When we look into the accounts of many different mythologies and religions, it becomes clear that the gods are either immortal or live a life of many thousands of years. What is rarely mentioned is the fact that in ancient religious texts there is reference to their immortality or longevity being connected to a specific kind of food that only the gods are allowed to eat. The gods were required to eat this food regularly to maintain immortality, power and strength. Many references also refer to the fact that if mortals ate this food, they would also become immortal like the gods. So let us explore the mythology surrounding this Elixir of Life

One of the main references to the food of the immortals can be found in Greek mythology. It is written in the stories of the Greek gods that ambrosia and nectar was the food and drink of the immortal gods and this first appears in the Greek mythology relating to the birth of Zeus. Before the invention or discovery of ambrosia and nectar by the gods, it was written that they would feed by sniffing the vapours of their dead enemies, as if they would feed from the energy of the dead souls.

Ambrosia was said to come from the horn of a magical goat named Amalthea, the foster-mother of Zeus. The horns of Amalthea provided a limitless supply of ambrosia but were also capable of producing any kind of food for any kind of living being. White holy doves would carry the ambrosia and a large eagle with shiny wings would fly at an extraordinary speed through the sky where he would get the nectar and then bring it down to the baby Zeus.

When demigod Achilles was born, his mother would pour ambrosia over Achilles and he would become immortal, but because she held him around his heel that was the only part that remained mortal. This allowed Achilles to be killed later on by Paris.

It was said that ambrosia was used by the gods to cure diseases, fix scars, and make the body beautiful again. If dead people would be treated with ambrosia, their bodies would remain in perfect condition forever. In other references, we can see that ambrosia was abundant in the gardens of Hesperides. Hesperides were nymphs who tend to a blissful garden in the far western corner of the world, a place where ambrosia was brought to the God Zeus.

But the immortal food also appears in the Bible where we can see similarity between the gardens of Hesperides and the gardens of Eden, where according to the Old Testament, man was forbidden to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life:

And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Genesis 2:9

When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge, it appears that God alerted other Gods to be on alert because man should not eat also from the Tree of Life and become immortal like them.

Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever, Genesis 3:22

Moving on to Zoroastrian and Vedic mythologies, we can see reference to a special drink consumed by the gods, known as Soma and Haoma respectively. This special drink was prepared by extracting the juices from the stalks of certain plants, which are unknown to us today. Drinking Soma and Haoma would give immortality. Idra, the leader of the Devas, and the God Agni, are mentioned in the Rig Veda to have been drinking large quantities of the immortal drink.

We have drunk Soma and become immortal; we have attained the light, the Gods discovered, Rig Veda 8.48.3

If we now move to Egyptian mythology and the legends of Thoth and Hermes Trismegistus, we will see that there are references to both of them drinking white drops, also referred to as liquid gold, which provided them with immortality. References about this can be found in the Quran (Sura 18; the Khidr) and in one of the Nag Hammadi texts.

In Sumerian texts, we have references to the Ninhursags milk, one of the seven great deities of Sumer, the goddess of fertility that is associated with a cow (similar to the magic goat Amalthea of the Greek mythology). The gods and the kings of ancient Sumer would drink from this milk to become strong and immortal. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, we also have reference to a thorny plant at the bottom of the ocean that would make someone immortal and this was kept as a secret of the gods.

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Immortality, the Elixir of Life and the Food of the Gods ...

If at any point in the past six months you have heard the lone strum of a distant Spanish guitar, the proceeding three minutes and 42 seconds were more than likely spent under the spell of Despacito. Its the all-conquering, duo-lingual, mid-tempo pop behemoth that has been blaring from car stereos, shop sound systems, barbecue bluetooth speakers and, despite lyrics that dwell on the slow-and-steady road to screaming orgasm, end-of-term school discos.

Its title may translate as slowly, but theres been nothing sluggish about the success of Luis Fonsis omnipresent global smash. Released to limited fanfare in January, by July the mesmerising collaboration with Puerto Rican reggaeton star Daddy Yankee was the most streamed song to date; it has now been streamed more than 4.6 billion times. If youre tempted to credit that to the remix featuring Justin Bieber, think again: this month the Bieberless version became the first video in YouTubes decade-plus history to achieve three billion views.

Crossing the line from exquisitely structured pop single to all-out cultural phenomenon, Despacito is also the first non-English No 1 in the United States in more than two decades; in Britain, it has become the longest-running foreign-language No 1 in history.

The man at the eye of its storm has seen international success come via a circuitous route. The 39-year-old, Puerto Rico-born singer has already released eight albums in a career that has spanned 19 years, during which he has performed for one pope and two US presidents, supported Britney Spears on tour and gone platinum six times. We meet backstage at a modest open-air concert two hours west of Barcelona, and Fonsis amiable disposition is encapsulated by an entourage of just a few people, and in the way he (unlike 99 per cent of his pop star peers) removes his sunglasses for an interview.

An endearingly straightforward chap who seems genuinely humbled by his second flush of fame, Fonsi begins by attempting to explain the Despacito phenomenon. If the song is good enough, it will work in any language, he says, and lists the varied genres traversed by the song urban, salsa, reggaeton, pop, tropical, dancehall before conceding defeat and acknowledging that while the song is all those things, its somehow greater than the sum of its parts. It just makes it hard not to move, he eventually says. Whether you like to dance or not, you somehow just start ... moving.

Its been nearly two decades since Fonsi first found fame, but now that the popularity of Despacito has propelled him to No 1 in 45 countries, hes relishing this opportunity to prove himself again to new audiences. You have to say, How do I win these people over? he says, motioning towards the stage. How do I make sure this first concert here tonight isnt my last concert here? One solution is to perform Despacito twice he plans to drop it in the middle of the set, then again as a reprise. But it makes it exciting, to see that initial reaction again, he grins. To see people thinking, Hmm, what is this guy all about?

Despacito is the most-played track in the world but Malaysians wont be singing along

So, what is Fonsi, real name Luis Alfonso Rodrguez Lpez-Cepero, all about? You can tell a lot about a man from the watch he wears, he says, when asked about his chunky gold timepiece, before admitting that it was a gift from the manufacturer, so, er, theres that. His attire sleeveless grey hoodie, loose-fitting jeans and a pair of old-school trainers conjures the image of off-duty gym instructor, but his left arm tells a more detailed story: one elaborate tattoo blends a vinyl record with a guitar and the names of his two young children, plus theres a date (December 20, the day both those kids were born, five years apart). Theres also a postmark, representing the journey he made when he was 10 and his family moved from Puerto Rico to Orlando, Florida.

My dad worked in marketing for my grandfathers company, Fonsi begins. One day, he said, Lets move. I had to leave my friends, my school, my cousins behind. Looking back, I realise how hard it was. I felt like I was the only Latino around. That first year was just depressing people were making fun of my accent and the way I dressed. At lunch Id sit at the corner table with the two other Latino kids with thick accents. In Puerto Rico, Id sung a lot; I didnt want to sing any more.

Fonsi began to adapt and fit in; the schools choir director pulled him out of an English class in ninth grade and offered him a place in the mens ensemble. Fonsi and the choirs three other section leads formed their own group: the Big Guys.

Gangnam Style no longer YouTubes most played video, five years on from its release

That sounds like the worst boy band ever, right? says Fonsi, laughing. Wed take all the music we learnt in choir and make a cool R&B version.

The Big Guys performed around Orlando before going their separate ways when school ended. Fonsi got into Florida State University on a music scholarship, recorded demos and landed a record deal.

Releasing eight albums between 1998 and 2014, Fonsi became a big name in the Latin world, but his romantic, Spanish-language balladeering offered little chance of crossover success. Then his first wife, the actress Adamari Lpez, was diagnosed with cancer, leading Fonsi to cancel a tour. She was given the all-clear in 2006, but the couple split in 2010. In 2011, he had his first child with Spanish model gueda Lpez and the couple married in 2014. Meanwhile another of the Big Guys, Joey Fatone, had found different bandmates and achieved some success well, 70 million album sales as one-fifth of NSYNC.

Despacito might now put Fonsi on track to become the biggest Big Guy of the lot, but it almost didnt happen, at least not in the way we know it today. The song started life in 2015, when Fonsi woke one morning with the word despacito and the chorus melody in his head. Having expanded the song to capture the feeling of being in a club and making eye contact with a beautiful woman, he finessed it with his co-writer, Erika Ender, and then wondered if it might benefit from a rather perkier production, so he got on the phone to Daddy Yankee.

When their version stormed to No 1 on Billboards Latin charts, thoughts turned to further crossover potential.

Before Justin [Bieber], wed been talking about doing a collaboration with an American artist, says Fonsi. We were leaning towards a more hip-hop artist, but I didnt know how to get in touch with Jay-Z, or Drake. Justin wasnt even on the list.

Fate intervened: Bieber was touring in Colombia, went clubbing one night and saw a club explode to Despacito. Fonsi was in Paris at the time it was 2am when his label phoned him with the words, Weve had a call from Biebers people.

Two days later I get the first cut in my email, Fonsi adds. I expected to hear a full English version of the song. All of a sudden Im hearing Justin Bieber singing in Spanish. I thought, This is huge!

It may not sound like a protest song, but Despacitos multicultural success could be seen as the sound of a younger generation expressing defiance through pop at least Fonsi would like to think so. I dont want to get too political, says pops new Mr Reasonable, but when people want to build walls and separate instead of unite, its such perfect timing. Our president is so critical of speaking other languages in the US, and for the last 12 weeks the song thats been No 1 in the US is in Spanish.

Fonsi is less hesitant about getting political when it comes to the increasingly authoritarian Venezuelan president, Nicols Maduro. Despacito has been endlessly covered, parodied and memed, but while Fonsi doesnt mind the track taking on its own life (the song is no longer mine when a song reaches this level it becomes everyones), he drew a line when Maduro used it at a rally; the singer hit back on Twitter.

Despacito singers condemn Venezuelan presidents propaganda remix of hit Latin pop song

The one negative case out of 1,000 positives has been the Venezuelan dictator, and I think we can officially call him a dictator, he says. Im passionate about how I feel about this dictator, how much the country has gone to sh... He catches himself, having briefly lost his composure. I cant say it. I dont want him to have anything to do with me, or my music, or my song.

Due to Despacitos success, Fonsi has had the chance to hang out with Bieber on a few occasions; he glosses over a question about how Bieber compares to Pope John Paul II (for whom Fonsi performed in 2000) and says that when they have met, they have mainly talked about music.

Its tough for him to be out in public, says Fonsi. He has a lot of restrictions as to where he can and cant go. Hes a nice guy and hes a smart guy hes making very good musical decisions and hes learnt from his mistakes.

Then there are the racy lyrics of Despacito, many of which have gone under the radar in English-speaking countries. Has Fonsi ever used the line, Let me trespass your danger zones until I make you scream and forget your name in real life? No! No, no, no, he insists. The thing is, when you translate the song it sounds corny or sexual. But its not! Its not a sexual song. There is a line that I did not cross. Its sensual. Its extremely sensual.

Why Justin Bieber is banned from performing in China

Are you, Luis Fonsi, an extremely sensual person? Im very romantic, he says. When its suggested that we get his wife on the phone to clarify, he adds, Shell agree. Im very passionate. Latinos are passionate in general.

What happens next? Fonsi already has his next single lined up its guest vocalist was confirmed just days ago. My mom doesnt even know who Im singing it with, he says before theres even a chance to ask for the guests identity. Its going to be special. Special enough to out-do the most streamed song of all time? Fonsi laughs. Despacito will always be Despacito. Itll go down in history as one of the most important songs in Latin music. I did something extremely special, I cant expect to do that twice. Thats not even pessimistic, thats just being a realist.

So if hes not going to break his own record, will he feel sad when someone else does? This career isnt just about records: its about making music thatll stay alive for ever. I was part of history, but records are made to be broken.

He pauses briefly, before adding, I hope it doesnt happen tomorrow. I hope I can enjoy this for a little bit.

The Times/Interview People

Read more:
Despacito writer Luis Fonsi's 19-year journey to musical immortality - South China Morning Post

The developers behind Crusader Kings 3 are back for another monthly deep dive into their work on the grand strategy game, and this video is about the lifestyles system that will help players develop deep, emergent stories in their alternate histories. Among them is the chance to get busy with His Holiness.

Players will be able to choose from five lifestyles for their rulers, and those lifestyles have three perk trees and three foci, which carry bonuses supporting a wide variety of lifestyles. Paradox Interactive went over these in an even more detailed series of blog posts over the past month, too.

Broadly speaking, that means theres a Learning lifestyle, and players may choose a focus in Medicine, Scholarship, or Theology. The other lifestyles are Stewardship (basically, how you run your dominion); Diplomacy (how you run someone elses) and Martial (how you throw down).

Yeah, yeah, boooooo-ring. Id rather learn more about the INTRIGUE LIFESTYLE, where players may specialize in Skulduggery, Temptation, and Intimidation/Torture, categories that should be self-explanatory. Temptation is what I came here to talk about, because the seduction scheme is coming back from Crusader Kings 2 in a big way. This time, not only are your lovers less likely to kill you, theyre more likely to take a knife that would kill you, so dont get too attached to anyone.

Somewhat hilariously, it looks like all NPCs are on the table when it comes to seduction targets. That includes the pope! In a Discord conversation earlier this week, developers said even the pope may be seduced and theres a special event for it. For more on how events work, Paradox published this dev diary back in January.

Players who have better ideas for Crusader Kings 3s lifestyles of the rich and ruthless will appreciate that the perk trees are all fully moddable. That includes granting immortality, instead of leaving things to your heirs to either clean up or make worse.

Crusader Kings 3 is coming sometime this year. Paradox Interactive hasnt said exactly when, but when the game does launch, itll be on Windows PC via both Steam and Xbox Game Pass for PC.

View post:
Crusader Kings 3 will let players seduce the pope - Polygon

The ways to protect yourself from contracting the coronavirus are simple and boring: wash your hands, avoid contact with people who might be sick ... you know the drill. Some advocates of particular diets are saying you also need to eat a certain way, or take supplements, to which our best knowledge is: no.

Heres a carnivore arguing that the vitamins in meat are essential for the immune system. Heres an entrepreneur with #KETO in their twitter bio making a somewhat convoluted argument about metabolic syndrome and mortality rates. Somehow, people who were already promoting a certain dietwhichever diet that may have beenhave concluded that their favorite diet gives special protection against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, actual doctors and scientists are making no such claims. Let me refer you once again to the World Health Organizations instructions on protecting yourself, which include washing your hands and staying away from sick people. Not eating a specific diet.

They do mention, in a document on managing stress, maintaining proper diet, sleep, exercise, and social contacts. That matches the other general advice that youve probably seen for protecting yourself against colds and seasonal flu every year. Take care of yourself, physically and mentally, because it sure cant hurt.

This Harvard Health article goes into a bit more depth, if youd like extra reassurance. It mainly ends up debunking the whole idea of boosting your immune system with diet, because you cant. Eat diet high in fruits and vegetables, they say, and consider a multivitamin if youre still worried about it. Heres their summary of the state of research:

Scientists have long recognized that people who live in poverty and are malnourished are more vulnerable to infectious diseases. Whether the increased rate of disease is caused by malnutritions effect on the immune system, however, is not certain. There are still relatively few studies of the effects of nutrition on the immune system of humans, and even fewer studies that tie the effects of nutrition directly to the development (versus the treatment) of diseases.

Bottom line, if you eat a particularly bad dietlike if youre under-eating or if you are routinely missing out on vitaminsits possible that could slightly weaken your immune system. This doesnt mean you need to eat keto or anything else. It only means that if youve been getting by on a few cups of ramen a day, you should probably branch out and make sure youre eating like a normal human being.

Read the rest here:
No, the Keto Diet Won't Give You Special Protection From COVID-19 - Lifehacker Australia

The boiler in the attic was wheezing, rumbling and grumbling, reminding me of a gentleman of the road who used to shuffle into the public library to read the papers - and enjoy a cigarette with his tea, brewed by the staff to the brown of an old penny.

His paper of choice was the Daily Worker. I wondered then if he saw some irony in the title, as he sat there in greatcoat, his fragrance an acquired taste. Sometimes. Id offer him a Fishermans Friend lozenge in the vain hope it would clear the phlegm in his chest.

But back to our bothersome boiler. The waters running cold, shrilled my wife as her lead foot descended into the baths scented bubbles.

Were in the midst of a global pandemic, I snapped.. There are rumours of Russian ships in our territorial waters. Stock markets are nose-diving. We should prioritise our worries.

For example, Ive lost my glasses. Do you know where I put them?

Indeed, Im always losing things these days, as has become more obvious during this period of self-isolation, when your pensioner has been less able to perambulate in our crusty old pie of a town.

But Im thinking of things long lost, rather than merely mislaid. And maybe this is the time for finding them. On a rummage though our book shelves I came across Billy Wrights 1960 Book of Soccer. I had not dipped into it for half a century or more.

Inside were lengthy articles, reflecting huge changes in our society, Burnley were the First Division champions. Local players, past and present, were featured, including Evertons Birkenhead-born Bill Dixie Dean, described as having been broad of shoulder, quick off the mark and a born opportunist, whose speciality was an ability to direct a football in almost any direction with a neat flick of his curly head.

There were photos of Liverpools Billy Liddell and Evertons Dave Hickson. Of course, Dean and Hickson both played for Tranmere Rovers at different stages of their careers.

Like old magazines and newspapers, even the Kremlin-backed Daily Worker, such books offer lessons in popular history. Articles carried the by-lines of writers whod otherwise be forgotten. They gave us a picture of their times.

Now Im adjusting the flow of the bath tap until its hot, while wondering where I put my Billy the Kid, Dandy and Eagle annuals. It would be good to see them again.

Life is strange.

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David Charters: Grumbling oil boiler offers thoughts of immortality - Liverpool Echo

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Welcome to the Salary Cap Inferno, the bad place where teams are punished for their financial sins of the past.

NFL free agency is fast approaching, and while some teams are getting ready for a spending spree, others find themselves in financial H-E Double Hockey Sticks. Instead of bidding on big names and hoping to get better, they'll be forced to let their own free agents go, release or restructure the contracts of some of their starters and hope the austerity program doesn't make them significantly worse.

There's more to the Cap Inferno than just being low on cap space. Teams that have lots of budding superstars under contract, are a heartbeat away from the Super Bowl or know they are preparing for a full-scale rebuild don't qualify. The rings of the Cap Inferno are reserved for teams guilty of overspending, bad planning, wishful thinking or living the high life for too long, plus some minor venialsins like inking a few too many regrettable contracts.

So abandon all hope, ye who enter here: It's time for a truly hellish journey through the realm of salary-cap nightmares.

First Ring of the Cap Inferno: New England Patriots (Cap space: $41.7 million)

Mortal sin:Striving for immortality

If you remember reading (or skimming, or staying awake while the teacher explained) Dante's Inferno, you know that thefirst ring wasn't all that bad.It was like an extended-stay airport hotel for nice folks who didn't follow Dante's preferred religion, with no demons or pitchforks or such. Well, the first ring of the Cap Inferno isn't so bad, either. The Patriots get to polish their Lombardi Trophies while pondering the consequences of trying to make their dynasty last forever.

A huge chunk of that $41.7 million in paper cap spacelet's estimate about $30 millionis probably earmarked for Tom Brady. The rest must be distributed among starters and contributors like safety Devin McCourty, guard Joe Thuney, defenders Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy and a host of others. The Patriots must also try to find a way to significantly upgrade their wide receiver and tight end corps, because Brady now needs a supporting cast to elevate his play instead of the other way around.

Of course, the Patriots could let Brady walk and start over, which would solve their cap problem by replacing it with several much larger problems.

Penance

The Patriots are sentenced to discover what every other team has gone through in the offseason for 20 years. They'll have to draft for immediate needs instead of looking three years down the road. They may be forced to part with players they want to keep. They won't be hailed as geniuses for signing 33-year-old slot receivers or defensive cast-offs.

Maybe they can figure it all out and remain in the playoff picture. But it's been a long time since the Patriots have been forced to figure out ways to merely remain in the playoff picture.

Second Ring of the Cap Inferno: Los Angeles Rams (Cap space: $14.7 million)

Mortal sin:Building a tiny Super Bowl window

The Rams assembled their roster and their budget around winning in 2018 or 2019, and they almost pulled it off. But they now must pay the price. Their ledger is top-heavy with massive cap numbers, a few of which are worth the money (Aaron Donald at $25 million), many of which are not (Jared Goff at $36 million), and at least one of which needs to be renegotiated pronto (Jalen Ramsey at $13.7 million in the final year of his rookie contract).

The Rams also traded away their first-round picks until 2022 for Ramsey, leaving them with neither an easy way to get better nor an exit strategy for moving on from pricey veterans.

Venial sin:Seduced by rushing stats.

The Rams arereportedly working on waysto extract themselves from the clutches of the extension they gave Todd Gurley II in 2018, which runs through 2023 and will cost $17.25 million in cap space this season for near-replacement-level running back performance.

Penance

The Rams are sentenced to tread water at the wild-card level for the foreseeable future. They may be forced to spend a chunk of their little available cap space this offseason retaining 38-year-old left tackle Andrew Whitworth so the whole offensive line doesn't crumble, taking Goff and Gurley with it. Deals like that will only result in the roster getting older and more expensive before it gets better. But the Rams have so much invested in Goff and others and so little draft capital that they couldn't rebuild even if they wanted to.

Third Ring of the Cap Inferno: Minnesota Vikings (Cap space: Minus-$11.2 million)

Mortal sin:Trying to go 10-6 for all eternity

The Vikings started building their current playoff nucleus circa 2015 and have done everything to keep it together for as long as possible. That's an admirable goal, but recent deals with veterans like tight end Kyle Rudolph (he'll cost $8.8 million in cap space this year thanks to last summer's extension) and linebacker Anthony Barr ($12.7 million in cap space afterlast year's dalliance with the Jets) are starting to yield diminishing returns, with the Vikings paying premium prices for good-not-great performances by players near the ends of their peaks at too many positions.

Venial sin:Overpaying an ordinary quarterback

Yes, Kirk Cousins (who will eat $31 million in cap space this season) played at an All-Pro level for much of last season. And yes, that was as good as he will ever get, and he still played poorly when the Vikings lost to a similarly constructed 49ers team in the postseason.

Overpaying for a Cousins-type is the NFL's original sin: the sin of pride. General managers and coaches think they can turn sturdy quarterbacks into champions, and they end up with sturdy results instead of championships.

Penance

The Vikings are sentenced to more years of Cousins. The best way for them to get out of cap debt and create a bit of breathing room will be to extend Cousins' contract so they can prorate money into future years. In the meantime, they will almost surely lose safety Anthony Harris, one of the NFL's best young defenders. The Vikings worked hard in the past to keep players like Harris, but the money they would like to use to pay him is now going to older guys like Rudolph and Barr.

In other words, the Vikings are destined for more seasons of paying big bucks for wild-card berths. It's a road they paved with the best of intentions.

Fourth Ring of the Cap Inferno: Chicago Bears (Cap space: $5.5 million)

Mortal sin:Trying to "win now" when the team was not ready to win

Khalil Mack will cost the Bears $26.6 million in cap space this season thanks to prorated bonuses from the extension he signed when the Bears traded for him in 2018. Mack is a great player, but that's a franchise-quarterback-sized cap hit, and the Bears are a team without a franchise quarterback.

Venial sin:Overspending and overcompensating on offense

Trey Burton, Taylor Gabriel and Cordarelle Patterson are set to eat up $20.3 million in combined 2020 cap space to be a versatile-but-unspectacular tight end, your average speedy slot guy and a gadget-play specialist/kickoff returner, respectively. That's a lot of money invested in trying to cosplay the Chiefs offense. The Bears are also paying their offensive line a ton of money for some very humdrum results.

The Bears could do some cap-cutting here, but that would just leave Mitchell Trubisky with fewer weapons and weaker protection, and the Bears offense is barely functional with what he has now.

Penance

The Bears will slowly drown, dragged down into the murky depths by Trubisky's performance, Mack's cap number and the front office's refusal to admit that either are a problem. Before they finally disappear beneath the waves, look for them to part ways with expensive-but-useful veterans in the secondary like safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (a free agent) and cornerback Prince Amukamara (a likely cap casualty) as well as offensive luxuries like Patterson, like a sinking ship throwing food and provisions overboard.

Fifth Ring of the Cap Inferno: Jacksonville Jaguars (Cap space: Minus-$3.4 million)

Mortal sin:Utter mismanagement

So, your humble author was reacquainting himself with the Jaguars roster and cap situation when I came across the fact that someone named Jake Ryan has a cap figure of $6.2 million for 2020. My first thought was "Who on earth is Jake Ryan?" I don't pretend to know every 53-man roster in the league by heart the way Sean McVay does, but if a player is slated to earn $6.2 million, I usually know, like, what position he plays, where he went to college or what he did to receive a contract of that size.

Well, Ryan is a special teams gunner whom the Jaguars signed away from the Packers after he missed the 2018 season with an ACL tear. The deal included a $5.5 million option in the second year. That's right: The Jaguars were adding $5.5 million options to the contracts ofspecial teamers coming off ACL tears, and they were doing so after finishing 5-11 in 2018.

What were the Jaguars thinking? Also, what were they thinking when they signed aging defensive lineman Marcell Dareus to a contract with a $22.5 million option in 2020? Or slot cornerback D.J. Hayden to a deal that will cost them nearly $8 million in cap space this year?

If a team was trying to waste money on purpose,Brewster's Millions-style, it probably could not do a better job than the Jaguars. And we still have not gotten to the most notorious example yet.

Venial sin:Overpaying an ordinary quarterback

The Jaguars responded to their brief blip of 2017 success by spending $88 million on Nick Foles in 2019. What happened to 2018? Who knows? Time works differently in Jacksonville. Anyway, Foles will earn $21.8 million to back up Gardner Minshew II in 2020, and he would be more expensive to cut than to keepdue to the bonuses in his contract.

Signing Foles for $88 million makes what the Vikings did with Kirk Cousins look like investing in Microsoft stock in 1977.

Penance

The Jaguars can clear a lot of cap space in a hurry by cutting loose Dareus, Ryan and others and then doing their best to rebuild around Minshew. There are only a few problems: a) Minshew was fun to watch at times last year, but he ain't exactly Patrick Mahomes; b) there will be very little talent left to help Minshew develop if they stage a salary purge; and c) the same decision-makers who got the Jaguars into this predicament will be the ones in charge of the rebuild if it even happens.

In other words, the Jaguars are permanently sentenced to remain the Jaguars and wander in the wilderness without hope.

All cap figures courtesy ofOverTheCap.com.

Mike Tanier covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter:@MikeTanier.

More here:
Rams, Bears, Jaguars and Other NFL Teams That Find Themselves in Salary-Cap Hell - Bleacher Report

The highly anticipated film, The Legend Of Maula Jatt, directed by Bilal Lashari and executive produced by Ammara Hikmat, is coming out on Eid ul Fitr 2020. With an ensemble cast including Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Humaima Malick, Ali Azmat, Faris Shafi and Gohar Rasheed, the film is a contemporary take on the Punjabi cult classic, co-written by Bilal and Nasir Adeeb, writer of the original Maula Jatt film.

In a recent press statement, Bilal warned that the film is not for the faint-hearted and children. Parents might not find the film suitable for their kids because of the graphic nature of few scenes so I would strictly advise against bringing children to cinema. Such outright violence is not for the faint hearted and little ones.

The Legend of Maula Jatt features hardcore action sequences that one hasnt seen in any Pakistani movie before; Bilal has spent years finalizing the product before announcing its release.

The film transcends cultural and linguistic divide, the director furthered, adding, A Sindhi will enjoy it as much as any Punjabi. The content will be very palatable to the new generation that in times to come will extend the immortality of the fictional characters, Maula and Noori.

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The Legend of Maula Jatt is not for the faint-hearted; warns Bilal Lashari - The News International

After four seasons of misadventures, the characters on The Good Place finally made it to the titular paradise only to find it in as much disarray as the rest of the afterlife. Created by Michael Schur, The Good Place debuted on NBC back in 2016. The comedy series followed Eleanor Shellstrop (played by Kristen Bell) from shortly after her death. Realizing that she'd been seemingly placed in Heaven rather than Hell by mistake, Eleanor strove to become a person worthy of her new utopian home. As notable for its steady stream of twists and ever-shifting settings as its jokes, the show has garnered a massive amount of acclaim and awards recognition.

With The Good Place season 4 confirmed to be the show's last, the self-proclaimed Team Cockroach sought to save all of humanity. Having realized that the afterlife's points system was irrevocably broken, it was up to Eleanor, Chidi, Jason, Tahani, Janet, and Michael to figure out a better system; one that didn't involve The Judge erasing Earth and taking human existence back to the primordial soup. With the aid of a brief distraction from Justified's Timothy Olyphant, the gang successfully convinced The Judge to implement their idea. With billions of souls saved from eternal damnation, it was decided that Eleanor and her friends had finally earned a spot in The Good Place. Last seen traveling via balloon (for real, this time), the penultimate episode saw their official arrival marked by floating puppies and the ability to fully understand the meaning ofTwin Peaks.

Related: The Good Place's New Afterlife System Explained

As the gang threw themselves joyfully into their new surroundings, it rapidly became clear that something was amiss. At an amalgamated party honoring them, Chidi and Eleanor met Lisa Kudrow's Hypatia of Alexandria. Going by Patty, she revealed that everyone in The Good Place needed their help. A few stardust-infused milkshakes later, Patty conveyed the issues with immortality and infinite pleasures. While on paper having every need met was amazing, the fact it stretched on forever merely served to diminish all sense of thought and reduce everybody to what Eleanor called "happiness zombies." The point was hammered home by Jason Mendoza, who, having finally been given the chance to fulfill his lifelong dream of go-karting with monkeys, got bored quickly. Though some viewers likely didn't see a problem with eternal unvarying bliss, the concept (which is actually a trope of most immortality-themed stories) had provoked a sense of ennui within The Good Place. Even Janet and a cardboard cutout of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson were shocked and dismayed by the revelation.

Eager to avoid the same fate, the group fought to fix the problem. That responsibility only became more pronounced when Michael was tricked into becoming the leader of The Good Place. Despite the options of hoverboards and even waiting for Beyonce on the table, Eleanor instead devised a wholly different solution. After Michael suggested regularly erasing the resident's memories, so as to keep the experience new, Eleanor realized that remembering was, in fact, the key stating that vacations are only specialbecause they end. As such, they implemented a final destination beyond The Good Place a true death that would provide people (when ready) the opportunity for true peace.

The news was met with much fanfare from Good Place residents. The idea that the eternal vacation didn't actually have to be eternal eased the malaise and even reinvigorated Patty, who resolved to enjoy paradise a little longer before moving on. Meanwhile, in the wake of saving yet another aspect of the afterlife, Eleanor and Chidi, for the first time in centuries across multiple timelines, finally settled down to actually enjoy their time together. With Chidi declaring that The Good Place is actually just having enough time with your loved ones, it feels like the final philosophical stamp on the show's mantra. Given that, and the fact there remains one final episode, The Good Placehas set up what will surely be a truly bittersweet conclusion as the beloved characters inevitably build towards walking through those final doors into the great unknown.

More: The Good Place Is Great TV (But It's Good That It's Ending)

The Matrix 4: Every Character Returning For The Sequel

John Atkinson has been a news and feature writer for Screen Rant since late 2018. Before that, he had articles published across a number of different outlets. A graduate of the University of London, John was raised on a small island by television and movies. As such, he pursued a career in screenwriting and film journalism when it became apparent that actually becoming Spider-Man was impossible. John's fondest wish is to one day produce a film of his own. Until then, he's more than happy to spend countless hours just talking about them.John's love of film and television defies genre and sometimes even logic. Nothing is off-limits to his passion - be it Marvel, DC, Rian Johnson's Star Wars, or Tommy Wiseau's latest cinematic offering.Away from screens, John can often be found in a park reading mystery and/or fantasy novels, jumping up and down at various music events, or thinking too deeply about Keanu Reeves' career and why Edgar Wright doesn't have an Oscar.

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The Good Place FINALLY Revealed (Yep, It's Disappointing) - Screen Rant

The Tiger Trail of Auburn is Auburns walk of fame, a stretch of sidewalk that owes its existence to the walk of fame 40 years older in Hollywood, California. The names on plaques along the Tiger Trail are both familiar and lesser known, and refer to men and women from close and far. Like Hollywood has their superstars on the silver screen, Auburn has their own on the field, court, pitch, pool and gym.

The Tiger Trail began over two decades ago as a joint venture between the Auburn Chamber of Commerce, Auburn University Athletics and the City of Auburn. The project was started in 1995 as a way to honor Auburn athletes.

It was primarily made up of a group of men who were retired at the time, said Mayor Ron Anders, who has been involved with the program for several years in different capacities. The primary person was Ken Brown.

Brown was, at that time, retired after a career with Alabama Power and serving on the Auburn City Council, Anders said.

It was really his brainchild to create a kind of Hollywood Walk of Fame in downtown Auburn, Anders said.

Browns brainchild soon became reality as the first granite plaques were placed in the concrete in 1995. The inaugural class was large compared to a typical induction class now; 13 former athletes, coaches and administrators were honored, among them football coach Ralph Shug Jordan, football and baseball star Bo Jackson and football star Pat Sullivan.

Typically, induction classes consist of roughly five to six members, Anders said, depending on the Chamber of Commerces budget for the project for that year costs of the plaque as well as the induction ceremony must be taken into consideration for each inductee.

So keeping in mind the number of inductees that the budget allows for each year, a process of deciding who will be one of the distinguished few for that years induction class begins. That responsibility is left in the hands of a small group of people the Tiger Trail selection committee.

The group is made up of fewer than 10 individuals from both the private and public sector who serve for a term.

Exactly who is on the selection committee, however, is kept secret. The Auburn Chamber of Commerce doesnt give out the names of the committee members, said Auburn Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Communications and Marketing Jennifer Fincher.

The groups privacy is protected to prevent people from lobbying members of the selection committee to induct a certain member of Auburn athletics, Anders said.

Weve never wanted the Tiger Trail to be a political process, Anders said. We wanted it to be everything but a political process.

In the past, Anders has served as a member of the selection committee, but is not sure what his level of involvement will be in the future. However, the mayor of Auburn is always involved in the installation ceremony at the least, Anders said.

Bill Ham, who served as mayor until Anders was elected in 2018, helped with the ceremony, as did Mayor Jan Dempsey, Hams predecessor.

The committee typically only has two or three meetings per year, at which committee members go through a process of nominating who they feel is representative of Auburns history. Committee members then debate and vote according to their own research, due diligence and experiences, Anders said.

The candidates who receive the most are then honored in that years induction class. A ceremony is held and the selected candidates name and accomplishments are immortalized in the sidewalks along College Street and Magnolia Avenue.

While the trail was intended to serve as a unique way to honor Auburn athletes, coaches and administrators, it has also benefited the community in other ways.

This trail is another reason for people to come to downtown Auburn to shop and be a part of our community either as a visitor, alumni or resident, Anders said. It was certainly an economic development, community development mindset behind doing this.

Over the years, its become clear that maintenance is required to keep the plaques in good shape.

We have not had a Tiger Trail since Ive become the mayor, Anders said. What weve done is weve had a number of broken stars downtown because of all the construction, and weve got some of that construction behind us, so what weve tried to do is get some of those plaques replaced, so weve been focused on doing that. Its easier if we dont add six more to the list.

However, the tradition is expected to continue in the future.

Were certainly planning to continue on with the Tiger Trail here in 2020, Anders said.

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Fame, immortality and a paw: The Tiger Trail - The Auburn Plainsman

From drinking ones own urine as a cure for broken bones to blood-letting to sending electrical shocks through a persons body as a cure for mental illness healthcare has a somewhat jaded past. Fortunately, as technology has improved our ability to study human physiology, medical professionals have become increasingly adept at diagnosing and curing many different illnesses. Here are four trends that are transforming the future of healthcare.

Still, theres plenty of room for improvement to be made. Almost 20% of Americans cant afford healthcare, according to ABC News. And millions of people die from diseases like cancer and diabetes every single year.We might not ever reach immortality, but some trends can radically transform the future of healthcare in some promising ways.

In almost every industry, imaginable from gaming to every-day transportation artificial intelligence is making a big splash. And it didnt skip healthcare. One example of artificial intelligences impact on the healthcare industry is OWKIN Socrates, an AI-based technology platform created for medical professionals and their businesses.

The bot can monitor symptoms, diagnose disease, recommend treatments, and even predict outcomes, all much faster than a human can. Were probably far from being wholly dependent on artificial intelligence for medical services, but who knows what the bots will be doing next performing surgeries? Will bots be managing pharmacies? How many bots does it take to run a test? How long before bots are diagnosing disease?

One things for sure: AI is going to play a significant role in the future of healthcare the size and scope of that role are yet to be determined.

Perhaps virtual reality is having a more significant impact on healthcare than any other technological advancement. If thats the case, it would seem to be for a good reason: its working. Already, medical students are using virtual technology to learn and perform mock-surgeries. Its also being used in physical therapy to help people recover from injury or trauma.VISUALIZE reports on research that shows VR immersion for those undergoing physical therapy. VR has been used for physical therapy has also been shown to be effective in speeding up recovery time.

Overall, virtual reality is being used to calm patients, relieve pain, and adjust a patients awareness of bodily signals. The effectiveness of this tech on healthcare will likely improve as medical professionals have more time to explore its applications.

If youre disabled, a senior with low mobility, or at home alone in serious physical pain, what are you supposed to do? You cant easily drive yourself to the hospital, and calling an ambulance might be unnecessary for the symptoms youre experiencing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25% of older adults fall every year, and 20% of those falls are severe.

Companies like Heal let people schedule an appointment with a licensed and certified doctor at their place of residence. Not to mention the advancements of assistive technology some of which can detect falls and automatically request immediate assistance for seniors who may have been injured due to a fall. And why not? That feels like a natural and necessary progression of the healthcare process. Some unwell people cant easily leave their home, and they shouldnt have to.

It might sound overly ambitious, but Prellis Biologics is a company thats dedicated to solving the shortage of human organs and tissues for transplantation. And theyve got at least one thing right: there is undoubtedly a shortage of organs and human tissue for transplantation. Every single day, about 20 people die waiting for a life-saving transplant that never happened. This information is according to the American Transplant Foundation.

Using laser printing technology, Prellis Biologics has managed to mimic the human cell and replicate human organs. This technology is still partly experimental, but who knows how far it will come if given a few more years or even a decade. Professionals might be able to print a new human organ as easily as prescribing medication.

All of these innovations are exciting trends but ones that still need more time to develop fully.

"Marketer to Watch" (Forbes). "Industry leader" (SAP). "Top 100 FinTech Influencer" . Tech blogger with exposure to millions. Advising startups across Europe, NYC, and Tel Aviv.

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4 Trends that are Transforming the Future of Healthcare - ReadWrite

AGEING Australians make up a large percentage of the population, with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reporting that 3.8 million of Australians were over the age of 65 in 2017, comprising of 15 per cent of the total population.

Sadly, ageing Australians are often forgotten, resulting in poor treatment and living conditions, which is evident in the lack of resources afforded to the sector.

On a human level I believe the ageing and dying are uncomfortable reminders of our immortality and its a lot easier to look away from those whose minds and bodies are failing them placing them in the care of institutions who treat them as a job rather than valuable members of society.

Society generally has a negative view of ageing. How often do you hear someone say if I even get that bad just take me out to a paddock and shoot me?

We need to re-evaluate how we think about ageing there is quality of life to be had.

The elderly form an important part of our countrys identity, shaping the fabric of our society the least we could do is care for them adequately, let alone to the degree that they deserve.

The care of elderly isnt just at risk in rural Queensland (even though issues are exasperated by staffing problems), but aged care facilities across Australia, as the Royal Commission continues to uncover cases of serious neglect across the country.

The Royal Commission into Age Care Quality and Safety will complete their report on November 12, 2020.

An interim report by the ACRC found that our aged care system fails to meet the needs of its older, vulnerable, citizens. It does not deliver uniformly safe and quality care, is unkind and uncaring towards older people and, in too many instances, it neglects them. We need to do better.

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'Take me to the paddock and shoot me' - Chinchilla News

(MENAFN - Daily News Egypt) Throughout his life, Nesyamun, an ancient Egyptian priest, had a belief that his worship to gods would find its way to immortality. He probably did not imagine that his actual voice would come to life after 3,000 years of his death.

Last week, scientist managed to reproduce the voice of Nesyamun through 3-D printing of his vocal tract. In a study, published last Thursday, the world could hear Nesyamun speaking for the first time after his departure from life. The one-second voice clip which took years to create was released, showing what the voice of the mummified Egyptian priest would have sounded like. The reproduced sound was like the priest saying "meh" without the 'm'.

Nesyamun lived at the time of Ramses II which was unstable political era (10991069 BC). Throughout his life, the high-profile priest's voice was of an essential use, as he was the main worshipper of gods at the time at the temple of Karnak in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes).

Scientists chose the mummy of the priest to recreate his voice because it represented an essential part of his ritual duties which involved spoken as well as sung elements. Moreover, the mummy was in a good condition which allowed scientists to work on it.

'His documented wish to be able to speak after his death, combined with the excellent state of his mummified body, made Nesyamun the ideal subject for the Voices from the Past project, for which his body was re-examined using state-of the-art Computed Tomography (CT) scanning equipment, the study mentioned.

Academics behind the project are Professor David Howard in the Department of Electronic Engineering at Royal Holloway, University of London; John Schofield as well as Joann Fletcher and Stephen Buckley, professors in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York. They started the project in 2013, only to come to this conclusion earlier this year.

The study revealed the dimensions of the mummy's extant vocal tract following CT scanning. This enabled the creation of a 3-D printed vocal tract, known as the Vocal Tract Organ.

Schofield told Daily News Egypt that the process could be done only 'with the right conditions of preservation.'

'But beyond that, the extra dimension it gives to experiencing the past. Typically, our experiences of the deep past are entirely visual or tactile - what we can see and touch. With this discovery, we're adding sound into the mix, and not just any sound but the sound of an individual'svoice,' he said.

The study focused on using the Vocal Tract Organ, which led into the synthesised of a vowel sound that compares favourably with vowels of modern individuals.

The seven-year experiment focused on scanning the lungs and larynx and throat remains of the priest, as well as his tongue which was found missing the its muscular bulk because of time. This led into the a 3-D printed tract that was created for Nesyamun in order to figure out the fundamental frequency, loudness, and vibrato rate and depth that can be individually controlled.

'We needed to source human remains with good soft tissue survival of the vocal tract. We then CT scanned that tract to a high resolution and created a detailed and accurate 3D printed model of the tract through which a vowel sound was amplified. The sound that comes out is Nesyamun'svoice, with his head in an unnatural position (its position at death and after mummification)' Flitcher explained.

He elaborated that the scientists next step is to 'use modellingto try to move his head into a more natural position, and to shapemore vowel sounds.'

For Schofield, working on Nesyamun held the emotions of much more than a scientific project. It was a personal contact between two humans who live in two different eras.

'With human remains this the relationship we built with archeological elements are true and arguably real,' he explained.

Remembering the moment, the team listened to the voice of the person who became one of their closest friends, 'It was a wonderful moment - for me a bit like it must have felt shining a torch into Tutankhamun's tomb for the first time,' Schofield remembered.

Nesyamun's body is not only lucky to be the first mummy with its voice heard, it was also the only mummy that survived the Leeds City Museum's bombing during World War II.

Expressing his feelings previously regarding the opportunity to hear an over 3,000-year-old voice, Fletcher said in a statement that it is 'a unique opportunity to hear the sound of someone long dead by virtue of their soft tissue preservation combined with new developments in technology

For his side, Howard explained that the study started while he 'was demonstrating the Vocal Tract Organ in June 2013 to colleagues, with implications for providing authentic vocal sounds back to those who have lost the normal speech function of their vocal tract or larynx following an accident or surgery for laryngeal cancer.'

'I was then approached by Professor John Schofield who began to think about the archaeological and heritage opportunities of this new development. Hence finding Nesyamun and discovering his vocal tract and soft tissues were in great order for us to be able to do this,' he added.

Scripted on his coffin placed at the Leeds City Museum since his body was unwrapped in 1824, Nesyamun's ultimate life desire was to have his voice immortalised at the afterlife.

According to the study, the inscriptions on Nesyamun's coffin 'asks that his soul receives eternal sustenance, is able to move around freely and to see and address the gods as he had in his working life.'

Scanning the mummy of his body, scientists previously found that died in his mid-50s and had suffered from gum disease and severely worn teeth, yet nonetheless 'had a strong well-developed mandible', which, like the maxilla, was 'prognathic', and 'clearly Nubian blood had once coursed through his veins'.

Fletcher believes that this study finally gives the man the desire of his life having ' his voice heard in the afterlife in order to live forever, the fulfilment of his beliefs through the recreation of his voice allows us to make direct contact with ancient Egypt by listening to a voice that has not been heard for over 3,000 years, preserved through mummification and now restored through this pioneering new technique.'

For hise side, Schofield explained that such an experiment can be applied with other mummies, yet they are currently facing a number of 'ethical procedures' that in a way did not take place with Nesyamun, as providing him with voice was 'a clearly documented wish [of his] to be heard again in the afterlife.'

'Recreating the sound of a voice is the first step on what we hope will be a long and exciting journey,' he concluded.

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A whisper from the past: voice of 3000-year-old Egyptian mummy reproduced - MENAFN.COM

Andy Murray admits he was gutted to miss three of Great Britains recent Davis Cup rubbers, but insists it was probably the right decision.

The three-time Grand Slam winner made his return to Davis Cup action in Madrid last week as he won his singles clash against Tallon Griekspoor during GBs 2-1 win over the Netherlands.

However, he was then replaced in the singles by Kyle Edmund for the final round-robin tie against Kazakhstan while he was also forced to sit out the quarter-final win over Germany and the semi-final defeat at the hands of Spain.

Sporting immortality does not come easy Andy Murray: Resurfacing provides a unique portrait of an icon

Murray has now revealed that a groin problem was the reason why he missed the ties.

I had a scan straight after the match with Griekspoor because my groin area was sore, he said. I had noticed it a little bit for a couple of days in the build-up.

After playing in Antwerp I took 12 days off and didnt hit any balls, and then I slowly built up until I got over to Madrid. Then I started practising hard and I noticed it was a bit sore.

Its mild. But it was something which, if I had played on it, it could have got worse. And thats why it was difficult for me.

I wanted to try to play. I didnt know how many opportunities I would get to play again in the quarter-finals or semi-finals of the Davis Cup.

Obviously the other guys were playing really well and it looked like they can handle themselves. But I would have liked to have tried to play.

It was probably the right decision. I probably wouldnt have influenced the matches differently to any of the guys that played, ultimately.

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Andy Murray explains why he was forced to miss recent Davis Cup ties - Tennis365

This column is written as a special for Pittsburgh Soccer Now, by guest contributor Robert Bell.

The city has had its fair share of sporting heroes in the past. From tough as teak footballer players to legendary baseball stars, Pittsburgh has given us memorable moments from unforgettable personalities.

Soccer in the city hasnt yet produced a hero to match other sports.

Megan Klingenberg with the World Cup trophy...

It is true that Meghan Klingenberg has had a terrific career and that current players such as Robbie Mertz are sure to give us some highlights in the years to come, though.

To inspire them, we bring up some of the most incredible athletes we ever saw in this city of Pennsylvania.

So, what stars from the past do they need to live up to?

Bill Mazeroski

Few athletes have gone down in history for a single shot like Mazeroski has. He was born in Wheeling, West Virginia and raised in Ohio, but it was while wearing the colors of the Pittsburgh Pirates that he achieved baseball immortality.

In truth, his greatest strength was in defensive play at second base. Yet, he is best remembered for hitting the historic home run in game seven of the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees. His game-winning home run is arguably the finest moment in Pittsburghs proud sporting history.

Jack Lambert

Born in Ohio, it was a stellar 11-year career with the Steelers that turned him into a football icon. Lambert was arguably the toughest linebacker of all time, and a key part of the famously mean defense that drove the team to a string of famous victories and made them into Super Bowl winners.

He originally wanted to study to become a vet, but never looked back after joining the Steelers in the 1974 NFL Draft. Despite largely staying out of the public eye since retiring in 1985, he made an appearance earlier in 2019 to sign memorabilia.

Willie Stargell

Stargell is another hugely popular player who wasnt born in the city but played here for his entire career. He joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1962 and stayed there for 21 memorable seasons. Among his claims to fame is that he hit no fewer than seven of the 18 balls that have sailed over the 86-foot tall stands at Forbes Fields.

His glittering career included seven All-Star appearances and a monumental 1979 season where his MVP performance inspired the Pirates to fight back against the Baltimore Orioles to win the World Series. This is a Pittsburgh sporting hero that wont ever be forgotten.

Mario Lemieux

Canadian-born Lemieux played for the Pittsburgh Penguins during 17 seasons. During that time, he came to be regarded as one of the best players to ever take to the ice. Known as The Magnificent One, he is an NHL legend thanks to his speed and skill.

His tremendous record with the Penguins includes several Stanley Cup triumphs, both as a player and later as the owner of the team. Remarkably, all of this was despite the fact that he suffered from numerous chronic health problems. The debate over whether he was better than Wayne Gretzkyremains one of the sports most fascinating subjects.

Robert Clemente

Clemente was born in Puerto Rico but become a hero in Pittsburgh during 18 seasons with the Pirates. He was the first Latin American/Caribbean player to enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame, following his tragic death in 1972.

His list of achievements is hugely impressive, with 12 Golden Glove Awards, 12 All-Star appearances, and 3,000 career hits. However, he is also fondly remembered now for his charity work and wonderful personality. It was while flying to help earthquake relief in Nicaragua that he died in a plane crash.

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Who is the best-loved sports personality in Pittsburgh? - Pittsburgh Soccer Now

A lot of the high-level grappling matches with straight jiu-jitsu guys, you see a lot of 50/50s and a lot of stalling in positions, OMalley said. All these guys are fighters or former fighters; these guys arent into that. The list of people I saw in this looked like a ton of killers.

With black belt after black belt in the lineup, OMalley knows he comes in as an underdog, and while hes eager to enjoy his time in his first grappling event, theres a certain pressure coming in, a pressure that helps his agenda of proving hes one of the baddest all-around fighters in the world.

Lack of experience, only a BJJ purple belt and a reputation for striking are all factors working against OMalley, but would the young man who won Fight of the Night at UFC 222 let any perceived disadvantage ruin his experience?

With the people Ive seen, the only guy thats similar size to me is Chad Mendes. I dont see anybody even close to my size, OMalley said. I feel like Im going to be a huge underdog since all of these guys are high-level black belts, but I think theres still a fun aspect to it where since its jiu-jitsu you cant really put yourself in that much of a dangerous position but anything can happen.

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The Suga Show Is Set To Compete At Quintet Ultra - The Official Website of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rejoice, O wood and tree of life, the fount of immortality. In light of recent controversy over the Amazon Synod, this particular verse from the Agni Parthene stood out as I listened to it tonight. Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, when we remember the service and sacrifice of our fallen veterans. I was taking a moment to reflect upon Heaven and the eternal peace that can only be achieved by Our Lord Jesus Christ through the intercession of His (Our!) Blessed Mother.

The title Agni Parthene is commonly translated into English as O Virgin Pure. Many Byzantine Christiansmyself includedconsider it one of the most beautiful hymns ever composed to the Blessed Mother of God.

It is certainly one of the most popular.

The hymn was composed by Greek Orthodox bishop, mystic, and miracle worker St Nectarios of Aegina sometime in the late 19th Century. Reportedly after the Blessed Mother surrounded by heavenly angels appeared to him at a monastery during a period of intense fasting and prayer. It is said that the Blessed Theotokos herself dictated the words to him, which she ask be set to the music with which this hymn became popular.

As an aside, St Nectarios is known to have consecrated deaconesses for a womens monastery that he founded, and the liturgy among Eastern Orthodox Churches by which female monastics become deaconesses is now known among Eastern Orthodox as the ritual of St Nektarios. Although the ritual itself predates the saint. His feast day is November 9, which is coming up soon in the Julian Calendar.

What struck me tonight is the reference to Our Blessed Mother as the tree of life. Within the Byzantine Christian tradition, the term tree of life usually refers to Our Lords cross. Yet here it refers to the Blessed Mother. I should not be surprised by this given that Mary, Tree of Life is a very popular and traditional icon among Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics.

I am blessed by this connection given its reminder that it is from the Blessed Theokos that Our Lord Jesus Christ received His humanity. Not just His human flesh but His whole human person. Without Mary as the Tree of Life, there would have been no hypostatic union between God and man at the Incarnation. It is through Mary, the Tree of Life, that Our Lord Jesus Christ made salvation possible.

Here are the complete lyrics, with a link to youtube recital.

******************AGNI PARTHENE

O virgin pure, Immaculate lady TheotokusRejoice, O unwedded bride

O Virgin Mother, Queen of all/ and fleece which is all dewy

More radiant than the rays of sun/ and higher than the heavensRejoice, O unwedded bride

Delight of virgin choruses/ superior to Angels.Rejoice, O unwedded bride

Much brighter than the firmament/ and purer than the suns lightRejoice, O unwedded bride

More holy than the multitude/ of all the heavnly armies.Rejoice, O unwedded bride

O Ever Virgin Mary/ of all the world, the LadyRejoice, O unwedded bride

O bride all pure, immaculate/ O Lady PanagiaRejoice, O unwedded bride

O Mary bride and Queen of all/ our cause of jubilationRejoice, O unwedded bride

Majestic maiden, Queen of all/ O our most holy MotherRejoice, O unwedded bride

More honrable than Cherubim/ beyond compare more gloriousRejoice, O unwedded bride

than immaterial Seraphim/ and greater than angelic thrones.Rejoice, O unwedded bride

Rejoice, O song of Cherubim/ Rejoice, O hymn of angelsRejoice, O unwedded bride

Rejoice, O ode of Seraphim/ the joy of the archangelsRejoice, O unwedded bride

Rejoice, O peace and happiness/ the harbor of salvationRejoice, O unwedded bride

O sacred chamber of the Word/ flowr of incorruptionRejoice, O unwedded bride

Rejoice, delightful paradise/ of blessed life eternalRejoice, O unwedded bride

Rejoice, O wood and tree of life/ the fount of immortality.Rejoice, O unwedded bride

I supplicate you, Lady/ now do I call upon youRejoice, O unwedded bride

And I beseech you, Queen of all/ I beg of you your favorRejoice, O unwedded bride

Majestic maiden, spotless one/ O Lady PanagiaRejoice, O unwedded bride

I call upon you fervently/ O sacred, hallowed templeRejoice, O unwedded bride

Assist me and deliver me/ protect me from the enemyRejoice, O unwedded bride

And make me an inheritor/ of blessed life eternal.Rejoice, O unwedded bride

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Rejoice, O Wood and Tree of Life, the Fount of Immortality - Patheos

IsThe Flashnew tonight on The CW? Within this article, were going to offer news on that but then also the stories coming up.

Lets go ahead and get some of the bad news out of the way there is no new episode of the superhero show on the air tonight instead, youre going to be waiting for a week to see the further adventures of Barry Allen and company. This is the first time this season that there isnota new episode on the air, so consider this a chance to catch your breath. After all, there is somecrazystuff ahead! Were building towardsCrisis on Infinite Earthssure, but there is also going to be a showdown coming between Barry Allen and Bloodwork. He is the Big Bad for the first half of the season, and he also may teach the title character a thing or two about immortality every single step of the way.

Without further ado, lets go ahead and share a handful of additional details now all about whats coming.

Episode 6, License to Elongate RALPH GOES DEEP UNDERCOVER Barry (Grant Gustin) turns his attention to prepping Elongated Man (Hartley Sawyer) for life after Crisis and without The Flash, but Ralph ultimately teaches Barry a lesson. Meanwhile, Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) faces her own moment of self-discovery while helping a recuperated Chester P. Runk (guest star Brandon McKnight) reclaim his identity. Danielle Panabaker directed the episode written by Thomas Pound & Jeff Hersh (#606). Original airdate 11/19/2019.

Episode 7, The Last Temptation of Barry Allen: Part 1 PART ONE OF THE MID-SEASON FINALE As Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) stands on the threshold of his impending death in Crisis, his convictions are tested when the monstrous Dr. Ramsey Rosso (guest star Sendhil Ramamurthy) infects The Flash with a mysterious, hallucinogenic contagion. Meanwhile, reporter Iris West-Allen (Candice Patton) uncovers a vast conspiracy. Chad Lowe directed the episode written by Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza (#607). Original airdate 11/26/2019.

The second part of the midseason finale will air on December 3, and thenThe Flashis going from there directly into the crossover. In other words, there is alotof exceptional stuff coming where lives are in danger and the stakes of the entire multiverse are there.

Related News Be sure to get some more information right now regarding The Flash!

Are you bummed that the show isnt on the air tonight? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and remember to stick around to get some more information when it comes to the series. (Photo: The CW.)

Original post:
Is The Flash new tonight on The CW? Upcoming season 6... - CarterMatt

Former Miami Heat (and Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers) star Dwyane Wade made it known who his starting five would be if he could draw up one squad from his tenure in the league.

During an interview with Complexs Alex Wong, Wade lays out who his five would be, starting with himself being the point man of the group.

Its gotta be the guys I won championships with, Wade said. Ray Allen at the two, LeBron at the three, Bosh at the four and Shaq at center. And wed have Udonis Haslem as the sixth man.

That would be a formidable squad to say the least. Alongside James and Bosh, Wade collected two NBA championships, while his first was won with Shaquille ONeal anchoring the squad in the post.

Allen, of course, hit one of the most pivotal threes in league history during the 2013 NBA Finals, forcing a Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs, which led to the Heat claiming their second consecutive ring.

Maybe the most interesting inclusion is that Wade sees himself running the point with James working off the ball. It comes as no surprise that Wade would stack his top five with players that helped lead him to basketball immortality, even as he could make a strong case for having suited up with the strongest collection of teammates in league history.

While James is the only active member still getting up shots in the league, never say never for this quintet, who could still likely get theirs on any given day.

Excerpt from:
Dwyane Wades all-time starting 5 features players he won titles with - ClutchPoints

Seeking Immortality - The Five Doctors - BBC

Lord President Borusa claims immortality and finds himself trapped, undying in stone. (TV: The Five Doctors)

Immortality was the ability to live forever, or at least a vastly long time. Most beings called immortal were not also indestructible, but there were exceptions.

Lord President Borusa determined that Rassilon had discovered the secret of true immortality, and used the first five incarnations of the Doctor to obtain it. This turned out to be the immortality of a living statue. (TV: The Five Doctors)

According to Iris Wildthyme, she defeated Morbius's attempt to obtain Rassilon's gift of immortality. (PROSE: The Scarlet Empress)

Queen Xanxia of Zanak attempted to create an immortal body for herself using the energies stolen from other planets. (TV: The Pirate Planet)

Mawdryn and his group of scientists stole a metamorphic symbiosis regenerator from the Time Lords and used it on themselves to gain immortality, only to find that theirs was one of unending mutation and regeneration. (TV: Mawdryn Undead)

Astrolabus, who was in his final incarnation, attempted to gain immortality by stealing Voyager's star charts. (COMIC: Once Upon a Time Lord)

Qataka, afraid of death and having heard stories of the Time Lords, experimented with cybernetics in an attempt to gain immortality. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Genesys)

Professor Richard Lazarus invented a device which would reverse the ageing process, providing a form of immortality, but it also mutated him into a monster. (TV: The Lazarus Experiment)

The Family of Blood pursued the Tenth Doctor in an attempt to gain his body and become immortal. As punishment for their crimes, the Doctor granted them immortality in various unpleasant ways. (TV: The Family of Blood)

Joshua Naismith attempted to use the Vinvocci Immortality Gate to make his daughter immortal. (TV: The End of Time)

Angelo Colasanto attempted to make himself immortal after seeing Jack Harkness die and come back to life. (TV: End of the Road)

When the Great Intelligence were uploading humans' souls to the Wi-Fi in 2013, Miss Kizlet described it as "immortality, only fatal." (TV: The Bells of Saint John)

According to Greek mythology, one of the Greek goddesses asked Zeus to make Tithonus immortal, but she forgot to ask for eternal youth. He became so ancient and decrepit, he eventually shrank into a cicada. He begged for death. (TV: Rendition)

In the 2nd century, Helena gained immortality after she accidentally encountered a crashed alien ship. (PROSE: The Three Faces of Helena)

In the 9th century,[1] a Viking girl named Ashildr was granted immortality when, after her death, a Mire repair kit was placed in her head. This device would keep repairing her, so she would never die. The Twelfth Doctor later gave Ashildr another chip to give to someone she would want to keep with her. (TV: The Girl Who Died) Her immortality remained for billions of years, up to the last 5 minutes of the universe, outliving every other immortal. (TV: Hell Bent) The second chip was subsequently used to revive highwayman Sam Swift, though the circumstances left the Doctor uncertain as to whether the result would be immortality in his case. (TV: The Woman Who Lived)

Clara Oswald gained a measure of immortality when she was extracted from her death at the hands of the Quantum Shade by the Time Lords. Her physical processes time looped, she lost all life signs (such as heartbeat, breathing and even ageing), but was functionally speaking immortal. However, as her death was a historically established event, she could not delay it indefinitely without the risk of incurring paradoxes on a scale which could damage the universe; her immortality ceased when she finally returned to Gallifrey and was sent back to her pre-destined death on the trap street in London, after spending an undetermined amount of time travelling with Ashildr. (TV: Hell Bent)

The Cybermen gained immortality by replacing their body parts with cybernetic ones, but they lost their emotions and humanity in the process. (TV: The Tenth Planet)

The race known as the Olympians had the power of immortality. (COMIC: The Life Bringer!)

Jack Harkness, after being resurrected by the Bad Wolf, would always come back to life after being killed, and his ageing was slowed down. The Tenth Doctor explained that when Rose Tyler was the Bad Wolf she brought him back but couldn't control the power and brought him back forever. (TV: Utopia) He lost this immortality on Miracle Day, (TV: The New World) but regained it when the Miracle ended. (TV: The Blood Line)

Suzie Costello, after being brought back to life, was unable to die again until the resurrection gauntlet that was keeping her alive was destroyed. (TV: They Keep Killing Suzie)

Ursula Blake gained immortality when she became a face on a concrete slab. (TV: Love & Monsters)

Katsura Sato gained immortality after having been rescued by Nanodrones (COMIC: The Road to Hell), but lost it when Kroton took control of the Glory. (COMIC: The Glorious Dead)

Thomas Vaughan discovered the secret of immortality in the mid-17th century. (AUDIO: Hidden)

In 1895, Lord Jack Corrigan and his men used stolen Drelleran technology to gain the longevity required for interstellar travel, allowing them to live for centuries. They died on Space Dock Nerva after being exposed to a Drelleran anti-virus. (AUDIO: Destination: Nerva)

In an alternate timeline, the Nimon granted immortality to Sebastian Grayle. (AUDIO: Seasons of Fear)

In another alternate timeline, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was given immortality in 1791 by one of his clones from the far future. He later came to regret this as this meant that he lived long enough to become a hack. (AUDIO: My Own Private Wolfgang)

In another alternate timeline, the inhabitants of Stockbridge were given immortality between 1950 and 2009, courtesy of Viridios. Towards the end, they begged for death. They were given it when the timeline was reversed and they died when they were originally intended to. (AUDIO: The Eternal Summer)

Grayvorn gained immortality from the Relic. (AUDIO: Excelis Rising)

Erasmus Darkening gained immortality. (TV: The Eternity Trap)

In 2011, during an event dubbed by the world press as "Miracle Day", the human race stopped dying due to Jack Harkness' immortal blood being introduced to The Blessing. It was reversed when Jack's mortal blood was introduced. (TV: The Blood Line)

Rex Matheson apparently gained immortality through means not understood after a complete transfusion of Captain Jack's then-mortal blood during the Miracle Day events. (TV: The Blood Line)

The Sisterhood of Karn gained immortality due to the Elixir of Life. However, they could only live as long as they drank the elixir, which means they could still die if they were not able to produce more of it. It was also shown that they could still be killed. (TV: The Brain of Morbius)

The Three Who Rule gained immortality when they were transformed into vampires by the King Vampire. (TV: State of Decay)

The disembodied heads of the members of the Order of the Headless lived on, even when they were reduced to skulls. (TV: The Wedding of River Song)

Shara created an energy converter which enabled him to transfer his life energy into a time loop in the Time Vortex, giving him eternal bliss. Jal Dor Kal lived for centuries by absorbing energy from Shara's relic. (AUDIO: Nekromanteia)

Vilus Krull used the power of the Dark Flame to transfer his mind into different host bodies upon their deaths, allowing him to live for centuries. (AUDIO: The Dark Flame)

The Mechanistrians gained immortality by having their brains placed in machines. (PROSE: Peril in Mechanistria)

According to Olivia Colasanto, there was a species of jellyfish on Earth that was rendered functionally immortal by being able to revert to a more youthful state. She speculated that some jellyfish had lived for thousands of years. (TV: End of the Road)

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Immortality | Tardis | FANDOM powered by Wikia

The book of Job poses the universal question, If a man die, shall he live again? (Job 14:14). The question of resurrection from the dead is a central subject of scripture, ancient and modern. The resurrection is a pillar of our faith. It adds meaning to our doctrine, motivation to our behavior, and hope for our future.

The universal resurrection became a reality with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Matt. 27:5253). On the third day after His death and burial, Jesus came forth out of the tomb. He appeared to several men and women, and then to the assembled Apostles. Three of the Gospels describe this event. Luke is the most complete:

Jesus saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Then opened he their understanding,

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day (Luke 24:3639, 4546).

The Savior gave the Apostles a second witness. Thomas, one of the Twelve, had not been with them when Jesus came. He insisted that he would not believe unless he could see and feel for himself. John records:

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 20:2629).

Despite these biblical witnesses, many who call themselves Christians reject or confess serious doubts about the reality of the resurrection. As if to anticipate and counter such doubts, the Bible records many appearances of the risen Christ. In some of these He appeared to a single individual, such as to Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre. In others He appeared to large or small groups, such as when he was seen of [about] five hundred brethren at once (1 Cor. 15:6).

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ records the experience of hundreds who saw the risen Lord in person and touched Him, feeling the prints of the nails in His hands and feet and thrusting their hands into His side. The Savior invited a multitude to have this experience one by one (3 Ne. 11:15) so that they could know that He was the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and [had] been slain for the sins of the world (3 Ne. 11:14).

During the course of His personal ministry among these faithful people, the resurrected Christ healed the sick and also took their little children, one by one, and blessed them (3 Ne. 17:21). This tender episode was witnessed by about 2,500 men, women, and children (see 3 Ne. 17:25).

The possibility that a mortal who has died will be brought forth and live again in a resurrected body has awakened hope and stirred controversy through much of recorded history. Relying on clear scriptural teachings, Latter-day Saints join in affirming that Christ has broken the bands of death (Mosiah 16:7) and that death is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54; see also Morm. 7:5; Mosiah 15:8; Mosiah 16:78; Alma 22:14). Because we believe the Bible and Book of Mormon descriptions of the literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we also readily accept the numerous scriptural teachings that a similar resurrection will come to all mortals who have ever lived upon this earth (see 1 Cor. 15:22; 2 Ne. 9:22; Hel. 14:17; Morm. 9:13; D&C 29:26; D&C 76:39, 4244). As Jesus taught, Because I live, ye shall live also (John 14:19).

The literal and universal nature of the resurrection is vividly described in the Book of Mormon. The prophet Amulek taught:

The death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time;

Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame (Alma 11:4244).

Alma also taught that in the resurrection all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame (Alma 40:23).

Many living witnesses can testify to the literal fulfillment of these scriptural assurances of the resurrection. Many, including some in my own extended family, have seen a departed loved one in vision or personal appearance and have witnessed their restoration in proper and perfect frame in the prime of life. Whether these were manifestations of persons already resurrected or of righteous spirits awaiting an assured resurrection, the reality and nature of the resurrection of mortals is evident. What a comfort to know that all who have been disadvantaged in life from birth defects, from mortal injuries, from disease, or from the natural deterioration of old age will be resurrected in proper and perfect frame.

I wonder if we fully appreciate the enormous significance of our belief in a literal, universal resurrection. The assurance of immortality is fundamental to our faith. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared:

The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1938], 121).

Of all things in that glorious ministry, why did the Prophet Joseph Smith use the testimony of the Saviors death, burial, and Resurrection as the fundamental principle of our religion, saying that all other things are only appendages to it? The answer is found in the fact that the Saviors Resurrection is central to what the prophets have called the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death (2 Ne. 11:5).

In our eternal journey, the resurrection is the mighty milepost that signifies the end of mortality and the beginning of immortality. The Lord described the importance of this vital transition when He declared, And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probationthat by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe (D&C 29:43). Similarly, the Book of Mormon teaches, For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection (2 Ne. 9:6). We also know, from modern revelation, that without the reuniting of our spirits and our bodies in the resurrection we could not receive a fulness of joy (D&C 93:3334).

When we understand the vital position of the resurrection in the plan of redemption that governs our eternal journey (Alma 12:25), we see why the Apostle Paul taught, If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain (1 Cor. 15:1314). We also see why the Apostle Peter referred to the fact that God the Father, in His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3; see also 1 Thes. 4:1318).

The lively hope we are given by the resurrection is our conviction that death is not the conclusion of our identity but merely a necessary step in the destined transition from mortality to immortality. This hope changes the whole perspective of mortal life. The assurance of resurrection and immortality affects how we look on the physical challenges of mortality, how we live our mortal lives, and how we relate to those around us.

The assurance of resurrection gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love, such things as the physical, mental, or emotional deficiencies we bring with us at birth or acquire during mortal life. Because of the resurrection, we know that these mortal deficiencies are only temporary!

The assurance of resurrection also gives us a powerful incentive to keep the commandments of God during our mortal lives. Resurrection is much more than merely reuniting a spirit to a body held captive by the grave. We know from the Book of Mormon that the resurrection is a restoration that brings back carnal for carnal and good for that which is good (Alma 41:13; see also Alma 41:24 and Hel. 14:31). The prophet Amulek taught, That same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world (Alma 34:34). As a result, when persons leave this life and go on to the next, they who are righteous shall be righteous still (2 Ne. 9:16), and whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life will rise with us in the resurrection (D&C 130:18).

The principle of restoration also means that persons who are not righteous in mortal life will not rise up righteous in the resurrection (see 2 Ne. 9:16; 1 Cor. 15:3544; D&C 88:2732). Moreover, unless our mortal sins have been cleansed and blotted out by repentance and forgiveness (see Alma 5:21; 2 Ne. 9:4546; D&C 58:42), we will be resurrected with a bright recollection (Alma 11:43) and a perfect knowledge of all of our guilt, and our uncleanness (2 Ne. 9:14; see also Alma 5:18). The seriousness of that reality is emphasized by the many scriptures suggesting that the resurrection is followed immediately by the Final Judgment (see 2 Ne. 9:15, 22; Mosiah 26:25; Alma 11:4344; Alma 42:23; Morm. 7:6; Morm. 9:1314). Truly, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God (Alma 34:32).

The assurance that the resurrection will include an opportunity to be with our family membershusband, wife, parents, brothers and sisters, children, and grandchildrenis a powerful encouragement for us to fulfill our family responsibilities in mortality. It helps us live together in love in this life in anticipation of joyful reunions and associations in the next.

Our sure knowledge of a resurrection to immortality also gives us the courage to face our own deatheven a death that we might call premature. Thus, the people of Ammon in the Book of Mormon never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it (Alma 27:28).

The assurance of immortality also helps us bear the mortal separations involved in the death of our loved ones. Every one of us has wept at a death, grieved through a funeral, or stood in pain at a graveside. I am surely one who has. We should all praise God for the assured resurrection that makes our mortal separations temporary and gives us the hope and strength to carry on.

We are living in a glorious season of temple building. This is also a consequence of our faith in the resurrection. Just a few months ago I was privileged to accompany President Hinckley to the dedication of a new temple. In that sacred setting I heard him say:

Temples stand as a witness of our conviction of immortality. Our temples are concerned with life beyond the grave. For example, there is no need for marriage in the temple if we were only concerned with being married for the period of our mortal lives.

This prophetic teaching enlarged my understanding. Our temples are living, working testimonies to our faith in the reality of the resurrection. They provide the sacred settings where living proxies can perform all of the necessary ordinances of mortal life in behalf of those who live in the world of the spirits. None of this would be meaningful if we did not have the assurance of universal immortality and the opportunity for eternal life because of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We believe in the literal, universal resurrection of all mankind because of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel (2 Ne. 9:12). We also testify of The Living Christ, as was said in the recent apostolic declaration of that same name:

We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary.

We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostlesthat Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come (The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles, 1 Jan. 2000).

I testify of that reality and of the reality of His Resurrection and ours, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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Resurrection - Dallin H. Oaks