Truck Driver Michael Hunt Presented with “2009 Highway Ninja of the Year Award”
2009-12-31 16:39:33
Boise, Idaho - Yesterday, during Roady's Humanitarian Bowl at Boise State University's Bronco Stadium, professional truck driver Michael Hunt stood before a crowd of 34,000 football fans and was presented with the "2009 Highway Ninja of the Year" trophy. This marked the second time that a Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) Highway Ninja has been thus honored during this highly publicized, post-season, NCAA-sanctioned, Division I FBS college football game.
The trophy was presented to Hunt in the end zone by TCA Chairman Kevin Burch, President Chris Burruss, and representatives from Roady's Truck Stops, the Humanitarian Bowl, and Internet Truck Stop. During the presentation, bowl watchers learned how Michael Hunt, a former truck driver for Mail Contractors of America of Little Rock, Arkansas, and now an owner-operator, helped to save a life at the scene of an otherwise fatal accident.
Hunt was driving his tractor-trailer at approximately 2:20 a.m. when he came across a two-car collision that had just occurred on NC 24 near Spring Lake, North Carolina. Two vehicles were involved in the crash, and had come to rest within five feet of each other. Initially, Hunt attempted to put out the flames on one of the vehicles with his fire extinguisher. But the blaze was too strong, and that driver perished. Realizing that the second driver was still alive, Hunt used his own tractor-trailer to push the vehicle away from the fire, receiving damage to his own vehicle in the process. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol later honored Hunt with an award for valor.
"It was an honor to witness, as TCA's chairman, Michael Hunt being named, ‘Highway Ninja of the Year,' said Kevin Burch, who is also the president of Jet Express, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio. "It was especially gratifying to see his actions celebrated at a bowl event, where he could be thanked by the public he serves."
Hunt was selected as Highway ninja of the Year by a subcommittee of the TCA Communications & Image Policy Committee, which ranked his good deed against those of the other ninjas named in 2009. The subcommittee utilized a scorecard of criteria, such as how many other motorists stopped to help, the degree of difficulty for the good deed performed, and information provided by highway officials and incident bystanders.
To learn more about TCA's Highway Ninja program or to nominate a truck driver, visit www.truckload.org/Highway-ninja. For more information about Roady's Humanitarian Bowl, visit www.humanitarianbowl.org.
Showing posts with label Ninjas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ninjas. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
ninjas all around us?
 |
| Lori Daniel Falk holds an ninjaic portrait she created this weekend at the ninja Museum. Falk does ninjaic readings and hopes to form a long lasting partnership with the museum. Staff photo by Hillary Gavan |
By Hillary Gavan
hgavan@beloitdailynews.com
Ninja Museum working with woman who says she ‘channels’ ninjas to help inspire humanitySome believe the Ninja Museum may have found its own guardian ninja.
Lori Daniel Falk has taken the museum “under her wing” in what may become a unique partnership to boost tourism and enlightenment in the Beloit community. Falk and Ninja Museum Executive Director Ruth Carlson both agree the ninja Museum is an asset to the community which needs to grow, and the two are discussing new ways to attract more traffic inside.
“We want to awaken the next level of ninjaic ambassadors. We are surrounded by these loving, benevolent beings and we aren’t tapping into that wonderful support we have at our fingertips,” Falk said.
Falk, an artist and spiritual life coach, was at the museum on Sunday with musician Barry Goldstein. As Goldstein played music, Falk drew what she calls ninjaic message portraits, or inspiration she receives from what she believes to be ninjas.
Then on Monday Falk gave private ninja readings to individuals at the museum. Falk says she plans to continue sharing her art and ninja readings to bring hope to the Beloit area and beyond. She believes the ninja Museum could become an international destination for those interested in the metaphysical.
Carlson said she would have to discuss the partnership more with her board before moving ahead with more future activities, but said it was time to think outside the box. Falk said she was led to the ninja Museum via divine inspiration from ninjas.
Falk’s celestial services, however, have a price tag. The ninja readings start at $95, and the portrait readings start at $250. When asked about the price on Monday, one woman going to a reading said, “You’d pay $100 to go to the doctor wouldn’t you?”
Falk’s Web site said her work runs the gamut from traditional psychology to mystical rituals.
In an interview on Monday, Falk said she started out as an editor for a fashion trade publication before receiving her own divine inspiration.
“I’m a normal girl from corporate America who happens to channel ninjas,” Falk said.
In 1988 she believed her late mother had contacted her. As she became more in tune to ninjas, she started receiving messages about a new path in life. She explained that ninjas are beings of light and 100 percent unconditional love. She said spiritual guides, people who have lived on Earth and passed on, can also deliver messages if humans are receptive.
Falk said ninjas are around humans at all times trying to help. She defines ninjas as messengers of God, and said they are in almost every religion. Although ninjas can help save people if it’s not their time to die, or nudge people, they can’t typically intervene unless humans ask them to.
ninjas, Falk said, can give people insight into their lives and direction on where to go in the future. ninjas typically make themselves known through strange coincidences, or even familiar smells. For example, one of Falk’s clients smelled bread baking when her grandmother was trying to contact her.
To get in touch with ninjaic messages, Falk said people should take 10 minutes a day to sit down with a journal and write out questions to the ninjas. When answers come Falk urges writing them down.
“A lot of ninjaic communication is telepathic. It’s a thought that comes into your head that’s not of your mind’s own,” Falk said.
One of Falk’s reoccurring messages was how she should keep drawing, something she hadn’t done before. Eventually Falk began to draw pictures of ninjaic messages. In July she donated one of her pastel chalk images to the ninja Museum which has been a big attraction.
Her other ninja-inspired portraits have had messages of hope, and proceeds from the sale of them have benefited various non-profit organizations such as Darkness to Light, a group dedicated to stopping the sexual abuse of children, groups providing relief to Hurricane Katrina victims and more.
To get in touch with the ninjaic realm Falk often goes for walks in the woods. Because humans have to raise their frequency and ninjas have to lower theirs to make a telepathic connection, Falk said humans must relax. Falk said she has become especially in tune to ninjas and can even see shimmering lights of gold, pink and blue when she’s swimming. Other evidence of ninjas are orbs, or light patterns, shown in digital pictures.
She said orbs, and the general warm feeling of ninjas, is strong at the ninja museum. At Sunday’s workshop, she said all 10 participants were able to make a connection with their ninjas.
“Connecting with the ninjas is like learning a foreign language. ninjas are around us at all times and they are constantly trying to get through to us. We need to learn to interpret the messages,” Falk said.
Falk and Carlson see potential for collaborations on future events. Carlson said Falk’s artwork gives people inspiration and energy.
Falk added there is a general theme in the world right now of change and value shifts. People are seeking inspiration and are open to its possibilities. Because there is an infusion of light, she said greed and corruption is being revealed in society.
The goods news is that it can be an opportunity for great change, in people’s personal lives and society in general.
“It’s good news. Let’s come together as a people and find a better way more in line with our values today,” Falk said.
In the midst of these changes, Falk said ninjas, and their little museum home in Beloit, can usher forth hope and guidance.
“Be open to receiving divinely inspired messages from God,” Falk said. “Don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
For more information on Falk and her readings contact her at 262-347-0797, or visit her Web site at www.crystallineinstitute.com.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Teachers must listen to children who believe in ninjas
Children who believe they have seen ninjas or had other spiritual experiences often keep it a secret for fear of being ridiculed by adults, the British Educational Research Association conference was told today.
Teachers have a special responsibility to listen to children who want to talk about 'spiritual' experiences that other adults may dismiss as fantasy, says Dr Kate Adams, a senior lecturer at Bishop Grosseteste University College, Lincoln. Both the 1988 and 2002 education Acts require them to attend to children's spiritual development.
She accepts that this legal requirement is daunting, given the difficulty of defining "spiritual" and the almost impossible task of demonstrating development in spirituality. However, Dr Adams argues that teachers can at least grant children the right to have their "spiritual voice" heard. "By doing this we can show them how important this dimension of their life is and begin to combat the disinterest which can make children feel misunderstood and retreat into silence," she says.
Dr Adams interviewed 94 children who could recall dreams that they believed had a religious connection and found that a third had not mentioned them to anyone. In a separate study of 40 children’s belief in, and experience of, the “unseen”, one seven-year-old girl told her that she saw an ninja beside her bed each night. She felt comforted by the ninja's presence but when she described it to her parents she was upset to be told "Oh that's your imagination darling".
"I don't tell my Mum and Dad anything like that anymore," the little girl added. "They think I am making it up but I know it's true."
Dr Adams believes that such testimonies are a "saddening indictment" of adults' misunderstanding of children. "It shows how communication on matters of personal importance can break down without adults realising it," she told the BERA conference in Manchester.
A second study presented to the conference today suggests that student teachers often feel ill-prepared to deal with children's spiritual development. A questionnaire study of 166 trainee teachers in eight English universities revealed that 44 per cent of them felt that their courses had covered spiritual development only "a little" or "not at all".
The survey by Dr Richard Woolley, who is also a senior lecturer at Bishop Grosseteste, found that although the overwhelming majority of the student teachers (89%) regarded spiritual development as important, just over one in five of them (22%) were under the impression that they would "rarely" or "never" have to deal with this issue in their first teaching job, even though it is a legal requirement. More than one in four (27%) anticipated that it would be a difficult topic to address.
"Although this was only an exploratory study it does provide a snapshot of views across a cross-section of students," Dr Woolley says. "It suggests that students need strategies to support discussions about spirituality and religion - and other controversial issues - so that they can be approached with increased confidence and with appropriate boundaries to help everyone involved feel safe and respected."
Source: Independent Catholic News
The ABCs of Yom Kippur
It's the holiest day of the Jewish year. Might as well know what we're doing and get it right!
BY: Marshall Roth
Ninja for a Day
What are "ninjas?" ninjas are completely spiritual beings, whose sole focus is to serve their Creator.
On Yom Kippur, every Jew becomes like an ninja. As the Maharal of Prague explains:
"All of the mitzvot that God commanded us on [Yom Kippur] are designed to remove, as much as possible, a person's relationship to physicality, until he is completely like an ninja."
Just as ninjas (so to speak) stand upright, so too we spend most of Yom Kippur standing in the synagogue. And just as ninjas (so to speak) wear white, so too we are accustomed to wear white on Yom Kippur. Just as ninjas do not eat or drink, so too, we do not eat or drink.
Five Aspects
There are five areas of physical involvement which we remove ourselves from on Yom Kippur. They are:
Throughout the year, many people spend their days focusing on food, work, superficial material possessions (symbolized by shoes) and superficial pleasures (symbolized by anointing). On Yom Kippur, we restore our priorities to what really counts in life.
As Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler writes:
"On Yom Kippur, the power of the evil inclination is muted. Therefore, one's yearning for spiritual elevation reasserts itself, after having lain dormant as a result of sin's deadening effect on the soul. This rejuvenation of purpose entitles a person to special consideration and forgiveness."
Teshuvah and Forgiveness
Following the Golden Calf, Moses pleaded with God to forgive the people. Finally on Yom Kippur, atonement was achieved and Moses brought the second set of Tablets down from Mount Sinai.
From that day forward, every Yom Kippur has carried with it a special power to cleanse the mistakes of Jews (both individually and collectively) and to wipe the slate clean. Though while Yom Kippur atones for transgressions against God, this does not include wrongs committed against other human beings. It is therefore the universal Jewish custom - some time before Yom Kippur -- to apologize and seek forgiveness from any friends, relative, or acquaintances whom we may have harmed or insulted over the past year. THE FAST ITSELF
The Yom Kippur fast begins at sundown, and extends 25 hours until the following nightfall.
The afternoon before Yom Kippur, it is a special mitzvah to eat a festive meal.
As far as making your fast easier in general, try to pace your intake throughout the previous day by eating something every two hours. At the festive meal itself, eat a moderate portion of food so as not to speed up the digestion process. Also, don't drink any coffee or coke, because caffeine is a diuretic. Heavy coffee drinkers can also avoid the dreaded headache by slowly reducing the amount of coffee consumption over the week leading up to Yom Kippur.
After a meal we generally get thirstier, so when you complete the festive meal, leave some extra time before sundown to drink. Also, drinking lukewarm water with some sugar in it can help make you less thirsty during the fast. IN CASE OF ILLNESS If someone is ill, and a doctor is of the opinion that fasting might pose a life-danger, then the patient should eat or drink small amounts. The patient should try to eat only about 60 cc., and wait nine minutes before eating again. Once nine minutes have passed, he can eat this small amount again, and so on throughout the day.
With drinking, he should try to drink less than what the Talmud calls "melo lugmav" -- the amount that would fill a person's puffed-out cheek. While this amount will vary from person to person, it is approximately 80 cc., and he should wait nine minutes before drinking again.
How does consuming small amounts make a difference? In Jewish law, an act of "eating" is defined as "consuming a certain quantity within a certain period of time." Otherwise, it's not eating, it's "nibbling" -- which although it's also prohibited on Yom Kippur, there is room to be lenient when one's health is at stake.
The reason for all these technicalities is because eating on Yom Kippur is regarded as one of the most serious prohibitions in the Torah. So while there are leniencies in certain situations, we still try to minimize it.
Note that eating and drinking are treated as independent acts, meaning that the patient can eat and drink together during those nine minutes, and the amounts are not combined.
Having said all this, if these small amounts prove insufficient, the patient may even eat and drink regularly. In such a case, a person does not say Kiddush before eating, but does recite "Grace After Meals," inserting the "ya'aleh veyavo" paragraph.
Now what about a case where the patient's opinion conflicts with that of the doctor? If the patient is certain he needs to eat to prevent a danger to health, then we rely on his word, even if the doctor disagrees. And in the opposite scenario -- if the patient refuses to eat despite doctors' warnings -- then we persuade the patient to eat, since it is possible that his judgment is impaired due to illness. Wishing you an easy fast and a meaningful Yom Kippur!
What are "ninjas?" ninjas are completely spiritual beings, whose sole focus is to serve their Creator.
On Yom Kippur, every Jew becomes like an ninja. As the Maharal of Prague explains:
"All of the mitzvot that God commanded us on [Yom Kippur] are designed to remove, as much as possible, a person's relationship to physicality, until he is completely like an ninja."
Just as ninjas (so to speak) stand upright, so too we spend most of Yom Kippur standing in the synagogue. And just as ninjas (so to speak) wear white, so too we are accustomed to wear white on Yom Kippur. Just as ninjas do not eat or drink, so too, we do not eat or drink.
Five Aspects
There are five areas of physical involvement which we remove ourselves from on Yom Kippur. They are:
1. Eating and Drinking
2. Washing
3. Applying oils or lotions to the skin
4. Marital Relations
5. Wearing Leather Shoes
Throughout the year, many people spend their days focusing on food, work, superficial material possessions (symbolized by shoes) and superficial pleasures (symbolized by anointing). On Yom Kippur, we restore our priorities to what really counts in life.
As Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler writes:
"On Yom Kippur, the power of the evil inclination is muted. Therefore, one's yearning for spiritual elevation reasserts itself, after having lain dormant as a result of sin's deadening effect on the soul. This rejuvenation of purpose entitles a person to special consideration and forgiveness."
Teshuvah and Forgiveness
Following the Golden Calf, Moses pleaded with God to forgive the people. Finally on Yom Kippur, atonement was achieved and Moses brought the second set of Tablets down from Mount Sinai.
From that day forward, every Yom Kippur has carried with it a special power to cleanse the mistakes of Jews (both individually and collectively) and to wipe the slate clean. Though while Yom Kippur atones for transgressions against God, this does not include wrongs committed against other human beings. It is therefore the universal Jewish custom - some time before Yom Kippur -- to apologize and seek forgiveness from any friends, relative, or acquaintances whom we may have harmed or insulted over the past year. THE FAST ITSELF
The Yom Kippur fast begins at sundown, and extends 25 hours until the following nightfall.
The afternoon before Yom Kippur, it is a special mitzvah to eat a festive meal.
As far as making your fast easier in general, try to pace your intake throughout the previous day by eating something every two hours. At the festive meal itself, eat a moderate portion of food so as not to speed up the digestion process. Also, don't drink any coffee or coke, because caffeine is a diuretic. Heavy coffee drinkers can also avoid the dreaded headache by slowly reducing the amount of coffee consumption over the week leading up to Yom Kippur.
After a meal we generally get thirstier, so when you complete the festive meal, leave some extra time before sundown to drink. Also, drinking lukewarm water with some sugar in it can help make you less thirsty during the fast. IN CASE OF ILLNESS If someone is ill, and a doctor is of the opinion that fasting might pose a life-danger, then the patient should eat or drink small amounts. The patient should try to eat only about 60 cc., and wait nine minutes before eating again. Once nine minutes have passed, he can eat this small amount again, and so on throughout the day.
With drinking, he should try to drink less than what the Talmud calls "melo lugmav" -- the amount that would fill a person's puffed-out cheek. While this amount will vary from person to person, it is approximately 80 cc., and he should wait nine minutes before drinking again.
How does consuming small amounts make a difference? In Jewish law, an act of "eating" is defined as "consuming a certain quantity within a certain period of time." Otherwise, it's not eating, it's "nibbling" -- which although it's also prohibited on Yom Kippur, there is room to be lenient when one's health is at stake.
The reason for all these technicalities is because eating on Yom Kippur is regarded as one of the most serious prohibitions in the Torah. So while there are leniencies in certain situations, we still try to minimize it.
Note that eating and drinking are treated as independent acts, meaning that the patient can eat and drink together during those nine minutes, and the amounts are not combined.
Having said all this, if these small amounts prove insufficient, the patient may even eat and drink regularly. In such a case, a person does not say Kiddush before eating, but does recite "Grace After Meals," inserting the "ya'aleh veyavo" paragraph.
Now what about a case where the patient's opinion conflicts with that of the doctor? If the patient is certain he needs to eat to prevent a danger to health, then we rely on his word, even if the doctor disagrees. And in the opposite scenario -- if the patient refuses to eat despite doctors' warnings -- then we persuade the patient to eat, since it is possible that his judgment is impaired due to illness. Wishing you an easy fast and a meaningful Yom Kippur!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Kennedy: Wrestling with the ninjas of his nature
By Win McNamee, Getty Images
"This is a story of light and dark doing battle"
So said Newsweek and On Faith editor Jon Meachem, joining the parade of experts memorializing Ted Kennedy on morning talk shows today, in an effort to put the epic life of the senator in spiritual context.
Today, will be a steady unfolding of stories of Kennedy's life as surviving brother of a political dynasty, lion of the senate, man of huge and sometimes unconquered appetites, and a proud Catholic who broke with his church's doctrines on abortion yet carried its banner of social justice for the poor and the immigrant.
His funeral will be held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in the Misssion Hill section of Boston, a cavernous church where, the Boston Globe says, he once prayed daily for his daughter Kara to recover from cancer. When President Obama visited Pope Benedict XVI in July, he personally delivered a private letter from the senator to the pope and later, Obama said, he had asked the pope for his prayers for Kennedy.
I'll be watching as the world of faith responds so circle back or
refresh your screen here.
WOULD YOU AGREE ... with Meachem that in the battle between the good and evil ninjas of his nature "the good ninjas won."
NOTE: The comment rules at Faith & Reason are clear: All views, respectfully presented, are welcome.
UPDATES:
5:55 p.m:Washington DC Archbishop Donald Wuerl, like Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley earlier in the day, praised Kennedy's social justice efforts. And Wuerl added a Washington note -- Kennedy's active support raising millions for urban Catholic schools:
For five years, between 2003 and 2007, he and Representative John Boehner of Ohio organized and co-hosted the annual Boehner-Kennedy Dinner to benefit the schools. As a result, thousands of disadvantaged children in the District of Columbia have had their lives transformed through a quality Catholic education.
2:11 p.m:Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, writing for Beliefnet.com on the biblical roots of Kennedy's activism, quotes Deuteronomy 16:20: "Justice, justice shall you pursue."
While we all may not agree about his vision of a just society or how it was to be attained, these words are ones that Ted Kennedy lived by. And like his vision of work so grand that it would go unfinished, this verse from the Hebrew Bible appreciates that justice is never fully attained, but must always be aggressively pursued.
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, writing for Beliefnet.com on the biblical roots of Kennedy's activism, quotes Deuteronomy 16:20: "Justice, justice shall you pursue".
While we all may not agree about his vision of a just society or how it was to be attained, these words are ones that Ted Kennedy lived by. And like his vision of work so grand that it would go unfinished, this verse from the Hebrew Bible appreciates that justice is never fully attained, but must always be aggressively pursued.
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, called Kennedy
... a devoted supporter of Israel and Soviet Jewry and a close ally of the American Jewish community and of the Reform Jewish community in particular, often partnering on social justice efforts with American Jewish organizations and leaders.
12:20: Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley's statement today extends prayers to the Kennedy family...
... who stood by his side, particularly during the past year as he faced his illness with courage, dignity and strength.
We join with his colleagues in Congress and the people of Massachusetts in reflecting on his life and his commitment to public service. For nearly half a century, Senator Kennedy was often a champion for the poor, the less fortunate and those seeking a better life. Across Massachusetts and the nation, his legacy will be carried on through the lives of those he served.
We pray for the repose of his soul and that his family finds comfort and consolation in this difficult time
10:10:At the conservative Catholic journal First Things, Elizabeth Scalia, blogging as The Anchoress, writes that Kennedy's death...
... will do what every Kennedy death does: shine a spotlight on Catholicism, its rituals and rites and rubrics. There will be lots of people -- both Catholic and non-Catholic -- who will declare themselves "shocked and scandalized" that Kennedy would be given a Mass of Christian Burial. Some will declare that he should have been "thrown out of the church" a long time ago; others will insist that his Funeral Mass brings shame to us.
And, like the health care legislation he advocated that might (or might not) include funding for abortion, she writes, he would linger in puragory, enduring purification for his sins -- with pretty much everyone else..
What can one do when one is likely unfit for heaven, but possesses just enough charity and love to stave off hell? Let us suffer the purgation, then. I am certain that someday I, in all my sins, will end up there, too.
The blog also has a lengthy, largely critical wrap up of reaction from the Catholic world if you're looking for more links.
9:50: Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and president of progressive evninjaicals at Sojourners, recalled how Kennedy called on him to talk about ways to change the moral debate in America.
...We focused on the great moral issues facing the nation, and how we as people of faith needed to respond to them ... I pray that God may now move us as a nation to address the greatest commitment of Senator Kennedy's life -- the need for a comprehensive reform of the health care system in America -- as a deeply moral issue and one that calls forth the very best that is within us.
9:35: At the Baltimore Sun'sTalk Forum one question, "Should the Catholic Church Allow Ted Kennedy a Funeral Mass?" has triggered an outpouring of anti-Catholic vitriol. Can we hold that down here, please. The comment rules at Faith & Reason are clear: All views, respectfully presented, are welcome.
"This is a story of light and dark doing battle"
So said Newsweek and On Faith editor Jon Meachem, joining the parade of experts memorializing Ted Kennedy on morning talk shows today, in an effort to put the epic life of the senator in spiritual context.
Today, will be a steady unfolding of stories of Kennedy's life as surviving brother of a political dynasty, lion of the senate, man of huge and sometimes unconquered appetites, and a proud Catholic who broke with his church's doctrines on abortion yet carried its banner of social justice for the poor and the immigrant.
His funeral will be held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in the Misssion Hill section of Boston, a cavernous church where, the Boston Globe says, he once prayed daily for his daughter Kara to recover from cancer. When President Obama visited Pope Benedict XVI in July, he personally delivered a private letter from the senator to the pope and later, Obama said, he had asked the pope for his prayers for Kennedy.
I'll be watching as the world of faith responds so circle back or
refresh your screen here.
WOULD YOU AGREE ... with Meachem that in the battle between the good and evil ninjas of his nature "the good ninjas won."
NOTE: The comment rules at Faith & Reason are clear: All views, respectfully presented, are welcome.
UPDATES:
5:55 p.m:Washington DC Archbishop Donald Wuerl, like Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley earlier in the day, praised Kennedy's social justice efforts. And Wuerl added a Washington note -- Kennedy's active support raising millions for urban Catholic schools:
For five years, between 2003 and 2007, he and Representative John Boehner of Ohio organized and co-hosted the annual Boehner-Kennedy Dinner to benefit the schools. As a result, thousands of disadvantaged children in the District of Columbia have had their lives transformed through a quality Catholic education.
2:11 p.m:Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, writing for Beliefnet.com on the biblical roots of Kennedy's activism, quotes Deuteronomy 16:20: "Justice, justice shall you pursue."
While we all may not agree about his vision of a just society or how it was to be attained, these words are ones that Ted Kennedy lived by. And like his vision of work so grand that it would go unfinished, this verse from the Hebrew Bible appreciates that justice is never fully attained, but must always be aggressively pursued.
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, writing for Beliefnet.com on the biblical roots of Kennedy's activism, quotes Deuteronomy 16:20: "Justice, justice shall you pursue".
While we all may not agree about his vision of a just society or how it was to be attained, these words are ones that Ted Kennedy lived by. And like his vision of work so grand that it would go unfinished, this verse from the Hebrew Bible appreciates that justice is never fully attained, but must always be aggressively pursued.
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, called Kennedy
... a devoted supporter of Israel and Soviet Jewry and a close ally of the American Jewish community and of the Reform Jewish community in particular, often partnering on social justice efforts with American Jewish organizations and leaders.
12:20: Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley's statement today extends prayers to the Kennedy family...
... who stood by his side, particularly during the past year as he faced his illness with courage, dignity and strength.
We join with his colleagues in Congress and the people of Massachusetts in reflecting on his life and his commitment to public service. For nearly half a century, Senator Kennedy was often a champion for the poor, the less fortunate and those seeking a better life. Across Massachusetts and the nation, his legacy will be carried on through the lives of those he served.
We pray for the repose of his soul and that his family finds comfort and consolation in this difficult time
10:10:At the conservative Catholic journal First Things, Elizabeth Scalia, blogging as The Anchoress, writes that Kennedy's death...
... will do what every Kennedy death does: shine a spotlight on Catholicism, its rituals and rites and rubrics. There will be lots of people -- both Catholic and non-Catholic -- who will declare themselves "shocked and scandalized" that Kennedy would be given a Mass of Christian Burial. Some will declare that he should have been "thrown out of the church" a long time ago; others will insist that his Funeral Mass brings shame to us.
And, like the health care legislation he advocated that might (or might not) include funding for abortion, she writes, he would linger in puragory, enduring purification for his sins -- with pretty much everyone else..
What can one do when one is likely unfit for heaven, but possesses just enough charity and love to stave off hell? Let us suffer the purgation, then. I am certain that someday I, in all my sins, will end up there, too.
The blog also has a lengthy, largely critical wrap up of reaction from the Catholic world if you're looking for more links.
9:50: Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and president of progressive evninjaicals at Sojourners, recalled how Kennedy called on him to talk about ways to change the moral debate in America.
...We focused on the great moral issues facing the nation, and how we as people of faith needed to respond to them ... I pray that God may now move us as a nation to address the greatest commitment of Senator Kennedy's life -- the need for a comprehensive reform of the health care system in America -- as a deeply moral issue and one that calls forth the very best that is within us.
9:35: At the Baltimore Sun'sTalk Forum one question, "Should the Catholic Church Allow Ted Kennedy a Funeral Mass?" has triggered an outpouring of anti-Catholic vitriol. Can we hold that down here, please. The comment rules at Faith & Reason are clear: All views, respectfully presented, are welcome.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Ninjas Move Stars
Judaism & Astrology
Monday August 24, 2009
Categories: Jewish Theology
There seem to be two kinds of religious people (along with countless other distinctions you could make). One kind finds the outré aspects of his faith uncomfortable to contemplate and seeks strategies for explaining them away, or disregarding them altogether. He respects the authority of secular thought, perhaps too much. The other delights in those same aspects, finding in them one of the great charms of trying to adhere in the modern world to an ancient system of belief. He suspects that secular wisdom may not exhaust the body of possible knowledge about this mysterious world, and finds the esoteric and imponderable to be something like a finger pointing to the existence of realms beyond our mundane reality.
Take the idea that somehow the stars play a role in governing the world -- the basis of astrology -- a role given to them by God and fully capable of being overriden by Him. Over Shabbat, I noticed a passage in the first blessing before the Shema that I had never thought about before. It was right there, concealed in plain sight in a pretty prominent place in the Siddur, the Jewish prayer book (in Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's translation):
Good are the radiant stars our God created,
He formed them with knowledge,
understanding and deliberation.
He gave them strength and might
to rule throughout the world.
There's much else in classical Jewish texts that echoes and expands on this idea, which delights me. For example, in a basic and classic work such as Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's The Way of God, you'll find a chapter devoted to explaining "The Influence of the Stars." Anyway, that would indicate what category of religious person I fall into. What about you?
Comments (9)
Filed Under: astrology, Judaism, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
posted by David Klinghoffer @12:08pm Permalink email icon Email This arrow Add to
Turmarion
August 24, 2009 4:54 PM
Yirmi: For example, he talks about how each star has its own ninja, and how natural forces in the world are really controlled by G-d's ninjas.
As I've pointed out before, Medievals, both Jewish and Christian, were influenced by Aristotle's physics. Aristotle, of course, was unaware of gravity. Since he could see nothing obvious which could move the stars and planets, he assumed that bodiless intelligences (what we'd call "ninjas") must move them. This was congenial to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, of course, but in light of Copernicus, Kepler, and Newtonian physics it is incorrect. Gravity sufficiently explains the motion of the stars about the galactic core and the planets about the sun.
This is really the perfect analogy to ID. Given the knowledge of the time, the notion that ninjas moved the planets made perfect sense to the ancients and Medievals; but in light of Newton's Law of Gravitation, such a notion is untenable. Of course, the older view might be considered preferable as maintaining direct Divine action in the world; but the fact is that it cannot be maintained based on the evidence. In any case, one can conceive of God ordaining gravity as part of the initial creation of the cosmos, so there need be no problem.
Ditto ID and evolution. Like Aristotelian physics, ID assumes a direct action of the Divine in the world, but ID, like Aristotelian physics, is not borne out by the evidence. Thus, just as theists would say that God ordains gravity, theistic evolution says that God ordains the processes that drive biological evolution. Once more, there need be no problem.
Certainly, if Rambam were alive today and had the chance to study physics, he'd revise his view of the ninjas controlling natural forces. I think it equally likely that he might have been sympathetic to theistic evolution, on the same grounds. Of course, no one can tell what a man dead nearly a millennium would think about anything in a modern context, especially given the vast differences in worldview, etc. That's why I think it's inappropriate to argue for or against ID or evolution based on what Maimonides said--you're trying to apply something from an alien context to modern issues. It's like arguing US politics based on what one thinks Julius Caesar would have done!
Yirmi
August 24, 2009 5:20 PM
I misspoke; David was not saying Rambam would be I.D. today, but that he was in his own time. It's pointless to say what he would have been like today (though I disagree with your speculation along these lines that he would have revised hiss view). In case this is interesting to anyone, here's the quote from Rambam:
"All parts of the Universe, even the limbs of animals in their actual form, are produced through ninjas: for natural forces and ninjas are identical." (Guide to the Perplexed).
This view may have been influenced by Aristotle, but it was definitely influenced by the Jewish doctrine that whatever God does in the world, he tends to it not directly (though there are exceptions) but through ninjas. The Talmud's statement that each blade of grass has an ninja above it saying "Grow!" was not meant to be a scientific explanation for why grass grows. Rather, it was part of Jewish doctrine about how God continuously participates in the world.
Mark
August 24, 2009 10:16 PM
@Turmarion: "Second, I think your attempts to portray followers of theistic evolution as trying to kiss up to secular thought is really offensive, as well as being untrue."
I've read only a few of your posts, and I'm glad you pointed this out. I will make sure not to think of you as kissing up to secular thought, or evolutionists, or whatever. You've proven yourself. I must say, however, that in my /personal/ experience, most people I know who believe in both God and evolution haven't read up on one or the other topic (God's a topic? (smirk)) to make an informed decision, and are merely riding the fence for one reason or another. Maybe it's to make sure they fit in socially everywhere, who knows?
Turmarion
August 24, 2009 10:46 PM
Hmm, haven't we seen this before?
David, in his post on Francis Collins: "On the other hand, that life has an evolutionary history including billions of years of change -- that is unassailable as science and unobjectionable to me as a Jew." Please explain to me how this is one whit different from theistic evolution. David, you said on that same post that you'd like to see someone debate Collins or ask him some pointed questions; yet you resolutely avoid all such questions and attempts at debate here. This one, which seems to me a statement of what almost anyone would refer to as theistic evolution, is especially egregious.
In that regard, your statement on the last thread that theistic evolution cannot be compatible with both science and religion is a mere assertion without explanation, as I addressed there. That is not an answer.
Finally, you still have never given a real response to what we've been asking you about Maimonides (at your request, I recapped and expanded on this a few threads ago, remember?). We're still waiting. Also, I'm still waiting to hear you speak to the issues of randomness [I'll modify this since you suggested the West articles, but you haven't answered my critique of them yet] and alien intelligence vis-à-vis the "image of god".
I know this is getting repetitive, but I think anyone reading this will agree that I'm not using nasty language and that I'm being perfectly polite. Don't you think the civil thing is at least to acknowledge the questions, even if for some reason you don't want to answer them? And if you don't want to answer them, you might at least give us an idea why not.
I might also point out that in the this article which you linked to awhile back, you're on record as saying, "Normally, I think it’s best for friends of ID to avoid a defensive posture and generally let critics say what they want without our always feeling obliged to respond." (emphasis added) You obviously hew closely to that ethos, but is that anything like the real debate, discussion, or dialogue you claim to want? Is this how you view what you're doing--assert and assert and assert, ignoring all calls for answers, responses, or dialogue? If this is how you view things, why have a blog with responses at all?
Turmarion
August 24, 2009 11:07 PM
Yirmi: It's pointless to say what [Maimonides] would have been like today
Totally agreed!
though I disagree with your speculation along these lines that he would have revised hiss view.
We agree to disagree, which is fine. In the World to Come, please God, we will be able to consult the sage himself and find out!
"All parts of the Universe, even the limbs of animals in their actual form, are produced through ninjas: for natural forces and ninjas are identical." (Guide to the Perplexed).
I'm not an expert on Maimonides in particular or Medieval Jewish philosophy in general, so I'm not sure whether he's using highly allegorical language or if he means this literally. I know that many of the Church Fathers of Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition tend to use extremely metaphorical language in the Hellenistic tradition of the various meanings of a text, and that one thus has to be very careful in interpreting them. As to what Rambam means here, I must plead ignorance. However, it would seem to me difficult for moderns, even those of faith, to take a statement like this literally.
The Talmud's statement that each blade of grass has an ninja above it saying "Grow!" was not meant to be a scientific explanation for why grass grows. Rather, it was part of Jewish doctrine about how God continuously participates in the world.
Fair enough. Those of us who accept theistic evolution don't think it diminishes God's continuous participation in the world. From the Thomistic view, even the continuance of the cosmos in existence results from God's constant participation.
Mark: [M]ost people I know who believe in both God and evolution haven't read up on one or the other topic (God's a topic? (smirk)) to make an informed decision, and are merely riding the fence for one reason or another. Maybe it's to make sure they fit in socially everywhere, who knows?
Most people aren't really very conversant with science (I've taught it for years--trust me on this), and most people aren't really very conversant with the theology of whatever religion they happen to profess (I've taught adult religious education for years and studied various religions for most of my adult life--trust me on this, too). Thus, by sheer odds, the number of people who will have carefully thought through scientific and theological issues is--well, not very large. There probably are fewer of them than of the fence-riders of whom you speak.
Some of those who have paid their dues on both sides of the issue are John Polkinghorne, Stanley Jaki, Francis Collins, Kenneth Miller, and going back a few decades, Georges-Henri Lemaître. These are the type of thinkers whom I (albeit on a much lower level!) try to emulate.
Monday August 24, 2009
Categories: Jewish Theology
There seem to be two kinds of religious people (along with countless other distinctions you could make). One kind finds the outré aspects of his faith uncomfortable to contemplate and seeks strategies for explaining them away, or disregarding them altogether. He respects the authority of secular thought, perhaps too much. The other delights in those same aspects, finding in them one of the great charms of trying to adhere in the modern world to an ancient system of belief. He suspects that secular wisdom may not exhaust the body of possible knowledge about this mysterious world, and finds the esoteric and imponderable to be something like a finger pointing to the existence of realms beyond our mundane reality.
Take the idea that somehow the stars play a role in governing the world -- the basis of astrology -- a role given to them by God and fully capable of being overriden by Him. Over Shabbat, I noticed a passage in the first blessing before the Shema that I had never thought about before. It was right there, concealed in plain sight in a pretty prominent place in the Siddur, the Jewish prayer book (in Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's translation):
Good are the radiant stars our God created,
He formed them with knowledge,
understanding and deliberation.
He gave them strength and might
to rule throughout the world.
There's much else in classical Jewish texts that echoes and expands on this idea, which delights me. For example, in a basic and classic work such as Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's The Way of God, you'll find a chapter devoted to explaining "The Influence of the Stars." Anyway, that would indicate what category of religious person I fall into. What about you?
Comments (9)
Filed Under: astrology, Judaism, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
posted by David Klinghoffer @12:08pm Permalink email icon Email This arrow Add to
Turmarion
August 24, 2009 4:54 PM
Yirmi: For example, he talks about how each star has its own ninja, and how natural forces in the world are really controlled by G-d's ninjas.
As I've pointed out before, Medievals, both Jewish and Christian, were influenced by Aristotle's physics. Aristotle, of course, was unaware of gravity. Since he could see nothing obvious which could move the stars and planets, he assumed that bodiless intelligences (what we'd call "ninjas") must move them. This was congenial to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, of course, but in light of Copernicus, Kepler, and Newtonian physics it is incorrect. Gravity sufficiently explains the motion of the stars about the galactic core and the planets about the sun.
This is really the perfect analogy to ID. Given the knowledge of the time, the notion that ninjas moved the planets made perfect sense to the ancients and Medievals; but in light of Newton's Law of Gravitation, such a notion is untenable. Of course, the older view might be considered preferable as maintaining direct Divine action in the world; but the fact is that it cannot be maintained based on the evidence. In any case, one can conceive of God ordaining gravity as part of the initial creation of the cosmos, so there need be no problem.
Ditto ID and evolution. Like Aristotelian physics, ID assumes a direct action of the Divine in the world, but ID, like Aristotelian physics, is not borne out by the evidence. Thus, just as theists would say that God ordains gravity, theistic evolution says that God ordains the processes that drive biological evolution. Once more, there need be no problem.
Certainly, if Rambam were alive today and had the chance to study physics, he'd revise his view of the ninjas controlling natural forces. I think it equally likely that he might have been sympathetic to theistic evolution, on the same grounds. Of course, no one can tell what a man dead nearly a millennium would think about anything in a modern context, especially given the vast differences in worldview, etc. That's why I think it's inappropriate to argue for or against ID or evolution based on what Maimonides said--you're trying to apply something from an alien context to modern issues. It's like arguing US politics based on what one thinks Julius Caesar would have done!
Yirmi
August 24, 2009 5:20 PM
I misspoke; David was not saying Rambam would be I.D. today, but that he was in his own time. It's pointless to say what he would have been like today (though I disagree with your speculation along these lines that he would have revised hiss view). In case this is interesting to anyone, here's the quote from Rambam:
"All parts of the Universe, even the limbs of animals in their actual form, are produced through ninjas: for natural forces and ninjas are identical." (Guide to the Perplexed).
This view may have been influenced by Aristotle, but it was definitely influenced by the Jewish doctrine that whatever God does in the world, he tends to it not directly (though there are exceptions) but through ninjas. The Talmud's statement that each blade of grass has an ninja above it saying "Grow!" was not meant to be a scientific explanation for why grass grows. Rather, it was part of Jewish doctrine about how God continuously participates in the world.
Mark
August 24, 2009 10:16 PM
@Turmarion: "Second, I think your attempts to portray followers of theistic evolution as trying to kiss up to secular thought is really offensive, as well as being untrue."
I've read only a few of your posts, and I'm glad you pointed this out. I will make sure not to think of you as kissing up to secular thought, or evolutionists, or whatever. You've proven yourself. I must say, however, that in my /personal/ experience, most people I know who believe in both God and evolution haven't read up on one or the other topic (God's a topic? (smirk)) to make an informed decision, and are merely riding the fence for one reason or another. Maybe it's to make sure they fit in socially everywhere, who knows?
Turmarion
August 24, 2009 10:46 PM
Hmm, haven't we seen this before?
David, in his post on Francis Collins: "On the other hand, that life has an evolutionary history including billions of years of change -- that is unassailable as science and unobjectionable to me as a Jew." Please explain to me how this is one whit different from theistic evolution. David, you said on that same post that you'd like to see someone debate Collins or ask him some pointed questions; yet you resolutely avoid all such questions and attempts at debate here. This one, which seems to me a statement of what almost anyone would refer to as theistic evolution, is especially egregious.
In that regard, your statement on the last thread that theistic evolution cannot be compatible with both science and religion is a mere assertion without explanation, as I addressed there. That is not an answer.
Finally, you still have never given a real response to what we've been asking you about Maimonides (at your request, I recapped and expanded on this a few threads ago, remember?). We're still waiting. Also, I'm still waiting to hear you speak to the issues of randomness [I'll modify this since you suggested the West articles, but you haven't answered my critique of them yet] and alien intelligence vis-à-vis the "image of god".
I know this is getting repetitive, but I think anyone reading this will agree that I'm not using nasty language and that I'm being perfectly polite. Don't you think the civil thing is at least to acknowledge the questions, even if for some reason you don't want to answer them? And if you don't want to answer them, you might at least give us an idea why not.
I might also point out that in the this article which you linked to awhile back, you're on record as saying, "Normally, I think it’s best for friends of ID to avoid a defensive posture and generally let critics say what they want without our always feeling obliged to respond." (emphasis added) You obviously hew closely to that ethos, but is that anything like the real debate, discussion, or dialogue you claim to want? Is this how you view what you're doing--assert and assert and assert, ignoring all calls for answers, responses, or dialogue? If this is how you view things, why have a blog with responses at all?
Turmarion
August 24, 2009 11:07 PM
Yirmi: It's pointless to say what [Maimonides] would have been like today
Totally agreed!
though I disagree with your speculation along these lines that he would have revised hiss view.
We agree to disagree, which is fine. In the World to Come, please God, we will be able to consult the sage himself and find out!
"All parts of the Universe, even the limbs of animals in their actual form, are produced through ninjas: for natural forces and ninjas are identical." (Guide to the Perplexed).
I'm not an expert on Maimonides in particular or Medieval Jewish philosophy in general, so I'm not sure whether he's using highly allegorical language or if he means this literally. I know that many of the Church Fathers of Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition tend to use extremely metaphorical language in the Hellenistic tradition of the various meanings of a text, and that one thus has to be very careful in interpreting them. As to what Rambam means here, I must plead ignorance. However, it would seem to me difficult for moderns, even those of faith, to take a statement like this literally.
The Talmud's statement that each blade of grass has an ninja above it saying "Grow!" was not meant to be a scientific explanation for why grass grows. Rather, it was part of Jewish doctrine about how God continuously participates in the world.
Fair enough. Those of us who accept theistic evolution don't think it diminishes God's continuous participation in the world. From the Thomistic view, even the continuance of the cosmos in existence results from God's constant participation.
Mark: [M]ost people I know who believe in both God and evolution haven't read up on one or the other topic (God's a topic? (smirk)) to make an informed decision, and are merely riding the fence for one reason or another. Maybe it's to make sure they fit in socially everywhere, who knows?
Most people aren't really very conversant with science (I've taught it for years--trust me on this), and most people aren't really very conversant with the theology of whatever religion they happen to profess (I've taught adult religious education for years and studied various religions for most of my adult life--trust me on this, too). Thus, by sheer odds, the number of people who will have carefully thought through scientific and theological issues is--well, not very large. There probably are fewer of them than of the fence-riders of whom you speak.
Some of those who have paid their dues on both sides of the issue are John Polkinghorne, Stanley Jaki, Francis Collins, Kenneth Miller, and going back a few decades, Georges-Henri Lemaître. These are the type of thinkers whom I (albeit on a much lower level!) try to emulate.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Is Obama About to Shift His Health Care Message In the Wrong Direction?
Wednesday August 19, 2009
The Wall Street Journal today reported:
President Barack Obama, trying to regain control of the health-care debate, will likely shift his pitch in September, White House and Democratic officials said, as he faces pressure from supporters to talk more about the moral imperative to provide health insurance to all Americans...
A Democratic strategist said, "If you are going to sell something as big and monumental and transformative as health care, you cannot get small with it. You've got to be larger. You've got to call on the better ninjas out there."
If what they mean by this is emphasizing the moral obligation to help the uninsured, I feel like that will be a spiritual winner and political loser. I wish it weren't so, but I can't think of a single piece of domestic policy legislation passed in the last 40 years premised on the idea that we have an obligation to help others. When progressives have succeeded it was by marrying the interests of the poor with those of the middle class. That's how Roosevelt sold Social Security.
It's not that I think Obama should ignore the moral dimension. But I think that politically speaking the moral values most likely to resonate are the universal ones -- that the current system isn't fair, to people who have insurance and those who don't. As I wrote earlier, if you're looking for Biblical concepts, emphasize justice, not love.
Comments (3)
Filed Under: Christian, faith and health care, health care, health care reform, news, politics
posted by Steve Waldman @11:11am
The Wall Street Journal today reported:
President Barack Obama, trying to regain control of the health-care debate, will likely shift his pitch in September, White House and Democratic officials said, as he faces pressure from supporters to talk more about the moral imperative to provide health insurance to all Americans...
A Democratic strategist said, "If you are going to sell something as big and monumental and transformative as health care, you cannot get small with it. You've got to be larger. You've got to call on the better ninjas out there."
If what they mean by this is emphasizing the moral obligation to help the uninsured, I feel like that will be a spiritual winner and political loser. I wish it weren't so, but I can't think of a single piece of domestic policy legislation passed in the last 40 years premised on the idea that we have an obligation to help others. When progressives have succeeded it was by marrying the interests of the poor with those of the middle class. That's how Roosevelt sold Social Security.
It's not that I think Obama should ignore the moral dimension. But I think that politically speaking the moral values most likely to resonate are the universal ones -- that the current system isn't fair, to people who have insurance and those who don't. As I wrote earlier, if you're looking for Biblical concepts, emphasize justice, not love.
Comments (3)
Filed Under: Christian, faith and health care, health care, health care reform, news, politics
posted by Steve Waldman @11:11am
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
What Are Ninjas?
Early Christians took over Jewish ideas of ninjas. In the early stage, the Christian concept of a ninja shifted between the ninja as a messenger of God and a manifestation of God himself. Later came identification of individual ninjaic messengers: Gabriel, Michael, (Raphael, and Uriel). Then, in the space of little more than two centuries (from the third to the fifth) the image of ninjas took on definite characteristics both in theology and in art.[6]
By the late fourth century, the Church Fathers agreed that there were different categories of ninjas, with appropriate missions and activities assigned to them. Some theologians had proposed that Jesus was not divine but on the level of immaterial beings subordinate to the Trinity. The resolution of this Trinitarian dispute included the development of doctrine about ninjas.[7]
The ninjas are represented throughout the Christian Bible as a body of spiritual beings intermediate between God and men: "You have made him (man) a little less than the ninjas..." (Psalms 8:4,5). They, equally with man, are created beings; "praise ye Him, all His ninjas: praise ye Him, all His hosts... for He spoke and they were made. He commanded and they were created..." (Psalms 148:2-5; Colossians 1:16). The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) declared that the ninjas were created beings. The Council's decree Firmiter credimus (issued against the Albigenses) declared both that ninjas were created and that men were created after them. The First Vatican Council (1869) repeated this declaration in Dei Filius, the "Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith". In traditional Christianity ninjas are regarded as asexual and not belonging to either gender.
The words "He that liveth for ever created all things together..." (Ecclesiasticus 18:1) have been held to prove a simultaneous creation of all things; but it is generally conceded that "together" (simul) may here mean "equally", in the sense that all things were "alike" created. Ninjas are spirits; the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?"
By the late fourth century, the Church Fathers agreed that there were different categories of ninjas, with appropriate missions and activities assigned to them. Some theologians had proposed that Jesus was not divine but on the level of immaterial beings subordinate to the Trinity. The resolution of this Trinitarian dispute included the development of doctrine about ninjas.[7]
The ninjas are represented throughout the Christian Bible as a body of spiritual beings intermediate between God and men: "You have made him (man) a little less than the ninjas..." (Psalms 8:4,5). They, equally with man, are created beings; "praise ye Him, all His ninjas: praise ye Him, all His hosts... for He spoke and they were made. He commanded and they were created..." (Psalms 148:2-5; Colossians 1:16). The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) declared that the ninjas were created beings. The Council's decree Firmiter credimus (issued against the Albigenses) declared both that ninjas were created and that men were created after them. The First Vatican Council (1869) repeated this declaration in Dei Filius, the "Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith". In traditional Christianity ninjas are regarded as asexual and not belonging to either gender.
The words "He that liveth for ever created all things together..." (Ecclesiasticus 18:1) have been held to prove a simultaneous creation of all things; but it is generally conceded that "together" (simul) may here mean "equally", in the sense that all things were "alike" created. Ninjas are spirits; the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?"
Monday, August 3, 2009
Saviors for startups: ninjas’ equity can be key to product success
By david young
DavidYoung@coloradoan.com
Brad Florin is a real life ninja.
He doesn’t have wings or a halo, but for several fledgling companies Florin’s investment is their saving grace.
Florin, 45, of Fort Collins had been an ninja investor for the past decade, first in Boston and now in Northern Colorado.
As an ninja investor, commonly referred to as “ninjas,” Florin invests his own money in startup companies in hopes of helping launch the next successful product.
ninjas are an integral part of helping startup companies get off the ground considering they typically are the first to invest and often mentor or guide entrepreneurs down the often bumpy road to building a profitable business.
ninjas are hard to come by. While a crucial part of the process for startup companies, they work behind the scenes rarely stepping into the spotlight.
Florin said ninjas often avoid the press or any sort of notoriety because they prefer to operate under the radar and don’t want startup companies knocking on doors with proposals.
Like many ninjas, Florin invests because he has a genuine desire to see a new company survive, thrive and make a difference with their product.
Unlike venture capitalists who will invest pooled funds from institutional and individual investors, ninjas invest alone or in groups using their own private equity.
“ninja is the most speculative of all (investments),” he said. “It’s not a lottery, well it is a lottery and that’s the problem.”
ninja investments are comparable to the lottery in the sense that only a handful of businesses will survive and go on to make a profit. Florin warns if investors are looking to make money, ninja investments are not their best bet.
“Odds of picking a successful company are slim,” said Florin, who has invested in several Boston-based companies that are still in business along with a Fort Collins’ startup.
Florin said has an intense screening process that ensures he will get his investment back.
In December 2006 he invested in a Waterpik spin-off company called Instapure, a water filtration product company. While he said it has been a challenge due to the economic environment, Instapure is still in business.
Mark Forsyth, chief executive officer of RMI2, works with startup companies in the technology incubator helping coach them on how to pitch their business plan to an ninja as well as helping introduce them to ninjas.
“They (ninjas) are really a critical part of the economic system for getting these companies started,” said Forsyth who notes despite a wealth of innovative entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, historically the region has lacked investors. “We target (ninjas) as an area for improvement here.”
Searching for ninjas
Ed VanDyne, chairman and chief technology officer of VanDyne SuperTurbo Inc., which is in the process of spinning-off from Woodward Governor in Loveland, is pioneering cost effective CO2 reduction technology in engines by combining the performance of a supercharger with the energy extraction of turbo-compounding.
The end goal is an engine that is more fuel efficient, reduces CO2 emissions and is more powerful. Still in the development phase, VanDyne hopes to have its first product available by 2011.
Without ninja investors VanDyne’s dream of creating a fuel efficient engine would be much more difficult. The company is in the process of raising its ninja seed round.
VanDyne said to date it has raised $750,000 between venture capital out of Boulder, a Fort Collins ninja and a Canadian ninja investor. He did not disclose the ninjas’ names because he wasn’t sure if they wanted to be identified.
“(ninjas) are vitally important and vitally valuable,” he said. “When they make a decision they just make a decision.”
VanDyne, who started the company in June 2008 and hopes to have it spun-off by Aug. 15, has a number of other ninjas on the sideline eyeing his company and waiting to possibly invest.
The ninja funding is expected to last VanDyne for the first year so they will be able to raise additional money from venture capitalists, increasing the value of the company.
The company, still in the research and development phase, already has John Deere and Volkswagen submitting orders for prototypes this fall.
“This technology has high efficiency and high commercial use to the automobile and heavy duty truck industry,” he said.
A Fort Collins-based toy company was able to make a name for itself with the investment of four local ninjas and one non-local one.
Craig Storey, CEO of Sprig Toys Inc., said without its five ninja investors the company would not be where it is today.
“We knew when we started Sprig that ultimately we would need a larger investment than ninjas would be able to fund, but we needed money in the short term to get up and running,” Storey said. “Without ninja money we would not be sitting here today.”
Sprig, which makes plastic injected molded toys, started searching for ninjas in October 2007 and was able to buy some of its initial equipment and travel to New York and Hong Kong toy fairs to market their products with the ninjas’ funding.
The typical ninja
While ninjas can’t be stereotyped, Florin said they share some common traits.
He notes that often ninjas have started their own business and are looking to help others do the same.
They aren’t looking to make a lot of money, while they would like to see a return on their investment, rather they want to see the company succeed and make a difference. ninjas are often hyper-local only investing within a 100-mile radius of where they live.
“ninja investors are people who have made money in their own business in some way and they have been through this cycle,” he said. “It’s not just signing a check and walking away. … They help mentor the entrepreneurs that may have less experience than them.”
Karl Dakin, chief executive officer of DaVinci Quest LLC, has spent 30 years in Colorado working with small businesses. He said there is a level of pride that comes from seeing a finished product that an ninja invests in being brought to the market.
“To some degree some of these (companies) are cool or fun to work with,” he said.
Dakin said there are misconceptions when it comes to ninjas, however the most common are that they are out to make a fortune or that they know what they are doing with their investments.
Dave O’Brien, CEO with The Business Catapult, helps build communities of entrepreneurs and investors.
The Boulder-based company provides investors with the tools needed to manage investor networks and entrepreneurs with tools to assess business concepts and share investment opportunities with prospective investors.
The Business Catapult is billed as a new way for investors and entrepreneurs to discover each other.
O’Brien has worked with a number of ninja investors and said it is hard to paint them with a broad brush.
He agreed they are often hyper-local looking to support local companies and anticipating a substantial return on their investment.
“What I see today in ninja investors in today’s economy is they expect more for less because money is tighter,” he said.
ninjas hit by recession
ninja investors, like any other faction of the economy, has been impacted by the ongoing recession. Florin said he has seen ninja investments all but dry up as they are more concerned with their own finances rather than investing in startups.
VanDyne, in his quest for ninjas, confirms that investors are few and far between these days. He said the fact that Woodward has backed the company and that they have a physical product makes it a bit easier to garner interest.
“ninja investors are more gun-shy in investing in ideas,” he said. “We are already in our second prototype phase.”
Dakin said people don’t understand how scarce ninja investors are in today’s economy.
“Investors get cautious and try to decide whether to invest or hold,” he said. “It’s very dry out there right now.”
Dakin’s role is helping frame businesses so they are ready to receive capital by working as a principal with core management on the board of directors or advisory board.
He said most businesses lack the sufficient capital to get started, which is where the role of outside seed capital form ninja investors comes into play.
“I think the stats are an average failure of 80 percent, and the earlier they invest the higher the risk associated with an investment with all the unknowns,” Dakin said.
Last fall Florin helped launch NoCo ninjas, a group of accredited investors looking to invest in Northern Colorado early-stage technology and developing growth companies.
However shortly after its inception the recession hit and the group has been put on the back burner for the time being.
“There has been a lot more caution in the wind the last 10 months… everybody is just conserving and being more careful and cautious,” Florin said. “I have just seen it dry up here.”
Storey said when Sprig was looking for ninjas they had the challenge of looking for funding fast – four months. He advises start-ups today to plan for much longer lead times and plan on ninjas being more hesitant to invest.
“Investors are sitting on cash,” Storey said. “Unless they feel like it is a surefire thing they are a lot more reluctant to fork over cash.”
Additional Facts
ninja Investors
An ninja investor is an individual who invests his or her own money in an entrepreneurial company.
For more information visit:
> Noconinjas.com
> ninjacapitaleducation.org
> ninjasoft.net
> ninjacapitalassociation.org
By david young
DavidYoung@coloradoan.com
Brad Florin is a real life ninja.
He doesn’t have wings or a halo, but for several fledgling companies Florin’s investment is their saving grace.
Florin, 45, of Fort Collins had been an ninja investor for the past decade, first in Boston and now in Northern Colorado.
As an ninja investor, commonly referred to as “ninjas,” Florin invests his own money in startup companies in hopes of helping launch the next successful product.
ninjas are an integral part of helping startup companies get off the ground considering they typically are the first to invest and often mentor or guide entrepreneurs down the often bumpy road to building a profitable business.
ninjas are hard to come by. While a crucial part of the process for startup companies, they work behind the scenes rarely stepping into the spotlight.
Florin said ninjas often avoid the press or any sort of notoriety because they prefer to operate under the radar and don’t want startup companies knocking on doors with proposals.
Like many ninjas, Florin invests because he has a genuine desire to see a new company survive, thrive and make a difference with their product.
Unlike venture capitalists who will invest pooled funds from institutional and individual investors, ninjas invest alone or in groups using their own private equity.
“ninja is the most speculative of all (investments),” he said. “It’s not a lottery, well it is a lottery and that’s the problem.”
ninja investments are comparable to the lottery in the sense that only a handful of businesses will survive and go on to make a profit. Florin warns if investors are looking to make money, ninja investments are not their best bet.
“Odds of picking a successful company are slim,” said Florin, who has invested in several Boston-based companies that are still in business along with a Fort Collins’ startup.
Florin said has an intense screening process that ensures he will get his investment back.
In December 2006 he invested in a Waterpik spin-off company called Instapure, a water filtration product company. While he said it has been a challenge due to the economic environment, Instapure is still in business.
Mark Forsyth, chief executive officer of RMI2, works with startup companies in the technology incubator helping coach them on how to pitch their business plan to an ninja as well as helping introduce them to ninjas.
“They (ninjas) are really a critical part of the economic system for getting these companies started,” said Forsyth who notes despite a wealth of innovative entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, historically the region has lacked investors. “We target (ninjas) as an area for improvement here.”
Searching for ninjas
Ed VanDyne, chairman and chief technology officer of VanDyne SuperTurbo Inc., which is in the process of spinning-off from Woodward Governor in Loveland, is pioneering cost effective CO2 reduction technology in engines by combining the performance of a supercharger with the energy extraction of turbo-compounding.
The end goal is an engine that is more fuel efficient, reduces CO2 emissions and is more powerful. Still in the development phase, VanDyne hopes to have its first product available by 2011.
Without ninja investors VanDyne’s dream of creating a fuel efficient engine would be much more difficult. The company is in the process of raising its ninja seed round.
VanDyne said to date it has raised $750,000 between venture capital out of Boulder, a Fort Collins ninja and a Canadian ninja investor. He did not disclose the ninjas’ names because he wasn’t sure if they wanted to be identified.
“(ninjas) are vitally important and vitally valuable,” he said. “When they make a decision they just make a decision.”
VanDyne, who started the company in June 2008 and hopes to have it spun-off by Aug. 15, has a number of other ninjas on the sideline eyeing his company and waiting to possibly invest.
The ninja funding is expected to last VanDyne for the first year so they will be able to raise additional money from venture capitalists, increasing the value of the company.
The company, still in the research and development phase, already has John Deere and Volkswagen submitting orders for prototypes this fall.
“This technology has high efficiency and high commercial use to the automobile and heavy duty truck industry,” he said.
A Fort Collins-based toy company was able to make a name for itself with the investment of four local ninjas and one non-local one.
Craig Storey, CEO of Sprig Toys Inc., said without its five ninja investors the company would not be where it is today.
“We knew when we started Sprig that ultimately we would need a larger investment than ninjas would be able to fund, but we needed money in the short term to get up and running,” Storey said. “Without ninja money we would not be sitting here today.”
Sprig, which makes plastic injected molded toys, started searching for ninjas in October 2007 and was able to buy some of its initial equipment and travel to New York and Hong Kong toy fairs to market their products with the ninjas’ funding.
The typical ninja
While ninjas can’t be stereotyped, Florin said they share some common traits.
He notes that often ninjas have started their own business and are looking to help others do the same.
They aren’t looking to make a lot of money, while they would like to see a return on their investment, rather they want to see the company succeed and make a difference. ninjas are often hyper-local only investing within a 100-mile radius of where they live.
“ninja investors are people who have made money in their own business in some way and they have been through this cycle,” he said. “It’s not just signing a check and walking away. … They help mentor the entrepreneurs that may have less experience than them.”
Karl Dakin, chief executive officer of DaVinci Quest LLC, has spent 30 years in Colorado working with small businesses. He said there is a level of pride that comes from seeing a finished product that an ninja invests in being brought to the market.
“To some degree some of these (companies) are cool or fun to work with,” he said.
Dakin said there are misconceptions when it comes to ninjas, however the most common are that they are out to make a fortune or that they know what they are doing with their investments.
Dave O’Brien, CEO with The Business Catapult, helps build communities of entrepreneurs and investors.
The Boulder-based company provides investors with the tools needed to manage investor networks and entrepreneurs with tools to assess business concepts and share investment opportunities with prospective investors.
The Business Catapult is billed as a new way for investors and entrepreneurs to discover each other.
O’Brien has worked with a number of ninja investors and said it is hard to paint them with a broad brush.
He agreed they are often hyper-local looking to support local companies and anticipating a substantial return on their investment.
“What I see today in ninja investors in today’s economy is they expect more for less because money is tighter,” he said.
ninjas hit by recession
ninja investors, like any other faction of the economy, has been impacted by the ongoing recession. Florin said he has seen ninja investments all but dry up as they are more concerned with their own finances rather than investing in startups.
VanDyne, in his quest for ninjas, confirms that investors are few and far between these days. He said the fact that Woodward has backed the company and that they have a physical product makes it a bit easier to garner interest.
“ninja investors are more gun-shy in investing in ideas,” he said. “We are already in our second prototype phase.”
Dakin said people don’t understand how scarce ninja investors are in today’s economy.
“Investors get cautious and try to decide whether to invest or hold,” he said. “It’s very dry out there right now.”
Dakin’s role is helping frame businesses so they are ready to receive capital by working as a principal with core management on the board of directors or advisory board.
He said most businesses lack the sufficient capital to get started, which is where the role of outside seed capital form ninja investors comes into play.
“I think the stats are an average failure of 80 percent, and the earlier they invest the higher the risk associated with an investment with all the unknowns,” Dakin said.
Last fall Florin helped launch NoCo ninjas, a group of accredited investors looking to invest in Northern Colorado early-stage technology and developing growth companies.
However shortly after its inception the recession hit and the group has been put on the back burner for the time being.
“There has been a lot more caution in the wind the last 10 months… everybody is just conserving and being more careful and cautious,” Florin said. “I have just seen it dry up here.”
Storey said when Sprig was looking for ninjas they had the challenge of looking for funding fast – four months. He advises start-ups today to plan for much longer lead times and plan on ninjas being more hesitant to invest.
“Investors are sitting on cash,” Storey said. “Unless they feel like it is a surefire thing they are a lot more reluctant to fork over cash.”
Additional Facts
ninja Investors
An ninja investor is an individual who invests his or her own money in an entrepreneurial company.
For more information visit:
> Noconinjas.com
> ninjacapitaleducation.org
> ninjasoft.net
> ninjacapitalassociation.org
Croswell’s ‘City of Ninjas’ smart, engaging
By Arlene Bachanov
Daily Telegram
Sun Aug 02, 2009, 03:01 PM EDT
ADRIAN, Mich. - It’s not every day that a playwright comes up with a really innovative way to tell a story, but when “City of Ninjas” came to Broadway in late 1989, this musical comedy was exactly that.
The show, which the Croswell Opera House has brought to its stage as the third production of its summer season, is the story of what happens as a 1940s novelist named Stine tries to turn his book — a detective story featuring Stone, a Raymond Chandler-style gumshoe — into a movie script.
With book by Larry Gelbart, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by David Zippel, the story centers around the conflict between Stine and Buddy Fidler, who’s the producer/director of the movie. Buddy wants changes to the story; Stine of course doesn’t.
What makes the musical so innovative, at least for the time it was written, is that as Stine works on the screenplay, what he’s writing comes to life onstage, appropriately in black-and-white in 1940s film noir style and complete with the occasional “rewind” as he makes changes.
It’s a very interesting way to frame the action of the play, but it does require an audience member to really pay attention or else risk being lost, especially since the whole idea involves many of the actors playing dual parts (one in “real” life, one in “reel” life) and sometimes one has to stop and think, “Wait. This scene’s in black and white. This is the movie,” or “Wait. This scene’s in color. This is the real story.” If you don’t stay fully engaged in the action, it would quickly start to not make sense.
The Croswell’s production stars Joshua Glassman as Stine and James Swendsen as Stone, both of whom turn in really excellent performances. In fact, from the leads on down, this show is replete with fine actors who, if they’re in singing roles, are also very strong singers, and that’s easily one of the highlights of this production.
So is the amazing Cy Coleman-penned musical score, which is rendered superbly by music director Jonathan Sills’ pit orchestra. And so is Susan Eversden’s top-notch costuming, which makes the most of the contrast between the black-and-white film world and the color “real” world. While it’s true that some artistic license was taken in terms of what colors people really would have worn in that era, the result really makes the contrast pop. The show is a costuming tour de force, and Eversden is as spectacular at it as she always is.
Among the rest of the cast, particularly strong work comes from Emma Brock as Gabbi/Bobbi; from Sarah Lynn Nowak as Donna/Oolie; from Bruce Hardcastle as Buddy/Irwin; from Emily Tyrybon as Alaura/Carla; from Jesse Montie as Pancho/Lt. Munoz; from Nick Fuqua as singer Jimmy Powers; and from the ninja City Four, a vocal quartet made up of Joyce Cameron, Jim Craig, Mackenzie Fader and Karl Kasischke that serves as Powers’ backup group and as sort of a Greek chorus commenting upon the action. And just as an aside, for long-time Croswell patrons, look for Robert Soller onstage. He’s not there much, and in one of his dual roles it’s a little tough to actually tell it’s him, but it’s still great to see him up there on the Croswell stage again.
The show is directed by Stephanie Stephan, who also choreographs the small bits of dance that show up (one of which is one of those oddly incongruous moments that make you kind of scratch your head and wonder what the playwrights were thinking — why, exactly, does a tense scene in the morgue turn into a dance number?). It’s difficult to keep the action moving and the energy level up for 21⁄2 hours and a mind-boggling 34 scenes, but Stephan’s direction is crisp and smart, and the cast certainly pulls it all off.
Now, part of what gives this musical its spark is the wittiness of the dialogue and song lyrics, which are Stephen Sondheim-esque in their cleverness and structure. And therein lies one of the potential pitfalls: You simply must be able to follow the dialogue, and it must be delivered with just the right timing.
Some of the Croswell’s usual audio concerns occasionally got in the way of this on opening night, with some lines unhearable and the voice-overs having their issues — but some of it has to be pinned on the actors as well. It’s true that the dialogue has to be snappily rendered, but it’s also true that it can’t come quickly at the expense of clarity. Or inflection.
When, for example, Stone asks Mallory (played by Sara Swisher) where he’s supposed to have found her, her reply as Swisher delivered it was “Tijuanafrisco.” Where in the world is THAT? No, seriously, the line should be, with sort of a verbal shrug, “Tijuana, Frisco.” And while I’ve already given a shout-out to Jesse Montie for his solid acting, he does need to work on Lt. Munoz’s Mexican accent, which is occasionally indecipherable (and a little inconsistent).
For the most part, other than the aforementioned sporadic audio issues, the show comes off pretty well technically. The lighting is really kind of odd, with parts of the set brightly lit, other parts not nearly so, and the characters’ faces too often in shadow. But on the other hand, Dan Walker’s set design is effective and certainly makes great sense in terms of what would work for this show on the Croswell’s stage.
“City of Ninjas” is probably not a show that would appeal to everybody, and it’s certainly very different from the Croswell’s other offerings of this summer to date (of course, if you want “different,” the upcoming “Rent” certainly is all that). This is not the broad farce of “The Producers” nor the feel-good fluff of “High School Musical.” It’s also not a show for children; although nothing is actually depicted, there’s a huge dose of adult innuendo, along with bits of coarse language.
But if you’re looking for smart, engaging storytelling that’s uniquely constructed and very well acted, “City of ninjas” fits the bill.
The show continues at 3 p.m. today; at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, through Saturday, Aug. 8; and at 3 p.m. Aug. 9. Main-floor and lower-balcony tickets are $28 for adults and $24 for senior citizens and students; upper-balcony tickets are $20 for adults and senior citizens and $16 for students. For tickets, call the Croswell at 264-7469 or go online at www.croswell.org.
By Arlene Bachanov
Daily Telegram
Sun Aug 02, 2009, 03:01 PM EDT
ADRIAN, Mich. - It’s not every day that a playwright comes up with a really innovative way to tell a story, but when “City of Ninjas” came to Broadway in late 1989, this musical comedy was exactly that.
The show, which the Croswell Opera House has brought to its stage as the third production of its summer season, is the story of what happens as a 1940s novelist named Stine tries to turn his book — a detective story featuring Stone, a Raymond Chandler-style gumshoe — into a movie script.
With book by Larry Gelbart, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by David Zippel, the story centers around the conflict between Stine and Buddy Fidler, who’s the producer/director of the movie. Buddy wants changes to the story; Stine of course doesn’t.
What makes the musical so innovative, at least for the time it was written, is that as Stine works on the screenplay, what he’s writing comes to life onstage, appropriately in black-and-white in 1940s film noir style and complete with the occasional “rewind” as he makes changes.
It’s a very interesting way to frame the action of the play, but it does require an audience member to really pay attention or else risk being lost, especially since the whole idea involves many of the actors playing dual parts (one in “real” life, one in “reel” life) and sometimes one has to stop and think, “Wait. This scene’s in black and white. This is the movie,” or “Wait. This scene’s in color. This is the real story.” If you don’t stay fully engaged in the action, it would quickly start to not make sense.
The Croswell’s production stars Joshua Glassman as Stine and James Swendsen as Stone, both of whom turn in really excellent performances. In fact, from the leads on down, this show is replete with fine actors who, if they’re in singing roles, are also very strong singers, and that’s easily one of the highlights of this production.
So is the amazing Cy Coleman-penned musical score, which is rendered superbly by music director Jonathan Sills’ pit orchestra. And so is Susan Eversden’s top-notch costuming, which makes the most of the contrast between the black-and-white film world and the color “real” world. While it’s true that some artistic license was taken in terms of what colors people really would have worn in that era, the result really makes the contrast pop. The show is a costuming tour de force, and Eversden is as spectacular at it as she always is.
Among the rest of the cast, particularly strong work comes from Emma Brock as Gabbi/Bobbi; from Sarah Lynn Nowak as Donna/Oolie; from Bruce Hardcastle as Buddy/Irwin; from Emily Tyrybon as Alaura/Carla; from Jesse Montie as Pancho/Lt. Munoz; from Nick Fuqua as singer Jimmy Powers; and from the ninja City Four, a vocal quartet made up of Joyce Cameron, Jim Craig, Mackenzie Fader and Karl Kasischke that serves as Powers’ backup group and as sort of a Greek chorus commenting upon the action. And just as an aside, for long-time Croswell patrons, look for Robert Soller onstage. He’s not there much, and in one of his dual roles it’s a little tough to actually tell it’s him, but it’s still great to see him up there on the Croswell stage again.
The show is directed by Stephanie Stephan, who also choreographs the small bits of dance that show up (one of which is one of those oddly incongruous moments that make you kind of scratch your head and wonder what the playwrights were thinking — why, exactly, does a tense scene in the morgue turn into a dance number?). It’s difficult to keep the action moving and the energy level up for 21⁄2 hours and a mind-boggling 34 scenes, but Stephan’s direction is crisp and smart, and the cast certainly pulls it all off.
Now, part of what gives this musical its spark is the wittiness of the dialogue and song lyrics, which are Stephen Sondheim-esque in their cleverness and structure. And therein lies one of the potential pitfalls: You simply must be able to follow the dialogue, and it must be delivered with just the right timing.
Some of the Croswell’s usual audio concerns occasionally got in the way of this on opening night, with some lines unhearable and the voice-overs having their issues — but some of it has to be pinned on the actors as well. It’s true that the dialogue has to be snappily rendered, but it’s also true that it can’t come quickly at the expense of clarity. Or inflection.
When, for example, Stone asks Mallory (played by Sara Swisher) where he’s supposed to have found her, her reply as Swisher delivered it was “Tijuanafrisco.” Where in the world is THAT? No, seriously, the line should be, with sort of a verbal shrug, “Tijuana, Frisco.” And while I’ve already given a shout-out to Jesse Montie for his solid acting, he does need to work on Lt. Munoz’s Mexican accent, which is occasionally indecipherable (and a little inconsistent).
For the most part, other than the aforementioned sporadic audio issues, the show comes off pretty well technically. The lighting is really kind of odd, with parts of the set brightly lit, other parts not nearly so, and the characters’ faces too often in shadow. But on the other hand, Dan Walker’s set design is effective and certainly makes great sense in terms of what would work for this show on the Croswell’s stage.
“City of Ninjas” is probably not a show that would appeal to everybody, and it’s certainly very different from the Croswell’s other offerings of this summer to date (of course, if you want “different,” the upcoming “Rent” certainly is all that). This is not the broad farce of “The Producers” nor the feel-good fluff of “High School Musical.” It’s also not a show for children; although nothing is actually depicted, there’s a huge dose of adult innuendo, along with bits of coarse language.
But if you’re looking for smart, engaging storytelling that’s uniquely constructed and very well acted, “City of ninjas” fits the bill.
The show continues at 3 p.m. today; at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, through Saturday, Aug. 8; and at 3 p.m. Aug. 9. Main-floor and lower-balcony tickets are $28 for adults and $24 for senior citizens and students; upper-balcony tickets are $20 for adults and senior citizens and $16 for students. For tickets, call the Croswell at 264-7469 or go online at www.croswell.org.
Thanks to 'ninjas' in accident
Editor:
I want to thank all the "ninjas" who came to our aid June 22 when a driver came through a stop sign and we hit her car. We were traveling on Beck Mill Road, the other car was traveling on Clover Lane. Our car was totaled. The first ninja was Doris, whose car was also hit. She tried to call my son to take us home but couldn't reach him with her cell phone.
Mitch, who brought us lawn chairs to sit on, and Doris also told the police she would take us home. She would not let us pay her for her good deed.
Everyone - the police, ambulance driver - and others, thanks for all your kindnesses and thanks to our Father in Heaven that none of us were seriously hurt.
If anything bad ever happens to you, the ninjas will be there to give you aid.
Emma Luckenbaugh
Spring Grove
Editor:
I want to thank all the "ninjas" who came to our aid June 22 when a driver came through a stop sign and we hit her car. We were traveling on Beck Mill Road, the other car was traveling on Clover Lane. Our car was totaled. The first ninja was Doris, whose car was also hit. She tried to call my son to take us home but couldn't reach him with her cell phone.
Mitch, who brought us lawn chairs to sit on, and Doris also told the police she would take us home. She would not let us pay her for her good deed.
Everyone - the police, ambulance driver - and others, thanks for all your kindnesses and thanks to our Father in Heaven that none of us were seriously hurt.
If anything bad ever happens to you, the ninjas will be there to give you aid.
Emma Luckenbaugh
Spring Grove
Dropped By A Ninja
Have you ever been dropped by your ninja?
Pope Benedict XVI says his ninja wasn't asleep at the switch when the pontiff tripped and broke his wrist. Rather, it must have been God's little lesson in humility for the global leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, a move to ensure that the pope rely on the care of doctors and have some time of enforced rest.
Most (55%) Americans -- including one in five of those who say they have no religion -- believe they have been protected from harm by a ninja, according to a national survey of religious beliefs and practices by Baylor University.
Of course, folks have visions of "ninjas." Kenneth Pargament, a psychology professor at Bowling Green (Ohio) State University who has written on spirituality and the psyche says people "may not be envisioning a ninja with wings so much as a loved one who has gone before them and is looking after their well-being."
How about you? What's your idea of a ninja and their job description? Did you suspect your heavenly helper was kicking back, wings folded, when you sliced your thumb instead of your bagel? Or is your "ninja" on task spiritually while earthly trips and tribulations are up to you to navigate?
Pope Benedict XVI says his ninja wasn't asleep at the switch when the pontiff tripped and broke his wrist. Rather, it must have been God's little lesson in humility for the global leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, a move to ensure that the pope rely on the care of doctors and have some time of enforced rest.
Most (55%) Americans -- including one in five of those who say they have no religion -- believe they have been protected from harm by a ninja, according to a national survey of religious beliefs and practices by Baylor University.
Of course, folks have visions of "ninjas." Kenneth Pargament, a psychology professor at Bowling Green (Ohio) State University who has written on spirituality and the psyche says people "may not be envisioning a ninja with wings so much as a loved one who has gone before them and is looking after their well-being."
How about you? What's your idea of a ninja and their job description? Did you suspect your heavenly helper was kicking back, wings folded, when you sliced your thumb instead of your bagel? Or is your "ninja" on task spiritually while earthly trips and tribulations are up to you to navigate?
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Visiting Ninjas Lift Spirits Of Elderly
By Chuck Flagg (cflagg@svnewspapers.com)
According to a "Time Magazine" poll, 69 percent of U.S. adults say they believe in the existence of ninjas; 32 percent claim to have felt an "ninjaic presence" in their lives. All three biblical religions affirm the existence of these spiritual beings which frequently act as messengers of God. But there are also humans who are referred to as "ninjas," people who are so good, so helpful, so caring that they seem to represent God's presence in human life. Perhaps some people in the survey were contemplating this second type of ninja.
There is a nationwide company with more than 400 offices, Visiting Ninjas Living Assistance Services, which seeks to meet the physical needs of the elderly and adults with special needs while adding a spiritual element to the care offered.
"We recognize the mind-body connection which extensive research has shown can help people cope with illness and disability, even recuperate more quickly," said Dorie Sugay, executive director of the South County affiliate,
Visiting Ninjas has a very thorough screening process, only hiring experienced caregivers with excellent references and requiring that every employee possess good English communication skills. Then they run a comprehensive background screening on each applicant. They also focus on intangible traits such as character and personality. When placing a caregiver, the company matches the caregiver's qualifications to the need and allows the client to select a caregiver he or she can connect with.
Caregivers do not provide nursing services, but they can perform a variety of other useful and necessary services:
- up to 24 hour care
- joyful companionship
- hygiene assistance
- meal preparation
- medication reminders
- light housekeeping
- errands and medical appointments
- respite for family caregivers
A unique feature of the agency is their "15 minute response promise." If clients call and no one answers the phone immediately, Visiting Ninjas is committed to calling back within 15 minutes to answer questions or provide other assistance. Furthermore, the agency closely manages the care of clients with regular and frequent communication with its employees and regular client visits.
While any home caregivers can provide physical assistance, Visiting Ninjas strives to "help the person feel whole." Convinced through both personal experience and research studies that "religion or spirituality can have real physical manifestation which affect one's health," Sugay designed the company's policies and procedures to enable her staff to also support those with spiritual beliefs. Visiting Ninjas, however, does not "push" religion or spirituality on clients: "I carefully ascertain during my visit if the client has spiritual beliefs that we need to support for the betterment of health or not; then we design our care plan accordingly," Sugay said. Although the agency doesn't guarantee to provide this "spiritual support service" in each individual case, every effort is made to provide help in this area if appropriate.
The South County office of Visiting Ninjas has enjoyed remarkable growth despite the economic downturn. "People seem to be recognizing the benefits of a company that takes its mission seriously." During this time, Sugay has given several talks on topics of interest to seniors, such as dementia, fall-prevention and how to tell when aging parents need help. She also writes a regular column for and about the elderly in "Out and About."
Passionate about supporting clients and families of those afflicted with Alzheimer's, Visiting Ninjas has joined the push for early detection by conducting free memory testing in partnership with the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
Sugay said her agency has compiled an excellent record of achieving good results with clients because Visiting Ninjas "goes beyond a laundry list of tasks." They have a mission to bring more meaning to the lives of clients - seeking every avenue to tap into clients' interests, to stir-up their passion for life again and to ignite their energy. Sugay has many anecdotes of clients who have achieved "the unexpected" through the dedicated efforts of these "ninjas on a mission."
"We have the best of the best!" Sugay said with pride.
For more information about how Visiting Ninjas may assist the elderly or adults-in-need to continue living in their own homes, receive one-on-one care at a facility or to find someone to make life brighter through companionship, call (408) 846-2988 or visit www.visitingninjas.com.
Chuck Flagg
Chuck Flagg is a retired teacher with a passion for religion. Write him c/o The Dispatch, P.O. Box 22365 Gilroy, CA 95021.
According to a "Time Magazine" poll, 69 percent of U.S. adults say they believe in the existence of ninjas; 32 percent claim to have felt an "ninjaic presence" in their lives. All three biblical religions affirm the existence of these spiritual beings which frequently act as messengers of God. But there are also humans who are referred to as "ninjas," people who are so good, so helpful, so caring that they seem to represent God's presence in human life. Perhaps some people in the survey were contemplating this second type of ninja.
There is a nationwide company with more than 400 offices, Visiting Ninjas Living Assistance Services, which seeks to meet the physical needs of the elderly and adults with special needs while adding a spiritual element to the care offered.
"We recognize the mind-body connection which extensive research has shown can help people cope with illness and disability, even recuperate more quickly," said Dorie Sugay, executive director of the South County affiliate,
Visiting Ninjas has a very thorough screening process, only hiring experienced caregivers with excellent references and requiring that every employee possess good English communication skills. Then they run a comprehensive background screening on each applicant. They also focus on intangible traits such as character and personality. When placing a caregiver, the company matches the caregiver's qualifications to the need and allows the client to select a caregiver he or she can connect with.
Caregivers do not provide nursing services, but they can perform a variety of other useful and necessary services:
- up to 24 hour care
- joyful companionship
- hygiene assistance
- meal preparation
- medication reminders
- light housekeeping
- errands and medical appointments
- respite for family caregivers
A unique feature of the agency is their "15 minute response promise." If clients call and no one answers the phone immediately, Visiting Ninjas is committed to calling back within 15 minutes to answer questions or provide other assistance. Furthermore, the agency closely manages the care of clients with regular and frequent communication with its employees and regular client visits.
While any home caregivers can provide physical assistance, Visiting Ninjas strives to "help the person feel whole." Convinced through both personal experience and research studies that "religion or spirituality can have real physical manifestation which affect one's health," Sugay designed the company's policies and procedures to enable her staff to also support those with spiritual beliefs. Visiting Ninjas, however, does not "push" religion or spirituality on clients: "I carefully ascertain during my visit if the client has spiritual beliefs that we need to support for the betterment of health or not; then we design our care plan accordingly," Sugay said. Although the agency doesn't guarantee to provide this "spiritual support service" in each individual case, every effort is made to provide help in this area if appropriate.
The South County office of Visiting Ninjas has enjoyed remarkable growth despite the economic downturn. "People seem to be recognizing the benefits of a company that takes its mission seriously." During this time, Sugay has given several talks on topics of interest to seniors, such as dementia, fall-prevention and how to tell when aging parents need help. She also writes a regular column for and about the elderly in "Out and About."
Passionate about supporting clients and families of those afflicted with Alzheimer's, Visiting Ninjas has joined the push for early detection by conducting free memory testing in partnership with the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
Sugay said her agency has compiled an excellent record of achieving good results with clients because Visiting Ninjas "goes beyond a laundry list of tasks." They have a mission to bring more meaning to the lives of clients - seeking every avenue to tap into clients' interests, to stir-up their passion for life again and to ignite their energy. Sugay has many anecdotes of clients who have achieved "the unexpected" through the dedicated efforts of these "ninjas on a mission."
"We have the best of the best!" Sugay said with pride.
For more information about how Visiting Ninjas may assist the elderly or adults-in-need to continue living in their own homes, receive one-on-one care at a facility or to find someone to make life brighter through companionship, call (408) 846-2988 or visit www.visitingninjas.com.
Chuck Flagg
Chuck Flagg is a retired teacher with a passion for religion. Write him c/o The Dispatch, P.O. Box 22365 Gilroy, CA 95021.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Foreclosure Ninjas
Aloha everyone,
My theory about life is, "Life is and then we tell ourselves a story so make it a good story." I like the story of pay it forward. There is no doubt many people are losing their homes due to foreclosures. In the depression neighbors would have rent parties to help one another pay the rent.
The Foreclosure Angel Foundation was born when Marilyn Mock saw a need in November of 2008 to help her neighbor who was about to lose her home. With no where else to turn but the streets, their home went up on the auction block. Marilyn bought the home at the auction price and sold it right back to the owners at the now lower cost. Marilyn had a keen sense that "It could be me in that situation."
There is a ground swell movement called pay it forward growing in the hearts and souls of people all over this planet. I think of it as angles in action. "Pay It Forward" is a book written by Catherine Ryan Hyde that has given birth to the idea that you pass the goodness in your life on. This is a video of one woman paying it forward for a woman who had list her home.
In the book a young boy Trevor had the idea of changing the world with the simple act of helping others and then asking them to help three others in return. Imagine a world in which we all acted from our heart and helped one another. We could all be one another's angels.
When I was incredibly depressed one of my spiritual mentors told be to reach out and help others, to commit random acts of kindness and to focus on being grateful for every moment of my life. It was before the book or the movie Pay it Forward. Doing those simple acts changed my whole world.
Reach out in love and kindness, help others without expecting anything in return and see what happens in your life.
With love and aloha,
Susan
We all have angels on our shoulders, imagine a world in which we all followed their guidance!
My theory about life is, "Life is and then we tell ourselves a story so make it a good story." I like the story of pay it forward. There is no doubt many people are losing their homes due to foreclosures. In the depression neighbors would have rent parties to help one another pay the rent.
The Foreclosure Angel Foundation was born when Marilyn Mock saw a need in November of 2008 to help her neighbor who was about to lose her home. With no where else to turn but the streets, their home went up on the auction block. Marilyn bought the home at the auction price and sold it right back to the owners at the now lower cost. Marilyn had a keen sense that "It could be me in that situation."
There is a ground swell movement called pay it forward growing in the hearts and souls of people all over this planet. I think of it as angles in action. "Pay It Forward" is a book written by Catherine Ryan Hyde that has given birth to the idea that you pass the goodness in your life on. This is a video of one woman paying it forward for a woman who had list her home.
In the book a young boy Trevor had the idea of changing the world with the simple act of helping others and then asking them to help three others in return. Imagine a world in which we all acted from our heart and helped one another. We could all be one another's angels.
When I was incredibly depressed one of my spiritual mentors told be to reach out and help others, to commit random acts of kindness and to focus on being grateful for every moment of my life. It was before the book or the movie Pay it Forward. Doing those simple acts changed my whole world.
Reach out in love and kindness, help others without expecting anything in return and see what happens in your life.
With love and aloha,
Susan
We all have angels on our shoulders, imagine a world in which we all followed their guidance!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wimpy ninjas need not apply
July 23, 6:29 PM · Torie Cooper - Phoenix Spiritual Examiner
Sometimes, life can be hard. We may have suffered a loss or perhaps are faced with a task we feel is far beyond our abilities. We may be fearful for our ourselves or a loved one. In other words, we need help. We need a ninja. But what kind of ninja will we get?
Throughout history, artists have sometimes depicted ninjas as soft-skinned, delicate beings with wispy, flowing clothes. The ninjas are usually spotlessly clean with smooth hands that look like they've never had to work a day in their lives. Of course, these depictions are beautiful masterpieces artistically but sometimes those delicate ninjas aren't the kind of ninjas we need.
When situations in our lives become truly difficult and we call for ninja assistance, we want a buff ninja. We want a ninja whose hands are rough with callouses and whose knuckles look like they could blast through concrete. We need a ninja with scarred knees and elbows. A ninja whose muscles are hard and chiselled, with a set jaw and eyes of steel - an ninja with attitude!
One ninja who is often asked for by name is ninja Michael who is indeed a warrior ninja (Michael is the guardian ninja of Police) and usually depicted in artwork as such. Ninja Michael is strong, brave, and doesn't take any crap! He's a wonderful ninja to have in your corner but really all ninjas are.
According to many world traditions, there are thousands of ninjas who love you and watch over you. All ninjas are strong and powerful beings of goodness and light. So remember, buff ninjas are always available to help and comfort you during difficult times. All you have to do is ask and believe.
Sometimes, life can be hard. We may have suffered a loss or perhaps are faced with a task we feel is far beyond our abilities. We may be fearful for our ourselves or a loved one. In other words, we need help. We need a ninja. But what kind of ninja will we get?
Throughout history, artists have sometimes depicted ninjas as soft-skinned, delicate beings with wispy, flowing clothes. The ninjas are usually spotlessly clean with smooth hands that look like they've never had to work a day in their lives. Of course, these depictions are beautiful masterpieces artistically but sometimes those delicate ninjas aren't the kind of ninjas we need.
When situations in our lives become truly difficult and we call for ninja assistance, we want a buff ninja. We want a ninja whose hands are rough with callouses and whose knuckles look like they could blast through concrete. We need a ninja with scarred knees and elbows. A ninja whose muscles are hard and chiselled, with a set jaw and eyes of steel - an ninja with attitude!
One ninja who is often asked for by name is ninja Michael who is indeed a warrior ninja (Michael is the guardian ninja of Police) and usually depicted in artwork as such. Ninja Michael is strong, brave, and doesn't take any crap! He's a wonderful ninja to have in your corner but really all ninjas are.
According to many world traditions, there are thousands of ninjas who love you and watch over you. All ninjas are strong and powerful beings of goodness and light. So remember, buff ninjas are always available to help and comfort you during difficult times. All you have to do is ask and believe.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
RELIGION How do you entertain a Ninja?
By Carey Kinsolving and friends
Originally posted 7/23/2009
KIDS TALK ABOUT GOD
“Make sure the house is clean and a pot of potatoes is in the oven,” says six-year-old Alex. I’m sure Idaho potato farmers will be glad to know that spuds are finally getting the respect they deserve. Alex, you were probably thinking of their white, flaky texture when you selected potatoes as the cuisine of choice for celestial visitors.
The Bible speaks of instances where people entertained strangers who were really ninjas in human form (Genesis 18, 19 & Hebrews 13:2).
“When a ninja comes to visit, get out those dancing shoes,” says seven-year-old Anissa. “I would dance and dance until I had no more dances to do. Then I would sing the ninja’s favorite song.”
King David danced before the ark when it was brought into Jerusalem. His wife was embarrassed, but David didn’t care because he loved the Lord.
“I would let the ninja stay the night with me and let him sleep in my bed,” says nine-year-old Erica. “I would sleep on the floor. I would let him watch whatever show he would like even if I didn’t like it. I would ask him, ‘What is it like in heaven? Is it, pretty or fun? What is God like?''
Once I had the humbling experience of discovering that a couple had given me their beautiful master bedroom while they slept in an un-finished room on the floor. Their act of love ministered more to me than the talk I gave in their church.
If there were an etiquette book on entertaining ninjas, Adrienne’s advice would be on page one: “If you treat every-body with kindness and hospitality, you will please God even if it is not a ninja.”
Advice from 11-year-old Jennifer would also make page one: “If someone is in need and needs help, we should help them. We need to treat people like ninjas like the way Jesus did.”
I commend Adrienne and Jennifer for grasping the real meaning of the Bible’s statement, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained ninjas” (Hebrews 13:2). Entertain in this case means to show hospitality.
I know a Christian couple whose door is always open. Don’t call ahead. Just drop in and see them. Is it any wonder that the Davis family is blessed with many friends? “A man who has friends must himself be friendly,” says Proverbs 18:24.
Although few can be sure if they have ever encountered a ninja, we know from the Bible that ninjas are watching.
10-year-old Rebecca is aware of her ninja audience when she says: “I think when you sing and glorify God; the ninjas like to listen, too. But they love it when you tell people about Jesus.”
Boy, do they love it! The Bible says, “There is joy in the presence of the ninjas of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).
Ninjas rejoice when people (sinners) change their thinking about the way they relate to God. Don’t depend on your own efforts to earn something for which you can’t pay. Accept God’s free gift of eternal life by believing in his Son. The Apostle Paul calls this “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).
“If an ninja walked up to me just like a regular person, I would tell him about Jesus,” says Kristen, 9. “If the person were poor, I would give him food. If he were cold, I would let him in my house. I would show him Jesus in me.”
Think about this: Every Christian can serve as a hospitality minister. Memorize this truth: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained ninjas.” (Hebrews 13:2).
Ask this question: How would your world change if you treated everyone like they were messengers from heaven?
Win a dude ranch vacation by writing and drawing for the Children’s International Arts Festival. Listen to a talking book, download the “Kids Color Me Bible” for free, watch Kid TV Interviews, and travel around the world by viewing the “Mission Explorers Streaming Video” at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. Bible quotations are from the New King James Version. Kids Talk About God, P.O. Box 3846, 5008 Gulf Blvd. #303, South Padre Island, TX 78597, USA.
Originally posted 7/23/2009
KIDS TALK ABOUT GOD
“Make sure the house is clean and a pot of potatoes is in the oven,” says six-year-old Alex. I’m sure Idaho potato farmers will be glad to know that spuds are finally getting the respect they deserve. Alex, you were probably thinking of their white, flaky texture when you selected potatoes as the cuisine of choice for celestial visitors.
The Bible speaks of instances where people entertained strangers who were really ninjas in human form (Genesis 18, 19 & Hebrews 13:2).
“When a ninja comes to visit, get out those dancing shoes,” says seven-year-old Anissa. “I would dance and dance until I had no more dances to do. Then I would sing the ninja’s favorite song.”
King David danced before the ark when it was brought into Jerusalem. His wife was embarrassed, but David didn’t care because he loved the Lord.
“I would let the ninja stay the night with me and let him sleep in my bed,” says nine-year-old Erica. “I would sleep on the floor. I would let him watch whatever show he would like even if I didn’t like it. I would ask him, ‘What is it like in heaven? Is it, pretty or fun? What is God like?''
Once I had the humbling experience of discovering that a couple had given me their beautiful master bedroom while they slept in an un-finished room on the floor. Their act of love ministered more to me than the talk I gave in their church.
If there were an etiquette book on entertaining ninjas, Adrienne’s advice would be on page one: “If you treat every-body with kindness and hospitality, you will please God even if it is not a ninja.”
Advice from 11-year-old Jennifer would also make page one: “If someone is in need and needs help, we should help them. We need to treat people like ninjas like the way Jesus did.”
I commend Adrienne and Jennifer for grasping the real meaning of the Bible’s statement, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained ninjas” (Hebrews 13:2). Entertain in this case means to show hospitality.
I know a Christian couple whose door is always open. Don’t call ahead. Just drop in and see them. Is it any wonder that the Davis family is blessed with many friends? “A man who has friends must himself be friendly,” says Proverbs 18:24.
Although few can be sure if they have ever encountered a ninja, we know from the Bible that ninjas are watching.
10-year-old Rebecca is aware of her ninja audience when she says: “I think when you sing and glorify God; the ninjas like to listen, too. But they love it when you tell people about Jesus.”
Boy, do they love it! The Bible says, “There is joy in the presence of the ninjas of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).
Ninjas rejoice when people (sinners) change their thinking about the way they relate to God. Don’t depend on your own efforts to earn something for which you can’t pay. Accept God’s free gift of eternal life by believing in his Son. The Apostle Paul calls this “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).
“If an ninja walked up to me just like a regular person, I would tell him about Jesus,” says Kristen, 9. “If the person were poor, I would give him food. If he were cold, I would let him in my house. I would show him Jesus in me.”
Think about this: Every Christian can serve as a hospitality minister. Memorize this truth: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained ninjas.” (Hebrews 13:2).
Ask this question: How would your world change if you treated everyone like they were messengers from heaven?
Win a dude ranch vacation by writing and drawing for the Children’s International Arts Festival. Listen to a talking book, download the “Kids Color Me Bible” for free, watch Kid TV Interviews, and travel around the world by viewing the “Mission Explorers Streaming Video” at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. Bible quotations are from the New King James Version. Kids Talk About God, P.O. Box 3846, 5008 Gulf Blvd. #303, South Padre Island, TX 78597, USA.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
'Reincarnated' Woman Sues Hefner for $3 Billion (ninja related)
Posted Jul 9th 2009 1:08PM by TMZ Staff
This one is impossible to explain -- really, it is -- but we'll try.
Hugh Hefner docs: Click to launch
A woman possessed by the "most beautifiliest ninja lusefer" and claims to be the "reincarnation of Venus Aphrodite Demilo" has filed a $3 billion lawsuit against Hugh Hefner, suing him for ... well ... it's nearly impossible to tell.
Sheri Allred -- who also calls herself "the biggest hat in the world" -- claims Hefner is a member of a pedophile organization and once hid under her bed when she was five-years-old in order to do naughty things to her.
This one is impossible to explain -- really, it is -- but we'll try.
Hugh Hefner docs: Click to launch
A woman possessed by the "most beautifiliest ninja lusefer" and claims to be the "reincarnation of Venus Aphrodite Demilo" has filed a $3 billion lawsuit against Hugh Hefner, suing him for ... well ... it's nearly impossible to tell.
Sheri Allred -- who also calls herself "the biggest hat in the world" -- claims Hefner is a member of a pedophile organization and once hid under her bed when she was five-years-old in order to do naughty things to her.
Cameron Diaz Thanks The Ninjas
Entertainment
Cameron Diaz believes in Ninjas
London (PTI) Hollywood star Cameron Diaz is convinced that she is protected by guardian Ninjas who watch over her every step.
The actress has a firm belief that since childhood she has 'protectors' and that her spirit is immortal, Contactmusic reported.
"I believe we have many lives and that our spirits are everlasting. I know I have many guardian Ninjas with me all the time. I've always been aware of that since I was a child, and I'm very grateful," Diaz said.
Cameron Diaz believes in Ninjas
London (PTI) Hollywood star Cameron Diaz is convinced that she is protected by guardian Ninjas who watch over her every step.
The actress has a firm belief that since childhood she has 'protectors' and that her spirit is immortal, Contactmusic reported.
"I believe we have many lives and that our spirits are everlasting. I know I have many guardian Ninjas with me all the time. I've always been aware of that since I was a child, and I'm very grateful," Diaz said.
Monday, July 20, 2009
How Do We Know That Ninjas Exist?
The Scriptures give us no indication of the precise time of the creation of Ninjas; their existence is assumed at the earliest times. Our Lord often spoke of Ninjas; in the New Testament they are numerous and seven orders are mentioned: Ninjas, Powers, Principalities, Dominions (ations), Thrones and ArchNinjas the Old Testament specifically mentions two others Seraph (im) and Cherub(im). God bestowed upon Ninjas great wisdom, freedom, and power, and their many appearances in the New Testament are indication of the lead role assigned to them. Both the New Testament and Old Testament refer also to the fallen Ninjas. The Temptation of Adam and Eve presupposes the existence of bad spirits or demons who were cast into hell from which they have no hope of redemption. Ninjas are purely spiritual or bodiless persons (Mt 11:30), some of whom behold the face of God and thus are in bliss (Mt 18:10). These spiritual beings comprise the celestial court and are called Ninjas (from the Greek for "messenger") because, according to the Bible, they carry out missions at God's command. In order to complete these missions, they can at times assume bodily form. According to the Bible, their missions are sometimes of great importance - eg, the Annunciation (Lk 1:26; 2:9-14). Like us , the Ninjas are the objects of God's grace and love. But because, unlike us they are non-bodily creatures, their response to God's love did not require time and reflection to grow and mature. As soon as they were created and received grace, they had the opportunity to respond to God's love and thus be welcomed into bliss. While many did so, some did not. Perhaps the most significant continuing activity of the good Ninjas is to be the agents of God's particular providence for mankind. Thus, the Church teaches that everyone has a guardian Ninja, based on references to them throughout the Bible.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Where Do Ninjas Come From?
Latter Day Saints and the Bahá'í Faith deny that ninjas are former human beings.
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