Castlevania Judgement

Death vs Death Gameplay

Maria vs Simon Gameplay

TGS Trailer

Arc Rise Fantasia

Intro Part 3

Intro Part 2

Intro Part 1

Rygar

Cyclops Gameplay

Maximum Muscle Impact Gameplay

Combo Chain Gameplay

Swin 'n Bash Gameplay

Twin Boss Gameplay

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

TGS Walkthrough

Sonic & The Black Knight

TGS US Trailer

Rune Factory

Crops and Pets

Discipline

Debut Trailer

1. Removed the gas cap on the car, which sets off the engine sensor.
2. Invented the sport, Vaccuum Cleaner Tipping.
3. Peed on clothes that he placed in his trashcan.
4. Applied Monkey Bar physics to the rod in his closet.

You know what his response to these criminal activities are? "I was just trying to fill in the blank." You know what my response to his criminal activites are? Cruel and unusual punishment.

I'm talking corporeal punishment, as opposed to corporal punishment. Real beatings for real problems. Most of the people that I know knew what was coming next. They knew the penalty for the crime. We called them whuppins, which explains the activity as well as the sound the activity makes. Most of them were earned. This is punishment for criminal behavior. And if you don't believe that a child can commit criminal behavior, you need to read up on the Death of Betty Shabazz.

My father guaranteed what would come next. He worked a factory job, and did not have the time or energy to investigate which of the 5 children actually did the damage. His philosophy was and is, "If I get you all, I know I got the right one." Brilliant! Minimalist! Effective! There are situations in my wayward youth where an opportunity to do dirt presented itself. Kids love dirt. Dirt is fun and exciting and messy, and it builds character: criminal character. I was no goody two shoes, but the prospect of facing that man and his gauntlet was enough deterrent for me. My mom was and is a single parent. She worked from 8 to 5. I was an original latchkey kid. She told me that she had to trust me because I had worn out all of my babysitters by 3rd grade, and the only alternative was to come home afterschool. She used to literally try to beat some sense into me. It wasn't abusive, it was constructive. I left her piggy bank alone after she explained it to me with the belt. I would just have to earn my allowance and stop stealing her hard-earned money.

My 1st grade teacher gave me a valuable life lesson. Being a rather bright child, I believed that my 6 years of life experience qualified me to instruct the teacher on how to instruct the class. When we publically clashed over the stewardshp of the class, she invited me to a secluded locale to discuss the matter further. Once she got me in the coat racks in the hallway (Do you remember those yellow dual plastic hooks attached to the gray metal rails?) she modified my behavior something fierce. When I went to appeal to a higher authority, my mother, I found out that the fix was in. My mom told her that I was a little know-it-all, and may need to be jacked up and she had permission to do so. Both ladies still joyously tell this story to this day, and the morale: "Never let them beat you out of your mind." As the sister-in-law of Malcolm X, she educated by any means nescessary!

You know who started this whole child-discipline reform? Activists. Dr. Spock disciples. Stay-at-home moms. Yanno, the real Spock had a Vulcan Death Grip. This genius warned parents that children need to get more in touch with their feelings. They need to get in touch with their pain receptors. Drill this stuff down to the reptillian brain. If it hurts- DON'T DO IT!! That was always good enough for us.

We didn't have snipers on the roof. We didn't build pipe bombs in the garage. We didn't have sex with our teachers (although we did hear a few rumours). We also didn't run Fortune 500 companies into the ground and cash out our options. We also didn't start a war that we couldn't get out of. We also didn't leave an entire Gulf port city and 3 coastal states of poor people to fend for themselves in a time of crisis. Why? Because we'd get a whuppin'!! Maybe if we'd stop enabling these grown children of privilege, maybe if we held our children accountable for their actions, maybe if we actually made corporeal punishment a constitutional amendment, then we could get a little traction dealing with the issues that plague our times. It's just twisted enough to work. It certainly hasn't been tried.

Forget old school, go old testament on these demon spawns at the mall. The mall- a giant playpen for the infantile, and self-obsessed. An institution devoid of structure, devoid of rules, absent of order, where we house these kids to spend our hard earned money that we haven't earned yet. Here's an idea: Take those little booths lined up in the way of criss-crossing the corridors and station a Whuppin' Stand every 100 feet or so. Far enough apart so that there aren't lines as long as in the food courts, but close enough to hear the screams. Take it a little farther, and install these booths in every government office, including schools. Keep it rolling and put a Whuupin' booth right next to the confessional. God may forgive you for your sins, but the cost of penance should match the cost of inflation. Churches won't mind. They have been wanting to get back to the old days for some time now. The days where you actually feared God, feared the state, feared retribution and did what your parent figure told you!

Which brings me back to the boy...

Show Discipline[audio http://pisforprops.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/03-show-discipline-feat-nas.mp3]

MTG

One is quite minor. These past few days I have been able to attend some sporting events. While at a soft tennis match, the students were having a lot of fun. On such a team, only a few of the students are able to participate in the tournament. The rest cheer for those players. The students were talking and enjoying creating new cheers. They were being kids. 

The next day, some parents came out to support their children in the tournament. This is great for the players. Unfortunately, they decided to stand directly behind (and later, in front of) the students. They clearly felt that they were being watched as they suddenly reverted back to the official cheers for the team. They stopped talking. They stopped having fun. 

The parents either didn’t understand or didn’t care about the effect they were having on the other students. The looks of disgust on the faces of my students on one of the few days when they are not crammed into a classroom all day made it quite clear to me. There need to be separate viewing areas for parents and students. I understand that space is limited in Japan, but children should be the top priority.

That’s a minor rule change. The other change I would make would be a much larger regulation. Something most people don’t realize about the Japanese education system is that there is absolutely no disciplinary tactics available to teachers beyond simple yelling. Students can not be hit, but that is the same in many countries. Japan goes further. In stating that every student is entitled to an education, there is no expulsion or suspension. It’s even illegal to simply send the student out of the class or to the principal unless they go willingly. There is no detention either, but I am unsure about the legality of such a thing. Perhaps it is because that would interfere with after school activities.

This may be effective in Akita, where most students were respectful of their teachers. In Tokyo, it allows a few problem children to ruin the educational experience of the many. Students talk to one another throughout the class. Some sleep through class. Some throw things at unpopular students and generally bully them. Some just refuse to do what they are told, which destroys group dynamic. The result is that the students that want to learn have to go to cram school at night to learn the things they should have picked up during their day at public school. This is simply unfair.

I believe there needs to be some way to keep these students from hurting the experience of others. As such, I support a system of private study as punishment. A teacher should be hired to preside over a private study class. Students that are problematic should be sent to the private study class for the rest of the day to study the material on their own. These students will be the ones that end up needing to attend cram school, rather than those that obey the rules. While it will be important to create a system that encourages problem students to change their behavior and quickly rejoin the class, the main goal is to create a classroom environment that promotes learning.

I look forward to delving deeper into these topics in my graduate school classes.

The problem was not the wires themselves. It was what was governing the system of the cables. In my case, chaos (or so it seemed) was governing my cables, and I simply couldn't deal living in this chaos. It was time for a new system. I unplugged everything, but this time I did not go straight to color matching, though I knew that this would be part of the new system eventually. By now I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats in suspense, so I'll get to the point. The problem was there was much more speaker cable than was necessary. I went and got some wire cutters, and began cutting. After I cut about half the cables, I realized my mistake. The problem was not the wires themselves. It took me no time at all to forget this. I decided to impose a regulation on the wires: All extra lengths of wire will be neatly bundled and held together by a twisty-tie. Amazingly this one simple and effective rule made it so the cords never tangled and I only had to match the colors once after the rule was applied. I even had the flexibility to move the speakers around if I wanted to. Maybe regulations weren't all bad after all.

Now take a look at another "regulated" system, the fishing industry. For the sake of brevity, we'll say it can be regulated by two things: greed and sustainability. I'll define greed as wanting to make the most money in the shortest amount of time, and sustainability as the the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level. What happens when the fishing industry is regulated by greed? The fishermen go out and catch as many fish as they possibly can and sell them as fast as they can. Then they go out and catch as many fish as they can the next day and sell them as fast as they can. Simple and effective. Soon the fishermen are catching less fish every day and making less money. They fish more furiously, but it is already too late. The fish can no longer reproduce fast enough to sustain the numbers being taken out of the water. Poof, no more fish, and no more fishermen. Although I've exaggerated the time frame, this is inevitably the fate of the greedy fisherman. Now lets look at the fishing industry that is regulated by sustainability. Sustainability is all about balance. This fisherman only removes the right number of fish so that the school can maintain its size year after year. In the short term this looks absolutely ridiculous, but sustainability is all about the long term. In the long term the greedy fisherman has no fish to fish. Whereas, the sustainable fisherman has (approximately) the same amount of fish to fish. Therefore, it is not just that there are regulations, it is necessary for the regulations to be the right ones.

The final example is the universe. Again for the sake of simplicity I'm going to only talk about two things: the gravitational force, and the electromagnetic force (specifically Coulomb's Law). I'm also going to make the assumption that these two forces have a hand in governing how our universe behaves. Let's look at the equations for these two forces.

Coulomb's Law                     

Law of Universal Gravitation

Strikingly similar no? The q's are the size of the charges, the m's are the size of the masses, and r is the distance between either the charges or the masses. That only leaves big G and the 1/(4*pi*). G and  are constants that are very important to us. According to Brian Greene, rock star physicist, in a TED conference talk (Feb 2005), if these constants were changed even slightly the universe would not exist, or at least the universe as we know it. But what are these constants? They make sure the gravitational force and electromagnetic force play by the rules. And what strict enforcers they are! To say it another way, these constants impose rules that the governing system of the universe (part of it anyway) operates by and enforces them no matter what. 

Ok now for the conclusion, which is going to seem like its from left field but bear with me. The American people are the constants, and the government is what we should be enforcing. However we have been lazy of late and the government has run wild and the country as we know it is disappearing. The financial system is being regulated by greed so soon it will no longer have a way to make money. Finally one of the main reasons for this is we hold the view point that all regulations are bad. I guess what I'm getting at is we need regulations in our lives. We need to regulate ourselves so we don't get over our heads in a house we can barely afford, for instance. We need to regulate the government so it doesn't act like an idiot, and so it can properly regulate the financial system. We need discipline in our lives or we will fail as a country.

Discipline

Holap, aquí dejo una evaluación de la rama de talentos discipline, la he jugado en contadas ocasiones, varias veces orientadas al pvp (muy satisfactoria por cierto xD) y otras para pve (mas que nada por la reg de mana y el spirit), ahora bien, en el parche sufre bastantes modificaciones que en un principio me hicieron pensar en pasarme a discipline de cabeza así que dejaré mi punto de vista sobre la experiencia.

Discipline

Antes de nada decir que aquí realmente sí que se nota la regeneración de mana, haciendo cálculos locos de los míos, vi que una barra de mana de 12.6k aprox. perfectamente se puede regenerar por completo sin lanzar hechizos en poco menos de un minuto, que opino que no esta nada mal.

Conservamos habilidades tales como regeneración de mana mientras casteas, aumento de vida, spirit, intelecto y celeridad de hechizo( esta es nueva y viene con el pack xD) y habilidades tan útiles como spirit, infusión de poder o supresión de dolor pero también tenemos bastantes habilidades nuevas que nos ayudaran a suplir la falta de bonus de sanación alto.

La rama de talentos esta totalmente reestructurada, nada mas empezar nos encontramos con que ya no tenemos 5 puntos en aumento de daño con varita y pasamos a tener, primero, Voluntad Inquebrantable que nos da en 5 puntos de talentos un 15% de resistencia a aturdir, miedo y silencio, mientras que al lado encontramos una habilidad totalmente nueva y muy apetecible llamada Disciplinas Gemelas, que con otros 5 puntos de talento nos aumentara un 5% el daño y sanación con hechizo instantáneos. Bien, renews mas molones :-D.

Resolución Silenciosa ahora reduce la amenaza generada por los hechizos en un 20% con solo 3 puntitos de talentos, nos encontramos un Fuego Interno mejorado que además de aumentar la armadura en un 45% aumenta las cargas en 12 más que ya de por sí tiene el hechizo. La Entereza, Martirio y Escudo mejorado siguen tal cual ocupando el segundo y tercer renglón de la rama de talentos junto con Enfoque Interno, Meditación y Agilidad Mental. Nos saltamos las habilidades que ya de por si conocemos y vamos a para a Poder Enfocado, que no se es nueva o no, almenos no caigo ahora y no estoy al wow para mirarlo x.D así que la describo, aumenta el daño y la sanación un 4% y además reduce el lanzamiento de Disipación en masa, en 1 segundo, con solo dos puntito de talentos, toma moreno un disipar casi instantáneo junto con un aumento de sanación que es de agradecer :P.

Y ahora sí que si entramos de lleno en las habilidades nuevas, una habilidad muy chula (pa mi xD) Aspiración, reduce el CD en 20% de tus habilidades Enfoque interno (recordemos: activo reduce al 100% el coste de mana del siguiente hechizo a lanzar y aumenta la posibilidad de critico en un 25%), Infusión de Poder (aumenta la celeridad de hechizo en un 20% y reduce el coste de mana también en un 20%, dura 15s) y Supresión de Dolor (reduce la amenaza a quien se le ponga en un 5%, todo el daño recibido se reduce en un 40% y -pvpero- aumenta la resistencia a la disipación un 65% durante 8 segundines) pasando los CD de entre 3 y 5 min a (según el orden en la que las he nombrado) 2.4m, 1.6m y 2.4m uhhh casi na xD.

En el mismo renglón tenemos, Éxtasis, que copio textualmente, provoca que ganes hasta un 2.5% de tu mana máximo cada vez que sanas con sanación superior, sanación relámpago o el daño es absorbido por tu escudo. Lo que aumenta la cantidad sanada o absorbida aumenta el mana ganado, son 5 puntitos de talentos, toma ya! después de releerla varias veces (xD) poniendo un ejemplo siempre que se lancen dichos hechizos teniendo una barra de mana de 11.700p estaríamos ganando constantemente una cantidad de mana por hechizo lanzado o daño amortiguado de entre 0 a 292.5p. Ahora bien, mana máximo de tu personaje se refiere a la barra que tienes de por sí o el mana que te va quedando según vas lanzando hechizos? niidea.

Esperanza Renovada, además de sonar bonito es bastante curioso, con dos puntos de talentos aumentas un 4% la prob de efecto critico en los personajes que tengan el debuff de Alma debilitada (escudodepriestxD) así que para aquellos (en los que me incluyo) que antes de lanzar una cura a alguien que se te muere por los pelos le lanzas un escudo aumentaras las prob de que luego le llueva una súper curaca de la verdad y la justicia y al que no tenga esa costumbreeee que la aprenda porque mas abajo nos encontramos con… Tiempo Prestado!! que en 5 puntacos de talentos aumenta un 25% la celeridad en tu siguiente hechizo al lanzar el escudo de priest y a su vez aumenta la cantidad de daño absorbido por dicho escudo un 40% de tu poder de hechizo. (Sacamos la calculadora de new xDDD) y vemos que de por si nuestro escudo amortigua 1454p de daño, si lo hemos mejorado con el talento se nos quedaría en 1672p aprox, en cuanto a nuestro poder de hechizo supongamos que tenemos 1065p el 40% vendría a ser unos 426 puntitos que sumados a lo que absorbe el escudo serian cerca de los 2100p de daño amortiguado, que podréis decir “uhh eso no es nadaaa un boss hace mas dañoo” pero siendo positivos un simple escudo seria el comienzo de una serie de acciones para evitar en unos segundos que se nos muera un dps, un healer etc =.)

Nos quedan tres habilidades más, una es Egida Divina, una habilidad que gráficamente es preciosa *-*, con 3 puntos de talentos hace que las sanaciones criticas creen en el objetivo un escudo protector que absorbe un 30% de la cantidad sanada y dura 12 segundos, ahora bien io supongo que es un error de traducción y quiere decir un 30% de daño de la cantidad sanada porque si no… xD menudo arma de destruccion masiva para el propio raid xDDD y la otra es Gracia, súper habilidad molona que cualquier priest holy te agradecerá eternamente, en dos puntos de talentos da un bonus de 100% de prob de que tus sanaciones relámpago y superior bendiga al objetivo con un buff que reduce el daño recibido en el objetivo en un 1% y aumenta las curaciones recibidas por sacerdotes un 2%, el efecto se acumula hasta 3 veces y dura 8 segundos, osea que el objetivo, tanque por poner un ejemplo siempre tendrá este buff encima, ahora bien me crea la duda de si este dope sirve para cualquier priest o solo para el que tenga el talento :S.

Y por ultimo siii aquiii estaaa uee uee la ultima súper habilidad de talentos disciplineee, bonita donde las aiaa, útil a mas no poderr .. Penitencia!! con un CD de 8 segundos y un gasto de mana de 419p tenemos una sanación-arma letal, que lanzada al enemigo daña entre 193 a 194p de daño (sumarle el poder de hechizo que tengáis) y a un aliado sana entre 670p a 756p (ídem) cada 0.93s durante 1.85s que simplificando un poco y según lo he probado io en tema de sanación curas 1550-1650p por tic durante 3 tics y me atrevería a decir que de esos tics casi siempre cae un crítico de 2500-3000p de sanación y en daño… pues lo he probado con un conejito que vi a las afueras de Ventormenta y solo le quito un tic de 500 xD no dio el pobre para más no sé si contara ien como experimento… ^^U. Forma de usarla? pues yo hago lo siguiente:

Penitencia, Sanación relámpago, Sanación relámpago o Renovar, Penitencia de new, así no te molesta ese CD de 8 segundos y siempre tienes activo el buff de Gracia.

Teniendo encuenta que con Sanación relámpago curaras 2100, 2400 como max con Graciax3 (con el poder de hechizo que he usado para cada ejemplo por supuesto) y tendrá un gasto de mana de 400p, Sanación superior pasara al olvido por su elevado coste de mana, su largo casteo y su imposibilidad de bajarle el rango, esta nueva cura es como mínimo muy acertada porque llegas a curar un mínimo de 4500p de daño sin critico y sin contar el buff de Gracia :_D por un modico precio de 419 de mana.

Decir que io veo a este priest tan valido para pve como cualquier otro sanador, ya no tanto como healer de tanque o de raid al completo pero si como gran ayuda para momentos criticos, la alta regeneracion de mana, los dopes que puede usar tanto con el como con cualquier miembro de la raid, vease por ejemplo Infusion de poder, puede llegar a ser perfectamente ese eslabon que pueda ejercer un gran trabajo en un corto plazo de tiempo mientras los healer mas capacitados regeneran mana para poder continuar y hacer de una batalla larga una victoria segura (toma ya xD).

I looked at her with obvious confusion and she explained.  Children reflect the person who is caring for them.  If the person caring for them expects a child who listens then they will get precisely that.  So, if you have a child that everyone else raves about but you swear they have your child mistaken for another one, be joyous because it’s not them at all, it’s you.

The reason this is such a great revelation is because the only person you can every really change is you, and if you are the problem, then you can also be the solution.  Here are four things you can do:

1. Look at the behavior - What behavior is your child exhibiting that is driving you nuts?  Don’t forget to look below the surface.  Is it really that whiny voice or the fact that your child disregards what you say completely?
2. Look at yourself – What is it within you that allows this behavior to happen?  Do you feel like you don’t have control or perhaps you can’t have what you want?  There is always a reason for why we let things happen in our lives that we say we don’t want.
3. Find your action point – There are behaviors that we consider completely unacceptable in our world, so they simply aren’t an issue.  It is inconceivable to me that my child throws a tantrum over what shirt to wear, so it hardly ever happens. If it does, I ignore him and put the shirt on anyway.  Once you find that place for yourself, stay there for a minute and feel how strong and resolute it is.  Notice how there are no questions, no hesitations.
4. Bridge your action point and wishes – Now that you know where that strong resolute feeling is, bring that to the behavior you no longer want.  Once you have made the decision that a behavior is no longer acceptable and there will be consequences, children change very quickly (expect lots of pushback until they are sure you really mean it this time!). 

While it sounds simple, making a decision that a  behavior is no longer acceptable in your world brings with it lots of emotions.  There are belief systems attached to the way we live our lives and making new decisions requires letting go of old beliefs that no longer work for us. It is worth the effort though because the reward is a stronger, more confident you. Remember that you brought yourself to this place and it is completely up to you where you go from here.

I agree with the article that says the parental misconceptions about discipline and behavior may result in a growing number of overly aggressive, easily frustrated children. Corporal punishment can be harmful in a way that children would be more threatened and afraid to their parents rather than feeling loved. Though some says that if we are being hit by our parents it is a sign of their love and care for us but I do believe that in a  good way of disciplining we can learn more than by the way of spanking us as our punishment.

It is true that the key to a better discipline is through emotional closeness and be able to hear your children’s opinion rather than hearing your side only as a proof that they done something wrong.  For me discipline is not equivalent to punishment for child to learn what they have to know about discipline but for me discipline is Love, teaching your children the better way to see others good deeds so that they will serve as their models and inspirations.  The better way of disciplining a child is to know them closely and learning what they want. What makes them happy or sad, weak or strong but the best way is understanding them and believing them when they say it is the truth.

"Sometimes," he told me, "she just canes my hands. I have to hold them out and she whacks me two or three times on each hand. Some times she canes my hands and my bum."

It was three months or so later that I was able to experience the cane for myself. I was sleeping over at his home and at bedtime we started messing about. We had a water fight in the bathroom - God, why did we do that? We got water everywhere and James's mum was furious.

"You will clean up this mess and you will go to your room and wait." I felt sick to my stomach, knowing we were in for a good hiding.

Ten minutes later his Mum entered carrying the cane. "You are both very silly, naughty little boys," she scolded as we bowed our heads. She looked at me. "Your mum has told me I should cane you as well as James."

She made James take down his pyjama pants and he bent over, small botty upturned, waiting for chastisement. It twitched in anticipation.

She caned him low and hard. The lower part of a boy's bottom is where he sits down, and James's was soon as red as anything. Six good wallops while James cried in pain. "Mummy, stop - I'm sorry", he pleaded after just the third stroke.

Afterward he had to stand in the corner of the room and was not allowed to rub his sore behind. I got the same and man, it was sore. It was ten times worse than any slipper. My bum was buzzing so much I thought I would pass out. I cried throughout and wished I was not a child having to submit to corporal punishment.

I too had to stand in the corner and had to stay there for 10 minutes. After that we had to go to bed.

After this punishment my mum also got a cane, saying that if James was old enough I was too. I got many hidings from mum's cane, up to the age of 15.

Anonymous

Cabbage, brussel sprouts, spinach, suede, turnip, parsnip, beetroot, cauliflower; I loathed them all with a passion (and still do today as a 28-year-old man). Mum was goaded by my brattish complaining and felt justified, I think, in spanking me into compliance.

The memory that is most deeply imprinted on my psyche was when I was about 10 years old. We were sharing our dinner table at home one evening with another family who were friends. In addition to my parents and my younger sister, there were two girls with their parents. One girl was a year older than me and the other was a year younger.

So we were eating this meal and I was pulling faces and truculently pushing food around my plate (I forget the object of my contempt but you can be sure it included something from the fiendish list mentioned above!) My mother flashed me a warning look and, alarmed, I put in an effort to swallow the poisonous food with the help of large gulps of water.

It was ghastly! I wanted to be sick and quickly the scowl appeared on my face again as I procrastinated over further efforts. Everyone else had cleared their plates; I was the only one left. I could feel the metaphorical axe hanging above me and then came the dreaded instruction from my mother to go to her bedroom and wait for her there.

I knew what was coming but I thought that if I begged hard enough she might relent. Soon she joined me in the bedroom and told me I was to be spanked. I pleaded desperately but it was to no avail.

My mother always spanked me with her slipper; it had a hard rubbery sole that could be quite stinging. The procedure was always for me to bend over the edge of the bed and present my bottom for punishment. Sometimes I could keep my jeans on (which meant the spanking wasn't really painful) and other times I had to drop them and receive the slipper across my underpants.

The real anguish of a spanking for me was not the physical pain but the emotional upset and humiliation of the experience and having to drop my jeans definitely raised distress level up several notches. My desperation was further fuelled by the almost public nature of the impending punishment; everyone downstairs would know I'd been spanked (including, to my horror, the two daughters of our friends).

When Mum told me to drop my jeans and bend over I had another sickening realisation; I wasn't wearing any underpants! Don't ask me why, it wasn't something I was prone to doing, but on this ill-fated occasion I was bare under my jeans. I whined to Mum that I had no underpants on and please could she let me keep the jeans up but she was adamant.

Aflame with embarrassment and trepidation I lowered my jeans and felt the fresh breeze on my bottom cheeks as I bent over. I did not have to wait long for action. Mum was not a sadist; she rhythmically thrashed the slipper across my bare bottom six times as I sobbed tears of shame and despair.

Afterwards, I had to return downstairs to the dining table and finish my meal. I could feel the amused eyes of the girls upon me as I struggled to clear my plate and I blushed furiously. They teased me about it later and cheekily asked if they could have a look at my bottom to see how red it was. I refused of course (this is a true story after all!) The pitiful embarrassment of spankings always gave way to intense frustration and furious resentment.

This was the only bare bottomed spanking I ever got from my mother which is, I suppose, why it's the most memorable.

Ian

Formative assessments (practices) should not be factored into grades. This menas homework and classwork is not graded.

Only summative assessments should be recorded into grades. Only course requirements and final assessments should be used to assess student achievement.

Citizenship should be a separate score. Cheating, tardies, and absences should not be a part of the final grade.

Grades should only reflect student achievement. This means that only final assessments should be recorded for final grades. If a student needs five chances to pass or meet standard on a skill, only the final attempt counts as part of the grade.

High school is not college. High school teachers should not succumb to the pressures of colleges when determining grades. Our kids are not adults and should not be treated as such. We are a different entity entirely.

Zeroes are not mathematically just. When looking at mathematical formulas, a zero (on a 100 point scale) is an overwhelmingly unfair measure. Zeroes should be counted as 50% when considering grades. Using a GPA scale this makes sense because each grade is a factor of 1 (4 = A, 3 = B, 2 = C, 1 = D, and 0 = F). On a 100 point scale the F range is 60 points versus the 10% each other grade receives.

Cheating means a student gets another chance with a non-academic consequence. If grades are to reflect achievement only, then consequences for cheating cannot impact the grade. Students who cheat should receive an alternate assignment and a non-academic punishment.

No one fails a class; students can receive an A, B, C, D, or NC (no credit). The psychological effects of an F can overpower what an F should represent. Students cannot separate their self-worth from their products, so they equate the two; if a student receives an F on an assignment, he/she feels like a failure even if that is not the case.

I don't agree 100% with each of the preceding suppositions, but I understand the thinking behind each of the aforementioned ideas.

I always feel, as an English teacher, that I have to teach to the state standards, but I also have to teach the unwritten curriculum: cultural literacy. There is little way to measure how well a student acquires the cultural literacy of my discipline. I just know that the experiences I provide are invaluable but not always measurable. Thus, I have a bit of a hybrid system, and I'm ok with my system.

How do you feel about the positions listed above?

How to Discipline Children by Being Clear:

Firstly find and maintain clarity within yourself and then follow through on simple, clear instructions. Clarify for your self what being clear means. It is about being plain, obvious, and understandable in a clear, short sentence that explains exactly what you mean. It isn't about maybe this or maybe that.

Often parents have no idea that they chop and change their minds within minutes. To become clear about your own patterns of behavior, observe yourself and ask for your partner's help in this. "We are going to tidy up your toys in five minutes", is clear and direct. Follow this with, "Please help me tidy up your toys now" and it means just that.

Be firm with yourself about this. It doesn't mean soon, or later, but now. I have seen parents give out this simple instruction, then become distracted themselves by a television program, conversation or magazine. What their children observe is parents saying one thing and doing another and this gives a much distorted message. Multiplied over many times each day, is it any wonder that children cease to follow simple instructions?

How to Discipline Children by Being Firm:

Firstly find and maintain firmness for yourself and then follow through with firm clear directions in a firm, clear tone. Clarify for your self what being firm means. To be firm is to be certain, definite, and determined. It is also being loving, kind and calm. It means saying no and meaning no, or saying yes and meaning yes and sticking to it. It's about now being now. How often does your no become perhaps, later, maybe giving in, next time, soon, or alright then? This is a very common fault in how to discipline children and again it leads to numerous mixed messages for children.

Resolve within yourself and with your partner's help to ascertain how often you are both easily swayed into changing your decisions. Are you allowing your children to manipulate you? Imagine how simple your life will become when you are clear and firm within yourself. It is every child's right to KNOW they can trust their parent's boundaries. So firstly, become firm with your own boundaries and then apply this to your parenting discipline. "It is bedtime, (bath time, meal time) in five minutes" is a clear direction. Now follow through on this. Giving the direction in a calm, clear, firm tone of voice helps your children to understand that you mean what you say. Being firm is about being in control of both yourself and the situation.

How to Discipline Children by Being Consistent:

Firstly find and maintain consistency for yourself and then follow through with a firm, clear, consistent approach. Clarify for yourself what being consistent means. To be consistent is to be reliable, dependable and constant. These words immediately convey comfort don't they? Let's look at the opposite of being consistent. Contradictory, unpredictable, changeable. That's definitely lacking in comfort and safety. So how do you want to be seen by your children? To begin with it can seem quite time consuming to concentrate on clear, firm, consistent guidelines. Be aware that this is very true. It takes concentrated effort and time to change old habits to new ones, but if you maintain consistency, you will be very surprised how quickly new patterns of behavior are formed.

Parenting Discipline In Summary: With parenting discipline we are teaching our children how to have self control, self discipline and to become self reliant, so they are able to make good choices for themselves. The only way children can learn to do this is by being given the opportunities for this learning. This means not over protecting them, or doing everything for them, but maximizing their opportunities to learn through personal experience and observation, even when this means making mistakes.

Can you see the opportunities here to change some of your own patterns of behavior into superior ones? Clear, firm, consistent parenting is quality parenting. You learn to trust your own responses and your children are surrounded by your loving constancy. This is the recipe for creating a happy, well adjusted family.

After some discussion, I pointed out how most of my ilk decide not to put up with it, and get their spiritual community with their friends wherever (which roughly states my recent leanings).  My pastor pointed out how undisciplined community tends to go nowhere and fizzles out.  I completely agree.

However, I believe institutional churches are rooted in human-made traditions, which ultimately came from paganism.  This is not bad on its own.  However, these traditions (such as property, clergy and ritual) encourage a passive lay body of pew-warmers, who have little depth of faith.

I'm not a fan of abolishing tradition, however.  I think we've just clung to the wrong one.  My pastor is completely right saying undisciplined house churches are lousy.  The first-century house churches weren't just strung out on their own though, they were backed by the apostolic tradition.  This is something we've lost, and which the institutional church demands too much control to revive.

Heirarchical office structures, theological education and professional experience do not leave room for apostles.  The better structure is an extremely flat one, with one massive layer of house churches tied together by a mesh of traveling apostolic workers.  Apostles are who keep house churches from running amok, maintain discipline, plant sound teaching and encourage the faithful in hard times.  They also stay largely absent, which means the "laity" (a term which should be abolished) have no choice but to function actively as the Spirit of Christ intends.

If I could give this Blog a different name I would call it choices.  In the second chapter of Genesis, verse 9 talks about all the different kinds of trees in the garden.  Then it says,' the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.'  I got to thinking, out of all the choices in the garden why did Adam and Eve make the wrong choice?  Verse 9 also said, the all of the trees were pleasing to the sight and good for food.  So why did they make the wrong choise.

Some mistakes or bad choices are made without knowing the right coarse.  But most bad choices are made  knowing full well the difference between right and wrong.  I must admit that I have made a few of these bad choices in my life time.  And there is always a result from this wrong choice.  So, if I know there is an undesirable result, why do I make these bad choices?  That is called free will.  In my short sightedness I don't care what the end result was. 

I am learning to make the right choices, frankly I'm tired of the end result.  Plus there is a sense of accomplishment from "doing the right thing".  My ultimate goal is to please my Lord.  To have the freedom to choice and to overcome is empowering.  Posted by Steve Waltrip

fasting is the key to spiritual breakthrough.  yet the obvious question is, "how can abstaining from food have any effect on my spiritual life?”  i believe that is a fair question because the connection may not be apparent at first. 

but before we consider the question, let us create some context.  the average christian knows very little about the discipline of fasting.  we relegate it to spiritual giants who do it when things get really serious.  we do not believe that fasting has a place with the “average” christian.  and...we are ignorant of the spiritual effect this discipline can have on us.  we haven’t taken the time to consider that fasting was a common practice in the life of Jesus and in the early church. 

Jesus instructs his followers, “when you fast, don’t look somber like the hypocrites.”  The assumption is that…we fast.  again...Jesus responded to some naysayers who complained that his disciples were not fasting by saying, “how can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”  Jesus...the bridegroom...is no longer with us…so let the fasting begin!

so back to the original question, “How can abstaining from food have any effect my spiritual life?”

there is nothing more central to the life of a human being than food.  from the time that we are born...we eat.  our body is dependent on nourishment to function and thrive, and so we continue to eat.  when a person does not eat for a time...the body responds.  actually...it begins throwing a fit.  the stomach complains and growls as a constant reminder that it needs food.  it doesn’t matter what one is doing...the longer we keep food from this grumpy organ...the sounds go from whispers to screams.  so we feed it to satiate it (and to quiet it down).  a person that is aware of what just transpired knows that the body just dictated the terms of the deal.

but what if the Christian was not controlled by this body?  what if there was a way to not be controlled by the urges, tendencies, and compulsions of the body?  where would one start?  where would one begin?  It would start by consciously taking away the most central need of the body...food.  yes, the body again begins throwing a tantrum.  it begins screaming, “i need…i need…i want…i want.”  the Christian resolute in the discipline of fasting responds, “body, you are not in control of me.  you do not dictate the terms.  the Spirit is in control of my life, and you do not have power over me.”  fasting puts your body in subjection to the Spirit that controls you.  the Christian has taken the first step at becoming aware of how much the body’s urges, tendencies, and compulsions dictate his or her actions and behavior.

this awareness and discipline is critical.  it is critical for the man who has urges to look at pornography.  it is critical for the woman that can not buy enough and is never satisfied with what she has.  it is critical for the person who is overweight and is controlled by the insatiable appetite for more food.  It is critical for the person controlled by laziness, envy, addiction, anger, retaliation, anxiety, worry, and getting in the last word.  fasting begins changing the person and allows the light to break through the darkness.  The desires of the body have been put to rest, and the desires of the Spirit break through to freedom.  this is the kind of fasting that God requires...fasting that changes your life (Isaiah 58).

this same sentiment was echoed by a murderer named Paul, whose life was changed by the power of God, when he said, “those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”  

fasting is the key to spiritual breakthrough.

fasting until the Bridegroom comes...

brandon

A contented man is a delighted man. And the secret of happiness is satisfaction. One must love his work/duty. This is possible only if he is passionate about his work. In essence, 'performing duty with discipline and determination results in dexterousness. And a decentralised man is a delighted man".

Some Story tidbit:

The character (the player), takes part of some kind of tests within a giant, high security facility called "Discipline". This character soon discovers that these "tests" , which aren't merely simulations, hide a dreadful truth, and he soon seeks to escape from this facility which is retaining him against his will...

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Let's Re-Think our lives.

Was it all that spicy food I craved and endulged in while I was pregnant with them?

Yep. I started this book tonight. I'm hoping this is an answer to prayer. And the cute little girl holding up the book isn't the only subject of my reading adventures. Oh no. We've got not one, but two of those stong-willed little boogers. Figures huh?

After Olivia, I just knew when the second one came along that he would be calm, quiet, compliant, easy going, and mild mannered since Olivia was the opposite. NOT!

But you know, I don't view their strong-willed little personalities as necessarily a bad thing. I think it can be an excellent personality trait if well guided, disciplined, and directed.

Pastor Ron said something that encouraged me, and caused me to change my outlook a little. Strong-willed children can equal strong leaders if directed in the right way. So, this is where I......and this book come in.

Anyone else have a strong-willed child? Have you read this book? Any tried and true tips?

In the twentieth century many Christians adopted a form of spirituality that began with knowledge. Study the Bible; learn the major precepts of the Christian faith; say the accurate and true things about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Christian life. This kind of spirituality asserts that after we have the basic truths straight, then we can begin living a life that honors God.

The sabbath works the other way around. It invites us to participate in something without totally understanding it. In fact, many faithful sabbath keepers say that only after years of observance did they begin to understand the profound lessons God was teaching them through it. Receive the gift of the sabbath over time. Embrace the sabbath without knowing everything you will learn from it.

As much as I learn or investigate my doubts, there must come a time when I get on with life, when I practice what I believe or claim to believe.  I get caught up wanting to know "what it means" and the history and pros and cons of basically everything.  That's not living.

It's like my childhood when I read and obsessed about running but never actually ran.  I spent years wanting to, reading about how, dreaming about it.  Who knows what held me back.  It's the same with faith matters.  There comes a time to get back (or continue) to practicing Christianity instead of theorizing.

I think for this reason, I'm drawn to the spiritual disciplines and sectors of Christianity that involve tradition and ritual.  If I don't have structure, I tend to delay the doing until I've decide what it means (which hardly comes).

This excerpt made reading the book worthwhile if only for pointing out the following:  Experience teaches us in ways that no book could.

So I go and escort Her from reception to my office, nervous as hell - there are people everywhere, people I work with, and all that's separating me and what I'm about to have done to me and them is some flimsy barely adequate internal window blinds and very thin walls either side. I propped a chair under the door handle just in case someone decided to walk straight in without knocking.

So what am I getting the cane for? Well I put forward a previous tally of seven yet to be taken care of - but that's not good enough a reason, so She adds another one. And then two more for being late to escort Her to my office. Over the desk I go, luckily getting to keep my pants on - although She teases me by starting to take my pants down. As if I'm not nervous enough as it is doing this in my office!

I don't think She can count because although I was distracted by the rather intense pain of the cane I think I ended up receiving twenty two stroke with the cane. Keep in mind that we're only two months into this relationship, and not only that but two months into any sort of serious BDSM/spanking play - so my bum isn't at all conditioned for pain and I have to admit they were rather mild strokes, but eight hours later I had a nice small red and blue bruise on my right cheek where she was concentrating the strokes and the morning after it still hurts to sit down. A "loving" reminder of Her that I will have with me for the rest of today also.

Hopefully having the bruise, while minor, will preclude me from having to participate (as sub obviously) in the local BDSM play party that's coming up in a few days - though I doubt it.

We'll probably also set up a flickr account for Vanilla Spankos in the next day or so and I might share with you a photo She took of my bruised bottom last night.

EDIT: I've added a photo on our new flickr account now - Caning bruise.