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Grace Favour - Part 1: Wondering Aloud

insomnihack — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:54:49 +0000

She was guesswork -- that was how she would describe herself; every success and every failure came to her the same way. She supposed it was the same with everyone at the end of the day but she felt that she had a much healthier relationship with the vagaries of chance than most people. Most people could not open up to the possibility of chaos in their lives -- if something worked once then they believed that it would always work. She worked out the odds -- she didn't believe that anything was ever that solid.

Grace -- that was how she moved through life and she believed that the name was a true gift from her mother to her. Her mother had been called Mercy and that had affected how she related to those around her; a name was sometimes a simple spell and other times the associations were more complex and took years of exploration to uncover.

People would hear those two words: Grace Favour, and they would hear it as a command. It would tap into their consciousness at some deep level and it would make them treat her well -- it would incline them towards giving her things; people made allowances for Grace because they, for some reason, felt that she deserved that. She would let her wishes float into the room, believing the idea that walls have ears; believing that the universe was built to amplify and redirect her positive energy into the things that she wanted. She called it wondering aloud and it was a very important daily ritual for her.

Peter Courtier - Part 1: Manners Maketh A Man

insomnihack — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:01:26 +0000

He prided himself on having good manners -- he was known for it; it was his stock in trade. He had just published a small book on etiquette to some acclaim. It was strange to him that something which should be the backbone of civilised society was considered a niche market; that to him indicated that the world was in a dire state. He obviously knew that things were bad -- he had to interact daily with people who had no consideration for each other and no respect for themselves; it depressed him. Still, he did not see that the lack of cordiality and manners at large in the world was any kind of excuse for him to sink to that level; to behave that way himself would have been like condoning the awful conduct of everyone else.

He believed that in the same way an avalanche could be started by one small pebble he could effect a change in the way the world behaved just by behaving well himself. He had been flooded with offers of venues where he might provide inspirational lectures and a lot of bookstore owners had contacted him and offered him a platform from which to conduct a book tour. He asked his agent whether this kind of thing was normal and had been told that it was definitely a weird situation but that they shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. The possibility of a regular weekly column in one of the larger national newspapers had also been batted around. Things were looking up. The phone rang and he picked it up.

'Peter?'

'Yes?'

'Your father has had a stroke.'

First post

nicholedobo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:34:45 +0000

McCain is Asked a "Tough" Question: Part 1

sensico — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:16:09 +0000

I have watch many McCain townhall meetings and press conferences. First I want to add that they are boring. Second, a pattern occurred to me, that McCain doesn't fully answer the question. So I decided to document this by calling these segments, McCain is Asked a "Tough" Question. Part 1 is something that recently happened over the dust up over race.

So the McCain campaign has played the race card by accusing Obama of playing the race card. Someone decided to take him up on that accusation and ask a "tough" question. She asked about the race card accusation and what specifically McCain has ever done for civil rights here in America.

The answer consisted of a lot of silence and forgetting his own record and the question. Based on the long pause, I have concluded three things,

McCain didn't do much for civil rights like he said he did. If he did then I would think he would have answered that question pretty quickly.
McCain really doesn't think Obama played the race card, so he was trying to think of an excuse as to why the McCain campaign would say Obama played the race card. Im sure McCain, being the straight talker that he is, wanted to say that he accused Obama of this because of political reason, not because its true.
McCain can't register questions fast, so people have to slowly ask their questions. I have the same problem sometimes so, Im not knocking him for that.

Heres the video,

Starting Something Part 1 of 6: Vision Statement

innovativeministryleader — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:35:35 +0000

Proverbs 28:18

"Where there is no vision, the people perish"

We wanted to take the time at Innovative Ministry Leader to discuss some pointers if you are 'Starting Something." It can be a business, ministry, foundation, etc, these steps will help you organize and get things off the ground.

The first step is creating a Vision Statement. This should be written, so it is set in stone and always on the frontline of everything you wish to do. As part of this statement you should also include your goals, and objectives for what you are doing as well. Again it is very important that you write these down. Individuals that tend to write down their visions and goals are more likely to achieve them.

Here is an example of our Visions Statement: It is in two parts:

-To equip Today!s Ministry Leaders with information and insight to

effectively deliver the gospel to today!s culture.

-To be the leading provider to New International Mission Plants around the

world.

These are two things that we are extremely passionate about and that we always look to when we are making decisions. It is important to keep decisions based around the center of your vision or mission.

Feel free to add any pointers or if you have any questions we would be happy to answer them.

Team IML

Julie Seer: Part 1 - Eye Eye

insomnihack — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:49:15 +0000

She wasn't shy about letting people know that she knew where everything was going and that she knew where everything should have gone instead. Cassandras ran around telling people about all the woes that were to be visited on them; Julies, so it seemed, sat there looking smug and told you after the fact what you could have done. She was about as much use as one of those empaths that tell you that someone is angry when they have a gun pointed at you -- like, wow, how perceptive.

Julie's gift hadn't served to instil her with a desire to save her fellow man. Was it supposed to? Well, wasn't that the way with these things -- didn't great powers bestow some kind of heroic instinct and innate grace upon the person? Apparently not. Julie had been a misanthrope before she had been given second sight and seeing what was due to happen beforehand and why only served to intensify that feeling.

She had gone from someone who on the surface was fairly happy-go-lucky to someone that snapped all the time at people and because they couldn't see what she saw and would scarcely believe it if it were described to them she had a doubly frustrating time of it. After her first bad experience of trying to prevent a disaster she got very disheartened. The second time she revealed her knowledge to people and they disbelieved her and then it happened she was taken in for questioning. The third time they believed her and the ones who did got scared -- that whole thing of don't shoot the messenger is easier to obey when the messenger is telling you about something that has already happened; Julie's brand of message was unnerving -- people said they would rather not know. She feared for her liberty if she were to divulge the secrets anymore.

She took to writing books; took to writing "speculative fiction" and whereas someone who lets the words fall from their lips as prognostications gets looked at strangely, a science fiction author doing the same can become a celebrated voice in the genre. Julie Seer was becoming a guaranteed bestseller.

Fine, Don't Tell Me!

Beverly — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:10:51 +0000

"PAUL!"

"You startled me!"

"You didn't even notice I was back, did you? You seem preoccupied. Penny for your thoughts."

"They don't make pennies anymore, Linnea."

"I'm a history student. Allow me to indulge in anachronism. And tell me what you were thinking just now."

"Um . . . I was thinking what a great friend you are."

"Fine. Don't tell me. And I won't tell you what an amazing, incredible, surprising, beautiful, interesting thing I found this afternoon."

"What? What did you find?"

"Didn't I just say I wasn't going to tell you? But I will be merciful and show you."

"Meet me at the main entrance to campus tomorrow at 1500. Wear clothing suitable for exercise."

"Wait, what? Linnea! Wait!"

Part 2