The year was 1834. Recorded in the pages of the Class Record Book of the Asbury Chapel, which is now known as Reisterstown United Methodist Church there is an account of 43 colored slaves asking for permission to hold class meetings. These meetings were held in a log cabin near the Reisterstown Cemetery which is next to the Reisterstown Library. This historical event marked the spiritual beginnings of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church on Bond Avenue in Reisterstown, Maryland.
Led by a white leader William Dean the slaves were Ruth Davis, Milly Glendenning, Emma Williams, Charles Sands, Greenbury Robinson, Lasarx Sands, Charles Brown, Sarah Bryant, Marty Davis, Rachael Bryant, Richard Diggs, Jemina Brown, Maria Lewis, Charles Robertson, Isaiah Davis, Louisa Seton, Jacob Davis, Eliza Murray, Emily Howard, Betsy Gordon, James Madden, Basil Roberts, Hannah Roberts, Hannah Robinson, Buster Robertson, Basil Robinson, Job Madden, Rachael Harden, Samuel Madden, Nelson Dett, Rachael Bunic, Maria Waller, Jeffre Fox, Eliza Waller, Lucy Tillman, Maria Burgess, Sarah Ann Smith, Hanson Johnson, Cesar Davis, Walter Howard, Eva Ann Bell, Sarah Mason, and Stephen Brown.
In time the log cabin was torn down and by 1850 worship services were held in the Old Side Methodist Church. Among the worshippers, were Job Madden, Amos Madden, Perry Taylor, Richard Riggs, and Allen Thompson. From there they moved to Uncle Charles Brown’s house, and later again due to the increasing number of converts, to a place known as the Old Fort House. A growing religious community among African-Americans had firmly taken root.
In 1867 George Kephart a direct descendent of the founder of Reisterstown deeded ½ acre of land to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Baltimore County to erect a school house for colored children and a cemetery to bury the dead. This school in 1872 became part of the Black Public School System of Baltimore County and was designated Reisterstown School for Colored Children number 22. The one room school without any indoor facilities in the beginning remained in operation until 1976 when the students were transferred to the Reisterstown Elementary school.
When the school became inactive it was used as a community center. It was also used for church suppers and gatherings. The building stood until 1997 when it was one of the oldest existing structure of its kind in Baltimore County. Sadly it was demolished that year to make room for a planned expansion of St. Luke’s Church. During their life time several members of the church attended the school and their experiences were included in a book by Louis Diggs called “Holding on to Their Heritage” (1997).
In 1880 the Reverend Lawrence Valentine received permission from George Kephart to build a church in front of the school facing Bond Avenue. Permission was granted to have religious services provided the Church did not interfere in the activities of the school. Money was raised through subscriptions to construct a 30 x 30 A Frame building in the Gothic style of the times. On July 18th a ceremony was held to lay the cornerstone containing a Bible, a hymnal, and a copy of the Methodist Discipline. Rev. Valentine delivered the sermon.
Upon construction the church was called St. Luke’s Methodist Episcopal Church, with Rev. Valentine as the first Pastor. The first recorded Steward was Amos Madden. The first sexton was William Johnson, and the first class leader was Richard Riggs. The trustees of the church were Amos Madden, Joe Madden, Perry Taylor, Josiah Davis, and Henry Johnson. The church was admitted to the Washington Conference of the Methodist Episcopal body and became part of a circuit that included Roof’s at Finksburg, Piney Grove at Boring, and White Rock at Sykesville. By 1896 the mortgage on the church was paid in full, and in the years to come eventually a parsonage was built and owned by the church.
Over the Years
In 1941 an Odd Fellows Hall which was built next to the church by Lodge number 1489 in 1898 was sold to the trustees of the church. The hall became a community and fellowship hall for the church. Many social and church related activities were held in the Hall. Over the years it was used for Movie Night, Scout meetings, and the second floor was rented out to Masonic Lodge #34. Presently there are plans to restore the Hall as a historical and cultural treasure through Maryland Historical Trust grant application process.
In 1974 St. Luke’s became part of the United Methodist Churches through a merger with the Methodist Episcopal Church. For awhile the church was part of a parish that included Piney Grove, and Glyndon United Methodist Church. Today these churches are no longer part of the parish but continue to support each other’s activities.
Today after 133 years St. Luke’s is proudly listed as a Maryland historic property and is included in the Reisterstown Historic District. This is a testimony to the faithfulness of God’s people. “To God be the glory. Great things he had done”.
St. Luke's to Renovate Historic Hall
Reprinted from the Community Times
July 3, 2013
Upon learning of the historic significance of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church’s community hall in Reisterstown, the congregation has scrapped plans to demolish the hall, originally built in 1898. The Rev. Gladman Kapfumvuti, who concludes his pastorate with St. Luke’s this week, said members of the church are now looking to highlight the long history of the church as well as the adjacent cemetery and community hall — a plan supported by incoming the Rev. Charles Stevenson.
Marilyn Benaderet, preservation services director at Preservation Maryland, said when she heard the congregation was planning on demolishing the community hall, she nearly jumped out of her seat. She said the site is a perfect example of the post-emancipation settlement pattern for African Americans.
After the Civil War, Benaderet said African American communities were built around three focal points — a church, a school and a benevolent society lodge. Though the school house was demolished in the ‘90s, Benaderet said the site is one of only two locations in Maryland that feature at least two of these pillars still standing.
“We don’t have these buildings remaining that totally illustrate this settlement pattern in such a clear way,” Benaderet said. “This is one of the best ways that this history can be interpreted.”
Kapfumvuti said the church’s plans to build a new community hall had to be put on hold to focus on the restoration of the existing hall.
“When I came in as a new pastor in 2009, I found the congregation and [previous] pastor had a plan to build a new sanctuary and a new fellowship hall, and it was going to cost around $3 million,” Kapfumvuti said. “I realized it was a gigantic project, so we as a congregation decided to build in phases.”
The revised plan consisted of the construction of bathrooms behind the sanctuary, which is currently underway. The second phase initially involved the destruction of the existing fellowship hall and the building of a modern multi-purpose center. When the decision was made to postpone the construction of the new hall, they decided to transform the renovated hall into their vision of the community center, open to the residents of the area. Kapfumvuti said the hall would be a place to provide food for the hungry and activities for senior citizens and young adults.
The congregation began to raise funds for the community center with a black tie gala in Westminster. County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, and Governor Martin O’Malley signed citations supporting the plans of the church.
Kapfumvuti said their plans changed several weeks ago, when they were contacted by Preservation Maryland, a private organization focused on preserving historic buildings in the area.
“We rescinded our decision to demolish the fellowship hall because some officials from the preservation society talked to us about the importance of preserving the existing building,” Kapfumvuti said. “It has historical significance in the area, particularly among the African American community.”
According to Kapfumvuti, the church was founded in 1834 by 43 slaves.
“The slaves who started this congregation worked very hard with their limited financial resources,” Kapfumvuti said. “They started with a request for land to bury their loved ones. After they got the land, they also wanted to use it to build a school for their children.”
Around 1850, they began worshiping in the one-room school house located directly behind the current location of the church. Among those buried at the St. Luke’s cemetery is Augustus Walley, a Buffalo Soldier of the United States Army who received a U.S. Medal of Honor for his participation in the American Indian Wars. The community hall was built by the Odd Fellows of Reisterstown in 1898 and was donated to the church in 1941.
Chris Larkin of the Community Cemetery Committee, which is in the process of restoring the Reisterstown Community Cemetery located next to the Reisterstown library, said they initially contacted St. Luke’s to inform them of the grant money available to them, but now plan to partner with them on future endeavors.
“When we started our cemetery committee, we were told through the old trustees that there were African Americans buried in our cemetery. When you have African Americans buried pre-Civil War, you qualify for certain grants,” Larkin said. “We were trying to find proof of this, so Linda [Percy of the Community Cemetery Committee] and I got into contact with St. Luke’s. They had no idea what they had available to them in terms of funds.”
The congregation is now in the process of applying for grants with Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust’s African American Heritage Preservation Program.
They have applied for a $5,000 grant which will go toward repairing the roof of the hall, and are completing a grant for $100,000 to repair the siding and making the building accessible.
Kapfumvuti said one of the components of the grant process is displaying how the community will benefit from the historic renovation of the building. He said they plan to hold exhibitions, informing the community of the long history of the church, hall and cemetery. They have also extended a welcome to Buffalo Soldiers of Baltimore and offered them use of the hall after renovation is complete.
Crystal Mayora, chairwoman of the Capital Gains Committee of St. Luke’s Church, said they will soon shift from specific events to an ongoing fundraising situation. Larkin said he has reserved a table for the church at the Corn Roast Festival, which raises money for the Reisterstown Community Cemetery.
“A lot of people don’t realize what they have in their back yard. They don’t know about the history of St. Luke’s. They don’t know Augustus Walley is buried there. They don’t know that green building used to be an Odd Fellows hall,” Larkin said. “It was very irregular to have a hall specifically for African Americans to gather at that time. There were a lot of positive things going on in Reisterstown in regards to race that I think people just don’t know about.”


Audio Tour of The Hess Collection Contemporary Art Museum
- Introduction to the Hess Collection
- Barrel Chai
- Alan Rath - Run Man Run
- Markus Raetz - Hase Beuys
- Leopoldo Maler - Homage
- An Introduction to Abstract Art
- Morris Louis - Alpha Nu
- Katsura Funakoshi_Donald Hess
- Theodoros Stamos - Levant
- Per Kirkeby – Untitled
- Robert Motherwell - Elegy to the Spanish Republic
- Frank Stella- Silverstone II
- Anselm Kiefer - Am Anfang
- The Boyle Family- White Cliffs of Dover
- Andy Goldsworthy - Rock Pools
- Andy Goldsworthy - Torn Stones
- Fermentation Tanks
- Lynn Hershman - Room of Ones Own
- Lynn Hershman - Phantom Limb
- Markus Raetz - Samba für Johnny
- Robert Rauschenberg – Diversity
- Robert Rauschenberg - Successful Artist
- Robert Rauschenberg – Empire I
- Bruce Robbins - The Ladder Series
- Robilee Frederick - Meeting Donald Hess
- Robilee Frederick - On her Art
- Robilee Frederick - Art and Music
- Magdalena Abakanowicz – Crowd I, 1986 / 88
- Franz Gertsch - Johanna II, 1985/86
- Franz Gertsch-Woodcuts
- Bottling Line
- Francis Bacon - Study of a Man Talking
Introduction to The Hess Collection
Director, Robert Ceballos & Founder Donald Hess give instruction on tour and Introduction to the Hess Art Collection
Winemaker Dave Guffy discusses our barrel cellar.
Wine Maker Dave Guffy discusses the wine bottling process.
Robert Ceballos discusses Alan Rath’s artistic machines.
Seeing is not always believing. A Markus Raetz visual conundrum pays homage to a famous Joseph Beuys performance piece involving gold leaf, honey and a dead hare.
Discussion on one of the Hess Art Collections most recognized and popular works.
A cursory overview of abstract art. Could your kid do this? What did the CIA have to do with American Abstract Expressionism?
A Post Painterly Abstract Expressionist painter and his method. When is less more?
Japanese wood carver Katsura Funakoshi
Sometimes one must suffer to buy good art.
Terrestrial quality from a former geologist.
Sometimes one must suffer to buy good art.
Expression in painting and the use of titles to help guide individual response.
Using your imagination in abstract art.
An iconic German painter paints “very German” paintings. Director, Robert Ceballos and Founder, Donald Hess discuss Anselm Kiefer’s work, Am Anfang.
A Scottish family asks you to think about what you miss. The Boyles create incredibly realistic representations of the earth’s surface out of fibreglass and paint.
Stones melted in a fantastically hot kiln.
A video work of sedimentary sand stones being returned to igneous rock.
Dave Guffy discusses the fermentation process
An interactive peep show based on Edison’s Kinetoscope and the Nickelodeon. Who is looking at whom?
Lynn Hershman’s phantom limbs ask you to think about how visual media may objectify individuals.
A seemingly simple method is not really that easy.
Robert Raushenberg in search of diversity and continual artistic investigations. Director, Robert Ceballos talks about conceptual art and the beauty of functional form in every day disposable objects.
Who says artists only become famous after death? Many artists are successful markers of themselves. Robert Ceballos discusses this notion.
Robert Rauschenberg reacts to what he saw as the United States’s Imperial aspirations.
"And he dreamed and beheld a ladder set up on earth and the top of it reached into heaven" The ladder as metaphor for reaching higher.
Robilee Frederick discusses how she came to meet Donald Hess.
Napa artist, and “late bloomer” Robilee Frederick discusses her art and how she would classify her art.
Trained as a concert pianist, Frederick discusses her growth from musician to painter.
Hifumi Ogawa End Version
How Donald Hess and Hifumi Ogawa met
Lynn Hershman talks about her 1970’s performance work “Roberta Breitmore”
A web-enabled piece allows you to become a Cyborg. Visit www.lynnhershman.com/doll2
Donald Hess on Rauschenberg's overnight fame
An iconic painter and extraordinary man.
A Dutch painter addresses his memories of German occupation in world war two.
A polish artist creates works that express her experiences growing up in communist Poland.
Franz Gertsch and on e of the Icons of the Hess Art Collection
Donald Hess discusses Ivory Coast Artist Ouattara Watts
Franz Gertsch's enormous woodcuts show a delicacy that and precision that belies their size. Robert Ceballos discusses the process of making a woodcut.
An artist changes the business principles of his patron by refusing to sell him his work.


Consistently cementing its status as a vital community hub for local residents, the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library exists in a constant state of improvement and evolution, striving to remain at the cutting edge in terms of the technology and services that it offers to its patrons on a daily basis.
Director Gretchen Browne recently took some time out of her busy schedule to discuss some of the latest developments at the library, in addition to giving a preview for some exciting happenings due in the near future.
Browne spoke at length about the library’s exciting and currently on-going summer reading program, which is considered a great success with more than 1,600 young people participating; proof that love of the written word is far from dead in this digital age.
“Every year, to kick off the summer reading program, we have a carnival out in our back parking lot and this year it was busier than ever,” she said. “And once the program is going, we have young people who work in the library who sit and listen to all of the kids give their book reviews and tell them what they think about characters in the books. And the elementary school in the district that has submitted the most reviews by the end of the summer is awarded a trophy.”
However, grown-ups aren’t being left out in the cold when it comes to summer reading programs. Browne noted that their regular “Chew and Chat” events give adults a chance to get together and discuss their favorite recent reads over lunch and refreshments.
In addition, the adult reading program culminates in the awarding of the Mary Licata Reading Prize, named after a beloved, late Plainview-Old Bethpage reference librarian.
There’s also going to be some physical changes happening at the library soon—starting in October of this year, a brand-new roof and heating and cooling system will be installed, Browne said.
“This is going to be a big, $2 million project. We hope to keep the library open during most of the work, but there will be days where we will have to close due to safety issues,” she said. “We’re able to pay for this project right from our own budget because we’ve been proactively saving and watching our expenses over the past three or four years. In fact, this is going to be the third year in a row where we offered a 0 percent increase in our operating budget and we’re very proud of that.”
The library will also expand its technological offers to patrons, Browne said, with the addition of two new streaming services at the end of the summer—Kanopy and Hoopla—which will complement their current music streaming service, Freegal. And all of them will be offered to patrons free of charge.
“Kanopy is an online movie streaming service that features older, independent and art house films that you’ll be able to watch on your phone, iPad, or television if you have a Roku or Apple device,” she said. “Hoopla is a similar type of service, but along with movies you’ll get e-books and music.
In addition, patrons will also be able to download magazines. And all of this will be available through our website.”
Adding to their already impressive array of children’s offerings, Brown noted, this fall will see the addition of a “Creation Station” to the library, offering kids a variety of technological toys that are as educational as they are fun.
“The Creation Station will have 3D printers, iMac computers, 3D doodle pens, and Ozobots, which are small robots that can follow trails and mazes that the children set up a beforehand,” she said. “A lot of the things that the kids use at school will now be available at the library for them to use as well.”
To compliment all of these exciting new additions, the library also still provides it’s reliable, stand-by services that residents have come to know and depend upon.
This includes a wide range of diverse programming, spanning from exercise classes, musical entertainment, movies, defensive driving classes, bus trips, access to free museum passes, theater, special guest lectures, a vast selection of DVDs and CDs, downloadable movies and music, databases full of information, and more. And let’s not forget lots and lots of good, old-fashioned books as well.
Browne also noted the overwhelming success of the library’s quiet study rooms, which are always in constant use from opening to close, every single day that the library is in operation.
While it would be easy to rest on her laurels while patrons enjoy the many amenities they’ve come to expect from the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library, Brown said that maintaining the status quo simply isn’t her style—she’s driven to constantly improve this vital community resource under her care and make sure that it is consistently the most comprehensive boon to local residents that it can possibly be.
“I am a ‘doer.’ I like to be busy and I have a vision for this library. The community of Plainview-Old Bethpage has so many people who are intellectually curious and they want more. I want them to be able to use the library in any and every way possible,” she said.
“We want to be cutting edge, we want to continue exploring new avenues in terms of services and products for our community so that we constantly keep them coming and so we can also attract new and younger crowds that will be our library users of


Note: As of September 30, 2011 the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative is no longer operational.
Helping Families Thrive: Key Policies to Promote Tobacco Free Environments for Families
This report presents facts on second-hand smoke, evidence-based solutions for creating tobacco-free environments, and policy action recommendations that affect families with young children.
National Partnership Action Plan
A 2002 document that describes the original vision, goals and strategies for the National Partnership. The action plan outlines interventions in six areas: the healthcare system, policy, communities and worksites, the media, research, and state outreach.
Nicotine and Tobacco Research Supplement
Helping Pregnant Women Quit Smoking: Progress and Future Directions. Volume 6, Supplement 2, April 2004.
Tobacco Control Supplement
Smoking and Pregnancy: Research Findings from the Smoke-Free Families Program Volume 9, Supplement III, 2000.


A medical guide to different types of seizures
This story was posted by our Connection ECA and has an online guide of the varying types of different seizures. Many people are not aware of the varying types of seizures and we hope to address that.
"The different types of seizures, how they occur, the symptoms experienced AND the medical definitions... well, it can be a maze for people to navigate. ECA is releasing a basic breakdown of current definitions for seizures with both medical definitions and visual guides to help people find out information in real terms they can understand and relate to. We will go through each type of seizure - with medical information specific to the type - and provide an information poster on that exact seizure classification as an easy guide that can be copied / printed for future reference (especially for kids). We hope to provide an easy to access reference table for people to use and gauge their symptoms related to possible seizure types. "
(Quote: ECA foundation)
We hope that by offering this link to an easy to understand, simply guide to the major forms of seizures that are experienced - both people with the condition seeking information and others who may have misconceived ideas alike can find the facts.
*Series also has a story on Epilepsy Medications and how they work
Follow the below link to the story "SEIZURE TYPES: THE BASICS":


- If one does not know Dua-e-Qunut from memory, can another Dua be read in the third Rak’at of Esha’s Witr Salah instead?
- Fuqaha (jurists) of the Hanafi Mazhab opine that reciting a Dua in the third Rak’at of Esha’s Witr Salah is Wajib (obligatory) but it is not necessary for a specific Dua to be recited. The better Dua to recite however is the traditional Dua-e-Qunut.
If one doesn’t know Dua-e-Qunut as yet (e.g. a Muslim who has newly embraced the Deen), the following Dua can be recited,
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
If one does not know this Dua by memory, then the following Dua can be recited three times, اَللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِيْ
If one is unable to memorize the above, then by reading the following Dua three times, the obligation will be fulfilled, يَا رَبِّيْ
A concerted effort should be made to memorize the Dua-e-Qunut in the interim of not knowing it as reciting it specifically in Witr Salah is Sunnah.
(Raddul Muhtaar, Vol. 2, pg. 7, Published by H.M. Saeed Company, Karachi; Haashiyatut Tahtaawi alaa Maraaqil Falaah, 378, Published by Darul Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut; Fataawa Razvia, Vol. 7, pg. 485, Published by Raza Foundation, Lahore; Bahare Shariat, Part 4, pg. 654, Published by Maktabatul Madina, Karachi)
And Allah and His Rasūl know best.
Islamic Lifestyle Solutions


Hours: 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on school days
Staff: Heather Johnson- Teacher Librarian
Christine Maynard - Assistant and Circulation Clerk
Library Accounts: Use your account with library book catalog or our Axis 360 eBook Library.
Library ID: barcode on ID that starts with your last name
Pin: lunch code from Skyward
Accel/AP Recommended Reading: (the link below includes all titles that have ever been on the AP lit exam!)
Library Club: 8th hour in the Library (see upcoming meeting dates for 2018-2019 below)
January 9 & 23, February 6 & 20, March 6 & 20, April 3 & 17, May 1 & 15
FREE e-Books with Popup Picks from Biblioboard (these change every three months)!
Driver's Ed: Practice Tests
Quick Resource Access points
Digital Learning Library
U.S. Government Statistics
Google Scholar - When article isn't available online, bring the citation to the library front desk and we'll send for it.
WorldCat.org - Borrow books or articles from libraries outside the Rock River Area. Find what you want in WorldCat, and bring the citation to the front desk and we'll send for it.
Teen-Specific Book Review Sites
Fantastic Fiction - For information on the newest books, authors, and most popular books for teens
Teenread.com - Contests, reading lists and more can be found on this site
Reading Rants - Out of the Ordinary teen booklists & reviews
Teen Ink - Writing by and for teens
LibrarianChick - Links to a little bit of anything you'd need for school
College Bound Reading List (Books at SHS)
Pictures and Images for Educational Use
Animoto - An online site to create video slide shows
CommonSense Media - Common Sense Media provides age-based media reviews and information so that parents can make informed choices about the media in their kids' lives


Da Vinci Code
FABLE # 1.
Is it true that the Christian faith is the result of the rewriting of Biblical gospels and suppression of others by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century?
Such assertions are not some repressed revelations that awaited Brown's “revelation,” but are allegations that are essentially the same as similar baseless conspiratorial theories that have been spawned in ignorance -, or suppression - of the historical facts which refute it. What lies Brow depends upon and what evidence Brown keeps from you is:
1. The evidence shows that early Christians overall increasingly recognized that both the Biblical gospels and other N.T. books were of the same class as the O.T. Scriptures, and their veracity, power and purity evidenced their supernatural origin, and it is because of such that they became and are held as Scripture, with later church declarations basically ratifying the testimony of holy souls redeemed by faith in their Author. The Biblical gospels that became part of the canon of Scripture (writings wholly inspired of God) were written based upon eye-witness accounts, and were preached when many who were eye-witnesses of Christ still lived, and are much earlier than the ones Brown seeks to supplant them with (the Gospel of Thomas, which Brown never uses, was first at about A.D. 150, with the others coming between the 2nd to 5th century). Based upon internal and external evidence (comparison of fragments and quotations, historical correlations, examination of textual families, etc.) the Biblical Gospels are securely dated to the first century. It is estimated that the Biblical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke were written within 25 to 35 years after Jesus death (approx. 34 A.D.), and before the Temple (to which they all refer to as standing) was destroyed (which the first 3 gospels predict) in 70 A.D. (and which was a most significant event). These 3 gospels are followed by John, estimated to have been set down by about 90 A.D., and which most clearly reveals the Deity of the Lord Jesus, long before some 4th century Emperor could favor or oppose it (actually the Jesus Divine nature is the attribute Emperors/Rulers typically fight the most). And not only were the Biblical gospels written long before Nicea, but by 90 AD they and Paul’s letters were being circulated as the authentic ‘canon.’ The early apostolic letter of 2 Peter (3:16) for instance, calls Paul's letters Scriptures, and his preaching is received as the Word of God by the Thessalonians (1Ths. 2:13). The earliest list (incomplete manuscript) of N.T. Scriptural books is the Muratorian Canon which dates from about 170 AD. - 155 years before Nicea – and is very close to our modern New Testament .http://www.bible-researcher.com/muratorian.html. What is exceedingly manifest in history is that it is the 66 books of the Bible Scriptures which the true and living God inspired and preserved. In contrast, Gnosticism remained a a fringe and nebulous deviant attempt at a pagan – Christian amalgam. Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary and author of “The Gospel code,” comments, “Among the second-century lists of authoritative Scriptures, never are gnostic texts listed—not even by the unorthodox Marcion in about 140. There was never a time when a wide selection of books, including gnostic ones, were widely deemed acceptable.” (see entire article here http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/006/7.26.html). .
Not only did the Gnostic “gospels” not even exist until after the Biblical gospels were set forth, nor were they found in any church canons, but also unlike Gnostic literature, external evidence abounds (in secular as well as religious museums, etc.) for the Biblical gospels (and other New Testament books) by way of thousands of existing manuscripts, including many which date prior to 200 A.D., including a fragment (writing materials of Biblical age did not least long) of the gospel of Mark and fragments of other New Testament books such as Acts dated to have been written around 50 A.D., and a fragment of the gospel of John dated at 125 A.D. or earlier. Nearly complete copies of both Luke and John exist which are dated from between A.D. 175 and 225. These all were written in Greek (possibly Aramaic for Matthew) as that (or Aramaic) was the common tongue in Jesus area and time, and were circulated long before Constantine and the Council at Nicea existed!
In addition, writings from early church leaders quote from the Biblical gospels two hundred plus years before the Council at Nicea, and they were generally held as part of the inspired Scripture by the devout Christians and and churches long before Nicea ratified them as such. In A.D. 95, Clement of Rome quoted from the Gospels and other portions of the N.T in a letter to the Corinthian church. Ignatius, Before his martyrdom in Rome in A.D. 115, Bishop of Antioch, wrote a letter quoting all the Gospels and other N.T. letters. Polycarp, who also was martyred for his faith in Christ (Rome enforced pagan worship), quoted from the Gospels and N.T. Letters in writing to the Philippians in A.D. 120. The 3rd letter of John is quoted by Justin Martyr (A.D. 150). All told, the evidence reveals that Church leaders of the early second century (again, long before Nicea), were familiar with the the writings of the apostles and quoted them as inspired Scripture. http://www.probe.org/content/view/678/77/ http://www.carm.org/evidence/gospels_written.htm
2. The well – attested to four Biblical gospels provide a comprehensive and complementary but not contradictory revelation of Christ the prophesied Messiah, the Son of God, Servant of man and Son of God, and narrates Christ ministry from beginning to end, revealing the God of Scripture as never before. The Biblical gospels are a continuation of the Old Testament Scriptures, or Jewish canon, which the Christian church recognized from the very beginning. The Lord Jesus Himself quoted or alluded to the Old Testament over 60 times, and the New Testament abundantly quotes, references or alludes to. It was to the Old Testament Scriptures that the apostles of Jesus Christ preached from, in showing Him to be their Messiah, as the Book of Acts, written around 50 A.D. (which is the earliest record of the primitive Christian church, and far earlier than Brown's “authorities”) attests to: “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures” (Acts 17:2). Likewise in Acts 28:23: “he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.” It was to the Scriptures that the people of the Book looked to as their ultimate source of Truth. Notice what the Jews in Berea did after hearing the preaching of Paul: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:1).
In deleterious distinction, the Gnostic gospels and literature present a very different god and concept of salvation and are radically different than the rest of Scripture, denigrating the God of Scripture, and even exalting the devil and Judas (listen here). Gnosticism was a metaphysical, and somewhat nebulous, belief system that developed over a period of time in contradiction to the teachings of both Old Testament Judaism and Christ and His apostles, but knowing where the power is, it sought to misuse the authority of Christ and the Scriptures for their own purposes. Rather than the life narrative of Christ with His teachings in historical context and the four dimensional revelation of the Biblical gospels, gnostic accounts consist more of esoteric sayings with little historic detail. Consistent with their metaphsicalism, Gnosticism basically saw all physical/material things as evil and did not even believe Jesus had a physical body. And instead of repentance from real, literal sin and faith in the literally crucified and risen Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and salvation, and which the most common man could understand (by God's grace), Gnosticism taught that "redemption" was to be achieved through esoteric, mystical knowledge (gnosis) from one of their elites (which “salvation by merit” is typical of cults).
Brown's principal gnostic source, the gospel of Phillip was part of these texts, and unlike the thousands of manuscripts that support Biblical texts, the spurious gospel of Phillip is known from a single manuscript (finally, after 2,000 years), and was likely written in Syria (due to traces of Syriac words, eastern baptismal practices etc.) in the latter half of the 4th century. It has long ago been recognized as a false gospel, belonging to the same class as other similar works of fiction which appeared after the true Biblical gospels were preached and written. One example is the Gnostic “gospel according to Thomas” which has Jesus excluding women from the kingdom of God, and then saying that He would turn Mary into a man so that she could enter!
When we look at the Biblical gospels and N.T. Books, we see the same God and holiness as in their Old Testament foundation, and thus all the first Christians were Jewish, with multitudes of Gentiles receiving the faith afterwards. . It the Biblical gospel of repentance and faith in the Son of God, the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ, that was were spread abroad as souls who were made spiritually alive by repentance in faith in the Lord Jesus of the Scriptures eagerly shared the faith: “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). These 1st and 2nd century Christians often faced periods of great persecution, both local and empire wide, in which they did not resist by waging war after the flesh, as their enemies must, but by following the Jesus of the Bible, prayed for their persecutors, could follow the example of their brethren, of whom it is written, joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance” (Heb. 11:34). And looking unto the crucified and risen Lord Jesus, and not some gnostic phantom, so they multiplied.
In contrast is the testimony of Gnosticism, whose effect in the world is a mere footnote in history, as it's metaphysical absurdities are spiritually destitute of the transcendent saving and transforming power of the true and living God, but appeals to souls who love darkness rather than light. The gnostic “gospels” effectively call evil good and good evil, with the devil and Judas being esteemed, and their preaching often promoted moral degradation. It is not surprising that such an ethos is promoted today and even held as Divine, though it is clearly inferior to Biblical Scripture, both morally and even as literature, and no more than a handful of manuscripts (which took almost 2,000 years to be discovered) exist to testify to it's impotence. As Israel of old in it's spiritual declension took deified entities which can neither see nor save, so Brown has lifted up his golden calf and cried “These be thy gods,” for the foolish to follow.
3. Related to the above, Brown must be ignorant of the fact that his preferred texts disagree with his desire to make Jesus a mortal like him. As Let Us Reason ministries writes,
The fact is -- the Gnostics did not believe Jesus was truly human because of their dualistic worldview. Docetism was a form of Gnosticism that rose later in the first century (comes from the Greek word dokeo, meaning “to seem” or “appear”). Their philosophy was that matter is inherently evil and that God was not subject to any human experiences or feelings. Jesus only appeared to have flesh, they denied his genuine humanity, and said he was really a (spirit) phantom. In other words he was not human, the very opposite of what Brown claims is the truth. Since this was the held belief of Gnostics it would be impossible to reconcile Jesus was married and went off to have children. Again the sources he used to confirm his theory are actually speaking against it. What Brown quotes say the opposite, they deny he was human not divine. All one has to do is read the Gnostic gospels and the debates that occurred 150 years BEFORE the Nicaean council to find this out. © 2005 (see entire article at http://www.letusreason.org/Current47.htm )
4. Constantine, nor the Roman Catholic Institution, did not have the power to do as Brown invents. Trinitarian ‘Donatist’ Christians churches who overall followed the Bible and were Trinitarian in faith existed in North Africa from the 200's when Emperor Decian had persecuted all Christian believers. But they did not recognize the authority of Rome, having a high commitment to faithfulness, and survived it's persecutions (it likely later became itself institutionalized). There were also many other groups who lived outside the boundaries of Rome. The later empire had already strived to wipe out the Christian faith, and could not. Many Biblical manuscripts existed from the 1st century onward, and no church could collect and destroy all the “aberrant” ones. Just as true Biblical doctrine was ultimately by consensus rather than autocratic imposition, so the larger reason for the multitudes of Biblical manuscripts is because multitudes found they delivered on their promise, rather than later persecution. Praise ye the Lord. In contrast, unBiblical doctrine necessitates ignorance of Scripture
4. If, as Brown's fantasy asserts, the Roman Catholic church radically altered the Bible for it's own purposes, then it did an exceedingly poor job! For just as it abundantly evidenced that some 4th Roman council did NOT (and could not) embellish or rewrite Scripture to make Jesus God, or to place men over women as (Godly and sacrificial) leaders (etc.), it is easily seen by examining the very Scriptures Brown asserts were changed that from the time of Constantine (when Roman Catholicism really had it's beginnings), she progressively made doctrines that were unBiblical. From the Roman Catholic papacy, to infant baptismal regeneration, to a special class of sacerdotal priests, to praying to saints or statues, to indulgences, to annual, ritual, religious observances of special “days, and months, and times, and years” (Gal. 4:10), these and many other doctrines and practices were instituted which are without sound Scriptural warrant, or outright contrary to the Word of God. And rather than changing the Scripture to fit accommodations to paganism, for hundreds of years Rome worked to keep the masses ignorant of Scriptures them. Brown missed his “conspiracy,” though these things are recorded history!
Among other things that could have easily been added (unlike changing the nature of Christ, etc.),no where is their even one command written to the church to submit to Peter as autocratic supreme head (from which doctrine the rest of the falsehoods flow), nor one example of them doing so, nor any provision made for future ordination to his office. No where do we see even one infant baptised, nor believers ever praying to anyone in Heaven but the Lord. The 2nd commandment against making graven religious images remains untouched, bishops/elders/pastors (same office) are not called priests (different words, as is one of their primary functions), nor do we see anything in the Biblical record of the church that would lend itself to the it being an imperial, autocratic, institution with both civil and spiritual powers, and by which it would use state means to wage it's wars! Surely Constantine would have done better than that, and he even left out the Emperors place in the church!
On the other hand, if he really was out to rewrite Scripture the way Brown imagines, why do the gospel's actually show Jesus humanity so clearly, unlike Brown falsely charges they do not? The answer of course, is that Browns assertions are without substance, and rather than falling prostrate before a Divine Madelene (who herself would reprove him) as Teabing does the DVC, it falls before the vast and weighty evidence that show the preservation of Scripture, as well as the fact that Jesus is just who He declared, in word and deed to be, Lord, God and Savior. Happy indeed are the souls that receive Him now as their own.
JESUS CHRIST isLORD. Only He Can Saves You, and you MUST be saved!
(click here for how)


Clearly the education system is going through a major shift in the near future. When I was in grade school in the 80’s, there were three places you could get information: the local library, your public or private school system, and books – including your family’s version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, which was expensive and quickly outdated. Any of these sources faced the major limitation that information could not be easily cross-checked, and the newest developments were slow to tickle down to students of any age.
Welcome to the information age. Now in just moments, any fact can be checked and crossed-checked against various sources. Peer-reviewed scientific papers and immediately available to anyone with a handheld device able to connect to the internet. Posts on Facebook can be checked against Snopes.com, reputable news sources, Wikipedia, and even directly with expert communities (see e.g. Quora.com). The impact of this should not be understated. What the outcome will be probably no one can really fathom, but major paradigm shifts are on the horizon.


The Joy of Reusable Nappies is a handy little guide to reusable nappies. It answers the ten biggest questions parents consider when they choose to reuse, including – How do I fit a reusable nappy? Are they suitable for newborns? And importantly – Where does the poo go?
Pocket or All-in-one, Fitted Nappies or Terry Squares, this book walks you through the landscape of cloth nappies, revealing a simple way to reduce your impact on the environment as you discover a greener path to parenthood.
Why Little Green Cub Recommends
This book is a great read for new and experienced cloth nappy users alike. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to give cloth nappies a go, this book might help you make up your mind!


“Oh My God! It’s Kevin friggin’ Major!!!”
From Plates to Pages (Part II) is a recap of a perfect week for this foodie and book lover. It all began with the out of the blue invite to dine with Chef Michael Smith . Then by the weekend, I was rubbing elbows with some high caliber east coast authors at Word on the Street Halifax; a celebration of books, authors, artists, publishers and more.
Word on the Street 2016
The highlights from this literary festival are too many to mention. Starting with how humble I felt after being invited back two years in a row; even without a new book to promote. This festival feels more like home every time I go. This year I was given the opportunity to sit on a panel with other successful “Pitch the Publisher” authors.
Sandwiched between Steve Vernon and Emma Fitzgerald was quite a thrill. All of us sharing similar yet different accounts of how Pitch the Publisher shaped our paths; leading us very willingly into the literary world. Long before I uttered a word to tell my magical real life fairy tale, my angels were at work again.
Oh, where to begin! Setting the stage on the night before the festival, nestled away in the heart of the city, at the Cambridge Military Library. Surrounded by over 6000 volumes of reading material I was captured in a time warp. I always feel at ease in a library. But in the Cambridge Library, I felt an urgency; a form of bliss that can only come when surrounded by generations of hardcovers and lost souls. I wanted to stay there, to discover stories. This library has convinced me that historical fiction is a course I must continue to chart.
There are far too many words that want to pour out of me about the reception alone. I would most likely bore you with each and every detail of my 24 hours which felt like heaven, also known as Word on the Street. I will focus in on my favourite moment of all.
I had been chatting with Cristy Ann Conlin, Momento author, when I noticed my husband chatting with two enchanting souls. After I wished Cristy Ann good luck at the festival, I made my way over. “This is my lovely wife Renée, Renée this is Anne, and Kev…”
I interrupted him as I fanned girled out realizing who was standing in front of me, “My God, it’s Kevin friggin’ Major, sure I knows who this is,” my Newfoundland accent immediately made an appearance.
Anne and my husband chuckled at my revelation as Kevin calmly smiled at my enthusiasm. The man has written 18 books for cripes sakes!
Kevin was gracious enough to spend some time chatting about our great loves; writing, our children, Newfoundland and then off he went, but not without giving me a hug. Such a sweetie pie, as was Anne. A charming couple indeed.
And I haven’t even got to the best part yet. When I arrived at the festival the next day, my intention was to sit in on Kevin’s first session. I did not realize that Donna Morrissey was also presenting for One Book Nova Scotia at the same time. It was like having to choose between my kids. What to do??? Well, Donna decided for me. She came blowing in like a gust of wind ready to storm the coast. I greeted her with a big hug and reminded her that I was the crazy elephant lady that came to one of her classes. She didn’t know where she was going but I did, so I took her to the registration desk. We both checked in and I was pulled to her session despite feeling sad about missing Kevins reading.
There were a million moments during Donna’s reading that spoke to me. It really was where I was supposed to be. Afterward, I had to go do my own session. Following Donna would be hard but I was soaring from her energy; I knew it would feel great. And it did.
Desperately Seeking Kevin!
From there I went on the hunt for Kevin. I absolutely needed to add a signed copy of his book to my Newfoundland authors collection. I tweeted that I was looking for him. Little did I know that my friend Sherry was also there doing the same. She saw my tweet then came to find me. “Have you found Kevin yet?”
I love Sherry. And she loves books even more than me. She is honestly my favourite person to go to literary events with. She decided to leave her book with me hoping I would find him. I was volunteering at the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia table. It was a prime spot to watch for authors coming and going. About five minutes after Sherry left, I got a text from her. “Kevin is on his way over, I found him at the wine store.”
In that moment I could easily imagine her calling out “Kevin, my book is with Renée, you must go sign it.”
And that was what he did. He came to find me and two books were signed. One for Sherry’s father and one for me. My day was complete.
There is a ton more I could share about that day. Moments of pure joy, authentic conversations, tears, laughter, and new friendships. Word on the Street will forever be the most magical time of the year for me. Christmas cannot even compare. I feel so close to my spirit when I am surrounded by books and the authors that write them.
PS: I will most likely post another blog about Word on the Street soon. I really want to share with you a new author I stumbled upon. I believe wholeheartedly that Dr. Dyer orchestrated our meeting. Proving once again that love has no limits.


Much thanks to Nergalley and the publisher Bookouture for the review copy.
His name is Michael Carmody.
He is a writer and a father.
His son is lying in a coma, fighting for his life.
Her name is Lorraine Cheevers.
She is an artist and mother.
An illicit affair has destroyed her marriage.
Michael is desperate to find the couple who left his son for dead, a victim of a hit and run.
Lorraine is desperate to start a new life for her and her daughter.
Michael and Lorraine are about to cross paths – damaged souls, drawn to one another.
They don’t know that their lives are already connected.
They don’t know the web of lies surrounding them.
They are each searching for the truth. But when they find it, it could destroy them both.
The book had me engrossed from word go. The prologue made for a great start to the book. It gave just enough to get me intrigued and gasping for more.
Lorraine Cheevers is an artist who is recovering from her broken marriage. Running away from her former life, she has bought a property in a little village of which she has fond childhood memories. It is her refuge, a place where she hopes she can find peace. Her teenage daughter Emily is certainly not finding her mother’s childhood haven all that enticing. She is upset about being uprooted from her comfortable life.
Michael Carmody’s son is in a coma after being in an accident. All he wants is to get his son back and for the people who hit and ran to get tracked down. He can’t understand what kind of people could leave a person to die and drive off.
When he does find out, Michael finds that he may have got more than he bargained for.
A gripping story of love, betrayal, treacherous secrets and revenge. The characters beautifully etched, some you feel for, you empathize with. others who you detest, all rounded and well detailed characters. Michael’s story had me in tears, it made me wish, hope for a happy ending for him. If I had to chose a character that spoke to me the most, it would be Michael.
A book I would definitely recommend. A 4/5 read. An absolute page turner, one that had me engrossed from word go till the very end.
What did you think of the cover? I really liked it. It conveyed the emotions of the book very well, thought.
About the Author
Laura Elliot is the author of three novels, Stolen Child and The Prodigal Sister,published by Avon HarperCollins. Her novel, Fragile Lies, will be published in February 2015 by Bookouture. Her books have been widely translated and she has collaborated on a number of high-profile non-fiction books.
Aka June Considine, she is an author of twelve books for children and young adults. Her children’s short stories have been broadcast and have appeared in a number of teenage anthologies.She gives regular workshops on creative writing.She has also worked as a freelance journalist and magazine editor but is now engaged full time in creative writing.
She lives in Malahide, Co Dublin, Ireland.
This book is available for pre-ordering at Amazon(UK).


Below is a story illustrating some of the deep history of the Melniczuk family in motorcycle fabrication and racing:
The Story of the Parasite
The story of the Parasite is a tale of two engines, conceived in casual discussion and created by two friends whose dedication and innovation propelled a one-off motorcycle into the record books.
So Crazy It Just Might Work
It all started in the winter of 1958 when John Melniczuk Sr., a Triumph Dealer and owner of Bauer Cycles of Salem, NJ, and Tommy Grazias, a fellow racer, first toyed with the idea of building a twin-engine dragster. Both had been racing T-I10 Triumphs and the thought of taking the engines from each and building one dragster was too tempting not to try. John would design and build it and Tommy would race it. The best place to showcase such a motorcycle was the upcoming Daytona Drags. The bike would have to be ready to contest Daytona by March of 1959.
In the late 50s, the two-engine dragster concept was unheard of and John and Tommy spent hundreds of hours over a two-month span designing, building, redesigning and rebuilding the motorcycle. Without the advantages of modern aftermarket and factory race parts, each part had to be fabricated by hand. The modified Triumph frame was hand built by John and included a girder fork front end brought back from England in a suitcase by Triumph Corporation’s Rod Coates. The half quart gas tank was made of two bicycle headlight shells and an empty can. The rear rim was reworked from an old Indian rim drilled out to save weight. Due to the horsepower created, most of the transmission gears were removed leaving only second and third. Finally, the drag slicks (not available at the time) were created from recapped Indian tires. But difficulties often follow the exhaust of innovation.
It’s All In The Timing
The bike was first tested, running only one engine, on Jericho Road, an old backwoods road know for drag racing. Timing both engines had become increasingly difficult. John worked tirelessly at it, breaking chain after chain. His first thought was to run the engines as a single four cylinder. What he got was a four-cylinder slingshot snapping chains straight up into the air. Then one day it came to him: the engines had to be timed as one. During the frame modifications, John ran into difficulty with the rear section braking and had to add gussets to strengthen it under the load of two engines. After working through all of these setbacks the bike was starting to come together. But before heading to Daytona they needed to race the bike in some local competitions. So they loaded the bike into Tommy’s station wagon and set sights on Indiana where they claimed their first victory. The $100 prize money, however, went even faster. For all proceeds went to the Pennsylvania State Police who stopped them for driving over 100 mph on their way to Indiana.
What’s In A Name?
One evening in the old, rickety shop of Bauer Cycles, John, Tommy and a group of racing friends were sitting around trying to come up with a name for the bike. Each took turns rifling through an old dictionary searching for a single word to describe the unique, twin-engine monstrosity. Finally, around the letter P, someone said they had found it. The room grew silent as he read it aloud: “Parasite, an organism living in, with, or on another organism.” That was it, one engine living off of the other. The Parasite had been born.
Daytona, Meet The Parasite
Winter had faded into spring and Daytona was calling. In March John and Tommy made their annual pilgrimage down to Daytona Beach to compete in the Daytona Drags held at the municipal airport. But this time they had the Parasite with them. It did not disappoint. The Parasite won Daytona running a 10:42 ET at over 142 mph in the quarter mile, and making the front page of the local newspaper. The daydream of last winter had become a reality.
Smoking Leather Pants
John and Tommy raced the Parasite for several more years throughout the eastern United States. Time and again it took top honors wherever it traveled. But it was also known for some heinous wrecks such as the infamous crash at Vineland Speedway in New Jersey. The famous oval, known for starting the careers of such legends as AJ, Foyt, included an extension used for drag racing. Because the drag strip extended off of the half-mile oval, there was a hump just past the 1/8- mile mark. That day, for some reason, Tommy shifted into third gear at the hump instead of after the hump. This sent the bike into a high-speed wobble, hurling Tommy and the Parasite down the track in a ball of black smoke. Tommy actually reached the speed traps before the Parasite and earned an equally scorching distinction in the local paper whose morning headline read: “He Slid Down the Track in Smoking Leather Pants.” Tommy eventually married and stopped racing the Parasite. John took over and ended his stint with a best ET of 10:33 at 150.23 mph. In 1964, John sold the bike to Don Hyland of New England who took the bike to England and ran it in several exhibitions races.
Return Of The Parasite
Although John Melniczuk Jr. was only 13 when the Parasite was sold, he remembered every detail of the bike and its short but memorable history. In the 1985 John Jr. decided to find the Parasite. With only a name and a geographical location (New England), John Jr. set out on a ten-year journey to reunite with the estranged Parasite. He scoured Triumph shows across the country armed with a few photographs asking attendees if they had seen the bike. Finally one evening the phone rang, “J know where the bikes at,” the voice said. John had finally tracked down the Parasite, but its new owner didn’t want to sell. Many people had tried, but he had always .refused to part ways with the Parasite, That was until John’s first-hand stories of the bike’s creation, racing heritage and victories compelled him to sell it and return the Parasite to its family.
John Jr. contacted Guy, Tommy’s son, and the second generation of the Parasite’s’ family made plans to purchase the bike in New England and return it for a secret unveiling for their fathers. So, in December of 1990 under the guise of a Christmas party, the Parasite was unveiled to John, Tommy and all of their old racing friends. When the Parasite was uncovered, it brought a tear to Tommy’s eye. “That thing almost killed me,” he smiled. The Parasite had returned. Over the next several years John Jr. began the tedious process of gathering parts to return the bike to its original glory. By the turn of the century, the Parasite was restored and has been featured at the AMA Heritage museum’s “Race bikes of the Past” exhibit as well as several other motorcycle showcases.


Kokyuroku Bessatsu Vol. B24
Checkout Your Cart Price. Description Details Customer Reviews Higher-dimensional algebraic geometry studies the classification theory of algebraic varieties.
This very active area of research is still developing, but an amazing quantity of knowledge has accumulated over the past twenty years. The author s goal is to provide an easily accessible introduction to the subject. The book covers preparatory and standard definitions and results, moves on to discuss various aspects of the geometry of smooth projective varieties with many rational curves, and finishes in taking the first steps towards Mori s minimal model program of classification of algebraic varieties by proving the cone and contraction theorems.
The book is well organized and the author has kept the number of concepts that are used but not proved to a minimum to provide a mostly self-contained introduction to graduate students and researchers.
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Geometry of Higher Dimensional Algebraic Varieties (Oberwolfach Seminars)
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Visitors and Participants. In recent years we have seen great breakthroughs in the classification theory of higher dimensional compact algebraic varieties and complex manifolds. The seminal results are the proofs of finite generations of canonical rings of algebraic varieties by Caucher Birkar — Paolo Cascini — Christopher D.
go here These results have profound influence on many areas of mathematics — including the study of higher dimensional dynamics and number theoretical dynamics. The interactions of algebraic geometry and the study of these dynamics is exactly the main theme of this program.
Here we recall the main conjectures in birational geometry which are still open.
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Abundance conjecture : For every minimal variety X, some pluri-canonical system of X is base point free. The consideration of three typical fibrations: Iitaka fibration, Albanese map and Maximal rationally connected fibrations reduces the classification of algebraic varieties to the following three building blocks:. Now let us turn our attention to the study of holomorphic dynamics.


|“||I'm pumped too! I'mma study at the library all day and teach myself calculus all night! Woo-hoo!||”|
The gang heads to Shiny Money's houseboat and, while Austin and Ally are working on a song, Trish and Dez accidentally lure in a legendary alligator. Chaos quickly ensues as they try to keep the houseboat and their summer vacation afloat.
After Team Austin gets invited to go to the swamp blast, they head to Shiny Money's boathouse in the Everglades. While Austin and Ally are trying to work on a new song, Dez and Trish plan to film a documentary - an assignment for Dez to do for his film class. Before they head out, however, all four meet Clavis, who tells him about the legend of Big Mama. Clavis' visit causes Trish and Dez to want him to tell more of the story, which disallows Austin and Ally to start working more on the song. Dez and Trish decide to film the documentary on Big Mama, in hopes of finding the alligator somewhere in the Everglades. But, then they set off a power outage, which not only cuts off the electricity from the houseboat, but Austin and Ally are no longer able to use the golden keyboard to write the song. That night, everyone must sleep outside since there is no longer any running electricity for air conditioning.
The following morning, Trish and Dez head into the deeper woods of the Everglades, finally leaving Austin and Ally to work on the song alone. However, neither have any other instruments, so they call Clavis for some help. They hope that he gives him instruments to practice with, but instead, he hands them blowing jars and a thumping bucket. While they may not have been the most preferable instruments, Austin and Ally finish the song anyway. Trish and Dez come back from the outside just as they finish practicing the song.
But, not long after that, Trish and Dez had seemed to accidentally lure in legendary alligator, Big Mama. Chaos quickly ensues as they try to make the alligator go away and keep the houseboat and their summer vacation afloat. It turns out that all Big Mama wants is Baby Gator - a small alligator that Dez lured along as well due to the meat in the back of his pocket. Team Austin gives back Baby Gator, leading the alligators away from them. But, in order to be safe, Dez drills a hole in the boat, which was a way to make sure that the animals are gone. The boat ends up sinking, leaving Shiny Money upset, but finds out that Big Mama isn't just a legend also, meaning that he gets injured again.
Into the night, the annual swamp blast takes off with Austin's performance of Na, Na, Na (The Summer Song). When all are finally back in Sonic Boom a while later, Dez shows the film that he directed and edited. It's a trailer for a horror movie, filmed in the Everglades, featuring Trish.
Hey. We haven't seen you since we performed together at the Internet Music Awards.
- Ross Lynch as Austin Moon
- Laura Marano as Ally Dawson
- Raini Rodriguez as Trish De La Rosa
- Calum Worthy as Dez Wade
- This episode marks Shiny Money's second appearance on the show, first being on "Tickets & Trashbags".
- This episode is part of Disney Channel's Summer Adventure Weekend.
- This is the 5th episode to feature an animal. The 1st was "Kangaroos & Chaos", the 2nd was "Zaliens & Cloud Watchers", the 3rd was "Songwriting & Starfish" and the 4th was "myTAB & My Pet".
- This is the first episode to directly mention a character, i.e. Ally (Ally-Gator). in its title.
- The title is also a reference to "Soups & Stars", where Ally's nickname, Ally-Gator, was introduced.
- Ally and Austin are both scared of spiders.
- This episode title refers to the setting taking place in Shiny Money's boathouse in the Everglades, and the large alligator, Big Mama.
- This episode was ranked #2 in Disney Channel Australia's "Fan picked Austin & Ally Countdown".
- This is the second episode that doesn't have alliteration in the title. The first was "Zaliens & Cloud Watchers".
- This episode was filmed as the season finale but aired as the 17th episode.
- Shiny Money had a solid gold goldfish, but the fish floated, proving that it wasn't really gold.
- The song "Na Na Na (The Summer Song)", was the theme song for Disney Channel Summer of 2012.
- This was the first summer-related episode in the series.
- It is revealed that Ally silent screams.
- After Shiny Money's boat sank, everyone's hair was wet except Trish's.
- The song Austin performed is "Na Na Na (The Summer Song)", but the credits list it as "Na Na Na (The Vacation Song)"
To view the Everglades & Ally-Gators transcript, click here.


Chapter 2/Verse 56: He whose mind is undisturbed amidst sorrows and pleasures is free from desire, for whom liking and fear and wrath have passed away, he is the sage of settled understanding.
Chapter 2/Verse 58: He who draws away the senses from the objects of sense, just as a tortoise draws in his limbs into the shell, his intelligence sits firmly founded in wisdom.
Chapter 2/Verse 67: Such of the roving senses as the mind follows, that carries away the understanding just as a ship is carried away by the wind in the sea.
Chapter 2/Verses 71: He who abandons all desires and lives and acts free from longing, who has no “I” or “mine” (who has extinguished his individual ego in the One and lives in that unity), he attains to the great peace.
Chapter 3: The Yoga of the Works
Chapter 3/Verse 3: The Blessed Lord said: “In this world, the self-application of the soul is two-fold: that of the Sankhyas by the Yoga of knowledge and that of the Yogins by the Yoga of works.”
Chapter 3/Verse 4: Not by abstention from works does a man enjoy actionlessness nor by mere renunciation does he attain to his perfection.


This is a very good book from James Willstrop, who writes openly and honestly about losing his mother Lesley to cancer, the pressures and agonies of top-level squash on and off the court, his vegetarianism, his strong rivalry with Nick Matthew, as well as his difficult relationship with his coach and father, Malcolm. He doesn’t hold back on his criticism of himself or others, and this confessional style endears and humanises him in a way most autobiographies do not. He makes no secret of his loner tendencies, his OCD, his insomnia or his love of musicals, but he also doesn’t hold back on praise for Ramy Ashour, his deep love for his mother, and his trust and reliance on the people around him.
James Willstrop is a man who plays hard and feels deeply. The book is an emotional rollercoaster covering the highs and lows of the life of a world-class player, and is an excellent read for squash and non-squash fans. Highly recommended.


Jan 5, 2016, 10:19 PM
Dec 24, 2015, 8:02 AM
Information about the
Nov 27, 2015, 12:52 PM
Come see a demo of our planned website for 2016
Nov 27, 2015, 10:38 AM
Nationally known wildlife and prizewinning nature photographer, Larry Perry, will be presenting a special program at the Huntsville Photographic Society meeting to be held at the Huntsville-Madison County Library on Monroe Street in Huntsville on Monday evening October 12.
Nov 27, 2015, 10:26 AM
Please bring your winning prints to one of the next two HPS meetings, Nov. 23 or Nov. 30th so they can be entered into the End of Year Judging.
May 13th - May 15th - All Day
The LeConte Photographic Society of Sevierville, TN is proud to sponsor this year’s Spring 3CT Event. We welcome all of you to head on over to the east side of the great State of Tennessee and enjoy all the beauty that our Great Smoky Mountains have to offer. We have beautiful mountain sunrises and sunsets to for you to enjoy, as well as fantastic flowing streams nestled in the mountains.
LeConte Center At Pigeon Forge
May 18th - May 22nd - All Day
Nature lovers, hikers, and outdoors enthusiasts unite for Wilderness Wildlife Week™ in Pigeon Forge! This event will take place May 18th through the 22nd, and as always it is free and open to the public.


For some students, the academic school year may be over. For some parents, it can be a battle between summer camp and outdoor sports. But if parents provide interesting materials to read during the summer break, children are more likely to engage in learning. In fact, reading during the summer improves the material learned, prepares children for the upcoming school year, and improves their language skills.
To motivate children to read during the summer, ten books are reviewed according to age group, reading level and moral value. Starting at 2 years of age, children can begin to develop literacy skills to recognize vowels and identify letters. The reading level of all these books is level 1 or easy reading level. The moral message that children learn from stories is also considered in each review. Many of these books are also available in French and Spanish.
1. “Hello Night” by Amy Costales and Mercedes McDonald
Readers learn about a mother and child who cross the night to be greeted by the moon in different settings. From seeing the moon on a lake to meeting the moon through the woods, she and this mom find plenty of adventures before bed. This picture book is for ages 2 and up. ISBN: 978-0873589277
2. “Pockets moving” by Pat Mora and Maribel Suarez
When Danny’s pet frogs are accidentally released into the house, there are some unexpected surprises. Little frogs jump out of Danny’s pockets, under the bed, onto his sister’s lap, and much more shenanigans. This picture book is for ages 3 and up. ISBN: 978-0060850470
3. “Skippyjon Jones in the Kennel” by Judy Schachner
What do Siamese cats like to daydream about? Well, for Skippyjon Jones, he prefers to be a chihuahua dog, especially when disciplined by his mother. But that doesn’t stop the great Skippito from his adventures with the Chimichangos. Illustrated book recommended for ages 4 and up. ISBN: 978-1606864197
4. “My colors, my world” by Maya Christina González
The Mojave Desert can be filled with more than just a beige color of powdery sand. Little Maya finds beautiful colors in this incredible habitat where the air is dry and the heat is intense. This picture book is for ages 4 and up. ISBN: 978-0892392216.
5. “Dear Cousin: A Letter to My Cousin” by Duncan Tonatiuh
Writing letters was never easy for this boy from Mexico. But the task was made a little easier when he had to communicate by mail with his cousin in the United States. They learn about each other’s culture and language in each letter. Illustrated book recommended for ages 4 and up. ISBN: 978-0810938724
6. “Moon String” by Lois Ehlert and Amy Prince
Cooperation was never the best skill in Fox and Mole. Everyone wants to get to the moon in different ways. Will a rope of woven grass be the common piece of these friends? This folk tale is recommended for ages 4 and up. ISBN: 978-0152017026
7. “Margarita and Margaret” by Lynn Reiser
How can two girls, Margarita, who speaks Spanish, and Margaret, who speaks English, play together despite the language barrier? By sharing their culture and language, these two girls find a lasting friendship. This picture book is for ages 3 and up. ISBN: 978-0688122393
8. “The Pot the Maid Stirred” by Samantha R. Vamos and Rafael Lopez
Cooking rice pudding has never been more appetizing when the whole farm helps the maiden get all the ingredients. From the goat to the cow, they all collaborate in harmony to find the necessary elements to make the rice pudding. This award-winning picture book is for ages 3 and up. ISBN: 978-1580892421
9. “Dogs! Dogs!” by Ginger Foglesong Guy and Sharon Glick
Readers can learn about opposites in this story about dogs of different shapes and sizes. These dogs have the adventure of a lifetime when they visit the playground, library, school, and other exciting places around town. This storybook is recommended for ages 2 and up. ISBN: 978-0060835743
10. “Mouse Painting” by Ellen Stoll Walsh
What do the colors red, blue, yellow, and three white mice have in common? Mice like to mix and discover how primary colors can give secondary colors. This colorful storybook is recommended for ages 2 and up. ISBN: 978-0547333328
Summer reading for kids can actually be filled with lots of great books. These storybooks and picture books can prompt those young brain cells to imagine and keep learning, even during the summer. In fact, summer reading is an activity that children of all ages can enjoy with their parents.


Chapter 2: Natural Law & the Divine Right of Kings
The oldest laws would have to have been laws of nature. These laws were transmitted to early society through the understanding of the storms, the rain, the seasons, and by observing nature. The advent of law would only have occurred after a shift from a tribal matrilineal family to the later patriarchal “civilization.” This is when slavery would have started and therefore fines and punishments were fixed to offenses against the ruling king. The king himself was a newer implement, which did not begin until around the time of the rise of the first Sumerian civilization, followed by Sargon of Akkad. The kings of Sumer were the first father-based lineage, and this was when writing started, during the Ur-III period, c. 3200 BC. The kings took their right to rule from the idea that they personally descended from the gods, therefore the king’s law was god’s law. This was called the “divine right of kings.” Thus, religion and law were inseparable since the beginning of the written law. This is explored in depth in my book, Ancient Psychedelia: Alien Gods and Mushroom Goddesses.
Most laws were originally handed down by people who worked within the priesthood to control the masses using their higher education. First, these people were like shamans within the tribe, but as the tribes grew, they took on larger roles, and eventually became a priesthood, having all knowledge of drug use and the spiritual laws of nature.
Several quotes in this chapter are taken from a book titled, The Rape of Justice: America’s Tribunals Exposed by Eustace Mullins. Mullins was descended from William Mullins whose name is on the Mayflower Compact. He is no stranger to the legal system. Mullins has authored many groundbreaking books and has been brought up on numerous charges and harassed continuously by the legal system. He has represented himself in court for most of his life and has a lot to teach the student of Freedom. However, his religious beliefs prevented him from seeing the greater picture sometimes, and like many Christians, he believed mythological propaganda. See Curse of Canaan.
In the second chapter of The Rape of Justice, titled “The Origin of Law,” Mullins writes:
“In previous civilizations, the law was not only regarded as a fixed power; it was deemed to originate in the heavens, and in godly rule. We find in the Cairo Museum, a nineteenth century B.C. papyrus, the “Hymn to Amen Ra”: “Hail to thee, Ra, Lord of Law; father of the gods, maker of men.” Civilized nations have generally acknowledged that the ultimate source of law and its authority is the will of God, and it was codified in scripture. In Isaiah 2;3, “The Law shall come forth from Zion.” In Micah, 4;2, “The Law shall go forth from Zion.” Isaiah 51 declares, “Thus saith the Lord; Harken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My Law; fear ye not the reproach of men.” (1)
Zion translates to “sin.” Mount Zion was the mountain of the “moon-god” Sin. Mount Sin-ai or Mount Zion. In truth, however, this mountain was not a moon-god mountain at all. It was really a bull-god mountain where the mushroom which sprung from the bull’s dung was worshipped. The reason being, for hundreds of years now, this bull god was mistaken for a moon god due to the crescent above his head. This crescent has been mistaken for the moon, when in reality, it represents the bull’s horns, based on the direction facing up and not from the side. All of law evolved from the use of the mushroom and men deciding to take it upon themselves to interpret nature’s laws themselves and then impose those laws upon their slaves. Once again, all of this is covered extensively in my book Ancient Psychedelia: Alien Gods and Mushroom Goddesses.
Then in the next paragraph, Mullins continues: “Sir William Blackstone, in his Commentaries, a primary source in the English common law, states a profound belief in the origin of law: ‘When the Supreme Being formed the universe, and created matter out of nothing, he impressed certain principles upon that matter, from which it can never depart, and without which it would cease to be’.” (2)
(1) Rape of Justice: America’s Tribunals Exposed, Eustace Mullins, 1989, p. 16-17
(2) ibid, p. 17
The first written laws that have been uncovered are from 2100-2050 BC, called the Code of Ur-Nammu. They imposed fines of monetary compensation for bodily damage as opposed to the later lex talionis (‘eye for an eye’) principle of Babylonian law. The crimes of murder, robbery, adultery and rape were capital offenses. There was already differentiation between the freeman and the slave and matrimony rules were already in place. The prologue of the Code of Ur-Nammu, invokes the deities for Ur-Nammu’s kingship, Nanna and Utu, and decrees “equity in the land.”
The next oldest known law would be the Code of Hammurabi, only three centuries later, in 1754 BC. It consists of 282 laws and differentiates between classes of freemen and slaves and men and women. Nearly half of the code deals with matters of contract, the terms of the transaction and liability for damages. One third deals with issues of family relations such as inheritance, divorce, paternity and reproduction. There is a rule for judges relating to altering decisions after being written down and issues of military service.
A covenant is a contract and the Ten Commandments are the Hebrew people’s contract with God, just as the Law of Hammurabi was the law of the ancient Babylonians. I will continue to quote from the second chapter of The Rape of Justice:
“The law was codified by the jurists of England, principally by Coke and Blackstone, as the English common law. It was later transformed, after having been brought across the Atlantic Ocean by English colonists, as The Constitution of the United States. ….. The history of civilization has always been marked by the clearly defined milestones of codified law. In 2250 B.C. (actually 1754 BC, ed. note), the code of Hammurabi was promulgated ‘to establish law and justice in the land.’ “We have also been greatly influenced by Roman jurisprudence, which were administered as the ruling code of the world for some thirteen hundred years. Kent’s Commentaries, the principle legal textbook for American lawyers throughout the nineteenth century, notes, Vol. I, page 556: “The great body of Roman or civil law was collected and digested by order of the Roman Emperor Justinian, in the former part of the sixth century… It exerts a very considerable influence upon our own municipal law.”
Mullins continues: “The Roman jurists developed the principles of “jus naturale,” that is, a code of laws which reflected the laws of nature and the natural order. In his Commentaries, Blackstone expands upon this “law of nature.” – “Law of nature — the Will of his maker is called the Law of Nature, being coeval with mankind, and directed by God Himself as a course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding all over the globe in all countries and at all times; no human laws are of any validity, in contrary to this.”
Blackstone also writes that: “Revealed Law is only scripture. Upon these two foundations, one, the law of nature, and two, the Law of Revelation, depend all human laws; that is to say, no human law should be suffered to contradict them.” (3)
Roman Civil Law
Mullins expands on the origin of the Romans and Roman Law:
“Founded by Romulus in 753 B.C., Rome became a Republic in the year 509, after the expulsion of the Etruscan kings. In 450 B.C., the Laws of the Twelve Tablets were formulated. The earliest Roman law was the Jus Quiritium, developed by the Quirites, who were the first families of the Republic. As patricians, the Quiritium Law was developed primarily to protect their families and their property. These families were known as gentes, or the clans. Their descendants have since been known to history as “gentlemen,” as contrasted to the less distinguished masses, or plebs, as the freedmen or non-gentiles were known. … The privileges arrogated by the First Families, the gentlemen, became a source of constant criticism and contention from the plebs. In fact, ancient Rome soon developed into two groups which have remained fairly constant for three thousand years, the older families, which held the majority of property, and the masses…. The essential difference between the two classes was that the patricians knew who their parents were, and the plebs, who paid little attention to such niceties, did not. Because of their family records, the patricians were able to hand down their property to their heirs, while the plebs, even if they prospered, had no family records to protect their holdings
(3) ibid. p. 20
Con’t: “The fundamental distinction led to the demands of the plebs that the government intervene to support them, demands which, twenty-five centuries later, led to the Communist Manifesto, and Karl Marx’s demand that all inheritance be abolished. In the United States this precept of Communism was enshrined in punitive inheritance taxation and income taxes.”
“Emboldened by their increasing numbers, the plebs began to demand more and more “rights” for themselves. The issuance of the Twelve Tablets marked a watering down of the original Jus Quiritium. The process was greatly enhanced with the Jus Civile, at the establishment of the Republic. Our “civil law” derives its name from the century long struggles between the patricians and the plebs, when the plebs insisted upon a law which granted them more privileges as “civil” laws. In 471 B.C., the plebs celebrated their final triumph, with the establishment of the “tribuns,” as the expression of their newfound political power. Thus, the patrician age in Rome lasted a scant three hundred years, a short period in the long history of Rome. Nevertheless, much of the power and organization of Rome continued to be based on the stern precepts of its founding patricians, just as much of the protection afforded to its citizens in the United States by the Constitution has been laid down by the stern precepts of our own Founding Fathers. Even today, our law giving bodies are frequently referred to as “tribunals,” as recognition of the triumph of the plebs in Rome in 471 B.C.
“In 445 B.C., Caious Canuleius led the final assault of the plebs against the entrenched privileges of the patrician families. He wrested from them the source of their continuing power, the protection of their blood lines. By very stringent and exclusive marriage bans, they had managed to preserve their blood lines by prohibiting marriage with a pleb. Canuleius now succeeded in overcoming this ancient prohibition. From that time on, plebs were allowed to marry into the patrician families. Rome was now “democratized.” …”With the new democracy came increasing power and growing complexity of the Roman legal system. Cicero was led to publicly denounce the well-known practice of bribing of jurors. By the end of the fourth century B.C., Ammianus Marcellinus protested that, “We see the most violent and rapacious classes of men besieging the houses of the rich, cunningly creating lawsuits. Doors are now daily more and more opened to plunder by the depravity of judges and advocates who are all alike.” (4)
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