Templeogue U13’s , U14’s , U15’s , U17’s and Seniors all play in their respective Cup Finals in Oblates, Inchicore 8th , 9th and 10th March.
U15 Men play Sonics Friday 8th March 7.3pm
U13 Men play Dublin Lions Saturday 9th March 10.30am
U17 Men play St Vincents Saturday 9th March 12pm
Senior Men play Kubs Saturday 9th March 1.30pm
U14 Men play Sonics Sunday 10th March 1.30pm
Entry is €5, under 16s are free.


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[ガジェット工房(A-10)] 星に願いを (ガンパレードマーチ)
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#39467 - Only 45 seconds on the clock. (It's a football thing---for luck) From the press box come a loud cry---”Ladies and gentlemen---HERE COME YOUR MUSTANGS” !!! The crowd goes into a deafening roar as we fly out the tunnel, and bust through the paper banner. It was nearly out of control.
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1.1: First draft and pre-first draft
It’s personal to figure out how much you plan, and how much you let the story/characters drive you. I tend to start with some kind of concept, idea or character, and from there ask “what if …?” until I have enough of a story to start writing.
Sometimes I won’t have enough of a story to start writing until I’ve written a few scenes, but that’s acceptable as well! I prefer to have a bit more of a structure than just explore what’ll happen next, but if the story takes a while to shape in your mind, there’s worse ways to handle it than writing.
As for structure, I mainly need to have an idea on where the story is going. I try to at least map out the Inciting Event, the Key Event, the three plot points and the climax before I start writing.
Now it’s time to write! I write scene-by-scene and don’t organise into chapters until the end of the Narrative section. I do this to leave the structure as open as possible, so I don’t end up feeling "locked in".
Fun fact, for my first novel, I’d read this nice article on what the first chapter needed to contain, and I had made sure that everything in it fitted perfectly. And then I had to cut out 3/4ths to cut the beginning as close to the, well, beginning as possible. That’s why I wait with organising into chapters.
Tips & Tricks
Feeling stuck? Write 1st person, past tense stories from each major character’s PoV, and maybe even some of the minor ones. Since this is them telling you the story, don’t worry about info dumping or anything like that, since it’ll help you get in under their skin.
1.2: Structure and usefulness of scenes
Have you ever read an article stating that every word-sentence-scene needs to work for its place in your story? That’s quite true. You shouldn’t have anything in the story that doesn’t add to the narrative and further the story.
But, what does that actually mean? Should you remove every scene where nothing directly related to the plot happens? No, far from. The key point is narrative. What adds to the narrative?
- That foreshadow/mirror future scenes
- Where actual plot happens
- Where we learn things that are key to something else, like that the character is allergic to strawberries if that’s relevant later
- That foreshadow/are plot relevant to scenes in later stories in a series
Which ones don’t?
- Shooting the breeze. If there is just a single nugget of info, see if you can incorporate it in a different place
- Scenes relevant to subplots that were skipped in the end
In the end, you are the person to decide if a scene adds or not. Character development is as important, if not more, so don’t skimp on that, but don’t keep things that are boring.
Jami Gold’s Elements of a Good Scene Checklist
In the resources I’ll share a link to Jami Gold’s worksheet for several scenes, but the checklist for a single scene is also good. Yes, some of the things mentioned here I mentioned above, which is why I added it.
Note, in my view, "action" doesn’t necessarily mean violence, just that something’s happening. Also, many of these things will be deepening in future revision. If you want to keep a scene, note what it’s lacking, and come back to it.
Each scene should reveal at least one of the following:
- A plot point
- A character’s goal
- Action to advance the plot
- Action to increase the tension
Each scene should also reveal at least two of the following:
- Character development
- A cause of character conflict
- An effect of character conflict
- How stakes are raised
- A reinforcmenet of the stakes
- Character motivation
Each scene can also reveal:
- Character backstory
- World building
- The story’s tone or mood
- Story theme
Mark up if you think a scene needs to be Rewritten (and if so, what needs to be fixed), Deleted or Kept. I tend to delete the to-be-deleted scenes immediately, but I know others who puts them in a specific pile, in case they can be reused.
1.3: Plot points and word count
I like to use K.M. Weiland’s articles on character arcs to plot each character out. While the breakthrough assumes a single character whose development is closely tied to the various plot points, it can be tweaked to make the arcs both shorter and longer (I have one character’s arc whose 1st plot point coincides with the 3rd plot point of the novel).
If you used the article on structure I introduced in 1.1, you should revisit the structure to map it to your manuscript. If you didn’t, read it through and plot based on what you have. As with the prior, it assumes a single large arc and doesn’t account for subplots, so tweak it with the needs of your story. After all, there’s nothing stating that the three plot points needs to be connected to the larger arc.
Consider what word count you’re aiming for, and space out your points accordingly. If a point doesn’t exist, just add a placeholder scene for it. After that, it’s a matter of evaluating what scenes are missing. How do existing scenes need to be reworked to help the narrative? The prior step was mainly about deleting scenes, and this one is back to the drawing board. You may not touch every scene, and that’s fine, but you should at that point have a nice plan on how to get the structure of your story pinned down.
1.4: Scene-Sequel Pattern
The Scene-Sequel pattern explained originally by Dwight V. Swain, but that has been expanded on in quite a few posts across the years. I’m going to summarise the technique, and recommend my resources for further explanations.
A Scene (note the capital S) is a time of action. It comes with a Goal (something the PoV wants), a Conflict (an obstacle to what the PoV wants) and a Disaster (something that stops the goal from being achieved in this scene). I don’t agree with the idea that you should never allow a PoV to gain victories, but that’s why these are suggestions.
Example on how to build a Scene:
- Goal: Our PoV Dana wants to ask their neighbour Jayne on a date.
- Conflict: Dana is shy and Jayne is oblivious to Dana’s intentions.
- Disaster: When Dana finally gets the courage to ask, they accidentally stumble over Jayne’s cat, and the mood disappears.
A Sequel deals with the fallout from the prior scene, though if the disaster is big enough, it might take several Sequel-scenes to deal with all of it. It needs a Reaction (PoV dealing with the disaster), a Dilemma (something with no good options), and Decision (the PoV makes a choice that sets up the new goal).
Example on how to build a Sequel:
- Reaction: Dana is beating themselves up over their stupidity and clumsiness.
- Dilemma: Either Dana stops pursuing Jayne, at which point they won’t ever date, or Dana continues, at which point they risk making a fool (if only in their own mind) of themselves again.
- Decision: Maybe Dana decides to instead flirt with someone else, or to ask Jayne to the big party on Saturday. Either or, we have the making for a new Scene.
For each scene that you’ve kept (or added) in the prior structuring, note whether they’re a Scene or a Sequel. Every Scene needs to have at least one Sequel, though it may have more than one. Check that the Scene has a Goal/Conflict/Disaster (or if, failing that, there’s a good reason why it doesn’t), and that the combined Sequels have Reaction/Dilemma/Decision.
Does it matter what plotline the Goals/etc are based on? Not really. This is about writing exciting Scenes followed by introspection, to start the process of pacing and keep the reader wtih you to the very end. In this step you’ll also write the scenes you plotted in the prior step.
Tips & Tricks
If you use Scrivener, you can:
- Add Keywords to each scene to show what Character Arcs show up, what Plotlines, what Characters, what Settings
- Use custom meta data to mark whose PoV it is, if it’s a Scene or Sequel, what the Goals (etc) are


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go to onemanga.com you will find it there.....I hope I helped.
Yeah, I heard of it before and I've been on it once before, but I haven't really explored it enough I guess. Thanks
I've seen Airgear only recently but sheesh it's too "strong" compared to the anime plus (as usual) longer with the original story flow ...
your welcome.....anything to help a fellow AO member.
I love manga ^^ And manhwa! I haven't read any manhua though... =/
My favourite manga are prolly Junji Ito ones, I simply love his stories~ And the movies that come from them, too ^o^
I have never heard of those.....but hey most of the time I am very clueless to anime.
do you know guys if DN Angel has an ova/oav i can watch
No I haven't I am so obliviouis to the anime world I need to get bakc in contact..lol
Perhaps I can help you...go here. http://www.zomganime.com/dn-angel.html and you can watch episodes there other than D.N. Angle also
thank you I will give that site....a look see...


How beautiful it is to make my bomb shrapnel kill the enemy My brother is a hero
Bomber's suicide note tells of failing twice before in attacks by MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH
His note: In his note, al-Ghoul said he'd tried twice before to stage attacks, but didn't explain why he'd failed. "How beautiful it is to make my bomb shrapnel kill the enemy. How beautiful it is to kill and to be killed — not
to love death, but to struggle for life, to kill and be killed for the lives of the coming generation," al-Ghoul said.
Sister: "My brother is a hero. I'm not sad," al-Ghoul's sister Samar said.


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Jake walking out, the last time we will see him until October.
One final hug for Grandma
Jake does not smile in pictures, but for 430 am the day you are leaving, I guess this is good.
A very sleepy me, trying to figure out my moms camera, eating donuts, and trying to hold back the tears.
We all met at Grandma's house at about 430 am waiting for his recruiter to pick him up. Not the happiest day by a long shot in my life, I am proud of him but so very sad he is gone. We are praying he is learning what he needs to get out of it. Hoping he knows how very loved he is.


Royals News · Royalaires – 5A Grand Champions
Congratulations to our Royalaires! They competed in the Wasatch Drill Invitational last weekend and earned 1st place in Military, 1st place in Character and 2nd place in Dance. They earned the 5A Grand Champion title! Way to go, girls! Check out the gallery of pictures posted by Gordon Doxey. Royalaires – 5A Grand Champions!


Dance • Sculpture • Live Music • Video
Jennifer Glaws brings her viscerally honest choreographic voice and rich investigations in EFFORT and SPACE to the Southern Theater’s stage for a one-of-a-kind performance by Jagged Moves. The full evening, all female sextet, explores the central themes of boundaries and reclamation as flutist Julie Johnson performs original scores of her experimental and contemplative music.
Photography Credits: Photography by Jennifer Glaws, Performing Artists: Gemma Isaacson, Genevieve Waterbury, Marisol Herling
This performance is a reduced rate Student, Artist, Senior Ticket: $10. There will be a post-show Q&A


SusieStreaming Audiobook - 2014
Susie dreamt of a rose-covered cottage, instead she ends up in a big, damp castle married to old Earl of Blackhall. Lucky for her, the lecherous old man dies on their wedding night leaving her a wealthy and young widow. Handsome Sir Giles enters the picture, determined to reveal the real Susie who he believes to be a sneaky minx. Luck brought Susie a fortune; could it also bring her true love?
Publisher: [United States] : Blackstone Audio, Inc. : Made available through hoopla, 2014.
Branch Call Number: eAudiobook hoopla
Characteristics: 1 online resource (1 audio file (5hr., 30 min.)) : digital.


A Talent Show Gives Everyone Time in the Spotlight!
Use a family talent show as a way to encourage each other in love and support!
Announce the event early so everyone has creative time to get their act together and to rehearse. Everyone has a talent. Do you have a future chef or baker — let them create the meal or treats for the evening.
You could have a karaoke night, a lip sync competition, or a dance off. If everyone plays some sort of instrument, have a jam session with free play. You may even write a family song! No instruments? Surprise everyone with kazoos or a collection of rhythm makers.


Emily Jones, also known as EmuEmi, is a guest commentator for VG Commentaries. She's well known as an online voice actor for Tails and Amy, whom she currently voices in Big's Big Fishing Adventure 3. When she's not doing voice over, she also known for her vocal covers.
Favorite Video Game Series: Sonic the Hedgehog, NiGHTS into Dreams, Phantasy Star Online, Kingdom Hearts, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Banjo Kazooie and Spyro the Dragon
Commentary Appearances Edit
- Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
- Coincidentally, she was born on the exact same day as the original Japanese release date of Rockman X. (Mega Man X)
- Funny enough, both her and SMF12345 live in the same state.


For the first Small Talk of 2007, we asked pupils of Hartburn Primary School, Stockton: What do you do to celebrate New Year?
VICTORIA EADY, eight>: "We have karaoke parties at home. Lots of people come around. My favourite song to sing is Better the Devil You Know."
JORDAN HARDY, eight>: "I go around my aunty's house with my brother, who is six, and celebrate it there. We watch telly and we do lots of things."
HARRY PEARSON, eight>: "I stay up until one in the morning and my friends come around. We go outside and watch the fireworks and my mam says the first one back in the house gets a golden chocolate coin. The one who gets it gets good luck. My dad and brother don't rush in but me and my sister do. She's only one though so I always win!"
SARAH JOHNSON, eight>:"I go and sleep at my nana's house. She lets me stay up late. We watch telly together."
FINN MCCABE, eight>: "I play out late at my friend's house. They have a giant turkey and a giant feast."
BEN STEVENSON, eight>: "My friends come around. We play games and watch television. We play hide and seek."
CONNOR DAVIS, eight>: "I sleep at my nana's house when my mum and dad go out. My brother goes to his other nana's. I get to stay up with my nana and just watch telly."


Material relating to newsreel story 'New York Plane Crash' - 52/31
Selected originals (offcuts, selected scenes, out-takes, rushes) for story 'New York Plane Crash' 52/31
Short section used as title sequence for newsreel story. Without superimposed title.
New York, United States of America.
SV. Firemen around smoking ruins of buildings destroyed after aeroplane crash.


The image above was to see if I could capture the essence of the character quickly and with little detail, as I want it to seem elegant and innocent at the same time. It worked pretty well I think!
I wanted to do a series of positions for each of my characters first to get to know their personality, the way they move and the way they would hold themselves before I start getting into their finer details. It's really quite fun seeing them come a little more to life just through their positioning so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next. There's much more to come, this is just update one! :D


Giants Videos | New York Giants – Giants.com
Giants Huddle Video
Giants Huddle | Corey Webster
On this episode of the Giants Huddle podcast, Paul Dottino is joined by Corey Webster, a 2-time super bowl champion who spent his entire career with Big Blue. Webster recalls some of his biggest plays during his career and talks about why it was important for him to retire a Giant.


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Just as happy as she can be, Sara brings smiles to everyone who looks at her! A rich lapis blue spotted with bright green spots provides her happy look!
approx. 39 mm lips to tail, 20 mm vertical hole length


- Which skills coach has taught this guy?
Don’t be fooled chaps. This is of course the great rider who burst onto the scene some months back shredding the new Steel City downhill –Posted 5 years ago
http://vimeo.com/41343426 – though it seems that his skills have, if anything, deteriorated since then. It’s sad to see such god-given talent ultimately unfulfilled..
The topic ‘Which skills coach has taught this guy?’ is closed to new replies.


Following in the footsteps of Kate Hudson and Victoria Beckham, Selma Blair has become the latest star to announce her pregnancy.
The actress and her fashion designer boyfriend Jason Bleick are expecting their first child.
Thirty-eight-year-old Selma met Jason while the pair collaborated for his brand and the two have been dating for a year.
A friend said: "They are ecstatic. They couldn't be happier."
Photo: © Getty


Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. I have a dlink 2730U modem for bsnl broadband ver IN_1.11. I have a script which restarts the modem periodically. the script is running through telnet but not working when I run it as shell script. the script is: USERNAME="admin"
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On one hand, too bad the families didn't get to see some kind of justice in the legal system but then again - good riddance to predatory animals. Too bad for his family that he offed himself & too bad for his family he murdered someone else. Good riddance to predatory animals.
Theres no crying in baseball!
Last edited by lavenderboozer; 08-17-2010 at 08:32 AM.
Reason: i before e except after q.....


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The BISBY girl loves to mix and match and the Rosie Dress allows her to do that in one step! We love the combination of our Pink Stripe and Daisy fabrics in this knit dress. Dress it up for a birthday party or dress it down for play time! Either way, it's sure to be a favorite.


“Watch the flow”
Brushpen and watercolors on watercolor paper.
Sometimes you gotta watch yourself from the banks, how you swirl and erupt and stay calm, crash into rocks and carry flowers. How you swell and go dry. All from the banks. Without getting into the drama of it all.
Don’t know if I am making sense. That’s the mood of the painting.
#river #flow #observe


Tune in now through Sunday night at 9pm for your shot to score sold out tickets to see Twenty One Pilots when they play the Honda Center February 15 or 16!
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The band’s track “Heavydirtysoul” is their most recent addition to the KROQ playlist. Check out the video below:


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Test your skills of observation in this tour of a wacky amusement park.
Send beautiful greeting cards with wintery scenery.
Play movies in QuickTIme that fill the entire screen.


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Challenge hordes of ninjas in this epic action adventure game.4.14 / 5.00 42,334 Views
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Roll around in intense fighting action! Super Fight Ballers is a 2D fighter in which all the characters are balls! Collect power-ups, fight your friends, or take on the Boss!
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Look up pogue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Pogue is a derogatory term.
Pogue is also the name of:
Alan Pogue (born 1946), American photojournalist,
Charles Edward Pogue American film and television writer,
Charles Nelson Pogue (1897-1985), inventor of a miracle carburettor for petrol engines,
David Pogue (born 1963), New York Times columnist,
Donald C. Pogue, American judge,
Forrest Pogue (1912-1996), US Army historian,
Harold Pogue (1893-1969), American football player and businessman,
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Ken Pogue (born 1934), Canadian actor,
L. Welch Pogue (1899-2003), American aviation attorney,
William R. Pogue (born 1930), American astronaut


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GRAND FUNK RAILROADThe American Band
Reviews from Las Vegas
April 26, 2002
Adam of NVI saw your performance last night in Las Vegas and you didn't leave me disappointed. It was nice hearing all the hits and even a little .38 Special for nice touch. Thanks to all of you for giving it nothing but your best......it showed and it got all of us in the Funk groove right off the bat!
Mike of NV...the band put on a show last night that just might have surpassed the Texas Station show from 1998. I never thought I'd come close to saying that.
The crowd was *REALLY* into the show, and the band fed off it. It was truly electric.
...the entire audience was standing and singing and yelling throughout the show. Even the new stuff was well received.
Return to Reviews Main Page
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Welcome to Christmas at the Smoky Mountain Opry™
The Biggest and Best Christmas Musical Variety Show in the Smokies!
Produced with the audience in mind, the Smoky Mountain Opry “Feel The Music!” show is an entertainment experience that brings to the stage new productions and audience favorites. It’s a journey through the music of your life, from high-energy country to rock ‘n roll, big band, gospel and movie greats.
A “don’t miss” endorsement from Southern Living Magazine gives you some idea of the wonderful spectacle that awaits you at the Smoky Mountain Opry show in Pigeon Forge this year! It’s simply the BEST Variety Show in the country!
See Chris Blue Perform LIVE!
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See Chris Blue, Season 12 winner of ‘The Voice,” perform LIVE in our a multi-million dollar Christmas production that also features flying sugar plum fairies, soaring angels, dancing elves, enchanted reindeer, Jolly ol’ Saint Nick, and most importantly, the celebration of the birth of Christ with the area’s largest living nativity!
Pigeon Forge's Best Christmas Magic Show
Magic Beyond Belief Christmas | Darren Romeo
Magic Beyond Belief starring Darren Romeo brings magic and music together for an incredible magic show performed daily! The only protégé of Master Illusionists Siegfried and Roy, Darren Romeo brings his world-famous talents to Pigeon Forge, creating a multi-million dollar “Magic Beyond Belief” style, fun-for-the-whole-family production show featuring a talented cast, Darren’s magical illusions, musical tributes, levitations, and much much more!
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(W) Gary Carlson (A) Chance Wolf, Andrew Pepoy (A/CA) Frank Fosco
This is it! The entire TMNT Volume 3, reproduced for the first time ever in full four-color glory! Join creators Gary Carlson and Frank Fosco as they take the Heroes in a Half-Shell on some of their most amazing and dangerous and bizarre adventures ever... In this issue, the TMNT find their family in disarray as Master Splinter is being held hostage, Donatello is missing, Raphael is badly wounded... and to top it all off, they've lost their home!
In Shops: Jun 20, 2018
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Family Guy - Season 13 Episode 17 -
Peter claims he would beat Liam Neeson (guest voice Liam Neeson) in a fight, but when he is put to the test, he learns that winning is tougher than it seems. Meanwhile, Stewie becomes jealous when Lois decides to be a class mom and starts paying more attention to the other kids over him.
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|High School Soccer:
Triton Snaps Cherry Hill East Unbeaten Season
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
By Forrest Robleto
SJSports Staff Writer
Megan Habina scored the only goal against Cherry Hill East on a penalty shot and it was enough to win the Olympic Conference interdivision meeting. The Lady Mustangs from Triton (8-6-1) qualified for the playoffs with the 1-0 victory against the previously unbeaten Lady Cougars.
The wind was the biggest factor in the game, making it difficult for either team to create an effective offense. Triton only managed a few shots and Cherry Hill keeper Emily Brenner handled them all easily except for the penalty shot in the first half.
Although East sent shot after shot either over the net or directly into the keeper's midsection, they did get a fair number of good shots off. The Triton keeper Katherina Kanetos played an incredible game at one point stopping a volley of three consecutive shots with diving saves. Allison Smith led Triton's defense in keeping Cherry Hill East (10-1-1) out of shooting range.
Photos by Forrest Robleto


I've heard that about him, that he is very nice and respectable. I've never met him but I have met other wrestlers some nice and some not so nice. As far as him in MMA, he needs to work on his stand up and he is a 3 time NCAA Champion, built like a house and has endurance. If he does fight he could be dangerous on the ground but he is not a striker by any means.
Originally Posted by The Don
Dislike Brocks attitude? he is one of the nicest people I have ever met.. if your talking about his in ring persona.. thats just an act.. in real life he is very well mannaered and nice guy.


POV Amateur Hookups
Naughty Amateurs that wanted one thing…to hookup with a thick cock, no strings attached. Come join us as we film 5 amazingly hot chicks who were down to be filmed on camera, hooking up and sucking and fucking. Imagine yourself in these scenes as they service you and milk your cock. It’s your show and they are ready to please.


Introducing your new puppy to the family cats can go very badly if not done right. This family was pretty cautious, letting their cats check out the dog through the safety of a window before bringing her in to meet face to face.
It's so funny to watch different pets show their personalities. Just because the two cats look a bit alike doesn't mean they will react the same! One totally loves the dog and wants to play, the other...not so much.


Here is a great home captive video of Trixie showing her captured and struggling in a pretty dress then later tied to the bed as she is captured and tied again. Enjoy watching her struggle in Toebinder's tight knots.
Randy Star is the most adorable girl next door model with gorgeous wide eyes. Here she is seen struggling hogtied in three different scenes. My all time favourite is the last one wearing that slinky silver dress and struggling in the tight hogtie revealing some lovely assets!


Mackenzee Pierce & McKenzie Lee – Horny at the Halfway House
Released: September 3, 2013
Categories: Brazzers, Brunette, Busty, Clips, Lesbians, MILFs, Redhead
Mackenzee’s really itching to leave the halfway house. Spending time behind bars wasn’t easy, and Mackenzee learned the hard way that nothing and no one come for free. So when the boss tries to get a piece of her perky teen ass, Mackenzee tells that Milf she better throw down the cash up front.


It’s defeated Troy and Piqua in a Tri- match played at Locust Hills. Score was 170 to Troy’s 177 and Piqua’s 187. Warren Hartzell shot a 38 to lead the Wave. Alex Kolb shot a 43, Sam Bankson a 44 and Evan Saylor a 45. Rounding out the scores were Ash Williams a 46 and Jack Marchal a 51.
|Greenville Senior High School||th||3|


Word Study Uno has been a favorite for reinforcing word study for spelling or morphology (roots, prefixes, and suffixes) knowledge. Word Study Uno is just one of many fun word study activities in the book Words Their Way by Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston.
In the traditional game of Uno, players match numbers or colors to the top card on an incrementally increasing stack. Once a player lays down all of his or her cards, the game is over. The first player to lie down all of his or her cards wins. In addition, there are special cards that make players draw additional cards (Draw Twos), lose turns (Skips), and change the color of the cards to be matched (Wild Cards).
Instead of matching by color or number as in traditional Uno, students match cards by either spelling patterns or morphological structures in Word Study Uno. Traditional special cards like Skips, Draw Twos, and Wild Cards are integrated into the game as well.
To introduce the game, I ask students if they have ever played Uno before to determine their prior knowledge of the game. I often ask students who have played before to share their understandings of the rules with those who haven’t, offering clarifications as needed.
The example photos I am including are from a Word Study Uno game used with students who struggled with short a and long a spelling patterns. Some of the words are different from words the students had studied in order for me to assess whether they could transfer spelling pattern knowledge.
Short a CVC
Long a CVCe (Please forgive this one’s “sidewaysness.” I can’t seem to get it oriented correctly!)
Long a CVVC
Students enjoy playing the Word Study Uno game. During this particular game, I asked the students to say the words aloud when they laid them on the table. Students were tentative about this in the beginning. I repeatedly asked them to pronounce the words, and I modeled saying the words as I laid down my cards. Students’ confidence increased, since they began to see that they would be able to pronounce the words correctly based upon the spelling patterns. For instance, bath and bathe made students a bit nervous, but as we discussed that the silent e denoted a long a sound, they tackled other unknown words successfully.
The same process can be used for roots, prefixes, and suffixes as well. However, one potential morpheme learning activity is building words with cards. My friend and colleague, high school literacy coach Kathy Bonyun (@kathybonyun), developed a game called OPA! (Greek and Latin roots, get it?) Students must build words from their hands (a little like Scrabble), but they must also lay down prefixes, roots, and suffixes on previously built words to create new words. The student who is the first to lay down all of his or her cards wins (sort of like Uno). You can easily create your own hybrid game such as this, or you can pick up a set that Kathy created from her Teachers Pay Teacher site.
Are there card games that use to build students’ word knowledge? What has worked for your students? What didn’t work?


In a book and articles and talks, Harvard's Teresa Amabile has reminded us of the power of small wins and the value of seeing our incremental steps towards a goal. Game theory too shows us that mastering our challenges rests partly on marking progress, step by step by step. (A simple example: As readers may recall, I harnessed the power of incremental progress to drink sufficient water daily using this simple progress principle.)
Because I am undertaking a major project, I needed a reminder of the importance of the incremental as I move forward in the direction of (I hope, successful) completion. For this reminder, I looked to Dr. Judy Willis. A couple of years ago, I took a several-day training from her on the neuroscience of learning—and blogged about it, of course, here.
In a post for Psychology Today, Dr. Willis wrote about what we can learn from video games about goal achievement. She says:
Helping children keep records and make (or fill in bar graphs such as those you can get or make on websites such as http://www.onlinecharttool.com)of their ongoing progress can support them with a visual model similar to the video game feedback so they see that their efforts do lead to success and they have the power to build and build their achievement level. Creating progress graphs shows children their incremental goal progress in a concrete way to mimic the incremental progress feedback provided by getting to the next level on a computer game. The additional benefit is to show them that their effort toward their goal results in progress.
Of course those visual memorializations of progress can be motivating for us, too. That's the piece of the motivation puzzle on which I needed a refresher! Now onward and upward, armed with my progress-principle tools of incremental advancement, movement, and momentum.
To learn more about the brain science of making progress towards goals, watch this video of Dr. Willis.


Posted by: pinsker
Small cemeteries across Pennsylvania sometimes offer the only opportunity to see evidence of the African American lives that helped save the Union. Many of the neighborhoods and homes of nineteenth century black families in Pennsylvania are no longer standing. Often the documents and records of their lives have become difficult to find or might no longer be available. But the graveyards of Pennsylvania still hold poignant evidence of the men and their families who sacrificed so much for their nation. This section uses photographs, videos, and dynamic maps to help illustrate the power of these hallowed grounds.


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Epilepsy is one of the most stigmatizing of neurological conditions. Understanding how epilepsy affects the lives of important historical figures illuminates the psychosocial burden of disease for modern-day patients. Pius IX, one of the most consequential Popes in Catholic history, was reported to have epilepsy. Thus, this study aimed to assess how epilepsy influenced Pope Pius IX's life and his papacy. Librarians from Mayo Clinic, Library of Congress, and Vatican Library were consulted to identify all sources pertaining to Pius IX's health history. Twenty-one sources were consulted, and we conclude that Pius IX had partial epilepsy, likely a temporal lobe focus with secondarily generalized seizures. A near-drowning event in his youth coupled with a preexisting central nervous system lesion (as evidenced by photos showing facial asymmetry) likely contributed to his epilepsy. Epilepsy played an important role in Pius IX's life because it led him to the Papacy. At least one doctrine (the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary) was influenced by his seizures, but there is no direct evidence that epilepsy played any role in the creation of other Catholic dogma ratified during his reign. Analysis of bias in references showed that favorable views of the Pope tended to minimize any discussions of his epilepsy, whereas negative references discussed his epilepsy at length. Pius IX's life holds lessons for modern-day epilepsy advocacy.
On September 3, 2000, Pope John Paul II beatified Pope Pius IX.
Beatification is an essential step in the Catholic religion's process of declaring an individual a saint, and it celebrates a person of heroic values whom the church considers a model of Christian life. Instead of favorable worldwide news coverage that is typical for this type of occasion, protests ensued because of controversial aspects of Pius IX's papacy. Pope Pius IX (born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti in 1792, died in 1878) was reported to have epilepsy (the condition of repeated seizures) about 100 years ago, and his legacy continues to be enshrouded by debate of this condition. Because epilepsy is one of the most stigmatizing of neurological conditions,
Catholic doctrine created during his reign includes the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, antiscientism (defined as an extension of scientific methodology to assess areas beyond its competence), antisocialism, and papal infallibility, the result of his convening Vatican Council I. Pius IX also presided over the tumultuous transition from Pope as king and ruler of the Papal States to Pope as a spiritual leader with the creation of the current Vatican City state. Considering that today's 1 billion Catholics are all potentially influenced by the legacy of decisions laid down by Pius IX, the objective of this investigation was to assess whether Pius IX had epilepsy and, if so, the etiology and type of seizures, and the role epilepsy played in his life.
Stigmatization has been demonstrated to reduce the quality of life for people with epilepsy just as much as the physical symptoms themselves.
Even today, people with epilepsy can believe that stigma limits their ability to achieve their full social, educational, and vocational potential. Combating stigma requires education and intervention at multiple levels from individual to societal.
Similarly feared medical diagnoses, such as human immunodeficiency virus infection or AIDs and mental illness, have been destigmatized when public figures have openly disclosed their diagnosis, offering a positive role model to set against negative stereotypes. However, few currently known figures before US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts
have willingly disclosed an epilepsy diagnosis. A better understanding of how epilepsy affected the lives of important historical figures might illuminate the struggles of modern-day patients with epilepsy.
A literature and document search was conducted with help from the librarians of Mayo Clinic, the Library of Congress, and the Vatican Library. All known sources pertaining to Pius IX's health history were identified. Italian and German references were included and translated. Three epileptologists evaluated all materials. One neurologist (J.I.S.) culled the references into a clinical history, whereas the other 2 neurologists (J.F.D. and K.H.N.) were blinded to Pius IX's identity for their assessment of the material. All items that could identify the individual as a Pope were deleted from text or photos. Pius IX's facial photos from age 17 to 60 years were analyzed for neurological abnormalities. Finally, references were analyzed for bias to evaluate how various biographers in discussing Pius IX's life and legacy portrayed epilepsy. Seven distinct questions were addressed: (1) Did Pius IX have epilepsy? (2) If so, what type of epilepsy did Pius IX have? (3) What could have caused Pius IX's epilepsy? (4) How did epilepsy affect Pius IX's choice of career? (5) Could epilepsy have influenced any Catholic doctrine created during Pius IX's papacy? (6) Did Pius IX undergo any treatment for epilepsy? (7) What lessons does Pius IX's case offer modern-day patients with epilepsy?
Our findings are based on data from 21 various sources and biographies of Pius IX.
No known medical or health records were kept on Pius IX. .
Did Pius IX Have Epilepsy?
All 3 epileptologists concurred that Pius IX likely had epilepsy. All documentation (including quotations from Pius IX himself) state that he had epilepsy as a child and young adult. No source contradicts this issue. Pius IX himself proclaimed that, after a pilgrimage to Loreto, Italy, in 1819 to visit the shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, he considered himself cured of his epilepsy.
However, some evidence suggests that he had recurring seizures in his later life. The following 2 quotations illustrate the epilepsy of Pius IX.
Between 1807 and 1809 while at the College of St. Michael, Pius IX had the first of his epileptic attacks, which made life difficult for him and obscured his vocation for several years. The subject himself wrote that “that is where I had my first epileptic attack that seemed to be the end of everything as far as I was concerned.”
One morning in the study hall, a giddiness seized Pius. It came in stronger waves. He stood up at the side of his desk, gave a half inarticulate cry and fell into a fiery blackness. When he awoke he felt calm and quiet. He did not know what had happened to him, he was in a small infirmary and all the people were gathered around him.
Pius IX likely had partial epilepsy of a temporal lobe focus with secondarily generalized seizures. This diagnosis is characterized by repeated seizures and focal cortical neurological lesions. Moreover, patients with partial epilepsy are more likely to report memory disturbances and other cognitive difficulties. The evidence for Pius IX's epilepsy is based on observations of his appearance throughout his lifetime as well as his own report of the effect epilepsy had on his thoughts. The following passage suggests the typical sequelae of partial epilepsy, including cognitive difficulties: “In the same year, he wrote to the Pope: owing to the fact of his epilepsy, he had a very weak memory and could not concentrate on any subject for any length of time without having to worry about having his ideas getting terribly confused.”
Two important findings in Pius IX's history are likely responsible for his epilepsy. First, he had a traumatic near-drowning event as a young child, which several sources cite as having contributed to his epilepsy.
A near-drowning event could lead to a global CNS hypoxia. Second, he likely had a CNS lesion from some developmental process, as evidenced by an asymmetry in photos of Pius IX's face that was apparent to all 3 epileptologists (Figure 1). Asymmetry affecting the lower half of the face suggests an upper motor neuron lesion of the 7th cranial nerve, which would be consistent with a focal lesion often seen among patients with partial epilepsy.
Pius IX was the youngest of 9 siblings, none of whom were reported to have had epilepsy, making it less likely that there was a generalized inherited condition. Suggestions of the traumatic events are demonstrated in the following passage: “As a youth in Italy, Pius IX annually went to visit his mother at the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto. When he was small he fell into a stream after which he was frequently tortured with fatigue and fever. The doctors were never able to pinpoint the cause.”
Developmental anomalies are evident based on the following quotation:
The vestiges of epilepsy were clearly visible. Pius IX's body was slightly less developed on the left. This could be seen even in the face, which was asymmetric with lips awry and a head that inclined to the right. The subject was considered highly impressionable, capricious, impulsive, and unpredictable. These characteristics were all attributed to epilepsy.
How Did Epilepsy Affect Pius IX's Choice of Career?
Epilepsy greatly influenced Pius IX's career. Because of his seizures, Pius IX's goal of becoming a Papal Noble Guard was abandoned. As a result, he entered into the priesthood, leading him to the pathway of church leadership. Interestingly, Pius IX had to be decreed seizure free before he could be anointed a priest. On November 4, 1818, the Bishop of Sinigaglia (what is now Senigallia) produced a report of the candidacy of the future Pius IX for potential priesthood.
He wrote: “To my knowledge he no longer suffers from the epileptic attacks to which he was subject in his more tender years. I am sure that it is many months since he had a single attack of this malady.”
Seizures were documented at several times in Pius IX's life (Figure 2). The following quotation suggests how epilepsy led Pius to a career in the Church:
The epileptic attacks continued to affect Pius IX. In February of 1812 he was found in a state of collapse, foaming at the mouth at the entrance of the family's mansion. It was the epilepsy that excused the individual from military service. Pius' request to enter the Noble Guard was real, and the epileptic attacks [appeared] to become much rarer.
Could Epilepsy Have Influenced any Catholic Doctrine Created During Pius IX's Papacy?
Epilepsy might have been part of the historical backdrop during the approval process of 2 central doctrines of the Catholic Church: the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary and papal infallibility. Pius IX was responsible for affirming both; however, he was not responsible for the creation of either concept. Rather, he presided over the ratification of these beliefs, commonly accepted by Catholics, as church teachings. Evidence to this important point is Murillo's painting of the immaculate conception of Mary (Figure 3) some 200 years before Pius codified the concept. Paintings such as these were commissioned after Pope Paul V issued an edict that forbade preaching or teaching of anything contrary to the doctrine of immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary.
Thus, this concept was quietly accepted for centuries as church thought before the rule of Pius IX. Some biographers have suggested that promulgation of these teachings was influenced by epilepsy. Investigation of references on the doctrine provides evidence that the Pope's seizure disorder influenced this central teaching of the church, but in an unexpected manner.
Pius IX visited the Madonna of Our Lady of Loreto in Loreto, Italy, for help with his epilepsy. Loreto is the location of the sighting of the Virgin Mary based on the finding of the house in which the “Holy Family” lived when Jesus was a child. At this shrine Pius prayed for him to be rid of his epilepsy. The prayer on his lips was often as follows: “Mother behold your child—sick, miserable, useless. I am the shame of my family and disgust myself. Make me clean.” After several visits to the Madonna, after Pius IX became Pope he proclaimed the dogma of immaculate conception in 1854. The dogma relates to the fact that the Virgin Mary was born of an immaculate conception herself.
As the quotation illustrates, approval of dogma on the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary was inherently Pius IX's thanks to the Virgin Mary for having cured him of his epilepsy. One point of clarification is that the concept of the immaculate conception refers to the birth of the Virgin Mary and not that of Christ; his immaculate conception had been accepted as Catholic dogma long before the concept of the immaculate conception of Mary.
As for the connection between papal infallibility and Pius IX's epilepsy, the argument is more ambiguous because no direct link exists, contrary to the claims of many critics of this doctrine. In the following excerpt we see that Pius IX's seizures appeared to recur during the Vatican Council I when papal infallibility was approved as official church teaching:
Pius reports an epileptic disorder in the period between March 29 and April 2, 1825. During that year he wrote he had a very weak memory, which was a side effect of his seizures, and he could not concentrate on anything without having to fear a great deal of confusion. During the Vatican I Council on June 4, 1870, the Austrian envoy to the papacy reported that Pius had been threatened by seizures during the previous Lent. Another individual postponed that return to epilepsy to December 31, 1871, and reports on further falling episodes in 1872.
The conclusion that seizures were occurring during Vatican Council I is inescapable, but no direct evidence suggests that the doctrine was concocted by a mind clouded by seizures, as some biographers claim.
No evidence documents that Pius IX had undertaken any treatment for epilepsy. Medical records were not kept, and all sources are silent regarding this issue. However, we, the authors, speculate that Pius IX likely ingested bromides in the last year of his life because of the following findings: (1) the recurrence of his epilepsy; (2) the growing acceptance of bromide therapy as a treatment for epilepsy by 1860
; (3) the emergence of a new dermatological condition most notably reported as a rash; and (4) the condition of his body when exhumed from his crypt. The following citation led us in reverse to that hypothesis:
On April 4, 2000, a delegation of bishops and monsignors in full regalia arrived at Rome's Basilica St. Lawrence outside the walls. They descended to the 6th-century cathedral's crypt and were led to a white stone tomb. A casket was opened for them. At that time there was a moment of profound and intense commotion. The body within, that of the 19th-century Pope Pius IX, was almost perfectly conserved. Pius, known universally in Rome as Pio Nono, died in 1878. Yet there he was “in the beauty of his humanity just as he is seen in the photographic documentation of his deathbed back when the entire city came and admired the beautiful face of the Pontiff smiling in the sleep of death.”
and are still approved for epilepsy therapy in Germany. Potassium bromide is the typical salt form of bromides used for epilepsy therapy. Bromide salts are also a common ingredient in embalming preservatives because of their hygroscopic nature and deliquescent properties, making them ideal desiccants.
Recurrence of seizures would have made it likely that he would have managed his seizures with the latest therapy available, particularly because he had experience in managing hospitals during his time as both priest and cardinal.
Second, the timing of his seizure recurrence along with biographers detailing dermatological and cognitive difficulties appears to support our contention: “There is a mention of impaired consciousness in 1870 and then he suffered from a new skin disorder after 1859, a disease that progressively worsened with his age along with changes in his personality.”
What Lessons Does Pius IX's Case Offer Modern-Day Patients With Epilepsy?
Pius IX's example of living with epilepsy shows that people with seizures can achieve greatness despite obstacles that must be overcome. The stigma of epilepsy was apparent in the 19th century and continues to the present. Of the 21 references cited for this investigation, all references offered either an entirely positive or negative impression of this Pope. Supporters of the Pope portrayed having epilepsy positively, as an obstacle to be overcome, a hurdle suggesting characteristics of a hero.
Many who felt strongly about infallibility or other more controversial aspects of the papacy stated that the epilepsy likely contributed to psychological and psychiatric delusions, which would immediately call into question the validity of the thought process that led to those philosophies.
It is clear that Pius IX had partial epilepsy resulting from a combination of anoxia from an accident at a young age and developmental anomalies, as evidenced by hemiplegia and facial asymmetry apparent from his photographs. Epilepsy clearly affected Pius IX's choice of vocation and could have had a role in the historical context of Catholic doctrine. Pius IX made substantial contributions to the Papacy and to modern Catholic theology, but epilepsy clouds the interpretation of his work because of the stigma that epilepsy continues to have today. Despite those stigmas, it is amazing to note that Pius IX was able to persevere despite the obstacles of his condition. His life is echoed in the plight of modern-day patients with epilepsy and should help us understand that the stigma of most neurological or psychiatric disease can be overcome to achieve greatness. The story of Pius IX and his epilepsy leads one to hope that future biographers of public figures will not use the prism of epilepsy to define their work and legacy.
We thank Kay Wellik, Diana Rogers, and the other librarians at Mayo Clinic as well as Sister Catherine Clarke and Vice-Prefect Ambrogio Piazzoni of the Vatican Library for their invaluable help in tracking difficult to find sources and articles. We also thank Dr Thomas Nelson for his critical review of our Grand Rounds presentation to the American Academy of Neurology and MCA Neuroscience.
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. Pius IX Beatification. Episode 401, September 1, 2000.


Because the French Revolution and its major thinkers had much influence in Europe, including Germany and Heinrich Mann, I had a look at Voltaire and Rousseau.
There I came across a term I had not heard: Polygenists.
Voltaire, according the Wikipedia paragraph (currently under dispute), was also a "polygenist". If we go to the polygenist entry we can find many more interesting connections.
Basically, a polygenist does not believe that mankind came down from one original pair of human beings, but rather different races arose separately. Thus different races could be seen in this "voelkisch" kind of National Socialist view, that they were of different traits and quality. You can now proclaim the black person ugly and inferior. You can claim the white person softer, more beautiful and more "spiritual". This hardly seems to fit in with the ideas of the Rights of Man espoused by the Revolution. How did Voltaire really understand this question of the so-called races?
One of the other questions I have is: how did the eugenics movement develop and become a world-wide phenomenon? This polygenetic idea would just fit into their program.
Here, in Canada, too, we have home-grown intellectuals with liberal ideas who were firmly in the eugenics camp. In my home province we had eugenics programs until fairly recently. The government has been compensating victims of forced sterilization until not long ago. But here it did not have so much to do with race.
From Wikipedia. / Polygenism
Religion Is For Those in Need
49 minutes ago


I am currently intervening in an undergraduate-level science course. Along with the basic science, students will learn how to communicate their ideas and perspectives effectively. Here’s what we are discussing this week: Purpose and Paragraph Structure.
Lesson 1: Purpose
When we write, we want our readers to read, grasp, and remember our purpose. How can we make that happen?
- Make your written text visually appealing.
- At first, you see only text. Would you rather read a huge block of continuous text? Or text that has been broken up into short paragraphs with plenty of dynamic white space on the paper?
- Choose a single main purpose.
- You should be able to condense that purpose into a single sentence.
- My purpose for formatting this page the way I have is to demonstrate how to make text visually appealing and how write in a narrative style.
- Form a narrative.
- Take advantage of humanity’s tendency to remember stories.
- I bet you can recite the storyline of the last book you read. But, how much can you remember from the last non-narrative lecture you sat through?
Lesson 2: Paragraph Structure
You begin reading text, and you finish the first paragraph, and you keep going on to the second, and after the second you skim down to see how much further you need to go, and your mind wonders… what were you even reading?
When we write, we must string together many thoughts, and we can do this with conjunctions like the word and. But, when we only use words like and, we bore our readers. There is no hook or suspense to keep them interested. So, we should introduce complications by using words like but, however, and although, and then resolve those complications with words like therefore, consequently, and thus.
Effective narratives are made by intertwining ABT frameworks. Small ABT frameworks can be made into single paragraphs and then those paragraphs can be strung together into a larger ABT narrative. But, be careful. If you introduce too many complications without balancing with set up or concluding with solutions, your piece may become over-narrative and ineffective. To become effective narrators, you’ll have to practice.
Practice good paragraph structure to support your purpose when you complete your homework this week. Things to do when asked to write long responses:
- Identify the purpose of your exposition. What is the one thing you want your reader to remember?
- Each paragraph should scaffold that main purpose.
- First paragraph – provide context to set the scene.
- Second paragraph – introduce a problem or conundrum to hook your reader.
- Third paragraph – offer a solution or consequence to wrap it all up.
- Make sure that each sentence and each paragraph supports your purpose in some way. If you don’t need it, get rid of it.
|Week 1||9/26||Overview and Motivation|
|Week 2||10/3||Sentence Structure|
|Week 3||10/10||Purpose and Paragraph Structure|
|Week 4||10/17||Word Choice|
|Week 7||11/7||Audience and Framing|


With reports showing that industrialised farming contributes to more than 10 % of climate change (see for example 1), that conventional farming is highly inefficient and actually more costly than small-scale multi-input agriculture (see for example 2) and even the UN insisting that our food systems need to change drastically if we expect to be able to feed ourselves and our families in the future (3), it seems increasingly clear that we need to change the way in which we obtain and consume our food.
For some, this begins at a personal level: a great way to gain more food autonomy is to begin growing your own food. With this comes the need to learn about growing methods as well, crucially, learning about how to propagate your food varieties; otherwise you may have gained autonomy on one part of your food but you are still dependent on the large seed corporations to produce it in the first place. For more on this see my article ‘Seedy Issues’ here.
For others, the change is more political; with a diverse range of campaigns from Beyond GM (4) to the Campaign for Seed Sovereignty (5) raising awareness and influencing political opinion on the complex web of rules, regulations and trade agreements which affect our food, whether we are aware of them or not.
Another angle to come at it is the health angle, and your body’s need to have access to a diverse range of nutrients. Even if you have no interest at all in gardening or in politics you may be concerned over what food you eat and how it will affect your health.
Linking the issues
It can be seen that all of the issues mentioned are interrelated. When trying to create a healthy and happy life, it is important that we choose the right food for us. This means that the more resilient and healthy our food systems are, the happier we can be. Occasionally, laws, trends and regulations can come in the way of this: from the ‘norm’ of supermarkets only accepting a tiny proportion of the food varieties available (see for example 6) to dying arts such as seed saving and fruit tree grafting causing a deficit in our ability to produce good food (see for example 7).
A key aspect of improving our own and others’ ability to have access to healthy and sustainable food is to utilise what skills and knowledge are out there and create connections which can be more beneficial to ourselves and our environment than the complex web of logistics which so often characterises our internationalised food systems. It is with this in mind that I participated in the project Orchards Without Borders last month.
Orchards without Borders: trees which please
The project (9) is a cultural exchange between England and France (and hopefully further afield) to help provide education, information and holistic interest in orchards and their uses. Set up by the Brighton Permaculture Trust (10) and Brighton and Hove Food Partnership (11) on the English side and Collines Normandy CPIE (12) in France and funded partly by Interreg (13), the part in which I participated was a study trip to Normandy where we visited both organic and non-organic orchards, taught orchard-related lessons in a French school, learned about how to make traditional products such as pastries, cider and pate de fruits. A healthy amount of actual tree planting was also involved.
We travelled by car and ferry from Brighton to Normandy. On the ship on the way there we saw what could have been surmised as a good omen; a taster of how the rest of the trip would go.
Once in France we found warm welcomes wherever we went. One thing which was particularly pleasing was how celebratory every meal we had appeared. I am not sure if this is due to French culture in general or just the people we were with, but it was highly satisfying experiencing the joy of shared food with people we had just met. From many years of working to engender enthusiasm in the pure celebration and joy which can be present in every single mouthful of food which we eat, it seems that if we are to make a cultural switch in which we create more sustainable food systems which benefit both us and the planet, this cannot be possible if we do not appreciate food in the first place (see for example 13).
Something which goes along nicely with appreciation of eating food is appreciation of what goes into food. As part of the trip we learned about traditional Norman ways to use apples, including a session in a real French bakery where we were taught how to make a number of Norman baked delights.
We also learned how to make pâte de fruits, a kind of sugary, fruity paste which is dried in order to preserve the good nutrition in the fruit and make a tasty sweet which is kind of healthy (if you are ok with having half as much sugar as fruit) for the winter. As far as I am aware there is not really a direct English equivalent, though we do have a very ancient tradition from long before sugar was introduced to the British Isles of making a kind of dried fruit leather (for more on this see 14). Our teacher, Josine, told how in some parts of Normandy the tradition is so important that there are whole festivals devoted to the making of this sticky delicacy. She mentioned one place, Vire, where the mixture is made in a giant cauldron which is stirred by the townspeople for hours on end while they sing traditional songs.
Though our cauldron was not that large I still had a go.
Throughout the trip, one thing which kept resurfacing as a key issue was the importance of diversity; both in our orchards and beyond. Whilst teaching eight, nine and ten-year-old children we used the newly invented ‘Orchards are Alive’ magnetic board to help illustrate the huge range of creatures and plants which are present in a healthy orchard from season to season. We visited one eating-apple orchard where they grew around thirty different varieties of apple. This diversity of life is important to keep the ecosystem in balance, but also to produce healthier fruit. Indeed, most apple varieties need at least one other type present in order to achieve pollination, and some need two (15). Pollination itself is done by insects such as wasps and bees (17) so if there is too much pesticide you are creating more work for yourself as you will endanger the creatures which will make the fruit for you.
Caring for orchards means caring for not just some fruit trees but the intricate web of which they are a part. There are some aspects of the web which it may be necessary to discourage; for example, any apple grower I have ever met cannot say the word ‘vole’ without a distinctly sour look – but as long as you respect the holistic nature of it then balance can be achieved, rather than simply encouraging a monoculture where ultimately you are creating a lot more work and less nutrition.
Once you start realising how important diversity is to growing fruit, it can be extrapolated outwards to include – well, everything. All plants need to reproduce in some way and most of our food plants use insects to do this. Many plants also have sympathetic relationships with each other or produce by-products which can be used by others; this mutually beneficial effect cannot be achieved if you strive to just grow one thing in one place.
The same goes for own bodies, whether we are aware of it or not. The more diverse our range of nutrients is the healthier we are; with supermarket trends towards selling only a few varieties of food this is being thrown off balance. Indeed, there appear to be a number of trends which actively discourage diversity; from the EU’s regulations on seed adaptability and resilience (see for example 17) to border controls limiting the diversity of our own human population.
Orchards without Borders is helping to redress this balance by celebrating the diversity we have and cultivating more. We brought back a number of Norman varieties of apple to grow in Sussex, and there are some Sussex apples mingling in Norman orchards. Perhaps you do not have any fruit trees to hand to swap; but there are probably a number of ways in which you can encourage biodiversity in your own life.
- Gilbert, N, 2012. ‘One-third of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture’. Nature, 31/10/12. http://www.nature.com/news/one-third-of-our-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come-from-agriculture-1.11708 – retrieved 11/12/14
- Oakshotte, I, and Lamberley, P, 2014. Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat. Bloomsbury: London
- UNCTAD, 2013. Wake Up Before it’s too Late: Make Farming Truly Sustainable Now. UNCTAD: Geneva. Available as a PDF here: http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditcted2012d3_en.pdf – retrieved 11/12/14
- Beyond GM, 2014. ‘Home’. http://beyond-gm.org/ – – retrieved 11/12/14
- Campaign for Seed Sovereignty, 2014. ‘Seed Sovereignty’. http://www.seed-sovereignty.org/EN/ – retrieved 11/12/14
- Bifurcated Carrots, 2007. ‘Biodiversity Begins at Home’. http://bifurcatedcarrots.eu/2007/10/biodiversity-begins-at-home/ – retrieved 11/12/14
- Soil Association, 2014. ‘Ben Raskin’s Seedy Weekend’. http://www.soilassociation.org/news/newsstory/articleid/7458/ben-raskin-s-seedy-weekend – retrieved 11/12/14
- Brighton Permaculture Trust, 2014. ‘Normandy Partnership: Orchards without Borders’. https://brightonpermaculture.org.uk/orchards/withoutborders – retrieved 29/11/14
- Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, 2014. ‘About’. http://bhfood.org.uk/about/ – retrieved 29/11/14
- Brighton Permaculture Trust, 2014. ‘Who We Are’. http://brightonpermaculture.org.uk/about
- Collines Normandes, 2014. ‘Le CPIE’. http://www.cpie61.fr/ – retrieved 11/12/14
- North West Europe Programme, 2014. ‘Interreg’. https://www.nweurope.eu/ – retrieved 29/11/14
- Pretty, J, 2002. Agri-Culture: Reconnecting People, Land and Nature. Routledge: London
- Mears, R, 2013. Wild Food. Episode 2: ‘Wild Food and Foraging’. BBC: London. Excerpt available on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZbGRWO8wnU – retrieved 11/12/14
- Law, B, 2014. Woodsman: Living in a wood in the 21st Century. William Collins: New York
- Plants For a Future, 2014. ‘Malus Domestica’. http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Malus+domestica – retrieved 11/12/14
- Sheil, S, 2013. ‘Seeds and other Plant Reproductive Material: Towards new EU Rules’. European Parliament, 10/06/13. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/130547/LDM_BRI%282013%29130547_REV1_EN.pdf – retrieved 11/12/14


Herod Philip, Solar Eclipse of 29 AD, Seen by Jesus Christ
This coin was minted by Herod Philip in 30-31 AD in Caesarea Paneas. It was likely in circulation when Jesus Christ had His ministry in the Northern Galilee. The obverse shows Tiberius and Livia. The reverse has the temple complex of Caesarea Paneas or perhaps Bethsaida, renamed Julias-Livia. The central circular design in the middle of the temple was only present on coins minted after 29 AD. No dates were present on the coins with the circular design because everybody at the time knew what it symbolized. The total solar eclipse of November 24, 29 AD was visible over Caesarea Paneas and is represented by the circular object in the temple. Herod Antipas had married Philip's wife Herodius. War was brewing with the Nabateans because Antipas divorced his first wife Phasaelis to marry Herodius. Phasaelis was the daughter of King Aretas IV of Nabatea and Aretas was not happy about how his daughter was treated. John the Baptist was likely beheaded around the time of this eclipse for his condemnation of the marriage.
A theory exists that the circular object in the temple is in reference to the "shields episode" from Pontius Pilate. Please note the object in the temple has an image of concentric circles on it. The original event as related by Philo:
One of his lieutenants was Pilate, who was appointed to govern Judea. He, not so much to honor Tiberius as to annoy the multitude, dedicated in Herod's palace in the holy city some shields coated with gold. They had no image work traced on them nor anything else forbidden by the law apart from the barest inscription stating two facts, the name of the person who made the dedication and one of him in whose honor it was made. (F.H. Colson, The Embassy to Gaius, 38.244)
Cleary the above circular object in the temple has an image.
The jugate images on the obverse are of Tiberius "eclipsing" his mother Livia. Livia died in September of 29 AD. Tiberius did not get along well with his mother. I doubt this was a public acknowledgement of strife in the emperor's family because Livia was very well respected in the Roman Empire as the wife of Augustus. This obverse is very similar to the coins of Aretas the IV of Nabatea. Aretas the IV poses in the same fashion with his wives on the Nabatean coins of Petra. The Roman "jugate" obverse is likely in confrontation to the family of Aretas the IV. The spice trade from the near and far east came directly thru Petra into ancient Israel. Without the spices and incense from this part of the world, ancient cities would have a very difficult time controlling the stench of sacrificial animals in the temples and the odors of daily life in the closed quarter conditions of large buildings. The "silk road trade" was of critical importance to the Roman Empire and a solar eclipse over the area may have encouraged Roman aggression.
Photo Athena Numismatics.


Monday, January 17, 2011
Nonfiction Monday: The Civil War: Profiles (One Event, Six People), by Aaron Rosenberg (Scholastic, 2011) ISBN 978-0545237567
The first in a new history series from Scholastic, this slim volume focuses on biographical sketches of six key players during the Civil War: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Clara Barton, George McClellan, Robert E. Lee, and Matthew Brady, and how their lives intertwined. Suitable for elementary school-aged readers, the book is abundantly illustrated in full color, with photographs, maps, and paintings selected to bring these famous individuals to life.
Each person is profiled in a separate chapter, about 20 pages long, telling about his or her childhood, early years, their families, and their accomplishments, in an easy-to-read format. The biographical format also allows the author to compare and contrast the different individuals, explaining how Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had many things in common, for example, both having started their lives poor and having become famous speakers and leaders, and how Matthew Brady's photography helped make Lincoln president.
This is a good choice for students interested in learning more about famous individuals from the Civil War, but it is not a book chronicling the war itself. While the information provided is not in-depth, it provides a useful introduction to the various figures profiled, and may spur students' interest in exploring their lives in more depth in other biographies or Internet resources. Enough details are provided on each of the six figures to be used in an elementary school biographical report as well; the book could also be a good selection for older middle school or even high school students with lower reading skills, since the small size and low page count (150 pages) make it less intimidating for reluctant readers than some other nonfiction choices. Included in the text is a bibliography of relevant books, articles, and websites, as well as an index.
Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.


Modern Analysis of Chemical Contaminants in Food
By Katerina Mastovska, Ph.D.
Chemical contaminants may occur in our food from various sources. They typically pose a health concern, resulting in strict regulations of their levels by national governments and internationally by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Therefore, analysis of relevant chemical contaminants is an essential part of food safety testing programs to ensure consumer safety and compliance with regulatory limits. Modern analytical techniques can determine known chemical contaminants in complex food matrices at very low concentration levels. Moreover, they can also help discover and identify new or unexpected chemical contaminants.
Sources of Chemical Contaminants in Food
Chemical contaminants can be present in foods mainly as a result of the use of agrochemicals, such as residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs, contamination from environmental sources (water, air or soil pollution), cross-contamination or formation during food processing, migration from food packaging materials, presence or contamination by natural toxins or use of unapproved food additives and adulterants.
The use of pesticides, such as insecticides, fungicides or herbicides, has become an integral part of modern agriculture to increase crop yields and quality by controlling various pests, diseases and weeds. Registration of new pesticides is a strictly regulated process that evaluates their toxicity and environmental fate, and sets maximum residue limits (tolerances) in raw and processed commodities. There are over 1,400 known pesticides. Some of them should no longer be used but may still be present in the environment. Older pesticides are being reevaluated based on currently available scientific data.
Approved uses of pesticides following Good Agricultural Practices should result in pesticide residues below maximum residue limits established in a given country. However, global sourcing of raw commodities and global distribution of food products complicate the situation because pesticide registrations, uses and limits can be and are different in different countries. Consequently, an approved use in one country may result in an illegal pesticide residue in a food imported into another country, such as the recent case of the fungicide carbendazim in orange juice imported into the United States from Brazil. Furthermore, pesticides can be misused or present in food due to contamination during application (spray drift), storage or transportation or from environmental sources, such as contaminated water or soil.
Veterinary Drug Residues
Similar to pesticides, veterinary drugs are agrochemicals that undergo a thorough registration process, resulting in setting of their maximum residue limits/tolerances in animal-derived foods. The major classes of veterinary drugs include antibiotics, anthelmintics, coccidiostats, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, sedatives, corticosteroids, beta-agonists and anabolic hormones. These drugs, which are administered to live animals, can remain as residues in animal tissues. Liver and kidney are highly susceptible to residues given their biological function.
Certain antibiotics, such as penicillin, can cause severe allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, which is an important reason for enforcing their residue limits in foods of animal origin. Another important justification for limiting antibiotic usage in food-producing animals is to reduce the risk of pathogenic microorganisms becoming resistant to antibiotics. Most veterinary drugs are not of acute toxicological concern, but some substances, such as nitrofurans, chloramphenicol, clenbuterol and diethylstilbestrol, have been banned in most countries due to their carcinogenicity. Concern about endocrine-disrupting effects has become another reason for regulation of certain veterinary drugs, such as beta-agonists and hormones.
Environmental contaminants can be man-made or naturally occurring substances present in air, water or soil. They can enter the food chain and even bioaccumulate. Some can pose an acute health risk if present at higher concentrations, but the major concern related to the presence of environmental contaminants in foods is their potential endocrine disruption, developmental, carcinogenic and other chronic effects.
Examples of environmental contaminants that enter the food chain include heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), “dioxins” (polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans), persistent chlorinated pesticides (e.g., DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, mirex, chlordane), brominated flame retardants (mainly polybrominated diphenyl ethers), polyfluorinated compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), perchlorate, pharmaceutical and personal care products or haloacetic acids and other water disinfection byproducts.
The manufacture and use of PCBs and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been banned for years, but they remain in the environment due to their high stability. PAHs can be found in the environment as a result of industrial pollution or can originate from oil spills; thus, they were of concern in seafood after the oil spill accident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
Food Processing Contaminants
Certain toxic or undesirable compounds can be formed in foods during their processing, such as during heating, baking, roasting, grilling, canning, hydrolysis or fermentation. Precursors of these contaminants can occur naturally in the food matrix, such as in the case of acrylamide being formed during the Maillard reaction between the amino acid asparagine and a reducing sugar (especially in potato- and cereal-based, heat-treated products). Alternatively, certain processing contaminants, such as nitrosamines, can be formed by interaction of natural food components with food additives. Carcinogenic and genotoxic chlorpropanols, such as 3-monochloropropane-1,2 diol (3-MCPD), are formed during the acid hydrolysis of wheat, soya and other vegetable protein products.
Examples of other processing contaminants include PAHs (in grilled and smoked products), ethyl carbamate (in yeast-fermented alcoholic beverages and other products) or furan (in a variety of heat-treated foods, especially coffee and canned/jarred food).
Food processing may also be a source of cross-contamination, such as contamination of nonallergenic foods with known food allergens.
Migrants from Packaging Materials
Direct contact of foods with packaging materials can result in chemical contamination caused by migration of certain substances into foods. Examples of migrants of health concern may include bisphenol A or phthalates from plastic materials, 4-methylbenzophenone and 2-isopropylthioxanthone from inks, mineral oil from recycled fibers or semicarbazide from a foaming agent in the plastic gaskets that are used to seal metal lids to glass packaging.
Toxins are naturally occurring substances that are produced by various organisms, with mycotoxins and marine biotoxins typically representing the major concerns in foods. Other examples of toxins in foods may include bacterial toxins (e.g., staphylococcal toxins) or certain plant toxins, such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can be found in honey, milk or eggs. While the bacterial/fungal contamination can be eliminated with heat treatment, the toxins can remain in the food product as contaminants.
Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi (molds) that can colonize various crops. They are of concern mainly in cereals, nuts, infant formula, milk, dried fruit, baby food, coffee, fruit juice and wine. There are many mycotoxins, but only a few are currently regulated, with the European Union having a more comprehensive list than most other countries, which includes aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisins and T-2/HT-2 toxins. Different mycotoxins are prevalent in different climates and in various growing and storage conditions.
Marine biotoxins, such as saxitoxin, domoic acid, okadaic acid or ciguatoxin, are highly toxic compounds produced by phytoplankton. During so-called harmful algal bloom events, they can accumulate in fish or shellfish, such as clams, mussels, scallops or oysters, to levels that can pose serious health risks or even be lethal to humans.
Unapproved Food Additives and Adulterants
Food adulteration can happen accidentally when unapproved additives are introduced to the food, or the wrong additive is introduced through formulation error. This results in mislabeled food. Perhaps a larger health issue is when foods are adulterated intentionally for economic reasons to sell a low-value food or material for more or to mask food spoilage. Some adulteration may just mislead or cheat consumers, such as adding high fructose corn syrup to honey, but some may be harmful to them. The most notorious example from recent years is the addition of melamine to whey and other protein concentrates to increase their apparent protein content analyzed as total nitrogen. Other examples include the use of toxic Sudan dyes in adulterated chili powders or adulteration of virgin olive oil with hazelnut oil, which can cause unexpected allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.
Analysis of Known Chemical Contaminants in Food
Most known chemical contaminants in foods are small organic molecules. Except for high-level adulterants, they are typically present in foods at low concentrations (parts per trillion to parts per million); thus, their analyses in complex food matrices are often quite challenging. The basic analytical approach involves an extraction using a suitable solvent, cleanup to remove interfering matrix components, a chromatographic separation and a selective detection.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the implementation of mass spectrometry (MS) as a detection technique has truly revolutionized the analysis of chemical contaminants in foods. As opposed to element-selective or nonselective detectors, MS can detect a wide range of compounds independent of their elemental composition and provide simultaneous quantitation and structural identification of detected analytes. It also adds another degree of separation/selectivity on top of chromatographic separations. These unique features have made MS the number one choice for detection and identification/confirmation of trace-level organic chemical contaminants in modern testing laboratories.
First, the combination of MS with gas chromatography (GC-MS) has become popular for the analysis of volatile and semivolatile compounds, including many pesticide residues, PAHs, PCBs and other less-polar POPs. More polar, thermolabile and less volatile analytes were difficult to analyze until the more recent introduction of atmospheric ionization techniques, such as electrospray, for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). LC-MS has opened the door to the direct analysis of many more polar contaminants, including modern, new-generation pesticides, and the majority of veterinary drugs and toxins, such as mycotoxins. Many of the emerging and recently identified contaminants, including acrylamide, melamine or Sudan dyes, are analyzed preferably by LC-MS.
Thus, modern food contaminant testing laboratories utilize both GC-MS and LC-MS to cover the wide polarity range of possible organic chemical contaminants. Tandem MS (MS/MS) is typically employed to provide an increased selectivity (especially in LC-MS) that helps further distinguish target compounds from potential matrix interference. Figure 1 shows an example of chromatograms obtained in a multiresidue analysis of more than 300 pesticides analyzed by GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS, demonstrating the speed and selectivity of state-of-the-art instruments that enable the simultaneous and highly sensitive analysis of many compounds.
Identification of Unknown Chemical Contaminants in Food
Detection and identification of unknown contaminants is not an easy task, especially if they are present at low concentration levels. It requires expertise and a good analytical strategy that is based on all gathered information about the sample and potential sources of contamination. Any clues, such as changes in smell, taste or texture, as well as a description of potential poisoning symptoms may be important in this respect. Concurrent analysis of control (“good”) samples with suspect samples is often essential to find differences and eliminate potential false positives.
If a certain compound or a group of compounds is suspected, then a targeted sample preparation and instrumental method(s) can be employed (see sidebar “The Importance of Moisture in Samples Prior to Chemical Analyses”). For a truly unknown analysis, different extraction and separation approaches should be used to isolate compounds with a wide range of physicochemical properties (polarity, solubility, volatility, etc.). Nontargeted analysis should be performed, such as MS with full-spectra acquisition. Statistical analysis of the acquired chromatographic and MS data of contaminated and noncontaminated samples may help identify differences and reduce the number of components that have to be examined. The acquired MS spectra of suspected contaminants can be compared with MS spectral libraries and compound databases. In LC-MS, high-resolution/accurate-mass measurements, using time-of-flight (TOF) or orbitrap MS instruments, should be used for added selectivity. In addition, tandem MS should be employed to help elucidate the structure of unknown contaminants. In the end, strong knowledge and expertise in both analytical and food chemistry are typically required to succeed in this task.
Current and Future Trends in Chemical Contaminant Analysis in Food
The current and future trends in the analysis of chemical contaminants are and will be strongly affected by developments in analytical instrumentation. The speed, sensitivity and selectivity of state-of-the-art MS instruments enable analysis of many compounds in one analytical run. Consequently, streamlined sample preparation approaches, such as QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe), can be used that require minimum extract cleanup without any preconcentration steps—thus, they can be miniaturized and automated.
The advancements in high-resolution/accurate MS instruments and development of related software tools show great potential to bring this technology from the research environment into testing laboratories, where it could be employed for nontargeted testing of known and unknown chemical contaminants.
Katerina Mastovska, Ph.D., is a lead staff scientist at Covance Laboratories. She is actively involved in the AOAC International as a co-chair of the AOAC Chemical Contaminants and Residues in Food community.
The Importance of Moisture in Samples Prior to Chemical Analyses
Moisture content is an important consideration during sampling procedures, in part because it affects the extent of sample heterogeneity. It may be necessary to determine the moisture content through sample drying to express analytical results on a uniform scale.
Precautions must be considered when drying foods at elevated temperatures, since chemical reactions such as hydrolysis can occur and these reactions can be accelerated. Moisture determinations can be erroneous if hydrolysis has occurred, since the water of hydrolysis has not been released from the sample. A general rule of thumb for sample drying is that it should be as rapid and at as low a temperature as possible. Vacuum methods that can used to dry a sample include vacuum ovens and lyophilization, or freeze-drying. Another method is microwave drying. Unlike external heating devices that operate through the sample vessel, microwaves rapidly heat the sample, keeping temperature gradients to a minimum.
For certain chemical testing applications, such as the presence of metals in food as well as the extraction of crude fat and nutrients from food, microwave digestion is the preparation method of choice. The ability of microwave sample prep to dissolve almost any matrix, leaving target species behind, provides preparative capabilities unavailable through other methods.
The inherent variability in the composition of raw materials, basic ingredients and processed foods requires the use of proper sampling and sample pretreatment techniques, in addition to statistical methods for obtaining representative and replicate samples. Using the proper sample preparation methodology can reduce analytical error and costly detection mistakes that could jeopardize the safety of the food produced as well as lead to an even more costly food safety-related recall.


An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/about life on other planets. This follows this post about breaches with others, such as family members. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free clickHERE!or call 1-888-886- 8632.
NASA's Martian rover, Curiosity, has not detected anything to confirm possible life on Mars. What does the Bible tell us of the possibility of life on other planets?
[Darris McNeely] One of the oldest and most challenging questions that scientists have had in recent years: Is there life on other planets? All kinds of experiments and observations have taken place and continue to go on to answer this critical question. Are there other forms of life on any other planet besides what we know here on Earth?
There has been on the planet of Mars just within the last year or so a rover sent there by NASA called Curiosity, and it has been taking samples of soil and the atmosphere on the planet Mars in order to again learn more about the planet, but also to continue searching for an answer to this particular question. Now because of the presence, they thought, of certain levels of a particular gas, methane gas, which to them could indicate the presence of some type of microbial life on Mars, scientists were hopeful in recent weeks that the Curiosity rover would gain some detectable evidence of high levels of methane gas, which then would lead them to again perhaps a further conclusions or proof or closer to proof that perhaps some type of life was there because methane gas is normally given off by decaying bacteria or vegetation.
Well, just recently the rover's results that have come back to the scientists have indicated that the levels of methane gas to indicate any form of life there are pretty much not there. There's just not the level of gas there to indicate any type of life and no other means by which to determine this. So they're disappointed on that particular part of the discovery of what has taken place on Mars with this rover in recent days.
So, again, we're still asking the question, they are: Is there life on other planets? It's an interesting question. It will continue to fascinate scientists.
There is perhaps a bit of an indication in the Bible that might help us to understand and answer, to come to an answer, on this because as we understand what the Bible tells us about God and the creation and the unique creation of life on this Earth as God has created it. The Bible doesn't tell us everything scientifically that we would like to know. That it seems to be is left for science to discover. But what the Bible does tell us sometimes gives us indications of perhaps what the ultimate answer even to a question like this might be.
In Isaiah 45:18For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
See All... it says this from God, "For thus says the Lord who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the Earth and made it." Again a direct statement corroborated by Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All... that God formed the Earth and He made this planet. He's made all the other planets too, but this is the one that has life as we know it. "Who established it, who did not create it in vain, who," this God, "formed it to be inhabited."
Did you catch that? God formed Earth to be inhabited. Isaiah 45:18For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
See All.... Could it be that this is God telling us that this planet, this one planet Earth has been formed to be inhabited by life and especially the highest form of life created by God in His creation of man? And so if we were to take that, then it's a step toward understanding what the Bible does eventually tell us and reveal very clearly as to the purpose of all life and especially human life created in the image of God.
The Bible does give us certain answers, and it's those answers that we can cling to as a foundation to understand and begin to reason our way toward other answers to other questions that in a sense are eternally there.