Cain and Abel
June 30th, 2010 by Noah
Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have produced a man with the help of the LORD. "Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3ln the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, shut for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7lf you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. "
Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field. " And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against
his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" And the LORD said, "What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground' 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. " Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face? I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me. " Then the LORD said to him, "Not soj Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance. " And the LORD put a mark on Cain®, so that no one who cajne upon him would kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod®, east of Eden.
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Saul's Reign
June 29th, 2010 by Noah
When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he J. i fought against all his enemies on every side—against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever he turned he routed them. 48He did valiantly, and struck down the Amalekites, and rescued Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any strong or valiant warrior, he took him into his service.
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Skywalker: athleticism lifts Robinson
June 28th, 2010 by Noah
When he gets out on a basketball court, Robinsoncan fly through the air with the greatest of ease, ending a fast break2 with a thunderous dunk3 or stopping an opponent's foray to the basket with a demoralizing" blocked shot5.
He's a freak of an athlete. Problem is it hasn't been so easy for Robinson to stay on the court in his season-plus with the Bulls6, thanks to injuries that sidelined7 him for 56 of his first 106 games with Chicago. But Robinson still didn't live up to8 the expectations that he had beenfollowing his free-agent exodus9 from Charlotte10 prior to the 2001 -02 campaign.
" I based my choice [ of leaving
Charlotte] on playing time," Robinson
says. " I always said I wanted to play a
lot and be an All-Star in this league-play big minutes and play a major role" .
That was my reason for coming to Chicago. I had the opportunity to come inand play a lot of minutes right away. "
But it wasn't so easy to get off the ground during his first season with the Bulls, when he had to deal with watching much more action than he participated in due to nagging foot and leg injuries'2 . Still, Robinson impressed his coaches and teammates with the amount of poise" he displayed under the trying14 circumstances.
"I knowhewas frustrated by not only the injuries, but also by us not winning games," says team captain Jalen Rose. But you've got to find a way to mature15, you've got to play through it, and you've got to understand that if you keep working hard, your opportunity is eventually going to come. " "Eddie's actually did a really good job last year," says Head Coach Bill
t didn't take a long time for Robinson's game to show as he was growing up in Flint, Michigan. Robinson found his way into the elite16 circle of roundball players in the area, which included many famous NBA players. It was those players that inspired Robinson to move onto greater things.
"I think we all keep it at a good level," Robinson says. "We don't take [not starting] personally to the point of arguments and distractions17 . It's fun competition because you're competing against your best friend.
Whether he's starting or coming off the bench, Robinson knows his job is to energize the Bulls and their fans with his high-flying exploits18 . And although you might think he'd prefer a sky-walking slam to any other play, Robinson says his favorite part of the game comes on the other end of the court; a blocked shot
And where does Robinson want to go? The Bulls have shown signs of life this season, evoking talk of the postseason with their solid play at home. And Robinson said when he first came to Chicago he expected lots of playing time and that being an All-Star was a goal. Does he figure he's missed his chance to have that kind of impact?
No, he doesn't Robinson has been through his share of hard times before, and he realizes that things change-both positively and negatively-and you never know what life is going to bring. Instead of thinking about his own stats and minutes, Robinson prefers to focus on team goals, and what he can do to help the team reach them.
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National neighborhood watch
June 25th, 2010 by Noah
With his counterterrorism team now in place, the president and his administration will need to provide more examples of what Americans can actually do to shift from being citizens to citizen-sentinels and create a "national neighborhood watch". That change of behavior is being urged by Mr. Bush, his cabinet members, and his newly created Office of Homeland Security. They want Americans to become vigilant in spotting terrorist threats. But without more specific guidance, these requests may risk raising fears and undermining faith in the government's ability to provide security.
In essence, government faces a conundrum: just what to tell citizens about potential at-tacks without causing alarm. Avoiding that problem depends on how well citizens stay in-formed and don't let sensational and alarmist media distort the reality of a threat or available precautions. The ability to distinguish between false reports and real news can help calm fears.
Calls for improved domestic preparedness are warranted, certainly. People need to know about stepped-up national, state, and local security measures, the Coast Guard on alert or the National Guard at airports, for example. Much has been written about the challenges facing the Office of Homeland Security and its director, former Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania. How will he meld nearly 50 security-related government agencies into a unified security effort, with no legal authority over their budgets or workers? But even as he sorts out his enormous logistical task, Mr. Ridge can begin to address the fears beginning to sprout among Americans. How concerned should people be about the anthrax case in Florida? Is it right to buy a gas mask? Should people build a secure place in their homes?
The US strikes on Afghanistan and the responding threats from the Al Qaeda terrorist network have heightened the government's responsibility to let people know what it really means to be prepared — to be vigilant and maintain a "normal life" at the same time. Then, together, Americans can better provide for their common defense.
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It is exciting news that British Petroleum is hoping to have that particular color green in its logo registered as a trademark
June 24th, 2010 by Noah
As this column is written in black and white, it may be difficult for some readers immediately to visualize the shade of green we are talking about.
BP has used the shade, known as pantone 348C, in its logos since the 1920s and would now like to christen it " BP Green. "
If this is the beginning of a trend I am sure it will be a great help in communication.
This would transform the lives of the overworked men and women who have to think up ingenious names for all those thousands of shades on emulsion paint color charts. I often won-der about the thought processes that make them come up with the particular names and I their vocabulary. You see, describing color has always been a problem.
Some people will argue that, if we allow commercial companies to claim certain colors as their trademark, this could cause problems for artists. I think these misgivings are unfounded.
You are bound to get a few occasions when landscape painters are pounced on for including a bit of BP Green in their rolling hillside without permission, or for including a splodge of unauthorized Wilkinson' s Chunki-Berk Orange in their sunset, and, of course, company lawyers will be lurking in the art galleries, but I think most cases could be settled without going to court. It should be possible to put an acknowledgment in the bottom right-hand comer of the canvas.
It could all lead to a fruitful partnership between art and commerce, but there would have to be give-and-take on each side. I cannot imagine, for example, that the directors of the National Mutual Bank would be happy if the particular shade of pale pink associated with its cheques were to be used in the painting of a nude. This would send out all the wrong sort of signals about the bank. On the other hand, I am sure they would be happy for the same color to be used in a picture of a farmhouse in Provence, with, perhaps, a discreet allusion somewhere to the benefits of using National Mutual' s traveller' s cheques. These cheques, by the way, come in a handy plastic wallet whose color is dangerously close to Colman' s English Mustard Yellow.
Apparently BP' s claim to "own" the green color is made possible under new legislation that could also allow smells and sounds to be registered. When I read this, I inadvertently let out a gasp which may have led some people to suppose that I was attempting to imitate the u-nique sound emitted when a carton of Trubshawe' s Vacuum packed Luxury Gravy Granules is opened, releasing the delicious aroma of genuine gravy granules.
This was certainly not my intention and I should like to take this opportunity to apologize to Trubshawe Foods for any offence this use of the " Trubshawe Vacuum Sigh" may have caused. And if one of the many shades of green I then turned was, in fact, the trademark of BP, I regret the inconvenience.
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Yrow custom has not been commonly regarded as a subject of any great importance
June 23rd, 2010 by Noah
The in¬ner workings of our own brains we feel to be uniquely worthy of investigation, but custom, fe have a way of thinking, is behavior at its most commonplace. As a matter of fact, it is the either way around. Traditional custom, taken the world over, is a mass of detailed behavior more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions. Yet that is a ather trivial aspect of the matter. The fact of first-rate importance is the predominant role that custom plays in experience and in belief and the very great varieties it may manifest.
No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking. Even in his philosophical probings he cannot go 'ehind these stereotypes; his very concepts of the true and the false will still have reference to articular traditional customs. John Dewey has said in all seriousness that the part played by ustom in shaping the behavior of the individual as over against any way in which he can affect raditional custom, is as the proportion of the total vocabulary of his mother tongue over against those words of his own baby talk that are taken up into the language of his family. Phen one seriously studies social orders that have had the opportunity to develop independ-ntly, the figure becomes no more than an exact and matter-of-fact observation. The life histo-f of the individual is first and foremost an adjustment to the patterns and standards tradition-lly handed down in his community. From the moment of his birth the customs into which he i born shape his experience and behavior. By the time he can talk, he is the little creature of is culture, and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities, its habits are is habits,its beliefs his beliefs,its impossibilities his impossibilities.
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Poor Paula quits Marathon in agony
June 22nd, 2010 by Noah
She quits marathon after 23 miles of agony in 88 F4 heat
From Paul Byrne In Athens'
WEEPING Paula Radcliffe quit the Olympic marathon in agony last night.
Britain's biggest hope of an athletics gold staggered6 out after 23 of the 26.2 miles, exhausted by the blistering 31C heat (88F) and the route's energysapping climbs.
In a state of shock, Paula-who started as favourite to win her first major Games title-said later: "I'm devastated7. "
She had started struggling after 16 miles, but fought on in clear discomfort.
This time, the trademark bobbing-head style betrayed real pain and the laboured legs were treading water, rather than eating up the distance.8
Then the thousands of British fans watching on giant screens inside the Panathinaiko stadium9 in Athens-where the race would finish-and millions glued to TV at home gasped in horror.
They saw Paula stop, start again and finally collapse at the roadside in tears-her golden dream over after a career that had brought as much near-miss heartbreak as first-place happiness.'°
British officials sent out an ambulance to the nation's favourite runner as she remained slumped on the ground.
Paula-in fourth place at the time-was brought back to the stadium medical centre, wrapped in space-style blankets and with husband and coach Gary Lough beside her.
Looking drawn, she was too upset to speak. She left the arena an hour later, ible to walk unaided and apparently without any serious medical problem.
Fracksuited Paula told reporters: "I'm devastated. I've nothing to say at the moment. I'll speak to you tomorrow.
The race was won by Mizuki Noguchi , of japan , in 2hrs 26min 20sec-1 1 minutes worse than Paula's world best.
It started promisingly at 6pm local time. Wearing number 1831 , in a grey cap and wrapround sunglasses-and on tarmac as hot as 49C-Paula beat out a familiar rhythm.
She could scarcely have imagined the agony to come just over 2hrs 7min later, 3.2 miles from the end of her journey.
Experts had predicted that the heat and humidity might take their toll on" Paula, unbeaten in three previous marathons. The route is flat for 11 miles, then rises 650ft for the next nine.
Last night ex-middle-distance ace12 Steve Cram, a BBC commentator, said: "She must have been in absolute turmoil. "
"She isn't a quitter, but she was visibly struggling. It was a heartbreaking sight. "
"This was a beast of a course, even on a good day, but it was much hotter and drier than it had been. "
38 Former top hurdler Colin Jackson said; "The winner was Japanese-their climate is similar, it is very humid and they are used to that. It is so difficult to control your body when it overheats. "
A British Olympic Association said; "Paula is emotionally and physically drained and very, very tired. There's been no time for a fuller medical check, but it appears to be nothing more than tiredness and being drained from the experience. "
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When the great English scientist James Clark Maxwell was a small child he began to demonstrate the powerful driving force of human curiosity
June 21st, 2010 by Noah
For Maxwell, life in its most meaningful sense meant asking questions about the mysteries of our environment. As young Maxwell examined a mechanical device and asked his father, "What is the 'go' that —" he was raising the kind of question that characterizes the scientific mentality regardless of age. What is it made of? How does it work? What is it used for?
Maxwell typified the scientific approach by learning something about the laws of nature as they were understood in the 19th century, he was better able to distinguish between the physical principles that might provide a sound basis for progress and those that are needed to be questioned. It takes a trained mind to see clearly and objectively the cause-and-effect relationships present in natural phenomena, and it requires that peculiarly scientific mind to evaluate subjectively the significance of the observations.
We should be glad that the moral aspects of science persist. It is true that we have moved through the centuries from the art and magic of the alchemists to the very different objectives and methods of modern chemistry, but there is a debt to be acknowledged.
Unfortunately, science has not always been a pure beautiful monument to man's nobler instincts. Chemistry, the science concerned with the structure and behaviour of matter, has provided more than an adventure in living. It has been and still is the basic tool for death and destruction in war. Problems of environmental pollution provide us with unique and critical challenges and teach us about moral responsibility.
The poisoning of our waters and air brings the relationship between science and life into a new and very special focus. The young Maxwells of our age are likely to ask, "What is the 'nice' of it, in addition to the 'go' of it?" The old and rather meaningless saying "science for science's sake" is hopefully giving way to "science for mankind's sake".
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People are either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago
June 18th, 2010 by Noah
I'm usually fairly skeptical about any research that concludes that people are either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago. While any of these statements might be true , they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. Still , I was struck by a report which concluded that today's children are significantly more anxious than children in the 1950s. In fact, the analysis showed, normal children ages 9 to 17 exhibit a higher level of anxiety today than children who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago.
Why are America's kids so stressed? The report cites two main causes; increasing physical isolation -brought on by high divorce rates and less involvement in community, among other things-and a growing perception that the world is a more dangerous place.
Given that " we can't turn the clock back , " adults can still do plenty to help the next generation cope.
At the top of the list is nurturing a better appreciation of the limits of individualism. No child is an island. Strengthening social ties helps build communities and protect individuals against stress.
To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs and computers. Your family will thank you later. They will have more time for face-to-face relationships, and they will get more sleep.
Limit the amount of virtual violence your children are exposed to. It's not just video games and movies; children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news.
Keep your expectations for your children reasonable. Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale.
Make exercise part of your daily routine. It will help you cope with your own anxieties and provide a good model for your kids. Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable. But it doesn't have to ruin your life.
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Dream
June 17th, 2010 by Noah
It was about sunset when I, a little child, was sent with a handful of powdered tobacco leaves and red feathers to make an offering to the spirit who had caused the sickness of my little sister. It had been a long, hard winter, and the snow lay deep on the grassland as far as the eye could reach. The medicine-woman's directions had been that the offering must be laid upon the naked earth, and that to find it I must face toward the setting sun.
But now where was a spot of earth to be found in all that white monotony? They had talked of death at the house. I hoped that my little sister would live, but I was afraid of nature.
I reached a little spring. I looked down to its bottom, wondering whether I should leave my offering there, or keep on in search of a spot of earth. If I put my offering in the water, would it reach the bottom and touch the earth, or would it float away, as it had always done when I made my offering to the water spirit?
Once more I started on in my search of the bare ground.
The surface was crusted in some places, and walking was easy; in other places I would wade through a foot or more of snow. Often I paused, thinking to clear the snow away in some place and there lay my offering. But no, my faith must be in nature, and I must trust to it to lay bare the earth. It was a hard struggle for so small a child.
I went on and on; the reeds were waving in the wind. I stopped and looked at them. A reed, whirling in the wind, had formed a space round its stem, making a loose socket. I stood looking into the opening. The reed must be rooted in the ground, and the hole must follow the stem to the earth. If I poured my offerings into the hole, surely they must reach the ground; so I said the prayer that I had been taught, and dropped my tobacco and red feathers into the opening that nature itself had created.
No sooner was the sacrifice accomplished than a feeling of doubt and fear thrilled me. What if my offering should never reach the earth? Would my little sister die?
Not till I turned homeward did I realize how cold I was. When at last I reached the house they took me in and warmed me, but did not question me, and I said nothing. Everyone was sad, for the little one had grown worse.
The next day the medicine-woman said my little sister was beyond hope; she could not live. Then bitter remorse was mine, for I thought I had been unfaithful, and therefore my little sister was to be called to the spirit land. I was a silent child, and did not utter my feelings; my remorse was intense.
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