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"Paradoryxical" poster image

Where to begin.

Although the information has been floating around gaming’s social media spheres and message boards for a few weeks now, yesterday Polygon ran an op-ed by Laura K. Dale about Oryx, the titular king of Destiny‘s recent The Taken King expansion, being transgender.

As a cis-though-not-as-cis-as-they-thought-they-were-for-30-years person, I struggled a lot with whether it was even appropriate for me to write the blog post you’re reading at this very moment. I feel like as a thing that has the greatest impact on and for trans folks, their voices should be the ones you hear and consider first. In the end I’ve tried to address what feels like the broader issues related to representing marginalized characters in games that this is an example of.

My issue with this situation has very little to do with Dale’s piece, which I was relatively neutral on (meaning I agreed with parts of it and disagreed with others… i.e. a perfectly normal reaction to anything). Instead I have been ruminating on a question Laura Dale asked at the very opening of her piece: “Why wasn’t this discussed in the gaming press?” Or perhaps more accurately: is this being discussed in the gaming press as universal a good as we might imagine it to be?

What the Oryx situation speaks to is a phenomenon I’ve already talked about: the tension between visibility and the freedom to escape our marginalization. I am definitely not the only person who’s talked about it, either; Mattie Brice’s well-known essay “I Am More Than My Pain” addresses this, and while I sadly can’t find the links, Aevee Bee talked extensively and eloquently on Twitter recently about how the expectation that marginalized creators only talk about and reflect their marginalized experience can be incredibly harmful.

To sum up, being “different” in some way is a constant push-pull between wanting the right to express yourself about it and to make it part of your work, and an understandable desire for it to not be A Thing for five seconds of your day.

Both the post of mine I linked above and my Paste piece on Mortal Kombat X‘s Kung Jin circle around the character design implications of this tension: do we foreground a character’s marginalization and make it a compelling part of their narrative, or do we take a more subtle approach, including it as a non-focused background element.

I think generally speaking we’re familiar with the benefits of the first approach. The idea is that by increasing visible representation we give people figures they can point to, that they can say “yeah, folks like me are real, they’re visible, they’re out there.” That said, I’d stress that the work of Adrienne Shaw emphasizes how “like me” is more complicated than first blush suggests. She goes into more detail in her book Gaming at the Edge, which I heartily recommend, by the way. In any event, I think we “get” the benefits of visible representation, by and large.

My argument — in the case of Transistor‘s queer antagonists or Kung Jin’s homosexuality — is that the background approach has a number of benefits as well, primary of which is that the diverse angle of the character’s story doesn’t suddenly dominate the discussion. It satisfies that need many of us have to feel like we’re “there,” but without putting us in an often uncomfortable and offputting spotlight.

Is one of these approaches better than the other? No. They are two distinct ways to do things and they both have affordances and limitations. The direct approach provides unambiguous visibility but is, for lack of a better word, very “loud.” The background approach is more subtle, but the tradeoff is that the people whom it would benefit most to see it may miss it entirely. You need to pick and choose which is right, in context, for your goals as a creator.

This brings me to Oryx, and the problem of people taking something made in the “subtle” style and trying to transfigure it into the “loud” approach. I don’t necessarily think that works terribly well, and the Oryx situation — as well as how Dale’s Polygon op-ed was received — is a good example of why that’s true.

Game designer Caelyn Sandel made a couple tweets about this yesterday that I think are relevant:

I was kind of in the same place. When I finished reading the op-ed I scrolled to the bottom to skim some of the ongoing comment discussion and what I mostly saw was a comment thread full of people arguing endlessly over whether or not Oryx was “really” a trans character. Which prompted me to tweet this:

Maybe “turns my stomach” was unnecessarily heavy language, but honestly: what does an argument over Oryx’s “legitimacy” as a trans character get us, other than a way for lots of non-trans folks to voice their opinions about what a “real” trans person is? Caelyn was uninterested in policing people’s determination of “is Oryx really trans?” or not, and I equally don’t care because a focus on determining if Oryx is “legitimately” trans is utterly missing the point.

In her op-ed, Laura Dale says point blank, “We can’t praise this as a victory of transgender representation.” I agree! I said something similar about Kung Jin when I wrote his story up for Paste:

It says something that our confirmation on whether or not Jin is gay (as opposed to bi or pan, or some more fluid sexuality, which are all options given his scene with Raiden) comes from cinematic director Cianciolo himself, in a tweet where someone finally just asked him point-blank about it. I’m legitimately happy that they made Jin gay, and I’m even happier that it didn’t go massively wrong in the thousand and one ways it could have. That’s big. But when I see Jin’s inclusion being hailed as Great! Inclusion! I get uncomfortable.

Part of my resistance to this sort of “it’s a victory for diversity!” moment about the background approach is that they are often used to try and shut down arguments for inclusion, full stop. Background inclusion is great, but it’s also a minimum standard, and its existence alone is not enough — we need both background and foreground marginalized characters, together, to present the proper tapestry. Identity is complicated; our representation of it needs to be equally complex and varied.

I think the important thing to remember, though, is that if you have a character that is to be presented in this “foreground” mode, then they have to own being in that mode. That’s why Caelyn’s first tweet in that pair I showed above is so critical: if Oryx is to be this Big Transgender Character Moment, then Destiny’s narrative approach — where everything is sub-rosa, locked in the grimoire, understated, and not heavily reflected in the direct storyline as the game presents it — doesn’t do that goal justice.

This is why I got nervous at Dale’s repeated use of “titular character” when referring to Oryx himself; having played Taken King‘s story missions (though not the King’s Fall raid), I can say with some certainty that Oryx is not as prominent a figure in Destiny‘s world as it would seem. He is a presence, for sure, but that presence is a largely limited one, with little dialogue or deep story to back it up. Oryx is primarily a plot engine, a way to get events moving for your Guardian to gunfeel their way through… and in the end, you kill him. Twice.

Which is to say, I feel a little weird about hailing a 12′ space alien that looks like HR Giger’s take on Shin Getter Robo and whose significant personal details are utterly absent from the game “a big deal” with regards to representation. And claiming how Important™ Oryx is in this regard only serves to emphasize the lack of details involved. I don’t think being “in the title” does Oryx any favors.

That doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t be excited for it — I was skeptical about the media reaction this would get when it got wide distro, but when I was told about this my reaction was “cool story detail.” And it is! And if you’re happy about Oryx being a trans character, awesome! I’m not writing this because I want to take that away from anyone. It is a neat story detail, and like most of Destiny‘s more interesting story details, it exists primarily outside the game, left there for interested parties to find because it is, at best, flavor.

Consider, if you will, that the Taken — Oryx’s army — are all existing enemies that have been adapted (“taken”) in some way. Their new forms reflect a fundamental shift over the old; an adapting to old weaknesses, an intensifying of strengths. You can read the mostly spoiler-free grimoire cards for each type of Taken here. I find them incredibly fascinating. And the part of me that considers these things goes: if a fundamental aspect of the Taken is that they are beings who are “freed” from what binds them, through transformation into a more real or pure form, then the idea that Oryx is a trans character makes a bit of sense. Not all trans folks involve physical transition in their lives, but I imagine the idea of becoming one’s best, truest self through a process of change has some resonance.

So in that regard: yeah, Oryx being trans feels reasonable and interesting. But all of this — all of this — is stuff you have to do work to find, to interpret, to consider. It is not foregrounded, and attempting to argue that it is feels like it’s heading down a very bad path indeed.

Perhaps what we really need to do is convince ourselves that these background representations are good, and right, and okay. I think that’s maybe hard to do when the other kind — the foreground kind — are so sparse, so hard to find, and when they appear, often so ineptly handled. When there are so few trans characters at all in games, it’s a natural impulse to want to elevate a character like Oryx as a symbol or an emblem, to say “LOOK! THIS HAPPENED!”

But I am unconvinced that this is the best idea. Consider the impact this has on actual queer game creators, rather than on a fictional being. I’ve seen, too many times recently, evidence that one a queer creator has made something, they “owe” the world of queer players something: their energy, their time, even “their queerness” if that makes any sense. It is an act that reduces those creators to a fraction of their identity and one that, perhaps, they would like to put in the background for a little while. It turns them into objects and symbols rather than people. It is a bad trend that is causing people real and obvious harm.

Now, Oryx is not a living person; he’s a video game character. He’s already a symbolic entity. But I think attributing too much power and weight to that symbolic entity when there isn’t enough “there” to support it all, ends up creating the situation we’re in now: endless arguments by people with comparatively little stakes about “legitimacy” and what is “real” that, in my view, distract from the actual potential benefit of this background-mode character.

I would never in a million years tell anyone to stop fighting for more visibility. I can absolutely say that it would have been great if Oryx being trans was foregrounded more in Destiny‘s story, considering the dearth of trans representation in games to begin with. But at the same time, I think we need to let ourselves be okay with the background representations, too. We need both, and I think trying to force one or the other to suddenly inhabit a space it wasn’t designed for ends up causing more harm than good.

[My thanks to Mike Sacco for the assistance with brushing up on my Destiny lore while writing this post]

3 thoughts on “Paradoryxical

  1. The problem I see with all this is that while Oryx did switch genders, the motivation for doing so has no parallels to the experience of actual trans people.

    Oryx switched genders because a god worm required it (as a parasite using Oryx as a host) in exchange for immortality and the power to prevent a disaster (one which it’s heavily implied was never happening, but which was an idea formed of a madness that the worms had instilled to drive neighboring species to rescue them from The Traveller).

    Because Oryx’s motivation for changing gender doesn’t parallel that of any human, and because Oryx’s characterization is straight-up evil by the events of the game (and at minimum, wrathful prior to the transformation), I don’t think it’s beneficial to trans people to force that label onto Oryx. It doesn’t really apply, and it would represent an extremely negative portrayal in popular media if it did. That’s not good for anyone.

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Video: Little Dragon ventures into the world of occult dating in “Klapp Klapp”

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Swedish funk electro group Little Dragon are returning from label-rejected collaborations with Big Boi and remixing psych rock bands for a new album of their very own, Nabuma Rubberband, out May 12/13. We know this thanks to their new video "Klapp Klapp," a journey following one necromancer who, foiled again by Tinder, turns to the familiar (for her, anyway) realm of the undead for a partner for this life and the next, and the one after that. It's the Maggot Brain album cover reimagined as harlequin romance.

Little Dragon's new album Nabuma Rubberband is out May 12/13 via Because/Loma Vista Recordings; pre-order it here.
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Free Psychic Chat: Looking to ask a Question?

Have you been driving down the road and passed by a sign that says get a psychic reading? Or have you been up late at night when the television pretty much turns into many hours of infomercials and one comes on for a free chat with a spiritual guide. You haven’t gotten up the nerve to call but you have been thinking about it. Or maybe you’ve even heard some of your friends saying they took part in a clairvoyant chat and it has peaked your interest. Find out what these readings are, the benefit of psychic chat rooms, what you can expect from a free chat reading, what the Oranum network is and how this all ties together for those interested.

What are Psychic Readings?

A spiritual reading is a means of trying to discern information about a person and their life through the use of perception or natural extensions of the five senses. If the spiritual advisor is also a medium one of their roles is to give you information or connect you with a person from the other side. It is not your position to argue with them if the information they tell you is wrong. When you are presented with different challenges in life such as should you take a certain job or dealing with a relationship, it can be unnerving. Going to a Seer puts you in a position of someone outside of your situation who is working ethically to share with you their esoteric insight based on their abilities.

A clairvoyant reading will give you guidance and insight and at the end of the day it will be your decision to follow your choices and make changes in your life. Sometimes due the seriousness of the decisions we may have to make, you may seek an outside source to relieve some of that stress.

Divination Methods

    • The methods they could use are tarot cards, pure clairvoyance and share exactly what they see in the present circumstances and how things would develop in the future.

  • A crystal ball which is not uncommon can be used to aid in accomplishing clairvoyance. Another tool used is tea leaf readings which the person getting the reading gets to sip on this tea while focusing on their question or problem of interest. The teal and leaves that are left over are swirled and the cup is turned over before the consultant begins to tell the participant about the symbols that appear and how they interact with his or her journey.

  • Another common method is palm reading (palmistry), because the palm has lines and bumps which are unique to the individual and no one else. These lines and bumps correspond with other features in the hand that are examined by the reader and used to evaluate their character and future. The hand is quite unique in that the lines and mounts of hand each have their own name which a qualified and skilled palm reader would be familiar with. As these lines and mounds change. So does a person’s life.

For more Information, I can recommend this list of divination methods.

Benefits of visiting esoteric Chatrooms

Several benefits of psychic webcam chatrooms over other means are probably the biggest one is that it is a money saver. You don’t have to drive all over town. You just walk into your room, turn on your webcam and proceed. Because it is a chatroom you are not secluded. You are in a position to meet others who may be experiencing the same problem you are and talk with them. You can also make friends or you can all evaluate the advisor together, connect and swap information. There’s also the possibility for some people that the person they may have conflict is actually in their house and can participate in the clairvoyant chatroom and it all get worked out before the night is even over. Wouldn’t that cause you to breathe a sigh of relief?

Psychic Webcam Chats vs phone advisors

pfeilTwo common types of psychic readings are a webcam chat and a phone consultation.

The psychic webcam chat gives a person the opportunity to talk face-to-face with their chosen spiritual helpers regardless of location. Webcam advisors feel as if they are called to be available to everyone not just those in their immediate area. They want to help people without limitations. When interacting with the medium in this fashion it will actually draw you closer to the experience. You will be able to see their physical attributes, looks of empathy, their spiritual bliss which wouldn’t occur with a reading. Another benefit that occurs is when a healing takes place through a webcam session due to the spiritual bond between the clairvoyant and the person.

pfeilConsequently a telephone medium is different.

The telephone reading lets people reach out and touch one another through the phone system. These mediums tend to offer advice and help through tarot readings, numerology, astrology and also spiritual guides. A telephone consultant may want to create a chart. If that is the case they could have you call back at a later time so they can create the chart and study it once they have gotten the information.

pfeilAnother benefit to a spiritual webcam chat is that you don’t have to talk back because it is a chat with others and not just you.

You can remain anonymous and gain the insight you need. This is also a huge plus when it comes to the person who has phone fear and they want to talk to a psychic but not over the telephone. They would be able to listen in the first time or even a couple of times, get used to the flow of how it all works and even see the other participants and what their behavior is. After attending a time or two, it may very well put that person at ease that needs to have a private session with a clairvoyant.

Be Safe & Watch out!

You are considering a reading but you have heard about phone clairvoyants scams and don’t really know what they are. Phone scams are unfortunately sometimes out of work actors being paid to read a script. There are some people who are literally cold reading and don’t have an ounce of spiritual ability, clairvoyant ability or any other supernatural power. The way they mislead the public is by offering free minutes. These hotline readers have been trained to use all of those free minutes to hook you in by saying a few promises or intriguing statements that will lure them into paying more money such as dollars per minute service.

This wouldn’t happen with the webcam service because you actually can preview the gifted individual prior to entering a free chat and making payment for a private reading.

What to Expect from a Free Chat Reading

A free psychic reading is for a limited amount of time and focused on a single item. A paid private reading gives the person an opportunity to have a designated time where the Clairvoyant delves more into challenges the person face in different areas of their life so they can make a decision having received more clarity.

When a person goes to a site like Oranum for a clairvoyant reading, when they come to the site they will discover there are experts in this field with varying background such as astrologers, tarot masters, clairvoyants, healers and many others. They will not be limited to just a medium or a palm reader. They can choose who they need and understand they may handle free questions differently.

Some of the free questions people are able to ask on sites like Oranum they can ask about the healers background, what to expect in their future, is this reading real. You need to pay when they become a member and choose a package.

What is the Oranum Network?

Oranum is a global spiritual community that provides free chats. People are connected with psychics: astrologers, tarot masters, clairvoyants, healers and many others. Oranum has thousands of advisors looking to help. The cost for readings once you become a member has packages that range from $19.99 up to $99.99. Credits can be used on a pay-per-minute basis ranging from 0.99 to 9.99 depending on the given Expert.

How do you find out who is a good expert on the network? The top ones are rated, pictures are shown and you can see how many people they have helped.

It is very easy to use because you can come to their network and browse.
You can sign up for free on the home page and login. The webcam quality is very good where you will want to make sure you are looking good.

When you want to pay, you create an account and buy credits.

Having a free clairvoyant chat is nothing that should be feared. If this is something that you truly want to do, take the time to research out the different spiritual advisors on Oranum and what they provide. Understand the benefits of being able to have a consultation in a webcam chat versus the telephone. A webcam chat provides the person with the chance to feel out the psychic and the other participants and then request a personal session. Don’t fear a psychic reading if this is something you want to do. You can get clarity for any area of your life and move forward.


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The Chemistry of Essential Oils

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Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in seeds, bark, stems, roots flowers, as well as other parts of plant. They prevent plants with protection against predators, as well as disease and play a role in plant pollination. This oil is fat soluble, but doesn’t involve fatty lipids or acids found in vegetable and animal oils. Although the oils aren’t oil they seem to be very clean and get absorbed immediately into the skin. Essential oils are highly concentrated, volatile oils that can be extracted from aromatic plants.

I chose this project honestly because I couldn’t necessarily decide on what I wanted to do and everything I thought I would do was already taken. I’m very much into natural and organic food and products. As well as I think it is very interesting how essential oils can enhance certain moods for certain types of essential oils.

My life is affected by this because I am all about nature and taking care of our environment. We don’t need anything else messing up our environment. Imagine how much product we use that have so much chemicals in it that we don’t need in our skin. All the greasy and oily products used for our hair and skin. Why don’t we all just use something healthy for our skin that isn’t oily and won’t have a reaction from chemicals. Also, essential oils aren’t that much money and you don’t need much on the skin only a drop or so. It’s like $5 for a small thing of essential oils compared to spending $20 bucks or more on other products.
Composition of ...

The two principle elements of constituents of essential oils are, unsaturated hydrocarbons, the structure based on the isoprene unit also known as terpene hydrocarbons. Also, compounds with oxygen atoms, also known as oxygenated compounds, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, ketones, lactones, coumarins, ethers, and oxides etc. Also what is interesting is that there is in every single oil has more than 100 components terpenes hydrocarbons. Monoterpene carbons are found nearly in all essential oils and has a structure of 10 carbon atoms and has at least one double bond, they react with heat and air reactants. For this reason citrus oils don’t last, they are high in monoterpene hydrocarbons, they have a quick reaction to air and are oxidized. Sesquiterpenes contain 15 carbon atoms and have complex pharmacological actions.

Main Chemicals, Compounds, Components

The main metabolic pathway is through mevalonate lead to sesquiterpenes and from methyl-erythritol leading to monoterpenes, which is located in different parts of a plant. They can be found in the root such as vetiver grass or in stems like petiribi wood and incense in leaves like in the eucalyptus trees. It can work as eternal messengers, like defense substances or plants volatiles aimed for natural enemies but to also attract pollinating insects to their host. The essential oils are accumulated in cells, secretory cavities or glandular hairs in plants and are globules with impermeable cells whose interior has essential oils.

The two main components of essential oils are naturally occurring and are found in the plants roots and stems. They have been tried to be made in a lab, but even with today’s knowledge and technology we can’t beat mother nature.

Background Research

The essential oils are extracted from distillation by using steam, some of the other processes include expression or solvent extraction. The plants store essential oils either in external secretory structures or in the surface of the plant internal secretory structures. The external secretory structures in plants are called glandular trichome. They can be found on surface of plant (such as herb leaves) and thought to be responsible for production of chemicals that attracts pests or pollinators. Glandular trichomes are an important source of essential oils or products that can be used by the pharmaceutical industry, although many of these have evolved to provide the plant with protection against herbivores and pathogens.

About the Author

Louri Larsen is a 18 year old female that is a Junior from Senior High School in Billings,MT.  Most of her childhood she grew up in Billings MT, going to school at Newman Elementary, Riverside Middle School, and now going to graduate at Billings Senior High School in January 2016. Louri’s hobbies are running/exercise, being a workaholic at Burger King, organizing, movies/music, and spending time with friends. Her plans in the future is right after finals are over going down South and going to Boot Camp for the National Guard to help pay for college. She will be going to MSU Billings and get a degree in Accounting and Business Management.


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Press Center

New Course Charted for the Chesapeake Bay's Recovery

Chesapeake Bay Program Sets Short-term Goals; President Obama Issues Executive Order

Historic Mount Vernon, Va. (May 12, 2009)

The Chesapeake Executive Council today charted a new course for recovery of the Chesapeake Bay that will use short-term goals to dramatically accelerate the cleanup, increase government accountability and provide clean water in streams, creeks and rivers throughout the watershed. Restoration will also be greatly intensified by an Executive Order issued by President Barack Obama, who has declared the Chesapeake Bay a national treasure and deepened the federal commitment to restoring the estuary.

The new course for the restoration effort was announced at Historic Mount Vernon, Virginia, at the annual meeting of the Chesapeake Executive Council, which establishes the policy agenda for the Chesapeake Bay Program. Participating in the meeting were top executives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Department of Agriculture; the states of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, West Virginia; the District of Columbia; and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.

Instead of pursuing a distant deadline, the Chesapeake Bay Program will now focus on short-term goals every two years for reducing pollution, called milestones, with the first milestone on December 31, 2011. Many states will significantly increase the pace of cleanup. Watershed-wide, the rate of progress in reducing nitrogen will accelerate by 77 percent, for a projected reduction of 15.8 million pounds. The rate of progress in reducing phosphorus will increase by 79 percent, for a projected reduction of 1.1 million pounds. By meeting biennial milestones, all pollution control measures necessary for a restored Bay will be in place no later than 2025.

“We have charted a new course for the Chesapeake Bay’s recovery that will succeed because it includes the short-term goals necessary to make steady progress and is backed by federal and state leaders who share a profound conviction to protect our environment,” said Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine, chairman of the Executive Council. “It is our obligation to invest in clean water for communities today and future generations.”

President Obama’s Executive Order makes restoration of the Chesapeake Bay a greater national priority and contains many provisions, which include establishing a Bay federal leadership committee, directing EPA to fully use its Clean Water Act authorities, reducing water pollution from federal property, developing a Chesapeake Bay climate change strategy, improving agricultural conservation practices and expanding public access to the Bay.

Further federal action is coming from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is creating the Chesapeake Bay TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load). The TMDL is essentially a pollution diet for the Bay that will drive the six states and D.C. to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus entering waterways. Under the Executive Order, the EPA will also be developing strategies to ensure compliance and enforcement with pollution laws throughout the watershed. Additionally, the Clean Air Interstate Rule will reduce nitrogen pollution to the Bay by an estimated 10 million pounds annually beginning in 2010.

"This Executive Order is a strong signal of the President's commitment to restoring this national treasure which is so vital to the environment, the local economies and the way of life for millions of people," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "We are bringing the full weight of this partnership to bear on this challenge, and I am extraordinarily hopeful about what we can accomplish working together."

The restoration effort will also be invigorated by an unprecedented level of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Farm Bill, which are providing hundreds of millions of dollars to federal agencies involved in restoration and states in the watershed.

Government accountability is a critical component of the new approach to restoration. Progress can be tracked through the two-year milestones, Chesapeake Bay TMDL and Bay Barometer, the partnership’s annual report on Bay health and restoration efforts. Also, the Executive Council has requested an independent evaluation of the Chesapeake Bay Program and the National Academy of Sciences was selected to fill this role.

At the meeting, Executive Council members called for support from local governments, watershed groups and the region’s 17 million residents. Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and the watershed’s thousands of streams, creeks and rivers will not be possible without everyone taking personal responsibility for their impact on the water. The public can help reduce pollution by taking simple actions, such as not fertilizing lawns, installing rain barrels and rain gardens, planting native trees, picking up after pets and volunteering for watershed groups.

“Partners of the Chesapeake Bay Program have launched an ambitious new course to restore the Chesapeake Bay and, most importantly, to hold ourselves accountable for progress,” said Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. “We are also calling on our citizens to work at the local level to improve water quality by reducing pollution from their property and neighborhoods. Each of us reaps the benefits of this magnificent estuary, and each of us has a responsibility to contribute to its recovery.

Media Contact

  • Travis Loop, Director Of Communications, (410) 267-5758

Looking for photographs related to this story? See our Flickr photo gallery.

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Please turn on javascript in your browser to play chess.
Welcome to Chess At Work

Welcome to Chess At Work

Chess At Work Help

The first thing to know is that Chess At Work is first and foremost a correspondence chess site. This means that when you make a move in a game, it is unlikely that your opponent will reply to your move immediately. Typically, you will make a move and then wait minutes, hours, or, depending on your opponent, sometimes even days for your next move.

When your opponent does move, you will be notified by email, or, if you choose not to receive email notifications, you will see a list of games awaiting your move each time you visit Chess At Work

Isn't that a very slow way to play?

Whilst real-time chess is suited to fast, blitz games, Chess At Work allows you to make moves when you are ready; games don't have to be finished in one sitting. It is for players who would rather have several games running concurrently and dip in and out of the site throughout the day.

What happens if my opponent stops playing?

Occasionally this does happen. If this happens within three moves (remember moves are counted in pairs) you can simply delete the game. If this happens after three moves you will have the option to claim victory once the game's time limit has been reached (time-out limits are chosen by the user before the game and vary from 3 days up to 21 days ? some tournament games even have 1 day timeouts!

How do I start more games?

There are a number of ways to start games ? but the easiest way is to start an open invite. These are usually accepted quite quickly, so this is a good way to get a number of games started rapidly. Alternatively, you can also just click the name of any user on this site and challenge them directly.

Discovering Chess At Work

The best way to discover what RHP can offer you is to start up a game or three, visit the forums, and simply have a general snoop round. Just some of the features that are available include :

  • Being part of a large, vibrant chess-focused community.
  • Using arguably the best, most attractive and most functional interface for playing chess on the internet.
  • A chance to play against any level of ability you desire ? there are international class players, and then there are others at the opposite end of the spectrum who are just starting to learn the basics of the game, and many, many in between
  • Chess At Work records your rating as you win and lose games. A ladder shows your current ranking in relation to everyone else.
  • Send a message to your opponent along with your move, so you can chat as you play
  • Write strategy notes to yourself, review the entire game's history, and analyze the board as you play.
  • Have games emailed to you in PGN format
  • Participate in tournaments
  • Join a clan and be part of a team doing battle with other teams
  • Study any public game from any other player - games can be reviewed online, or the PGN can be exported for offline analysis.
And moreover, Chess At Work is always evolving - new features are added regularly as users request them.

Help Index

IntroductionFAQSubscriptionsLaddersTournamentsClansFlag indexMoves of the PiecesEn PassantPawn PromotionCastlingForum Guidelines

Add link to a message or forum post by using [help]faq[/help] as shown next to each question.


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Iroquois Hair Accessories

Click on the above picture for a larger view.

The Iroquois Hair Tie is made from a clam shell disc, goose feathers, glass beads, and has deerskin trim.

Order Code Description Price
R-93-30 Iroquois Goose Feather Hair Tie US$35.00

Genus and species (deerskin): Odocoileus virginianus. Wild.

Genus and species (clam shell): Hyriopsis schlegeli.  Wild.

White tail deer are not endangered and are not subject to CITES

USFWS export permit is required for all shipments outside the USA.

Native Assembled in Canada

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White Romwe Minimal Shirt

last updated on Mar 22, 2017

All about White Romwe Minimal Shirts

White Romwe Minimal Shirts first appeared on Chictopia's streetstyle gallery in Summer 2014 seen on KATOWICE blogger asymetria of iamsony.blogspot.com. She styled her white romwe minimal shirt with a carrot orange 6ks floral skirt. Since then, White Romwe Minimal Shirts have grown in popularity as bloggers from KATOWICE have discovered them. White Romwe Minimal Shirts are generally seen in romantic style. Popular types of White Romwe Shirts are leopard print, lace, chiffon, floral, and polka dot.

pankh gave romwe shirts a rating of 5 stars and said: "i love this crop shirt, it's so cool. i like the plaid pattern with white color. it's looks incredible."  See all 2 reviews for romwe shirts...

There is currently 1 streetstyle photo of bloggers wearing White Romwe Minimal Shirts.
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last updated on Mar 22, 2017
Try our new and improved search for "fur coat" with more options and helpful information like trends, reviews, and forum discussions!
Search for fur coat >>
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leopard print faux fur coat
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Venexiana Spring/Summer 2012

Updated on Sep 11, 2011

Comments (8)

jehanprouvaire on November 07
wow this is gorgeous!! i wish i had been here!! you are so luckY!! absolutely amazing romantic dresses!! love your article so much!! informed me on a lot of things!! faved!!
marijakatrina on October 24
this collection is beautiful
rach77 on September 12
awsome pics!
FairyColors on September 12
omg, gorgeous dresses and pictures!! :D amazing colors!! especialy love the first and 3rd!!<333 awesome collection!!! +1xx
headbandit on September 11
Whoa, Crystal, great pictures! Were you front row? Love these looks!
irisanddaniel on September 12
haha, totally thought this too! the pictures look amazing!
Freesiablog on September 11
Beautiful dresses, the fabrics are amazing!!!!!! great fashion week cover!!!!
toropiski on September 11
Definitely an interesting designer with an eye for both color and form while handling the material!!
purplewang on September 11
These photos are gorgeous Crystal! I can't believe how different this collection looks compared to Kati Stern's Fall/Winter 2011 one. So much more glamorous and classic! And I'm loving the dress in the main image.

crystaldots's posts

red flowy monique lhuillier dress

Monique Lhuillier Spring/Summer 2012

Dedicated to women with healthy lifestyles, Monique Lhuillier designed a collection that was full of life, fresh, and intricacies. For her Spring/Summer Collection, Monique Lhuillier wanted to inco...
green midi vintage skirt

Street Style 9/10: Vivienne Tam

We’re still in awe of Vivienne Tam’s Spring/Summer 2012 romantic yoga-inspired collection, but off the runway we were also mesmerized by some of street style looks. Just like how Vivienne Tam...
dark gray Topman blazer

The Cutest Guy Bloggers on Chictopia

While most of the time we highlight stunning looks by our Chictopian gals, don’t think we have forgotten about the guys. With their sharp and sleek looks, who can deny turning away from these...
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You can reach them by:

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We also have online tools that can help with frequent requests:

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If you have an immediate concern about a child's welfare, please contact your local council’s social care department, which is available 24 hours a day. You can find their contact details on the Gov.uk website or in the phonebook.

If your concern is urgent, please call the police in your area or 999.

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Visit the Commission us section of our website for information on our services.

We fight for change, supporting disadvantaged children to have better lives.


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Equal Opportunities for Education

Local governments should not lay down any discriminatory education regulation against migrant workers' children, says an article in China Youth Daily. An excerpt follows:

Recently, the Shenzhen municipal government announced a regulation that it would adopt a series of strict measures on the education of non-native children.

"Given the city's limited education resources, we can only provide chances for the children of those who have made outstanding contribution to our city," an official said. At a time when the country is committed to building a harmonious society and promoting social impartiality, his remarks strike a discordant note.

By saying this, the official has exposed his own misconceptions on some ideas.

The right to education is a basic privilege of all citizens. It is the basic duty of every local government to offer to every citizen an equal compulsory education opportunity, and it should not take citizens' contribution to the city as the standard to judge who has this right and who does not.

The Shenzhen municipal government is not meant to serve only the 1.16 million with hukou, or permanent residence status. And all the other 10 million people who have migrated to the city are also legal citizens who have made taxpaying contributions to it.

Thus it is unreasonable for them to be discriminated against in terms of enjoying public services.

According to the country's prevailing laws and regulations, the local governments are responsible for the education of migrant workers' children.

The country's reform of the hukou system is aimed at gradually bridging the urban-rural gap. However, the education move to be implemented by the city's education department shows its pursuit of the opposite direction.

Certainly, we fully understand the practical difficulties an ever-expanding Shenzhen faces in terms of education. To solve these, the central government and the local government should cooperate and coordinate actively and jointly to lighten the burden.

(China Daily November 29, 2005)

Left-behind Children Should Not Be Forgotten
New Proposal to Help Migrant Kids into School
Migrant Children Stay Bottom of Class
Education Hard for Migrant Workers' Children
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Chris Bliss

Hey! My name is Chris and I’m a Graphic Designer and Illustrator based in Nottingham, England.

I apply an energetic and enthusiastic approach to solving design problems and take great pride in ensuring my work is a contributing factor to the success of a project. I’m one of those annoying people that doesn’t view “designer” or “illustrator” as just their job title, rather “designer” and “illustrator” are who I am. That perhaps comes off as a little bit corny but that’s just how much I enjoy what I do! Sometimes it’s good to be a little bit corny, right?!

When I’m not scribbling down ideas in sketchbooks or talking through projects with my feline assistant (pictured below) I’m usually annoying my friends by taking photos of them whilst we’re checking out live music or at home, binge watching shows on Netflix.

To contact me regarding commissions/projects, you can E-Mail me, or use the form below.

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Winnipeg Police to Get $343K Armoured Vehicle

Winnipeg Police to Get $343K Armoured Vehicle

Winnipeg Police Armoured Vehicle
The Gurkha armoured vehicle from Terradyne Armoured Vehicles, soon to be in the possession of the Winnipeg Police Service. (WPS / HANDOUT)

The Winnipeg Police Service has gone vehicle shopping and picked themselves up a beefy tank-like ride.

The $343,000 Gurkha armoured vehicle comes from Ontario company Terradyne Armoured Vehicles, who won the city contract in October.

The vehicle is expected to arrive in the next two weeks and will be used to carry out high-risk search warrants. It will also be another tool to assist the tactical support team.

“Members of the special operations group, including the tactical support team (TST) and crisis negotiators are engaged in numerous high-risk incidents every year. Keeping the public and police members safe will be the primary objective of this new tool,” police said in a release.

“As seen in cities across Canada where police services have already invested in this type of vehicle, this acquisition will aid in an appropriate response to today’s ever evolving policing requests.”


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Tracy Morgan returns home from rehab one month after accident

Forty-five-year-old actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was released from the rehabilitation center where he has been recovering for the past month after suffering serious injuries in a truck accident that killed his friend and fellow comedian James McNair, ABC7 reported on July 12.

Morgan’s spokesman Lewis Kay noted that the actor will receive more medical and rehabilitation care at his home. Morgan’s lawyers filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey for negligent practices related to the truck driver they hired.

The accident occurred when 35-year-old Wal-Mart truck driver Kevin Roper ran into the limousine Morgan and several others rode in. Roper pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.

The San Antonio attorneys at the Chris Mayo Law Firm can help you hold negligent parties accountable if you have been injured by someone else’s actions. Call our offices at (210) 999-9999 today to discuss your legal options.

Don't Delay! Call Us Today For a Free Consultation

(210) 999-9999

Injured in an accident?

Click here to learn the 5 most important things to do after an accident.

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Russell Moore

Dean of Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

The Cult of Death and the Life of Christ

Last week the state assembly of California voted to allow legal assisted suicide. Lawmakers have sent a bill allowing terminally ill people to purchase and use life-ending drugs to governor Jerry Brown. This news come just weeks after an astonishing report from Europe detailed a huge expansion of assisted suicide in the Netherlands and Belgium, an expansion so vast that even mainstream media outlets have labeled it “sinister.”
The battle over expansive assisted suicide is not merely another skirmish in the “culture war.” Rather, it is an expression of one of the biggest religious alternatives to historic, orthodox Christianity in our world today. No, it’s not atheism or Islam. It’s the Grim Reaper. It’s Death itself.
The well crafted arguments in favor of ending life for the ill, paralyzed and now the depressed and bored depend on the idea that death is just a natural part of life. There’s nothing necessarily evil or broken about it. So if one cannot bear the burden of an immobile body, an unwanted child, or an unresponsive spouse, you can just ease the transition from consciousness to annihilation. That’s not just a political position. It is a religion.
Unfortunately, some have articulated this religion of death within the walls of the church. John Shelby Spong, the heretical retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, has argued that conservative Christian opposition to things like assisted suicide are rooted in a deficient theology of death. “Just as we have come to believe that St. Paul was wrong in his attitude toward women and homosexuality, we must now see that he was also wrong when he viewed death as an enemy, even the ‘last enemy’ that had to be destroyed,” Spong has written. “When Paul wrote those words, he was under the influence of the ancient biblical myth of creation.”
Spong is right about one thing—a Christian attitude toward death is shaped by a view of creation. When the apostle Paul spoke of death as an enemy, he did so because he recognized that every funeral wreath echoes an ancient curse: “In the day you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). When Jesus wept openly at the death of Lazarus, he did so because death is not natural at all. It represents the enemy occupation of the cosmos, as the god of this age holds captive an entire race through guilt, condemnation, and the ravages of death.
But American culture is increasingly schizophrenic about death. On the one hand, the culture treats death as just another medical treatment—embracing abortion, infanticide, suicide, and the euthanasia of the elderly and the sick. On the other hand, American culture is panicked by the thought of death. We idolize youth and beauty, injecting our wrinkles with Botox and sucking away our midlife pounds with liposuction. Americans act like ancient pagans, offering sacrifices to a capricious god in the hopes that he will leave them alone. But, deep in their consciences, Americans know this god will eventually come for them. They are afraid.
As we seek to advocate for the unborn and the disabled, we must remember that the root issue here is not ideological or political. It is far more ancient than that. The issue really isn’t about scientific disputes as to whether or not the fetus is biologically human, or what kind of brain wave activity constitutes life. We all know the answers to these questions. The real issue is what the Wisdom of God tells us—“All who hate me love death” (Prov. 8:36). That means abortion and euthanasia are not just liberal, and they are not just mean. They are part of an ongoing guerilla insurgency against the image of the Creator himself.
The cult of death means that Christians need to think through what it means to follow a resurrected Messiah. The Book of Hebrews points to the core of the gospel in the notion that the very Word of God took on our humanity so that “through the power of death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb 2:15-15). This means we need to stop trying to domesticate death. We need to learn to view it the way Jesus himself does—as an enemy to be destroyed.
We need to learn to hate death.
That will take a worldview shift for some of us. We sing songs about death as “one glad morning” and speak of a funeral as a happy “graduation day” for the believer. We know that Scripture says “to die is gain” but we forget that it also says that “to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). Our hope is not in death itself, but in the pioneer who has passed through the jaws of death—and will raise us with him never again to die.
I remember a cartoon in the New Yorker magazine that depicted the Grim Reaper at home after a long day’s work, locking a series of security locks on his front door. The humor was that death itself might have something to fear. That’s not just a joke. It is the creed of the new paganism. As Christians we need to remind ourselves—and the watching world—that death claimed the cold corpse of an executed Jewish rabbi a couple of thousand years ago. We need to remind those who align themselves with the god of death that this dead rabbi’s heart started beating again one Sunday morning. When his blood-matted eyes opened in the darkness of that tomb, death was swallowed up in victory. He is at the door. And there aren’t enough deadbolts in the cosmos to keep him back.
Unlike the rest of the culture, believers don’t cower in the face of death—and we don’t take it lightly either. We take refuge in the One who called Himself “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:24). We don’t whistle past the graveyard of our impending mortality. We look the Grim Reaper square in the eyes and—maybe with a lump in our throat—we ask him a question he first heard on a Sunday morning in a garden in Palestine: “And where now is your sting?”
Publication date: September 17, 2015

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WOW - The Big Picture 5/23

May 23

Called to the Courtroom
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
"I have nourished and brought up children,
And they have rebelled against Me;
The ox knows its owner
And the donkey its master's crib;
But Israel does not know,
My people do not consider."
Alas, sinful nation,
A people laden with iniquity,
A brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the LORD,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.
Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.
Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard,
As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
As a besieged city.
Unless the LORD of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.
Hear the word of the LORD,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah:
"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.
"When you come to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
Bring no more futile sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
Your New Moons and your appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of blood.
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
"Come now, and let us reason together,"
Says the LORD,
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword";
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
How the faithful city has become a harlot!
It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it,
But now murderers.
Your silver has become dross,
Your wine mixed with water.
Your princes are rebellious,
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
Therefore the Lord says,
The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,
"Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries,
And take vengeance on My enemies.
I will turn My hand against you,
And thoroughly purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city." Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her penitents with righteousness.
The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees
Which you have desired;
And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
Which you have chosen.
For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall quench them.
Isaiah 1
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
Psalm 62:5-7
In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,
But the lips of the wise will preserve them.
Proverbs 14:3

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Wicca Experts Encourage Christians to Engage America's 'Fastest-Growing' Religion

While many Christians today are closely monitoring the growth and activity of Islam, especially after 9/11, another religious movement has been steadily growing "under the radar" and could become among the largest religions in the United States in less than five years.

"Wicca is the fastest-growing religion in America, set to be the third largest religion by 2012," claims Marla Alupoaicei, who co-wrote the recently released book "Generation Hex" with fellow Christian author Dillon Burroughs.

"The numbers of adherents are doubling every 30 months," she says.

Furthermore, every major city in the United States has networks of Wiccans, adds Burroughs.

"Certain parts of the country, such as the Pacific Northwest, the mountain states (New Mexico and Colorado) and areas near Salem, Mass., are the strongest in the U.S.," he says. "However, I live in Tennessee and have found pockets of Wiccans in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia to interview. I didn't have to travel far or even outside of the so-called Bible belt to find Wiccans."

On Wednesday, Alupoaicei and Burroughs were the special guests at Abunga.com's weekly "Authors at Abunga" chat, which connects avid book readers with their favorite authors.

During the hour-long chat, the authors fielded questions submitted to them regarding their new book, Generation Hex, which informs and equips Christians – especially parents – about Wiccan and New Age teachings.

To write the book, the authors interviewed neopagan conference practitioners, travelers to Salem, Mass., and current and former Wicca followers.

"We … talked to over 20 Wiccans in the process of Generation Hex to be as authentic as possible about the movement," Burroughs noted during the chat.

"The catchy title, Generation Hex, reveals that this current generation is the first to grow up with witchcraft as an accepted part of the culture," added Alupoaicei, who was inspired to write a book about Wicca after not feeling equipped to engage in a spiritual conversation with a Wiccan girl she encountered.

While "Harry Potter" and other media like "Charmed," "Buffy," "Sabrina," and "The Craft" have skyrocketed witchcraft into the public eye, the authors both agreed that among the biggest draws to the Wiccan culture is how community-oriented it is.

"Many involved in Wicca come from lonely backgrounds or difficult relationships and find new friends in the Wiccan community who embrace them (sometimes better than Christians do)," explained Burroughs, who served as a youth pastor for about a decade and said he was asked by students about Wicca and witchcraft more than any other religious movement.

"As our culture becomes more and more isolated and busy (and as real relationships are replaced by texting, IM, etc.), young people are starving for real relationships and true community, as well as for a powerful experience of faith," Alupoaicei added.

"People want a supernatural experience," she said.

And while the Christian life is an abundant, supernatural life in which the power of God can be experienced, Alupoaicei said Christians are not communicating that very well to the world.

Furthermore ignorance and misunderstanding within the Christian community has prevented people from drawing near to Christ and leaves them looking for something else.

"And, ironically, a desire to uphold Scripture," Alupoaicei added. "The Bible does say that Christians should not be involved in witchcraft, but that doesn't mean that we should not reach out to those involved in this practice.

"God loves every Wiccan and every pagan just as much as He loves every Christian. He does not want ANYONE to perish, but ALL to come to repentance," she added, referring to 2 Peter 3:9.

She recalled how one person that she interviewed said she was thrown to a sidewalk as a teen and told she would burn in hell.

"This is inexcusable," she said.

"Second, many Christians simply avoid Wiccans," Alupoaicei continued. "People tend to avoid stuff they don't understand."

The authors urged for more engagement from the Christian community, and more long-term engagement at that.

Burroughs said the number one complaint they received from Wiccans about Christians was that they would befriend them but later desert them if they did not convert in a short period time.

"To change this perspective, we must decide to love Wiccans whether they ever become Christians or not," Burroughs stated. "Only this long-term approach will work with many Wiccans."

Alupoaicei also advised Christians to simply take the time to listen to Wiccans instead of starting out using terms that might alienate the person or keep him or her from sharing his or her story.

"Many Wiccans/pagans had a specific triggering experience that caused them to turn toward Wicca or paganism. You could ask, 'What led you to embrace Wicca? What do you like about it?' and use that as a steppingstone to talk about your own faith.

"Most people love to talk about themselves," she added. "Why not ask them to share a bit about themselves with you?"

As for parents who think that their child may be getting involved with witchcraft, Burroughs also encourages them to first hear their child's story.

"They may be exploring their spirituality and see Wicca as a real option," he said. "If you listen first, then they are more likely to listen to your concerns as well."

Burroughs further encouraged parents to build a Christian worldview into their kids from the earliest time possible.

"I can't catch every idea my son or daughter will hear, but I can help them know God's Word so they can spot ideas that are not consistent with it," he explained.

Other topics discussed during the one-hour chat on Wednesday included Wicca's foundational creed and belief, the practicing of chants and spells, and the Wiccan belief in reincarnation and The Summerland – the Wiccan equivalent of heaven.

Published as media reports have claimed the existence of more than 700,000 Internet sites for teenage witches, "Generation Hex" has been described by its promoters as "perfect for personal study or as a gift for anyone interested or involved in Wicca" and a book that "identifies with the spiritual hunger of a generation seeking truth, authenticity, and hope in a fragmented world."

Burroughs says part of the goal with Generation Hex is awareness.

"People tend to avoid stuff they don't understand," he said during the chat. "If you know what Wicca is, maybe you won't be so scared to strike up a conversation with someone wearing a pentacle or pentagram."

Generation Hex was published early last month by Harvest House Publishers and includes a foreword written by Dr. Ron Rhodes, one of the world's best-renowned scholars in the field of apologetics as well as the author of over 40 books, many of them bestsellers.