I won’t lie, I am not into veggies. I mean they are just alright, but if I had the choice between pasta or a salad:

The pasta would win.

Heck, so would a cookie.

But, what if I could trick myself into getting some green into my life?

Would you think I was crazy if I added 5, just 5 leaves of spinach to an amazing smoothie?

• Almond Milk
• Frozen Berry Medley
• Fat-free Vanilla yogurt
• 5 Organic spinach leaves

Tip: Adding frozen fruits is an awesome way to get a cool smoothie without spending too much on fruits!

Look at that color!!

Look at that color!!!!

Bernard of Clairvaux

“It was in zeal for [the Lord] that, pitying your error and your unhappiness, I was moved to interfere beyond my custom in order to save you, although you were not mine. Your serious fall and miserable case has moved me thus to presume. For whom of your contemporaries have you seen me reprimand? To whom have I ever addressed even the briefest letter? Not that I regarded them as saints, nor had nothing to blame in them…Your fellow soldiers whom you have deserted by flight are fighting and overcoming; they knock and they enter in, they seize heaven and reign while you scour the streets and squares, sitting upon your ambling courser, and clad in purple and fine linen. These are the ornaments of peace, not the weapons of war. Or do you say, Peace, and there is no peace (”http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bible/asv.Ezek.13.html” \l “Ezek.13.10″ Ezekiel xiii. 10). The purple tunic does not put to flight lust, and pride, and avarice, nor does it protect against other fiery darts of the enemy. Lastly, it does not ward off from you the fever which you more fear, nor secure you from death. Where are your warlike weapons, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the breast-plate of patience? Why do you tremble? There are more with us than with our enemies. Take your arms, recover your strength while yet the combat lasts; Angels are spectators and helpers, the Lord himself is your aid and your support, who will teach your hands to war and your fingers to fight (”http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bible/asv.Ps.144.html” \l “Ps.144.1″ Psalm cxliv. 1). Let us come to the help of our brothers, lest if they fight without us they vanquish without us, and without us enter into heaven; lest, last of all, when the door has been shut it be replied from within to us knocking too late, Verily I say unto you, I know you not (”http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bible/asv.Matt.25.html” \l “Matt.25.12″ S. Matthew xxv. 12). Make yourself known then and seen beforehand, lest you be unknown for glory and known only for punishment. If Christ recognizes you in the strife, He will recognize you in heaven, and as He has promised, will manifest Himself to you (”http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bible/asv.John.14.html” \l “John.14.21″ S. John xiv. 21). If only you by repenting and returning will show yourself such as to be able to say with confidence, Then shall I know even as also I am known (”http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bible/asv.iCor.13.html” \l “iCor.13.12″ 1 Corinthians xiii. 12).”

Reflection:
Bernard of Clairvaux cares for his former pupil Fulk so much and is so concerned to see Fulk live out his calling, that he decides to write this lengthy letter to Fulk so as to try and convince him of what the better way of living is. Therefore, Bernard encourages Fulk to remember his fellow brothers from the monastery who are actively living for the Lord with everything they have, and compare it with the relative weakness that a life in the world has to offer. To Bernard, living any other way was just a waste of time, and would ultimately wind up costing Fulk everything.

Response:
In the same way, God is calling us again to put off the worldly things of this life and join Him in the work of the Kingdom. Let’s pray that we too would be confident of the calling we have received, so that we are not caught up in the world’s desires and plans for us, but that we would willingly follow God with all of our hearts.

Source: Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, Letter XLV (circa A.D. 1120) To a Youth Named Fulk, Who Afterwards Was Archdeacon of Langres

For all you football fans out there, the announcement you’ve been waiting on for months has offically been made: GAME ON!

The NFL lockout which has plagued households across America finally came to an end Monday afternoon.

The sports world was becoming agitated with no word from the players and the training season looming on the horizon.

However, the NFL Players Union pulled through just in time and consented to a 10-year collective bargaining agreement. Training will commence later on this week and new team adjustments are already in the process.

So all you fans out there gather your beer and your wings because the football party is about to begin.

Thanks to NPR!

A Happy, Healthy Meal: McDonald’s announces changes to its most famous order.

Call your legislators! Congress flooded with calls about the debt ceiling.

Another race gap? Recession has hurt minorities most.

Two more years! FBI Director’s term extended for the first time.

And, how natural are “natural fragrances?”

Image from The Atlantic

Here we go again…

In what may be a not-so-shocking turn of events, Rep. David Wu is resigning from Congress amid allegations of sexual assault.

The Democratic congressman was the first Chinese-American elected to the House of Representatives. He represented Oregon’s 1st district since 1999, but his record of strange behavior preceded his political career.

Wu announced his resignation on Tuesday, only a few days after a reportedly 18-year-old woman accused him of unwanted sexual contact. Though he is leaving Washington, he insists he is innocent in the accusations.

I’m trying to take care of the interests of my family.”

Wu is the latest in a long line of politicians whose careers have been subdued by sex scandals. Recent additions to the list include Rep. Anthony Weiner, Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Chris Lee, and more!

Thanks to Frank Cammuso at Fairness Matters!

Most of us who have taken standardized tests are familiar with “The Rules”:

1. Eyes on your own paper
2. Don’t read once you’ve finished
3. Sit quietly
4. Don’t answer questions after time has expired
5. Don’t go forward, and certainly don’t go back
6. The teacher will not answer your questions, so don’t even ask

We’re expected to act with academic integrity.

But what happens when it’s not the students who are cheating but the school itself?

How many schools are really inflating their test scores? Why would they do that?

In this article by Bill Turque of the Washington Post, he discusses the implications of schools cheating on their standardized tests on the quality of education in the future. Check it out! What you learn may surprise you.

Felicitas

“Felicitas had feared that she might not be allowed to suffer with the rest because pregnant women were not sent into the arena. However, she gave birth in the prison to a daughter whom one of their fellow Christians at once adopted. Pudens, their jailer, was by this time a convert, and did all he could for them. The day before the games they were given the usual last meal, which was called “the free banquet.” The martyrs strove to make it an <Agape> or Love Feast, and to those who crowded around them they spoke of the judgments of God and of their own joy in their sufferings. Such calm courage and confidence astonished the pagans and brought about many conversions.”

Reflection: Felicitas was pregnant, and was in jail for living out her calling.  But her fear was not about her death, nor was it about her unborn child.  What concerned her the most was that she was not going be allowed to suffer for the Lord with the rest of her colleagues, because she was pregnant.  However, when she gave birth she was allowed to join them in their suffering. In fact, even though Felicitas and her companions were imprisoned, they were overflowing with so much joy and love for the Lord that many around them were converted.  It was their faith in the Lord that allowed them to have such calm courage and confidence that brought salvation to others.

Response:  Let’s pray that we will be more concerned about God’s kingdom than the things in our own lives.  May God use us to bring salvation to those around us.

Source: Saints Perpetua, Felicitas, and Companions — Martyrs — 203

Anthony Lane
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
410-455-5793
alane@umbc.edu

Patrick Lynch
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
757-897-2047
patrick.lynch@nasa.gov

Katherine Leitzell
National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colo.
University of Colorado
303-492-1497
leitzell@nsidc.org

GREENBELT, Md. -- An international team of researchers has combined data from multiple sources to provide the clearest account yet of how much glacial ice surges into the sea following the collapse of Antarctic ice shelves.

The work by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the Laboratoire d'Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique at the University of Toulouse, France, and the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colo. details recent ice losses while promising to sharpen future predictions of further ice loss and sea level rise likely to result from ongoing changes along the Antarctic Peninsula.

"Not only do you get an initial loss of glacial ice when adjacent ice shelves collapse, but you get continued ice losses for many years — even decades — to come," says Christopher Shuman, a researcher at UMBC's Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "This further demonstrates how important ice shelves are to Antarctic glaciers."

Shuman is lead author of the study “2001–2009 elevation and mass losses in the Larsen A and B embayments, Antarctic Peninsula“ published online today in the Journal of Glaciology.

An ice shelf is a thick floating tongue of ice, fed by a tributary glacier, extending into the sea off a land mass. Previous research showed that the recent collapse of several ice shelves in Antarctica led to acceleration of the glaciers that feed into them. Combining satellite data from NASA and the French space agency CNES, along with measurements collected during aircraft missions similar to ongoing NASA IceBridge flights, Shuman, Etienne Berthier of the University of Toulouse and Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado produced detailed ice loss maps from 2001 to 2009 for the main tributary glaciers of the Larsen A and B ice shelves, which collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively.

"The approach we took drew on the strengths of each data source to produce the most complete picture yet of how these glaciers are changing," Berthier said, noting that the study relied on easy access to remote sensing information provided by NASA and CNES. The team used data from NASA sources including the MODerate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments and the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat).

The analysis reveals rapid elevation decreases of more than 500 feet for some glaciers, and it puts the total ice loss from 2001 to 2006 squarely between the widely varying and less certain estimates produced using an approach that relies on assumptions about a glacier's mass budget.

The authors’ analysis shows ice loss in the study area of at least 11.2 gigatons per year from 2001 to 2006. Their ongoing work shows ice loss from 2006 to 2010 was almost as large, averaging 10.2 gigatons per year.

“This study shows where the tracking of sea level rise is heading in terms of the level of detail possible and the instrumentation that can be brought to bear,” Scambos said. “We’re showing that glacier changes can start fast, with a single climate or ocean ‘bang’, but they have a long persistence.”

An animation showing ice edge changes for the Larsen B ice shelf and its adjacent tributary glaciers is available online, along with a larger version of the map below showing elevation changes of tributary glaciers.

A companion paper — “The triggering of sub glacial lake drainage during rapid glacier drawdown: Crane Glacier, Antarctic Peninsula” — by the same three authors, led by Scambos, is also available online in the Annals of Glaciology in the issue “Earth's Disappearing Ice: Drivers, Responses and Impacts.”