality themselves. Then there's a 'long-tail' of small independents where there's a great disparity in both quality and cost.
The 'one-size-fits-all' approach may be appealing in terms of ease of operation and cost, but it's unlikely to deliver what organisations need. Why? Because every individual is different, every situation is different and every organisation is different. And that means solutions need to be hand crafted, creative and targeted.
We have assembled a team of world-class Individuals covering all the key areas of the talent agenda, and we often blend their expertise to build specific solutions.
We sit down with you to understand where your pressure points lie. If these aren't clear or easily prioritised, we have a method for surfacing them. Once we know where to focus, we'll work with you to put an outline plan together, developing blended solutions with our members on our Art of Talent palette.
Every Individual has been hand-picked, and they work to the principles of collaboration, sharing and generosity set out in the Art of Talent Charter.
We are particularly delighted to see that one of our team, Lord Chris Holmes is sharing the stage at the Changeboard conference!


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Welcome to the S4C Support pages
Help for those living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Sight loss resources
Organisations that offer support to those with severe sight loss, and which offer independence and a better life for those living with this problem.
Loss and bereavement
The details of the following organisations and helplines are if you or someone close to you have lost someone and feel in need of help, support or someone to talk to.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)
Information and help with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME).
Keeping Safe from Scams
Information about how to keep yourself safe from common scams.
Violence can take several forms, including verbal and mental abuse, but when it turns physical from someone close to you, it can be a really dangerous situation. This can happen to men or women, though it's more likely to affect women.
Help and support for depression.
Organ donation.
More information about organ donation in Wales.
Resources which can help people - men, women, children and young people - who have been victims of violence or wish to report violent or sexual crime of any sort, including sexual exploitation. Support relevant to Y Byd ar Bedwar.
Cancer is something that the majority of us will come across at some point in our lives. Help and support .
Information and support if living with PTSD.
Humanitarian organisations
Information about organisations which have a broad humanitarian focus.
Help and support to those living with the condition, their families and carers.
Resources to to help and support ageing well in Wales.
Information and support about sexual health.
Diabetes is a chronic condition caused by the body's inability to process sugar, or glucose, in the blood. Information and support.
Help and support around gender identity issues.
Here are some resources which may be of use to people who are living with deafness in their lives, especially relevant if you've watched O'r Galon: Llais i Heti
Help with acne
Help and support if you're living with acne.
Details of organsiations that can help if you're living with a learning disability.
Help and support for those living with allergies.
Help and support for young people and adults on how to keep safe online.
There are many organisations in Wales involved in making sure that people with disabilities are given every chance to live full, independent lives. Information relevant to O'r Galon: Fy chwaer a fi.
Crohn's and Colitis
Crohn's Disease and Colitis are two forms of irritable bowel disease (IBD). More help and support available here.
The information here is for those who are either directly or indirectly affected by such addictions, including families and carers.
Help and support with Colli Dad, Siarad am Hynna. Details of several phone numbers for immediate help.
Help and support after Pobl y Cwm if you suspect that you or someone you know may have a problem with gambling.
Help and resources after Rownd a Rownd.
Support for DRYCH – Chdi Fi ac IVF
If you have questions about your own sexuality and would like to find some support or further sources of help, then you've come to the right place. Also, information about how to deal with homophobia.
Fostering is giving a child a home for a period of time, whereas adoption is when a child is given a new, permanent home with a family. The child has to be under 18 years old and in a situation where going back to the birth parents is not possible. Information and support here.
Testicular cancer affects mainly young to middle aged men, but if caught early enough you have a very high chance of survival. Help and support after this evening's Hansh.
Social anxiety disorder, which is often called social phobia, can be a long-lasting and overwhelming fear of social situations. Support for this evening's Hansh.
Information and support for this condition, linked to tonight's Hansh.
Help and support for those living with autism or aspergers.
Help and support around different types of eating disorders, especially if you think it might be affecting either your life or someone close to you.
Help and support with bipolar affective disorder.
Losing a child
Losing a child for whatever reason is probably one of the most traumatic experiences possible,and many people need a lot of help and support to get through their grief. Help available here.
Help and support available from some of the organisations here.
Bullying happens to all kinds of people and for all kinds of reasons. It can happen at school, in the workplace and at home. Information and support for Y Byd ar Bedwar.
Help and support for tonight's Byd ar Bedwar.
Alopecia - hair loss
Losing you hair sometimes happens unexpectedly and can be a traumatic and emotional experience. Resources to help you with this.
Stalking can be thought of as the willful and repeated following, watching and harassing of another person. These are usually a series of actions that occur over a period of time, that can cause distress to the person who is being harassed.
More support and information on our page and to accompany tonight's Byd ar Bedwar.
Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common genetic disorders in the UK, affecting many thousands of babies, children and young people.Support for O'r Galon: Stori Allison
Ankylosing Spondylitis is a particular arthritic condition which mainly affects young men, though it can also be found in women and older people. It is thought to have a strong genetic link.Support for O'r galon: Tudur Philips
Parents who separate
If you need some more help or advice, or want to hear about people the same age as you going through similar experience, some of the sites listed below might be of help.
The range of programmes on S4C covers a wide variety of subjects. These support pages contain details of information on these topics, including phone helplines, recorded information services and other additional help relevant to some of our programmes.
These pages are constantly updated with information about services and organisations which might be able to help you in some way.
Any phone helplines or recorded information services are usually freephone numbers, so free to landlines. The cost of calls from mobile phones will vary depending on your mobile provider. S4C is not responsible for the content of any third party sites referred to in these pages.
Access to the Archive
A–Z of Websites

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Masked Identity Politics
Gene Demby
Comic-book creators have grappled with how to handle race for decades -- but don't expect this summer's superhero flicks to reflect that struggle.
A purple-skinned alien hurtles across the cosmos, bearing a ring that grants its wearer unimaginable power. The alien is mortally wounded, and the ring is seeking its next wearer -- the Green Lantern, Earth's champion -- by finding the planet's most courageous inhabitant.
In a world with billions of people, what are the chances that the ring's next owner is a white American dude?
Pretty high, apparently. In DC Comics' Showcase #22, released in 1959, the power ring chose Hal Jordan, a dashing military test pilot modeled on a young Paul Newman. Jordan would become a founding member of the Justice League of America, DC Comics' flagship superhero team, and one of its most famous characters. And while comics, over time, began to challenge that whiteness, two major films to be released this summer avoid the critiques on race found in the original comics.
In the early days, whiteness was so pervasive in comics that it could actually span the universe: a Kryptonian Superman could crash-land in Kansas and pass as an ordinary white farm boy. In the 1960s, though, comic-book publishers began trying to create nonwhite heroes. As the civil-rights movement came to dominate the national conversation, a young white artist named Neal Adams tried to subtly incorporate black characters into the newspaper strip he was illustrating. "I come out of a time when bigotry was a lot more subtle than it [was] in the days of slavery," Adams says. "Not for the people who had it working against them but for the people who walked around saying, 'There's no problem, right?'" His world in New York City, Adams says, was full of people who did not think of themselves as Southern-style racists.
But Adams drew and submitted an installment of a syndicated comic strip featuring a black doctor and a white ambulance driver in one panel. When he later saw proofs of the strip, he realized that higher-ups had switched the characters' heads. The higher-ups told him audiences would be confused by a black doctor.
When Adams got to DC Comics, where he worked on the Green Lantern in the early 1970s, he started to push back. "I asked [my editor] what happens if Hal Jordan gets killed," Adams says. "They tell me they have a backup." That backup turned out to be a blond gym teacher from the Midwest.
Adams, however, thought that the secondary Green Lantern should be black. So, with his editor's approval, he and writer Dennis O'Neil created John Stewart, a black architect who would later become the main Green Lantern. (In the early drafts, Adams says, an editor wanted to name the character Lincoln Washington; Adams talked him out of it.) "I'm very proud of that," he says. "I'm glad that [my editor] was open to it and malleable. But it did have to be explained to him."
John Stewart served as a critique of the default whiteness of comics. (Alas, it would be a while longer before the planet would get its first female Green Lantern.) But many early attempts to increase diversity in comic panels were awkward, incomplete, or tone-deaf. The panels were also chockablock with superpowered tokenism. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was Black Lightning, who was black and electrical. And Black Goliath, who was black and a giant. And Nubia, who was black and Wonder Woman. And there was Luke Cage, who, in his earliest incarnations, was a jive-talking powerhouse in a butterfly collar who fought crime for money.
In more established comics like Superman, writers even created a segregated Krypton to explain why Superman looked like a white human. "Way back in the '70s, Vathlo Island was introduced to Superman's history," says David Brothers, who runs the popular comics blog 4thletter. That storyline referenced an island that was home to "a highly advanced black race" -- who presumably chose to self-segregate. "I'm sure 'they were really smart and a credit to their race,'" says Brothers, "but you know, hindsight makes even well-meaning attempts look pretty bad."
It was in this still largely white comics world that in the 1990s, DC Comics helped start Milestone Media, an influential, if short-lived, comics imprint meant to correct the racial disparity. Its titles featured a multiethnic cast of characters created by artists and writers of color. Milestone even created a Superman-like hero, Icon, and it's worth noting the explanation of his racial identity: Unlike Superman, who came to Earth as a Caucasian, Icon was conditioned to adopt the appearance of the first inhabitants he came across; in this case, it was the early 1800s, and he was discovered by a slave after crash-landing in the American South.
Milestone was co-founded by Dwayne McDuffie, who was black and would go on to write for a host of titles. He later became a writer for the Cartoon Network's Justice League, which debuted in the early aughts. The writing staff chose the Stewart version of the Green Lantern specifically because the rest of the show's superhero cast -- which included an Amazon and an alien policewoman who was part hawk -- was white. (Except for the Martian guy. He was green.) For a generation of superhero fans weaned on the popular cartoon series, the black Green Lantern has been the only one they've ever known. "If you ask a kid who Green Lanterns is, the kid will say it's John Stewart," Adams says.
The inclusion of nonwhite characters in the Justice League of America comic raised hackles among fans who thought McDuffie was trying to enforce a quota system on the pages. "The quota arguments ... crack me up," McDuffie said in an interview last year in the documentary Shaft or Sidney Poitier: Black Masculinity in Comic Books. "Which fictional character is losing a job?" (McDuffie died in February due to complications from heart surgery.)
McDuffie's efforts won't make it onto the big screen, though. When the big-budget Green Lantern movie rolls out in mid-June, white heartthrob du jour Ryan Reynolds will wield the power ring as Hal Jordan, the original white character. Captain America, another iconic superhero, is getting his own tentpole summer flick, out in July. Like the Green Lantern comic-book character's story, Captain America's mythology has been reimagined to explicitly comment on American racism. And like the Green Lantern film, the movie isn't likely to touch on that critique. News reports from the start of the project said that the moviemakers were going back to the original source material and would hew to early Captain America tradition. Elisabeth Rappe, writing for Moviefone, stated, "I honestly think there would have been riots if they tried to update Captain America, so color me unsurprised by the news."
The original Cap didn't challenge much: Introduced in 1941, he was a scrawny, meek military recruit who becomes the only recipient of a super-soldier serum that augments him to the peak of human ability. The character was meant to be a totem of American ingenuity and grit and to drum up support for the war effort. The irony of creating a physically perfect blue-eyed blond guy as a counter to Nazi ideology was apparently lost on everyone.
Because he's an avatar for the nation's ideals, Captain America has served as a foil to whatever social anxieties people are wrestling with in the real world. After World War II, he fought communism, and after Watergate, a disillusioned Cap abandoned his superhero identity. In a recent, controversial story arc, he became a die-hard civil libertarian after the public called for preemptive monitoring of people with superpowers following a deadly explosion caused by costumed heroes -- a plot line alluding to surveillance overreach in the Iraq War era.
In 2001, Marvel Comics asked a writer of color, Robert Morales, to tell a Captain America story inspired by the notorious Tuskegee experiments, in which black men were used for four decades, from 1932 to 1972, as guinea pigs for scientists studying the long-term effects of untreated syphilis. Morales' story, Truth: Red, White and Black, focuses on a group of black soldiers in a segregated battalion during World War II. They are forced to participate in secret experiments by the U.S. government, which is attempting to re-create the super-soldier serum that augmented Captain America. In a memorable scene, military officers stare out at hundreds of black soldiers assembled at fictional Camp Cathcart. A visiting officer explains that he's shutting down the camp. "Camp Cathcart never existed," he says and then shoots the white man in charge. He orders a subordinate to round up 300 black soldiers onto trucks to be taken to an undisclosed location. Then he orders that the remaining soldiers, who don't make it onto the trucks, be disposed of. As some of the black soldiers are driven away, one asks, "Is that shooting I'm hearing?"
Only five of those 300 soldiers live through the experiments, and Isaiah Bradley is the only black super soldier to survive the war, albeit as a military prisoner and later as an urban legend among generations of black folks who is largely unknown to white America. The entire experience leaves him with the addled mind of a child. "It was so depressing I didn't think they would approve it," Morales says. "But it was depressingly realistic. And likely."
Morales says that there was push-back from fans who thought Truth made Cap a party to racial atrocity. But he rejected that criticism. "It's a book where every single person is complicit, one way or another," he says.
The frankness of the Isaiah Bradley story is light-years away from the earliest characterizations of black comic-book heroes. And using the pages of a comic book to critique actual American racial history is a stark contrast to the lightness with which superhero characters make it onto the big screen, when moviegoers expect acrobatics, explosions, and unambiguously good characters going after undisputed bad guys. In the comics, though, these characters aren't just positioned against such villains as Lex Luthor and the Joker. Their authority as agents of good requires that they be on the right side of history, too -- and what that means changes over time. Clark Kent's human family, for example, has been reimagined as the descendants of Kansas Free-Soilers and abolitionists. Superman is a vegetarian now, too. And Wayne Enterprises, the huge conglomerate whose largesse makes Bruce Wayne's nocturnal exploits as Batman possible, has been rethought as a pioneer in environmentalism.
These are now uncontroversial positions, of course. But comic-book characters are iconic and long-lived, and the world in which they were created is dramatically different from our current one. Writers routinely revisit stories to deepen their mythologies and, sometimes, to try to correct the errors of the past. Because these characters live throughout history -- many of them are a half-century old or more -- they don't have the luxury of living outside of it.
Americans Are Complicit in Border Camp Abuses
Tova Walsh & Michael J. MacKenzie
The conditions at border detention facilities provide irrefutable evidence of the child maltreatment that President Trump commits in our names—and state officials need to take action to end the cruelty.
For an Accurate Census, Look to the Grassroots
The administration has backed down, but the census war rages on.
Gene Demby is a writer in Brooklyn, New York. He blogs at PostBourgie.
Articles By Gene Demby
RSS feed of articles by Gene Demby
The Demise of the Moderate Republican
Feelin' Bad
Running Away From "Mama Grizzly"
Mitt Looks the Part
Why Movements Matter
Gone With the 2010 Win
Fancy Talk
Barack Obama's Theory of Power
A Way to Win the Climate Fight?
The Contradictions of Common Sense
The Real Significance of WikiLeaks
The Bell Swerve
Restoring the Dream
A Needless Housing Collapse
Designed to Fail
Reform that Hurts Homebuyers
Not With My Home
Cleaning Up the Subprime Aftermath
Fannie, Freddie, and the Future


What are the best Linux display servers?
Wayland has no drawing APIs. Instead, a Wayland client gets a DRM buffer handle, which is practically just a pointer to a graphics memory. Practically Wayland does not care how the client draws to that buffer, it only copies the client's buffers on the screen.
The removes a lot of complexity (because Wayland just pushes the complex stuff to the other layers of the stack) and by making the clients responsible for all the rendering, they can be smarter on how they do things like double-buffering for example.
Wayland simplifies the graphics stack by trying to force everything through a GEM/DRM stack and straight into the kernel. Furthermore, it manages compositing itself.
Tools like xinput and xmodmap that help customize keyboard and mouse input are incompatible with Wayland, have no corollary, and there is no clear roadmap for providing their functionality.
Most closed sourced drivers do not support the KMS/shared-GEM/shared-DRM technologies on which Wayland works. While this may be okay for open source purists, who only want to use graphic cards that have open source drivers available, it may not sit well with people who spend a lot of money for high-end graphic cards only to get some crappy 3D performance.
Although it should be noted that NVIDIA has declared that they will start supporting Wayland, it may take years before Wayland fully supports most high-end drivers.
Currently its only nearly usable in the Linux world, everything else still uses X11.
XWayland is necessary to support the vast majority of GUIs that don't yet fully support Wayland (e.g. Firefox). Popup windows and context menus in XWayland behave badly, flickering, opening in strange sizes, and refusing to reopen within the same session. Seems to be best documented here and here.


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Ива́н Анто́нович Петру́шин (1915, д. Мостечня, Орловская губерния — 22 февраля 1940, вблизи деревни Восточный Ильвес, Выборгская губерния) — политический руководитель роты 541-го стрелкового полка 136-й стрелковой дивизии 13-й армии Северо-Западного фронта, младший политрук, Герой Советского Союза.

Биография
Родился в 1915 году в семье крестьянина. Русский. Окончил Ленинградский механический техникум. Работал на заводе в городе Ворсма Нижегородской области.

В Красной Армии с 1939 года. Окончил военно-политическое училище. Участник советско-финской войны 1939—1940 годов.

Младший политрук Иван Петрушин отличился в боях на выборгском направлении в период с 23 декабря 1939 года по 22 февраля 1940 года. В ответственный момент боя И. А. Петрушин лично из 76-миллиметровой пушки отбил контратаку противника, нанеся ему значительный урон в живой силе.

В ночь на 22 февраля 1940 года в бою у деревни Восточный Ильвес политрук И. А. Петрушин с группой бойцов захватил вражеский дзот, а четыре других взорвал, создав благоприятные условия для наступления стрелковых подразделений. Мужественный офицер пал смертью храбрых в этом бою.

Указом Президиума Верховного Совета СССР от 7 апреля 1940 года за образцовое выполнение боевых заданий командования на фронте борьбы с финской белогвардейщиной и проявленные при этом отвагу и геройство, младшему политруку Петрушину Ивану Антоновичу посмертно присвоено звание Героя Советского Союза с вручением ордена Ленина и медали «Золотая Звезда».

Похоронен в  вблизи посёлка Вещево  Ленинградской области.

В честь И. А. Петрушина в 1940 году была переименована улица, ранее носившая название «Очаковская» (Московский, впоследствии — Фрунзенский район, совхоз «Ударник»). Улица была упразднена в 1974 году, вошла в застройку Будапештской улицы.

Память
 Надгробная плита на братской могиле вблизи посёлка Вещево Выборгского района Ленинградской области.

Примечания

Литература
 За Отчизну, свободу и честь! — Книга 4. — Горький, 1975.
 Тюльников Л. К., Басович Я. И. Герои Советского Союза — горьковчане. — Горький, 1981.

Ссылки

Погибшие в боях советско-финляндской войны (1939—1940)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The article focuses on a study, which examines the impact of a single dose of a polyphenol-rich beverage (PRB), on serum anti-inflammatory and antioxidant markers. Phytochemical analyses of PRB, and in vitro antioxidant capacity, were also performed in the study. It is stated that significant changes in several blood biomarkers were produced by PRB, regarding antioxidant/anti-inflammatory effects.


Well things are starting to get back to normal around here at the Ranch. John goes back to school tomorrow after 2.5 weeks of break. I am exicted, but I don't know how excited he is, although I have enjoyed sleeping in till 7:30 am.
Jack our 13 yr old border collie had another stroke – doing better, but still a little lopsided. I sure hope he doesn't have too many more of these, they sure throw him for a loop for a few days.
Penny and John are getting along good, and she loves her new Christmas presents she received! Won't be long for rodeo season to start for them. I am excited to get to watch them do some roping.
Well back to work – you all have a great week.


Are these prophetic words beginning to come true?
Mystic Post, for a number of years, has reported on the mysterious rise of Christianity in Russia and now it seems (finally) that main stream Catholic press is starting to take notice.
Catholic Culture and the United States Bishops news organization – "Catholic News Service" have recently published articles that acknowledge that rise of Christianity in Russia is indeed taking place in a profound and meaningful way.
Influential Catholic Magazine Catholic Culture writes: And now we wait for the promised conversion of Russia. If we have learned from experience, we should not be too surprised if that conversion take an unexpected route. The Catholic News Service has just released a short (30-minute) film (see below) –Faces among Icons, that reports on a spiritual revival in Russia. It is not the revival that you and I might have predicted. (Mystic Post Note: it is revival that Our Lady at Medjugorje predicted) It is taking place most noticeably in the Orthodox Church, for one thing, rather than among Catholics. The relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Russian government is problematic, as it has been so often in the past. But something is stirring.
I'm not saying that this is the answer to our prayers. I am saying that it's worth watching.
Russian Orthodox believers discuss the state of their church 100 years after the Bolshevik Revolution.


24 nights of Christmas stories: Wrap 24 books with stories about Christmas and put them under the tree. Each night, open a new book which you read as a family before bed. This idea came from Simply Sara, and it is right up my alley because we love to read in this house! Sara said she gets some of the books from the local library. What a smart idea for a new family tradition that won't break the bank.
Washi Tree: It is always tough to find a way to display all of those pretty holiday cards! Thyme is Honey has solved the dilemma with an awesome washi tape tree display. The instructions make set up sound like a breeze…now to find a wall big enough.
Calendar gift: This is something that my husband and I do for our parents as one of their Christmas gifts, and to be honest it is probably the favorite gift we give all year! We do ours in a sort of documentary-style of our year adding vacation pics, school pics, and just silly random selfies. We use Shutterfly because it is so easy to put together with their templates!
Santa's Footprints: Sally of Little Hiccups has created a fun extra touch to get your little ones really excited for Christmas morning, leaving Santa's footprints around the house! If you don't like the idea of using glitter (hello mess!) you could try flour, powdered sugar, or fake snow!
House Party: Have a gingerbread house making party! Eat This Up has created a step-by-step plan so yours is sure to go off without a hitch! Even if you don't invite anyone but your own immediate family, think of how much fun you will have making silly gingerbread houses together! If houses seem too ambitious, you could always stick to a gingerbread man making party instead!
Photo used with permission. All rights belong to The Girl Creative.
Game Night: Have a Christmas game night! Crank your favorite carols, mix up some hot chocolate and have some family game night fun with these printable bingo cards from The Girl Creative.
Christmas Campout: Make a comfy blanket fort and everyone pile in with snacks to watch your favorite Christmas films! The Dating Divas is bringing some serious fort inspiration.
What do you think? Did you find your new favorite holiday tradition on the list? I would love to hear more about the ways you celebrate with your family!
Which Christmas traditions will you be celebrating this year?
I'm always up for a family game night!
Us too! You should try the exploding kittens game for some silly fun after the bingo of course!
This is a fabulous round up! We do a few of these things and it makes the season so much fun. I love the idea of the reverse advent. What a great way to focus on giving instead of receiving.
I really really liked that idea. It is such a great way to remind your family to give and be grateful for what they have.
These are awesome traditions! Last Christmas we started family pajamas and gingerbread house making. My kids would love the 24 nights of Christmas stories!
You are on it! What other traditions do you guys have?
I love the 24 nights of Christmas stories. What a great tradition and a fun way to encourage reading.
Plus, using the library books makes it rather inexpensive!
The washi tree is a really fun idea! I also like Christmas movie nights with family, but my little one is too young for that just now! I think I'll see about making that a fun Christmas themed date night with Hubs!
I love the cute holiday pjs. That's one of my most favorite for sure.
I love when you put together these lists!
Thank you ma'am. I miss seeing you around!
I'm glad you're back, lady! I hate that you had to start over though!


text:
Q: An identity on symmetric polynomial In the polynomial algebra $\mathbb{C}[X_1, X_2,\ldots, X_n]$, we define a set of symmetric polynomials as follows $h_i(X_k, X_{k+1}, \ldots, X_n)$ = sum of all monomials of total degree $i$ in the set of variables $X_k, X_{k+1}, \ldots X_n$; $\forall i,k = 1,2, \ldots n$. Let $\sigma_i$ be the elementary symmetric polynomial of degree $i$ in the variables $X_i$'s, i.e., $\sigma_i = \Sigma_{t_1 < t_2< \cdots < t_i} X_{t_1}X_{t_2}\ldots X_{t_i}$.
Then it is claimed in the book Algorithms of invariant theory of Bernd Sturmfels, on page 12, that $$h_k(X_k, X_{k + 1}, \ldots, X_n) + \sum_{i = 1}^k (-1)^i h_{k-i}(X_k, X_{k + 1}, \ldots, X_n) \sigma_i = 0.$$ I am not able to see its proof. Please help me.

A: (Edit:) This follows from the generating function identities
$$E(t) = \sum_{i \ge 0} \sigma_i t^i = (1 + t X_1)(1 + t X_2)\cdots(1 + t X_n)$$
$$H(t) = \sum_{i \ge 0} h_i t^i = \frac{1}{(1 - t X_k)(1 - t X_{k+1})\cdots(1 - t X_n)}.$$
The desired identity follows from comparing the coefficient of $t^k$ of both sides of the identity
$$H(t) E(-t) = (1 - t X_1)\cdots(1 - t X_{k-1}).$$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Amara Woodland Croft is a 22 acre mixed woodland and pasture bought in August 2014 by Lolly and Nic (us!!). The site sits in beautiful Scottish countryside on the outskirts of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. We are on the doorstep of the Cairngorms and the area has extensive forests and woodlands with beautiful walks and wild areas.
Together we had a dream of living in a woodland and setting up a purpose built Centre of Excellence for Bushcraft, Rural skills and Crofting.
We moved onto the site in early September 2014 and started to put our plan into action. With two static caravans connected by a ten foot portacabin, 4 dogs, 3 cats, 4 horses and lots of chickens, the dream started to become reality.
Of course we both have the knowledge and experience required to make our dream a success. Lolly runs Bushcraftventures.co.uk (Bushcraft Ventures will now be incorporated into Amara Woodland Croft), and has extensive knowledge of Bushcraft and Rural skills and running Team Building courses. Lolly was the Head Instructor for Ray Mears for six years and is the only person in Scotland to have obtained the Ray Mears instructors knife. He was also a consultant for Bear Grylls and has trained all sectors of the military services and the vast majority of instructors throughout the UK. Nic has previously ran a small croft and has both bushcraft, crofting, holistic stress therapy training and stress management training. She has ran both support groups and facilitated training in the past.
Together we will be sharing our extensive knowledge with visitors to Amara Woodland Croft. We will also be bringing in experts to facilitate courses over the year. This will open up the amount and the depth of courses we can offer and ensure that we are meeting the needs of visitors to this site and our woodland Croft.
We will be catering for everyone who wants to spend time in our great outdoors. No matter what additional support a person may require, we want to ensure NOBODY misses the opportunity to visit us, to learn, to smile, to laugh and to breathe in the wonderful woodland air and leave with a warm heart and some new skills.
As Huntly has a train station with direct access from Edinburgh/Aberdeen/Inverness/Glasgow; and Aberdeen has an international airport, we are easy to travel to and are happy to meet visitors in Huntly and transport to and from the woodland with no additional cost. This is all part of the warm welcome. It is as exciting for us as for our visitors.
Bushcraft Ventures has individuals and families coming from as far as Japan and Canada so no matter where you live, Amara Woodland Croft can offer something for everyone.


text:
Cobblers Up Close: Lily Crooks
By Caroline Zakhari
Lily Crooks joined the drama club at Central High School because she thought it would make high school fun. At least, that's what her mom and other members of her family told her, and they were right. Her sophomore year, therefore, was particularly fun, as she was a part of three plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The One Acts, and Pinocchio.
Lily Crooks in her fairy costume from A Midsummer Night's Dream. (Courtesy photo)
Not that the stage was the only way to have fun, but Lily understood herself and choose to be on stage instead of in the background. "I am not very good at making things," Lily said. "I figured I would have a better chance being on stage than helping with the making of the plays."
Part of the joy is that when she is on stage she doesn't have to be her. She can be almost anybody, bringing life to the character she is playing. Within the play she can find similarities between her and the person she is becoming as soon as she gets into her costume.
That empathy and understanding may translate beyond her knowledge of characters. Being a part of something so special with people who have so much kindness within them can really rub off. "I have come to understand the true value of kindness," Lily said.
"My favorite part is definitely the other people. They have taught me so much, but the most important thing I have learned is that even though you think you can't do something you can try and not be judged, and chances are you're better at it than you thought." A case in point was Lily's learning to dance. After arriving at her first audition, she discovered she would need to learn three dances; yet her whole life she had thought that she really and truly could not dance. She did it, however, and now she sees that she was never as bad as she thought, that she just needed to believe in herself. That is what theatre can do for people: it shows that you can be and do anything you aspire to do.
Lily's love for theatre is what makes the worst parts of it so bad: senior send-offs and strike. "When it is time for strike after each show you just take down the entire set, and it is sad because you are saying good bye to something that you worked so hard on and you are saying good bye to something that helped you grow. That is the same with the senior send-offs. You are saying goodbye to this person who has helped you grow and become your family at school and the seniors say good bye to everything they have been a part of, the other theater kids, the plays, everything."
The turnout for auditions for this fall's play, The Great Gatsby, was huge, and Lily was one of those selected for the cast. She'll play the character Myrtle Wilson.
The girl with the brightest red hair of all is truly the part for Lily. "I'm really looking forward to receiving a stage slap and giving a stage slap," said Lily. "Also I get to get hit by a car and die on stage and just lay there for a while, and I think that is kind of funny."
The theater is really and truly a safe place, making Lily feel welcomed and wanted. It helps her and her fellow drama club members get through things that they are struggling with because they find that they aren't the only ones with those problems; they can help each other get through it.
"Theater is one of the only reasons I come to school," Lily said, and it is like this for many of the hardest working kids in show biz.
Mr. Sheehy October 22, 2015 December 2, 2015 drama
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Floating lanterns soared into the sky above Conne River Monday night, as family and friends of Chantel John came together for a vigil in her memory.
The community filled the front garden of John's parents' home for the service, about 100 metres away from the scene police continue to investigate.
John, 28, was killed last week and the RCMP has charged 35-year-old Kirk Keeping with first-degree murder.
"As we release our lanterns, may they soar high to where she rests, and burn ever so brightly, as she did," Melissa Organ, who helped the John family organize the event, told the crowd.
"Let tonight remain a memory for all of us, but also be a reminder of how precious life is."
Organ said John's family are hoping to not only honour her and her life, but to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, as well as intimate-partner violence.
"The community is like a big family, so it hit everybody literally in their home," she said. "I think everyone is having a really difficult time."
They're also hoping the event will begin the healing process for John's family and for the community of Conne River, she said.
Sagamaw Mi'sel Joe, chief of the Miawpukek First Nation, asked the crowd to donate red clothing to the band office. It will be hung in trees and on signs along the Conne River Road into the First Nation ahead of John's wake and funeral.
"When Chantel comes home, we want her to pass through that corridor of red dresses, and to always remind us of what we've lost," he said.
"And what we gained. We gained a family coming together to look after each other and love each other, and let her passing be that legacy of bringing us all together."
Organ said members of the community are trying to support one another as best as they can and that the local family centre has provided counselling and a place of respite for the community.
"This is not something our community have ever experienced, thank God. It's new to us. It's been horrific," she said.
"We've all seen it on TV, but it's never come close to home. So it's real, it can and it did happen, and we're hoping to do our part to raise awareness in this community," Organ said.
Jean Stride was a close friend of John's since she was a teenager. Stride said she was impressed by the turnout at Monday's vigil.
"I think it's amazing … it shows how much she meant to everyone," she said.
"Chantel was my best friend, she was everything."
Stride said John had a big heart, and the two used to rescue animals together.
"Stray cats, cats that nobody wanted anymore, we'd take them, we'd find homes for them," she said.
"She loved animals … she thought everything deserved love, we both did and I think that's what brought us so close."
Stride and John would drive around together listening to music and singing, sharing their favourite songs with one another.
"One song she sent to me a day before everything happened, and I'll never forget it," Stride said.
"It was a song called Be Good to Her. She helped me through my difficult times and she told me that song was made for us and that one day we will find happiness. I just hope she found hers."
Above all, Stride said she wants to see justice for her best friend.
"She was just taken, it's not fair."


text:
The Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization providing comprehensive health care services for people living with Multiple Sclerosis. Founded in 2001 by William H. Stuart, M.D., MSCA provides patients and their families the latest in research, education and treatment options. In addition to medical care, the Center also offers access to peer-support, self-help groups, a peer telephone support and mentor program, volunteer visitor network and patient support services. The Center is committed to providing comprehensive care to MS patients with consideration given to the financial impact the treatment may have on the patient and their family. Patient Assistance is provided to qualified patients via funds and resources available at the Center and throughout the community. Please refer to our Patient Registration Form.
MSCA was founded in 2001 by William H. Stuart, M.D., a leading specialist in MS and neurology. The center is a comprehensive health care practice devoted to managing the chronic, lifelong illness of MS.
Before forming MSCA, Dr. Stuart spent 10 years with the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where he was founder and medical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care and Research Center. With an intense, 20-year focus on MS, as part of a medical career that spans nearly 45 years, Dr. Stuart helped bring pivotal MS clinical drug trials to Atlanta in the early 1990s, giving patients access to hope through new treatments for this debilitating disease.
In 2003, MSCA became a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, giving the center a new structure to provide a better level of care to patients, especially those who are disadvantaged. The Center's nonprofit status allows supporters of the Center to make charitable contributions that can be used to further extend comprehensive MS care and research.
Since its inception, the Center has taken a progressive approach to therapies and applies an aggressive treatment model in its mission to enhance the lives of MS patients and their families. Through its clinical programs, research projects and quality of life care, it has quickly become a leading center of excellence in the country.
In more than three decades of working with MS patients, I've learned that good medicine is a function of medical knowledge, compassionate care and applied clinical research. The comprehensive care program at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta was founded on these principles.
Because of the length of time MS treatment and care requires, MSCA has created a unique model that best meets the needs of MS patients. Our center has become a national resource for research and education in MS care and we have one of the largest, most comprehensive MS care programs in this country.
Worthwhile work is rarely the result of a single effort. Our team of physicians, nurses and staff has more than 225 years of combined medical experience. I am privileged to be supported by these talented, intelligent, compassionate individuals who dedicate their lives to the care and well-being of MS patients. Together, we strive to help people control the challenges of this chronic and lifelong illness through progressive approaches to therapies and an aggressive treatment model.
Our goal is to help patients gain greater control over MS and continue to lead happy & healthy lives.
Chairman of the Board,
The MS Center of Georgia
Medical Director,
The MS Center of Atlanta
William H. Stuart, MD
Dr. William H. Stuart graduated from Northwestern University Medical School. Following an Internship at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, Dr. Stuart returned to Northwestern University where he completed an Internal Medicine Residency. He subsequently served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Communicable Disease Center in Atlanta for two years following which he completed a three year Fellowship in Neurology at Emory University Medical School. Upon completion of this training, and serving at the NINDS he entered private practice in the Atlanta area, forming the Atlanta Neurological Clinic, subsequently renamed The Peachtree Neurological Clinic. Dr. Stuart was one of the founding members of the American Society of Neuroimaging and. he has remained active with this organization since he served as its president in 1984 and 1985. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Neurology for several years and served for 2 years as the Treasurer. He was twice named the Clinical Teacher of the Year at Piedmont Hospital. He began his focused interest in Multiple Sclerosis in 1988, developing the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care and Research Center at Shepherd Center in 1991. In January 2001 he left Shepherd and founded the MS Center of Atlanta.
Douglas Stuart, MD
Dr. Douglas Stuart is a graduate of Princeton University and Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Stuart completed his Medical Internship at Emory University Hospital in 1989. He was a resident in Neurology at the University of Chicago from 1989-1992. He returned to Emory University in 1992 for a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology. He is board certified in Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Stuart has participated as an investigator in a number of research trials for MS treatments and is currently Medical Director for concussion and memory loss.
Joash T. Lazarus, MD
Dr. Joash Lazarus graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa. Following a primary care internship in his home country he joined the movement disorders section at Emory University to pursue research training in neurology and genetics. Dr. Lazarus completed neurology residency training as well as a clinical fellowship in movement disorders. He is board certified by the American board of Psychiatry and Neurology. During his training he was the chief resident in neurology at Emory and also held leadership positions with the American Medical Association - RFS, the American Academy of Neurology, the Michael J Fox Foundation and is the current representative of the Georgia Neurologic Society to the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG). Dr. Lazarus is a member on the council of legislation of MAG and has represented both organizations at national policy forums. His clinical and research interests revolve around the evaluation and management of balance disorders, such as those seen in Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson Disease and other movement disorders. He has presented his research in this field and national and international meetings, and received the resident research award at Emory University. Dr. Lazarus is currently a co-investigator on research collaborations between MSCA and Georgia State University.
Jeffrey B. English, MD
Jeffrey English graduated from Dartmouth Medical School in 1995. He did his post medical training in Internship, Residency and Fellowship at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He was the Chief Resident in Neurology at the University of Maryland in 1999. Dr. English has been interested in recovery from neurological injury since medical school. He was involved in a research project in medical school with peripheral nerve regeneration with nerve grafts. During his residency he performed two research projects, which were presented at International Meetings. One involved recovery after traumatic brain injury, while the other involved functional MRI in the recovery after Cerebellar Strokes. Dr. English is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with sub-specialty training in clinical neurophysiology. He is also board certified in Neuroimaging by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. Dr. English is research medical director at the MS Center of Atlanta. He is a paid speaker and consultant for several pharmaceutical companies. These companies include Teva Neurosciences, Biogen-Idec, EMD-Serono, Novartis, and Allergan. He has also been invited as a national speaker on health care economics and the delivery of care to the multiple sclerosis population.
Robert W. Gilbert, Jr., MD
Dr. Robert W. Gilbert, a native Georgian, obtained his medical degree with honors from Duke University. He completed his neurology training at Cornell Medical Center in New York City and is Board Certified in Neurology and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. He has served as an assistant clinical professor at Emory University Medical School and is past president of the Georgia Neurological Society. He is a published author and is an active member of the American Academy of Neurology, American Association of Electromyography and Electrodiagnosis and American Society of Neuroimaging. Dr. Gilbert has participated as an investigator in a number of research studies in both brain and spinal cord tumors as well as Multiple Sclerosis and headache. He lectures frequently to patients and physicians in these fields of interest.
Ellis V. Hedaya, MD
Dr. Ellis Hedaya is an honor graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Neurology. He also served as a research fellow in Clinical Neurophysiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He spent four years on the Emory Faculty at Grady Hospital before joining his current partners at Peachtree Neurological Clinic and The MS Center of Atlanta. He is board certified and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the AMA and the American Association of Electromyography and Electrodiagnosis. Dr. Hedaya has previously served as Chief of Neurology at Grady and currently is a Clinical Associate Professor at Emory University School of Medicine. He has participated in numerous research studies, including studies in stroke, diabetic neuropathy and multiple sclerosis.
Christopher S. Russell, MD
Christopher Russell is a graduate of Georgia Tech and an honor graduate of Emory University School of Medicine. At Emory, he served an Internship in Internal Medicine and was Chief Resident in Neurology. He has been with the Peachtree Neurology Clinic since 1998.
Andrei I. Serbanescu, MD
Born in Bucharest, Romania and then naturalized as a U.S. citizen, Dr Andrei Serbanescu graduated from the Medical School Carol Davila in Bucharest completing his research thesis in Multiple Sclerosis. Subsequently he underwent extensive training in Neurosurgery in Bucharest, Brussels and then Paris. In the United States. since 1992 he worked at Emory University departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery research laboratories then completed the neurology residency at Emory University. He is diplomat of the American Academy of Neurology and Psychiatry and ACNS certified in Neuroimaging. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, ASN, MAG, AMA.
Todd P. Burruss
R.T. (R)
Todd Burruss, R.T. (R) is a 1991 graduate of the Grady Memorial School of Radiologic Technology, where he spent three years at the fifth largest public hospital in the United States, as well a one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in the country. He completed an MRI and CT cross training internship in 1991 before coming to work for Dr. William Stuart as a staff technologist at American Medical Diagnostics. Since then, he has been directly involved in Neuroimaging, MRI Safety and development in the imaging field. When not at work, Todd enjoys traveling with his family and woodworking.
R.T. (R) (MR)
Maria Stuart, R.T. (R) (MR) is a 1984 graduate of Ohio University. Her 30 years of experience in radiology include X-ray, CT and 25 years of MRI at various facilities in Ohio, Florida and Georgia. She has worked with MS Center of Atlanta since 2005 and joined the Center in 2016. She enjoys running, biking and spending time with her two children and husband.
Kathleen L. Clark, MS, RN, FNP-BC, MSCN
Kathleen Clark Studied pre-medical sciences and English literature as an undergraduate at Virginia Commonwealth University. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in English in 1992, she decided to forgo medical school in favor of a career as a nurse practitioner. She has been a family nurse practitioner since 1998, working in the fields of family practice, allergy and asthma, college health, cardiac electrophysiology, and neurology. In addition to her service here at MSCA, she has worked in neurology in Fairfax, VA, and in Norfolk, VA. She became a Multiple Sclerosis Certified Nurse in 2002. She joined the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta in June, 2016. When not at work, Katy enjoys exercising, working with her hands, and spending time with her husband and two children.
Stacey D. Tatroe, MSN, FNP-C, MSCN
Stacey Tatroe received her Associates in nursing degree from North Georgia College and State University in 2007 and her undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of West Georgia in 2010. She practiced as a registered nurse at Wellstar in a neurology telemetry unit and then in the emergency room. She earned her Master's degree in Nursing at Kennesaw State University in 2015 and was certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She joined the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta in November, 2016. Stacey enjoys hiking, baseball and spending time with her family in her free time.
Laura Elledge, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Laura Elledge received her Bachelor of Nursing degree in 1997 from Georgia Baptist College of Nursing. She practiced as a registered nurse at Northside Hospital in labor and delivery for 17 years before deciding to return to graduate school. She earned her Master's degree in Nursing from Kennesaw State University in 2015 and was certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Laura's previous NP positions were in cardiology and gynecology/oncology. She joined the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta in September, 2017. In her spare time, Laura enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 children, reading, hiking and watching college football.
Tamara Smith
Tamara Smith has served as a healthcare administrator for over 15 years. With a diverse professional background extending from a mental health counselor to director of a neurological facility, Tamara offers a wealth of expertise and skill advancing medical practices. Former employers include TeamHealth, NeuroRestorative, and Shepherd Center. She has been instrumental in developing and leading multiple medical services ensuring the highest quality of patient care is provided.
A native of Memphis, TN, Tamara holds a Bachelor's degree from Tennessee State University and a Master's of Science degree from The University of Memphis. A former committee member of Georgia Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund and Rockdale County Chamber of Commerce, Tamara is knowledgeable of community efforts to improve the lives of others. She is an exercise enthusiast who also enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Daphne Lawson
MS Center Front Desk Manager
Daphne Lawson began working in healthcare in 1999 as a Financial Counselor at Wellstar. Since then, she has worked in financial/registration in all areas of the hospital. She has successfully completed the classes for CPAR (Certified Patient Account Representative) and CHAA (Certified Healthcare Access Associate). Daphne has been with the MSCA since April 2011 where she assisted with the transition of Tanner Medical Center infusion services.
Collins Yates
RN, BSN, MSCN
Collins Yates, RN, BSN, MSCN, joined the MSCA in 2015 as a triage nurse in the former RN call center. In 2016 she was promoted to Clinical Lead, in 2017 she was one of six Multiple Sclerosis Mini Fellowship recipients at Stony Brook University Hospital, New York offered to applicants from North America and Canada, in 2018 she obtained her Multiple Sclerosis Certified Nursing specialization, and was an International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nursing scholarship recipient for the 2019 CMSC. Most recently Collins accepted a position on the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Healthcare Provider Council, comprised of ten HCPs in the Southeastern region. Collins values continued education and is dedicated to MSCA's diverse patient population.
Deborah Means
CRC, CCM, CDMS, CLCP
Our case manager, Deborah Means, graduated from UGA with her Master's in Rehabilitation Counseling in 1993. Since then she's worked with spinal cord injury and MS patients in all aspects of disability and disease management. She helps people with employment retention, short and long-term disability issues, insurance problems and everything in between. She is a certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC), certified case manger (CCM), and certified disability management specialist (CDMS)
Claire Clements
cclements@mscatl.org
Clements has been with MSCA since 2012 and has worked in the nonprofit and healthcare industry for more than a decade, having served in development positions with Emory Medical School, the Atlanta History Center, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Hospice and the Florida State College of Medicine. A native of Tallahassee, Florida, graduate of the University of Georgia and from a family with 11 physicians; Clements is dedicated to serving the underserved medical community.
Christina Freeman
Billing Department Manager
Christina Freeman has been with MSCA since 2011. She received a Bachelor's of Science in Healthcare Management from Albany State University and is currently working towards a Master's in Public Health. Christina is a native Atlantan that has committed her career path to healthcare and serving others. She started with the Center at the front desk and was quickly promoted to a managerial role. Freeman enjoys volunteering at patient events, Hosea Feed the Hungry, and Habitat for Humanity.
John F. McMullan, C.P.A.
Stacey Simone Bronner
Bruce Alan Cassidy, M.D.
W.Howard Hudson, M.D.
James H.Lokey, Jr.
William H. Stuart, M.D. began his focused interest in Multiple Sclerosis in 1988, developing the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care and Research Center at Shepherd Center in 1991. He resigned this position in January 2001 to become the founder and Medical Director of The MS Center of Atlanta. The Center encompasses comprehensive clinical care, as well as clinical research. Dr. Stuart has remained a strong advocate in the expansion of Multiple Sclerosis care and is a nationally recognized authority in the active treatment of the disease.
Vice Chairman of the Board,
Camden Real Estate
John F. McMullan is chief executive officer of Camden Real Estate, an Atlanta-based company that he founded in 1990. He also serves as a director of Life Care Centers of America Inc., which operates more than 280 skilled nursing, assisted living and retirement centers in 28 states. He has been affiliated with Life Care since its inception in 1976. John McMullan is a founding Board member of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta. He has served as its Secretary and currently serves as Vice Chairman.
President,
J. Baker & Associates
Jennifer Baker brings to the board of directors nearly 20 years of marketing, news and business-management experience with a Fortune 500 company, as well as years of involvement in a wide range of volunteer and fund-raising efforts on behalf of MS causes. A graduate of Georgia State University, Mrs. Baker is president and owner of J. Baker & Associates which is a brand-development and strategy firm based in Cumming, Ga. Jennifer Baker joined the Board of Directors for the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta in 2009.
Yearly Angels
Stacey Simone Bronner is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization, Yearly Angels. The mission of Yearly Angels is to provide families affected by Multiple Sclerosis or economic hardship with grants to help with medical and essential household expenses. Stacey is a graduate from the University of South Florida in Finance who also serves as first lady of The Ark of Salvation and is a board member of a local Christian school. She also runs LifeCoachingForWomen.com and AgentsRealEstate.com, and is a caring advocate for Multiple Sclerosis patients and disadvantaged families.
Piedmont Hospital Pulmonologist,
Dr. Bruce Cassidy is a retired pulmonary physician. He has served as President of the Medical Staff as well as Board Chair for Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta and retired from the practice of medicine in 2009 after serving as Board Chair for Piedmont Healthcare. He is a fellow of The College of Chest Physicians and is board certified in both internal and pulmonary medicine. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Eda who is also a retired physician.
Division Partner,
Childress Klein Properties
John Decker is a graduate of Auburn University earning a BA in 1975. He began his post-graduate career as District Manager and Finance Director for U.S. Congressman, Jim Collins from 1976 until 1982. He worked for the Tramell Crowe Company as Marketing Principal from 1983 through 1988 at which time he helped found Childress Klein Properties as the Division Partner for the Atlanta Industrial Division. Mr. Decker is affiliated with the NAIOP Advisory Council (Past President), serves on the Board of Directors for Atlanta Community Ministries, is Co-Chair of the Atlanta Real Estate Prayer Breakfast, Chairman of Solutions Foundation and Board of Directors of The Study Hall. He also is the Manager of the Auburn University School of Business Decker Endowed Scholarship. John Decker joined the Board of Directors of The Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta in 2004.
Orthopaedic Associates of Augusta,
Dr. Howard Hudson is a prominent orthopaedic surgeon in Augusta Georgia and a founding Board member of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and received his M.D. at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
President & CEO,
Wimberly, Lawson, Steckel, LandAir Surveying Company of Georgia
Tate Jones is President and CEO of LandAir Surveying Company of Georgia and an active member of the surveying community in Georgia. A registered land surveyor since 1986, Tate serves as a committee advisor on state board issues and agendas and is nationally recognized as a leader in 3D laser documentation technology. Tate has served on the editorial boards of POB Surveying Magazine and Professional Surveying Magazine and is a regular speaker at industry conferences across North America and Canada on 3D scanning and Building Information Modeling (BIM). Tate holds a Bachelor's degree in Arts and Sciences from Auburn University and lives in Atlanta with his wife, JoAnn. Tate joined the board of directors of The Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta in 2015.
King and Spalding
Jim Lokey is a partner in King & Spalding's Tax Practice Group. Over his more than 30-year career, Mr. Lokey has advised clients on a wide variety of tax, business, and strategic matters. Jim is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association, and the Atlanta Tax Forum. He is a Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Georgia, a member of the Advisory Board of an Atlanta bank, and a Trustee Emeritus of The Galloway School.
Only Blue Skies
Kim Scouller has been an attorney for over 25 years, having served as an adjunct professor at the Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville and an in-house attorney for the Transamerica companies in the U.S. Kim also served as the president of World Group Securities, Inc. In 2014, Kim launched Only Blue Skies, a Women's Business Platform focused on making financial education and the financial profession more accessible to women.
Valu Teachers
PAULA SMITH is a former educator who helps school employees learn about and plan for a comfortable retirement. Smith is the CEO and founder of ValuTeachers, headquartered in downtown Newnan, Georgia. Smith was a pioneer in America's Early Childhood Education Initiative. Public school kindergarten was approved by Congress without having certified professionals, qualified curriculum or appropriate standards. Smith worked with key leaders in the US to write curriculum and create standards for providing certification to teachers to educate kindergarteners.


Bradley S. Shepherd, is the owner and Managing Attorney of BSS Law, LLC which has offices in Catonsville and Columbia (Columbia location by appointment only). He is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and is admitted to practice before all the State and Federal Courts of Maryland.
While attending the University of Baltimore School of Law, Bradley twice competed in the National Trial Competition. In addition to his studies, Bradley worked as a law clerk at Ward & Co., Chtd., a general practice law firm in Glen Burnie, MD. After being sworn in as a Maryland attorney, Bradley continued at Ward & Co. as an associate. There he successfully represented clients in the District, Circuit, and Federal Courts of Maryland in diverse fields of law, including personal injury, criminal defense, traffic, divorce, custody, probate, landlord-tenant, real estate, creditor's rights, and debtor defense. Bradley left Ward & Co. to work at Chason, Rosner, Leary & Marshall, LLC in Towson. While employed by CRLM Bradley focused his practice on civil litigation, including medical malpractice, motor vehicle torts, premises liability, and personal injury.
Bradley opened BSS Law, LLC so that he can give detailed and personalized attention to every client. Working as a solo practitioner ensures that his clients only work with him and are never passed off onto someone less qualified. He handles criminal defense, traffic, peace and protective orders, personal injury, family law, estate planning, corporate formation and counseling, as well as landlord / tenant matters and general civil litigation. Due to his diverse background, Bradley is well suited to assist clients in just about any matter that they require help in. Bradley has been frequently appointed by the State of Maryland to represent indigent clients at Initial Appearance Hearings where he argues for reasonable bail and release of recent arrestees. He has also served as a panel attorney for the Office of the Public Defender.
Bradley and BSS Law, LLC partners with and works in an of counsel role to the Law Offices of Ali K, LLC. This mutually beneficial partnership allows both firms to better serve their clients. If you have a legal question that needs an attorney's attention, do not hesitate to call the above listed number at any time, day or night. Free 30 minute consultations for most matters.
If you hire BSS Law, Bradley's number one goal will be to help you through what is obviously a difficult time period of your life. If you've been charged with a crime, are going through a divorce, or have been injured in an accident, chances are you're terrified of what might happen. The law is definitely complicated, and for that reason, most of clients are very nervous about their future. Bradley will strive to take an otherwise difficult situation and explain the options in simple terms and figure out how to fix the problem. Bradley has worked for larger firms in the past, and often lamented that the work became too impersonal. With BSS Law, Bradley tries to connect with each and every client so that he can really understand what they're going through. Bradley started BSS Law, LLC so that he could do that everyday. If you need help, Bradley at BSS Law is here for you..
BSS Law, LLC is based in Catonsville, MD, but Bradley has successfully represented clients all across the State of Maryland. Most of Bradley's cases are in: Anne Arundel County Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Frederick County, Harford County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Washington County, Wicomico County, Worcester County. However, BSS Law is proud to offer representation in all of Maryland's jurisdictions.


text:
History, Military
The Conscript: A Novel of Libya's Anticolonial War
by Gebreyesus Hailu
translated by Ghirmai Negash
introduction by Laura Chrisman
Library of Congress Classification PJ9111.9.H35C6613 2012
Dewey Decimal Classification 892.833
Eloquent and thought-provoking, this classic novel by the Eritrean novelist Gebreyesus Hailu, written in Tigrinya in 1927 and published in 1950, is one of the earliest novels written in an African language and will have a major impact on the reception and critical appraisal of African literature.
The Conscript depicts, with irony and controlled anger, the staggering experiences of the Eritrean ascari, soldiers conscripted to fight in Libya by the Italian colonial army against the nationalist Libyan forces fighting for their freedom from Italy's colonial rule. Anticipating midcentury thinkers Frantz Fanon and Aimé Césaire, Hailu paints a devastating portrait of Italian colonialism. Some of the most poignant passages of the novel include the awakening of the novel's hero, Tuquabo, to his ironic predicament of being both under colonial rule and the instrument of suppressing the colonized Libyans.
The novel's remarkable descriptions of the battlefield awe the reader with mesmerizing images, both disturbing and tender, of the Libyan landscape—with its vast desert sands, oases, horsemen, foot soldiers, and the brutalities of war—uncannily recalled in the satellite images that were brought to the homes of millions of viewers around the globe in 2011, during the country's uprising against its former leader, Colonel Gaddafi.
Gebreyesus Hailu (1906–1993) was a prominent and influential figure in the cultural and intellectual life of Eritrea during the Italian colonial period and in the post-Italian era in Africa. With a PhD in theology, he was vicar general of the Catholic Church in Eritrea and played several important roles in the Ethiopian government, including that of cultural attaché at the Ethiopian Embassy in Rome, member of the national academy of language, and advisor to the Ministry of Information of the Ethiopian government.
"Gebreyesus Hailu does Africa great service in recounting an all but forgotten and therefore all the more reprehensible chapter in African colonial history. In the same spirit, Ghirmai Negash's superb translation brings back to world literature an Eritrean literary jewel of global and timeless relevance."—Alemseged Tesfai, author of Two Weeks in the Trenches (2002)
"This translation from Tigrinya into English by Ghirmai Negash brings the slim, fascinating novel to a broad readership so that we might appreciate its value as a complex and moving reflection on Eritrean involvement in the Libyan anticolonial war. …The colonial encounter, as represented in Hailu's novel, is messy and multifaceted, and this is, perhaps, the novel's most important insight, one that could usefully be shared with students in African history or literature courses."—Northeast African Studies
"A fine, nuanced translation."—Themes in Modern African History and Culture: Festschrift for Tekeste Negash
Translator's Note
Preface to the Tigrinya Edition
The Conscript
1. A Portrait of Youth
2. The Departure from Asmara
3. Deep in the Wilderness
4. The Thirst of Death
Biographical sketches
See other books on: African | Eritrea | History, Military | Libya | War & Military
Nearby on shelf for Oriental philology and literature / Ethiopian languages:


text:
Downtime Development: Black cod, green curry
By Alaska Seafood
05-Jun-2020 - Last updated on 05-Jun-2020 at 09:21 GMT
Related tags: Curry
Frog chef Adam Handling cooks a Thailand-inspired dish that celebrates Alaskan black cod's ability to stand up to powerful flavours.
Adam Handling is well-known in the industry for his drive, determination and ability to get projects off the ground quickly, but even by his standards setting up a full restaurant delivery service in five days is impressive.
Hame offers a number of dishes that would usually be served at the chef's London restaurants Frog by Adam Handling, The Frog Hoxton, and Adam Handling Chelsea. And no, it's not a typo – 'Hame' – is the Scottish word for home, a reference to Handling's Scottish roots.
"It's survival time for our restaurant group," says Handling. "We had to move fast. We got 70 orders in the first 24 hours, so the initial signs are good. I've been getting asked about doing some sort of delivery service for years. I always resisted because I thought my food would arrive looking mangled and terrible."
The solution to this is to supply the food chilled and ready to cook at home. Each dish has a QR code that links to a video of Handling plating the dish exactly as he would in the restaurants.
It's interactive
"You can follow me and do it in exactly the same way," he says. "It's my food, prepared by me but served by you in your own home. It's interactive. I think people actually appreciate it a bit more if they've had to cook it themselves."
Dishes available to order include The Frog's legendary cheese doughnuts; Nanny Sophie's fried chicken; and whole lobster with carrot and lemongrass.
There are also a selection of dishes that the chef restaurateur has developed while cooking at home during lockdown, including a sharing plate of beef wellington served with clotted cream mash, spring greens, and roast carrots.
The majority of dishes range from £20 to £40 in price, with larger sharing meals costing between £75 and £150. Initially London-only, Hame's food is now available nationally.
Aside from the development work on Hame, Handling hasn't had a great deal of time to think about new dishes because most of his waking hours have been spent working out how his restaurants will operate when they are allowed to re-open for eat-in.
"We've created a structure already. We've been thinking about how the space will work in terms of distancing," he says. "We're going to try and keep as much interaction as possible. That's going to be hard given the circumstances, especially as we will have to reduce the staff count as we'll be doing fewer covers."
Change customer perception
He is not planning to re-open with staff kitted out in gloves and masks. "That's not hospitality for me," he says. "If I went to a restaurant and my waiter was dressed like that it would freak me out. We need to change customer perception – we're one of the safest and cleanest industries out there. We wash our hands constantly anyway."
For this Downtime Development series Handling cooked a clever Alaskan black cod dish that showcases the ingredients affinity with powerful Asian flavours.
"Alaskan black cod is actually one of my favourite products. It's durable and I also like the stunning white colour."
"Usually, I would cook it the traditional Japanese way by marinating it in miso for three days before grilling. But for this I've cured it in salt and roasted it before covering in a really fresh green curry butter."
"The dish is served with a carrot puree and a lemongrass-flavoured sauce. It's a super-simple dish but has bags of flavour."
Recipe: Black cod, green curry
Ingredients
150g fillet of Alaskan black cod
For the green curry butter:
250g Thai green chillies
250g green bell pepper
50g fresh coriander
20g galangal
25g garlic
25g shallots
25g lemongrass, chopped
25g shrimp paste
25g cumin powder
30ml vegetable oil
For the carrot puree:
400g carrots
400ml carrot juice
7g sea salt
110ml extra virgin olive oil
For the lemongrass sauce:
5 cloves of peeled garlic
3 sprigs lemon thyme
30g sliced ginger root
½ litre white chicken stock
1 Bunch lemongrass
10 kaffir lime leaves
Method:
1. For the lemongrass sauce, add the olive oil to a heavy-based saucepan and put over a medium heat. Toast the garlic first, then the shallots and cook until translucent. Add half of the ginger and caramelise everything for 15 minutes. Pour in the stock and reduce this by a third. Add the cream and bring to the boil. Remove the sauce from the heat and leave to cool down for 10 minutes. Add the lime juice, lemongrass and lime leaves and infuse for 20 minutes. Pass the infused sauce through a sieve to ensure a smooth consistency. On a high heat, reduce the sauce down by a further quarter.
2. For the carrot purée, thinly slice all the carrots and put them into a saucepan. Pour all the carrot juice over them and cook under a cartouche. Cook on a high heat until the carrots are tender. Drain off the liquid, add 7g salt to the carrots, and blend. When the mixture is smooth, continue to blend while slowly adding the olive oil, to emulsify the carrots.
3. For the green curry butter, blend all the ingredients together to make a paste. Incorporate the paste with the butter. Chill in the fridge until solid.
4. For the cod, add olive oil to a frying pan and place the fish, skin side down, into the pan. Cook on a high heat until the colour starts to whiten. Turn over the fish and add the butter. Baste the fish until cooked through. When the fish reaches 38°C, take it off the heat and leave it to rest for 3-4 minutes. The residual heat will finish the cooking.
5. To plate, spoon the carrot purèe onto the bottom of the plate. Place the fish on top of the purèe and finish by pouring the lemongrass sauce around the fish.
About Alaska Seafood
About Alaska Seafood
Wild: Fish from Alaska swim wild in the icy Pacific Ocean. This freedom to swim and the fish's natural diet creates superior taste and texture. Wild Alaska seafood is firmer, fitter and a more vibrant fish.
Natural: Wild Alaska seafood has no artificial colouring, preservatives, pesticides or GMOs. Alaska's fish live in some of the cleanest waters in the world.
Sustainable: Ticking the sustainable box cannot be easier when buying Alaska seafood. When Alaska was founded in 1959 the Constitution stated that their fish "be utilized, developed and maintained on the sustained yield principle". In Alaska, "sustainable" applies to the fish, the local communities, the fishermen and women as well as well as the economic return.
Quality: Alaska seafood is a quality product that has some of the best credentials in the world - a product from a clean, wild environment that is respected by the people who fish it. Wild Alaska seafood is frozen within hours of the catch, often while still at sea. This ensures the fresh taste, vitamins and minerals are locked in from sea to plate. Time, temperature, and cleanliness maintain the quality of Alaska seafood.
Nutritious: Absolutely packed with the healthy Omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, which is almost exclusive to seafood and cannot be found in plants, many species of wild Alaska seafood contain exceptionally high Omega-3 levels, which helps to ensure a healthy heart, brain, immune system, vision, nerve cells and gums.
Fit Fish: Alaska fish are an excellent source of lean protein as well as other important vitamins and minerals like amino acids, selenium, Vitamins A, D, B, and vitamins from the B complex group.
www.alaskaforeverwild.com
Related topics: Menu Ideas
Weekend news bulletin for pubs - 6 and 7 June


text:
Gaming Chevron Right
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice brings stealth and mobility to Dark Souls combat
The next major game by 'Dark Souls' and 'Bloodborne' developer FromSoftware combines aerial mobility, light stealth and fine-tuned 'Souls'-style swordplay
By Evan Lewis
June 12, 2018 at 02:00 PM EDT
In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a one-armed wolf stalks the branches and rooftops of a Sengoku period Japan-inspired landscape. The name alone of FromSoftware and Activision's upcoming multiplatform stealth-action title holds layers of reveals to unpack. The word "Sekiro," FromSoftware marketing manager Yasuhiro Kitao explained at an E3 press demo, is an original term derived from Japanese characters for "one-armed person" and "wolf." This coinage is a reference to the game's player character, referred to simply as the shinobi, whose arm is severed by his rival and replaced with a versatile prosthetic. The subtitle, "Shadows Die Twice," speaks to another of the game's key systems: resurrection. When the shinobi dies under certain circumstances, he can rise again, regain the element of surprise and reengage the enemy.
Surprise, according to Activision producer Robert Conkey, is an important factor in Sekiro, more so than it has been in other core titles in the FromSoftware catalogue. Games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne allow for the occasional sneak or plunging attack, but Sekiro codifies that gameplay style with what Conkey calls "light stealth mechanics." Rather than methodically peeling enemies away from groups to fight one-on-one, as would often be the best strategy in a Souls game, Sekiro seems to encourage the kinds of stealth executions players might expect from something like Splinter Cell or Shadow of Mordor.
For example, before approaching courtyards where a powerful samurai general or an angry chained ogre stood in waiting, the demonstrator for the demo session would perform a series of death-from-above and ledge-hang kills to thin out the numbers of smaller foot soldiers and matchlock riflemen surrounding the main battle.
What makes most of these types of stealth maneuvers possible is a gameplay emphasis on verticality. The largest departure in this game from the recent Souls games From has produced is the ability to jump. The shinobi's prosthetic arm also includes a grappling hook that allows him to latch onto buildings and ledges to reel himself up to higher vantage points, or to swing from rooftop to rooftop, covering wide distances.
To show off both the aerial mobility and the stealth mechanics of the game, the demo included a brief platforming section in which the shinobi navigated along a cliffside while avoiding the gaze of a colossal, milky-white serpent. Conkey made a point at this stage of the demo to hint that there would be a number of extended hide and seek sections like this in the final product. "There are some really intense cat and mouse sequences that you have with these larger-than-life enemies," Conkey said.
Beyond traversal and stealth, the game's mobility options shape the way the shinobi conducts combat. Despite the inclusion of a new array of sneaking options, Kitao and Conkey insisted that the main focus of the game is still action. Against certain types of enemies, the maneuverability the prosthetic arm's grappling hook affords will be critical, but as circumstances change, so too will strategies. Much of the variability of Sekiro's combat will come from the different available arm tools. Like an expanded version of the trick weapons from Bloodborne, the shinobi prosthetic will be able to transform to adapt to various battle conditions. In addition to housing the metal fan shield and blinding firecrackers displayed in the trailer and promotional photos for the game, the shinobi's arm will be able to transform into things like a heavy-hitting, shield-breaking axe, or a shuriken dispenser that can be deployed to stagger opponents and close gaps. Some types of enemies will have specific, learnable weaknesses that can be exploited by attentive players.
The core of the combat experience, however, will be centered on swords. According to Kitao, the initial vision of FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki for the fights in this game was "the clashing of swords." Swordplay, as the game's central system, is where Dark Souls similarities shine through most clearly. Fights are fast-paced, but calculated, factoring in a new system the developers have dubbed Posture. With the Posture system, performing certain actions like perfectly timed blocks and parries will build progress toward opportunities for high-damage finishing moves for both the player and the enemies they face.
At the end of the demo, the presenter arrived at a boss battle against an opponent called the Corrupted Monk, a large humanoid woman in flowing robes with a long spear-like weapon. While the encounter seemed unfinished, it appeared very much in keeping with the pacing of a Dark Souls boss, right down to an abrupt and unceremonious end. After a few (mostly unsuccessful) parry attempts, the presenter started jumping in a wide circle to avoid the Monk's attacks. Unfortunately, a slight miscalculation led the presenter to leap off the vibrantly colored bridge and into the misty expanse of a canyon. After a quick chuckle, the demo picked back up just outside the boss chamber for the presenter to give it a second try. Kitao confirmed that the final game will have some type of checkpoint system, but that it won't work like Souls' bonfires or Bloodborne's lanterns.
One other area in which Sekiro departs from From's Souls games is story. What was shown in the demo indicates that the playable character has a more defined purpose than is typical for From of late. The shinobi is a servant of a young lord who is being targeted for undisclosed reasons. When the shinobi's rival comes and takes the young lord, leaving the shinobi short an arm, the shinobi's motivations become clear. His journey is to retrieve his kidnapped master and to seek retribution.
A From game set in a fictionalized, centuries-past Japan is bound to invite comparisons with 2017's Team Ninja-developed Nioh (for which a sequel was announced at Sony's E3 briefing), but Sekiro appears to have a style all its own, albeit one that borrows liberally from From's previous franchises including Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and perhaps most notably Tenchu, which Kitao acknowledges was a primary source of inspiration. The world is beautiful and suitably dark, and the combination of quick traversal and tactical stealth with sharply honed Dark Souls-level combat mechanics makes for a package that sounds like it will be hard to resist. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is scheduled to release on PS4, Xbox One and Steam in early 2019.
By Evan Lewis @ealewis333


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6.Both published anonymously at first: Sense and Sensibility was BY A LADY, Tamerlane and Other Poems was BY A BOSTONIAN. Jane Austen's name did not appear on any of her works until after her death. While Poe later published under his own name, he also used several pseudonyms.
7. Both were influenced by Gothic literature, with its gloomy settings, haunted castles, and supernatural elements, but in different ways: Austen poked fun at Gothic fiction in Northanger Abbey, whereas Poe took it to new heights, though depths might be a better word given the frequency of live burial in his writings.
8. Both created models for genre fiction: Austen for the modern romance novel, Poe for horror, psychological suspense, and the detective story.
9. Their works fetch the highest prices at auction. A first edition of Poe's Tamerlane and Other Poems set a record for an American book with an auction price of $662,500 in 2009. A manuscript of Austen's unfinished work, The Watsons, went for approximately $1.5 million at auction.
Can you think of any other parallels between Austen and Poe? To win a copy of my Poe-themed mystery, The Tell-Tale Tarte, leave a comment by July 25th. UPDATE: Congratulations to Jenne, who won the book!
Read more about Poe on my site: Poe's Invention of the Detective Story, Poe and Lincoln, and Poe Trivia.
I can't think of any other parallels between Austen and Poe. Austen has her own place in pop culture with "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."
Hi Autumn, Thanks for your comment. That book definitely connects Austen with both pop culture and Poe's stories about people walking around after death and/or burial.
They both have great first lines in their books. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" and "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, . . ." both immediately bring each work to mind of happy readers.
Hi Jenne, Thank you for your comment. Those are first lines that really stick in the mind.
Hi Jess, Thank you for your comment. Good luck in the drawing.
Hi Jennifer, That story has stuck in my mind too ever since I read it in school. Thanks for commenting.
They both attended boarding school. Jane Austen at the young age of 7 and Poe later in life (United States Military Academy).
Hi Kathleen, Thank you for pointing out another similarity. Poe attended a boarding school when he was 7-8 years old, in Chelsea, England. His foster family from Richmond, Virginia, lived in England from 1815 to 1820.
I can't think of anything to add to this list. I had no idea that they had action figures.
Hi Brittany, Thank you for your comment. I became aware of the Austen action figure at a Folger Shakespeare Library exhibit called "Will and Jane." It dealt with the pop culture aspects of Shakespeare and Austen and included action figures of both of them.
I can't think of anything to add to the list. I remember them both from high school. I never knew they had action figures either.
Hi Cathi,Thank you for your comment. I didn't know about the action figures either until I visited a Folger Shakespeare Library exhibit called "Will and Jane," where action figures of both Shakespeare and Austen were on display.
Very interesting; enjoyed the similarities.
I enjoyed Cathi's comment about high school-- definitely made me smile.
Hi MaryAnn, Thank you for your comment. Like you and Cathi, I also first read Poe in high school.
I really don't have anything to add, but what a great pairing. Thank you for the opportunity and a very enjoyable read.
Hi, Meg, Thank you for your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed reading the post..
by Lenore Hart. She is a local author, married to David Poyer, and she also wrote a book called "Becky," a retelling of Becky Thatcher's life.
Hi Beth, Thanks for you comment. I'll have to check out The Raven's Bride. Alas, I won't be able to go to the SinC anniversary party but I may see you at another SinC event. Enjoy it.