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Took some quick snaps of the costumes last nigh. The two highlights are Blanka and Fei Long. Does anyone know what Dhalsim's outfit is supposed to pay tribute to? Right now I'm not feeling it too much.
The Fei Long outfit is just ridiculously awesome. It's the Bruce Lee "Kato" outfit from Green Hornet. You always see people use the yellow jumpsuit to pay homage so this is a nice alternate.
A subtle, spiritual revival has been stirring in the United States for over two decades now. It is the Christian Homeschool Movement. More and more parents are catching the vision for biblical discipleship, for evangelism, and for servant leadership. And from within this movement has arisen, in my opinion, the best youth ministry in America today: speech and debate clubs. That’s right, I said speech and debate clubs. Speech and debate clubs are popping up around the country like dandelions in a summer lawn. These clubs are an expression of a percolating passion for biblical apologetics, for persuasive speech and for skillful argumentation. They provide a potent blend of academic rigor, engaging peer relationships, and high-amp, adrenaline experiences that come from public speaking. They are Christ-centered, Bible-enriched, skills-oriented, age-blended, and parent-supervised. They are family-integrated and multi-generational. I just had to throw in a couple more hyphenated combos. Homeschool speech and debate clubs are superior to the average Christian youth ministry model in almost every way. Perhaps I’m a bit biased.
My family has been in involved in speech and debate for six years now. Each of my five children has been a competitor in the NCFCA League (National Christian Forensics and Communications Association) and loved it. They have benefited from the research, writing, revising and rehearsing that goes into preparing and delivering a speech. They have also benefited from getting to know other Christian homeschool families from around the country who attend the tournaments.
We started our own club, Clarion Forensics, back in 2005 with just four families. By 2007 we had grown to over twenty families. That’s when we began hosting our own tournaments. Then, in 2009 we divided into two separate clubs, and began meeting in different towns. And next year a third club will begin meeting in yet another town nearby.
When I hear young Christians speak articulately on issues of interest and importance, my worldview opinions turn a shade brighter. My optimism in the future of my country is restored. From such as these will arise the husbands and wives, the fathers and mothers, the businessmen, churchmen and statesmen to lead our communities and our nation in the next generation.
If you’re not quite ready to join a speech club right now, then hear me out for another few hundred words of pointed persuasion. Below I offer six essential reasons, along with some scriptural encouragement, for why your family should get involved in a speech and debate club.
1. For Christ – You will purposefully join with others to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:16-17).
2. For Communication - You will be coached to speak articulately and effectively.
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
3. For Companionship – You will develop close friendships with other individuals and families of like mind.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil” (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20).
4. For Competition – You will work hard to sharpen your communication skills through engaging contest.
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” Proverbs 18:17).
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).
5. For Character Development – You will learn to be an example to others, growing in humility and gaining the ability to give and receive instruction.
“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).
6. For the Great Commission – You will serve as a disciple-making ambassador for Christ.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13).
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
In conclusion, start homeschooling your children and get them involved with the nearest speech and debate club. Link up with other disciple-making, world-changing ambassadors for Christ. Be an active participant in America's best, family-integrated youth ministry. You'll be blessed to watch your children learn to speak the truth with skill and grace. You'll make memories that will last a lifetime.
A group of Ukrainian and Polish socialists, living in refugee camps in post-war Europe, discovered a copy of the book in English and found it to be a near-perfect allegory of their own recent experience. ... "They were profoundly affected by such scenes as that of animals singing 'Beasts of England' on the hill . . . They very vividly reacted to the 'absolute' values of the book." ... It is affecting to imagine battle-hardened ex-soldiers and prisoners of war, having survived all the privations of the eastern front, becoming stirred by the image of British farm animals singing their own version of the discarded "Internationale", but this was an early instance of the hold the book was to take on its readership.He makes a good point about the regimes in the world who still ban the book. Including China, Burma, Iran and other Islamic countries. It's really quite strange to think about how many places still ban ideas. It seems so natural to us to be able to read whatever we like, even if it criticises our leaders or system of government. Western democracy really is great, people!
Thus far, Animal Farm has not been legally published in China, Burma or the moral wilderness of North Korea, but one day will see its appearance in all three societies, where it is sure to be greeted with the shock of recognition that it is still capable of inspiring.
A lot of the reason I am here is because of my strength, my determination and character. I would just like to talk about a girl called Lucy.- Seven shows that peaked in season one. Yay The OC!
I went to her funeral today, she was 10 years old. She came to the game against Charlton where we lifted the Premiership trophy. She had a tumour on the brain - really she should have died the week before that game. But she was so desperate to come and see that game, to watch us play. The character and strength she showed made me put everything in perspective.
I would like to dedicate this whole award to her, her family, especially her mother, and I would like to say thanks to everyone tonight. Thank you.
Despite having no natural enemies and belonging to a species that completely dominates its ecosystem, local IT manager Reggie Atkinson opted to consume the processed corn snack Bugles Monday. "I was in the mood for something salty and crunchy, and it's a little early for dinner," said the ultimate predator, whose ancestors' bipedal locomotion, toolmaking abilities, and advanced spatial recognition developments allowed them to hunt animals 10 times their size.
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| THIS IN ONE IN A SERIES BY UPDIKE AND GOREY I came across this book just by accident while looking for some Halloween and Christmas stuff. I thought the title was very amusing. This is one in a series of books written by John Updike and the drawings done by Edward Gorey. (What a name for an illustrator). I am going to give you short exerpts of the TWELVE TERRORS OF CHRISTMAS.
It isn't a very long book, only 32 pages. I have seen it priced anywhere from a little less than $2.00 up to $10.00. It's well worth it, even if it's just for the illustrations. Take a look at the other books by Edward Gorey too and let me know what you think. |
White House officials confirmed last week that the president, who won the Nobel peace prize last year, is considering the deployment of a new class of hypersonic guided missiles that can reach their targets at speeds of Mach 5 — about 3,600mph.- The Times reviews a Canadian global warming drama.
That is nearly seven times faster than the 550mph Tomahawk cruise missiles that arrived too late to kill Bin Laden at an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in 1998.
The goodies were witty, brilliant, sensitive, imaginative, attractive, sexy and great dancers - rather, I suspect, like the scriptwriters. The baddies were, well,they were all American.- A religious skeptic explains why her family joined a church.
...
They suffer the fatal flaw of being too smug to bear. There is a global resistance, not to the facts, but to environmentalists. It appears most of us would rather fry, drown or starve than be told what to do by a bearded git in sandals, and that’s a rather comforting and cussedly human truth.
Our family just joined a church.- Awesome Star Wars his and hers tshirts.
This may not sound like a radical statement -- not here in America, arguably the churchiest nation in the world. But hearing these words from my own mouth feels about as natural as, "I've just joined the Marines."
“[As] machines become more and more intelligent, people will let machines make more of their decisions for them, simply because machine-made decisions will bring better results than man-made ones. Eventually a stage may be reached at which the decisions necessary to keep the system running will be so complex that human beings will be incapable of making them intelligently. At that stage the machines will be in effective control. People won’t be able to just turn the machines off, because they will be so dependent on them that turning them off would amount to suicide.”As you may have guessed, that quote was from Ted Kaczynski. The Unabomber.
I try not to write too much here about my kids, but lately their music has meandered through my brain a lot. Silly songs, educational songs, songs that should never be played to anyone over the age of three...
Steve Miller Band - The JokerOzzy Osbourne - Flying High AgainStyx - Light UpTom Petty - You Don't Know How It FeelsDoobie Brothers - China GroveBlack Sabbath - Sweet Leaf (Live)Motley Crue - Smokin' in the Boys RoomBob Dylan - Rainy Day Women #12 & 35Rush - A Passage to Bangkok (Live)Pink Floyd - Comfortably NumbPeter Tosh - Legalize ItDash Rip Rock - (Let's Go) Smoke Some PotTom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Mary Jane's Last DanceSnoop Dogg - Gin and JuiceBlack Crowes - RemedyCheech & Chong - DaveNew Riders of the Purple Sage - Panama RedRick James - Mary JaneMojo Nixon - I Like MarijuanaBoston - Smokin'Weezer - Hash PipeSammy Hagar & the Waboritas - Shaka Doobie (Live)Grateful Dead - Truckin'Cypress Hill - Hits From the BongSublime - Smoke Two JointsPeter Frampton - Do You Feel Like We Do (Live)Hinder - Get StonedKottonmouth Kings - Where's the Weed At?Cracker - LowDave Matthews Band - Jimi ThingBob Marley - Jammin'Cheech & Chong - Let's Make a Dope DealSammy Hagar - High HopesGuster - AmsterdamOutkast - Ain't No ThangDr. Dre - Light SpeedBen Folds Five - The Battle of Who Could Care LessLed Zeppelin - Dazed and ConfusedSublime - What I GotAfroman - Because I Got HighLudacris - Saturday (Oooh Oooh)Dr. Dre - Let's Get HighWeezer - We Are All On DrugsVan Halen - AmsterdamBizarre - Gospel Weed SongCab Calloway - Reefer ManBrewer & Shipley - One Toke Over the LineMusical Youth - Pass the DutchieThe Fraternity of Man - Don't Bogart MeSly & the Family Stone - I Want To Take You Higher
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