Ash Wednesday Inspiration from The High Calling

Today is Ash Wednesday, a day many Christians set aside as a special day. It is a day to remember our humanness and mortality. It is a day to begin the season of Lent, a time for reflection, penitence, and preparation for Easter.

It’s quite impossible to return to a traditional fast, simply because of this issue of personal choice. You could follow the same dietary restrictions of a traditional fast, giving up everyday staples such as meat and fish, sugar and all animal and dairy products. It wouldn’t be impossible to do, but it would become a dire inconvenience to other people, and I have to feel that drawing attention to the fact that you’re fasting somewhat goes against the spirit of the whole thing.

We are in constant need of mercy and forgiveness of God” he said.

He advised Christians to use the period to renew their pact of love with God.

Last year, the writer Mary Karr published a beautiful memoir of her life, and her conversion to Catholicism. Some have actually compared it to the “Confessions” of St. Augustine. The book is called “Lit.” The title refers to literature, but also to the idea of carrying within you a kind of light, of being “lit.”

It’s not always easy reading. Karr writes about growing up in an abusive, alcoholic home…about her early, unsatisfying marriage…about her own struggles with addiction and time she spent in a mental hospital.

And when can I start watching TV again?  On Saturday, April 03rd.  Wow – that is SUCH a long time.  If you’re wondering, yes, I am a complete TV and movie addict.  So, this is going to be difficult for me.

If you are interested in how this goes – I will keep you posted on my blog.

Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21 year old Luger from Georgia was ready for his practicing run on one of the fastest track of the world. Nodar didn’t had any idea about what was going to happen with him. Nodar set himself on the track, and there he went. Nodar completed his first lap comfortably, but he was in the course of speeding up, he reached the speed around 90 miles per hour and an uncovered steel poll was waiting for him around the corner. He lost control and fastest track in the world smashed him out with the speed of 90 miles and he hit the unpadded steel poll and died.

The mourning father of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Luger who died during a training run in Winter Olympics 2010 refused to watch the video of his dying son. Nodar Kumaritashvili, the luger who died during the training session and video was first uploaded on Youtube, which was removed by Google later.

Nodar’s father told in a TV interview that he can’t watch the video of his son’s death and he also criticized the Olympics officials for managing such a fast and killing track.

Farouk Shami Enters Politics

The popular businessman Farouk Shami will move into a more challenging level of his life. He decided to enter the politics and run as a Texas Governor on the coming gubernatorial election dated on November 2, 2010. He will be running as a Democrat and will be competing against Alma Ludivina Aguado, Bill Dear, Felix Alvarado, Clement E. Glenn, Bill White, and Star Locke. His road on being the future Texas Governor will not be easy since all these candidates have the capacity to win and lead Texas.

Houston hair care businessman Farouk Shami guaranteed Monday he’ll create 100,000 jobs if elected governor or he’ll pay $10 million.

“Creating jobs is my specialty,” Shami, 67, said in a debate with his Democratic challenger, former Houston Mayor Bill White. “When I am governor, everybody is going to go to work.”

White, the former mayor of Houston, said the way to create jobs is to retrain unemployed people and ensure they have a job at the end of the training.

Today is the shortest day of the year. During the dark winter months, sunlight can be an insufficient source of vitamin D which is vital for the absorption of calcium and phosphorous. Low vitamin D levels have recently been linked to a greater chance of developing diseases including diabetes and heart disease, several cancers and the common cold.

The good news is that there is a delicious and healthy, vitamin D rich food source, that’s also one of American’s top favorite seafoods: Wild Alaska Salmon.

Salmon is one of the highest natural food sources of vitamin D with 360 IU* (International Units) per 3.5 oz. Salmon often tops the list of “super foods” due to its heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent heart disease, inflammation, and certain types of cancer.

Scott Smith Hands First Defeat to Former Champ Cung Le

Cung Le (6-0, 6 by KO) is a 37-year-old undefeated Vietnamese/American cagefighter hailing from San Jose, Calif., who was once also the Strikeforce middleweight champion before leaving the cage in search of a more lucrative acting career.

“He caught me with a punch,” Le said. “He was the better man tonight. I did my best and he caught me.”

However, prior to the finish, the fight belonged completely to the San Shou expert, who delivered a statement to Smith on his very first strike.

“He caught me with one midsection shot — that was the very first kick he threw,” Scott said. “So I was real worried about keeping my elbows in. That was the strategy in the fight, I was blocking the kicks with my elbows. My elbows are killing me right now.”

Le, who missed almost two years of competition to pursue a second career as an actor, entered the fight as if he had never left. Le walked down the ramp to a spirited applause and standing ovation. Scattered around the arena were flags of Vietnam, where Le grew up until fleeing to San Jose in 1975. Le appeared on his way to pleasing his hometown fans yet again and almost did so conclusively in the opening round.

“He dropped me and had me rocked,” Smith said. “I just tried to cover up and he landed some shots, but I blocked most of them. And after I came to my senses, he rocked me with another one. [Referee] Big John warned me a couple of times, so I knew I had to get up. I weathered the storm and I think he wore himself out a little bit and I was fortunate enough to get up and keep fighting.”

Le picked apart Smith with a variety of spinning back kicks, side kicks, leg kicks and at one point, bravely throwing a spinning back fist followed by a spinning back kick.

By the third round, Le grew even more confident, and despite winning handily on the feet, Le, to everyone’s surprise, went for and successfully took Smith down.

Smith regained his senses each time and shocked Le’s loyal hometown supporters by showing off his a less-recognized specialty punch.

google android based phone

2009 was a strange year in the world of cell phones, Google Android based handsets has been taking the world by storm but would you believe that only 10 were launched. However, things will be a little different in 2010 as more than 50 Android handsets by different vendors will be launched.

If Apple thought that the iPhone was under attack in 2009, then they have not seen anything yet. We know that these handsets did not bother the iPhone this year, but how would the smartphone king be able to handle the assault from 50 Google Android handsets?

We have heard a number of rumors that Apple plan to launch the iPhone 4G in 2010, but this will come at a premium. According to PC World, these new Android smartphones will fall to silly prices in 2010, this could certainly persuade users to make the switch to Android.

We recently mentioned that Android based smartphones would takeover the iPhone in 2012, this is because Apple only have one handset running the iPhone OS, whereas there are more handsets running Android.

This has certainly got me thinking, Apple have done a superb job with just one handset. Apple also has another trick up its sleeve, what if the iPhone was made available to Verizon Wireless users.

So You Think You Can Dance' Top Six Revealed

The participants of “So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 have been reduced to 6 on Wednesday, December 9. Two of them were sent home, while Ashleigh Di Lello became available after the outbreak of the exercise of his shoulder socket.

Jonathan “Legacy” DiLello Perez and Ryan were in the bottom two for men. And when it’s time for women who were Mallea Leonora Scott Gray and the two have been found than in the uncertain zone. Participants in security alongside Ashley is, therefore, Jakob Karr, Russell Ferguson, and Kathryn McCormick.

Since the people on the bottom four were preparing for their solos, the Asia 1, no pop-group “Wonder Girls took the stage and performed their single” I Want Nobody But You “, which apparently English version of” Nobody . And before the final results of the public were to die in a presentation of “American Idol” 8 season champion Kris Allen, who supplied “Live Like We”, invited the debut single from her album “Kris Allen.

Later it became known that legacy Mallea and sent home were such that Leonora and Ryan to Ashley, Jacob, Russell, and Kathryn McCormick as a member of the Big Six. They all fight for the last show next Tuesday, 15 December.

Happy Tia Mowry Wedding Pictures: The happiest day of Tia Mowry in her life as she is at the wedding altar with her beloved man Cory Hardrict, Sunday.

In this first photo, exclusive to people, the newlyweds glow as Hardrict puts his hand around his new bride, who wore a couture dress from Kevan Hall.
Tia Mowry Wedding Pictures

The former sister, the star’s sister and her husband, the knot at the Four Seasons Biltmore Resort Santa Barbara in front of 170 guests at the weekend. (For more details and pictures of the wedding, pick up the next issue of People magazine, on newsstands Friday).

carrie prejean

The internet is on fire with the former Miss California Carrie Prejean sextape stream. And the controversy of the Carrie Prejean sextape video stream does not look as if it is going to disappear anytime soon. Since her solo sextape video became
Carrie Prejean Sextape Stream: More Videos and More Lies?
Date: November 13, 2009
part of the public discourse, Carrie Prejean has maintained that the video was shot when she was 17, which would make the ownership and sell and dissemination of the Carrie Prejean sextape video (streamed or otherwise) a criminal offense (read: child pornography). But the public has heard that tired refrain from Carrie Prejean before, back when she was fighting to keep her Miss California crown and the question of some nude photos arose. She said she was 17 then, but it was later revealed that she was 21 when the nude photos were taken. So how about the sextape video? Is it legally safe to stream or download or purchase? New information has surfaced that Carrie Prejean may again be lying about her age and that she may have been of legal age when she made the sextape video.

The boyfriend that Carrie Prejean has now famously claimed “betrayed” her love by selling the sextape video — the same video that halted her $1 million discrimination lawsuit against Miss California USA — of the former beauty queen told TMZ that Carrie Prejean was 20 when the video was created. The boyfriend also told TMZ that he met Carrie Prejean through MySpace and they dated in 2007. But the biggest bombshell in the boyfriend’s revelations was that Carrie Prejean did not make just one of these sextape videos — she made 15-20.

To make the situation worse, the boyfriend told TMZ that Carrie Prejean had contacted him to try to get him to lie that she was 17 in the sextape video that everyone is trying to find and/or stream.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is shown in July 2009

The trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others even as conspirators in the 9 / 11 attacks in the Southern District of New York – Manhattan covers that – likely to have significant challenges for the United States represent.

The Southern District is among the countries with more experience in the U.S. are looking into the terrorists, but a high priority when so close to the epicenter of the emblematic 9 / 11, not only on important questions of safety – both for cutting and officials involved in the process – but will also consider, such as address, which is probably a very large number of classified evidence that the prosecution want to present.

“KSM” has become well known, and his four co-defendants described themselves as “a terrorist to the bone” in an appearance before a military commission at Guantanamo March and referred to his alleged involvement in the attacks as a “badge of honor.” But the fact that Muhammad was prolonged torture is likely to be subjected to the thorny issue of reopening, how much of what people have said that they can trust who has not been tainted by torture.

The case is certain that the US-established judiciary to deal with a variety of difficult legal issues related to programs to combat terrorism after the attacks in 2001 lives, including harsh interrogation techniques once used in some of the possible suspects in CIA custody in connection. The most serious, which was U-boat – or simulated drowning – 183 times using Mohammed in 2003, before the practice was banned.

Jury selection is likely to be another very complex issue. Potential jurors would have to go through what is known as voir dire examination. According to the manual of the jury for the Southern District of potential jurors were asked whether it is “a personal interest in the case, or know there is no compelling reason why it can not give an impartial verdict.”

Basically, there are other issues to determine “whether the members of the Committee a prejudice or a feeling that they can influence in rendering a verdict.” The manual continues: “Each juror knowledge of the case should explain this to the judge.”

The judge is also likely to have to do their hands full when appearance of Mohammed in a military commission in 2008 was to judge. The suspects 9 / 11 brain recites verses from the Koran, he denounced George Bush for his “War of the Crusaders,” describing it as an inquisition, “in which he had been tortured, and declared its desire for a” martyr. ”

Muhammad, the judge argued during the reading of the charges, refused a lawyer by a court that is not ruled by Sharia law to accept, described the U.S. constitition – guaranteed under which the federal court system – as “bad” and said that the defense.

Since he was not prepared to defend itself in accordance with U.S. law, a court should appoint a lawyer to defend him, which is almost certainly feel obliged to classified evidence and observations obtained under torture, challenge, and the jury question.

The probability that the process is to review these issues long been emphasized by President Barack Obama. “I am absolutely convinced that is subject to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the highest standards of justice. The American people will insist on it. My Government will insist,” he said.

Obama’s remarks follow a ban on the use of rumors and confessions obtained under torture in the military awarded contracts – the movement that also on the civil process.

Another unresolved issue is whether people are sentenced to death in the federal court system, as they would if they had been tried by military commission. So far, the Justice Department has not answered this question. The government already has a Guantanamo detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, sent to New York to court, but chose not to seek death penalty in this case. Arrested in the last major al-Qaida suspects in that court in 2001, but not prosecutors do not try it for some of the defendants.