Osmoses (A Tale Told Only Once) Part 1

Some folks sport military garb, signifying being a Marine, or Army Ranger, or Seal, kind of a cape for courage, who are far from their courage. As well as others who sport a monkish cloak, or clergy collar, for Godliness, who are the very reverse of that inside? I usually do not write a prologue for my short stories, or for that matter, novelettes or novels, but this very prologue is the reason you should read this story and carefully weigh up its contents, you may discover the potency within is far more valuable than the title suggests. That is to say, the subject here treated is not as foolish as the title promised. Yes, it is written in a lightheartedness, but there is marrow in the bone to be discover and once discovered you must guard it with eyes of a devoted dog. To the...

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Osmoses (A Tale Told Only Once) Part 1

Some folks sport military garb, signifying being a Marine, or Army Ranger, or Seal, kind of a cape for courage, who are far from their courage. As well as others who sport a monkish cloak, or clergy collar, for Godliness, who are the very reverse of that inside? I usually do not write a prologue for my short stories, or for that matter, novelettes or novels, but this very prologue is the reason you should read this story and carefully weigh up its contents, you may discover the potency within is far more valuable than the title suggests. That is to say, the subject here treated is not as foolish as the title promised. Yes, it is written in a lightheartedness, but there is marrow in the bone to be discover and once discovered you must guard it with eyes of a devoted dog. To the...

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The Way It Was

I was just looking at things today and comparing them to the way they were when I was young. One of the things I have a strong memory of was the time a friend of mine was telling me he read in a magazine there was going to be pay television. I almost split my sides laughing as did everyone else he told this to. In those days there was a television in most homes, but this had just occurred a few years before. The idea of pay television sounded so ridiculous to everyone, no one took it seriously. Can you imagine what people would have thought about pay radio? Radio had been free for almost 60 years by then and nobody at that time would have believed some people today pay for radio broadcasts from companies like XM Radio. Another thing they would have never believed is the prejudice...

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How To Learn Calligraphy In Record Time

Many people admire the beauty of calligraphy and enjoy doing calligraphy, and it is no wonder why they do. Calligraphy is a wonderful outlet for artistic expression and also a deeply satisfying personal skill. But... One common remark is "That calligraphy piece is so beautiful, but I'll never be able to learn it." That can't be further from the truth. Calligraphy is simple, fun and easy to learn if you know the exact steps to take. This article will teach you how to learn calligraphy by just following this simple, proven 5-step method. But First, Which Calligraphy Hand Should You Learn? Before we start, you have to first decide the calligraphy hand that you want to learn. There are many calligraphy hands: Spencerian, Copperplate, Italic, Gothic etc. and each has it distinctive style...

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Sounds and Fury: A Brief History of Fireworks and Pyrotechnics

We're accustomed to commemorating national holidays and ringing in each New Year with big, impressive fireworks shows. But have you ever wondered how this dangerous, artistic light show came to be? The most primitive form of pyrotechnics emerged as early as 200 B.C. in China. People there discovered a natural firecracker in bamboo, which explodes with a loud bang when heated. A technology much closer to our modern devices didn't come about until the seventh century A.D., when Chinese alchemists accidentally created gunpowder by mixing sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter. When people stuffed this mixture into a bamboo shoot, then tossed the shoot onto fire, it produced a bang and a flash. Voila: fireworks were born. Over the next few centuries, the Chinese refined this crude new...

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Why Accountability Does Not Work

Accountability isn't really something most people voluntarily sign up for. Thinking about it will make us cringe a little and make us feel like children being berated for not turning in our homework. But if we are really honest with ourselves, there is at least one area in our life where we need some serious accountability. Accountability helps us to follow through on our commitments and it also gives us integrity. People who are held accountable are more trustworthy and more self-aware. They are the people who actively pursue self-improvement and growth in their lives. Accountability involves conflict There is probably only a very small amount of people who run toward conflict. The rest of us do our best to stay away from it. With accountability, a person kind of has to get...

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Understanding Numerology

Numerology can be best, and most simply explained as the study of numbers. But the simplicity ends there. To the occultist, numbers reflect more than quantity and are indicative of the nature of the cosmic plan of the universe. The letters of the Latin alphabet have a numeric value which can be deciphered to reveal relative cosmic vibrations. Chinese and Arabic civilizations have their forms of numerology as well. The added numbers of a date of birth when related to the numeric value of the letters in a name can illustrate some arcane interrelations that can be deciphered by an experienced practitioner. The number produced by an individual's date of birth and numeric equivalent of their name can illustrate details about character, life direction, motivations and talents. Expert...

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Priming a Model For a Life Cast

Life casting is all about working with a live model. Be it casting hands, feet, face, torso or the entire body, having a primed and amenable model is an essential asset that a life caster just cannot do without. Therefore, unlike clay modeling or plaster casting, where the lifeless 'model' is yours to do with as you wish, life casting requires you to properly prepare and instruct the model to avoid any complications or disturbances later on. Following are a few pointers on the same: Pre-preparation - You are jeopardizing your own interests if you schedule to meet the model for the first time on the day of the life casting itself. It is advisable to meet a day or two earlier and discuss your requirements and expectations in detail. Gently walk the model through the life casting...

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Rachel Dolezal: My Take!

I woke up yesterday morning and started my usual routine of scanning the iPad for stories to post on the Cactus News Facebook page. A half an hour into it, I came across a story about the president of the NAACP Spokane, Washington chapter was possibly being a white person posing as a black person, her name is Rachel Dolezal. I clicked the link to a short CNN video showing the clip of an interview with Dozenal by a local station, seemingly on the street. The reporter started asking her a series of questions that centered on the picture of an African American man and she said was her father, then a few questions if her parents were in fact, white. The final question was more direct, "Are you African American?" This query resulted in her walking away from the camera. As the day went...

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A Neighborhood Escapade

It was a weekend midafternoon in the very middle of summer. Big Bopper, also called Ace whose real name was Jerry S., six-foot six, 200-pounds, dumber than a blind-duck, never worked a day in his life, or if he did, it was on special occasions, a young man of twenty-five although goodhearted, was sitting on the wooden steps in front of Roger and Ronny's house, parallel Cayuga Street, right across the street from my home, at 186 Cayuga; I'm Chick Evens, fifteen years old. Roger two years my senior, and the neighborhood charmer with his good looks, and all, and Ronny his brother my age, and buddy. Roger's house was a four apartment complex, kind of ramshackle. Stretching outward in the back was the railroad yard, and Structural Steel Company. With the trees and lighter foliage,...

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Book Review: Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles)

Jeffrey Archer is one of the Big Three authors who not just entertained but also inspired an entire generation of writers. This is the complete review of the 2012 version of his book, Only Time Will Tell, the first of the Clifton Chronicles. Synopsis: Harry is a young and extremely gifted boy born in the impoverished Clifton family. However, thanks to the hardwork and never say die attitude of his mother and a wise old man who takes him under his fold, he is thrust among men who are not his equals. Little does he know that the people who he thinks are of a higher class than him have something common with him. What ties almost everyone in the novel is a deep, dark secret that rears itself at the most inopportune moment, making life for everyone involved an adventure that beckons...

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Sexual Oppression and Why Many Great Rock Stars Are So "Feminine"

Haven't we all wondered about it at some stage or another... Why are rock stars so feminine? What is it about them that forces them to dress in girly clothes, wear more makeup than your teenaged sister and pamper themselves with lotions and beauty creams like any wealthy woman would... And still, women are falling over themselves to have a chance at one night with one of them. These men are sexual magnets, and yet, there is hardly any obvious sign of masculinity... And that, dear people, is a sign of fear of masculinity and masculine sexuality that is rampant in our culture. Rock stars NEED to exude sexual energy to become huge. That is what women need in order to go crazy over the rockers, and that, in turn makes a rock band (as opposed to metal band) big, but since masculine...

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China And The South China Sea

China is very busy building islands in the South China Sea. I have been reading some interesting articles on why they are doing this. At first glance it looks like they are trying to assert territorial claims in the region and what better way than to build an island, then you can say it is your land. There is no doubt this is one way to do that, but some say there is something else going on. They claim the Chinese government may feel it is losing the support of too many of its citizens, so it wants to drum up nationalistic feeling by taking on countries like Japan, Vietnam and others. It is felt the people will rally behind their own country and this is why China is being so vocal in its defense of the premise of the area around certain islands is theirs and certain parts...

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A Neighborhood Escapade Brawl at Bram's

A Neighborhood Escapade I shall now inform our readers of an event which had brought a brawl into the Mouse Trap, that is the neighborhood bar called 'Bram's' back around 1972. I had come fresh out of the war in Vietnam, Larry the boxer, Jennie now his wife, Karin, John L's wife to be, we were all sitting in a bar booth when it took place. You must keep in mind, this is simply one of many brawls that took place back then in that corner bar. I was perhaps twenty-five years old at the time. Larry being several years my senior, and Jennie a year older than me, and Karin a year younger than me, and John, my age. John L., whom I had went to California with, prior to going into the Army, in 1967-thereabouts-came through the front door of the tavern, who drank a lot at the time, and had...

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