The lyrics would make rapper Lil Kim proud -- "Slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll, don't that sound like a real man/I'm going to show him what a little girl's made of, gunpowder and lead."

"It was very shocking to me," says Lambert, who wrote the song with Heather Little. "It's the most controversial song I've put out so far and it gets to the top 10. I thought it would be (last single) 'Famous in a Small Town' or something not so threatening." ("Famous" reached No. 14 in November, topping previous best "Kerosene," the title track from her 2005 debut album, which peaked at No. 15 in March 2006.)

The song's subject matter is "a bit rough," says Bruce Logan, program director for country station WKKT in Charlotte, N.C., but he adds "the audience is smarter than we give them credit for. All the people who love the song aren't gun-toting crazies about to off a loved one. They enjoy the song for the attitude, performance, and it's fun."

I wouldn't describe it as "fun", nor the woman in the song as a "crazy" about to off a loved one, but maybe other radio programmers have also been misreading the message, allowing the song to sneak into the top ten, certainly aided by Lambert's surprise (and deserved) Album of the Year victory at May's ACM Awards.

But as cool as it is that the strongest new female artist out there is finally getting serious airplay, this isn't just a first for Miranda Lambert. "Gunpowder & Lead" is also the first domestic abuse song to crack the top ten. That may be surprising to many, since Martina McBride's "Independence Day" and the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl" are both signature hits that sold a ton of records, but they peaked at #12 and #13, respectively. Even Rachel Proctor's "Me and Emily", which just had the abused wife leaving with her child in tow, stopped outside the top ten. Other major female stars tackled the issue on their albums, including Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Rosanne Cash and Faith Hill, but the songs were never sent to radio.

This seems like a big step in the right direction, and it's good to see Lambert join the very small ranks of female artists who have top ten hits at country radio these days.

What other songs with controversial topics should have been hits, or deserve a shot today?

     I am doing it in a blog as a way too form a new hobby in the meantime. I have really gotten into this whole thing. Putting up new posts almost daily, sometimes several in a day. It's fun to read other people's lives on here too.

     But with the type of story I am telling, my wife has some unease about it. I get into too many details and she does not like to read them. She thinks I may be up to no good on here too. I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, that I love her and I would never, ever do anything to harm or destroy our marriage.

     I absolutley have the utmost adoration for my wife. I am lucky for having her by my side through life, and I cherish her, our marriage, and the life we continue to build on a daily basis.

     It hurts me to think she has some kind of untrust in her about me. It doesn't help her any, for me to talk about things in my posts, mainly the meeting of women on the internet I had done. I have zero interest in that. I am over all that stuff. I have been there, done that, and I refuse to do it ever again.

     I am putting this up here to prove to her that what I say to her in person is the truth. I think maybe she needs to see it in writing. I have revealed my passwords to her and she has read all that I have ever said to others. I never did a thing, I can honestly say.

     I feel better for having written this, and I hope she realizes that the man she has married is, in fact, a good, trusting, loyal companion, best friend, and husband.

Surat terbuka untuk Ketua Dewan Syuro PBB
Sdr.Yusril Izha Mahendra

" Negara kita sudah 63 tahun merdeka dan sampai saat ini kita mengunakan dasar Negara Pancasila, tetapi sampai saat ini korupsi, pembunuhan dimana-mana, .. mbok berikan kesempatan kami (PBB) untuk mendirikan syariat Islam, jika gagal gantikan lagi dengan Pancasila atau yg lainnya".

Demikian pernyataan tegas dan jelas yang disampaikan oleh salah satu anggota partai anda, Partai Bulan Bintang pada saat acara debat di salah satu media televisi nasional kita beberapa hari lalu, saya katakan anggota PBB karena pada saat itu dia terlihat paling rapi dengan mengunakan jaket kebesaran partainya.

Setelah pernyataan itu keluar dari anggota partainya, Sdr.Yusril Izha Mahendra (Ketua Dewan Syuro PBB) secepatnya menangkis dan mengatakan bahwa antara elite dan massa itu biasa, saya kira apa yang dipikirkan Gus Dur juga bisa beda pendapat dengan apa yang dipahami oleh orang awam.

Kesenjangan pikiran antara pemimpin dan massanya memang ada, dan biasa terjadi. Hanya saja kesenjangan pikiran antara anda,Yusril Izha Mahendra selaku calon presiden dari Partai Bulan Bintang dengan massa pendukungannya yang tercermin dalam acara debat tersebut merupakan hal yang luar biasa. Luar biasa, karena saya yakin apa yang dikatakan sebagai massa oleh anda bukanlah massa biasa, bagaimana bisa seorang Yusri Izha Mahendra yang pintar dan cerdas dalam acara debat yang disiarkan secara langsung dan disaksikan oleh jutaan rakyat Indonesia datang ke acara itu hanya ditemani oleh massa biasa (pengembira) bukan oleh orang-orang yang termasuk pentolan dalam partainya (orang yang setidaknya paham akan misi dan visi partainya, seperti yang diutarakan olehnya sepanjang debat itu).

Bang Yusril, menurut saya bukan hal yang biasa jika seseorang berani secara terbuka dan terang-terangan mengatakan dengan tegas dan jelas ingin menggantikan Pancasila sebagai Dasar Negara kita. Bukankah ini merupakan tindakan makar, tindakan yang dapat dikatakan sebagai tindakan yang mengkhianati bangsa dan negaranya?. Apakah para pemimpin partai politik anda berani bertanggung jawab dan berani mengatakan secara tegas dan jelas bahwa ada kesalahan yang dilakukan dalam hal mengajarkan dan menanamkan nilai-nilai universal dalam Pancasila yang menurut Ki Hajar Dewantara merupakan "Sari Pati Budaya Nusantara" terhadap anggota partai anda selama ini?.

Saya yakin bang Yusril adalah sosok seorang negarawan dan seorang pemikir yang cerdas, dengan melihat dan mendengar secara langsung pernyataan yang disampaikan oleh salah satu anggota partai anda, semoga hal ini dapat membuka hati anda untuk menyadari bahwa didalam tubuh partai anda sendiri saja masih terjadi carut-marut pemahaman visi dan misi syariat Islam (menurut pemahaman anda) yang akan partai anda perjuangkan. Semoga carut marut itu dapat anda atasi dan tidak segera anda sebarkan kepada kami, rakyat Indonesia terlepas dari apapun suku, ras dan agama kami. Indonesia Jaya!.

Salam Indonesia,

Hadi Susanto

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http://www.mediacar e.biz

The Numbers
Manny's actual performance has been very good, even in his post-peak period. It might help us gain some perspective to look at this in a little more detail. In 214 games since the beginning of 2007, he's hit .301/.394/.521, compared to .312/.409/.590 over his career. There actually isn't much change there except the slugging percentage (which is a not a minor thing), but that's skewed by last year's .493 mark, the worst of his career. Ramirez is back up to .529 this season (ISO of .233 compared to .273 for his career), and is first or second in many major categories for AL left fielders. He also owns a 140 OPS+ and ranks 17th in VORP of all hitters. With 19 HR already this season, I'm willing to chalk up last season to a down year plus maybe that oblique injury.

How much power has he actually lost? Ramirez has hit 39 HR over this "down" period, which seems awfully low, right? But here's a list of other hitters who are at that same mark in that period of time: Magglio Ordonez, Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Paul Konerko. Justin Morneau has just two more at 41, and the "38 club" includes Jason Bay, Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy. He's got several more dingers than Garrett Atkins and Troy Glaus. That's not bad. This total is a bit obscured by his limited playing time.

It should also be pointed out that Manny has improved significantly on defense. Manny's comment about wanting to win a Gold Glove might seem a bit much, but he has actually improved his fielding significantly since the start of 2007. Even Baseball Prospectus agrees that he has been about a league average left fielder the past two seasons.

The Situation
Manny, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, has two $20M one-year options on his contract that he would like picked up. The Red Sox are not sure they want to commit to that kind of money to a 36-year old, and would like to get a strong season out of him this year. They also want to line up a replacement before letting him walk.

In making this decision, we have to consider the market. Who else makes $20M per season? It's a pretty short list: Alex Rodriguez and Johan Santana. Through free agency, Mark Teixeira could sign a deal near that number this offseason. The next highest salaries belong to Miguel Cabrera, Derek Jeter, and Carlos Zambrano.

The only free agent who can match Manny's production this year is probably Teixeira, and we have an excellent first baseman already. I'm also pretty sure the Yankees will pay whatever they need to pay in order to land him, with Jason Giambi a free agent and so much money coming off the books for them. They're also much closer to his native Baltimore than we are.

The Options
As always, the question is: if you let someone like Ramirez walk, who do you get to replace him? Do you need to get at least equal production in left field in order to be competitive? Despite playing much of this season without the tandem of David Ortiz and Ramirez, the Red Sox are second in the AL in runs scored at 498 runs. That begs the unthinkable question - do we really NEED Manny?

According to Baseball Prospectus, Manny has been worth 35 batting and fielding runs above a replacement player, a nominal big leaguer, and 3.9 wins above a typical replacement player in 384 PA this season. Let's say he stays healthy and gets to 600 PA; with the same level of production, that's worth 54.7 runs or 6.09 WARP1. Using those numbers for 2008, over the past three seasons, he's been worth an average of 46 runs or 5.1 wins. For the Sox to theoretically break even, they need to get someone who can fill that void or rely upon incremental improvement from others in the lineup to make up those runs. Here are some of the options that I see.

From Within
The Sox do have some pretty good outfielders waiting in the wings, but none of them will measure up to Manny's stick. Keep in mind these translations are based on minor league performance and can tend to overestimate power numbers a bit.

• Brandon Moss, 1B/OF. The first name to come to mind. Moss is a plus defender and does have some pop. His stats at Pawtucket translate as possibly .284/.340/.532 at the Major League level.
• Jeff Bailey, 1B/LF. This journeyman is not as good on defense, and is projected to go .255/.344/.512 at the Major League level. He's not ever going to start in Boston.
• Chris Carter, 1B/LF. Carter could hit .268/.328/.492 and be average with the glove.

Free Agency
Among left fielders who could be in Manny's class offensively this season and could potentially be available this offseason or next (free agency year in parentheses):

• Matt Holliday, COL (2009). A lot of teams have their eye on Holliday, but he plays in Colorado (lifetime .363/.426/.658 at home and .277/.341/.449 away) and in the NL (.336/.406/.510 inter-league), so we're not sure how that will translate to the AL East. I'm not convinced he'll reach free agent status; he'll likely sign an extension or be traded.
• Pat Burrell, PHI (2008). Pat the Bat is a consistent 30 HR threat, but also a career .259 hitter. Righty also plays in the NL (.199/.327/.384 lifetime in inter-league play).
• Jason Bay, PIT (2009). A balanced bat and a good defender, I like this late bloomer, but some questions remain about his dismal 2007. Is right-handed, like Manny. Has hit .250/.312/.450 in inter-league play.
• Adam Dunn, CIN (2008). Can't argue with his .381 OBP and 4 straight years of 40 HR, but his .247 average and huge number of strikeouts makes him a frustrating player. Has hit about the same (.246/.362/.530) against the AL.

The Trade Market
We have the prospects to engineer a trade for a good young outfielder. Younger left fielders who we could potentially target:

• Adam Lind, TOR. A good 24-year old prospect who never capitalized on playing time and seems to have fallen out of favor in Toronto. Good enough defender, and a contact bat with decent power. His translation looks really good at .301/.382/.554. A lefty hitter.
• Luke Scott, BAL. The 30-year old Scott has been a platoon player, but he is a pretty good defender. He's worth about 4.2 wins above replacement each of the past three seasons, and he's just starting to get regular playing time this year. Bats lefty, however.

This list is pretty tough to generate, because there are few teams who have an excess of outfielders at this time.

Summary
Would the Sox like to be rid of Manny's attitude and sometimes strange behavior? Probably. But there's no easy answer to this problem, as far as I can tell. There's just no obtainable bat that makes 100% sense. If Manny's performance slides in the second half, look for the front office to hand him a pink slip. They'll take the two draft picks and try to land someone to play in left to compete with Moss for the job. If that looks too hard, look for them to pick up one option year and keep shopping next season.

Or Ramirez could pick it up again and produce well, forcing the management's hand on at least one option or an extension. Manny has said that he wants to keep playing here in Boston; if the Sox could get him extended for 2-3 years at about $15M per year, I might be willing to support that. He ends up with guaranteed money and gets to finish out his career here. But I'm not sure Manny would like that paycut. We'll see what happens.

My goal for this week is to write down what I ate each night.  I've got to find a way to plan for success in continuing my First Place lifestyle.  I can do this but it does take time.

Did you read the pages in our member's guide for this week?  Did anything challenge your way of thinking?

I know that some of us are missing the tracker forms to fill out this week because of the cancellation.  Use a regular piece of paper if you need to.  Also, I'll only be collecting the last week (July 19-25) of our trackers at the next meeting.

Titled "The Sugarland Express", the sub-headline proclaims that "With a new album influenced by R.E.M., Marvin Gaye, and U2, Sugarland is the most exciting country act since the Dixie Chicks."

You can make of that what you will, but what caught my attention most in the article was Jennifer Nettles' response to the claim by an industry executive that Sugarland is "bigger than country."

"What is country anymore?" she asks.

That's as good an open thread question as I've ever heard. I've got my own ideas, but I'll let y'all take a stab at it first.

     It was totally dark. Nothing was on. She held my hand throught the darkness and toward the back of the house. I began to ask what we were doing this for in the dark when she "sushed" me. I whispered back with a "sorry".

     We walked past the kitchen. It was illuminated by the clocks on the microwave and stove. I could barely see anything once we walked through a doorway at the back of her house.

     We got to a set of stairs and she told me to be careful as we bagan our ascent. I was thinking that this house is actually a whole lot bigger than it looks from the outside. She said she had a big house, but from what I saw outside in the dark, it looked average. But it really wasn't average. This was a big place. She was right.

     Once we got to the top of the stairs, we walked down a hallway toward her bedroom. Even up there was dark. Once we got into her room, I could start to make things out because of a streetlight right out side of her window.

     She finally stopped and turned around and grabbed my other hand. I could faintly see her face and I could tell that she only had on a nightgown. I remember thinking to myself "thank god she looks like the picture I saw from the internet". Hearing horror stories about this exact moment made me nervous. But I was one of the lucky ones as far as being told the truth.

     She commented on how tall I was and how she didn't expect me to be THIS tall. I was shy and just agreed. She must have been feeling the same kind of relief of not being told the usual internet lie about personal description. I had never sent her a picture of myself, I just did alot of describing.

     We began to kiss and things progressed from there. The first time we actually saw each other's faces was afterward.

     We sat around on her bed and talked for a while before falling asleep. She needed to get up in a couple hours for work since this was all unplanned and she didn't take any time off.

     In the morning she got up, got ready for work and left me alone in her huge house. It was real quiet and I was a bit freaked out. She did, however, help me get online on her computer to email whoever I needed to, but I didn't. 

     I watched a little bit of television before I fell asleep on the couch. It had been a long and tiring night and I was beat.

     I was asleep for an hour or so when suddenly I heard a whole bunch of noise at the back door and people talking. The sound of someone putting a key into the lock and turning it to get in.

This is so that it may now be more closely associated with the nascent Oenach: Journal of the FMRSI and its accompanying Review Section.

That is, except for the shamefully underused "chat & craic" feature, which remains here (and may be used by commenting on this post)

I want to know what’s my situation... I want no more (expletive) where they tell you one thing and behind your back they do another thing. I think I’ve earned that respect, for a team to sit down with me and tell me this is what we want, this is what we want to do.

The fact the John Henry responded in the press that he was offended by Manny's comments is not good.

The coverage of this situation makes it sound pretty bad, but I think all Manny wants is to know what the Sox are thinking at this point. He's obviously frustrated with not knowing what they're planning to do. Given his marginal (for him) performance and the couple of bad PR situations this season, I'm thinking the Sox decline the options and try to sign him to a longer, less lucrative (per year) deal. They'd have to offer him more than a $40M package for it to be worthwhile for the 36-year old Ramirez, who wanted two one-year options of $20M each to be picked up. Maybe they could do something like 3 years, $45M?

If he doesn't like that, he'll walk; what else can we do? Thoughts?

Hitchens' book--unlike many of us expected--was not about proofs about God or really about much theology at all. The book read like more of a polemic, not against God, but against religion.

Hitchens pulls out every negative example about anything religious he can think of (true or false), and posits that since some of these things having to do with religion are quite negative, then God must not exist and religion must be ultimately a power for evil.

Hitchens' approach is not that of a careful philosopher able to describe her opponent's position and anticipate refutations. Rather Hitchens arrogantly dismisses all religion and those who espouse them without a whiff of respect, intellectual humility, or willingness to consider different viewpoints.

Now I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the book, nor that I never agreed with Hitchens. In fact, I found myself nodding in agreement more than I anticipated. You see Hitchens kept making points that he figured would make me think God didn't exist, or that religion was stupid, but really they just confirmed my previous thinking that God is mysterious and calls us to think deeply; that indeed, religion can quickly become too much about people and too little about God.

For example, Hitchens decries some Christians groups' opposition to the HPV vaccine that prevents cervical cancer. He seems to suggest that since some groups of Christians oppose the vaccine (because they think it encourages pre-marrital sex), that all religions are inept and deluded. News flash: I'm a Christian, and I support the vaccine...oh, and I'm not alone. And so he goes, on and on about evolution--which I think I worked out one morning in 3rd grade sunday school--and about slavery, and the crusades, and, well, you get the picture.

He sets up false logic that just doesn't follow for most mainliners, "Either the Gospels are in some sense literal truth, or the whole thing is essentially a fraud and perhaps an immoral one at that." p. 120

I don't know what he might mean by "literal truth," but to anyone who has read the Bible, the implication that the four gospels describe the story of Jesus in different ways isn't exactly a faith challenging claim.  I doubt it leads many to think of Christianity as a fraud.  But Hitchens then goes further--though without any explanation--writing ever so briefly that in fact Jesus the human never existed at all.

All this said, I actually enjoyed reading the book (well, at least the first 200 pages). Sometimes I feel a bit sheltered in my Christian seminary life, and I really appreciated considering another perspective. And heck, at least his arrogance was entertaining from time to time.

Book group was pretty solid too, discussing my personal faith with a former Jew and now atheist who wants to believe but can't. The frank, probing, respective conversation reminded me of my two favorite pastoral visits last year.

On both occasions I arrived to a warm welcome, and minutes later the (former) church member was describing how he now espoused a staunch atheism. The ensuing conversations were the most honest, forthright, and deep of any one-time visit in which I'd ever been privileged to take part.

So I don't really not recommend the book, but I don't exactly recommend it either. For thinking Christians, it's not a book to be scared of, but really nothing much to get worked up about either. That said, if you have the opportunity to discuss it with a diverse group, I'd recommend the read for what the discussion might bring.

     The only was to be able see through these types of dresses is with a certain pair of sunglasses. Oakley, Ray-Ban, or Costa Del Mar makes polarized sunglasses for fishermen to see through water.

     The dresses would have to made of whatever kind of material that is "murky", for lack of a better word, and appear normal to the average eye. Only people wearing polarized sunglasses would see the truth underneath.

     It's just an idea. Hollywood is always having award shows and actresses and designers are always looking for the next "big fad". I am just a normal, Midwestern guy, with an idea that will probably make someone millions and turn other people on.

     Sex sells, and there is always somebody looking to push the nudity envelope. This would be a real cool way to push it even further.

Frankly, if she would admit her preference, unless she is a student born and bred, she will tell you that for pleasure she chooses a good novel. Here there is wide room for selection of topics or time periods. No one is obligated to waste an hour today over a worthless or wicked book because there are so many good books to choose from. The well-read girl has encountered Jane Austen and is surprised to discover that her heroines, except for a change of costume, fit very easily into twenty-first-century grooves. The wonderful Bronte sisters, writing their fiery romances from the subdued atmosphere of the Yorkshire moors, have revealed to her what genius can do unaided by fortunate accessories and have led her to the study of their lives. Discovering facts about an author's life always makes their work more interesting. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and Villette are all illuminated when one reads what manner of education, what style of friendship and what home bringing-up the gifted daughters of Patrick Bronte had. The ordinary young woman does not feel obligated today to read Sir Walter Scott yet, lacking familiarity with his work, she cannot claim to be educated in English literature. Even though what was once a fascination may assume the guise of a task, she must read the Waverly novels, and submit herself to the spell of Scott's lyrical muse; read "Marmion," "Lord of the Isles" and "Lady of the Lake."

If, in childhood, so many were not spoiled by reading stories and childish tales which simply amuse us without requiring mental effort, there would be more girls to enjoy books to which the compliment of attention must be paid. A multitude of childish books is a misfortune to children, though fairy tales are a good diet for young and old because they cultivate the imagination, a royal gift of God which we cannot too highly value.

The young girl must not overlook Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot and William Black, though she need not read every one of their works. A Tale of Two Cities, Little Dorrit, David Copperfield, and Bleak House will give her the freedom of the Dickens' land; The Virginians, Henry Esmond, Fair and the Newcomes are masterpieces of that marvelous writer and magnificent man, William M. Thackeray, and she may read them more than once. From the shelf of George Eliot's work she may choose a good and impressive array. A few of her titles are Daniel Deronda, Middlemarch, and Adam Bede. Some of William Black's works include The Princess of Thule, Macleod of Dare, and A Daughter of Heth.

Among current writers of fiction, seek wise advice before you devote precious time to their study. Some ways to find good books are to find a book list that has suggested reading for your age level or on specific time periods. You could ask your mother what books she has read and would approve of you reading. A book has an immediate effect and as far-reaching an influence upon the receptive mind, as a bad companion; sometimes it makes a more indelible impression than any other bad companion can make.

On a girl's own bookshelf in her own room, what shall we find? Probably the books she loves best. First and most important, her Bible. I hope we shall see a worn Bible, one which bears evidences of being read. Then, perhaps, a book of favorite daily devotions. It is like some sweet and lovely flower for every day picked from a great garden where grows herbs of many flavors and trees of the Lord's own planting. She will have a school book or two, a story she has loved, a memoir she has found helpful. If there are two or three missionary biographies or a few books on travel and adventure, I would guess that she appreciates valor and heroism and takes an interest in the outside world. Her books will indicate her tastes and her character. They will show where she browses for her daily food; they will describe character as unerringly as a camera captures a face.

A well-furnished mind is like a beautifully appointed home; it has room for many things and must be kept with constant vigilance. Moth and rust mar and ruin the house in which no one lives. Simple neglect is more destructive than continual use. We often meet women who have ceased to grow because they have ceased to study, have ceased to be receptive and responsive. By forming the habit of reading and arranging for an hour with a good book in the day's work, every woman, young or older, will increase her mental wealth and her facility to learn. A girl's greatest charm is not in her graceful figure nor a beautiful grace; it is in her power to interest those whom she meets. To be an interesting woman one must have a bright and wide-awake mind. She must use her talents that they will increase. It is eternally true that to him that has, and exercises the gifts, more shall be given, while from him that has and does not use the gifts, there shall be a loss.

Girls, may I remind you to read your Bibles? Not merely a few hurried lines in the early morning and a few verses at night when you are half asleep, but, with listening ear and with a reverent eye, realizing that you are in God's presence and that He is speaking to you, read the divine Word. Do not omit the Old Testament, nor forget the New; the one is the following out of the other and the two are interdependent. Nor read to criticize; rather come to the Book as they who are thirsty come to a well, as they who are weary, to a pillow, as they who are afraid, to a refuge. Learn the Bible by heart, whole chapters of it, and be assured the day will come when the precious bits of truth will be to you as the fine gold and the fadeless gem. Choose where you will; the whole Bible is God's inspired message to humanity and you cannot read a single book without profit. Whatever other literature is noble, this is nobler. Whatever else be full of sweetness and light, this Book of God surpasses it. It is as a lamp on a dark night, as a brook in the desert, as a flower in the fallow field, as a star in the sky.

With other books you may safely trust yourself to take up the reading at odd moments or when you have time to fill. But the Bible should not be left to when the mood strikes you. It should be read seriously and at a stated time or times in your day. The morning seems to be at time that works well for most. Before the business of the day intrudes, while you are still rested after sleep, sit down for a little while and listen to God's message to you. Read the Book before you pray and you will be able to pray with its counsel fresh in your mind. Make the daily closet service a habit not to be lightly broken, and do not leave your closet until you have read your chapter or your few texts if you have time for no more. Take a verse with you each morning as your motto for the whole day. Meditate by considering that particular verse and how it illumines your life. The Book is meant to give us our marching orders.

Margaret Elizabeth Sangster, Winsome Womanhood, Chapter Five: Her Books

What are your thoughts? What about this do you think is no longer true for girls of today? What do you think about her list of the "must reads" for all ladies? Are there any you know you need to make time for?

"No one is obligated to waste an hour today over a worthless or wicked book because there are so many good books to choose from."

Are there books you've read that were a waste? Why are we sometimes tempted to spend time on a lesser book when there are so many good ones?

"A book has an immediate effect and as far-reaching an influence upon the receptive mind, as a bad companion; sometimes it makes a more indelible impression than any other bad companion can make."

Do you agree or disagree? Why? How have you seen a book affect you more than you expected, in a negative or positive way? Why do you think books have this power?

Voici un nouveau lieu de rencontre pour discuter de notre passion qu'est le Thaï, comme le décrivent les fondatrices du forum, Nadine (Nadicha pour les intimes) et Arlette...

Alors, vite, filez faire un tour sur Siames Love, sans plus attendre !

Bonne chance dans cette nouvelle entreprise et merci de la part d'une amoureuse des siamois.

Reminiscing about the roller-coaster of feelings I had about how I’d cope with the life of an Airline Pilot’s Girlfriend/Wife before he was qualified

Please note, your comments may not appear immediately, as some comments get passed to me to approve (especially if you are a new comment poster)

I will attempt to categorise any posts with interactive discussions appearing in the following comments under the category: "Discussion!"

There is also a "Books We Read" and a "Miscellaneous" category. The first one gives us a chance to talk about the books we're reading. The second one is, well, miscellaneous. Think off-topic chats over coffee.

Put it to use, folks!

Aujourd'hui, j'ai travaillé de 10h à 17h. J'ai pu finir mes heures, contrairement à hier où j'ai été malade vers 15 heures... La nausée m'a suivi une partie de la journée avant de prendre la décision de me laisser tranquille. Pas à s'inquiéter pour les nausées, les amis, je peux vous l'assurer. Quelque chose a dû mal passer, je suppose. La journée a été fort sympathique. J'ai appris à utiliser la caisse. +1 point en polyvalence. En déballant des commandes, j'ai discuté avec Louis, le gérant. Nos sujets étaient aussi intéressants qu'amusants ! Le travail s'est bien passé.

Après le boulot, je suis allée à la découverte de l'épicerie en passant par le terrain de jeu/parc en face de la maison. Lei pourra confirmer ma blonde attitude : j'ai traversé le stationnement entier d'IGA en passant à côté des portes sans le voir. Je me suis rendu à l'autre bout du terrain du petit centre d'achat, persuadée que le IGA était quelque part derrière. Bloquée par une clôture, je me suis retourner en grommelant à Lei avec qui je discutais au cellulaire et, soudainement, ô merveille, ô miracle, je vois l'épicerie. Et j'ai honte. J'ai fait des courses comme vous le devinez. Du pain, des oeufs, bananes, clémentines, concombres, des friandises glacées Rollo, tartinade aux framboises... Je rentre à la maison.

Nathalie est arrivée entre-temps ! Tiens donc !

Avec des sacs d'épiceries ! La moitié de nos achats étaient les mêmes. Nous avons donc pris la résolution de nous prévenir mutuellement si nous passions faire les courses, par cellulaire ou par post-it. -_-

Parlant de Nathalie (ma propriétaire), j'ai passé 2-3 heures à discuter ce soir avec elle. On a soupé ensemble devant un Harry Potter 4 qui a joué sans qu'on lui porte vraiment attention, discutant de voyages qu'elle a fait dans le passé, de ceux que je veux réaliser, de baroque, de romantisme, de tragédies, de Bethoveen, de films, de livres, de poésies, de double astrologie, de nos boulots, de nos types d'hommes, ... Ça a été relaxant. J'ai adoré ma soirée.

Sinon, j'ai pris 16 résolutions ce matin, toutes réfléchies depuis un moment ! La plupart sont juste logique et théoriquement je devrais déjà le faire, mais bon...

1. Faire 30 minutes d'exercices quotidiens pour ma souplesse.
2. Faire 3 fois 30 minutes de sport par semaine.
3. Préparer mes lunch la veille et non le matin même.
4. À moins d'empêchement extrême, faire ce que j'ai à faire dans les deux jours qui suivent la date où j'ai à le faire (je dois me recommander une carte d'assurance sociale).
5. Prendre plus soin de ma peau.
6. Sortir au moins 2 fois par semaine avec des amis, qu'importe le type de sortie.
7. Écrire au moins au 2 jours sur mon blog et composer un post intelligent au moins une fois par semaine.
8. Tenir le fil de mes dépenses et de mes rentrées d'argent.
9. Devenir bilingue.
10. Être capable de tenir une conversation de base en espagnol (pour le boulot, être capable de me débrouiller)
11. Économiser 60 $ par semaine à partir de mes chèques de paie pour le mettre dans un compte de banque réservé aux voyages.
12. Tenir un journal santé.
13. Manger plus sainement.
14. Dormir minimum 6h 30 par nuit.
15. Être plus écologiste (moins gaspiller d'eau, éteindre les lumières, recycler plus que je ne le fais déjà, etc).

Je me donne un mois pour commencer à les mettre en application. Attention, je ne dis pas les avoir toutes réalisées et toutes les tenir sans faute, loin de là. Je dois démontrer une volonté d'accomplir chacun des points d'ici la mi-août et d'avoir commencer à les mettre en pratique, même si c'est une fois aux 5 jours. Je ferai de mon mieux ! Je suis motivée à les suivre !

Petite note : Les Rolos glacés, c'est pas bon. N'en achètez pas.

Theory from Last Scorpion (had to do mine first )

Well I took part of my ideas from other theories on this site, well parts of other theories. I think that Pain is Nagato controlling the bodies from some remote location. This may sound out there but I think that Yahiko was killed by Kushina Uzumaki. When the demon fox attacked the village Madara was there but Pain was also there. Kushina did not die during child birth she had Naruto before the Demon fox attacked, then went to go help fight off Yahiko,Nagato,Konan and Madara. During this fight Kushina realized that Nagato was her little brother and was asking why he was attacking the village. As Kushina and Nagato where talking Yahiko not knowing what was going on rushed in to attack Kushina. Nagato was watching as Yahiko killed Kushina then they show what happened when Nagato blacks out and this kills Yahiko.

This event is what causes the change in personality of Nagato and he then becomes Pain. I now think the new body of Pain is Kushina and Tsunade will have a hard time fighting her and die. Naruto will end up fighting the real Pain but as Naruto is getting his ass kicked Nagatos old emotions start to take over due to Naruto acting just like his mother. Just a Pain dies he tells the story of Narutos parents to him, and also the real plains of Madara. If you think I am wrong or have an opinion go to the comment section I will reply.

Theory from Jeremiah

Here are my theories. Pain's new body is Kushina. I'm sure of it. When Kishimoto was going to have to insert a new body of Pain after the previous one was killed I knew the replacement needed to be dramatic and have some value to the over all story. I originally thought Jiraiya, that would have been epic but he went with a female instead.

So then I asked myself what female character could they possibly use that would be more dramatic than using Jiraiya? There is only one option...Naruto's mother Kushina. Based off of these deductions I put the two pictures of Kushina and the new body of Pain next to each other on a post to also demonstrate that they look similar. The odds that Pain replaced his new body with someone completely irrelevant to the over all story arc of Naruto is slim to none. What could be more epic than Naruto having to eventually fight a Pain version of his own mother?

This brings me to my next theory which is far less original... Tsunade will die during the invasion of Konoha, leaving the way for Kakashi to become Hokage. Naruto will later fight Pain after Tsunade is dead, ultimately defeating him and in the process having to fight the version of his own mother.

I don't think Danzo is Madara. Even though it is an interesting theory, Madara and Danzo have conflicting views. Another reason I put together that clip art of Madara/Danzo was to show what Danzo was telling Sai and the unlikely hood that Madara would ever say such a thing. He has something to do with Obito...I'm not sure what but I'm positive of it. Possibly a body theft like Orochimaru or something along those lines.

Sasuke is obviously plotting against Madara but I'm not sure its for good reasons. Sasuke has his own goals which don't line up with the best interests of Madara, Pain, Konoha or Naruto. He's got his own idea of how things should be, we just havn't seen any hints at what that could possibly be since the whole Itachi debacle.

This is already running long so I will say I have theories about the powers Naruto got from Itachi and what will happen with the eyes of Itachi but I'll save that for another time.

Ja mata

Theory from Erich22

I think Naruto will leave before Pain gets to Konoha. People will die but Pain won’t stay long since his goal is the 9 tails not the destruction of Konoha. I’m as ready for a new hokage as anyone but it still seems too soon for tsunade to die. If it keeps up the way everyone thinks it will the title of Hokage will be a death sentance.
Back to my point if Pain follows Naruto to the montian. And naruto gets a little time to train in between. Bad Ass Naruto + Bad Ass Toads vs. Pain and Konan = one hell of a fight. And who knows maybe we’ll see a Demon Fox Toad style with Sharrigan eyes. Highly unlikely more like a chance to master another element. But we can always hope.

Of course the Toad sage could also tell Naruto he is the chosen one. But he will have to choose to be good or be tempted by evil and give in to the 9 tails. Most likely that choice will come with his friends lives on the line or the destruction of Konoha. At which time the Kyubi will offer all of his power to Naruto knowing the fox would take over.

Theory from Alec AKA captainmanic

Itachi is dead, he’ll only appear sort of when Saskue looks into Naruto’s eyes when they meet again. Orochimaru probably won’t come back until the end of the manga when this whole Akatsuki thing blows over and Naruto is appointed seventh hokage after Kakashi. And if Naruto leaves before Pain arrives, then Kabuto won’t show up again and neither will the sand.

The Pain Ying/Yang theory is interesting, but it might have been Itachi who held the Yin part of the nine-tails. Considering that only the Sharingan can control the fox, the “elders” might have given the nine-tails to Itachi as a sign of trust before he was to wipe out the Uchia and protect him from danger wherever he was to go into hiding. That could have been the mysterious disease that was killing him. Since only Naruto seems to be the only one who can withstand huge amounts with little effect to his own body, while others are severely damaged from just a little. With the Yin chakra back, the nine-tails might be more stable and more willing to do what Naruto tells it to.

Theory from Skyhigh303

i think peins about to rush head first into the leaf but naruto will already be gone and instead of him withdrawing hell split up sending his six forms in six different directions to look for naruto and each form will end up fighting someone from the leaf and the main form will fight tsunade the other forms will end up fighting inos team lee’s team and kiba’s team so far thats 4 forms i also think 1 form will face kakashi solo and and one will face team kakashi minus naruto but with yammato filling in and i think paper mache girl will be with the main form against tsunade so it’ll be kinda like a mini siege on konoha with a one man army bringing the peine.

I just want to say that Chris had some good theories but they where all over and hard to put together .

Well that is all so If you want to say anything or think i am "Dumb as hell" just head to the comment section and let me know.

Last Scorpion.

Click here if you would like to download or look at the handouts for each week to help spark discussion or just to keep for personal use or select 'Wednesday Night Notes' from the right side of the screen.

Be sure join to us again this Wednesday at 6:55 for corporate prayer followed by another amazing John Bevere teaching

General Information

How old are you? 41
Gender? Male
Heritage/Race/Ethnicity? White English guy
What’s is your highest level of Education? BA Hons
Do you have a job? Yes
Do you own a vehicle? If so, what kind? No . .
Are you in a relationship? Married

Pertaining to religion

When did you first learn that you were a Christian? Can’t be learned, only sought . . but at 11 made a choice for life.
Are you out as a Christian? Yes
If you are out, did your family respond favorably? Yes
If you are out, were you kicked out of your house or loose financial backing for education? Not kicked out . . but UK authorities would not give normal grant funding for Uni education.
If you are out, did your friends respond favorably? Some, but many not.
Have you ever been discriminated against because you’re a Christian? Yes
Where do your morals come from if it’s not from an understanding of human compassion, empathy, the golden rule, altruism, and through science and reason? This is a basic philisophical discussion. If God exisits, then there is a moral accountablility for my actions, without God Humanism trys to form an accountability structure yet the buck stops somewhere and as this will end with a human there will always be a flaw . . that is why Nihilism exists . . no moral backstop & our actions actually do not matter, anything is permissable. The next step is Existentialism where if there is no meaning, the only valid action we can make as humans is death, so we might as well kill ourselves . . . Soren Kerkigard, the Danish Philosipher, writes that the Existentialist thinker must see that we do not have all knowledge . . as such there is a gap in our thinking that must allow for faith and the possibility of God….. To claim that God does not exist is therefore a claim that you have all knowledge and are therefore putting yourself in the place of God . . .so, as I do not claim this, I allow in my thinking for the existance of God . . and I believe in this existance also from personal experience . . therefore my moral route is soley my accountability to God, and because of this I have an even greater love for my fellow humans.
Why do you believe in god? Faith, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Goodness, Self control .. . these things grow in my life out of my experience of a personal relationship with God . . not religion.
When praying for your god to help, do you ever wonder if simply working toward a solution to your problem will be more effective? No. When I’ve tried to find my own solutions they are a poor substitute for heavenly intervention.
Do you celebrate when a fellow Christian passes onto your god’s heaven? Yes.
Why or why not? We are on earth for a short time. When someone enters eternity with a certain future because of their choices on earth . . I give thanks for that life and for the knowedge of better things they are now in.
Do you support the pursuit of knowledge in the form of Science? Yes
Why or why not? Because God has given us so many blessings through mankind . . we are made ‘in His image’ i.e. creative & relational. As we explore and learn, we will find more of what was previously unknown. Science advances us, but would be foolish to claim to have all the answers as scienctific knowledge changes with every advance . . .
If not, why do you use cars, radios, medicine, roads, airplanes, trains, computers, or any other of the engineering advances made possible by science? No problem
Is all other religions harmful? If the Bible is the word of God and to be believed, then the other world religions are considered as idolitory to false gods . . the Old Testament narritive is largely the story of how the Israelites constantly got this wrong and allowed the other gods into their belief system . . with disasterous results . . so, other religions are harmful.
What if you’re wrong about god (and he doesn’t exist)? I’m not . . . but . . . IF i’m wrong . . . I have lived a life that loves and blesses people, as well as being fulfilled and purposeful in my own life . . no problem . . . what if you are wrong?
Shouldn’t all other philosophical beliefs and views be respected? Of course. Everyone should be respected. But does not mean we should avoid constructive dialogue. I believe what I do with all my heart . . why would I not want you so share in the blessing I have in my life. Equally, you have an opinion . . it’s your choice, I respect that . . but as a scientist you test something and have to be open to change when you are reaching the boundaries of known results.
Why or why not? see above.
Would the world be better off without any atheists? There is a place where there are no atheists . . it’s called heaven. I’ll wait if that’s OK with you . . but I’d rather see you guys there.

Let's see if dialogue continues . . . .

Why do they believe this?

Well, for some these folks, they are simply looking for the impossible. Even though many technical writers have science and/or engineering backgrounds, no writer can be a master of everything. There are areas of computer science and mechanical and electrical engineering that I will probably never understand, forget about master. Sure, I know what "polymorphism" means, but there are quite a few things that I need to dust off an old reference book for or simply learn on the job. Many times all that is required to write clear and accurate technical documentation is a working understanding of these concepts and methodologies, not a Ph.D.

However, other coworkers who have asked this question do have a valid point. It is a common sign of the times to run into technical writers who are excellent grammarians and masters of the English language (or other languages), but who would be hard pressed if asked to actually install the software (or hardware) they write the installation guide for. The dot com boom did not help the situation at all. Even having a degree was optional in some places during the boom time, and anyone with an English or Journalism degree could grab a high salary.

Even though many people profited from the "gravy days" (including myself!), it did leave many people with an incredibly skewed perspective, or flat out bad impression, on what a technical writer is actually trained to do. I've had more than one development manager or software architect immediately give me the cold shoulder when I tried to provide feedback on their code, or talk to me like I was a newborn babe because the writer before me couldn't tell the difference between a drive array and an Oreo cookie. I've also had many of these people stare in fascination because I used GNU Emacs or knew what a "subnet mask" was.

How can we improve our image?

For every new technical writer breaking out into the vast unknown of the computer industry, I recommend one personal guideline that can't be stressed enough...be technical. It sounds rather foolish to tell a technical writer to, well, be technical! However, learning or refreshing your working knowledge on subjects related to your industry is not only helpful for your job, but also helps the technical writer community as a whole. As my parents constantly reminded me, "You never stop learning". In order to improve our image, we have to gain respect, and we'll never garner any respect from our technical comrades if we continue to put forth the image that all a tech writer can do is tell them where to put a period.

And dammit people, be adventurous! Install the freaking software, look at the source code, pay attention when the developers are discussing coding guidelines. Don't just chime in because the button in the UI has a misspelling, look at the UI as whole and think about how it can be improved. If you don't know what a UI is...LEARN. Technical writers always have to keep their audience in mind as they write, use that perspective to help your fellow developers design a better product.

Finally, for managers, let's be a little more careful when we put out a job req. I have seen many companies swing a little too low or too high on the techie pendulum. During the boomtime, many tech writer job requirements were slim and the salaries astronomical. I'm sorry my writer brethren, but having a degree in Journalism or History just doesn't cut it. Yes, many of us came from various backgrounds, but for heaven's sake at least get certified! What do you have to lose? On the flip side, I see quite a few job requirements that are flat out ridiculous and the salaries comical. You don't need a Master's degree in Computer Science to write an SDK Guide. I don't care how complex you claim your product is.

But what do I know? I'm just a writer.

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