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Carl M. Cannon
Jan 15, 2021
Great American Stories: MLK's Quote
Good morning, it's Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, the day of the week when I reprise a quote meant to be inspiring or elucidating. Today's comes from a speech by Martin Luther King Jr.,...
Jan 14, 2021
Great American Stories: Dawning of a Plague
President Trump got himself impeached again, and in record time: one week between the commission of offense, indictment, and a vote in the House of Representatives. Wednesday was...
Jan 13, 2021
Great American Stories: Impeachment 2.0
House Democrats are proceeding apace to impeach President Trump again. This strikes many Republicans as vengeful and pointless: He's leaving office in seven days anyway. Democrats...
Jan 12, 2021
Great American Stories: Lincoln's Warning About Mob Rule
In January 1838, 28-year-old Abraham Lincoln delivered an address in Springfield, Ill., condemning a series of vigilante attacks that had recently taken place across the young...
Jan 11, 2021
Great American Stories: Shining City
The sun is up in the nation's capital as I write these words, but the dark fallout continues from the mob violence wreaked by President Trump's supporters in the hallowed halls of...
Jan 8, 2021
Great American Stories: A Quote From Gabrielle Giffords
Good morning, it's Jan. 8, 2021, a Friday -- the day of the week when I pass along a quotation intended to be inspirational or thought-provoking. On this date 10 years ago, popular...
Jan 7, 2021
Great American Stories: Capitol Breach
Joe Biden's presidency has already begun, at least unofficially. Yesterday, Donald Trump chose to play the role of political rabble-rouser during the transition instead of...
Jan 6, 2021
Great American Stories: Showdown in Georgia
Today marks the feast of the Epiphany on the Christian calendar. The date is celebrated as Three Kings Day in Spain and much of Latin America, including the great state of Puerto...
Jan 5, 2021
Great American Stories: Golden Gate Lessons
Good morning, it's Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 -- Election Day 2.0 in Georgia. Jan. 5 is also an eventful date in America's cultural, economic, and political history. Harry Truman...
Jan 4, 2021
Great American Stories: First Female Speaker
Good morning, it's Jan. 4, 2021, the first Monday in a year most of us hope will be better and safer than the one we just left behind. On this date in American political history,...
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Man charged with providing handgun to Austin-East student killed in officer-involved shooting
Officials said Foster admitted to purchasing the firearm and providing the firearm to Thompson Jr. in exchange for cash and marijuana.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - A man has been arrested and charged with providing a handgun to an Austin-East Student killed during an officer-involved shooting in April, according to Prosecutors in District Attorney General Charme Allen’s Office.
Kelvon Foster, 21, was charged with providing handguns to juveniles Friday morning.
According to a warrant, 17-year-old Anthony Thompson Jr., who was killed during a shooting incident at Austin-East High School, went to Harvey’s Pistol & Pawn on April 5.
At the pawnshop, Thompson allegedly met with Foster and viewed the handguns for sale before leaving the business. Officials said Foster then purchased the Glock Model 45 9mm handgun. Foster later met Thompson in a parking lot off Broadway in Knoxville and handed over the gun.
On April 12, Knoxville Police responded to Austin-East in an attempt to apprehend Thompson Jr. as a part of a domestic violence investigation. Upon arrival, officers located Thompson Jr. inside a school restroom. TBI officials said that officers ordered the student out, but he refused to comply.
According to TBI, a struggle ensued between officers and Thompson Jr., during which Thompson Jr.’s gun was fired. This was followed by law enforcement firing twice. Thompson Jr. was fatally shot during the incident.
Investigators determined the handgun Thompson Jr. had of possession of during the incident was the same gun purchased at Harvey’s Pistol & Pawn on April 5 by Foster.
Officials said Foster admitted to purchasing the firearm and providing the firearm to Thompson Jr. in exchange for cash and marijuana. According to the DA’s Office, Foster said he had known Thompson Jr. since he was 5-years-old and was friends with Thompson Jr.’s brother.
During the investigation, officials said two additional handguns were recovered from Foster.
Providing Handguns to Juveniles is a Class A misdemeanor carrying a punishment of up to eleven months and twenty-nine days. Foster has also been charged with Making False or Fictitious Statements in Connection with the Purchase of a Firearm.
Foster is scheduled for an arraignment in Knox County Felony Court on June 23.
Copyright 2021 WVLT. All rights reserved.


Gktorrent is a new torrent site that allows you to get free video games, movies, ebooks, TV series, and other forms of entertainment. Torrent websites allow us to exchange files on our computers with other people over the internet. It connects millions of computers and their data to a single online platform or website. GKTorrent has the distinct advantage of being France’s most capable and preferred torrenting platform. Furthermore, it is perfectly legal to use in France, and the tortoises have no objections to it.
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You can visit it by copying and pasting it into your browser’s URL box and pressing the enter key. Now that you know how to use GKTorrent, we ask that you read the remaining information on this page, which is solely for you.
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As we previously stated, our website is specifically built for users in France to get torrent files throughout the country, so if you live in France, come to us at any time to get free access to the most recent entertainment. Web series from various platforms and movies from various companies are available for free. The only thing about this website that makes me nervous is that it is not completely safe. If you are not careful when downloading torrent files, it may infect your computer or device with viruses. Some users or torrent distributors may give duplicate or contaminated content, causing your device to malfunction. Please access GKTorrent with care and pay attention to the entertainment media that you are downloading.
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We hope you enjoyed this post about GKTorrent, as we did our best to provide you with as much information as possible. We are delighted to have you visit our website. Have a wonderful day.


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Your best shot at stopping the flu: Book a flu shot today!
The CDC recommends a flu shot for everyone 6 months and older starting in the early fall, before flu season begins. If you have not yet received the vaccine, it’s time to book a flu shot.
How to schedule your flu shot
If you already have a primary care appointment scheduled, you can request a flu shot during that appointment. Otherwise, book your flu shot by calling your primary care office or 310-825-2631, or direct scheduling in myUCLAhealth.
Direct schedule your flu shot: To direct schedule your flu shot, log in to myUCLAhealth. Select "Visits/Clinical Notes" from the top navigation and then "Schedule an Appointment." Under the section labeled, “Tell us why you’re coming in,” select "Flu Vaccine Only." Select the locations that work for you, pick the time that you want to come in, and then "Schedule it."
Extended and weekend hours in select clinics: For your convenience, we also offer extended and weekend hours for flu vaccinations in our immediate care locations, where you can check wait times and walk in.
The flu and COVID-19
Ask any UCLA Health infectious disease expert and they’ll tell you this year’s flu shot continues to be important because of COVID-19.
- The flu vaccine can prevent or reduce symptoms that might be confused with COVID-19
- Fewer flu cases will decrease how many COVID-19 tests we need
- A milder flu season will lower the number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions
- Less stress on the hospitals means a healthier, happier Los Angeles
Who is most vulnerable to the flu?
Getting the annual flu vaccine is especially important for those who are:
- 65 and older
- People with medical conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and chronic lung disease
- Pregnant women
- Those who live with or provide care for these individuals
Flu vaccination formulation
The CDC website has information for the 2023-2024 flu season. This year’s flu vaccines are quadrivalent, which means they cover the four most likely strains of the flu virus expected this season (two A strains and two B strains). All available vaccines are preservative-free and do not contain gluten or latex. Most are thimerosal-free or thimerosal-reduced.
The vaccines provided at UCLA Health include
- Fluarix - A standard-dose injection approved for people 6 months and older.
- Fluzone High-Dose - A high-dose injection for adults who are 65 years and older. Contains four times the amount of antigen as the Fluarix vaccine. If the high-dose vaccine is not available, patients may receive the standard dose Fluarix vaccine.
- FluMist - A nasal mist for children and adults between 2 and 49 years old. Not for people with decreased immunity.
- Flublok - A standard-dose injection recommended for people 18 and older.
Flu vaccination for people with egg allergy
The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted that people with egg allergy may receive any flu vaccine (egg based or non-egg based) that is otherwise appropriate for their age and health status. Additional safety measures are no longer recommended for flu vaccination beyond those recommended for receipt of any vaccine.

domain: medical


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So much work goes into arranging a wedding. Couples need their day caught everlastingly, since at the time the day can be a nerve-wracking obscure. This is the reason Sydney wedding photographers can be the most significant part of the day. So as to get the ideal wedding photographer for the lady of the hour and husband to be’s characters, there are sure inquiries to pose.
The principal inquiry to pose before leading further gatherings with a photographer is on the off chance that they have the wedding date accessible. On the off chance that they don’t, at that point they are separated the rundown, except if the photographer is astonishing and the couple is eager to change their date. The couple additionally needs to ask how far ahead of time they have to book the photographer.
Next couples need to get some information about the photographer’s understanding. Ask how long they have captured weddings and what number of weddings they have shot. Inquire as to whether any weddings they shot were comparable in style and extension to the couple’s own. Likewise check whether they are licensed.
One of the most significant inquiries to pose to a photographer is to have them portray their photography style. It very well may be photojournalist, imaginative, customary, and that’s just the beginning. A photographer will as a rule adorn farther than an essential class into what they are best at catching, similar to feelings or characteristic minutes. Couples should explore styles and choose sorts they like.
Photographers ought to likewise portray their working style. How would they approach shooting a wedding? A perfect photographer is subtle and can mix effectively out of spotlight while as yet catching all the exceptional minutes. In any case, while doing real to life shots, a photographer ought to have the option to posture and spot individuals for the best appearance.
Ask photographers what they accept recognizes their work from others in their calling. Request to see a portfolio to audit, or research the photographer’s site. See the altering done to the photographs and perceive what number of have channels or a high contrast impacts. Couples should check whether the photographer will acknowledge a rundown of postures they need to get during the day.
Couples need to realize what data the photographer needs from them before the big day. Ask what time the photographer will show up and how long they will shoot. Check whether there are included expenses if the wedding goes over the booked time for a photographer. Likewise check if there are charges for heading out to a far spot.
There are likewise numerous inquiries to pose monetarily. To see precisely what their expenses give, get some information about the bundles the photographer offers. Check whether the couple can alter the bundle based off the big day’s timetable and requirements. Check whether they incorporate commitment photographs in the bundle.
Take a gander at the collection structures they offer and check whether the photographer will assemble a collection for the couple out of the best wedding day photographs. This is a significant requirement for couples who are not exceptionally masterful. See what modifying, shading modifications, and other remedial administrations are offered by the photographer.
Get some information about the time allotment before the wedding proofs are gotten. Inquire as to whether they will be perceptible on the web or on a Compact disc. Ask about the requesting procedure the photographer offers and perceive how long it takes to get the photographs or collection subsequent to requesting. Check whether the photographer will give negatives or advanced pictures from the day or if there is a charge related with that administration.
Inquire as to whether the photographer gives a composed agreement. Every single proficient seller should offer an agreement to sign. Approach what the store is for the photography administrations and when the aggregate sum is expected. A few photographers will offer an installment plan. Get some information about their discount or undoing strategy and check whether the photographer gives risk protection.

domain: artistic


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text:
From Library Journal
Here 14 Asian American poets display the process of their poems and discuss their sources of inspiration, which include paintings, readings, personal encounters, countries of origin, and the sight of "dog piss." Tabios (poet and editor of the Asian Pacific American Journal) then presents drafts of poems from early stages through numerous alterations, deletions (sometimes entire pages), and additions, all with explanations. This makes for slow reading but engrossing revelations and ultimately rewarding insights into the birth of a poem. Tabios's skillful interviews help the poets reveal their modus operandi. That the writers are Asian American hardly matters; this is a valuable source for poets, aspiring poets, and poetry-lovers. Recommended for creative writing collections.?Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Publisher
This book is a collection of poetry-in-progress essays and interviews
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

domain: literature


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The Shepherd's Scrapbook has released its Top 30 books of 2007. Topping the list this year is the ESV Literary Bible and Waltke's OT Theology. As I scroll through this list I see about 5 or 6 that are on my wish list. Looks like I need to update my list.
Dan Philipps has an excellent post at Pyromaniacs; where he considers the Danger of Confessions. Philipps central contention is this: "while I find much help, encouragement, and instruction in the great confessions, I have to remember: Satan may sift the body of which I am a part. I may find myself alone. Will I be able to say "I believe, and I have come to know"? This is a great question to ask ourselves. I have great fellowship with many of my Reformed brothers, but if they go south on matters of ecclesiology am I am able to stand up for what I believe?
Why do so many men not write like this anymore: "And as often as we muse on Christ the fire burns with us also. And the longer we muse on Him, and the deeper our musing goes, the more the fire burns. And this fire never sinks low, far less ever dies out, as long as we so muse. Think enough, meditating enough, musing enough on Christ, will do it. Thinking that always ends in prayer, and in praise, and in repentance unto life, and in ever new obedience, that will do it. Think you see Christ all through the Four Gospels. Think you see Him die at the end of the Four Gospels. Think you see Him rise again. Think you see Him ascend up into heaven. Think that it is the day of judgment. And think you see the books opened, - till you cry to Him continually day and night, Rock of Ages, cleft for me!" The words are from Alexander Whyte and come to us via The Vossed World. Now it seems like many have abandoned "musing" for "doing". Could it be possible that deep musing creates deep doing? Could it be that the reason we often only see superficial change is because we spend a vast majority of our time thinking and doing that which is superficial?
Brian at Voice of the Sheep has a great article on the visible church. He wonders how often does the world see the church gathering in a public setting. Even on Wednesday's and Sunday's all the world sees are our cars. Therefore, his suggestion is this: Do more things in public with your church body so that the world will see you together with one another. (HT: Challies)


Recently, a middle-aged man was hospitalized with overdose of vitamin D or hypervitaminosis D. According to a news report, the patient showed symptoms for three months. She took more than 20 doses of over-the-counter supplements daily, including vitamins, minerals, nutrients and various probiotic supplements.
The patient’s medical examination has confirmed that his body has 6 times more vitamin D than it needs. He also had high levels of calcium in his body.
She had frequent nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and leg pain. She also complained of other symptoms such as tinnitus, weight loss, frequent thirst and diarrhea, which reportedly did not stop even after she stopped taking supplements.


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The Jaffna Public Library in Sri Lanka was burnt down during a violent rampage by an organised mob of ethnic Sinhalese.
The Jaffna Public Library was built in 1933 to serve the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. By the 1980s it had become one of the largest libraries in Asia and the foremost repository of Tamil literature and culture. The attack on the library resulted in the burning of over 97,000 books and manuscripts of enormous cultural and historical value. The attack was racially motivated, and was a major cause of the Sri Lankan Civil War that broke out two years later.
Ethnic tensions had been developing between Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils and majority Sinhalese for much of the 20th century. Official discrimination against the Tamils by the government led to young Tamils increasingly turning to militant groups such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, otherwise known as the Tamil Tigers, who sought the creation of a separate Tamil state.
The burning of the Jaffna Public Library came after three Sinhalese policemen were shot and killed during a political rally by the Tamil United Liberation Front who sought an independent state for the Tamils. This triggered three days of violence by the police that saw the indiscriminate killing of four civilians and the destruction of Tamil-owned businesses and property. The library was attacked in an aggressive act of biblioclasm, the deliberate destruction of books.
The government’s failure to respond to the attack and to protect the Tamils and their cultural heritage helped to consolidate opposition. The burning of the library therefore acted as a rallying call for militant Tamils, and helped to bring about the Sri Lankan Civil War that erupted in 1983 and lasted for almost 26 years.

domain: library


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The Missouri Geographic Alliance is looking for presenters for our annual fall conference on Geography and Geographic Education! Anyone with a passion for spreading the love of geography is welcome to submit a proposal. Got a recent geographic project you’ve been working on? Or perhaps you want to show off how geography ties back to your area of expertise? Come and let others know! We would love to have a wide variety of topics as part of the conference!
The Conference will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at the Animal Sciences Center on the campus of the University of Missouri. Presenters will be asked to pay a reduced registration fee of $25. This helps us to offset the cost of lunch, equipment rentals, and conference materials. The main target audience will be K-12 teachers, pre-service teachers, and high school and college students, but anyone is welcome to attend the conference. Presentations are asked to be no more than 30 minutes long (25 minutes would be ideal). Presentations may be lecture-style, hands-on demonstrations or activities, roundtables, interactive discussions, etc. The Proposal form may be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MGAFall2014
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office. As always, feel free to share this announcement with anyone you think might be interested!

domain: geography


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The European Space Agency has found its lost Philae lander. After a rough, bouncing landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November 2014, the spacecraft was unable to deploy its solar arrays in a proper configuration to capture enough energy. The batteries died within a few days of landing.
While scientists have since made a few more cursory contacts with the dying spacecraft, Philae’s fate – was it stuck in a ditch or pushed against a rock face? — remained largely a mystery.
Until now. The high-resolution camera aboard the comet-orbiting Rosetta spacecraft — which has remained near the comet since Philae’s launch two years ago — flew within 1.7 miles (2.7 km) of the comet’s surface on Sept. 2. comet and discovered the missing lander. At such a distance from the comet, the resolution of the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera is about 5 cm/pixel, high enough to reveal Philae’s distinctive 1 m body and two of its three legs.
“This remarkable discovery comes at the end of a long, arduous search,” said Patrick Martin, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission manager. “We started to think that Philae would be lost forever. It is unbelievable that we captured this at the last hour.”
Indeed, Rosetta will also go dark soon. Because Rosetta’s solar arrays can’t collect enough power to guarantee the spacecraft’s heating elements keep it warm enough for survival, Rosetta will follow its Philae lander to the comet’s surface. Scientists plan to collect data all the way down.
List image by ESA/Rosetta

domain: news


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<>AAOS does not endorse any treatments, procedures, products, or physicians referenced herein. This information is provided as an educational service and is not intended to serve as medical advice. Anyone seeking specific orthopaedic advice or assistance should consult his or her orthopaedic surgeon, or locate one in your area through the AAOS Find an Orthopaedist program on this website. >
<>When you first hurt your back, one of the best back pain remedies is to ice the area. Injury to a muscle means that blood will rush to the site, bringing healing chemicals to ease the pain. Unfortunately, this leads to swelling, and that swelling leads to pain. Applying cold compresses constricts the blood vessels, and this reduces the flow of that blood. The reduction in swelling means that you will have less pain, and this is a great way to relieve back pain naturally. Be sure to keep the cold on for 20 minutes and off for 40. Don’t use this method after the first 24 hours. These are 10 surprising reasons your back hurts. >
<>There are two kinds of over-the-counter pain relievers that frequently help with back pain: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen. Both have some side effects, and some people may not be able to take them. Talk to your doctor before taking pain relievers. And don't expect medication alone to solve your pain problem. Studies show you'll probably need more than one type of treatment. >
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Medical Disclaimer: The material on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
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The liquid ring vacuum pumps can only take in so much water from its intake. Any increase in water from inlet pipeline effects the pumps functionality. To overcome this problem we have developed the pre separator pumps.
Advantages of Kakati pre-separator pumps.
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Flange mounted directly onto the separator tank into the suction line for simple installation with minimum floor space
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Swing out hinge option allows inspection of the pump suction or quick access to the tank interior.
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Eliminates the need for level control devices.
We are also Ash Handling System Exporters in India, Liquid Ring Compressors Suppliers and Water Ring Vacuum Pump Exporters.


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Joël Robuchon is a French gourmet restaurant located in Las Vegas, Nevada that is considered to be among the finest restaurants in the world. It is the signature, flagship restaurant of French chef and restaurateur Joël Robuchon and bears his namesake. Additionally, the restaurant was named one of the Top 5 best restaurants in the United States by Gourmet magazine and has won Three Michelin Stars.
Chef Robuchon cooks here at least six times a year and was named Chef of the Century (not too shabby of an award!). His Joel Robuchon restaurant has won a Mobil 5 Star restaurant (one of 17 in the U.S.) as well as an AAA Five-Diamond Award. Needless to say we didn't have to over think this one.

domain: food


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Dining In/Out (12/23/21)
Holiday celebrations at Diamond Hotel
DIAMOND Hotel Philippines helps guests be merry this holiday season with dining specials. Dishes from around the world are offered at Corniche with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day lunch and dinner buffets, made more special with a complimentary glass of wine. On both days, tunes from a solo pianist will regale the guests. The Christmas Eve Lunch and Christmas Day Dinner Buffets are at P3,180 net per person, while the Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Day Lunch Buffets are at P3,380 net per person. Meanwhile, the Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant has an authentic spread of Japanese specialties with the Christmas Set Menu available during lunch and dinner on Dec. 24 and 25 for P1,980 net per person. The set menu includes a glass of wine. A solo violinist will perform. On Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1, the Lobby Lounge will offer a Christmas Set Lunch and Dinner for P1,980 net per person complemented with a glass of wine with a solo violinist serenading the diners. After all the yule feasts on Dec. 24 and 25, enjoy cocktails at Bar 27, for P1,280 net per person consumable. For queries and reservations, call Diamond Hotel at (632) 8528-3000 ext. 1121.
Tim Hortons partners with Nestlé for plant-based menu
TIM Hortons Philippines has partnered with Nestlé Professional Philippines to develop dishes featuring the newly launched Harvest Gourmet plant-based products. The restaurant’s menu now carries meat-free Classic Barbecue Sensational Burger, and meat-free Grilled Quesadilla with Barbecue Sauce. Launched in all 31 Tim Hortons Philippines stores on Dec. 8, these offerings provide consumers more options and access to plant-based products. The meat-free Classic Barbecue Sensational Burger contains a Harvest Gourmet patty, barbecue dressing, fresh tomato, onion, lettuce, and cheese, sandwiched in a brioche bun, and is priced at P230. The Grilled Quesadilla with Barbecue Sauce uses Harvest Gourmet Schnitzel pieces, enveloped in a grilled tortilla with barbecue dressing, onion, green peppers, and cheese, priced at P190. Harvest Gourmet products are available through Nestlé Professional Philippines and e-commerce partners: Rare Food Shop, Lazada, Shopee, and Wholemart PH. For more information on Harvest Gourmet products, visit the official Nestlé Professional Philippines Facebook page.
Mang Inasal for holiday feasts
SINCE no Filipino celebration is complete without great food, Mang Inasal is offering its ihaw-sarap favorites (and more) this Christmas in family-sized pans good for four to six people. These bulk orders allow people to spend more time with the people they love and bond over a meal without all the fuss that comes with preparing a feast. Get the classic favorite Chicken Inasal Large Paa (or Pecho). As a Filipino spread requires a noodle dish, there is Mang Inasal’s Family-sized Palabok with its flavor-packed palabok sauce, pork chunks, smoky tinapa, crunchy chicharron, boiled egg, and green onion. Get the Family-sized Liempo or Sisig for more variety. Mang Inasal has also introduced its new Pork BBQ with the addition of peanut sauce and java rice. And then there is the Chicken Empanada which comes in a box of six. Each of these Mang Inasal family-sized favorites are available via take-out and delivery through the Mang Inasal website, Grab Food, and foodpanda. For more information, visit the Mang Inasal Facebook page and order by visiting www.manginasaldelivery.com.ph or the Mang Inasal app.
Red Ribbon for Christmas
TO CELEBRATE the Holiday cheer, Red Ribbon’s Chocolate Dedication Cake can come with a personalized Christmas message. Instead of the usual Christmas card, why not write “Season’s Greetings’’ right on Red Ribbon’s Chocolate Dedication Cake, an affordable option at P535 for the 8×12 variant. Other celebratory favorites include Red Ribbon’s Black Forest (P600), Tiramisu Meltdown (P590), and Mango Sunrise (P720), among many others. Send loved ones a Triple Chocolate Full Roll (P300), a light dessert choice after a hefty holiday dinner or gift a five-piece pack of Assorted Ensaimada (P155). Red Ribbon’s sweet, shareable treats are available in all stores nationwide or available via delivery through the new Red Ribbon delivery website, Red Ribbon app, RIA FB Messenger, Hotline #8-7777, and the GrabFood and foodpanda apps. There are also ReGALO eGift cards.
El Real suggests holiday dishes
NOCHE Buena is easily everyone’s favorite tradition, with family joining and enjoying their favorite festive dishes. Pasta purveyor El Real is helping people plan their Noche Buena menu with the recipes it has uploaded on the Real Pastabilities website. Discover recipes like Pork Belly Pasta, Pasta Valenciana, Pizza Pasta, Sushi Bake, and more on the site. For more information, visit www.realpastabilities.com.
McDonald’s opens biggest store
QUICK service restaurant giant McDonald’s Philippines has opened its newest and biggest branch in Cavite, McDonald’s Maple Grove in General Trias, in its bid to provide more dining options for Caviteños to enjoy their favorites safely. Owned and operated by real estate businessman Kyle Lao, McDonald’s Maple Grove is now open and ready to serve customers 24/7 via Dine-in, Take-out, Delivery and Dual Lane Drive-Thru. The two Ride-Thru lanes mean faster queuing for customers and more time for them to enjoy their food. The branch also includes a Bike and Dine zone for cyclists where they can easily mount their bikes while they enjoy their food. The area is also equipped with a Bike Repair Station. Under the store’s M Safe program, stringent health and safety protocols are set in place. Customers who will visit the store will also be subjected to contact-tracing and temperature checks, and are required to wear a face mask. Social distancing will be followed, from queueing for orders and while dining in. Cashless payment options are also available in stores to minimize physical contact. The new branch in General Trias, Cavite is easily accessible via the Manila–Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX, also known as Coastal Road).
Noche Buena at RWM
Resorts World Manila (RWM) is setting its Christmas tables with sumptuous festive feasts for Noche Buena. The integrated resort’s premier signature restaurant, Casa Buenas, has a menu of braised beef shank with tomato salsa and vegetables, roasted whole fish with garlic butter, house smoked ham with balsamic glaze, paella con carnes mixtas, baked goat cheese and mixed green salad with beets and walnut, and pumpkin pie for P8,500 net. Casa Buenas is also roasting a Cochinillo de Buenas to spruce up holiday gatherings for P9,500 net ala carte or make it a set with paella mixtas, sticky rice suman with sweet chorizo, and mixed vegetables and adlai with garlic butter for P10,000 net. These special offers are available for a limited period until Dec. 31 at Casa Buenas, Ground Floor Newport Grand Wing, available for dine-in and delivery. For reservations, allow at least two days lead time. For delivery, contact: +63 (2) 7908-8885 or 0917-878-8856. RWM partner hotels are also setting their dining rooms for Noche Buena celebrations. Marriott Hotel Manila’s Marriott Cafe is serving up a special Noche Buena Buffet complete with roast suckling pig, available from Christmas eve, 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., for P2,462 net per person. There’s also a Christmas day buffet the next day for lunch and dinner highlighted by lechon, pan-seared goose liver and waffles for P3,200 net per person. Over at the Cru Steakhouse, a Christmas Day Shortened Menu of Australian Mulwarra Wagyu, Grilled Australian lamb rack, and seared goose liver is available on Dec. 24-25. Hilton Manila is celebrating with a true “Surf & Turf” feast at Kusina Sea Kitchens. Fill up on a selection of grilled lobsters, prime rib, and Christmas classics like turkey, ham, lechon, and favorite Filipino desserts for P3,200 net per person on Christmas Eve and P2,900 net per person on Christmas day. Gather with the family at Sheraton Manila for Christmas and try S Kitchen’s Christmas Eve dinner buffet that boasts of a roasted ribeye, honey glazed leg of ham, and fresh seafood. The Christmas Day lunch and dinner buffet, on the other hand, is highlighted by lechon. Enjoy the special Christmas buffet menus for P3,888 net per person. For an authentic Japanese fine dining experience, Hotel Okura Manila serves Yamazato Christmas meals. Try the Christmas Kaiseki Dinner for P8,800++ per person until Dec. 25. Festive Teppanyaki Kaiseki dinners Suisen (P6,800++ per person) and Botan (P8,500++ per person) are also available until Jan. 7, 2022. For more information on Noche Buena offerings and Grand Fiesta Manila visit www.rwmanila.com and follow @rwmanila on Facebook and Twitter, and @resortsworldmanila Instagram.
Festive celebrations by Discovery Primea
From at-home kits offering multicourse spreads, to al fresco dining under the stars, Discovery Primea has delicious options for guests to celebrate the holidays and the New Year. Make the holiday season even more magical with festive dining experiences at Flame Al Fresco. Celebrate Christmas Eve or wait for the New Year with a carefully curated, five-course menu. For Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, there is a tasting menu highlighting modern Asian cuisine including tuna carpaccio, miso brulée, Josper-grilled prawns, soy-braised US beef short ribs, and frosted chocolate sphere for dessert. Meanwhile, for New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, feast on a sophisticated menu featuring Flame Al Fresco’s bestselling dishes: lobster tartare, seared foie gras, pan-seared Chilean sea bass, Josper-grilled Wagyu beef rib-eye, and a decadent chocolate tart. Available at P2,888++ per person. Interested guests may choose between the first seating at 6 to 8 p.m. or second seating at 9 to 11 p.m. Advance reservations are highly recommended. For table reservations, call 7955-8888 or e-mail [email protected] Make intimate celebrations at home delicious and convenient with Primea At Home: Holiday Edition Kits. Each kit features a multicourse feast good for four to five persons at P5,000 nett. For Noche Buena, savor a Spanish-inspired, multicourse feast, with a medley of appetizers, as well as highlights such as Paella de Mar y Montaña with chicken, chorizo, shrimp, and more, or cochinillo asado with braised peaches. Welcome the New Year with the Media Noche Kit with highlights such as roasted pork loin with garlic, thyme and apple sauce, and grilled black bass with anchovy tapenade, harissa, pine nuts, and oranges. Dessert comes in the form of a tiramisu cheesecake with coffee sponge and mascarpone. Holiday platters are also available, with bestsellers such as Wagyu beef paella, sugar-crusted ham, and Lengua Sevillana, to name a few. To view the complete menu and for more information on the hotel’s holiday offers, visit https://bit.ly/PrimeaHolidayBrochure2021 or follow Discovery Primea on Facebook and Instagram.
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RITUALS AND REMEDIES FOR SPIRITUAL HEALING AND LIFE TRANSFORMATION
Life is a riddle. Embodied Hypnotherapy is an ancient methodology used to understand it. The body thinks and feels in images, metaphor, and archetype. By tapping into this ancient language, we are granted access into the imaginal landscape of the soul. In a deeply relaxed state, where the psyche's images dwell, your waking ego and the landscape of the unconscious engage in an illuminating and fascinating conversation, rich with depth, meaning, and life-force direction.
When we dream, unconscious messages from our body communicate to us through symbol, imagery, and metaphor. This cryptic language illuminates the path ahead of us and offers clues into the meaning of our own life.
But unlike a dream, Embodied Hypnotherapy, provides a direct line of communication into the deep archetypal wisdom that is ever present within, offering us the opportunity to relationally engage with the images that arise.
With the body and mind in direct communication, consciousness is transformed.
This is the work of the ALCHEMIST!
"Mariah is a true spiritual healer. I have spent my entire adult life looking for someone with her knowledge and gifts. With her diverse training background and range of modalities, I left every session thinking and feeling about myself and the world around me differently, more clearly.
I am a completely different person than I was a year ago when I met Mariah. I am more confident. My depression and anxiety, while they still come around, do not stay for long. I understand myself better. I have a whole new inner dialog, and I am excited about the future and what is to come"
"I don't even know where to begin. I started seeing Mariah when I had reached the lowest and darkest point I've been in my life. The first time we spoke on the phone to set up an appointment, I felt an immediate sense of relief and hope just at the sound of her voice. When we first met, that feeling was confirmed. Mariah is very welcoming, calm, reassuring and non-judgemental, and I found myself telling her things in that first meeting that I had never told anyone, as well as some things I hadn't even acknowledged to myself. Over the months of working with Mariah, I've had what I refer to as two moments of enlightenment and, for the first time in my life, not only know who I am, but accept who I am and love that person. Mariah provides a safe space for me to put down my guard and face my personal "demons," while gently challenging me to dig deeper as a means to allow me to discover my truth. She has also given me a number of tools to use in my continued exploration and growth and, when I'm feeling a pull to the "old" me, she's in my head, pushing and supporting me until our next session. I had been with another therapist for a couple of years and never even scratched the surface of what I have done in my short time with Mariah. To me, she is just simply magic and I am truly thankful I took the first step and found her"
"Mariah is gentle, wise and held sacred space for me to scoop up the forgotten, broken pieces of myself and helped me compassionately put them back together. I worked with Mariah for six weeks and it was some of the most impactful self-work I've done.
I gained valuable insight into my processes, habits, learned to incorporate my child self on a deeper level, and healed my relationship with my mother. The resentment was buried deep in a memory from my teens that had been sleeping silently without my notice all these years.
I had the opportunity to integrate the homework and exercises she gave me which built on our sessions. Mariah is a powerful healer and gift to our generation. Everyone experiences grief, anger, pain, and anxiety but hardly any of us have the tools to heal these emotions fully. I highly recommend working with Mariah to integrate these hurt pieces of ourselves to live a life more at peace"


Exclusive: Balagam on OTT- Priyadarshi's salary revealed for Dil Raju film.
Balagam has become a big success at the box office. Directed by Venu Yeldandi, this village drama had Priyadarshi as the main lead. He played a selfish village youth who is looking for money to settle down in life but the death of his grandfather changes his life upside down. The noted actor won a good appreciation for his performance in the film.
Dil Raju's duaghter Hanshita Reddy and nephew Harshit Reddy produced this film and Dil Raju took care of the promotions. Well, we have now come to know that the makers paid Priyadarshi fifty lakhs for playing the main lead in the film. This is quite a big amount as Priyadarshi mostly does character roles and gets paid on a daily basis.
Also Read: Balagam's OTT platform locked
Dil Raju and his family have made handsome profits with this film. They got big money with the non-theatrical rights and were in profits even before the film was released. Whatever the film made from its theatrical release, they earned more profits. The news is that the Dil Raju camp has also paid big bucks to director Venu Yeldandi as he was the one responsible for the film's success.
Balagam is set in rural Telangana and deals with the mentalities of small town people and how they react to situations within the family. Bheems has composed the music which became quite popular. The film is still playing in a few theaters in Telangana and is raking good money.
Also Read: Balagam review


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As you may have heard by now — and really all you had to do was log onto Facebook — an earthquake rumbled the East Coast a little bit on Tuesday afternoon.
An hour or so after the earthquake struck, another quake took place in Williamsport, Pa. — sort of.
The Netherlands and Cumberland, R.I., squared off in a consolation game at the Little League World Series on Tuesday afternoon. Following a home run from Netherlands' Phayson Antonio, the European representative to the World Series staged a pretty elaborate celebration.
As Antonio touched home plate, his teammates, who had gathered around the dirt surrounding home plate, all fell to the ground — as if Antonio had caused a tremor.
The timing is obviously great, but the celebration is more a take on Prince Fielder and the Brewers' similar celebration following one of his walk-off home runs in 2009.
If the Rhode Island team was upset about the celebration, they got their retribution where it mattered most — on the scoreboard. The home run put Europe up 7-3, but the tournament's New England representative battled back to put up five runs in the bottom of the sixth to win.
See video of the Netherlands celebration below, via Yahoo's Big League Stew blog.
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Meyer commits to long-term strategy for growth, profitability
In a bid to achieve long-term growth and profitability, Meyer plc has assured shareholders of its commitment to good corporate governance to drive sustainability and efficiency across the Company’s operations.
Addressing shareholders at the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Company, Managing Director, Rotimi Alashe said dividends were not paid in 2021 as a result of the decline in profit compared to 2020, a period when dividend payout amounted to about N700 million owing to the profit of disposal from the old building.
“There are also policies on dividend payment. Sometimes we don’t pay and the returns are plowed back to be able to build up the performance of the company so by the time we are declaring a dividend, we would have something huge to give. We are hoping that next year we should be able to pay dividends,” he added.
Alashe explained that the challenges faced by the company, which led to an increase in the cost of sales to N726 million from N469 million, were a result of the cost of input and purchasing power.
“We struggle with the issue of foreign exchange, as well as the cost of getting the materials. Locally, the purchasing power of customers is another challenge. With the higher cost of input, it is expected that our prices should increase but we can’t because most of the customers cannot buy the products,” Alashe added.
The paint company’s financial statement available on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), shows a breakdown of the cost of sales to which production of paints contributed the bulk to the sum of N713 million, vehicle application of paints amounted to N12 million in the year under review.
The Chairman, Kayode Falowo, said “raw materials have been a challenge in the industry, cost of sales have gone up, and we hope that when things get better in Nigeria and we have stability in the foreign exchange rate, that would positively affect how we are able to carry out our business and we will continue to ensure the quality of our products.”
On performance, the shareholders commended the management on the quality of the product which they concluded was “good and of international standard,” good corporate governance and management.
To this effect, the Managing Director assured the shareholders that a couple of initiatives are being put in place to ensure improvements going forward and that the company has been able to react and develop strategies to curtail the challenges being faced in the industry.
The building materials producer recorded a turnover of N1.1 billion for the financial year ended December 2021.
Meyer Plc is the Manufacturer and Marketer of high-quality Paints, including architectural paints, wood paints, auto refinishes, industrial and marine, road lining paints, Roof coatings, tube coatings, HP coatings, and adhesives.

domain: finance


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Salt River Tubing Transportation
Lux Transportation Salt River Tubing Transportation Party bus rentals or Shuttle bus rentals
Lux Transportation provide Salt River Tubing Transportation for you and your guest to and from the Salt River to enhance your Salt River Tubing trip.
Tubing down the Salt River is one of Arizona’s greatest attractions. If you are planning a day tubing trip with friends on the Salt River — consider renting out a shuttle bus or party bus from Lux Transportation. We have per passenger pricing that ensures the safely of your trip to this party attraction. The last thing you want to worry about after a long day of drinking in the hot sun is how your friends and family are going to get home.
Lux Transportation will book your Salt River Tubing Transportation in either a party bus rental or shuttle bus rental from your residence or a starting point and make certain that everyone on the trip is taken care, so you can just have fun on your adventure with you friends. Check out our Rentals.
Here’s what to bring:
- Swimsuit, shorts, hat and water shoes or old tennis shoes. Don’t wear sandals — the river bottom is rocky and it’s easy to lose them while floating.
- An old sheet. The rental tubes are black and heat quickly in the sun. Wet the sheet and drape it over your tube, and you’ll be comfortable for the ride.
- Life vests are recommended for children. Salt River Tubing & Recreation does not have life vests to rent, but they can be purchased for $6 at the snack bar or you can bring your own.
- Ample water and a sturdy cooler (foam coolers break easily and are environmentally unfriendly). Glass containers are prohibited and will be confiscated.
- Plenty of sunblock. You’ll be basking in the sun all day, and it’s easy to forget to reapply. Stash an extra tube in your cooler.
- Snacks and lunch, especially if you’re going on a longer float.
When you get there
- Arrive early to avoid long lines and congestion in the parking lot. Holiday weekends, especially Memorial Day, are the busiest.
- Rent a tube and shuttle pass at check-in, or bring your own tube. It’s cash only, and you need to leave a driver’s license as a deposit for every give tubes rented. Bring back your tube or you’ll have to pay a fine.
- Participants must be at least 8 years old and 4-feet tall to rent a tube and take the shuttle. Buses take riders to the launch area, which has a rocky path to the water, just below Stewart Mountain Dam.
- Three float options are available. Going from Point 1 to Point 2 takes 1½ to two hours. Going from Point 2 to Point 4 takes 2½ to three hours. The longest ride, from Points 1 to 4, takes four to five hours.

domain: travel


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Tottenham Hotspur captain, Hugo Lloris, has revealed that they don’t stand a chance of winning the Premier League title this season.
The 32-year-old goalkeeper helped the Premier League club finish fourth last season.
But Lloris still insist that they don’t have the experience of winning the Premier League.
Speaking at an interview with Sky Sports, Lloris said:
“Liverpool and Man City have the experience and they are really competitive.
“I think, at the moment, there’s something missing from us. We will see later in the season because things turn very quickly in football.
“The most important thing is we focus on ourselves, to get points, to get consistency in the league. And we will see where we are in the table in April, in March.
“That is the moment when you can win or lose European places or trophies. At the moment, we don’t want to lose focus with that type of question.


Square introduced Square Capital with the idea to help small business owners with more than just swiping credit cards. The loans, usually a few thousand dollars, help businesses that use Square stay afloat and stay ambitious.
At the end of Women's History Month, Square has some interesting data about how its loans are being distributed. Most of Square Capital's funding is going to women — particularly young women.
Of all the Square sellers who have accepted a loan from the payments company, 54 percent are women and 46 percent are men.
For millennials, or the 18- to 34-year-old group, that difference rises to 60 percent women and 40 percent men.
“With the number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. continuing to rise, improving and expanding access to capital is essential to enabling growth of these businesses. We are excited to see that among young businesses owners accepting funding through Square Capital, a large percentage are women, and that we are delivering on the factors both women and men value most when seeking capital: flexibility, trust and speed,” Head of Square Capital Jacqueline Reses said in a statement.
The average loan awarded through Square Capital is around $6,000 — way smaller than loans business owners could secure through a bank. Most sellers use loans of this size to purchase inventory, buy new equipment or fund day-to-day expenses. Square surveyed 7,000 sellers who have accepted loans to find out who was using Square Capital.
The numbers from Square show who is accepting loans from Square — not who's being offered them. The survey found that women business owners placed more value on a few aspects of loans provided by Square compared to traditional bank loans: flexible repayment terms (tied to daily credit card sales already reported to Square), trust and fast deposit of funds.
Of course, women also have a harder time securing small business loans from banks. The National Women's Business Council found that women start their businesses with half as much capital as men and that only 5.5 percent of women use bank loans to start their businesses, compared to 11.4 percent of men.
The only age group of Square business owners where more men that women used the payment company's loans was among ages 55 and older.


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In a lawsuit filed against the company Friday, Earth Island Institute, which publishes the Newspaper, alleges that Coca-Cola’s sustainability-focused statements amount to greenwashing or, in legal terms, false and misleading advertising. He stresses that despite intensive marketing of its so-called green image, the company is the number one generator of plastic waste in the world. Coca-Cola has also been named the number one corporate polluter for three consecutive years by the non-profit organization Break Free from Plastic’s. Global cleaning and brand audit report, which assesses plastic waste collected in dozens of countries.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the District of Columbia Superior Court under DC’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, does not seek damages, but rather seeks to end the deceptive practices from the beverage giant. “With this lawsuit, we are simply asking Coca-Cola to be honest with consumers about its use of plastic so that consumers can make informed purchasing decisions,” said Sumona Majumdar, general counsel for the Earth Island Institute.
In addition to its general statements focused on sustainability, Coca-Cola advertises its recycling initiatives online and is one of the hundreds of companies that have signed the Global Commitment to the New Plastics Economy, committing to contribute to the plastic pollution crisis and aiming for 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic by 2025. But this commitment, too, falls flat. According to Break Free from Plastic, the company has made little progress in tackling plastic waste since signing the pledge in 2018. And in fact, according to the lawsuit, Coca-Cola has actively opposed legislation that would strengthen recycling in the United States.
As the complaint says: âContrary to Coca-Cola’s claims, the company remains a major plastic polluter, has made no significant effort to move to a ‘circular economy’ or otherwise operate as a ‘sustainable’ business, and has a long history of consistently breaking public promises on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ideally, advocates say, Coca-Cola and other beverage companies would green their operations by increasing the use of reusable and refillable packaging. They would depend less heavily on the production of recyclable packaging and the promotion of recycling by consumers, tactics which have so far proved rather ineffective in dealing with the plastic pollution crisis and which justify the continuation of the campaign. plastic production.
“We want the Coca-Cola Company to stop greenwashing and false claims, to be transparent about the plastic it uses and to be a leader in investing in drop-off and recharge programs for the health of humans, animals. , waterways, the ocean and our environment, âsaid Julia Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Plastic Pollution Coalition, an Earth Island project, in a statement.
Greenwashing is nothing new. And it’s not limited to Big Plastic. As consumers’ attention increasingly turns to environmental issues, companies are trying more than ever to present responsible environmental ethics. This tactic is particularly visible in the fossil fuel industry, which has increasingly begun to use climate-friendly buzzwords like “net zero” and “carbon neutral” to describe itself while doing little to actually do so. fight against its enormous climate impact.
Like Big Plastic, Big Oil has been called in for these claims. In 2019, nonprofit environmental law group ClientEarth sued BP, alleging that the company’s advertising promoted low-carbon technologies when nearly all of its spending was on oil and gas. gas. BP has withdrawn its ads.
More recently, several non-profit environmental associations, including Earthworks, Global Witness and Greenpeace USA, filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission on the similar practices of another oil and gas company, Chevron. The lawsuit, filed in March, alleges that Chevron has been misleading advertising by exaggerating its commitment to reduce pollution from fossil fuels and its investments in renewable energy. In April, ClientEarth also released a big survey compare the advertisements published by ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and several other oil and gas companies, with their overall impact on the climate and their progress towards reducing that impact. The group found, unsurprisingly, that the two did not line up.
âWe are currently witnessing a big disappointment, where the companies most responsible for catastrophic global warming are spending millions on advertising campaigns about how their business plans are geared towards sustainability,â Johnny White, one of the ClientEarth lawyers, Told The Guardian.
Perhaps lawsuits like the ones against BP and now Coca-Cola will help put an end to these big disappointments. At the very least, they will hopefully inform consumers about the true nature of the products they are buying.

domain: law


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Last week Pershing Square’s founder and CEO, Bill Ackman, made an impassioned plea on CNBC to shut down the country for 30 days to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus.
Q4 2019 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
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Ackman's comments sent the stock market into a melt-down. The S&P 500 dropped 7% after his interview, triggering a 15-minute 'circuit breaker' trading halt.
Bill Ackman's Emotional Interview
In the emotional interview, Ackman revealed he went into lockdown almost a month ago to save his father's life who is immunocompromised. He also said that as early as January, "I was getting increasingly bearish, and I woke up with a nightmare."
"My nightmare was you have this virus that replicates and infects incredibly rapidly." He added his colleagues thought he was a "lunatic" when he took out cash from an ATM.
He went on to implore President Trump to shut down the economy for 30 days to contain the fast-spreading virus.
"What's scaring the American people and corporate America now is the gradual rollout," he stated. "We need to shut it down now. ... This is the only answer," the hedge fund manager went on to declare.
He also told the program that companies need to stop their buy-back programs because "hell is coming."
"The hotel industry and the restaurant industry will go bankrupt first, Boeing is on the brink, Boeing will not survive without a government bailout," Ackman said. "Capitalism does not work in an 18-month shutdown, capitalism can work in a 30-day shutdown."
Bill Ackman Wants A Complete Lockdown To Contain Coronavirus
After the interview, Ackman reiterated his stance with a series of Tweets doubling down on his belief that the only way to exit this situation quickly is for a complete lockdown of the country:
"Mr. President, the only answer is to shut down the country for the next 30 days and close the borders. Tell all Americans that you are putting us on an extended Spring Break at home with family. Keep only essential services open. The government pays wages until we reopen.
No one defaults, no one forecloses. A 30-day rent, interest, and tax holiday for all. The shutdown is inevitable as it is already happening, but not in a controlled fashion, which is extending the economic pain and amplifying the spread of the virus.
With exponential compounding, every day we postpone the shutdown costs thousands, and soon hundreds of thousands, and then millions of lives, and destroys the economy."
Ackman is particularly exposed to the market sell-off. He is a significant shareholder of hotel chain Hilton, which has been hit hard by the global economic shutdown.
At the end of 2019, the Hilton position accounted for nearly 18% of Pershing Square's portfolio, making it the second-largest position after Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
In his interview with CNBC, Ackman said hotel stocks, including Hilton, could "go to zero" soon if no action is taken.
Shares in Hilton were "down from 120 to 50, and it's going to zero along with every other hotel company", he warned.
A Record Year
Ackman's bad luck this year comes after a record year for Pershing Square.
In 2019, the hedge fund, which has struggled in recent years, returned 58.1% in 2019 that made it one of the world's best-performing hedge funds for the year, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 stock index, which returned 29%.
This is an impressive comeback for the hedge fund manager. He was humbled in 2015 and 2016 as his bet on Valiant Pharmaceuticals turned sour. Persing Square suffered double-digit losses in 2015 and 2016, followed by smaller declines in 2017 and 2018.
However, after 2019's performance, Ackman entered 2019 with a strong tailwind behind him.
If you’re looking for value stocks, and exclusive access to value-focused hedge fund managers, check out Hidden Value Stocks.
Bill Ackman Hedges Coronavirus
This performance was holding up until the first week of March. According to investor correspondence, is publicly traded hedge fund gained 3% for the year to March 9, with hedges more than compensating for market declines in portfolio companies.
"Despite recent market declines, we believe that equity and credit markets have not sufficiently discounted the economic risks of coronavirus," Ackman said in his letter to clients at the beginning of the month.
As of the close of business on March 17, the fund was down -6.5%. That's compared to a loss of nearly 26% for the S&P 500 over the same time frame.
Since his initial comments on CNBC, Ackman has since come out to clarify his position on Twitter.
"I am confident the president will do the right thing in temporarily shutting down the country and closing the borders. If that happens, we can win the war against the virus and the markets, and the economy will soar," the hedge fund manager posted.
He went on to add:
"That is why we are buying stocks. These are bargains of a lifetime if we manage this crisis correctly."
This article was first posted on ValueWalkPremium


What does it say about our collective rage over the death of a puppy(and all animal abuse in general) that the feeling of retribution has driven an entire franchise to box office success not once, twice, but three times? That … Continue reading John Wick Chapter Three: Parabellum
Remember when the prediction was Oscar season would bring smarter movies? Perhaps Hollywood has outdone itself this time.
“Cloud Atlas” is the most recent ground-breaking film from an industry that hasn’t done a lot of ground-breaking lately. Perhaps it is the deep though required to understand the meaning of the film, or perhaps in the deep concentration required to even follow it that makes it as ambitious as it is.
Continue reading “Cloud Atlas”


Stanley FatMax Mobile Chest
Stanley STA194850 FatMax Mobile Chest features an all-round seal to keep the water out and make sure the contents stay safe. The Stanley FatMax Mobile Chest has also been fitted with heavy-duty wheels to give better mobility on rough surfaces. The Mobile Chest has also got a portable tote tray for the smaller hand tools and small parts, while the lid has an integrated lock and key to keep the tools protected.
- All-round water seal
- Portable tote tray for hand tools
- integrated 'V' groove for sawing on site
- Size: 910 x 516 x 431mm
Tool Type: Tool Chests


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BEN Brierly fired Shotton Steel to the top of the Under 12s Division on Saturday as his two goals ensured they maintained their 100% winning start to the season with a 2-1 home victory over Mynydd Isa Coyotes.
The talented striker struck in either half to cancel out Chris Pearce’s effort for the ever-improving Coyotes.
Mold Juniors are motoring along nicely in fifth and, thanks to hitmen Alex Calvert (4) and Christos Pyrgas (2), they made it five wins on the spin with a super 6-3 home success over third-placed Connah’s Quay Tigers, whose replies came courtesy of hat-trick hero Henry Badhams.
Danny Price, Peter Trumper and Kevin Ogden saw Holywell Town Juniors to a 3-1 home victory over under-strength Phoenix, for whom goal-machine Alex Jones reduced the deficit.
Buckley Town Juniors may be waiting for their first three points of the campaign but they are through to the third round of the NEWFA Under 12s Cup after they kept their cool to win 3-0 on penalties at Johnstown Youth.
Josh Fensome, Liam Jones and Joey Jones (2) netted for Buckley as it finished 4-4 after extra-time.
Rhys Roberts and Liam Plevin were on target as Hawarden Rangers also negotiated the second-round hurdle by triumphing 2-1 at home to Llangollen Youth.
But Penyffordd Panthers, despite Eric Thomas’ strike, are out after they went down 5-1 at Marchwiel Youth.
Penyffordd made it five Under 13s Division victories from five on Saturday as they won 5-0 at Mold Junior Jets.
Daniel Lee (2), Matthew Owen and Shaun Middleton (2) did the damage for fourth-placed Peny.
Aron Williams was Flint-Bagillt Juniors’ four-goal hero in their 5-3 win at Aston Park Rangers, who went close through Josh Homewood (2) and Jamie Fraser. Peter Owen completed the Silkmen’s scoring.


Liberals still failing Tasmanians on housing
- Government delivers just five of 80 promised social housing homes
- Public housing waiting list has blown out under Liberals’ watch
- Government must get on with building affordable and social housing
The Liberal government continues to fail struggling Tasmanians with its inability to deliver promised affordable and social housing.
Shadow Housing Minister Alison Standen said, despite the government’s continual announcements, it has made little headway on the state’s housing crisis.
“It is now more than a year since agreement was reached to waive Tasmania’s historic Commonwealth State Housing Agreement debt,” Ms Standen said.
“At the time, the Housing Minister promised another 80 homes would be delivered each year for people on social housing waiting list across Tasmania.
“And yet, the most recent quarterly housing report showed just five new social housing homes have been funded through the debt waiver. Not 80 – just five.
“Roger Jaensch has a fine record of announcements, but there is no record of delivery to back it up.
“The number of people on the waiting list for public housing has blown out to 3600 people on his watch, with a 64 per cent increase in the waiting list since the Liberals took office.
“It is beyond time that the government fixed this mess and provided the affordable and social housing struggling Tasmanians need.
“Labor’s Housing Works policy, which is an important part of our COVID-19 Recovery Package, would fast track the building of 490 affordable homes and deliver 550 new jobs including 75 apprenticeships during the construction phase.
“By adopting Labor’s policy, the government can start delivering on its promises to help the growing number of Tasmanians facing homelessness and help build Tasmania out of recession.”
Alison Standen MP
Shadow Housing Minister


text: I find the claw feet to be one of the most exquisite design features of the classic camp stoves. This ornamental design is completely unnecessary from a functional perspective, yet designers, toolmakers etc went the extra mile to turn the stoves into pieces of art that elevate outdoor cooking. I have been on the look-out for one, got it today. This should be a 1930's unit. It's nickel plated and came with the tin box and a variety of accessories, actually a few of them from other brands. Spirit can no. 866 from Sievert, jet key from Primus with a spare jet, cleaning needles from Radius and 2 boxes of matches. A third box of matches was wrapped in what seems to be waxed cotton cloth. Probably to keep them dry. The stove was in quite good shape. Pump leather was dry but looked unused and was easy to lubricate and get going. Pump NRV was jammed and would not open, I replaced with a new one. Also lead and calmonite packings needed replacement. I did a pressure test in a sink, and only the packing of the reserve lid was bad, so I have to get a new one. Dimpled spirit cup: Roarer burner with Russian and Arabic marking. Flame spreader stamped Optimus and Sweden. Stamping on bottom of tank (Stockholm - not Upplands Väsby). Stamping on side of tank. Air screw marked Stockholm. I just love the claw feet. Matches that came with the stove, the Three Stars brand matches had instruction for use on the back. I guess these are pretty old match boxes. They suggest the stove has not been used for quite some years. Tin box with, if I understand things correctly, the older type of latch for this box design. Time for brew test. Preheating. Ignition. Brew is ready! Thanks for checking out this claw-feeter!

domain: hobby


text:
March 22, 2017
- Ants are hardworking and beneficial insects, research reveals. In the activities of their daily lives, ants help increase air, water flow, and organic matter in soil. The work done by ants even forms a type of mulch that helps hold water in the soil.
- Tasty, versatile, and rich in essential omega-3 fatty acids: salmon is one of the most popular edible fish of all. Shops sell fish caught in the wild, but their main produce is salmon from breeding farms which can pollute rivers, lakes and oceans. Just how big is the problem? Scientists are working to answer this question by examining the dissolved organic compounds which enter Chile’s rivers from salmon farms. They warn that these substances are placing huge strain on ecosystems and are...
- Bees latch on to similarly-sized nectarless flowers to unpick pollen – like keys fitting into locks, scientists have discovered.
March 21, 2017
- The story of wildlife conservation is usually framed as man vs. treasured wildlife. But there's growing evidence that the narrative deserves to have leading roles for livestock such as sheep, yaks or cows. A group of researchers are building the case that allowing livestock to graze and forage amidst protected wildlife disrupts wildlife already struggling for survival -- and that different wildlife react to livestock invasions in different ways.
March 20, 2017
- Researchers have identified a more sensitive test for detecting the early stages of paratuberculosis, a fatal disease that plagues dairy herds and causes an estimated annual loss of up to $250 million to the US dairy industry.
March 16, 2017
- New work from a joint team of plant biologists and ecologists has uncovered the factor behind an important innovation that makes grasses -- both the kind that make up native prairies and the kind we've domesticated for crops -- among the most-common and widespread plants on the planet. Their findings may enable the production of plants that perform better in warmer and dryer climate conditions.
- Scientists have identified a key element underlying the superior function of stomata -- or tiny, gas-exchanging pores -- in grasses, where stomata function more efficiently than they do in other plant types.
- A world-first genetic study of cattle in Africa has revealed clues which could help secure the future of meat and dairy production on the continent. Scientists in England and East Africa carried out the study to help inform future breeding programs and stop indigenous cattle from dying out.
- Plants possess molecular mechanisms that prevent them from blooming in winter. Once the cold of winter has passed, they are deactivated. However, if it is still too cold in spring, plants adapt their blooming behavior accordingly. Scientists have discovered genetic changes for this adaptive behavior. In light of the temperature changes resulting from climate change, this may come in useful for securing the production of food in the future.
March 15, 2017
- Scientists have pinpointed a key genetic switch that helps soil bacteria living on and inside a plant's roots harvest a vital nutrient with limited global supply. The nutrient, phosphate, makes it to the plant's roots, helping the plant increase its yield.


Is this the best 3D printer under $300?
The Alfawise U30 is another in a very long line of budget 3D printers. Little brother to the Alfawise U20 reviewed here. It seems more and more arrive every week. There are many brands with very similar models. With little to no copyright in China it’s no wonder. It’s unfair for the tech companies trying to compete but great for us end users. I here many lecture against buying from China but lets face it, no one can beat the prices. This may be the best 3d printer under 300. Although the down side is Safety seems to take a back burner when they are competing against themselves. Purchase and use the items with caution.
One of the biggest safety concerns when it comes to 3D printers is the safety checks disabled in the Firmware which many do.
Alfawise U30 Specifications
|Engraving Area:||220 x 220 x 250mm|
|Frame material:||Aluminum Alloy|
|Nozzle temperature:||Room temperature to 250 degree|
|Memory card offline print:||TF card|
|Print speed:||120mm/s (max.), 30 – 70mm/s ( recommended )|
|Platform temperature:||Room temperature to 100 degree|
|Supporting material:||ABS,PLA,Wood Filled|
|XY-axis positioning accuracy:||0.0125mm|
|Z-axis positioning accuracy:||0.0025mm|
|Host computer software:||Cura,Repetier-Host,Simplify3D|
|Packing Type:||unassembled packing|
|System support:||Windows / Mac / Linux|
|Connector Type:||TF card,USB|
The U30 doesn’t comes as most Kit printers. Packed in white packing foam. The U30 comes with a set of allen keys, a flat cutout wrench and a Micro SD card. The printer also comes with the 3 meter roll of filament. I don’t typically use the small pieces of filament because they don’t usually include enough to print the test models on the SD card. I started to print with it and it tangled up and jammed the printer. So I tossed it and moved on. Keep reading to see if this is the best 3d printer under 300.
As usual the included Micro SD comes with sample models and a soft copy manual pdf file. The included USB micro SD reader is junk and I had a similar one that corrupted every card I put in it. Therefore I don’t use them. I keep them in case I need one in a pinch but I have better ones to use and you should also. It also includes an older copy of the free slicer software Cura 15.
The U30 is considered a “DIY Kit” printer, aka best 3d printer under 300. But more like a 50% assembled kit. For me I love the assembly process and this one seems like a happy medium between a fully assembled printer and the 0% ones like the Anet A6 and A8.
The Base comes pre assembled with the power supply and mainboard wired up. That is a good thing as most users shouldn’t be wiring up mains voltage. The manual doesn’t have much text and uses images to show you the steps. Similar to Ikea furniture.
I won’t go over the steps but I’m including photos of my assembly and a link to the manual.
As I mentioned in the SD section the SD has Cura 15 included with it. I would say use that and if you can afford Simplify 3D then it’s worth the investment. You can keep Cura 15 on your PC and install the newest version at the same time. Give the newest version a try and if you get bad prints then try version 15.
After the awesome prints I got from Alfawise U20I was excited to see what the U30 could do. Being the same printer with a smaller build size my expectations were high. While it’s not the same quality it isn’t to far off. At the current $250USD price point is better then the Creality Ender 3 Pro at a regular price of $323USD. This is starting to look more and more like the best 3d printer under 300
PLA (Polylactic Acid) Filament
As usual I chose to print one of the files off the SD card. It came pre sliced. Unsure what settings or slicer was used but it printed very well. That’s the thing with test prints, if they print better then your own sliced objects it proves any issues your prints have are slicer and not printer problems. It’s harder to see with the black filament but this little fox is very well printed.
For a while now I have been wanting to print this cute cartoon gun from the my mini factory website. This image is from the site and I just wanted to show how cool it is painted up.
Mine isn’t glued together yet but will be sanded and painted also. I printed most in black but the black doesn’t show well in photos so I printed a white one to show you the details.
These little bullet guys are awesome! I can’t wait to paint mine up.
Next I printed a ghost face from thingivers.com. Again, sorry the black is hard to see. I just bought a bunch of filament and most of it is black the rest is white. I have plans to print my own RC BB8 from the BB8 Builders club. I also printed the big cartoon gun.
Here are a couple of photos with an American dime for size reference.
PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate) Filament
Because my PETG was grey and almost gone I printed this little Castle Grayskull from Thingiverse. It is supper tiny and even at 300% it was still super tiny and didn’t print any of the detail. So I printed it again at 400% https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2840544
I was a big He-Man fan growing up. I had all the toys and watched the show regularly.
I included an American dime for size reference. PETG is a mix of PLA and ABS(Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) to get some of the ABS strength and ease of PLA. Only problem is that you have to get the temperature and retraction settings just perfect or you get strings going from one pice to another as the tip travels from piece to piece. The reason for this is that the melted filament comes out while traveling. The retraction pulls back the filament whatever distance you set in the slicer. That reduces pressure that is created while the extruder pushes the filament through the tip during printing. Mastering the retraction settings is difficult. I find a retraction distance of 8mm and a speed of 40 mm per second works well on all of my printers with bowden tube extruders. The bowden tube guides the filament from the extruder motor to the hotend. This lets you keep the weight of the motor from the X axis allowing easier movements at higher speeds. This is looking to be one of my favorite best 3d printer under 300.
TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) Filament
TPU is an elastic type of filament that allows you to print cool things like RC Tires or flexible hinges. The flexibleness is determined by how much infill you fill the print with. So for RC tires you can print them almost empty for soft off road driving. If you add more infil you can print harder rubber tires for RC onroad driving. I printed these Mario question cube and tunnel toys with to much infill and it doesn’t flex as much as I hoped.
The popularity of 3D printing has paved the way for many types of filaments that I have yet to try. I want to order some ASA (Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) filament as I heard it is very strong. Nylon (Polyamide) is also a strong filament that requires an all metal hotend and high temps for printing with the best 3d printer under 300.
Matterhackers has a nice comparison page for the filaments they make. https://www.matterhackers.com/3d-printer-filament-compare
The only modification I did with this printer is flip the bed over. On the top they have a builtack surface stuck to glass. Glas and hairspray is all I use so simply flipping the glass over works well for me. The larger bed printers are usually 300mm or close to it therefore 1 foot square mirror tiles works perfectly.
Being fairly new there isn’t much for printable mods. You could print bigger bed level knobs but the ones on there aren’t to bad.
Best 3d printer under 300: Final Judgement
This printer is the perfect mate to the bigger Alfawise U20 which is my current favorite printer.
They have the same look and feel. It’s a bit noisier then the U20. The U30 is a direct competitor of the Creality Ender 3. The U30 has a the same price as the ender 3 and $40 cheaper than the Ender 3 Pro. Aside from the closed source firmware and the ribbon wire for the display the U30 is a much better machine. They are both good little machines but the U30 would get my vote. I hope the Alfawise grows in popularity because they are great printers at great prices.
Last update on 2023-12-07 at 00:13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API


text:
By Alan Bean
This reflection was written in 2017 for a service honoring the families of hospice patients.
If you have seen Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, it’s hard to hear Luke’s Christmas story without thinking of the “baby Jesus grace.” Ricky Bobby is a driver, not a thinker, and it shows.
“Dear lord baby Jesus,” Ricky Bobby prays, “We thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Domino’s, KFC and the always delicious Taco Bell. I just want to take time to say thank you for my family, my two beautiful, beautiful, handsome, striking sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, or T.R. as we call him, and of course, my red-hot smoking wife, Carley who is a stone-cold fox. Dear tiny Jesus in your golden-fleece diapers, with your tiny, little, fat, balled-up fists pawing at the air ….”
Ricky’s wife, Carley, just has to interrupt: “Hey, um, you know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You don’t always have to call him, ‘baby.’ It’s a bit odd and off-putting to pray to a baby.”
Ricky is undaunted “Well, I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace,” he says. “When you say grace, you can say it to grownup Jesus or teenage Jesus or bearded Jesus, or whoever you want.”
Then the true nature of Carley’s concern bubbles to the surface.
“You know what I want? I want you to do this grace good, so that God will let us win tomorrow.”
So, sensitive to his wife’s heartfelt concern, Ricky Bobby cuts to the chase. “Dear, 8-pound, 6-ounce, newborn infant Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant and so cuddly, but still omnipotent, we just thank you for all the races I’ve won and the 21.2 million dollars that I have accrued over this past season.”
Although we’re not as obvious about it as Ricky Bobby, we are all tempted to create God in our own image. And it is frighteningly easy to do. Especially if Walker and Texas Ranger are still too young to get into serious trouble, your wife maintains her “stone-cold fox” status, and you are racking up wins and rewards.
But when the bottom falls out, our ersatz gods just make us miserable, and only the real God can help. This is particularly true when, (to quote blues legend Taj Mahal) “it’s late in the evening and old man death come sneakin’ round your door.”
When you build your life around another person (a husband, a wife, a child, a parent) and that person dies a slow, humiliating death, the God question cannot be avoided.
We ask why a loving God would allow a good person to suffer like that. We ask why God would take from us the one person we can’t imagine living without.
Unable to answer these hard questions, some people give up on God. Genuine atheism is rare. We don’t stop believing in God, we just stop praying, trusting and hoping. The mere mention of religion makes us feel conflicted and uncomfortable.
And some of us become angry with God. We think about him all the time, but hardly in a positive or productive way. We believe God has revealed himself to be unjust and we want to hold him accountable. If God is so loving, why does he take our loved ones from us? We want answers.
No one lives forever. We know that. If people pass peacefully, contented and full of years, we’ve got no arguments. But why does the dying have to be so hard? And why do so many die before their time?
We don’t usually ask these questions in public. Someone might be offended or, worse still, try to defend the ways of the Almighty. We might not even allow our questions to enter the realm of conscious thought. But God becomes a burden to us, not a comfort. Not only have we lost a person who was more precious to us than life itself, we have lost our God. We have lost our hope.
We hear tales of miraculous healing or about people escaping disaster thanks to divine providence. These stories once filled us with hope. Now we just ask why, in our case, God fumbled the ball.
Some tell of the glories God has in store for the faithful on the other side of death or at the end of time. But when you find yourself in the clutches of grief, the past and the future don’t matter — you want help now. You want answers now.
The books of Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, place little Alice in worlds where logic breaks down, everyone talks nonsense, and no amount of explaining ever helps. In one scene the White Queen considers making Alice a personal assistant and promises to give her “two pence a week, and jam every other day.” A curious conversation ensues:
Alice couldn’t help laughing, as she said, “I don’t want you to hire me — and I don’t care for jam.”
“It’s very good jam,” said the Queen.
“Well, I don’t want any to-day, at any rate.”
“You couldn’t have it if today if you did want it,” the Queen said. “The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday — but never jam today.”
When you’re grieving, you’re not interested in jam yesterday or jam tomorrow; you want some jam today.
The people of ancient Israel sometimes felt like characters in a Lewis Carroll storybook. Their scriptures were awash in tales of miraculous deliverance in days of yore and studded with promises of salvation to come, but the present moment offered nothing but the same old oppression and despair.
Jam tomorrow, jam yesterday, but never jam today.
Caesar Augustus, a Roman emperor who sells himself as a god, snaps his fingers and, hundreds of miles away in the random village of Nazareth, a carpenter named Joseph and his very pregnant wife, Mary, pack up the donkey and head south. They have no choice. In this world, it seems, Caesar calls the shots.
And then God inserts himself right into the middle of this miserable tale, but in a way no one could have expected.
And while they were there, the time came for Mary to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Objectively considered, this is a scene of abject misery. The same old depression and despair God’s people have come to expect. But from the perspective of heaven, as certain poor shepherds are about to discover, this particular revelation of spectacle comes with breathtaking implications.
Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people;
for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.
The angel isn’t talking about jam yesterday or jam tomorrow, it’s all happening “this day,” just over the hill, in your own back yard.
And this shall be a sign unto you: you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
What is a manger, exactly? A feed trough for cows, sheep and goats. The French word for eating, manger, has the same spelling as the English word “manger.” This is the language of scandal and humiliation, but these angels we have heard on high transpose this desperate scene into the key of glory. It is glorious because the angels say it is glorious and, we are just desperate enough to believe them.
Swaddling clothes were thin strips of cloth that were wrapped around and around a baby so tightly that the infant’s legs were held together while it’s arms were pressed to its body. Whatever Ricky Bobby might think, the baby Jesus had no “golden-fleece diapers” and his “tiny, little, fat, balled-up fists” were not “pawing at the air.”
The God who became flesh wasn’t just laid to rest in a cow’s feeding trough; he was wrapped so tight in his swaddling clothes he literally could not move a muscle.
For Luke, this image of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger is so significant it is repeated three times.
First we see Mary wrapping her baby in swaddling clothes and laying the child in the dirty hay of a manger. No angels. No glory. Just cold and dark and the sinus-clearing stench of fresh manure.
The glory is reserved for shepherds abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night. “We have good tidings of great joy for everybody,” the angels declare. “And here’s what to look for: a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
So the shepherds go with haste and find Joseph and Mary, and the babe lying in a manger.
“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
What, exactly, had they seen? No glory shining around this cattle stall. No angel choir singing the Hallelujah chorus overhead. The sight is glorious because the angels declared it to be so — and they see with the eyes of heaven. God works no miracle, bring no warmth, no light, no food and no drink.
Bound tight in his swaddling clothes, this God-baby has nothing to offer but his mere presence. But if you have heard the angels sing, that’s enough.
Maybe Walker and Texas Ranger are still too young to get into real trouble and Carley still rates as a stone-cold fox, and this baby in the manger, shivering in the world’s darkest night, hardly warrants a second look. But if our world has gone dark, this God wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger might be just the thing. Not what we’re looking for, of course; but precisely what we need.
We don’t get the answers we demand — we get Emmanuel, “God with us.” A God who understands, who’s been there, who gets us, who feels us, who is for us, a God who pitches his tent right where it hurts the most and refuses to leave.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let earth receive her king.
One thought on “Ricky Bobby was right about baby Jesus . . . almost”
Yeah, I guess the image we create in our minds is what leaves us disillusioned when it doesn’t match up with our expectations. It is easier than we think to create those sorts of things. Thanks, there are times I have really struggled with sullen prayers, complaints, and a rather battered faith. It always seems like the world is winning and God even lets it happen. Maybe part of the problem has been difficulty recalibrating how I understood God. We are mere servants and stewards here. We just have to go on trusting that there will be an answer somewhere down the road.
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text:
Isn’t it lovely, and sometimes necessary, to travel with your dog!
Many people ask us if it is possible to bring their dog to Ullstorp, but, unfortunately, that is not possible, due primarily to allergies. But now we have found a nice dog hotel that we collaborate with! It’s called Lilla Björn Bjelke, and is a day care / hotel for dogs, only 12 minutes by car from us.
The manager Anne-Lie Lindberg takes care of the dogs and she has room for three at a time. At the same place she also has a dog day care center.
Lilla Björn Bjelke is out on the country side with the woods and beautiful nature right around the corner.

domain: pet


text:
Two law enforcement officers want the courts to overturn legislation passed by 225,260 voters earlier this year legalizing marijuana in South Dakota.
Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom and South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Rick Miller filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the constitutionality of Amendment A, which legalized the cultivation, transport, possession and sale of marijuana in in the state.
Voters approved the amendment in the Nov. 3 election with by an 8% margin.
In a release issued Friday announcing the legal challenge, Thom and Miller argue Amendment A violates the constitution because it encompassed more than one subject, a limitation added to the constitution by voters in 2018. And they say the process voters used to pass Amendment A doesn’t comply with the constitution.
Read the full story at the Argus Leader.

domain: politics


text:
The Black Director Who Should Have Won an Oscar
tags: film,civil rights,Oscars,Oscar Micheaux
The grandson of slaves, Oscar Micheaux made 44 movies, becoming the “Cecil B. De Mille of Race Movies,” and the “Czar of Black Hollywood,” inspired by that obnoxiously racist film from 1915: Birth of a Nation.
As optimists, Americans usually treat inspiration as positive, but fear and fury motivate too. This Oscar who deserved an Oscar but never got one, turned watching Birth of a Nation into the birth of his movie career. And he refused to be shackled by the limitations all blacks endured during what we should call the Awful African-American Purgatory. Living from 1884 to 1951, he was sandwiched into that black state of suspended political animation—post-Civil-War pre-Civil-Rights—when black freedom wasn’t completely denied but not yet achieved. While defying racism, Oscar Micheaux was so upbeat, so patriotic, and so successful, the historian Dan Moos calls him a Black Turnerian. That label embodies the optimism, pragmatism, and nationalism the late-nineteenth-century historian Frederick Jackson Turner found in the American frontier.
Micheaux’s birthplace, Murphysboro, Illinois, in 1884, and upbringing on a Kansas farm with ten siblings, set him up to be a middle American. But his adopted hometown of Gregory, South Dakota, which celebrates his legacy with an annual festival, reflects the frontier pioneer he chose to be. When he was 21 he was already homesteading 160 acres in South Dakota. Tough and ambitious, he found acceptance out West—neighbors complimented him as one of them, by calling him more South Dakotan than black...
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domain: history