December 2011
30 posts
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November 2011
40 posts
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"Stuck" States: Kentucky is One, and To Me, That...
I note that Kentucky is a “stuck” state meaning a lot of folks are born here and stay here. I disagree with this commentary: deciding not to leave the State is not always a sign of some problem. Just the opposite; I think a lot of folks stay in Kentucky simply because it is a great place to live a simpler lifestyle with friends and family. In more transient States, the constant...
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“Today’s politicians seem more comfortable invoking God and religion than...”
– Lisa Randall is an American theoretical physicist and a leading expert on particle physics and cosmology. In 2007, Randall was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People (Time 100) under the section for “Scientists & Thinkers.” Randall was given this honor for...
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Democracy Can Be a Messy Business: Congo and Egypt...
(We had elections in this country earlier in the month, and it was a big yawn. Lots of folks simply didn’t vote. Lots of folks simply didn’t care. Not sure why people don’t care, but know this: voting means something and is a cornerstone of the freedom we enjoy. Need proof? Read these stories about the Congo and Egypt. Stay smart, America.)
KINSHASA, Congo — Ballot boxes...
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Details of the NBA Settlement: Money Triumphs,...
A report from the Washington Post on the details of the NBA settlement. The NBA is a faltering business with a flawed model, and in this latest dust-up the big winners are the owners.
Like most labor stalemates, nobody got everything they wanted, and clearly the owners won. A compromise was struck for two reasons: 1.) The owners siphoned enough revenue back from the players, about ...
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You Did It: Consumers spent $11.4 BILLION on Black...
Black Friday sales increased 6.6 percent to the largest amount ever as U.S. consumers shrugged off 9 percent unemployment and went shopping.
Consumers spent $11.4 billion, ShopperTrak said in a statement yesterday. Foot traffic rose 5.1 percent on Black Friday, according to the Chicago-based research firm.
“This is the largest year-over-year gain in ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate...
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For Business, Golden Days; For Workers, the Dross
IN the eight decades before the recent recession, there was never a period when as much as 9 percent of American gross domestic product went to companies in the form of after-tax profits. Now the figure is over 10 percent.
During the same period, there never was a quarter when wage and salary income amounted to less than 45 percent of the economy. Now the figure is below 44 percent.
For...
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So, What Percentage of People in the United States...
Percentages of people who believe in God in the United States and in the following European countries:
93 percent in United States
72 percent in Finland
69 percent in Norway
69 percent in Germany
61 percent in Britain
58 percent in the Netherlands
58 percent in Belgium
56 percent in France
52 percent in Denmark
46 percent in Sweden
39 percent in the Czech Republic
Source: Trends...
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“To be perfectly honest, I would love it if the work of evangelism were...”
– Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith
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Unemployment in America: A Real Problem That is...
Although the failure of the Super Committee to act to reduce the deficit will have far-reaching consequences—particularly to the military—some impact will be felt closer to home. I had Thanksgiving dinner with a 14-year military veteran who served in Iraq and he’s now Stateside. In Georgia, where he is stationed, the base just announced 500 job “cuts” (really, a decision not to fill jobs that...
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YouTube Forges Deal With Disney for Movie Rentals...
Google Inc.’s YouTube announced a deal with Walt Disney Co. to offer rentals of the studio’s movies, letting U.S. and Canadian users watch such films as “Cars 2” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”
A handful of titles will be available for rent today (November 23 was the date of this story), with hundreds more appearing in the weeks to come, YouTube said on its blog. Disney joins...
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Belfast in National Geographic top 10 destinations
Belfast has been voted one of the world’s top destinations for 2012 by an international travel magazine. The National Geographic Traveller called the city a “treasure” with an “incredible atmosphere”. Next year is the centenary of the Titanic and Belfast City Council has just announced that the hugely popular Tall Ships will return in 2015.
Other locations on...
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“Over the last three decades, whenever we’ve given in to the temptation to blame...”
– Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy by Bill Clinton
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The Poor, the Near Poor and You: One in Three...
Food for thought as you do lots of shopping this weekend.
What is it like to be poor? Thankfully, most Americans do not know, at least not firsthand. And times are tough for the middle class. But everyone needs to recognize a chilling reality: One in three Americans — 100 million people — is either poor or perilously close to it.
The Times’s Jason DeParle, Robert Gebeloff and Sabrina...
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Here It Is Folks So Get Ready--Black Friday 2011:...
The most hype-filled shopping day of the year will soon be upon us. Here’s a roundup of alternately eye-opening, quirky, and confounding facts and figures about Black Friday 2011.
At least 2 Number of retailers subjected to protests by employees upset that their Thanksgiving dinners will be ruined because they have to work that night. Nearly 200,000 online signatures have been collected in...
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Wocka, Wocka, Wocka! Muppet Antics Resume
Another post on the new Muppet movie; read more HERE.
DISNEY didn’t become the world’s largest entertainment company by guessing what people want. Sure, it trusts its creative instincts. But the Magic Kingdom also employs squadrons of black-ops researchers to poke, prod and pry. What psychological hooks should be built into a children’s television show? What colors are most likely to move...
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More on the Gap between University Training and...
PHILADELPHIA — The lesson today — the ins and outs of closing a deal — seems lifted from Corporate Lawyering 101.
“How do you get a merger done?” asks Scott B. Connolly, an attorney.
There is silence from three well-dressed people in their early 20s, sitting at a conference table in a downtown building here last month.
“What steps would you need to take to accomplish a merger?” Mr. Connolly...
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Bret McKenzie, Flight of the Conchords and Curb...
The first in a series of posts on the new Muppet movie opening this week. Read the rest of the article HERE.
Before we get to the Flight of the Conchords or the tricky art of writing funny songs for beloved puppets to sing, we need to talk about Figwit. Because should you enter “Bret McKenzie” into Google, you’ll find that the first suggested search is not, say, “Bret McKenzie Conchords”...
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"Hugo" the New 3D film from Martin Scorsese is a...
“Hugo,” an enchantment from Martin Scorsese, is the 3-D children’s movie that you might expect from the director of “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas.” It’s serious, beautiful, wise to the absurdity of life and in the embrace of a piercing longing. No one gets clubbed to death, but shadows loom, and a ferocious Doberman nearly lands in your lap. The movie is based on the book “The Invention of...
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“What does God want from us? He does not want mere hymn singing, although that is...”
– Ray Stedman, reflecting on Psalm 50:14 and the idea of “offering to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.”
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For Deficit Panel, Failure Cuts Two Ways
From the NYT; full story HERE.
The latest Congressional failure to agree on a plan for balancing the government’s books could yield a surprising result: a sharp reduction in annual federal deficits, larger than anything contemplated by the special panel that reached its fruitless finale on Monday.
But the absence of an agreement also threatens to significantly slow growth in an already...
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Think Black Friday Has the Cheapest Prices? Think...
The only rational explanations for lining up outside the mall before the sun rises and putting up with monster crowds to go shopping on Black Friday are: 1) You just love the crazed, festival-like atmosphere; and/or 2) you assume Black Friday gives you the best chances of buying holiday gifts at the cheapest prices. Turns out this latter assumption often isn’t true.
Is there an abundance...
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Watchnprmusic:
One of the most powerful moments in Adele’s new concert film comes when she performs Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” as a tribute to Amy Winehouse, encouraging the audience to raise their phones and cameras so that the late singer can see them “from upstairs.”
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“When Jesus entered this world, stepping out of eternity into time, he could not...”
– Ray Stedman, from a sermon in 1963 on Philippians 2:1-5 and the concept of Christian humility.
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The federal government’s official color...
The color that has come to signify America in today’s combat theaters isn’t the red, the white, or the blue picked by Betsy Ross, but an ignoble sandy hue commonly referred to as desert tan and officially identified as Federal Standard 595 Color No. 33446. The color came of age in December of 1990, when, according to military lore, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, then stationed in Saudi Arabia as ...
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Voter's Guide for Kentucky's 2011 Elections THIS...
Thanks to the good old newspaper, you can do some last-minute work to get ready to vote on Tuesday. Yes, I said vote. Kentucky has off-year elections, so we are often out of the national spotlight. But, voting is still a civic privilege we cannot take for granted. So, if you want to eat something other than bread and water for Tuesday Night Dinner, vote and bring your “I Voted”...
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From Nebraska Lab To McDonald's Tray: The McRib's...
Since McDonald’s announced the seasonal revival of its popular McRib sandwich last month, there’s been a round of reports about what’s in the sandwich that have ranged from glib (on its 70 ingredients) to McFib (on the alleged inhumane treatment of the pigs that go into it).
But even though there’s not a rib to be found inside the sandwich, that pork patty drenched...
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“All that the believer has must come from Christ, but it comes solely through the...”
– Morning and Evening, Charles Spurgeon reflecting on Ephesians 4:30— “Grieve not the Holy Spirit.”
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“A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for...”
– Morning and Evening, Spurgeon commenting on 2 Corinthians 12:9 “For my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 