That first bite was a bite to remember. At first it didn’t quite register. Then WHAM! What on earth was on my sandwich. Yuck! It was cold, squishy, watery, tasteless, a little slimy maybe. I couldn’t spit it out, that would be just too rude. I wanted to swallow but my stomach at this point was rolling. I took the chicken run instead, straight to the bathroom.

I had to return to the patio but I was just soooo embarrassed. Not just for me but for my hostess as well. All sorts of thoughts were running through my head. Did she poison me? Was one of the sandwich ingredients bad? What on earth WAS in that sandwich? I slunk back to the table to find my hostess with the most stricken expression on her face. Was I okay? Was I sick? What happened? Looking around I saw that the other two luncheon guests were happily munching away on sandwich number two and looking quite happy. Was my sandwich the only one that was bad? Realization struck at that point. It was just ME. There was something on that sandwich that I didn’t like. What could it have been? Never being one to keep my tongue in my pocket I asked, “What on earth is in these sandwiches?” Nothing special apparently. Tomatoes, onion, alfalfa sprouts, mayonnaise and tofu. Tofu who? What on earth is tofu?

My hostess at this point realized that I was a newcomer to the world of bean curd. Laughing she pried my sandwich apart and there in the middle looking very pale, squishy, icky, and all the rest of the horrible words I could think of, was a slab of very plain, very watery tofu. YUCK! Never again I said, would my lips ever come in contact with tofu. I didn’t care if it could save the world, it wasn’t saving me. I had a great peanut butter, honey and apple slice sandwich and we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, chuckling every now and then over my hasty retreat to the washroom and the horrified expression on my face.  Now, years later, I too am chuckling about it but I sure wasn’t then.

Since that afternoon in June, I have come to like tofu. I have since learned that tofu should never be watery and have passed that little piece of info on to my friend. I have also discovered that no matter how hard I have tried, I cannot face a sandwich that has a slab of tofu on it.

Tofu is a remarkable and extremely versatile food. It has almost no flavour of its own but acts like a sponge soaking up the flavour of the foods around it. It is a wonderful source of protein and can be used in hundreds of different ways. Over the next few weeks I will be going through the amazing uses for tofu in everyday cooking. From gourmet feasts to the brown bag lunch, tofu makes the grade.

No matter what your situation or circumstance there is deliverance in Christ. Jesus can wash away your sins and give you a new beginning. The devil is seeking to bring under bondage as many as he can because he knows he has but a short time before the return of Christ. He is gathering souls for destruction and he wants yours. If you are struggling and you feel a tug in your heart, a small voice that is saying what you are doing is not right, don't ignore it, God is trying to reach you because he loves you and he doesn't want you to go to HELL. He knows about the struggles of this life and how we all fall short . But he wants you to know you don't have to be in bondage, you don't have to chase the wrong way to find the love and acceptance you having been longing for because he loves you, flaws and all. He wants you to know he can fix those broken areas in your life by guiding you on the right paths in life. So you made a detour and have followed the wrong way, a way which is not ordained by him, all hope is not lost, there is forgiveness at the foot of the cross. All you have to do is ask for it. REPENT, BE FORGIVEN and be set free to travel the road of change.

Don't be ashamed, no one is perfect, we all have done something wrong one time or another. Don't let sin hold you captive. Confess it before God, be forgiven, let it GO, and sin no more. I am not saying that likely there will not be another time ever in your life when you will fall short because that would be a lie, but when it does know that God will be there to forgive you. Mind you there is a difference in falling and the practice of SIN, please do not misunderstand. Struggle and willingness to sin because of a self chosen lifestyle is two different issues here. You have to want to be set free, then after praying and asking God for this freedom do your part in resisting temptation and praying daily for the strength to do so. There will have to be changes made in your life, you will lose some friends and perhaps family in the process because you will have to clean house. You will not be able to continue to associate with things of old until you gain enough resistance to go back and try to help set free another who may be struggling as you were.

Each day you will have to walk by faith and not by sight. Don't ever worry about who loves you here on earth just as long as God loves you, you will be fine. We don't need others to make us feel important because we already are important to God. This is why some struggle because God is knocking at the door of their hearts. He desires a total relationship with them. You have already taken the first step if you are trying to seek help. Keep taking steps toward change, God is near, help is on the way. No need to fear, God is not a man that he should lie, he will do as he says he will.

The DEVIL is the one that is the liar, and the fooler of men. Because many people live by sight and not by faith is why many are fooled today and on the path to complete destruction. It may look like others are living the good life while living in their present sinful state. They may be now but sooner or later they will have to face God and answer for choices made while here on earth. The Great White throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) is no joke and every person found unforgiven and unwashed in the blood of the lamb will have to stand present before God to be sentenced to their final destination.

Those who have been saved by God's grace have had their names written in the Lambs book of life so they will not be present during this time of God's judgment on those whose names are not. Those who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus alone for forgiveness of their sin, salvation, and have repented, been washed in the blood of the Lamb (the blood that Christ shed at the cross when he was crucified in our place for the payment of sin, ergo satisfying the requirement of God....Romans 3:24 & Isaiah 53:5-11) and have been reconnected in a relationship with God will live Eternal with him. There is no second chance for reconnection and Life Eternal with God apart from repentance and the forgiveness of Christ. If you perish in an unforgiven state your connection to God remained broken. PLEASE DON'T BE FOOLED, BELIEVE NOT THE LIES OF MAN, ONLY BELIEVE WHAT GOD SAID!

If you seek deliverance, forgiveness, salvation; a relationship with God say a little prayer and ask....

He loves you.

]]> http://palpatansen.wordpress.com/?p=94 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:51:52 +0000 palpatansen http://palpatansen.bg.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/%e0%a4%9c%e0%a4%be%e0%a4%ac%e0%a5%8b-%e0%a4%a6%e0%a4%b0%e0%a4%ac%e0%a4%be%e0%a4%b0-%e0%a4%ad%e0%a4%be%e0%a4%a8%e0%a5%8d%e0%a4%9b%e0%a5%87-%e0%a4%b0-%e0%a4%aa%e0%a4%bf%e0%a4%af%e0%a4%a8%e0%a4%95/ पहिले पहिले देशबन्धुको मनमा अचम्मको उत्कण्ठा जाग्ने गर्थ्यो। जताजता घुम्न पाइन्छ त्यतै त्यतै घुम्न जाने र घुम्दा देखे, सुनेका कुरामा तर्क गर्ने, नजानेका कुरामा जिज्ञासा पोख्ने जस्ता विषयमा उकत्ण्ठा हने गर्थ्यो। देशभित्र मात्र होइन, विदेश घुम्ने रहर पनि हुन्थ्यो। उसको त्यो रहर राम्ररी ती उत्कण्ठा कहिल्यै पूरा हुन पाएनन्। रहर पूरा गर्न नपाउनुको कारण उसलाई थाहा छ त्यसैले चाहँदाचाहँदै पनि उसले खैंचिएर बस्नु परेकोले पनि यो गुनासो कसैसँग पोख्ने गरेको छैन। नघुमेकै पनि होइन, खालि सोचे अनुसार भएन भन्ने मात्र हो। ऊ पढैया होइन र बन्न पनि चाहेन। त्यसैले पढ्न स्कूलतिर लाग्नुभन्दा गाई गोरु फुकाएर महारातिर जान मन लाग्थ्यो। चराउने नाममा चउरतिर वा खेततिर लगेर गाइगोरु जुधाउन मन लाग्थ्यो। यदाकदा केटा उफार्ने र लहैलहैमा हिडाउनेहरूका सुरमा लागेर गाउँ डुलेर पनि हिड्थ्यो। त्यसो गर्न पाउँदा रमाउँथ्यो पनि।

बाबुले जति पढाउन खोजे पनि पढ्न सकेन। घर-स्कूल, घाँस-दाउरा र वनपात गर्दैमा उसको किशारावस्था बित्यो। कक्षामा, त्यसै पास हुने बानी परेको थियो। पटक-पटक एउटै कक्षामा गुल्टुङ खाएपछि पढ्न मन लागेन। गाउँको स्कूल समेत छोडेर बजार र त्यहाँबाट पनि मुग्लान समेत गएको थियो। त्यति हुँदाहुँदै पनि मनमा साँचेर राखेको घुम्ने रहर पूरा गर्न नपाएको गुनासो उसको मनमा नित्य-निरन्तर रहेको थियो। यसको आभाष धेरैले पाएका थिए र पाउँदै पनि छन्।

तानसेन घुम्न जान पाउँदा उसलाई निकै रमाइलो लाग्थ्यो। त्यहाँको दरबार देखेर त्यसको अगाडिको भागमा गुडुडुडु गर्दै कराएको आवाज सुनेर कतिपटक त ऊ जिल्ल परेको थियो। के कराउँथ्यो कुन्नि त्यस्तो आवाजमा? न त सोध्ने आँट आउने गरेको थियो न बुझेको थियो बरु उत्सुकता दबाएको दबायै घर र्फकने गरेको थियो। कसैले 'आकाशवाणी ' भनेको सुनेपछि उसको चासो अझै बढेको थियो।

यो आकाशवाणी, भगवान्का पालाको कुरो, यहाँ कसरी आयो होला? यसको प्रयोग कसले गर्छ होला? भन्ने सोचेर दङ्ग पर्दापर्दै कति पटक त रातै र्छलङ्ग पारेर पनि बिताएको थियो उसले तर न भित्र गएर हेर्ने आँट गरेको थियो न सोध्ने। तैपनि उसलाई रमाइलै लागेको थियो। जेहोस् यो उत्सुकता र सोचले लामै समयसम्म निकास पाएन। नपाएरै लामो समय बिताउन परेको हो।
दिन बित्न, रहर जन्मन र थपिन पनि बेर लागेन। घरधन्दा र स्कूले टण्टाबाट मुक्त भएर कैल्ये दिल्ली, कैल्ये बर्म्बई गर्ने उसको रहर विना पैसा पूरा हुने कुरै थिएन र हुँदा पनि भएन। अरु त अरु कलकत्ते कान्छाको साथ लागेर कलकत्ता जाने रहर पनि गोरखपुरमा पाकेटमाराको जादूगरीले थाहै नपाई खल्तीका पैसा निकालिदिएपछि त्यत्तिकै सेलायो। दुई चार वर्षत बाबुलाई कमाइ गर्ने आश दिलाएरै पनि अलिअलि पैसा झार्ने गरेको हो तर बाबुले पनि कति दिन थेग्न सक्थे र? सकेनन्।

पढ्न जाँगर लागेन। घुम्न पैसाले पुगेन। दिउँसै तारा देख्न थालेपछि बल्ल उसका घैंटामा घाम लाग्यो। दिन गैसकेकाले धेरै त केही गर्न सकेन तर कसोकसो एउटा प्राइबेट जागिर हातपार्न सफल भयो। अनि त के थियो र? गाउँ, बजार कतै केही नहेरेर जागिरमा रमाउन थाल्यो। कसैको घरमा चौकीदार वा भान्छे बन्न परे पनि तयार हुनुपर्ने अवस्थाबाट गुज्रेको देशबन्धुले त्यही जागिर पाउनु पनि सानो कुरो थिएन। त्यसैले उसले त्यसलाई मामुली जागिर ठानेन। दिनरात एक गरेर मरुभूमिमा खेती उब्जाउने जाँगर गरेको थियो तर भनेजसो भएन तैपनि आरामले बाँचेको छ। फर्माएर खर्च गर्न पुग्दैन। लैनो जागिर होइन, बकेर्नो, टकेर्नो भने हुने जागिर हो भने पनि पुगेकै छ।

एकदिन मामाले सम्झाए- भाञ्जा, परिवार बढेपछि खर्च बढ्छ। कमाइ बढाउने सुर गर्नुपर्छ। यत्तिकैले त आफूले खाने कि छोराछोरी पाल्ने, पढाउने हुन्छ नि। बाबुको भनाइ अलि फरक थियो-'दायाँबायाँ नगरी सोझो मेलो गरेर पनि निर्वाह गर्न सक्नुपर्छ। पैसा कमाउन दुःख छैन। इज्जत कमाउन पो गाहारो हुन्छ त। पैसा त चर्पी सोहोरेर पनि कमिन्छ, चिहान खनेर पनि कमिन्छ तर विश्वास, मान-प्रतिष्ठा कमाउन त सजिलो हुन्न। जति पैसा कमाए पनि हीरा, मोती खाइन्न क्यारे। सुन खानेले जेसुकै गरून् हामी लसुन खाएर पुग्नेले लोभ गर्न किन पर्यो र?'

त्यसदिनदेखि ऊ सुनभन्दा लसुन जाती मानेर काम गर्दै आएको छ। अरु साथीभाइले के के गरिसके, कहाँकहाँ पुगिसके- भन्नेतिर ध्यानै नदिई आफ्नै सुरमा डटेको छ। त्यसैमा रमाइलो मानेर बाँचेको भए पनि कहिलेकाहीँ उसका मनमा गल्ती त गरिएन - भन्ने तर्क उठ्छ। बेलाबेलामा श्रीमती, छोराछोरीका गुनासा पनि सुन्छ। सुनेको सुन्यै गर्छ र नबोलेर पनि टार्छ। अरुका गगनचुम्बी महल देख्दा आश्चर्य माने पनि चित्त बुझाउन बाबुको अर्तिलाई आधार बनाएर सम्झाउने प्रयास गर्छ।

जागिर खाएको लामै समय भयो। यदाकदा गाउँ-शहर पनि गरेको छ। गर्दागर्दै र देख्दादेख्दै अचेल गाउँघरतिर पनि वातावरण बदलिएको, पैसाको मान बढेको महसुस हुन थालेको छ, तै अझसम्म ऊ विचलित भएको छैन। मूल्याङ्कनमा अलि पछि परेको अनुभव पनि हुन थालेको छ। पैसा हुनेहरूको भाउ चर्को भएको देखेर अलि नमज्जा लाग्न थालेको पनि छ तर निराश बनेको छैन। जागिरको सिलसिला चलेकै छ र ऊ त्यसमै हराएको छ। यही क्रममा बसोबासको मेसो पनि बनेको छ तर अझसम्म पनि चालढाल उस्तै छ।

सानामा गोरु जुधेको हेर्न रमाइलो मान्ने र जुधाउने देशबन्धु अचेल मान्छे जुधेको देखेर दङ्ग पर्न थालेको छ। ऊ कल्पना गर्छ, तर्क गर्छ र आफैसँग प्रश्न गर्छ- कति बलिया हुन् मान्छे? कति आँटिला हुन्? गोरुलाई बलियो बनाउन कति घस्याउनुपर्थ्यो? दिनदिनै घस्याउँदा पनि कति फेरा त हारेर आउँथ्यो काले। थाले झन् गतिछाडा थियो। बोकासँग पनि हारेर नाक काटिदिन्थ्यो कहिलेकाहीँ। त्यत्रो मिहिनेत खेरै जान्थ्यो। मान्छे लडाउनेले घस्याउन नपरेको होला र? पर्ने भए कसले घस्याएको होला? के के खान दिएको होला यिनलाई? गोरु त जोताउन, जुधाउन पर्ने हुनाले घस्याउनुपर्थ्यो। त्यही बहानामा जुधाइन्थ्यो। यिनले पनि कसैका खेतबारी जोत्नुपर्ने होला?‍ उत्तर खोज्छ। ठ्याम्मै आउन्न। जान्दैन। कसैको उत्तरको प्रतीक्षा गर्छ तर उत्तरको पनि भर पर्न सक्दैन।

वर्षौंदेखि उसको मनमा यही र यस्तै प्रश्न उठ्ने गरेकाले उसको ध्यान अन्यत्र जानै छाडेको छ। अचेल त काममा पनि उस्तो जाँगर छैन। स्वास्थ्यमा पनि उस्तो सन्तोष छैन। कहिलेकाहीँ हेरेर चित्त बुझाउन बजार जाने र दरबारको बीच तलातिर गएर ठूलाबडाले झैं झयालबाट बाहिर हेर्ने चाहना जाग्छ। भित्र चोकमा टेबुल टेनिस, ब्याडमिन्टन के के खेल्छन् भनेको सुनेर हेर्ने चाह गरेको पनि छ तर उसलाई डर लाग्छ। गेटबाट यसो भित्र चियाएर हेर्दा हप्काइ पनि खाएको यो मनमा भय रहिरहेको छ। यस्तै यस्तैमा भुलेको थियो ऊ। धेरै पढेको थिएन। धेरै कुरा जानेको थिएन। अचेल बल्ल नपढेकोमा ग्लानि हुन थालेको छ। पढ्ने, लेख्ने रहर जागेकेा छ। सोच्छ - धेरै पढेको भए ऊ पनि यो ठूलो दरबारमा जागिरे हुने थियो। बाहिरबाट आएका मान्छेका अगाडि खुट्टा हल्लाएर आफ्नो रवाफ देखाउने रहर पूरा गर्ने थियो। बाबुले बताएको मानेर हिड्दा पो यस्तो भएको हो कि?

उसले सुब्बा, खरदार, डिठ्ठा भन्ने सुनेको छ। हाकिम, सिडियो, जिसेनी भनेको पनि सुनेको छ तर तिनीहरूले के खान्छन्? कस्तो खान्छन्? थाहा पाउन सकेको छैन। राम्रा राम्रा लाएर हिडेका मान्छे देखेको छ। तिनका रहर लाग्दा पहिरन, सुकिलो पहिरन, जिउ, हेरेर दङ्ग पर्दै कल्पना गर्दै आएको छ। तिनका त नानी पनि कति राम्रा? कति माया लाग्दा? आफ्ना भुल्लामा बेरिएका कोहोमा तिनका अगाडि मान्छेका सन्तान भन्न पनि नसुहाउने। न बानी राम्रो न अनुहार। वर्षौपिच्छे जन्मने र कुरै पिच्छे लड्ने तिनको त जातै रहेछ।
आजभोलि ऊ अझ छक्क पर्न थालेको छ। अस्तिसम्मको त्यो ठूलो दरबार एक्कासि गर्ल्यामगुर्लुम्म ढलेको उसका आफ्नै आँखाले देखेका छन्। पुलिस, सेना र ठूल्ठूला पर्खाल समेतले घेरेर राखेको यत्रो दरबार यसरी जल्छ र ढल्छ भन्ने उसका कल्पनामा पनि थिएन तर दैव लागेपछि के लाग्दो रहेछ र? रातभरि पर्रर गोली छरेको सुनेको थियो। पीरले उसलाई निद्रै लागेन। गोली कता चल्यो कल्पनै गर्न नसकेपनि उत्सुकता लागिरहृयो।
बिहानै उठेर घेरा मात्र भएको टोपीसित हेर्न जाँदा दरबार त साँच्चै नै जलिरहेको देखेर उसलाई पर्नु पीर पर्यो। कुनै दिन दरबारमाथि गएर हेर्ने उसको रहर चकानाचूर भएर गयो। त्यो बिर्सेर सोच्न थाल्यो- 'बिचरा हाकिम साहेव भोलिदेखि कहाँ बस्नुहोला?' उसलाई हाकिम साहेबको पीर लागेर आयो। हाकिमनी साहेबको के गति भयो होला? उहाँले भात पकाउने ठाउँ पनि त जल्यो होला नि। नानी बाबु कता बसेका होलान्? देशबन्धु हाकिम साहेबको यो अप्ठेरोमा साह्रै पिरियो। यत्रा पुलिसले के गरेर बसे होलान्? यति आगो त माटो हालेर पनि निभाउन सकिन्थ्यो। पुलिसको काममा शङ्का गर्यो उसले। आफूले सानामा गुँड चोरेर टौवामुनि लुकाएको, बत्ती बालेर खोज्दा टौवामै आगो सल्किएको र निभाएको सम्झयो। बटौलीमा मोटरले पानी हालेर आगो निभाएको सम्झयो। टेसनभरि त्यत्रा मोटर छन् किन निभाएनन् त आगो?

उसको मनको खुल्दुली कसैगरी पनि मेटिएन। टोल-छिमेकका केटाकेटी घुम्दै आए। जानेबुझेकाले हेरे र राति माओवादीले दरबार घेरेको, प्रहरी र सेनाका जवानले सकेसम्म वीरतापूर्वक लडेको र धेरै जनाले वीरगति पनि पाएको घटनाको बेलिबिस्तार लाए। उसले पनि थाहा पायो- जति लडे पनि केही सीप लागेनछ। हातहतियारै सकिएपछि के लाग्थ्यो र? अनि त के माओवादीको हुल भित्र पसेर एकएक जनालाई सोधपूछ गर्न थालेछ। सिडियो, डिएसपी आदि लाई समाउने र लिएर जाने उनीहरूको योजना रहेछ तर अचम्म के भएछ भने भित्र एकजना पनि सिडियो, एलडिओ, सभापति, डिएसपी भेटाएनछन्। जता गयो उतै पियन, भान्छे। जसलाई सोध्यो उही पियन, भान्छे। माओवादी पनि दङ्ग परेछन्- पियनै पियन, भान्छे भान्छे मात्र भएको दरबार देखेर।

सुन्दै र बुझ्दै गएपछि देशबन्धुका मनमा शङ्का जाग्यो-हाकिम हाकिमनी साहेब खै त?‍ त्यत्रा हाकिम बस्ने ठाउँमा गएर पनि किन एकजना पनि हाकिम नभेटाएका त? के दरबारमा बस्नेहरू हाकिम थिएनन्? पुलिसका हाकिम, सेनाका हाकिम, अड्डा अदालतका हाकिम, नागरिकता बनाउने हाकिम, बाटो हेर्ने हाकिम, वन हेर्ने हाकिम, बिजुलीका हाकिम, बजारका हाकिम- अरुबेला त्यहाँ बसेका मान्छेलाई हाकिम भनेको सुनेको देशबन्धु अहिले जिल्ल परेको छ। उसका मनमा पीर छ यत्रो दरबार खालि पियन र भान्छेको मात्र पो रहेछ त। त्यसैले कसैले पनि जोगाउन खोजेनन् होला। कसैलाई पनि वास्ता भएन होला। भान्छे, पियन भनेका त हामी जस्तै त हुन् नि। तिनलाई जोगाउने को हुन्छ र? तिनको शरीर, तिनको सम्पत्तिको सुरक्षा गर्ने खाँचो कसलाई हुन्छ र? त्यसै भएर त होला तिनको दरबार जल्दा पनि जोगाउन कोही अघि सरेन। कुनै मोटर पानी लिएर निभाउन आएन। घाँटीमा रुमाल बाँधेका, हरियो कपडा लाएका, पाखुरामा राता ठाडा र तेर्सा चिनो भएका कपडा बाँधेका कोही आएनन्। ठिकै छ, एउटा हाकिम नभएको, एउटा सभापति नभएको यो जाबो दरबार, भान्छे र पियनको दरबार जलेर के भो त? यो जाबो भान्छे र पियनको दरबार कसले, किन जोगाउनु पर्थ्यो र जोगाओस् त? त्यसैले आगो लागेको हुन सक्छ। लागेका आगो पनि ननिभेको, ननिभाइएको हुन सक्छ।

At the forefront of the SEO check and balance system is the leading search engine Google. They have pretty much set the standard for technology in search engine algorithms that can track the relevancy of a website to its content and SEO efforts. Their ranking system remains one of the most popular methods of determining a web site's quality because of their diligent efforts of weeding out the bad apples that have little to offer a consumer other than skilled manipulation and the ability to 'play the system' to their advantage.

Of course taking advantage of the system makes perfect sense from a business standpoint but from the search engine outlook of wanting to provide the best quality sites on their results for the viewer it can become difficult to differentiate the site that is good quality wise from the site that is good because it has a very manipulative operator at the helm.

Because the rules for SEO evolve and change rapidly the mystique of search engine optimization continues to confuse website owners. Many people build their websites thinking the only SEO tool they need is key word density. While key words are an important aspect in SEO they are not the only means to an end, they are simply a part of the puzzle. There is another tried and true method of SEO that is as relevant today as it was at the start of the concept of web 2.0 marketing and that is back linking. While back linking remains one of the most successful ways to get your site to rank high on the search engines it also has undergone some changes making the types of links important so that search engines do not penalize a site for bad incoming links.

The term "back link" refers to an outside link on another site that points to yours. In the past any link from another site would have a positive impact on your site by the search engines. Because there were so many gimmicks developed in the last few years to garner massive back links to websites such as link farms, and irrelevant reciprocal linking Google began to develop a way to weed out links that were purchased, or had little meaning or relevancy.

Even though back linking is used to manipulate search engine popularity there are many very legitimate reasons for using the system of back linking. Finding web sites that have a common interest to your own who are willing to place your link on their site can get you extra exposure. When their visitors come to their site they will see your link and likely visit your site as well.

The fact that onsite links like that have such a perceived relevance to the visitor makes them a valuable marketing tool, but that perception of quality is also why Google works so hard to be sure they are real quality links. You will get higher ranking on a search engine for a number of truly appropriate back linking partnerships however if the sites linking to you do not share any common information or products Google will penalize you for the link. There are new programs in the works with Google where your site could even be devalued if the site that links to you is determined to be bad quality so it is important who you choose to link to, and also who links to you.

In the past many web site owners would open up multiple websites with the sole purpose of promoting one principle site. They would use the extra websites as a means of placing back links to the main site. Google now watches for sites that are created with the same IP address. Creating a large number of websites on the same IP address and putting back links on them to quickly develop a number of links is known as link bombing. That is not to say that you cannot ever link to your own website from a site you own. If there is a reason to show your visitors some additional information a few well placed back links are fine. It is when there are many links from each site all pointing to a single 'main' site that the search engines look at them suspiciously.

The system Google is working hard to put in place to discount a link from a bad site is why it is very important to know who is linking to you and if their site stacks up to your standards. It is no longer true that all inbound links to your site are good links. There are very good tools available online for free that can show you who is linking to you. If you find a site that is linking to you that you feel is questionable in terms of how they relate to your website either in information or product you should contact the webmaster of the site and demand that they remove the link to your website to avoid being penalized by the search engines.

Probably the best way to obtain a back link to your site is through anchor text. That is when you have another website with content that is relevant to your own (relevancy is ALWAYS important) including your site in the actual content of their site with a hyperlink inside the text. These back links are valued much higher than a simple sidebar link as long as they appear in the text in a way that has a fluid and meaningful association with the content of the article. There are several ways to get such back links.

Providing articles to content sites with your link built into the article is one method. If you write very compelling information on your website is another as someone else with a similar site may wish to point it out on their own. You may not even realize they are doing it unless they tell you about it. This is one of the main reasons it is important to keep an eye on who is back linking to you. While the majority of those types of links are wonderful and you should thank the site owner for their inclusion, if you feel the site that is linking to you does not meet your standards, have similar information, or the content is not relevant to your site you should definitely ask them to remove your link.

Back linking is an extremely important aspect of SEO development and it is something you need to understand well in order to implement and control it properly. There are many secrets and mysteries in the SEO world that diligent study can clear up. Keeping your website in good standing with the search engines and popular with your visitors is the best way to ensure a vital and profitable future for your business online.

To a large extent the Herald Sun's information is a reality, however, it should also have been noted in the article that these situations occur because of the the court system operates. So, rather than accommodating a blame game between courts, DHS and police it would be great if all these parties could come together to think out real solutions, keeping in mind the importance of well considered decisions and the need for a safe and comforting environment for children experiencing significant upheavel and stress.

This article speaks of a survey that tells that Boomers are feeling younger and taking care of themselves.

Boomer Basics: Six Steps To A Healthier Life

One way to cut the clutter in our writing is to eliminate repetitious expressions. Because we so often see and hear redundancies (such as "free gifts" and "foreign imports"), they can be easy to overlook. Therefore, when editing our work, we should be on the lookout for needless repetition and be ready to eliminate expressions that add nothing to what has already been said.

Now does this mean that repetition must be avoided at all costs, or that good writers never repeat themselves? Certainly not. As discussed in Coherence Strategies, careful repetition of key words and sentence structures can help to make our writing clear and coherent. And in Effective Rhetorical Strategies of Repetition, we consider how writers may rely on repetition to emphasize or clarify a key idea.

The article contains an extensive list of examples of redundancies.

Read the full article.

The site is going to be constantly evolving and changing.  I'll be blogging there on mentoring, and I've written close to 100 articles on the site. There will be audio teaching, teleseminars, book and resource reviews, mentoring programs for sale... you get the idea.   

The focus is mentoring but there is plenty of material just generally suited to spiritual transformation, spiritual growth, to exploring spiritual disciplines, to theology, and favorite writers (classical and modern).

The site is a membership site, with the actual content online (as opposed to promoting things we send you to buy).  A different model but one I really like for this one-stop mentoring source.

We'd love feedback on the site.  And we'd love to know if you find links not working or typos or anything.  It slow-launched today and will have a more official launch before too long.  But everything's there, and I feel like I've given birth.

Check it out!

I would say that I am one who is 'emerging' to something new within the Christian culture.  To be honest, even though I'm in youth ministry, I don't quite understand the whole entire movement.  I know there are extremes to both sides of the emerging spectrum - both going too far in their approach to changing the face of Christianity.  In any case, if I were to wear any type of an emerging label, I would have to say that I fall within the middle of things.

Before I go any further, I want to make it very clear that I love the Church.  I say these things not to bash the Church but to call it to repentance and a reformation-of-sorts in getting back to the Word of GOD.  My love for the Church drives my passion to help transform the Church back into the image of CHRIST, as it was first established in Acts 2.  But somewhere between the end of Acts and now, we have lost the purpose of Church and the reason for being a Christian - again, in my opinion.

I am one who calls the Church to change their stance and perception to and within society.  The Church doors where made to stay open at all times and never close to those willing to enter in.  The Church has become corrupt in many ways, and very dysfunctional in many other ways.  Many Church traditions are not of GOD, and therefore should be done away with.  Church denominations, in my opinion, have no purpose or biblical authority, and only serve to separate Christians into groups who lobby against each other over petty issues.

The Church seems to have thrown out the sinners, but have kept the prideful and ignorant.  It seems more and more that the Church speaks one things, does another, and yet in some cases, believes something totally different.  Needless to say, the Church is full of hypercrites and things carry on as if nothing is wrong.  It raises a fuss about abortion issues, but does nothing about genocides in third-world countries; likewise, it protests the war on Iraq, but does nothing about the homeless families living down the street.  Sin has been replaced with grace, and grace has been replaced with stimpulations.  Anymore it seems that the Church is being led by the world, instead of the world being led by the Church.  Unless we have totally forgotten and dismissed the entire message of JESUS.

And even in saying that, Church leaders openly debate about doctrine and scripture, calling for a new gospel of sorts to live by - it appears the one we have now has somehow become outdated.  From debates about Creation days to issues of Inerrancy, and everything in between, the leaders of Christinaity battle each other and in the process further the wedge between CHRIST and HIS people.  False hope is being given in place of authentic truth, and yet both sides claim their way trumps the other.  Meanwhile, the message of CHRIST slowly becomes irrelevant to a culture that is looking for something to believe in.

Does the Church and it's Christian inhabitants need to emerge into something new?  YES, but not at the cost of forsaking biblical truth for the sake of looking like the good guy in all of this.

According to Mark Driscoll's article, Navigating the Emerging Church Highway, in the Christian Research Journal (September 2008), there are four roads on this 'highway' of emergence: emerging evangelicals, house church evangelicals, emerging reformers, and emergent liberals.  Here is an audio interview with Driscoll about the article, and below are some highlights from the print article.

Emerging Evangelicals "are interested in updating worship styles, preaching styles, and church leadership structures" within the Church in order to be more "relevant to postmodern-minded people" (p 14).  Some examples of these evangelicals are Dan Kimball, Chris Seay, and Don Miller.

House Church Evangelicals "are dissatisfied with the current forms of church", calling Christians on the complacent carpet, and "propose more informal, incarnational, and organic church forms such as" house churches (p 14).  Some examples of these evangelicals are Shane Claiborne, Michael Frost, and George Barna.

Emerging Reformers "see the postmodern world as an opportunity for the church to" continue the "cry of the Protestant Reformation", being "charismatic in terms of spiritual gifts and worship and aggressive in church planting" as well as being passionate about Reformed theological traditions (p 14).  Some examples of these reformers are Billy Graham, John Calvin, John Stott, John Piper, Martin Luther, Darrin Patrick, and Mark Driscoll.  I would also say that I favor this 'emerging lane' more than the other two.

There is nothing wrong with the above three lanes of emergence.  As long as we drive upon the foundations of CHRIST'S truth and grace.

The final lane of the emerging highway is the one I fear is becoming more and more popular within the Christian culture.  While their idea and premise is good and needed, the means of how they are going about it compromises the very reason for taking such action.  Emergent Liberals are ones who critique "key evangelical doctrines" in the name of peace and tolerance.  The doctrine of GOD, the Trinity, Biblical revelation, the deity of CHRIST, and sin overall (especially in regards to the practice of homosexuality) are called into question as being irrelevant, out dated and too harsh.  Some examples of these leaders are Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, and Tony Jones.

I do highly recommend reading the article and listening to the interview for more insights about these particular lanes.

So why bring this all up?  Because we need to be talking about these things.  The Church needs to begin to move back to it's roots (Acts 2), and from there we need to dig ourselves deep into the TRUTH of GOD'S Word.  I fear we have gotten far away from our beginnings, and if we keep traveling down these roads the generations following us will be led further away from their FATHER GOD, and in the end we'll have no one else to blame but ourselves.

I feel an urgent plea from GOD to close down the Emergent Liberal lane of traffic and help our brothers and sisters to merge back onto the truth that has called us forth to be such examples in a dark and saltless world.  six11 ministries stands on the truth of GOD'S Word, and within the strong belief that we are one in CHRIST, the bride of CHRIST, and that HE does not share HIS glory with any other.  That CHRIST has called us into a pure relationship with HIM, and to do otherwise is to forsake the convenant HE made with us on Calvary.

I guess the only question that needs to be asked of yourself is this: which lane are you driving in, and which lane will you continue to drive in?

Drinking wine for a good cause, does it get any better? A friend of my passed this story along to me, and I thought I would share it with my wine drinking friends. Fall Creek Vineyards in Texas released two new wines with a portion of the profits going to restore the Alamo in San Antonio.

“We’re native Texans and the Alamo is a national treasure,” said Susan Auler, owner of Fall Creek Vineyards. The reasons for selling the wines are twofold: “We want to help raise awareness of the need to be good stewards for the Alamo and to raise money for it,” she says.

The released wines are a 2007 Sauvignon Blanc and a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, and are affordably priced at $9.99. The only catch to getting one of these bottles, individuals must travel to Texas. Even their online store posts for sale in Texas only.

The Cabernet Sauvignon presents a medium body with cherry and dark berry fruits. While, the Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and floral with citrus fruits that indulge the palate. Both of these wines can be found in HEB stores throughout the state, restaurant wine lists or on the Fall Creek website.

Charges of this kind have been a frequent feature of post-Soviet political life in the non-Russian republics of the Russian Federation, and regardless of their validity, they have often been employed to discredit national movements, the incumbent leaders of these republics, and even the non-Russians who form their titular nationalities.

Consequently, it is critical to try to distinguish between those nationalist groups that really exist and those that are used by leaders to promote their own interests as well as to recognize that some groups can and do move from one category to another depending on circumstances.

And it is equally important to recognize that in most but fortunately not all cases, information about separatist groups in the Russian Federation now resembles that about medieval Christian heresies in the Middle Ages: most of the information available comes from their opponents, a not entirely disinterested source.

In an article published in Moscow’s “Nezavisimaya gazeta” yesterday, journalist Yan Gordeyev reports that Bashkir leaders opposed to republic President Murtaza Rakhimov say that Kuk Bure – Bashkir for “Grey Wolves” – is not a real movement but rather a tool of Rakhimov to retain power (www.ng.ru/ngregions/2008-10-06/9_bashkiria.html?scroll).

A clear example of that, the Gordeyev article continues, was the declaration Kuk Bure made a month ago following Moscow’s recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Kuk Bure leaders Azat Sal’manov and Timur Mukhatorov complained that the Russian authorities were guilty of double standards having failed to recognize Bashkortostan.

Because that statement, which appeared on a large number of Middle Volga websites, but also on various Bashkir and Middle Volga portals, appeared to suggest that the events in the Caucasus were having a broader impact, it attracted the attention of several leading international news outlets, including the “New York Times.”

But now “Nezavisimaya gazeta” has taken pains to suggest that the Kuk Bure declaration is not a reaction to events in Georgia but rather that it reflects the political needs of the government of President Rakhimov, who many Moscow news outlets have suggested may soon be replaced.

Ramil’ Bignov, the head of the Coordination Council of the United Opposition of Bashkiria, told the Moscow paper that “behind the Kuk Bure movement stand people from the clan of President Rakhimov and the activation of this movement is directly connected with the shaky position of the head of the republic.”

According to Bignov, “Rakhimov is trying to frighten Moscow into thinking that there is an explosion of separatist attitudes in Bashkiria and to present himself as the single force capable of restraining that explosion” -- even though the group calling for independence reportedly numbers only a few dozen people.

Kuk Bure – the name means “Gray Wolves” in Bashkir – emerged several years ago, according to its organizers, to protect “the ordinary Bashkir from the arbitrary actions of the powers that be, migrants who are organized in criminal communities and chauvinistically inclined representatives of the federal government.”

Frequently, the Kuk Bure group organized large, pro-Rakhimov demonstrations and also protests to counter anti-Rakhimov meetings by the more moderate opposition. And Gordeyev suggests this pattern, plus the fact that Kuk Bure became active “every time” when Rakhimov was having problems with Moscow, demonstrates what it is really about.
“In the opinion of political analysts [whom Gordeyev does not name], the powers that be in the national subjects of Russia create and support organizations of national separatists so as to be able to use them as an instrument to frighten the federal authorities,” a phenomenon known as “administered nationalism.”

This system was pioneered by Tatarstan President Mintimir Shaimiyev, the “Nezavisimaya gazeta” writer continues, and is now being used by the Bashkir leader. Indeed, Gordeyev cites the words of RFE/RL analyst Karim Yakushev that “practically behind any nationalist organization in Bashkiria stand people close to President Rakhimov.”

There is no doubt that Rakhimov and other republic leaders have exploited the existence of groups like Kuk Bure, and it is even likely that they sometimes have played a role in helping them emerge and operate. But there are three reasons why that may not be the reason for dismissing them in so sweeping a fashion as Gordeyev suggests.

First, such groups do reflect the attitudes of some people in each of these republics, and they are not as “anonymous” as Gordeyev claims. While he may not have been able to “make contact with members of this organization, he could have but does not appear to have made use of its extraordinarily large and useful website, kyk-byre.ru.

Second, the support Kuk Bure in Kyrgyzstan and similar groups in other non-Russian republics give to republic leaders does not prove that they are puppets of those leaders but may show that they are simply making the not unreasonable calculation that these leaders are, at a time when Moscow is tightening the screws, the best such groups can hope for.

And third, it is important to remember that exactly the same charges were leveled against national movements in the union republics during Gorbachev’s times. While some of them did have ties with or were exploited by republic leaders, these groups often played a key role not only in overthrowing those leaders but in dismembering the Soviet Union.

Paul Goble

Source: Window on Eurasia

The Ancient Celtic Fire Festivals

There appear to have been four major holy days celebrated by the Paleopagan Druids, possibly throughout the Celtic territories: Samhain, Oimelc, Beltane & Lughnasadh (in one set of Irish-based modern spellings). Four additional holy (or “High”) days (Winter Solstice or “Midwinter,” Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice or “Midsummer,” and Fall Equinox), which are based on Germanic or other Indo-European cultures, are also celebrated in the Neopagan Druid calendar, along with others based on mainstream holidays (visit the linked essay for details).

The most common practice for the calculation of Samhain, Oimelc, Beltane and Lughnasadh has been, for the last several centuries, to use the civil calendar days or eves of November 1st, February 1st, May 1st and August 1st, respectively. Since we have conflicting evidence on how the Paleopagan Druids calculated these dates, modern Neopagans just use whichever method is most convenient. This means, of course, that we aren’t all doing anything uniformly on any given night, which fits perfectly with the Neopagan saying that, “organizing Pagans is like herding cats.” It doesn’t match the Evil Conspiracy theories — which have us all marching to a strict drumbeat in perfect Satanic unison — at all.

These four major holy days have been referred to as “fire festivals” for at least the last hundred years or so, because (1) to the ancient Celts, as with all the Indo-European Paleopagans, fire was a physical symbol of divinity, holiness, truth, and beauty; (2) fires play important roles in the traditional customs associated with these festivals; and (3) several early Celtic scholars called them that. Whether in Ireland or India, among the Germans or the Hittites, sacred fires were apparently kindled by the Indo-European Paleopagans on every important religious occasion. To this very day, among Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholics, you can’t have a satisfying ritual without a few candles being lit — of course, the Fundamentalists consider them Heathen too! Samhain or “Samhuinn” is pronounced “sow-” (as in female pig) “-en” (with the neutral vowel sound) — not “Sam Hain” — because “mh” in the middle of an Irish word is a “w” sound (don’t ask me why, it’s just Irish). Known in Modern Irish as Lá Samhna, in Welsh as Nos Galen-Gaeaf (that is, the “Night of the Winter Calends”), and in Manx as Laa Houney (Hollantide Day), Sauin or Souney, Samhain is often said to have been the most important of the fire festivals, because (according to most Celtic scholars) it may have marked the Celtic New Year. At the least, Samhain was equal in importance to Beltane and shared many symbolic characteristics.Samhain was the original festival that the Western Christian calendar moved its “All Saints’ Day” to (Eastern Christians continue to celebrate All Saints’ Day in the spring, as the Roman Christians had originally). Since the Celts, like many cultures, started every day at sunset of the night before, Samhain became the “evening” of “All Hallows” (“hallowed” = “holy” = “saint”) which was eventually contracted into “Hallow-e’en” or the modern “Halloween.”

Whether it was the Celtic New Year or not, Samhain was the beginning of the Winter or Dark Half of the Year (the seasons of Geimredh=Winter and Earrach=Spring) as Beltane was the beginning of the Summer or Light Half of the Year (the seasons of Samradh=Summer and Foghamhar=Fall). The day before Samhain is the last day of summer (or the old year) and the day after Samhain is the first day of winter (or of the new year). Being “between” seasons or years, Samhain was (and is) considered a very magical time, when the dead walk among the living and the veils between past, present and future may be lifted in prophecy and divination.

Many important mythological events are said to have occured on that day. It was on a Samhain that the Nemedians captured the terrible Tower of Glass built by the evil Formorians; that the Tuatha De Danann later defeated the Formors once and for all; and that many other events of a dramatic or prophetic nature in Celtic myth happened. Many of these events had to do with the temporary victory of the forces of darkness over those of light, signaling the beginning of the cold and dark half of the year.

There is some evidence to indicate that three days were spent celebrating this festival. Philip Carr-Gomm, Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, speaking of both Paleopagan and Mesopagan Druids in England, had this to say about it in his Elements of the Druid Tradition:

Samhuinn, from 31 October to 2 November was a time of no-time. Celtic society, like all early societies, was highly structured and organised, everyone knew their place. But to allow that order to be psychologically comfortable, the Celts knew that there had to be a time when order and structure were abolished, when chaos could reign. And Samhuinn, was such a time. Time was abolished for the three days of this festival and people did crazy things, men dressed as women and women as men. [This happened at Beltane too — IB] Farmers’ gates were unhinged and left in ditches, peoples’ horses were moved to different fields, and children would knock on neighbours’ doors for food and treats in a way that we still find today, in a watered-down way, in the custom of trick-or-treating on Hallowe’en.

But behind this apparent lunacy, lay a deeper meaning. The Druids knew that these three days had a special quality about them. The veil between this world and the World of the Ancestors was drawn aside on these nights, and for those who were prepared, journeys could be made in safety to the ’other side’. The Druid rites, therefore, were concerned with making contact with the spirits of the departed, who were seen as sources of guidance and inspiration rather than as sources of dread. The dark moon, the time when no moon can be seen in the sky, was the phase of the moon which ruled this time, because it represents a time in which our mortal sight needs to be obscured in order for us to see into the other worlds.

The dead are honoured and feasted, not as the dead, but as the living spirits of loved ones and of guardians who hold the root-wisdom of the tribe. With the coming of Christianity, this festival was turned into Hallowe’en (31 October), All Hallows [All Saints Day] (1 November), and All Souls Day (2 November). Here we can see most clearly the way in which Christianity built on the Pagan foundations it found rooted in these isles. Not only does the purpose of the festival match with the earlier one, but even the unusual length of the festival is the same.

The Christian Church was unable to get the people to stop celebrating this holiday, so they simply sprinkled a little holy water on it and gave it new names, as they did with other Paleopagan holidays and customs. This was a form of calendrical imperialism, co-opting Paleopagan sacred times, as they had Paleopagan sacred places (most if not all of the great cathedrals of Europe were built on top of earlier Paleopagan shrines and sacred groves). So when Fundamentalists come to your local school board and try to get Halloween removed from the public schools because “it’s a Pagan holiday,” they are perfectly correct. Of course, Valentine’s Day/Lupercalia, Easter/Eostre, and Christmas/Yule also have many Paleopagan elements associated with their dating and/or symbols, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and others have pointed out for decades. So if we decide to rid the public schools of all holidays that have Pagan aspects to them, there won’t be many left for the kids to enjoy.

I find it amusing that American teens and pre-teens seem to have instinctively expanded their seasonal celebrations to add another night before Halloween, one on which they commit various acts of harmless (or unfortunately not) vandalism, including pranks on neighbors. If we assume that All Saints Day was moved to co-opt the central day of Samhain which was associated originally with the Gods and Goddesses of the Celts, and All Souls Day was supposed to co-opt the worship of the Ancestors, then the modern “Cabbage Night,” “Hell Night” (boy does that push the Fundamentalists’ buttons!), or simply “Mischief Night” (which used to be April 30th — the night before May Day — in Germany — there’s that Beltane/Samhain connection again) would correspond to a celebration of the often mischievous Nature Spirits. This then nicely covers the Indo-European pattern of the “Three Kindreds” of Deities, Ancestors, and Nature Spirits.

Trick or Treat

Where does the custom of “trick or treating” come from? Is it really ancient, a few centuries old, or relatively modern? Let’s look at the evidence:

Kevin Danaher, in his remarkable book The Year in Ireland, has a long discussion of the traditional Irish celebrations of this festival. In one section on “Hallow-E’en Guisers,” he says:

A familiar sight in Dublin city on and about October 31 is that of small groups of children, arrayed in grotesque garments and with faces masked or painted, accosting the passers-by or knocking on house doors with the request: “Help the Hallow E’en party! Any apples or nuts?” in the expectation of being given small presents; this, incidentally, is all the more remarkable as it is the only folk custom of the kind which has survived in the metropolis.

A couple of generations ago, in parts of Dublin and in other areas of Ireland, the groups would have consisted of young men and grown boys, who often travelled considerable distances in their quest, with consequently greater reward. The proceeds were usually expended on a “Hallow E’en party,” with music, dancing, feasting and so on, at some chosen house, and not merely consumed on the spot as with the children nowadays…

Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge, ii, 370, states that in parts of Count Waterford, Hallow E’en is called oidhche na h-aimléise, “The night of mischief or con.” It was a custom in the county — it survives still in places — for the “boys” to assemble in gangs, and, headed by a few horn-blowers who were always selected for their strength of lungs, to visit all the farmers’ houses in the district and levy a sort of blackmail, good humouredly asked for, and as cheerfully given. They afterward met at some rendezvous, and in merry revelry celebrated the festival of Samhain in their own way. When the distant winding of the horns was heard, the bean a’ tigh [woman of the house] prepared for their reception, and got ready the money or builín (white bread) to be handed to them through the half-opened door. Whoever heard the wild scurry of their rush through a farm-yard to the kitchen-door — there was always a race amongst them to get possession of the latch — will not question the propriety of the word aimiléis [mischief] applied to their proceedings. The leader of the band chaunted a sort of recitative in Gaelic, intoning it with a strong nasal twang to conceal his identity, in which the good-wife was called upon to do honour to Samhain… “A contributor to An Claidheamh Soluis, 15 Dec. 1906, 5, gives a example of these verses, from Ring, County Waterford:

‘Anocht Oidhche Shamhna, a Mhongo Mango. Sop is na fuinneogaibh; dúntar na díirse. Eirigh id’ shuidhe, a bhean an tighe. Téirigh siar go banamhail, tar aniar go flaitheamhail. Tabhair leat ceapaire aráin agus ime ar dhath do leacain fhéin; a mbeidh léim ghirrfiadh dhe aoirde ann ages ciscéim choiligh dhe im air. Tabhair chugham peigín de bhainne righin, mín, milis a mbeidh leawhnach ’n-a chosa agus uachtar ’n-a mhullaigh; go mbeidh sé ag imtheacht ’n-a chnocaibh agus ag teacht Ôn-a shléibhtibh, agus badh ó leat go dtachtfadh sé mé, agus mo chreach fhada níor bhaoghal dom.’

‘(“Oh Mongo Mango, Hallow E’en tonight. Straw in the windows and close the doors. Rise up housewife, go inside womanly, return hospitably, bring with you a slice of bread and butter the colour of your own cheek, as high as a hare’s jump with a cock’s step of butter on it. Bring us a measure of thick fine sweet milk, with new milk below and cream above, coming in hills and going in mountains; you may think it would choke me, but, alas! I am in no danger.”)’

Wow, that chant sure sounds scary, doesn’t it?

As I mentioned before, because it was an “in-between” kind of holiday, spirits (nice or nasty), ancestors (ditto), or mortals (ditto?) were thought to be more easily able to pass from This World to the Other World and vice versa. It was also a perfect time for divination or “fortune telling” (Danaher talks about all of this at great length). While some monotheists may consider these activities to be “evil,” most religions in human history have considered them perfectly normal.

Before and after the arrival of Christianity, early November was when people in Western and Northern Europe finished the last of their harvesting, butchered their excess stock (so the surviving animals would have enough food to make it through the winter), and held great feasts. They invited their ancestors to join them, decorated family graves, and told ghost stories — all of which may strike some monotheists today as spiritually erroneous, but which hardly seems “evil” — and many modern polytheists do much the same (though few of us have herds to thin). So where does “trick or treating” come in?

According to Tad Tuleja’s essay, “Trick or Treat: Pre-Texts and Contexts,” in Santino’s previously mentioned anthology, Halloween, modern trick or treating (primarily children going door-to-door, begging for candy) began fairly recently, as a blend of several ancient and modern influences. I’m mixing Tuleja’s material here with my own insights, see his essay for details of his opinions, which I’ll mark with italics to separate from mine:

• At various times and places in the Middle Ages, customs developed of beggers, then children, asking for “soul cakes” on All Souls Day.
  
• At some other Medieval times and places, costumed holiday parading, singing and dancing at May Day, Halloween, and Yule (with different themes, of course, though sometimes with similar characters, such as the “Hobby Horse”) became popular in Ireland and the British Isles. Originally these costumed celebrants were adults and older teens, who would go from house to house (as Danaher describes above) demanding beer and munchies in exchange for their performances, which mixed Pagan and Christian symbols and themes. While many Neopagans may think these folk customs go all the way back to Paleopagan times, they are actually fairly modern (see Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in England, by Ronald Hutton).
• To the medieval householders, of course, being thought stingy (especially in front of the visiting ancestors and faery folk at Halloween) would be very bad luck, as it would violate the ancient laws of hospitality. Perhaps there were some inebriated paraders who might have decided to come back later in the night and play tricks upon those who hadn’t rewarded them properly, but any references to such are fairly modern.
• In 1605 c.e., Guy Fawkes’ abortive effort to blow up the British Parliament on November 5th, led to the creation of “Guy Fawkes Day,” celebrated by the burning of effigies of Fawkes in bonfires and children dressing in rags to beg for money for fireworks. As the decades rolled by, this became thoroughly entwined with Halloween celebrations and customs. This is not surprising, considering that bonfires were a central part of the old Samhain/Halloween tradition, and that Nov. 5th was actually closer to the astrological date for Samhain (thought by some Neopagans to be the original dating method) than Nov. 1st was! In the year 2006, the movie V for Vendetta introduced the image of Guy Fawkes to millions of Americans.
• In 19th Century America, rural immigrants from Ireland and Scotland kept gender-specific Halloween customs from their homelands: girls stayed indoors and did divination games, while the boys roamed outdoors engaging in almost equally ritualized pranks, which their elders “blamed” on the spirits being abroad that night.
  
• Also in mid-19th Century New York, children called “ragamuffins” would dress in costumes and beg for pennies from adults on Thanksgiving Day.
  
• Things got nastier with increased urbanization and poverty in the 1930’s. Adults began casting about for ways to control the previously harmless but now increasingly expensive and dangerous vandalism of the “boys.” Towns and cities began organizing “safe” Halloween events and householders began giving out bribes to the neighborhood kids as a way to distract them away from their previous anarchy. The ragamuffins disappeared or switched their date to Halloween. The term “trick or treat,” finally appears in print around 1939!

Pranks became even nastier in the 1980’s, with widespread poverty existing side-by-side with obscene greed. Unfortunately, as criminologists, military recruiters and historians know, the most dangerous animals on our planet are unemployed teenaged males. Bored kids in a violence-saturated culture slip all too easily from harmless “decoration” of their neighbors’ houses with shaving cream and toilet paper to serious vandalism and assaults. Blaming Halloween for this is rather like blaming the Fourth of July for the many firecracker injuries that happen every year (and which are also combatted by publicly sponsored events).

By the mid- 20th century in Ireland and Britain, it seems only the smaller children would dress up and parade to the neighbors’ houses, do little performances, then ask for a reward. American kids seem to remember this with their chants of “Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg,” and other classic tunes done for no reason other than because “it’s traditional.”

To a great extent, the costumes worn by modern trick-or-treaters represent, as they might have in older times, an effort to entertain, amuse and/or scare the neighbors, and to compete a bit with others in beauty, ugliness, humor, scariness, and costuming skill.

What was Halloween in America like forty years ago? Read Lady Phae’s Halloween and Me essay on my website for some heartwarming memories.

Why Bother to save Halloween? is an essay by Richard Seltzer, which has yet more reasons why it’s important to keep the custom of trick or treating alive:

Halloween is a time that reconfirms the social bond of a neighborhood (particularly the bond between strangers of different generations) by a ritual act of trade. Children go to lengths to dress up and overcome their fear of strangers in exchange for candy. And adults buy the candy and overcome their distrust of strange children in exchange for the pleasure of seeing their wild outfits and vicariously reliving their own adventures as children.

In other words, the true value and importance of Halloween comes not from parading in costumes in front of close friends and family, but from this interchange with strangers, exorcising our fears of strangers, reaffirming our social bond with the people of the neighborhood who we rarely, if ever, see the rest of the year.

What about Those Evil Symbols?

Several correspondents have said, “If the holiday isn’t evil why are there so many evil images associated with it” such as ghosts, skeletons, black cats, ugly witches, demons, monsters, and Jack O’Lanterns? The answer, of course, is that most of these images aren’t evil, and the ones that are negative were added by people opposed to the holiday.

Ghosts have always made perfect sense, for Samhain was the festival where the Gates Between the Worlds were open wide and departed friends and family could cross over in either direction. As I mentioned earlier, people invited their ancestors to join them in celebration. The only ones who would cower in fear would be people who had wronged someone dead and who therefore feared retribution of some sort. The often repeated tale that the dead roamed the earth after dying until the next Samhain, when they could then pass over to the afterlife, makes no sense in either Celtic Paleopagan or Medieval Christian beliefs, so is probably fairly modern. It is possible that any “earth-bound” spirits needing assistance to pass over might have received it at this time, but this wouldn’t have been considered necessary for most of the dead.

Samhain was the time of year when the herds were culled. That means that farmers and herders killed the old, sick or weak animals, as well as others they didn’t think would make it through the winter with that year’s available food. Prior to the last few centuries in the West, most people lived with death as a common part of life, especially since most of them lived on farms. Samhain became imbued with symbolism of these annual deaths. So skeletons and skulls joined the ghosts as symbols of the holiday. Again, there’s nothing evil here, at least to the innocent in heart. Indeed, in Mexico, where the holiday is known as Los dias de los Muertos, or “Days of the Dead,” (combining All Saints Day with All Souls Day) skeleton and skull toys and even candies are made and enjoyed by the millions, many by and for devout Roman Catholics.

Medieval Christians feared cats, for reasons as yet unclear, and especially feared black cats who could sneak “invisibly” around at night. It’s ironic that they feared cats so much that they killed tens of thousands of them, leaving their granaries open to rats and mice, no doubt causing much food to be wasted, and leaving Europe as a whole wide open to the Black Plague, which was carried by the fleas on those rats and mice. Unfortunately, the millions of human deaths caused by the Black Plague were later blamed on the Diabolic Witches the Church invented, then murdered. Cats, as “evil” animals, then became associated with the “evil” witches.

Witches as figures of pure evil were invented by the medieval Church and inflated by the Catholic and Protestant Churches during the Reformation period. Paleopagan witches were people suspected by their neighbors of using magic or poison to harm others, though the term was sometimes used to insult or accuse the “cunning folk” (who were herbalists, diviners, and folk magicians) of committing malpractice. I know of no formal association of witches with Samhain until the late Middle Ages. For some historical facts about all the different people — real and imaginary — who have been called “witches” over the centuries, see my book, Bonewits's Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca or the excerpts from it available on my website.

As the Church tried harder and harder to make people abandon their Paleopagan customs for the new Christian ones, Samhain became a prime target. The Church began to say that demons were abroad with the dead, and that the fairy folk were all monsters who would kill the unwary. When Diabolic Witchcraft was invented, the “Evil Devil-Worshipping Witch” simply became the newest monster to add to the others. The green skin was a twentieth century touch the Wizard of Oz movie added to the “evil old hag” version of the Diabolic Witch.

Halloween became a holiday in modern times for which half the fun was being scared out of one’s wits. Modern fiction added new monsters to the American mix, including vampires (previously known mostly in Eastern Europe), werewolves, mummies (after modern Egyptology started), and various psychopathic killers and ghouls. These are not images anyone actually needs to perpetuate, but the teens certainly enjoy them.

Jack O’Lanterns, as mentioned earlier, became popular as house decorations in the USA after immigrant Irish people discovered how much easier pumpkins were to carve than turnips, unleashing what has turned into quite an art form in the last decade or so. They certainly add a spooky touch, especially when the glowing faces appear from the darkness.

Most psychiatrists and psychologists seem to agree that Halloween’s emphatic celebration of death serves to bring out our culture’s suppressed feelings about the topic, which can be a healthy experience for both children and adults. I strongly suspect that the primary reason for American culture’s aversion to thinking about death and dying is that most modern Westerners don’t actually believe the mainstream monotheistic religions’ doctrines on the topic, or if they do, they fear eternal punishment more than they expect an eternal reward. The Paleopagan/Neopagan views that death is a transition to a new state of being where things go on much as they have here, at least until one reincarnates, is much less frightening (at least for those having a relatively happy life now), and makes most spirits of the dead unthreatening to us.

Certainly, Halloween gives parents an opportunity to discuss their beliefs and attitudes about death with their children, one hopes with no recent close death to cloud the issues, and to soothe whatever fears their children may have.

How Neopagans will Celebrate

Reporters are always asking us what we Neopagans “do” for Halloween. Well, usually we take our kids around our neighborhoods trick or treating, as carefully as any other parents. Those who stay at home may hand out commercially packaged candy to those who visit our houses (we might prefer to give out homemade goodies, but paranoia has made such treats unwelcome). Over the weekend, our circles of friends will have rituals that might include “dumb suppers” (silent, saltless meals) for the Ancestors, or separate “kid circles” and costume parties for our children — and we always wind up with at least as many kids as we started out with! Most of us will do some divination, give honor to those who have died in the past year, play traditional games, and meditate on our own mortality.

That’s what American Neopagans will do on Samhain. No blood drinking, no baby sacrifices, no crimes — just good, clean, all-American festivity with some ceremonial additions appropriate to the season and current events.

A student sent me an email asking me to sum up in more personal terms what Halloween means to me and other Neopagans. Here is what I told her:

• Halloween is the modern name for Samhain, an ancient Celtic holy day which many Neopagans — especially Wiccans, Druids and Celtic Reconstructionists — celebrate as a spiritual beginning of a new year.
• Halloween is a time to confront our personal and cultural attitudes towards death and those who have passed on before us.
• Halloween is a time to lift the veil between the many material and spiritual worlds in divination, so as to gain spiritual insight about our pasts and futures.
• Halloween is a time to deepen our connection to the cycles of the seasons, to the generations that have come before us and those that will follow, and to the Gods and Goddesses we worship.
• Halloween is a time to let our inner children out to play, to pass on our childhood traditions to our children, and to share the fun with our friends and neighbors of many other faiths. So…

Happy Halloween Everyone!

This is the year we had a chance in Hillary Clinton, to try and restore order and civility in our nation, after eight years of a free-for-all the likes many of us have never seen.

Then we watched, as our own Party and the Media savaged our candidate.  Ignored our votes, ignored our voices.  We watched pigs inside the Democratic Party tell us we weren't necessary to their goals.  Well?

VOTER Fraud?  It can't get much worse than that, can it?

The Democratic Party has shown us what it stands for.  F-R-A-U-D.

Here is more back story:

Planting Seeds of Disaster

ACORN, Barack Obama, and the Democratic party.

You realize, of course, leaders of the Democratic Party -- that you are all implicated in this taint, don't you?  Your reputations are at stake for what you did to Hillary Clinton and who you put in her place.

Do you think we want to be part of a Party that could pull a stunt like this?

We don't.  One look into the back story and all you see is FRAUD and taint -- from the Chicago Politics, to the Rezkos, voter fraud with ACORN, the Alinsky tactics...

What I want to know, as a California Democrat is how could you do this?  You have sullied the name of the Democratic Party and of every person who considered themselves a Democrat.  How could you support this Lois Capps?  How could you support this Dianne Feinstein.  How could you support this Barbara Boxer?

What have you done in the year 2008, as Democratic Women?

I can't ally with you, or with this.  Look what you have done.  Today, look at Ohio and what is going on up there.

Registration effort drives new types of voters to Toledo-area polls

Registration questions

"...The flood of new voters, such as the homeless and university students who may have school addresses and home addresses in another county or state, has Republicans questioning not their right to vote but whether they are properly registered

John McClelland, a spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party, said the process doesn't have the safeguards to prevent voter fraud. "Ohio was not set up to be a same-day registration state," Mr. McClelland said.

The party has accused Ms. Brunner of showing her partisan colors by not requiring boards of election to allow partisan observers, as are allowed on Election Day.

"I think there is the potential that people could register either under a false name or under a false address, and there is a question whether the boards of elections are going to have the opportunity or the time to verify those registrations," Mr. McClelland said.

"Though we hear there are safeguards in place to keep these same-day registration voters somewhat separate from other ballots, we're not so sure that's happening, especially in the urban counties," he said..."

Do you think that voter fraud is okay in our minds, Democratic Party?

Do you?

Do you think that this is okay with Democrats who voted YOU in YEARS ago?

Dead man registers in Indiana (video). More fraud linked to ACORN.

Do you have any idea what you have endorsed?  How could you?

Voter-Fraud Chaos

"...Election Day this year may bring the kind of chaos you expect from a category-five hurricane - with radical groups sending the nation into a protracted legal battle even worse than the mess back in 2000. To prevent it, we must act now.

Developments in several states create the possibility that the 2008 vote could result in "Election Month," rather than Election Day. Court rulings on various absentee-voting procedures - along with early voting and other new forms of balloting - open the door to widespread abuses that could undermine the election. The possibility of voter fraud or voting irregularities on a massive scale could provide a multistate repeat of Florida 2000.

A perfect example is Ohio. Last Monday the Ohio Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, interpreted Ohio law to allow for people to register to vote and cast an absentee ballot on the same day.

(As the three dissenters noted, this directly contradicts Ohio's Constitution, which requires that a person register to vote 30 days in advance of actually casting that vote. But the Ohio Supreme Court is the last word on Ohio state law.)

So now the Obama campaign is using buses to take thousands of people to go register and cast same-day votes. Some media reports say that the Obama camp hopes to get tens of thousands of votes this way..."

I don't expect Nancy Pelosi to be a decent Democrat.  Not any more.

But you?  I had faith in you as my elected representatives.  And you have cheated me this year.  You have cheated me out of Hillary Clinton and tried to stuff a fraudulent cheat on me instead.  Do you have any idea how that feels?

Ohio Voter Fraud: Accusations Obama Stealing Ohio, William Ayers and Charles Keating

Take a look at your candidate, Democratic Party.

More Bogus Obama Donors Surface

Donations Made Between July and Early August

You have been my Political Party since the Reagan years. I believed in you, and look what you have done.  Do you have any idea what fools you look like?

Not just in America, but to the rest of the world?  You have endorsed lying and cheating.  So, I'm leaving the Party for McCain and the Republicans.  I know who he is, and I trust who he is, and when he gets to Washington I hope he turns you inside out for this.  In my estimation you are all nothing but a pack of cheats and liars.

Dem group backing McCain

Prominent Hillary Clinton supporter helps open Democrats for McCain headquarters in Scranton.

“What it came down to was that I decided I love my country more than my party,” de Rothschild said, explaining her support of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin. “I’m really worried. I do not want (Obama) in the White House.”

De Rothschild, 54, said she sees Northeast Pennsylvania – specifically Luzerne and Lackawanna counties – as the key to winning Pennsylvania’s 21 electoral votes. And, she said, whoever wins Pennsylvania will likely become the next president.

“Barack Obama has never had the mandate of Democrats,” she said. “And Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi ignored the 18 million people that voted for Hillary Clinton. They can’t be surprised at the 5 million to 7 million Clinton supporters who are now supporting McCain.”

HE LIED, AND SO DID YOU -- LEADERS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

You deserve nothing but contempt from the voting public.

You deserve nothing but contempt from people who supported the Party for years.

You disgust me for allowing a thing like this to happen to the Political Party I gave my loyalty to long ago.  How could you do this?  How could you?

How could you allow it, and how can you even look at yourselves in the mirror?

I decided to have some fun with this, punching in various search terms into Google 2001 to see what the sports world (and others) had to offer. This article for ESPN's Page 2 was the result. Enjoy!

• To establish trust and commitment. A lot of ecommerce businesses are run by individuals in their homes. A professionally designed logo can make your company to portray a more reputable image and instill trust in your customers. It shows that you are committed to both your business and your customers. The web is a scary place for a lot of people and they want to be sure they are making the right decision before giving you’re their credit card information. You may not have been in business "since 1908," but if you have invested in your identity, you are more likely to remain firm and relevant in the eyes of your customers. It goes a long way toward building that all-important "trust."
• To stand out from your competition
• To attract more customers. some customers look for a well-defined company and “look and feel” may be on of the criteria they consider before making a purchasing decision.
• To be more memorable. 40% of people remember what they see more than what they read or hear. Associating graphics, text style, and colors with your company and keeping these consistent will help your customers to remember your company.
• To explain your business . If your company name is difficult to pronounce, is not related to your products/services, or is hard-to-remember, it’s important to reinforce or explain your name to your potential customers using compelling graphics or a tagline.If your business is nontraditional or in a hard-to-explain industry, a logo can also help to clarify exactly what it is that you do.
• To comply with expectations – in most industries and especially in ecommerce, a logo is just expected (industry standard).

Thanks for Reading!
Amy Fedele, Creative Director
BullzeyeDesign.com

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