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Word For The Day, December 25, 2012 In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". avatar [av-uh-tahr, av-uh-tahr] -n 1. Hindu Mythology . the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god. 2. an embodiment or personification, as of a principle, attitude, or view of life. 3. Digital Technology. a graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet. 4. (in science fiction) a hybrid creature, composed of human...

Luke 2:1-21 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was,...

On a recent December morning, Mack Jones hiked a trail bordering the lake at Sandy Creek Park in Athens before he ventured off the path and up a forested ridge. There he showed a group following him a series of mysterious stone terrace walls and rock piles. "It's hidden in plain sight, and it's been that way for the 30 years the park has been here," Jones said. "No one has messed with it and maybe they won't." Jones believes those numerous rock piles - and especially the stone wall terraces lacing the hillside - might constitute evidence that the...

Eagerly he collects wood from the ground, snaps the branches into small pieces and carefully balances them in a pile. Then, taking care not to burn himself, he gently strikes a match and gets ready for a fry-up. Like all red-blooded males, Kanzi loves messing around with a barbecue. But then, as these extraordinary pictures show, Kanzi is no man. He is a bonobo -pygmy chimpanzee -and his love of fire is challenging the way that we think about our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. For although bonobo apes and larger chimpanzees use twigs and leaves as tools, none...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said that she and other gun control advocates are considering a law that would create a program to purchase weapons from gun owners, a proposal that could be compulsory. “We are also looking at a buy-back program,” Feinstein said today in a press conference. “Now, again, this is a work in progress so these are ideas in the development.”Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., already discussed the possibility of a buy-back law for his state, but he made clear it would be a forced buyback.“Confiscation could be an option,” Cuomo told The New York Times yesterday when discussing...

F.B.I. Counterterrorism Agents Monitored Occupy Movement, Records ShowBy MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and COLIN MOYNIHAN Published: December 24, 2012 WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation used counterterrorism agents to investigate the Occupy Wall Street movement, including its communications and planning, according to newly disclosed agency records. **SNIP** In the following months, F.B.I. personnel around the country were routinely involved in exchanging information about the movement with businesses, local law-enforcement agencies and universities. An October 2011 memo from the bureau’s Jacksonville, Fla., field office was titled Domain Program Management Domestic Terrorist. The memo said agents discussed “past and upcoming meetings” of...

SAM DONALDSON: The minorities re-elected president Obama, but I'm going with Katty. It's the Tea Party and thinking of the Tea Party and people like that that are driving the Republicans out of contention as a national party. You cannot win nationally if you don't know something about the way the country's changed, and the Tea Party seems to think the country can go back 25 or 30 years. The greatest slogan that I hated during this last campaign was “We want to take back our country.” Guys, it's not your country anymore - it's our country and you're part...

AMAZING Received the most nominations. LSSU was surprised at the number of nominations this year for "amazing" and surprised to find that it hadn't been included on the list in the past. Many nominators mentioned over-use on television when they sent their entries, mentioning "reality" TV, Martha Stewart and Anderson Cooper. It seemed to bother people everywhere, as nominations were sent from around the US and Canada and some from overseas, including Israel, England and Scotland. A Facebook page – "Overuse of the Word Amazing" – threatened to change its title to "Occupy LSSU" if 'amazing' escaped banishment this year…...

Not all that "amazing"' reallly but a pleasant diversion

This is the lower receiver of an AR-15 rifle, printed in fused plastic filament from a digital model that was, until this week, freely available for download on Thingiverse. This part is significant because all other parts of the common rifle can be readily purchased in the open market. A person who builds a working lower receiver has, in the eyes of the state, essentially built a working AR-15. It is legal to do so for personal use (at least under US law), but until lately the required tools, time, and talent put the project beyond the reach of most...

The Belle Harbor section of the Rockaways in New York, where so many heroes emerged during Superstorm Sandy, has lost one of them to a tragic surfing death in Puerto Rico. ((snip)) The New York City lifeguard was widely praised after the storm for using his surfboard to move several Queens neighbors endangered by high water and a fire to safety.

Here are the 100 Greatest Christmas Songs of all time compiled by WCBS FM. 1 White Christmas Bing Crosby2 The Chipmunk Song The Chipmunks3 Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer Gene Autry4 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Jimmy Boyd5 Jingle Bell Rock Bobby Helms6 The Christmas Song Nat King Cole7 Snoopy's Christmas The Royal Guardsmen8 Here Comes Santa Claus Gene Autry9 Little Drummer Boy Harry Simeone Chorale10 Donde Esta Santa Claus Augie Rios11 Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree Brenda Lee12 You're All I Want For Christmas Brook Benton13 Baby's First Christmas Connie Francis14 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Frank...

On the Monday after the Dec. 14 school massacre in Newtown, Conn., MPAA chairman-CEO Christopher Dodd telephoned the major Hollywood studio heads one by one. Violence in movies often comes under scrutiny following mass shootings, so Dodd wanted to touch base with his bosses, even though there was no indication that Adam Lanza's rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School was inspired by movies (he was an intense video gamer, however). The MPAA issued a statement pledging Hollywood's support in assisting President Obama's call for a special task force on gun violence. "Those of us in the motion picture and television...

Washington - Six months after the 1962 Chinese aggression on India, the US had contemplated using nuclear weapons in the event of another attack from Beijing as it was determined to prevent an Indian defeat at the hands of the Communists. The then president John F Kennedy, at a meeting with his top military aides on May 9, 1963, had expressed clear determination not to let Beijing defeat New Delhi, with his defence secretary even talking about using nuclear weapons against China if it launched another attack against India. These disclosures have come in a just released book ‘Listening In:...

Quickly becoming one of my favorite Christmas specials. A fast moving 17 minutes literally based upon Charles Schultz's comic strips. My favorite part is Sally's "today, I'm going to fall down a Christmas tree" adventures.

We find plenty of reasons for some pretty deep-seated pessimism around here — certain Western democracies’ stubborn march into entirely self-inflicted rates of economic growth much less robust than what they could and should be figuring highly among those reasons — but all in all, I generally subscribe to the school of rational optimism. Sometimes (and I consider Christmas to be a perfect sometime), it’s rejuvenating to take a step back and remember that, while the beguiling promise of big government cyclically rears its ugly head, individuals are everyday responsible for free-market driven innovations and efficiencies that continually make the...

The Patriarch of Jerusalem's Roman Catholic Church declared Christmas is also a celebration of … the birth of the state of Palestine.” The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem has added something new this year to the liturgy: Patriarch Fouad Twal declared the holiday of "Christmas is also a celebration of … the birth of the state of Palestine.” The Jordanian-born Twal made the statement during a procession to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, where he is due to lead midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity. The church in Manger Square and Bethlehem itself are today...

To Chairman Reince Priebus, Thank you for inviting me to present an analysis for the Republican National Committee about the current challenges Republicans face at every level. Our working together goes all the way back to your early years in politics. I enjoyed doing events with you in Wisconsin and admired the work you did in helping Scott Walker become Governor. I was delighted when you became RNC Chairman and I know how much you accomplished in the last two years rebuilding RNC finances and developing a better ground game. Your creation of the Growth and Opportunity Project chaired by...

God has made his power available to his people. But, we have to learn how to tap into it. Because, just because the power is there does not mean it's going to do anything. Just like the power or electricity in your home just because it's there doesn't mean it's going to do anything. You can come in one night with the lights off and sit down in the dark and all the power you need is right there and it's up to you to access it. No one would call the power company just because the lights were off...

Chinese astronauts are preparing to grow fresh vegetables on Mars and the moon after researchers successfully completed a preliminary test in Beijing, state media reported. Four kinds of vegetables were grown in an "ecological life support system", a 300 cubic metre cabin which will allow astronauts to develop their own stocks of air, water and food while on space missions, Xinhua news agency said Monday. The system, which relies on plants and algae, is "expected to be used in extra-terrestrial bases on the moon or Mars", the report said. Participants in the experiment could "harvest fresh vegetables for meals", Xinhua...