Many sports fans who anxiously await the release of the weekly football polls really miss one of the best parts of the poll when searching only to see where their favorite is ranked.

Many newspapers and online services do not give the total results of the polling, they only list the Top 25 picks for the week. You have to dig a little deeper to discover which teams received votes but not enough votes to make it into the Top 25. Look at the bottom of the poll results for this entry in small print Others Receiving Votes.

In Tuesday's AP Poll (9-11-07) it showed these entries South Florida 220, Missouri 144, Alabama 116, Washington 95, Arizona State 28, Appalachian State 19, Cincinnati 12, and Kansas 1. All of these teams started their season by winning their first two games, many times impressively.

I am ignoring five other teams which garnered votes in the AP Poll to make a point. These five were TCU 66, Auburn 23, Florida State 2, Iowa 1 and Purdue 1. Iowa and Purdue are 2-0 but have not won as impressively and the others are 1-1.

USC (Southern California) is No. 1 in the AP Poll with a 1-0 record and 1594 total points. Texas A&M is No. 25 with 243 points. Sportswriters cast ballots giving their 1st place pick 25 points and their 25th pick 1 point.

Notice that Texas A&M had 243 points, and South Florida which did not make it into the Top 25, had 220 points, only 23 points behind. Had South Florida gotten 24 more points, the Bulls (their nickname) would have been No. 25.

If the Top 25 this week had instead been the Top 36, then South Florida would have been No. 26, Missouri No. 27, Alabama No. 28, Washington No. 29, Arizona State No. 31, Appalachian State No. 33, Cincinnati No. 34, and Kansas No. 36. This information is significant to fans like me because of my interest level. One game I play every week is to discern which teams are rising and which teams are falling in the polls.

While many of our wives, sweethearts and significant others may find this activity to be terribly boring, it is a habit that is far superior to other habits such as drinking, drugging, sleeping around, lying, cheating and stealing. This is why I feel no need to justify, apologize or defend myself in this practice.

Those following my College Football 2007 weekly reports during the first two weeks of the season know that I have already been spot on in identifying teams rising and falling. Before the polls were even out, I correctly identified South Florida, Alabama, Washington, Arizona State, Cincinnati and Kansas as teams on the rise.

I correctly identified these teams as falling in the polls Michigan (No. 5 to out of the Top 25), Florida State (No. 19 to out of the Top 25), Boise State (No. 22 to out of the Top 25), Auburn (No. 17 to out of the Top 25), Georgia (No. 11 to No. 23), Wisconsin (No. 5 to No. 7), Hawaii (No. 20 to No. 24) and Texas A&M (No. 23 to No. 25).

The two most overrated teams among those slipping are Wisconsin and Hawaii. Why Hawaii and Texas A&M are still in the polls is beyond me.

One or more of the Top 25 teams will lose this weekend, just as Michigan, Florida State, Boise State, Georgia and Auburn have already been ranked in the Top 25 and lost during the first two weeks of the season. Let me predict that Alabama, Washington, Michigan State, South Florida and Arizona State will all be ranked among the Top 25 in the AP Poll before the season is over.

I would also note that in the Coaches Poll, South Florida, Washington, Alabama, Arizona State and Cincinnati did not make the Top 25 but did receive points. Heck, in the Coaches Poll, even the Wyoming Cowboys-who I love because they are tough to beat at home-received points.

Receiving points in the Coaches Poll with 2-0 records were Missouri, Texas Tech, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland and Purdue. I have not identified any of these teams as on the rise because they have not played good teams or won impressively. Keep your eye on Alabama, Michigan State and Arizona State because they all have first-year coaches in Nick Saban (the Crimson Tide), Mark Dantonio (the Spartans) and Dennis Erickson (the Sun Devils). These three coaches are excellent and all come from great teams with winning traditions.

Erickson's offensive savvy is so good he could probably make a winning player out of a blind mole in the Arizona desert.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Ed Bagley's Blog Publishes Original Articles with Analysis and Commentary on 5 Subjects Sports, Movie Reviews, Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, and Internet Marketing. My intention is to inform, educate, delight and motivate you the reader.

Read my articles on How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss, The Sagarin Ratings What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

The 2006 San Jose State Spartans have been to the mountaintop. Projected by the WAC media poll to finish dead last in the conference, the Spartans have followed former University of Arizona head man Dick Tomey to their best record since 2000. (Since 1992, the program's won-loss record is 45-102, a robust 31% winning clip.) San Jose St. is 7-4 overall, 4-3 in the very competitive WAC, beat Stanford, lost by six to Washington and lost by three to BCS-bound Boise St. Because they were able to win their seventh game last week against Idaho, this December, the Spartans will be invited to a bowl game for the first time in 16 years the New Mexico Bowl, where they'll play, er, New Mexico.

Perfect scenario for a letdown, right Watch highlights of your bowl-clinching victory on the plane ride home from Moscow (the Idaho kind, not the Russian), dream of all the free stuff you'll get down in Albuquerque a couple days before Christmas, get fat and happy and ignore the season finale.

Fat chance. San Jose St. hosts Fresno St. in their last regular-season game of 2006, and they've got revenge on their minds. These teams have played every year since 1996, and the Bulldogs have won every single meeting. Ouch. And that includes some massive beat-downs last year, Fresno St. won 45-7; in '04 it was 62-28; in '03 it was 41-7, and on and on. The Spartans haven't won against the Bulldogs since 1990.

This year the Bulldogs are one season removed from a great campaign, in which they nearly beat USC and did beat Boise St., and were projected to contend for the league crown once again in '06. That hasn't happened; the Bulldogs are 4-7 overall and 4-3 in the conference. They lost inexplicable games to Utah St. and Colorado St., and have been consistently overrated by bettors all year they're 3-13 against the spread in their last 16 games (dating back to a four-game losing streak that ended '05), 1-8 ATS in their last nine conference games, 1-11 ATS in their last 12 games on grass, 0-8 ATS against teams with winning records, and 0-6 ATS on the road. Coach Pat Hill has gone back and forth with his quarterback, starting with Tom Brandstater, benching him and going with Sean Norton, and then coming back to Brandstater. Running back Dwayne Wright has been very good, averaging 123 yards a game (including the 295 he just racked up last week against Louisiana Tech), and the Bulldogs have won three in a row outright (though they covered in only one of those games). But their seven-game losing streak earlier in the season was their worst skein in 77 years.

The Spartans, by contrast, have been very good in all games except against the dominant offense of Hawaii (they allowed 54 points to the Rainbows on the road; then against, the Bulldogs gave up 68 to Hawaii at home) and the rugged defense of Nevada. SJSU junior corner Dwight Lowery is a first-team All-American, and will be the best player on the field Saturday afternoon (it's the first time in 35 years San Jose St. has had an All-American football player). On offense, the Spartans boast a rushing attack that's just about the equal of Fresno St.'s, behind RBs Yonus Davis and Patrick Perry, and quarterback Adam Tafralis is just good enough to take advantage of the Bulldogs' pass defense, which is 89th-best in the nation in terms of passing yards allowed per game, and has allowed 23 touchdowns to just four interceptions. And while both of these defenses can be had via the ground, and while SJSU's per-game yards rushing allowed average is worse (150 to 137), these teams are matched in yards-per-carry-allowed, at 4.1 ypc allowed.

Having caught the gambling public by surprise this year with a successful year well in advance of expectations, SJSU is also quite good against the number. They're 7-3 against the spread this year, and on a 4-1 ATS streak; they're 12-2 ATS in their last 14 as a favorite; they're 4-1 ATS against conference teams; and they're 4-1 ATS in home games. Tomey was part of the University of Texas's Rose-bowl-winning staff in 2004, and was renowned for his Desert Swarm defenses at Arizona in the 1990s. His personnel at SJSU certainly isn't anywhere near that quality yet, but the team is motivated, isn't looking past Fresno St. to the excitement of a bowl game, and has kept the memory of recent detonations at the hands of the Bulldogs fresh. I'm taking San Jose St. at home over Fresno St. (-4) in a revenge game of the highest order.

Last Week Ohio University did us right the second time around, as a three-point favorite against their archrivals, Miami of Ohio. The game was a whole of nail-biting when Miami tied the score, 24-24, early in the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats responded with a five-play, 73-yard drive, and salted away the deal with a field goal just four minutes later, for a 34-24 win. No sweat. (Sure.) That squares Ohio with us, since we lost a one-point heartbreaker with them earlier this year. For the season, our record stands at 8-5 against the number.

Since it kicked off in 1999, the Coachella Festival has become known as much for its fashions as it has for the live music. Even fashion-forward headliners like Madonna and Bjork are upstaged by what the audience typically wears. So if you're going to Coachella, or any of the spring and summer rock festivals across the country this year, here are some fashion school tips for the coolest looks to go with the hottest music.

Be comfortable. The only thing hotter than the music will be the weather. Temperatures in the desert can top out at 120 degrees, so be prepared. Sporting a hat is not only stylish, but practical. Our fashion college experts recommend one with a brim for shade, like a rumpled fedora or a vintage cowboy hat. Add your own touch to it with a band of fabric that matches the rest of our outfit. Another necessity for the sun is an awesome pair of sunglasses. Classic Ray-Bans or an oversized pair of Karl Lagerfelds are very Coachella.

Be prepared to go from daytime to nightlife. The live music extends into the night, along with the parties. So wear an outfit that can transition from day to evening with ease. For example, a silk scarf wrapped around the head to shield you from the afternoon sun can double as a sarong at an afterparty.

Dress the part. Everyone from moms to businesspeople to doctors go to Coachella, but once they're at the festival, they can let their hair down and be someone else for a weekend. Who will you be? If you're the hippie chick, try a crocheted, lacy top with some skinny jeans or cut-off denim shorts. Or grab a top or a dress you haven't worn in forever and tie-dye it. If you're the rocker type, go for the grunge, layering a floral dress over a tee shirt, and finished off with a pair of Doc Martens. Another popular persona is the music VIP: you're there for the parties, so you're expected to look overdressed. For you, our fashion design experts are gaga over string halter long dresses and one-shouldered minis.

Get bold with prints. With thousands of festival goers packing the Empire Polo Fields, you'll stand out in big, bold prints. Oversized hounds tooth and plaids, graphic lettering, psychedelic flowers, even the Union Jack, can make you the ultimate in Coachella style. And the fashion bloggers will love you.

Step out in the right footwear. Flip-flops are everywhere at Coachella, but you can do better than that in the style department. A pair of gladiator sandals (with the more straps the better) will keep you feeling cool and looking like a fashion goddess. Flats are practical, as you'll be on your feet all day, but get them with funky embroidery or beading. And leave the cowboy boots at home. They may look hip, but the heat will have your feet roasting in them.

Coachella and fashion are like Sonny and Cher, or Jack and Meg White - they make beautiful music together.

If you love creating outfits for any occasion, a career in fashion design might be right for you. Visit FIDM/ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising for more info.

When we think of college dorm essentials the first things that come to mind are likely to be things like furniture, maybe a laptop or even snacks for those late nights cramming. How many of us think of safety and security as part of our going away to college list of things to buy Not as many as there should be, because more of us need to increase our awareness when it comes to personal safety and security in college dorms and on campuses. With the right knowledge and a handful of inexpensive products, living at college can be a safer, more rewarding experience.

Going away to college is a very exciting time in a person's life. A brand new set of experiences are just ahead. Including what could be the greatest learning experience of our entire lives. This refers to the lessons that may be more important than those that are taught classrooms, like how to take care of ourselves. College dorm living can also be dangerous, especially for young women. They need to be sure that their college dorm essentials checklist includes the knowledge that creates awareness and instills common sense where it concerns safe habits and practices.

Awareness and common sense can be one of the biggest factors in preventing burglaries and other crimes. Some of the basics are, always keeping your dorm room locked, even when you're in it. Never let a stranger into your dorm or apartment building. Never prop open doors or windows to allow friends to get in or out after curfew hours. If you see a door or window that is propped open so that others can sneak in after hours, close it and make sure it's locked, anyone who sees it can get in whether they belong there or not. Never loan your room key or fob to anyone, and never put your name or address on your room key, who ever finds it will know exactly which room they can now open. A door alarm for your room is a good backup to these safety measures, one of the college dorm essentials that can be purchased.

The campus and school buildings can also be dangerous places if we do not use common sense or practice awareness. Safeguards that young women need to practice include, staying in well lit, well travelled areas at night and taking someone with them when they know that a place or building they're going to will be basically deserted. These are only a few examples but the point is that being aware of what helps dangerous situations to exist will help you to avoid them. Some other college dorm essentials that should be high on your list are those that will help you get out of a dangerous situation, should you encounter one despite your greatest efforts to avoid it.

It's a good practice to carry a personal alarm, which is a high decibel noise maker. It will call attention to you if you need help and most often will scare off an aggressive individual. There is also pepper spray for those times when the noise doesn't scare them off or for when there's no one around to hear the noise. These are some of the other college dorm essentials that can be purchased. These, and a few other inexpensive items, combined with the information needed to use them properly and the safety information that will help anyone avoid needing to use them will create a safer living and learning environment for a student whether on or off campus.

Fortunately, there is now a resource for this information and these products together in one place, you will find both in a uniquely designed kit of College Dorm Essentials specifically designed for a young woman's safety and security. These kits and other Ultimate Survival Kits have been created as part of a unique concept intended to promote anti crime awareness and personal safety. More invaluable safety and crime prevention information is available at lifelineproductsny.com, the distributor of these kits who believes that knowledge is power.

Few people appreciate the great contribution the handgun has made to television and motion pictures. What would police shows, for example, be without .38 Specials and .357 Magnums Imagine police detectives standing around the squad room in shirtsleeves, rifles dangling from under their armpits. Ridiculous!

The shows that would really suffer from an absence of handguns, though, would be the westerns. Without the pistol, there would be no fast draw, and without the fast draw, westerns would be a whole lot different. Consider, if you will, and if you have the stomach for it, a quick-draw scene with rifles.

Matt Dillon clumps out into the street from the Long Branch Saloon to issue a warning to one of the quaintly named villains so characteristic of Gunsmoke.

Chester and I caught you red-handed stealin buffalo humps up on the flat, Ick Crud he says. You be outta town by sundown if you know what's good fer ya. Folks here 'bouts don't take kindly to buffalo-humpers.

Ick Crud sneers. Reach fer yer iron, Marshal!

The camera zooms in for a close-up of Matt's low-slung Winchester, the tie-downs knotted around his ankle. Quicker than Dean Martin can sing Old Man River, Matt draws... and draws... and draws. Ick Crud uses a frantic hand-over-hand draw on his Sharps-Borchardt. During the draw, Chester, Doc, and Miss Kitty go back into the Long Branch for a drink to steady their nerves.

Three whiskeys and be quick about it, Miss Kitty snaps to the bartender. Matt's drawin' out there in the street, and we ain't got much time before the shootin' starts.

I don't know why Matt don't git outta the marshaling business, Doc grumbles. I keep tellin' him, Matt, sooner or later a gunfighter's gonna shade your draw by just a minute or two, and that'll be it fer ya. We better git back out there, Chester whines. They should be just about finished drawin', and I don't want to miss the shootin'.

No doubt about it, the handgun and the fast draw are essential to the true western, and any movie fan worth his hot-buttered popcorn not only expects them to be in the western but knows the ritual by heart. The ritual usually begins with the call out. The villain stands in the street and calls out the hero-C'mon out, Ringo, you yellow-bellied, chicken-livered, varicose-veined, spastic-coloned wimp!

Upon hearing himself being called out, the hero immediately begins his preparations. He tosses down his shot of whiskey and grinds out his cigar on the greasy nose of the belligerent bartender. He slips his pistol out of its holster and checks the cylinder to make sure he reloaded after his last shoot-out. (There is nothing more disappointing than to beat the other fellow to the draw and then discover that you forgot to reload.) He then reholsters his gun and slips it out and in a few times to make sure it isn't sticking.

(A stuck gun is just about as bad as an unloaded one.) Next he unstraps his spurs, his motive here apparently being that, should he change his mind about the fight, it is a lot easier to run when you're not wearing spurs. He pulls his hat low over his eyes, limbers up the fingers of his gun hand, and tucks his jacket back behind the butt of his revolver. One purpose of all this preparation may be the hope that the villain will get tired of waiting and go home. The villain never does, of course, although sometimes he gets a cramp in his lip from holding a sneer so long.

Back in the olden days when I was a kid, we had what were called the B westerns. The B stood for best. These were movies starring Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Hopalong Cassidy. They weren't anything like the westerns nowadays starring Clint Eastwood, the ones where you have to buy a program to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In the B westerns, you always knew the good guys. They were neatly dressed, clean-shaven, and didn't cuss, smoke, drink, kiss, or do anything else that was bad for health or morals. Even the bad guys didn't do most of these things, but you could tell them anyway. For one thing, they all used the interrupted curse What the...!

Well, I'll be...!

Why you...!

They had real action in the B's too, not like the modern western where you spend half the movie watching Eastwood squint his eyes and ripple his jaw muscles. Clint holsters his gun like he was setting a carton of milk back in a refrigerator. Why, Roy, Gene, and Hoppy wouldn't even think of putting their guns back into their holsters without giving them a twirl or two first.

I don't recall seeing Roy, Gene, or Hoppy ever shoot anybody, but they probably did. Usually, they just shot the gun out of the villain's hand and let it go at that. Sometimes they would rope the bad guys, often getting a single loop of their lasso around the whole gang.

Heroes knew their business in the B westerns.

One nice bit of business Roy, Gene, and Hoppy perfected was to leapfrog over the rumps of their horses and land smack in the saddle. They never landed on the saddle horn either, although once I think I heard the Lone Ranger cry out in a shrill voice, Hü owwww Silver away!

My cousin Buck, who was several years older than I and knew everything, told me he was an expert at getting on horses like that and that there really wasn't anything to it. I said I couldn't believe that. He said if I had a horse handy he would show me. I said I didn't have a horse but I had a cow.

Would a cow work He said sure. We went out to the pasture and found a cow engaged in licking a salt block. Buck said that one would do just fine. I suggested that we warn the cow of what to expect, but Buck said that wouldn't be necessary. As it turned out, Buck was wrong about that and the rest as well. I still think the cow probably would have cooperated and even entered into the spirit of the thing had we just let her know what to expect. As it was, Buck got back twenty yards or so and made a dash for her. At the exact instant he got his hands on the cow's rump and his legs had crossed over his arms in mid-vault, the cow let out a frightened bellow and bolted forward. As the cow disappeared over a nearby hill, Buck was still perched on her tail bones in a strange variation of the lotus position and screaming, Whoa, you stupid cow, whoa! Well, I'll be...! I said.

The B western heroes were big on tricks. Say the villain got the drop on Roy in a little cabin out in the middle of the desert. just as the baddy was about to plug him, Roy would shout Watch out! and point over the other man's shoulder. The villain would spin around, and Roy would jump him and thump his head to a fare-thee-well. These villains were dumb! Otherwise, why would they expect the guy they were about to gun down to warn them of a surprise attack They were slow to learn.

Roy, Gene, and Hoppy would catch them with this little trick movie after movie. Maybe the reason they were so dumb was from getting their heads thumped so often.

Eventually, however, they did start catching on to the trick. You ain't foolin' me with that old trick, Rogers, the bad guy would say, as if he had seen some of these movies before himself. But this time Gabby Hayes would actually be sneaking up behind him and would thump his head a good one.

Again, one might wonder why Roy thought it necessary to warn the villain when his comical sidekick was in fact sneaking up behind the man. The reason, of course, was to complicate matters for the villain when this particular situation arose in future movies. Roy, Gene, and Hoppy all worked half a dozen different ploys of this same routine, always with success. After a while the villain could scarcely get the drop on one of them without instantly becoming a nervous wreck from wondering whether or not he was about to be jumped.

The B western villain was a sucker for pebbles, too. Anytime the hero wanted to draw the baddy's attention away from himself, he would toss a pebble. The villain would whirl around and empty his six-gun into the pebble.

Then he would see that it was only a pebble and would get this worried, expectant look in his eyes, which said, Head, get ready for a thumping!

Counting shots was a favorite tactic of B western heroes. They would wave a hat around on a stick or perform some other trick to draw fire, all the time counting shots. Then, suddenly, they would walk right out in the open and announce, Six! That was your last bullet, Slade!

Villains liked to try this trick too, but having the IQ's of celery, they could never get it straight. There was scarcely a villain in B westerns who could count to six without making a mistake. Six, the bad guy would say, walking out from behind his rock. That was your last bullet, Autry!

BANG!

If the movie patron wondered what it was the villain was muttering as he lay sprawled in the dust, it was probably, Let's see now, two shots ricocheted off the rock, two went through my hat on the stick, that makes five...

Even among the B western audiences there were those who counted shots.

They counted the number of shots the hero fired without reloading. I hated these wise guys. Right in the tense part of the movie, they would guffaw That's nine shots without reloading! Roy must be using a nine-shooter!

Why you...! I would say under my breath. If there was anyone who couldn't appreciate a B western, it was a nitpicker.

The last B western I ever saw in a theater was in a small college town in Idaho. It starred Randolph Scott, and in the big scene the baddies had ganged up on Randolph in the saloon. When they started blazing away at him, Randolph jumped behind a cast-iron stove and, if I recall correctly, used the stove lid as a sort of shield while he returned their fire. The theater was filled with college kids and, as is the nature of college kids, they began whooping and jeering and laughing at Randolph's plight. Seated just behind me were an old farmer and his wife who had paid their hard-earned $1.50 for an evening of serious entertainment. As the slugs were spanging off the stove like lead hail and the college kids were whooping it up, I heard the old woman whisper nervously to her husband. The farmer, in a gruff but gentle voice, reassured her. Don't worry, Mother, he said, Ol' Randolph, he'll figure a way to git hisself out of this mess.

You bet! The farmer and his wife were my kind of people.

Looking back, I now realize it was a good thing Hollywood stopped turning out B westerns when it did. I was grown up and had a job by then, and folks were beginning to ask, What's that big fellow doing down there, sitting in the front row with the kids

The author is a cool guy, like basketball, baseball, and football. And also like collecting nike air force ones sneakers If you enjoy humor and like sporting, please email me and hope to make a friend with you.

Had you asked me when I first moved to Egypt whether I'd ever wear a shirt stolen from a dead person, I would have recoiled and questioned your sanity. Or if you'd asked me the street price for an Egyptian tortoise or Vervet monkey, I would have shrugged in bewilderment. Then again, I never thought I'd ever be doing most of my shopping in a cemetery, or bargaining for used clothing and endangered animals.

Shortly after graduating from College, I decided to move to Cairo Egypt to study Arabic as well as to spread my wings and live abroad for a few years. However in the process, I discovered a market and way of shopping that defined my experience as a whole.

In the massive urban sprawl of Cairo, there are five major cemeteries that were at one time located on the outskirts of town. But because of the rapid expansion of Cairo over the last few decades, these cemeteries have slowly become more and more central.

Due to housing shortages, overpopulation, and the rising cost of living, today the cemeteries have become home to over five million of Egypt's urban poor. They have migrated there in droves, usually taking over in squatter fashion, grabbing the free real estate before someone else can move in, and making the tombs of the dead into residences for the living. These vast tracts of overcrowded cemeteries that lie along Cairo's Moqattam hills have become known collectively as the city of the dead, a mysterious, unknown, and foreboding place for both foreigners and Cairenes alike.

As one passes by the tombs made into houses, you see children dressed in threadbare clothing standing in the doorways and playing in the garbage strewn streets. You notice the creative use of cement coffins inside the tombs that serve as everything from ironing boards to dinner tables, from benches to beds. Laundry lines crisscross the spaces, strung up between gravestones, and television antennas are propped up on the low, flat roofs.

Although some of the earlier residents have illegally spliced wires from nearby mosques and run electric wires to their tombs, most residents do not have the luxury of lights, TV's or telephones. And since people living in the tombs are technically illegal squatters by Egyptian law, there is also no sewer or trash service. Piles of garbage are on every street corner, while some alleys run with raw sewage. The chief source of income for these people is a large market that occurs every Friday morning, open to all who have something to sell, with no vendor fees or laws to regulate what is sold.

Shopping in the suq al guma'a or Friday Market in Cairo's city of the dead is an event that draws tens of thousands of Cairo's poorest every week to a place where they can both buy and sell almost any kind of junk, trinket, or treasure, at a price that they can all afford. It also occasionally draws one or two Western-weary, slightly adventurous, financially struggling Arabic students, such as myself. It is a place that even on my meager student's stipend, I could feel like a king for a day.

As I jump off the minibus, which slows down only slightly to allow the frantic passengers to simultaneously jump on and off, I find myself at the front entrance of the infamous Friday market - a large unpaved street that winds for about a mile through the tombs of the now inner-city graveyard. I am at once hit by smells, sounds and images that are almost overpowering - a motorcycle stacked with dozens of camel legs sits beside huge buckets filled with goat, donkey, and sheep entrails. Large pails of cow liver and raw fat sit in the sun, while women and men with blood up to their elbows yell back and forth bargaining with potential buyers over the din of the crowd.

Liver! Stomach! Intestines! a black-clad woman shouts as she pushes her way through the crowd, carrying a dirty plastic bucket atop her head swarming with flies.

The mass of people is so thick that I am herded into one direction or another almost against my will, and have to step between vendors to get my bearings. This is survival shopping at it's best, just as it's been in this part of the world for thousands of years. Success at finding a good deal here depends solely on ones aggressiveness, bargaining capability, and craftiness, as opposed to your credit limit, as it is back in my hometown of Washington DC. It's also a refreshing lesson in honesty, as both the seller and I can be completely honest about our intent to fleece the other for all he's worth.

I pause by the merchants who have spread out their small blankets in front of them to display wares they have picked up out of the garbage or stolen off the streets during the past week - piles of broken kids toys, smashed remote controls, old Tupperware lids, coils of wire, pieces of a computer, here and there an old watch, a magazine - all for a price that even the poorest of the poor can afford. Most of the merchandise it is actual bona-fide junk, such as innards of long-outdated typewriters, dented hubcaps, old bed springs, a piece of twine, a broken phone receiver - that they are hoping someone, somewhere has a use for. The vendors start their prices out by sizing you up visually if you are well dressed and look like you have money the price starts high.

Does this work I ask, pointing to an old VCR with a smashed display panel.

Yes, it works the man says, brushing the dust off of it with his sleeve.

Can I test it I ask. He looks around at the mud and cement walls along the street and shrugs. I forget that there are no electricity outlets for miles around here.

I'll take that alarm clock there for 1 guinea I say

Are you kidding He laughs, its worth more than four!

Two guineas I say

By God, I wouldn't sell it to my own mother for that!

I wave my hand and feign walking away.

Wait! He says, May God curse you, take it for three and shoves it in my hands.

I can buy a new one for only three and a half! I counter, and we continue this until a price acceptable to both of us is finally agreed upon, and we both part grinning to ourselves at our shrewdness. Never has shopping been so exiting.

I move on to the used clothing sellers who heap their merchandise into large mountains on top of plastic tarps, with crowds of people digging through them indiscriminately, holding up blouses, underwear, pants, ties, shorts, and socks, yelling out an offer, and then throwing them back to keep on searching.

As I sit ruffling through the mound of clothing a man passing by leans over and says in a low voice, Don't touch those clothes, they're from the dead. I look at him in disbelief. They take them off their bodies before they are even cold he continues.

Judging from the smell of them, I suspect he's probably right.

Why should that stop you a nearby woman says laughing They don't need them anymore!

I had heard from an Egyptian friend that a some of these clothes come from charitable organizations in the West, whose shipments are frequently sold by the 'charitable organizations' to second parties, who in turn sell them to third parties on the streets. However other sources of clothes are more dubious. More than one person told me to wash the clothes I bought at the Friday market at least three times.

When someone dies in Cairo they do not sit in the grave clothed for very long. My friend said. Some, he continued, are even taken before they get to the grave He explained how the doorman of an apartment building will often inform his cohorts when a building tenant has died, and before the grieving family has a chance to discover the tragedy, they rush the apartment taking all of the belongings, from the china in the cupboards to the clothes on the corpse.

Despite the warning, I find a great fleece button-up shirt that doesn't smell too awful, and haggle it down from two dollars to fifty cents, but finally have to throw in another five cents for a plastic bag to carry it in.

Up the street I pass a row of shoe sellers, wondering what one would do with an unmatched single shoe.

This one almost matches The vendor tells me, holding up another single shoe, They are both black.

Yes, but they are different styles I say.

Then let me make you a deal, He says. You get one shoe for half price

I can hear and smell the live animal market before I reach it. Here you can find every kind of animal species that survives the trip up from Sudan and Eastern Africa for sale. There are monkeys, hawks, badgers, weasels, parrots, fish, all packed dozens to a cage. I see a large wire container filled five feet high with desert tortoises, the ones on the bottom clearly being crushed. Most of the animals in the market look to be near death, which doesn't seem to bother the crowds of kids who are poking at them with sticks and throwing rocks and cigarettes into their cages. I ask how much the desert falcon is, and the seller won't go down below eighty guineas.

What do you feed him I ask.

Anything, bugs, meat, fish, fruit. He says. I didn't know hawks ate fruit, I say to him, but he is already busy fighting children away from the poisonous snakes with a stick.

Just around the corner is a taxidermist who apparently has a relationship with the animal seller and offers ferocious looking stuffed versions of the same animals for sale. They look diabolically creepy, fitted with cheap glass eyes taken from dolls, and then given an evil grin with bared teeth or open beak, sometimes with fake blood painted around the mouth. There's nothing quite as unsettling, I found, as a goose fitted with bloody fangs.

I veer off a side street into the coin sellers' alley, and start the long and time-consuming process of sifting through bowls or socks of old coins. These are sometimes the most interesting and educated of the vendors, having gleamed a smattering of world history through the collection of their coins and bills, and as I make small talk over what I am missing from my King Farouq coin collection.

King Faroup was the last king of Egypt, who ruled from 1936-1952, when he was overthrown by Egyptian nationalists led by Gamal Abdul Nassar. The coins with his image on them are collectors items.

The inevitable question is posed Do you want to see the old coins one vendor asks.

What he means by 'the old coins' are the Ottoman, Byzantine, Greek, and Roman coins that are illegally pilfered from archeological sites.

What do you have today I ask. A vendor pulls out a leather pouch from his breast pocket, and looking left and right to make sure no undercover policeman might be watching, pours out about a handful of silver and bronze Roman and Greek coins.

I learned the hard way that every coin vendor has both real antique coins and fake ones, and if you don't learn to differentiate the two early on, you're liable to buy a complete set of melted down copper wire. He tells me that special requests, such as a coin from the Ptolemaic (332 BC - 30 AD), or Fatamid (969-1171 AD) period, can be fulfilled in less than a day, and, if I have the money, he can offer me more than just coins. But since the trafficking in illegal artifacts carries a jail sentence in Egypt, I politely decline
.

I wander past the appliances section of the market and recognize old house appliances that I haven't seen since I was a young child, an old Fridgedair, bathroom sinks with bronze claws, hand powered washing machines, coal heated irons, mantle's and awnings taken from abandoned 18th century churches and mansions, dusty chandeliers with two or three crystals hanging from them.

Next to these are rows of old and new bikes and motorcycles, some of them with a chain and lock still around the back wheel.

Do you have the key to the locks I ask

No, but it is very cheap to cut, you can go to any mechanic's shop the seller says.

As they say in Cairo - What you lose on Thursday, you can find on Friday at the market.

I pass by piles of aging military equipment, gas masks, empty mortar shells, cracked range scopes for canons and outdated nautical equipment. There are printing presses next to old couches, a rowing machine, piles of cracked records, empty bottles, stacks of ancient postcards, knives, stuffed teddy bears and a saddle for a camel.

The new highway, which was built so that wealthier Cairenes could drive over the cemetery rather than through it, signals the far end of the market and creates the much coveted under-the-bridge real-estate that houses some of the more established vendors such as the antiques dealers, the electronics repairmen, the 'forbidden' movie sellers, and one of the oddest markets I've ever been to in my life, the dog mating market.

Sectioned off in one small area under the bridge, groups of men and boys bring their dogs of all types and sizes to bargain with one another for the price of a mating. The more handsome and healthy the dog is the higher the price he fetches. Once the amount is agreed upon, the men form a small circle around the two dogs and watch the ensuing process with almost analytical scrutiny, hands on their chins, nodding their heads in approval at the end of the transaction. I shoulder my way into one of the circles, to see if this is really what it appears to be and make a quick retreat - not finding the spectacle as exiting as the others seem to.

Others sellers wander around with puppies, the results of previous mating sessions, and let buyers feel the dogs' teeth, muscles, and skin before the starting to bargain. Most of these dogs go to southern Egypt to be guard dogs for farmers, and many men have made a one or two day trip for the chance of mating their dog with the stock of Cairo's finest.

The market begins to thin out at this point, and I look down at my shoes and hands covered with the fine gray dirt of the cemetery. I smell the burning plastic and garbage odor that permeates my clothes and hair. I head for the bus stop, and as the children that have been following and pestering me for the last three hours start to lose interest and wander away, I can finally take stock of my finds for this Friday. One shirt, probably taken from a dead person, two Mameluke coins (the Mamelukes were former Turkish slaves who took power from their masters), possibly stolen from an archeological dig, and an alarm clock that was most likely taken from the garbage - all for just under three dollars. But the experience of shopping among the dead is almost priceless.

If You Go

The Friday Market occurs every Friday from 8 AM until about 2 PM, under the Muqattam Hills. It can be reached on foot or taxi from the Citadel. Ask for the suu' al guma'a or you can go by minibus from ma'aadi, the wealthy suburb of Cairo about 5 miles south of the city center.. Do not bring a lot of money, and do not dress flashy.

Trent Rockwood lives in the DC area and works as a researcher in Arabic Linguistics. He loves to travel, and has traveled extensively in the middle east.

I have often heard the charge that a Christian is - narrow minded. This has never made any sense to me ... and very little logic is required to refute it. But I suspect this has nothing to do with ... logic. But let's address this logically anyway. And as this is a personal narrative, I will make it ... personal.

A Recounting
For starters, I was not born a Christian. No one is. I attended public schools from 1958-1971 in Wichita, Kansas. At that time, public schools were more academically oriented than today. In sixth grade, I was entered into a state-wide competition in both math and science. This required additional after school hours. I received honorable mention in both (somewhere between 4th and 10th place). I believe I was already into Algebra II. In High School, I did well on the ACT, and also passed aeronautics ground school testing (but, after getting airsick ... I did not pursue licensing). I always had a great interest in science (particularly life science) and loved studying evolution. I was also particularly interested in genetics. My Senior year I was named Outstanding Young Citizen by a civic group, and also received a 4 year Army ROTC scholarship to any college in the country with an ROTC program. It paid for everything and even granted spending money. That's government for you.

In college, I was originally quite heavy in the sciences - Physical Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry ... but later, after two summers of door-to-door sales (and a taste of money) changed to Business Administration - Economics, Accounting, etc. I had taken up the guitar at 19 and soon found I could write songs. This became my own domain to express my questions and frustrations. Part of my search during those years was a longing for some kind of substantive coordinating system for all the information to which I had been exposed. There were too many unaddressed gaps in what I now know were secular world-view systems. When I was 23 years and 5 months old, I began - in private - reading the Bible. Even though I had sold Bibles door-to door for two summers, and though I had opinions about it, the truth was ... I had never read it. That's not to say I had never had contact with Christians before. For example, ...

Once in Junior High, my best buddy, Jeff, and I - spent the week at a Tent Revival Meeting - complete with healings and slayings in the Spirit. Actually, we were outside the tent - peeking in from a split in the canvass - and had been having a grand old time ... mocking them. One afternoon, as we were reenacting the show - and getting ready for that night's showing - I remember my Mom mildly warning about our antics. Well, that night, in the midst of our festivities, a couple of rather big brutes collared us from behind, and said that since we were having such a good time watching, they had front row seats ready for us. Well, next thing you know, two young sinners were thrust into the midst of the hoopla. People were falling out all around us - in what seemed to us to be seizures - and then one woman fell into Jeff's arms. What were already big eyes, just about popped out of his head. He too was jumping all around, but I can guarantee you - it had nothing to do with the Spirit. Needless to say, after our escape that night ... we left them alone. That incident didn't win me to Christianity.

But there were other contacts with Christians too. A year or so out of High School, a kid I had grown up with found Jesus. He then graced all us hooligans with his presence as Mr. Spiritual and Mr. Deep. I had known him since I was four, and I knew that within six months he would be back with us ... chasing the girls, among other things. Well, I was wrong. He was back in about three.

And, of course there was the radio and television. You always knew when you hit the Christian program. They were always asking for money. I never could quite figure out ... why God needed money. It seemed like He could just make some if He needed some. But heck, what did I know I was just a lackey outside the loop. And in order to keep moving here, I won't even bring up my Bible selling days. My point Well, I had a lot of opinions about Christianity ... but as far as the actual Bible, as previously stated, I had never read it myself - by myself. But, ... then I did. After six months of doing that, something dramatic happened to me. I ... became a Christian. That was April 17, 1977. It just so happens that as I am typing this, it is now April 17, 2009. I did not plan this. I did not even realize this until just before I typed it. Thirty-two years and two divinity degrees later - and I can tell you - I am just getting a good start in the depths of the material in that Book. But let's go back to 1977 and talk logic.

Logic

On that day in 1977, what happened to all the knowledge in my head from all my educational years Did it ... vanish Did all the evolutionary materials about adaptations, mutations, geological dating, carbon 14 dating ... just disappear (If so, how did I just write that last sentence ... 32 years later) And what about all the Humanistic metaphysics of a lifetime Did all those values and opinions ... simply evaporate And what about the claim in the previous paragraph - that, I ... became a Christian Was that declaration the result of an epiphany of some sort, or an instant infusion of mental material from the outside - that at the same time wiped out all the Darwinian materials, and its spinoffs, as well as all the Secular Humanistic philosophies and values When, I ... became a Christian does that mean my mind was erased and only narrow minded Christianity was planted in my gray matter Or is it possible that six months of private Bible investigation (followed up by 32 more years and counting) weighed Naturalism and Humanism ... and those first materials collapsed before the Biblical ones This reminds me of ...

The Handwriting on the Wall

In 539 B.C., Belshazzar, King of Babylon, decided to party with the gold and silver vessels his father had plundered from the Temple in Jerusalem. At the height of the fun, a hand appeared and wrote this on the wall Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. Then the king's face grew pale, and his thoughts alarmed him; and his hip joints went slack, and his knees began knocking together. Daniel was called in to translate the writing. For my isogeted purposes here, the first three words of this message I will use 'Mene, Mene,' ... God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it (stated twice - so, once for the kingdom of Naturalism and once for the kingdom of Humanism), 'Tekel,' ... you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient (Dan 525-27). When Naturalism and Humanism became pitted against the Bible ... both kingdoms were weighed, found deficient - and put to an end. And ever since then, to use a football phrase, the Bible has just kept piling on. God does not hesitate in running up the score. And He makes no apologies for His merciless assault.

One time my mother charged, You never listen! I replied, Mom, I have listened. I heard and understood your every word. What you mean is, 'You never obey!' You see, I have listened very carefully to the contentions of the atheistic Naturalist and the Humanist. I still do. If you have read much of my material, you know I have listened more carefully than many who adhere to those systems. But, both fell (and continue falling) before the handwriting on the wall.

Breadth of Mind

One of the beauties of Christianity is that no one is to accept the convictions of another. God calls each person to come directly to Him and develop hisher own. In fact, that is genuine Christianity. Do you have a problem with a hand appearing out of nowhere ... and writing on a wall (Dan 5). What about the sun standing still for about a whole day (Josh 1013). What about God creating the universe and earth in six calender days (Gen 11-31). What about Jesus Christ walking out of the tomb three days after having been slaughtered on a Roman cross (Mt 28, Mk 16, Lk 24, and Jn 20, 21). Believing these things - and all the other miracles in the Bible (and the ones on the way) - are not to be blindly embraced. And you are not to be talked into believing any Bible claims by some persuasive speaker (1Cor 21-5) ... or writer. You see, God knows that if you are talked into this by someone (other than Himself), you can also be talked out of it. In fact, with the realities of life being what they are, some event, or voice, will come along and do just that. He admonishes each to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 212). Christianity is a one-on-One transaction. So, how is this embrace to be achieved How about ... information.

Biblical Faith

The word for faith (pistis, n.) or believe (pisteuo, v.) is from a family of words denoting persuasion. Here is the Biblical definition. Now faith (pistis) is the assurance (hupostasis) of things hoped for, the conviction (elenchos) of things (pragma) not seen (Heb 111). Hupostasis means, to stand under, an assured impression, a mental realizing. It is to vouch for something that one has become convinced - is substantive. Elenchos means, a trial in order to proof, a proof. This does not mean one needs to try to prove His word is true. It is that one tests it for proof that it is true. There is a great difference between these two approaches and interaction with the Bible and its Author. Pragma means, a thing done, fact, deed, work, matter, affair, transaction, business. We get the word, pragmatic which is concerned with actual practice, not with theory. So Biblical faith is to vouch for the Bible's assertions on the most practical of matters after having been persuaded, through personal testing, of its accuracy and trustworthiness. The persuaded proclaimer has been sold - by One who sells without manipulation, deceit, or a perverted self- interest.

Blind Faith ... Versus an Extrapolated Faith

But, you were not there when that hand wrote on the wall, or the sun stood still, or the earth was made in six calender days, or Jesus rose from the dead - and yet you believe all that It sure sounds like a blind faith to me. Well, if these things were believed in a vacuum, I would agree. But, that is not how God works with a person. Those who seek Him are dealt with so convincingly in their present tense world that, without even realizing it, they find themselves being able to embrace His claimed deeds - for which they were not present. Such embraces are an extrapolation of faith based upon tested proofs of His word in one's personal experience. This is one way a person's faith is greatly enlarged (2Thes 13), or how one's faith grows (2Cor 1015). This amazing development is the opposite of a blind faith. It is the opening of one's eyes to be able to embrace God's abilities - and His fantastic accounts. But it goes even further than this. One becomes persuaded that things He says He is going to do - are rock solid claims. One even begins ordering one's life upon His proclaimed future actions. This is really quite astonishing. For example, believing in Judgment Day changes everything here and now. It not only acts as a restraint toward errant deeds - it also motivates one to do things He says He will eternally reward! Extrapolated faith has power. Blind faith is a weak and fearful grasp at some wished-for hope. The Living Creator has no need, or desire, to place Himself at the end of such a grasp. He deals with His creatures by a faith of substance. This is not ... an oxymoron.

And For the Record ...

This does not rule out the occurrence of dramatic, subjective events in one's faith journey. I have experienced incidents that I am certain God was behind. I am happy to share those things (and often do), but as they are subjective in nature, I know that many view them as wishful interpretations - that I credit to God. This even happened to Paul (Acts 22 and Acts 26). But while dramatic, personal incidents from God are effective and do transform - they are primarily catalysts for objective Bible ingestion and interaction. One is nourished on the words of the faith (1Tim 46) and the gaining of accurate, objective, Bible knowledge and understandings is the primary source for faith accruement.

A Personal Narrative

Actually, this Article is about ... you. Your personal narrative. God does not want you to forget the Naturalism you have been taught ... or the secular Humanism values you hold - and have been sold. He wants to confront them with His positions and defeat them inside of you. He wants to broaden your mind as you investigate His claims into other possibilities on the given subject areas. But His goal is not appeasement or peaceful coexistence with contrarian positions. His purpose is annihilation of them and His domination in you. In fact, His goal is to eventually use you in destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God (1Cor 105). What do you think about that

But, how can that be done ... if you do not have the additional knowledge of His positions And how can that be done ... if you have not been persuaded to aggressively adopt those positions And how can you destroy the validity of contrary knowledge ... unless you know that contrarian material, too You must be mentally equipped to see its weak spots - to bring it down. God does not attack Straw Men. He wants us to accurately understand the other side's positions and attack and demolish the Real Man. This requires a greater breadth of mind ... than you may currently possess.

So, ... do not come to your Creator unless you are willing to subject yourself to such a process. And it is a process. His intention is to grow you into being an apologist for Him. This will necessitate that He open your mind in order to understand the Scriptures (Lk 2445). But don't worry, the onions and the garlic of Naturalism and Humanism will still be there (Nu 115) ... if you want to go back to them. But, you won't.

Interestingly, one qualification for becoming an overseer in the church is one must be able to refute those who contradict (Tit 19). Some seek to restrict this to internal Bible squabbles so that the approved overseer only needs to be a denominational loyalist - and the refutation is toward other professing Christians who do not adhere to their sect's particular distinctives. But such an understanding truly is narrow minded. Naturalism and Humanism (in all its varied shades) both contradict the Bible on just about every subject imaginable - physical and metaphysical. The overseer of God must be able to refute those who contradict ... including the secularisms (plural) outside the church walls. If they can't - or won't - those contrary views will not stay outside their church walls. They will come right through the front door, populate the pews, migrate into the decision making positions and then infect, and defect, what is to be an oasis of God in this desert. Overseers must be able to accurately represent contrary positions and then refute them by handling accurately the word of truth (2Tim 215).

To gain the breadth of mind necessary to become a Christian - and especially to progress to church leadership roles - is a tall order. If you decide to seek this out, God will challenge you. He will challenge you mentally. He will challenge you emotionally. He will challenge you volitionally. You will be exercised as far as you are willing to go. And even if you apply yourself a thousand times more diligently than say, a person like me, I know you will be the first to declare you are only beginning to scratch the surface of the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God (Ro 1133). So, I guess there is only one thing left to do. It is time for you to begin, or continue, your personal narrative with the God of the Bible. That gives me great satisfaction ... and I look forward to reading your account - here or hereafter.

STEVE JURICH 5A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RUN 2007

A late bloomer, Steve Jurich, now age 21, grew 9 inches in high school. With his height and statistics inaccurately listed his senior year, he was not on the national radar and was forced to make tough decisions. His passion kept him climbing. Jurich was named Honorable Mention All Conference finishing in the top 10 in scoring-a list that included Jarryd Bayliss --and top ten in rebounding. While the numbers aren't off the charts, personal stats on a championship team usually are spread out. The Desert Mountain Wolves were well coached, well disciplined, shared the ball, and shared playing time. Its important to note that many players with big numbers in high school play for 2A, 3A, or 4A schools-and get 3 times the touches that an unselfish team will give to any one player. Playing at the 5A level, the competition is tougher, bigger, faster. A state championship takes a team effort, and team players wiling to sacrifice.

Jurich was recruited by Air Force in the summer of 2007, and accepted a stint at Air Force Prep, which did not count toward eligibility. He discovered the military would not be his favored career choice.

Fast forward to 2010, the stout 6' 712 240 pound continued his impressive development and maturation with 366 rebounds (5th in the nation) and 448 points scored (16ppg12rpg). After going 15 and 10 his freshman year with two 30+ scoring games, he finished with a career double-double for Coach Paul Eberhardt at Scottsdale Community.

Jurich was voted First Team All Conference (ACCAC) by the Arizona Community College coaches, and selected second team All American in the NJCAA.

Playing against top professionals and college players In the summer of 2009, he averaged 17 ppg in Amare Stoudemire's Summer ProAm league. Along with star European point guard Curtis Millage, Jurich was pivotal in his team's successful run, resulting in the league championship. He guarded 3's, 4's, and 5's in that game including former Utah Jazz star Greg Ostertag.

Environmental Beauty

Founded in 1959 the college is well known for its environmental beauties. Surrounding area of the college has incredible natural attractions like Mojave National Preserve with exotic landscape, and the Old Woman Springs Meteorite, second largest in United States.

Campus

Current campus of the college was completed in 1964. A couple of notable additions to the campus are the student services center and performing arts center. Plenty of clubs are also there including the Bridges to Beauty club for cosmetology. Multicultural club includes groups of all types. For students having 3.25 GPA or higher, Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society has a branch in the college campus.

Accreditation

Barstow Community College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges that is a division of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Programs Offered

Associate degrees in humanities, social science, and natural science are offered by the college. Such associate degrees are also offered for a number of occupational majors. In addition there are multiple certificate programs like accounting, diesel technology, information systems, welding, cosmetology, and management.

Unique Features

Certificates can be obtained with only 18 hours of studies in residential carpentry, family day care, manicuring, and network administration. However the highlight of the college is its online classes and services programs. Wide number of courses is available and online tutoring is offered enabling full time job holders to get online degrees without having to attain classes.

Admission

Admission is open to any high school graduate and those who have passed GED. Any person 18 or older, whom the college thinks eligible, can attend classes.

Student Services

Barstow Community College offers four distinct services for students, namely, library, computer commons, instructional media services, and tutoring center. Tutoring service is free for all students and open 9-5 on Monday through Thursday. Online Math and English tutoring and free homework help for small children of students in the age group of 6-12. Desert Heritage writing contest each winter is a specialty.

Financial Aids

Barstow Community College offers standard federal, state, local, and institutional grants and loans. In addition there are various private scholarships awarded on merit on case to case basis. Veterans and dependents are eligible for waivers from fees.

Located in cynic landscape, Barstow Community College offers wide avenues for online education to students. In job students may find it useful joining the college to get their degrees without attaining regular classes. In addition, noted scholars like Michael Russell offers helpful career advice on the state university website.

Sun filled vacations

Baja California, Mexico is simply divine. There are no words to express the free and non crowded beaches, the golden days filled with sunshine and the perfect weather that lasts the year around, cooled by the rich sea-laden breezes. There are just too many activities to do in the Baja peninsula, and appeals to just about everyone. So whether one is looking for a sports adventure or a quite trek through ancient ruins to, Baja peninsula has it all. The variety of water sports is mind boggling, with surfing and kayaking topping the list, along with other activities such as diving, snorkeling, sailing and fishing.

Affordable real estate lures immigrants

The magic of the free and unfettered lifestyle and simple lifestyle appeals to all people and thousands of immigrants flock the shores of Baja California Mexico. The inexpensive housing has sent the Baja California real estate flourishing, with many retirees and migrants seeking to own an apartment, a beach condo or a villa. Many wonderful options are available as the Baja peninsula boasts of beautiful sparsely populated beaches, coves and bays. Convenient oceanfront houses are available, open to the seas and sun, as well as villas and beach homes with all amenities like pool, play courts; club houses etc, in the Baja California real estate options.

There are timeshare options available to vacationers who prefer to share the ownership as they are only present in the vacations. There are about 200,000+ Americans living in Baja peninsula, some of them have jobs and have accepted this land as their home, other continue to hold American passports.

Vacation spots- easy to get there But no vacation in the Baja Peninsula is complete without a visit to Mexicali, the capital of Baja California, about 63 kms from the US border. In spite of its arid desert location Mexicali is watered through a system of aquifers in the valley, which was built to encourage agriculture. Mexicali Baja California now produces grapefruit, dates, vegetables, alfalfa, cotton, and cottonseed oil. Many US companies have set up base in Mexicali Baja California due to the availability of cheap labour.

Mexicali Baja California also relies on tourism and visitors cross by foot or car from Calexico in the United States every day. The welcoming atmosphere of Mexicali Baja California includes delicious food in Mexican restaurants, taco stands, music shows, bars and dance clubs attract tourists to this city. Shops selling Mexican crafts and souvenirs are also located in walking distance from the border.

Another attraction for the young students from many high school and colleges is the low drinking age of 18years in Baja California, Mexico, as opposed to 21 years in the United States.

Rosarito - Where the mountains meet the sea

Rosarito Baja California is another favorite vacation spot as it is conveniently located 20 minutes south of the border from San Diego, California; USA is a perfect weekend getaway. The proximity to the border and stunning location as the coastal foothills greets the Pacific Ocean, makes the Rosarito Beach one of the leading resort towns in Baja California Mexico.

Whatever be the reason, the enchantment of the Baja peninsula lures the tourist with its simple life and natural charisma. The dream vacation is closer than you think, and the way to it is inexpensive, so pack those bags and get moving!

Do you want to live or have a vacation home at a Baja beachfront condominium If the answer is yes, come check out exciting online private tour! Go to the link httpsandsurfvillas.com and get more information on our pre-construction pricing.

The hectic, hurried and come times a little wild college lifestyle can make maintaining a healthy diet very difficult. With the normal stress of college and pressure from friends to party you may find eating a healthy meal to be almost impossible. You can make the impossible a little mote manageable by following a few tips and exerting a little effort.

Maintaining a healthy diet in college is possible but it requires a willingness to work at it.

Most students are provided with a variety of options each day when eating at the college cafeteria and the dessert tray may be very tempting tried to avoid it as much as possible a little indulgence is permitted from time to time. If meals are served buffet style try and pick from each food group and avoid foods covered with cheese and those that are greasy.

When you first register for classes try to allow yourself time in the mourning for breakfast either in your room or the cafeteria make sure you have free time for lunch and a slot in the afternoon for a snacks like fruit, be sure to check the first day it may be permitted to have snacks in class.

Designate time for your evening meal preferably before 7 p.m. this will avoid late night eating. Eating late at night and then going to sleep will usually rack on pounds.

The real challenge will be the weekends when you will get all the pressure of attending parties where the main food will be pizza and beer to drink. Pizza and other order foods can put an otherwise healthy diet down the drain... When going out for the evening and you know healthy food will not be available grab a light meal before leaving to avoid greasy calories. Like desert it is ok to have pizza and other foods like wings and tacos once in a while but if they become a weakly event you are looking for trouble.

Alcohol can trash a diet also. Beer and mixed drinks have a lot of calories skipping them altogether is a great idea but if you must drink choose diet soda for mixing drinks stick to red wine and light beer again these treats are fine once in awhile but alcohol every week will pack on pounds.

Since it kicked off in 1999, the Coachella Festival has become known as much for its fashions as it has for the live music. Even fashion-forward headliners like Madonna and Bjork are upstaged by what the audience typically wears. So if you're going to Coachella, or any of the spring and summer rock festivals across the country this year, here are some fashion school tips for the coolest looks to go with the hottest music.

Be comfortable. The only thing hotter than the music will be the weather. Temperatures in the desert can top out at 120 degrees, so be prepared. Sporting a hat is not only stylish, but practical. Our fashion college experts recommend one with a brim for shade, like a rumpled fedora or a vintage cowboy hat. Add your own touch to it with a band of fabric that matches the rest of our outfit. Another necessity for the sun is an awesome pair of sunglasses. Classic Ray-Bans or an oversized pair of Karl Lagerfelds are very Coachella.

Be prepared to go from daytime to nightlife. The live music extends into the night, along with the parties. So wear an outfit that can transition from day to evening with ease. For example, a silk scarf wrapped around the head to shield you from the afternoon sun can double as a sarong at an afterparty.

Dress the part. Everyone from moms to businesspeople to doctors go to Coachella, but once they're at the festival, they can let their hair down and be someone else for a weekend. Who will you be If you're the hippie chick, try a crocheted, lacy top with some skinny jeans or cut-off denim shorts. Or grab a top or a dress you haven't worn in forever and tie-dye it. If you're the rocker type, go for the grunge, layering a floral dress over a tee shirt, and finished off with a pair of Doc Martens. Another popular persona is the music VIP you're there for the parties, so you're expected to look overdressed. For you, our fashion design experts are gaga over string halter long dresses and one-shouldered minis.

Get bold with prints. With thousands of festival goers packing the Empire Polo Fields, you'll stand out in big, bold prints. Oversized hounds tooth and plaids, graphic lettering, psychedelic flowers, even the Union Jack, can make you the ultimate in Coachella style. And the fashion bloggers will love you.

Step out in the right footwear. Flip-flops are everywhere at Coachella, but you can do better than that in the style department. A pair of gladiator sandals (with the more straps the better) will keep you feeling cool and looking like a fashion goddess. Flats are practical, as you'll be on your feet all day, but get them with funky embroidery or beading. And leave the cowboy boots at home. They may look hip, but the heat will have your feet roasting in them.

Coachella and fashion are like Sonny and Cher, or Jack and Meg White - they make beautiful music together.

If you love creating outfits for any occasion, a career in fashion design might be right for you. Visit FIDM Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising for more info.

By Harry Raymond Cowperthwaite

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If you are undecided where to take your next forthcoming holiday here are some suggestions that you may wish to consider.If you have young children in the family the first name that springs to mind is Disney Land which is located in the following countries: Two in the USA, the others located in France, Japan and Hong Kong. Depending on how far you wish to travel,take your pick of which country you would like to visit.

If you like to take a short vacation at Thanksgiving time and are seeking an action type holiday one of the best places to visit is Las Vegas.You can take a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon Rim, combined with a Grand Canyon Picnic. You can even descend below the Rim. If you are a golf enthusiast Las Vegas boasts several golf courses, which include the Royal Links Golf Course and the Desert Pines Golf Course. If you like to dine out why not take the opportunity to sample dishes from outside your own country.In Las Vegas you will find you can sample cuisine from France, China,Italy and if you are visiting from outside the USA there is of course American cuisine.

An extremely popular time to visit Las Vegas is New Years Eve.This is the time when all traffic on the Las Vegas Strip ceases and celebrations, merriment and dancing take over to bring in the new year.

For those who like to take Spring Holidays, which is mainly families with children at High School and Colleges. The favorite places to spend their vacations are the beaches through the day and parties which continue right through the night until dawn breaks.

Activities which take place on many of the beaches are geared to attracting return visitors each year.As the beach parties and dancing throughout the night are very popular.The beach parties period tends to be extended due to different colleges starting the breaks at different times.

Do not limit your holiday options. There is a big wide world out there. For a romantic holiday Paris in France is a great City to visit.There are also great attractions in London, England. Here you can experience many years of history and the Pomp and Ceremony of the guards on parade, and the changing of the guards. Visit Buckingham Palace and the Royal grounds. Other attractions include ancient cathedrals which include Westminster Abbey.

When choosing the most popular vacations you will need to book your reservations well in advance, as demand is usually very high. It may well be in your interest to try out one of the numerous package holidays. This short cuts all the research using different sources which you will otherwise have to do yourself.

A most important consideration is being able to compare various prices. You can use several methods to do this, which include a visit to your nearest travel agent. Then do some searches on the internet and compare them with your local travel agents information.

The time when you actually take your holidays and where you go will depend on many different factors, such as do you like to be in crowds at the busiest times of the holiday season, the cost of the holiday. If traveling by airplane you may be subject to a delayed flight. If you carefully consider before booking your holiday you should come up with the right holiday for you.

Bach was a flower essences pioneer, a careful if non-traditional researcher, and an exceptionally skilled practitioner, Dr Edward Bach commands an exalted place in the Homeopaths' Hall of Fame. Born in 1886, Bach completed his basic medical studies at University College Hospital in London, and he finished his advanced medical studies at Cambridge before the outbreak of World War I.

Fresh from university, Bach began his career as a surgeon, and he continued traditional hospital work until the end of the war. Some Bach scholars credit his wartime supervision of a 400-bed hospital with inspiring his groundbreaking work in alternative health practices. They especially point to his observations of and work with patients suffering shell-shock and battle fatigue-two versions of the disorder we now recognize as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The Psychogenesis of Serious Illness

A contemporary of Freud and Jung, Bach shared many of their theories about the psychological or emotional origins of many common gastro-intestinal and upper respiratory disorders. Like Freud and Jung, Bach recognized the symbolism immanent in patients' symptoms because of the primordial link between the unconscious mind and the digestive system, fight-or-flight issues naturally manifest as irritable bowel syndrome or constipation. Anxiety and panic, which patients often describe as suffocating, manifest as asthma.

Whereas Freud and Jung treated their hysterical and hypochondriac patients with the talking therapy, often sending serious symptoms into remission, Bach treated his war-wounded patients with experimental flower essences, achieving similarly dramatic results. All three researchers inevitably concluded that the brain frequently leads the body to miracle recovery. Today those flower remedies are often referred to as Bach Essences.

Bach Nosodes

Bach showed far greater proficiency as an organic chemist than his psychoanalyst contemporaries. He first coordinated his trademark seven nosodes with characteristic flora found in the intestines of different homeopathic types; he then traced emotional states among the types, categorizing them and matching them with what Bach believed were appropriate flower essence remedies.

At first, he simply held carefully selected flowers and transmitted their energy to his patients' psychic receptors. As his studies advanced and evolved, however, Bach began distilling tinctures of flower essences, mixing essential plant oils with a 5050 mix of purified water and brandy-essentially the same practice English opium eaters used in the early nineteenth century, when they decanted laudanum from opium poppies and strong Scotch whiskey.

A Little Post-Modern Scientific Corroboration

During the 1960's, carefully controlled Harvard University experiments with LSD inadvertently corroborated the psychogenesis of many bodily conditions and symptoms. Carefully analyzing the data and experimental subjects' own reports, researchers concluded the body generally cannot discern the difference between real and imaginary events. They especially cited the example of a subject who hallucinated he was stranded in the desert and emerged from his LSD trip with a severe sunburn; he had remained confined in a small treatment room for the duration of his altered state of consciousness. Sports psychologists capitalize on the body's inability to discern real from imaginary experiences, encouraging athletes to visualize their events in detail, contributing to development of muscle memory.

Research also corroborates Bach's corollary to LSD researchers' conclusions Treat the brain and alleviate the symptoms. MRI investigation of the brain's right and left hemispheres dramatizes the power of Bach's essences. When experimental subjects inhale Bach's legendary Rescue Remedy, the right hemispheres of their brains light up like Macy's at Christmas.

The flower essence remedies quickly pass the blood-brain barrier, stimulating the side of the brain that controls emotion, imagination, our sense of simultaneity, and spatial relations. When the right hemisphere revs-up, the endocrine system pumps out endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine-all the body's natural feel good chemicals. Subjects relax, breathing slower and deeper, lowering their blood pressure and heart rate; they report feelings of contentment and well-being. Meanwhile, subjects' stress-ravaged, linear and logical left hemispheres register almost no activity whatsoever.

College in Australia is a dream for many students. A land so vast, scenic and friendly is a perfect destination for a student pursuing a degree. Part of what draws college students to the land down under is the distinctive, laid-back sound of the Aussie language, which reflects an attitude for enjoying life to the fullest in the beautiful landscape. Make no mistake. Australian classrooms are internationally renowned for their exacting English grammar. But in the streets, you can find heaps of Aussie (pronounced Ozzie) slang.

You naturally want to fit in to the culture, but don't try too hard to pass yourself off as a local. Australians are famous for their friendliness, but their native accent is unmistakable and you might just find yourself the brunt of a joke for sounding off with the stiff vocabulary of a dumb Dundee. Here is a quick crash course for getting into the Aussie flow while you pursue your degree in Australia.

Aussie Basics for Studying Abroad
If you arrive for college in Australia knowing only the pleasantries, you're good to go. Australian culture is about keeping up the pleasantries and appreciation of the good life. Greet people with G'day or Ow's it go-en The standard response is Good, and yerself Save your homesick replies for calls back home. Think, no worries. Australia is where you look to the good life of sunshine and beaches.

Get into the rhythms of the language. Australians like to shorten and run words together at a leisurely pace, dropping endings and consonants and adding vowels. If your name is Johnson, expect to be called Johnno. Queensland is especially keen on vowels, adding ay at the end of a word-no worries, ay.

Head to a dock or pub and it won't be long before you pick up some rich slang. Have a pot (small glass) of beer, a pint (large glass) or a jug (pitcher) and soon you'll be drawling like a local. Impress your mates back at the dorms with casual conversation filers like um, yeah, or dunno. Throw in an occasional bloody or bastard for greater effect, although not quite so much of that in the classroom. With a spirit of fun and good sense, you will soon be poised for learning and enjoying the local culture while you earn a top international degree in Australia. You might even pass as dinky di.-really Australian.

Relax with Aussie Wit and Humor
Aussie talk is filled with colorful humor and wit, often irreverent, but warm. It is playful and often makes use of metaphor. Something as dry as the Simpson Desert is very dry. Someone short can be called Stretch. The common meal of meat pies gets called maggot bags or dog's eyes. A woman is a Sheila. Going to the restroom is going to the dunny or the bog -and a long list of other folkish descriptors that would entertain any student of an Australian college.

The Aussie language, like poetry, needs to be experienced to be appreciated. You can enjoy high degrees of Aussie speech while you get a coveted international degree in Australia.

Why do we do it Why do anthropologists become anthropologists I know that, for me, it's because it's the ultimate science. Let me explain.

I started my college experience as a philosophy major. I have always been the kind of person who questions, well... everything. However, I found that, although quite interesting, and definitely a solid foundation in thinking skills, philosophy wasn't enough. I meandered through a few more programs - business, politics, economics, etc. - mainly just knocking out the ditch-digging classes of undergraduate work. But then I reached an impasse...

Time to Make a Choice, Young Man!

I had come to the end of my required classes and it was time to make a choice. I had to major in something. But what does one major in when everything interests them Why, anthropology of course!

Anthropology has four main sub-disciplines, as well as countless specialties within them.

First, we have Cultural Anthropology. This is the study of people, society, and culture. As an aside, it is also the home of my particular field, ethnography.

Next, we have Archaeology. Anybody who's ever seen Indiana Jones, Laura Croft, or Dr. Zahi Hawass Chasing Mummies across the desert will know what I'm talking about here - Although I will probably be strung up by my big toe by fellow archaeologists for mentioning Jones and Croft... real archaeology has absolutely nothing to do with them. But, then again, how many aspiring archaeologists came to the field as a result of these movies The world may never know.

Then there is Biological Anthropology. The name kind of says it all, doesn't it It's the study of human biology and, gasp - dare we say - evolution. I have a particular fondness for Bio Anth because it is the area from which one of my passions comes from Forensic Anthropology.

Forensics, as you may know, is the use of science to solve crime. Bio Anthropologists use their skills to help identify remains of victims, as well as other feats of amazement. To think that you can look at a set of bones that have been in the ground for years and not only determine how and when they died, but actually reconstruct what that person looked like, and thus return them to their family - well, that is simply incredible!

Last, but certainly not least, anthropology encompasses the field of Linguistics, or the study of language. It's invention, history, and yes, even it's biology, which brings me to my point...

Putting It All Together

As you can see, anthropology covers a lot of ground. At first, it may seem strange to combine such uniquely different sciences into one field. But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

Let's take a typical site dig, for example. In the course of the research you will use history to determine where a site may be. You will use geology - and a lot of math - to determine where to dig. You may even use chemistry to answer certain questions.

After using Archaeology to determine where they lived, Cultural Anthropology techniques are used to reconstruct how the people lived. You might use Biological techniques to determine who they were and how they are related to us today. You will use Linguistics to trace their language, and thus perhaps their thought process, and maybe even show how they connect with a culture that is still in existence.

Outside the realm if anthropology specifically, we can use ideas from politics, economics, philosophy, religion, psychology, sociology, art, music, even business... the list goes on and on and on.

A Degree Designed for ADD

As you can, Anthropologists use arguably ALL other disciplines in their efforts to study people.

So is it the ultimate science I think so. What other field combines so much Math, science, art, history... if you can name it I'm pretty sure I can find a connection to anthropology.

Just about anything I want to talk about has an anthropological slant to it War in Afghanistan Yup. 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue You betcha. The hottest new novels on Amazon Of course. Lady GaGa's latest video Come on, stop making it so easy on me.

Once again I ask Is anthropology the ultimate science Of course, everyone's opinion my vary, but for a guy with borderline Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and one serious case of ADD, the answer is a resounding YES!

1.0 INTRODUCTION

It is incontrovertible that Christianity was a working missionary institution for a thousand years from the days of the apostles. The Church initially won the Roman Empire from heathenism to Christianity in the first four centuries of its history. The advancing hordes of barbarians were subsequently conquered. Unfortunately, after the tenth century, church, state, pope and emperor fought for supremacy. A sad realization is that the missionary spirit declined, though it was not entirely lost. The Reformation did not actually extend the church but was more concerned with efforts to purify and reorganize the church. In the later age of the Reformation, the first extensive efforts to Christianize the heathen was were made, not by Protestants, but by Roman Catholics. It was indeed embarrassing to Protestants to hear that Roman Catholic missionaries were writing off the Protestant movement because it was not sending missionaries (Winter 1999, 212). The Moravians began to establish foreign missions by 1932. It is believed that in proportion to its small membership at home, no other denomination has maintained as many missions as the Moravian Church. Writers contest the popular view that British missions began with Carey. It is argued that strictly speaking, this is not correct (Kane 1975, 81). The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts are cited as supportive evidence. However, the point of this in-depth study is that Carey brought a veritable revolution in missionary thinking and planning. Carey realized that at the very heart of the Church''s vocation in the world is the proclamation of the kingdom of God inaugurated in Jesus the Lord, crucified and risen (Scherer and Bevans 1992, 73). This truth is indeed the lifeblood of missionary inspiration and endurance. Carey himself expressed the connection

When I left England, my hope of India''s conversion was very strong. But amongst so many obstacles, it would die, unless upheld by God. Well, I have God, and His Word is true. Though the superstitions of the heathen were a thousand times stronger than they are, and the example of the Europeans a thousand times worse, though I were deserted by all and persecuted by all, yet my faith, fixed on the sure Word, would rise above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God''s cause will triumph (Piper 1993, 14).

2.0 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY LIFE OF CAREY

William Carey was born in Paulerspery, Northamptonshire, England on August 17, 1961 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. William Carey). Great men indeed have humble beginnings. There is little information about young Carey during his teen years.

He initially worked with his father and at the age of fourteen he apprenticed himself to Clarke Nichols, shoemaker at Hackleton, where he worked for twelve years. At the age of eighteen, he was led through the influence of a pious fellow apprentice (John Warr) to the faith in Christ and became an earnest Christian and preacher of the gospel. He left the Church of England and began preaching in nearby Churches. At twenty-six, Carey was formally ordained by John Sutcliff, John Ryland and Andrew Fuller (Kane 1975, 84).

On May 19, 1781, three weeks before William and Dorothy were married in Piddington, members of the nearby Hackleton Meeting House organized themselves into a church. The members had been meeting for worship as dissenters for fourteen years. The Carey marriage coincided with the beginnings of their involvement in this new Hackleton Church. When Carey applied for membership with the Baptist Church in Olney, it took a year before this call was recognized. In 1786, he became pastor of the Baptist Church at Moulton. Although he was progressing spiritually, it is worth mentioning that three children arrived in the Carey family during their five years in Moutlon Felix, 1795; William, 1798 And Peter 1789 (Beck 1992, 47). It is therefore evident that care for the growing family consumed Dorothy''s time and energy.

In his intense desire to learn, Carey often borrowed books he could not afford to buy returning them after mastering their contents. It is fascinating to note that in order to study the Bible better, he went beyond Latin to learn Greek and Hebrew. Then he added Dutch and French (Harold 1967, 55). In his office was a crude leathern globe with the continents and the nations of the world, on which he had traced the travels of explorer Captain Cook, England''s idol of the hour. It was China. Burma. Africa! Or he stared at the map on the wall. ''Captain Cook. Tahiti. Australia. Botany Bay (Beka 1993, 83).

3.0 THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA

Carey challenged the hyper-Calvinist view, prevalent among British Baptists that God would bring the nations to Christ without human assistance (Anderson 1998, 115). In other words, he contended against a theology which supposed that the commission had been repealed (Hedlund 1985, 210). As he studied the Scriptures, Carey noted that it was the church''s business to take these [heathen] people the Gospel... Others did not agree (Cook 1967, 55). It is admitted that although a few shared his vision, among them John Sutcliff, Andrew Fuller, Samuel Pearce and others, even they counseled caution and delay in the execution of the plan (Kane 1975, 85). The popular account has been re-echoed that the elder Dr. John Ryland rebuked Carey for his missionary zeal when he retorted Young man, sit down, sit down. You''re an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen he will do it without your aid or mine (Houghton 1980, 203).

3.1 The Enquiry

Carey''s missiological pamphlet, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens (1792), vehemently argued that Christians should undertake evangelistic missions overseas. It is interesting to observe that the full title suggests a much longer publication than it turned out to be An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, in Which the Religious State of the Different Nations of the World, the success of former Undertakings, and the Practicability of Further Undertakings are Considered. As he observed, no wonder books of that day did not heed a table of contents. The title told all (Beck 1992, 62). Indeed, there is theology in Carey''s pamphlet and there is history and there is demography (Walls 1996, 243). A critical examination of Carey''s Enquiry reveals that it was certainly a landmark in Christian history and deserves a place alongside Martin Luther''s Ninety-five Theses in its influence on subsequent church history (Kane 1982, 147).

In the first section Carey asked the rhetorical question, is the Great Commission still binding He forcefully argued that baptism stop if Christians are unwilling to go because both commands form a unified whole in Matthew 28. He believed that the so-called insurmountable barriers to missions (travel, language and climate) have all been conquered by English traders, the Moravians and Roman Catholics. Section 2 surveyed the Book of Acts as he reviewed the apostolic missionary journeys, both canonical and traditional. He traced the efforts of faithful missionaries to bring the gospel to Britain implying that even his readers would not yet have been believers if all previous generations of Christians had treated the Great Commission as the English Baptists were treating it. Section 3 set out in tabular form Carey''s evaluation of the state of the world in relation to the Gospel. These displays of data foreshadowed missiologists such as Patrick Johnstone who have in more recent years assembled similar material about the state of Christianity in the world at large. He observed that those who did not have the Bible were subject to tragic conditions such as cannibalism and human sacrifice. Section 4 is an examination of the impediments to taking the Gospel to the heathen. The first was distance. Carey argued that recent advances in the science of the mariner had removed this barrier. A second was the barbarous and savage manner of living of the heathen. Carey''s response was that it could only be an objection to those unwilling to expose themselves to inconveniences for the good of others. A fourth objection was the danger involved in going overseas. Carey noted that Paul and Barnabas were not afraid of being killed. A fourth objection involved the difficulty of obtaining the necessities of life. Carey wrote that the minister is not his own; he is a servant of God. The final objection had to do with language. Carey was confident that any language on earth could be learned in a year or two. His own experience with language had already been demonstrated that fact since no second Pentecost was needed, only hard work. Missionaries would learn the language best by mingling with the people (Beck 1992, 65). The pamphlet concludes with a plea for ongoing, united prayer.

It is evident therefore that the publication argued convincingly that the New Testament command to ''preach the Gospel to every creature'' was as binding upon the Christians of his day as it was upon the apostle (DuBose 1979, 22).

3.2 Epoch-making sermon

On May 31 1792, Carey preached his epoch-making sermon before a group of Baptist ministers at Kettering on the text ''Enlarge the borders of thy tent'' (Is. 542-3). The divisions of the sermon were Expect great things from God and Attempt great things for God. Although it was an unusual text for a missionary sermon, Carey had determined to appeal for missions (Cook 1967, 56).

3.3 The Baptist Missionary Society

Although Carey pleaded for consideration after the sermon had a profound effect on his hearers, action was not immediate. He did not relent. Four months later, he pressed again for action but the brethren wavered again. At the crucial moment, where all hope seemed gone, Carey took a booklet entitled Periodical account of Moravian Missions from his pocket. With tears in his eyes and a tremor in his voice he said these famous words If you had only read this and knew how these men overcame all obstacles for Christ''s sake, you would go forward in faith (Kane 1982, 147). The men agreed and the minutes of the meeting record their decision to form ''The Particular Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen. The Baptist Missionary Society, formed in 1792, was the British society organized especially for foreign missionary work. This society was founded at Kettering, England with an initial fund of a little over thirteen pounds (Cairns 1981, 402).

4.0 CAREY IN INDIA

The first field of the Baptist Missionary Society was India and Carey was the most illustrious missionary. Although the obstacles seemed insurmountable, he arrived in India in 1793 initially settling in the Danish colony at Serampore, about fifteen miles up the Hoopghley River from Calcutta. He would have preferred to work in British India but was refused passage by the East India Company which regarded the presence of missionaries as a threat to the peace and safety of its possessions. Even though he preached for seven years before he got his first native convert, he did not linger. He was faced with other challenges His child died. His wife was a burden... He got pessimistic, depressing letters back from England (Beka 1993, 87). He perservered, even when a fool might have known the battle was lost. He completed a translation of the New Testament, setting a standard prose and an arrangement of Sanskrit borrowings which has affected Bengali prose to this hour. Tying Krishna Pal to a tree, John Thomas joined him to pray for his broken leg. Krishna was healed, converted and baptized in the River Hoogly. When invited to dinner, he ate beef with foreigners, thereby striking a hard blow at an old and paralyzing doctrine of Ahimsa (the Buddhist doctrine that all living things are one and are sacred and thus the animals have rights just like humans).

At the height of lonely labours, Carey was joined by four British missionaries (Joshua Marshman and William War, and their wives). Marshman was an educator. Hannah, his wife, started a school for girls which was a dangerous thing to do since the status of a woman in India was ridiculously low. Ward was a printer, producing what Carey translated. The translations of the latter came so fast that people began to call him the Wycliffe of the East. He not only translated or guided the translation of Indian classics, preserving thereby a wealth of ancient prose and poetry, but also created dictionaries and grammars, so that even the humblest and the lowest might read. Opening the pages of the Bible to all India, he is also responsible for thirty one million pages of the Old and New Testaments in the language of the East. Before his death, he translated the Bible or parts of it into forty dialects and languages. Mission promoters daubed Carey, Marshman and Ward, in a unique partnership as the Serampore Trio. Carey spent well over half his time working as a Professor of Bengali and Sanskrit at Fort William College, Calcutta. In partnership with several veteran colleagues and scores of Judian pundits, he accomplished much of the areas of philology, Bible translation (into dozens of languages), orientalism, literacy, education (founding Serampore College in 1818), publishing, technology, relief work, social reform, botany, evangelization and mission promotion. Supportive evidence is presented justifying Carey as knowledgeable in Science, Mechanical Engineering, Economics, Medicine, Printing Technology, Mass Communication, Literature, Education, Mathematics, Indian Forestry, Social Science, Public Administration, Indian Philosophy and History (Mangalwadi and Mangalwadi 1999).

5.0 CAREY''S LEGACY

It is worth mentioning that Carey had a major flaw. This may have resided in his limited capacities for domestic relationships. He did not seem to give a lot of attention to his wife and sons (Beck 1992, 138).

The above notwithstanding, Carey was indeed a philanthropist, benefactor and humanitarian. He was able to put into effect the earlier Protestant principles

i. Widespread teaching of the Gospel

ii. Aiming at personal conversion

iii. Distribution of the Bible in local languages

iv. Study of the culture of the people and

v. Establishment of an indigenous church with national leadership as soon as possible (Fuller 1980, 18).

With the aid of Indians and Englishmen, he filed a report with Lord Bentick, finest of India''s governors, that resulted in a law abolishing widow-burning (suttee). He had seen babies exposed in baskets in the trees, exposed to the pitiless sun and deadly white ants. He also saw them torn from their mothers and thrown to alligators and sharks. He was also influential in stopping infant sacrifice. After he saw a leper burned alive in 1812, he did not rest until he had brought about the establishment of a hospital for lepers in Calcutta, the first in India. This renowned Professor of Sanskrit was honoured in a government college by the very government that tried to keep him from preaching in India. Although he died like a humble patriarch in 1834, seeds blew from his garden on the wings of the wind, taking root in far-off unexpected places (Horton 1993, 89). It is fascinating to observe that when Carey launched the modern missionary movement around 1800, the world''s population was about 900 million (Wagner 1974, 3).

A fitting tribute is paid to Carey attributing the formation of the under mentioned missionary societies largely through his labors and letters

The London Missionary Society (1795), the Scottish and Glasgow Missionary Societies (1976), the Netherlands Missionary Society (1797), the Church Missionary Society (1799), the British and Foreign Bible Society (1804), the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (1810), the American Baptist Missionary Union (1814) and the American Bible Society (1816) (Kane 1982, 148).

Carey''s influence led women in Boston to form women''s missionary prayer groups, and women eventually became the main custodians of mission knowledge and motivation (Hiebert 1985, 286). Single women began to go abroad as missionaries and by 1865 they had organized mission boards operated entirely by women.

6.0 CONCLUSION

It is true that serious missionary attempts had earlier taken place among English colonists in Northern America where John Eliot (1604-90), and the Mayhew family (first Thomas, Jr. [1621-57], and then his father, Thomas, Sr. [1593-1682] has led to the some Christian conversions among Algonquian-speaking Indians of Massachusetts and the Native Americas on Martha''s Vineyard and Nantucket. It is indubitable however that what began with Carey was cross-cultural outreach with single-minded missionary purpose (Noll 2000, 279).

Who then was William Carey It is therefore incontrovertible that, among other things,
He was a pioneer of the modern missionary movement of the west, reaching out to all parts of the world; a pioneer of the Protestant Church in India; and the translator and publisher of the Bible in forty different Indian languages. Carey was an evangelist who used every medium to illuminate every dark facet of Indian life with the light of truth. He is the central character in the story of the modernization of India (Mangalwadi and Mangalwadi 1999, 528).

Indeed, Carey is highly revered by generations of Bengalis for his contributions to the renaissance of their culture. In many respects Carey restored the gospel to its central place in Christianity. In this important sense, it recovered an element in the Holy Catholic church that the Reformation had obscured. It is a truism that this catholicity began on Carey''s workshop map, [and] reached out to embrace new peoples in many new lands (Shelley 1982, 402). I endorse the argument that few will wish to deny him the title of ''Father of Modern Missions'' (Kane 1975, 86).

WORKS CITED

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Cook, Harold R. 1967. Highlights of Christian missions A history and survey. Chicago Moody Press.
DuBose, Francis M. ed. 1979. Classics of Christian missions. Nashville, Tennessee Broadman Press.
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Houghton, S.M. 1980. Sketches from church history. Edinburgh Banner of Truth Trust.

Horton, Beka. 1993. Book of the revelation Church history. Pensacola, Florida Pensacola

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Michigan Baker Book House.

___________________ 1982. Understanding Christian missions. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan Baker

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Mangalwadi, Ruth & Vishal Mangalwadi. 1999. Who (really) was William Carey In Perspectives of the

World Christian Movement A reader, 195-213.

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Noll, Mark A. 2000. Turning points Decisive moments in the history of Christianity. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids,

Michigan Baker Academic.

Piper, John. 1993. Let the nations be glad The supremacy of God in missions. Grand Rapids,Michigan

Baker Book House.

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(c) Oliver Harding 2008

AUTHOR SIGNATURE
Oliver L.T. Harding, who obtained his GCE O & A Levels from the Sierra Leone Grammar School and the Albert Academy respectively, is currently Senior & Acting Librarian of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He is a part time lecturer at the Institute of Library, Information & Communication Studies (INSLICS), Fourah Bay College and the Extension Programme at the Evangelical College of Theology (T.E.C.T) at Hall Street, Brookfields; Vice President of the Sierra Leone Association of Archivists, Librarians & Information Scientists (SLAALIS); a member of the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP). His certificates, secular and sacred, include a certificate and diploma from the Freetown Bible Training Centre; an upper second class B.A. Hons. Degree in Modern History (F.B.C.); a post-graduate diploma from the Institute of Library Studies (INSLIBS, F.B.C) a masters degree from the Institute of Library, Information & Communication Studies (INSLICS, F.B.C.) and a masters degree in Biblical Studies from West Africa Theological Seminary, affiliate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he won the prize for academic excellence as the Best Graduating Student in 2005. Oliver, a writer, musician and theologian, is married (to Francess) with two children (Olivia & Francis).