Let’s spend our time visiting the homes of the Legislative and Judicial branches of government. We’ll visit the Supreme Court and, when possible, sit in the chamber hear its history and procedures. Next we’ll walk the halls of Congress as we visit the House of Representatives and Senate and major historic rooms. After riding the Senate subway, we’ll lunch at the Senate Cafeteria (cost of lunch not included in the tour). We’ll return to the Capitol Visitors Center and visit Exhibition, Hall. Next we’ll take the tunnel to the Library of Congress and see the Guttenberg and Maintz Bibles, Reading Room and Jefferson’s library. (4-6 hours)
Let’s walk to visit the major memorials. (We can hire a car if you prefer.) We’ll begin at the Einstein Memorial in front of the National Academy of Science. From here we’ll visit the Vietnam Veterans, Lincoln and Korean Veterans memorials. We'll walk past the reflecting pool and to the World War II Memorial and the Washington Monument. From here we'll walk to the White House stopping at both sides. Optional lunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill (not included in the price.) (Depending on the energy of the group, the itinerary may be adjusted to also visit the Martin Luther King and FDR memorials. (3-4 hours)
Join me in visiting this true gem, The Washington National Cathedral. The sixth largest cathedral in the world, this classic gothic cathedral is the site of major United States religious services such as the funerals of presidents. We’ll see the magnificent stained glass windows, Canterbury Pulpit, 10,000 pipe organ and much more. We’ll walk or ride down Massachusetts Avenue past the home of the vice president and Islamic Center (mosque), see the many grand homes of Washington DC that became embassies and end at DuPont Circle. (2-4 hours)
Join me for a walking tour of Arlington National Cemetery. Beginning at the Visitors Center we'll visit Justice Hill and visit the graves of John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. We'll see the mast of the Maine and the memorials to the Challenger and Columbia Space Shuttles. We’ll experience the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, stop by Robert E Lee's home (The Arlington House) and visit the graves of famous Americans including President Taft and Robert Lincoln. We'll end at the Women in the Military Service museum. Time and interest permitting, we could take METRO to the Pentagon and see the September 11 Pentagon Memorial and the Air Force Memorial or we could walk over to the Marine (Iwo Jima) Memorial. (3-4 hours)
Let’s walk in Lincoln’s footsteps as we visit many of the places he spent time during his administration. Beginning at Freedom Plaza, we’ll see the Willard Hotel, where he stayed the night before his inauguration, the White House, St Johns Church, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Portrait Gallery (Old Patent Office and hospital during he Civil War), the Monaco Hotel (Old post office and telegraph office) and Fords Theater and the Anderson House. (2-3 hours)
Any of the sights mentioned in the tours above plus so many more can be included in a custom itinerary. A sample of other sights include the following: African American Civil War Memorial, National Japanese American Memorial, Titanic Memorial, Smithsonian Museums, National Gallery of Art, Hillwood, The Anderson House, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and many, many more.


SOQUIJ and Criminal Record Check Quebec
5 min read
Are you wondering how to find information about provincial court cases in Quebec? The SOQUIJ database provides access to information on published civil, criminal, and penal judicial records in the province of Quebec.
In this blog post we cover everything you need to know about SOQUIJ and a criminal record check Quebec.
The Société québécoise d’information juridique (SOQUIJ) is a renowned legal information organization based in Quebec. It specializes in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of legal information to legal professionals, researchers, and the general public.
Founded in 1976 by an act of the Quebec National Assembly, SOQUIJ supports professionals in their search for information and the public in its understanding of the law.
The SOQUIJ database facilitates searches of public court records and pending charges in Quebec, which is an important part of pre-employment screening, but it doesn’t cover criminal records from the federal Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) maintained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). It’s not a criminal record check Quebec.
Here’s everything you need to know about SOQUIJ:
Purpose and Mission: SOQUIJ’s primary mission is to enhance access to legal information and promote the development of the Quebec legal community. It aims to provide reliable, up-to-date, and comprehensive legal information services to support legal research and decision-making processes.
Legal Database: SOQUIJ operates a comprehensive legal database that contains an extensive collection of legal documents and decisions. It includes case law, legislation, regulations, legal doctrine, and legal commentary specific to Quebec.
Case Law: SOQUIJ is known for its expertise in Quebec case law. It collects, analyzes, and indexes court decisions from various Quebec courts, including the Court of Appeal, Superior Court, Court of Quebec, and administrative tribunals. These decisions are available in their original language and are annotated to facilitate legal research. Translation: it’s a lawyer’s best friend.
Legal Commentary: SOQUIJ publishes legal commentaries, journals, and scholarly articles contributed by legal experts and professionals. These publications cover various legal topics and provide in-depth analysis and interpretation of the law. Its publications are available online and in print.
Legislation: SOQUIJ also offers an extensive collection of Quebec legislation. It provides up-to-date versions of statutes and regulations, ensuring that legal professionals have access to the most current laws in Quebec.
Online Services: SOQUIJ provides online access to its legal database through its website. Legal professionals and researchers can search for and retrieve legal information, including case law, legislation, and legal commentaries. The online platform offers advanced search capabilities and tools to facilitate efficient legal research.
SOQUIJ Background Check
SOQUIJ plays a vital role in the legal landscape of Quebec, offering a wide range of legal information resources and services to support legal professionals, researchers, and the public in their quest for reliable and up-to-date legal information. Certn uses its proprietary technology to produce the fastest turnaround time for SOQUIJ queries because we automate the search.
SOQUIJ itself doesn’t offer services for a criminal record check Quebec (its main function is to collect, analyze, and disseminate legal information, including case law, legislation, and legal commentaries), but paired with a criminal record check, you can learn about federal, provincial, and municipal risk-relevant information to evaluate a candidate’s suitability for a job.
Using Certn is easier. Certn gives you access to federal, provincial, and municipal records safely and securely from one platform and consolidates all results into one easy-to-interpret report. You can run SOQUIJ queries and get a criminal record check Quebec from the same place instead of going directly to SOQUIJ…and then directly to CPIC…and then back to your hiring platform…
What’s a criminal record check Quebec?
A criminal record check Quebec provides information about an individual’s interactions with the criminal justice system, including charges, convictions, and sentences. It helps employers, licencing authorities, and other organizations assess an individual’s suitability for certain positions, such as those involving high-security environments or positions of trust.
How are SOQUIJ records different from a criminal record check Quebec?
SOQUIJ records and a criminal record check are different in terms of their scope and the information they provide. SOQUIJ records primarily focus on legal cases and court decisions within Quebec. They offer a comprehensive database of legal information, including civil, administrative, and criminal cases, as well as legal doctrine and commentary.
On the other hand, a criminal record check Quebec refers specifically to a search conducted by law enforcement agencies or authorized organizations to determine an individual’s criminal history. It involves accessing records related to arrests, convictions, and other criminal activities.
Are Quebec court records public?
Yes, court records in Quebec are generally considered to be public. In Canada, including Quebec, there’s a principle of open courts that promotes transparency and public access to court proceedings and records. This principle ensures that justice is administered fairly and openly.
However, it’s important to note that certain exceptions and restrictions may apply to the public disclosure of court records. Additionally, while court records are generally public, accessing and obtaining specific court records may require following certain procedures and paying fees. The exact process for accessing court records in Quebec varies depending on the court and the type of record being sought.
What’s the provincial court of Quebec?
The provincial court of Quebec is known as the Court of Quebec (Cour du Québec). The Court has jurisdiction over criminal matters, civil disputes, administrative matters, youth protection, and small claims.
Fast Accurate Results
This blog post covers how to access legal records in Quebec and covers how the SOQUIJ database is a valuable resource for legal information. While SOQUIJ doesn’t provide services for a criminal record check Quebec, combining SOQUIJ queries with a criminal record check can provide a comprehensive assessment of a candidate’s suitability for employment.
Schedule a demo today to talk to one of our experts to dig deeper into the province’s criminal records with a SOQUIJ search and a criminal record check.
Certn offers better and faster experiences for everyone. Certn is revolutionizing background screening with the easiest-to-use online platform, 24/7 customer support, and fast and compliant results from global databases. Why wait? Trusted by 20,000+ teams, Certn helps businesses hire faster and manage risk — all while delivering user experiences that help them stand out. Learn more at certn.co.


Charlene V. Martoni-McElrath
Charlene’s areas of expertise include library and information services, marketing and outreach, journalism, instructional design, higher education, and media management. In her work, Charlene empowers underrepresented communities through access to information and educational experiences. She has been working in libraries for ten years, and she has volunteered in libraries her entire life.
Charlene is the Student Workforce Manager at the University at Albany Libraries. Previously, Charlene was the Social Media Manager and Internship Director for the Sojourner Truth Library at the State University of New York at New Paltz, where she was also the Evening and Weekend Front Desk Supervisor. Holding a BA in journalism and another BA in adolescence education, Charlene recently gained her MSIS from the University at Albany. She enjoys reading in a variety of genres and researching in a variety of disciplines.
A two-time survivor of ovarian cancer, Charlene celebrates by fundraising and participating annually in the T.E.A.L. Walk. She is also a dedicated Skimm’bassador, and she regularly contributes to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in her communities.
For more information, visit Charlene’s LinkedIn.


We have completed our Maine Student Book Award and Chickadee Award voting. A Boy and A Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz won for our school. We will have to wait and see which one wins for the State.
Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick
About the Book - Finding Winnie
New Article - Lindsay Mattick
Real Photos from the Book
Winnie the Pooh Exhibit
A Bear Named Winnie Movie 1:29:50
A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz
Interview with Alan Rabinowitz
Jaguar Preserve - Belize
Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Cheri Uegaki
Let it Go - Violin Music
Windows to the World - Antarctica
Travel with us as we explore the continent of Antarctica especially the areas in Canada and the United States.
Dragon's Enormous Egg
KidzSearch - Arctic vs. Antarctica
Emperor Penguin Migration
Windows to the World - North America
Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla
by Katherine Applegate
I Am a Gorilla - av2 Website
Ivan at the Zoo Atlanta
San Diego Zoo
The One and Only Ivan
National Geographic- Gorillas
Blizzard by John Rocco
FEMA - Prepare for Winter Storms
Blackout Book Trailer
Blizzard Book Trailer
Rhode Island Weather News - Blizzard of '78
Little Dog Lost - the True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic by Monica Carnesi
Google Earth Research Sheet
Blog about Baltic
Who was Here? Discovering Wild Animal Tracks by Mia Posada
National Geographic Animals
Marvel - Britannica
The Highest Number in the World by Roy MacGregor
Hayley Wickenheiser - Olympic hockey player - Canada
Hockey - Learn about the sport of Hockey
Sheppard Software - Canada geography
North America - Kbears website
Going Places - Hour of Code - December 2015
This Month is the Hour of Code and we will be reading Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds
"A celebration of creative spirit, collaboration, and thinking -
both figuratively and literally - outside the box."
both figuratively and literally - outside the box."
Understands that creativity begins with imagination *ISTE1
Understands that there are a variety of tools of expressing imagined ideas*ISTE1
Is skilled at creating original works as a means of personal or group expression *ISTE1
Going Places - Above and Beyond videos
Create a Car
Hour of Code information
Whose Is It Anyway? - November 2015
As we continue to remember to Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful - at school, at home, at play and online, students will:
Understands that ideas and information belong to people *ISTE5a
Understands why credit is given to other people’s ideas and work *ISTE5a
Understands when and how it is ok to use the work of others *ISTE5a
Is skilled at giving credit to other people’s ideas and work *ISTE5a
Kindergarten to Second Grade - My Creative Works
"Students are introduced to the concept of having ownership over creative work. They practice putting their name and date on something they produce." www.commonsense.org
Third to Fifth Grade - Whose Is It, Anyway?
"Students learn that copying the work of others and presenting it as one's own is called plagiarism. They also learn about when and how it's ok to use the work of others." www.commonsense.org
Fifth Graders will be doing a research project based on the book Talking Walls by Margy Burns Knight.
Windows to the World - November 2015
Travel with us as we explore the continent of Australia, New Zealand and the areas of Oceania.
Elizabeth, Queen of the Sea by Lynne Cox
News Article - Memories of Avon River's Sea Elephant
Explore New Zealand - National Geographic
Elephant Seals - National Geographic
California Elephant Seals
Digital Citizenship - October 2015
October (and every month) is Digital Citizenship month. All students will be learning that being a good citizen happens school, at home and online.
Ask your student what it means to T.H.I.N.K! Watch some of these videos as a family as you Pause and Think About It!
Pause and Think About it - Common Sense Media
Before you post online T.H.I.N.K. -
T - is it true?
H - is it helpful?
I - is it inspiring?
N - is it necessary?
K - is it kind?
Kindergarten - Going Places Safely
Kindergarteners will learn to be safe in every place they go, including online. Check out the animals at the San Diego Zoo for a safe website to go to.
Going Places Safely - San Diego Zoo
Kindergarteners can practice mouse/track pad manipulation techniques as they create their own house design.
Build a House
First Grade - Staying Safe Online
First graders will learn to "Listen to their Gut", that gut-feeling they have when being put in different situations. Green means go safely, Yellow means use caution, Red means stop and think about it.
My Online Neighborhood - Common Sense Media
Second Grade - Keep It Private
Second graders will learn the different between private and personal information. Private information (like full names, addresses, credit card information)should be kept private. Personal information is ok to share. (favorite color, hobby, favorite book). Students will also understand that they leave a Digital Footprint when they go online.
Follow the Digital Footprint - Common Sense Media
Online Assessment K-2
Third Grade - Private and Personal Information
Third graders will learn what information should be kept private (like full names, addresses, credit card information) and that personal information is ok to share. (favorite color, hobby, favorite book). Third graders will also realize how the Power of Words affect others.
Power of Words - Common Sense Media
Fourth Grade - Digital Citizenship
Fourth graders will learn what it means to be a good citizen at home, at school and online.
Super Digital Citizen - Common Sense Media
Fifth graders will learn how to talk safely online and how talking online might be different than having a person to person conversations.
Mindful Messaging - Common Sense Media
Perspectives on Chatting Safely Online - Common Sense Media
Online Assessment 3-5
My Creative Works - Art.com
Sticks and Stones and Wall Around Us - September 2015
Neighborhood Rock Identification
Mrs. Wheeler's LiveBinder PW bcs
History for Kids


More Tales of the Black Widowers is a group of six friends who meet monthly to discuss various puzzles and cases. They are all widowers, hence the name of the group. The group was started by Henry, an amateur detective, and over the years they have helped each other solve many mysteries.
Now, in More Tales of the Black Widowers pdf , Henry and his friends are back to solve more puzzles and cases. This time, they are faced with a murder mystery, a missing person case, and a theft. As always, they use their wit and deduction skills to solve these cases.
With another set of three intriguing cases to keep them busy, the Black Widowers are sure to keep readers entertained. So if you’re looking for a fun read that will make you think, be sure to check out More Tales of the Black Widowers.
The second novel (More Tales of the Black Widowers pdf) of six that describe mysteries solved by the Black Widowers, based on a literary dining club he belonged to known as the Trap Door Spiders. It collects twelve stories by Asimov, nine reprinted from mystery or science fiction magazines and three previously unpublished, together with a general introduction, and an afterword following each story by the author. Each story involves the club members’ knowledge of trivia.
1 When No Man Pursueth
2 Quicker Than the Eye
3 The Iron Gem
4 The Three Numbers
5 Nothing Like Murder
6 No Smoking
7 Season’s Greetings
8 The One and Only East
9 Earthset and Evening Star
10 Friday the Thirteenth
11 The Unabridged
12 The Ultimate Crime
About The Author
Asimov wrote hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov’s most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series. The Galactic Empire novels are explicitly set in earlier history of the same fictional universe as the Foundation series. Later, beginning with Foundation’s Edge, he linked this distant future to the Robot and Spacer stories, creating a unified “future history” for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He wrote hundreds of short stories, including the social science fiction “Nightfall”, which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.
Publisher : Fawcett; First Thus edition (October 12, 1977)
Language : English
Mass Market Paperback : 223 pages
ISBN-10 : 0449233758
ISBN-13 : 978-0449233757
Item Weight : 5.1 ounces
Best Sellers Rank: #1,360,823 in Books
In conclusion, the Black Widowers continue to be a popular mystery series due to the cleverly written puzzles and the likeable characters. The stories are enjoyable to read and the characters are relatable and easy to root for. If you’re looking for a lighthearted mystery series to read, the Black Widowers is a great option.


We have just launched our third volume of VIEWS, VOICES & VERSES Three Is The Magic Number, a literary journal featuring the work of SnoValley Writes! members based off of the writing contest prompt and performed at the group’s third Word Jazz (April 10, 2012 at Boxley’s in North Bend, Wash.). You may order your copy online at Lulu.com or pick one up from one of a variety of Snoqualmie Valley merchants.
The Bi-Monthly workshops at the North Bend library are back up and running on our new day and time: the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hope to see you there!
Want to know more about us? Explore our web site via the tabs above. You’re in a creative safe zone here, so don’t be shy!


Since the pandemic and lockdowns, I have been reading a lot of books about business, marketing, self-development and biographies. I have put together a list of top 5 books for you to read to get you a great start in 2021. These books pumped me, hyped me, motivated me but most importantly educated me especially on business and marketing.
Crushing it by Gary Vaynerchuk
This book is a part 2 of the book Crush it and it gives us many examples of success stories of small and medium businesses as well as entrepreneurs and freelancers. Crushing it explains the basic principles of social media and promotion but the ones that we always forget. It gives good advice on how to scale your business, how to get attention and how to create a community that supports what you do.
As mentioned above, in this book you will find practical real-life examples of business owners who were able to grow their companies and they reveal how they’ve done it step by step. Gary Vee then gives an insight and overview of why this and that strategy worked.
This book is definitely for everyone because according to Gary Vee it’s never too late to start your business and follow your passion. Crushing it will give you the permission, motivation and it will pump you up to do your thing.
Greenlights by Matthew McConaghuey
Greenlights book is more of a memoire and travel diary rather than a business book. However, you can follow the mindset and actions that led to success and failure. There are real-life notes and diary put together and published in this book before Matthew even became a Hollywood superstar. It gives us the chance to see the process, thinking and steps that lead to the success all the way to getting an Oscar.
In my opinion, Matthew has a very unique style of storytelling, the way he says things makes me think. You will find plenty of funny stories throughout the book which I can’t get off my head even today.
And if you like travelling, you will definitely love this book as Matthew documented every big trip he took into the wilderness, different cultures and continents. He will take you with him on his journey.
Be obsessed or be average by Grant Cardone
This book is a must for every person who wants to be the best in their field. I read this book couple times per year just to remind me what it takes to become really successful. Grant is a generous but ruthless businessman and we all have a lot to learn from him. Be obsessed or be average is giving you valuable advice, practical examples in business and know-how of solving a problem. It opens your mind to see greater opportunities.
Grant will be your mentor while you read this book, he will guide you through the process and he will say that things are difficult and hard but it doesn’t mean you have to give up. I believe this book is crucial to read in this pandemic situation because Grant started his huge career with the economy crash back in 2009 so he knows what to do when the world goes down.
I also value very much the part where he talks about your friends and family not supporting you, the naysayers, the negative people and environment. He tells you how to deal with this effectively and how to get the confidence to build a successful business in any given circumstances.
4-hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
I know that this book is kind of old but I have recently read the second edition which has a lot of practical examples and real business owners who talk about how the book changed their life. If you haven’t read this book at all, maybe you think that the title is crazy and impossible.
This book is not a fake BS as I actually thought. That’s why I was avoiding it for so long. I have to say that Tim shares the exact steps and tons of resources of how to achieve a 4-hour workweek. Of course, reading it in 2020 will be a bit different but still gives a lot of value.
In other words, Tim shares tips on how to get things done – quicker. How to think outside the box and how to finally get your freedom and not being a slave to your job/business.
There are things that I don’t agree with in this book but I found it very, very valuable and mind opening.
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
I’m recommending not only two books by Gary Vee but actually all of them. Gary is a guru of social media and he tells you things that others won’t. That’s why you should listen. Not everything applies to you so you pick what advice is appropriate for you or your business. This book is older as well but the principles stay the same.
Social media changes, there is no Vine anymore but there is TikTok. The message, the point is always the same. Gary gives many examples of great posts, campaigns and he explains why and what exactly worked. He really goes into detail and covers every aspect of the post and brand.
As the title suggests, this is about getting attention on a crowded social media and getting customers to find you. He’s explaining the marketing strategies and he tells you where you’re actually making a mistake. This book is a very good insight of how your customers/consumer/client thinks about what you actually post.
Of course I am going to promote my books in this article as well 🙂
You can grab my e-books on freelancing or videography. Or both. Enjoy!
Buy How to become a professional videographer
[wpecpp name=”E-book: How to become a professional videographer” price=”5″]
Download Freelancer’s Diary: Learn From My Biggest Mistakes
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Seasons of Hope
by Susannah Indigo
525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes -- how do you measure,
measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In
inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes -- how do you
measure a year in the life?
--"Seasons of Love," from "Rent"
How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of
"They say that I have the best ass below 14th Street...is it true?" Rosario Dawson's character, Mimi, asks of upstairs neighbor Roger, while melting the screen with her sexuality near the beginning of the new movie musical Rent. She prowls and sings and dances and you can't take your eyes off of her. "I'm just born to be bad," she tells Roger, himself an ex-junkie, who responds to her (in song, of course), "I once was born to be bad."
Dawson's is just one of many stunning performances/voices in the film adaptation of Rent, originally a Broadway play by Jonathan Larson (who died unexpectedly the night of the final dress rehearsal for the off-Broadway premiere in 1996, a tough way to vault your art into the stratosphere). It's a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning rock opera, which tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians struggling in East Village New York. The film is not flawless, but it's very good, full of high energy and great voices, and the soundtrack is an essential addition for any fan of musicals. For a film that one critic described as: "It's about AIDS. And it's a musical," it's a remarkable achievement.
In another tale of hope and the triumph of the human spirit over desperation and resignation, the Pulitzer/Tony/Emmy/Golden Globe winning epic drama Angels in America is now available on DVD, and is a must-see for everyone with a curiosity about...well, anything in our modern world. And it's an amazing modern world we live in, when you can get six hours of great theater translated into your living room for $16 (used) on Amazon! Even the original playwright, Tony Kushner, must find that remarkable, given that he's the guy who has all of his work encoded in a chip in his watch, so that wherever he goes, it's always on him.
Bringing us up sharply from these great nineties-tales of love and loss in the time of AIDS, the New York Times reported last week that a home-version of "rapid-response" HIV testing will be available by next year. Interviewing attractive young women in bars, the NYT reporter found that the women
said "Absolutely!" when asked if they'd require a potential lover to take the test before sex. It's a whole new vision of foreplay -- "Here, let me swab your gums, baby, and then I'll catch you in twenty minutes...maybe." Let's see the movie musical that fits that in.
On a more serious note, this year's theme for World AIDS Day is a call to governments and policy makers to "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise." December 1 is a day to celebrate the progress that has been made to battle this epidemic, and also a time to realize that we are still fighting to find a cure. Knowledge is the key to prevention. To learn more about what you can do to support the World AIDS Campaign:
Take a minute and
find out what's happening on World AIDS Day in 2005.
Check the stats for the US, state by state.
Visit the Body.com, a complete resource for HIV/AIDS info, and check out what's new there.
View the very interesting moving timeline of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, from 1980 to the present -- and be sure to watch that bottom bar (the number of people living with HIV/AIDS) move.
Read the fascinating long interview in Rolling Stone (11/3/05 issue) with Bono, partially excerpted online here, about working with both Bush and evangelicals on the AIDS crisis.
Visit the Condomania store often, where custom-fitted condoms are all the rage.
Finally, there are a dozen different ways to donate, right here.
And let's hope that after the next 525,600 minutes we can measure the year not just in our own 'seasons of love,' but also seasons of hope and the triumph of human spirit over this worldwide epidemic.
©2005 by Susannah Indigo
Susannah Indigo is the Editor-in-Chief of Clean Sheets.
Read previous years' World AIDS Day writing.


Today, Prof. Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Daghim, President of Aleppo University in the liberated areas, received Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Oskuchar, President of Mardin Ortaklo University, at the headquarters of Aleppo University in Azaz
The president of Mardin University was received by the university’s vice presidents, deans of faculties, directors of institutes, and members of the faculty
Where, in the first session, which was attended by Dr. Hoda Al-Absi, Minister of Education, and Professor Omit, Director of Azaz National Hospital, which took place in the office of the Presidency, Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Daghim presented an introductory brief about the university, then Prof. Dr. President of Aleppo University accompanied Prof. Dr. President of Mardin University A tour of the university’s departments, offices and halls, as well as a tour of the students who take the YUZ exams at the University of Aleppo, according to the protocol signed with Mardin University and answering their inquiries.
Then, the President of the University of Aleppo and the University of Mardin and Mr. Umit went to the central library at the university to participate in an expanded discussion session attended by faculty members and a number of students. The discussion revolved around strengthening cooperation relations between the two universities, opening new specializations, and implementing study plans in the two universities in the Arabic language. .
It was also talked about activating scientific visits between the two universities and sending five to ten students from each specialization at the University of Aleppo from the specializations at Mardin University as a student delegation to visit Mardin University and study a chapter there. between the two universities and obtaining the necessary permissions from the Turkish Higher Education Council and the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey.
At the end of the meeting at the University of Aleppo, Prof. Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Daghim thanked the President of Mardin University, and souvenirs were exchanged, where the President of the University of Aleppo presented the university’s shield to the President of Mardin University in honor and appreciation for his visit, and the President of Mardin University presented the university’s shield to the President of Aleppo University, then The presidents of the two universities, along with a number of deans of faculties and institutes, accompanied Professor Umit, went to visit Azaz National Hospital and toured its departments.
The Ministry of Education was also visited and a photo exhibition organized by the Ministry for the martyrs of the University of Aleppo in the liberated areas. Bakkar, Vice President for Scientific Affairs, and Dr. Jawad Abu Hatab, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Aleppo University.
It is noteworthy that the University of Aleppo has signed a previous cooperation protocol with Mardin University, and in the previous month it signed another protocol with the University of Kutahya. These efforts come as part of the university’s ongoing quest to obtain global recognition in the certificate granted by the University of Aleppo and open the horizons for its students.


Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Blue is my favorite color
Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed A Spool of Blue Thread. I think it's a good book club book because there are a lot of things that can be discussed. But there was very little action in the book and it wasn't overly character-driven either. It's a family story about a quite ordinary family from Baltimore going back as far as Red's parents and going forward to Red's kids. (The grandchildren are minor characters in the story so it would really be a stretch to say that the plot covered 4 generations.)
Red and Abby Whitshank are a perfectly ordinary couple, parents of 4 children, living in a house that Red's father, Junior, built for wealthy clients but which Junior aspired to live in. He got his wish. The house is as much a character in the book as any of the children - or even Red, Abby, Junior or Linnie Mae.
(Another text-to-self connection here... my family is currently getting ready to sell a house that has been in our family for over 80 years... longer than the Whitshanks lived in their house. Tyler gives you an excellent idea of what the house means to Red. Did my family home mean that much to anyone who had ever lived there? I suppose I will never know.)
The Whitshank kids, Amanda, Jeannie, Denny and Stem, are worried about Abby and Red living in that big old house alone. Abby experiences blackouts and Red has trouble hearing. The kids decide that the parents need help. But the parents don't think they need help nor do they want any help. This allows Tyler to unfold the stories of the Whitshank family. How they got to where they are today, what drives the children, what explains the relationships between the siblings. It's all quite ordinary but it's not. On the surface, the story is simple... and probably more common than I know in the community in which I am now living. It also brought back memories of what I experienced at the point where I worried that my parents probably should not have been living on their own.
Tyler weaves the story back and forth through different periods of time. We start in 1994, jump forward to more current times, then back to learn the story of Red's parents in the 1930s. And then we're mostly back to the present. These movements through time make the story evolve in an unpredictable way. But isn't that the way real life is? The spool of thread that is the Whitshank family slowly unravels and we learn that all is not as it first appears.
I love family sagas. I love reading about ordinary (but not so ordinary) families. And I love Anne Tyler's style of writing. (My favorite book of hers is most likely Back When We Were Grownups.) A Spool of Blue Thread is the type of book that really demands to be read in one sitting. But because my reading time was broken up, it surprisingly took me over 2 weeks to finish.
And like I said, I hope I remember enough of what drew me in during my reading when it comes time to discuss this with my community book club.
P.S. Here's the link to my recap of the book club meeting where A Spool of Blue Thread was discussed.


History is an account of our human past and seeks to interpret the course of human affairs through evidence and reason. Historians use written records, images, artifacts, and other materials to understand the past and also the relationship between the past and the present. Historians ask not only what happened and why, but also how the present came to be. History provides insights into how individuals and groups made decisions, exercised power, and responded to change. History helps us to understand how processes—such as revolution, migration, war, ecological disturbance, and globalization—shaped societies over time. It helps us to understand how people grappled with class, ethnicity, gender, and race, and how they conceptualized the world through religion and ideology. History provides a form of knowledge that people in all times and places have used to answer basic questions about the human predicament.
The History major is designed for students to enlarge their knowledge about the past, improve their ability to think logically and critically, and sharpen their powers of written and oral expression. It is an outstanding choice for students planning further professional study in law, medicine, ministry, academia, business, and many other fields.
Students will demonstrate:
- Ability to analyze and interpret historical materials, such as documents, artifacts, and images
- Ability to engage in chronological reasoning to understand causation and change over time
- Ability to examine critically how people in the past understood their own history, in scholarly works and in popular forms such as myths or commemorations
- Ability to interpret, write, and speak about the past using evidence and according to the standards and expectations of the historical discipline, including honest use of evidence, openness to multiple perspectives, and historical empathy
- Ability to analyze how processes -- such as revolution, migration, war, ecological disturbance, and globalization -- shaped societies over time and how people grappled with issues like class, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and ideology.
- Government official in foreign service, national security, military, cultural resources management, and other areas;
- History teacher in public and private schools;
- Any professional occupation in business or public service requiring a liberal arts education and skills in research, writing, and the analysis of information;
- With additional graduate training: lawyer, physician, social worker, minister, librarian, museum curator, archivist, professor, educational administrator, or other professional.


P R E S E N T S
Collection of Books
Articles & Videos
The Deringer in America
The Russian Colts
Colt: An American Legend Winchester: An American Legend
For all those interested
in the Craftsmanship
Romance & Technology
of Guns . . . of
Fine Firearms and
Ruger & His Guns. The official history of William B. Ruger, “a legend in his own time” and of Sturm, Ruger & Co. and Ruger Firearms. Part Henry Ford, part Sam Colt, part Enzo Ferrari — but 100 percent his own man, and an All-American original, William B. Ruger has made a resounding success in an industry many thought was dying.
Ruger & His Guns has already proven to be the fastest selling of all R.L.Wilson titles. The author has signed thousands of copies, appeared at five collector shows (Nashville, Dallas, Atlanta, Las Vegas and New York (the latter at the showrooms of Holland & Holland, 50 E. 57th Street). As an exclusive for Holland & Holland, Mr. Ruger and the author signed only 200 copies specifically for this event; a limited number remain. These can be ordered directly from Holland & Holland at (212) 752-7755 (fax 212 752-6805), attention: Book Department, Jim Balistrieri, Manager. Hunting World, at 16 E. 53rd Street, New York, also features signed books, by the author only, and even displays copies in the main storefront windows.
Publicity for the Ruger book has already appeared in The American Rifleman, Forbes’ FYI, Gun Journal, Publishers’ Weekly, Shooting Times, The Denver Post, and numerous other publications.
Watch for a leather bound edition of Ruger & His Guns from the Modern Firearms Library of the National Rifle Association. There will be 1,000 copies only, signed and numbered by the author, beautifully crafted in a full leather Ruger-red binding. Retail price will be at about $195, and the initial announcement is due to be mailed in November.
Furthermore, America Remembers of Mechanicsville, Virginia is producing a special Ruger & His Guns Tribute of 500 Vaquero revolvers (.44 Magnum caliber): 100 will be hand-engraved and gold-plated, and 400 in photo-engraved stainless steel. These cased revolvers will be accompanied by signed and numbered copies of the book, with the serials matching those of each revolver.
Recent Articles by R.L.Wilson
The Incredible World of Guns, Gun Journal, May 1997
Barry Gray: Iconoclast, March 1997
“Samuel Colt Presents” On the Job Training, Gun Journal, March 1997
Tom Thornber, A Champion of Guns and Hunting, Gun Journal, February 1997
Connections and Networking: The Incredibly Vast Spectrum of Firearms Enthusiasts, Gun Journal, January 1997
Gun Collecting Snobbery, Gun Journal, December 1996
Ruger and His Guns: The Man and The Book, Gun Journal, November 1996
Sam and Elizabeth: Legend and Legacy of Colt’s Empire, Gun Journal, October 1996
The Story of the Gun: A review of the A&E Special Broadcast, Gun Jrnl., Sept. 1996
Holland & Holland’s New York Store, Gun Journal, July 1996.
Son of a Gun or How Sam Colt Changed America. This BBC documentary explores the impact on America of Samuel Colt’s invention that “made men equal.”
Colt Firearms Legends. No firearms are more avidly collected than Colts. Brought together for this one-hour-long video are over $30,000,000 worth of the finest and most rare Colt firearms.
In the Blood. Feature film by the director of Pumping Iron. Documents two African safaris: the first led by President Roosevelt in 1909, the second by his great grandson nearly 80 years later. Features TR’s Holland and Holland rifle and rare film footage of the 1909 safari.
Mille Miglia: The Most Beautiful Race in the World. Join the drivers of a pristine 1947 Cisitalia sports car as they race with 330 other entrants along a 1000-mile course through Italy’s exquisite vineyards and farms and pass through over 50 cities and towns between Brescia and Rome.
Works In Progress
Firesticks and Tomahawks – The Arms of the American Indian*
The Arms of Tiffany (Co-authored with Janet Zapata)*
The Guns of Manhattan*
KA-BOOM A Children’s History of Firearms (Drawings by C. Bourbeau)
Arms and Adventure in the American West – A Children’s History of Arms of the West (drawings by C. Bourbeau)
Museums of Arms and Military History of the World (Co-authored by Brooke An Chilvers)*
Colt Engraving II: A revised and updated edition of Colt Engraving (out of print)
Remington – An American Legend* The history of Remington firearms.
* Part of the “History of American Firearms” series, which includes Colt – An American Legend, Winchester – An American Legend, The Peacemakers, Steel Canvas and Ruger and His Guns.
Mr. Wilson is continually collecting photographs and information on arms subjects and appreciates hearing from collectors and others for his ever-expanding pictorial archives on arms and armor.
Other Sites You May Enjoy
Peter Finer: a gallery of fine European and American firearms.
Walt Moreau: a catalogue of fine American firearms.
Tom Gresham: the home page of the radio host of “Gun Talk”.
Gun Journal: the monthly publication for the serious gun collector and enthusiast.
The National Rifle Association: a great source of information on the NRA, gun laws, women and guns, hunting, firearm safety, etc.
Sturm, Ruger & Company: a catalogue of the company’s great guns, information about the company’s history, a profile of Mr. Ruger, and more.
Shooters’ Online Services: “…the web encyclopedia of shooting.”
Copyright © 1996 R.L.Wilson Books All rights reserved
Photographs Copyright © G. Allan Brown and Peter Beard
Layout and design by PrimeTime Communications, PO Box 421, Hadlyme, CT 06439
This document was last updated June 28, 1997. Send comments and corrections to: Webmaster…


Below, you can find links to .PDFs of some of my fiction work. They all fall in the general category of literary fiction, although Palace of Expression also has a thriller element. Word of warning: because of language and some content, this work is not suitable for all ages.
Recently published by Hedge Apple, "This Girl" tells the story of a musician in a Beatles cover band as she tries to choose between the band and something else. It also reimagines a scene from a novel in progress from the point of view of a background character.
You can purchase this chapbook of four short stories from the DC Conspiracy Distro.
Four prose short stories about the necessity to give and receive empathy. In "Woodwork," Henry connects with his father-in-law Albert, who hides a recent loss. In "Dignity" Albert struggles with that loss and finds sympathy in an unexpected place. "The Cradle" follows the seemingly random thoughts of an elderly woman as she tries to reveal a family mystery to her loved ones. Finally in "A Major Key," a woman takes a moment out of life to revel in the power of playing music.
Heroes and Villains -- Part II, Chapter 2:
After the death of his grandfather, eleven-year-old Wes Mosby finds himself alienated from his father, who has become increasingly withdrawn and angry. Wes befriends his neighbor Stacey. Already in junior high, though closer to Wes' age, Stacey seems grownup, reckless, and mysterious. She is, in fact, as lonely as Wes. This chapter focuses on their friendship.
Palace of Expression -- Chapters 1-3:
Two years ago, highway patrolman Andy Weichert responded to an accident that still haunts him. The victims were the parents of Samantha Mathis, a childhood friend and long-term crush he hasn't spoken to since he delivered the news. Convinced it wasn't an accident, he wants to discover the truth and ease Samantha's grief. Samantha works as a waitress, and one night, three teenaged boys threaten her outside work. She goes to Andy for help.
Despite economic constraints, eighteen-year-old Rhonda "Honda" Wallace sees possibility where others wouldn't, especially in Rory McDonough, an awkward boy at her community college. However, she doesn't realize that Rory knows the three boys and how Samantha's parents died.
Samantha's uncle, Honda and Rory's teacher, and glass artist Arthur Rheingold believes that God caused the ills of the world, that His creation, like all works of art, has a flaw – he made human connection absolutely necessary but near impossible. In response, Arthur wants to build a glass palace on the accident site, a place that will unite people and fix the flaw. His desire brings these five lives together and forces the truth, violence, and love into the open.


When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who should sing to Yahweh, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks to Yahweh; for his loving kindness endures forever.(2 Chronicles 20:21, emphasis added)
An immense army assembled against Judah near Jerusalem. They are readied for battle. War was declared against Judah. Jehoshaphat went into the Temple of God and prayed. He spoke to God and reminded Him of His promise to Israel. God answered Jehoshaphat’s prayer through Jahaziel. God will fight this battle and the people have nothing to fear. The people, having faith in the Word of God, started worshiping and paraded to the battle site. The enemy was confounded and confused. They began fighting each other. That battle is won. God’s mercy was upon them and they gathered the spoils from the enemy.
Historically there were 20 Kings of Judah. Of those only eight were good and honorable leaders who brought revival on their people during their respective reigns. Some kings had lives centered in God in the Temple. Most other Kings, though, had their hearts in their kingdoms. Jim George has written a book entitled “The Bare Bones Bible Handbook.” 1 He provides summaries of the 66 books of the Bible. About 2 Chronicles chapters 10-36 Mr. George writes, “When the reigning king serves God, the kingdom is blessed, but if or when he forsakes the temple and the worship of God, the nation is torn by warfare and unrest.” The lesson to learn, according to Mr. George and others, is that like the reigning kings when we are in God’s service we are blessed and when we are not then our blessings are diminished. On this day Judah was blessed. However, they spent many days under diminished blessing.
What of the enemy? Many died that day, certainly. Some may have returned to their homes. It is clear the enemy was overwhelmed by the power of God. His Word says “His loving kindness endures forever.” The advocates of universal reconciliation preach “His loving kindness” reaches even those who hate Him. This is Impartial Grace and like “His loving kindness” it “endures forever.”
1Jim George. “The Bare Bones Bible Handbook.” . Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. 2006.


We Read Banned Books: Maus, A Discussion
WE READ BANNED BOOKS: Maus, A Discussion
Join Voices Against Injustice Thursday, May 5th at 7pm for a virtual conversation about Maus by Art Spiegelman. Dr. Stephenie Young, research associate for Salem State University’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and professor in the English Department, will introduce the book and help facilitate our discussion. Reading Maus beforehand is encouraged but by no means necessary!
Once you register, a Zoom link will be emailed to you the day before the event!
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there!


MicroSDHC: how to zoom out business and MicroSDHC goals
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Did you ever think of that? I’m sure I’m not unique. Somebody thought of it long before me. But did you ever dig deeper? How do you dig??? Lots of ways! Think, think, think…. Well, I’ve been doing a lot of that lately. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to. You see I’m not aContinue reading “What If We’re Already in Heaven???”
Tag Archives: Books
Want to be in the Vortex???
I will love you 2+day! I will love you 2+morrow! =I will LOVE YOU 4=ever! RGH
Angels Among Us
“Angels Among Us” I was walking home from school, on a cold winter day Took a shortcut through the woods, and I lost my way It was getting late, and I was scared and alone But then a kind old man, took my hand, and led me home Mama couldn’t see him, oh but heContinue reading “Angels Among Us”
The Ultimate Stream!
The Great Escape
Little Women Orchard House Edition Hardcover – 1915 by Louisa Alcott (Author) Biography Louisa May Alcott was both an abolitionist and a feminist. She is best known for Little Women (1868), a semi-autobiographical account of her childhood years with her sisters in Concord, Massachusetts. Alcott, unlike Jo, never married: “… because I have fallen in love with so manyContinue reading “The Great Escape”


The importance of reading during the summer months, while school is not in session, is imperative for students to retain reading skills. Marshall County Schools has provided every student in Pre-K through 4th grade with a Scholastic “My Books Summer & Summer Express Workbook Bundle” to help prevent reading regression.
Each student has been given resources to achieve a summer’s worth of great learning. The Scholastic reading packets provide a combination of high-quality engaging books and a collection of colorful, fun-filled activities that reinforce reading, writing, phonics, grammar, math skills and more. The age-appropriate bundle includes five fiction titles, five nonfiction titles, ten think sheets, a journal, a postcard, colored pencils and a Weekly Reader Summer Express workbook.


400 Years Later, the Pilgrims are Still Part of Us
Exactly 400 years ago this month, North American shores welcomed their first tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free. After a grueling 65-day passage, the Mayflower reached what is now Massachusetts in November of 1620. Its passengers began their new life under dreadfully inhospitable conditions. A late departure meant they arrived with almost no time to spare before winter set in. Although it briefly appeared their colony would not survive the winter, Plymouth Plantation ultimately lasted for another 70 years before being absorbed into Massachusetts Bay Colony. Its impact on history reverberated long past that. The founders of Plymouth called themselves Separatists, Protestants who believed the Church of England had abandoned true Christianity and looked to establish their own independent congregations. Today, they are almost exclusively remembered by a name that was less common at the time, but which aptly sums up their view of their place in this world and their mission to the American continent; we know them as the Pilgrims.
There was a time when the Pilgrims were revered icons, widely seen as the forerunners of American democracy. In roughly the last half century, history has been less kind to the Mayflower passengers and their children, highlighting the less inspiring aspects of their views on religion and democracy, and especially of their treatment of the continent’s original inhabitants. There is much to be pleased with in that — history that makes getting the history right a secondary consideration is not history at all, but propaganda. We should celebrate a modern scholarship that shines a light on who the Pilgrims really were, what they really wanted, and what they really did. The Separatists who came to what is now America in 1620 never intended to create a liberal democracy, and they studiously avoided doing so. Their conception of religious liberty is one that is foreign to us, indeed in some ways their views on religious freedom were the polar opposite of that enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Yet, over time, in humanizing the Pilgrims and giving overdue recognition to the Native Americans they encountered, a certain contempt has crept in. It is true that by the standards of the twenty-first century West (and there is the catch) the Pilgrims do indeed come up short. Recalling the voyage of the Mayflower and the colony it produced offers much more than an opportunity to debunk myths and pat ourselves on the back for our own enlightenment, however. In examining how different we are today from the Pilgrims, we forget how much we are their heirs, and how much of the nation we inhabit is built on their foundation. It should hardly surprise us that a great deal has changed in the space of four centuries, but what is worth remembering is just how much we still owe, even after all this time, to the settlers who built Plymouth Plantation.
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One particular story that was due for debunking is that the Pilgrims came to America to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. If so, they made one of the most spectacular miscalculations in history. It is true that the Church of England periodically hanged ministers who published or preached impermissible doctrines, but the rank and file had les reason to fear for their lives. Of course there were plenty of steps the English government could take short of capital punishment to make life miserable for dissenters, including imprisonment (again largely confined to key leaders), but enough information had trickled back across the Atlantic that the Separatists could make a reasonable cost-benefit analysis and know that they were still better off in the Old World, even as a scorned religious minority. Indeed, one group of Separatists had briefly attempted establishing a colony in present-day Newfoundland 23 years prior, but their journey in failure and the speedy return of all participants. Likewise, the future Plymouth settlers who initially established themselves in Leiden, Holland, could find life there unpleasant, but still nowhere near as bad as what a journey across the ocean promised.
The 102 who made the decision to go to America in 1620 were crammed aboard the Mayflower, for the most part confined below decks in a glorified crawlspace too short for most of them to stand upright. In addition to seasickness — apparently rampant among the passengers — there were also health problems brought on by inadequate provisions and dubious drinking water; a scurvy outbreak spread additional miseries besides the cramped conditions and stormy weather. Still, only two perished on the journey across. Once they reached their new home at the onset of a New England winter, the mortality rate skyrocketed. In the New World, half of the Mayflower passengers died by the end of February, and those who endured the “starving time” surely did not see their lives as materially better than what they had known in Europe. William Bradford, the future governor of Plymouth Plantation and its first chronicler, recalled the low point when only a half dozen were left who were healthy enough to care for the entire surviving colony. These demonstrated the meaning of genuine love, as they “willingly and cheerfully, without any grudging in the least…did all the homely and necessary offices for [the sick] which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named.” Suffice to say, the endurance of the survivors amidst such misery clearly shows they had greater ambitions than avoiding imprisonment or even the gallows in England.
In any case, the Pilgrims already enjoyed general religious toleration in Holland. The problem for the Separatists in Leiden was not that they were not far enough from England but that they were too far. Parents watched their children lose their English identity, and regardless of their desire to be free of its established church, all felt a sincere loyalty to their home country and its monarch. Likewise, the problem in Leiden was not a lack of religious liberty but too much of it. They feared the laxness of Holland society, and the open practicing of a slew of Protestant sects that even Separatists found distasteful threatened to corrupt their young. What they wanted was a place where they could safely inculcate their own values, under the guidance of their own ministers, and establish a community that could serve as a model of a godly society. This was the vision that drove them from their homes, twice over, and the faith that undergirded this vision is what fired their endurance when their survival seemed gravely in doubt.
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It was also a vision that shaped the nature of their government. When they first arrived at Plymouth — before widespread disease and starvation forced some level of mutual codependence — the passengers of the Mayflower looked with as much concern on each other as they did on the elements. The colony included a handful of so-called Strangers, those who did not share in the Pilgrims’ religious vision for the colony and who, according to William Bradford, began making “discontented and mutinous speeches” before they had even set foot on shore. Knowing all faced a shared fate, if not shared ideals, some form of order was essential. Thus was born the Mayflower Compact, signed by every male passenger on November 11, 1620 (changed to November 21 when the calendar was updated). The Compact was short and direct; there was hardly time for deep constitutional thought when crops needed to be planted and shelters constructed. Its signers would have been shocked to hear that they were creating a template for an independent American Constitution rooted in the ideas of the Enlightenment. The Compact begins with the words “In the Name of God, Amen,” and immediately proceeds to swear loyalty to “our dread Sovereign Lord King James.” Lest there be any doubt of their temporal and spiritual allegiance, it establishes the purpose of the colony as being “for the Glory of God and the advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country.”
However loyal to King James they swore to be (and they sincerely meant it), the fact was that James was an ocean away, and all the problems that require government were immediately present. And the government they formed to deal with those problems did have some remarkable elements for its time. The signers, every adult male of the ship, agreed to “Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation…and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony.” Signing the document was limited to men, something that struck no one as inappropriate or even noteworthy at the time, but it was also open to all men, even servants. The Plymouth “Civil Body Politic” encompassed everyone, regardless of class. Shockingly, it was regardless of religion as well. The Pilgrims might have feared the Strangers as potential mutineers, but either in spite of or because of this, they included them as full members of the colony, and granted them the franchise.
Still, the Pilgrims were never interested in establishing anything like a liberal democracy. They believed in hierarchy, and they feared licentiousness — unchecked individual liberty that flaunted Biblical morality and ignored the needs of the community. They could reasonably be accused of obsessing over the danger that unrestrained liberty and those exercising posed (while we, it seems, barely think about it at all). Rather, the Pilgrims viewed liberty in a communal sense; they were free from excessive interference from England to enact laws in keeping with their own values. This meant, crucially, that they were not pursuing anything like religious liberty as we would conceive of it either. As their most recent historian, John G. Turner, notes, they “came to the New World to establish a haven and beacon for separatism, not a bastion of religious toleration and freedom. Their goal was to transplant a congregation, found a prosperous colony, and attract puritans wavering on the threshold of separatism to join them.” It was a liberty for all to partake in, but only together. Again from Turner, Pilgrims “were both free and bound: free from ecclesiastical tyranny and human corruptions of true worship, bound to each other.” Every man could vote, but once elected leaders expected due deference, and no other religious meetings or sects were allowed to exist. Each town was to have one church overseen by one minister chosen by that congregation. Separatists they might be, but they only allowed for one separation to take place, and given their concerns about the wide variety of denominations in Holland, it is fair to say that they came to America more to escape religious pluralism than to advance it.
That the Separatists, upon escaping persecution in England, had no intentions of extending religious liberty to anyone else should not surprise us. The Church of England was made up of Protestants who suffered during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary, then started executing Catholics themselves once they came to power. All of Europe, Holland excepted, saw national and religious identity as intertwined. The Pilgrims did not drift far from this mindset, but they do deserve some share of the credit for its eventual demise. For starters, they were never keen on forcing church attendance — no other churches were allowed, but non-attendance was generally tolerated. One of the key pillars of their break with the Church of England was, after all, their firm belief that churches should be composed of true Christians, not filled with the decidedly less-than-voluntary population as a whole. This was radical enough for the era, allowing for a church that was at least partly separated from the body politic. By claiming that congregations did not need the king or queen’s help to choose their ministers, and that they related directly to God, and therefore, most scandalous of all, that the monarch had no authority over ecclesiastical matters, the Pilgrims laid the groundwork for true freedom of religion. Indeed, it was not long in coming; Roger Williams broke with Plymouth and established Rhode Island in 1636. In the decades leading up to the Mayflower, various Separatists argued amongst themselves at length about the limits of freedom of conscience and what exactly the role of the state in religious matters was supposed to be, but the seeds of full separation of church and state were baked into their beliefs from the outset, something their opponents in England may have understood better than they did.
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Meanwhile, all of Plymouth Plantation’s planting, building, and governing did not, of course, actually take place in an empty wilderness. For the Indians, the land was hardly a New World, but rather their home for generations. In another sense, it was very much a new world for everyone, for the arrival of Europeans had dramatically changed life for Native Americans as well as newcomers. Disease had culled Indian numbers, sometimes in horrendous fashion, but also new trade goods and new alliances reshaped the balance of power wherever Europeans and Native Americans made contact. The Pilgrims immediately became part of one of the more consequential — and for a short time one of the most successful — of those alliances. Some delight in dismissing the story of the “first Thanksgiving,” as a fiction, but it has a strong element of truth to it. The Pilgrims were in dire straits before making contact with the Wampanoags. Their Indian neighbors did indeed teach them much of what enabled them to survive after the horrors of the starving time. And they did indeed hold a celebration to commemorate their first bountiful harvest. Finally, it is true that the Pilgrims enjoyed mostly-friendly relations with the Wampanoags and their sachem Massasoit during the latter’s lifetime, and a general peace lasted for over 50 years.
It is also true that within the first year of their arrival, the Pilgrims got themselves involved in a quarrel between Massasoit and his rivals, and that one of those rivals ended up with his head on a pike near Plymouth’s fort. And less than a generation later, in 1676, the children and grandchildren of the Mayflower passengers went to war with Massasoit’s successor, King Philip. The conflict was the bloodiest in American history in terms of percentage of the population killed. Plymouth’s forces burned villages filled with women and children to ash and sent shiploads of Indians to hellish lives as slaves in Barbados, often with scant regard to whether or not their captives had actually been their enemies. Other Indians, many of them children, ended up in something strongly resembling slavery in Plymouth households.
So the story of the Mayflower passengers and the colony they built is messy. It might be nice if we could, as generations past were tempted to, label the Pilgrims the forerunners of American democracy and the first heralds of religious freedom. History, as is always the case, is more complicated than our favorite stories and historical figures more human than our heroic icons. One suspects that the Pilgrims, with their frequent days of fasting, mortification, and repentance, would heartily approve that we now remember them as sinners, rather than unblemished saints. They were remarkable sinners though. They may have feared the kind of religious freedom enshrined in the First Amendment, but their ideas about freedom of conscience before the power of the state were radical for their time, and were a necessary step towards the broad religious toleration that came later. Their views on social equality and democracy likewise appear weak in light of 2020’s values, and they had their (fringe) critics at the time as well, but they did build a society whose inclusion and dwarfed most of the world. Their treatment of the original inhabitants of this continent was a mix of good intentions, hard-headed realism, and, in their darkest moments, inexcusable cruelty.
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Last year, the New York Times Magazine won a Pulitzer Prize for its publication of the 1619 Project. The Project asserted (for a while anyway) that the real beginning of the United States of America was in 1619, with the arrival of the first African slaves, and that the defining feature of the nation has always been racism. It came under harsh criticism, and deservedly so. The United States of America began in 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or if we want to get really technical, in 1778 with diplomatic recognition from France. And a diverse, polyglot nation of some 330 million cannot be reduced to any one idea or theme. But the nation that was born in 1776 had a long gestation period, and its DNA is made up of a variety of threads. Slavery and racism of course mattered, in profound ways, for the evolution of this country. Yet somehow we became more than our ugliest impulses and worst sins. It would seem that if American history and colonial American society set the stage for chattel slavery and undeniably horrendous atrocities against Native Americans, it also set the stage for abolitionism, the Civil Rights Movement, the triumph of liberalism over Fascism and the Soviet Union, and the growth of a creedal nation where anyone of any origin or skin color can wash up on our shores and truly become an American. Based on what was happening in the rest of the world in 1619, the arrival of slavery in Virginia was unremarkable, while what happened in 1776 split history. And we could not have reached 1776 without 1620.
The Pilgrims were refugees who fled to this continent to escape, yes, but also to build. They were a community looking to pass on their values to their children, rather than have the larger society’s values imposed on them. Most of all, they brought to American shores (and thus to American history) a vision that dreamed of forging a community where the freedom to be good and to do good could thrive. All of this became a key part of the American identity at its best. And perhaps it was their endurance most of all that is worth remembering at a time when Americans across the political spectrum have grown disgusted with our institutions and fearful of our future. As Samuel Eliot Morison recorded in his edition of William Bradford’s history of Plymouth, the Pilgrims were “a simple people inspired by ardent faith to a dauntless courage in danger, a resourcefulness in dealing with new problems, an impregnable fortitude in adversity that exalts and heartens one in an age of uncertainty, when courage falters and faith grows dim.” Our attitudes and outlook may have changed — dramatically and much for the better — in the last four centuries, but the plucky spirit of the Pilgrims lives on in the American psyche, and that is very definitely grounds for thanksgiving.
● ● ●
Samuel Eliot Morison, ed., Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620–1647 by William Bradford, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1952
Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, New York: Viking, 2006
Stephen Tomkins, Journey to the Mayflower: God’s Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2020
John G. Turner, They Knew They Were Pilgrims: Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2020


This 200 page guide includes easy to use maps and highlights the main sights/attractions. Considered by many to the be THE essential guidebook/map for any Route 66 traveller.
Route 66 Dining and Lodging Guide
It lists over 500 dining and lodging establishments and concentrates on the vintage properties that made the Route famous. An excellent companion to the EZ66 Guide.
Route 66 Adventure Handbook
A guide to all the exuberance, splendour, and absurdity of Route 66. From well-known hotspots to obscure oddities, this inspiring guide presents a wealth of information for both first-time adventurers and seasoned travellers.
Lonely Planet Route 66 Road Trips
This Lonely Planet guide book follows the successful formula of it’s predecessors in style and structure. This book is a concise description of the route and maintains the authority of previous Lonely Planet publications.
Route 66: Traveller’s Guide and Roadside Companion
A very useful book with plenty of interesting stories and features. Considered by many to be a must-have book for the glove-box.
The Route 66 Encyclopedia
The Route 66 Encyclopedia provides a sweeping look at a highway that has become more than just a road, illustrated with over 1,000 old and new, color and black-and-white photos and memorabilia. An outstanding keepsake or gift.
Billy Connolly’s Route 66
Having always dreamt about taking a trip on the legendary Route 66, Billy Connolly finally heads off on the ride of a lifetime. The book also contains a section with maps, playlists, recipes, and more, bringing the reader to the heart of this adventure.
Here It Is! The Route 66 Map Series
This acclaimed Route 66 packaged set of eight roadmaps provides an easy to follow route aimed at keeping you on track and maximizing your Mother Road experience.
Route 66 – The Mother Road
Route 66 between Los Angeles and Chicago presented in a handy size, A5 paperback atlas using extracts from ITMB’s mapping of USA at 1:1,000,000, plus street plans and/or enlargements for main towns along that historic route.
Route US 66 (Quick Access)
A nicely detailed map with a simple, straight-forward design. It has the added bonus of being laminated and therefore will tolerate numerous coffee spills and french-fry-fingers! A compact and handy resource to keep in the glove compartment.
Road Atlas 2017: Large Scale
As well as a specialised Route 66 guidebook/map you should definitely take an up-to-date road atlas too to make sure you’re always heading in the right direction. If you plan on taking any side-trips off Route 66 then a modern map is essential to avoid getting lost.
DVD & Blu Ray
Route 66: Marathon Tour – Chicago to LA (Tin Packaging)
Discover Route 66 like never before in this 5 disc collection of all the nostalgia and kitsch that made it a piece of Americana. It covers the journey in six hours of lively, fun-filled stories and anecdotes.
Billy Connolly’s Route 66
Billy Connolly takes the ultimate road trip as he travels the world’s most famous highway, Route 66. Billy turns Easy Rider and follows a lifelong dream as he makes the iconic 2488 mile journey from Chicago to Santa Monica.
Pixar’s great animated comedy is directly inspired by real-life places and people along Route 66. The soundtrack features the brilliant Rascal Flatts cover of “Life is a Highway”.
Route 66: Rockin’ on the Road
A great 3-CD collection that takes you out on the open road featuring tracks by artists such as Canned Heat, Van Morrison, Johnny Cash, The Outlaws and Starship. This album is available as both CD and MP3.
Route 66: Music From And Inspired By The ITV Series
Route 66: Music from and Inspired by the TV Series is the soundtrack to comedian and travelling enthusiast Billy Connolly’s adventure down the world’s most famous road. This album is also available as an MP3 download.
Join the UK Route 66 Association now!
Membership of the UK Route 66 Association is free and entitles all members to:
Join in the conversation via a members-only forum and comment areas


"This book is outstanding! Not only do I use the strategies taught in these pages to perform at a high level for myself, but I teach them
to my students as well"
"Justin Su'a's power comes in this amazing book that helps parents with timeless principles that will assist them in raising children to become responsible, high-achieving adults"
"I've learned critical skills to help my sons capitalize on their successes and setbacks--both on the field and in the home. A definite must-read for parents!"
This book is well written, concise, and has some great information concerning helping our children succeed in life. Don't miss out on this read!
-New York Parent
I just finished reading your book. It was beautifully written, thought provoking and tangible ideas for how to make a change...Thank you for writing the book. I am going to share with my husband as well. I suspect it will be a game changer for our family.
Justin does an amazing job of giving accessible advice to parents when faced with challenges with children. His anecdotes are fun to read and the activities are good for all ages.
- Florida Teacher
Powerful! As a parent of three daughters I have found it difficult to teach self-confidence, perseverance and motivation; now I have the confidence and tools myself to ensure they can flex their "optimistic muscles" to succeed in every area of their life.
A month has passed since I finished this book and since then I've read many others. However, I still find myself thinking back to the concepts taught in this book. I have integrated many of the skills taught here into my mothering and I've had excellent results with my children. This is a book I will refer back to often.
- Utah Parent
I just finished "Parent Pep Talks", and I wanted to let you know that I loved it! It is very thoughtful and well written. Your stories are great (especially the ones about you and your dad), and it has given me a lot of guidance on helping Lexi on her journey that she is taking to become a competitive tennis player and well rounded young woman.
- Pennsylvania Parent


Prof . Eugene Lieber's
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ISLAM & THE ARAB EMPIRE. (duration; 47 minutes.)
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Download audiobooks from a collection of 98
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Allen Curnow was born in Timaru in 1911. His Father was an Anglican clergyman who moved the Curnow family to many locations mainly in Canterbury. When he was 18 he began to work at the Sun in Christchurch. After two years working there he left to pursue studies for the Anglican ministry at St John’s College in Auckland. It was there that his first poems were published in the journals Kiwi and Phoenix. His first book of poetry, “Valley of Decision”, appeared in 1933.
He decided not to pursue the Anglican ministry and returned to work at The Press in Christchurch. While there he got to know many others involved in the Arts scene of Christchurch including Denis Glover, R.A.K. Mason and A.R.D. Fairburn. He continued to publish books of poetry with the Caxton Press. In 1945 he was the editor of a book of New Zealand Verse and the introduction for that helped to shape thinking about poetry in New Zealand for many years to come. He also contributed to newspapers as “whim-wham” which was satirical verse commenting on issues of the day and these books were also published under that name.
In 1949 he worked in London before returning to New Zealand to work at the University of Auckland. He worked there in the English department until retiring in 1976. He continued to publish poems towards the end of the century and his last book was published in the year that he died in 2011. His career was a long and fruitful one with many awards – as an example he won the New Zealand Book Award for poetry in 1958, 1963, 1975 and 1980.
Terry Storm was writing a biography of Allen Curnow before his untimely death and it not clear if it will be finished and published. There are some references on the internet that indicate it will be published. Peter Simpson has written a book in 2016 called ‘Bloomsbury South’ about the Arts scene in Christchurch between 1933-1953 which features Allen Curnow. Also, C.K. Stead included an essay on Allen Curnow in his book “Next of Kin” which is a series of essays on New Zealand authors.
Other useful references and more complete detailed information is included at the following links:
This is a documentary from 2001 about Allen Curnow: https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/early-days-yet-2001
The Encyclopedia of New Zealand has an excellent biography written by Terry Sturm:http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6c1/curnow-thomas-allen-monro
New Zealand Book Council also has a very detailed biography: http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/writers/curnowa.html
Poetry Archive has a biography and also Allen Curnow reading one of his poems: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poet/allen-curnow
Allen Curnow. Journal of New Zealand Literature 15 (1997), special issue.
Roddick, Alan. Allen Curnow. Wellington: Oxford University Press, 1980.
Stead, C. K. Kin of place: essays on 20 New Zealand writers. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2002.
Sturm, Terry, ed. The Oxford history of New Zealand literature in English. 2nd ed. Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Poetry Archive has Allen Curnow reading one of his poems here: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poet/allen-curnow


The White C.A.V. Fuel Injection System Service / Shop Reprint Manual contains all the information you need to take apart, repair and put back together your Oliver White Tractor. This is a reproduction tractor factory issued to the Oliver tractor dealers service department. It is written in the language that a mechanic understands. Providing information such as.
- White C.A.V. Fuel system technical Manual form No. 432668
- Combustion principle
- Fuel tank capacity
- Fuel supply pump
- Fuel filters
- Injection pump
This manual covers these model tractors and combines 2-105, 7300 combine, 8600 Combine and 8800 combine and more.
The service manual will show shortcuts and save you time and money.
Also consider purchasing both the operators and parts catalog / manual for your tractor, if available. The operator's manual adds all the basic information meant for the end user of the machine, while The parts manual will make it much easier to find the right parts for the job and show in detail how the components are put together.


STAGES was a short-lived fortnightly Adelaide music magazine of the mid-1970s. Only three issues were ever produced, and it is now a barely remembered part of Australian music history, but with the calibre of writers such as Vince Lovegrove and Barry Bissell, its articles are worth preserving, and an interesting time capsule of the bands, music, events and attitudes of the time.
This is issue #1 from February 6 1975, with articles on Skyhooks, Sunbury ’75, the Mount Lofty Rangers, Daddy Cool et al. Other issues to come soon! Click any page to enlarge.


Retsbol Rises: An Abenaki Lobster Tale is an action-adventure story based on ancient Indian lore that believes that man and lobsters walked together in harmony and shared the land on Mount Desert Island (MDI) in Maine. As the two tribes grew in population, the area, now part of Acadia National Park, became crowded and problems developed. After much debate and with great sadness, it was agreed that the lobsters would retreat to the ocean because they could live both on land and in water while the Abenaki Indians would take care of the island. A covenant was created, represented by a rose quartz orb, and buried deep within the heart of MDI’s Cadillac Mountain to solidify the agreement. As long as the covenant stayed in place, the lobsters would remain in the sea.
Unfortunately, an extremely greedy man from Northeast Harbor steals the orb, thus disrupting the energy around the island and calling the lobsters up and down the East Coast to migrate to MDI and take back the land. Dr. George Banke, a marine biologist from Cape Cod, gets summoned to Jamison Lab in Bar Harbor, Maine to lead the research team trying to figure out the reason for the lobster surge. As the lobsters multiply in numbers and size, Dr. Banke’s daughter, Ani, age thirteen, learns that she is Kanake-kee, an Abenaki word that means “One Who Walks with Animals,” and must lead the charge to help solve the problem. She solicits help from her fifteen-year-old sister, Eliza, and a local, Spider-Man–obsessed, ten-year-old boy named Roonie. Using Ani’s own ancient Abenaki parchment and assistance from many creatures, big and small, the trio begins a quest to locate and retrieve five amulets to offer to the gods of Cadillac in order to stop the lobsters from taking over the island.
After three people go missing, disappearances thought to be caused by the abnormally large and aggressive lobsters; a plan is readied to detonate a lethal gas against the invaders. Amid worries that the gas will have catastrophic outcomes for all sea life and the harbors for many years to come, Ani’s journey intensifies: the fate of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park rests in her hands.
Retsbol Rises is also available at:
Longfellow Books, 1 Monument Square, Portland, ME
Bridgeton Books, 140 Main Street, Bridgeton, ME
82 Central Street, Wellesley, MA
76 Railroad Street, Holliston MA
776 Washington Street, Holliston MA


Four years ago today, the paperback version of my first nonfiction book, Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight for Military Justice, went on sale for the first time. Little has changed, however, when it comes to the Pentagon’s relentless campaign of political correctness (a.k.a., “witch hunt”) to convict any and all men accused of sexual assault, regardless of whether such crimes actually occurred.
In Three Days In August, I not only chronicled the life story of former Army Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class Kelly A. Stewart, but I dissected the events leading to the false sexual assault allegations made against him by a German woman, the military trial that followed and his conviction in what can only be described as a “kangaroo court-martial.”
Since publishing the book, I’ve become familiar with several other cases of military injustice stemming from false sexual assault allegations. Two of the most-recent ones involve Air Force MSgt. Michael Silva and Army Maj. Christian “Kit” Martin, whose stories I hope you’ll read and share.
Still on sale at Amazon.com, Three Days In August is, in my biased opinion, a must-read book for active-duty, retired and former members of the U.S. military. Likewise, I believe it should be read by anyone who knows someone in the military or who cares about those who serve.by


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