So—  We just had our big summer family reunion at a lake in Wisconsin.

You know what they say about family gatherings—  That you should never discuss religion or politics— And we don't plan to—  But because my older daughter Maddy has already started school back in LA and she doesn't want to fall behind in her homework—?  While everyone else is fishing or swimming or prepping the barbeque— Maddy needs to works on her collage. . . for U.S. History.

The theme? What does her generation think is the biggest problem facing the U.S. Right away, we're in crisis mode. We have to find an art store to procure poster paper, a glue stick, highlighters, scissors and three current periodicals.

I remind this L.A. teen that we are deep in the woods of Wisconsin -- Yelp says the nearest "craft supply" store is a "Ben Franklin on Wachookooheesha Lake" an hour away.

So instead we drive 20 minutes to "Trig's" grocery store—  "Oh, and can you pick up tortillas and cilantro?" my partner Charlie calls out.  "Sure!" I say.  "Cilantro!  That's what we came to Wisconsin for!"

Trig's has tortillas, but no cilantro. More importantly, there are no scissors, no highlighters. There are glue sticks, and envelopes we can glue together to make poster paper. There are of course plenty of periodicals. There's Musky Hunter Magazine, Catfish Insider, Log Cabin, Gun Dog Magazine and a glossy publication called Concealed Carry.  Which aside from guns, has a surprising amount of fashion—jeans and cargo shorts with many pockets for—  You know!

For a Blue State metropolitan girl like my 16 year old, this glimpse of the magazine tastes of rural Wisconsin is a fascinating sociological journey.  She reads eagerly from her trove to her boyfriend, safely back in land-locked Northridge—  Until I tell her to get off the phone because my GPS lady is now lost and taking us in circles.  "Harris Creek, Harris Lane, Harris Creek Lane, Harris Bog?" 
"Oh, we'll find it," she says breezily, continuing to chat about Musky Hunters.

 And I'm going, "Hey City Girl, this isn't the Galeria. We are seriously lost. In the back country. And all we've got to defend ourselves is a package of tortillas and Concealed Carry Magazine."  (hum the Deliverance theme)

Next week: Dog Fight.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Enercare Inc. has announced the introduction of its Preferred Customer Program for multifamily buildings. The program provides property managers, landlords, and developers with cost savings and a single point-of-contact for efficient delivery of services for their building’s sub-metering, water heating, and heating and cooling needs.

The special episode premieres on Monday, November 25 only on Hulu as a part of the year-round "Family Guy" 25th Anniversary Celebration!

Israeli attacks in Beit Hanoun leave a child as the only survivor of his family, while displaced residents flee the devastated city.

The father of two children - who went missing along with their mother and three others from Manipur's Jiribam after an encounter between suspected Kuki insurgents and the security forces - has appealed to the authorities to find them.

A 10-year-old autistic boy from California who was slapped by an irate Mercedes driver a few months ago received the surprise of his life recently when he was given an SUV.

A 10-year-old autistic boy from California who was slapped by an irate Mercedes driver a few months ago received the surprise of his life recently when he was given an SUV.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is increasing his political footprint as he joins the Trump orbit for days at Mar-a-Lago and traveled with President-elect Trump to Washington, D.C.

More than a thousand kids taken from their parents at the border still have not been reunited. The man Trump has named his next border czar has been described as the family separation architect.

New features for Fitbit Ace LTE helps bring the family closer together and gives kids new ways to move.

Meet rihest family of Bollywood surpassing the net worth of the Khans, Kapoor,

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Driven apart by the Syrian civil war, an extended family experiences miraculous healing and dreams and believes in Jesus.

Medici, an Italian family of merchants and bankers who ruled the republic of Florence through economic power and personal influence. By their patronage of the arts they made Florence the center of the Italian Renaissance. The Medici were created dukes of Florence by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1531, and grand dukes of Tuscany by Emperor Maximilian II in 1575. The last Medici grand duke was deposed by the Austrians in 1737. Important members of the Medici family included the following. Giovanni De' Medici: (1360-1429) established the family fortune and made himself ruler of Florence's merchant oligarchy. Cosimo De' Medici: (1389-1464), his son, used his banking business to gain political power and led Florence in a long period of prosperity and artistic achievement. Lorenzo the Magnificent: (1449-1492), grandson of Cosimo, gained fame as a statesman and patron of arts and letters. He was recognized as a poet himself and was largely responsible for the Tuscan dialect becoming the national speech of Italy. Cosimo (I) the Great: (1519-1574) succeeded to the dukedom in 1537 and ruled as a despot. He restored the duchy of Tuscany by conquering the other republics that had been part of it.

In England, the introduction of family names is generally attributed to the Normans and the Domesday Book of 1086. Documents indicate that surnames were first adopted among the feudal nobility and gentry, and only slowly spread to the other parts of society. Some of the early Norman nobility arriving in England during the Norman Conquest differentiated themselves by affixing 'de' (of) in front of the name of their village in France. This is what is known as a territorial surname, a consequence of feudal landownership. In medieval times in France, such a name indicated lordship, or ownership, of the village. But some early Norman nobles in England chose to drop the French derivations and call themselves instead after their new English holdings. -- True surnames, in the sense of hereditary appellations, date in England from about the year 1000. Largely they were introduced from Normandy, although there are records of Saxon, surnames prior to the Norman Conquest. By the end of the twelfth century hereditary names had become common in England. But even as late as 1465 they were not universal. During the reign of Edward V (between April and June, 1483) a law was passed to compel certain Irish to adopt surnames as **a method to track and control them more: "They shall take unto them a Surname, either of some Town, or some Colour, as Black or Brown, or some Art or Science, as Smyth or Carpenter, or some Office, as Cooke or Butler." (ramsdale.org/surname.htm)

Former Republican presidential candidate and TV evangelist Pat Robertson's has flipped on his stand on legalizing marijuana. The straight-laced preacher's mind-blowing comments were made last Wednesday to the New York Times. It was merely an echo - and amplifying - of previous statements he's made about how the war on drugs has been unsuccessful. "Marijuana," he said, "should be treated legally like alcohol; offenders are wrongly locked up with violent criminals." ... Opponents to Robertson's proposal might argue that marijuana is an entry drug and by legalizing it, legal use of the drug might lead users to more powerful drugs. Scientific evidence would support such an argument. So, is Robertson right? That depends on whether taxpayers are willing to continue to pay for the imprisonment of pot users and dealers at such an extreme price. Further, the war on drugs has failed in that marijuana is more widely used today than when the "war on drugs" fired its first political shot. Well-known evangelical blogger Brett McCracken, managing editor of Biola Magazine at Biola University, said young evangelicals "laugh at Robertson, as a caricature of an evangelist and wouldn't see him as a role model, even if their cohort would be expected to be more open to legalizing drugs. That harsh assessment of the evangelist might just derail his efforts of legalize pot."

MADISON, Wisc., Dec. 22 /Christian Newswire/ - Focus on the Family has a story on Glenn Beck, a Mormon, on their CitizenLink Website. Glenn Beck was a CNN host and will move to Fox News in January. Beck is currently promoting his book, "The Christmas Sweater." The CitizenLink story focuses on Beck's faith and why he wrote "The Christmas Sweater." ... Through the years, Focus on the Family has done great things to help the family and has brought attention to the many social ills that are attacking the family. However, to promote a Mormon as a Christian is not helpful to the cause of Jesus Christ. For Christians to influence society, Christians should be promoting the central issues of the faith properly without opening the door to false religions. Some of the false doctrines of Mormonism include polytheism, an attack on the trinity, that Jesus was the spirit-brother of Lucifer, that God the Father is married to Mother God, temple baptisms for the dead, the Bible has missing parts and many errors. Christians are to stand up against the social ills of society, however, we are to put Christ first and His essential biblical truths.

A family game goes awry when a mysterious game transports the Vassiers to medieval France where they must discover the identities of four werewolves terrorising a village.

To break the time and accessibility barrier, Creative Family Counseling, a Kentucky-based therapy collaborative that specializes in working with children, teens, parents, and families, has partnered with the Oldham County School System and select Louisville-area private schools to provide School Facilitated Services in order to better meet the mental health needs of students while also supporting the busy schedules of parents.

Conext Engages with Aviation Institute of Maintenance, Centura College, and Tidewater Tech Family of Schools for Improved Processes for Students, Faculty, and Administration

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Diffrence btw iPod Nano & iPod 30GB!!

My iPod is on the right and after apple got lawsuit of the Nano got ton of scratch they had shipped in with the white iPod Pouch!!

The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have sent us details of the upcoming release of the Spy x Family Code White Movie. The ...

Masato, a son of the Tendo family, is meant to marry Hojo Ran, the daughter of a baron. There's just one problem: she's a fake. The real Ran...

Hugely popular anime Spy x Family is going to hit cinemas in the UK and Ireland from Friday 26th April 2024. To find a screening near you ca...

The good folks from streaming giant Crunchyroll sent us a coded message. Using the S cipher we able to decode it. It was a secret message ju...

Dr. Justin Salehi joins Rancho Family Pediatrics in Temecula, CA, bringing top pediatric expertise to a newly renovated, child-friendly office designed to inspire young patients. [PR.com]

For over 20 years, the beloved Lititz Family Cupboard Restaurant has served the Lititz community with hearty Pennsylvania Dutch-style comfort food. Now, the restaurant is closing its doors and auctioning off its entire contents. The public auction is live now and will close tonight, Tuesday, November 12, starting at 8:00 PM ET. Bidders can participate right now, online through PCI Auctions. Originally opened as the Toll [PR.com]

As an award winning Eagan Minnesota based photographer and artist, Wayne loves to shoot senior high school portraits, engagements, family portraits and all kinds of fun events. The spring and summer are ideal times to get these special moments captured for posterity but Wayne is not limited to just warm weather. He shoots all yr long in all kinds of interesting and fun conditions.

A number of fun activities to do outside with the entire family during the fall season.

Want to know what kind of people our ancestors were, their names, how and where and when they lived? Ulster Ancestry undertake family history & ancestry / ancestral research in the Province of Ulster.

It wasn't until he moved near to an airfield in the UK over a decade ago that mechanical engineer Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan began to seriously consider learning to fly a plane.

Clickbank offers several hundred ebooks on home, fashion, kids and family related topics. Instant download puts the information in your hands right away with 100% guarantee.

I had a customized 2 GB USB pen made for me. It arrived today, complete with the "image" I developed to put on it.

Since Behold will very soon become a portable app, this is a cute way of promoting that ability, and I've now added that pic to Behold's home page beside the Portable Application item.

My daughter pointed out that it would have been better if I left the word "drive" off, because "Tree" rhymes nicely with "USB".

Maybe the next thing I'll make up is a pregnancy shirt embossed with: "Behold, I am expanding my family tree".

It took about 20 hours of my time to go through 6 years of my correspondence with my 6 discovered relatives on my Focsaner side from Romania, and custom build a GEDCOM file using Behold as my guiding tool.

This was a great dry run of what entering data in Behold will be like, except that I couldn't enter the data directly into the Everything Report, but typed it into a GEDCOM instead. The painful part was manually entering the ID numbers and the parent/child spouse/family GEDCOM links, but Behold's problem list helped me easily fix my incorrect entries.

I am now certain that data entry in Behold will be amazing. I entered data on 117 people and I was diligent in included 173 sources for that data. (The way I decided to organize my sources is the story for a future blog post.) I estimate this would have taken me only about 5 hours if Behold version 2.0 was available.

I'll let you see the result at: www.lkessler.com/focsaner.htm. Our group and our researcher in Romania will all be using this page as our reference point for the information we have, and I'll update it as we gather more info.

I also found a half-dozen little things not working in the html output (e.g. some links, sorting, etc) that I will be able to fix, and then I'll work on the display of pictures, using that page as the test case.

So I'm killing two birds with one stone: furthering development of Behold while also making some genealogical progress on one of my family lines. This couldn't be more exciting!

My wife and I are leaving for Nashville Tennessee for the weekend. My wife's first cousin's youngest daughter is getting married. We're really looking forward to this little getaway, and a bit of a break from our -20 C temperatures.

Of course, family events are always great for adding a bit more to the family tree. What I like to do is take all the relevent family information with me. Being old fashioned, I still like a printed copy.

I haven't updated my genealogy data in about 10 years. It's waiting version 2.0 of Behold before I do that. But that still doesn't stop me from using what I've got. I want the data printed, and for me Behold is the perfect tool to do that.

I open up my GEDCOM with Behold and quickly find my wife's cousin. (Using Find and their name is the easiest way.) Then I right click and select Instant Organize on my wife's cousin. The resulting view is exactly what I want for this. It generates families in sequence, starting with my wife's cousin, then with her parents, then with her grandparents, etc, and anyone not related to her is by default, not included. Each level gives people one level more removed. That is perfect for this, because she's likely to invite the people in the nearest groupings. I can concentrate on her most immediate relatives and still have everyone else related to them listed further down where they're out of the way.

Behold then prints its nice Index of Names, Places and Sources following all the data which makes it easy to find anything in the printed copy. In this case, the whole report came into a nice 20 page listing. I printed it on both sides of the paper and that was 10 sheets, which I stapled together into a nice compact package.

I'll keep this in my coat pocket and be able to write everything new I find out directly onto the sheets. That at least is my technique. It works very well for me. Try it next time you go to a family event. And be sure to also note who told you what to document your source with it.

So I'll write again when I get back.

I am confused between the Mahindra XUV700 and the Mahindra Thar Roxx. We’re a family of six, and I need a powerful vehicle with ADAS.

Kaustubh Satish, Bengaluru

Autocar India says: As a family car, the XUV700 is a better choice as it is more spacious than the Thar Roxx, especially since you have six family members. The XU700’s second row is wider than the Roxx, so sitting three abreast isn’t as comfortable on the latter. Also, the XUV700 has a third row, which the Roxx doesn’t, and this is crucial for accommodating the sixth passenger. The XUV700 is also more powerful than the Roxx and comes with ADAS. The Roxx is meant for adventure seekers who also want an everyday car, but for your requirements, the XUV700 is the better choice.

Also See:

Mahindra Thar Roxx review: An SUV that does it all?

Mahindra Thar Roxx video review

2021 Mahindra XUV700 review, test drive

2021 Mahindra XUV700 video review

I am looking for a luxurious family car between Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.5 crore. We’re a family of five – three adults and two kids – so my priority is comfort. It needs to be a recognisable brand, have a decent road presence and have updated technology. I will be driving the car, but my usage will be very low. I can extend my budget slightly if you strongly recommend a car. I am not in favour of EVs and would prefer petrol.

Mohit Sarin, New Delhi

Autocar India says: There’s a fair bit of choice for your budget, but we would suggest you look at the Mercedes-Benz GLE. It has a good road presence, is a very strong brand, the back seat is spacious, the MBUX infotainment system has the best on-board tech, and it is fairly reliable.

Also See:

Mercedes Benz GLE facelift review: Small updates for big Merc SUV

Mercedes Benz GLE facelift video review

Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe review: The everyday AMG

I am looking for a luxurious family car between Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.5 crore. We’re a family of five – three adults and two kids – so my priority is comfort. It needs to be a recognisable brand, have a decent road presence and have updated technology. I will be driving the car, but my usage will be very low. I can extend my budget slightly if you strongly recommend a car. I am not in favour of EVs and would prefer petrol.

Mohit Sarin, New Delhi

Autocar India says: There’s a fair bit of choice for your budget, but we would suggest you look at the Mercedes-Benz GLE. It has a good road presence, is a very strong brand, the back seat is spacious, the MBUX infotainment system has the best on-board tech, and it is fairly reliable.

Also See:

Mercedes Benz GLE facelift review: Small updates for big Merc SUV

Mercedes Benz GLE facelift video review

Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe review: The everyday AMG

Fr. Joseph visits with Fr. James Guirguis and the fine folks of St Raphael Mission in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, on their first Family Night of 2018.

Before baptism he was a renowned military commander under Trajan. While hunting in the woods, he met a great stag with a shining Cross between his antlers. Through the stag, the Lord spoke to Placidas (his pagan name) and told him to find a priest and be baptized into Christ. Returning home, he found that his wife Tatiana had also had a vision in which she was told to become a Christian. They were baptized, Placidas receiving the name Eustathius, and Tatiana the name Theopiste; their two sons were baptized with them. Eustathius and his family were almost immediately subjected to a series of grievous trials, in which all were separated from one another. After years of hardship they were re-united, and returned to Rome with honor when the Emperor sought out Eustathius to command his army once again. But when the Emperor Hadrian (who had succeeded Trajan) commanded them to worship the idols, all of them refused. They were put together into a large bronze ox which was heated white-hot in a fire. When their bodies were removed, they were found to be dead but intact. The Prologue concludes, 'Thus this glorious general gave to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's, and entered into the eternal Kingdom of Christ our God.'

Before baptism he was a renowned military commander under Trajan. While hunting in the woods, he met a great stag with a shining Cross between his antlers. Through the stag, the Lord spoke to Placidas (his pagan name) and told him to find a priest and be baptized into Christ. Returning home, he found that his wife Tatiana had also had a vision in which she was told to become a Christian. They were baptized, Placidas receiving the name Eustathius, and Tatiana the name Theopiste; their two sons were baptized with them. Eustathius and his family were almost immediately subjected to a series of grievous trials, in which all were separated from one another. After years of hardship they were re-united, and returned to Rome with honor when the Emperor sought out Eustathius to command his army once again. But when the Emperor Hadrian (who had succeeded Trajan) commanded them to worship the idols, all of them refused. They were put together into a large bronze ox which was heated white-hot in a fire. When their bodies were removed, they were found to be dead but intact. The Prologue concludes, 'Thus this glorious general gave to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's, and entered into the eternal Kingdom of Christ our God.'

Before baptism he was a renowned military commander under Trajan. While hunting in the woods, he met a great stag with a shining Cross between his antlers. Through the stag, the Lord spoke to Placidas (his pagan name) and told him to find a priest and be baptized into Christ. Returning home, he found that his wife Tatiana had also had a vision in which she was told to become a Christian. They were baptized, Placidas receiving the name Eustathius, and Tatiana the name Theopiste; their two sons were baptized with them. Eustathius and his family were almost immediately subjected to a series of grievous trials, in which all were separated from one another. After years of hardship they were re-united, and returned to Rome with honor when the Emperor sought out Eustathius to command his army once again. But when the Emperor Hadrian (who had succeeded Trajan) commanded them to worship the idols, all of them refused. They were put together into a large bronze ox which was heated white-hot in a fire. When their bodies were removed, they were found to be dead but intact. The Prologue concludes, 'Thus this glorious general gave to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's, and entered into the eternal Kingdom of Christ our God.

See Matthew ch. 2. Though St Matthew's account may leave the impression that the flight into Egypt was almost immediate, it would have been at least forty days after Christ's birth, following His Presentation in the Temple (Luke ch. 2). Christ, his holy Mother and his adoptive father St Joseph probably remained in Egypt for several years, until the death of Herod the Great.   St Nikolai Velimirovic (in the Prologue) relates the following tale: the holy family, fleeing into Egypt, were accosted by robbers, one of whom, seeing the Christ Child, was amazed at his supernatural beauty and said 'If God were to take human flesh Himself, He would not be more beautiful than this child!'. The robber told his companions to take nothing from the family. In gratitude the Mother of God told him 'This Child will reward you richly for having spared Him today.' Thirty years later it was this robber who was crucified at Christ's right hand, and was granted to hear the words 'Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.'

Elissa discusses how the parish and Sunday school can help support the family throughout Lent.

Fr. Michael Gillis answers the question of “how to overcome thoughts of pride in our hearts that inevitably come after labouring on good works for our families and people around us.”

Fr. Philip LeMasters reflects on the genealogy of Jesus, and healing work of redemption that comes through Christ.