Good Friday - Celebration of the Passion of the Lord 2017
Christians around the world observe Good Friday on the Friday before Easter Sunday. This year, that"s today. Good Friday marks Jesus Christ"s passion, crucifixion and death, which is told in the Bible.
It is not a federal holiday, however many state and local offices are closed Friday.
Post offices: Because it is not a federal holiday, most post offices will be open and mail will be delivered.
Money and markets: The U.S. stock market is closed but many local banks remain open.
State and local municipal offices: The state of New Jersey recognizes Good Friday as a holiday.Warren County government offices are closed as are most government offices in New Jersey.
It is not a state holiday in Pennsylvania, however many local and municipal offices are also closed, includingNorthampton County and Lehigh County government centers. The cities of Easton, Bethlehem and Allentown also are closed. Many township and borough offices are closed, too.
Department of Motor Vehicles: In New Jersey, the Department of Motor Vehicles is closed, however the Pennsylvania DMV is open.
Kids on the prowl for Easter eggs
Transportation:Trans-Bridge will run a normal Friday schedule with two exceptions: the Wall Street and Jersey City runs will not operate. Saturday and Sunday runs are normal.LANTA bus and van services will not operate on Easter Sunday.
Libraries: Most public libraries are closed, including Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity, Hellertown, Bethlehem Area Public Library, Easton Area Public Library (closed April 14 and April 15), Phillipsburg Free Public Library (closed Friday, Saturday and Monday), Warren County Library (all four branches), WH Walters Free Public Library and Hackettstown Library.
The Allentown Public Library, at 1210 Hamilton St., is open.
Email KJ at kjfrantz@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow lehighvalleylive.com on Twitter at @lehighvalley. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Christians around the world observe good friday on the Friday before Easter Sunday. This year, that"s today. Good Friday marks Jesus Christ"s passion, crucifixion and death, which is told in the Bible.
It is not a federal holiday, however many state and local offices are closed Friday.
Post offices: Because it is not a federal holiday, most post offices will be open and mail will be delivered.
Money and markets: The U.S. stock market is closed but many local banks remain open.
State and local municipal offices: The state of New Jersey recognizes Good Friday as a holiday.Warren County government offices are closed as are most government offices in New Jersey.
It is not a state holiday in Pennsylvania, however many local and municipal offices are also closed, includingNorthampton County and Lehigh County government centers. The cities of Easton, Bethlehem and Allentown also are closed. Many township and borough offices are closed, too.
Liquor stores: In Pennsylvania, the Liquor Control Board lists Easter Sunday as a holiday. Hours on Friday are unchanged. New Jersey liquor stores are privately owned.
Department of Motor Vehicles: In New Jersey, the Department of Motor Vehicles is closed, however the Pennsylvania DMV is open.
Kids on the prowl for Easter eggs
Transportation:Trans-Bridge will run a normal Friday schedule with two exceptions: the Wall Street and Jersey City runs will not operate. Saturday and Sunday runs are normal.LANTA bus and van services will not operate on Easter Sunday.
Libraries: Most public libraries are closed, including Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity, Hellertown, Bethlehem Area Public Library, Easton Area Public Library (closed April 14 and April 15), Phillipsburg Free Public Library (closed Friday, Saturday and Monday), Warren County Library (all four branches), WH Walters Free Public Library and Hackettstown Library.
The Allentown Public Library, at 1210 Hamilton St., is open.
Email KJ at kjfrantz@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow lehighvalleylive.com on Twitter at @lehighvalley. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Christians believe Jesus was mocked publicly and crucified on a solemn Friday two thousand years ago. Today, the calamitous day is celebrated as Good Friday.
But whats so good about that?
One answer is that at the time of Jesus crucifixion,good may have referred toholy in Old English, a linguistic theory supported by many language experts.
According toSlate, the Oxford English Dictionary notes the Wednesday before Easter was once calledGood Wednesday. Today, its more commonly known as Holy Wednesday.
And Anatoly Liberman, a University of Minnesota professor who studies the origins of English words,told Slate if we consider the alternative names for Good Friday, such asSacred Friday (romance languages) orPassion Friday (Russian), this theory makes a lot of sense.
Another possible reason for its moniker a theory supported by both linguists and historical evidence refers to the holidays ties to Easter Sunday, which celebrates the resurrection of Christ.
Because Jesuscouldnt have been resurrected without dying, the day of his death is, in a sense,good.
That terrible Friday has been called good fridaybecause it led to the Resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and sin and the celebration of Easter, the very pinnacle of Christian celebrations,the Huffington Post reported.
A third answer, some believe, is thatthe good in Good Friday was derived from"G*d orGods Friday the way the termgoodbye comes from a contraction of the phraseGod Be With You.
Still, not everyone refers to this day as Good Friday. For example,
The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions that, in the Greek Church, the holiday is known as "the Holy and Great Friday." In German, it"s referred to as "Sorrowful Friday."
And as aforementioned,Sacred Friday andPassion Friday are also used.
In addition, because the holiday is also commemorated with a long fast, Good Friday was also referred to asLong Friday by the Anglo-Saxons.
MARSHAWN LYNCH AGREES TO TERMS WITH THE OAKLAND RAIDERS! BEASTMODE OUT OF RETIREMENT! Getty Images
During the second half of Super Bowl 50, running back Marshawn Lynch made his retirement announcement by tweeting a pair of sneakers hanging from a telephone wire.
Is he making an announcement of his return in the same fashion?
Lynch tweeted Thursday night a message that reading between the lines could be seen as a reaction to a deal being completed to ensure his return to the NFL.
Though Lynch hasnt specifically said so himself, every indication has shown Lynch has a desire to return to football and play for his hometown Oakland Raiders before they no longer reside in his hometown any longer. He was granted permission to speak with the Raiders by the Seahawks, who still control his rights. He visited the Raiders earlier this month and an agreement to make lynch to the raiders a reality is expected to happen.
Matthew Hasselbeck, Lynchs former teammate in Seattle, issued a tweet of his own welcoming Lynch back as well.
Lynchs tweet may mean nothing at all, but it could also be his way of announcing his return. With Lynch you never truly know.
Aly Raisman has her fair share of period woes, but the Olympic gold-medalist says she wont take to free bleeding like other athletes.
Raisman, 22, recently teamed up with Playtex Sport to take away the stigma surrounding women and their periods. But the athlete says letting her period flow freely not using a cup, tampon or pad while menstruating just isnt her thing.
I give [women] a lot of credit for being that comfortable, she recently told Cosmopolitan. Thats a really amazing thing. I dont know if Id have the confidence to do that.
Free bleeding has been catching on recently.
Earlier this year, yoga-lover Steph Gongora made headlines after sharing an Instagram video of herself performing a series of moves while free bleeding in white yoga pants.
In 2015, M.I.A. drummer Kiran Gandhi ran a marathon without a tamponto raise awareness about women who have no access to feminine products and to encourage women to not be embarrassed about their periods.
Aly Raisman Surprises a Gymnast for Playtex Sport
Still, Raisman has her own way of making period-talk less taboo.
Through her partnership with Playtex, the Olympian encourages girls to continue on insportsafter their get their period for the first time by providing the tools and advice they need to play on.
FROM COINAGE: These Athletes Are Raking in the Most Endorsement Money
I work out a lot with little girls, sosometimes theyll run and [say to]me, I just got my period! she previously told PEOPLE.
I like to think Im not awkward about it, so I think that they can come to me I get what theyre going through so I like tobe that person for them.
LeBron James Previews Kendrick Lamar"s "Damn" Album on Instagram Read our rundown of the producers, songwriters, guests and key themes on Kendrick Lamar"s new LP, "d**n."
Last night, the world"s most vital, critically acclaimed rapper, Kendrick Lamar, dropped his fourth studio album, d**n. Initial reactions suggest that like all his work, the 14-track LP is both pointed and intimate, this time a mix of scathing treatises on the media mixed with Lamar"s celebrated knack for personal reflection. Here"s a guide to understanding the album"s producers, songwriters, guests and key themes.
1. "Blood"This short intro ends with an excerpt from Fox News personalities Eric Bolling and Kimberly Guilfoyle dismissing Lamar the day after he performed at the 2016 Grammy awards. Additional vocals and production on "Blood" are credited to Bekon, a.k.a. Dr. Dre collaborator Daniel "Danny Keyz" Tannenbaum, who appears multiple times on the LP.
2. "DNA"The simple, vicious loop at the center of "DNA" sets the musical tone for d**n. a marked contrast with the elaborate, shape-shifting instrumentals that were common on To Pimp a Butterfly. Fox News appears again as a punching bag. This time the track contains a snippet from another talking head, Geraldo Rivera, who condemned hip-hop during the same segment sampled in "Blood." "This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years," Rivera says. Lamar responded to these comments during a conversation with TMZ. "Hip-hop is not the problem," the rapper asserted. "Our reality is the problem of the situation."
"DNA" is the first of three d**n. beats from Mike Will Made It, the producer behind Beyonc"s "Formation" and Rae Sremmurd"s "Black Beatles," among other hits. He brings a touch to the album that"s both radio-ready and street-level booming. Lamar recently contributed to Mike Will"s recent Ransom 2 mixtape, appearing alongside Rae Sremmurd and Gucci Mane on "Perfect Pint."
3. "Yah"Lamar continues to joust with Fox on "Yah," calling out the network and Rivera by name. "Fox News wanna use my name for percentage," the rapper asserts. "Somebody tell Geraldo this n***a got some ambition."
Sounwave, an in-house producer for Lamar"s label, Top Dawg Entainment, helped put together the "Yah" beat. In the past, he"s worked on some of Lamar"s most vigorous songs, including "King Kunta" and "Alright." Sounwave had help on this one from DJ Dahi, a versatile producer who helped craft fizzy tracks like Drake"s "Worst Behavior" and Schoolboy Q"s "h**l of a Night." With those credits, you might expect a Sounwave and Dahi collaboration to be searing and urgent, but the two ended up making a lax, understated beat.
In 2015, Dahi spoke with Rolling Stone about working in the studio with Lamar on music that ultimately ended up being shelved. "He was trying to describe his album "I want this song to be this color,"" Dahi remembered. "It was like [the color of] fire, green leaves burning in the fire. It didn"t fit the album, but hopefully, people will hear it one day. I still listen to it and I"m like, "Man, we"ve got to do something with this. This s**t is incredible.""
4. "Element""Element" milks a contrast between blistering drums and discordant shards of piano. James Blake, who specializes in a morose brand of soul, helped write and produce the track. He has quietly become a go-to collaborator for the stars last year the English singer appeared as a featured vocalist on Beyonc"s Lemonade and a producer on Frank Ocean"s Blonde.
Blake produced "Element" along with Sounwave and Ricci Riera. Riera has worked with Lamar before in an oblique manner: He is credited as a producer on "Collard Greens," a Schoolboy Q song that features a guest verse from Lamar. Last year, Riera"s name also appeared on albums from Drake and Travis Scott. When Lamar shared the album artwork for d**n. this week, Riera announced his involvement with the LP on Twitter: "Proud to be a part of this," he wrote. Kendrick is aided by an energetic intro from the famous DJ Kid Capri, who defined New York mixtapes in the early Nineties.
5. "Feel"With round, textured notes from the Grammy-winning bass virtuoso Thundercat and a rickety, rim-shot drum pulse, "Feel" nods to the live-musician inflections of To Pimp a Butterfly or the sixth track from last year"s untitled unmastered. In a jarring shift after the chest-thumping "Element," Lamar"s nerves are frayed here, and his patience is wearing thin: "The world is ending, I"m done pretendin"/And f**k you if you get offended/I feel like friends been overrated/I feel like the family been fakin"." The song includes a mid-song energy shift where Lamar suddenly lunges forward like weary boxer finding a second wind.
Sounwave produced "Feel" and helped Lamar write it. "Kendrick really trusts my ear," the producer explained in 2015. " When you"ve been around somebody so much, you kind of understand what they like."
6. "Loyalty" feat. RihannaHere, Lamar surrounds himself with his most trusted collaborators producers who have worked with him since his 2009 EP (Sounwave), his 2011 debut LP Section.80 (Terrace Martin) and his 2012 breakthrough Good Kid, m.A.A.d City (DJ Dahi). But, of course, it"s notable that this marks his first collaboration with Rihanna. While interpolating a Jay Z line from 2000"s Dynasty: The Roc Familia ("It"s a secret society, all we ask is trust"), they rap-sing meditations about how, despite a dollar bill reading "In G*d We Trust," the rest of society chooses money first.
7. "Pride""I know the walls, they can listen, I wish they could talk back," Kendrick muses. It"s lyrical callback to To Pimp a Butterfly"s "These Walls," revisiting the same subject matter how pride prevents us from finding world peace. The slow-building, psychedelic epic features ominous vocals by both newcomer Steve Lacy (The Internet"s Ego Death, J. Cole"s "Folding Clothes") and hypnotic songwriter Anna Wise, who also appeared on "These Walls."
8. "Humble"Lamar received a little bit of backlash for skewering Instagram beauty standards on this, the album"s first single. The track, produced by Mike Will Made It, is currently the Number Two song in the country.
9. "l**t"On "l**t," Lamar toggles between different narrative threads. He"s overwhelmed by sexual desire during the chorus, describes banal day-to-day activities during the first verse and, by the second verse, turns his attention to the rise of President Trump. "Lookin" for confirmation, hopin" election wasn"t true," Lamar raps. "All of us worried, all of us buried, and the feeling"s deep/None of us married to his proposal, make us feel cheap."
"l**t" is produced in part by BadBadNotGood, an instrumental jazz-funk outfit from Toronto that frequently records with rappers like Ghostface Killah, Earl Sweatshirt and Freddie Gibbs. Kaytranada, an in-demand producer known for mixing house music with neo-soul, appears here in an unusual role instead of crafting a beat, he"s a contributing vocalist. Kamasi Washington, the acclaimed jazz saxophonist who also played on To Pimp a Butterfly, assisted with string arrangements.
10. "Love" feat. Zacari"Love," a spacious ballad that wouldn"t be out of place on a Rihanna album, is perhaps the most conventional moment on d**n. Lamar, a master of unusual, idiosyncratic flows, chooses to adopt a sing-song, pop-radio-friendly delivery to fit the gentle swells of the instrumental. The Top 40 appeal of this track is no accident: One of the producers and writers here is Greg Kurstin, who has helped Adele, Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry storm the charts.
"Love" features additional vocals from Kid Capri, who punctures the track"s calm surface with another boisterous interjection "another world premiere!" and Zacari, who previously contributed to other projects on TDE from Isaiah Rashad and Ab-Soul. In an interview with Pitchfork, Zacari described "Love" as "a whole new genre." "This song, this beat, the singing, the rapping I dont think it can really be compared to another song," Zicari continued. "It"s a whole new wave."
11. "x*x" feat. U2When the iTunes credits revealed that rock icons U2 would appear on d**n, some wondered whether producer Mike Will Made It was sampling the band or if the rapper was actually working with them. It"s not a fake-out: Shortly after the midpoint of "x*x," Larry Mullen Jr."s familiar military-style drum rolls come in, we hear Bono"s voice, and the Edge lays out a mournful piano riff akin to the band"s classic "New Year"s Day." "It"s not a place/To me this country is a sound," Bono sings. The effect isn"t jarring, reminiscent of Rod Stewart"s appearance on A$AP Rocky"s 2015 single "Everyday." Meanwhile, Lamar continues with a stinging criticism of America"s treatment of people of color. "It"s nasty when you roll the dice and set us up then batter"s up/You overnight the big rifles then tell Fox to be scared of us," he raps.
12. FearThe career of "Fear" producer Alchemist dates back to the mid-Nineties and an unheralded stint in the Whooliganz (alongside future actor Scott Caan). Thanks to mentoring from Cypress Hill producer DJ Muggs, he"s been cranking out sample-heavy bangers ever since, including Schoolboy Q"s 2014 hit "Break the Bank." Kendrick"s opening words are spun backwards before he lets out a handful of "I"ll beat your a*s" threats. By the third verse, he"s rapping, "When I was 27, I grew accustomed to more fear/Accumulated 10 times over throughout the years." Whether it"s being scared of falling off and returning to Section 8 housing, or simply being judged by others, Lamar sounds haunted by the feeling: "Fear what happens on Earth stays on Earth/And I can"t take these feelings with me so hopefully they disperse."
13. G*d"This what G*d feels like," sings Kendrick in a free, ecstatic voice. The glitchy, 8-bit laptop blasts come courtesy of Illinois producer Cardo, who has known Lamar since 2010; Manhattan Beach"s Ricci Riera, who worked on Lamar"s "m.A.A.d. City"; and TDE in-house producers Sounwave and DJ Dahi. By the second verse, Lamar has begun rapping again: "Seen it all, done it all, felt pain, more/For the cause, I done poured blood on sword." Yung Exclusive, who co-produced Travis $cott and Lamar"s 2016 hit "Goosebumps," and Mike Hector also claim that they worked on the track. But neither appears in the official credits.
14. "Duckworth"Earlier this month, 9th Wonder reminisced to djbooth.net about how a relatively unknown Kendrick tweeted at him in August 2010. He didn"t respond, but coincidentally met Lamar at Rock the Bells in San Bernardino the next day. The two eventually paired up (alongside Murs and Warren G) for "Enjoy (West Coastin")," a track on 9th"s 2011 production showcase The Wonder Years. However, collaboration "Duckworth" is a more substantial outing. It kicks off with Kid Capri"s voice again, shouting, "Just remember what happens on Earth stays on Earth! We"re going to put it in reverse!" Then Lamar weaves an incredible story of how TDE co-founder Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, in an earlier life as a career criminal, nearly shot Lamar"s father during a robbery. If Kenny Duckworth had died and Top had been imprisoned, he would never had found and nurtured kendrick into international fame as the best MC of his era. Paying homage is an appropriate way for Lamar to end an intimate, spiritually powerful album.
Kendrick Lamar Enlists Rihanna, U2 for New LP "d**n." Watch here.
THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS (2017) MOVIE REVIEW - Double Toasted Review
Fast, furious and full of surprises! With the eighth Fast and the Furious installment The Fate of the Furious hitting theaters on Friday, April 14, Us Weekly Video took a look a five secrets even die-hard fans might not know about the franchise. Check out the video above to learn something new about the beloved action films.
Biggest Costar Feuds and Fights Ever!
Stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson feuded on the Fate of the Furious set, and last monthThe Hollywood Reporter claimed that handlers have been keeping them separated during the current press tour. over the summer, Johnson, 44, took to social media to cryptically call out some of his male costars.
Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others dont, he wrote on Instagram August 8. The ones that dont are too chicken s--t to do anything about it anyway. Candy a***s.
The Fate of the Furious Matt Kennedy Fast and the Furious Franchise Through the Years
But as the video details, Diesel, 49, actually helped the wrestler turned actor land the part of Hobbs.
Despite the drama, The Fate of the Furious already has one celebrity fan: Gabrielle Union. #fast8 #thefateofthefurious was soooooo good! she tweeted after attending the Atlanta premiere Tuesday, April 4, calling it My kinda movie!
The latest addition features franchise newcomers Scott Eastwood and Charlize Theron alongside vets Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Elsa Pataky and Michelle Rodriguez, and will be released April 14.
Paul Walkers Most Memorable Roles
Find out more about The Fast and the Furious, like which other actors were considered for the late Paul Walker"s role, in the video above!
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